At this time the people of England appear to have been completely intoxicated by the love of war and the splendor of their victories,-and Edward was adored as a demigod. The spirit of war and chivalry was diffused among all classes of people, and even the ladies would appear at the military tournaments, riding in troops and armed with swords. The principal wars however of Edward III. were wars of his own making, wars of aggression and invasion-as perfectly wanton and unjust, as the wars made by pirates and robbers. Yet the infatuated Britons gloried in the victories obtained in such wars; and that too while these victories were gained at the expense of several hundred thousand human lives, and the distress of millions of their fellow beings. But such is the general blindness and insanity of nations, when victorious in war.

The hail-storm peace was of but ten years' duration; and in the subsequent wars of Edward, he was deprived of all his former conquests in France, and lost many thousand of his troops. Such warring kings are ever a curse to the nations they govern, as well as to neighbouring countries. Yet Mr. Bigland says, "the reign of Edward III. was the most splendid and striking, and one of the most important recorded in English history!" But we may ask, what, on the whole, did this conqueror obtain for England, which would justify the sacrifice of a single life? The proper answer is Nothing!

Edward died in 1977; "But before he left the world he had the mortification of seeing the world leave him." Of all his admirers, flatterers and courtiers, "not one remained with him to console him in his last moments." Such was the end of this bloody conqueror !

From the Norman conquest to the death of Edward III. was a period of 311 years-during which eleven kings of Norman descent reigned in England. The greater part of these three centuries was employed in wars, either foreign or domestic. But perhaps of the whole number, there was not one in twenty more just or necessary, or made on any bet

ter principles, than the wars of earlier times which were made by the Saxon and Danish pirates. How deluded, or how barbarous must our ancestors have been, to boast of their exploits in these wars of aggression and murder!

REVIEW OF THE WARS OF BRITAIN. No. 3.

happened in time of a truce He was succeeded by Rich

THE death of Edward III. between England and France. ard II. in 1377. The truce soon expired and the horrors of war recommenced. The French were not only successful in their own country, but carried the war into England, and made there considerable devastations. In this reign there was also a war with the Scots-a civil war-a war with Spain, and a war between two Popes, in which England engaged on one side and France on the other.

Henry IV. was crowned in 1399. The next year a war commenced with Scotland and with Wales. In this reign there was also a civil war, and a predatory or piratical war between France and Britain. Henry died in the 14th year of his reign, and enjoyed, in all, perhaps two years of peace.

Henry V. began his reign in 1413. In the following year, he commenced a war for the crown of France, the pretended right to which had been relinquished by Edward III. To effect his purpose, he took advantage of a time when the French king was afflicted with insanity, and the nation convulsed by factions. To this antichristian course Henry was advised by the archbishop of Canterbury; a professed minister of the Prince of peace!

This war continued six years, and the slaughter was horrible. Henry was successful, and by treaty obtained a promise of the crown of France, on the decease of the then reigning monarch. But the Dauphine of France contended for his right; and while Henry was preparing to renew the war, he was summoned by death to give account of his atrocious deeds.

Mr. Bigland has many just remarks and reflections on the wars of Britain; but, like historians in general, he has said some things of a delusive tendency. The following are some of his remarks :

"The great affair of Henry's reign, and that which hath given a distinguished lustre to his memory, was his expedition to France." Vol. i. p. 379.

Speaking of the sanguinary battle of Agincourt he says,― "In this memorable battle, which was so fatal to France, and so glorious to England, the French lost their Generalissimo, the Constable D'Albert, the Duke of Alencon, prince of the blood, the Dukes of Brabant and Bar, the Counts of Nevers. Vandemont, Marle, Roussi, and Fauquenberg, who were all slain, as well as many officers and nobles and ten thousan soldiers." p. 390.

"The reign of Henry V. was glorious rather than beneficial to England. The successful termination of his wars with France cast a lustre on his name; but it was the source of future disgrace and calamities; although he died in the midst of glory, the baleful consequences of his triumphs were fatally experienced by his successors."

Thus the historian ascribes "lustre" and "glory" to crimes of the deepest dye, to exploits and enterprises which deserve the detestation of all mankind. If he has given a correct account of he cause and objects of this war, of its aggressive character, and of the inhumanity and baseness of Henry in availing himself of the calamity of the king of France to accomplish his unjust purposes,-the conquests of Britain thus obtained ought to be regarded as a reproach to the monarch and to the whole nation.

"Henry VI. was an infant of nine months when he succeeded to the throne of his father; and in less than six months after his accession, the death of Charles VI. devolved on him the crown of France. Accordingly the infant monarch of England was proclaimed king of France." war immediately ensued between the two nations, in which England was deprived of all her boasted conquests in the

preceding reign. This disastrous war continued to the end of the reign of Henry VI.

Not only so, in the course of this reign commenced the bloody and disgraceful civil wars between the house of York and the house of Lancaster. The ambition of these two branches of the royal family, and their contests for the crown, divided the inhabitants of England, made them enemies one to another, and filled the land with crimes and woes.

Speaking of the battle between these parties, in 1455, Mr. Hume says, "This was the first blood that was spilt in this fatal quarrel, which was not finished in less than a course of thirty years, which was signalized by twelve pitched battles, which opened a scene of extraordinary fierceness and cruelty, is computed to have cost the lives of eighty princes of the blood, and almost entirely annihilated the ancient nobility of England." Vol. ii. p. 200.

The quarrel between these families was prolonged not only to the end of the reign of Henry VI. but through the reigns of Edward IV. Edward V. and Richard III. The last great battle prepared the way for Henry VII. to ascend the bloodstained throne of England, in 1485. The number of men who perished in these murderous and shameful wars was very great. The eighth battle is described by Mr. Bigland in the following manner :

"On Palm Sunday the bloody conflict took place. It continued from morning till night. No quarter was given; and never was victory more obstinately contested. Never before had England seen so terrible a day. Never was there a more remarkable instance of the folly of the people. A hundred thousand men of the same nation were seen fighting for no interests of their own, but merely to satisfy the empty ambition of a few weak and worthless individuals, and butchering one another to determine, whether an idiot or a boy should wear a crown set with diamonds. Yet in deciding this dispute above thirty six thousand fell on the field of battle, and the waters of the wharf were tinged with blood. Such is the infatuation of mankind; such are the direful consequences of civil dissensions."

In each of two other battles the number of the slain, on one side only, is stated at 10,000.

The situation of the people of England during this conflict was truly distressing. Each party was alternately successful and unsuccessful; and whichever party triumphed, those of the other were treated as rebels; and their leaders, if not killed in battle, were very sure to be massacred or assassinated--except when they were so fortunate as to escape death by flight to another country.

Mr. Hume says" all we can distinguish with certainty through the cloud which covers that period, is a scene of horror and bloodshed, savage manners, arbitrary executions, and treacherous, dishonorable conduct in all parties." Vol. ii. p. 235.

Speaking of the joy of the people on the accession of Henry VII. the same writer remarks-" During the course of near a whole century the kingdom had been laid waste by domestic wars and convulsions; and if at any time the noise of war had ceased, the sound of faction and discontent still threatened new disorders." p. 313.

While Britain was thus distracted by civil wars, they had little leisure for war with foreign nations. There were, however, several wars of short duration with France, Scotland, and Ireland, prior to the accession of Henry VII.

Both Hume and Bigland seem to regard the contest between the house of York and the house of Lancaster as closed by the battle which gave the crown to Henry VII. It is however clear from Mr. Hume's own history, if it be correct, that the prejudices excited by those wars produced horrible scenes during Henry's reign. There was also in the same reign a revolt of Ireland, a war with the Scots, and a war with France.

From the death of Edward III. to the death of Henry VII. 1509, was a period of 132 years; and probably more than three quarters of this time was spent, by the people of Britain, in the work of havoc and desolation, either abroad or at home. Indeed from the time of the Norman invasion to Henry VIII.