Northumberland Yesterday And To Day, Jean F. Terry [learn to read activity book .txt] 📗
- Author: Jean F. Terry
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His Pennon And His Gauntlet Gloves, Embroidered With The Percy Lion In
Pearls. This Trophy Douglas Vowed He Would Carry Off To Scotland With
Him, And Set It In The Topmost Tower Of His Castle Of Dalkeith, That It
Might Be Seen From Afar. "By Heaven! That You Never Shall," Replied
Percy; "You Shall Not Carry It Out Of Northumberland." "Come And Take
It, Then," Was Douglas' Answer; And Hotspur Would Have Attempted Its
Recovery There And Then, But He Was Restrained By His Knights. Douglas,
However, Said He Would Give Percy A Chance To Recover It, And Agreed To
Await Him At Otterburn.
"Yet I Will Stay At Otterbourne,
Where You Shall Welcome Be;
And If Ye Come Not At Three Dayis End,
A Fause Lord I'll Call Thee"
Next Day The Scots Left Newcastle And Marched Northward. They Took Sir
Aymer De Athol's Castle Of Ponte-Land, And The Good Knight Sir Aymer
Himself, And Went On Their Way, Harrying And Burning As They Went. At
Otterburn They Halted, And Rested All Night, Making Huts For Themselves
Of Boughs And Branches. The Spot They Had Chosen Was A Strong One, On
The Site Of A Former British Camp; And Not Only Was It Surrounded By
Trees, But Was Near Marshy Ground As Well. Next Day They Attempted To
Take Otterburn Tower, But Without Success.
Meanwhile Word Was Brought To Hotspur That The Scots Would Spend The
Night At Otterburn; And He, Without Waiting For Walter De Skirlaw,
Bishop Of Durham, Who Was Expected That Evening With A Strong Force, At
Once Set Off With 600 Spearmen, And A Force On Foot Which Is Variously
Given As Anything From 800 To 8,000. They Covered The Thirty-Odd Miles
By The Time Evening Fell: And As The Scots Were At Supper In Their
Little Huts, They Were Startled By A Tumult Amongst Their Grooms And
Camp-Followers, And Cries Of "A Percy! A Percy!" And The Englishmen Were
Among Them. The Scottish Leaders Had Placed Their Camp-Followers And
Servants At The Outermost; Part Of Their Encampment, Facing The
Newcastle Road; And Hotspur's Force, Ignorant Of This, Mistook It For
The Main Camp. While They Were Thus Engaged, The Scottish Knights Were
Enabled To Make A Detour Around The Scene Of The First Attack, And Take
The English In The Rear. With Loud Shouts Of "Douglas! Douglas!" They
Fell Upon Them, And A Fierce Hand-To-Hand Struggle Began. The Moon Rose
Clear And Bright, And The Quiet Evening Air Was Filled With The Din Of
Battle, The Ring Of Steel On Steel, The Crash Of Axe On Armour, The
Groans Of The Wounded, And The Battle-Cries Of The Combatants On Each
Side. Sir Ralph Percy, Pressing Too Rashly Forward, Was Captured By A
Newly-Made Scottish Knight, Sir John Maxwell. The Battle Was Turning In
Favour Of Hotspur, When Douglas Sent His Silken Banner To The Front And
With Renewed Shouts Of "Douglas!" The Scots Pressed Forward And Overbore
Their Foes. According To Froissart, There Was Not A Man There, Knight,
Squire, Or Groom, Who Played The Coward. "This Bataylle Was One Of The
Sorest And Best Foughten Without Cowards Or Faynte Hearts; For There Was
Neither Knight Nor I Squire But That Did His Devoyre And Foughte Hande
To Hande." Great Deeds Were Done, And The Fame Of None Amongst Them Is
Greater Than That Of The Gallant Widdrington;
"For Witherington My Heart Is Woe,
That Ever He Slaine Sholde Be!
For When His Legs Were Hewn In Two
He Knelt And Fought On His Knee"
Douglas Rushed Into The Thickest Of The Fray, And Hotspur Tried To Find
Him, But In The Dim Light That Was Difficult, Especially As Douglas
Had, In His Haste, Come To The Fight Without Helmet Or Breastplate.
Presently He Was Borne To The Ground By Three English Spears; And As He
Lay Guarded By His Faithful Chaplain, Sir John And Sir Walter Sinclair,
With Sir James Lindsay, Came Upon Him. "How Fare You, Cousin?" Asked Sir
John. "But Poorly, I Thank God," Answered Douglas; "For Few Of My
Ancestors Died In Bed Or Chamber. I Count Myself Dead, For My Heart
Beats Slow. Think Now To Avenge Me. Raise My Banner And Shout 'Douglas!'
And Let Neither My Friends Nor My Foes Know Of My State, Lest The One
Rejoice And The Other Be Discomforted." His Dying Commands Were Obeyed;
And While His Battle-Cry Was Raised Anew, His Dead Body Was Laid By A
"Bracken Bush," And The Fact Of His Death Concealed From Friend And Foe
Alike. The Furious Onslaught Of The Scots Now Carried All Before Them;
And Hotspur Fell A Captive To The Sword Of Sir Hugh Montgomery, A Nephew
Of Douglas, After A Fierce Hand-To-Hand Encounter. The Two Chief English
Leaders Being Captured, The Day, Or Rather The Night, Was With The
Scots, In Fulfilment Of An Old Prophesy That "A Dead Douglas Should Win
A Field."
"This Deed Was Done At Otterbourne
At The Breaking Of The Day;
Earl Douglas Was Buried At The Braken Bush,
And The Percy Led Captive Away."
When The Fray Was Over, The Two Sides Treated Their Captives With
Knightly Courtesy, Many Being Allowed To Go To Their Homes Until They
Recovered From Their Wounds, On Giving Their Word Of Honour To Send The
Amount Of Their Ransom, Or Themselves Return To Their Captors.
The Bishop Of Durham, Immediately After Having Had Some Refreshment At
Newcastle, Had Set Out To Join The Percies; But As He And His Men
Neared Otterburn, They Met So Many Fugitives Who Gave Them Anything But
Reassuring Accounts Of The Fortunes Of Their Friends, That Half Of His
Force Melted Away, And The Bishop Had Perforce To Return To Newcastle;
It Was Scarcely To Be Expected, Indeed, That Everyone Should Have That
Thirst For Hard Blows Which Distinguished The Knights And Their
Immediate Followers. The Bishop, However, Made One Capture--Sir James
Lindsay, Who Had Ridden So Far In Pursuit Of Sir Matthew Redman That He
Found Himself Amongst The Force Advancing Under The Leadership Of The
Warlike Prelate.
When The Scots Retired From Their Camp, They Took The Body Of Douglas
From The "Bracken Bush" Where It Lay, And Carried It Away For Burial In
Melrose Abbey; And Hotspur, As The Price Of His Ransom, Built A Castle
For Sir Hugh Montgomery.
After This There Was Peace On The Borders For The Next Ten Years Or So,
When The Game Began Again As Merrily As Ever. When Sir Thomas Gray Was
Absent From His Castle Of Wark-On-Tweed, Attending Parliament, The Scots
Came Down Upon It And Carried Off His Children And Servants. Sir Robert
Umfraville Met And Checked Another Company That Were Harrying
Coquetdale. In The Year 1400, Henry Bolingbroke Himself Led An Army To
Edinburgh; But A Guerilla Band Of Scots, Avoiding His Line Of March,
Stole Behind Him And Ravaged Bamburghshire.
Two Years After This, A Party Of Scots Under The Next Douglas Rode Into
Northumberland, Coming Nearly As Far South As Newcastle. Hotspur Set Off
From Bamburgh, Of Which Castle He Was Constable At The Time, To
Intercept Them. He Awaited Them On The Banks Of The Glen, Near Wooler;
And The Archers Of His Force Went Out For Forage Meanwhile. When The
Scots Arrived, They Found Themselves In The Presence Of An Enemy Whom
They Had Imagined To Be Behind Them, And They Immediately Occupied
Homildon Hill. The Archers, Returning, Saw The Scottish Force On The
Hill, And Began The Attack Forthwith, Letting Fly Their Arrows Upon The
Foe With Deadly Precision. Flight After Flight Fell Upon The Scots, Who
Were Completely Bewildered, And Seemed Incapable Of Action. A Scottish
Knight, Sir John Swinton, Implored The Leaders To Charge, Passionately
Exclaiming, "What Madness Has Seized You, My Brave Countrymen, That You
Stand Here Like Deer To Be Shot Down? Follow Me, Those Who Will! We Will
Either Gain The Victory, Or Die Like Men Of Courage."
On Hearing These Brave Words, Adam De Gordon, Swinton's Deadly Foe, Felt
His Hatred Turn To Admiration, And Kneeling Before Swinton, Begged That
He Might Receive The Honour Of Knighthood From So Valiant A Hand. The
Two Gallant Knights Then Charged The Enemy, Followed By A Number Of The
Scots; But The Showers Of Arrows Forced Them To Retreat Towards The
River, And Thither Also Moved The Whole Scottish Force, Followed Still
By That Grim And Deadly Hail From The English Bows. Hotspur Would Now
Have Charged, But The Earl Of March, His Former Antagonist, Now His
Friend, Restrained His Impetuous Leader, And Persuaded Him To Let The
Archers Continue Their Effective Work.
The Event Proved His Wisdom; The Scots Were Utterly Routed By The
Archers Alone. The Unfortunate Archibald Douglas Added Another To His
Long List Of Reverses; He Was Taken Prisoner, Sorely Wounded, As Was
Also Sir Hugh Montgomery, And Over Four-Score Others Of Importance. It
Was In Connection With These Prisoners, Whom Hotspur Refused To Deliver
Up To Bolingbroke, That The Quarrel Took Place Which Eventually Led
Northumberland And His Son Hotspur Openly To Throw Off Their Allegiance
To Henry Bolingbroke And Join In The Rebellion Of Owen Glendower. Not
Only Did Hotspur Refuse To Give Up Douglas And The Others To King Henry,
But He Wished Henry To Ransom His Brother-In-Law Mortimer.
_K. Henry_. But Sirrah, Henceforth
Let Me Not Hear You Speak Of Mortimer.
Send Me Your Prisoners With The Speediest Means,
Or You Shall Hear In Such A Kind From Me
As Will Displease You.--My Lord Northumberland,
We Licence Your Departure With Your Son.--
Send Us Your Prisoners, Or You'll Hear Of It.
(_Exeunt_ K. Henry, Blunt, _And Train_)
_Hotspur_. And If The Devil Come And Roar For Them
I Will Not Send Them:--I Will After, Straight,
And Tell Him So.
* * * * *
_Worcester_. These Same Noble Scots
That Are Your Prisoners--
_Hotspur_. I'll Keep Them All;
By Heaven, He Shall Not Have A Scot Of Them;
No, If A Scot Would Save His Soul, He Shall Not;
I'll Keep Them, By This Hand.
_Worcester_. You Start Away,
And Lend No Ear Unto My Purposes.
Those Prisoners You Shall Keep.--
_Hotspur_. Nay, I Will, That's Flat:--
He Said He Would Not Ransom Mortimer;
Forbade My Tongue To Speak Of Mortimer;
But I Will Find Him When He Lies Asleep,
And In His Ear I'll Holla "Mortimer!"
Nay, I'll Have A Starling Shall Be Taught To Speak
Nothing But "Mortimer," And Give It Him
To Keep His Anger Still In Motion.
_The First Part Of_ King Henry Iv., _Act I., Scene 3_.
The Fight At Homildon Hill Took Place On A Monday In August, 1402, And
The Memory Of It Is Kept Alive By The Name Of The "Monday Clough" Near
Wooler, Where The Archers Commenced The Fight.
More Than A Hundred Years After This, The Last, And In Many Respects The
Greatest, Battle Ever Fought On Northumbrian Soil Took Place At Flodden.
King James Iv. Of Scotland Had Several Grievances Against England, Which
Had Rankled In His Mind For Some Time; He Had Not Yet Received The Full
Amount Of The Dowry Which Had Been Promised With His Wife, Margaret
Tudor, Sister Of Henry Viii., Although They Had Been Married For Many
Years; A Scottish Noble, Sir Robert Ker, Had Been Killed In
Northumberland, And The Slayer Could Not Be Found To Be Brought To
Justice--He Was Outlawed, But That Seemed To King James Very
Insufficient; A Border Raid On A Large Scale, Led By Lord Hume, Had Met
With Disastrous Defeat On Milfield Plain At The Hands Of Sir William
Bulmer; And Andrew Barton, A Notable Sea-Captain, Whom James Was Looking
Forward To Seeing As One Of The Best Leaders Of His New Navy, Had Been
Killed In A Sea-Fight By Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral Of England. Added
To All This, France Had Appealed To Him To Invade England In Order To
Force Henry Viii. To Abandon His French War; The English Monarch Was
Just Then Conducting The Siege Of Terouenne, And The Queen Of France
Sent A Romantic Appeal To James (Together With A Large Sum Of Money)
Begging Him To March "Three Feet On To English Ground" For Her Sake.
No Time Could Have Been More Favourable In James' Eyes For The
Enterprise; And In A Very Short Space Of Time He Had An Army Of 100,000
Men Collected, And Marched From Edinburgh To The Tweed, Which He Crossed
Near Coldstream. He Laid Siege To Norham, And Captured It After A Week's
Investment; And Thereafter Wark, Ford, Etal, Duddo And Chillingham Fell
Before Him. He Took Up His Quarters At Ford Castle, And On Marching
Later To Meet Surrey, Left It Almost In Ruins.
Surrey Meantime Had Gathered A Large Force From The Northern Counties,
Much To James' Surprise, For He Had Taken It For Granted That Nearly
Every English Fighting Man
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