The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-08
Nsw ROCKS.


il A volume entitled Henry ". by Charles
Jethbrides Kingsford. The narrative II
hased on chronicles and documents Of con-
,en,porary or nearly contemporary date
An analysis Of them shows that. while the
traditional estimate Of Henry v, excepted
hv Shakespeare Is In some details errone-
ous. Il Ia. upon the whole correct. Tho
s,Ikins feature Of the life Of the subject
Of this biography Ia its brevity. The heir
Of Henry ~. began to play an important
part in military and political affairs at a
very early age, and when he cisd at the
ace Of Is he had not only conquered France,
b1t had become almost the arbiter OF Europe
., secular and ecclesiastical affairs. In this
resncct he may he compared. as he often
has been, with Alexander Of Macedon.
Many curious facts, zen overlooked
avon bv those familiar v i English history.
~, eive notice In the book before ~. For
instance. lust as Henry VII. was plagued
Inc tho pretensions Of Perkin Warbeck and
lambert Simnel, 20 Henry Nv. and his
son wore annoyed by the existence OF a
rseudo Richard III After Richard had
died In prison carly in 400 and boon buried
At Langley. there we're many who believed
ma, be-, had escaped and was living In Scot
inrd A man who assumed his name and
vas known as the Mammet OF Scotland
had a pension from the Scottish Govern
mont and lived at Stirling till i+ie. There
aye several illusions TO this person In the
English archives. Thus In the Parliament Of
tioJ a petition against the LollGrds charged
them with disseminating false prophecies
thai Richard II, .the Msmmet Of Scotland
would shortly be restored, As late as
the autumn Of i4i7 Henry V. wrote home
from France that he had secret information
Of a plot TO bring to England -the Mammet
of SCOTLAND to stir what he may One
would like TO hear more about a man who
succeeded in maintaining his imposture for
uinetcen years.
We have spoken of the brevlty Of Henry's
life. He was not the only member OF his
family whose career was short. His
father. Henry ~, had been married at
the age Of Is and, although for some
years before his death he was spoken of
a. old and decrepit. he was but ~
when he died. The mother Of Henry ".
Nary de Bohun. was married at 10. n
slh had a son when she was IL; one is
not surprised to hear that the child did not
i've. She had borne her husband seven
children when she died at the age Of
g. There is some uncertainty about
the precise date Of the birth Of Henry ".
hut there seems to be no doubt that it 90
Cured some time in August. 1887. He
was called Henry OF Monmouth from the
place where he vas born: for the same
reason his son was called Henry of Windsor,
and his father Henry Of Bolingbroke.
Henry OF Monmouth was but - years
old when he was knighted by Richard III.
on a field Of battle in Ireland, and he was
but - when he was made the nominal
head Of the government Of North Wales
and Of the Marches. The chief OF his coun-
Gil was Henry Percy. the famous Hotspur.
The absurdity OF representing the young
Prince and Hotspur as rivals is evident
when the fact is pointed out that Hotspur
was older than the Princes father. Shakes
peare's assertion that Percy's conqueror
in the Battle OF Shrewsbury was Henry
Of Monmouth. then scarcely 10 years
old. is supported by no contemporary
writer. As a matter Of fact, Henry Nv.
was in command Of the royal forces. There
is no doubt, however, that Henry V. learned
soldiership and generslship in his many
years OF warfare with the Welsh. As for
the story Of the Princes carrying away
III CfOWu ITOul UlS IdlntT = DtQblQe Wnen
Henry Nv. lay in a trance. there is this
foundation for IL, that during the later
years Of the life Of Henry ~. his sons
political Ole may be fairly described as
that Of a leader OF the Opposition. At
one time he was a successful leader, and
practically became Prime Minister. The
Parliament Of 1910. in which the Lollards
were strong, would vote no supplies until
the council headed by Archbishop Arundel
had been dismissed and a new council,
headed by the Prince OF Wales. had been |
named. From January, 14IO, until No
vember, l41I, the foreign and home policy
VI the English Crown was shaped by Henry |
Of Monmouth, in sharp conflict with his
fathers views, and 1t IL alleged by more
than one chronicler that at this time the |
Princes supporters intended 10 procure
me Kings a~bdication in favor OF his son.
Henry Nv. had yet nearly two years Of
life in him. however, and when Parliament
met in November. i4Ii, he removed the
Prince and his supporters from the council
and reversed their foreign policy. There
seems. however. 10 have been at no time
any personal hostility between the father
and the son.
When one remembers that the life OF
Henry Of Monmouth wa spent on the
battlefield or In the council chamber from
the age of IL until at the age Of 20 he assembled
the throne. IL is hard to credit the youth
full excuses which are imputed to him.
He must have had a good deal OF leisure,
however; for even while he commanded
In Wales he usually spent his winters in
London. and there In no doubt that the
historians Of his own time concur In assert.
ing hat his conduct a. Prince was marked
with levity, and that a sharp change took
place on his ascension to the throne. The
story hat Chief Justice Gascoignc sent
him TO prison for contempt Of court has
no older authority than a book published
IN 1921. Il N an historical fact that on
the asccnsion of Henry v. in i<is. Cas-
coigne's patent as Chief Justice was not
renewed, but his retirement from Office
may have been due To age. and he is known
TO have been treated with favor by the
King until his death in i1ie. IL will be
remembered that Shakespeare places
Dame Vuickly's tavern Of tho Bears Head
IN tastcheap. conveniently near 10 the
PTlnAafG Nnanalna