CHAPTER IV. Warwick returns io England—Battle of Northampton—Henry taken prisoner—• Flight of Margaret—York publicly claims the croton—Margaret again in arms— Her victory at Wakefield—Battle of Mortimers Cross—Second battle of St. Alban's—Margaret retakes the King—Her vindictive conduct offends the Londoners— They compel her to withdraw to the north—Triumph of the white rose— Accession of Edward the Fourth—Margaret resolves to strike another blow—Is defeated in the bloody battle of Towton—She retires to Scotland—And continues her efforts to recover the throne—Her partizans fail to obtain aid from France— Whither she sails—Mortgage of Calais—She returns with Brezë to Northumberland—Her temporary successes—Shipwreck—Battle of Hexham—Adventures in the woods—Her cause hopeless—She retires to the court of her father—Her son's tutor—Flight of her partizans. , ESPERATE as the W^^^^^^m'/il lÈËMsÈÈ^^ÊSft tS*&m!**£^& cause of the Yorkists appeared to be at this period, their lost regained by the power, energy, and activity of Warwick. This nobleman retained the command of the fleet and the government of Calais. His popularity was great ; he defied the Queen and the council to deprive him of the important posts; took all the ships of the Royalists he could meet with, and sailing to Dublin, concerted measures with the Duke of York for a second and more strenuous effort to clutch the crown from the brow of the gentle King. All being prepared, he landed in Kent on the fifth of June, with one thousand five hundred men, and, proceeding to Canterbury cathedral, solemnly swore that himself and York were true liegemen of the King. His advancing army swelled to twenty-five thousand, or, according to some chroniclers, to forty-live thousand. He was joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of London, Lincoln, Exeter and Ely, Lord Cobham, and all the gentry of Kent. London joyfully opened her gates to him on the second of July, 1460 ; but his tarry in the metropolis was brief. Hastening to Northampton, whither Margaret and Henry had advanced with their army, he gave battle to the Royalists on the tenth of July. Margaret seemed confident of victory; but after the action had been well sustained by both sides for about two hours, the treacherous Lord Grey of Ruthyn, instead of defending his post, admitted the enemy into the heart of the royal camp, and gave the success of the day to the Yorkists. The Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Viscount Beaumont, and many other of the Royalist nobles and knights were slain. The Queen, who from a neighbouring eminence had witnessed the battle, fled with her infant son in dismay. Her enemies pursued her in hot haste, but, after being plundered of her jewels by her own servants, and escaping numerous perils, and enduring fearful privations, she found herself secure within the impregnable rock-bound walls of Harlech castle, in North Wales. Henry was taken prisoner, and conducted, with every demonstration of respect, to London, where a parliament was called, the acts passed at Coventry repealed, and the Yorkists pronounced to be faithful and loyal sub jects. The Duke of York, being apprized of the victory, entered London on the eleventh of October, with a retinue of five hundred horsemen, and pressing on to Westminster, passed through the nail into the House of Lords, and standing with his hands upon the throne, shewed by his manner that he only waited for an invitation to place himself on it But the whole assembly was silent ; even his own partizans had not the heart to express a wish to dethrone the un