HENRY V. OF ENGLAND 131 master of the field of battle, and a number of noble prisoners. Many of these were executed either at Shrewsbury or London ; and the Earl of Northumber- land, the chief support of the rebellion, made his peace for the time to meditate his rebellions. Owen Glendower, however, one of the confederates, was still in arms in Wales ; ant! while Henry IV. returned in triumph to London, he despatched his eldest son, at the head of considerable forces, to reduce the Principality to obedi- ence. The unhappy Glendower, unable to oppose the army led against him, was forced to fly, and, abandoned by his friends and followers, is said to have died of starvation among the caves and wildernesses in which he sought refuge. In the meanwhile the Prince of Wales conducted his expedition with skill and wisdom ; the whole country submitted to his power ; and having re-established order and tranquillity, he returned to London with honor and praise. Little further occurs in the history of Henry as Prince of Wales which is in- teresting in itself, if stripped of the embellishments added to it by the fancy of our great poet. A project of marriage between the heir of the British crown and a daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, was entertained for some time, but died away, and the opposite, or Orleans party in France, was afterward supported by the English Crown. At length Henry the Fourth, on the eve of an expedition to the Holy Land, undertaken, it is said, in expiation of his usurpation of the throne, was struck with apoplexy ; and a tale, in regard to his death, is current among the historians of the period, on which Shakespeare has founded one of the most beautiful scenes in his historical dramas. The poet, however, is far more indebted for the splendor of his materials to his own imagination, than any his- torical record. The facts, as related by the best authorities, are simply as follows. After the first attack of apoplexy the king was carried to a chamber in the house of the Abbot of Westminster, and put to bed, and at his own desire the crown was laid upon his pillow. He languished in a state of great weakness for some time, and at length, after a second attack, appeared to those who were watching him to have yielded the spirit. The chamberlain immediately spread a linen cloth over the face of the king, and hastened to communicate his supposed death to the heir-apparent, who, entering the room to take a last look at his father's body, removed the crown from his pillow, and carried it into another apartment. After a short time the monarch revived, and sending for his son de- manded, angrily, why he had removed the crown. The prince replied that all men had thought him dead, and therefore he had taken the symbol of royalty as his by right. " What right I have to it myself, God knows," replied the king, " and how I have enjoyed it." " Of that," replied the prince, " it is not for me to judge ; but if you die king, my father, I will have the garland, and will defend it with my sword against all enemies as you have done." Not long after this conversation Henry IV. expired, and his son, the Prince of Wales, was immediately proclaimed king by the title of Henry V. But his
