[Footnote 442: _Ibid._, iii., 2322, 2333; _Sp.
Cal._, ii., 430, 435, 561.]
Nothing came of this last nefarious suggestion. In July Surrey captured
and burnt Morlaix;[443] but, as he wrote from on board the _Mary
Rose_, Fitzwilliam's ships were without flesh or fish, and Surrey
himself had only beer for twelve days. Want of victuals prevented
further naval successes, and, in September, Surrey was sent into
Artois, where the same lack of organisation was equally fatal. It did
not, however, prevent him from burning farms and towns wherever he
went; and his conduct evoked from the French commander a just rebuke
of his "foul warfare".[444] Henry himself was responsible; for Wolsey
wrote on his behalf urging the destruction of Dourlens and the
adjacent towns.[445] If Henry really sought to make these territories
his own, it was an odd method of winning the affections and developing
the wealth of the subjects he hoped to acquire. Nothing was really
accomplished except devastation in France. Even this useless warfare
exhausted English energies, and left the Borders defenceless against
one of the largest armies ever collected in Scotland. Wolsey and Henry
were only saved, from what might have been a most serious invasion, by
Dacre's dexterity and Albany's cowardice. Dacre, the warden of the
marches, signed a truce without waiting for instructions, and before
it expired the Scots army disbanded. Henry and Wolsey might reprimand
Dacre for acting on his own responsibility, but they knew well (p. 158)
enough that Dacre had done them magnificent service.[446]
[Footnote 443: _L. and P._, iii., 2362.]
[Footnote 444: _Ibid._, iii., 2541.]
[Footnote 445: _Ibid._, iii., 2551.]
[Footnote 446: _L. and P._, iii., 2537.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account