The Comic History of EnglandÀ Beckett, Gilbert Abbott
History
The Comic History of England
À Beckett, Gilbert Abbott
Great Britain -- History -- Humor
There is a tradition that his tomb is in the Cathedral of Bangor, but
this story is of little value to anyone except to the Bangor beadle, who
makes an occasional sixpence by calling the attention of visitors to a
spot which he, and Common Rumour, between them, have dignified with the
title of the tomb of Owen Glendower. We all know the character which
Common Rumour bears for an habitual violation of truth; and we are
afraid that if she is no better than she should be, the Bangor beadle is
not so good as he ought to be.
Henry was fortunate in overcoming his enemies, but his treatment of them
was frequently cruel in the extreme. Poor old Robert, the nominal king
of Scotland, was driven about from abbey to abbey, but had no sooner got
comfortably settled in one, than a cry of "Here he is! we've got him!"
drove him to take refuge in another. At last he hid himself in the
Isle of Bute, where he is supposed to have remained to the close of his
existence, and it is certain that he never addressed to the Isle of Bute
the celebrated apostrophe, "Isle of Beauty, Fare thee well!" His eldest
son Rothsay was imprisoned in the castle of Falkland (March, 1402), into
which it is supposed he was pitched with a pitcher, containing about a
pint of water, and furnished by a crusty gaoler, with a piece of
crust. Even this miserable diet is said to have been very irregularly
administered, and was of course insufficient for an able-bodied young
man like Rothsay. He was treated like a pauper under the new Poor-law,
and is believed to have died of inanition; for though the chronicles of
that day attributed his death to starvation, the chronicle of our day
prefers a genteeler term. The king of Scotland's second son, James, had
been shipped by his father for France, to be out of the way, when the
vessel was seized by the crews of some English cruisers.
Robert died of grief at the loss of young James, whom he called his
precious jewel of a gem, and the little fellow, though a prisoner, was
lodged and boarded in comfort, allowed masters, and instructed in all
the usual branches of a sound education.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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