In 1338 the town was assaulted and burnt by a party of French or Genoese; and in the next year an act was passed for its better fortification. Whatever injury the town might have sustained from the attack of the French or Genoese, it would seem that its trade as a port was not diminished by it; for, nine years afterwards, Southampton supplied twenty-one ships and four hundred and seventy-six mariners to the great fleet of Edward III. In consequence of another attack by the French, in the reign of Richard II., the fortifications were further strengthened. In 1415 the army of Henry V., destined for the invasion of France, assembled at Southampton, where, previous to their embarkation, the Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope, and Sir Thomas Grey, were executed for high treason. The result of this memorable expedition was the victory of Agincourt. While the English continued to hold possession of part of France, the trade of Southampton appears to have been very flourishing, and the port was one of the principal in the south of England for the import of wine. Camden, writing about 1586, describes it as a town famous for the number and neatness of its buildings, the wealth of its inhabitants, and the resort of merchants; "but now," adds Camden's translator, writing about a hundred years afterwards, "it is not in the same flourishing condition as formerly it was; for having lost a great part of its trade, it has lost most of its inhabitants too; and the great houses of merchants are now dropping to the ground, and only show its ancient magnificence."[8] For the last fifty years the trade of Southampton, as a port, has been gradually reviving; and at present there is no port in the south of England in a more flourishing condition. The arrival and departure of the numerous large steamers belonging to the Oriental and Peninsular and the West India Mail Packet Companies, give it an air of activity and importance very different from the character given of it in the preceding paragraph. The splendid docks, and the facilities afforded by the railway, have induced the government of the day to select it as an eligible point for the embarkation of a large portion of the emigrants sent out with free or assisted passages to the Australian colonies. [8] Camden's _Britannia_, translated by Bishop Gibson, vol. i., p. 213. [Illustration: THE WALLS OF SOUTHAMPTON.] SOUTHAMPTON. THE WALLS. "Of yore, SOUTHAMPTON, by thy briny flood, Girt with his courtly train, great Canute stood; And, turning from the disobedient wave, A check severe to servile flattery gave."