There is an old tradition that on the day of Agincourt the shrine of St. John of Beverley exuded blood, and when King Henry was in Yorkshire he naturally paid his devotions at the shrine. He was accompanied by his Queen; and it was at this time that he received the sad news of the death of his brother Clarence at Beaujé. The Duke was dashing over the narrow bridge when the charging Scots burst upon him; Sir John Carmichael shivered his lance upon the Duke's corset, Sir John Swinton smote him in the face, and, as he dropped from the saddle, the Earl of Buchan, with one blow of a mace, or "steel hammer," dashed out his brains. XI.--THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. A.D. 1460. Although Henry VI. was beloved by his subjects, he was subjected to the vicissitudes of the Wars of the Roses. His Queen, Margaret of Anjou, was unpopular with the people, her favourite minister, William De la Pole, was hated of the nobles, and nobles and commons were alike exasperated by the loss of the French possessions. Richard, Duke of York, a brave soldier, and popular with the people, was the lineal heir to the throne, and he was determined to assert his claim. The first battle was fought at St. Albans, on the 23rd May, 1455. The royalists maintained the town, being commanded by Lord Clifford, the Dukes of Buckingham and Somerset, and the Earls of Northumberland and Stafford. York fiercely attacked, being supported by Norfolk, Salisbury and Warwick. The Northern archers poured their shafts into the town, and inflicted great slaughter, and the Earl of Warwick, "seizing his opportunity, moved to the garden side of the town, and attacking it at the weakest side, forced the barriers." A desperate conflict ensued, Somerset, Northumberland, and Clifford were slain, and King Henry, Stafford, Buckingham, and Dudley were wounded by arrows. Abbot Wethemstede states that he saw, "here one lying with his brains dashed out, here another without his arm; some with arrows sticking in their throats, others pierced in their chests." The King was defeated and captured, and the Yorkists divided the government. The Duke was created Constable of the Kingdom, Salisbury Lord Chancellor, and Warwick governor of Calais. Each party watched the other, and the pious King attempted to reconcile the leaders in 1458, when they went in solemn procession to St. Paul's, the Duke of York leading the Queen, and the opposing barons being paired accordingly. A few weeks later, and Warwick fled into Yorkshire, the two factions being put into opposition by a brawl between the servants of Warwick and Queen Margaret.