s
character, and so evident were the services he had rendered to the
public, that he ultimately received the thanks and honours which were
his due.

These circumstances should be borne in mind, for people of the present
day are apt to fancy that the shores of Old England, since the time of
the Danes perhaps, have ever been free from insult and annoyance,
whereas we see that our neighbours across the channel have managed,
whenever they have had the opportunity, without being so very seasick,
to effect a very considerable amount of both one and the other.

A fleet, also, was sent to take possession of Cherbourg, which had been
mortgaged by the King of Navarre to the English. The expedition was
under the command of Philip and Peter Courtray. It was, however,
encountered by a far superior Spanish squadron, which the English
attacked with great fury, but Philip Courtray was severely wounded, and
his brother Peter, who was taken prisoner with a number of knights and
gentlemen, was never again heard of, numbers also losing their lives.
While a large fleet under the Duke of Lancaster sailed to retrieve the
loss, and was laying siege to Saint Malo, the French were ravaging the
coasts of Cornwall. While, also, the Duke of Buckingham was in France,
a fleet of French and Spanish galleys sailed up the Thames as far as
Gravesend, which they plundered and burnt, as well as other places on
the Kentish shore. Leaving the Thames, they sailed along the west
coast, plundering and burning as they went. They were, however, met by
a west country fleet, fitted out to attack them, and pursued to the
Irish coast, where many were captured, and their prizes retaken. Still
a sufficient force escaped to plunder and burn Winchelsea on their
return.

On the accession of Charles the Sixth to the throne of France, he
resolved to put in execution a scheme formed by his father to drive the
English out of France by invading England itself. For this purpose, he
purchased of various nations a fleet of 1600 sail to carry across an
immense army which he had raised for the purpose. To defend his
kingdom, Richard raised an army of 100,000 men, horse and foot, and
equipped a fleet, placed under the command of the Earls of Arundel and
Nottingham. Portsmouth and Plymouth fitted out small fleets of
privateers, which sailed up the Seine, and made many prizes. Although
there was no general engagement, the French fleet were cut off in
detail, and in conse