ed him up
again, and proceeded to unbuckle and take off his armor. Relieved
from this burden, he began to come to himself. He opened his eyes and
looked around, staring with a wild, bewildered, and ghastly look,
which moved the pity of all the beholders, that is, of all but
Anneslie. He, on leaving the king, came to where poor Katrington was
sitting, and, full of rage and hate, began to taunt and revile him,
calling him traitor, and false, perjured villain, and daring him to
come out again into the area and finish the fight.

[Sidenote: Anneslie's rage.]

To this Katrington made no answer, but stared wildly about with a
crazed look, as if he did not know where he was or what they were
doing to him.

[Sidenote: The termination of the trial.]

So the farther prosecution of the combat was relinquished. Anneslie
was declared the victor, and poor Katrington was deemed to be proved,
by his defeat, guilty of the treason which had been charged against
him. He was borne away by his friends, and put into his bed. He
continued delirious all that night, and the next morning at nine
o'clock he died.

* * * * *

Thus was this combat fought, as the ancient historian says, to the
great rejoicing of the common people and the discouragement of
traitors!

CHAPTER III.

KING HENRY VI.

[Sidenote: King Henry's accession.]

King Henry the Sixth, who subsequently became the husband of Margaret
of Anjou, was only about nine months old, as has already been said,
when he succeeded to the throne by the death of his father. He was
proclaimed by the heralds to the sound of trumpets and drums, in all
parts of London, while he was yet an infant in his nurse's arms.

[Sidenote: His uncles.]

Of course the question was now who should have the rule in England
while Henry remained a child. And this question chiefly affected the
little king's uncles, of whom there were three--all rude, turbulent,
and powerful nobles, such as were briefly described in the last
chapter. Each of them had a powerful band of retainers and partisans
attached to his service, and the whole kingdom dreaded greatly the
quarrels which every one knew were now likely to break out.

The oldest of these uncles was Thomas. He was Duke of Exeter.

The second was John. He was Duke of Bedford.

The third was Humphrey. He was Duke of Gloucester. Thomas and Humphrey
seem to have been in England at the time of their brother the old
k