aged during the period of
the king's minority in many important military expeditions in that
country. At length, however, he came back to England, and there, when
the king was about twenty years of age, the quarrel between him and
the bishop's party broke out anew. The king himself was, however, now
old enough to take some part in such a difficulty, and so both sides
appealed to him. Gloucester made out a series of twenty-four articles
of complaint against the bishop. The bishop, on the other hand,
accused the duke of treason, and he specially charged that his wife
had attempted to destroy the life of the king by witchcraft. The
duchess was condemned on this charge, and it is said that, by way of
penance, she was sentenced to walk barefoot through the most public
street in London with a lighted taper in her hand. Some other persons,
who were accused of being accomplices in this crime, were put to
death.

[Sidenote: Witchcraft.]

The witchcraft which it was said these persons practiced was that of
making a waxen image of the king, and then, after connecting it with
him in some mysterious and magical way by certain charms and
incantations, melting it away by degrees before a slow fire, by which
means the king himself, as was supposed, would be caused to pine and
wither away, and at last to die. It was universally believed in those
days that this could be done.

[Sidenote: Position of the king.]

Of course, such proceedings as these only embittered the quarrel more
and more, and Gloucester became more resolute and determined than ever
in prosecuting his intrigues for depriving the bishop of influence,
and for getting the power into his own hands. The king, though he
favored the cardinal, was so quiet and gentle in his disposition, and
so little disposed to take an active part in such a quarrel, that the
bishop could not induce him to act as decidedly as he wished. So he
finally conceived the idea of finding some very intelligent and
capable princess as a wife for the king, hoping to increase the power
which he exercised in the realm through his influence over her.

[Sidenote: Scheme formed by Beaufort.]

The lady that he selected for this purpose was Margaret of Anjou.

CHAPTER IV.

MARGARET'S FATHER AND MOTHER.

[Sidenote: 1420.]

[Sidenote: Provinces of France.]

In former times, the territory which now constitutes France was
divided into a great number of separate provinces, each of which
formed