France. 1415.=--In =1415= Henry openly made his
claim and gathered his army at Southampton. He there detected a
conspiracy to place the Earl of March on the throne, which had been
formed by Lord Scrope and Sir Thomas Grey, in combination with March's
brother-in-law, the Earl of Cambridge, a son of the Duke of York (see
genealogy at p. 327), the son of Edward III. All three were executed,
and then Henry sailed for France. He landed at the mouth of the Seine
and besieged Harfleur. Harfleur fell after an heroic defence, and the
Seine valley lay open to Henry.[29] Over two-thirds of his army,
however, had perished from dysentery and fever, and with no more, even
at the highest calculation, than 15,000 men, he was unable to take
advantage of the opportunity to march upon Paris. His brother the Duke
of Clarence, urged him to return to England, but Henry knew that if he
went back with baffled hopes his throne would hardly stand the shock.
He resolved to march to Calais. It might be that he would find a Crecy
on the way.

[Footnote 29: Havre de Grace was not yet in existence.]

16. =The March to Agincourt. 1415.=--Not a Frenchman could be found
who would take seriously Henry's claim to be the true king of France.
When he reached the Somme he found the bridges over the river broken,
and he was only able to cross it by ascending it almost to its source.
Then, bending to the left, he pushed on towards Calais. His own army
was by this time scarcely more than 10,000 strong, and he soon learnt
that a mighty French host of at least 50,000 men blocked the way at
Agincourt. Though his little band was worn with hunger, he joyfully
prepared for battle. He knew that the Duke of Burgundy had kept aloof,
and that the Armagnac army opposed to him was a feudal host of the
same character as that which had been defeated at Crecy. There were no
recognised commanders, no subordination, no notion of the superior
military power of the English archers.

17. =The Battle of Agincourt, October 25, 1415.=--In the early
morning, mass was said in the English army, and Henry's scanty
followers prayed earnestly that their king's right, as they believed
it to be, might be shown on that day. Henry's own prayers were long
and fervid. He was told that it was the hour of prime, the first hour
of prayer. "Now," he said, "is good time, for all England prayeth for
us, and, therefore, be of good cheer." He then went forth to marshal
his army. To a knight who