d withdrew to his castle of Wigmore; Salisbury to
Middleham, in Yorkshire, and Warwick to his government of Calais, which
had been committed to him after the battle of St. Albans, and which, as
it gave him the command of the only regular military force maintained
by England, was of the utmost importance in the present juncture. Still,
men of peaceable dispositions, and among the rest Bourchier, archbishop
of Canterbury, thought it not too late to interpose with their good
offices, in order to prevent that effusion of blood, with which the
kingdom was threatened; and the awe in which each party stood of the
other, rendered the mediation for some time successful. It was agreed
that all the great leaders on both sides should meet in London, and be
solemnly reconciled.

{1458.} The duke of York and his partisans came thither with numerous
retinues, and took up their quarters near each other for mutual
security. The leaders of the Lancastrian party used the same precaution.
The mayor, at the head of five thousand men, kept a strict watch,
night and day; and was extremely vigilant in maintaining peace between
them.[*]

* Fabian Chron. anno 1458. The author says that some lords
brought nine hundred retainers, some six hundred, none less
than four hundred. See also Grafton, p. 633.

Terms were adjusted, which removed not the ground of difference. An
outward reconciliation only was procured; and in order to notify this
accord to the whole people, a solemn procession to St. Paul's was
appointed, where the duke of York led Queen Margaret, and a leader of
one party marched hand in hand with a leader of the opposite. The less
real cordiality prevailed, the more were the exterior demonstrations of
amity redoubled. But it was evident, that a contest for a crown could
not thus be peaceably accommodated; that each party watched only for
an opportunity of subverting the other; and that much blood must yet
be spilt, ere the nation could be restored to perfect tranquillity, or
enjoy a settled and established government.

{1459.} Even the smallest accident, without any formed design, was
sufficient, in the present disposition of men's minds, to dissolve
the seeming harmony between the parties; and had the intentions of the
leaders been ever so amicable they would have found it difficult to
restrain the animosity of their followers. One of the king's retinue
insulted one of the earl of Warwick's: their companions on both s