void conferring upon him any
such substantial power within the realm of England as would enable him
to attempt to seize the throne. She accordingly gave him the regency
of France, and afterward, when she recalled him from that country in
order to send Somerset there, she sent him to Ireland.

[Sidenote: Somerset's return to England.]

After the death of Suffolk, Somerset came home from France. Indeed, he
was on his way home at the very time that Suffolk was killed, the
English possessions there having been almost entirely lost. As soon as
he returned, the queen received him into high favor at court, and soon
made him the chief minister of the crown. The people of the country
were displeased at this, and soon showed marks of great discontent.
They would very likely have risen in open rebellion had it not been
that Henry's health was so feeble, and the probability was so great
that he would die without issue--in which case the crown would devolve
peacefully to the Duke of York and his heirs.

[Sidenote: The people willing to wait.]

"Let us wait," said they, "for a short time, and it will all come
right. It is better to bear the evils of this state of things a little
longer than to plunge the country into the horrors of civil war in
attempting to change the dynasty by force before Henry dies."

[Sidenote: Two parties formed.]

[Sidenote: The nobles.]

[Sidenote: The two leaders.]

In the mean time, however, although this was so far the prevailing
public sentiment as to prevent an actual outbreak, it did not by any
means save the community from being unnecessarily agitated by
anxieties and fears lest an outbreak _should_ take place, nor did it
prevent innumerable plots and conspiracies being formed tending to
produce one. The country was divided into two great parties--those
that favored the Duke of York and his dynasty, and those who adhered
to the house of Lancaster. The nobles took sides in the quarrel, some
openly and others in secret. As these nobles were continually moving
to and fro from one castle to another, or between the country and
London, at the head of armed bodies of men more or less formidable, no
one could tell what plans were being formed, or how soon an explosion
might occur. The Duke of York was, of course, the head and leader of
one side, and the Duke of Somerset, as the confidential counselor and
minister of Henry and the queen, was the most prominent on the other
side, and each of these gre