int the Lord-mayor of London to keep the
peace among the various parties, and, to enable him to do this
effectually, he was provided with a force of ten thousand men. These
men were volunteers raised from among the citizens of London.

[Sidenote: Meeting of the nobles.]

When the time arrived for the meeting, the various leaders came in
toward London, each at the head of a body of retainers. One man came
with five hundred men, another with four hundred, and another with six
hundred, who were all dressed in uniform with scarlet coats. Another
nobleman, representing the great Percy family, came at the head of a
body of fifteen hundred men, all his own personal retainers, and every
one of them ready to fight any where and against any body, the moment
that their feudal lord should give the word.

[Sidenote: Armed bands.]

These various chieftains, each at the head of his troops, came to
London at the appointed time, and established themselves at different
castles and strong-holds in and around the city, like so many
independent sovereigns coming together to negotiate a treaty of peace.

[Sidenote: Disputes and debates.]

They spent two whole months in disputes and debates, in which the
fiercest invectives and the most angry criminations and recriminations
were uttered continually on both sides. At length, marvelous to
relate, they came to an agreement. All the points in dispute were
arranged, a treaty was signed, and a grand reconciliation--that is, a
pretended one--was the result.

[Sidenote: The treaty.]

This meeting was convened about the middle of January, and on the
twenty-fourth of March the agreement was finally made and ratified,
and sealed, in a solemn manner, by the great seal. It contained a
great variety of agreements and specifications, which it is not
necessary to recapitulate here, but when all was concluded there was a
grand public ceremony in commemoration of the event.

[Sidenote: Procession.]

At this celebration the king and queen, wearing their crowns and royal
robes, walked in solemn procession to St. Paul's Cathedral in the
city. They were followed by the leading peers and prelates walking two
and two; and, in order to exhibit to public view the most perfect
tokens and pledges of the fullness and sincerity of this grand
reconciliation, it was arranged that those who had been most bitterly
hostile to each other in the late quarrels should be paired together
as they walked. Thus, immediate