ime turn against
him. And this consideration made her extremely impatient at the delay
occasioned by the weather at Harfleur. She did not know but that the
king might even then be engaged in close conflict with his foes, and
likely to be overwhelmed by them, and that her force, by being so long
delayed, would arrive too late to save him.

Alas for poor Margaret! It was, indeed, exactly so.

[Sidenote: Countess of Warwick.]

It was not until the 24th of March that it was possible to leave the
port; but then, although the weather was by no means settled, the
queen determined to wait no longer. The Countess of Warwick, who had
been left in France when the earl her husband went to England, sailed
from Harfleur at the same time with the queen, though in a different
vessel. Her daughter, however, the prince regent's bride elect, went
with the queen.

[Sidenote: Arrival in England.]

The weather continued very boisterous after the fleet sailed, and as
the gales which blew so heavily were from the north, the ships could
make very little progress. They were kept beating about in the
Channel, or lying at anchor waiting for a change of wind, for more
than a fortnight. During all this time Margaret was kept in a perfect
fever of impatience and anxiety.

At length, about the 10th of April, they reached the land at Weymouth.

[Sidenote: The landing.]

After the ships entered the port, the space of a day or two was
occupied in making preparations to land. Among these preparations was
included the work of arranging apartments at an abbey in the vicinity
of Weymouth to receive the queen and her attendants. In the mean time,
the landing of the troops was pushed forward as rapidly as possible.

The ship in which the Countess of Warwick embarked had sailed in a
different direction from Margaret's fleet, and it was not known yet
what had become of her.

[Sidenote: News of a battle.]

When at last the preparations were completed, the queen and her party
went on shore and took up their abode in the abbey. Margaret's mind
was intensely occupied with the arrangements necessary for marshaling
her troops and getting them ready to march to the assistance of
Warwick, when, to her amazement and consternation, she received news,
on the very next day after she took up her abode in the abbey, that
the party of King Edward had mustered in great force and advanced
toward London, and that a battle had been fought at a place called
Barnet, a