emoved the crown. The
prince replied that all men had thought him dead, and therefore he had
taken the symbol of royalty as his by right.

"What right I have to it myself, God knows," replied the king, "and
how I have enjoyed it."

"Of that," replied the prince, "it is not for me to judge; but if you
die king, my father, I will have the garland, and will defend it with
my sword against all enemies as you have done."

Not long after this conversation Henry IV. expired, and his son, the
Prince of Wales, was immediately proclaimed king by the title of Henry
V. But his change was not alone in name or station; his vices and his
follies he cast from him, as an unworthy garment, and assumed with
royalty a royal mind. The debauched companions of his youth were
banished from his presence and his counsels, and forbidden to approach
within ten miles of his dwelling. But at the same time we are assured
that they were not left in indigence or necessity. Wisdom and virtue
became the only recommendations which raised any one to his service,
and those who had proved themselves most worthy, under the government
of the former monarch, found themselves most readily welcomed by the
new king.

No sooner was the truce at an end which then existed between France
and England, than Henry himself proceeded to Southampton to take the
command of his army in person. The English armament put to sea, and
notwithstanding great preparations which had been made for defending
the French coast, Henry landed his troops in safety at the mouth of
the Seine, and immediately laid siege to Harfleur, at that time the
principal sea-port of Normandy.

The Dauphin himself advanced to Vernon on the Seine, and the famous
Marshal Boucicault, one of the most celebrated knights of his time,
gathered together a large force, and advanced toward the English army.

Nevertheless Henry did not suffer his courage to fail, and the siege
was continued with unabated vigor. At length the means of defence
began to fail within the town. Two wagons of powder, which the French
attempted to introduce, fell into the hands of the English; the walls
were ruined by the effects of the artillery, and at length the
governor agreed to surrender, if he remained unrelieved at the end of
three days. The three days expired without succor, and Harfleur was
surrendered to the King of England.

[Here follows a long and glowing account of Henry's retreat in
the face of the overwhelm