ose terrible civil wars
long known as the Wars of the Red and White Roses, because the red rose
was the badge of the House of Lancaster, and the white rose was the badge
of the House of York.

The Duke of York, joined by some other powerful noblemen of the White
Rose party, and leading a small army, met the King with another small
army at St. Alban's, and demanded that the Duke of Somerset should be
given up. The poor King, being made to say in answer that he would
sooner die, was instantly attacked. The Duke of Somerset was killed, and
the King himself was wounded in the neck, and took refuge in the house of
a poor tanner. Whereupon, the Duke of York went to him, led him with
great submission to the Abbey, and said he was very sorry for what had
happened. Having now the King in his possession, he got a Parliament
summoned and himself once more made Protector, but, only for a few
months; for, on the King getting a little better again, the Queen and her
party got him into their possession, and disgraced the Duke once more.
So, now the Duke of York was down again.

Some of the best men in power, seeing the danger of these constant
changes, tried even then to prevent the Red and the White Rose Wars. They
brought about a great council in London between the two parties. The
White Roses assembled in Blackfriars, the Red Roses in Whitefriars; and
some good priests communicated between them, and made the proceedings
known at evening to the King and the judges. They ended in a peaceful
agreement that there should be no more quarrelling; and there was a great
royal procession to St. Paul's, in which the Queen walked arm-in-arm with
her old enemy, the Duke of York, to show the people how comfortable they
all were. This state of peace lasted half a year, when a dispute between
the Earl of Warwick (one of the Duke's powerful friends) and some of the
King's servants at Court, led to an attack upon that Earl--who was a
White Rose--and to a sudden breaking out of all old animosities. So,
here were greater ups and downs than ever.

There were even greater ups and downs than these, soon after. After
various battles, the Duke of York fled to Ireland, and his son the Earl
of March to Calais, with their friends the Earls of Salisbury and
Warwick; and a Parliament was held declaring them all traitors. Little
the worse for this, the Earl of Warwick presently came back, landed in
Kent, was joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury an