self with his past indulgence to his present opponent:
"Fool that I was!" he exclaimed: "thrice did I save the life of this
Henry of Lancaster. Once my dear uncle his father, on whom the Lord have
mercy! would have put him to death for his treason and villany. God of
Paradise! I rode all night to save him; and his father delivered him to
me, to do with him as I pleased. How true is the saying that we have no
greater enemy than the man whom we have preserved from the gallows!
Another time he drew his sword on me, in the chamber of the Queen, on
whom God have mercy! He was also the accomplice of the Duke of
Gloucester and the Earl of Arundel; he consented to my murder, to that
of his father, and of all my council. By St. John, I forgave him all;
nor would I believe his father, who more than once pronounced him
deserving of death."

The unfortunate King rose after a sleepless night, heard mass, and
ascended the tower to watch the arrival of his opponent. At length he
saw the army, amounting to eighty thousand men, winding along the beach
till it reached the castle and surrounded it from sea to sea. He
shuddered and wept, and cursed the Earl of Northumberland, but was
called down by the arrival of Archbishop Arundel, the Duke of Albemarle,
and the Earl of Worcester. They knelt to Richard, who, drawing the
prelate apart, held a long conversation with him. After their departure
he again mounted the tower, and, surveying the host of his enemies,
exclaimed: "Good Lord God! I commend myself into thy holy keeping, and
cry thee mercy, that thou wouldst pardon all my sins. If they put me to
death I will take it patiently, as thou didst for us all."
Northumberland had ordered dinner, and the Earl of Salisbury, the Bishop
and the two knights, Sir Stephen Scrope and Sir William Feriby, sat with
the King at the same table by his order; for since they were all
companions in misfortune, he would allow no distinction among them.
While he was eating, unknown persons entered the hall, insulting him
with sarcasms and threats. As soon as he rose, he was summoned into the
court to receive the Duke of Lancaster. Henry came forward in complete
armor, with the exception of his helmet. As soon as he saw the King he
bent his knee, and, advancing a few paces, he repeated his obeisance
with his cap in his hand.

"Fair cousin of Lancaster," said Richard, uncovering himself, "you are
right welcome." "My lord," answered the Duke, "I am come before my t