parcel of the possessions of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, to whom they had been granted on the forfeiture of Richard Fitz-Alan, before mentioned.

In the fourth year of the reign of Henry the Sixth, Edward Nevil, fourth son of Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, having married Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, son and heir of William Beauchamp, Lord Abergavenny, he became tenant, in right of his wife, of one third of the castle and barony Upon his death, in the 16th of Edward the Fourth, he was succeeded by his second son, Sir George Nevil, his eldest son having died before him.

After being enjoyed by various noble families, in the proportion of one half, one fourth, and one eighth; in the fourteenth year of the reign of His late Majesty, George the Third, the property of Lewes castle was thus divided: one fourth to the Duke of Norfolk, one fourth to the Duke of Dorset, and the remaining half to Lord Abergavenny. A lease of the site and ruins was granted to the late Thomas Friend, Esq. for ninety-nine years, who left it by will to his nephew, Thomas Kemp, Esq. in which family it still continues.

PLATE LXX.

Mount-Harry Hill, and the Wall Lands, from the Keep, Lewes Castle.

THE back ground of this east view of the Keep, describes a spot rendered famous by the wellknown contest called the Mise, between Henry the Third and the Barons. The king, who, by his spirit of favouritism and oppressive exactions, had rendered himself obnoxious to his subjects generally, and more especially to the feudal nobles, whose power collectively was equal to his own, evinced no desire to fulfil the Provisions of Oxford, which he had solemnly sworn to maintain. To the non-performance of those Provisions, may be ascribed the civil war which subsequently desolated the kingdom. When every effort towards an accommodation had ceased, the barons appealed to arms, as the only means of obtaining those concessions which negociation had failed to effect.

Simon de Montford, the great Earl of Leicester, was the general of the Barons. This foreign noble, whose family made at this period a most conspicuous figure in France, his brother being Constable in the reign of Louis XII. had, on his arrival in England, married Henry the Third's sister, Eleanor, widow of the Earl of Pembroke:

he for a time governed the weak monarch, but as he became an object of envy with the courtiers, he was quickly supplanted in the king's favour. His discontent at this time served to present the revolted barons with a general of great talent and unshaken fortitude. He attacked Rochester Castle, in which John, Earl of Warren, commanded for the king. Leicester having captured many of the works of that ancient castle, was resisted by John de Warren so long as a single tower remained for defence; and so successfully, that De Montford raised the siege, on hearing of the king's successful operations, and instantly marched for Lewes.

Henry III. having taken Oxford and Northampton, succeeded in reaching London, which circumstance gave great uneasiness to the Earl of Leicester, as the metropolis gave considerable assistance to his own party. The king was illreceived by the citizens; he captured Kingston, and then proceeded to Rochester, where he relieved the gallant Earl of Warren, who was still blockaded by a party of the confederates; he proceeded to Winchelsea, and staid three days in its neighbourhood, wishing to obtain the assistance of the Cinque Ports in his cause. When the royal army arrived at Lewes, the Prior of St. Pancras respectfully received his monarch in the priory, and the gallant Prince Edward, whose youthful promise gave fresh hope to the king's friends,

quartered in the castle. A herald from the Earl of Leicester here approached the king with a letter, offering terms of conciliation*; but it was con

"To the most excellent Lord, Kyng Henrye, by the Grace of God, Kyng of Englande, Lord of Irelande, and Duke of Guyan.

"The Barons and other faithfull saruauntes, their fidelitie and othe to God coveting to kepe, sendyng to you due salutyng with al reuerance and honoure, under due obeysance. Lyketh it your highnesse to understande, that manye beyng aboute you, haue before times shewed unto your lordship of us, many cuile and untrew reportes, and haue founde suggestions not alonlye of us, but also of youreselfe, to bring this your realme unto subuersione. Knowe your excellencie, that we entende nothing but health and suerty to your person, to the uttermoste of our powers; and not alonlye to our enemies, but also yours, and of all this youre realme, we entende utter greuance and correction. Beseeching your grace hereafter to giue to them little credence, for ye shall find us youre trew and faythfull subjectes to the uttermoste of our powers. And we, Earle of Leycester and Earle of Goucester, at the request of other, and for our selfe, haue put to our seales, the Xth daye of the moneth of Maye." For Simon de Mountford, High Steward of England, Gylbert de Clare, Robert Ferreys, Hugh Spencer, Henry Mountford, Richarde Grey, Henrye Hastinges, Robert Roos, William Marmion, Gylbert Gyfforde, Nicholas de Segrave, Godfrey de Lucy, John de Veisie, with others.Vide Hollinshed.

The spirited letter of Henry III., who had already reigned forty-eight years, so inconsistent with his previously weak conduct, yet accorded well with the valour he displayed in this important contest ;-it is too long for our pages.

sidered haughty and vindictive. King Henry therefore returned a most spirited reply; and Prince Edward joined with Richard, King of the Romans, in addressing a personal defiance to Leicester and his coadjutor, the Earl of Gloucester. Those nobles dispatched the Bishops of London and Worcester to the king, offering him 30,000l. restitution for their waste committed during the insurrection, yet insisting upon the Provisions of Oxford being confirmed by Henry; which conciliatory offer was rejected. The soldiers of the Barons marked their breasts and backs with a white cross, whereby they might distinguish each other from their fellow-subjects,-a precaution alone requisite in the horrible catastrophe of civil war. The king, when the armies were about to engage, evinced his alacrity of courage and confident hope of success, by the shout of "Symon, je vous défie *." Prince Edward immediately charged a body of Londoners, under Lord Nicholas de Segrave; and putting them to the rout, he, with a rashness which served him for a severe lesson in his subsequent wars, chased

Symon com to the feld

And put up his banere,

The Kyng schewed forth his scheld,

His dragon fulle austere,

The Kyng said, on hie

Symon, je vous défie.

Robert de Brunne