"Then do you think the cause is lost?"

"I say not that. Pembroke has a strong force in Wales, and if the
West rises, and Queen Margaret on landing can join him, we may
yet prevail; but I fear that the news of the field of Barnet will
deter many from joining us. Men may risk lands and lives for a
cause which seems to offer a fair prospect of success, but they
can hardly be blamed for holding back when they see that the chances
are all against them. Moreover, as a Frenchwoman, it cannot be
denied that Margaret has never been popular in England, and her
arrival here, aided by French gold and surrounded by Frenchmen,
will tell against her with the country people. I went as far as
I could on the day before I left Amboise, urging her on no account
to come hither until matters were settled. It would have been
infinitely better had the young prince come alone, and landed in
the West without a single follower. The people would have admired
his trust in them, and would, I am sure, have gathered strongly
round his banner. However, we must still hope for the best. Fortune
was against us today: it may be with us next time we give battle.
And with parties so equally divided throughout the country a signal
victory would bring such vast numbers to our banners that Edward
would again find it necessary to cross the seas."



CHAPTER II THE BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY


Riding fast, Sir Thomas Tresham crossed the Thames at Reading before