Historic%20Yorkshire

110
THE BATTLE OF TOWTON.
their quivers. Now Falconberg'sarchers again advanced
and pouredin a deadlyshower of arrows — their own and
those which had fallen harmless at their feet. Now the
Lancastrian leaders seeing the havoc wrought by the
arrowsof the enemy, ordered an advance to close quarters.
Swords, bills,and battle-axes are now the weapons
on either side;with these the vast opposing hosts rush
forward with impetuosity and without order; they clash,
surge to and fro, fighting wildly and desperately,till the
whole ridge is a mass of irretrievable, struggling confusion,
in which the twoEnglish qualitiesof courage and
endurance are the sole means of victory on whichever
side happenedto possess them in greater abundance.
All accounts of the Battle ofTowtonare deficient in the
circumstance and detail which are on record of mostof
the Yorkshire fights, which may be accounted forby the
entirely hand to hand and individual nature of this particular
encounter. It began about seven in the morning,
and waged without intermission until three in the afternoon.
During that time the fortune of war had many
times fluctuated;now the Lancastrians seemed to carry
the day — now theyweredrivenback — eachin turn seems
the victor. As Shakespeare says in conjuction with the
passage above quoted: —
This battle fares like to themorning's war,
When dying clouds contend with growinglight.
What time the Shepherd, blowingof his nails,
Canneither call it perfect day nor night.
Now swaysit this way,like amighty sea
Forced by the tide to combat withthe wind,
Now swaysit that way,like the self-same sea
Forced to retire by fury ofthe wind.
Sometimes the floodprevails,and then the wind;
Now one the better, then another best;
Both tugging to be victors, breast to breast,
Yetneither conqueror nor conquered.
Sois the equal poiseof this fell war.
At length the " equalpoise"was thrown out of balanceby
the arrival of reinforcements for Edward's army. The