86

CHAP. of Chester, and was recognized as the heir apparent in great council of prelates and peers." July 3. The partisans of the house of Lancaster had no leader in England: the marauding expeditions of the earl of Oxford had become subjects rather of ridicule and terror; and the king was relieved from all apprehensions on the part of Scotland by the promising state of his negociations with that kingdom." His chief disquietude was created by the insatiate rapacity of his two brothers, the dukes of Clarence and Glocester. The immense property of the late earl of Warwick had been derived from two sources, the inheritance of his father the earl of Salisbury, and the possessions of his wife Anne, the heiress to the noble and opulent family of Beauchamp. Clarence, who had married Warwick's eldest daughter, grasped at the whole succession: Glocester proposed, by marrying the younger, the relict of the late prince of Wales, to claim for himself a proportionate share. To defeat the project of his brother, the former concealed the widow from the pursuit of Glocester: but after some months she was discovered in London in the disguise of a cook-maid, and for greater security was conducted to the sanctuary of St. Martin's. Clarence could not prevent the marriage: but he swore that Glocester "should "not part the livelyhood with him." The king 86 Rym. xi. 713.

87 Id. xi. 718. 733. 748.

III.

endeavoured to reconcile the two brothers. They CHAP. pleaded their cause repeatedly before him in council; arbitrators were appointed; and at length an award was given, which, after assigning her portion to Anne, left the rest of the property to Isabella, the elder sister.88 All this while the countess their mother was living, and to her belonged by law the possessions of her late brother and father, with the dower settled on her by her husband. But her interests were disregarded. By act of parliament it was deter- 1474. mined that the daughters should succeed as if their mother were dead: that, if either of them should die before her husband, he should continue to enjoy her portion for the term of his natural life: and that if a divorce should be pronounced between Richard and Anne, Richard should still have the benefit of this act, provided he should marry, or do his endeavours to marry, her again.90 Still the two brothers were not

89 Fenn, ii. 90. During this quarrel sir John Paston writes thus: "The world seems queasy here. For the most part that be about "the king, have sent hither for their harness (armour). It is said "for certain, that the duke of Clarence maketh himself big in that "he can shewing as (if) he would but deal with the duke of "Glocester: but the king intended to be as big as they both. "Some men think that under this there should be some other thing "intended, and some treason conspired: so what shall fall, can I "not say." Fenn, ii. 127. April 13, 1473.

89 She had been, since the death of her husband, in the sanctuary of Beverly, but was removed to the north in June 1473, by sir J. Tyrrel. Edward had assented to it: but Clarence was displeased. 90 Rot. Parl. vi. 100, 101. Thus says the Continuator Hist. Croyl. Parum aut nihil veræ dominæ relictnm est, p. 556, 557.

May.

CHAP.

III.

July.

Alliance against France.

secure. To preclude any claim from the son of the marquess Montague, Warwick's brother, it was enacted that Clarence and Glocester, and their heirs, should enjoy certain lands, the former property of the earl, as long as there should exist any male issue of the body of the marquess. By these acts of parliament, and the grant of different honours and emoluments, the demands of the royal brothers were satisfied: but a secret hatred had been kindled in their breasts, which was ready to burst forth on the first and most trivial provocation.91

Being at length relieved from all cause of disquietude at home, Edward turned his attention to the concerns of foreign powers. Louis. king of France, and Charles duke of Burgundy, had long been implacable enemies. The latter, with his ally the duke of Bretagne, solicited Edward to prosecute the ancient claim of the English monarchs to the French crown. Gratitude for the services which he had received from his brother-in-law, the desire of punishing Louis for the succours which he had furnished to the house of Lancaster, and above all, the advantages of employing in a foreign war those, who from their former attachments, might be inclined to cabal against his government, induced him to lend a willing ear to the project. Alliances, offensive and defensive, were con

91 Rot. Parl. vi. 124.

cluded between him and the two dukes: the partition of their conquests was arranged: and the respective quotas, with the payment, of their troops were satisfactorily settled. France, according to these treaties, would have been divided into two independent states: of which one, comprehending the northern and eastern provinces, would have belonged to the duke of Burgundy without any obligation of fealty or homage the other would have been possessed by Edward as the undoubted heir to the ancient monarchs. The king found the nation willing to embark in the romantic undertaking: the clergy, the lords, and the commons, separately granted him a tenth of their income: and the parliament, which with different prorogations continued to sit during two years and a half, voted supply upon supply with unprecedented rapidity.99 But an additional aid was obtained by the king's own ingenuity. He assumed the tone of a sturdy beggar; called the more wealthy of the citizens before him; and requested from each a present for the relief of his wants. No one presumed to reject the prayer of his sovereign: and considerable sums were thus procured from the shame, the hopes, or the fears, of the donors. Preceding monarchs had repeatedly borrowed on their own security, or that of the parliament: Edward was the first who demanded

92

Rym. xi. 804-814.

93 Rot. Parl. vi. 3-153.

CHAP.

III.

From 1472,

Oct. 6, to 1475,

March 24.

III.

94

CHAP. presents, and facetiously termed the money which he had extorted, a benevolence. We may believe that the sums collected from these different sources exceeded the treasures amassed by any of his predecessors; but it is plain that the historian was not possessed of the gift of prophecy, when he asserted that they would never be equalled on any subsequent occasion.95

Edward lands in France.

1475.

June 20.

Though Europe had long resounded with the report of these preparations, from some accident or other the threatened expedition was annually postponed. Edward, however, improved the delay to secure the friendship of the king of Scots. His commissioners offered ample indemnity for all injuries sustained by the Scottish merchants: the long truce was reciprocally confirmed; a marriage was contracted between the duke of Rothsay, the eldest son of James, and Cecily the second daughter of Edward, and the portion of the princess was fixed at twenty thousand marks, to be paid by equal instalments in ten years: a mode of payment which, by making the king of Scots the pensioner, attached him to the interests of the king of England. At length Edward proceeded to Sandwich: his army, consisting of fifteen hundred men at arms,

Inaudita impositio muneris, ut per benevolentiam quisque daret quod vellet, imo verius quod nollet. Cont. Croyl. 558.

95 Ad eas summas, quarum summæ neque antea visæ, neque in futurum de verosimili simul videndæ sunt. Ibid.

96 Rym. xi. 821-832