disaffected, and would, if he landed, infallibly betray him. At the same time he dispatched a messenger to Edward with assurances of his loyalty, and his determination to preserve so important a fortress for his sovereign. What impression his reasons made on the mind of Warwick, we know not: but Edward rewarded him with the government of Calais, and the duke of Burgundy granted him a pension of a thousand crowns. The fugitives, after some deliberation, steered their course towards Normandy, captured every Flemish merchantman which fell in their way, and were received at Harfleur, with distinguished honours, by the admiral of France. '

Louis XI, had hitherto espoused but faintly the cause of the house of Lancaster: but he now saw the advantage to be derived from the arrival of Warwick and his friends; and ordered them and their ladies to be provided with the best accommodations in the neighbouring towns. Clarence and the earl were invited to his court at Amboise; where they met Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou. No two persons had ever inflicted more serious injuries on each other than the earl and that princess: but misfortune had blunted the edge of their mutual hatred, and interest induced them to forget their past enmity. A reconciliation was speedily effected: Edward, Margaret's son, married Anne, the second daughter of Warwick : it was agreed that both parties should unite to restore Henry to the throne; and that in failure of issue by the prince, the crown at his death should devolve on the duke of Clarence. 2

Commines, iii. 4. Monstrel. addit. 34.

2 Com. ibid. Hall, 206, 207. Frag. 304. Lell. Coll. ii. 503.

But re

ceived by Louis XI.

June.

Clarence is dissatisfied.

The exiles return and land.

The only persons dissatisfied with this arrangement were that duke and his duchess. Clarence had hitherto been induced to follow the councils of Warwick by the prospect of succeeding to his brother on the throne he now saw another claimant interposed between himself and the object of his ambition; and his chance of success made to depend on a distant and very uncertain contingency. His discontent was artfully fomented by the intrigues of a female agent. A lady belonging to the suite of the duchess had in the hurry of the flight been left in England: but was permitted to follow, in appearance through the attention of the king to his sister-in-law, in reality that she might carry private instructions to Clarence. She represented to that prince how unnatural it was for him to fight against his brother, and to support the cause of a family, the prosperity of which must depend on the destruction of his own. These suggestions were not lost on a mind already predisposed to receive them : and the duke found the means to assure Edward, that when the occasion should offer, he would prove himself at loyal subject and affectionate kinsman. '

The conduct of that prince during this interval is almost inexplicable. If we except the execution of some and the banishment of others, among the adherents of Warwick, he took no precautions to avert, made no preparations to meet, the approaching storm. His time was spent in gallantries and amusements: the two brothers of Warwick were received into favour; and one of them, the marquess of Montague, was honoured with the royal confidence 2. In such circumstances no Commines, iii. 5.

I

2

Though the archbishop was allowed to remain at the Moor in

man but the infatuated monarch himself entertained a doubt of the result, if Warwick should effect a landing. That nobleman had always been the favourite, his exile had made him the idol, of the people : no ballad was popular in the towns and villages which did not resound his praise; and every pageant and public exhibition made allusions to his virtues and his misfortunes. But if Edward was indolent, his brother-in-law, the duke of Burgundy, was active. He sent emissaries to Calais to watch the conduct of Vauclerc : complained to the parliament of Paris of the reception which had been given to his enemy; sought by menaces and preparations of war to intimidate Louis; seized all the French merchandise in his territories as an indemnity for the captures made by Warwick; and dispatched a powerful squadron to blockade the mouth of the river Seine. But the Burgundian ships were dispersed by a storm; and the next morning the exiles, under the protection of a French fleet, left their anchorage; and Sep. 13. steering across the channel, landed without opposition at Plymouth and Dartmouth. '

driven out

The incautious Edward had been drawn as far as Edward is York by an artifice of the lord Fitz-hugh, brother-in- of the law to Warwick, who pretended to raise a rebellion in kingdom. Northumberland, and on the approach of the king retired within the borders of Scotland 2. Thus the southern counties were left open to the invaders. The men of Hertfordshire, « ther was beleffte with hym dyverse of the kynge's servantes, » evidently to watch his motions. Fenn, ii. 48.

"

I

Commines, ibid. Hall, 207, 208. The duke of Burgundy wrote with unusual warmth on these subjects. Par St. George, says he in one of his letters, si l'on n'y pourvoid, a l'aide de Dieu j'y pourveoirai sans vos congiés n'y vos raisons. Apud Duclos, ii.

p. II.

Kent had risen in arms: in London Dr. Godard preached at St. Paul's cross in favour of the title of Henry VI. : Warwick proclaimed that monarch, ordered all men between sixteen and sixty to join his standard, and marched with an army, which increased every hour, in a direct line towards Nottingham. The thoughtless king affected to treat the invasion with his usual levity : he was happy that his enemies had at last put themselves in his power; and trusted that the duke of Burgundy would prevent their escape by sea. But the delusion was soon dissipated. Very few of those, who had been summoned, resorted to his quarters at Doncaster; and of these few many took the first opportunity to depart. As he sate at dinner or lay in bed, word was brought that Warwick continued to approach with the utmost expedition: nor had he recovered from his surprise, before a second messenger informed him that six thousand men, who had hitherto worn the white rose, had, at the instigation of Montague, thrown away that device, and tossing their bonnets into the air, had cried, « God « bless king Harry ». A battalion of guards was immédiately dispatched to secure a neighbouring bridge, and the king, after a short consultation with his friends, mounting his horse, rode without stopping to the town of Lynn. He found in the harbour an English ship, and two Dutch brigs; and embarking in them with a few noblemen and about eight hundred followers, compelled the sailors to weigh anchor, and to steer immeOct. 3. diately for the coast of Holland. The fugitives were

descried by a fleet of pirates from the Hanse town: and to escape the pursuit of these unknown enemies, the king was compelled to run his vessel on shore. He landed near Alkmaar; was received with every token

of respect by Grutuse, the governor of the province; and conducted by him to the Hague to meet the duke of Burgundy. Thus, by his presumption and inactivity, did Edward lose his crown, before he could strike one blow to preserve it.'

restored.

Oct. I.

Oct. 6.

Queen Elizabeth with her family had remained in Henry is the Tower: but perceiving that the tide of loyalty had turned in favour of Henry, she left that fortress secretly, and fled with her mother and three daughters to the sanctuary of Westminster, where she was shortly afterwards delivered of a son. Within a few days Clarence and Warwick made their triumphal entry into the capital. Henry was immediately conducted from the Tower to the bishop's palace: and thence walked in solemn pro- Oct. 13. cession, with the crown on his head, to the cathedral of St. Paul's. His friends attributed his restoration to the undoubted interposition of heaven 3; by foreign nations it was viewed with wonder, or treated with ridicule; to himself it is doubtful whether it proved a source of joy or regret. He had been the captive of Edward; he was now become the slave of Warwick. 4

* Cont. Croyl. 554. Commines, iii, 5. Fragment, 306. Stow, 422. Hall, 209. Edward after his restoration, rewarded Grutuse with the earldom of Winchester, which that nobleman was induced to resign by Henry VII.

3 Cont. Croyl. 554, who adds, though himself a Yorkist, that the Lancastrians were at that period the more numerous party. Ibid.

4 A foreigner writing on the subject to the cardinal of Pavia, says Ridebunt posteri, credo, aut ut miracula mirabuntur, cum audierint tantum esse hujus comitis ingenium ut indomitam gentem tam facile regat, novos reges fecerit, his denuo pulsis veteres revocarit, et ipse pulsus intra vertentem annum, multis intra et extra regnum adversantibus, in idem regnum redierit, etc. Hesdini, Oct. xi. 1470. Apud Raynal. eodem anno.