against him personally; and that if he had lent assistance on one occasion to the earl of Warwick, it had been solely through his hatred to the duke of Burgundy: he insinuated that the friendship pretended by Charles was hollow and insincere that he had allured the English into France for his own individual advantage, and that he would desert them the moment he could obtain better terms for himself: and then added that, with a little forbearance on each side, it would be easy for two princes, who mutually esteemed each other, to prevent the effusion of christian blood, and agree to an accommodation equally beneficial to their subjects. By Edward, discontented as he was, Aug. 13. the suggestion was received with pleasure. He convoked a council of officers, and a resolution was taken that the king should return with his army to England, if Louis would consent to pay him immediately seventyfive thousand crowns; to settle on him an annuity for life of fifty thousand more; to conclude a truce and commercial intercourse between the two nations for seven years; and to marry his eldest son to Edward's eldest daughter, or in the event of her death to her sister Mary, who at the age of puberty should be conveyed to France at the expense of Louis, and receive from him an annual income of sixty thousand francs. The motives assigned by the members for this resolution, are the approach of winter, the poverty of the treasury, and the insincerity of duke Charles but to these must be added the presents which Louis distributed among the royal favourites, and the prospect of a supply of money, an object of high importance to a voluptuous and indigent prince. Rym. xi. 14, 15.

Commissioners on both sides were appointed to meet at a neighbouring village. Louis assented to every demand and in addition it was agreed that Margaret Aug. 29. of Anjou should be set at liberty on the payment of fifty thousand crowns: and that all differences between the two kings should be submitted to four arbitrators, the cardinal of Canterbury and duke of Clarence on the part of Edward, the archbishop of Lyons and the count of Dunois on the part of Louis, who should be bound to pronounce their award within the course of three years. As soon as these conditions had been mutually exchanged, a bridge was thrown across the Somme at Piquigny near Amiens, with a grating of wood erected in the middle. Here the monarchs met each other, shook hands through the grating, and on the missal to observe their engagements. They then entered into familiar conversation; and Louis incautiously invited his new acquaintance to Paris. Edward, eager in the pursuit of pleasure, did not refuse; and it required all the address of the French monarch to postpone the intended visit to an indeterminate period. The English kings, he afterwards observed to his confidants, had been too much in the habit of visiting France: he liked them best on their own side of the water.

swore

2

All the immediate conditions of the treaty were The king and his fafaithfully performed. Edward received the money on vourites the appointed day, and instantly commenced his march accept anto the coast the truce was published, and prolonged from him. for one year after the death of either king: the annual

pension, and the sum stipulated for the ransom of

nuities

1476.

Jan. 9.

Edward's method of raising money..

queen Margaret, were carefully paid: Edward resigned all power over that princess as his captive, and Louis bound himself never to make any demand in her favour; and she herself, after she was delivered to the French commissioners at Rouen, signed a formal renunciation of all her rights as queen dowager of England. Each king congratulated himself on the issue of the expedition. Edward had not only filled his coffers, but had ensured for himself an annual supply of money: Louis, at an expense comparatively small, had escaped from a dangerous war, and had converted a powerful enemy into a faithful ally. To secure this advantage he had purchased the services of many in the English council, who did not hesitate to copy the example of their sovereign. The lord Hastings, Edward's principal favourite, and the chancellor, accepted annual pensions of two thousand crowns each and twelve thousand more were yearly distributed to the marquess of Dorset, the lords Howard and Cheney, sir Thomas Montgomery, Thomas St. Leger, and a few others. Most of these were not ashamed to recognise themselves as pensioners of the king of France the lord Hastings alone, though he greedily accepted the money, could never be induced to put his signature to a receipt.

2

But though Edward was satisfied, the army and people did not conceal their disappointment. Of the former many accused the avarice of the king, and threatened with public vengeance the counsellors who had suffered themselves to be bribed by Louis: but they were carefully watched, and severely punished Rym. xii. 21. Du Tillet, 145.

1

for the imprudence of their language. Others, as soon as the army was disbanded, formed associations, extorted money by violence, and threw several counties into confusion by repeated robberies and murders. To suppress these disorders the king directed the laws to be strictly enforced, accompanied the judges in their circuits, and inexorably refused mercy to every delinquent, whatever might have been his station or services. But the dissatisfaction of the people supplied a source of deeper disquietude. It was evident that they wanted but a leader to guide their efforts, and that the imposition of new taxes would infallibly goad them to insurrection. Hence it became the great object of the king's policy to provide for the expenses of his household, and of the government, without laying any additional burden on the nation. With this view he ordered the officers of the customs to exact the duties with severity, extorted frequent tenths from the clergy, levied large sums for the restoration of the temporalties of abbots and bishops, resumed most of the grants lately made by the crown, and compelled the holders of estates, who had omitted any of the numerous minutiae of the feudal tenures, to compound by heavy fines, for the rents which they had hitherto received. Neither did he disdain the aid which might be derived from the transactions of commerce. His ships were annually freighted with tin, wool, and cloth: and the merchandise of the king of England was publicly exposed to sale in the ports of Italy and Greece. In a short time he became rich: though individuals might complain, the nation was satisfied; and men grew insensibly attached to a prince, who could support the

Discontent and impri

Clarence.

1476.

Dec. 22.

splendour of the throne without making any demand on the purses of his subjects. '

It was not, however, long before an event occurred, sonment of which embittered the remainder of Edward's days. His brother Clarence by the act of resumption had been deprived of several estates, and seems to have considered the loss as an unjustifiable aggression. He withdrew from court, could seldom be persuaded to eat at the king's table, and at the council board observed the most obstinate silence. His wife, after the birth of her third child, fell into a state of debility, which, at the expiraration of two months, terminated her life : and Ankaret Twynhyo, one of her female servants, was tried, condemned, and executed on the charge of having administered poison to the dutchess 2. It chanced that about the same time the duke of Burgundy fell at the battle of Nancy; and his immense possessions devolved on Mary, his only daughter and heir. Clarence solicited her hand: his suit was seconded by all the influence of his sister, her mother-in-law and it is thought that he would have succeeded, had it not been for the resolute opposition of Edward. The king was too jealous of the ambition of a brother, who might employ the power of Burgundy to win for himself the crown of England; and too apprehensive of incurring the enmity of Louis, who had already seized a considerable portion of Mary's inheritance. From that moment the brothers viewed each other as enemies, and scarcely preserved in their intercourse the external forms of decorum. While they

:

'For these interesting particulars we are indebted to the historian of Croyland, p. 559.

2 Rot. Parl. vi. 173, 174.