what similar fate overtook him. He was impeached by the House of Commons; and though the impeachment was stayed by the king's command, Suffolk sought refuge in France, and on his voyage thither, he was captured by a vessel sent to pursue him, and beheaded on board.

In 1450 occurred the rising of the peasantry of Kent, under Jack Cade, who at their head made a triumphant entry into London. The promise of an amnesty, however, and the redress of grievances dispersed the insurgents. Cade and others of the leaders were executed.

The pretensions of the House of York to the crown, which had lain dormant for nearly sixty years, were now, in consequence of the king's weakness and the queen's unpopularity, revived. The head of the house was Richard Duke of York, who united in his person the claims of the descendants of the Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward the Third, and of the House of Mortimer. The house of York claimed as the heirs of Edward the Third, and such undoubtedly they were; but three descents of the crown, repeated acts of parliament, the consent of the nation, its oaths of allegiance, and an undisturbed possession for sixty years, were surely sufficient to secure the house of Lancaster against any defect in their genealogy, and the people from the confusion consequent on a disputed succession.

All classes of men in all parts of England were now divided into two factions. They were distinguished from each other by a party badge; the partisans of the house of Lancaster wearing a red rose, those of York a white From this circumstance the civil wars which followed, are known by the names of the Wars of the Roses.

rose.

H

The great strength of the Yorkists lay in London and the adjacent counties, and generally among the trading, middle and lower classes, who were attracted by the more popular qualities of the Yorkist leaders, and their hereditary right. The nobility in general were inclined to the reigning family of Lancaster. In 1454, York was appointed protector of the realm during the king's illness. Shortly afterwards he was superseded, and, with the help of the powerful Earl of Warwick, raised an army to take possession of the king's person. In 1455, Margaret, who had raised troops in the north, met the Yorkists at St. Albans; and, after a short engagement, victory declared for the Duke of York. The king fell into his hands, and again in parliament, he was appointed protector; but next year the king once more deprived him of his office. In 1459, the two parties met at Bloreheath, near Drayton, in Shropshire, and in a battle there, the Lancastrians were routed by the Duke of York. But the year following the Duke's party became disheartened. He fled to Ireland; and in a parliament held at Coventry, he and his principal adherents were attainted. But another sudden turn of fortune was at hand. The Duke of York landed in Wales, and advanced to meet the Queen's army, which he encountered at Northampton, and defeated, capturing the poor king again. At a parliament, held in 1460, at Westminster; the Duke of York advanced his claims to the crown, which were allowed; and it was arranged that Henry should reign during his life, and that the Duke of York should succeed at his death; but, during this time, the warlike Margaret had collected her adherents in the north, and

The

was marching southward to rescue her husband. Duke of York resisted her advance at Wakefield Green, without success; his troops were utterly routed and he himself killed. His pretensions devolved on his son Edward, who, in 1461, at the battle of Mortimer's Cross, near Hereford, defeated and dispersed the Lancastrian army; but a few days afterwards both parties met once more in battle, at St. Albans. This time victory lay with Margaret, and she succeeded in rescuing her husband, who had been brought by the Yorkists to the field. Meanwhile, Edward, along with Warwick, entered London amidst the applause of the people, and caused himself to be proclaimed king as Edward the Fourth.

Putting off the vain ceremony of a coronation till he should be completely victorious, Edward, after recruiting his army, set out to meet Margaret. The two armies met at Towton, a village about eight miles from York, and on Palm Sunday, the 31st of March, 1461, after a fierce battle, which lasted for ten hours, Edward was left in possession of the field. In this battle 37,000 Englishmen are said to have fallen on both sides. Margaret fled with Henry and her son towards Scotland; and afterwards went to France, to beg for succour from Louis the Eleventh. Edward returned to London and was crowned king; and by a parliament, held in the same year, his title to the crown was confirmed; while his three predecessors, Henry the Fourth, Henry the Fifth, and Henry the Sixth, were declared to be "late in fact, but not in right, kings of England."

CHAP. XX.

EDWARD IV. 1461-1483.

EDWARD V. 1483.

QUEEN MARGARET spent two years at the court of France in vain efforts to induce Louis to grant her assistance. In 1464, with a few French troops, and an army of borderers, she, with her husband Henry, made an incursion into England; but at the battle of Hexham the Lancastrians were defeated by Edward's generals, and Henry, after a vain attempt to escape, was taken prisoner and lodged in the Tower. Margaret and her son wandered in the woods and moors of the north, and she was at last reduced to such straits, that, one day, seeing a robber approach, and finding no means of escape, she suddenly resolved to trust entirely to his faith and generosity. She advanced towards him, and presenting to him the young prince, said, "Here, my friend, I commit to your care the safety of your king's son." The man, struck by her generous confidence, vowed to protect her and her son, and to devote himself to their service. After a time the queen again effected her escape to France.

Edward made great havoc amongst the leaders of the hostile faction, and lavishly rewarded his own adherents with gifts of the forfeited lands. His chief supporter had been the Earl of Warwick, the head of the great house of Neville. Warwick received the name of the King-maker, and soon justified the appellation. Edward

had employed him to negotiate his marriage with a French Princess; but while Warwick was absent, the king, who had been struck with the appearance of Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of a Lancastrian officer, Sir Thomas Gray, secretly married her, and raised her family to honour and wealth.

The proud King-maker considered himself slighted, and determined to revenge himself on Edward.

To do this he entered into negotiations with Margaret, and offered to take Henry out of prison and again set him on the throne. In 1469, Warwick landed in England, raised his followers, and Edward, after a feeble resistance, fled to Holland. Henry (nominally) re-ascended the throne; but the whole government was in Warwick's hands. In 1471, Edward returned with a small army, and, at the battle of Barnet, defeated Henry's troops. Warwick and his brother fell on the

field.

Margaret maintained the contest some time longer, but on the 14th of May, the battle of Tewkesbury concluded this sanguinary war. The defeat of the Lancastrians was complete, and a great number of their leading men perished. Prince Edward, Henry's son, was made prisoner, and, when brought into Edward's presence, the king said to him “How dare you enter my realm with banner displayed?" The prince answered, "To recover my father's kingdom and heritage." At these words, Edward, it is said, struck him with his gauntlet, and he was instantly put to death by the dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, Edward's brothers. Poor King Henry died shortly after Edward's victorious