74 Rich. TH. Naval Expeditions, Scc of the English, Book I

14 jg. thing, for Edward, finding himself de-ceived, and without any Assistance fromthe Constable de St. Pol, and the Dukeof Burgundy, who had been the chiefPromoters of it, gave Ear to Offers ofPeace made on the Side of France, andconcluded it by the Treaty of Amiens orPeace of p e q U i„ n y firmed the nine and twentiethVe^uigny- or Augujt ; Alter which he returned toErgland. (/)

1480. In 1480. Edward, having some^Edward ^ ears before, concluded a Treaty offends Sue- Marriage between his Daughter Ann,cours to the and Philip of Aujlria, an Infant, Son ofDuke of Maximilian, in Consequence of thatU m ' Treaty, fitted out a Fleet, and sent it,

under the Command of John Middleton, 1480.to the Assistance of Maximilian, againstFrance.

Edward was fully bent upon a War 1483*

with France, in the Year 1483. and his A Mar ■’ADesign had not alone the Approbation %of his Lords, the Nation in general ex- prevented .pressed an extraordinary Satisfaction on h the de“ !that Occasion : But a mortal Distem- e / Ed ' varper seizing him, while Preparationswere making, put an End to his Pro-ject, and his Life. He died, Aprilthe ninth, after a Reign of two andtwenty Yeats, one Month, and fiveDays.

CHAP. XVIII

Some Occurrences during the short Reigns of King Edward V,and King Richard III.

1483.

c j hejhortReign ofEdw. V.

T H E Reign of Edward V. Sonof the deceased Edward IV. whowas between twelve and thirteenYears of Age when his Fatherdied, might, with greater Propriety, becalled an Inter-regnum: For it lastedbut two Months and twelve Days, andthat Time was spent in contriving theMeans to dethrone him. He was in-deed proclaimed on the ninth of April,the Day of his Father’s Death; But didnot live to have the Crown solemnlyplaced on his Head, being murdered inthe Tower, as we shall fee in the nextReign : For which Reason his Effigies,in the Royal Exchange, has the Crownhanging over, and not placed on hisHead.

R I C HARD, Duke of Glou-cester, furnamed Crookback, (<z)the young King’s Uncle, andBrother of Edward IV. having, by his

EcharrL ( 7 ) Ech.ART) and Hahington place this Peace

Habington. in 1474. but the Foedera shew they are mistaken,Rymer’i and so does Philip de Comines.

Foedera , T.

XII. p. 15, (a) It has been Matter of Dispute, whether

& 21. Richard were really so or not. Buck, his Histo-

Bhilip de rian, or rather Panegyrist, will by no Means al-Commines. low it. Sir ‘Thomas More describes him thus :Buck. “ He was little of Stature, ill-featured of Limbs,

Sir Thomas “ Crook-back'd, his left Shoulder much higher thanMore. " his Right , hard favoured of Visage, he cameAs. Ed.V. “ into theWorld withhis Feet forward,and havingand Ric. III. “ Teeth." With which Hahnfhead pretty muchHolinjhead. agrees: “ He was (fays he) small and little of“ Stature of Body, greatly deformed, the one“ Shoulder higher than the other. His Face** was small, but his Countenance cruel, and such

own Artifices, and those of his Friends,got the King, and his Brother the Dukeof Tork, into his Power, placed them inthe Tower. The Lord Mayor and Al-dermen were soon after gained (b) toproclaim him King. This they did onthe twenty-fecond of June, by theName of Richard III. after he had given R; c har f \ Ihis Consent to it with a seeming Reluc - proclai^ [tance; tho’the whole Farce, or rather Kins ’’ \

Tragedy, was of his own Contrivance. I

The sixth of July following, the newKing and his Queen were crowned at j n y cr cffEestminster, with great Solemnity. Soon ed, tog et ^after followed the tragical End of Ed- Wlt h h’ swardV. and his Brother the Duke of Ql ieen ‘Tork, who were smothered in their Bed, /

in the Tower, by one James Pyrrel, and T> eat Vihis two Assistants, Miles Forest, andJohn Dighton. (0

Richard enjoyed the Crown, how-ever, but two Years and two Months,notwithstanding all the barbarous andhorrid Measures he took to preserve it.

Not

r

" as, at the first Aspect, a Man would judge it“ to savour and smell of Malice, Fraud and De-“ celt.

(/-) Sir James Tyrrel, when he had murderedthe two young Princes, rode in great Haste toRing Richard, and shewed him all the Mannerof the Murder. The King gave him greatThanks, and, as some fay, knighted him. æ

(c) In Holinjhead we have the Speech, at IIoa n ILength, which the Duke of Buckingham madeto that End, to the Assembly of the Mayor, Al-dermen and Commoners, in Guild-Hall ; in whichthe Reader may fee the cunning Artifices he made yj,G,Use of to gloss over a bad Cause, in Order to ^serve the most faithless of Men, who rewarded ™him afterwards, when he had gained his Point,according to his true Merit.

utd