ENGLAND. 



643 



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ichardHI. 



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[urdtr of 

 .dwarf V. 

 ind his 

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own mother with adultery; and impudently asserted, that 

 lie alone of all her sous was the true offspring of the 

 Duke of York. The pulpit was employed lor propaga- 

 ting the<e foul calumnies ; and Di Shaw was hired to ha- 

 rangue the audience in St Paul's, on the incontinence of 

 the duchess, and the virtues of the protector. " Behold 

 this excellent prince," said the preacher, " the express 

 image of his noble father, the genuine descendant of the 

 house of York. He alone is entitled to your allegiance. 

 He alone can restore the lost glory and honour of the 

 nation." It had been previously concerted that Glouces- 

 ter should enter the church during this panegyric, when 

 it v.as expected that the i>eople would cry, " God save 

 King Richard !" But the protector came too late ; and 

 though the Doctor repeated his praises, yet the audience 

 kept a profound silence. Buckingham was next appoint- 

 ed to harangue an assembly of the citizens, to whom he 

 enumerated the calamities of the preceding reign, and 

 the many virtues of the protector; and endeavoured to 

 convince them of the illegitimacy of the present king. 

 He then asked them whether they would have a bastard 

 pi ince, or the virtuous protector for their sovereign ; but 

 no one answered him. He intrcated them to speak out 

 their real sentiments, and give him a positive answer ; 

 when some of his own servants, who had slipped among 

 tlie crowd, cried out, " God save King Richard !" which 

 "conded by a few of the citizens, who had been pre- 

 viously bribed. This feeble cry was interpreted as the 

 voice of the nation ; and Buckingham, with the mayor 

 and aldermen, immediately hastened to Baynard's castle, 

 where the Protector then resided, to make him an offer 

 of the crown. 



Gloucester, who was a complete master in dissimula- 

 tion, affected to be surprised at the appearance of Buck- 

 ingham ; and when informed of his intentions, he refused 

 the offer of tile crown, and declared his purpose of main- 

 taining his loyalty to the present sovereign. Bucking- 

 ham appeared displeased with his answers, and told him, 

 that, as the nation were determined to have another king, 

 if he resisted their unanimous wish, they must fix upon 

 some other person who would be more compliant. " I 

 see," cried the Protector with the most hypocritical hu- 

 mility, " that the nation is resolved to load me with pre- 

 ferments unequal to my abilities or my choice; and I 

 graciously accept their petition." 



Richard had no sooner obtained the crown, than he 

 resolved to secure it by the death of his rephews ; and 

 he gave orders to that purpose to Sir Robert Brakenbury, 

 constable of the Tower. But that gentleman refused to 

 be the instrument of his ciueity. Brakenbury was then 

 commanded to resign the government of the Tower for 

 one night to Sir Jainc^ Tvi 1 1 ', who, with three associates, 

 Slater, Dighton, and Forest, soon accomplished the 

 bloody purposes of the tyrant. They entered the young 

 prinn-.' chamber while they were fast asleep, and suffo- 

 cated them with the bolsters and pillows. They then 

 buried their bodies deep in the ground under the stair- 

 case. Their bones were afterwards discovered in the 

 reign of Charles II. and interred under a marble monu- 

 ment in Westminster Abbey. 



Richard employed his new acquired authority, in be- 

 stowing rewards and preferments upon those who had as- 

 sisted in his exaltation, and who were best able to suj>- 

 port his government. He created Thomas Lord How- 

 ard, Duke of Norfolk, and Sir Thomas Howard, his son, 

 Earl of Surrey. He also set Lord Stanley at liberty, 



and made him Steward of the Household. Buckingham, 

 the chief promoter of his ambition, was loaded with dig- 

 nities and honours. He was invested with the office of 

 Constable, and received a grant of the estate of Hereford, 

 one of the greatest of the ancient baronies. But while 

 Richard was thus endeavouring to strengthen his ill-got 

 power, he was hated and feared by every man of sense and 

 virtue in the kingdom ; and the very accomplices of his 

 crimes were contemplating his overthrow. The Duke of 

 Buckingham himself soon became disgusted with the new 

 government; but whether this arose from his own restless 

 and turbulent disposition, or from any part of the king's 

 conduct towards him, is not known. It was only, however, 

 a few month's after Richard's accession, when this no- 

 bleman began to form a conspiracy against him, and to at- 

 tempt to pull him from the throne, to which he had been 

 so instrumental in raising him. For this purpose he cast 

 his eye towards the young Earl of Richmond, who was 

 the only remaining branch of the house of Lancaster, 

 and who seemed the only person that could free the na- 

 tion from the tyranny of the usurper. He was encoura- 

 ged in these sentiments by Morton, Bishop of Ely, a 

 zealous Lancastrian, who had been imprisoned by the 

 king, but who had afterwards been committed to the 

 custody of Buckingham. 



Henry Earl of Richmond had been carried into Brit- 

 tany by his uncle, the Earl of Pembroke, immediately 

 after the battle of Tevvksbury ; and had been detained 

 there in a kind of honourable custody by the reigning 

 duke, at that time the ally of England. Edward IV. af- 

 ter his restoration, had frequently endeavoured to pre- 

 vail upon his ally, who was a weak but good prince, to 

 deliver the young Earl into his power ; and had at last 

 so far succeeded, under a pretence of marrying him t 

 his oldest daughter, that Henry was put into the hands 

 of the English ambassadors, and was on ship-board, when, 

 the Duke, suspicious of Edward's real design, recalled his 

 orders, and saved Richmond from destruction. This 

 continued jealousy of Richmond's pretensions to the 

 crown, tended to confirm them in the minds of the peo- 

 ple; and the universal detestation in which Richard was 

 held, turned the attention of the nation towards that noble- 

 man. But, in order to unite all parties in a cause which 

 promised to contribute so much to the happiness of the 

 kingdom, by the expulsion of the odious tyrant, Morton 

 suggested the project of uniting the opposite factions, by. 

 the marriage of Richmond with the Princess Elizabeth, 

 the eldest daughter of King Edward. This scheme was 

 communicated to the Earl, and also to the queen-dowager. 

 Both entered heartily into the designs of Buckingham. 

 The queen borrowed a sum of money, and sent it over 

 to Richmond ; required his oath that he would celebrate 

 the marriage on his arrival in England ; and promised to 

 join him with all the friends and partizans of the family. 

 But their intention did not escape the vigilant eye of 

 Richard ; and Buckingham was suspected of being con- 

 cerned in the conspiracy. The king resolved to send for 

 him to court, in order to discover if his suspicions were 

 well founded ; but the Duke, well knowing his barbarity 

 and treachery, only answered by taking up arms in Wales, 

 and calling upon his associates every where to join him. 

 But the swelling of the Severn prevented him from 

 marching into England ; and detained him so long, that 

 his army, distressed for want of provisions, feli off from 

 him, and left him almost without a follower. In this 

 helpless situation, he put on the disguise of a peasant, 



History. 



The Duke 

 of Bucking- 

 ham con- 

 spires 

 against thf 



The Karl of 

 Richmond. 



The Duke 

 of Bucking- 

 ham takes 

 up urns. 



