E N G I 
fcure convent in Wales; and the mercilefs viftors re- 
folved to glut their revenge by adding infult to cruelty. 
The queen, callous to every feeling of humanity, waited 
not the formality of a trial; but ordered the wretched 
viftim to be led forth, that (he might fead her eyes, with 
favage pleafure in beholding his diftrefs. The gibbet 
erefted for his execution was fifty feet high ; his head 
was fent to London, where the citizens carried it in bru¬ 
tal triumph, and fixed it on the bridge. 
In the mean time, the perfecuted king, who hoped.to 
find refuge in Wales, was clofely p'urfued by his trium¬ 
phant enemies. Finding no hopes of fuccour in that part 
of the country, he took (hipping for Ireland; but even 
there his misfortunes purfued him : he was driven back 
by contrary winds, and eventually delivered up to his ad- 
verfaries, who exprefled their brutal rage by the groff- 
ne/s of their treatment. He was conduced to the capi¬ 
tal, amidd the infults and reproaches of the people, and 
confined in the Tower. A charge fulminated by the 
queen and Mortimer was exhibited againd him; in which 
no other crimes but his incapacity to govern, his indo¬ 
lence, his love of pleafure, and his being fwayed by evil 
counfellors, were objefted againd him. He was depofed 
January 20, 1327; a penfion was alligned him for his fup- 
port; his fon Edward, then about fourteen, was declared 
his fuccelTor, and the queen was appointed regent during 
the minority. 
The depofed monarch but a fhort time furvived this 
degradation ; he was fent from prifon to prifon, a wretch¬ 
ed outcad, and the fport of fortune. He had been at fird 
conligned to the cudody of the earl of Lancader; but 
this nobleman, betraying forne marks of refpeftand pity, 
he was taken out of his hands, and delivered over to the 
lords Berkeley, Montravers, and Gournay, who were en- 
trufled with the charge of guarding him a month each in 
turn. Whatever his treatment from lord Berkeley might 
have been, the other two feemed refolved that lie ffiould 
enjoy none of the comforts of life while in their cudody. 
They pradtifed every kind of indignity upon him, as if 
their defign had been to accelerate his death by the bit- 
ternefs ot his fufferings. Thefe cruelties began at length 
\o operate upon the minds of the people, whofe rage was 
foftened, and pity for their perfecuted fovereign excited 
in proportion as the adulterous connection between the 
queen and Mortimer came into view. The queen, there¬ 
fore, dreading a revolution in his favour, fent orders t,o 
Gournay and Montravers to difpatclr him at once. Thefe 
monfters, in the Ihape of men, accordingly went to Berke¬ 
ley cattle, where Edward was confined ; and, having con¬ 
certed a method of putting him to death without any ex¬ 
ternal figns of violence, they threw him on a bed, hold¬ 
ing him down by a table, which they placed over him. 
T hey then ran a red-hot iron through a tube of horn up 
his fundament, and thus burnt his bowels, without dif- 
figuring his body. By this cruel artifice they expended 
their crime would be concealed ; but his dreadful fhrieks, 
which were heard at a didance from the caftle, loan gave 
a fufpicion of the murder ; and the whole was brought 
to light by the confeflion of one of the accomplices. 
Thus miferably perilhed the unthinking, dethroned, per¬ 
fecuted, king of England, on the 21ft of Sept. 1327. 
Edward II. furnamed of Caernarvon, is faid to have 
borne a great refembance to his illuftrious father in the 
ftature, (frength, and beauty, of his perfion ; but unhap¬ 
pily the refemblance was not fo great in the qualities of 
the mind. Though not remarkably deficient in perfonal 
courage; he had no talents for war; nor was he better 
qualified for the condudl of political intrigues, being 
paffionate, incautious, and irrefolute. He was guilty of 
many follies, but of few vices ; and fpent his time rather 
in frivolity, than in criminal indulgences. But the mod 
ftriking feature in this prince’s character, was his un¬ 
bounded and inviolable attachment to his favourites, 
Gavefione and Spenler. This was the only real caufe of 
AND. 5.95 
all the calamities of his reign, the miferies of his life, and 
the violence of his death. Edward had, by his queen 
Ifabella of France, two fons and two daughters, viz. Ed¬ 
ward, his elded fon and fuccedor, born at Windfor, No¬ 
vember 13, 1312; John, his younged fon, born at El- 
tham, Augitd 1, 1316, and died at Perth, unmarried, in 
1334; his elded daughter Jane, born in the Tower of 
London, and married td David Bruce king of Scotland ; 
and Eleanor, born at Wooddock, and married to the duke 
of Guilders. 
When Edward III. was raifed to the throne of England, 
Jan. 13, 1327. twelve perfons were chofen as his privy- 
council, to diredt the affairs of government. Mortimer, 
the queen’s paramour, declined being of the number, un¬ 
der a pretended (how of difinreredednefs ; but at the fame 
time he fecretly influenced all the meafures of the cabi¬ 
net. He procured the greated part of the royal revenues 
to be fettled on the queen-dowager, and difdained to con- 
fult the miniders of government in any public meafure. 
The young king was fo furrounded by the favourite’s 
creatures, that no accefs could be had to him, and the 
whole fovereign authority was engroffed by Mortimer and 
the queen, with a view to give permanence to her crimi¬ 
nal attachment. But the flighted (hock was diffident to 
overturn a government formed on the ruins of virtue and 
honour. An irruption of the. Scots gave the fird blow to 
Mortimer’s credit ; and young Edward’s own abilities 
contributed to his fall. The Scots, who had no connec¬ 
tion with either party, were fedulous to take advantage 
of the feeble date of the nation; and therefore invaded the 
northern counties with an army of twenty thoufand men. 
Edward, even at this early age, difcovered that martial 
difpofition, for which he was afterwards fo famous. He 
refolved to intercept them in their retreat; and began 
his march in the middle of July, 1327, at the head of an 
army of fixty thoufand men ; but, after fudaining incre¬ 
dible fatigues in purfuing them through woods and mo- 
raffes, he was unable either to come up with or even dif- 
cover the route of the enemy, except from the ravages 
they had made, and the fmoking ruins of villages, which 
travelled before them. The rapid motion of this detach¬ 
ment of the Scots army, arofe from their being mounted 
on horfeback. At length the perfevering Edward came 
up with them, pofled in an advantageous fituation, on 
the oppofite banks of the Were. 
It was on this occafion that the refentment of the young 
king was publicly manifeded againd Mortimer. Edward, 
eager and anxious to engage, refolved that night, at all 
events, not to allow the ravagers to efcape with impu¬ 
nity ; but Mortimer oppofed the will of the king, and 
prevented an engagement, fearing it might prove dedruc- 
tive to his intereds, whether the battle were won or lofl. 
Shortly after, a chofen band of intrepid Scots, under the 
command of Douglas, dole into the Englifli camp by 
night, and arrived at the tent in which the king was deep¬ 
ing. But the young monarch happened to be awakened 
by the noife, and made a valiant defence ; his chamber- 
lain and chaplain, were killed fighting by his fide ; and 
he thus had time given him to efcape in the dark. The 
Scots, thus frudrated in their defign upon the king, fled 
into their own country, leaving their tents handing, with¬ 
out a perfon with them, except fix Englifh prifoners, 
whofe legs had been broken, to prevent their carrying 
intelligence to their countrymen. The valour of the 
young king was every where applauded ; and the people 
began anxioufly to wifli for a removal of that authority 
which fiood between them and the monarch; and fpared 
no pains to magnify the ffiamelefs condudt of the queen- 
dowager and her paramour, or to extol the rifing genius 
of their young fovereign. 
Mortimer now began to find himfelf in a very preca¬ 
rious fituation ; and refolved to procure a peace with 
Scotland, in order to concentrate his power at home, A 
treaty was accordingly concluded between the two na¬ 
tions 3 
* 
