■ 6‘24 
E N G L A N D. 
vile, to be crowned fir ft at London, and afterwards at 
York. The clergy lie gained overby great inditlgencies ; 
and his friends were fecured by bellowing rewards on them, 
in proportion as they were indrume’ntal in placing him on 
the throne. Yet he found his peace and fafety threatened 
from a quarter where he lead expefted. The infatiable 
duke of Buckingham, though lie had received the greateft 
rewards for his infamous conduct, yet coveted more. He 
made a demand of the confifcated edates in Hereford (hire, 
to which his family had an ancient claim; but Richard 
either reluctantly complied with his requed, or but par¬ 
tially indulged it, fo that a coolnefs enfued ; and, no fooner 
had Buckingham fuppofed himfelf injured, than he re- 
folved to pull dowii a monarch, whom he had fo lately 
been the wicked indrument of letting up. At fird he 
was in doubt, whether he diould claim the crown for 
himfelf, or propofe it for another; hut, the latter refo- 
lufion prevailing, he determined to declare for Henry earl 
of Richmond, w ho was detained in a kind of honourable 
cudody by the duke of Bretagne. He was one of thofe 
who had the good fortune to efcape the numerous maf- 
facres of the preceding reigns; but, as he was a defcen- 
dant of John of Gaunt, and the only furviving branch of 
the houfe of Lancader, by the female line, his prefence 
was conddered dangerous, and lie was for that reafon ob¬ 
noxious to thofe in power. He had long lived in exile ; 
and was, at one time, delivered up to the ambadadors of 
Edward, who were preparing to carry him over to Eng¬ 
land, when the prince, who delivered him, repented of 
what lie had done, and took him from the ambadadors 
jud as they were leading him on fliip-board. This was 
the youth on whom the duke of Buckingham now cad 
his eye to fucceed to the crown ; and a negotiation was 
begun between them for that purpofe. Henry’s heredi¬ 
tary right to the throne was in fome meafure doubtful ; 
but the crimes of the ufurper ferved to drengthen his 
claims. However, dill further to improve his title, a 
marriage was projected between him and the princefs 
Elizabeth, elded daughter of the late king; and the 
queen-dowager was prevailed on heartily to accede to the 
meafure. 
Richard, in the mean time, either informed by his 
creatures, or become didrudful by confcious guilt, be¬ 
gan to fufpeCt Buckingham’s fidelity ; and the fecret in¬ 
formations which he daily received, left him no room to 
doubt of the truth of his fufpicions. Impteffed with this 
jealoufy, he formed a refolution of fending for him to 
court ; and the duke’s refilling to obey the fummons, 
confirmed him in his fufpicion. But he loon had evident 
proof of Buckingham’s enmity, intelligence arriving that 
■this nobleman was at the head of a large body of men in 
arms, and marching towards thewedern (bore. Richard, 
whofe courage no danger could allay, immediately levied 
fome troops in the north, and prepared to meet the infur- 
gents with his ufual intrepidity. But fortune feetued his 
friend, and rendered his prefent preparations unnecellary. 
As Buckingham was advancing by hady marches towards 
Glouceder, where he defigned to crofs the Severn, he 
found that.river fvvoln to Inch a degree, that the coun¬ 
try on both fides was deluged, and the inundation con¬ 
tinued for ten days ; during which, Buckingham’s army, 
compofed of Wellltmen, could neither pafs the river, nor 
find fubfidence on their own fide; they were therefore 
obliged to difperfe, notwithdanding all the duke’s efforts 
to prolong their day. In this helplefs fituation, the duke, 
after a fhort deliberation, took refuge at the houfe of one 
Banider, who had been his fervant, and who had received 
repeated obligations from his family. But the wicked 
feldont find, as they feldom deferve, friendfhip. Banif- 
ter, unable to relid the temptation of a large reward that 
was fet upon the duke’s head, betrayed him to the fheriff 
of Shropfhire, who, furrounding the houfe with armed 
men, feized the duke, in the habit of a peafant, and con¬ 
ducted him to Salifbury, where he was indantly tried, 
condemned, and executed. 
In the mean time the earl of Richmond landed in Eng¬ 
land ; but finding his hopes frudrated by the failure of 
Buckingham, lie Itadily fet fail again, and returned to 
Bretagne. Thus every coincidence feemed to promife 
Richard a long pofTedion of the crown ; however, the au¬ 
thority of parliament was dill wanting to give fanftion to 
the injudice of his proceedings; but in thofe times of 
ignorance and guilt that was eafily procured. An .aft 
was pa(fed, confirming.the illegitimacy of Edward’s chil¬ 
dren ; an aft of attainder alfo was confirmed againd Henry 
earl of Richmond ; and all tire ufurper’s withes feemed 
to be the aim of their deliberations. One tiring only w as 
wanting to complete Richard’s fecurity, which was the 
death of his rival ; to effeft this, he fent ambaffadors to 
the duke of Bretagne, feetningly upon budnefs of a pub¬ 
lic nature;- but, in reality, to treat with Landois’, that 
prince’s minider, to deliver up Richmond. The minider 
was bafe enough to enter into the negociation ; but Rich¬ 
mond, having had timely notice, fled into France, and 
jud reached the confines of that kingdom, when he found 
that Ire was purfued by the ungenerous Landois. 
Richard, thus finding Iris inddious attempts abortive, 
became every day more cruel, as his power grew' more 
precarious. Among thofe who chieHy excited his jea- 
loufy, was lord Stanley, who was married to the widow 
of Edward ; and to keep him dedfad in obedience, he 
took his fon as an hodage for the father’s behaviour. He 
now' alfo refolved to get rid of his queen, Anne Nevile, to 
make toom for a match with his niece, the princefs Eli¬ 
zabeth, by whofe alliance he hoped to drengthen his 
claims to the throne. The lady whom he dedred to get 
rid of, was the younged daughter of the great earl of 
Warwick, and widow of the young prince of Wales, 
whom Richard, when duke of Glouceder, had murdered 
with his own hands at Tewkefbury ; and it is no (light 
indication of the barbarity of the times, that the widow 
(hould accept for her fecond lord the murderer of her 
former hufband. But die was now rewarded for her for¬ 
mer indecorous conduct: Richard treated her with fo 
much inhumanity and neglect, that (he died with grief. 
However, his amorous defires were not crowned with 
fuccefs in his applications to Elizabeth ; the queen-mo¬ 
ther, indeed, was eager for the inceftuous match; but 
the princefs herfelf treated his addred’es with contempt 
and deridon. 
At the moment when Richard had to endure the morti¬ 
fication of a refufal from a princefs, who with fo bafe a 
confort had courage and virtue to refute a crown, he re¬ 
ceived information that the earl of Richmond had (ailed 
from Harfleur, and was arrived at Milford-Haven, in Pem- 
brokefhire, where he had landed without oppolition. 
Upon this alarming news, Richard indantly refolved to 
meet his antagonid, and decide their mutual claims by a 
pitched battle. Richmond, being reinforced by dr 
Thomas Bourchier, (ir Walter Hungerford, and others, 
to the number of about fix thoufand, boldly advanced 
with the fame intention ; and, in a few days, both aimies 
drew up in Bofworth field to determine a coined that had 
for more than forty years filled the kingdom with civil 
commotions, and deluged its plains with blood. 1 he 
army of Richard was more than double that cf Henry ; 
but the chief confidence of the latter lay in the friendfhip 
and fecret alfurances of lord Stanley, who, with a body 
of feven thoufand men, hovered near the field of battle, 
but joining neither fide. 
Richard perceiving his enemy advance, judicioudy 
drew up his army, confiding of about thirteen thoufand 
men ; he gave the command of the van-guard to the duke 
of Norfolk, while he led the main body himfelf, with 
the crown on his head, defigning by this didindtion either 
to imprefs the enemy with awe, or to render himfelf con¬ 
spicuous to his own army. The van of Richmond’s ar¬ 
my, confiding of archers, was commanded by John earl 
Oxford ; dr Gilbert Talbot led the right wing, dr John 
Savage the left; while the earl himfelf, accompanied by 
