close, reserved, and confiderate, diffembled his re- A. C. 1478.
fentment in fuch a manner, as prevented an open
rupture between him and the ministry; but George
duke of Clarence, a weak prince, of great pride,
ambition, and impetuofity, could not suppress his
indignation, which broke out with great indecency
on all occafions. While Edward lived in celibacy he
had flattered himself with the hope of fucceeding to
the throne of England; and was fo extremely mor-
tified at his marriage, that he had never loved his
brother heartily fince the event: he hated the queen
for the fame reason, and his rancour extended to
her whole family. This animofity was increased
by their grafping at all the power of the admini-
stration, and interfering with him in the schemes he
had formed for his own advantage. By the act of
refumption they had deprived him of the honour of
Tutbury, and many other lands which he had en-
joyed by the king's donation. His dutchefs dying,
immediately before the death of Charles duke of
Burgundy, he folicited the good offices of his fifter
Margaret, widow of that prince, to effect a match
between him and her ftep-daughter, the princess
Mary. This would have been a very advantageous
alliance for England; and the dutchefs dowager,
who loved Clarence above all her brothers, enga-
ged fo heartily in his intereft, that in all probability
the scheme would have fucceeded, had it not been
industriously obstructed by the intrigues of Edward,
who was either jealous of his brother's acceffion to
fuch power, or influenced by the queen, who
wanted to procure this match for her brother An-
thony Wideville, earl of Rivers.

the Tower.

Such a difappointment could not fail to inflame The duke the hatred of Clarence, who exclaimed against the is fent to king with great virulence; and his discontent was encouraged and fomented by the cunning infinuations of Richard duke of Gloucefter. This prince

had

1

A. C. 1478. had already formed a defign upon the crown, which could not fucceed fo long as Clarence stood between him and the fucceffion: he therefore refolved to effect his ruin, as the prelude to that ufurpation which he knew the infant children of Edward would not be able to prevent. With this view he artfully exafperated the refentment of Clarence against the king, until he uttered fome rafh menaces and imprecations; and these he afterwards repeated with exaggerations to Edward, on pretence of cautioning him against the other's treasonable defigns. The queen and her kindred, who hated Clarence, reinforced the fuggeftions of Richard: fo that Edward looked upon his brother George as a traitor, who formed fchemes against his life. This fufpicion produced a coldness and disgust towards Clarence, who was more and more incenfed at the king's neglect and fullen behaviour. He became louder in his complaints; and the miniftry refolved to take the firft opportunity to accomplish his deftruction. In order to provoke him to fome act of indifcretion that would furnish a handle for his ruin, they attacked him in his favourites and confidents, against whom they trumped up ridiculous accufations. John Stacy, a learned clergyman, and noted aftronomer, was charged with the exercife of necromancy; and Thomas Burdet, of Arrow, in Warwickshire, a gentleman of unblemished character, was arrefted as his accomplice, as well as on account of his having curfed the king, who had killed a favourite white hind in one of his enclosures. They were tried for these crimes in the King's bench at Westminster; and, being found guilty, executed at Tyburn ; where both protefted their innocence with great fpirit and conftancy. Clarence, enraged at this facrifice of his friends, went next day to the councilchamber at Westminster, and produced to the fitting lerds the private confeffion and public declara,

1

tion of thofe innocent victims. He could not help A.C. 1478. on this occafion expreffing himself in terms of acrimony against the king, to whom they were repeated by fome courtier. Edward was fo incenfed at his prefumption, that in the first transport of his paffion he repaired from Windfor to Weftminster, and fummoned Clarence to appear before the council. There he upbraided the duke with his infolence in prefuming to arraign the justice of the courts of law; he faid his behaviour implied a design to intimidate the judges and juries of the realm, as well as an infult on the royal authority: he repeated all the malicious ftories that had been told to his prejudice; reviled him as an ungrateful traitor; and figned a warrant for committing him prifoner to the Tower.

condemned,

death,

A parliament meeting at Weftminster, on the Convicted, fixteenth day of January, Henry duke of Bucking- and privateham was appointed high steward of England, toy put to prefide at the trial of Clarence, whofe impeachment was digefted into eight articles; importing, That by his feditious difcourfe he had endeavoured to prejudice the king in the minds of his fubjects, accufing his majesty of having put Burdet unjustly to death: That he had fuborned his domeftics and others to

fpread this falfe report: That he had accufed the king of necromancy, of having deftroyed by poison divers innocent perfons, whofe lives could not be affected by any juridical procefs: That he had affirmed the king was not the fon of his reputed father, but a baftard, begotten by another man, whom the dutchess of York admitted to her embraces: That Clarence from this circumftance arrogating to himfelf a right to the crown, had demonftrated his defign of feizing it, by exacting from several perfons an oath to serve him against all mankind, not even excepting his fovereign: That he had accused the king of ufing witchcraft to deprive him of his life:

and,

A. C. 1478. and, That he had plainly betrayed a defign to dethrone the king, in taking an exemplification of the act of parliament paffed during the ufurpation of Warwick, by which the crown was fettled upon Clarence, in default of Henry VI. and the male iffue of his body. The duke denied every part of the charge, and offered to prove his innocence in fingle combat; but Edward himself being his accufer, and declaring himself well fatisfied and convinced of the truth of the impeachment, no evidence was examined, and no member prefumed to speak in behalf of this unfortunate prince, who was therefore pronounced guilty of the charge, and condemned to die as a traitor. The fentence was not immediately executed; and in all probability his life would have been spared, had not the king's indignation been kept up by the artful intrigues of the queen and Gloucefter, and his apprehenfion aroufed by a ridiculous prophecy; implying, that the name of his fucceffor fhould begin with a G, which was applied to George duke of Clarence. Nevertheless the miniftry would not venture to execute the fentence without fome further pretext, which, in order to procure, they employed one Ro ger Twynho, to prefent a petition to the house of commons against the duke of Clarence, for having fuborned a jury to give a falfe verdict against his kinswoman Ankeret, late wife of William Twynho, efquire, whom he charged with having poifoned his dutchefs; in confequence of which verdict the faid Ankeret had fuffered an ignominious death. The parliament having confidered the merits of this petition, annulled the process, as having been unjustly carried on by the influence of the duke of Clarence; and petitioned that the fentence against that prince might be executed without further delay. Even then they were afraid to run the risque of popular refentment by a public execution; but he was im

mediately

mediately dispatched in the Tower, having, ac A. C, 1478.
cording to fome hiftorians, been drowned in a butt
of malmfey. Such was the end of George duke of
Clarence, who left one fon called Edward earl of
Warwick, and a daughter who was afterwards
countess of Salisbury. The duke's death excited
such a clamour among the populace, that the court
thought proper to conceal the manner of his execu-
tion, and gave out that he had died fuddenly of
grief and vexation: to convince the world that no
violence had been used, his body was exposed in
St. Paul's church; but this expedient was fo ftale,
that it ferved only to confirm the conjectures of the
people, who did not fcruple to exclaim with great
vehemence against the barbarity of the adminiftra- Stowe.

tion.

Monaft, An,

ward with

tions.

During thefe tranfactions, the truce between Lewis XI. Lewis and Maximilian expiring, this laft invaded amufes EdBurgundy, where he made himfelf mafter of feve- treaties of ral places with great facility, on account of the af- negotiafection of the inhabitants for the houfe of Burgundy; and in all probability he would have recovered the whole dutchy, had he been properly fupplied by his father. Lewis was not fo much afraid of any affiftance he might receive from the emperor, as of his engaging in alliance with Edward, which he employed all his arts to prevent. In the month of July he fent a plenipotentiary to London, to prolong the truce for an hundred years after the death of either party; and to engage for the annual payment of the fifty thousand crowns, while that treaty fhould remain in force. As the term which had been affixed for adjufting all differences between the two crowns was expired, the ambaffador was likewise impowered to prolong it for three years; and Edward, appointing commiffioners to treat with this envoy, the proposals of Lewis were embraced without hesitation, though the treaty was

I

t

not

1