There was

fhould be fo feverely punished for that which A. C. 1486, was rather maternal weakness than any premeditated crime. Befides, they could not comprehend Bacon. the meaning of Henry's having fo, long delayed to take cognizance of this affair: they thought his marrying the daughter was an acknowledgment of the mother's innocence, or at leaft, a tacit for giveness of the fault. They confidered that fhe had been one of the chief inftruments of his elevation to the throne, and therefore could not help detefting his ingratitude; and, in this rigorous treatment, they perceived a formed defign to feize all opportunities of completing the ruin of the houfe of York, and its adherents. fome mystery in this confinement of the queen mother, which never was explained to the public. As all hiftorians agree that he was certainly concerned in the affair of Simnel, the king, in all probability, could have convicted her in a legal manner of the confpiracy; or at least fixed upon her fuch ftrong fufpicion, as would have given a plaufible colour to the fteps he took for fecuring her perfon. But, fuch a procefs would have introduced an inquiry, which he seemed to avoid. Perhaps, it would have appeared, that the queen-mother had not complied with Richard's defire in fending her daughters to court, until he had taken fome extraordinary ftep to quiet her fears. Perhaps, that fatisfaction confifted in his conniving at the efcape of his furviving nephew from the Tower. By means of this conjecture we can account for the queen's confidence in the tyrant, who had brought her kindred to the fcaffold, as well as for Henry's behaviour at this juncture, when, perhaps, the played off the phantom Simnel, in order to found the inclination of the people, and pave the way for exhibiting her own fon upon the ftage. This fuppofition likewife explains the cafe of Perkin War

beck,

252

HISTORY O

1

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

A. C. 1486. beck, and the inflexibility of Henry, who could never be prevailed upon to release his mother-in-law, though the whole nation clamoured at her imprifonment, which continued for. fome years, until death fet her at liberty.

The earl of

Lincoln and

declare for

Simnel,

Ware.

The queen being fecured in the monastery of lord Lovel Bermondsey, Henry, in order to undeceive the populace, who began to believe that the earl of Warwick was actually in Ireland, ordered that young prince to be conducted publicly through the streets of London, from the Tower to St. Paul's church, whither the people went in vaft crouds to behold him; and he was permitted to converse with several individuals, who were well acquainted with his perfon, and well affected to his family. After this proceffion, he was fent back to the Tower; but, the Irish retorted the impofture upon Henry, affirming, that the youth whom he had produced was a counterfeit; and that Simnel was the true earl of Warwick. The king fearing the contagion would fpread into England, published a general amnefty for those who should quit the party of the rebels, with promise of reward to fuch as fhould come and discover the particulars of the confpiracy. At the fame time, he ordered the coafts to be guarded, to cut off all correfpondence between the malcontents of the two kingdoms. Notwithstanding allhis precautions, the pretender acquired fome powerful friends in England; or rather, the priest who tutored Simnel, had been encouraged by perfons of the first quality, to produce this impoftor, whom he would have hardly prefumed to exhibit without fome promise of confiderable fupport. He no fooner made his appearance in Ireland, than John earl of Lincoln, whom his uncle Richard III. had declared prefumptive heir of the crown, openly espoused his cause, and embarked for Flanders in order to concert with his aunt Margaret dutchefs dowager of Burgundy,

4.486%

Burgundy, the proper measures for infuring fuccefs A.; -1486, to the enterprize. That princefs being incenfed at Henry's behaviour to her niece, and the virulence with which he perfecuted all the partifans of the house of York, readily engaged in the scheme of Simnel, which in all probability had been projected with her privity and concurrence; and after having deliberated with Lincoln and Lovel, promised to furnith two thoufand veteran German troops, commanded by Martin Swart, an officer of reputation, which should accompany them to Ireland, and join the new king's party. They accordingly fet fail in A. C. 1487. the beginning of May; and arrived in fafety at Dublin, where Simnel was crowned with great folemnity in the cathedral, by the bishops of Armagh, Dublin, Meath, and Derry, in prefence of the earl of Kildare, the chancellor, and all the other officers of ftate belonging to that kingdom. This cere Rymer. mony being performed with a crown taken from the ftatue of the Virgin Mary, the new king affembled a kind of parliament, in which the clergy granted a fubfidy to the pope, in hope of rendering his holiness propitious to their undertaking. Then a council was held, to regulate the measures to be next pursued; and after fome debate, they agreed, that the feat of the war fhould be tranfferred to England, where they expected to be joined by all the favourers of the house of York, so as to be able to depofe the ufurper without the least difficulty.

In the mean time, Henry was employed in making preparations to defend himself against the impending florm. He was no fooner informed of Lincoln's retreat to Flanders, than he took it for granted that the dutchefs of Burgundy was concerned in the conspiracy; and was the more alarmed as he knew the enterprizing difpofition of that princefs, whofe hatred he had incurred. He forth

with

The marquis of Dorfet is committed prifoner to the Tower.

A. C. 1487. with levied two armies, the command of which he bestowed upon the duke of Bedford and the earl of Oxford, in order to guard both fides of the island from invasion; and during the winter he made a progrefs through the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, where he had most reason to expect a descent, on account of their neighbourhood to the Low Countries. When he arrived at St. Edmundsbury, he received intimation that the marquis of Dorfet was on the road to visit him, that he might vindicate himself from fome malicious imputations, and offer his service to his majefty: but Henry, inftead of accepting his offer, fent the earl of Oxford to meet and conduct him prifoner to the Tower, tho' he was defired to affure the marquis, that, after the extinction of the rebellion, he fhould have a fair hearing; and that his prefent arreft would conduce to his own fafety, by hindering him from being mifled by evil counsellors. From Edmundsbury the king repaired to Norwich, where he kept his Christmas; thence he proceeded in pilgrimage to vifit our Lady's church of Walfingham; and then returned by the way of Cambridge to London. Here he learned, that the earl of Lincoln with his foreign auxiliaries had landed in Ireland: fo that being freed from his apprehenfion of a defcent from Flanders, he affembled all his troops in the neighbourhood of Coventry, which is in the heart of the kingdom; and repairing to that city in perfon, refolved to wait for more certain information touching the defigns of the enemy.

Henry de

D

feats and

takes Sim

He had not remained long in this fituation, when he was informed that Simnel and his friends were el at Stoke. landed in Lancashire, and joined by Sir Thomas. Broughton, and a small number of English mal-, contents. They had begun their march towards York, in hope of feeing their numbers daily increafe and they forbore all acts of hoftility in the

country

country through which they paffed, with a view to A. C. 1487% intereft the people in their favour. They were, however, miferably disappointed in their expectation. The natives, either dreading the fagacity and fortune of Henry, or averfe to a king introduced by the Irish and Germans, far from taking arms in his favour, exhibited no marks of good will to the enterprize; and the earl of Lincoln fearing that his army, confifting of eight thousand men, would rather diminish than increafe, refolved to give battle to the king before all his force fhould be affembled. For this purpose, he changed his route, and marched towards Newark, in hope of making himself master of that place before the arrival of the enemy. Henry had advanced to Nottingham, at the head of fix thousand men; and being joined by an equal number, under the command of the earl of Shrewfbury, the lord Strange, with a confiderable number of knights and gentlemen; he, with the advice of his council, determined to engage the rebels without delay. Gueffing Lincoln's defign upon the town of Newark, he marched thither with great expedition, and posted himself between the enemy and the town, while the earl of Lincoln encamped on the declivity of a hill near the village of Stoke. Next day, being the fixth of June, Henry drew up his army in order of battle upon the plain, which was fo narrow, that he could not extend his front and, therefore he was obliged to form his troops into three lines, placing his beft men in the firft, to the number of fix thoufand. The enemy did not decline the engagement; on the contrary, they marched down in order, and attacked the royalifts with great intrepidity, hoping, that should they be able to break the king's first line, it would falk back on the other two, and put the whole army in confufion. The naked Irish, though terribly galled by the English arrows, maintained their

ground