A. C. 1464. Ifabel of Caftile, who afterwards married Ferdinand king of Arragon; but fhe was likewife judged too young for wedlock. Bona of Savoy, fifter to the queen of France, was the third princess propofed as à confort for Edward, who determined to demand her in marriage; and for this purpose, the earl of Warwick was appointed ambaffador extraordinary to the French court, where the lady refided. We have already observed, that the chief aim of Lewis was to reduce the exorbitant power of his grandees, and particularly to abafe the dukes of Burgundy and Bretagne. The first of these was so powerful that he durft not attack him openly; and therefore he refolved to begin with the duke of Brittany, on pretence of a dispute which had long subsisted between the crown of France and the fovereigns of that province, touching the nature of the homage which the duke should pay to the French monarch. The kings of France had always demanded liege, and the dukes never granted more than fimple homage; fo that both fides used to enter a proteft at every new inveftiture. Lewis, refolving to make use of this pretext, ordered a body of troops to rendezvous in Anjou, and then fent the chancellor de Morvilliers with an order to the duke of Bretagne, prohibiting him from affuming any right of fovereignty within his own dominions. The duke being in no condition to oppofe fuch an antagonist in the field, had recourse to ftratagem, and defired he might be indulged with a delay of three months, that he might confult the eftates of his dutchy. His requeft being granted, he employed this interval in caballing among the peers of France, with whom he joined in a powerful confederacy, which was afterwards diftinguished by the name of the League of the Public Good.

Such was the fituation of affairs in France, when Edward fent the earl of Warwick to demand Bona

of

lady Bona

of Savoy in marriage; and nothing could have been A. C, 1464. more agreeable than this propofal to Lewis, who Edward deearnestly wished for an alliance with England, mands the which would prevent Edward from interfering with of Savoy in his defigns. He accordingly affented to the pro- marriage. pofition; and that he might reap all the advantage that could be produced from fuch a connexion, he fpun out the treaty of marriage, in hope of concluding a lafting peace, and engaging in a bond of perfonal friendship with the king of England: he was alfo defirous of extending this alliance to the duke of Burgundy, that Francis duke of Bretagne might be deprived of all affistance and protection. With this view, he agreed with Edward and Philip to hold a congrefs at Hefdin, from whence it was afterwards transferred to St. Omer; though this produced nothing but a prolongation of the truce. In the course of the fame year, another truce was concluded with Scotland for fifteen years; and in the month of Auguft ambaffadors arrived in England from the duke of Brittany, who, finding himself hard preffed by the king of France, follicited a truce for one year with Edward, who, notwithstanding his negotiation with Lewis, granted the duke's re- Act. Pub, queft.

Mean while the earl of Warwick fettled all the A. C, 1465. articles of the marriage-contract, between the king He is captiand the princefs Bona; and Lewis appointed the vated by the count of Dammartin as his ambaffador and pleni- Elizabeth beauty of potentiary at the court of London, to put the finish. Wideville. ing ftroke to that negotiation, which, however, was defeated by an extraordinary accident. Edward, chancing to hunt in Northamptonshire, went to vifit Jaquelina of Luxemburg, the dutchess of Bedford, who, after the death of her first husband, had given her hand to Sir Richard Wideville. By this fecond marriage fhe had among other children a daughter called Elizabeth, married to Sir John

Grey

A. C. 1465. Grey of Groby, who had been flain in the service of the house of Lancaster. The young widow had retired to her father's house at Grafton, after having feen her husband's eftate confifcated; and fhe took this opportunity of throwing herself at Edward's feet, and imploring a maintenance for herself and children, out of their father's fortune. Edward, naturally of an amorous complexion, could not behold this beauteous widow at his feet without emotion. He was inftantly captivated by her charms, and raifing her from the ground, made a favourable answer to her requeft. He confided fo much in his ftation and perfonal qualifications, as to imagine he fhould eafily triumph over her virtue and caution and found opportunities to make her acquainted with the nature of his paffion. He had for once, however, over-rated his own addrefs; fhe rejected his proposals with difdain, and told him, that, although she was unworthy of being his queen, fhe thought herfelf too good to be his concubine. This declaration completed her conqueft over the heart of Edward, who now approved of her spirit and difcretion, as much as he admired her beauty in a word, he laid aside his former fuit, which fhe could not have granted with any regard to her honour, and offered his hand as the price of her condefcenfion. It is not to be fuppofed fhe could have any reason to' refuse fuch an offer from a young prince of Edward's character and accomplishments. She embraced the propofal with tranfport, and fuch marks of fenfibility as effectually fecured the heart of her admirer.

Whom he

vately.

Nevertheless, he would not proceed farther in marries pri- this affair, without communicating his intention to his mother the dutchefs of York, who was extremely surprised and concerned at his paffion, and ufed all her endeavours to diffuade him from engaging in fuch an impolitic alliance. She obferved,

that

that fuch a precipitate engagement would be an irre- A. C. 1465. parable injury and affront to the earl of Warwick, as well as to the French king; and, in all probability, intail upon him the refentment of both, to the reproach of his character and imminent danger of his crown that the nobles of England would justly take umbrage at his raifing the family of Wideville fo far above all their honours; that he could not, without degrading his dignity, give his hand to a private gentlewoman, his own fubject, who had several children by a former husband; and laftly fhe told him, that fince he was determined to take an English wife, without the confiderations of high birth and opulent fortune, he ought to give the preference to a young lady called Elizabeth Lucy, whom he had formerly promifed to efpoufe. To thefe obfervations Edward replied, that he could not think of facrificing his paffion, which was certain, to the refentment of Warwick which was uncertain; that the king of France would be too much engaged with his own domeftic affairs, to think of troubling his neighbours; that his taking a wife from among his fubjects, far from giving umbrage, would be agreeable to his nobility, as all their families for the future might afpire at the fame honour; and with refpect to Elizabeth Lucy, he denied that any promife of marriage had been made to that young lady. But left the report of fuch an engagement might be afterwards ufed as a pretext for invalidating the match upon which he had now fet his heart, he defired Elizabeth might be examined by the bishops, touching the nature of her correfpondence with him; when the owned that he had never engaged himself to her by promise of marriage; though at the fame time the declared that she would never have confented to the gratification of his defires, if she had not thought his intentions were honourable. From this anfwer, the

prelates

A. C. 1465. prelates determined that he might marry another woman with a fafe confcience; and Edward efpoused Elizabeth Wideville fo privately, that the marriage was not divulged until he thought proper to iffue orders for her coronation.

Stowe. Refentment of Lewis

of War

wick.

The nobility and people were not a little furprised and the earl when they understood that this extraordinary match had been concluded, while the king carried on a negotiation at the court of France, for a marriage with the princefs of Savoy. The firft families of the kingdom were extremely difgufted at the promotion of Elizabeth and her relations; for her father was elevated to the dignity of earl of Rivers; her fifter Margaret was matched with Thomas lord Matravers, fon and heir of William earl of Arundel; her brother Anthony Wideville espoused the only daughter and heir of lord Scales, the richest fortune in the kingdom; and her fon Thomas being created marquis of Dorfet, married the heiress of the lord Bonneville, But the disgust of the nation in general was a trifling circumftance, when compared with the refentment of the earl of Warwick, who looked upon this clandeftine match as the greatest infult and affront that could be offered to his honour. He confidered it as a flagrant proof of ingratitude in Edward, whom he had raised to the throne; and he could not help communicating his fentiments to the king of France, who did not fail to encourage and foment his indignation. That prince was incensed against Edward for the outrage offered to the honour of his family; but his own affairs would not allow him to manifeft his refentment, which he therefore refolved to diffemble until he fhould find fome favourable opportunity to do himself juftice. Lewis had nothing princely in his difpofition, except perfonal courage, of which he had exhibited repeated proofs before he afcended the throne of France: but he was a cool, felfish, diffembling