Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, sixth son of King Edward III., and widow of Edmund, Earl of Stafford, slain at the battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403.

The alliances of the mighty Nevilles, so far as they are material to the proper elucidation of the contents of this paper, will be found in the portion of the accompanying pedigree.

At the period when the Duke of York aspired to, and was cautiously taking his measures to obtain the crown, his principal confidential friends, through whose assistance and power he hoped to secure the prize which he coveted, were the Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Warwick and John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, between whom and the Duke of York there was a family connection, from the Duke of Norfolk's having married Anne Bourchier, sister of Henry Bourchier, Earl of Ewe, afterwards Viscount Bourchier, and afterwards Earl of Essex, and the latter having married Isabel, sister of the Duke of York, as before mentioned.

The Earl of Warwick had given repeated proofs of his valour, was warlike and talented in military matters, and was beloved by the soldiers.

He, like other powerful noblemen of England, in the feudal ages, could command the services, in war, of large bodies of retainers and vassals, and, as will be soon noticed, Warwick's power in that respect, caused him to be a most valuable ally, to any one whose cause he espoused, and a most formidable foe, to whoever he considered to be his adversary. He was liberal, generous, frank, and munificent; which qualities rendered him exceedingly popular.

With respect to his extraordinary hospitality, we have the authority of one of the most authentic of our old historical writers, that at the Earl of Warwick's house, in London, six oxen were usually eaten at a breakfast; and

that every person who had any acquaintance with the family, might come to his kitchen, and take away as much sodden and roast meat as he wanted, and as he could carry upon a long dagger, to be consumed either at his own house, or at any tavern. These extraordinary circumstances, the splendour of his manner of living, his valiant and soldier-like qualities, his generosity, hospitality, and talents, as well as the general tenor of his conduct, made him the most popular man of the nation.

He was Admiral to King Henry VI., and was styled Great Captain of the Sea, having for his support in that office, not only all the tonnage and poundage belonging to the king, but a thousand pounds per annum out of the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster. By the King's favour, he had a grant of pre-eminence above all the Earls of England; and moreover, to add to his greatness, a peculiar officer-at-arms, for his service in martial employments, called "the Warwick Herald."

We are much in the dark respecting the early life of the Earl of Warwick; the Baronages and Chronicles afford very little information upon that subject; nor is it at all clear where he acquired the knowledge of the art of war, and the capacity for military command, which afterwards distinguished him in the disastrous conflicts of York and Lancaster. He had, however, rendered valuable service in the wars of Scotland; and as his father, the Earl of Salisbury, was a commander of eminence, and served in the wars in France, it is not unreasonable to conclude, that the Earl of Warwick may have accompanied him to France, in some of the campaigns, and there acquired a knowledge of military matters, of which he had so many occasions to avail himself in the wars of York and Lancaster.

The Duke of York, having formed the scheme of dethroning King Henry VI., and of obtaining the crown of

England, found it necessary for a considerable time to disguise his real intentions, and to profess a desire to reform what was amiss, remove evil counsellors, and correct abuses in the government; but during all that period he was in confidential communication with the Earl of Salisbury and Earl of Warwick, and principally relied upon their co-operation and power for the success of his enterprise.

After several important occurrences, connected with the weakness and incapacity of Henry VI., the conduct of his Queen, Margaret of Anjou, the Duke of York's having been at the head of the national affairs, and having acted somewhat in the nature of Regent or Viceroy during the King's illness, by the authority committed to him by the the Lords of the Realm, and his having been removed from that office after having held it a short time, which are scarcely within the scope and objects of this paper, Henry appeared with an army of Lancastrians at St. Albans, and the Duke of York marched thither at the head of an army of Yorkists. A battle ensued on the 22nd of May, 1455, in which the Earl of Warwick commanded the vanguard of the army of the Duke of York, and entering the town through a garden, gave the first onset. The Lancastrians were defeated with great slaughter, Henry was wounded in the face with an arrow, and was taken prisoner.

Shortly afterwards a Parliament was summoned in the King's name, and the Duke of York was declared Protector of the Realm; the Earl of Warwick was appointed Captain of Calais, and the Earl of Salisbury was made Lord Chancellor. In 1456, Margaret and several of the noblemen of the Lancastrian party, formed a scheme to displace the Duke of York, and Henry, being in better health than he had previously been, came before the

(1) Some historians state that it was fought on the 23rd of May.