214 CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.-1485. 3. No battle since that of Hastings had been so important in its consequences as that of Bosworth-field. The former brought in the feudal system in its most oppressive form; the battle of Bosworth put an end to it. The reign of Henry VII. was the dawn of what may properly be called English liberty. 4. Though the Magna Charta had fenced in the nobles from the tyranny of the king, yet the great mass of the people were for a long time after as much exposed as before to the oppression of the nobles; but now, the power as well as the number of the nobles being much diminished by the long war between the houses of York and Lancaster, the people began gradually to emerge from slavery. 5. Henry hated because he feared the nobles, and it was a part of his policy to depress them. He restricted the number of their retainers; and thus that idle race of people who had before passed their lives in following some great lord to the wars, or in hanging about his gates in time of peace, were driven to employ themselves in more industrious modes of life, and from helpless dependants became useful subjects. 6. Commerce, too, began to make great alteration in the condition of persons in middle life; and Henry greatly facilitated their rise into consequence, by lessening the strictness of entails,—that is, the descent of estates in one family, from one generation to another, without any person being at liberty to dispose of them. 7. Such a system serves to maintain the dignity of particular families, but is evidently adverse to the general good of the state. The nobles being enabled to sell their estates, many of them came into the possession of rich merchants and manufacturers. 8. With the change of property came a great change in the condition of all classes of people. The land-owners found it advantageous to commute the services of the villeins for money, and make them pay rent for their land and cottages; and thus from villeins they became tenants. 9. It is very difficult to trace every step of the lower orders of the people from villeinage, which at some periods was a state of mere slavery, to freedom. The progress was so various and so gradual that the state of villeinage seemed to decline insensibly, and after the time of Henry VII. we find no more mention of it. tles are mentioned as important? 4. What is said of the condition of the mass of the people? 5. What was Henry's policy towards the nobles? 6. What of entails? What of the villeins? 8 Henry VII.-Lambert Simnel pretends to be Earl of Warwick, ana claims the Throne.-He is defeated and made a Scullion in the King's Kitchen.-Death of Lord Lovel in a secret Chamber. 1. HENRY VII., the first of that line of kings of England called the Tudor line, was thirty years old when he gained the crown. He was of a tall and slender form, pale complexion, and a grave, sedate deportment. Cold, cautious, and designing, he did not pos sess one amiable quality. 2. His natural abilities were not brilliant, but he made up for want of quickness by unwearied application, and was rewarded for CXVIII.-1, 2. What is said of the character of Henry VII.? What were his ruling 216 DEFEAT OF SIMNEL.-1487. his perseverance by gaining a reputation for more wisdom than he possessed. He was an unkind husband, a careful but not an affectionate father, a rigorous master, and a bitter enemy. 3. Two ruling passions swayed his conduct from the first hour of his reign to the end of his life; these were his avarice, and his hatred of the house of York. The first command he issued, even before he had left the bloody field where he had been proclaimed king, was, that persons should be sent into Yorkshire to seize young Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence. 4. Henry's avarice, though an odious vice in itself, and particu larly obnoxious in a king, was not without its advantages to his country. It led him to encourage commerce; and it was he who laid the foundations of the British navy. A four-masted ship, called The Great Henry, was, properly speaking, the first ship in the British navy, for hitherto, when the king wanted a fleet, he had no expedient but hiring or purchasing ships from the merchants. 5. Notwithstanding his dislike to the family of York, Henry soon found that he could not maintain himself on the throne without allying himself to it. He therefore renewed his old agreement to marry the Princess Elizabeth. But his reluctance to this union was so great, that he put it off till the following year. The princess was a great favorite with the people, which gave much offence to her husband, and was one cause of his unkind treatment of her. 6. Henry's conduct towards all those who had been connected with the late royal family naturally irritated them against him, and in 1487, a scheme was contrived, which gave him for a time much vexation and trouble. Lambert Simnel, the son of a baker of Oxford, was instructed to personate the young Earl of Warwick, who, it was pretended, had escaped from the Tower. 7. When Henry heard of this mock Earl of Warwick, he caused the real earl to be taken from his prison, and carried in procession through London, and permitted all who chose to converse with him This measure, though it satisfied the people of England, did not convince those of Ireland, by whom Simnel was proclaimed king, by the title of Edward IV. 8. Simnel, with the few nobles who joined him, and some troops which he had raised in Ireland, landed in Lancashire, expecting to be joined by the inhabitants; but in this he was disappointed. He had advanced as far as Stoke without receiving any addition to his forces, where he was met by Henry, June 16th, 1487, and completely defeated. Simnel, who was taken prisoner, received better treatment than he could have expected, for Henry contented himself with degrading the new-made king to be one of the scullions in his kitchen. 9. Most of Simnel's army lost their lives. Among the few who escaped from the fight was Lord Lovel. He was observed flying towards the Trent, and, as he was never seen afterwards, he was thought to have been drowned in crossing that river. passions? 4. What good effect did his avarice produce? 5. How did he try to strengthen himself on the throne? 6, 7, 8. Relate the story of Lambert Simnel. 9, 10. Relate the fate of Lord Lovel. 11, 12. What is said of secret chambers? STORY OF PERKIN WARBECK.-1492. 217 10. But more than a hundred years afterwards, in pulling lown a house that had belonged to him in Oxfordshire, a secret chamber was discovered, in which was found the skeleton of a man, seated in a chair, with his head reclining on a table. An empty jar and a barrel were found near it. It was conjectured that this was the skeleton of Lord Lovel, who had contrived to escape to his own house, but from some neglect had starved to death in this secret chamber. 11. It would be a hard matter to make a chamber in a modern house, in which a person could be effectually concealed; but in those days the walls were thick, and the chimneys large, and the unquiet state of the times made secret chambers useful, if not necessary. 12. Many a large old house in England doubtless contains such a sanctuary. We are told of one in Nottinghamshire, which was inhabited by a family for some generations, without its being known that there was a secret room in the kitchen chimney; and it was only discovered a few years since, in making some repairs. CHAPTER CXIX. A new Impostor appears.—Adventures of Perkin Warbeck. 1. THE old Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV., finding how many people had been deceived by the fraud of Simnel, determined upon a new project, contrived with more art and plausibility. She first spread a report that the young Duke of York was alive, and had escaped from the Tower. 2. She then found a youth, named Perkin Warbeck, son of a Flemish Jew, who bore a strong resemblance to the Plantagenets, and who had something in his manners and carriage so bewitching, and at the same time so princely and dignified, that all who conversed with him were fascinated, and persuaded that he was a prince. 3. He first presented himself at the court of France, where he was well received by the king. At the demand of Henry, he was dismissed, but with courtesy, and then sought the protection of his aunt, as he called the Duchess of Burgundy. 4. She received him as if he had been an entire stranger to her, and affected to disbelieve his story; then, as if suddenly convinced by his answers to her questions, she embraced him with a transport of joy, exclaiming that he was indeed her long-lost nephew, and bestowed upon him the appellation of the White Rose of England. 5. Henry now became anxious to convince the world that the real Duke of York had been murdered, and he obtained the confession of two persons, who owned that they had been concerned in putting CXIX.-1. What project did the Duchess of Burgundy form? 2. Who was selected as the principal actor? 3, 4. What was the success of Warbeck at first? 5, 3. What 218 STORY OF PERKIN WARBECK.-1196 him to death. But these confessions gained little credit at the time, though they have since received corroboration, as we have before stated. 6. Henry also sought to ascertain the true history of Warbeck; but the secret was so well kept, and his origin so obscure, that this At length one of the confidants of proved to be a difficult matter. From him Henry learnt nearly the the impostor was won over. whole history of the conspiracy, with the names of all those in England who had favored it. 7. The former was published for the information of the nation, and those concerned were all seized in one day, and immediately tried, condemned, and executed. Sir William Stanley was beheaded for having been heard to say, that, "if he was sure Perkin Warbeck was the real Duke of York, he would never bear arms against him." 8. After two ineffectual attempts to get a footing in England, Warbeck went to Scotland, where he was received with the utmost kindness by King James IV., who engaged in his cause with the greatest warmth. He also gave him in marriage the Lady Catharine Gordon, one of the most noble and accomplished ladies of the age. 9. James did not content himself with empty words, and in October, 1496, he entered England with an army, with the avowed purpose of placing Warbeck on the throne, and all the English were invited to repair to the standard of their rightful sovereign, who was proclaimed king by the title of Richard ÏV. 10. The Scots immediately began to plunder, as was their custom, and Warbeck expostulated with James on this barbarous manner of carrying on the war, declaring that he had rather lose a crown than obtain it by the ruin of his subjects. 11. It was expected that upon Warbeck's first appearance in England all the friends of the house of York would rise in his favor; but, contrary to his anticipations, he found none to assist him, and was obliged to retreat towards Edinburgh. Henry, who was at all times a better negotiator than soldier, preferred entering into a treaty with James to meeting him in the field, and a truce was made between the two monarchs. CHAPTER CXX. Conclusion of the Story of Perkin Warbeck.-About Benevolences.- 1. IN consequence of the treaty between the kings of Scotland and England, Warbeck, after thanking James for the kindness and protection he had afforded him, went to Ireland, with about a hun measures did Henry VII. adopt? 8. How was Warbeck received in Scotland? 11. What was Warbeck's success in England? |