After Margaret of Anjou was taken away to the Tower of London, Clarence privately abducted his sister-in-law, under the pretence of protecting her. As he was her sister's husband, he was exceedingly unwilling to divide the united inheritance of Warwick and Salisbury, which he knew must be done if his brother Gloucester carried into execution his avowed intention of marrying Anne. But very different was the conduct of the young widow of the prince of Wales from that described by Shakspeare. Instead of acting as chief mourner to the hearse of her husband's murdered father, she was sedulously concealing herself from her abhorred cousin; enduring every privation to avoid his notice, and concurring with all the schemes of her self-interested brother-in-law Clarence so completely, as to descend from the rank of princess of Wales to the disguise of a servant in a mean house in London, in the hopes of eluding the search of Gloucester,-incidents too romantic to be believed without the testimony of a Latin chronicler of the highest authority,' who affirms it in the following words: “ Richard duke of Gloucester wished to discover Anne, the youngest daughter of the earl of Warwick, in order to marry her; this was much disapproved by his brother, the duke of Clarence, who did not wish to divide his wife's inheritance: he therefore hid the young lady." Concealment was needful, for Anne was actually under the same attainder in which her hapless mother and queen Margaret were included. Her mother thus was totally unable to protect her, being a prisoner in the Beaulieu sanctuary, the egress from thence being guarded securely by the armed bands of Edward IV.

Nearly two years wore away since the battle of Tewkesbury, during which period the princess of Wales was concealed and a fugitive, whilst her mother, the richest heiress in the land, suffered the greatest distress. The poor lady pleaded in her petition to the commons' house, "that she had never offended his most redoubted highness, for she, immediately after the duchess, in the Ladye-chapel behind the altar, has been recently opened, and his eleten was discovered behind hers in the vault.

Continuator of the Chronicle of Croyland, p. 557. This person, from some of expressions, appears to have at one time belonged to the privy council of king Edward IV.

death of her lord and husband (on whose soul God have mercy), for none offence by her done, but dreading only the trouble at that time within this realm, entered into sanctuary of Beaulieu for surety of her person, and to attend to the weal and health of the soul of her said lord and husband, as right and conscience required her to do." In fact, the death of her husband at Barnet field and the lost battle of Tewkesbury were crowded together; yet she declares, that within five days of her retreat into the New Forest sanctuary, she had commenced her labours and suits to the king's highness for a safeguard, meaning a passport or safe-conduct to go and come where she chose. She dwells on her indefatigability in writing letters to the king with her own hands, in the absence of clerks; and not only had she thus written letters to the king's highness, "but soothly also to the queen's good grace, [Elizabeth Woodville,] to Cicely duchess of York, my right redoubted lady the king's mother, to my lady [Elizabeth of York] the king's eldest daughter, to my lords the king's brethren:" these were the dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, the one already her son-inlaw and the father of her grandchildren, and the other on the watch to become her son-in-law whensoever he could gain access to her hapless youngest daughter. But the list of influential personages to whom the widow of the great Warwick wrote propitiatory letters, without the aid of clerks, is not yet concluded. She declares she wrote "to my ladies the king's sisters:" these were Anne duchess of Exeter, and Elizabeth duchess of Suffolk; likewise "to my lady [duchess] of Bedford," the queen's mother. To a very hard-hearted set of relatives and family connexions these letters were addressed, for lady Warwick remained destitute and desolate, but sedulously watched by an armed guard, which to her dismay, and to the alarm of the ecclesiastics of the Beaulieu sanctuary, the Yorkist king sent to terrify them. Edward showed himself thus forgetful of the obligations his wife and children had recently owed to sanctuary, and at the same time, notwithstanding his pretended skill in fortune-telling, he could not foresee that his children would again be reduced to a similar refuge, aggravated by the military tyranny of which he had set the example in the case

of the forlorn countess of Warwick. There is little doubt, that if ever the letters mentioned in the petition of Anne of Warwick's unfortunate mother come to light, some allusion will be found to her daughter, for every connexion she enumerates had been all their lives on the most intimate terms with both mother and daughter.

The cunning of the duke of Gloucester at length discovered his cousin, Anne of Warwick, under the disguise of a cookmaid in the city of London. Immediately after this discovery he entered her in the sanctuary of St. Martin's-le-Grand, and thither transferred her person. The attainder hanging over her forced her to accept of this assistance.' The unhappy widow

was afterwards removed to the protection of her uncle George, the archbishop of York, and was even permitted to visit and comfort her mother-in-law, queen Margaret, at the Tower; but as she still resisted marrying Richard, she was deprived of her uncle's protection, her last refuge against her hated cousin. Years, however, fled away before the misfortunes of the princess of Wales came to a crisis. A coincidence of dates leads to the surmise, that her marriage with Gloucester had some connexion with the retreat of her mother from Beaulieu sanctuary. A letter of Paston's, dated 1473, observes, "that the countess of Warwick is out of Beaulieu sanctuary, and that sir James Tyrrel conveyeth her northwards; but the duke of Clarence liketh it not." And on April 2nd, 1473, he notifies that "the world seemeth queasy, for all the persons about the king's person have sent for their armour, on account of the quarrel regarding the inheritance of Anne." The dispute was debated in council, and the king made an award, assigning certain lands to the duke of Gloucester, and adjudging the rest of the estate

1 Continuator of Croyland Chron.

* Continuator of Chronicle of Croyland. Edward IV. had, since his restoration, pretended to show some favour to the archbishop, had hunted with him at Windsor, and even invited himself to dine with him at the More: upon which the archbishop foolishly took from a hiding-place all the plate and jewels he had concealed before the battles of Tewkesbury and Barnet, and borrowed much more of his acquaintance. Edward instead of visiting, arrested him, seized all these riches, and sent him prisoner to Hammes.—Leland's Collectanea, vol. i. p. 509. * The same functionary who afterwards murdered the princes of York.

Parliamentary Rolls, 1473.

to Clarence. This award was made at the expense of Anne countess of Warwick, the mother of the young ladies, and the true heiress of the vast estates of Despencer and Beauchamp. The act of parliament specified "that the countess of Warwick was no more to be considered, in the award of her inheritance, than if she were dead." In fact, Rous accuses Richard of incarcerating, during his life, "the venerable countess Anna, the rightful mistress of the Warwick patrimony, when in her distress she fled to him as her son-in-law for protection,”—an ill deed which has not commonly been enumerated in the ample list of Richard's iniquities.

The marriage of the lady Anne and Richard duke of Glou cester took place at Westminster,' 1473, probably a few days before the date of Paston's letter. Provost affirms she was compelled by violence to marry Richard. Some illegalities were connected with this ceremony, assuredly arising from the reluctance of the bride, since the Parliamentary rolls of the next year contain a curious act, empowering the duke of Gloucester "to continue the full possession and enjoyment of Anne's property, even if she were to divorce him, provided he did his best to be reconciled and re-married to her," ominous clauses relating to a wedlock of a few months! which proved that Anne meditated availing herself of some informality in her abhorred marriage; but had she done so, her husband would have remained in possession of her property. The informalities most likely arose from the want of the proper bulls to dispense with relationship; and as the free consent of both bride and bridegroom was an indispensable preliminary to such dispensation, the absence of these legal instruments negatively prove that the unfortunate Anneof Warwick never consented to her second marriage. The birth of her son Edward at Middleham-castle, 1474, probably reconciled the unhappy duchess of Gloucester to her miserable fate; but that her marriage was never legalized may be guessed by the rumours of a subsequent period, when the venomous hunchback, her cousin-husband, meditated in his turn divorcing her.

1 Carte, reign of Edward IV., 1473.

Sprott Fragment, as to place, but it gives date 1474. Hutton gives 1473 as the year.

Richard and Anne lived chiefly at Middleham-castle, in Yorkshire, an abode convenient for the office borne by the duke as governor of the northern marches. As a very active war was proceeding with Scotland, in the course of which Richard won several battles and captured Edinburgh,' his reluctant wife was not much troubled with his company, but devoted herself to her boy, in whom all her affections centered, and the very springs of her life were wound up in his welfare. During her abode at Middleham she lost her sister the duchess of Clarence, who died December 12th, 1476. The death of Edward IV. caused a great change in the life of Anne. The duke of Gloucester, who had very recently returned from Scotland, left Anne and his boy at Middleham when he departed, with a troop of horse, to intercept his young nephew Edward V. on progress to London. Richard's household-book2 at Middleham affords some notitia regarding the son of Anne of Warwick, during his father's absence. Geoffry Frank is allowed 22s. 9d. for green cloth, and 1s. 8d. for making it into gowns for my lord prince and Mr. Neville; 5s. for choosing a king of West Witton, in some frolic of rush-bearing, and 5s. for a feather for my lord prince; and Dirick, shoemaker, had 138. 1d. for his shoes; and Jane Collins, his nurse, 100s. for her year's wages. Among the expenses which seem to have occurred on the progress of the young prince up to London, on the occasion of the coronation of his parents, are his offerings at Fountain'sabbey, and other religious houses. For mending his whip, 2d., and 68. 8d. to two of his men, Medcalf and Pacok, for running on foot by the side of his carriage.

After a succession of astounding crimes, Richard effected the usurpation of his nephew's throne, and Anne of Warwick was placed in the situation of consort to an English monarch. She arrived in London, with her son, in time to share her husband's coronation, yet we should think her arrival was but just before that event, as her rich dress for the occasion was only bought two days preceding the ceremony. There is an order to "Piers Curteys, to deliver for the use of the queen four and a half yards of purpille cloth of gold upon damask,

1 Holinshed.

2 Harleian MSS. 433.

3 Ibid. 433, 1598.