But this was only the beginning of the duke's diftreffes. The cardinal of Winchester was refolved to drive his refentment to the utmost extreme; and accordingly procured a parliament to be fummoned, not at London, which was too well affected to the duke, but at St. Edmundsbury, where his adherents were fufficiently numerous to over-awe every opponent. As foon as he appeared he was accused of treason, and thrown into prifon; and on the day on which he was to make his defence, he was found dead in his bed, though without any figns of violence upon his body.

The death of the duke of Gloucester was univerfally afcribed to the cardinal of Winchefter, who himself died fix weeks after, testifying the utmost remorfe for the bloody fcene he had acted. What fhare the queen had in the guilt of this tranfaction is uncertain; her usual activity and spirit made the public conclude, with fome reafon, that the duke's enemies durft not have ventured on fuch a deed without her privity. Henry did not fail to share in the general difguft that was thus produced; and as he wanted abilities, he never had art to remove any fufpicion. From this time difcontent began to prevail among the people, and faction among the great. A weak prince feated on the throne of England, however gentle and innocent, feldom fails of having his authority defpifed, and his power infulted. The incapacity of Henry began every day to appear in a fuller light; and the foreign war being now extinguished, the people began to prepare for the horrors of inteftine ftrife. In this period of calamity, a new intereft was revived, which had lain dormant in the times of profperity and triumph.

It was now that the English were to pay the fevere, though late, penalty for having unjustly

depofed

depofed Richard the second; another Richard, who was duke of York, beginning to think of preferring his claims to the crown. This nobleman was defcended, by the mother's fide, from Lionel, one of the fons of Edward the third, whereas the reigning king was defcended from John of Gaunt, a fon of the fame monarch, but younger than Lionel. Richard, therefore ftood plainly in fucceffion before Henry; and he began to think the weakness and unpopularity of the prefent reign a favourable moment for ambition. The enfign of Richard was a white rose, that of Henry a red; and this gave name to the two factions, whose animofity was now about to drench the kingdom with flaughter.

The cardinal of Winchefter being dead, the duke of Suffolk, who had a hand in Gloucester's affaffination, took the lead in public affairs; and being fecretly aided by the intereft of the queen, managed all with uncontrolable authority. As this nobleman had made his way to power by murder, fo he was refolved to maintain himself in it by the ufual refources of bad men, by tyranny over his inferiors, and flattery to the queen. His conduct foon excited the jealoufy or the hatred of the whole kingdom. The great nobility could ill brook the exaltation of a fubject above them, who was of a birth inferior to their own. The people complained of his arbitrary measures; and the immenfe acquifitions which he had made in office, and the blame of every odious and unA. D. fuccefsful measure, was inftantly given to him. Suffolk was not ignorant of the 1450. hatred of the people; but fuppofed that his crimes were fuch as could not be proved against him, or, that if proved, he could readily evade punishment; he endeavoured, therefore, to overawe his enemies by boldly prefenting himself to the charge;

and

his guilt.

and he called upon them to fhew an inftance of This was what the House of Commons had long wifhed for; and they immediately opened their charge againft him of corruption, tyranny, and treafon. He was accused of being the cause of the lofs of France; of perfuading the French king, with an armed force, to invade England; and of betraying in office the fecrets of his department. This accufation might have been false; but the real motive, which was Suffolk's power, and the cruel ufe he made of it, was left unmentioned, although it was true. It was no eafy matter for any one man's ftrength, how great foever, to withstand the united refentment of a nation; fo that the court was obliged to give up its favourite ; and the king to fhield him as much as poffible from popular refentment, banished him the kingdom for five years. This was confidered by fome as an efcape from juftice; the captain of a veffel was therefore employed by his enemies to intercept him in his paffage to France; he was seized near Dover, his head ftruck off on the fide of a long-boat, and his body thrown into the fea. There is little in the tranfactions of thefe times to intereft us on the fide of either party; we see scarce any thing but crimes on both fides, without one fhining character, or one virtue to animate the narrative.

By the death of the duke of Suffolk, Richard of York faw himself rid of a potent enemy, and was pleased to fee the difcontents of the nation daily encreafe. Among the number of complaints which the unpopularity of the government gave rife to, there were fome which even excited infurrections; particularly that headed by John Cade, which was of the most dangerous nature. This man was a native of Ireland, who had been obliged to fly over into France for his crimes; but fee

ing

ing the people upon his return prepared for violent measures, he affumed the name of Mortimer ; and at the head of twenty thousand Kentish men advanced towards the capital, and encamped at Blackheath. The king being informed of this commotion sent a meflage to demand the cause of their affembling in arms; and Cade, in the name of the community, anfwered, that their only aim was to punish evil minifters, and procure a redrefs of grievances for the people. The king's council deemed thefe demands feditious, a body of fifteen thousand men was levied to oppose the infurgents; while Henry himfelf marched at their head towards Blackheath. At his approach, Cade retired, as if he had been afraid of an engagement, and lay in ambush in a wood, not doubting that he fhould be pursued by the king's whole army; but the king was content with fending a detachment after the fugitives, and returned himself to London. This was what Cade defired to fee, and fallying out from his ambufcade, he cut the detachment in pieces.

The citizens of London foon after opened their gates to the victor; and Cade for fome time maintained great order and difcipline among his followers. He always led them out into the field during the night time; and published severe edicts against plunder, and violence of every kind.

Next day, being informed that the treasurer, lord Say, was in the city, he caused him to be apprehended, and beheaded without any form of trial; and in the evening returned to the Borough of Southwark. Thus for fome days he continued the practice of entering the city in the morning, and quitting it at night; but at length being unable to keep his followers within bounds, the citizens refolved to shut their gates against him. Cade endeavouring

endeavouring to force bis way, an engagement enfued between him and the citizens, which lafted all day, and was not discontinued until night put an end to the engagement. The archbishop of Canterbury, and the chancellor, who had taken refuge in the Tower, being informed of the fituation of affairs, found means to draw up the fame night an act of amnesty, which was privately difperfed among the rebels, which had the defired effect. Cade faw himself in the morning abandoned by most of his followers, and retreating to Rochester, was obliged to fly alone into the woods of Kent, where a price being fet upon his head by proclamation, he was discovered and flain by one Alexander Eden, who, in recompenfe for this fervice, was made governor of Dover castle.

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In the mean time the duke of York fecretly fomented thefe difturbances; and pretending to espouse the cause of the people, wrote to the king advifing a reformation in the miniftry; and the house of commons was brought over to fecond the request. An addrefs was prefented against the duke of Somerset, the dutchefs of Suffolk, the bifhop of Chester, Sir John Tufton, and lord Dudley, praying the king to remove them for ever from his perfon and councils, and to prohibit them from approaching within twelve miles of the court. Though the king was willing enough to oppose fo violent and arbitrary an attack upon his favourites, yet he endeavoured to foften the general animofity against them, by promifing to banish a part of this obnoxious ministry from court for the fpace of a year.

But partial conceffions in government are generally bad palliatives. The duke of York, who found the people entirely attached to him, refolved to avail himself of his power; and raifing

a body