Though Henry entered London in a closed car, probably as a measure of precaution, he was received with much applause; for the popular hope was, that the rival claims of York and Lancaster would now be ended by a union of the two houses. Pageants were exhibited before the coronation, which was deferred till October 30th, on account of the sweating sickness, which then first visited England. This disease was especially fatal in London, where two mayors and six aldermen died in eight days.

The title of Henry VII. to the throne was very defective. Supposing Edward v. and his brother were both dead, the right of succession remained in the princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. Next to her and her sister was the earl of Warwick, son to the duke of Clarence, a youth of fifteen. One of the first cares of Henry was to send orders from Leicester, that this young earl should be conveyed from Yorkshire to the Tower of London.

Nor was Henry's title from the house of Lancaster a valid one. Catherine, the widowed queen of Henry v., married Owen Tudor, a private gentleman of Wales. Their son was created earl of Richmond, and married the heiress of Somerset, a branch of the Lancastrian family, by an illegitimate son of John of Gaunt. The earl died soon after his marriage, leaving an orphan son, afterwards Henry VII. In 1470, Henry vI., during his short restoration, seeing young Richmond, then a lad about fourteen, is said to have pointed him out as likely to have the crown. The attention of both parties was thus drawn to young Richmond. After the battle of Tewkesbury, his uncle thought it necessary to convey him to France for safety; but being driven to Bretagne by a storm, they were detained there in a sort of honourable captivity during twelve years; when the nobles who combined against Richard called Richmond to England, and placed him on the throne. His accession was, in reality, the act of these leaders; his title was confirmed by marriage with Elizabeth of

York, the true heiress; but Henry chose to rest it on his Lancastrian descent, which, if it had been valid, would have placed his mother, then living, on the throne before him, as the immediate descendant of the Somersets. She was an exemplary character; and the universities were indebted to her for considerable benefactions; but her family had been excluded from the throne, on account of their illegitimate descent.

According to these views, a declaration was procured from the parliament, which met directly after the coronation, setting forth that the inheritance of the throne was in Henry VII. and his heirs: it was also declared, that all attainders, or corruption of blood, which might be pleaded against a king, ceased immediately he assumed the crown. The results of the civil wars appeared in the small number of the lay peers; only twenty-nine assembled in parliament on this occasion. Henry, for a time, seems to have desired to avoid the marriage with Elizabeth, but finding the popular feeling was in her favour, and the Commons having urged this alliance, he caused the marriage to be solemnized in January, 1486. Although she was an amiable and beautiful princess, Henry always treated her with indifference, or even aversion, perhaps because she was a favourite with the nation, by whom her title to the throne was deemed preferable to his own.

Among the early proceedings of Henry was an act of attainder against some of the Yorkists. By a fiction of law, his reign was declared to have begun the day before the battle of Bosworth; thereby the duke of Norfolk, lord Lovel, and some other leading supporters of Richard, were declared to have forfeited their estates to the crown. He selected his own earliest adherents to be his confidential ministers, rewarding those who deserted Richard's party, but not placing much trust in them. He consulted his personal safety by appointing a body-guard of fifty men: this is continued under the title of "Yeomen of the guard;' their dress has been the same from the first formation

of this body. In all his proceedings, Henry displayed much caution and prudence, showing himself really anxious to promote the national welfare. He was twenty-nine years old when he obtained the crown; fourteen years spent in adversity had taught him wisdom, at least in worldly matters.

In the spring of 1486, Henry made a progress through the northern counties, which afforded an opportunity for lord Lovel, an adherent of Richard, to withdraw from the sanctuary at Colchester, where he had taken refuge. He planned an attack upon the king on his way to York. Lovel's force appeared; it had nearly intercepted Henry, when the earl of Northumberland joined the royal train with a large body of supporters. An offer of pardon being made, Lovel withdrew to the continent, leaving his followers, who dispersed.

Soon after the king's return from his progress, a prince was born at Winchester, and named Arthur. This event occasioned general rejoicings, an undoubted heir to the throne being now declared. But the position of Henry was still insecure. Like all others who obtain power by force, he could not confide in those to whom he owed his elevation. His chief safety arose from the non-appearance of any opponent.

Early in 1487, an opponent was produced. A report was spread that the young duke of York was alive in Ireland. This rumour was soon corrected, and the lad in question was said to be the earl of Warwick, son to the duke of Clarence, whose memory, as their governor, was still cherished by the Irish people. They were attached to the York family, the first claimant to the throne having been their ruler. This youth was said to have escaped from the Tower. Margaret, duchess of Burgundy, the sister of Edward Iv., who deeply hated Henry, promised her assistance; the Irish nobles gave their support to the pretender. Henry caused the real earl of Warwick (the son of Clarence, and grandson to the king-making earl) to be

carried in procession through the streets of London, convincing the people in general that he was still alive, and a prisoner, so that the claimant of his name must be an impostor. He was, in fact, a youth named Lambert Simnel, the son of a baker, at Oxford, instructed by a priest named John Simon to assume and act this part. Lovel and the earl of Lincoln, the nephew of Edward IV., the leaders among the Yorkists, were convinced of the deception, but resolved to avail themselves of the popular feelings, and to support the impostor for a time, till they could release the real Warwick. They proceeded with 2,000 German soldiers from the continent to Dublin, where the youth was proclaimed king. The earl of Kildare, the governor of Ireland, was a Yorkist: expecting to be displaced by the reigning monarch, he was inclined to support any claimant of the throne.

Henry was not careless; he caused the widowed queen of Edward IV. to be confined in Bermondsey Abbey the ports were guarded, and he assembled an army at Kenilworth, on hearing that his opponents had disembarked in Lancashire. The armies met at Stoke, near Newark. The earl of Lincoln, lord Lovel, and Martin Swart, a German commander of note, who was the leader of the invading troops, all fell in the conflict, unless, as was reported, Lovel escaped, and remained concealed in one of his own houses, where, many years afterwards, a skeleton was discovered in a secret apartment, the head reclining on a table. Lambert and his tutor were taken, his adherents having been entirely defeated, after a severe struggle. Henry wisely treated his captive with contempt, making him a scullion, but afterwards promoting him to the office of under falconer. Warned by this insurrection, the king caused the queen to be crowned, knowing that it would be a popular measure.

The king of France, at this period, invaded Bretagne. The popular voice called upon Henry to prevent the accession of power to the French monarchy :

he was also from gratitude bound to protect that country; but averse to war, he entered into a secret treaty with Charles. Though compelled to send a body of troops to the continent, Henry soon withdrew them, and assented to the marriage of the French king with the heiress of Bretagne-a new course which that monarch adopted, as best calculated to secure his object. Meanwhile, Henry raised large sums from his subjects, on the pretext of a war with France, chiefly by what were called benevolences, a sort of forced gift. This plan was promoted by archbishop Morton, the chancellor, who used a double argument, urging that those who lived frugally could the better spare something for the king, while those who lived expensively ought not to expend all upon themselves, forgetful of the claims of their monarch. The collection of these imposts created great discontents, especially in the north, where the earl of Northumberland was killed in a popular tumult.

Henry was, at length, obliged to engage in war with France, but after undertaking the siege of Boulogne, in 1492, he allowed the French king to purchase a peace. In the same year, a second prince, afterwards Henry VIII., was born. During this interval, another more carefully matured plot had been carried forward. Reports were circulated that the duke of York had been spared by those who engaged to murder his brother and himself. In 1492, a young man came from Portugal, and suddenly appeared at Cork, in Ireland, who declared himself to be the individual in question. He was welcomed as such by the Irish, or rather by the inhabitants of the limited eastern district in that country, then acknowledging the authority of the English monarch. From thence he soon proceeded to France, where he was encouraged by Charles, and joined by many English exiles. Peace being made, he was obliged to withdraw from France, when he visited the duchess of Burgundy, who received him with many honours, publicly acknowledging him as her