Margaret's spirit was not broken even by
this great blow. Within five days she was in
arms again, and raised her standard in Bath,
whence she set off with her army, to try and
join Lord Pembroke, who had a force in
Wales.  But, the King, coming up with her
outside the town of Tewkesbury, and ordering
his brother, the DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, who
was a brave soldier, to attack her men, she
sustained an entire defeat, and was taken
prisoner, together with her son now only
eighteen years of age. The conduct of the
King to this poor youth was worthy of his cruel
character. He ordered him to be led into his
tent.  " And what," said he, " brought you to
England ? "  " I came to England," replied
the prisoner, with a spirit which a man of
spirit might have admired in a captive, " to
recover my father's kingdom, which descended
to him as his right, and from him descends
to me, as mine."  The King, drawing off his
iron gauntlet, struck him with it in the face;
and the Duke of Clarence and some other
lords, who were there, drew their noble swords,
and killed him.

His mother survived him, a prisoner, for
five years; after her ransom by the King of
France, she survived for six years more.
Within three weeks of this murder, Henry
died one of those convenient sudden deaths
which were so common in the Tower; in
plainer words, he was murdered by the King's
order.

Having no particular excitement on his
hands after this great defeat of the Lancaster
party, and being perhaps desirous to get rid
of some of his fat (for he was now getting too
corpulent to be handsome), the King thought
of making war on France.  As he wanted
more money for this purpose than the Parliament
could give him, though they were usually
ready enough for war, he invented a new way
of raising it, by sending for the principal
citizens of London, and telling them, with a
grave face, that he was very much in want of
cash, and would take it very kind in them if
they would lend him some.  It being impossible
for them safely to refuse, they complied,
and the monies thus forced from them were
called—no doubt to the great amusement of
the King and the Court—as if they were free
gifts, " Benevolences."  What with grants
from Parliament, and what with Benevolences,
the King raised an army and passed over to
Calais. As nobody wanted war, however, the
French King made proposals of peace, which
were accepted, and a truce was concluded for
seven long years.  The proceedings between the
Kings of France and England on this occasion,
were very friendly, very splendid, and very
distrustful.  They finished with a meeting
between the two Kings, on a temporary bridge
over the river Somme, where they embraced
through two holes in a strong wooden grating
like a lion's cage, and made several bows and
fine speeches to one another.

It was time, now, that the Duke of Clarence
should be punished for his treacheries; and
Fate had his punishment in store. He was,
probably, not trusted by the King—for who
could trust him who knew him!—and he had
certainly a powerful opponent in his brother
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who, being
avaricious and ambitious, wanted to marry
that widowed daughter of the Earl of
Warwick's who had been espoused to the
deceased young Prince, at Calais. Clarence,
who wanted all the family wealth for himself,
secreted this lady, whom Richard found
disguised as a servant in the City of London, and
whom he married; arbitrators appointed by
the King, then divided the property between
the brothers. This led to ill-will and mis-
trust between them.  Clarence's wife dying,
and he wishing to make another marriage
which was obnoxious to the King, his ruin
was hurried by that means, too.  At first, the
Court struck at his retainers and dependents,
and accused some of them of magic and witchcraft,
and similar nonsense.  Successful against
this small game, it then mounted to the Duke
himself, who was impeached by his brother
the King, in person, on a variety of such
charges.  He was found guilty, and sentenced
to be publicly executed.  He never was publicly
executed, but he met his death somehow, in
the Tower, and, no doubt, through some agency
of the King or his brother Gloucester, or both.
It was supposed at the time that he was told
to choose the manner of his death, and that he
chose to be drowned in a butt of Malmsey
wine.  I hope the story may be true, for it
would have been a becoming death for such a
miserable creature.

The King survived him some five years.
He died in the forty-second year of his life,
and the twenty-third of his reign.  He had a
very good capacity and some good points, but
he was selfish, careless, sensual, and cruel.  He
was a favourite with the people for his showy
manners; and the people were a good example
to him in the constancy of their attachment.
He was penitent on his death-bed for his
"benevolence," and other extortions, and
ordered restitution to be made to the people
who had suffered from them.  He also called
about his bed the enriched members of the
Woodville family, and the proud lords whose
honours were of older date, and endeavoured
to reconcile them, for the sake of the peaceful
succession of his son and the tranquillity of
England.

Shortly will be Published, Price 3s. 6d.,
THE SECOND VOLUME OF
A CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
BY CHARLES DICKENS.
To be completed in three Volumes, of the same size and price.
Collected and revised from " Household Words,"
With a Table of Dates.
The First Volume may be had of all Booksellers.
BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.