Great Britain -- History -- Richard III, 1483-1485; Richard III, King of England, 1452-1485
There was, indeed, every thing in the circumstances of the case to
awaken excitement and emotion. Here was a boy not yet out of his
teens, extremely handsome in appearance and agreeable in manners, who
had taken the field in command of a very large force to avenge the
cruel death of his father and brother, and was now coming boldly, at
the head of his troops, into the very capital of the king and queen
under whose authority his father and brother had been killed.
The most extraordinary circumstance connected with these proceedings
was, that during all this time Henry was still acknowledged by every
one as the actual king. Edward and his friends maintained, indeed,
that he, Edward, was _entitled_ to reign, but no one pretended that
any thing had yet been done which could have the legal effect of
putting him upon the throne. There was, however, now a general
expectation that the time for the formal deposition of Henry was near,
and in and around London all was excitement and confusion. The people
from the surrounding towns flocked every day into the city to see what
they could see, and to hear what they could hear. They thronged the
streets whenever Edward appeared in public, eager to obtain a glimpse
of him.
At length, a few days after Edward entered the city, his counselors
and friends deemed that the time had come for action. Accordingly,
they made arrangements for a grand review in a large open field. Their
design was by this review to call together a great concourse of
spectators. A vast assembly convened according to their expectations.
In the midst of the ceremonies, two noblemen appeared before the
multitude to make addresses to them. One of them made a speech in
respect to Henry, denouncing the crimes, and the acts of treachery and
of oppression which his government had committed. He dilated long on
the feebleness and incapacity of the king, and his total inability to
exercise any control in the management of public affairs. After he had
finished, he called out to the people in a loud voice to declare
whether they would submit any longer to have such a man for king.
The people answered "NAY, NAY, NAY," with loud and long acclamations.
Then the other speaker made an address in favor of Edward. He
explained at length the nature of his title to the crown, showing it
to be altogether superior in point of right to that of Henry. He also
spoke long and eloquently in praise of Edward's personal
qualifications, describing his courage, his activity, and energy, and
the various graces and accomplishments for which he was distinguished,
in the most glowing terms. He ended by demanding of the people whether
they would have Edward for king.
The people answered "YEA, YEA, YEA; KING EDWARD FOREVER! KING EDWARD
FOREVER!" with acclamations as long and loud as before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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