Young Folks' History of EnglandYonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
History
Young Folks' History of England
Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Great Britain -- History -- Juvenile literature
But after this, a young man appeared under the protection of the
Duchess of Burgundy, who said he was no other than the poor little
Duke of York, Richard, who had escaped from the Tower when his brother
was murdered. Englishmen, who came from Flanders, said that he was
a clever, cowardly lad of the name of Peter (or Perkin) Warbeck, the
son of a townsman of Tournay; but the duchess persuaded King James
IV. of Scotland to believe him a real royal Plantagenet. He went to
Edinburgh, married a beautiful lady, cousin to the king, and James
led him into England at the head of an army to put forward his claim.
But nobody would join him, and the Scots did not care about him; so
James sent him away to Ireland, whence he went to Cornwall. However,
he soon found fighting was of no use, and fled away to the New Forest,
where he was taken prisoner. He was set in the stocks, and there made
to confess that he was really Perkin Warbeck and no duke, and then he
was shut up in the Tower. But there he made friends with the real
Earl of Warwick, and persuaded him into a plan for escape; but this
was found out, and Henry, thinking that he should never have any
peace or safety whilst either of them was alive, caused Perkin to
be hanged, and poor innocent Edward of Warwick to be beheaded.
It was thought that this cruel deed was done because Henry found
that foreign kings did not think him safe upon the throne while one
Plantagenet was left alive, and would not give their children in
marriage to his sons and daughters. He was very anxious to make grand
marriages for his children, and make peace with Scotland by a wedding
between King James and his eldest daughter, Margaret. For his eldest
son, Arthur, Prince of Wales, he obtained Katharine, the daughter
of the King of Aragon and Queen of Castille, and she was brought to
England while both were mere children. Prince Arthur died when only
eighteen years old; and King Henry then said that they had been both
such children that they could not be considered really married, and so
that Katharine had better marry his next son, Henry, although everyone
knew that no marriage between a man and his brother's widow could be
lawful. The truth was that he did not like to give up all the money
and jewels she had brought; and the matter remained in dispute for
some years--nor was it settled when King Henry himself died, after an
illness that no one expected would cause his death. Nobody was very
sorry for him, for he had been hard upon everyone, and had encouraged
two wicked judges, named Dudley and Empson, who made people pay most
unjust demands, and did everything to fill the king's treasury and
make themselves rich at the same time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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