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queen's party that coveted that important office for themselves, the more so as they had been accustomed for years to participate in government. No wonder, then, if now they tried to manage things to their own satisfaction by keeping the young prince in their power. And as soon as the king was dead they went to work, and endeavoured to get Prince Edward in their power by bringing him from Ludlow castle to London. There arose but the question whether he was to be conducted there by a small body of troops or by a large one. The queen's party, of course, was for a large one, whilst their enemies wanted but a small retinue, and it was at last decided. that the escort was to be composed of 2000 horsemen. To prevent the young king from falling into the power of the queen's partisans, who were hated by the old aristocracy as upstards, Glou- cester was invited to take the necessary measures(Pauli, Aufsätze). As this coincided with his own views, he left York where the news of Edward'’s death reached him, and rode southwarth with put 600 horsemen. On arriving at Northampton he did not find there his nephew, as he had expected,. but was met by the Lords Rivers, Grey and Vaughan, apparently to do him homage, but in fact to retard Richard's progress, and so to allow the young king, whom they had sent onwards, to reach London before falling in with his uncle. Gloucester seems to have looked through this stratagem without, however, letting anybody know of it. He received the lords very kindly, passed part of the night with them in friendly conversation, but when, late in the evening, Buckingham arrived with 300 horsemen, and brought the news that the queen’s son, the Duke of Dorset, had taken possession of the treasury in the Tower, they held a long council during the night, and in the morning had the lords arrested on the road to Stoney Stratford, and sent to Pomfret. When Richard and his men arrived at Stoney Stratford, they found the young king just on the point of leaving for London. Richard took him back to Northampton, from whence he sent a report of his proceedings to London, and when they had been approved of, he, at once, conducted his nephew to the capital. When the news of Richard's measures arrived at London, it spread great conster- nation among the queen's party. The queen herself with the Duke of York, and her five daughters took refuge to the Sanctuary of Westminster. The same did her son, the Duke of Dorset, who was afraid of being called to account for his taking possession of the treasury in the Tower. On arriving at London, the young prince was at first taken to the abode of the bishop of London, and afterwards removed to the royal residence of the Tower. Then a council was held which approved of Richard's measures, and appointed him protector of the young king, and the realm, which decision was soon after approved of by parliament(Halsted, Richard III. Pauli, Aufsätze). Although, according to Shakespeare, it would appear as if Gloucester's nomination as protector had filled all classes of the population with awe and terror, yet from the circumstance that no objection arose from any side, it rather seems that, on the contrary, the protectorate of Gloucester met at first with general approbation. The old aristocracy was delighted at seeing frustrated the plans of those haughty Wydevilles, the citizens who wished but for peace, believed it best secured in the hands of a man as Richard, and Lady Cecily too, Richard's mother, whom Shakespeare makes bemoan her son's new dignity, seems to have approved of her son's putting aside the family of her daughter-in-law, whose marriage with her son Edward had never pleased her. She was residing then at Baynard's castle, and there Gloucester repaired at once, and there were held, in Gloucesters presence, the meetings of the executors of King Edward's last will(Halsted, Richard III.). As to the imprisonment of Lord Rivers, Grey and Vaughan it is very likely that Richard at first 3*