25

2000 men from the north, of whom about 5000 made their appearance, but the measure had been unnecessary since no attempt whatever was made to oppose his accession to the throne, and every thing went as quietly and solemnly as if he had been from the beginning the legitimate heir of Edward IV. The coronation was celebrated on the 6th of July by the archbishop of Canterbury, who had sworn fidelity to young Edward, and was, moreover, closely related to him. All this seems to prove that the accession of Richard was approved of by the majority of the population, nobles, clergy and burghers. The coronation festivities, which were most splendid, were very well attended by the nobility. Richard, on that occasion, pardoned his enemies, released many from prisons and sanctuaries, and bestowed upon several of them the honour of knighthood.(Halsted, Richard III.) Anne, his wife, joyfully participated in all ceremonies, it seems, and nothing whatever is known of her bemoaning her sad fate, and cursing the day when she allowed herself to be persuaded by Richard to become his wife, as Shakespeare represents it in that most touching scene when the Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth, and Anne of Gloucester meet, and all of them are afraid of what is likely to follow the accession of Richard. Anne, the most afflicted of them, breaks forth into these lamentations:

O, would to God that the inclusive verge

Of golden metal that must round my brow

Were red-hot steel to sear me to the brain!

Anointed let me be with deadly venom;

And die, ere men can say— God save the Queen!(Richard III. IV. 1.) Her married life has been most wretched, and no wonder!

For never yet one hour in his bed

Did I enjoy the golden dew of sleep,

But with his timorous dreams was still awak'd.

Besides, he hates me for my father Warwick;

And will no doubt shortly be rid of me.(Lbid.)

The whole scene is again a fiction of the poet. Queen Elizabeth was at the time when the meeting of the ladies is thought to happen still an inmate of Westminster Sanctuary, as she left it but on the 1st of March 1484. With the coronation of Richard all prospects of young Edward seemed over for ever, and a great many of those that had sided with him up to that mo- ment left his party, and joined Richard's. Also most of the foreign sovereigns acknowledged him King of England.

Now, had Richard been the bloody monster he has been represented by Shakespeare and tradition, he certainly would have persecuted all those he knew to be his enemies, or whom he could not trust. But he did nothing of that kind. He, on the contrary, tried hard to reconcile them, he endeavoured to diminish the misery of those families whose heads had been put to death by his order by settling annuities upon them. He was bent upon redressing all wrongs that came to his knowledge, insisted upon strict justice being administered by the magistrates throughout the realm, and in order to inquire into the wants or grievances of his subjects began a progress through the kingdom but a few days after his coronation. To improve and encourage learning, he bestowed upon several of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge large sums of money, in short he showed

himself of a truly royal mind. How great his zeal was to give his people good laws may be seen 4