defeated and killed at Barnet on April 14th. The ex-king was imprisoned in the Tower; and Margaret, who, almost at the very hour when the battle of Barnet was being fought, had landed at Weymouth, was on May 4th defeated and taken at Tewkesbury, her son, Prince Edward, being afterwards disgracefully murdered in cold blood.[1] Margaret was ransomed by the King of France, but was not suffered to depart until she had formally renounced all her claims to the English throne.
Edward had regained his crown but not his navy, the greater part of which, upon the death of Warwick, had fallen into the hands of the king-maker's lieutenant, Thomas, an illegitimate son of William Neville, Earl of Kent. This adventurer, known as the Bastard of Fauconberg, went to Calais, embarked part of the garrison, and, anticipating that the capital would espouse the cause of Henry VI., who was still in the Tower, sailed to the mouth of the Thames, after having touched at Dover and reinforced himself there, and landed with seventen thousand men. He was deceived. Far from joining him, the citizens opposed him, in spite of the large body of troops at his disposal, and, closely pursued, he retired to Sandwich, where, upon a promise of pardon, he surrendered himself and his ships. He was spared, and even employed, until, being detected in fresh intrigues, he was beheaded.[2] At about the time of the Bastard's descent, in May, 1471, the ex-king, Henry VI., died in the Tower. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that Edward realised that so long as Henry lived, civil strife was almost inevitable; and that, directly or indirectly, he was responsible for his rival's death, although the circumstances of the tragedy have never been explained.
Freed at length from domestic troubles, and master of his kingdom, Edward determined on a war with France, which had so often assisted his enemies, and against which he had many old grounds of quarrel. His preparations occupied him for some time, and not until about June, l1475, were they completed. By that time he had collected five hundred craft of various descriptions at Sandwich; and at the end of the month, or the beginning of July, he crossed to Calais with a large army.[3] Louis XI. and Charles, Duke of Burgundy, were at war, and Edward, in pursuance of his
