The town of Tewkesbury, with its old Norman abbey and quiet streets, is little changed in outward appearance since that period. Immediately south of the town, and at a short distance from the ancient abbey, is a mead, which in summer, when the sky is blue and cloudless, and the sun paints the landscape in brilliant hues, blooms with wild flowers, and smiles in the merry light of day. That piece of ground is known as "the Bloody Meadow," because, when the Houses of York and Lancaster fought their twelfth battle for the crown, its surface was dyed with some of the best blood of England.

It was the 4th of May, 1471, when the Lancastrian chiefs set their ranks in order; and the boy-Prince of Wales rode along their lines, while Queen Margaret encouraged the adherents of the Red Rose to do their duty against the approaching foe. Onward, with a prescience of victory-for men who had just destroyed the Neville barons could fear little from a woman and a boy- came the warriors of Barnet, their van led by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, already dreaming of the throne. At the first charge the Yorkists were gallantly repulsed; but Gloucester, by a dexterous feint, drew Somerset from his entrenchments, and the latter, making a sally, spent the energy of his men in one furious charge.

This was not the worst of the Duke's blunders. Perceiving that he had not been properly supported, Somerset rode back to Lord Wenlock, who had remained in the trenches, accused him of treachery, and killed him

with a battle-axe. By this time all was confusion. Devon fell in front of his array; Gloucester, with his boar's-head crest, appeared within the Lancastrian lines; Edward and Clarence followed in triumph; the conflict became a rout; and the shepherds, looking down from the Cotswold Hills, shuddered as they witnessed the slaughter in the vale.

The Prince of Wales had hitherto maintained his position and fought with courage; but when the day was irretrievably lost, and Somerset fled to take refuge in the church, the Prince, in despair, made for the town. On his way the young hero was stopped by Sir Richard Crofts, who persuaded him to surrender, and go into the presence of the King. There is still standing a house where, according to tradition, the savage Edward rested after his victory; and on an oaken floor are pointed out marks of blood long since shed. There, it is said, the youthful Prince appeared before his victor. What brought you here?" asked the Yorkist King. recover my father's crown and my own rights," boldly answered the heir of Lancaster.

"To

The noble presence, high spirit, and remarkable promise of the boy were arguments for his speedy destruction; for never could the cause of the Red Rose die while such a Prince breathed the breath of life. So Edward savagely struck the face of the unarmed captive with a gauntlet; Clarence and Gloucester rushed upon him with their swords; and the King's servants completed the murder.

And now all was over; and evident it seemed that fortune had for ever deserted the Red Rose. King Edward, having embrued his hands in innocent blood, went to the Abbey of Tewkesbury to return thanks for his victory; and Somerset, with others of the vanquished found in the Abbey Church, was executed; and Queen Margaret, discovered lurking in a religious house hard by, was carried captive to London, and there detained till the treaty of Amiens; and King Henry, a meek prisoner, died in the Tower, despatched, it was suspected, by the dagger of Gloucester.

Meanwhile, in a grave within the Abbey Church of Tewkesbury, had been laid the gory corpse of Edward, Prince of Wales. No ceremony befitting his royal rank was observed on the occasion; and even now only a small slab indicates the spot where, far from the tomb of the fifth Henry illumined by rays of glory, repose the ashes of his grandson, by turns the hope, the hero, and the victim of the Lancastrian cause.

133

EDWARD THE FIFTH AND THE

DUKE OF YORK.

ONE day, during the period occupied by the wars of York and Lancaster, London was in commotion. The partisans of the White Rose manifested symptoms of doubt, dread, and in some cases despair, and the adherents of the Red Rose were elated with sudden hope and anticipation; for Edward of York had fled to Burgundy, and the Earl of Warwick was marching towards the capital to restore Henry of Lancaster to the throne of his fathers.

At this perilous crisis Elizabeth Woodville, the fair queen of the fugitive monarch, fled secretly, with three infant daughters, from the Tower to the Sanctuary of Westminster; and there, on the 4th of November, 1470, forsaken by her friends, and exposed

to

penury, became mother of an heir to the pretensions of the House of York. The boy was named Edward; but no martial barons or high-born dames of England were present at the baptism of the infant Plantagenet. "Like a poor man's child was he christened," says the old chronicler, "his godfather being the Abbot and

Prior of Westminster." The sun of York seemed to have set; but ere the little prince was six months old London 66 saw another sight," when his martial sire, returning with victory sitting on his helm, conducted his wife and son from the Sanctuary to the Palace, ere going forth to exercise his somewhat savage valour against the great baron who had made and unmade him.

When the battle of Barnet had destroyed the power of the Nevilles, and the battle of Tewkesbury left the surviving adherents of the Red Rose without a Lancastrian prince to rally round, King Edward felt his throne firm, and believed his crown secure. A great council of prelates and lay lords was held; and the royal boy was created Prince of Wales, invested with the Earldom of Chester, and recognised as Duke of Cornwall.

Having thus been invested with the honours and dignities usually conferred on an heir-apparent to the crown, Prince Edward, as time passed on and he grew into boyhood, was placed under the counsel and direction of his maternal uncle, Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, and sent to reside at the Castle of Ludlow, where it was hoped the presence of a Prince of Wales would keep the inhabitants of the Marches in

awe.

The rules laid down for the government of young Edward at Ludlow are worthy of notice. Early in the morning he rose and attended matins, then he was conducted to breakfast, and afterwards occupied