another, is perhaps the most dreadful of all kinds of war. I shall not attempt to describe to you the different places where these battles were fought, but sometimes one side gained the victory, and sometimes the other. There was a battle at Blore-heath, and another at Wakefield, and two at St. Alban's, and many more at other places besides. At the battle of Wakefield, the duke of York's army was beaten, and he himself was killed. However, his party soon recovered themselves, and in a battle at Tewkesbury, were victorious. The son of the duke of York was then proclaimed king, by the title of Edward the Fourth, in the year 1461. Poor king Henry, it is said, was afterwards murdered in his chamber by king Edward's brother, the duke of Gloucester, who was afterwards crooked-back king Richard the Third, of whose cruelty we read such terrible accounts :and the son of Henry was likewise stabbed by this same Gloucester, and the duke of Clarence, after the battle of Tewkesbury. Thus I have given you an account of this reign, in which we read of little else besides battles and cruel murders. I think you will now understand what is meant by the wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster. These are sometimes called the wars of the Roses, because the Lancaster party wore red roses in their hats, and the York party wore white ones. In the season when real roses were not to be had, I suppose they were contented with roses made of red and white ribbons. You see we have had three kings together of the House of Lancaster ;-and now we get into the House of York. And you see, too, that the family of Lancaster had no title to the throne; hence they are sometimes called usurpers, because they first, by means of Henry the Fourth, got the crown not by right, but by force. Here you see the reason why Gray calls the pious Henry the Sixth," the meek usurper." "Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame, QUESTIONS. In what year did Henry the Sixth begin to reign? How old was he when his father, Henry the Fifth, died? Who was appointed Protector whilst the king was too young to govern? Did the duke of Bedford carry on the war in France? Was he successful? By what strange means were the English affairs in France entirely changed? Who was Joan of Arc ? What French town did she relieve by driving the English away? Was she, at length, taken in battle by the English? How did they treat her? How were things going on in England during all this time? What relation was Henry the Sixth to Henry the Fourth? Had this branch of the royal family a right to the throne? Was not this the Lancaster family? Was not the Duke of York descended from an elder branch of the family? Ought he not, therefore, to have been king? When the people were dissatisfied with the present king, did they not wish to have one of the York family, instead of him? Did this lead to rebellions? Who first pretended to be of that family, and tried to raise the country in his favour? Did many people follow Cade? How many? What became of Cade? During an illness of the king, who was appointed to govern instead of him? Did the duke of York, having once got possession of power, endeavour to keep it in his own hands? L Did this lead to the wars of York and Lancaster? Who was king Henry's wife? How did this queen act? Were many battles fought between the York and Lancaster party? In what battle was the duke of York's army defeated and himself killed? In what battle did the duke's party recover itself? After this success of the York party, who was proclaimed king? In what year was this? What became of Henry the Sixth after Edward the Fourth was proclaimed king? Who was the duke of Gloucester, and what was his cha racter ? Why were the war of York and Lancaster sometimes called the wars of the Roses? Which party wore a red rose, and which wore a white one? How many kings have we had of the house of Lancaster? LETTER XV. MY DEAR BOY, As you seem desirous of attending to these short accounts which I send you of the reigns of the English kings, I am glad to write to you on this subject. If you remember well what I write, you will get a view of some of the principal parts of our history; and when you are old enough to study a larger History of England, you will, perhaps, be able to gain more advantage from it than if you had begun with a large one at first; and even now, by means of these short accounts, you will not be wholly ignorant of the history of your own country. In my last letter, I told you that Edward, the son of the duke of York, was proclaimed king, in the year 1461, by the title of Edward the Fourth. We are informed, that he was one of the finest and handsomest-looking men in the kingdom! But I have no respect for him on that account. I cannot read of any thing that was good in his conduct, but I read of a great deal that was very disgraceful and wicked. He was dreadfully cruel, and revengeful, and profligate. The following story will show you the cruelty of his disposition, and his revengeful spirit. It happened one day, that he was hunting in the park of a gentleman, named Thomas Burdett. Now this gentleman was a great friend of the duke of Clarence, the king's brother: and, as the king was |