il he came to the door of the room where the two young
princes, having said their prayers, lay fast asleep, clasped in each
other's arms. And while he watched and listened at the door, he sent in
those evil demons, John Dighton and Miles Forest, who smothered the two
princes with the bed and pillows, and carried their bodies down the
stairs, and buried them under a great heap of stones at the staircase
foot. And when the day came, he gave up the command of the Tower, and
restored the keys, and hurried away without once looking behind him; and
Sir Robert Brackenbury went with fear and sadness to the princes' room,
and found the princes gone for ever.

You know, through all this history, how true it is that traitors are
never true, and you will not be surprised to learn that the Duke of
Buckingham soon turned against King Richard, and joined a great
conspiracy that was formed to dethrone him, and to place the crown upon
its rightful owner's head. Richard had meant to keep the murder secret;
but when he heard through his spies that this conspiracy existed, and
that many lords and gentlemen drank in secret to the healths of the two
young princes in the Tower, he made it known that they were dead. The
conspirators, though thwarted for a moment, soon resolved to set up for
the crown against the murderous Richard, HENRY Earl of Richmond, grandson
of Catherine: that widow of Henry the Fifth who married Owen Tudor. And
as Henry was of the house of Lancaster, they proposed that he should
marry the Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of the late King, now
the heiress of the house of York, and thus by uniting the rival families
put an end to the fatal wars of the Red and White Roses. All being
settled, a time was appointed for Henry to come over from Brittany, and
for a great rising against Richard to take place in several parts of
England at the same hour. On a certain day, therefore, in October, the
revolt took place; but unsuccessfully. Richard was prepared, Henry was
driven back at sea by a storm, his followers in England were dispersed,
and the Duke of Buckingham was taken, and at once beheaded in the market-
place at Salisbury.

The time of his success was a good time, Richard thought, for summoning a
Parliament and getting some money. So, a Parliament was called, and it
flattered and fawned upon him as much as he could possibly desire, and
declared him to be the rightful King of England, and his only son Edward,