fiscated.--The punishment of Jane
Shore.--Alleged marriage of Edward IV. to Elinor Talbot.--Particulars
of the story.--Plan for publishing it.--Sermon preached by Dr. Shaw
near St. Paul's.--Ingenious contrivance.--Coolness of the
people.--Meeting at the Guildhall.--The people do not respond.--The
appeals to the people fail.--Grand council convened.--Arrangements
made by Buckingham.--The petition.--Substance of the petition.--Real
object of it.--Richard receives the petition at Baynard's
Castle.--Richard concludes to accept the crown.--Ceremonies connected
with the investiture of the king.--Richard marches through London.--Is
every where proclaimed king.--Extraordinary character of the reign of
Edward V.

Richard, having thus obtained control of every thing essential to the
success of his plans, began to prepare for action. His chief friend
and confederate, the one on whom he relied most for the execution of
the several measures which he proposed to take, was a powerful
nobleman named the Duke of Buckingham. I shall proceed in this chapter
to describe the successive steps of the course which Richard and the
Duke of Buckingham pursued in raising Richard to the throne, as
recorded by the different historians of those days, and as generally
believed since, though, in fact, there have been great disputes in
respect to these occurrences, and it is now quite difficult to
ascertain with certainty what the precise truth of the case really is.
This, however, is, after all, of no great practical importance, for,
in respect to remote transactions of this nature, the thing which is
most necessary for the purposes of general education is to understand
what the story is, in detail, which has been generally received among
mankind, and to which the allusions of orators and poets, and the
discussions of statesmen and moralists in subsequent ages refer, for
it is with this story alone that for all the purposes of general
reading we have any thing to do.

* * * * *

Richard was residing at this time chiefly at Baynard's Castle with his
mother.[N] The young king and his brother, the Duke of York, were in
the Tower. They were not nominally prisoners, but yet Richard kept
close watch and ward over them, and took most effectual precautions to
prevent their making their escape. The queen, Elizabeth Woodville,
with her daughters, was in the sanctuary. Richard's wife, with the
young child, was still at Middleh