and the bravest prince in Christendom.

The royal tournaments (which were, however, waning from their ancient
lustre to kindle afresh, and to expire in the reigns of the succeeding
Tudors), restricted to the amusements of knight and noble, no doubt
presented more of pomp and splendour than the motley and mixed assembly
of all ranks that now grouped around the competitors for the silver
arrow, or listened to the itinerant jongleur, dissour, or minstrel, or,
seated under the stunted shade of the old trees, indulged, with eager
looks and hands often wandering to their dagger-hilts, in the absorbing
passion of the dice; but no later and earlier scenes of revelry ever,
perhaps, exhibited that heartiness of enjoyment, that universal holiday,
which attended this mixture of every class, that established a rude
equality for the hour between the knight and the retainer, the burgess
and the courtier.

The revolution that placed Edward IV. upon the throne had, in fact, been
a popular one. Not only had the valour and moderation of his father,
Richard, Duke of York, bequeathed a heritage of affection to his brave
and accomplished son; not only were the most beloved of the great barons
the leaders of his party; but the king himself, partly from inclination,
partly from policy, spared no pains to win the good graces of that
slowly rising, but even then important part of the population,--the
Middle Class. He was the first king who descended, without loss of
dignity and respect, from the society of his peers and princes, to join
familiarly in the feasts and diversions of the merchant and the trader.
The lord mayor and council of London were admitted, on more than one
solemn occasion, into the deliberations of the court; and Edward had not
long since, on the coronation of his queen, much to the discontent of
certain of his barons, conferred the Knighthood of the hath upon four of
the citizens. On the other hand, though Edward's gallantries--the
only vice which tended to diminish his popularity with the sober
burgesses--were little worthy of his station, his frank, joyous
familiarity with his inferiors was not debased by the buffooneries
that had led to the reverses and the awful fate of two of his royal
predecessors. There must have been a popular principle, indeed, as well
as a popular fancy, involved in the steady and ardent adherence which
the population of London in particular, and most of the great cities,
exhibited to the person an