Page:The Queens of England.djvu/266

226 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. mother she pleaded that he might be sent back to France, there to await in safety the result of this party struggle. She urged his tender years, and inability to render them any service in the coming fight on account of his inexperience. But all her arguments were ineffectual ; they were overruled by the zeal and earnest representations of their friends, who desired that the prince should lead on their forces. It is perhaps needless to allude to the fatal termination of the ever memorable contest between the houses of York and Lancaster. The English reader is well acquainted with the defeat of the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury in 1471 ; with the death of Somerset, Wenlock, and other chiefs, the cruel murder of Prince Edward and the capture of the unhappy Margaret of Anjou. It is only necessary here to detail, as far as we are able, the fate of the hapless Anne of Warwick, who, by the event of the battle which secured the throne to King Edward, became a friendless and deserted widow. One writer says the Prince of Wales was with his consort after the battle, when he was discovered, and that both were hurried into the presence of the conqueror, who gave the com- mand for the prince's execution. It is more probable, how- ever, as other chroniclers assert, that Anne was at this moment with her mother-in-law, Queen Margaret, and was with her conveyed to the Tower, whence Richard drew her in order to marry her. The triumphant King Edward led his captives to London. Amidst the cruelty which this monarch exercised after the battle, and all the details of the trials, executions and other matters, the historian has forgotten to narrate the fate of the Lady Anne of Warwick. Yet must the field of Tewkesbury have been a heart-rending scene to this young princess, who, of gentle birth, as well as gentle spirit, had there to endure the murder of her beloved husband, the distraction of his fond mother, the misery of the defeated party of King Henry the Sixth, to which she was attached ; and lastly — and, perhaps, not the least to be feared — the recognition, in the person of one of the victors, of her once hated lover, the Duke of Glouces- ter. Possibly this last emotion might have, at this time, su- perseded every other feeling. The death of the Earl of Warwick left his immense wealth at the disposal of the victors. Clarence claimed it wholly in