strongly entrenched before Ludlow, mean to assail. Andrew Trollop, who had in the king's pay done great service upon the French, was acquainted with all their council, and finding himself extremely deceived, (for he thought, and so by the Earl of Warwick was made to believe, that the preservation of the king was intended, and not his destruction,) abandons the Yorkists camp at midnight, and with a choice number of trusty men presents himself and services to the king, who graciously received him." This unexpected occurrence destroyed the hopes of the Yorkists, who immediately fled; the Duke and his youngest son reached Ireland, and the Earls of March, Warwick, and Salisbury with much difficulty escaped to Calais. Fabyan gives the following account of this affair. "Whereof herynge the sayde Duke, then beynge with his people nere vnto the towne of Ludlowe, pyght there a sure and stronge feelde that none of his foes myght vpon any parte entre. Where he so lyinge, came to hym from Calys the Erle of Warwyke with a stronge bande of men, amonge the whiche was Andrewe Trollop, and many of other of the beste souldyours of Calys. The Duke thus keepynge his feelde vpon that one party, and the Kynge with his people vpon that other, vpon the nyght preceding the day that both hoostes shuld have met, the fornamed Andrewe Trollop, with all the chefe souldyours of Calys, secretly departed from the Duke's boost and went vnto the Kinges, where they were ioyously receyued. When this thynge to the Duke and the other lords was asserteyned, they were therewith sore dysmayed, and especyallye, for the sayde lordes hadde to the sayde Andrewe shewyd the hoole of theyre ententys, which than they knewe well shuld be clerelye dyscoveryd vnto theyr enemyes: wherefore after counceyll for a remedy taken, they concludyd to flee, and leve the feelde standyng as they had ben present and styll abydyng. And so, incontinentlye the sayde Duke with his ii sones, and fewe other parsonys, fled towarde Walys, and from thens passed sauely into Irelande. And forthwith the Kynge rode vnto Ludlowe & dyspoyled the towne and castell, and sent the Duchesse of Yorke, with hyr chyldren, vnto the Duchesse of Buckingham his syster, where she restyd long after." On the surrender of the place, the greater part of the garrison was pardoned; but the castle was stripped of all its costly ornaments, and the town forcibly plundered of every thing valuable. According to Hall, the Duchess of York with her two younger sons and her sister, were taken in the place, and confined for some time afterwards in one of the outer towers. In the succeeding Parliament, held at Coventry, the following persons were attainted of high treason, and their estates confiscated, as appears from Fenn's Original Letters, vol. 1, page 182. The Duc of York Alice Daughter and heir of Thomas Montague, Earl of Salisbury, wife of Richard Neville, in her right, Earl of Salisbury. Sir John Wenlok Maistr Ric. Fisher Hastyngs and oy' that as yet we can not know y'e names, &c. As for y'e Lord Powys he came inne and hadde g'ce as for his lyf, but as for his goods y'e forfeture passed. Ludlow and its Castle continued in this dismantled state until after the battle of Wakefield, in which the Duke of York was slain and many of his followers cruelly put to death, after having surrendered themselves to the promised mercy of the enemy. The infant son of the Duke murdered in cold blood, and the barbarous cruelty of the Queen to her captive enemy has been enlarged on by historians. "Cruel joy," says Speed, "is seldom fortunate. Cæsar wept over Pompeis head, but the Queen (ignorant how many causes of tears were reserved for her own share) makes herself merry with the ghastly and. bloody spectacle of the Duke's head crowned with paper." Cruelty and murder excite the abhorrence and detestation of mankind, and seldom escape punishment. The unfortunate father, when the handkerchief drenched in the blood of his child is given to him, is made to exclaim, "That face of his the hungry cannibals Would not have touch'd, would not have stain'd with blood; But you are more inhuman, more inexorable, O, ten times more, than tigers of Hyrcania. See, ruthless Queen, a hapless father's tears: This cloth thou dipp'dst in blood of my sweet boy, And I with tears do wash the blood away. These tears are my sweet Rutland's obsequies; 'Gainst thee, fell Clifford,and thee false French woman." His execrations were prophetic, "for the Earl of March, son and heir to the late valiant Duke, hearing of this tragical adventure, with the death of his noble father and loving brother and trusty frendes, was wonderfully amazed; but after comfort given to him by his faithful lovers and assured alyes," he visited Shrewsbury, Ludlow, and the neighbourhood of the Marches, where he quickly raised a considerable army, keeping his flag, as a signal of rendezvous, flying upon the lofty summit of Wigmore Castle. The Queen, fearful of his rising power, dispatched the Earl of Pembroke with a strong force to oppose him. Young Edward marched out against his enemies, whom he met in a plain near Mortimer's Cross, where a desperate and bloody battle was fought. On the morning preceding the engagement, there appeared to the Earl and his friends a meteor in the heavens resembling the junction of three suns:— "Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun; This phænomenon, favourably considered as a supernatural indication of success, helped to inspire courage and resolution in the ensuing struggle; it was in consequence of this occurrence, that the badge or device born by Edward as Earl of March, was a sun in its full brightness; because the sun of honour and fortune did indeed then begin to shine upon him, through clouds of blood and misery. The battle took place, according to Speed, on Candlemas Day, in the year 1461. Both parties continued the contest with a furious resolution, but in the end the Earl of March obtained a complete victory, killing three thousand eight hundred of his opponents. The poet Daniel describes the youthful Mortimer as the hero of the day; "Now is young Marche more than a Duke of Yorke, Who graces freshest actors evermore, Making the first attempt the chiefest worke For those first spirites make the first actions best. Now like the libian lion when with paine From rockes to brakes, from thickets to the plaine, So comes young Marche their hopes to disappoint - -With a thousand tongs swift-wing'd fame comes, And tells of Marche's gallant victories, Who what withstands subdues, all overcomes, |