hat
with the house of York so popular among his people, nothing but a firm
hand and eternal vigilance could maintain his sovereignty. He kept the
young Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence, carefully indoors
with massive iron gewgaws attached to his legs, thus teaching him to be
backward about mingling in the false joys of society.

Henry Tudor is known to history as Henry VII., and caused some adverse
criticism by delaying his nuptials with the Princess Elizabeth, daughter
of Edward IV.

A pleasing practical joke at this time came near plunging the country
into a bloody war. A rumor having gone forth that the Earl of Warwick
had escaped from the Tower, a priest named Simon instructed a
good-looking young man-about-town named Lambert Simnel to play the
part, landed him in Ireland, and proceeded to call for troops. Strange
to say, in those days almost any pretender with courage stood a good
chance of winning renown or a hospitable grave in this way. But Lambert
was not made of the material generally used in the construction of great
men, and, though he secured quite an army, and the aid of the Earl of
Lincoln and many veteran troops, the first battle closed the comedy, and
the bogus sovereign, too contemptible even to occupy the valuable time
of the hangman, became a scullion in the royal kitchen, while Simon was
imprisoned.

[Illustration: SIMON, A PRIEST OF OXFORD, TAKES LAMBERT THE PRETENDER TO
IRELAND.]

For five years things were again dull, but at the end of that period an
understudy for Richard, Duke of York, arose and made pretensions. His
name was Perkin Warbeck, and though the son of a Flemish merchant, he
was a great favorite at social functions and straw rides. He went to
Ireland, where anything in the way of a riot was even then hailed with
delight, and soon the York family and others who cursed the reigning
dynasty flocked to his standard.

France endorsed him temporarily until Charles became reconciled to
Henry, and then he dropped Perkin like a heated potato. Perk, however,
had been well entertained in Paris as the coming English king, and while
there was not permitted to pay for a thing. He now visited the Duchess
of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV., and made a hit at once. She gave him
the title of The White Rose of England (1493), and he was pleased to
find himself so popular when he might have been measuring molasses in
the obscurity of his father's store.

Henry now felt quite mortified