llowers, and was
delighted when the English army turned its back on France. In
consequence of this understanding Queen Margaret recovered her
liberty.

11. =Fall and Death of Clarence. 1476--1478.=--Soon after Edward's
return he became suspicious of his brother Clarence, who took upon
himself to interfere with the course of justice. In =1477= the Duke of
Burgundy, Charles the Rash, was slain at Nancy by the Swiss, leaving
only a daughter, Mary. Ducal Burgundy was at once seized by Louis, as
forfeited for want of male heirs, but Franche Comte, or the county of
Burgundy, was a part of the Empire, and therefore beyond his reach;
and this latter district, together with the provinces of the
Netherlands, formed a dower splendid enough to attract suitors for
Mary's hand. Amongst these was Clarence,[33] now a widower. Edward,
who had no wish to see his brother an independent sovereign, forbade
him to proceed with his wooing. Other actions of Clarence were
displeasing to the king, and when Parliament met, =1478=, Edward with
his own mouth accused his brother of treason. Clarence was condemned
to death, and perished secretly in the Tower, being, according to
rumour, drowned in a butt of malmsey.

[Footnote 33: Mary was the child of an earlier wife of Charles the
Bold than Margaret the sister of Edward IV. and Clarence, and the
latter was therefore not related to her.]

12. =The Last Years of Edward IV. 1478--1483.=--The remainder of
Edward's life was spent in quiet, as far as domestic affairs were
concerned. In foreign affairs he met with a grave disappointment.
Mary of Burgundy had found a husband in Maximilian, archduke of
Austria, the son of the Emperor Frederick III. In =1482= she died,
leaving two children, Philip and Margaret. The men of Ghent set
Maximilian at naught, and, combining with Louis, forced Maximilian in
the treaty of Arras to promise the hand of Margaret to the Dauphin,
and the cession of some Netherlandish territory to France. Edward died
on April 9, =1483=, and it has been said that the treaty of Arras,
which extended French influence in the Netherlands, brought about his
death. It is more reasonable to attribute it to the dissoluteness of
his life.

13. =Edward V. and the Duke of Gloucester. 1483.=--Edward IV. left two
sons. The elder, a boy of twelve, was now Edward V., and his younger
brother, Richard, was Duke of York.[34] The only grown-up man of the
family was the youngest brother of E