d of music and enjoyment of all kinds, the
pleasures of the table, the uproar of riotous company: his debauched
habits are thought to have shortened his life, and many a disaster
sprung from his carelessness; but he had also Sardanapalus' nature in
him: with quickly awakening activity he always rose again out of his
disasters; in his battles he appeared the last, but he fought perhaps
the best; and he won them all. In the history of European Monarchy he
is not unworthy to be ranked by the side of Ferdinand the Catholic,
Charles the Bold, Louis XI, and some others who regained prestige for
their dignity by the energy of their personal character.

In itself we must rate it as important that he made good the
birthright of the house of York, independent as it was of the maxims
of Parliament, or rather contradictory to them, and maintained the
throne. He deemed himself the direct successor of Richard II; the
three kings who had since worn the crown by virtue of Parliamentary
enactments were regarded by him as usurpers. We have Fortescue's
contemporary treatise in praise of the laws of England, which (written
for a prince who never came to the throne) contains the idea of
Parliamentary right which the house of Lancaster upheld: but Edward IV
did not so apprehend it. He allowed the lawfulness of his accession to
be recognised by Parliament, because this was of use to him: but
otherwise he paid little regard to its established rights. We find
under him for five years no meeting of Parliament; then a Parliament
that had met was prorogued some four or five times without completing
any business, till it at last agreed to raise the customs duties,
included under the names of Tonnage and Poundage; a revenue which
being voted to the Kings for life (and this came gradually to be
regarded as a mere formality) gave their government a strong financial
basis. Other Parliaments repaid their summons with considerable
grants, with large and full subsidies: yet Edward IV was not content
even with these. Under him began the practice, by which the wealthy
were drawn into contributions for his service in proportion to their
property, of which the King knew how to obtain accurate information;
these contributions were called Benevolences because they were paid
under the form of personal freewill offerings, though none dared to
refuse them:[70] we may compare the imposts which in the Italian
republics the dominant parties were wont to inflict on th