then eleven years of age, the next heir to the throne.

Richard knew full well that, let the Parliament say what it would, the
Princess Elizabeth was remembered by people as the heiress of the house
of York; and having accurate information besides, of its being designed
by the conspirators to marry her to Henry of Richmond, he felt that it
would much strengthen him and weaken them, to be beforehand with them,
and marry her to his son. With this view he went to the Sanctuary at
Westminster, where the late King's widow and her daughter still were, and
besought them to come to Court: where (he swore by anything and
everything) they should be safely and honourably entertained. They came,
accordingly, but had scarcely been at Court a month when his son died
suddenly--or was poisoned--and his plan was crushed to pieces.

In this extremity, King Richard, always active, thought, 'I must make
another plan.' And he made the plan of marrying the Princess Elizabeth
himself, although she was his niece. There was one difficulty in the
way: his wife, the Queen Anne, was alive. But, he knew (remembering his
nephews) how to remove that obstacle, and he made love to the Princess
Elizabeth, telling her he felt perfectly confident that the Queen would
die in February. The Princess was not a very scrupulous young lady, for,
instead of rejecting the murderer of her brothers with scorn and hatred,
she openly declared she loved him dearly; and, when February came and the
Queen did not die, she expressed her impatient opinion that she was too
long about it. However, King Richard was not so far out in his
prediction, but, that she died in March--he took good care of that--and
then this precious pair hoped to be married. But they were disappointed,
for the idea of such a marriage was so unpopular in the country, that the
King's chief counsellors, RATCLIFFE and CATESBY, would by no means
undertake to propose it, and the King was even obliged to declare in
public that he had never thought of such a thing.

He was, by this time, dreaded and hated by all classes of his subjects.
His nobles deserted every day to Henry's side; he dared not call another
Parliament, lest his crimes should be denounced there; and for want of
money, he was obliged to get Benevolences from the citizens, which
exasperated them all against him. It was said too, that, being stricken
by his conscience, he dreamed frightful dreams, and started up in the
night-time, w