untfort, and Sir Thomas Thwaites, made little
secret of their inclination towards him; Sir William Stanley, King
Henry's chamberlain, who had been active in raising the usurper to the
throne, was ready to adopt his cause whenever he set foot on English
soil, and Sir Robert Clifford and William Barley openly gave their
adhesion to the pretender, and went over to Flanders to concert
measures with the duchess and the sham duke. After his arrival,
Clifford wrote to his friends in England, that knowing the person of
Richard, duke of York, perfectly well, he had no doubt that this young
man was the prince himself, and that his story was compatible with the
truth. Such positive intelligence from a person of Clifford's rank
greatly strengthened the popular belief, and the whole English nation
was seriously discomposed and gravely disaffected towards the king.

When Henry was informed of this new plot, he set himself cautiously
but steadily and resolutely to foil it. His first object was to
ascertain the reality of the death of the young prince, and to confirm
the opinion which had always prevailed with regard to that event.
Richard had engaged five persons to murder his nephews--viz., Sir
James Tirrel, whom he made custodian of the Tower while his nefarious
scheme was in course of execution, and who had seen the bodies of the
princes after their assassination; Forrest, Dighton, and Slater, who
perpetrated the crime; and the priest who buried the bodies. Tirrel
and Dighton were still alive; but although their stories agreed, as
the priest was dead, and as the bodies were supposed to have been
removed by Richard's orders, and could not be found, it was impossible
to prove conclusively that the young princes really had been put to
death.

By means of his spies, Henry, after a time, succeeded in tracing the
true pedigree of Warbeck, and immediately published it for the
satisfaction of the nation. At the same time he remonstrated with the
Archduke Philip on account of the protection which was afforded to the
impostor, and demanded that "the theatrical king formed by the Duchess
of Burgundy" should be given up to him. The ambassadors were received
with all outward respect, but their request was refused, and they were
sent home with the answer, that "the Duchess of Burgundy being
absolute sovereign in the lands of her dowry, the archduke could not
meddle with her affairs, or hinder her from doing what she thought
fit." Henry in rese