hard with great difficulty
succeeded in reaching the land. The two brothers were in different
ships, and they landed in different places, a few miles apart from
each other. Their situation was now extremely critical, for all
England was in the power of Warwick and the Lancastrians, and Edward
and Richard were almost entirely without men.

They, however, after a time, got together a small force, consisting
chiefly of the troops who had come with them, and who had succeeded at
last in making their way to the land. At the head of this force they
advanced into the country toward the city of York. Edward gave out
every where that he had not come with any view of attempting to
regain possession of the throne, but only to recover his own private
and family estates, which had been unjustly confiscated, he said, and
conferred upon his brother. He acquiesced entirely, he said, in the
restoration of Henry to the throne, and acknowledged him as king, and
solemnly declared that he would not do any thing to disturb the peace
of the country.

All this was treacherous and false; but Edward and Richard thought
that they were not yet strong enough to announce openly their real
designs, and, in the mean time, the uttering of any false declarations
which they might deem it good policy to make was to be considered as a
stratagem justified by usage, as one of the legitimate resources of
war.

So they went on, nobody opposing them. They reached, at length, the
city of York. Here Edward met the mayor and aldermen of the city, and
renewed his declaration, which he confirmed by a solemn oath, that he
never would lay any claim to the throne of England, or do any thing to
disturb King Henry in his possession of it. He cried out, in a loud
voice, in the hearing of the people, "Long live King Henry, and Prince
Edward his son!" He wore an ostrich feather, too, in his armor, which
was the badge of Prince Edward. The people of York were satisfied
with these protestations, and allowed him to proceed.

His force was continually increasing as he advanced, and at length, on
crossing the River Trent, he came to a part of the country where
almost the whole population had been on the side of York during all
the previous wars. He began now to throw off his disguise, and to avow
more openly that his object was again to obtain possession of the
throne for the house of York. His troops now began to exhibit the
white rose, which for many generations had been