Fotheringhay Castle.

which , with a falcon In if . was Ihe favo-rico devh'o of fho family of York . Richard , sou of this Edwa-rd , w : s ereaEe I riiriof Oi -ihridgo in fho pirhameut at Loicosteriu 1111 . Next , win is . hi , mounting his wir-horsc in the oonrtyardof the Casfcio ? It is ' iildw .-u'd kkiiit ' . ganek Jake of i ! i ; 'k , setting out for Agimami't , whore ho led the vanguard oi : English rc-hovs . And now the dead soldier , who lost his life iu the mMs'f of tko victory his prowess

contributed to win , is borne along tho street of tho vilhigo to his tomb , where lie " p rinces descended from Kings and from whoa ) . Kings are descended . " Next see Richard Plantnga . net p lotting with ihe Nevilles for the crown . His dream ending at Wakefield in a , head severed from , the body and crowned with a paperVrown , his mutilated remains , brought from Pontefract , pass through the village to their resting-place among the voyil tombs . But who is this closeted m the Castle with Edward If ., that ma : i well-proportioned and tall in stature , and comely in countenance ; that is to say , in the words of an ancient Scottish author cited bv Scott— " bro . id-il . fod , red-nosed , large-eared ,

aud having a very awful countenance whon ii : p ie ; sod him to speak with those who had displeased himV" The Duke of Alb my , brother of James III ., p lotting with Edward for fho Grown of , -i Mtiaml . Bub a still more remarkable figure now conies up standing moodil y by the banks of the Nen . His look , as a boy , is sickly ; something \ ~ ^ vy like a hunch is on his back , although it may be nothing more than , a full curve a . ' . ' -eonpu-nving a stooping figure , and as he saunters by himself lie gnaws 'vis undov-lip . It is Richard , Duke of

Gloucester , afterwards Richard III . of England , who first saw the lig ht in this Castle . Here , then , ou this very spot- there was a portentious birth as well as a tragic death—the birth of Richard of Gloucester , the death of Mary of Scotland—names imperishable in history ami enshrined in the immortal verse of Shakespere and of . Schiller . Richard was no more the sheer villain of the dramatist , from whom the generalit y of people , as well as the great Duke of Marlborough , get their history , than Mary was the bold , bad woman of Fronde , whose episodes are brilliant , hut whoso work from its narrowness of

insi g ht and purpose is scarcely imparthd history . In proof of Richard's abilities , wc have the fact that Edward IV . selected him to accompany tho Duke of Albany to Scotland to . app . ca . se tho troubles there . But much of his life , despite his ability , his aceoniplishmenis , and his enlightenment , stains the imagination and revolts the conscience and justice of mankind . Both the grim birth and the tragic death at Fotheringhay supply riddles to history , perplexing alike reason aud research . The life that first breathed at

Fotheringhay expired on Bosworth Field ( which 1 have visited with deep interest ) , and near the chamber where we now sit lie its dishonoured ashes . Following him a fair historic form next lends charm as well as interest to Fotheringhay—Elizabeth , of York , in . whom at last the rod and white roses wore united . On lier Henry oi Richmond bestows tho Castle and Manor of her

ancestors , tho Dukes of lor : ; . Next in the royal—but spite the union of the houses of Lancaster and York , still darkl y shadowed—pageant , see Catherine of Arrngon , wife to Henry VII :., diverting her thoughts from her faithless spouse , if she can , by repairing and "beautifying" tho Castle , as the shadow of a great wrong falls on Iter weary steps . Then a more powerful aud fortunate figure holds revel in the hulls of Fotheringay . Attired in sumptuous robes and splendid with jewels , which oven a Bishop ' s rebuke must not touch ,

and for which rebuke he was threatened with tho loss of his head , the Virgin Queen Elizabeth appears , escorted by knights and ladies gay , if not passing fair , with hawk and hound waking the echoes of the woods to the music of the hunting-horn , or wandering by the Nen "in maiden meditation fancy free , "no , she never was " fancy free '' —a weak , vain , and irresolute , yet on occasion an able , proud , and courageous woman , and a great sovereign , the source of priceless blessings to her people , in the haughty days of absolute monarchy ! Imt chiefl y through the sialesni-i . whi p of Cecil and Walsingham . She leaves