Tracts, legal and historical

8
open, that al men myght se his persone from all other
men. And so he was broght to London with torche
lyght brenynge to Saint Paules, and there had his
masse and dyryge, with moche reverence and solemp-
nyte of servyce." It is added, that the same cere-
mony took place at Westminster. 1 Fabian, a citizen
and alderman of London, who lived before the middle
of the fifteenth century, while he states the more im-
portant of these particulars, further intimates, that
the corpse had also been shewn " open visaged at
the minster of Pomfret."" All English historians
here agree in essentials, so it may be unnecessary to
appeal to any more, as it would be mere repetition ;
it may be only observed, that Speed affirms that the
corpse "bare-faced, stood three days for all beholders." 3
The fact of the death of Richard at the above pe-
riod, would therefore appear to be certain ; and it is
irrelevant to the present discussion to speculate in
what manner it was effected. It would be a jest to
suppose that either Henry or the perpetrators would
divulge it ; and, in these circumstances, the alleged
uncertainty and discrepancy in the account, are of
no moment, but only further prove, what may be ad-
mitted, that he was secretly, and probably, in some
undue way, deprived of his existence. After all,
however, there is not much diversity in the reports
of his death ; according to some, he was assassinated
1 Edit. 1515, f. 112.
2 Edit. 1533, f. 165—6, b.
3 Edit. 1614, p. 3L>5.