Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Benedictine party might have been foiled, for the secret wishes, if not the declared sentiments of the leading men in the nation appear to have been against them, had they not had recourse to invention and pious forgeries to sustain their cause. The reputation of their pretended sanctity made their miracles the more easily swallowed by the populace. By such proceedings, Dimstan taught others to fight him with his own weapons, by practising similar crimes. Edward was subjected to his power, but the ambitious Elfrida still cherished the guilty wish of elevating her son, and unfortunately the divided state of the kingdom and the vindictive spirit of the nobility gave power to her malice. The death of Edward was conspired, as the only avenue to the completion of her hopes. And what adds to the infamy and the hardened enormity of her conduct, is the uniform kindness with which that prince had always treated her. Though she had opposed his succession, he always showed her marks of great regard. He gave her all Dorsetshire as a dower, with a royal dignity annexed to it, and towards her son he expressed on every occasion the most tender affection. The fate of this amiable but too confiding prince was memorable and tragical, and his own unsuspecting temper facilitated the execution of the plot’; for being endowed with an amiable innocence of manners, and having no impure intentions of his own, he was incapable of entertaining suspicion against others. He was one day hunting in Dorsetshire, near Warehain, a few miles from which stood Corfe-Castle, the residence of Elfrida and her son. His companions were dispersed in pursuit of the game, and, in the course of his sport, Edward approached the conspicuous wall- of the mansion. Thither he rode unattended, to pay a visit to the young prince …
