countess and her daughters, whom Edward, under pretence of proving the
complete amity that existed between Warwick and himself, carried in
his train. The king's appearance at York reconciled all differences;
but he suffered Warwick to march alone against the enemy, and not till
after the decisive victory, which left his reign for a while without
an open foe, did he return to London.

Thither the earl, by the advice of his friends, also repaired, and in
a council of peers, summoned for the purpose, deigned to refute the
rumours still commonly circulated by his foes, and not disbelieved by
the vulgar, whether of his connivance at the popular rising or his
forcible detention of the king at Middleham. To this, agreeably to
the counsel of the archbishop, succeeded a solemn interview of the
heads of the Houses of York and Warwick, in which the once fair Rose
of Raby (the king's mother) acted as mediator and arbiter. The earl's
word to the commons at Olney was ratified. Edward consented to the
temporary retirement of the Woodvilles, though the gallant Anthony yet
delayed his pilgrimage to Compostella. The vanity of Clarence was
contented by the government of Ireland, but, under various pretences,
Edward deferred his brother's departure to that important post. A
general amnesty was proclaimed, a parliament summoned for the redress
of popular grievances, and the betrothal of the king's daughter to
Montagu's heir was proclaimed: the latter received the title of Duke
of Bedford; and the whole land rejoiced in the recovered peace of the
realm, the retirement of the Woodvilles, and the reconciliation of the
young king with his all-beloved subject. Never had the power of the
Neviles seemed so secure; never did the throne of Edward appear so
stable.

It was at this time that the king prevailed upon the earl and his