A breath of fresh air

(relatively speaking)

I'm just looking at John Campbell's *Lives of the Admirals, and other
eminent British Seamen*, published in Dublin in 1748, which is quite a
relief after looking at many books from the EBBO collection regurgitating
More, et al. While he doesn't exactly exonerate Richard, he does say
things like

"... for though I am far from thinking that Buck, in his Panegyric rather
than History of King Richard, hath written all Things according to Truth,
yet I must own that I do not believe he errs more on one Hand, than Sir
Thomas More in his History of Edward V. on the other; which History,
however, has been the Ground-Work of all succeeding Stories."

and regarding Titulus Regius
"This Act is perhaps the best drawn Piece, considering the Design it was to
cover, that is extant in any Language, and many or our modern Historians
might have avoided the gross Mistakes they have fallen into about this
Prince, if they had carefully considered it. But Sir Thomas More;s
Rhetoric had so much warmed them, that generally speaking, they confound
the Duke of Clarence's Treason with the Duke of Gloucester's Pretensions,
which though they might be as bad, yet certainly they were not the same...
The Case then in few Words stood thus, the Crown of England had been
entailed by Parliament on the Posterity of the Duke of York, in the Reign
of King Henry VI. This Duke left three Sons, Edward, George, and Richard.
Edward by Virtue of that entail, claimed and enjoyed the Crown, but left
no lawful Issue, (as this Act says). George, in the Life-time of his
Brother Edward. had been attainted of Treason, whereby his Family became
incapable of succeeding, and therefore Richard Duke of Gloucester was
called to the Throne as the next Heir in the Parliamentary Entail.

And

"An indifferent Title he had at best, but this did not hinder his making a
pretty good King, I mean in a political Sense, for he made wise Laws,
governed the People gently, and took all imaginable Care to promote Trade,
and to preserve the Superiority of the Sea. In all probability this was
the Effects of his private Policy, for the strengthening of himself and his
Family; but be that as it will, the Nation was undoubtedly the better for
it. Yet all his Wisdom did not preserve him, because he suffered himself
to be deceived by Appearances, and to quit the prudent Care he had taken
for the Guard of the English Coasts at that very Juncture when it became
most necessary: and as this is a Point of great Consequence to the Subject
I am upon, it will be necessary to enter into a distinct Detail of the Earl
of Richmond's Expedition, which, as it is taken from foreign Historians,
will, I hope, prove both agreeable and instructive to the Reader."

A J