Hen_. More than I seem, and less than I was born to;
A man at least, for less I should not be;
And men may talk of kings, and why not I?
_Humph_. Ay, but thou talk'st as if thou wert a king.
_K. Hen_, Why, so I am, in mind, and that's enough.
_Humph_. But if thou be a king, where is thy crown?"
--_King Henry VI_.
Waddington Hall, the site of the following legend, says Pennant, "is a
stone house, with some small ancient windows, and a narrow winding
staircase within, now inhabited by several poor families; yet it
formerly gave shelter to a royal guest. The meek usurper, Henry VI.,
after the battle of Hexham, in 1463, was conveyed into this county,
where he was concealed by his vassals for an entire twelvemonth,
notwithstanding the most diligent search was made after him. At length
he was surprised at dinner at Waddington Hall, and taken near Bungerley
Hippingstones in Clitherwood. The account which Leland gives from an
ancient chronicle concurs with the tradition of the country, that he was
deceived--_i.e._ betrayed--by Thomas Talbot, son and heir to Sir Edmund
Talbot, of Bashal, and John his cousin, of Colebry.
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