Note 1483 — How the Lord Hastings was betrayed, by trusting too much to his euill counsaylour Catesby, and vilanously murdered in the Tower of London by Richard Duke of Glocester, the 13 of Iune, Anno 1483.[1295]

Iohn Dolman. Ritson, in the Bibliographia Poetica, art. Dolman, has mentioned a manuscript note upon this legend describing it as “evidently the worst in the collection.” That note is written in a copy of the edition by Niccols, now in the possession of Mr. Heber, and being so quoted has given it more importance than it is worth; but, for the sake of juxta position, the whole is now given. “The stile of this legend, which is evidently the worst in the collection, and in this edition much alter’d from the three former publications of it, convinced me the author of it was not Drayton. By the second edition of these poems, printed A. 1563, this poem appears to have been penned by Maister Dolman.” Whatever credit may be given to this writer as a critic, his statement is too erroneous to be of any value, as the principal alterations made by Dolman are inserted in the edition of 1575, and the above signature is not to be found in that of 1563, but first appears in 1571.