< 
 
PINNOCK'S 
 
 IMPROVED EDITION OF 
 DR. 'GOLDSMITH'S 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 FROM THE INVASION OF 
 
 JULIUS M3AR TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 CONTINUATION TO THE YEAR 1858. 
 
 WITH 
 
 QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 
 
 AT THE END OF EACH SECTION. 
 
 BESIDES A VARIETY OF VALUABLE INFORMATION, ADDED THROUGHOUT THE WORK 
 
 CONSISTING OP 
 
 Tables of Contemporary Sovereigns and Eminent Persons ; Copious Explanatory Notes 
 
 Aemarks on the Politics, Manners, and Literature of tne Age, 
 
 an Outline of the Constitution, <5tc &<5 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 BY WM. C. TAYLOR, LL.D. 
 
 OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, 
 AUTHOR OF MANUAL OF ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY, ETC. ETC. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH AMERICAN, FROM THE THIRTY-FIFTH 
 ENGLISH EDITION. 
 
 vJ 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 CHARLES DESILVER 
 
 No. 714 CHESNUT STREET. 
 
 1 858. 
 
^K 
 
 3 2 
 
 Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1S58, by 
 CHARLES DESILVER, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Easter 
 District of Pennsylvania. 
 
a 
 
 PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION 
 
 P? 
 
 Next to our own national history, it is incumbent 
 on American youth to make themselves acquainted 
 with that of the country from which we derive our 
 political existence, and the most valuable of our cus- 
 toms and institutions. The history of England will 
 never cease to be interesting to us. It will never be 
 other than a valuable and important branch of instruc- 
 tion in our schools. 
 
 Among all the histories of that country which have 
 been written, none has been so long and so deservedly 
 popular as that of Dr. Goldsmith. Whether this be owing 
 to its attractive and perfectly intelligible style, or to the 
 vivid impression which his simple and clear narrative 
 of the facts never fails to leave, it is not now important 
 to inquire. The fact of its established classical charac- 
 ter, is sufficient to justify the publisher in selecting the 
 nost approved edition of this work, to be revised and 
 adapted to the use of schools in our own country. 
 
 The mass of illustrative matter, consisting of notes, 
 tables, engravings, &c, which the reader will find in 
 the present edition, may be regarded as adding greatly 
 to its value; and the complete and careful series of ques- 
 tions appended to each section will claim the especial 
 not.ce of teachers. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. — The Ancient Britons 7 
 
 IL— The Saxons 15 
 
 III. — The Invasion op the Danes 21 
 
 IV. — William the Conqueror 41 
 
 V. — William Rufus 45 
 
 VI.— Henry 1 49 
 
 VII. — Stephen 53 
 
 VIII.— Henry II 57 
 
 IX. — Richard I 68 
 
 X.— John 73 
 
 XL— Henry III 79 
 
 XII. —Edward 1 85 
 
 XIII.— Edward II 94 
 
 XIV.— Edward III 99 
 
 XV.— Richard II 109 
 
 XVI.— Henry IV 116 
 
 XVII.— Henry V 120 
 
 XVIIL— Henry VI 124 
 
 XIX.— Edward IV 134 
 
 XX.— Edward V 135 
 
 XXL— Richard III 138 
 
 XXIL— Henry VII 141 
 
 XXIIL— Henry VIII 149 
 
 XXIV.— Edward VI. 168 
 
 XXV.— Mary 173 
 
 XXVL— Elizabeth 180 
 
 XXVIL— James 1 200 
 
 XXVIIL— Charles 1 210 
 
 XXIX.— Oliver Cromwell 235 
 
 XXX.— Charles II 251 
 
 XXXL— James II 269 
 
 XXXIL— William III 278 
 
 XXXIIL— Anne 284 
 
 XXXIV.— George I 303 
 
 XXXV.— George II 317 
 
 XXXVL— George III 361 
 
 XXXVIL— George IV 427 
 
 XXXVIIL— William IV 438 
 
 XXXIX.— Victoria 453 
 
 XL. — Sketch of the progress of Literature, Science, and 
 
 the Arts, during the present century 491 
 
 XLI. — The British Constitution 501 
 
 Appendix 509 
 
 IV 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 Brief sketch of the Saxon Idols from which the Days 
 of the Week received their names. 
 
 The idols which our Saxon ancestors worshipped were various ; but 
 those which are delineated in the Frontispiece, and from which the days 
 of the week derive their names, were the principal objects of their 
 adoration. 
 
 The Idol of Ihe SUN. 
 
 This Idol, which represented the glorious luminary of the day, was the 
 chief object of their adoration. It is described like the bust of a man, 
 set upon a pillar; holding, with outstretched arms, a burning wheel be- 
 fore his breast. The first day of the week was especially dedicated to its 
 adoration, which they termed the Sun's daeg ; hence is derived the word 
 Sunday. 
 
 The Idol of the MO ON. 
 
 The next, was the Idol of the Moon, which they worshipped on the 
 second day of the week, called by them Moon's daeg ; and since by us 
 Monday. 
 
 The form of this idol is intended to represent a woman, habited in a 
 short coat, and a hood, with two long ears. The moon which she holds 
 in her hand designates the quality. 
 
 The Idol of TUISCO. 
 
 Tuisco was at first deified. as the father and ruler of the Teutonic 
 race, but in course of time he was worshipped as the son of the earth. 
 From him came the Saxon words Tuisco 1 s daeg, which we call Tuesday. 
 
 He is represented standing on a pedestal, as an old venerable sage, 
 clothed with the skin of an animal, and holding a sceptre in the right 
 hand. 
 
 The Idol WODEN, or ODIN. 
 
 Woden, or Odtn, was the supreme divinity of the Northern nations. 
 This hero is supposed to have emigrated from the East, but from what 
 country, or at what time, is not known. His exploits form the greatest part 
 of the mythological creed of the Northern nations, and his achievements 
 are magnified beyond all credibility. The name of the fourth day of tho 
 week, called by the Saxon's Woden's daeg, aDd by us Wednesday, is 
 derived from this personage. 
 
 Woden is represented in a bold and martial attitude, clad .n armour 
 with a broad sword, uplifted, in his right hand. 
 
 The Idol THOR. 
 
 Thok, the eldest and bravest of the sons of Woden and Friga, was, 
 after his parents, considered as the greatest god among tho Saxon and 
 
 a2 
 
VI OF THE IDOLATRY OF THE SAXONS, &C. 
 
 Danes. To him the fifth day of the week, called by them Thor's daeg, 
 and by us Thursday, was consecrated. 
 
 Thok is represented as sitting on a throne, with a crown of gold on his 
 head, adorned with a circle in front, wherein were set twelve bright bur 
 nished gold stars, and with a regal sceptre in his right hand. 
 
 The Idol FRIG A, or FREA. 
 
 Friga, or Frea, was the wife of Woden, or Odin ; and, next to him, 
 the most revered divinity among the heathen Saxons, Danes, and other 
 Northern nations. In the most ancient times, Friga, or Frea, was the 
 same with the goddess Herlha, or Earth. To her the sixth day of the 
 week was consecrated, which by the Saxons was written Friga' s daeg 
 corresponding with our Friday. 
 
 Friga is represented with a drawn sword in her right hand, and a bow 
 in her left. 
 
 The IdolS EATER. 
 
 The Idol Seater is represented on a pedestal, whereon is placed a 
 perch, on the sharp prickled back of which he stood. His head was un- 
 covered, and his visage lean. In his left hand he held up a wheel, and 
 in his right was a pail of water, wherein were flowers and fruits ; and 
 his dress consisted of a long coat, girded with linen. 
 
 The appellation given to the day of his celebration is still retained. 
 The Saxons named it Seater's daeg, which we call Saturday. 
 
 It will be seen, in our explanation of the Mythological plate, that the names of 
 the days of the week owe their origin to the names given by the Saxons to theit 
 chief idols. We shall here observe, that the names which they gave to the month* 
 were singularly descriptive of the seasons, and, therefore, we subjoin them: re- 
 marking, by the way, that the names of the months adopted by the French during 
 ♦he Revolution, though more elegant, were not more appropriate than those of 
 the Saxons, whose ideas they appear to have borrowed.— Their first month wat 
 styled 
 
 Midwinter Monath December. 
 
 Jtefter Yula (or after Christmas) January. 
 
 Sol Monath (From the returning sun) February. 
 
 Rethe Monath (Rugged Month) March. 
 
 Easter Monath. . j ^p^*.^**™ .^ff?. "ffff. "*!"?. rL^. 1 . 1 | APRIL- 
 
 Trimilchi (From cows being milked thrire 8 day) May 
 
 Sere Monath (Dry month) June. 
 
 Mad Monath (The meads being then in bloom) Jour. 
 
 Weod Monath (From the luxuriance of weeds) Aooust. 
 
 Hcefest Mcnath . .. .(Harvest month) September 
 
 t<r„t„~ i\.n- h I (From winter approaching with the full moon of ) ~ _ 
 tenter Fylhsh..^ th>| month) ^| ■ [October. 
 
 ™, „ ,. ( (From the blood of cattle plain that month, and J %T „ 
 Blot Mcnath.... J 8|orc( , for wJntcr provj8ion) '...... Novembeh 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 
 
 OF BRITAIN,* FROM THE INVASION OF JULIUS C^SAR,f B. C. 54; 
 TO THE ABDICATION OF THE ROMANS.^ 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Theirs was the science of a martial race, 
 
 To shape the lance or decorate the shield 
 E'en the fair virgin stain'd her native grace, 
 
 To give new horrors lo the tented field. 
 
 1. Britain was but very little known to the rest of the 
 world before the time of the Romans. The coasts oppo- 
 site Gaul§ were frequented by merchants, who traded 
 thither for such commodities as the natives were able to 
 produce, and who, it is thought, after a time, possessed 
 themselves of all the maritime places where they had at 
 first been permitted to reside. 2. Finding the country 
 fertile, and commodiously situated for trade, they settled 
 upon the seaside, and introduced the practice of agricul- 
 ture ; but it was very different with the inland inhabitants 
 of the country, who considered themselves as the lawful 
 possessors of the soil, and avoided all correspondence with 
 the new comers, whom they viewed as intruders upon their 
 property,H and therefore harassed by repeated wars. 
 
 * Britain, the name given to England, Scotland, and Wales, united 
 
 t Julius Caesar was a most eloquent writer and successful warrior ; he 
 assumed the title of emperor, which roused the jealousy of many of the 
 principal Roman citizens, by whom he was assassinated in the senate-hou3e f 
 m the 56th year of his age. 
 
 t The ancient inhabitants of Rome, in Italy. 
 
 $ Gaul was the ancient name of France. 
 
 II Geoffrey of Monmouth, an ancient English historian, says, that the Bri- 
 tish isles were first peopled 1100 years before Christ, and asserts that Brutus 
 the great grandson of iEneas, colonized them with the descendants of those 
 Tiojans, who, after the destruction of Troy, settled in Greece or Italy. 
 This account is, however, unsupported by any genuine historical documents, 
 and is, therefore, now treated as purely fabulous, though in less enlightened 
 ages a story so romantic easily passed current. 
 
 7 
 
8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 3. The inland inhabitants are represented as extremely 
 numerous, living in cottages thatched witn straw, and 
 feeding large herds of cattle. They lived mostly upon 
 milk, or flesh produced by the chase.* What clothes they 
 wore, to cover any part of their bodies, were usually the 
 skins of beasts ; but the arms, legs, and thighs were left 
 naked, and were usually painted blue. 4. Their hair, 
 which was long, flowed down upon their backs and shoul- 
 ders ; while their beards were kept close shaven, except 
 upon the upper lip, where they were suffered to grow. The 
 dress of savage nations is everywhere pretty much the 
 same, being calculated rather to inspire terror than to excite 
 love or respect. 
 
 5. As to their government, it consisted of several small 
 principalities, each under its respective leader ; and this 
 seems to be the earliest mode of dominion with which man- 
 kind are acquainted, and is deduced from the natural privi- 
 leges of paternal authority. Upon great and imminent 
 dangers, a commander-in-chief was chosen by common 
 consent, in a general assembly ; and to him was committed 
 the conduct of the general interest, the power of making 
 peace or leading to war, and the administration of justice. 
 
 6. Their forces consisted chiefly of foot, and yet they 
 could bring a considerable number of horse into the field 
 upon great occasions. They likewise used chariots in 
 battle, which, with short scythes fastened to the ends of 
 the axletrees, inflicted terrible wounds, spreading horror 
 and devastation wheresoever they drove. f 7. Nor while tht 
 chariots were thus destroying, were the warriors who con 
 ducted them unemployed : they darted their javelins agains 
 the enemy, ran along the beam, leaped on the ground, re 
 sumed their seat, stopped or turned their horses at full speed, 
 and sometimes cunningly retreated to draw the enemy into 
 confusion. 
 
 8. The religion of the Britons was one of the most con- 
 siderable parts of their government; and the Druids,] 
 
 * The ancient Britons were so habitually regular and temperate, that 
 ihey only began to grow old at a hundred and twenty years. — Plutarch, 
 De Placitis Philosophiae. 
 
 t Caesar gives a most animated description of the dexterity of the Britons 
 in managing their war chariots, which he ascribes to constant use and in- 
 cessant exercise ; thereby intimating that the Britons were continually en 
 gaged in intestine wars. — Ccesar's Com. lib. iv. 
 
 X The Druids were d'vided into three different classes; the Bards, who 
 were the heroic historians and genealogical poets : the Vates, who were tho 
 eaered musicians, the religious poets, and the pretended prophets ; the third 
 
THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 
 
 An Ancient Briton. 
 
 who were the guardians of it, possessed great authority 
 among them. No species of superstition was ever more 
 terrible than theirs : besides the severe penalties which 
 they were permitted to inflict in this world, they inculcated 
 the eternal transmigration of souls, and thus extended their 
 authority as far as the fears of their votaries.* 9. They 
 
 class, which was by far the most numerous, and who performed all the other 
 offices of religion, were called by the general name of Druids, which appella- 
 tion was commonly given to the whole fraternity. Their supreme chief was 
 styled the Arch-druid. To the priesthood were also attached a number of 
 females, called Druidesses, who were likewise divided into three classes, 
 those of the first, vowed perpetual virginity, and lived together, sequestered 
 from the rest of the world : these were great pretenders to divination, pro- 
 phecy, and miracles, and were highly venerated by the people. The second 
 class consisted of certain devotees, who, though married, spent the greater 
 part of their time with the Druids in assisting in the offices of religion, oc- 
 casionally returning to their husbands. The third and lowest class waited 
 on the Druids, and performed the most servile offices about the temples, &c. 
 The priesthood, in the most ancient times, was hereditary in all countries 
 and was particularly so in the Celtic nations ; where the order of Druids did 
 not only descend to their posterity, but the office of priests was likewise he 
 reditary in families. 
 
 * Among a people so credulous as the ancient Britons, it is no wonder 
 that those who possessed such high authority among them as the Druids, 
 practised the greatest impositions ; accordingly we read, that the Druids 
 were in the habit of borrowing large sums of the people, which they pro- 
 mised to i .pay in the other world — " Druidse pecuniam mutuo accipiebant 
 in poslervse vita reddituri." — Patricius 
 
10 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 sacrificed human victims, which they burnt in large wicker 
 idols, made so capacious as to contain a multitude of per- 
 sons at once, who were thus consumed together. To these 
 rites, tending to impress ignorance with awe, they added 
 the austerity of their manners and the simplicity of their 
 lives. They lived in woods, caves, and in hollow trees ; their 
 food was acorns and berries, and their drink water. These 
 arts caused the people not only to respect, but almost to adore 
 them. The most remarkable Druidical monument in England 
 is the circle of stones on Salisbury plain, called Stonehenge , 
 it appears to have been a great national temple. 
 
 10. It may be easily supposed that the manners of the 
 people took a tincture from the discipline of their teachers. 
 Their lives were simple, but they were marked with cruelty 
 and fierceness ; their courage was great, but neither dignified 
 by mercy nor perseverance. 
 
 Cesar invading Britain 
 
 11. The Britons had long remained in this rude but in- 
 dependent state, when Caesar, having overrun Gaul with 
 his victories, and willing still further to extend his fame, 
 determined upon the conquest of a country that seemed to 
 promise an easy triumph ; accordingly, when the troops 
 designed for the expedition were embarked, he set sail for 
 Britain about midnight, and the next morning arrived on the 
 cojist near Dover, where he saw the rocks and cliffs covered 
 with armed men to oppose his landing. 
 
THE ANCIENT BRITONS. U 
 
 12. The Bnions had chosen Cassivelau'nus* for their 
 commander-in-chief; but the petty princes under his com- 
 mand, either desiring his station, or suspecting his fidelity, 
 threw off their allegiance. 13. Some of them fled with 
 their forces into the internal parts of the kingdom, others 
 submitted to Caesar, till at length Cassivelau'nus himself, 
 weakened by so many desertions, resolved upon making 
 what terms he was able, while he yet had power to keep 
 the field. 14. The conditions offered by Caesar, and ac- 
 cepted by him, were, that he should send to the continent 
 double ths number of hostages at first demanded, and that 
 he should acknowledge subjection to the Romans. Caesar, 
 however, was obliged to return once more to compel the 
 Britons to complete their stipulated treaty. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. "Was Britain well known before the time of its invasion by the Romans? 
 By whom were, at that time, the coasts opposite Gaul frequented ? 
 
 2. Who introduced the practice of agriculture ? 
 
 3. 4. Describe the inland inhabitants. 
 
 5. Of what did the government of the ancient Britons consist ? 
 
 6, 7. What was their chief force ? 
 
 8. Who were the ministers of their religion ? 
 
 9. Did they ever sacrifice human victims ? 
 
 10. What were the manners of the people ? 
 
 11. Who first determined on the conquest of Britain? 
 
 12. 13. Whom did the Britons choose for their leader ? 
 
 14. What conditions were offered by Caesar, and accepted by Cassivelaunus 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Great Boadicea 
 
 Thy very fall perpetuates thy fame, 
 
 And Suetonius' laurels droop with shame. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. Upon the accession of Augus'tus,t that emperor had 
 formed a design of visiting Britain, but was diverted from 
 it by the unexpected revolt of the Panno'nians4 
 
 Tiberius, § wisely judging the empire already too exten- 
 sive, made no attempt upon Britain. From that time the 
 natives began to improve in all the arts which contribute fee 
 the advancement of human nature. 
 
 2. The wild extravagances of Calig'ula,|) by which he 
 
 * Sometimes written Cassibelau'nus, or Cassibe'lan. 
 t Augus'tus was the son of Julius Ceesar's niece, adopted by Ceesar. lie 
 »yas the second emperor of Rome. 
 X The people of Hungary, which country was formerly called Pannoniu 
 $ The third emperor of Rome. 
 ! l A Roman emperor the successor of Tibe'rius. 
 
12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 threatened Britain with an invasion, served rather to expose 
 him to ridicule than the island to danger. At length, the 
 Romans, in the reign of Clau'dius,* began to think seri- 
 ously of reducing them under their dominion. The ex- 
 pedition for this purpose was conducted in the beginning 
 by Plau'tius and other commanders, with that success which 
 usually attended the Roman arms. 
 
 3. Carac'tacus was the first who seemed willing, by a 
 vigorous effort, to rescue his country, and repel its insulting 
 and rapacious conquerors. This rude soldier, though with 
 inferior forces, continued, for above nine years, to oppose 
 and harass the Romans ; till at length he was totally routed 
 and taken prisoner by Osto'rius Scap'ula, who sent him in 
 triumph to Rome. 4. While Carac'tacus was being led 
 through Rome, he appeared no way dejected at the amazing 
 concourse of spectators that were gathered upon this occa- 
 sion ; but casting his eyes on the splendours that surrounded 
 him, " Alas !" cried he, " how is it possible that a people 
 possessed of such magnificence at home, could envy me a 
 humble cottage in Britain?" The emperor was affected 
 by the British hero's misfortunes, and won by his address. 
 He ordered him to be unchained on the spot, and set at 
 liberty with the rest of the captives. 
 
 5. The cruel treatment of Boadi'cea, queen of the Ice'ni 
 drove the Britons once more into open rebellion. Prasat' 
 agus, king of the Ice'ni, at his death had bequeathed onr 
 half his dominions to the Romans, and the other to hi? 
 daughters, thus hoping, by the sacrifice of a part, to secure 
 the rest to his family. But it had a different effect ; for 
 the Roman procurator immediately took possession of the 
 whole : and when Boadi'cea, the widow of the deceased 
 attempted to remonstrate, he ordered her to be scourged 
 like a slave, and made slaves of her daughters. 6. These 
 outrages were sufficient to produce a revolt throughout the 
 island. The Ice'ni, as being the most deeply interested in 
 the quarrel, were the first to take arms ; all the other states 
 soon followed the example ; and Boadi'cea, a woman of 
 great beauty and masculine spirit, was appointed to head 
 the common forces, which amounted to two hundred and 
 thirty thousand fighting men. 7. These, exasperated by 
 their wrongs, attacked several of the Roman settlements and 
 colonies with success : Suetoni'us, who commanded the 
 Roman forces, hastened to relieve London, which was al- 
 * The son of Dru'sus, and successor of Calig'ula 
 
THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 13 
 
 ready a flourishing colony ; but found, on his arrival, that 
 it would be requisite for the general safety to abandon that 
 place to the merciless fury of the enemy. 8. London was 
 soon, therefore, reduced to ashes ; such of the inhabitants 
 as remained in it were massacred ; and the Romans, with 
 all other strangers, to the number of seventy thousand, 
 were cruelly put to the sword. Flushed with these suc- 
 cesses, the Britons no longer sought to avoid the enemy, 
 but boldly came to the place where Suetoni'us awaited their 
 arrival, posted in a very advantageous manner with a body 
 of ten thousand men. 9. The battle was obstinate and 
 bloody. Boadi'cea herself appeared in a chariot with her 
 two daughters, and harangued her army with masculine in- 
 trepidity ; but the irregular and undisciplined bravery of 
 her troops was unable to resist the cool intrepidity of the 
 Romans. They were routed with great slaughter ; eighty 
 thousand perished in the field, and an infinite number were 
 made prisoners ; while Boadi'cea herself, fearing to fall 
 into the hands of the enraged victor, put an end to her life 
 by poison. 
 
 10. The general who firmly established the dominion of 
 the Romans in this island was Ju'lius Agric'ola,* who go- 
 verned it during the reigns of Vespa'sian,f Ti'tus, :£ and 
 Domi'tian,§ and distinguished himself as well by his cou- 
 rage as humanity. 
 
 For several years after the time of Agric'ola, a profound 
 peace seems to have prevailed in Britain, and little mention 
 is made of the affairs of the island by any historian. 
 
 11. At length, however, Rome, that had for ages given 
 laws to nations, and diffused slavery and oppression over 
 the known world, began to sink under her own magnifi- 
 cence. Mankind, as if by a general consent, rose up to 
 vindicate their natural freedom ; almost every nation as- 
 serting that independence of which they had been so long 
 unjustly deprived. 
 
 12. During these struggles the British youth were fre- 
 quently drawn away into Gaul, to give ineffectual succour 
 
 * Ju'lius Agric'ola was the father-in law of Ta'citus, the celebrated Lis 
 tonan. 
 
 •t Vespa'sian was the tenth Roman emperor ; he was valiant, but very 
 avaricious. 
 
 I Ti'tus was the eleventh Roman emperor, the son of Vespa'sian ; he was 
 so good a man that he was called the "delight of mankind." 
 
 % Domi'tian was the twelfth Roman emperor, and brother to Ti'tus ; he 
 was a great persecutor of the Christians, and of a most cruel disposition. 
 
14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to the various contenders for the empire, who, failing in 
 every attempt, only left the name of tyrants behind them.* 
 In the mean time, as the Roman forces decreased in Britain, 
 the Picts and Scotsf continued still more boldly to infest 
 the northern parts ; and crossing the friths, which the Ro- 
 mans could not guard, in little wicker boats covered with 
 leather, filled the country, wherever they came, with slaugh- 
 ter and consternation. 
 
 13. The Romans, therefore, finding it impossible to stand 
 their ground in Britain, in the reign of the emperor Valen- 
 tin'ian took their last leave of the island, after being masters 
 of it for nearly four hundred years, and now left the natives 
 to the choice of their own government and kings. They 
 gave them the best instructions the calamitous times would 
 permit, for exercising their arms, and repairing their ram- 
 parts ; and helped them to erect a new wall of stone across 
 the island, for they had not, at that time, artisans skilful 
 enough among themselves to repair that which had been 
 built by the emperor Sev'erus. The ruins of this wall, and 
 the fortresses by which the Roman colonies were defended, 
 are among the most interesting relics of antiquity in England. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What prevented Augustus from visiting Britain ? 
 Did Tiberius make an attempt upon Britain? 
 
 2. What exposed Caligula to ridicule ? 
 
 3. Who was the first person that was willing to repel the invaders ? 
 How long did Caractacus harass the Romans ? 
 
 4. What remarks did Caractacus make on witnessing the splendour of 
 
 Rome? 
 
 5. What caused the Britons to rebel ? 
 
 Who commanded Boadicea to be ill treated ? 
 
 6. What were the consequences ? 
 
 7. Who commanded the Roman forces at that time ? 
 
 8. What was the fate of London and its inhabitants ? 
 
 9 Describe Boadicea's conduct, and the result of this battle. 
 
 10 At what time did peace prevail in Great Britain? 
 
 11. What was the situation of Rome at this time? 
 
 12. What were the nations that infested the northern parts ? 
 
 i'3. When did the Romans take their leave of Britain ? And how long had 
 they been masters of it ? 
 
 * According to the "Notitia Imperii," no less than twelve British corps 
 of infantry and cavalry were constantly dispersed in the distant provinces 
 of the empire ; while foreign soldiers were, according to the invariable 
 policy of the Romans, stationed in Britain. 
 
 t The names by which the inhabitants of Scotland were at that time dis 
 tinguished. "The Picts (so called from Pictich, a plunderer, and not from 
 Picti, painted), and the Scots from Senile, a wanderer, in the Celtic tonguev 
 were only different tribes of Caledonians."— Dr. Hairy. 
 
THE SAXONS. 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SAXONS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 But bark ! what foreign drum on Thanet's isle 
 
 Proclaims assistance ? Tis the Saxon band. 
 By Hengist led, and Horsa: — see, they smile, 
 
 And greet their hosts with false, insidious hand. — Dibdm. 
 
 1. (A. D. 447.) The Britons, being now left to them 
 selves, considered their new liberties as their greatest cala- 
 mity. The Picts and Scots, uniting together, began to look 
 upon Britain as their own, and attacked the northern wall, 
 which the Romans had built to keep off their incursions, 
 with success. Having thus opened to themselves a passage, 
 they ravaged the whole country with impunity, while the 
 Britons sought precarious shelter in the woods and moun- 
 tains.* 
 
 2. It was in this deplorable and enfeebled state that the 
 Britons had recourse to the Saxons, a brave people ; who, 
 for their strength and valour, were formidable to all the 
 German nations around them, and supposed to be more 
 than a match for the gods themselves. They were a people 
 restless and bold, who considered war as their trade ; and 
 were, in consequence, taught to consider victory as a doubt- 
 ful advantage, but courage as a certain good. 3. A nation, 
 however, entirely addicted to war, has seldom wanted the 
 imputation of cruelty, as those terrors which are opposed 
 without fear are often inflicted without regret. The Saxons 
 are represented as a very cruel nation : but we must re- 
 member that their enemies have drawn the picture. 
 
 4. It was no disagreeable circumstance to these ambitious 
 people to be invited into a country upon which they had for 
 ages been forming designs. In consequence, therefore, of the 
 solemn invitation of Vor'tigern, who was then king of Bri- 
 tain, they arrived with fifteen hundred men, under the com- 
 mand of Hen'gist and Hor'sa, who were brothers, and 
 
 * In this extremity, they made application for succour to ^tius, prefect 
 of Gaul, in the following remarkable words : — " The groans of the wretched 
 Britons, to the thrice-appointed Consul yEtius. — The barbarians drive us into 
 the sea, and the sea forces us back on the swords of the barbarians, so that 
 we have nothing left us but the wretched choice of being either drowned 
 or murdered." iEtius was, however, too closely engaged in opposing Attala, 
 the renowned king of the Huns (who, from the havoc he made wherever 
 nis sword was drawn, was denominated "The scourge (f God"), to bestow 
 any attention on the Britons. 
 
10 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 landed on the isle of Than'et.* 5. There they did not 
 long remain inactive ; but being joined by the British forces, 
 they boldly marched against the Picts and Scots, who had 
 advanced as far as Lincolnshire, and soon gained a complete 
 victory over them. (A. D. 450.) 
 
 The Saxons, however, being sensible of the fertility of 
 the country to which they came, and the barrenness of that 
 which they had left behind, invited over great numbers ol 
 heir countrymen to become sharers in their new expedi 
 lion. 6. Accordingly they received a fresh supply of five 
 thousand men, who passed over in seventeen vessels, and 
 soon made a permanent establishment in the island. 
 
 The British historians, in order to account for the easy 
 conquest of their country by the Saxons, assign their trea- 
 chery, not less than their valour, as a principal cause. 
 
 7. They allege, that Vor'tigern was artfully inveigled 
 into a passion for Rowe'na, the daughter of Hen'gist; and, 
 in order to marry her, was induced to settle the fertile pro- 
 vince of Kent upon her father, from whence the Saxons 
 could never after be removed.! It is alleged, also, that 
 upon the death of Vor'timer, which happened shortly after 
 the victory he obtained at Eg'glesford, Vor'tigern, his fa- 
 ther, was reinstated upon the throne. 8. It is added, that 
 ihis weak monarch, accepting of a festival from Hen'gist, 
 three hundred of his nobility were treacherously slaugh 
 tered, and himself detained as a captive. 
 
 After the death of Hen'gist, several other German tribes 
 allured by the success of their countrymen, went over ii> 
 great numbers. 9. A body of Saxons, under the conduct 
 of Ella and his three sons, had some time before laid the 
 foundation of the kingdom of the South Saxons, though 
 not without great opposition and bloodshed. This new 
 kingdom included Surry, Sussex, and the New Forest ; 
 and extended to the frontiers of Kent. 
 
 10. Another tribe of the Saxons, under the command of 
 Cerdic, and his son Kenric, landed in the west, and from 
 ihence took the name of West Saxons. These met with 
 
 * Than'et is an island of Kent. Margate and Ramsgate are its principal tcwns. 
 
 t Our old English historians say, that when the beautiful Rowe'na was first 
 introduced to Vor'tigern, " she presented him, on her knee, with a cup of 
 wine, saying ' Waes heal, hlaford cyning,' or 'Be of health, Lord King!' tc 
 which Vor'tigern, being instructed in the custom, answered, ' Drinc heal, 
 or, ' I drink your health.' " — It is proper here to observe, however, that some 
 able historians have declared, that no authentic documents exist concerning 
 these stories of Vor'tigern and Rowe'na, or of the slaughter of the Britisb 
 nobles : and that they are inclined to believe the whole a fiction, or, at least 
 t'ery much exaggerated. 
 
THE SAXONS. 17 
 
 a very vigorous opposition from the natives, but being rein 
 forced from Germany,* and assisted by their countrymen on 
 the island, they routed the Britons ; and although retarded in 
 their progress by the celebrated king Arthur, f they had 
 strength enough to keep possession of the conquest they had 
 already made. Cerdic, therefore, with his son Kenric, es- 
 tablished the third Saxon kingdom in the island, namely that 
 of the West Saxons, including the counties of Hants, Dorset, 
 Wilts, Berks, and the Isle of Wight. 
 
 11. It was in opposing this Saxon invader that the ce- 
 lebrated prince Arthur acquired his fame. However un- 
 successful all his valour might have been in the end, yet 
 his name made so great a figure in the fabulous annals of 
 the times, that some notice must be taken of him. 12. This 
 prince is of such obscure origin, that some authors suppose 
 him to be the son of king Ambro'sius,^ and others only his 
 nephew ; others again affirm that he was a Cornish prince, 
 and son of Gurlois, king of that province. However this 
 be, it is certain he was a commander of great valour ; and, 
 could courage alone have repaired the miserable state of the 
 Britons, his might have been effectual. 13. According to 
 the most authentic historians, he worsted the Saxons in 
 twelve successive battles. In one of these, namely, that 
 fought at Caerbadon, in Berks, it is asserted that he killed 
 no less than four hundred and forty of the enemy with his 
 own hand. But the Saxons Were too numerous and power- 
 ful to be extirpated by the desultory efforts of single va 
 lour ; so that a peace, and not a conquest, was the im- 
 mediate fruit of his victories. 14. The enemy, therefore 
 still gained ground ; and this prince, in the decline of life, 
 had the mortification, from some domestic troubles of his 
 own, to be a patient spectator of their encroachments. His 
 first wife had been carried off by Melnas, king of Somerset- 
 shire, who detained her a whole year at Glas'tonbury,§ 
 until Arthur, discovering the place of her retreat, advanced 
 with an army against the seducer, and obliged him to give 
 her back. 15. In his second wife, perhaps, he may have 
 been more fortunate, as we have no mention made of her ; 
 but it was otherwise with his third consort, who was car- 
 
 * A large country of Europe, comprising many kingdoms and states, 
 t A British prince, who established Christianity at York, in the room of 
 paganism, or worshipping of idols. 
 t King of the Britons. 
 
 $ GUs'tonburv is a town in Somersetshire, noted for a famous abbey. 
 
 U2 
 
18 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 ried off by his own nephew, Mordred. This produced a re- 
 bellion, in which the king and his traitorous kinsman, meet- 
 ing in battle, slew each other. 
 
 Questions for Examination 
 
 1 Who ravaged England with impunity ? 
 
 2 To whom did the Britons have recourse for assistance in their distress I 
 
 3. What character is given of the Saxons? 
 
 4. Where did the Saxons land ? 
 5 Whom did the Saxons defeat? 
 
 6. By what means can the easy conquest of the Britons be accounted for? 
 7 flow did the Saxons obtain possession of the province of Kent ? 
 
 8. Were not many of the British nobility treacherously slaughtered ? 
 
 9. Who laid the foundation of the South Saxon kingdom? 
 
 10. Who gave rise to the name of the West Saxons ? 
 
 11, 12- What celebrated British prince opposed the Saxons with success 
 
 13. What extraordinary feat of valour is related of him ? 
 
 14. What domestic troubles afflicted Arthur in the decline of life ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 While undecided yet which part should fail. 
 
 Which nation rise, the glorious Lord of all. — Creech. 
 
 1. (A.D. 575.) In the mean time, while the Saxons were 
 thus gaining ground in the west, their countrymen were 
 not less active in the other parts of the island. Adventurers 
 still continuing to pour over from Germany, one body of 
 them, under the command of Uffa, seized upon the counties 
 of Cambridge, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and gave their com- 
 mander the title of king of the East Angles,* which \r^s the 
 fourth Saxon kingdom founded in Britain. 
 
 2. Another body of these adventurers formed a kingdom 
 under the title of East Saxony, or Essex, comprehending 
 Essex, Middlesex, and part of Hertfordshire. This king- 
 dom, which was dismembered from that of Kent, formed the 
 fifth Saxon principality founded in Britain. 
 
 3. The kingdom of Mercia was the sixth which was es- 
 tablished by these fierce invaders, comprehending all the 
 middle counties, from the banks of the Severn to the frontiers 
 of the two last-named king-doms. 
 
 The seventh and last kingdom which they obtained was 
 ihat of Northumberland,! one of the most powerful and 
 extensive of them all. This was formed from the union of 
 
 * Comprehending Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and the Isle of Ely. 
 
 t Northumberland, that is, the land north of the river Humber, con 
 tained six counties in England, and extended as far as the Fr th of Bditt- 
 burtr, in Scotland 
 
THE SAXONS. 10 
 
 two smallei Saxon kingdoms, the one called Berni'cia, eon 
 taining the present county of Northumberland and the 
 bishoprick of Durham ; the subjects of the other, called 
 Dei'ri, extending themselves over Lancashire and York- 
 shire. 4. These kingdoms were united in the person of 
 Ethelred, king of Northumberland, by the explusion of 
 Edwin, his brother-in-law, from the kingdom of the Deiri, 
 and the seizure of his dominions. In this manner, the na 
 tives being overpowered, or entirely expelled, seven king- 
 doms were established in Britain, which have since been 
 well Known by the name of the Saxon heptarchy. 
 
 5. The Saxons, being thus well established in all the desi- 
 rable parts of the island, and having no longer the Britons 
 to contend with, began to quarrel among themselves. A 
 country divided into a number of petty independent princi- 
 palities, must ever be subject to contention, as jealousy and 
 ambition have more frequent incentives to operate. 6. After 
 a series, therefore, of battles, treasons, and stratagems, all 
 their petty principalities fell under the power of Egbert, 
 king of Wessex, whose merits deserved dominion, and 
 whose prudence secured his conquests. By him all the 
 kingdoms of the heptarchy were united under one common 
 jurisdiction ; but, to give splendour to his authority, a gene- 
 ral council of the clergy and laity was summoned at Win- 
 chester, where he was solemnly crowned king of England, 
 by which name the united kingdom was thenceforward 
 called. 
 
 7. Thus, about four hundred years after the first arrival 
 of the Saxons in Britain, all the petty settlements were 
 united into one great state, and nothing offered but prospects 
 of peace, security, and increasing refinement. 
 
 It was about this period that St. Gregory undertook to 
 send missionaries among the Saxons, to convert them to 
 Christianity. 8. It is said, that, before his elevation to the 
 papal chair, he chanced one day to pass through the slave- 
 market at Rome, and perceiving some children of great 
 beauty, who were set up for sale, he inquired about their 
 country, and finding they were English pagans, he is said 
 to have cried out in the Latin language, Non Angli sed 
 Angeli, forent, si essent Christiani. " They would not be 
 English, but angels, had they been Christians."* 9. From 
 
 * Inquiring further the name of their province, he was answered Deiri 
 (a district of Northumberland). "Deiri," replied St. Gregory, " that is good ; 
 they are called to the mercy of God from his anger ; that is, de Ira. Bui 
 
20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 fhat time he was struck with an ardent desire to convert that 
 unenlightened nation, and ordered a monk, named Augus'- 
 tine, and others of the same fraternity, to undertake the 
 mission into Britain. 
 
 This pious monk, upon his first landing in the Isle of 
 Thanet, sent one of his interpreters to Eth'elbert, the Kent- 
 ish kine, declaring he was come from Rome with offers of 
 eternal salvation. 10. The king immediately ordered them 
 to be furnished with all necessaries, and even visited them, 
 though without declaring himself as yet in their favour. 
 Augus'tine, however, encouraged by this favourable recep- 
 tion, and now seeing a prospect of success, proceeded with 
 redoubled zeal to preach the gospel. 11. The king openly 
 espoused the Christian religion : while his example wrought 
 so successfully on his subjects, that numbers of them came 
 voluntarily to be baptized, the missionary loudly declaring 
 against any coercive means towards their conversion. In 
 this manner the other kingdoms, one after the other, em 
 braced the faith : and England was soon as famous for its 
 superstition, as it had once been for its averseness to Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 The Saxon ecclesiastics were in general men of great piety 
 and learning. The most celebrated among them was the 
 venerable ifede, born A. D. 673, died A. D. 735, whose his- 
 tory of the Anglo-Saxon Church was so highly valued by 
 Kin g Alfred, that he translated it from the Latin language, in 
 which it was written, into the Saxon. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Whence did adventurers continue to come? 
 
 What counties formed the fourth kingdom of the Saxons ? 
 
 2. What counties did the fifth Saxon kingdom comprehend I 
 
 3. What was the sixth kingdom called ? 
 
 What was the seventh kingdom ? and how was it formed ? 
 -1. Wh.it was the general name given to the seven Saxon kingdoms ? 
 
 5. What happened to the Saxons after the Britons were subdued ? 
 
 6. Under whose power did all the petty principalities fall ? 
 
 7. At about what period were missionaries sent among the Saxons to con 
 
 vert them to Christianity ? 
 8,9. What was the circumstance which occasioned the sending missionaries 
 
 into Britain ? 
 ] \ How were the missionaries received by the Saxon monarch ? 
 11. What effect was produced by the king's example ? 
 
 who is the kins of that province named H He was told JElla, or At.la 
 '• Alleluiah !" cried he, " we must endeavour that the praises of God be sung 
 in 'his country" — Hume. 
 
INVASION OF THE DANES. 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE INVASION OF THE DANES. 
 
 FROM THE END OF THE HEPTARCHY TO THE REIGN OF WILLIAM 
 THE CONQUEROR. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Danes! the Danes ! the ynung and aged cry. 
 And mothers press their infanta as they fly. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 832.) Peace and unanimity had been scarcely 
 established in England, when a mighty swarm of those na- 
 tions called Danes* and Northmen, subsequently corrupted 
 into Normen or Normans, who had possessed the country 
 bordering on the Baltic,! began to level their fury against 
 England. A small body of them at first landed on the coasts, 
 with a view to learn the state of the country ; and having 
 committed some depredations, fled to their ships for safety. 
 2. About seven years after this first attempt, they made a 
 descent upon the kingdom of Northumberland, where they 
 pillaged a monastery, but their fleet being shattered by a 
 storm, they were defeated by the inhabitants and put to the 
 sword. It was not till about five years after the accession 
 of Egbert,;}: that their invasions became truly formidable. 
 From that time they continued with unceasing ferocity, until 
 the whole kingdom was reduced to a state of the most dis- 
 tressing bondage. § 
 
 3. Though often repulsed, they always obtained their 
 end of spoiling the country, and carrying the plunder away. 
 It was their method to avoid coming, if possible, to a general 
 engagement ; but, scattering themselves over the face of the 
 country, they carried away indiscriminately, as well the 
 inhabitants themselves, as all their moveable possessions. 
 
 4. At length, however, they resolved upon making a set- 
 
 * The Danes were inhibitanta of Denmark, a kingdom in the north of 
 Et trope. 
 
 "t The Baltic is an inland sea in the north of Europe. 
 
 t Egbert was the first sole monarch in England. 
 
 $ Nothing could be more dreadftil than the manner in which these fierce 
 barbarians carried on their incursions ; they spared neither age nor sex, and 
 each commander urged the soldiers to inhumanity. One of their celebrated 
 chieftains, named Oliver, gained, from his dislike to the favourite amusement 
 of hist soldiers (that of tossing children on the points of their spears), the con 
 .emptuons surname of Burnakal, or "The Preserver of Children " 
 
22 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 tlement in the country ; and landing on the Isle of Thanet, 
 stationed themselves there. In this place they kept their 
 ground, nothwithstanding a bloody victory gained over them 
 by Eth'elwolf. The reign of Eth'elbald, his successor, was 
 of no long continuance ; however, in a short space, he 
 crowded together a number of vices sufficient to render hia 
 name odious to posterity. 
 
 5. This prince was succeeded by his brother Eth'elred, a 
 brave commander, but whose valour was insufficient to re- 
 press the Danish incursions. In these exploits he was 
 always assisted by his younger brother, Alfred, afterwards 
 surnamed the Great, who sacrificed all private resentment to 
 the public good, having been deprived by the king of a large 
 patrimony. 6. It was during Eth'elred's reign that the 
 Danes, penetrating into Mercia, took up their winter-quarters 
 at Nottingham ; from whence the king attempting to dislodge 
 them, received a wound in the battle, of which he died, 
 leaving his brother Alfred the inheritance of a kingdom that 
 was now reduced to the brink of ruin. 
 
 7. The Danes had already subdued Northumberland and 
 East Anglia, and had penetrated into the very heart of Wes- 
 sex. The Mercians were united against Alfred ; the de- 
 pendence upon the other provinces of the empire was but 
 precarious : the lands lay uncultivated, through fear of con- 
 tinual incursions ; and all the churches and monasteries 
 were burnt to the ground. In this terrible situation of affairs 
 nothing appeared but objects of terror, and every hope was 
 lost in despair. 8. The wisdom and virtues of one man 
 alone were found sufficient to bring back happiness, security 
 and order ; and all the calamities of the times found redress 
 from Alfred. 
 
 9. This prince seemed born not only to defend his bleed 
 ing country, but even to adorn humanity. He had given 
 very early instances of those great virtues which afterwards 
 gave splendour to his reign ; and was anointed by pope Leo 
 as future king, when he was sent by his father, for his 
 education, to Rome. On his return from thence, he became 
 every day more the object of his father's fond affections ; 
 and that perhaps was the reason why his education was at 
 first neglected. He had attained the age of twenty before 
 he was made acquainted with the lowest elements of litera- 
 ture ; but hearing some Saxon poems read, which recounted 
 the praise of heroes, his whole mind was roused, not only 
 to obtain a similitude of glory, but also to be able to transmit 
 
INVASION OF THE DANES. 23 
 
 that glory to posterity 10. Encouraged by the queen his 
 mother, and assisted by a penetrating genius, he soon learned 
 to read these compositions, and proceed from thence to a 
 knowledge of Latin authors, who directed his taste, and rec- 
 tified his ambition. 
 
 He was scarcely come to the throne when he was obliged 
 to oppose the Danes, who had seized Wilton,* and were ex- 
 ercising their usual ravages on the country around. 11. He 
 marched against them with the few troops he could assemble 
 on a sudden, and a desperate battle was fought, to the disad- 
 vantage of the English. But it was not in the power of 
 misfortune to abate the king's diligence, though it repressed 
 his power to do good. He was in a little time enabled to 
 hazard another engagement ; so that the enemy, dreading 
 his courage and activity, proposed terms of peace, which he 
 did not think proper to refuse. 12. They, by this treaty, 
 agreed to relinquish the kingdom ; but instead of complying 
 with their engagements, they only removed from one place 
 to another, burning and destroying wherever they came. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A. D. 
 
 GregorvIV 823 
 
 Sergius'll 844 
 
 Leo IV. 847 
 
 Benedict III 855 
 
 Nicholas 1 858 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Theophilus 1 829 
 
 Michael III 842 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 AD 
 
 CongallusIII 824 
 
 Dongallus 829 
 
 Alpinus 834 
 
 KennethusII...... 849 
 
 Donaldus V 859 
 
 Constantius II 865 
 
 Emperors of the West, 
 and Kings of France. 
 
 Lewis 1 814 
 
 Emperors of the East. I Loth an us 840 
 
 Michael II 821 I Lewis II 855 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 In the reign of Egbert : Earls Osmond and Dudda. Bishops Wigfurth and 
 Herefurth. — In the reigns of Etlielbald and Ethelbert : Swithun, bishop of 
 Winchester. Osryck, earl of Hampton. Lambert and Ethelhard, archbishops 
 of Canterbury. — In the reign of Ethelred : Osbricht and Ella, Northumbrian 
 princes, who were killed while bravely opposing the Danes. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What enemies disturbed the tranquillity which England enjoyed after the 
 
 union of the seven Saxon kingdoms ? 
 What mode of wa.fare was practised by the Danes ? 
 
 2. What loss did the Danes suffer by sea ? 
 3 What did the Danes carry away ? 
 
 4. Where did they at length establish themselves ? 
 
 5. Who succeeded Ethelbald ? 
 
 By whom was Ethelred assisted 1 
 
 * Wikon is the eotu.ty town of Wiltshire, though Salisbury is now its pnn 
 rjpal place 
 
l\ HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 6 What was the cause of Ethelred's death 1 and to whom did he leave the 
 
 kingdom ? 
 7,8 What was the cause of the lands remaining uncultivated ? 
 9. 10. What is related of Alfred's youth and early disposition ? 
 1. What was the success of this prince against the Danes ? 
 22. In wtiat maimer did the Danes observe their treaty with Alfred ( 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Replete with soul the monarch stood alone. 
 And built, on freedom's basis, England's throno; 
 A legislator, parent, warrior, sage, 
 He died, the light of a benighted age. — Dibdin. 
 
 I. (A. D. 877.) Alfred, thus opposed to an enemy whom 
 no stationary force could resist, and no treaty could bind, 
 found himself unable to repel the efforts of those ravagers 
 who from all quarters invaded him. New swarms of the 
 enemy arrived every year upon the coast, and fresh inva- 
 sions were still projected. Some of his subjects, therefore, 
 left their country, and retired into Wales,* or fled to the 
 continent. Others submitted to the conqueror, and purchased 
 their lives by their freedom. 2. In this universal defection, 
 Alfred vainly attempted to remind them of the duty they 
 owed their country and their king - ; but, finding his remon- 
 strances ineffectual, he was obliged to give way to tht 
 wretched necessity of the times. Accordingly, relinquish 
 mg the ensigns of his dignity, and dismissing his servants, 
 he dressed himself in the habit of a peasant, and lived fo> 
 some time in the house of a herdsman, who had been in 
 trusted with the care of his cattle. 3. In this manner, though 
 abandoned by the world, and fearing an enemy in every 
 quarter, still he resolved to continue in his country, to catch 
 the slightest occasion for bringing it relief. In his solitary 
 retreat, which was in the county of Somerset, at the conflu 
 ence of the rivers Parret and Thone, he amused himself witl 
 music, and supported his humble lot with the hopes of bet- 
 ter fortune. 4. It is said, that one day, being commanded 
 by the herdsman's wife, who was ignorant of his quality, to 
 take care of some cakes which were baking bv the fire, he 
 happened to let them burn, on which she severely upbraided 
 him for neglect. 
 
 Previous to his retirement, Alfred had concerted measures 
 for assembling a few trusty friends, whenever an opportunity 
 should offer of annoying the enemy, who were in possession 
 oi the whole country. 5. This chosen band, still faithful 
 
 * Wales consists of twelve counties on the west of England, annexed to. 
 it bv Edward the First. 
 
ALFRED THE OKEAT. 20 
 
 to tlieir monarch, took, shelter in the forests and marshes of 
 Somerset, and from thence made occasional irruptions upon 
 straggling parties of the enemy. Their success in this rapa- 
 cious and dreary method of living encouraged many more 
 to join their society, till at length, sufficiently augmented 
 they repaired to their monarch, who had by that time been 
 reduced by famine to the last extremity.* 
 
 6. Meanwhile Ubba, the chief of the Danish commanders, 
 carried terror over the whole land, and now ravaged the 
 country of Wales without opposition. The only place 
 where he found resistance was in his return from the castle 
 of Kenwith, into which the Earl of Devonshire had retired 
 with a small body of troops. 7. This gallant soldier, find- 
 ing himself unable to sustain the siege, and knowing the 
 danger of surrendering to a perfidious enemy, was resolved, 
 by one desperate effort, to sally out and force his way 
 through the besiegers, sword in hand. The proposal was 
 embraced by all his followers : while the Danes, secure in 
 their numbers, and in their contempt of the enemy, were 
 not only routed with great slaughter, but Ubba, their gene- 
 ral, was slain. 
 
 8. This victory once more restored courage to the dispi- 
 rited Saxons ; and Alfred, taking advantage of their favour- 
 
 * The life of Alfred is full of the most interesting events. Among nu- 
 merous anecdotes related of him by the old English historians, the follow- 
 ing we think worthy of a place in this work, as it affords a striking illustra- 
 tion of his benevolence, and is a proof of the privations he, in common with 
 his trusty adherents, underwent during their seclusion in Somersetshire : — " It 
 happened one day during the winter, which proved uncommonly severe, 
 that he had sent all his attendants out to endeavour to procure fish, or some 
 kind of provisions ; so difficult was the enterprise esteemed, that the king 
 and queen only were excused from the employment. When they were 
 gone, the king, as was his custom, whenever he had an opportunity, took a 
 book, and began reading, whilst Elswitha was employed in her domestic con- 
 cerns ; they had not long continued thus engaged, before a poor pilgrim, ac- 
 cidentally passing that way, knocked at the gate, and begged they would 
 give him something to eat. The humane king called Elswitha, and desired 
 her to give the poor man part of what provision there was in the fort : the 
 queen, finding only one loaf, brought it to Alfred, to show how slender iheir 
 store was, at the same time representing the distress the family would labour 
 under, should they return from their foraging unsuccessful. The king, not 
 deferred by this scanty view from his charitable purpose, but rather inter- 
 nally rejoicing at this trial of his humanity, cheerfully gave the poor Chris- 
 tian one-half of the loaf; consoling the queen with this religious reflection, 
 ' That He who could feed five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, 
 could make (if it so pleased him) that half of the loaf suffice for more than 
 their necessities.' When the traveller departed, the king returned to his 
 reading, and felt that satisfaction which most surely results from a beneficent 
 nction Nor was it long unrewarded, for his companions returned with so 
 great a quantity of provisions, that they were not exposed to any similar in- 
 conveniences during their seclusion." 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 able disposition, prepared to animate them to a vigorous 
 exertion of their superiority. He soon, therefore, apprized 
 ♦hem of the place of his retreat, and instructed them to be 
 ready with all their strength at a minute's warning - . 9. Bui 
 still none was found who would undertake to give intelli 
 gence of the forces and posture of the enemy. Not know- 
 ing', therefore, a person in whom he could confide, he un- 
 dertook this dangerous task himself. In the simple dress 
 of a shepherd, with his harp in his hand, he entered the 
 Danish camp, tried all his musical arts to please, and was 
 so much admired, that he was brought even into the presence 
 of Guthrum, the Danish prince, with whom he remained 
 some days. 10. He there remarked the supine security of 
 the Danes, their contempt of the English, their negligence 
 in foraging and plundering, and their dissolute wasting of 
 such ill-gotten booty. Having made his observations, he 
 returned to his retreat; and, detaching proper emissaries 
 among his subjects, appointed them to meet him in the 
 forest of Selwood, a summons which they gladly obeyed. 
 
 11. It was against the most unguarded quarter of the 
 enemy that Alfred made his most violent attack ; while the 
 Danes, surprised to behold an army of English, whom they 
 considered as totally subdued, made but a faint resistance. 
 Notwithstanding the superiority of their numbers, they 
 were routed with great slaughter ; and though such as es- 
 caped fled for refuge into a fortified camp in the neighbour- 
 hood, being unprovided for a siege, in less than a fortnight 
 they were compelled to surrender at discretion. 12. By 
 the conqueror's permission, those who did not choose to 
 embrace Christianity embarked for Flanders,* under the 
 command of one of their generals, called Hastings. Guth- 
 rum, their prince, became a convert, with thirty of his no- 
 bles, and the king himself answered for him at the font. 
 
 13. Alfred had now attained the meridian of glory ; he 
 possessed a greater extent of territory than had ever been 
 enjoyed by any of his predecessors ; the kings of Wales 
 did him homage for their possessions, the Northumbrians* 
 received a king of his appointing, and no enemy appeared 
 to give him the least apprehensions, or excite an alarm 
 14. In this state of prosperity and profound tranquillity, 
 which lasted for twelve years, Alfred was diligently em 
 ployed in cultivating the arts of peace, and in repairing the 
 damages which the kingdom had sustained by war. 
 * Now a part of the Netherlands. t The inhabitants of Northumberland. 
 
ALFRED THE GREAT. 27 
 
 15. His care was to polish the country by arts, as he 
 had protected it by arms ; and he is said to have drawn up 
 a body of laws.* His care for the encouragement of learn- 
 ing- did not a little tend to improve the morals and restrain 
 'he barbarous habits of the people. When he came to the 
 throne, he found the English sunk into the grossest igno- 
 rance and barbarism, proceeding from the continual dis- 
 orders of the government, and from the ravages of the 
 Danes. 16. He himself complains, that, on his accession, 
 he knew not one person south of the Thames, who could 
 60 much as interpret the Latin service. f To remedy this 
 deficiency, he invited over the most celebrated scholars 
 from all parts of Europe ; he founded, or at least re-esta- 
 blished the university of Oxford, and endowed it with many 
 Drivileges ; and he gave, in his own example, the strongest 
 incentives to study. 17. He usually divided his time into 
 three equal portions : one was given to sleep, and the re- 
 fection of his body, by diet and exercise ; another to the 
 despatch of business ; and the third to study and devotion. J 
 He made a considerable progress in the different studies of 
 grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, architecture, and geometry. 
 He was an excellent historian ; he understood music ; he 
 was acknowledged to be the best Saxon poet of the age, 
 and left many works behind him, some of which remain to 
 this day. 18. To give a character of this prince, would 
 
 * Alfred established a regular militia throughout Pmgland. and raised a 
 considerable naval force, by which means lie was enabled to repel the fu 
 ture incursions of the Danes. He afterwards established a regilar police, 
 dividing the kingdom into counties, and the counties into hundreds and 
 tithings. So well regulated was the police which he established, that it is 
 said he had golden bracelets hung up near the highways, which no robber 
 dared to touch. Yet he never deviated from the nicest regard to the liberty 
 of his people ; and there is a remarkable sentiment preserved in his will, 
 namely, that " It is just the English should for ever remain as free as their 
 own thoughts." 
 
 t So little, indeed, was learning attended to by the great, that Asser, the 
 biographer of Alfred, mentions with astonishment, that the king taught his 
 youngest son, Ethelward, to read, before he made him acquainted with 
 hunting. 
 
 } The piety of Alfred was as conspicuous as his prowess, and in those 
 days of ignorance, he enlightened by his pen no less than by his example, 
 the people over whom he swayed the sceptre. One of his literary labours 
 was the rendering the Holy Gospels into the Saxon tongue, from which we 
 extract the Lord's Prayer, and insert it here as a specimen of the ianguago 
 spoken by the English at that period : 
 
 " Facder ure thu the earth on heafenum, si thin mama gehalgod. to be curao 
 min rice, Gewurthe hin willa on earthen swa swa on heafenum, urne go 
 daegwanlican hlaf syle us to daeg; and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we 
 fcrgivath urum gyltendum, and ne geladde thu us on consenung ac alyse ua 
 of yflo." (Si it swa.i — Medulla Historic? Anglicans 
 
28 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 be to sum up those qualities which constitute perfectio> 
 Even virtues seemingly opposite were happily blended a* 
 his disposition ; persevering, yet flexible ; moderate, yt ! 
 enterprising; just, yet merciful; stern in command, yet 
 gentle in conversation. Nature also, as if desiious that 
 such admirable qualities of mind should be set off to the 
 greatest advantage, had bestowed on him all bodily accom- 
 plishments, vigour, dignity, and an engaging open counte- 
 nance. 19. He died at Oxford, on the 25th of October, 
 900, and was buried at Winchester. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 P types. a.d. 
 
 John VIII 872 
 
 Martin II 882 
 
 Adrian III 884 
 
 Stephen VI 885 
 
 Formosus 891 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 BasiliusI 867 
 
 Leo VI. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 886 
 
 Emperors of the West, 
 and Kings of France 
 
 Lewis II 855 
 
 Charles 1 873 
 
 Charles II 880 
 
 Arnold 888 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 A.D 
 
 Lewis III 899 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Constantine II 863 
 
 Ethus 878 
 
 Gregory 880 
 
 DonaldusVI 893 
 
 Oddune, earl of Devon, who killed Hubba the Dane, and took the famous 
 Reafen, or enchanted standard. Ulfredus, Trelotegaldus, Celnorth, Ethelred, 
 and Plerumbus, were successively archbishops of Canterbury in this reign. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What effect had the continual ravages of the Danes upon the English? 
 
 2, 3. How did Alfred act in this emergency ? 
 
 4. What anoedote is related of Alfred during his concealment? 
 
 5. How diu those who still remained faithful to Alfred conduct themselves t 
 
 6. What benevolent act is related of this monarch ? (See the Note.) 
 
 7. What desperate effort did the earl of Devonshire resolve on ? And what 
 
 was the consequence ? 
 
 8. What was the advantage gained by Alfred's courage ? 
 
 9 By whatjstratagem did Alfred get intelligence of the enemy's situation ? 
 
 10 11. What observations did he make during his stay in the Danish camp 
 
 12 What became of the Danes after their defeat? 
 
 13. What kings paid homage to Alfred ? 
 
 14, 15, 16. How was Alfred employed during the peace ? 
 
 17. For what purpose did Alfred divide his time into three equal portions 
 
 And what were his accomplishments ? 
 |8. What is the general character given of Alfred ? 
 19. Where did Alfred die, and at what place was he buried ? 
 
ED WW 29 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Priest-ridden by a man 
 
 Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking 
 
 Himself with princes. — Shakspeare. 
 
 1 (A.l). 901.) His second son, Edward,* succeeded 
 him on the throne. To him succeeded Athelstan, his natural 
 son, the illegitimacy of his birth not being then deemed a 
 sufficient obstacle to his inheriting the crown. He died at 
 Gloucester, after a reign of sixteen years, and was succeeded 
 by his brother Edmund, who, like the rest of his predeces- 
 sors, met with disturbance from the Northumbrians on his 
 accession to the throne ; but his activity soon defeated their 
 attempts. 2. The resentment this monarch bore to men of 
 an abandoned way of living was the cause of his death. 
 He was killed by Leollf, a robber, at a feast, where this 
 villain had the insolence to intrude into the king's presence 
 His brother, Edred, was appointed to succeed him ; and, 
 like his predecessors, this monarch found himself at the 
 head of a rebellious and refractory people. 3. Edred im- 
 plicitly submitted to the directions of Dunstan the monk, 
 both in church and state ; and the kingdom was in a fair 
 way of being turned into a papal province by this zealous 
 ecclesiastic ; but he was checked, in the midst of his career, 
 by the death of the king, who died of a quinsy, in the tenth 
 year of his reign. — A. D. 955. 
 
 4. Edwy, his nephew, who ascended the throne, his own 
 sons being yet unfit to govern, was a prince of great per- 
 sonal accomplishments, and of a martial disposition. But 
 he was now come to the government of a kingdom, in which 
 he had an enemy to contend with, against whom all military 
 virtues could be of little service. 5. Dunstan, who had 
 governed during the former reign, was resolved to remit 
 nothing of his authority in this ; and Edwy, immediately 
 upon his accession, found himself involved in a quarrel with 
 the monks ; whose rage neither his accomplishments nor 
 his virtues could mitigate. 
 
 G. Among other instances of their cruelty, the following 
 is recorded : — There was a lady of the royal blood, named 
 Elgiva, whose beauty had made a strong impression upon 
 
 * Sumamed Edward the Elder, from being the first of that name who sat 
 en the throne of England. He obtained many victories over the Northura 
 brian rebels, built several castles, and fortified different cities. He also 
 founded tne University of Cambridge, in 915. He is said to have been 
 nearly equal to his father in military courage, but greatly inferior to him m 
 xnental accomplishments. He reigned 21 years. 
 
 c 2 
 
HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ^^>, 
 
 Dunstan separating Edwy and Elgiva. 
 
 the young monarch's heart. He had even ventured to 
 marry her contrary to the advice of his counsellors, as she 
 was within the degrees of affinity prohibited by the canon 
 law. 7. On the day of his coronation, while his nobility 
 were giving a loose to the more noisy pleasures of wine 
 and festivity in the great hall, Edwy retired to his wife's 
 apartments, where, in company with her mother, he enjoyed 
 the more pleasing satisfaction of her conversation. Dun- 
 stan no sooner perceived his absence, than conjecturing the 
 reason, he rushed furiously into the apartment, and upbraid- 
 ing him with all the bitterness of ecclesiastical rancour, 
 dragged him forth in the most outrageous manner. 
 
 8. Dunstan, it seems, was not without his enemies, for 
 the king was advised to punish this insult by bringing him 
 to account for the money with which he had been intrusted 
 during the last reign. This account the haughty monk re- 
 fused to give in ; wherefore he was deprived of all the ec- 
 clesiastical and civil emoluments of which he had been in 
 possession, and banished the kingdom. 9. His exile only 
 served to increase the reputation of his sanctity with the 
 people. Among the rest Odo, archbishop of Canterbury,* 
 was so far transported with the spirit of party, that he pro- 
 nounced a divorce between Edwy and Elgiva. The king 
 was unable to resist the indignation of the church, and con 
 sented to surrender his beautiful wife to its fury. Accord 
 
 * An ancient city of Kent of which county it is the capital. 
 
EDGAR. 31 
 
 mgly, Oclo sent into the palace a party of soldiers, who 
 seized the queen, and, by his orders, branded her on the 
 face with a hot iron. 10. Not contented with this cruel 
 vengeance, they carried her by force into Ireland, and there 
 commanded her to remain in perpetual exile. This injunc- 
 tion, however, was too distressing for that faithful woman 
 to comply with ; for, being cured of her wound, and having 
 obliterated the marks which had been made to deface her 
 beauty, she once more ventured to return to the king, whom 
 she still regarded as her husband. But misfortune continued 
 to pursue her. 11. She was taken prisoner by a party 
 whom the archbishop had appointed to observe her con- 
 duct, and was put to death in a most cruel manner : the 
 sinews of her limbs being cut, and her body mangled, she 
 was thus left to expire in the most cruel agony. In the 
 mean time a secret revolt against Edwy became almost ge- 
 neral ; and Dunstan put himself at the head of the party. 
 12. The malecontents at last proceeded to open rebellion ; 
 and having placed Edgar, the king's youngest brother, a 
 boy of about thirteen years of age, at their head, they soon 
 put him in possession of all the northern parts of the king- 
 dom. Edwy's power, and the number of his adherents, 
 every day declining, he was at last obliged to consent to a 
 partition of the kingdom ; but his death, which happened 
 soon after, freed his enemies from all further inquietude, 
 and gave Edgar peaceable possession of the government. 
 
 13. Edgar, being placed on the throne by the influence 
 of the monks, affected to be entirely guided by their direc- 
 tions in all his succeeding transactions. 
 
 Little worthy of notice is mentioned of this monarch, 
 except his amour with Elfrida, which is of too singular a 
 nature to be omitted. 14. Edgar had long heard of the 
 beauty of a young lady, whose name was Elfrida, daughter 
 to the earl of Devonshire ; but, unwilling to credit common 
 fame in this particular, he sent Ethelwald, his favourite 
 friend, to see and inform him if Elfrida was, indeed, that 
 incomparable woman report had described her. 15. Ethel- 
 wald, arriving at the earl's, had no sooner set his eyes upon 
 that nobleman's daughter, than he became desperately en- 
 amoured of her himself. Such was the violence of his 
 passion, that, forgetting his master's intention, he solicited 
 only his own interest, and demanded for himself the beau- 
 tiful Elfrida from her father in marriage. The favourite of 
 a king was not likely to find a refusal ; the eail gave his 
 
32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 consent, and the nuptials were performed in private. 16 
 Upon his return to court, which was shortly after, he as- 
 sured the king that riches alone, and her high quality, had 
 been the cause of her high fame, and he appeared amazed 
 how the world could talk so much and so unjustly of he* 
 charms. The king was satisfied, and no longer felt any 
 curiosity, while Ethelwald secretly triumphed in his ad- 
 dress. 17. When he had, by this deceit, weaned the -king 
 from his purpose, he took an opportunity, after some time, 
 of turning the conversation on Elfrida, representing that, 
 though the fortune of the earl of Devonshire's daughtei 
 would be a trifle to a king, yet it would be an immense ac- 
 quisition to a needy subject. He therefore humbly entreated 
 permission to pay his addresses to her, as she was the rich- 
 est heiress in the kingdom. 18. A request so seemingly 
 reasonable was readily complied with ; Ethelwald returned 
 to his wife, and their nuptials were solemnized in public. 
 His greatest care, however, was employed in keeping her 
 from court ; and he took every precaution to prevent her 
 from appearing before a king so susceptible of love, while 
 she was so capable of inspiring that passion. But it was 
 impossible to keep his treachery long concealed. 19. Edgar 
 was soon informed of the whole transaction ; but, dissem- 
 bling his resentment, he took occasion to visit that part of 
 the country where this miracle of beauty was detained, accom- 
 panied by Ethelwald, who reluctantly attended him thither. 
 Upon coming near the lady's habitation, he told him that he 
 had a desire to see his wife, of whom he had formerly heard 
 so much, and desired to be introduced as his acquaintance. 
 20. Ethelwald, thunderstruck at the proposal, did all in his 
 power, but in vain, to dissuade him. All he could obtain, 
 was permission to go before, on pretence of preparing for 
 the king's reception. On his arrival he fell at his wife's 
 feet, confessing what he had done to be possessed of her 
 charms, and conjuring her to conceal as much as possible 
 her beauty from the king, who was too susceptible of its 
 power. 21. Elfrida, little obliged to him for a passion thai 
 had deprived her of a crown, promised compliance ; u nt, 
 prompted either by vanity or revenge, adorned her person 
 with the most exquisite art, and called up all her beauty on 
 ihe occasion. The event answered her expectations ; the 
 king no sooner saw, than he loved her, and was instantly 
 resolved to obtain her. 22. The better to effect his inten- 
 tions, he concealed his passion from the husband, and took 
 
EDGAR. 
 
 33 
 
 leave with a seeming indifference ; but his revenge was not 
 the less certain and faithful. Ethelwald was some time 
 after sent into Northumberland, upon pretence of urgent 
 affairs, and was found murdered in the wood by the way. 
 23. Some say he was stabbed by the king's own hand ; 
 some that he only commanded the assassination ; however 
 this be, Elfrida was invited soon after to court by the king's 
 own order, and their nuptials were performed with the usual 
 solemnity. 
 
 This monarch died, after a reign of sixteen years, in the 
 thirty-third year of his age, being succeeded by his son 
 Edward, whom he had by his first marriage with the 
 daughter of the earl of Ordmer.* 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Benedict IV 900 
 
 Leo V 904 
 
 SergiusIII 905 
 
 Anastasius III 91 
 
 Lado 912 
 
 JohnX 913 
 
 Leo VII 928 
 
 Stephen VIII 929 
 
 John XI 931 
 
 Leo VI 936 
 
 Stephen IX 939 
 
 Martin III 943 
 
 Agapeptus 950 
 
 John XII 95G 
 
 Benedict V 904 
 
 John XIII 965 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Benedict VI 972 
 
 Donius II 972 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Leo VI 886 
 
 Constantine Porphy- 
 
 rogenitus 910 
 
 Romanus the young- 
 er 959 
 
 Nicephorus 963 
 
 Zenrisces 970 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Lewis III 899 
 
 Conradel 912 
 
 Henry 1 919 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Othol 936 
 
 Otholl 973 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Charles III 899 
 
 Lewis IV 936 
 
 Lothaire I 954 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Constantine III 909 
 
 Malcolm 1 943 
 
 Indulphus 958 
 
 Duffus 967 
 
 Culenus 972 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 In the reign of Edward: Ethelfrida, sister of Edward the Elder, a grea' 
 warrior, and very instrumental in assisting to gain her brother's victories 
 Atholme, archbishop of Canterbury. — In the reign of Athelstan : Guy, ear 
 of Warwick, who is said to have lulled the Danish giant Colbrand, in single 
 combat, at Winchester, and performed many other extraordinary actions. 
 Terketyl, a successful warrior, an abbot of Croyland, and chancellor of Eng- 
 land. Wolston, archbishop of Canterbury. — In the reign of Edred : Dun- 
 stan. abbot of Glastonbury. Odo, archbishop of Canterbury. — In the reign 
 of Edgar : Dunstan and Elsius, archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 * Until the reign of Edgar, England was much infested with woives 
 The king, however, was indefatigable in hunting and destroying them ; but 
 finding that those which escaped took shelter in the mountains and forests 
 of Wales, he changed the tribute of money imposed on that country into an 
 annual tribute of 300 wolves' heads: this produced such diligence in hunt- 
 ing them, fcaal their extirpation was soon effected. 
 
s 
 
 34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 Questions for Examination 
 
 I What was the cause of Edward's death? and who succeeded \\vm* 
 
 .i To whose direction did Edred submit? 
 
 i Who succeeded Edred ? 
 
 ft. Whom did Ed wy marry? 
 
 7. What happened on the day of his coronation ? 
 
 i On what account was Dunstan banished the kingdom « 
 
 'J By whose orders was the queen seized ? 
 14 Who was Elfrida, and whom did Edgar send to her ? 
 15. How did Ethelwald perform his mission? 
 lf>, 17, 18. Relate what followed. 
 19. How did the king act on hearing the whole transaction? 
 
 20 What did Ethelwald request of his wife ? 
 
 21 What was the result of her non-compliance ? 
 
 22 How did Ethelwald die ? 
 
 23. How long did Edgar reign ? and by whom was he succeeded ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Cut off even in the blossom of my sin, 
 
 Unhousel'd, unanointed, unnaneal'd, 
 
 No reck'ninj* made, but sent to my account 
 
 With all my imperfections on my head. — Shakspeare 
 
 1. (A. D. 975.) Edward, surnamed the Martyr, was 
 made king by the interest of the monks, and lived but four 
 years after his accession. In this reign there is nothing 
 remarkable if we except his tragical and memorable end. 
 2. Hunting one day near Corfe Castle, where Elfrida, his 
 mother-in-law, resided, he thought it his duty to pay her a 
 visit, although he was not attended by any of his retinue. 
 There desiring some liquor to be brought him, as he was 
 thirsty, while he was yet holding the cup to his head, one 
 of Elfrida's domestics, instructed for that purpose, stabbed 
 him in the back. The king, finding himself wounded, put 
 spurs to his horse ; but fainting with the loss of blood, he 
 fell from the saddle, and his foot sticking in the stirrup, he 
 was dragged along by his horse till he died. 
 
 3. Ethelred the Second, surnamed the Unready, the son 
 of Edgar and Elfrida, succeeded; a weak and irresolute 
 monarch, incapable of governing the kingdom, or providing 
 for its safety. During his reign, the old and terrible ene- 
 mies, the Danes, who seemed not to be loaded with the 
 same accumulation of vice and folly as the English, were 
 daily gaining ground. 4. The weakness and inexperience 
 of Ethelred appeared to give a favourable opportunity for 
 renewing their depredations ; and accordingly, they landed 
 on several parts of the coast, spreading their usual terro? 
 and devastation. A. D. 981, 
 
CANUTE- 35 
 
 As they lived indiscriminately among the English, 8 
 resolution was taken for a general massacre ; and Ethelred, 
 by a policy incident to weak princes, embraced the cruel 
 resolution of putting them all to the sword. 5. This plo* 
 was carried on with such secrecy, that it was executed in 
 | one day, and all the Danes in England were destroyed 
 (without mercy. But this massacre, so perfidious in the 
 contriving, and so cruel in the execution, instead of ending 
 the long miseries of the people, only prepared the way foi 
 greater calamities. 
 
 6. While the English were yet congratulating each othei 
 upon their late deliverance from an inveterate enemy 
 Sweyn, king of Denmark, who had been informed of theii 
 treacherous cruelties, appeared off the western coasts with 
 a large fleet, meditating slaughter, and furious with revenge. 
 Ethelred was obliged to fly into Normandy, and the whole 
 country thus came under the power of Sweyn, his vic- 
 torious rival. 
 
 7. Canute, afterwards surnamed the Great, succeeded 
 Sweyn as king of Denmark, and also as general of the 
 Danish forces in England. The contest between him and 
 Edmund Ironside, successor to Ethelred, was managed with 
 great obstinacy and perseverance : the first battle that was 
 fought appeared indecisive ; a second followed, in which 
 the Danes were victorious; but Edmund still having inter- 
 est enough to bring a third army into the field, the Danish 
 and English nobility, equally harassed by these convulsions, 
 obliged their kings to come to a compromise, and to divide 
 the kingdom between them by treaty.* 8. Canute reserved 
 to himself the northern parts of the kingdom ; the southern 
 parts were left to Edmund ; but this prince being murdered 
 about a month after the treaty, by his two chamberlains at 
 Oxford, Canute was left in peaceable possession of the 
 whole kingdom. A. D. 1017. 
 
 Canutef is represented, by some historians, as one of I he 
 first characters in those barbarous ages. The piety of (he 
 
 * In the battle which was fought at Athelney, Edmund, perceiving Canute 
 at the head of his forces, rode off from his own, and Canute advancing, a 
 furious combat ensued, in which (according to the author of the Medutic 
 His.'orics Anglicance) Canute was wounded, and first proposed forbear nice 
 and this, it is said, led to the division of the kingdom. By Canute's aecessior 
 to the throne, a termination was put to a war with the Danes, which bad 
 almost without intermission, raged for 200 years. 
 
 t In the latter part of his life, to atone for his many acts of violence, he 
 on i 1 1 churches, endowed monasteries, imported relics, and made a pilgrimage 
 to Ri mo. 
 
30 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 latter part of his life, and the resolute valour of the former 
 were topics that filled the mouths of his courtiers with flat, 
 tery and praise 9. They even affected to think his powei 
 uncontrollable, and that all things would be obedient to his 
 command. Canute, sensible of their adulation, is said to 
 have taken the following - method to reprove them. He 
 ordered his chair to be set on the sea-shore while the tide was 
 coming in, and commanded the sea to retire. 10. " Thou 
 art under my dominion," cried he, "the land upon which I 
 sit is mine ; I charge thee, therefore, to approach no farther, 
 nor dare to wet the feet of thy sovereign." He feigned to 
 sit some time in expectation of submission, till the waves 
 began to surround him, then turning to his courtiers, he 
 observed, That the titles of Lord and Master belonged only 
 to Him whom both earth and seas were ready to obey. 
 11. Thus feared and respected, he lived many years, ho- 
 noured with the surname of Great for his power, but de- 
 serving it still more for his virtues. He died at Shaftes- 
 bury,* in the nineteenth year of his reign, leaving behind 
 him three sons, Sweyn, Harold, and Hardicanute. Sweyn 
 was crowned king of Norway, Hardicanute was put in pos- 
 session of Denmark, and Harold succeeded his father on 
 the English throne. A. D. 1036. 
 
 12. To Harold succeeded his brother, Hardicanute 
 whose title was readily acknowledged both by the Danes 
 and the English ; and, upon his arsival from the continent, 
 he was received with the most extravagant demonstrations 
 of joy. This king's violent and unjust government was of 
 but short duration. He died two years after his accession 
 in consequence of excess at the marriage of a Danish lord, 
 which was celebrated at Lambeth. 
 
 13. The disorders of the Danish monarchs once more 
 induced the English to place a monarch of the Saxon line 
 upon the throne, and accordingly Edward, surnamed the 
 Confessor, was by the general consent crowned king 
 A. D. 1041. 
 
 The English, who had long groaned under a foreign ytke, 
 now set no bounds to their joy, at finding the line of their 
 ancient monarchs restored. 
 
 14. As he had been bred in the Norman court, he showed, 
 m every instance, a predilection for the customs, laws, and 
 even the natives of that country ; and, among the rest of 
 his faults, though he married Editha, the daughter of Cod 
 
 * A niarket town in Dorsetshire. 
 
HAROLD. Si 
 
 win, yet either from mistaken piety, or fixed aversion, during 
 nis whole reign he abstained from her society !* 
 
 15. Thus having - no legitimate issue, and being wholly 
 engrossed, during the continuance of a long reign, with the 
 visions of superstition, he was at last surprised by sickness, 
 which brought him to his end, on the 5th of January, in the 
 sixty-fifth year of his age, and twenty-fifth of his reign. 
 
 16. Harold, the son of a popular nobleman, whose name 
 was Godwin, and whose virtues seemed to give a right to 
 his pretensions, ascended the throne without any opposition. 
 But neither his valour, his justice, nor his popularity were 
 able to secure him from the misfortunes attendant upon an 
 ill-grounded title. His pretensions were opposed by Wil- 
 liam duke of Normandy, who insisted that the crown be- 
 longed of right to him, it being bequeathed to him by Edward 
 the Confessor. f 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. By whose interest was Edward the Martyr crowned king ? 
 
 2. Relate the circumstances attending the king's death. 
 
 3. Who succeeded Edward ? 
 
 4. What was the conduct of the Danes during Ethelred's reign? 
 
 5. What method did Ethelred take to destroy the Danes? 
 
 6. What was the consequence of Ethelred's perfidy ? 
 
 7. By whom was Sweyn succeeded ? 
 
 9. Did Canute reprove his courtiers for their flattery ? 
 10 Repeat the words Canute made use of on this occasion.. 
 11. Where did Canute die? and what issue did he leave? 
 
 13. Whom did the English place on the throne upon the death of Hardica- 
 
 iiute ? 
 
 14. Where had Edward the Confessor been bred ? and what predilections 
 
 had he in consequence ? 
 
 15. How long did Edward reign ? 
 
 16. What were the pretensions of William duke of Normandy to the English 
 
 throne ? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Ah ! who can tell the horrors of that day 
 
 When Harold fell on the ensanguined field , 
 Where rank 'gainst rank rushed on, in dread array, 
 
 With jav'lin, arrow, battle-axe, and shield. — Brown. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1066.) William, who was afterwards called the 
 Conqueror, was natural son of Robert, duke of Normandy. 
 His mother's name was Arlette, a beautiful maid of Falaise, 
 whom Robert fell in love with as she stood gazing at the 
 door, while he passed through the town. William, who was 
 
 * This contributed to gain him ihe title of Saint and Confessor. 
 
 t Edward the Confessor converted a small monastery into the beautiful 
 cathedral called Westminster Abbey, where he built his own sepulchre 
 and which, until very lately, has been the usual burial place of the English 
 raonarchs 
 
 D 
 
38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 the offspring of this amour, owed a part of his greatness lo 
 his birth, but still more to his own personal merit. '2. His 
 body was vigorous, his mind capacious and noble, and his 
 courage not to be repressed by apparent danger. Upon 
 coming to his dukedom of Normandy, though yet very 
 young, he on all sides opposed his rebellious subjects, and 
 repressed foreign invaders, while his valour and conduct 
 prevailed in every action. 3. The tranquillity which he 
 had thus established in his dominions induced him to extend 
 his views ; and some overtures made by Edward the Con- 
 fessor, in the latter part of his reign, who was wavering in 
 the choice ot a successor, inflamed his ambition with a de- 
 sire of succeeding to the English throne. 4. The pope 
 himself was not behind the rest in favouring his pretensions ; 
 and, either influenced by the apparent justice of his claims, 
 or by the hopes of extending the authority of the church, he 
 immediately pronounced Harold an usurper. With such 
 favourable incentives, William soon found himself at the 
 head of a chosen army of sixty thousand men, all equipped 
 in the most warlike and splendid manner. 5. It was in the 
 beginning of summer that he embarked this powerful body 
 on board a fleet of three hundred sail ; and, after some small 
 opposition from the weather, landed at Pevensey,* on the 
 coast of Sussex, with resolute tranquillity. 
 
 6. Harold, who seemed resolved to defend his right to 
 the crown, and retain that sovereignty which he had received 
 from the people, who only had a right to bestow it, was now 
 returning, flushed with conquest, from defeating the Nor- 
 wegians, who had invaded the kingdom, with all the forces 
 he had employed in that expedition, and all he could invite 
 or collect in the country through which he passed. His 
 army was composed of active and valiant troops, in high 
 spirits, strongly attached to their king, and eager to engage. 
 
 7. On the other hand, the army of William consisted of 
 the flower of the continent, and had long been inured to 
 danger. The men of Britanny, Boulogne, Flanders, Poictou, 
 Maine, Orleans, France, and Normandy, were all voluntarily 
 united under his command. England never before, nor ever 
 since, saw two such armies drawn up to dispute its crown. 
 8. The day before the battle, William sent an offer to 
 Harold to decide the quarrel between them by single combat, 
 and thus to spare the blood of thousands : but Harold re- 
 fused, and said he would leave it to the God of armies Xc 
 determine. Both armies, therefore, that night pitched in 
 
 * A smali town m Sussex. 
 
HAROLD. 39 
 
 sight of each other, expecting the dawning of the da} with 
 impatience The English passed the night in songs and 
 feasting ; the Normans in devotion and prayer. 
 
 (Oct. 13, 1066.) 9. The next morning, at seven, as soon 
 as day appeared, both armies were drawn up in array against 
 each other. Harold appeared in the centre of his forces, 
 leading on his army on foot, that his men might be more 
 encouraged, by seeing their king exposed to an equality of 
 danger. William fought on horseback, leading on his army, 
 that moved at once, singing the songs of Roland, one of the 
 famous chiefs of their country. 10. The Normans began 
 to fight with their cross-bows, which, at first, galled and 
 surprised the English ; and, as their ranks were close, their 
 arrows did great execution. But soon they came to closer 
 fight, and the English with their bills hewed down their 
 adversaries with great slaughter. Confusion was spreading 
 among the ranks, when William, who found himself on the 
 brink of destruction, hastened with a select band to the 
 relief of his forces. 11. His presence restored the suspense 
 of battle ; he was seen in every place, endeavouring to 
 pierce the ranks of the enemy, and had three horses slain 
 under him. At length, perceiving that the English continued 
 impenetrable, he pretended to give ground, which, as he 
 expected, drew the enemy from their ranks, and he was 
 instantly ready to take advantage of their disorder. 12. Upon 
 a signal given, the Normans immediately returned to the 
 charge with greater fury than before, broke the English 
 troops, and pursued them to a rising ground. It was in this 
 extremity that Harold was seen flying from rank to rank, 
 rallying and inspiring his troops with vigour ; and though 
 he had toiled all day, till near night-fall, in front of his 
 Kentish men, yet he still seemed unabated in force or cou- 
 rage, keeping his men to the post of honour. 
 
 13. Once more, therefore, the victory seemed to turn 
 against the Normans, and they fell in great numbers, so 
 that the fierceness and obstinacy of this memorable battle 
 was often renewed by the courage of the leaders, whenever 
 that of the soldiers began to slacken. Fortune at length de« 
 termined a victory that valour was unable to decide. 
 
 14. Harold, making a furious onset at the head of his 
 troops against the Norman heavy armed infantry, was shot 
 into the brains by an arrow ; and his two valiant brothers, 
 fighting by his side, shared the same fate. He fell with his 
 sword in his hand, amidst heaps of slain ; and, after the bat« 
 
40 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 tie, the royal corpse could hardly be distinguished among 
 the dead.* 
 
 This was the end of the Saxon monarchy in England 
 which had continued for more than six hundred years. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. a.d. 
 
 KenedictVII 975 
 
 John XIV 984 
 
 John XV 985 
 
 Gregory V 996 
 
 Silvester II 599 
 
 John XVI 1003 
 
 John XVII 1004 
 
 Sergius IV 1009 
 
 Benedict VIII 1012 
 
 John XVIII 1024 
 
 Benedict IX 1033 
 
 Gregory VI 1044 
 
 Clement II 1046 
 
 Damascus II 1048 
 
 Leo IX 1049 
 
 Victor II 1055 
 
 Stephen X 1057 
 
 Nicholas II 1059 
 
 Alexander II 1061 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 BasiliusII 975 
 
 ConstantineX 1025 
 
 Romanus III 1028 
 
 Michael IV 1034 
 
 Michael V 1041 
 
 Constantine XI 1042 
 
 Theodore (emp.). . . 1 054 
 
 Michael VI 1056 
 
 Isaac Comnenus. . . 1059 
 
 Constantine XII... 1059 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 OthoII 973 
 
 OthoIII 983 
 
 Henry II 1002 
 
 Conrad II 1024 
 
 Henry III 1039 
 
 Henry IV 1056 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 AD 
 
 Lothaire 1 954 
 
 Louis V 986 
 
 Hugh Capet 987 
 
 Robert II 997 
 
 Henry 1 1031 
 
 Philip 1 1060 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Culenus 972 
 
 Kenneth III 977 
 
 Constantine IV.... 1002 
 
 Grimus 1005 
 
 Malcolm II 1054 
 
 Duncan 1 1031 
 
 Macbeth 1040 
 
 Malcolm III 1057 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 In the reigns of Edward the Martyr, Ethelred II. and Edmund : the duke 
 of Mercia, who took part with Elfrida and the clergy, against the king. 
 Dunstan, Ethelgar, Elfric, Siricius, Al phage, and Livingus, archbishops of 
 Canterbury. — In the reigns of Canute, Harold, Hardicanute, and Edward the 
 Confessor : Elnothus, Edsine, and Robert, archbishops of Canterbury. God- 
 win, earl of Kent, whose estates being afterwards swallowed by inundations 
 of the sea, are now denominated the Goodwin Sands. — In the reign of Harold 
 II. . Leofwin and Gurf, brothers to the king. Stigand, archbishop of Canter- 
 bury. Tosti, earl of Northumberland. 
 
 Questions for Examination* 
 
 1. Who was William the Conqueror? 
 
 5. When and where did William land ? 
 
 6,7. Of what were the armies of Harold and William composed ? 
 
 8. How did the two armies pass the night previous to the battle ? 
 
 9. In what way did Harold and William lead their respective armies to 
 
 battle ? 
 11 12, 13. Describe the conduct of William and Harold. 
 11 How did Harold fall ? 
 
 How long did the Saxon monarchy continue in England ? 
 
 * The English in this battle neither used the long-bow nor cross-bow, bul 
 both were used by the Normans. The English forces were nearly all m~ 
 fantry, while by far the greater part of the Norman army was comjiosed of 
 cavalry. It is therefore probable, that to the want of cavalry, and the not 
 using any missive weapons, may be in a great measure attributed the defeat 
 of Harold's army. Certain it is, that the victory remained undecided from 
 nine in the morning till the close of the day, when the death of the king, wh-j 
 aad stain many Normans with his own hand, finally turned the scale. 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 4i 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 
 
 Pom 1024 Died Sept. 9th, 1037. Began to reign Dec. 25th, 10CG. Reigned 
 
 21 years. 
 
 William the Conqueror receiving the crown of England. 
 
 A furious victor's partial will prevailed, 
 All prostrate lay ; and, in the secret shade, 
 Deep stung but fearful indignation gnashed 
 His teeth. Thomson. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1066.) As soon as William passed the Thames 
 at Wallingford, Stigand, the primate, made submission to 
 him in the name of the clergy : and before he came within 
 sight of the city, all the chief nobility came into his camp, 
 and declared their intention of yielding to his authority. 
 William was glad of being peaceably put in possession of a 
 throne which several of his predecessors had not gained 
 without repeated victories. 
 
 2. But, in order to give his invasion all the sanction pos- 
 sible, he was crowned at Westminster by the archbishop 
 of York, and took the oath usual in the times of the Saxon 
 and Danish kings ; which was, to protect and defend the 
 church, to observe the laws of the realm, and to govern the 
 people with impartiality. Having thus secured the govern- 
 ment, and by a mixture of rigour and lenity, brought the 
 English to an entire submission, he resolved to return to the 
 continent, there to enjoy the triumph and congratulations 
 of his ancient subjects. 
 
 d2 
 
42 HISTORY OF ENGLM^D. 
 
 3. In the mean time the absence of the Conqueror in 
 England produced the most fatal effects. His officers, being 
 no longer controlled by his justice, thought this a fit oppor- 
 tunity for extortion ; while the English, no longer awed by 
 his presence, thought it the happiest occasion for vindicating 
 their freedom. 
 
 4. The English had entered into a conspiracy to cut off 
 their invaders, and fixed the day for their intended massa- 
 cre, which was to be on Ash-Wednesday, during the time 
 of divine service, when all the Normans would be unarmed 
 as penitents, according to the discipline of the times. But 
 William's return quickly disconcerted all their schemes ; and 
 from that time forward he began to lose all confidence in his 
 English subjects, and to regard them as inveterate and ir- 
 reconcilable enemies. 5. He had already raised such a 
 number of fortresses in the kingdom, that he no longer 
 dreaded the tumultuous or transient efforts of a disconcerted 
 multitude ; he therefore determined to treat them as a con- 
 quered nation ;* to indulge his own avarice, and that of his 
 followers, by numerous confiscations : and to secure his 
 power by humbling all who were able to make any resist- 
 ance. 6. He proceeded to confiscate all the estates of the 
 English gentry, and to grant them liberally to his Norman 
 followers. Thus all the ancient and honourable families 
 were reduced to beggary, and the English found themselves 
 entirely excluded from every road that led either to honour 
 or preferment. 
 
 7. To keep the clergy as much as possible in his inter 
 ests, he appointed none but his own countrymen to the 
 most considerable church dignities, and even displaced Sti- 
 gand, archbishop of Canterbury, upon some frivolous pre- 
 tences. 
 
 William having crushed several conspiracies, and by 
 punishing the malecontents, thus secured the peace of his 
 dominions, now expected rest from his labours ; and, find- 
 
 * So mercilessly did he treat the people whom he had conquered, and so 
 cetermined was he to incapacitate them from future resistance to his power, 
 that on the Northumbrians having revolted, in 1070, he gave orders to lay 
 waste the fine fertile lands between the rivers Humber and Tees, for the ex 
 tent of sixty miles. Many flourishing towns, fine villages, and noble countrv 
 seats were accordingly burnt down ; the implements of husbandry destroyed 
 and the cattle driven away. The great lord Lyttleton, speaking of thes« 
 cruel devastations, and those occasioned by the " Forest laws," observes, tha» 
 Attila did no more deserve the name of the "Scourge of God,' than thu 
 merciless tyrant, nor did he, nor any other destroyer of nations, i \ako mort 
 <avoc in an enemy's country than William did in his own. 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 4C 
 
 ing none either willing or powerful enough to oppose him. 
 he hoped that the end of his reign would be marked with 
 prosperity and peace. 8. But such is the blindness of 
 human hope, that he found enemies where he least expected 
 them : and such, too, as served to imbitter all the latter part of 
 his life. His last troubles were excited by his own children, 
 from the opposing of whom he could expect to reap neither 
 glory nor gain. He had three sons, Robert, William, and 
 Henry, besides several daughters. 9. Robert, his eldest son 
 surnamed Curthose from the shortness of his legs, was a 
 prince who inherited all the bravery of his family and nation 
 but was rather bold than prudent: and was often heard to 
 express his jealousy of his two brothers, William and Henry 
 
 These by greater assiduity, had wrought upon the cre- 
 dulity and affections of the king, and consequently were the 
 more obnoxious to Robert. 10. A mind, therefore, so well 
 prepared for resentment soon found or made cause for an 
 open rupture. The princes were one day in sport together, 
 and, in the idle petulance of play, took it in their heads to 
 throw water over their elder brother as he passed through the 
 court, on leaving their apartment. Robert, all alive to sus- 
 picion, quickly turned this frolic into studied indignity: and 
 having these jealousies further inflamed by one of his favour 
 ites, he drew his sword, and ran up stairs, with intent to 
 take revenge. 1 ] . The whole castle was quickly filled 
 with tumult, and it was not without some difficulty that the 
 king himself was able to appease it. But he could not allay 
 the animosity which, from that moment, ever after prevailed 
 in his family. Robert, attended by several of his confederates, 
 withdrew to Rouen that very night, hoping to surprise the 
 castle, but his design was defeated by the governor. 
 
 12. The flame being thus kindled, the popular character of 
 the prince, and a sympathy of manners, engaged all the young 
 nobility of Normandy and Maine, as well as Anjou and Brit- 
 tanny, to espouse his quarrel ; even his mother, it is said, sup- 
 ported him by secret remittances, and aided him in this ob- 
 stinate resistance by private encouragement. This unnatural 
 contest continued for several years to inflame the Norman 
 state, and William was at last obliged to have recourse to 
 England, for supporting his authority against his son. 13 
 Accordingly, drawing an army of Englishmen together, he 
 led them over to Normandy, where he soon compelled 
 Robert and his adherents to quit the field, and he was quickly 
 reinstated in all his dominions.* 
 
 * In one of *foe liatlU* hetweeii the forces of William and hia son Rohen 
 
44 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 William had scarcely put an end to this transaction, when 
 he felt a very severe blow in the death of Matilda, his queen 
 and in addition to this domestic calamity, he received infor- 
 mation of a general insurrection in the Norman government. 
 
 14. Upon his arrival on the continent, he found that the 
 insurgents had been secretly assisted and excited by the king 
 of France, whose policy consisted in thus lessening the Nor- 
 man power, by creating dissensions among the nobles of its 
 different provinces. William's displeasure was not a little 
 inci eased by the account he received of some railleries which 
 that monarch had thrown out against him. This so pro- 
 voked the English monarch, that he sent him word, that 
 he should soon set the kingdom of France in a flame. 
 
 15 In order to perform this promise, he levied a strong 
 army, and, entering the isle of France, destroyed and burned 
 all the villages and houses without opposition, and took the 
 town of Mantua, which he reduced to ashes. But the pro- 
 gress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident, which 
 shortly after put an end to William's life. 
 
 His horse chancing to place his fore-foot on some ho*' 
 ashes, plunged so violently, that the rider was thrown for 
 ward, and bruised upon the pommel of the saddle to such : 
 degree, that he suffered a relapse, of which he died, shortl) 
 after, at a little village near Rouen. — Sept. 9,1087.* 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Alexander II 1061 
 
 Gregory VII 1073 
 
 Victor III 1086 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 Constantine XII... 1059 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Romanus IV 1063 
 
 Michael VII 1071 
 
 Nicephorus 1 1078 
 
 Alexis 1 1081 
 
 Emperor of the West. 
 Henry IV 1056 
 
 King of France. 
 
 A.D 
 
 Philip 1 1060 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Malcolm III 1059 
 
 Donald VIII 1068 
 
 the latter happened to engage the king, whose face was concealed by hih 
 helmet, and, both of them being valiant, a fierce combat ensued, till the yomig 
 prince wounded his father in the arm, arid unhorsed him. On his calling out 
 for assistance, his voice discovered him to his son, who, struck with remorse, 
 threw himself at his father's feet, and craved pardon for his offence ; but Wil- 
 liam, who was highly exasperated, gave him his malediction. He was how 
 ever, afterwards, reconciled to him, and on his return to England, Robert was 
 successfully employed in retaliating an invasion of Malcolm, king of Scotland 
 * In this reign justices of the peace were first appointed in England. 
 The Tower of London was built. A general survey of all the lands of the 
 kingdom made, their value, proprietors, quality of the soil, &c. and entered 
 ui a register, called Doomsday-book, which is still preserved in the exche- 
 quer, and is considered the most valuable monument of antiquity possessed 
 by any nation. The curfew (or cover fire) bell established, at which signal 
 all fires and candles were arbitrarily extinguished at eight o'clock in the 
 evening 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 45 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS 
 
 Pnnce Edgar Atheling. Stigand and Lanfranc, archbishops of Canterbury. 
 Edwin and Morcar, earls of Northumberland and Mercia. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. In what manner was William received by the nobility and clergy ? 
 
 2. Where and by whom was he crowmd ? 
 
 4. What conspiracy did the English enter into? 
 
 5. In what way did William determine to treat his English subjects ? 
 
 6. 7. What measures did he adopt to degrade the English ? 
 9 What were the troubles which afllicted William? 
 
 10 11. What frolic was it that led to the serious consequences that folluwed ? 
 
 12. Who espoused Robert's cause ? 
 
 13. What happened in one of the engagements between the forces of tho 
 
 king and his son ? (-See the note.) 
 
 14. What inducement had the king of France to assist the insurgents? 
 
 15. What caused William's death ? 
 
 What valuable ancient record is preserved in the exchequer, and what 
 was its uoe ? {See the note.) 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WILLIAM RUFUS. 
 
 Born 1060. Died August 2d, 1100. Began to reign Sept 9th, 1087. Reigned 
 
 12J years. 
 
 And that Red Kin?, who, while of old 
 Through BoMrewood the chase lie led, 
 By his loved huntsman's arrow bled. — Walter Scott. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1087.) William, surnamed Rufus, from the 
 colour of his hair, was appointed, by the king's will, his 
 successor, while the elder son, Robert, was left in posses- 
 sion of Normandy. Nevertheless, the Norman barons 
 were from the beginning displeased at the division of the 
 empire by the late king: they eagerly desired a union as 
 before, and looked upon Robert as the proper owner of the 
 whole. A powerful conspiracy was therefore carried on 
 against William ; and Odo, the late king's brother, under- 
 took to conduct it to maturity. 
 
 2. William, sensible of the danger that threatened him, 
 endeavoured to gain the affections of the native English, 
 whom he prevailed upon by promises of future good treat- 
 
46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 meni, and preference in the distribution of his favours, tc 
 espouse his interests. 3. He was soon, therefore, in the 
 field ; and, at the head of a numerous army, showed him- 
 self in readiness to oppose all who should dispute his pre 
 tensions. In the mean time Robert, instead of employing 
 himself in levies, to support his friends in England, squan- 
 dered his resources away in idle expenses and unmerited 
 benefits, so that he procrastinated his departure till the op 
 portunity was lost : while William exerted himself with 
 incredible activity to dissipate the confederacy betore his 
 brother could arrive. 4. Nor was this difficult to effect 
 the conspirators had, in consequence of Robert's assurances 
 taken possession of some fortresses ; but the appearance 
 of the king soon reduced them to implore his mercy. He 
 granted them their lives ; but confiscated all their estates 
 and banished them the kingdom. 
 
 5. A new breach was made some time after between the 
 brothers, on which Rufus found means to encroach still 
 farther upon Robert's possessions. Every conspiracy thus 
 detected served to enrich the king, who took care to apply 
 to his own use those treasures which had been amassed for 
 the purpose of dethroning him. 
 
 6. (A. D. 1097.) But the memory of these transient 
 broils and unsuccessful treasons, was now totally eclipsed 
 by one of the most noted enterprises that ever adorned the 
 annals of nations, or excited the attention of mankind : I 
 mean the crusades, which were now first projected. Peter 
 the Hermit, a native of Amiens, in Picardy, was a man of 
 great zeal, courage, and piety. 7. He had made a pilgrimage 
 to the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, and beheld, with indig- 
 nation, the cruel manner in which the Christians were 
 treated by the infidels, who were in possession of that place. 
 
 He preached the crusade over Europe, by the pope's 
 permission, and men of all ranks flew to arms with the 
 utmost alacrity to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels, 
 and each boie die sign of the cross upon his right shoulder, 
 as a mark of their devotion to the cause. 8. In the midst 
 of the universal ardour that was diffused over Europe, men 
 were not entirely forgetful of their temporal interests ; for 
 some, hoping for a more magnificent settlement in the soft 
 regions of Asia, sold their European property for whatever 
 they could obtain, contented with receiving any thing for 
 what they were predetermined to relinquish. 9. Among 
 the princes who felt and acknowledged this general spirit 
 
WILLIAM RUFUS. 47 
 
 wf enterprise, was Robert duke of Normandy. The cru- 
 sade was entirely adapted to his inclinations and his circum- 
 stances ; he was brave, zealous, covetous of glory, poor 
 Harassed by insurrections, and what was more than all, na 
 tu rally fond of change. In order, therefore, to supply money 
 10 defray the necessary charges of so expensive an under- 
 taking, he offered to mortgage his dukedom in Normand} 
 to his brother Rufus for a stipulated sum of money. 10 
 This sum, which was no greater than ten thousand marks 
 was readily promised by Rufus, whose ambition was upon 
 the watch to seize every advantage. 
 
 But though the cession of Maine and Normandy greatly 
 increased the king's territories, they added but little to his 
 real power, and his new subjects were composed of men 
 of independent spirits, more ready to dispute than to obey 
 nis commands. 11. Many were the revolts and insurrec- 
 tions which he was obliged to quell in person ; and no 
 sooner was one conspiracy suppressed, than another rose to 
 give him disquietude. 
 
 However, Rufus proceeded, careless of approbation or 
 censure ; and continued to extend his dominions, either by 
 purchase or conquest. 12. The earl of Poictiers and 
 Gaienue, inflamed with the desire of going upon the cru- 
 sade, had gathered an immense multitude for that expedi- 
 tion, bat wanted money to forward his preparations. He 
 had recourse, tnerefore, to Rufus, and offered to moitgage 
 all his dominions, without much considering what would 
 become of his unhappy subjects that he thus disposed of. 
 
 13. The king accepted this offer with his usual avidity, 
 and had prepared a fleet and an army, in order to take pos- 
 session of the rich provinces thus consigned to his trust. 
 But an accident put an end to all his ambitious projects : 
 he was shot by an arrow that Sir Walter Tyrrel* discharged 
 at a deer in the New Forest, which, glancing from a tree,+ 
 struck the king to the heart. 14. He dropped dead instan 
 laneously; while the innocent author of his death, terrified 
 
 * A French gentleman, remarkable for his skill in archery. 
 
 f" It is a no less interesting historical fact, than a botanical curiosity 
 abundantly proving the longevity of the oak, that this celebrated tree is now 
 standing, though in the last stage of decay, near Mai wood Castle, in the 
 centre of the New Forest. It was first paled round by an order of Charles II 
 
 The rampart which surrounds the Tower of London, and Westminster 
 hall, arc the principal monuments which remain of Rufus's reign. At <ho 
 time of lus death he was forty-two years of age, and had reigned thirteen. 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 at the accident, put spurs to his horse, hastened to the sea 
 shore, embarked for France, and joined the crusade that 
 was then setting out for Jerusalem. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popts. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Victor III 1086 
 
 Urban II 1088 
 
 Pascal II 1099 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Alexis 1 1081 
 
 Emperor of the West. 
 Henry IV 1056 
 
 King of France. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Philip 1 1060 
 
 ./Ting of Scotland. 
 Donald VIII 106 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 lanfranc and Anselm, archbishops of Canterbury. 
 Flamlard, bishop of Durham. 
 
 Odo, bishop of Bayeux 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 i. Who succeeded William the Conqueror? 
 
 2. By what means did Rufus induce the English to support his interest? 
 
 3. How did Robert employ his money ? 
 
 5. What was the conduct of the king on the detection of conspiracies 
 against him ? 
 
 7. Relate the origin of the crusades. 
 
 9. What is the character of the duke of Normandy ? 
 12. Who offered to mortgage his dominions to Rufus ? 
 13 What caused the death of Rufus? 
 
HENRY L 49 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HENRY I. 
 
 Born 1068. Died Dec. 2d. 1135. Began to reign August 5th. 1100. Reigned 
 
 35 years. 
 
 But who shall teach my harp to gain 
 A sound of that romantic strain ; 
 Whose Anglo-Norman tones whilere. 
 Could win the royal Henry's ear. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1100.) Henry, surnamed Beauclerc,* the 
 late king's younger brother, who had been hunting in the 
 New Forest when Rufus was slain, took the earliest ad- 
 vantage of the occasion, and hastening to Winchester, re- 
 solved to secure the royal treasures, which he knew to be 
 the best assistant in seconding his aims. The barons, as 
 well as the people, acquiesced in a claim which they were 
 unprovided to resist, and yielded obedience, from the fear 
 of immediate danger. 
 
 2. Henry, to ingratiate himself with the people, expelled 
 from court all the minister's of his brothers debauchery and 
 arbitrary power. One thing only remained to confirm his 
 claims without danger of a rival. The English remembered 
 the Saxon monarchs with gratitude, and beheld them ex- 
 cluded the throne with regret. 3. There still remained 
 some of the descendants of that favourite line ; and amongst 
 others, Matilda, the niece of Edgar Atheling ; which lady, 
 having declined all pretensions to royalty, was bred in a 
 convent, and had actually taken the veil. 4. Upon her 
 Henry first fixed his eyes as a proper consort, by whose 
 means the long breach between the Saxon and Norman in- 
 terest would be finally united. It only remained to get over 
 the scruple of her being a nun ; but this a council devoted 
 to his interests readily admitted, and Matilda being pro- 
 nounced free to marry, the nuptials were celebrated with 
 great pomp and solemnity.! 
 
 5. It was at this unfavourable juncture that Robert re- 
 turned from abroad ; and, after taking possession of his 
 
 * "Henry was called 'Beauclerc,' from his attention to learning; he had 
 heard his father say, that ' Illiterate kings were little better than crowned 
 Bsses,' and determined not to come under that description." — Camden. 
 
 t Queen Matilda was the delight of the English, both on account of her 
 lescent and goodness of heart. To her we owe the first stone arched bridges 
 England ever possessed : she built two at Stratford, in Essex, (thence called 
 De Arcubus, or Le Bow), where she had nearly been drowned for want of 
 »uch a convenience. 
 
 E 
 
(?0 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 native dominions, laid his claim to the crown of England 
 But proposals for an accommodation being made, it was 
 stipulated that Robert, upon the payment of a certain sum 
 should resign his pretensions to England ; and that, if 
 either of the princes died without issue, the other should 
 succeed to his dominions. This treaty being ratified, the 
 armies on each side were disbanded : and Robert, having 
 lived two months in the utmost harmony with his brother, 
 returned in peace to his own dominions. 
 
 6. But Robert's indiscretion soon rendered him unfit to 
 govern any state ; he was totally averse to business, ami 
 only studious of the more splendid amusements or enjoy- 
 ments of life. His servants pillaged him without compunc- 
 tion ; and he is described as lying whole days in bed foT 
 want of clothes, of which they had robbed him. 7. His 
 sifbjects were treated still more deplorably; for, being under 
 the command of petty and rapacious tyrants, who plundered 
 them without mercy, the whole country was become a scene 
 of violence and depredation. It was in this miserable exi- 
 gence that the Normans at length had recourse to Henry, 
 from whose wise administration of his own dominions, they 
 expected a similitude of prosperity, should he take the 
 reins of theirs. 8. Henry very readily promised to re- 
 dress their grievances, as he knew it would be the direct 
 method to second his own ambition. The year ensuing, 
 therefore, he landed in Normandy with a strong army, took 
 possession of the principal towns; and a battle ensuing, 
 Robert's forces were totally overthrown, and he himself 
 taken prisoner, with nearly ten thousand of his men, and 
 all the considerable barons who had adhered to his misfor- 
 tunes. 9. This victory was followed by the final reduction 
 of Normandy, while Henry returned in triumph to England, 
 leading with him his captive brother, who, after a life of 
 bravery, generosity, and truth, now found himself deprived 
 not only of his patrimony and friends, but also his freedom. 
 Henry, unmindful of his brother's former magnanimity with 
 regard to him, detained him a prisoner during the remainder 
 of his life, which was no less than twenty-eight years ; and 
 he died in the castle of Cardiff, Glamorganshire. 10. It 
 is even said by some, that he was deprived of his sight by 
 a red-hot copper basin applied to his eyes ; while his brother 
 attempted to stifle the reproaches of his conscience, by 
 founding the abbey of Reading, which was then considered 
 a sufficient atonement for every degree of barbarity. 
 
HENRY I. 5i 
 
 1 1 Fortune now seemed to smile upon Henry, and pro 
 mise a long succession of felicity. He was in peaceable 
 possession of two powerful states, and had a son, who was 
 acknowledged his undisputed heir, arrived at his eighteenth 
 year, whom he loved most tenderly. His daughter Matilda 
 was also married to the emperor Henry V. of Germany, 
 and she had been sent to that court, while yet but eight years 
 old, for her education. 12. Ail his prospects, however 
 were at once clouded by unforeseen misfortunes, and acci- 
 dents, which tinctured his remaining years with misery. 
 The king, from the facility with which he usurped the 
 crown, dreading that his family might be subverted with 
 the same ease, took care to have his son recognized as his 
 successor by the states of England, and carried him over to 
 Normandy, to receive the homage of the barons of that 
 duchy. 13. After performing this requisite ceremony, 
 Henry, returning triumphantly to England, brought with 
 him a numerous retinue of the chief nobility, who seemed 
 to share in his success. In one of the vessels of the fleet, 
 his son and several young noblemen, the companions of his 
 pleasui2s, went together, to render the passage more agree- 
 able. The king set sail from Harfleur,* and was soon 
 carried by a fair wind out of sight of land. 14. The prince 
 was detained by some accident ; and his sailors, as well as 
 their captain, Fitz-Stephen, having spent the interval in 
 drinking, became so disordered, that they ran the ship upon 
 a rock, and immediately it was dashed to pieces. The 
 prince was put into the boat and might have escaped, had 
 he not been called back by the cries of Maude, his natural 
 sister. He was at first conveyed out of danger himself, but 
 could not leave a person so dear to perish without an effort 
 to save her. He, therefore, prevailed upon the sailors to row 
 back and take her in. 15. The approach of the boat giving 
 several others, who had been left upon the wreck, the hopes 
 of saving their lives, numbers leaped in, and the whole 
 went to the bottom. About a hundred and forty young 
 noblemen, of the principal families of England and Nor- 
 mandy, were lost on this occasion. A butcher of Rouen 
 was the only person on board who escaped ; he clung to 
 (he mast, and was taken up the next morning by some fish- 
 ermen. 16. Fitz-Stephen, the captain, while the butcher 
 was thus buffeting the waves for his life, swam up to him 
 and enquired if the prince was yet living ; when being told 
 * A town of Normandy in Franco 
 
52 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 that he had perished, " then I will not outlive him," said 
 the captain, and immediately sunk to the bottom. The 
 shrieks of these unfortunate people were heard from the 
 shore, and the noise even reached the king's ship, but the 
 cause was then unknown. 17. Henry entertained hopes, 
 for three days, that his son had put into some distant port 
 in England ; but when certain intelligence of the calamity 
 was brought to him he fainted away, and was never seen to 
 mile from that moment till the day of his death, which 
 followed some time after at St. Dennis, a little town in Nor- 
 mandy, from eating too plentifully of lampreys, a dish he 
 was particularly fond of. He died in the sixty-seventh 
 year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign, leaving by 
 will his daughter Matilda heiress of all his dominions. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. On the death of Rufus, what was the conduct of Henry 1 
 
 2. What method did Henry take to ingratiate himself in his subjects' la- 
 
 vour ? 
 
 4. To whom was Henry married ? 
 
 5. Was there any other claimant to the crown of England ? 
 
 6. 7. What was the conduct of Robert at this time, and to what disasters 
 
 did it lead ? 
 9. In what way was the captive Robert treated by his brother ? 
 
 11. What was the situation of Henry at this time.? 
 
 12. For what purpose did Henry carry his son to Normandy? 
 15. Relate the fatal accident that befel many of the nobility 
 17. What was the cause of the king's death ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A. D. 
 
 Pascal II 1099 
 
 Gelastius II 1118 
 
 CalufisII 1119 
 
 Honorius II 1124 
 
 Innocent II 1130 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Alexis 1 1081 
 
 John Comnenus . 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1118 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Henry IV...". 1056 
 
 Henry V 1106 
 
 Lotharius 1125 
 
 Kings of France. 
 Philip 1 1060 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Louis VI 1108 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Donald VIII 1068 
 
 Edgar 1108 
 
 Alexander 1117 
 
 David 1124 
 
 Anselm and Radulph, archbishops of Canterbury. William Cnto, son of 
 Inke Robert of Normandy. Robert earl of Shrewsbury. The Emprest 
 Matilda.* 
 
 * She wns the only daughter and surviving legitimate child of Henry , 
 she was married to Tlenrv V. emperor of Germany, but having become a 
 widow in the year 112K, she returned to her father's court, and continued to 
 receive the honorary tide of empress. In the following year Henrv, wh'Jfl 
 
STEPHEN 53 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 STEPHEN 
 
 Born 1104 Died Oct. 25th, 1154. Began to reign Dec. 2Gth, 1135. Rfciguod 
 
 18| years. 
 
 Contending armies now for empire fisht, 
 
 And civil war distracts Britannia's isle ; 
 Matilda now asserts her re«a] ri^ht, — 
 
 Now dauntless Stephen's cause is seen to smile. 
 Thus mad ambition prompts to desperate deeds. 
 And, for a phantom, thus a nation bleeds. — JMacdonala 
 
 1 ^A. D. 1135.) No sooner was the king known to be 
 dead, than Stephen, son of Adela, the king's sister, and the 
 count of Blois,* conscious of his own power and influence, 
 resolved to secure himself the possession of what he so long 
 desired. He speedily hastened from Normandy, and ar- 
 riving at London, was immediately saluted king by all the 
 lower ranks of people. 2. Being thus secure of the peo- 
 ple, his next step was to gain over the clergy ; and, for that 
 purpose, his brother, the bishop of Winchester, exerted all 
 his influence among them with great success. f Thus was 
 Stephen made king by one of those speedy revolutions 
 which ever mark the barbarity of a state in which they are 
 customary. 
 
 3. The first acts of" an usurper are always popular. Ste 
 phen, in order to secure his tottering throne, passed a chai 
 ter, granting several privileges to the different orders of the 
 state : — To the nobility a permission to hunt in their own 
 forests ; to the clergy, a speedy filling of all vacant bene- 
 fices ; and, to the people, a restoration of the laws of Ed- 
 ward the Confessor. To fix himself still more securely, 
 he took possession of the royal treasures at Winchester, 
 and had his title ratified by the pope with a part of the 
 money. 
 
 4. It was not long, however, that Matilda delayed assert- 
 ing her claim to the crown. She landed upon the coast of 
 
 in Normandy, became attached to Geoffry Martel, the young count of Anjou 
 who had changed his name to Plantagenet, from his custom of wearing ill 
 his helmet a bunch of flowering broom (planfe-de-genet) instead of a plume, 
 not content with becoming his godfather in chivalry, the king resolved that 
 Matilda should receive the young count of Anjou ns her second husband. 
 This marriage was contracted without the consent of the estates of the realms 
 of England and Normandy; being therefore deemed illegal, it aflbrded Ste 
 phen a pretext for usurping the throne. — William of Mcdmesbury. 
 
 * A city in France. 
 
 t " Stephen was a man of great facetiousness, and much of his success is 
 to be imputed to the familiar pleasantry of his conversation.' — William of 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 E 2 
 
54 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Sussex, assisted by Robert earl of Gloucester, natural son 
 of the late king. The whole of Matilda's retinue, upon 
 this occasion, amounted to no more than one hundred and 
 forty knights, who immediately took possession of Arundel 
 castle : but the nature of her claim soon increased the num- 
 ber of her partisans, and her forces every day seemed to 
 gain ground upon those of her antagonist. 5. M'ean time, 
 Stephen being assured of her arrival, flew to besiege Arun-' 
 del, where she had taken refuge, and where she was pro- 
 tected by the queen dowager, who secretly favoured her 
 pretensions. This fortress was too feeble to promise a long 
 defence ; and would have soon been taken had it not been 
 represented to the king that, as it was a castle belonging to 
 the queen dowager, it would be an infringement on the re- 
 spect due to her to attempt taking it by force 
 
 6. There was a spirit of generosity mixed with the rude- 
 ness of the times that unaccountably prevailed in many 
 transactions. Stephen permitted Matilda to come forth in 
 safety, and had her conveyed with security to Bristol, 
 another fortress equally strong with that from which he 
 permitted her to retire. 7. It would be tedious to relate the 
 various skirmishes on either side, in pursuance of their re- 
 spective pretensions ; it will suffice to say that Matilda's 
 forces increased every day, while her antagonist seemed 
 every hour to become weaker : and a victory gained by the 
 queen threw Stephen from the throne into a prison, and 
 exalted Matilda in his room. Matilda was crowned at 
 Winchester with all imaginable solemnity. 
 
 8. Matilda, however, was unfit for government. She 
 affected to treat the nobility with a degree of disdain to 
 which they had long been unaccustomed ; so that the fickle 
 nation once more began to pity their deposed king, and 
 repent the steps they had taken in her favour. The bishop 
 of Winchester was not remiss in fomenting these discon- 
 tents ; and when he found the people ripe for a tumult, 
 detached a party of his friends and vassals to block up the 
 city of London, where the queen then resided. 9. At the 
 same time measures were taken to instigate the Londoners 
 to a revolt, and to seize her person. Matilda, having timely 
 notice of this conspiracy, fled to Winchester, whither the 
 bishop, still her secret enemy, followed her, watching an 
 opportunity to ruin her cause. His party was soon suf 
 (icicntiy strong to bid the queen open defiance, and to be 
 viege her in the very place where she first received his 
 
STEPHEN. 
 
 55 
 
 Imprisonment of king Stephen. 
 
 benediction. 10. There she continued for some time ; but 
 the town being pressed by a famine, she was obliged to 
 escape ; while her brother, the earl of Gloucester, endea- 
 vouring to follow, was taken prisoner, and exchanged for 
 Stephen, who still continued a captive. Thus a sudden 
 revolution once more took place ; Matilda was deposed, and 
 obliged to seek for safety in Oxford. Stephen was again 
 recognized as the king, and taken from his dungeon to be 
 replaced on the throne. 
 
 11. But he was now to enter the lists with a new op- 
 poser, who was every day coming to maturity, and growing 
 more formidable. This was Henry, the son of Matilda, 
 who had now reached his sixteenth year ; and gave the 
 greatest hopes of being one day a valiant leader and a con- 
 summate politician. 
 
 12. With the wishes of the people in his favour, young 
 Henry was resolved to claim his hereditary kingdom, and 
 to dispute once more Stephen's usurped pretensions ; he ac- 
 cordingly made an invasion on England, where he was im- 
 mediately joined by almost all the barons of the kingdom. 
 
 13. In the mean time, Stephen, alarmed at the power 
 and popularity of his young rival, tried every method to 
 anticipate the purpose of an invasion ; but finding it im- 
 possible to turn the torrent, he was obliged to have recourse 
 to treaty. It was, therefore, agreed, by all parties, thai 
 Stephen should reign during his life; and '.hat justice should 
 
>6 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 be administered in his name : that Henry should, on Ste- 
 phen's death, succeed to the kingdom ; and William, Ste- 
 phen's son, should inherit Boulogne and his patrimonial 
 estate. 14. After all the barons had sworn to this treaty, 
 which filled the whole kingdom with joy, Henry evacuated 
 England ; and Stephen returned to the peaceful enjoyment 
 of his throne. His reign, however, was soon after termin- 
 ated by his death, which happened about a year after the 
 treaty, at Canterbury, where he was interred. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 Who succeeded Henry the first ? 
 
 2. What measures were taken to secure the throne ? 
 
 3. What were the first acts of Stephen ? 
 
 4. Was there no opposition to Stephen ? 
 
 6. What was Stephens conduct towards Matilda? 
 
 7. Did Matilda succeed in recovering the throne ? 
 
 8. Had Matilda's conduct any serious consequences ? 
 13. Whither did Matilda flee for safety ? 
 
 In what manner did she escape? 
 
 11. Had Stephen any new opposer? 
 
 12. Who joined Henry when he invaded England? 
 
 13. Of what nature was the treaty between the two parties? 
 
 Popes. a.p. 
 
 Celestine II 1143 
 
 Lucius II 1144 
 
 Eugenius III 1145 
 
 Anastasius IV 1153 
 
 Adrian IV 1154 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 John Comnenus — 1118 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Man. Comnenus. 
 
 A.T). 
 
 1143 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Lothaire II 1125 
 
 Conrad III 1138 
 
 Frederic 1 1152 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 A.E 
 
 Louis VI 1108 
 
 Louis VII 1137 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 
 David 1 1124 
 
 John of Salisbury, Henry of Huntingdon, Roger de Hoveden, Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth, (historians.) Curboil and Theobald, archhishops of Canterbury, 
 Thurston, archbishop of York, and lieutenant to the king who appointed 
 Ralph, bishop of Durham, his general against the Scots. Robert, Earl of 
 Gloucester, Ranulph, earl of Chester. 
 
HENRY II. 57 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HENRY IT 
 
 Born 1132. Died July fith 1189. Beean to reign Dec. 8th, 1154.* Reigr.ed 
 
 34J years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 With thee, Plantagenet, from civil broils 
 
 The land awhile respired, and all was peace; 
 
 Then Becket rose, and impotent of mind, 
 
 Bid murd'rous priests the sov'reign frown contemn, 
 
 And, with unhailuw'd Crozier, bruised the crown. — Shcnstone. 
 
 1. (A. 1). 1155.) The first act of Henry's government 
 gave the people a happy omen of his future wise adminis- 
 tration. Conscious of his power, he began to correct those 
 abuses, and to resume those privileges, which had been 
 extorted from the weakness or the credulity of his pre- 
 decessors. He immediately dismissed those mercenary 
 soldiers who committed infinite disorders in the nation 
 2. He resumed many of those benefactions which had been 
 made to churches and monasteries in the former reigns. 
 He gave charters to several towns, by which the citizens 
 claimed iheir freedom and privileges, independent of any 
 superior but himself. These charters were the ground- 
 work of English liberty. The struggles which had before 
 this time been, whether the king, or the barons, or the 
 clergy, should be despotic over the people, now began to 
 assume a new aspect ; and a fourth order, namely, that of 
 the more opulent of the people, began to claim a share in 
 administration. Thus was the feudal government first 
 impaired ; and liberty began to be more equally diffused 
 throughout the nation. 
 
 4. Henry being thus become the most powerful prince 
 of his agfe, the undisputed monarch of England, possessed 
 of more than a third of France, and having humbled the 
 barons that would circumscribe his power, he might na- 
 turally be expected to reign with very little opposition r or 
 the future. But it happened otherwise. He found the 
 eeveiest mortifications from a quarter where he least ex 
 peeled resistance. 
 
 5 The famous Thomas a Becket, the first man of Eng 
 lish extraction who had, since the Norman conquest, risen 
 to any share of power, was the son of a citizen of London. 
 
 * He was on the continent at the time of Stephen's death, and the 
 con meneement of his reign is dated from the day of his landing in Ens land 
 
56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Having received his early education in the schools of that 
 metropolis, he resided some time at Paris ; and, on his 
 return, became clerk in the sheriff's office. From that 
 numble station he rose, through the gradations of office, 
 until at last he was made archbishop of Canterbury — a 
 dignity second only to that of the king.* 
 
 6. No sooner was he fixed in this high station, which 
 rendered him for life the second person in the kingdom, 
 than he endeavoured to retrieve the character of sanctity 
 which his former levities might have appeared to oppose 
 He was in his person the most mortified man that could be 
 seen. He wore sackcloth next his skin. He changed it 
 so seldom, that it was filled with dirt and vermin. His 
 usual diet was bread; his drink water, which he rendered 
 farther unpalatable, by the mixture of unsavory herbs. 
 7. His back was mangled with frequent discipline. He 
 every day washed on his knees the feet of thirteen beggars. 
 Thus pretending to sanctity, he set up for being a defender 
 of the privileges of the clergy, which had for a long time 
 been enormous, and which it was Henry's aim to abridge. 
 
 8. An opportunity soon offered, and gave him a popular 
 pretext for beginning his intended reformation. A man in 
 holy orders had debauched the daughter of a gentleman in 
 Worcestershire ; and then murdered the father to prevent 
 
 * The parentage of this extraordinary man was truly romantic. His fa- 
 ther, Gilbert Beck, or Becket, while serving as a private soldier in Palestine, 
 was taken prisoner by a Saracen chief. He had the good fortune to engage 
 the affections of his master's daughter, and by her aid made his escape. She 
 soon after took the desperate resolution of quitting her home and country in 
 search of the object of her love, and though the only two words of any 
 western language which she knew were London andf Gilbert, set out for 
 Europe. By the aid of the former word she secured a passage on board an 
 English vessel ; and when she was landed on the banks of the Thames, she 
 ran from street to street, calling out the latter name, until chance brought her 
 into the presence of Gilbert himself. The strangeness of the event excited 
 universal attention, and the young Saracen, after being baptized by the 
 Christian name of Matilda, became the wife of Gilbert Becket. Thomas 
 was their eldest son, and was educated in all the learning and accomplish- 
 ments of the age. He was in early life taken under the patronage of Thibaut, 
 or Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and by the favour of that prelate 
 was permitted to enjoy indulgences which the Norman conquerors had pro- 
 hibited to all of Saxon descent. During the reign of Stephen, Becket and his 
 patron were warm supporters of Henry's claim to the English crown, and in 
 consequence he was rewarded at the commencement of the new reign with 
 the high office of chancellor of England. In this situation he was distin 
 guished by his zeal in defence of the royal prerogative, and by the extra va 
 gant pomp and luxury of his establishment. Henry believing that the 
 companion of his games, his wars, and even his debaucheries, would be 
 subservient to his desires of limiting the power of the church, elevated 
 Becket to Lie see of Canterbury, but found too late that he had only given 
 to the holy see a zealous champion, and to himself a dangerous antagonist 
 
HENRY II. 59 
 
 the effects of his resentment. The atrociousness of the 
 crime produced a spirit of indignation among the people ; 
 and the king insisted that the assassin should be tried by 
 the civil magistrate. This Becket opposed, alleging the 
 privileges of the church. 
 
 9. In order to determine this matter, the king summoned 
 a general council of the nobility and prelates at Clarendon, 
 to whom he submitted this great and important affair, and 
 desired their concurrence. These councils seem at that 
 time convened rather to give authenticity to the king's de 
 crees, than to enact laws that were to bind their posterity, 
 A number of regulations were then drawn up, which were 
 afterwards well known under the title of the Constitutions 
 of Clarendon, and were then voted without opposition. 
 10. By these regulations it was enacted, that clergymen 
 accused of any crime should be tried in the civil courts ; 
 that laymen should not be tried in the spiritual courts, ex 
 cept by legal and reputable witnesses. These, with some 
 others of less consequence, or implied in the above, to the 
 number of sixteen, were readily subscribed to by .all the 
 bishops present: Becket himself, who at first showed some 
 reluctance, added his name to the number. But Alexander, 
 who was then pope, condemned them in the strongest 
 terms ; abrogated, annulled, and rejected them. 
 
 11. This produced a contest between the king and 
 Becket, who, having attained the highest honours the 
 monarch could bestow, took part with his holiness. In the 
 midst of this dispute, Becket, with an intrepidity peculiar 
 to himself, arraying himself in his episcopal vestments, 
 and with the cross in his hand, went forward to the king's 
 palace, and, entering the royal apartments, sat down, hold- 
 ing up his cross as his banner of protection. 12. There 
 he put himself, in the most solemn manner, under the pro- 
 tection of the supreme pontiff; and, upon receiving a re- 
 fusal of permission to leave the kingdom, he secretly with- 
 drew in disguise, and at last found means to cross over to 
 the continent. 
 
 The intrepidity of Becket, joined to his apparent sanc- 
 tity, gained him a favourable reception upon the continent, 
 both from the people and the governors. 
 
 13 The pope and he were not remiss to retort their ful- 
 minatbns, and to shake the very foundation of the king's 
 authority. Becket compared himself to Christ, who had 
 been condemned by a lay tribunal, and who was crucified 
 
GO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 anew in the present oppressions, under which the chuich 
 laboured. But he did not rest in complaints only. 14. He 
 issued out a censure, excommunicating the king's chief 
 ministers by name, all that were concerned in sequestering 
 the revenues of his see. and all who obeyed or favoured the 
 constitutions of Clarendon. 
 
 Frequent attempts indeed were made towards an accom- 
 modation ; but the mutual jealousies which each bore the 
 other, and their anxiety not to lose the least advantage in 
 the negociation, often protracted this desirable treaty. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 J What were the first acts of Henry's power ? 
 2. What was the ground-work of English liberty ? 
 4 Describe the possessions of Henry at this time. 
 
 5. Who was Thomas a Becket ? 
 
 How did he rise to be archbishop of Canterbury ? 
 
 6. What was the character and manner of life of Becket ? 
 9. What proceeding took place at the council of Clarendon 
 
 10. What were these regulations ? 
 
 11, 12. Describe Becket's conduct in the king's palace. 
 
 13. To whom did Becket compare himself? and why? 
 
 14. How did Becket act ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Still moat that tongue 9ome woundinsr message bring. 
 And still thy priestly pride provoke thy king. — Pope- 
 
 1. (A. D. 1170.) At length, however, the mutual aim 
 of both made a reconciliation necessary ; but nothing could 
 exceed the insolence v/ith which Becket conducted himself 
 upon his first landing in England. Instead of retiring 
 quietly to his diocese, with that modesty which became a 
 man just pardoned by his king, he made a progress through 
 Kent, in all the splendour and magnificence of a sovereign 
 pontiff. 2. As he approached Southwark, the clergy, the 
 laity, men of all ranks and ages, came forth to meet him, 
 and celebrated his triumphal entry with hymns of joy. 
 Thus confident of the voice and hearts of the people, he 
 began to launch forth his thunders against those who had 
 been his former opposers. The archbishop of York, who 
 had crowned Henry's eldest son in his absence, was the 
 first against whom he denounced sentence of suspension. 
 3. The bishops of London and Salisbury he actually ex 
 communicated. One man he excommunicated for having 
 spoken against him ; and another for having cut off the 
 tail of one of his horses. 
 
HENRY II. 
 
 61 
 
 Death of Thomas a Becket. 
 
 Henry was then in Normandy, while the primate was 
 thus triumphantly parading through the kingdom ; and it 
 was not without the utmost indignation that he received 
 information of his turbulent insolence. 4. When the sus- 
 pended and excommunicated prelates arrived with their 
 complaints, his anger knew no bounds. He broke forth 
 into the most acrimonious expressions against that arrogant 
 churchman, whom he had raised from the lowest station to 
 be the plague of his life, and the continual disturber of his 
 government. The archbishop of York remarked to him, 
 that so long as Becket lived, he could never expect to enioy 
 peace or tranquillity : and the king himself burst out into 
 an exclamation, that he had no friends about him, or he 
 would not so long have been exposed to the insults of that 
 ungrateful hypocrite.* 5. These words excited the atten- 
 tion of the whole court, and armed four of his resolute 
 attendants to gratify their monarch's secret inclinations. 
 The conspirators being joined by some assistance at the 
 place of their meeting, proceeded to Canterbury with all 
 that haste their bloody intentions required. 6. Advancing 
 
 * The words made use of by the king on this occasion are said to be as 
 follow: — " 'Is there not one of the crew of lazy, cowardly knights, whom I 
 maintain, that will rid me of this turbulent priest, who came to court but 
 t'other day on a lame horse, with nothing but his wallet behind him?' This 
 speech unfortunately animated to action Reginald Fitzurse, William de 
 Tracy, Hugh de Morvil, and Richard Brito." — Berington's Life of I'homaa 
 a Becket. 
 
62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 directly to Becket's house, and entering 1 his apartment, thev 
 reproached him very fiercely for the rashness and insolence 
 of his conduct. During the altercation, the time approached 
 for Becket to assist at vespers, whither he went unguarded, 
 the conspirators following, and preparing for their attempt. 
 7. As soon as he reached the altar, where it is just to think 
 he aspired to the glory of martyrdom, they all fell upon 
 him ; and having cloven his head with repeated blows, he 
 dropped down dead before the altar of St. Benedict,* which 
 was besmeared with his blood and brains. 
 
 8. Nothing could exceed the king's consternation upon 
 receiving the first news of this prelate's catastrophe. He 
 was instantly sensible that the murder would be ultimately 
 imputed to him : and at length, in order to divert the minds 
 of the people to a different object, he undertook an expedi- 
 tion to Ireland. A. D. 1172. 
 
 9. Ireland was at that time in pretty much the same 
 situation that England had been after the first invasion of 
 the Saxons. They had been early converted to Christianity ; 
 and for three or four centuries after possessed a very large 
 proportion of the learning of the times. Being undisturbed 
 by foreign invasions, and perhaps too poor to invite the ra- 
 pacity of conquerors, they enjoyed a peaceful life, which 
 they gave up to piety, and such learning as was then thought 
 necessary to promote it. 10. Of their learning, their aris, 
 their piety, and even their polished manners, too many 
 monuments remain to this day for us to make the least 
 doubt concerning them ; but it is equally true, that in time 
 they fell from these advantages ; their degenerate posterity, 
 at the period we are now speaking of, were wrapped in the 
 darkest barbarity. 
 
 11. At the time when Henry first planned the invasion 
 of the island, it was divided into five principalities ; namely, 
 Leinster, Meath, Munster, Ulster, and Connaught ; each 
 governed by its respective monarch. As it had been usual 
 for one or other of those to take the lead in the wars, he 
 was denominated sole monarch of the kingdom, and pos- 
 sessed of power resembling that of the early Saxon mo- 
 narchs in England. Roderic O'Connor, king of Connaught, 
 was then advanced to this dignity, and Dermot M'Morrough 
 was king of Leinster. 12. This last-named prince, a weak, 
 licentious tyrant, had carried off the daughter of the king of 
 
 * St Benedict, the founder of the religious order which bears his ikmp« 
 was born in Italy about the year 480. and early embraced a solitary life 
 
HENRY II. 63 
 
 Meath, who, being strengthened by the alliance of the king 
 of Connaught, invaded Dermot's dominions, and expelled 
 him from his kingdom. The prince, thus justly punished, 
 had recourse to Henry, who was at that time in Guienne ; 
 and offered to hold his kingdom of the English crown, in 
 case he recovered it by the king's assistance. 13. Henry 
 readily accepted the offer ; but being at that time embarras- 
 sed by more near interests, lie only gave Dermot letters pa- 
 tent, by which he empowered all his subjects to aid the Irish 
 prince in the recovery of his dominions. Dermot, relying 
 on this authority, returned to Bristol, where, after some dif- 
 ficulty, he formed a treaty with Richard, surnamed Strong- 
 bow, earl of Pembroke, who agreed to reinstate him in his 
 dominions, upon condition of his being married to his 
 daughter Eva, and declared heir of all his territory. 14. 
 Being thus assured of assistance, he returned privately to 
 Ireland, and concealed himself during the winter in the 
 monastery of Ferns, which he had founded. Robert Fitz- 
 stephens was the first knight who was able, in the ensuing 
 spring, to fulfil his engagements, by landing with a hundred 
 and thirty knights, sixty esquires, and three hundred arch- 
 ers. 15. They were soon after joined by Maurice Pender- 
 gast, who, about the same time, brought over ten knights and 
 sixty archers ; and with this small body of forces they re 
 solved on beseiging Wexford, which was to be theirs by 
 treaty. The town was quickly reduced ; and the adven- 
 turers being reinforced by another body of men to the amount 
 of a hundred and fifty, under the command of Maurice Fitz- 
 gerald, composed an army that struck the barbarous natives 
 with awe. 16. Roderic, the chief monarch of the island, 
 ventured to oppose them, but he was defeated ; and soon 
 after the prince of Ossory was obliged to submit, and give 
 hostages for his future conduct. 
 
 17. Dermot being thus reinstated in his hereditary do- 
 mil. ions, soon began to conceive hopes of extending the limits 
 of his power, and making himself master of Ireland. With 
 these views he endeavoured to expedite Strongbow, who, 
 being personally prohibited by the king, was not yet come 
 over. Dermot tried to inflame his ambition by the glory of 
 the conquest, and his avarice by the advantages it would 
 procure. He expatiated on the cowardice of the natives, 
 and the certainty of his success. 18. Strongbow first sent 
 over Raymond, one of his retinue, with ten knights and 
 seventy archers ; and receiving permission shortly after for 
 
G4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 himself, he landed with two hundred horse and a hundred 
 archers. All these English forces, now joining together, 
 became irresistible ; and though the whole number did not 
 amount to a thousand, yet such was the barbarous state of 
 the natives, that they were everywhere put to the rout. The 
 city of Waterford quickly surrendered ; Dublin was taken 
 by assault; and Strongbow soon after marrying Eva, accord- 
 ing to treaty, became master of the kingdom of Leinstei 
 upon Dermot's decease. 
 
 19. The island being thus in a manner wholly subdued 
 for nothing was capable of opposing the further progress of 
 the English arms, Henry became willing to share in person 
 those honours which the adventurers had already secured. 
 20. He, therefore, shortly after landed in Ireland, at the 
 head of five hundred knights and some soldiers ; not so 
 much to conquer a disputed territory, as to take possession 
 of a kingdom. Thus, after a trifling effort, in which very 
 little money was expended, and little blood shed, that beau- 
 tiful island became, as it stills continues to be, an appendage 
 to the British crown. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 2, 3. How did Becket conduct himself on his return to England ? 
 
 4. In what manner did Henry receive the complaints of Becket's insolence 
 
 5, 6. What was the consequence of Henry's resentment? 
 
 7. By what means did Henry divert the minds of the people? 
 9, 10. What was the situation of Ireland at this lime ? 
 ] 1. By whom was it governed ? 
 
 12. What occasioned the interference of Henry? 
 
 13. What followed this interference? 
 
 15. What further means were taken to subdue Ireland ? 
 
 18. What was the success of the English on their invading Ireland? 
 
 20. For what purpose did Henry go to Ireland ? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 A maid unmntch'd in manners as in face, 
 
 Skill'd in eacli art. and crown'd wiih every grace. — Pope. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1173.) The joy which this conquest .diffused 
 was very great; but troubles of a domestic nature served to 
 render the remainder of Henry's life a scene of turbulence 
 and disquietude. 
 
 Young Harry, the king's eldest son, was taught to believe 
 himself injured, when, upon being crowned as partner in 
 the kingdom, he was not admitted into a share of the admi- 
 nistration. 2. His discontents were shared by his brother? 
 Geoffrey and Richard, whom the queen persuaded to asser* 
 
HENRY II. 
 
 65 
 
 Henry II. on his pilgrimage to Canterbury. 
 
 their titles to the territories assigned them. Queen Eleanox 
 herself was meditating an escape to the court of France, 
 whither her sons had retired, and had put on man's apparel 
 tor that purpose, when she was seized by the king's order 
 and put in confinement. 3. Thus Henry saw all his long 
 perspective of future happiness totally clouded ; his sons 
 scarcely yet arrived at manhood, eager to share the spoils of 
 their father's possessions ; his queen warmly encouraging 
 these undutiful princes in their rebellion ; and many poten- 
 tates of Europe not ashamed to lend them assistance to sup- 
 port these pretensions. 
 
 4. It was not long before the young princes had sufficient 
 influence upon the continent to raise a powerful confederacy 
 in their favour. Henry, therefore, knowing the influence of 
 superstition over the minds of the people, and perhaps ap- 
 prehensive that a part of his troubles arose from the displea 
 sure of heaven, resolved to do penance at the shrine of St. 
 Thomas, at Canterbury, for that was the name given to 
 Becket upon his canonization. As soon as he came within 
 sight of the church of Canterbury, alighting from his horse, 
 he walked barefoot towards the town, and prostrated himself 
 before the shrine* of the saint. Next day he received abso 
 /ution ; and, departing for London, was acquainted with the 
 
 * Here he v/as scourged by the monks, an< I passed the whole day and nig'i? 
 fasting on the bare stones 
 
 f2 
 
66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 agreeable news of a victory over the Scots, obtained on the 
 very day of his absolution. 
 
 5. From that time Henry's affairs began to wear a better 
 aspect : the barons, who had revolted, or were preparing for 
 a revolt, made instant submission ; they delivered up their 
 castlps to the victor ; and England, in a few weeks, was re- 
 stored to perfect tranquillity. 6. Young Henry, who was 
 ready to embark with a large army, to second the efforts of 
 the English insurgents, finding all disturbances quieted at 
 home, abandoned all thoughts of the expedition. This 
 prince died soon after, in the twenty-sixth year of his age 
 of a fever, at Martel, not without the deepest remorse for 
 his undutiful conduct towards his father. 
 
 7. As this prince left no posterity, Richard was become 
 heir in his room ; and he soon discovered the same ardent 
 ambition that had misled his elder brother. A crusade hav- 
 ing been once more projected, Richard, who had long wished 
 to have all the glory of such an expedition to himself, and 
 who could not bear to have even his father a partner in his 
 victories, entered into a confederacy with the king of France, 
 who promised to confirm him in those wishes at which he 
 so ardently aspired. 8. By this, Henry found himself 
 obliged to give up all hopes of taking the cross, and com- 
 pelled to enter upon a war with France and his eldest son, 
 who were unnaturally leagued against him. 
 
 9. At last, however, a treaty was concluded, in which he 
 was obliged to submit to many mortifying concessions : but 
 still more so, when, upon demanding a list of the barons 
 that it was stipulated he should pardon, he found his son 
 John, his favourite child, among the number. He had long 
 borne an infirm state of body with calm resignation. He 
 had seen his children rebel without much emotion ; but 
 when he saw that child, whose interest always lay next to 
 his heart, among the number of those who were in rebellion 
 against him, he could no longer contain his indignation. He 
 broke out into expressions of the utmost despair ; cursed the 
 day on which he had received his miserable being ; and be 
 stowed on his ungrateful children a malediction, which ho 
 never after could be prevailed upon to retract. 10. The 
 more his heart was disposed to friendship and affection, the 
 more he resented this barbarous return ; and now not having 
 one corner in his heart where he could look for comfort oi 
 fly for refuge from his conflicting passions, he lost all his 
 r ormer vivacity. A lingering fever, caused by a broken 
 
HENRY II. 
 
 :»7 
 
 heart, soon after terminated his life and his miseries. He died 
 at the castle of Chinon, near Saumur, in the fifty-eighth 
 year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign , in the 
 course of which he displayed all the abilities of a politician, 
 all the sagacity of a legislator, and all the magnanimity of a 
 hero; sullied, however, by many instances of cruelty and 
 perfidy, which were too commonly the characteristics of all 
 the Plantaganets. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 2 By what means did Eleanor endeavour to escape ? 
 
 3 In what way were Henry's prospects of future happiness clouded? 
 
 4 What was the penance performed by Henry ? 
 
 5 At what time did the affairs of Henry wear a better aspect? 
 
 6 Who endeavoured to assist the insurgents ? 
 
 7 Did auother of Henry's sons enter into a conspiracy ? and what was the 
 
 consequence ! 
 9. What were the misfortunes which led Henry to curse the day of bis 
 
 birth, and to bestow a malediction on his children ? 
 0. What caused the death of Henry ? 
 What was his character ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Adrian IV* 1154 
 
 Alexander III .... 1159 
 
 Lucius III 1181 
 
 Urban III 1185 
 
 Gregory VIII 1187 
 
 Clement HI 1188 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Man. Commenus.. 1143 
 
 Alexis II 1180 
 
 Andronicus 1 1183 
 
 Isaac Angelus.. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1185 
 
 Emperor of the West. 
 Frederick 1 1152 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Louis VII 1137 
 
 Philip Augustus .. 1180 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 Alphohso 1102 
 
 AD 
 
 Sanchol 1185 
 
 King of Denmark 
 Waldemarl.t .... 1157 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 David 1 1124 
 
 Malcolm IV 1153 
 
 William 1165 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Theobald, Becker, Richard, and Baldwin, archbishops of Canterbury 
 Strongbow, earl of Pembroke ; William Longsword, earl of Salisbury ; Geof- 
 frey, archbishop of York ; and Morgan, bishop of Durham; natural sons of 
 the king, the two former by Fair Rosamond, the latter by a daughter of Sir 
 Ralph Blewett. Hugh Lacy, and Ralph de Glanville, justiciaries of Ireland 
 and England. Bertrand de Boru.f 
 
 * Pope Adrian was an Englishman, byname Nicholas Breakspear: he waa 
 choked by a fly in the fifth year of his popedom.— Med. Hist. August. 
 
 t The regular succession and history of Denmark do not properly com- 
 mence till the accession of Waldemar I.'(called the Great,) who considerably 
 enlarged and civilized the country. 
 
 t Though not properly a subject of the English crowm, this extraordinary 
 man exercised no little influence on the fortunes of Henry. He was lord of 
 a small territory lying between the continental possessions of Henry and 
 France: he saw that his only hope of retaining independence rested on the 
 continued hostility of these great powers, and used all his efforts to keep them 
 
08 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 RICHARD I. 
 
 Born 115?. Died April 6th, 1199. Began to reign August 13 11S9 Reigned 
 
 9£ years. 
 
 Against whose fury and unmatched force 
 The aweless lion could not wage the fight 
 Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand. — Shakspeare. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1190.) Richard, surnamed Cceur de Lion, 
 upon his ascending the throne, was still inflamed with the 
 desire of going upon the crusade : and at length the king, 
 having got a sufficient supply for his undertaking, having 
 even sold his superiority over the kingdom of Scotland, 
 which had been acquired in the last r2ign, for a moderate 
 sum, he set out for the Holy Land, whither he was impelled 
 Dy repeated messages from king Philip II of France, who 
 was ready to embark in the same enterprise. 
 
 2. The first place of rendezvous for the two armies of 
 England and France, was the plain of Vevelay, on the 
 borders of Burgundy, where, when Richard and Philip 
 arrived, they found their armies amounting to a hundred 
 thousand fighting men. Here the French prince and tho 
 English entered into the most solemn engagements of mu 
 tual support, and determined to conduct the armies to the 
 Holy Land by sea : they were obliged, however, by stress 
 of weather, to take shelter at Messina*, the capital of Sicily, 
 where they were detained during the whole winter. 3. 
 Richard took up his quarters in the suburbs, and possessed 
 himself of a small fort, which commanded the harbour. 
 Philip quartered his troops in the town, and lived upon good 
 terms with the Sicilian king 
 
 constantly at war. Being both a politician and a poet, he exaggerated the 
 causes of' quarrel which constantly arise between adjoining states, and in 
 bitter satires alternately reproached each government with cowardly sub- 
 mission to its rival. It was he that stimulated the sons of Henry to make war 
 against their father, and young Henry especially was chiefly urged into the 
 field by the satirical verses of Boru. After the death of the young prince, 
 Henry besieged Bertrand's castle, and made him prisoner. When brought 
 into the monarch's presence, the king sarcastically said to his captive, " I 
 think, Bertrand, thy wit has failed thee." " Yes, my lord," replied Bertrand. 
 •' it failed me on the day that the valiant young king, your son expired : on 
 ihat day I lost sense, wit, and knowledge." Struck at the unexpected men- 
 tion of his son's name, the king fainted, and on his recovery granted Bertrand 
 a full pardon. — History of the Troubadours. 
 
 * This place suffered much by an earthquake in 1783. It is famous for its 
 wines, and is the finest harbour in the Mediterranean. 
 
RICHARD 1. 69 
 
 Many were the mistrusts and the mutual conciliations 
 oetween these two monarchs, which were very probably 
 intlamed by the Sicilian king's endeavours. At length, 
 however, having settled all controversies, they set sail foi 
 the Holy Land, where the French arrived long before the 
 English. 
 
 4. Upon the arrival of the English army in Palestine, 
 however, fortune was seen to declare more openly in favour 
 of tbe common cause. The French and English princes 
 seemed to forget their secret jealousies, and to act in concert. 
 But shortly after, Philip, from the bad state of his health, 
 returned to France, leaving Richard ten thousand of his 
 troops, under the command of the duke of Burgundy. 5 
 Richard, now left conductor of the war, went on from vic- 
 tory to victory. The Christian adventurers, under his com- 
 mand, determined to besiege the renowned city of Ascalon, 
 m order to prepare the way for attacking Jerusalem with 
 greater advantage. Saladin, the most heroic of the Saracen 
 monarchs, was resolved to dispute their march, and placed 
 himself upon the road with an army of three hundred thou- 
 sand men. This was a day equal to Richard's wishes ; 
 this an enemy worthy his highest ambition. 6. The Eng- 
 lish crusaders were victorious. Richard, when the wings 
 of his army were defeated, led on the main body in person, 
 and restored the battle. The Saracens fled in the utmost 
 confusion, and no less than forty thousand of their number 
 perished in the field of battle.* Ascalon soon surrendered 
 after this victory ; other cities of less note followed the ex- 
 ample ; Richard was at last able to advance within sight of 
 Jerusalem, the object of his long and ardent expectations. 
 7. But just at this glorious juncture his ambition was to 
 suffer a total overthrow : upon reviewing his forces, and 
 considering his abilities to prosecute the sege, he found that 
 his army was so wasted with famine, fatigue, and even vic- 
 tory, that they were neither able nor willing to second the 
 
 * So celebrated was the courage of the English king, even in the enemy' 
 army, and so dreailed was his name, that the Saracens would say to their 
 restive horses, " What do you start at ? do you think you see king Richard V 
 Nor was his zealous industry less remarkable than his courage. To encou- 
 rage tbe soldiers in repairing the ruined walls of Acre, Coeur de Lion not 
 unly laboured in person, but appointed hours for other leaders to work at the 
 head of their men. All cheerfully obeyed, except the duke of Austria, who 
 sent word that his father having been neither bricklayer nor mason, he had 
 not learned either business. The English king, hearing this insolent speech 
 repeated to his face by the haughty duke, kicked him out of his tent, and 
 ordered hi3 banner to bo disgraced. Brompton. 
 
70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 views of their commander. 8. It appeared, therefore, abso- 
 lutely necessary to come to an accommodation with Saladin , 
 and a truce for three years was accordingly concluded ; in 
 which it was agreed, that the sea-port towns of Palestine 
 should remain in the hands of the Christians ; and that all 
 of that religion should be permitted to make their pilgrimage 
 to Jerusalem in perfect security.* 
 
 9. Richard having thus concluded his expedition with 
 more glory than advantage, began to think of returning 
 home : but being obliged to return through Germany, in the 
 habit of a pilgrim, he was arrested by Leopold, duke of 
 Austria, who commanded him to be imprisoned, and loaded 
 with shackles, to the disgrace of honour and humanity. The 
 emperor soon after required the prisoner to be delivered up 
 to him, and stipulated a large sum of money to the duke as 
 a reward for his services. 10. Thus, the king of England, 
 who had long filled the world with his fame, was basely 
 thrown into a dungeon, and loaded with irons, by those who 
 expected to reap a sordid advantage from his misfortunes. 
 It was a long time before his subjects in England knew 
 what was become of their beloved monarch. 11. So little 
 intercourse was there between different nations at that time, 
 that this discovery is said by some to have been made by a 
 poor French minstrel, who, playing upon his harp, near 
 the fortress in which Richard was confined, a tune which 
 he knew that unhappy monarch was fond of, he was an- 
 swered by the king from within, who, with his harp, played 
 the same tune, and thus discovered the place of his confine- 
 ment. 
 
 12. However, the English at length prevailed upon tills 
 barbarous monarch, who now saw that he could no longer 
 detain his prisoner, to listen to terms of accommodation. A 
 ransom was agreed upon, which amounted to a hundred and 
 fifty thousand marks, or one hundred thousand pounds of 
 our money, upon the payment of which, Richard was once 
 more restored to his expecting subjects. 
 
 13. Nothing could exceed the joy of the English upon 
 seeing their monarch return, after all his achievements and 
 sufferings. 
 
 *Tliere wa? a magnanimity and generosity in Saladin rarely seen. It is 
 recorded, that once during this campaign, Richard was dangerously sick, and 
 his disorder requiring fresh fruit, and snow to render it cool, the generoua 
 Saracen sent both in profusion, and thus saved the life of the only foe he 
 dreaded ' Vila Saladina.) 
 
RICHARD I. 71 
 
 He made his entry into London in triumph : and such 
 was the profusion of wealth shown by the citizens, that the 
 German lords who attended him were heard to say, that 
 if the emperor had Known of their affluence, he would not 
 so easily have parted with their king. He soon after ordered 
 himself to be crowned anew at Winchester. He convoked 
 a general council at Nottingham, at which he confiscated all 
 nis brother John's possessions, who had basely endeavoured 
 to prolong his captivity, and gone over to the king of France 
 with that intent. However, he pardoned him soon after, 
 with this generous remark : " I wish I could as easily for- 
 get my brother's offence as he will my pardon." 
 
 14. Richard's death was occasioned by a singular acci- 
 dent. A vassal of the crown had taken possession of a 
 treasure, which was found by one of the peasants in dig- 
 ging a field in France ; and to secure the remainder, he sent 
 part of it to the king. Richard, as superior lord, sensible 
 that he had a right to the whole, insisted on its being sent 
 to him ; and, upon refusal, attacked the castle of Chalus, 
 where he understood this treasure had been deposited. 15. 
 On the fourth day of the siege, as he was riding round the 
 place to observe where the assault might be given with the 
 fairest probability of success, he was aimed at by Bertrand 
 de Gourdon, an archer, from the castle, and pierced in the 
 shoulder with an arrow. The wound was not in itself dan- 
 gerous ; but an unskilful surgeon, endeavouring to disen- 
 gage the arrow from the flesh, so rankled the wound, that it 
 mortified, and brought on fatal symptoms. 16. Richard, 
 when he found his end approaching, made a will, in which 
 he bequeathed the kingdom, with all his treasure, to his 
 brother John, except a fourth part, which he distributed 
 among his servants. He ordered also that the archer who 
 had shot him should be brought into his presence, and de- 
 manded what injury he had done him, that he should take 
 away his life 1 The prisoner answered with deliberate intre- 
 pidity : 17. "You killed, with your own hand, my father 
 and my two brothers, and you intended to have hanged me. 
 I am now in your power, and my torments may give you 
 revenge ; but I will endure them with pleasure, since it is 
 my consolation that I have rid the world of a tyrant." Rich- 
 ard, struck with this answer, ordered the soldier to be pre- 
 sented with one hundred shillings, and set at liberty ; but 
 Marcade, the general under him, like a true ruffian, ordered 
 him to be flayed alive, and then hanged. Richard died in 
 
72 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND- 
 
 the tenth year of his reign, and the forty-second of his age« 
 leaving only one natural son, named Philip, behind him. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. With whom did Richard embark for the crusades ? 
 
 2. Of what number did the armies consist? 
 
 4. On Philip's return to France, who was left to conduct the war? 
 
 5. Who opposed Richard on his march to besiege Jerusalem? 
 
 6. Can you repeat the particulars of the battle ? 
 
 8. What circumstance induced Richard to come to an accommodation wilb 
 
 Saladin? 
 
 9. In returning home, what happened to Richard ? 
 
 11. How was it discovered that Richard was a prisoner ? 
 
 12. By what means did Richard recover his liberty? 
 
 13. Who endeavoured to prolong Richard's captivity ? and what was his re- 
 
 mark on this occasion ? 
 15. Can you relate the singular accident which caused the death of Richard? 
 17. What was the answer of the person who shot the king 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. a.d. 
 
 Clement III 1188 
 
 CelestinelH 1191 
 
 innocent III 1198 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 Isaac II 1186 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Alexis III 1195 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Frederic 1 1152 
 
 Henry VI 1190 
 
 Philip 1 1197 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Kings of 
 
 AD 
 
 France. Philip II. 1180 
 Portugal. San. I. 1180 
 Denmark Can. V. 1182 
 Scotland. William 1165 
 
 Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury. Henry Fitzalwyn, first lord mayor of 
 London. William Longchamp, bishop of Ely, regent in Kicnard's abeenca 
 Robin Hood and Little John, the celebrated outlaws. 
 
 
JOHN. 73 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 JOHN. 
 
 Bora 11G5. Died October 7th, 1216. Began to reign April Cth, 1199. Reigned 
 
 17| years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Wnen faithless John usurp'tl the sullied crown. 
 What ample tyranny ! Six tedious years 
 Our helpless fathers in despair obey'd 
 The Papal interdict; and who obey'd 
 The Sovereign plunder'd 1 — Shmstona. 
 
 1. (A. 1). 1190.) John,* who was readily put in pos- 
 session of the English throne, lost no time to second his 
 interest on the continent ; and his first care was to recover 
 the revolted provinces from young- Arthur, his nephew. 
 But from the pride and cruelty of his temper, he soon be- 
 came hateful to his subjects ; and his putting his nephew, 
 who had a right to the crown, to death, with his own hand, 
 in prison, served to render him completely hateful. 
 
 2. Hitherto John was rather hateful to his subjects than 
 contemptible ; they rather dreaded than despised him. 
 But he soon shewed that he might be offended, if not with- 
 out resentment, at least with impunity. It was the fate of 
 this vicious prince to make those the enemies of himself 
 whom he wanted abilities to make the enemies of each 
 other. The clergy had for some time acted as a community 
 independent of the crown, and had their elections of each 
 other generally confirmed by the pope, to whom alone they 
 owed subjection. 3. However, the election of archbishops 
 had for some time been a continual subject of dispute be- 
 tween the suffragan bishops and the Augustine monks, and 
 both had precedents to confirm their pretensions. John 
 sided with the bishops, and sent two knights of his train, 
 who were fit instruments for such a prince, to expel the 
 monks from their convent, and to take possession of their 
 revenues. 4. The pope was not displeased with these di- 
 visions ; and, instead of electing either of the persons ap- 
 pointed by the contending parties, he nominated Stephen 
 Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. John, however, 
 refusing to admit the man of the pope's choosing, the king- 
 dom was put under an interdict. This instrument of terror 
 in the hands of the see of Rome was calculated to strike 
 the senses in the highest degree, and to operate upon the 
 
 * Sumamcd Sans Terre or Lackland. 
 
 G 
 
74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 superstitious minds of the people. 5. By it a stop was irn 
 mediately put to divine service, and to the administration 
 of all the sacraments but baptism. The church-doors were 
 shut; the statues of the saints were laid on the ground; 
 the dead were refused Christian burial, and were thrown 
 into ditches on the highways, without the usual riles, or 
 any funeral solemnity. 
 
 6. No situation could be more deplorable than that of 
 John upon this occasion. Furious at his indignities, jealous 
 of his subjects and apprehending an enemy in every face, 
 it is said that, fearing a conspiracy against his life, he shut 
 himself up a whole night in the castle of Nottingham, and 
 suffered none to approach his person. But what was his 
 consternation when he found that the pope had actually 
 given away his kingdom to the monarch of France, and 
 that the prince of that country was actually preparing an 
 army to take possession of his crown ! 
 
 7. John, who, unsettled and apprehensive, scarcely knew 
 where to turn, was still able to* make an expiring effort to 
 receive the enemy. All hated as he was, the natural en- 
 mity between the French and the English, the name of 
 king, which he still retained, and some remaining power, 
 put him at the head of sixty thousand men — a sufficient 
 number indeed, but not to be relied on — and with these 
 he advanced to Dover. 8. Europe now regarded the im- 
 portant preparations on both sides with impatience ; and 
 the decisive blow was soon expected, in which the church 
 was to triumph or to be overthrown. But neither Philip 
 nor John had ability equal to the pontiff by whom they 
 were actuated ; who appeared on this occasion too refined 
 a politician for either. He only intended to make use of 
 Philip's power to intimidate his refractory son, not to 
 destroy him. 9. He intimated, therefore, to John, by his 
 legate, that there was but one way to secure himself fiom 
 impending danger ; which was to put himself under the 
 pope's protection, who was a merciful father, and still willing 
 to receive a repentant sinner to his bosom. John was too 
 much intimidated by the manifest danger of his situation 
 not to embrace every means offered for his safety. He 
 assented to the truth of the legate's remonstrances, and 
 took an oath to perform whatever stipulation the pope should 
 impose. 10. John having thus sworn to the performance 
 of an unknown command, the artful Italian so well managed 
 the barons, and so effectually intimidated the king, that he 
 
JOHN. 75 
 
 persuaded him to take the most extraordinary oath in all the 
 records of history, before all the people, kneeling upon 
 his knees, and with his hands held up between those of the 
 legate. 
 
 11. "I John, by the grace of God, king of England, 
 and lord of Ireland, in order to expiate my sins, from my 
 own free will, and the advice of my barons, give to the 
 church of Rome, to pope Innocent, and his successors, the 
 kingdom of England, and all other prerogatives of my 
 crown. I will hereafter hold them as the pope's vassal. I 
 will be faithful to God, to the church of Rome, to the pope 
 my master, and his successors legitimately elected. I pro- 
 mise to pay him a tribute of a thousand marks yearly ; to 
 wit, seven hundred for the kingdom of England, and three 
 hundred for the kingdom of Ireland." — 12. Having thus 
 done homage to the legate, and agreed to reinstate Langton 
 in the primacy, he received the crown, which he had been 
 suppo ;ed to have forfeited, while the legate trampled under 
 his fe'-t the tribute which John had consented to pay. Thus, 
 by thrs most scandalous concession John once more averted 
 the threatened blow. 
 
 In this manner, by repeated acts of cruelty, by expedi- 
 tions without effect, and humiliations without reserve, John 
 »vas become the detestation of all mankind. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the conduct of John on succeeding to the throne ? 
 
 2, 3. Of what nature was the disagreement between the king and the 
 
 clergy which produced such serious consequences to the nation? 
 4 Why was the kingdom put under an interdict I 
 
 5. What were the consequences of it ? 
 
 6. To what distress was John reduced ? 
 
 9 To what humiliating concessions did John submit ? 
 11. What oath did the king take ? 
 j2. What degrading ceremony followed ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 This is the place 
 Where England's ancient barons, clad in arms, 
 And stern with conquest, from their tyrant king 
 (Then rendered tame) did challenge and secure 
 The Charter of thy Freedom. — Akcnside. 
 
 1. (A.. D. 1215.) The barons had long been forming 
 confederacy against him ; but their union was broken, or 
 their aims disappointed, by various and unforseen accidents 
 A.t length however they assembled a large body of men at 
 Stamford, and from thence, elated with their power, they 
 marched to Brackley, about fifteen miles from Oxford, the 
 
76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 place where the court then resided. 2. John, nearing 01 
 their approach, sent the archbishop of Canterbury, the earl 
 of Pembroke, and others of the council, to know the parti- 
 culars of their request, and what those liberties were which 
 they so earnestly importuned him to grant. The barons 
 delivered a schedule, containing the chief articles of their 
 demands, and of which the former charters of Henry and 
 Edward the Confessor formed the ground-work. No sooner 
 were those shown to the king, than he burst into a furious 
 passion, and asked why the barons did not also demand his 
 Ikingdom? swearing that he would never comply with such 
 exorbitant demands ! But the confederacy was now too 
 strong to fear much from the consequences of his resent- 
 ment. 3. They chose Robert Fitzwalter for their general, 
 whom they dignified with the title of " mareschal of the 
 army of God, and of the holy church," and proceeded, 
 without further ceremony, to make war upon the king. 
 They besieged Northampton ; they took Bedford ; they 
 were joyfully received in London. They wrote circular 
 letters to all the nobility and gentlemen who had not yet 
 declared in their favour, and menaced their estates with de- 
 vastation, in case of refusal or delay. 
 
 4. John, struck with terror, first offered to refer all dif- 
 ferences to the pope alone, or eight barons ; four to be 
 chosen by himself and four by the confederates. This 
 the barons scornfully rejected. He then assured them that 
 he would submit at discretion ; and that it was his supreme 
 pleasure to grant all their demands : a conference was ac- 
 cordingly appointed, and all things adjusted for this most 
 important treaty. 
 
 5. The ground where the king's commissioners met the 
 barons was between Staines and Windsor,* at a place 
 called Runimede, still held in reverence by posterity as the 
 spot where the standard of freedom was first erected in 
 England. There the barons appeared with a vast number 
 of knights and warriors, on the fifteenth day of June, 
 while those on the king's part came a day or two after. 
 Both sides encamped apart, like open enemies. The de- 
 bates between power and precedent are generally but of 
 short continuance. 6. The barons, having arms in their 
 hands, would admit but a few abatements ; and the king's 
 agents being for the most part in their interests, few debates 
 
 * Here is the strongest castle in F.ngland : it was the general residence of 
 hi? late majesty, and was originally built by William the Conqueror. 
 
JOHN. 
 
 77 
 
 ] ^^^^p^ 1 ^^^ 
 
 King John compelled to ratify Magna Charta. 
 
 ensued. After some days the king, with a facility that 
 was somewhat suspicious, signed and sealed the charter 
 required of him ; a charter which continues in force to this 
 day, and is the famous bulwark of English liberty, which 
 now goes by the name of Magna Charta. 7. This famous 
 deed either granted or secured freedom to those orders of 
 the kingdom that were already possessed of freedom ; 
 namely, to the clergy, the barons, and the gentlemen : as 
 for the inferior and the greater part of the people, they 
 were as yet held as slaves, and it was long before they 
 could come to a participation of legal protection. 
 
 8. John, however, could not long brook these conces- 
 sions that were extorted from his fears : he therefore took 
 the first opportunity of denying to be the least governed by 
 them. 
 
 9. This produced a second civil war, in which the barons 
 were obliged to have recourse to the king of France for 
 assistance. Thus England saw nothing but a prospect of 
 being every way undone. If John succeeded, a tyrannical 
 and implacable monarch was to be their tormentor; if the 
 trench king was to prevail, the country was ever after to 
 submit to a more powerful monarchy, and was to become a 
 province of France. What neither human prudence could 
 foresee nor policy suggest was brought about by a happy 
 and unexpected accident. 
 
 g 2 
 
78 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 10. John had assembled a considerable army, with a 
 view to make one great effort for the crown ; and at the 
 head of a large body of troops, resolved to penetrate into 
 the heart of the kingdom. With these resolutions he de 
 parted from Lynn, which, for its fidelity, lie had distin 
 guished with many marks of favour, and directed his route 
 towards Lincolnshire. His road lay along the shore, which 
 was overflowed at high-water ; but not being apprised of 
 this, or being ignorant of the tide of the place, he lost all 
 his carriages, treasure, and baggage, by its influx. 11. He 
 himself escaped with the greatest difficulty, and arrived at 
 the abbey of Swinstead, where his grief for the loss he had 
 sustained, and the distracted state of his affairs, threw him 
 into a fever, which soon appeared to be fatal. Next day, 
 being unable to ride on horseback, he was carried in a litter 
 to the castle of Seaford, and from thence removed to New- 
 ark, where, after having made his will, he died in the fifty- 
 lirst year of his age, and the eighteenth of his detested reign.* 
 
 12. Seldom has any throne been disgraced by a monarch 
 so depraved as John ; before his accession he had rebelled 
 against a fond father, and treacherously attempted the life 
 of a generous brother : to secure himself on the throne he 
 murdered his nephew, prince Arthur, and detained his 
 niece, the princess Eleanora, in perpetual imprisonment. 
 He repudiated one wife and imprisoned another, and 
 violated his faith to both with the most abandoned pro- 
 fligacy. He showed his contempt for religion by habitually 
 swearing, and wantonly violating the most solemn oaths. 
 If he was a bad man, he was a worse king ; he subjected 
 himself to the ignominious yoke of Rome; he suffered 
 France to take possession of the Norman provinces, almost 
 without a struggle; and at home he acted the part of a 
 lustful and bloody tyrant, sporting with the honours, the 
 fortunes, and the lives of his unhappy subjects. Yet, by 
 the blessing of Providence, his tyranny became the source 
 of the greatest benefits to posterity, since his intolerable 
 oppressions drove the barons into rebellion, and procured 
 them the great charter, which was the first foundation of 
 British freedom. 
 
 * King John once demanded 10,000 marks from a Jew of Bristol ; and, on 
 his refusal, ordered one of his teeth to be drawn every day till he should 
 comply The Jew lost seven teeth, and then paid the sum required of 
 him 
 
HENRY III. 79 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Did the barons assemble an army in opposition to the King ? 
 
 2. What were their demands ? and what answer did the king return 1 
 
 3. 4. What consequences followed ? 
 
 5, 6 Can you mention the circumstances which attended the signing of 
 Magna Charta ? 
 
 8. What produced a second civil war? 
 
 9. What great effort did John resolve to make ? 
 
 10, 11. What was the accident which betel John, and accelerated Jus 
 
 death ? 
 12. What was the character of* John ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 AD. 
 
 Innocent III 1198 
 
 HonoriuslII 1215 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Alexis III 1195 
 
 Alexis IV 1203 
 
 a.d. I Kings of 
 
 Alexis V 12041 a.d. 
 
 Theodore 1 15J05 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Philip 1197 
 
 OthoIV 1208 
 
 Frederic II 1211 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 France. Philip II.. 1189 
 Portug. SanchoL. 1185 
 
 AdolphusII.. 1212 
 Den. Wa'demarll. 1202 
 Scotland William. 1165 
 
 Alexander II. 1214 
 
 Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury ; he divided our Bible into 
 chapters and verses. Robert Fitzwalter, general of the barons' army 
 John de Courcy, earl of Ulster, famous for his strength and prowess 
 Prince Arthur, nephew to the king, by w horn he is supposed to have been 
 murdered. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HENRY III. 
 
 Bom 1207. Died Nov. 10th, 1272 "Regan to reign October 17th, 1216. Reigned 
 
 56 years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Humane, indulgent, kind ev'n to a fault; 
 
 Yet wanting energy when cares assault 
 
 His reisn, though turbulent, an instance brings 
 
 Of " Mercy throned in the heart of kings." — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1216.) A claim was made upon the death of 
 John, in favour of young Henry, the son of the late king 
 who was now but nine years of age. The earl of Pern 
 broke, a nobleman of great worth and valour, who had 
 
80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 faithfully adhered to John in all the fluctuations of his for 
 tune, determined to support his declining interests, and had 
 him solemnly crowned by the bishops of Winchester, Bath, 
 and Gloucester. 
 
 2. The young- king was of a character the very opposite 
 to his father ; as he grew up to man's estate, he was found 
 to be gentle, merciful, and humane ; he appeared easy and 
 good-natured to his dependents, but no way formidable to his 
 enemies. Without activity or vigour, he was unfit to govern 
 in war ; without distrust or suspicion, he was imposed upon 
 m times of peace. 
 
 3. As weak princes are never without governing favour- 
 ites, he first placed his affections on Hubert de Burgh, and 
 he becoming obnoxious to the people, the place was soon 
 supplied by Peter De Roches, bishop of Winchester, a 
 Poictevin by birth, a man remarkable for his arbitrary con- 
 duct, for his courage, and his abilities. Henry, in pursuance 
 of this prelate's advice, invited over a great number of Poic- 
 tevins, and other foreigners, who having neither principles 
 nor fortunes at home, were willing to adopt whatever schemes 
 their employers should propose. 4. Every office and com- 
 mand was bestowed on these unprincipled strangers, whose 
 avarice and rapacity were exceeded only by their pride and 
 insolence. So unjust a partiality to strangers very naturally 
 excited the jealousy of the barons ; and they even ventured 
 to assure the king, that, if he did not dismiss all foreigners 
 from court, they would drive both him and them out of the 
 kingdom ; but their anger was scarcely kept within bounds 
 when they saw a new swarm of these intruders come over 
 from Gascony, with Isabella, the king's mother, who had 
 some time before been married to the count de la Marche. 
 5. To these just causes of complaint were added the king's 
 unsuccessful expedition to the continent, his total want of 
 economy, and his oppressive exactions, which were but the 
 result of the former. The kingdom therefore waited with 
 gloomy resolution, determined to take vengeance when the 
 general discontent arrived at maturity. 
 
 6. This imprudent preference, joined to a thousand other 
 illegal evasions of justice, at last impelled Simon Montford, 
 earl of Leicester, to attempt an innovation in the government, 
 and to wrest the sceptre from the feeble hand that held it. 
 This nobleman was the son of the famous general who com 
 manded against the Albigenses, a sect of enthusiasts that 
 had been destroyed some time before in the kingdom of Sa* 
 
HENRY III. 81 
 
 voy He was married to the king's sister ; and by his power 
 and address was possessed of a strong interest in the nation 
 naving gained equally the affections of the great and the 
 little. 
 
 7. The place where the formidable confederacy which he 
 had formed first discovered itself was in the parliament house, 
 where the barons appeared in complete armour. The king, 
 upon his entry, asked them what was their intention ; to 
 which they submissively replied, to make him their sovereign, 
 by confirming his power, and to have their grievances re- 
 dressed. 8. Henry, who was ready enough to promise 
 whatever was demanded, instantly assured them of his inten- 
 tion to give all possible satisfaction ; and, for that purpose, 
 summoned a parliament at Oxford, to digest a new plan ot 
 government, and to elect proper persons who were to be in- 
 trusted with the chief authority. This parliament, after- 
 wards called the " mad parliament," went expeditiously to 
 work upon the business of reformation. 9. Twenty-four 
 barons were appointed, with supreme authority, to reform 
 the abuses of the state, and Leicester was placed at their 
 head. The whole state in their hands underwent a complete 
 alteration ; all its former officers were displaced ; and crea- 
 tures of the twenty-four barons were put into their room. 
 They not only abridged the authority of the king, but the 
 efficacy of parliament, giving up to twelve persons all parlia- 
 mentary power between each session. Thus these insolent 
 nobles, after having trampled upon the crown, threw pros- 
 trate the rights of the people, and a vile oligarchy was on 
 the point of being established for ever. 
 
 10. The first opposition that was made to these usurpa- 
 tions was from a power which but lately began to take a 
 place in the constitution. The knights of the shire, who 
 for some time had begun to be regularly assembled in a se- 
 parate house, now first perceived these grievances, and com- 
 plained against them. They represented that their own 
 interests and power seemed the only aim of all their decrees ; 
 and they even called upon the king's eldest son, prince Ed 
 ward, to interpose his authority, and save the sinking nation. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 By whom was the interest of the younif king secured ? 
 
 2 What is the character given of him > 
 
 3 Who were his iavourites ? 
 
N NP. 
 
 what means d*i h e barons! 
 
 I hat are the particulars of the a baron* f 
 
 . mh was the supreme authorm 
 
 :;ese usurpat:. ■ ■">" com- 
 
 plain f 
 
 SE 
 
 r 
 
 -. f - ■ c — ;- : r. 
 
 1 A. D. 1264k] Pkirci s is time a] 
 
 ige. Tin leswl 
 his integ -1 him i 
 
 sonagein - - times, and in some mea- 
 
 sure *s He had, 
 
 ■ ■ .. . s vest proofs 
 
 - .-. At first, indeed, ^ 
 pearing s s by levity 
 
 rfiised some listen to the 
 
 people's ear. st 
 
 - iDed, in which the ki kssnmed 
 his v. 
 
 2. This bei sidered as a 
 
 in a pi: 
 s, and the king « is I 
 prisoner, but sow 
 
 s to remain as ahostag 
 i 
 
 res, hoi rer, 1 r was not so 
 
 . f the 
 jm states against 
 
 re his 
 recours 
 till nc i n in E _ 
 
 .;. 4. He called a parlian 
 
 ral eecJesias 
 
 returns ghts trc on every - and 
 
 ; Hisi- 
 
 i legislation. 
 s is - rf an English 
 
 . 
 since the gradual 
 ■ 
 ft. This parliament, howei ad not so very com 
 
HENRY III. 83 
 
 plying as he expected. Many of the barons, who had hi 
 therto steadfastly adhered to his party, appeared disgusted 
 at his immoderate ambition ; and many of the people, who 
 found that a change of masters was not a change for happi- 
 ness, began to wish for the re-establishment of the royal 
 family. G. In this exigence, Leicester, finding himself unable 
 to oppose the concurring wishes of the nation, was resolved 
 to make a merit of what he could not prevent ; and lie ac- 
 cordingly released prince Edward from confinement, and had 
 him introduced at Westminster-hall, where his freedom was 
 confirmed by the unanimous voice of the barons. But though 
 Leicester had all the popularity of restoring the prince, yet 
 he was politic enough to keep him still guarded by his emis- 
 saries, who watched all his motions, and frustrated all his 
 aims. 
 
 7. The prince, therefore, upon hearing that the duke of 
 Gloucester was up in arms in his cause, took an opportunity 
 to escape from his guards, and put himself at the head of his 
 party. A battle soon after ensued ; but the earl's army ha- 
 ving been exhausted by famine on the mountains of AVales, 
 were but ill able to sustain the impetuosity of young Ed- 
 ward's attack, who bore down upon them with incredible 
 fury. During this terrible day, Leicester behaved with as- 
 tonishing intrepidity ; and kept up the spirit of the action 
 fYom two o'clock in the morning till nine at night. 8. At 
 last, his horse being killed under him, he was compelled to 
 fight on foot ; and, though he demanded quarter, yet the ad- 
 verse party refused it, with a barbarity common enough in 
 the times we are describing. The old king, who was placed 
 in the front of the battle, was soon wounded in the shoulder ; 
 and, not being known by his friends, he was on the point of 
 being killed by a soldier; but crying out, " I am Henry of 
 Winchester, the king !" he was saved by a knight of the 
 royal army. 9. Prince Edward, hearing the voice of his 
 father, instantly ran to the spot where he lay, and had him 
 conducted to a place of safety. The body of Leicester being 
 found among the dead, was barbarously mangled by one Ro- 
 ger Mortimer; and then, with an accumulation of inhuma 
 nity, sent to the wretched widow, as a testimony of the roya 
 party's success. 
 
 10. This victory proved decisive ; and the prince, having 
 thus restored peace to the kingdom, found his affairs so 
 firmly established, that he resolved upon taking the cross, 
 which was at that time the highest object of human ambition 
 
84 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 In pursuance of this resolution, Edward sailed from Eng 
 land with a large army, and arrived at the camp of Lewis 
 king of France, which lay before Tunis, where he had the 
 misfortune to hear of that good monarch's death before nia 
 arrival. The prince, however, no way discouraged by this 
 event, continued his voyage, and arrived at the Holy Land 
 in safety. 
 
 11 He was scarcely departed upon this pious expedition, 
 when the health of the old king began to decline ; and he 
 found not only his own constitution, but also that of the 
 state, in such a dangerous situation, that he wrote letters to 
 his son, pressing him to return with all dispatch. 12. At 
 last, being overcome with the cares of government, and the 
 infirmities of age, he ordered himself to be removed, by easy 
 journeys, from St. Edmunds to Westminster, and that same 
 night expired in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and the 
 fifty-seventh of his reign ; the longest to be met with in the 
 annals of England, until that of George the Third.* 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What were the circumstances which warranted the hopes conceived bj 
 
 prince Henry ? 
 
 2. What was the result of the battle between the king and Leicester ? 
 
 3. 4. By what means did Leicester endeavour to secure his power ? 
 5. Did the Parliament comply with his wishes ? 
 
 6- Why did Leicester resolve to release prince Edward ? 
 7, 8, 9. Can yon relate the circumstance which took place in the action be 
 tween prince Edward and Leicester ? 
 
 10. What were Edward's determination and conduct after this victory ? 
 
 11. During Edward's absence, what was the situation of the king and the na 
 
 Hon? 
 
 12. At what age did Henry die ? and how long did he reign ? 
 
 * The interest paid in this reign, for money in the East Indies, amounted 
 it is said, to twenty-five, and even sometimes to thirty-six per cent. But in 
 stances occurred in England of fifty per cent, being paid for money. No 
 wonder, therefore, that the Jews, who were the only money-lenders, should 
 be tempted to stay in the kingdom, notwithstanding the grievous extortions 
 that were practised on them. 
 
 Henry granted a charter to the town of Newcastle, in which he gave the 
 inhabitants a license to dig coal. 
 
 The houses of the city of London were till this period mostly thatched with 
 straw , for it appears that an order was issued, that all houses therein should 
 be covered with tiles or slate, instead of straw ; more especially such as stood 
 In the best streets, which were then but few in comparison with the present 
 for where Cheapside now stands (which is the heart of the city), was at that 
 time a field, the principal part of the city lying more eastward. From Tem- 
 ple Bar totne city (then the village) of Westminister, where the Strand nov* 
 stands, was no more than a mere highway or country road, having, however, 
 many noblemen's houses anil gardens adjoining to it , which have since given 
 names to streets there erected. This, indeed, was the case in several subbe* 
 quent reigns. 
 
EDWARD I. 
 
 85 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 
 
 Popes a.d. 
 
 Honor i us III 1216 
 
 Gregory IX 1227 
 
 CeleBtine IV 1241 
 
 Innocent IV 1243 
 
 Alexander IV 1254 
 
 Urban IV 1261 
 
 Clement IV 1265 
 
 Gregory X 1271 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Theodore 1 1204 
 
 John III 1222 
 
 Theodore II 1225 
 
 John IV 1259 
 
 a.d. 
 Michael VIII 1259 
 
 Emperor of the West. 
 Frederick II 1211 
 
 Kings of France, 
 
 Philip II 1180 
 
 Louis VIII 1223 
 
 St, Louis IX 1226 
 
 ! Philip III 1270 
 
 i Kings of Portugal. 
 
 Alphonso III 1202 
 
 SanchoII 1233 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 AlphonsusIV 1217 
 
 Kings oj Denmnrk. 
 
 Waldemar 1202 
 
 Eric VI 1240 
 
 AbeJ 1 1250 
 
 Christopher I 1252 
 
 Eric VIII 1259 
 
 King of Sweden. 
 Waldemar 1250 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Alexander II 1214 
 
 Alexander III 1243 
 
 Richard Magnus, Edmund of Abingdon, Boniface, and Robert Kilvvarby 
 archbishops of Canterbury. Des Roches, bishop of Winchester, and Lord 
 Chancellor.* Earl of Pembroke, protector. Montford, earl of Leicester 
 general of the barons. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 EDWARD I. 
 
 Bom 1236. Died July 7th, 1307. Began to reign Nov. 10th, 1272. Reigned 
 
 34 years. 
 
 The red cross flies in Holy Land, 
 
 The Saracen his crescent waves. 
 And English Edward's gallant band 
 
 Seek proud renown or glorious graves. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1274.) While the unfortunate Henry was thus 
 vainly struggling with the ungovernable spirit of his subjects, 
 his son and successor, Edward*, was employed in the holy 
 wars, where he revived the glory of the English name, and 
 made the enemies of Christianity tremble. He was stabbed, 
 however, by one of those Mahometan enthusiasts, called 
 Assassins, as he was one day sitting in his tent, and was 
 cured not without great difficulty. 2. Some say that he 
 
 * In the reigns of the earlier Norman kings the Lord Chancellor waa 
 usually a clergyman, and was frequently styled the keeper of the king's 
 conscience. The Court of Chancery did not exist under the Saxon Dynasty 
 
 t From the great length and slenderness of his legs, he was surname^ 
 Longshanks 
 
86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 owed his safety to the piety of Eleanora, his wife, who 
 sucked the poison from the wound, to save his life at the 
 hazard of her own. 
 
 Though the death of the late king happened while the 
 successor was so far from home, yet measures had been so 
 well taken, that the crown was transferred with the greatest 
 tranquillity. 
 
 3. As Edward was now come to an undisputed throne, 
 the opposite interests were proportionably feeble. The barons 
 were exhausted by long and mutual dissensions ; the clergy 
 were divided in their interests, and agreed only in one point, 
 to hate the pope, who had for some time drained them with 
 impunity ; the people, by some insurrections against the 
 convents, appeared to hate the clergy with equal animosity. 
 But these disagreeing orders concurred in one point, that of 
 esteeming and reverencing the king, who therefore thought 
 this the most favourable conjuncture for uniting England 
 with Wales. 4. The Welsh had for many ages enjoyed 
 their own laws, language, customs and opinions. They 
 were the remains of the ancient Britons, who had escaped 
 Roman and Saxon invasions, and still preserved their free- 
 dom and their country uncontaminated by the admission of 
 foreign conquerors. 5. But as they were, from their num- 
 ber, incapable of withstanding their more powerful neigh- 
 bours on the plain, their chief defence lay in the inaccessible 
 mountains, those natural bulwarks of the country. When- 
 ever England was distressed by factions at home, ur its forces 
 called off by wars abroad, the Welsh made it a constant 
 practice to pour in their irregular troops, and lay the open 
 country waste wherever they came. 6. Nothing could be 
 more pernicious to a country than several neighbouring 
 independent principalities, under different commanders, and 
 pursuing different interests; the mutual jealousies of such 
 were sure to harass the people ; .and, whenever victory was 
 purchased, it was always at the expense of the general wel- 
 fare. 7. Sensible of this, Edward had long wished to reduce 
 that incursive people, and had ordered Llewelyn to do ho- 
 mage for his territories : which summons the Welsh prince 
 refused to obey, unless the king's own son should be deli- 
 vered as a hostage for his safe return. The king was not 
 displeased at this refusal, as it served to give him a pretext 
 for his intended invasion. He therefore levied an army 
 against Llewelyn, and marched into his country with certain 
 assurance of success. 
 
EDWARD I. 87 
 
 9. TTpon the approach of Edward, the Welsh prince took 
 refuge among the inaccessible mountains of Snowdon,* and 
 and there resolved to maintain his ground, without trusting 
 to the chance of a battle. These were the steep retreits 
 that had for many ages defended his ancestors against all the 
 attempts of the Roman and Saxon conquerors. But Edward, 
 equally vigorous and cautious, having explored every part 
 of his way, pierced into the very centre of Llewelyn's ter- 
 ritories, and approached the Welsh army in its vast retreats. 
 9. Here, after extorting submission from the Welsh prince, 
 the king retired. But an idle prophecy, in which it was fore- 
 told by Merlin that Llewelyn was to be the restorer of Bru- 
 ton's empire in Britain, was an inducement sufficiently 
 strong to persuade this prince to revolt once more, and hazard 
 a decisive battle against the English. 10. With this view 
 he marched into Radnorshire, and, passing the river Wye 
 his troops were surprised and defeated by Edward Mortimer, 
 while he himself was absent from his army, upon a confer- 
 ence with some of the barons of that country. Upon his 
 return, seeing the dreadful situation of his affairs, he ran 
 desperately into the midst of the enemy, and quickly found 
 that death he so ardently sought for. David, the brother of 
 this unfortunate prince, soon after fell in the same cause ; 
 and with him expired the independence of the Welsh nation, 
 A. D. 1282. 11. It was soon after united to the kingdom 
 of England, and made a principality, and given to the eldest 
 son of the king. Foreign conquest might add to the glory, 
 but this added to the felicity of the kingdom. The Welsh 
 are now blended with the conquerors ; and, in the revolution 
 of a few ages, all national animosity was entirely forgotten. 
 
 12. Soon after, the death of Margaret, queen of Scotland, 
 gave him hopes of adding Scotland also to his dominions. 
 The death of this princess produced a most ardent dispute 
 about the succession to the Scottish throne, it being claimed 
 by no less than twelve competitors. The claims, however, 
 of all the other candidates were reduced to three, who were 
 the descendants of the earl of Huntingdon by three daugh- 
 ters : John Hastings, who claimed in right of his mother, 
 as one of the co-heiresses of the crown; John Baliol, who 
 alleged his right, as being descended from the eldest daugh- 
 ter, who was his grandmother ; and Robert Bruce, who was 
 
 * From the summit of which may be seen part of Ireland. Scotland, Eng 
 ,nd, and all North Wales. 
 
88 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Baliol Bur rendering bis crown to Edward L 
 
 the actual son of the second daughter. This dispute being 
 referred to Edward's decision, with a strong degree of as- 
 surance he claimed the crown for himself, and appointed 
 Baliol his deputy. 
 
 13. Baliol being thus placed on the Scottish throne, less a 
 king than a vassal. Edward's first step was sufficient to con- 
 vince that people of his intentions to stretch the prerogative 
 to the utmost. Upon the most frivolous pretence, he sent 
 six different summonses for Baliol to appear in London, at 
 different times in one year ; so that the poor Scottish king 
 soon perceived that he was possessed of the name only, but 
 not the authority of a sovereign. Willing, therefore, to 
 shake off the yoke of so troublesome a master, Baliol re- 
 volted, and procured the pope's absolution from his former 
 oath of homage. 
 
 14. But no power the Scots could bring into the field was 
 able to withstand the victorious army of Edward. He 
 overthrew their forces in many engagements, and thus be- 
 coming undisputed master of the kingdom, he took every 
 precaution to secure his title, and to abolish those distinc- 
 tions winch might be apt to keep the nation in its formei 
 independence. Baliol was carried a prisoner to London 
 and compelled to surrender his crown ; and Edward care- 
 fully destroyed all records and monuments of antiquitj T that 
 inspired the Scots with a spirit of national pride. 
 
EDWARD I 89 
 
 Questions for Examination 
 
 1. What disaster befel Edward in the Holy Land ? 
 
 2. To whose care is it said he owed his life ? 
 
 3. What was the situation of the kingdom at Edward's accession ? 
 4 What was the state of the Welsh at this time? 
 
 5. What was the constant practice of the Welsh towards England ? 
 
 7. What method did Edward pursue to reduce Wales I 
 
 8. What was its success ? 
 
 9 What induced Llewelyn again to revolt? 
 
 10 What followed this defeat? 
 
 11 To whom was the principality of Wales given after its union with 
 
 England ? 
 '2. What happened, at this time, that gave Edward hopes of adding Scotland 
 
 to his dominions ? 
 How many competitors claimed the Scottish throne ? and what were the 
 
 names of the three principal ? 
 13 What method did Baliol take to shake off the yoke of Edward 
 15. What was the result of this struggle ibr independence? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Still are the Scots determined to oppnse 
 
 And treat intruding Edward's friends hs foes; 
 
 Till the reveneetnl kins, in proud array, 
 
 Swears to make Scotland bend beneath his sway. — Macdonald- 
 
 I. (A.. D. 1296. j These expeditions, however, terminated 
 rather in glory than advantage ; the expenses which were 
 requisite for carrying on the war were not only burdensome 
 to the king, but even, in the event, threatened to shake him 
 on his throne. In order at first to set the great machine in 
 motion, he raised considerable supplies by means of his 
 parliaments, and that august body was then first modelled by 
 him into the form in which it continues to this day. 2. As 
 a great part of the property of the kingdom was, by the in- 
 troduction of commerce, and the improvement of agricul- 
 ture, transferred from the barons to the lower classes of the 
 people, so their consent was now thought necessary for the 
 raising any considerable supplies. For this reason he issued 
 writs to the sheriffs, enjoining them to send to parliament 
 along with two knights of the shire (as in the former reign) 
 two deputies from each borough within their county ; and 
 these provided with sufficient power from their constituents 
 to grant such demands as they should think reasonable for 
 ihe safety of the state. 3. One of the first efforts, therefore, 
 was to oblige the king's council to sign the Magna Charta, 
 and to add a clause to secure the nation for ever against all 
 impositions and taxes without the consent of parliament, 
 This the king's council (for Edward was at that time in 
 FLanders) readily agreed to sign ; and the king himself, when 
 
 h2 
 
90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 it was sent over to him, alter some hesitation, thought pv* 
 per to do the same. 5. These concessions he again cor • 
 tinued after his return : and, though it is probable he was 
 averse to granting them, yet he was at last brought to give 
 a plenary consent to all the articles that were demanded ot 
 him. Thus, after the contest of an age, the Magna Charta 
 was finally established ; nor was it the least circumstance 
 in its favour, that its confirmation was procured from one of 
 the greatest and boldest princes that ever swayed the Eng- 
 lish sceptre. 
 
 5. In the mean time William Wallace*, so celebrated in 
 Scottish story, attempted to rescue Scotland from the Eng- 
 lish yoke. He was a younger son of a gentleman who lived 
 in the western part of the kingdom. He was a man of a 
 gigantic stature, incredible strength, and amazing intrepidity ; 
 eagerly desirous of independence, and possessed with the 
 most disinterested spirit of patriotism. To this man had 
 resorted all those who were obnoxious to the English govern- 
 ment ; the proud, the bold, the criminal, and the ambitious 
 6. These, bred among dangers and hardships themselves 
 could not forbear admiring in their leader a degree of pa 
 tience under fatigue and famine, which they supposed beyond 
 the power of human nature to endure ; he soon, therefore, 
 became the principal object of their affection and their esteem. 
 His first exploits were confined to petty ravages, and occa 
 sional attacks upon the English ; but he soon overthrew the 
 English armies and slew their generals. 
 
 7. Edward, who had been over in Flanders while these 
 misfortunes happened in England, hastened back with im- 
 patience to restore his authority, and secure his former con- 
 quest. He quickly levied the whole force of his dominions 
 and at the head of a hundred thousand men directed his 
 course to the north, fully resolved to take vengeance upon 
 the Scots for their late defection. 
 
 8. A battle was fought at Falkirk, in which Edward gained 
 a complete victory, leaving twelve thousand of the Scots, or 
 as some will have it, fifty thousand, dead upon the field, 
 while the English had not a hundred slain. A blow so 
 dreadful had not as yet entirely crushed the spirit of the 
 Scottish nation ; and after a short interval they began to 
 breathe from their calamities. 9. Wallace, who had gained 
 
 • He was of an ancient family, and was chosen regent of Scotland during 
 the captivity of Baliol. 
 
EDWARD I. 91 
 
 all their regards by his valour, shewed that he still merited 
 them more by his declining the rewards of ambition. Per- 
 ceiving how much he was envied by the nobility, and know- 
 ing how prejudicial that envy would prove to the interests 
 of his country, he resigned the regency of the kingdom, 
 and humbled himself to a private station. 10. He proposed 
 Cummin as the most proper person to supply his room ; and 
 that nobleman endeavoured to show himself worthy of this 
 pre-eminence. He soon began to annoy the enemy ; and, 
 not content with a defensive war, made incursions into the 
 southern counties of the kingdom, which Edward had im 
 agined wholly subdued. They attacked an army of English 
 lying at Roslin, near Edinburgh, and gained a complete 
 victory. 
 
 11. But it was not easy for any circumstances of bad 
 fortune to repress the enterprising spirit of the king. He 
 assembled a great fleet and army ; and entering the frontiers 
 of Scotland, appeared with a force which the enemy could 
 not think of resisting in the open field. Assured of suc- 
 cess, he marched along, and traversed the kingdom from 
 one end to the other, ravaging the open country, taking all 
 the castles, and receiving the submissions of all the nobles. 
 12. There seemed to remain only one obstacle to the final 
 destruction of the Scottish monarchy, and that was William 
 Wallace, who still continued refractory : and wandering 
 with a few forces from mountain to mountain, preserved his 
 native independence and usual good fortune. But even their 
 feeble hopes from him were soon disappointed ; he was 
 betrayed into the king's hands by Sir John Monteith, his 
 friend, whom he had made acquainted with the place of his 
 concealment, being surprised by him as he lay asleep in the 
 neighbourhood of Glasgow. 13. The king, willing to 
 strike the Scots with an example of severity, ordered him 
 to be conducted in chains to London, where he was hanged, 
 drawn and quartered, with the most brutal ferocity. 
 
 Robert Bruce, who had been one of the competitors for 
 the crown, but was long kept prisoner in London, at length 
 escaping from his guards, resolved to strike for his country's 
 freedom. 14. Having murdered one of the king's servants, 
 he left himself no resource but to confirm by desperate 
 valour what he had begun in cruelty, and he soon expelled 
 such of the English forces as had fixed themselves in the 
 kingdom. Soon after he was solemnly crowned king, by 
 the bishop of St. Andrew's, in the abbey of Scone ; and 
 
92 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 numbers flocked to his standard, resolved to confirm his 
 pretensions. 15. Thus, after twice conquering the king- 
 dom, and as often pardoning the delinquents ; after having 
 spread his victories in every quarter of the country, and 
 receiving the most humble submissions ; the old king saw 
 that his whole work was to begin afresh, and that nothing 
 but the final destruction of the inhabitants could give him 
 assurance of tranquillity. But no difficulties could repress 
 the ardent spirit of this monarch, who, though now verging 
 towards his decline, yet resolved to strike a parting blow, 
 and to make the Scots once more tremble at his appearance. 
 
 16. He vowed revenge against the whole nation; and 
 averred that nothing but reducing them to the completest 
 bondage could satisfy his resentment. He summoned his 
 prelates, nobility, and all who held by knight's service, to 
 meet him at Carlisle, which was appointed as the general 
 rendezvous : and in the mean time he detached a body of 
 forces before him to Scotland, under the command of 
 Aymer de Valence, who began the threatened infliction by 
 a complete victory over Bruce, near Methven, in Perthshire. 
 
 17. Immediately after this dreadful blow, the resentful king 
 appeared in person, entering Scotland with his army di- 
 vided into two parts, and expecting to find, in the opposi- 
 tion of the people, a pretext for punishing them. But this 
 brave prince, who was never cruel but from motives of 
 policy, could not strike the poor submitting natives, who 
 made no resistance. His anger was disappointed in their 
 humiliation ; and he was ashamed to extirpate those who 
 only opposed patience to his indignation. 18. His death 
 put an end to the apprehensions of the Scots, and effectually 
 rescued their country from total subjection. He sickened 
 and died at Carlisle, of a dysentery: enjoining his son with 
 his last breath, to prosecute the enterprise, and never to 
 desist till he had finally subdued the kingdom. He ex 
 pired July 7, 1307, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and 
 the thirty-fifth of his reign ; after having added more to the 
 solid interests of the kingdom than any of those who went 
 before or succeeded him. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 What circumstances led to the modelling the parliament into its prdsent 
 
 form ? 
 
 2 What was the manner observed in framing the parliament 
 8 What was one o r their first efforts ? 
 
EDWARD I. 
 
 93 
 
 4. Was the king at first favourable to the measure ? 
 
 5. By whom was an attempt made to rescue Scotland from the English 
 
 yoke ? 
 
 6. Who were the first adherents of Wallace ? 
 
 7. With what number of troops did Edward march towards the north ? 
 
 8. Did any engagement take place between the forces of Edward and 
 
 Wallace ? 
 What was the issue of this engagement ? 
 
 9. What was the conduct of Wallace a norwards ? 
 
 12. In what manner was Wallace after vsards surprised ? 
 
 13. What was the manner of his death '. 
 
 14 What took place after Bruce's eseaj e from London ? 
 
 15 What was the conduct of the king on this occasion ? 
 
 18. Where did the king die ? and what enterprise did he enjoin his son to 
 prosecute ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGN S. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Gregory X 1271 
 
 Innocent V 1276 
 
 Adrian V 1276 
 
 John XXI 1276 
 
 Nicholas III 1277 
 
 Martin IV 1281 
 
 HonoriusIV 1285 
 
 Nicholas IV 1288 
 
 CelestineV 1294 
 
 Boniface VIII 1294 
 
 Benedict IX 1303 
 
 Clement V 1305 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Michael VIII 1259 
 
 Andronicus II 1283 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Frederic II* 1212 
 
 Rodolphus 1 1273 
 
 Adolphus of Nassau 1291 
 Albert 1298 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Philip III 1270 
 
 Philip IV 1285 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 Adolphus III 1247 
 
 Dennis 1275 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 
 AD. 
 
 Eric VII 1259 
 
 Eric VIII 1286 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 Magnus II 1279 
 
 Birgerll 1299 
 
 Kings cf Scotland. 
 
 Alexander III 1246 
 
 JohnBaliol 1293 
 
 Robert Bruce 1306 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 John Peckham, Robert Winchelsea, Walter Reynolds, and John Stratford 
 archbishops of Canterbury. Richard, earl of Cornwall. Rodger Bigod, 
 earl of Norfolk. Humphry Bohun, earl of Hereford. John Piuntagenet, 
 earl of Warwick. Roger Bacon. Wickliffe.t 
 
 * After the death of Frederic II. there was an interregnum in the Western 
 empire until Rodolphus ; during which the following princes either reigned, 
 or were elected : Conrad III. ; William, earl of Holland ; Richard, earl of 
 Cornwall ; Edward IV. ; and Alphonso, king of Castile. — Lochman. 
 
 t Wickliffe was the first preacher of the reformed doctrines in England, 
 he was the author of a valuable translation of the New Testament, and of 
 Beveral able tracts on the usurpations of the Romish church. 
 
04 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 EDWARD II. 
 
 Bora 1234. Died Sept. 21, 1327. Beszan to reign July 7, 1307. Reigned 20 years 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Immersed in soft effeminacy's down. 
 
 The feeble prince his subjects' good neglects 
 
 For minions, who monopolize the crown. 
 
 And stain the sceptre which their vice protects. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1307.) Edward, surnamed Caernarvon,* was 
 in the twenty-third year of his age when he succeeded his 
 father ; of an agreeable figure, of a mild harmless disposi- 
 tion, and apparently addicted to few vices. But he soon 
 gave symptoms of his unfitness to succeed so great a mo- 
 narch as his father ; he was rather fond of the enjoyment 
 of his power than of securing it, and lulled by the flattery 
 of his courtiers, he thought he had done enough for glory 
 when he accepted the crown. 2. Instead, therefore, of 
 prosecuting the war against Scotland, according to the in- 
 junctions he had received from his dying father, he took 
 no steps to check the progress of Bruce ; his march into 
 that country being ratl.er a procession of pageantry than a 
 warlike expedition. 
 
 3. Weak monarchs are ever governed by favourites ; and 
 the first Edward placed his affections upon was Piers 
 Gavestone, the son of a Gascon knight, who had been em- 
 ployed in the service of the late king. The young man 
 was adorned with every accomplishment of person and 
 mind that was capable of creating affection ; but he was 
 utterly destitute of those qualities of heart and understanding 
 that serve to procure esteem. He was beautiful, witty, 
 brave, and active ; but then he was vicious, effeminate, de- 
 bauched, and trifling. These were qualities entirely adapted 
 to the taste of the young monarch, and he seemed to think no 
 rewards equal to his deserts. 4. Gavestone, on the other 
 hand, intoxicated with his pov/er, became haughty and 
 overbearing, and treated the English nobility, from whom if 
 is probable he received marks of contempt, with scorn and 
 derision. A conspiracy, therefore, was soon formed against 
 hi in, at the head of which queen Isabel and the earl of 
 Lancaster, a nobleman of great power, were associated. 
 
 5. It was easy to perceive that a combination of the 
 nobles, while the queen secretly assisted their designs, 
 
 * From the place of his birth, Caernarvon Castle in Wales. 
 
EDWARD II. 95 
 
 would be too powerful against the efforts of a weak king 
 and a vain favourite. The king, timid and wavering, 
 banished him (A. D. 1312) at their solicitation, and recalled 
 him soon after. This was sufficient to spread an alarm 
 over the whole kingdom ; all the great barons flew to arms, 
 and the earl of Lancaster put himself at the head of this 
 irresistible confederacy. The unhappy Edward, instead 
 of attempting to make resistance, sought only for safety : 
 ever happy in the company of his favourite, he embarked 
 at Teignmouth, and sailed with him to Scarborough, where 
 he left Gavestone as in a place of safety, and then went 
 back to York himself, either to raise an army to oppose his 
 enemies, or by his presence to allay their animosity. G. In 
 the mean time, Gavestone was besieged in Scarborough by 
 the earl of Pembroke ; and, had the garrison been sufficiently 
 supplied with provisions, the place would have been im- 
 pregnable. But Gavestone, sensible of the bad condition 
 of the garrison, took the earliest opportunity to ofTer terms 
 of capitulation. He stipulated that he should remain in 
 Pembroke's hands as a prisoner for two months ; and that 
 endeavours should be used in the mean time for a general 
 accommodation. 7. But Pembroke had no intention that 
 he should escape so easily : he ordered him to be conducted 
 to the castle of Deddington, near Banbury, where, on pre- 
 tence of other business, he left him with a feeble guard, of 
 which the earl of Warwick having received information, 
 attacked the castle in which the unfortunate Gavestone was 
 confined, and quickly made himself master of his person. 
 The earls of Lancaster, Hereford, and Arundel were soon 
 apprized of Warwick's success, and informed that their 
 common enemy was now in custody in Warwick castle. 
 8. Thither, therefore, they hastened with the utmost expe- 
 dition, to hold a consultation upon the fate of their prisoner 
 This was of no long continuance ; they unanimously re- 
 solved to put him to death, as an enemy to the kingdom t 
 and gave him no time to prepare for his execution. They 
 instantly had him conveyed to a place called Blacklow-hill, 
 where a Welsh executioner, provided for that purpose, 
 severed his head from his body. 
 
 9. To add to Edward's misfortunes, he soon after suf- 
 fered a most signal defeat from the Scots army under Bruce, 
 near Bannockburn ;* and this drove him once more to seek 
 
 * Near Stirling. Edward was so sure of conquest, that he brought with 
 mm William Baston, a Carmelite, and a famous poet, to celebrate his victory 
 
»0 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 for relief in some favourite's company. 10. The name of 
 his new favourite was Hugh de Spenser, a young man of 3 
 noble English family, of some merit, and very engaging 
 accomplishments. His father was a person of a much 
 more estimable character than the son ; he was venerable 
 for his years, and respected through life for his wisdom, 
 his valour, and his integrity. 11. But these excellent qua- 
 lities were all diminished and vilified from the moment he 
 and his son began to share the king's favour, who even dis- 
 possessed some lords unjustly of their estates, in order to 
 accumulate them upon his favourite. This was a pretext 
 the king's enemies had been long seeking for : the earls of 
 Lancaster and Hereford flew to arms ; sentence was pro- 
 cured from parliament of perpetual exile against the two 
 Spensers, and a forfeiture of their fortunes and estates. 
 12. The king, however, at last rousing from his lethargy, 
 took the field in the defence of his beloved Spenser, and at 
 the head of thirty thousand men pressed the earl of Lan- 
 caster so closely, that he had not time to collect his forces 
 together ; and, flying from one place to another, he was at 
 last stopped in his way towards Scotland by Sir Andrew 
 Harcla, and made prisoner. 13. As he had formerly shown 
 little mercy to Gavestone, there was very little extended to 
 him upon this occasion. He was condemned by a court- 
 martial ; and led, mounted on a lean horse, to an eminence 
 near Pomfret, in circumstances of the greatest indignity, 
 where he was beheaded by a Londoner. 
 
 14. A rebellion, thus crushed, served only to increase the 
 pride and rapacity of young Spenser ; most of the forfeitures 
 were seized for his use ; and in his promptitude to seize the 
 delinquents, he was guilty of many acts of rapine and inj 
 tice.* 
 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the disposition of Kdvvard II. ? 
 
 2. What was Ins conduct in regard to Scotland ? 
 
 3» What was the character of Gavestone, the king's first favourite? 
 
 4. Who formed a conspiracy against the king ? 
 
 5. What was the conduct of the king on this occasion ? 
 
 * In the year 1315, the perpetual rains and cold weather having not only 
 destroyed the harvest, but produced a mortality among the cattle, the parlia 
 merit endeavoured to moderate the prices of provisions. The rates establish- 
 ed were, of our present money, as follows : for the best ox, not corn fed, 21 
 8$., corn fed, 3/. 12s. ; a fat hog, two years old, 10s. ; a fat wether, unshorn, 
 5s.. shorn, 3s. Od. ; a fat goose, sevenpence halfpenny ; a fat capon, 6d. ; a fat 
 lien ?vi. ; two chickens, 3d. : four pigeons, 3d. ; and twenty -four eggs, 3d. 
 
EDWARD II 97 
 
 6. Where was Gavestone besieged ? and on what contritions did ho sur- 
 
 render himself? 
 
 7, 8. Were these conditions observed ? and what was the conduct of the no 
 
 bles towards him ? 
 9. What misfortune did Edward experience in Scotland ? 
 0. Who were the Spensers ? 
 1 On what pretext did the king s enemies fly to arms ? 
 
 12. How did the king act on this emergency 
 
 13. What was the manner of executing the earl of Lancaster ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Mark what convulsions heave his martyr'd breast. — Lewis 
 
 I. (A.D. 1325.) But he was now to oppose a more for 
 niidable enemy in queen Isabella, a cruel haughty woman, 
 who fled over to France, and refused to appear in England 
 till Spenser was removed from the royal presence, and ba- 
 nished the kingdom. By this reply she gained two very 
 considerable advantages : she became popular in England, 
 where Spenser was universally disliked ; and she had the 
 pleasure of enjoying the company of a young nobleman, 
 whose name was Mortimer, upon whom she had lately placed 
 her affections, and whom she indulged with all the familiari- 
 ties that her criminal passion could confer. 2. The queen's 
 court now, therefore, became a sanctuary for all the male 
 contents who were banished their own country, or who chose 
 to come over. Accordingly, soon after, accompanied by 
 three thousand men-at-arms, she set out from Dort* harbour, 
 and landed safely, without opposition, on the coast of Suf- 
 folk. She had no sooner appeared than there seemed a ge- 
 neral revolt in her favour : and the unfortunate king found 
 the spirit of disloyalty was not confined to the capital alone, 
 but diffused over the whole kingdom. 3. He had placed 
 some dependence upon the garrison which was stationed in 
 the castle of Bristol, under the command of the elder Spen- 
 ser ; but they mutinied against their governor, and that un- 
 fortunate favourite was delivered up, and condemned by the 
 tumultuous barons to the most ignominious death. He was 
 nanged on a gibbet, in his armour ; his body was cut in 
 pieces and thrown to the dogs ; and his head was sent to 
 Winchester, where it was set upon a pole, and exposed to 
 the populace. 
 
 * Dort, or Dordrecht, is a city of Holland, situated on an island of the 
 Meuse. By an irruption of the river Meuse, seventy-two villages and one 
 hundred thousand persons were lost. It is said to have been occasioned by 
 the malice of a man, who wished to inundate his neighbour's ground, by d 
 slroying the dyke near his house- 
 
98 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 4. Young Spenser, the unhappy son, did not long survive 
 his father ; he was taken, with some others who had iollow- 
 ed the fortunes of the wretched king, in an obscure convent 
 in Wales, and the merciless victors resolved to glui theii 
 revenge in adding insult to cruelty. The queen had not pa- 
 tience to wait the formality of a trial, but ordered him imme- 
 diately to be led forth before the insulting populace, and 
 seemed to take a savage pleasure in feasting her eyes wi b 
 his distresses. 5, The gibbet erected for his execution was 
 fifty feet high ; his head was sent to London, where the citi- 
 zens received it in brutal triumph, and fixed it on the bridge 
 Several other lords also shared his fate ; all deserving pity in- 
 deed, had they not themselves formerly justified the present 
 inhumanity by setting a cruel example. 
 
 6. In the mean time, the king, who hoped to find refuge in 
 Wales, was quickly discovered, and delivered up to his ad- 
 versaries, who expressed their satisfaction in the grossness 
 of their treatment. He was conducted to the capital, amidst' 
 the insults and reproaches of the people, and confined in the 
 Tower. A charge was soon after exhibited against him, in 
 which no other crimes but his incapacity to govern, his in- 
 dolence, his love of pleasure, and his being swayed by evil 
 counsellors, were objected against him. His deposition was 
 quickly voted by parliament ; he was assigned a pension for 
 his support : his son Edward, a youth of fourteen, was fix- 
 ed upon to succeed him, and the queen was appointed regent 
 during the minority. 7. The deposed monarch but a short 
 time survived his misfortunes : he was sent from prison to 
 prison, a wretched outcast, and the sport of his inhuman 
 keepers. He had been at first consigned to the custody of the 
 earl of Lancaster ; but this nobleman showing some marks of 
 respect and pity, he was taken out of his hands, and delivered 
 over to lords Berkeley, Montravers, and Gournay, who were 
 intrusted with the charge of guarding him a month about. 8. 
 Whatever his treatment from lord Berkeley might have been, 
 the other two seemed resolved that he should enjoy none of 
 the comforts of life while in their custody. They practised 
 every kind of indignity upon him, as if their design had 
 been to accelerate his death by the bitterness of his suffer- 
 ings. (A.D. 1328.) But when his persecutors saw that 
 his death might not arrive, even under every cruelty, till a 
 revolution had been made in his favour, they resolved to rid 
 themselves of their fears by destroying him at once. 9. 
 Accordingly his two keepers, Gournay and Montravers 
 
EDWARD III. 
 
 99 
 
 came to Berkeley castle, where Edward was then confined 
 and murdered him by a most cruel and torturing process, 
 which left no marks of external violence. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 i What other enemy had Edward now to oppose ? 
 
 2, Was there any revolt in the queen's favour ? and by whom was sho cO 
 
 companied ? 
 
 3. What happened to the elder Sperser ? 
 
 5. In what manner was the younger Spenser executed ? 
 
 6. What were the proceedings against the king ? 
 
 7 Did the king long survive his misfortunes ? 
 
 8 Can you relate the indignities practised upon him ? 
 
 9 What was the manner of the king's murder ? and by whom was it com- 
 
 mitted ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Clement V 1305 
 
 lohnXXII 1316 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Andronicus II 1283 
 
 Andronicus III.... 1320 
 
 Emperors of the West 
 
 Albert 1 1298 
 
 Henry VIII 1304 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Lewis IV 1314 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Philip IV 1284 
 
 Lewis X 1314 
 
 Philip V 1316 
 
 Charles IV 1322 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 Dennis 1272 
 
 Alphonsus IV 1325 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Eric Vin 1286 
 
 Christopher II 1319 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 Berger II 1290 
 
 Magnus III 1320 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 Robert Bruce..;... 1306 
 
 John Oflbrd, archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Plantagenet, earl of Lan- 
 caster. Roger, lord Mortimer ; Piers Gavestone and the two Spensers, fa- 
 vourites of the king. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EDWARD III. 
 
 Born 1312. Died June 21, 1377. Began to reign Sept. 22, 1327. Reigned nearly 
 
 50 years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 With form and aspect to command respect, 
 With mind, desert and talent to protect, 
 Edward presents a model to admire; 
 
 His subjects' hearts before their sovereign bend, 
 The widow's guardian and the orphan's sire ; 
 
 Foe to the vicious, to the good a friend. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1327.) The parliament by which young Ed- 
 ward was raised to the throne, during the life of his father 
 appointed twelve persons as his privy counsel, to direct the 
 operations of government. Mortimer, the queen's favourite 
 
LOO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 who rragnt naturally be set down as one of the members, 
 artfully excluded himself, under a pretended show of mode- 
 ration ; but at the same time he secretly influenced all 
 the measures that came under their deliberation. 2. He 
 caused the greater part of the royal revenues to be settled 
 on the queen-dowager, and he seldom took the trouble to 
 consult the ministers of government in any public undertak 
 ing. The king himself was even so besieged by the fa- 
 vourite's creatures, that no access could be procured to him, 
 and the whole sovereign authority was shared between 
 Mortimer and the queen, who took no care to conceal hei 
 criminal attachment. 
 
 3. At length, however, Edward was resolved to shake ofl 
 an authority that was odious to the nation, and particularly 
 restrictive upon him. But such was the power of the fa- 
 vourite, that it required as much precaution to overturn the 
 usurper as to establish the throne. The queen and Morti- 
 mer had for some time chosen the castle of Nottingham for 
 the place of their residence ; it was strictly guarded, the 
 gates locked every evening, and the keys carried to the 
 queen. 4. It was therefore agreed between the king and 
 some of the barons, who secretly entered into his designs, 
 hi seize upon them in the fortress ; and for that purpose Sir 
 William Bland, the governor, was induced to admit them 
 by a secret subterraneous passage, which had been formerly 
 contrived for an outlet, but was now hidden with rubbish, 
 and known only to one or two. It was by this, therefore, 
 the noblemen in the king's interest entered in the night ; and 
 Mortimer, without having it in his power to make any re- 
 sistance, was seized in apartments adjoining those of the 
 queen. 5. It was in vain that she endeavoured to protect 
 him ; in vain she entreated them to spare her " gentle Mor- 
 timer ;" the barons, deaf to her entreaties, denied her that 
 pity which she had so often refused to others. Her para- 
 mour was condemned by the parliament, which was then 
 sitting, without being permitted to make his defence, or even 
 examining a witness against him. He was hanged on a 
 gibbet, at a place called Elms, about a mile from London, 
 where his body was left hanging for two days after. 6. The 
 queen, who certainly was the most culpable, was shielded 
 by the dignity of her station ; she was only disgraced from 
 all share of power, and confined for life in the castle of Ris- 
 ings, with a pension of three thousand pounds a year. From 
 this confinement she was never after set free ; and thougi 
 
EDWARD III. 101 
 
 the king annually paid her a visit of decent ceremony, yet 
 she found herself abandoned to universal contempt and de- 
 testation ; and continued, for about twenty-five years after, a 
 miserable monument of blighted ambition. 
 
 7. In order still more to secure the people's affections, 
 Edward made a successful irruption into Scotland, in which, 
 in one battle, fought at Halidon hill, about thirty thousand 
 of the Scots were slain. Soon after, he turned his arms 
 against France, which was at that time particularly unfortu- 
 nate. Three sons of Philip the Fair, in full parliament, ac- 
 cused their wives of adultery ; and in consequence of this 
 accusation, they were condemned and imprisoned for life. 
 8. Lewis Hutin, successor to the crown of France, caused 
 his wife to be strangled, and her lovers to be flayed alive. 
 After his death, as he left only a daughter, his nexi brother, 
 Philip the Tall, assumed the crown in prejudice of the 
 daughter, and vindicated his title by the Salic law, which 
 laid it down that no female should succeed to the crown. 
 Edward, however, urged his pretensions, as being, by his 
 mother Isabella, who was daughter to Philip the Fair, and 
 sister to the three last kings of France, rightful heir to the 
 crown. But first he, in a formal manner, consulted his par- 
 liament on the propriety of the undertaking, obtained their 
 approbation, received a proper supply of wool, which he 
 intended to barter with the Flemings ; and being attended 
 with a body of English forces, and several of his nobility, 
 lie sailed into Flanders, big with his intended conquests. 
 
 9. The first great advantage gained by the English was in 
 a naval engagement on the coast of Flanders, in which the 
 French lost two hundred and thirty ships, and had thirty 
 thousand of their seamen and two of their admirals slain. 
 
 10. The intelligence of Edward's landing, and the devas- 
 tation caused by his troops, who dispersed themselves over 
 the whole face of the country, soon spread universal conster- 
 nation through the French court. Caen was taken and 
 plundered by the English without mercy ; the villages and 
 towns, even up to Paris, shared the same fate; and the 
 French had no other resource, but by breaking down their 
 biidges, to attempt putting a stop to the invader's career. 
 11. Philip, then king of France, was not idle in making pre- 
 parations to repress the enemy. He had stationed one of 
 his generals, Godemar de Faye, with an army on the oppo- 
 site side of the river Somme, over which Edward was to 
 
 i 2 
 
102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 pass ; while he himself, at the head of one hundred thou* 
 sand fighting men, advanced to give the English battle. 
 
 12. As both armies had for some time been in sight of 
 each other, nothing was so eagerly expected on each side as 
 a battle ; and although the forces were extremely dispropor- 
 tionate, the English amounting only to thirty thousand, the 
 French to a hundred and twenty thousand, yet Edward re- 
 solved to indulge the impetuosity of his troops, and to put all 
 to the hazard of a battle. He accordingly chose his ground 
 with advantage, near the village of Crecy,* and there deter- 
 mined to wait with tranquillity the shock of the enemy. He 
 drew up his men on a gentle ascent, and divided them into 
 three lines. The first was commanded by the young prince 
 of Wales ; the second was conducted by the earls of North- 
 ampton and Arundel ; and the third, kept as a body of re- 
 serve, was headed by the king in person. 
 
 13. On the other side, Philip, impelled by resentment, 
 and confident of his numbers, was more solicitous in bring- 
 ing the enemy to an engagement than prudent in taking 
 measures for its success. He led on his army in three 
 bodies opposite to those of the English. The first line con- 
 sisted of fifteen thousand Genoese cross-bow men, the second 
 body was led by the king of France's brother, and he him- 
 self was at the head of the third. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 2. By whom, and in what manner, were the operations of the government 
 conducted? 
 
 4. What was the conduct of the king at this time ? 
 
 5. What was the fate of Mortimer ? 
 What was the queen's punishment ? 
 
 7. In what undertaking did Edward succeed ? 
 
 8. What is the Salic law ? 
 
 9. What was the first advantage gained by the English ? 
 
 10. What did the English in France ? 
 
 11. What preparations did the king of France make to oppose Edward ? 
 
 12. Where did Edward choose his ground ? 
 
 How did he draw up his army ? and who conducted it ? 
 13 How did Philip lead on his army ? 
 
 * Here the king of Bohemia was slain, and the motto, " Ich d'ten," I serve 
 was found under the ostrich feathers which he wore on his helmet Edward, 
 the Black Prince, adopted this motto, and it has ever since continued to be 
 the motto of the prince of Wales. At this battle camum were first mode 
 use of 
 
EDWAKD III. lOo 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 In frequent showers their shafts the archers hail'd, 
 in headlong charge successive hosts assail'd: 
 But motionless as his own island's rocks. 
 Undaunted Edward met their furious shocks. — Cooke. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1346.) About three in the afternoon, the famoii3 
 battle of Crecy began, by the French king's ordering the 
 Genoese archers to charge ; but they were so fatigued with 
 their march, that they cried out for a little rest before they 
 should engage. The count Alen^on, being informed of their 
 petition, rode up, and reviled them as cowards, commanding 
 them to begin their onset without delay. Their reluctance 
 to begin was still more increased by a heavy shower, which 
 fell at that instant, and relaxed their bow-strings ; so that 
 the discharge they made produced but very little effect. 2. 
 On the other hand, the English archers, who had kept their 
 bows in cases, and were favoured by a sudden gleam of sun- 
 shine, that rather dazzled the enemy, let fly their arrows so 
 thick, and with such good aim, that nothing was to be seen 
 among the Genoese but hurry, terror, and dismay. The 
 young prince of Wales had presence of mind to take advan- 
 tage of their confusion, and to lead on his line to the charge. 
 The French cavalry, however, commanded by the count 
 Alencon, wheeling round, sustained the combat, and began 
 to hem the English in. 3. The earls of Arundel and North- 
 ampton now came to assist the prince, who appeared fore- 
 most in the very shock ; and, wherever he appeared, turned 
 the fortune of the day. The thickest of the battle was now 
 gathered around him, and the valour of a boy filled even 
 veterans with astonishment; but their surprise at his courage 
 could not give way to their fears for his safety. Being ap- 
 prehensive that some mischance might happen to him at the 
 end, an officer was despatched to the king, desiring that suc- 
 cours might be sent to the prince's relief. 4. Edward, who 
 had all this time, with great tranquillity, viewed the engage- 
 ment from a windmill, demanded, with seeming deliberation, 
 if his son were dead ; but being answered that he still lived, 
 and was giving astonishing instances of his valour, " Then 
 tell my generals," cried the king, " that he shall have no as- 
 sistance from me ; the honour of the day shall be his ; let 
 him show himself worthy of the profession of arms, and 
 let him be indebted to his own merit alone for victory." 5 
 This speech, being reported to the prince and his attendants 
 inspired them with new courage ; they made a fresh attack 
 upon the French cavalry, and count Alemjon, their bravesl 
 
104 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 King Edward III. and the burgesses of Calais. 
 
 commander, was slain. This was the beginning of their 
 total overthrow ; the French, being now without a compe- 
 tent leader, were thrown into confusion ; the whole army 
 took to flight, and were put to the sword by the pursuers 
 without mercy, till night stopped the carnage. 6. Never 
 was a victory more seasonable, or less bloody to the English, 
 than this Notwithstanding the great slaughter of the enemy, 
 the conquerors lost but one squire, three knights, and a few 
 of inferior rank. 
 
 But this victory was attended with still more substantial 
 advantages ; for Edward, as moderate in conquest as prudent 
 in his methods to obtain it, resolved to secure an easy en- 
 trance into France for the future. 7. With this view he laid 
 siege to Calais, at that time defended by John de Vienne, 
 an experienced commander, and supplied with every thing 
 necessary for defence. These operations, though slow 
 were at length successful. It was in vain that the governor 
 made a noble defence, that he excluded all the useless 
 mouths from the city, which Edward generously permitted 
 to pass. 8. Edward resolved to reduce it by famine, and 
 it was at length taken, after a twelve months' siege, the de- 
 fendants having been reduced to the last extremity. He re- 
 solved to punish the obstinacy of the townsmen by the death 
 of six of the most considerable citizens, who offered them- 
 selves, with ropes round their necks, to satiate his indigna- 
 tion ; buthe spared their lives at the intercession of the queen 
 
EDWARD III. J 05 
 
 9. While Edward was reaping victories upon the conti- 
 nent, the Scots, ever willing to embrace a favourable oppor- 
 tunity of rapine and revenge, invaded the frontiers with a 
 numerous army, headed by David Bruce, their king. This 
 unexpected invasion, at such a juncture, alarmed the English, 
 but was not capable of intimidating them. 10. Lionel, 
 Edward's son, who was left guardian of England during his 
 father's absence, was yet too young to take upon him the 
 command of an army ; but the victories on the continent 
 seemed to inspire even women with valour. Philippa, Ed- 
 ward's queen, took upon her the conduct of the field, and 
 prepared to repulse the enemy in person : accordingly, hav- 
 ing made lord Percy general under her, she met the Scots at 
 a place called Nevil's Cross, near Durham, and offered them 
 battle. 11. The Scots king was no less impatient to engage ; 
 he imagined that he might obtain an easy victory against 
 undisciplined troops, and headed by a woman. But he was 
 miserably deceived. His army was quickly routed and 
 driven from the field. Fifteen thousand of his men were 
 cut to pieces ; and he himself, with many of his nobles and 
 knights, were taken prisoners, and carried in triumph to 
 London, A.D. 1346. 
 
 12. A victory gained by the Black Prince,* near Poictiers, 
 followed not long after, in which John, king of France, was 
 taken prisoner, and led in triumph through London, amidst 
 an amazing concourse of spectators. Two kings, prisoners 
 in the same court, and at the same time, were considered as 
 glorious achievements ; but all that England gained by them 
 was only glory. Whatever was won in France, with all 
 the dangers of war, and the expense of preparation, was 
 successively, and in a manner, silently lost, without the 
 mortification of a defeat. 
 
 13. The English, by their frequent supplies, had been 
 quite exhausted, and were unable to continue an army in the 
 field. Charles, who had succeeded his father John, who 
 died a prisoner in the Savoy, on the other hand, cautiously 
 forbore to come to any decisive engagement ; but was con- 
 tent to let his enemies waste their strength in attempts to 
 plunder a fortified country. When they were tired, he then 
 was sure to sally forth, and possess himself of such places 
 as they were not strong enough to defend. 14. He first fell 
 upon Ponthieu ; the citizens of Abbeville opened their gates 
 to him ; those of St. Valois, Rue, and Crotoy imitated the 
 
 * Edward, the Prince of Wales. He was called the Black Prince 
 from the color "•*" bi.» armor. 
 
100 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 example and the whole country was, in a little time, re- 
 duced to total submission. The southern provinces were, in 
 the same manner, invaded by his generals with equal sue 
 cess ; while the Black Prince, destitute of supplies from 
 England, and wasted by a cruel and consumptive disorder, 
 was obliged to return to his native country, leaving the affairs 
 of the south of France in a most desperate condition. 15 
 But what of all other things served to casta gloom over the 
 fatter part of this splendid reign was the approaching death 
 of the Black Prince, whose constitution showed but too 
 manifestly the symptoms of a speedy dissolution. This 
 valiant and accomplished prince died in the forty-sixth year 
 of his age, leaving behind him a character without a single 
 blemish ; and a degree of sorrow among the people that time 
 could scarcely alleviate. 
 
 16. The king was most sensibly affected with the loss of 
 his son, and tried every art to allay his uneasiness. He 
 removed himself entirely from the duties and burdens of the 
 state, and left his kingdom to be plundered by a set of rapa- 
 cious ministers. He did not survive the consequences of 
 his bad conduct, but died about a year after the prince, at 
 Sheene, in Surrey, deserted by all his courtiers, even by 
 those who had grown rich by his bounty. He expired 
 in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and fifty-first of his 
 reign, 1377 ; a prince more admired than beloved by his 
 subjects, and more an object of their applause than their 
 sorrow. 
 
 17. It was in this reign that the order of the Garter was 
 nstituted ; the number was to consist of twenty-four per- 
 sons besides the king. A story prevails, but unsupported 
 by any ancient authority, that the countess of Salisbury, at 
 a ball, happening to drop her garter, the king took it up, 
 and presented it to her with these words, " Honi soi qui 
 mal y pense ;" — " Evil be to him that evil thinks." This 
 accident, it is said, gave rise to the order and the motto,* 
 A. D. 1349. 
 
 Edward left many children by his queen, Philippa of 
 llainhault. His eldest son, the Black Prince, died before 
 
 * " Some do affirme, that this order beganne fyrst by king Richard Cceur ae 
 Lion, at the siege of the citie of Acres, where in his greate necessytie there 
 was but twenty-five knights that firmlye and surelye abode by him, where he 
 i.aused ah of them to wear thonges of blue leythere aboute their legges, and 
 afterwards they were called knights." — RastelVs Chronicle 
 
EDWARD III. 
 
 107 
 
 him ; but lie left a son named Richard, who succeeded to the 
 throne.* 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 ... Describe the situation and conduct of the Genoese archers. 
 
 2. What circumstances operated in favour of the English archers ! 
 What advantage did the prince of Wales take of it? 
 
 3. What astonishing bravery did the prince display ? 
 
 4. Wliat answer did the king make, when he was requested to send relief 
 
 to the prince ? 
 6 How many did the English lose in the battle? 
 
 8. How long did Edward besiege Calais ? 
 
 9. What did the Scots in the mean time ? 
 
 10. What female prepared to repulse the enemy? 
 
 11. What was the fate of the Scotch ? 
 
 12. What did England gain by its royal prisoners ? 
 
 14. What obliged the Black Prince to return to England ? 
 
 15. What character is given of the prince ? 
 
 17. When was the order of the Garter instituted ? 
 
 What accident is said to have given rise to the institution of this order ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.t>. 
 
 JohnXII 1316 
 
 Benedict XI 1334 
 
 Clement VI 1312 
 
 Innocent VI 1352 
 
 Urban V 1362 
 
 Gregory XI 1370 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 AndrorricusIII.... 1320 
 
 John V 1341 
 
 John VI 1355 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 Louis IV 1314 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Charles IV 1347 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Charles IV 1322 
 
 Philip VI 1328 
 
 John 1 1353 
 
 Charles V 1364 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 Alphonsus IV.... 1325 
 
 Pedro 1 1357 
 
 Ferdinand 1 1367 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 Christopher II.... 1319 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Waldemar III... 1340 
 OlausIIl 1375 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 Magnus 111 1320 
 
 Albert 1363 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Robert Bruce 1306 
 
 David II 1330 
 
 Edward Baliol... 1332 
 David II. (restor.) 1342 
 Robert (Stuart) II 1370 
 
 Thomas Bradwardin, Simon Islip, Simon Langham, William Whittlesey, 
 and Simon Sudbury, archbishops of Canterbury. Edward, the Black Prince. 
 Jolm Lord Chandos. Latimer, the lord chamberlain, &c. 
 
 *In this reign the statute of high-treason was first enacted. St Stephen's 
 chapel (now the house of commons) was built, and Windsor castle changed 
 from a fortress to a palace. 
 
108 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 RICHARD II. 
 
 Born 1367. Deposed Sept. 30, 1399. Died Jan. 10. 1400. Began to reign 
 June 21, 1377. Reigned 22^ years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Sprung from a sire and grandsire of renown, 
 
 Yet he was scarce deserving of a crown. — Egcrton. 
 
 1. (A. I). 1377.) Richard the Second was but eleven 
 years old when he came to the throne of his grandfather, 
 and found the people discontented and poor, the nobles 
 proud and rebellious. As he was a minor, the government 
 was vested in the hands of his three uncles, the dukes of 
 Lancaster, York, and Gloucester ; and as the late king had 
 left the kingdom involved in many dangerous and expensive 
 wars, which demanded large and constant supplies, the 
 murmurs of the people increased in proportion. 2. The 
 expenses of armaments to face the enemy on every side, 
 and a want of economy in the administration, entirely ex- 
 hausted the treasury ; and a new tax of three groats on 
 every person above fifteen was granted by parliament as a 
 supply. The indignation of the people had been for some 
 lime increasing ; but a tax so unequitable, in which the 
 rich paid no more than the poor, kindled the resentment of 
 the latter into a flame. 3. It began in Essex, where a 
 report was industriously spread that the peasants were to be 
 destroyed, their houses burned, and their farms plundered. 
 A blacksmith, well known by the name of Wat Tyler, was 
 the first that incited them to arms. The tax-gatherers 
 coming to this man's house while he was at work, demanded 
 payment for his daughter, which he refused, alleging she 
 was under the age mentioned in the act. 4. One of the 
 brutal collectors insisted on her being a full-grown woman, 
 and behaved in the most indecent manner. This provoked 
 the father to such a degree, that he instantly struck him 
 dead with a blow of his hammer. The standers-by ap 
 plauded his spirit, and one and all resolved to defend his con- 
 duct. He was considered as a champion in the cause, and 
 appointed the leader and spokesman of the people. 5. It 
 is easy to imagine the disorders committed by this tumultuous 
 "abbie • the whole neighbourhood rose in arms : they burned 
 
RICHARD II. 109 
 
 and plundered wherever they came, and revenged upon their 
 former masters all those insults which they had long sus- 
 tained with impunity. As the discontent was general, the 
 insurgents increased in proportion as they approached the 
 capitaL The flame soon propagated itself into Kent, Here- 
 fordshire, Surrey, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and Lincoln. 
 6. They were found to amount to above a hundred thousand 
 men by the time they arrived at Blackheath. At the head 
 of one party of these was Wat Tyler, who led his men 
 into Smithfield, where he was met by the king, who invited 
 him to a conference, under a pretence of hearing and re- 
 dressing his grievances. Tyler, ordering his companions 
 to retire till he should give them a signal, boldly ventured 
 to meet the king in the midst of his retinue, and accordingly 
 began the conference. 7. The demands of this demagogue 
 are censured by all the historians of the time as insolent 
 and extravagant ; and yet nothing can be more just than 
 those they have delivered for him. He required that all 
 slaves should be set free, and all commonages should be 
 open to the poor as well as the rich ; and that a general 
 pardon should be passed for the late outrages. 8. Whilst 
 he made these demands, he now and then lifted up his 
 sword in a menacing manner; which insolence so raised the 
 indignation of William Walworth, then mayor of London 
 attending on the king, that without considering the dangei 
 to which he exposed his majesty, he stunned Tyler with a 
 blow of his mace, while one of the king's knights, riding 
 up, despatched him with his sword. 9. The mutine rs, 
 seeing their leader fall, prepared themselves to take revenge ; 
 and their bows were now bent for execution, when Richard, 
 though not yet quite sixteen years of age, rode up to the rebels, 
 and with admirable presence of mind, cried out, " What, 
 my people, will you then kill your king ? Be not concerned 
 for the loss of your leader; I myself will now be your 
 general; follow me now into the field, and you shall have 
 whatever you desire." The awed multitude immediately 
 desisted : they followed the king, as if mechanically, into 
 the field, and there he granted them the same charter that 
 he had before given to their companions, but which he soon 
 afterwards revoked in parliament.* 
 
 * Gower, the poet, wrote some Latin verses on this rebellion, part of which 
 are here inserted, as a specimen of the literature of this reign ; nor will they 
 be less acceptable, we trust, from the ludicrous effect produced by putting 
 English nick-names into a Latin dress: 
 
 K 
 
110 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 10. Hitherto the king had acted under the control of the 
 regency, who did all they could devise to abridge his power. 
 However, in an extraordinary council of the nobility, as 
 sembled after Easter, he, to the astonishment of all present, 
 desired to know his age ; and being told that he was turned 
 of two-and-twenty, he alleged that it was time then for him 
 to govern without help ; and that there was no reason that 
 he should be deprived of those rights which the meanest ol 
 his subjects enjoyed. 
 
 11. Being thus set at liberty to conduct the business of 
 government at discretion, it quickly appeared that he wanted 
 those arts that are usually found to procure a lasting respect; 
 lie was fond of luxurious pleasures and idle ostentation ; he 
 admitted the meanest ranks to his familiarity ; and his con- 
 versation was not adapted to impress them with a reverence 
 for his morals or abilities. 12. The cruelty shown to the 
 duke of Gloucester, who, upon slight suspicions, was sent 
 to confinement in Calais, and there murdered in prison, 
 with some other acts equally arbitrary, did not fail to in- 
 crease those animosities which had already taken deep root 
 in the kingdom. The aggrandizement of some new favour- 
 ites contributed still more to make the king odious ; but 
 though he seemed resolved, by all his actions, to set his 
 subjects against him, it was accident that gave occasion for 
 his overthrow. 13. The duke of Hereford appeared in 
 parliament, and accused the duke of Norfolk of having 
 spoken seditious words against his majesty in a private con- 
 versation. Norfolk denied the charge, gave Hereford the 
 lie, and offered to prove his innocence by single combat. 
 
 " Watte vocat cui Thoma venit, neque Symme retardat, 
 
 Batque, Gibbe simul, Hykke venire subent. 
 Colle furit quern Bobbe juvat, noeumenta parantes, 
 
 Cum quibus ad damnum Wille coire volat. 
 Grigge rapit, dum Davie strepit, comes est quibus Hobbe 
 
 Larkin et in medio non minor esse putat. 
 Hudde ferit, quern Judde terit, dum Tibbe juvatur, 
 
 Jacke domosque viros vellit, et ense necat," &c 
 
 Which are thus humorously translated by Andrews. 
 
 Wat cries, Tom flies, nor Symkin stays aside ; 
 
 And Batt and Gibb, and Hyke, they summon loud, 
 Collin and Hob combustibles provide, 
 
 While Will the mischief forwards in the crowd ; 
 Greg hawls, Bob bawls, and Davy joins the cry, 
 
 With Lary, not the least among the throng ; 
 HorxiE drubs, Jude scrubs, while Tib stands grinning by, 
 
 And Jack with sword and fire-brand madly strides along.' 
 
RICHARD II. Ill 
 
 As proofs were wanting for legal trial, the lords readily ac- 
 quiesced in that mode of determination ; the time and place 
 were appointed, and the whole nation waited with anxious 
 suspense for the event. 14. At length the day arrived on 
 which the duel was to be fought ; and the champions having 
 just begun their career, the king stopped the combat, and 
 ordered both the combatants to leave the kingdom. The 
 duke of Norfolk he banished for life, but the duke of Here- 
 ford only for ten years. Thus the one was condemned to 
 exile without being charged with any offence, and the other 
 without being convicted of any crime. The duke of Nor- 
 folk was overwhelmed with grief and despondence at the 
 judgment awarded against him : he retired to Venice, where, 
 in a little time after, he died of a broken heart. 15. Here- 
 ford's behaviour on this occasion was resigned and sub- 
 missive, which so pleased the king, that he consented to 
 shorten the date of his banishment four years ; and he also 
 granted him letters patent, ensuring him the enjoyment of 
 any inheritance which should fall to him during his absence ; 
 but upon the death of his father, the duke of Lancaster, 
 which happened shortly after, Richard revoked those letters, 
 and retained the possession of the Lancaster estate to him- 
 self. A. D. 1388. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. At what age and under what circumstances did Richard come to the 
 
 throne ? 
 2 In whose hands was the government vested ? 
 3. Who was the first person that excited the people to arms? 
 5, 6. What disorders were committed hy the rebels? and who was then 
 
 leader ? 
 
 7. What conditions were requested from the king by Wat Tyler? 
 
 8. By whom was Wat Tyler slain ? 
 
 9. VVhat was the conduct of the king on this occasion? 
 
 10. Did the subsequent conduct of the king serve to make him respected by 
 
 his subjects ? 
 13. What gave occasion to his overthrow ? 
 
 11, With what severity did the king treat Norfolk and Hereford ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 O ! let us then intestive discord shun 
 
 We ne : er can be but by ourselves undone. — Savage. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1398.) Such complicated injuries served tc 
 inilame the resentment of Hereford against the king ; and 
 although lie had hitherto concealed it, he now set no bounds 
 to his indignation, but even conceived a desire of dethroning 
 
H2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 a person who had shown himself so unworthy of power 
 Indeed, no man could be better qualified for an enterprise 
 of this nature than the earl of Hereford; he was cool, 
 cautious, discerning, and resolute. 2. He had served with 
 distinction against the infidels of Lithuania ; and he had 
 thus joined to his other merits those of piety and valour. 
 He was stimulated by private injuries, and had alliance and 
 fortune sufficient to give weight to his measures. He only 
 waited the absence of the king from England to put his 
 schemes into execution; and Richard's going over into Ire- 
 land, to quell an insurrection* there, was the opportunity he 
 had long looked for. 
 
 3. Accordingly he instantly embarked at Nantz, with a 
 retinue of sixty persons, in three small vessels, and landed 
 at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire. The earl of Northumberland, 
 who had long been a malecontent, together with Henry Percy, 
 his son, who, from his ardent valour, was surnamed Hot- 
 spur, immediately joined them with their forces. After this 
 junction the concourse of people coming to enlist under 
 his banner was so great, that in a few days his army 
 amounted to sixty thousand men. 
 
 4. While these things were transacting in England, 
 Richard continued in Ireland in perfect security. Contrary 
 winds, for three weeks together, prevented his receiving any 
 news of the rebellion which had begun in his native do- 
 minions ; wherefore, upon landing at Milford Haven with a 
 body of twenty thousand men, he saw himself in a dreadful 
 situation, in the midst of an enraged people, without any 
 friend on whom to rely ; and forsaken by those who, in the 
 sunshine of his power, had only contributed to fan his 
 follies. 5. His little army gradually began to desert him, 
 till at last he found *Ji£t he had not above six thousand men 
 who followed his standard. Thus not knowing whom to 
 trust, or where to turn, he saw no other hopes of safety 
 bat to throw himself upon the generosity of the enemy, 
 and to gain from pity what he could not obtain by arms. 
 He therefore sent Hereford word that he was ready to sub- 
 mit to whatever terms he thought proper to prescribe, and 
 that he earnestly desired a conference. 6. For this pur- 
 pose the earl appointed him to meet at a castle within about 
 ten miles of Chester, where he came next day with his 
 army. Richard, who the day before had been brough/ 
 thither by the duke of Northumberland, descrying his 
 rival's approach from the walls, went down to receive him; 
 
RICHARD II. 113 
 
 while Hereford, after some ceremony, entered the castle in 
 complete armour, only his head was bare, in compliment to 
 the fallen king. 7. Richard revived him with that open 
 air for which he had been remarkable, and kindly bade 
 him welcome. " My lord king," returned the earl, with a 
 cool respectful bow, "I am come sooner than you appointed, 
 because your people say, that for one-and-twenty years you 
 have governed with rigour and indiscretion. They are 
 very ill satisfied with your conduct ; but if it please God, 1 
 will help you to govern them better for the time to come." 
 To this declaration the king made no other answer but 
 " Fair cousin, since it pleases you, it pleases us likewise." 
 8. But Hereford's haughty answer was not the only 
 mortification the unfortunate Richard was to endure. After 
 a short conversation with some of the king's attendants, 
 Hereford ordered the king's horses to be brought out of the 
 stable ; and the wretched animals being produced, Richard 
 was placed upon one, and his favourite, the earl of Salis- 
 bury, on the other. 9. In this mean equipage they rode to 
 Chester ; and were conveyed to the castle with a great 
 noise of trumpets, and through a vast concourse of people, 
 who were no way moved at the sight. In this manner he 
 was led triumphantly along from town to town, amidst mul- 
 titudes, who scoffed at him, and extolled his rivals. " Long 
 live the good duke of Lancaster, our deliverer !" was the 
 general cry ; but as for the king, to use the pathetic words 
 of the poet, " None cried God bless him !" 10. Thus, 
 after repeated indignities, he was confined a close prisoner 
 m the Tower, there, if possible, to undergo a still greater 
 variety of studied insolence and flagrant contempt. The 
 wretched monarch, humbled in this manner, began to lose 
 the pride of a king with the splendours of royalty, and his 
 spirit sunk to his circumstances. There was no great dif- 
 ficulty, therefore, in inducing him to sign a deed, by which 
 he renounced his crown, as being unqualified for governing 
 the kingdom. 11. Upon this resignation Hereford founded 
 his principal claim : but, willing to fortify his pretensions 
 with every appearance of justice, he called a parliament, 
 which was readily brought to approve and confirm his 
 claim. A frivolous charge, of thirty-three articles, was 
 drawn up, and found valid against the king ; upofc which 
 he was solemnly deposed, and the earl of Hereford elected 
 in his stead, by the title of Henry the Fourth. 12. Thus 
 began the contest between the houses of York and Lancas- 
 
 k2 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 irtiiiirati]ii";iii!ii|'l?ii:ifiiiI'Wi?lHIH)|:i 
 
 Richard II. surrendering his crown. 
 
 ter ; which, for several years after, deluged the kingdom 
 with blood; and yet, in the end, contributed to settle and 
 ;onfirm the constitution. 
 
 13. When Richard was deposed, the earl of Northum- 
 berland made a motion in the house of peers y demanding 
 the advice of parliament with regard to the future treatment 
 of the deposed king. To this they replied, that he should 
 be imprisoned in some secure place, where his friends and 
 partizans should not be able to find him. This was accord- 
 ingly put in practice ; but while he still continued alive, the 
 usurper could not remain in safety. Indeed, some conspi- 
 racies and commotions which followed soon after, induced 
 Henry to wish for Richard's death ; in consequence of 
 which, one of those assassins that are found in every court, 
 ready to commit the most horrid crimes for reward, went 
 down to the place of this unfortunate monarch's confinement 
 in the castle of Pomfret, and with eight of his followers, 
 rushed into his apartments. 14. The king, concluding their 
 design was to take away his life, resolved not to fall un« 
 revenged, but to sell it as dearly as he could ; wherefore, 
 wresting a pole-axe from one of the murderers, he soon 
 laid four of their number dead at his feet. But he was at 
 length overpowered, and struck dead by the blow of a pole- 
 axe ; although some assert that he was starved in prison, 
 15. Thus died the unfortunate Richard, in the thirty-fourth 
 
RICHARD II. 
 
 115 
 
 year of his age, and the twenty-third of his reign. Though 
 his conduct was blameable, yet the punishment he suffeicd 
 was greater than his offences ; and in the end his sufferings 
 made more converts to his family and cause than ever his 
 most meritorious actions could have procured them. He 
 left no posterity, either legitimate or otherwise. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Ry whom was the king opposed ? 
 
 3. Uy whom was Hereford joined on his arrival in England ? 
 
 4 In what manner did the king conduct himself? 
 
 6 Can you mention the indignities the king afterwards suffered ? 
 
 7. How did Richard receive the earl of Hereford ? and what passed at th 
 
 interview between them ? 
 
 8, 9. To what other mortifications was (he king obliged to submit? 
 
 10. What circumstances preceded his resignation of the crown? 
 
 11. By whom was he succeeded ? 
 
 12. What dreadful contest now commenced ? 
 
 13. After Richard was deposed, in what manner was he treated ? 
 
 14. Relate the circumstances which attended the murder of Richard. 
 
 15. Describe his character. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.n. 
 
 Gregory XI 1370 
 
 Urban VI 1378 
 
 Boniface IX 1389 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 John VI 1355 
 
 Emanuel II 1391 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 Charles IV 1317 
 
 Winceslaus 1 378 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Charles V 1364 
 
 Charles VI 1380 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 Ferdinand 1367 
 
 John 1 1385 
 
 King and Queen of 
 
 Denmark. 
 
 Olauslll 1375 
 
 A.D, 
 
 Margaret 1385 
 
 Queen of Sweden. 
 Margaret held 
 Sweden with 
 Denmark 1397 
 
 Kinss of Scotland. 
 
 Robert II 1370 
 
 Robert III 1390 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 William Courtney, Thomas Arundel, archbishops of Canterbury. William 
 Walworth, lord mayor of London. Roger Mortimer; earl of March, grand- 
 Bon to Clarence, heir apparent. Henry of Eolingbroke. Vere, duke of 
 Ireland. William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester, founder of Winches 
 (er College, and of Merlon College, Oxford. 
 
HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 HENRY IV. 
 
 Born 1367. Died March 20, 1413. Began to reign October 1, 1309. Reigned 
 
 13 years. 
 
 Heaven knows by what bye-paths and crooked ways 
 
 i met this crown ; and 1 myself know well 
 
 How troublesome it sat upon my brow. — Shakspeare. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1399.) Henry soon found that the throne of an 
 usurper is but a bed of thorns. Such violent animosities 
 broke out among the barons in the first session of this par- 
 liament, that forty challenges were given and received, and 
 forty gauntlets were thrown down as pledges of the sincerity 
 of their resentment. But though these commotions were 
 seemingly suppressed by his moderation for that time, yel 
 one conspiracy broke out after another, and were detected 
 in the formation, or actually punished in the field. 
 
 2. That formed against him by the earl of Northumber- 
 land was the most formidable. It was in a skirmish between 
 the Scots and English that Archibald, earl of Douglas, with 
 many of the Scots nobility, were taken prisoners by the earl 
 of Northumberland, and carried to Alnwick castle. When 
 Henry received intelligence of this victory, he sent the earl 
 orders not to ransom his prisoners, as he intended to detain 
 them, in order to increase his demands in making peace with 
 Scotland. 3. This message was highly resented by the 
 earl of Northumberland, who, by the laws of war that pre- 
 vailed in that age, had a right to the ransom of all such as 
 he had taken in battle. The command was still more irk- 
 some, as he considered the king his debtor, both for his se- 
 curity and his crown. Accordingly, stung with this supposed 
 injury, he resolved to overturn a throne which he had the 
 chief hand in establishing-. 
 
 4. A scheme was laid, in which the Scots and Welsh 
 were to unite their forces, and to assist Northumberland in 
 elevating Mortimer, as the true heir to the crown of Eng- 
 land. When all things were prepared for the intended in 
 surrection, the earl had the mortification to find himself 
 unable to lead on the troops, being seized with a sudden 
 illness at Berwick. But the want of his presence was well 
 supplied by his son, Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, who 
 took the command of the troops, and marched them towards 
 Shrewsbury, in order to join his forces with those of Glen 
 
HENRY IV. 117 
 
 dower, a Welsh chieftain, who some time before had been 
 exchanged from prison, and had now advanced wilh his 
 forces as far as Shropshire. 5. Upon the junction of these 
 two armies, they published a manifesto, which aggravated 
 their real grievances, and invented more. In the mean time, 
 Henry, who had received no intelligence of their designs, 
 was at first greatly surprised at the news of this rebellion. 
 Bat fortune seemed to befriend him on this occasion : he had 
 a small army in readiness, which he had levied for an in- 
 tended war against the Scots, and knowing the importance 
 of despatch against such active enemies, he instantly hurried 
 down to Shrewsbury, that lie might give the rebels battle. 
 
 6. Upon the approach of the two armies, both sides seem- 
 ed willing to give a colour to their cause by showing a de- 
 sire of reconciliation ; but, when they came to open their 
 mutual demands, the treaty was turned into abuse and re- 
 crimination. On one side was objected rebellion and ingra- 
 titude ; on the other, tyranny and usurpation. 7. The two 
 armies were pretty nearly equal, each consisting of about 
 twelve thousand men ; the animosity on both sides was in- 
 flamed to the highest pitch ; and no prudence nor military 
 skill could determine on which side the victory might in- 
 cline ; accordingly, a very bloody engagement ensued, in 
 which the generals on both sides exerted themselves with 
 great bravery. Henry was seen everywhere in the thickest 
 of the fight; while his valiant son, who was afterwards the 
 renowned conqueror of France, fought by his side ; and, 
 though wounded in the face by an arrow, still kept the field, 
 and performed astonishing acts of valour. 8. On the other 
 side, the daring Hotspur supported that renown which he 
 had acquired in so many bloody engagements, and every- 
 where sought out the king as a noble object of indignation. 
 At last, however, his death from an unknown hand decided 
 the victory ; and the fortune of Henry once more prevailed. 
 On that bloody day, it is said, that no less than two thousand 
 three hundred gentlemen were slain, and about six thousand 
 private men, of whom two-thirds were of Hotspur's army. 
 
 9. While this furious transaction was going forward, Nor- 
 thumberland, who was lately recovered from his indisposi- 
 tion, was advancing with a body of troops to reinforce the 
 army of malecontents, and take upon him the command: 
 but hearing by the way of his son's and brother's misfortune, 
 he dismissed his troops, not daring to keep the field with so 
 small a force, before an army superior in number, and flush- 
 
118 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ed with recent victory. 10. The earl, therefore, for 8 
 while, attempted to find safety by flight , but at last, being 
 pressed by his pursuers, and rinding himself totally without 
 resource, he chose rather to throw himself upon the king's 
 mercy than lead a precarious and indigent life in exile. 
 Upon his appearing before Henry at York, he pretended 
 that his sole intention in arming was to mediate between 
 the two parties ; and this, though but a very weak apology, 
 seemed to satisfy the king. Northumberland, therefore, re- 
 ceived a pardon ; Henry probably thinking that he was suf- 
 ficiently punished by the loss of his army and the death of 
 his favourite son. 
 
 11. By these means Henry seemed to surmount all his 
 troubles ; and the calm which was thus produced was em- 
 ployed by him in endeavours to acquire popularity, which 
 he had lost by the severities exercised during the preceding 
 part of his reign. For that reason, he often permitted the 
 house of commons to assume powers which had not been 
 usually exercised by their predecessors. A.D. 1407. 12. 
 In the sixth year of his reign, when they voted him the 
 supplies, they appointed treasurers of their own, to see the 
 money disbursed for the purposes intended ; and required 
 them to deliver in their accounts to the house. They pro- 
 posed thirty very important articles for the government of 
 the king's household ; and, on the whole, preserved their 
 privileges and freedom more entire during his reign than 
 in that of any of his predecessors. 13. But while the king 
 thus laboured, not without success, to retrieve the reputation 
 he had lost, his son Henry, the prince of Wales, seemed 
 equally bent on incurring the public aversion. He became 
 notorious for all kinds of debauchery, and ever chose to be 
 surrounded by a set of wretches, who took pride in commit- 
 ting the most illegal acts, with the prince at their head. 
 14. The king was not a little mortified at this degeneracy 
 in his eldest son, who seemed entirely forgetful of his sta- 
 tion, although he had already exhibited repeated proofs of 
 his valorous conduct and generosity. Such were the ex- 
 cesses into which he ran, that one of his dissolute compa- 
 nions having been brought to trial before Sir William Gas- 
 coigne, chief justice of the king's bench, for some misde- 
 meanour, the prince was so exasperated at the issue of the 
 trial, that he struck the judge in open court. 15 The ve- 
 nerable magistrate, who knew the reverence that was due 
 to his station, behaved with a dignity that became his office 
 
 
HENRY IV. 
 
 119 
 
 and immediately ordered the prince to be committed to pri- 
 son. When this transaction was reported to the king - , who 
 was an excellent judge of mankind, he could not help ex- 
 claiming in a transport — " Happy is the king that has a 
 magistrate endowed with courage to execute the laws upon 
 such an offender : still more happy in having a son willing 
 to submit to such a chastisement !" This, in fact, is one of 
 the first great instances we read in the English history of a 
 magistrate doing justice in opposition to power; since, upon 
 many former occasions, we find the judges only ministers of 
 royal caprice. 
 
 16. Henry, whose health had for some time been declin- 
 ing, did not long outlive this transaction. He was subject 
 to fits, which bereaved him for the time of his senses ; and 
 which at last brought on his death 3t Westminster, in the 
 forty-sixth year of his age, and the fourteenth of his reign 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. In what situation did Henry find himself on ascending the throne ? 
 
 2. Who was the most formidable opponent of Henry? 
 
 4. For what purpose were the Scots and Welsh to unite their forces ? 
 
 7. Relate tiie valorous conduct of the king and prince. 
 
 8. What was the fate of Hotspur ? 
 
 10. What became of the earl of Northumberland ? 
 
 12. What at this time were the powers assumed by the housi of commons t 
 
 13. What was the conduct of the prince of Wales? 
 
 15. For what offence did the chief justice imprison him ? 
 
 What did the prince exclaim when he heard the of prince's committal? 
 
 16. What caused the death of the king ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 AD. 
 
 Boniface IX 1389 
 
 Innocent VII 1404 
 
 Gregory XII 1406 
 
 Alexander V 1409 
 
 John XXI II 1410 
 
 Emperor of the East. 
 Emanuel II 1391 
 
 Emperors of the West. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Winceslaus 1 378 
 
 Robert Le Pet 1400 
 
 Sigismund 1410 
 
 King of France. 
 Charles VI 1380 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 John 1 1385 
 
 King and Queen of 
 Denmark and Sweden. 
 
 A.D 
 
 Margaret 1385 
 
 Eric XIII 1411 
 
 King of Scotland,. 
 Robert III 1390 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. Edward Mortimer Henry 
 Percy, surnamed Hotspur. Chief Justice Gascoigne. Sir Robert Knovdea 
 Sir Richard Whittington, lord mayor of London. John G(,wer and Geoffroy 
 Chaucer 
 
229 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 HENRY V. 
 
 Bora 1388. Died Aug. 31, 1422. Began to reign March 20 1413. 
 Reigned 9£ years. 
 
 Now terror seemed to make the field its own. — Egerton. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1413.) The first steps taken by the young king 
 confirmed all those prepossessions entertained in his favour 
 He called together his former abandoned companions : ac- 
 quainted them with his intended reformation ; exhorted 
 them to follow his example ; and thus dismissed them 
 from his presence, allowing them a competency to subsist 
 upon till he saw them worthy of further promotion. 2. 
 The faithful ministers of his father at first began to tremble 
 for their former justice in the administration of their duty ; 
 but he soon eased them of their fears by taking them into 
 his friendship and confidence. Sir William Gascoigne, who 
 thought himself the most obnoxious, met with praise instead 
 of reproaches, and was exhorted to persevere in the same 
 rigorous and impartial execution of justice. 
 
 3. About this time the heresy of WicklifFe,* or Lol- 
 lardism, as it was called, began to spread every day more 
 and more, while it received a new lustre from the protec- 
 tion and preaching of sir John Oldcastle, baron of Cobham T 
 who had been one of the king's domestics, and stood high 
 in his favour. The primate, however, indicted this noble- 
 man, and, with the assistance of his suffragans, condemned 
 him as a heretic to be burnt alive. 4. Cobham, however, 
 escaping from the Tower, in which he was confined, the day 
 before his execution, privately went up to London to take a 
 signal revenge on his enemies. But the king, apprized of 
 his intentions, ordered that the city gates should be shut; 
 and coming by night with his guards into St. Giles's-fields, 
 seized such of the conspirators as appeared, and afterwards 
 laid hold of several parties that were hastening to the ap- 
 
 * John Wickliffe, a celebrated English divine, was the father of the re- 
 formation of the English church from popery. He first opposed the authority 
 >f the pope, and being cited to appear belbre the bishop of London, it caused 
 great tumult. His tenets were solemnly condemned in an assembly held at 
 Oxford ; he, however, escaped the malice of his enemies, and died peaceably 
 it Lutterworth, in 1381. 
 
HENRY V. 121 
 
 pointed pla e. 5. Some of these were executed, but the 
 greater number pardoned. Cobham himself found means of 
 escaping for that time, but he was taken about four years 
 after ; and never did the cruelty of man invent, or crimes 
 draw down, such torment as he was made to endure. He 
 was hung up with a chain by the middle, and thus, at a slow 
 fire, burned, or rather roasted, alive. 
 
 6. Henry, to turn the minds of the people from such 
 hideous scenes, resolved to take advantage of the troubles 
 in which France was at that time engaged ; and assembling 
 a great fleet and army at Southampton, landed at Harfleur, 
 at the head of an army of six thousand men-at-arms, and 
 twenty-four thousand foot, mostly archers. But although 
 the enemy made but a feeble resistance, yet the climate 
 seemed to fight against the English, a contagious dysentery 
 carrying off three parts of Henry's army. 7. The English 
 monarch, when it was too late, began to repent of his rash 
 inroad into a country where disease and a powerful army 
 everywhere threatened destruction ; he, therefore, began to 
 think of retiring into Calais. 
 
 The enemy, however, resolved to intercept his retreat; 
 and after he had passed the small river of Tertois, at 
 Blangi, he was surprised to observe, from the heights, the 
 whole French army drawn up in the plains of Agincourt,* 
 and so posted, that it was impossible for him to proceed 
 on his march without coming to an engagement. 8. No 
 situation could be more unfavourable than that in which he 
 found himself. His army was wasted with disease*: the 
 soldiers' spirits worn down with fatigue, destitute of pro- 
 visions, and discouraged by their retreat. Their whole 
 body amounted to but nine thousand men, and these were 
 to sustain the shock of an enemy nearly ten times their 
 number, headed by expert generals, and plentifully sup- 
 plied with provisions. 9. As the enemy were so much 
 superior, he drew up his army on a narrow ground between 
 two woods, which guarded each flank ; and he patiently 
 expected, in that position, the attack of the enemy. The 
 constable of France was at the head of one army, and 
 Henry himself, with Edward, duke of York, commanded 
 the other. 10. For a time both armies', as if afraid to 
 begin, kept silently gazing at each other, neither willing to 
 
 * Agincourt is a village in the province of Artois. formerly part of the 
 French Netherlands. 
 
122 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 break their ranks by making the onset ; which Henry per- 
 ceiving, with a cheerful countenance cried out, " My 
 friends, since they will not begin, it is ours to set the 
 example ; come on, and the blessed Trinity be our pro- 
 tection !" Upon this the whole army set forward with a 
 shout, while the French still waited their approach with 
 intrepidity. 11. The English archers, who had long been 
 famous for their great skill, first let fly a shower of arrows 
 three feet long, which did great execution. The French 
 cavalry advancing to repel these, two hundred bowmen, 
 who lay till then concealed, rising on a sudden, let fly among 
 them, and produced such a confusion, that Vhe archers threw 
 by their arrows, and rushing in, fell upon them sword in 
 hand. The French at first repulsed the assailants, who were 
 enfeebled by disease ; but they soon made up the defect by 
 their valour; and, resolving to conquer or die, burst in upon 
 the enemy with such impetuosity, that the French were 
 soon obliged to give way. 
 
 12. They were overthrown in every part of the field 
 their numbers, being crowded into a very narrow space, 
 were incapable of either flying or making any resistance 
 so that they covered the ground with heaps of slain. After 
 all appearance of opposition was over, there was heard an 
 alarm from behind, which proceeded from a number of 
 peasants who had fallen on the English baggage, and were 
 putting those who guarded it to the sword. 13. Henry 
 now seeing the enemy on all sides of him, began to enter- 
 tain apprehensions from his prisoners, the number of whom 
 exceeded even that of his army. He thought it necessary, 
 therefore, to issue general orders for putting them to death ; 
 but on a discovery of a certainty of his victory, he stopped 
 the slaughter, and was still able to save a great number. 
 14. This severity tarnished the glory which his victory 
 would otherwise have acquired, but all the heroism of that 
 age is tinctured with barbarity. In this battle the French 
 lost ten thousand men and fourteen thousand prisoners : the 
 English only forty men in all.* 
 
 15. France was at that time (A. D. 1417) in a wretched 
 situation; the whole kingdom appeared as one vast theatre 
 
 The duke of York and earl of Suffolk were among the few who fell in 
 this battle on the side of the English. Also three valiant Welshmen 
 named Davy Gam, Roger Vaughan, and Walker Lloyd, who had rescued 
 the king, and were afterwards knighted by him as they lay bleeding to death 
 — Monstrelet 
 
HENRY V. 123 
 
 of crimes, murders, injustice, and devastation. The duke 
 of Orleans was assassinated by the duke of Burgundy ; and 
 the duke of Burgundy, in his turn, fell by the treachery of 
 the dauphin. 
 
 16. A state of imbecility, into which Charles had fallen, 
 made him passive in every transaction ; and Henry, at last 
 by conquests and negotiation, caused himself to be elected 
 heir to the crown. The principal articles of this treaty 
 were, that Henry should espouse the princess Catharine, 
 daughter of the king of France ; that king Charles should 
 enjoy the title and dignity for life, but that Henry should 
 be declared heir to the crown, and should be intrusted 
 with the present administration of the government ; that 
 France and England should for ever be united under one 
 king, but should still retain their respective laws and 
 privileges. 
 
 17. In consequence of this, while Henry was everywhere 
 victorious, he fixed his residence at Paris ; and while Charles 
 had but a small court, he was attended with a very magnifi- 
 cent one. (A. D. 1421.) On Whit-Sunday, the two kings 
 and their two queens, with crowns on their heads, dined to- 
 gether in public ; Charles receiving apparent homage, but 
 Henry commanding with absolute authority.* 
 
 18. Henry, at that time, when his glory had nearly 
 reached its summit, and both crowns were just devolved upon 
 him, was seized with a fistula, a disorder which, from the 
 unskilfulness of the physicians of the times, soon became 
 mortal. He expired with the same intrepidity with which 
 he had lived, in the thirty-fourth year of his age, and the 
 tenth of his reign. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What were the first steps taken by the young king? 
 
 3. What remarkable circumstance did the heresy of Wickliffe produce ? 
 
 5. What was the melancholy fate of sir John Oldcastle, baron of Cobham ? 
 
 * The revenues of the government, and the grants of parliament, were so 
 inadequate to Henry's expensive armies and expeditions, that he was forced 
 to pawn his crown to his uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, for a large sum ; and cer- 
 tain jewels to the lord mayor of London, for ten thousand marks; he was 
 also obliged to pledge two gold chased basons, weighing together 281b. 8oz 
 to two canons of St. Paul's, for six hundred marks ; and two golden shells to 
 the dean of Lincoln, for one hundred more. The cost of his army was great , 
 each knight received 20s. per diem ; a squire 10s. and each archer 5s. Be 
 sides which, he had a costly band of music, among which were ten clarions, 
 which played an hou;, night and morning, before his tent. — Bertrand de 
 Moleville, #c, 
 
124 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 6. What caused Henry to assemble an army in Franco 1 
 What was the amount of his army ? 
 
 7. Where did the enemy attempt to intercept his retreat f 
 
 8. In what condition was the English army ? 
 
 9. Who commanded the respective armies ? 
 
 10. Relate the particulars of the battle of Agincourt. 
 ' 4. What tarnished the glory of this victory ? 
 
 What was the situation of France ? 
 5. What were the principal articles of treaty between England and 
 
 France ? 
 8. What was the age of Henry at his death? and how long did he reign? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 JohnXXIIl 1410 
 
 Martin V... 1417 
 
 Emperor of the East. 
 Emanuel II 1394 
 
 Emperor of the West. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Sigismund 1410 
 
 King of France. 
 Charles VI 1380 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 Johnl 1385 
 
 King of Denmark and 
 Sweden. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 EricXni 1411 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 Robert III 1390 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Henry Chicheley, archbishop of Canterbury. CardinaVfieaufort, bishop of 
 Winchester, younger son of John of Gaunt, and preceptor to Henry the Fifth 
 and Sixth. Talbot, eail of Shrewsbury. 
 
 CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 HENRY VI. 
 
 Born 1421. Deposed March 5, 1461. Died April 21, 1471. Began to reign Augasl 
 31, 1422. Reigned 38£ years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 From fields obscure dart* forth a village maid. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1422.) The duke of Bedford, one of the most 
 accomplished princes of the age, and equally experienced 
 both in the cabinet and the field, was appointed by parlia 
 ment protector of England, defender of the church, and 
 first counsellor to the king during his minority, as he was 
 not yet a year old ; and as France was the great object 
 that engrossed all consideration, he attempted to exert the 
 efforts of the nation upon the continent with all his vigour. 
 
 2. A new revolution was produced in that kingdom, bv 
 
HENRY VI. 125 
 
 means apparently the most unlikely to be attended with 
 success. In the village of Domreni, near Vaucoleurs, on 
 the borders of Lorrain, there lived a country girl, about 
 twenty-seven years of age, called Joan of Arc. This girl 
 had been a servant at a small inn, and in that humble sta- 
 tion had submitted to those hardy employments which fit the 
 body for the fatigues of war. She was of an irreproachable 
 life, and had hitherto testified none of those enterprising 
 qualities which displayed themselves soon after. 3. Her 
 mind, however, brooding with melancholy steadfastness upon 
 the miserable situation of her country, began to feel several 
 impulses, which she was willing to mistake for the inspira- 
 tions of Heaven. Convinced of the reality of her own ad- 
 monitions, she had recourse to one Baudricourt, governor 
 of Vaucoleurs, and informed him of her destination by Hea- 
 ven to free her native country from its fierce invaders. 
 Baudricourt treated her at first with some neglect : but her 
 importunities a t length prevailed ; and willing to make trial 
 of her pretensions, he gave her some attendants, who con 
 ducted her to the French court, which at that time resided at 
 Chinon. 
 
 4. The French court were probably sensible of the weak- 
 ness of her pretensions ; but they were willing to make use 
 of every artifice to support their declining fortunes. It was, 
 therefore, given out that Joan was actually inspired ; that 
 she was able to discover the king among the number of his 
 courtiers, although he had laid aside all the distinctions of 
 his authority ; that she had told him some secrets which 
 were only known to himself; and that she had demanded 
 and minutely described a sword in the church of St. Cathe- 
 rine de Firebois, which she had never seen. 5. In this manner 
 the minds of the vulgar being prepared for her appearance, 
 she was armed cap-a-pie, and shown in that martial dress to 
 the people. She was then brought before the doctors of the 
 university, and they, tinctured with the credulity of the times, 
 or willing to second the imposture, declared that she had 
 actually received her commission from above. 
 
 5. When the preparations for her mission were completely 
 blazoned, their next aim was to send her against the enemy. 
 The English were at that time besieging the city of Orleans, 
 the last resource of Charles, and every tiling promised them 
 a speedy surrender. Joan undertook to raise the siege ; and 
 to render herself still more remarkable, girded herself with 
 the miraculous sword, of which she had before such extra- 
 
 " l 2 
 
126 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ordinary notices. Thus equipped, she ordered all tne sol- 
 diers to confess themselves before they set out ; she dis« 
 played in her hand a consecrated banner, and assured the 
 troops of certain success. 7. Such confidence on her side 
 soon raised the spirits of the French army ; and even the 
 English, who pretended to despise her efforts, felt them- 
 selves secretly influenced with the terrors of her mission ; 
 and relaxing in their endeavours, the siege was raised with 
 great precipitation. From being attacked, the French now 
 in turn became the aggressors. One victory followed an- 
 other, and at length the French king was solemnly crowned 
 at Rheims, which Joan had promised should come to pass. 
 
 8. A tide of success followed the performance of this so- 
 lemnity ; but Joan having thrown herself into the city of 
 Compeign, with a body of troops, that was then besieged 
 by the duke of Burgundy, she was taken prisoner in a sally 
 which she headed against the enemy, the governor shutting 
 the gates behind. The duke of Bedford was no sooner 
 informed of her being taken, than he purchased her of the 
 count Vendome, who had made her prisoner, and ordered 
 her to be committed to close confinement. 9. The credulity 
 of both nations was at that time so great, that nothing was 
 too absurd to gain belief that coincided with their passions. 
 As Joan, but a little before, from her successes, was re- 
 garded as a saint, she was now, upon her captivity, consi- 
 dered as a sorceress, forsaken by the demon who had granted 
 her a fallacious and temporary assistance ; and accordingly, 
 being tried at Rouen, she was found guilty of heresy and 
 witchcraft, and sentenced to be burnt alive, which was exe* 
 cuted with the most ignorant malignity. 
 
 10. From this period the English affairs became totally 
 irretrievable. The city of Paris returned once more to a 
 sense of its duty. Thus ground was continually, though 
 slowly, gained by the French ; and in the lapse of a few 
 years, Calais alone remained of all the conquests that had 
 been made in France ; and this was but a small compensa- 
 tion for the blood and treasure which had been lavished in 
 that country, and which only served to gratify ambition with 
 transient applause.* A.D. 1443. 
 
 * The duke of Bedford died about this time ; and when the dauphin of 
 France was advised to demolish the monument of black marble which ha J 
 been erected to his memory, he generously replied, "Let him repose in 
 peace, and be thankful that he does repose ; were he to awake, he wouki 
 maka the stoutest of us tremble-" 
 
HENRY VI. 127 
 
 11. But the incapacity of Henry began to appear in a 
 fuller light ; and a foreign war being now extinguished, the 
 people began to prepare for the horrors of intestine strife. 
 In this period of calamity a new interest was revived, which 
 had lain dormant in the times of prosperity and triumph. 
 Richard, duke of York, was descended, by the mother's 
 side, from Lionel, one of the sons of Edward the Third ; 
 whereas the reigning king was descended from John of 
 Gaunt, a younger son of the same monarch : Richard, there- 
 fore, stood plainly in succession before Henry ; and he began 
 to think the weakness and unpopularity of the present reign 
 a favourable moment for ambition. The ensign of Richard 
 was a white rose, that of Henry a red : and this gave name 
 to the two factions, whose animosity was now about to 
 drench the kingdom with slaughter. 
 
 12. Among the number of complaints which the unpopu- 
 larity of the government gave rise to, there were some which 
 even excited insurrection ; particularly that headed by John 
 Cade, which was of the most dangerous nature. This man 
 was a native of Ireland, who had been obliged to fly over to 
 France for his crimes ; but seeing the people, upon his re- 
 turn, prepared for violent measures, he assumed the name 
 of Mortimer ; and at the head of twenty thousand Kentish 
 men, advanced towards the capital, and encamped at Black- 
 heath. The king, being informed of this commotion, sent 
 a message to demand the cause of their assembling in arms , 
 and Cade, in the name of the community, answered that 
 their only aim was to punish evil ministers, and to procure 
 a redress of grievances for the people. 13. But committing 
 some abuses, and engaging with the citizens, he was aban- 
 doned by most of his followers ; and retreating to Rochester, 
 was obliged to fly alone into the woods of Kent, where, a 
 price being set upon his head by proclamation, he was dis- 
 covered and slain.* 
 
 14. In the mean time the duke of York secretly fomented 
 these disturbances, and pretending to espouse the cause of 
 the people, still secretly aspired to the crown ; and, though 
 he wished nothing so ardently, yet he was for some time 
 prevented by his own scruples from seizing it. What his in- 
 
 * The inscription on Cade's standard consisted of the following doggerel, 
 sufficiently indicative of the levelling doctrines of him and his rebel compa 
 
 KUDOS 
 
 ' When Adam delv'd and Eve span, 
 Who was then a gentleman ?" 
 
128 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 trignes failed to bring about, accident produced according to 
 his desires. 15. The king falling into a distemper, which 
 so far increased his natural imbecility that it even rendered 
 him incapable of maintaining the appearance of royalty 
 York was appointed lieutenant and protector of the king 
 dom, with powers to hold and open parliaments at pleasure, 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. What happened on the death of the king ? 
 
 2, 3. Relate the history of Joan of Arc. 
 
 4. By what artifices did the French court support their declining fortunes i 
 
 6. What enterprise did Joan undertake? 
 
 7. Were the French successful ? 
 
 8. In what manner was Joan of Arc made prisoner? 
 9- What was the fate of this extraordinary woman ? 
 
 10. In what state were the English affairs at this time ? 
 
 11. What new interest was now revived against Henry ? and to what conse- 
 
 quences did it lead ? 
 
 12. Mention the particulars of an insurrection which took place, and the 
 
 cause which occasioned it. 
 
 13. What was the fate of the principal conspirators? 
 
 14. Who secretly fomented these disturbances ? 
 
 1 5. Who was appointed protector of the kingdom ? and on what occasion ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 While second Richard's blood for vengeance calls, 
 
 Doom d for his grandsire's guilt, poor Henry falls. — Savage. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1452.) Being thus invested with a plenitude of 
 power, he continued in the enjoyment of it for some time ; 
 but at length the unhappy king recovered from his lethargic 
 complaint ; and, as if waking from a dream, perceived with 
 surprise that he was stripped of all his authority. Henry was 
 married to Margaret of Anjou,* a woman of a masculine 
 understanding, who obliged him to take the field, and in a 
 manner dragged him to it, where both sides came to an en- 
 gagement, in which the Yorkists gained a complete victory.! 
 2. The king himself being wounded, and taking shelter in 
 a cottage near the field of battle, was taken prisoner, and 
 treated by the victor with great respect and tenderness. 
 
 Henry was now merely a prisoner, treated with the splen- 
 did forms of royalty ; yet, indolent and sickly, he seemed 
 
 * Daughter of Rene, titular king of Sicily ; an ambitious, enterprising, and 
 courageous woman. She supported the rights of her husband with great 
 fortitude and activity, till the fatal defeat at Tewkesbury, which put an end 
 to all her enterprises. 
 
 t This battle was the first of St. Alban's. 
 
HENRY VI. 129 
 
 pleased with his situation, and did not regret that power 
 which was not to be exercised without fatigue. But Mar- 
 garet once more induced him to assert his prerogative. 3 
 The contending parties met at Bloreheath, on the borders of 
 Staffordshire, Sept. 23, 1459, and the Yorkists gained some 
 advantages ; but Sir Andrew Trollop deserted with all his 
 men to the king; and this so intimidated the whole army of 
 the Yorkists, that they separated the next day, without strik- 
 ing a single blow. Several other engagements followed, 
 with various success ; Margaret being at one time victorious, 
 at another in exile ; the victory upon VVakefield-green,* in 
 which the duke of York was slain, seemed to fix her good 
 fortune. 
 
 4. But the earl of Warwick, who now put himself at the 
 head of the Yorkists, was one of the most celebrated gene- 
 rals of the age, formed for times of trouble, extremely artful, 
 and incontestably brave, equally skilful in council and the 
 field ; and inspired with a degree of hatred against the queen 
 that nothing could suppress. He commanded an army, in 
 which he led about the captive king, to give a sanction to 
 his attempts. 5. Upon the approach of the Lancastrians, 
 he conducted his forces, strengthened by a body of London- 
 ers, who were very affectionate to his cause, and gave battle 
 to the queen at St. Alban's. In this, however, lie was de- 
 feated. About two thousand of the Yorkists perished in 
 the battle, and the person of the king again fell into the 
 hands of his own party, to be treated with apparent respect, 
 but real contempt. 
 
 6. In the mean time young Edward, the eldest son of the 
 late duke of York, began to repair the losses his party had 
 lately sustained, and to give spirit to the Yorkists. This 
 prince, in the bloom of youth, remarkable for the beauty of 
 his person, his bravery, and popular deportment, advanced 
 towards London with the remainder of Warwick's army ; 
 and, obliging Margaret to retire, entered the city amidst the 
 acclamations of the people. Perceiving his own popularity, 
 he supposed that now was the time to lay his claim to the 
 crown ; and his friend Warwick, assembling the citizens in 
 St. John's Fields, pronounced an harangue, setting forth the 
 title of Edward, and inveighing against the tyranny and 
 usurpation of the house of Lancaster. A .D. 1461. 7. Botli 
 sides at length met near Towton, in the county of York, to 
 
 * lr. the West Riding of Yorkshire. 
 
J 30 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 decide the fate of the empire, and never was England de 
 populated by so terrible an engagement. It was a dreadful 
 sight to behold a hundred thousand men of the same country 
 engaged against each other ; and all to satisfy the ambition 
 of the weakest or the worst of mankind. While the army 
 of Edward was advancing to the charge, there happened a 
 great fall of snow, which, driving full in the face of the 
 enemy, blinded them ; and this advantage, seconded by an 
 impetuous onset, decided the victory in his favour. Edward 
 issued orders to give no quarter ; and a bloody slaughter 
 ensued, in which near forty thousand of the Lancastrians 
 were slain. 
 
 8. The weak and unfortunate Henry, always imprudent, 
 and always unsuccessful, was taken prisoner, carried to 
 London with great ignominy, and conducted to the Tower. 
 Margaret was rather more fortunate : she contrived to escape 
 out of the kingdom, and took refuge with her father in Flan- 
 ders.* 
 
 9. Edward being now, by means of the earl of Warwick, 
 fixed upon the throne, reigned in peace and security, while 
 his title was recognised by parliament, and universally sub- 
 mitted to by the people. A.D. 1464. He began, therefore, 
 to give a loose to his favourite passions, and a spirit of gal- 
 lantry, mixed with cruelty, was seen to prevail in his court. 
 The very same palace which one day exhibited a spectacle 
 of horror, was to be seen the day following with a mask or 
 pageant ; and the king would at once gallant a mistress and 
 inspect an execution. 10. In order to turn him from these 
 pursuits, which were calculated to render him unpopular, 
 the earl of Warwick advised him to marry ; and with his 
 consent went over to France, to procure Bona of Savoy, as 
 queen, and the match was accordingly concluded. But 
 whilst the earl was hastening the negotiation in France, the 
 
 * Margaret, flying with her son into a forest, was attacked during the night 
 by robbers, who despoiled her of her rings and jewels, and treated her with 
 the utmost indignity. The partition of this great booty having raised a vio- 
 lent quarrel among them, she took an opportunity of flying with her son into 
 the thickest part of the forest, where she wandered till she was overcome 
 with hunger and fatigue. While in this wretched condition, she saw a rob- 
 ber approaching with his naked sword; she suddenly embraced the resolution 
 of trusting entirely to his faith and generosity, and presenting to him the 
 young prince, " Here, my friend," said she, " I commit to your care the safety 
 of the Icing's son." The man, struck with the singularity of the event, and 
 recalled to virtue by the flattering confidence reposed in him, vowed, not only 
 to abstain from all injury against the princess, but to devote himself entirely 
 to hsr service. By his means she reached the sea-coast, and embarked for 
 Flanders.- -De Moteville. tyc 
 
HENRY VI. 131 
 
 king himself rendered it abortive at home, by marrying 
 Elizabeth Grey,* with whom he had fallen in love, and 
 whom he had vainly endeavoured to debauch. 11. Having 
 thus given Warwick real cause of offenee, he was resolved 
 to widen the breach by driving him from the council. Wai 
 wick, whose prudence was equal to his bravery, soon made 
 use of both to assist his revenge ; and formed such a com- 
 bination against Edward, that he was in his turn obliged to 
 fly the kingdom. Thus, once more, the poor, passive king 
 Henry was released from prison to be placed upon a danger- 
 ous throne. A parliament was called, which confirmed 
 Henry's title with great solemnity ; and Warwick was him- 
 self received among the people under the title of king- 
 maker. 
 
 12. But Edward's party, though repressed, was not de- 
 stroyed. Though an exile in Holland, he had many partisans 
 at home ; and, after an absence of nine months, being 
 seconded by a small body of troops, granted to him by the 
 duke of Burgundy, he made a descent at Ravenspur, in 
 Yorkshire. Though, at first, he was coolly received by the 
 English, yet his army increased upon his march, while his 
 moderation and feigned humility still added to the number 
 of his partisans. London, at that time ever ready to admit 
 the most powerful, opened her gates to him ; and the 
 wretched Henry was once more plucked from a throne to be 
 sent back to his former mansion. 
 
 13. Nothing now, therefore, remained to Warwick, but 
 to cut short an anxious suspense, by hazarding a battle. 
 Edward's fortune prevailed. They met at St. Alban's, and 
 the Lancastrians were defeated ; while Warwick himself, 
 leading a chosen body of troops into the thickest of the 
 slaughter, fell, in the midst of his enemies, covered with 
 wounds. 
 
 Margaret, receivingthe fatal news of the death of the brave 
 Warwick, and the total destruction of her party, gave way 
 to her grief, for the first time, in a torrent of tears ; and, 
 yielding to her unhappy fate, took sanctuary in the abbey 
 of Beaulieu, in Hampshire. 
 
 14. She had not been long in this melancholy abode be- 
 
 * Elizabeth Grey was daughter of sir Richard Woodville. The king first 
 saw her at court, whither she had repaired to present a petition for the reco- 
 very of the confiscated lands of her late husband, sir John Grey, who was 
 slain in arms on the side of Henry. She told Edward, when he first addressed 
 her on the subject of his love, that though loo humble to be his wife, she was 
 too high to become his concubine 
 
132 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 lore she found some few friends still waiting to assist hei 
 fallen fortunes She had now fought battles in almost every 
 province in England ; Tewkesbury-park was the last scene 
 that terminated her attempts. 15. The duke of Somerset 
 headed her army : a man who had shared her dangers, and 
 had ever been steady in her cause. When Edward first at- 
 tacked him in his intrenchments, he repulsed him with such 
 vigour, that the enemy retired with precipitation ; upon 
 which the duke, supposing them routed, pursued, and order- 
 ed lord Wenlock to support his charge. But unfortunately, 
 this lord disobeyed his orders ; and Somerset's forces were 
 soon overpowered by numbers. 16. In this dreadful exi- 
 gence, the duke finding that all was over, became ungovern- 
 able in his rage ; and beholding Wenlock inactive, and 
 remaining in the very place where he had first drawn up 
 his men, giving way to his fury, with his heavy battle-axe 
 id both hands he ran upon the coward, and with one blow 
 dashed out his brains. 
 
 17. The queen and the prince were taken prisoners after 
 the battle, and brought into the presence of Edward. The 
 young prince appeared before the conqueror with undaunted 
 majesty ; and being asked, in an insulting manner, how he 
 dared to invade England without leave, more mindful of his 
 high birth than of his ruined fortunes, he boldly replied, " 1 
 have entered the dominions of my father, to revenge his in- 
 juries, and to redress my own." 18. The barbarous Ed- 
 ward, enraged at his intrepidity, struck him on his mouth 
 with his gauntlet ; and this served as a signal for further 
 brutality : the dukes of Gloucester, Clarence, and others, 
 like wild beasts, rushing on the unarmed youth at once, 
 stabbed him to the heart with their daggers. To complete 
 the tragedy, Henry himself was soon after murdered in cold 
 blood. Of all those that were taken, none were suffered to 
 survive but Margaret herself. 19. It was perhaps expected 
 that she would be ransomed by the king of France ; and in 
 this they were not deceived, as that monarch paid the kinj? 
 of England fifty thousand crowns for her freedom. This 
 extraordinary woman, after having sustained the cause of her 
 husband in twelve battles, after having survived her friends, 
 fortunes, and children, died a few years after in privacy in 
 France, very miserable indeed ; but with few other claims 
 to our pity, except her courage and her distresses.* 
 
 * During this and several previous reigns, a most absurd fashion was fbl 
 owed by the people. It was customary to wear the beaks or ooints of theu 
 
HENRY VI. 
 
 133 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 I. What was the issue of the first battle between the houses uf York and 
 Lancaster ? 
 
 What was the fortune of Henry ? 
 
 Where did the contending parties next meet ? 
 
 What circumstances gave the advantage to Henry's party ? 
 
 Who was the commander of the Yorkists? 
 
 What was his success ? 
 
 Who now laid claim to the crown ? 
 
 What were the particulars of the action at Towton ? 
 8 What happened to Margaret and the young prince after the battle ? 
 9. How did Edward conduct himself after his accession ? 
 11 For what reason did Warwick combine against Edward ? 
 
 By what title was Warwick received among the people ? 
 
 13. What was the fortune of the next battle ? 
 
 14. What followed this engagement ? 
 
 17. What was the answer of the young prince to Edward ? 
 
 18. What was his treatment ? 
 
 What was the fate of Henry ? 
 
 19. What of Margaret? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Martin V 1417 
 
 Eugenius VI 1431 
 
 Nicholas V 1447 
 
 Calixtus III 1455 
 
 Pius II 1458 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 
 Emanuel II 1391 
 
 John VII 1429 
 
 Cons tan tine III. 
 and last Christian 
 emperor. Suc- 
 ceeded by his 
 conqueror Ma- 
 homet II. who 
 
 A.D. 
 
 took Constantino- 
 ple by storm,May 
 29 1453 
 
 Emperors of the West 
 
 Sigismund 1410 
 
 Albert II 1438 
 
 Frederick III 1440 
 
 Kings of France- 
 Charles WW 1452 
 
 Louis XI 1461 
 
 Kings cf Portugal. 
 John 1 1385 
 
 AD 
 
 Edward i433 
 
 Alphonsus 1438 
 
 Kings of Denmark and 
 Sweden. 
 
 Eric IX 1411 
 
 Christopher III.... 1439 
 Christian 1 1448 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 Robert III. ....... 1390 
 
 James I ] 424 
 
 James II 1437 
 
 James III 1460 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 John Stratford and John Kemp, archbishops of Canterbury. De La Pole 
 d ike of Suffolk. The Dukes of Bedford, Gloucester, Exeter, and bishop of 
 Winchester, regents and guardians to the king. Richard, duke of York. 
 
 shoes so long, that it was necessary to tie them up to their knees with laces 
 or chains, to enable them to walk without stumbling : gentlemen used for 
 this purpose chains made of silver, or silver gilt, and others used laces. This 
 ridiculous custom was now (A.D. 1467) prohibited, on the forfeiture of twen 
 ty shillings, and the pain of cursing by the clergy. Whatever absurdities in 
 dress may have been rendered fashionable in modem times, certainly none 
 have exceeded this folly of our ancestors. 
 
 M 
 
(34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 EDWARD IV. 
 
 Born 1441. Died April 9th, 1482. Began to reign March 5th, 1461. Reigned 
 
 22 years. 
 
 Edward, to each voluptuous vice a slave. 
 
 Cruel, intemp' rate, vain, suspicious, brave. — Egerton. 
 
 I. (A.D. 1478.) Edward, being now free from great 
 enemies, turned to the punishment of those of lesser note j 
 so that the gibbets were hung with his adversaries, and their 
 estates confiscated to his use. 
 
 Whilst he was rendering himself terrible on the one hand, 
 he was immersed in abandoned pleasures on the other. 
 Nature, it seems, was not unfavourable to him in personal 
 charms ; as he was universally allowed to be the most beau- 
 tiful man of his time. 2. His courtiers also seemed willing 
 to encourage those debaucheries in which they had a share ; 
 and the clergy, as they themselves practised every kind of 
 lewdness with impunity, were ever ready to lend absolution 
 to all his failings. The truth is, enormous vices had been 
 of late too common. 
 
 Among his other cruelties, that to his brother, the duke 
 of Clarence, is the most remarkable. The king, hunting 
 one day in the park of Thomas Burdet, a creature of the 
 duke's, killed a white buck, which was a great favourite of 
 the owner. Burdet, vexed at the loss, broke into a passion, 
 and wished the horns of the deer in the belly of the person 
 who had advised the king to that insult. For this trifling 
 exclamation, Burdet was tried for his life, and publicly ex- 
 ecuted at Tyburn. 4. The duke of Clarence, upon the 
 death of his friend, vented his grief in renewed reproaches 
 against his brother, and exclaimed against the iniquity of the 
 sentence. The king, highly offended with this liberty, or 
 using that as a pretext against him, had him arraigned be- 
 fore the house of peers, and appeared in person as his ac- 
 cuser. 5. In those times of confusion, every crime alleged 
 by the prevailing party was fatal ; the duke was found 
 
EDWARD V. 135 
 
 guilty ; and, being granted a choice of the manner in which 
 he would die, was privately drowned in a butt of malmsey 
 in the Tower: a whimsical choice, and implying that he had 
 an extraordinary passion for that liquor. 
 
 6. However, if this monarch's reign was tyrannical, it 
 was but short ; while he was employed in making prepara- 
 tions for a war with France, he was seized with a distemper, 
 of which he expired in the forty-second year of his age, and 
 counting from the deposition of the late king, in the twenty- 
 third of his reiorn. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was now the conduct of Edward ? 
 
 2. For what was Burdet tried and executed 1 
 
 4. Relate the cruelty of Edward towards his brother. 
 
 5. What kind of death did the duke of Clarence prefer ? 
 
 6. How long did Edward the Fourth reign? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Pius II 1458 
 
 Paul II 1464 
 
 SextusIV 1471 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 Frederic II 1440 
 
 Emperors of the Turks. 
 Mahomet II 1453 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Bajazet II 1481 
 
 King of France. 
 Louis IX 1461 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 AlphonsusV 1438 
 
 John II 148J 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Kings of Denmark and 
 Sweden. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Christian 1 1440 
 
 JohnI 1481 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 James III 1469 
 
 Thomas Borlieur, archbishop of Canterbury ; Nevil, earl of Warwick, call* 
 ed the king-maker ; Beaufort, duke of Somerset ; Richard, duke of Glouces- 
 ter ; Tiptoft, earl of Worcester; William Caxton, mercer of London, tne first 
 printer (practised his art in Westminster Abbey, 1471). Jane Shore. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 EDWARD V. 
 
 Born 1470. Died June, 1433. Began to reign April 9, 1483. Reigned 3 montfta. 
 
 What's this 
 That ri=es like the issue of a kin?, 
 And bears upon his baby brow the round 
 And top of sov'reignty 1 Shakspeare. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1483.) The duke of Gloucester, who had been 
 made protector of the realm, upon a pretence of guarding 
 the persons of the late king's children from danger, conveyed 
 them both to the Tower 
 
136 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Having thus secured them, his next step was to spread a 
 report of their illegitimacy ; and by pretended obstacles, to 
 put oiF the day appointed for young Edward's coronation. 
 His next aim was to despatch Lord Hastings, whom he 
 knew to be warmly in the young king's interest. 
 
 2. Having summoned Lord Hastings to a council in the. 
 Tower, he entered the room knitting his brows, biting his 
 lips, and showing, by a frequent change of countenance, the 
 signs of some inward perturbation. A silence ensued for 
 some time : and the lords of the council looked upon each 
 other, not without reason expecting some horrid catas- 
 trophe. 3. Laying bare his arm, all shrivelled and decayed, 
 he accused Jane Shore and her accomplices of having pro- 
 duced this deformity by their sorceries ; upon which Hast- 
 ings cried, " If they have committed such a crime, they 
 deserve punishment." — "If!" cried the protector, with a loud 
 voice ; " dost thou answer me with ifs ? I tell thee they 
 have conspired my death ; and that thou, traitor, art an ac- 
 complice in the crime." 4. He struck the table twice with 
 his hand, and the room was instantly filled with armed men. 
 * 1 arrest thee," continued he, turning to Hastings, " for 
 high-treason ;" and at the same time gave him in charge to 
 the soldiers. Hastings was obliged to make a short con- 
 fession to the next priest that was at hand ; the protector 
 crying out, by St. Paul, that he would not dine till he had 
 seen his head taken off. He was accordingly hurried out to 
 the little green before the Tower chapel, and there beheaded 
 on a log of wood that accidentally lay in the way. 
 
 5. Jane Shore, the late king's favourite, was the next that 
 felt his indignation. This unfortunate woman was an ene- 
 my too humble to excite his jealousy : yet, as he had ac- 
 cused her of witchcraft, of which all the world saw she 
 was innocent, he thought proper to make her an example 
 for those faults of which she was really guilty. 6. She 
 had been formerly deluded from her husband, who was a 
 goldsmith in Lombard-street, and continued to live with Ed- 
 ward, the most guiltless favourite in his abandoned court. 
 It was very probable that the people were not displeased at 
 seeingr one a^ain reduced to her former meanness who had 
 for a while been raised above them, and enjoyed the smiles 
 of a court. 7. The charge against her was too notorious 
 to be denied ; she pleaded guilty, and was accordingly con* 
 demned to walk barefooted through the city, and to do pe 
 nance in St. Paul's church in a white sheet, with a was 
 
EDWARD V. 137 
 
 taper in her hand, before thousands of spectators. She lived 
 above forty years after this sentence, and was reduced to 
 the most extreme indigence. 
 
 8. The protector now began to throw off the mask, and 
 to deny his pretended regard for the sons of the late king, 
 thinking it high time to aspire to the crown more openly. 
 He had previously gained over the duke of Buckingham, 
 a man of talents and power, by bribes and promises ol 
 future favour. This nobleman, therefore, used all his arts 
 to cajole the populace and citizens at St. Paul's cross ; and, 
 construing their silence into consent, his followers cried 
 " Long live king Richard !" Soon after, the mayor and 
 aldermen waiting upon Richard with an offer of the crown, 
 he accepted it with seeming reluctance 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. What was the conduct of the duke of Gloucester towards the young 
 
 princes ? 
 
 2, 3. By what vile arts did he get rid of lord Hastings ? 
 
 5. Who next felt his indignation ? 
 
 6. Who was Jane Shore ? 
 
 7. What punishment did she suffer ? 
 
 8. In what manner did Richard contrive to procure an offer of the crown ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Pope. a.d. 
 
 Sextus IV 1471 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 Frederic III 1440 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 Bajazetll 1481 
 
 King of France. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Charles VIII 1483 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 John II 1481 
 
 King of Denmark ana 
 Sweden. 
 
 A.D 
 
 John 1481 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 JamesIII 14G0 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Richard, duke of Gloucester, protector. Edward, earl of Warwick ; 
 Margaret, countess of Salisbury (children of George, duke of Clarence) 
 Earl Grey ; marquis of Dorset ; William Lord Hastings. William 
 Caxton, mercer, of London, the first English printer ; he established a 
 printing press in Westminster-abbey, A. D. 1471. 
 
 m2 
 
138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 RICHAPD III. 
 
 Rorn 1450. Died A 112. 23, 1485. Began to reign June 27, 1483. Reigned 
 
 2 years. 
 
 Tetchy and wayward was his infancy; 
 
 His school-days frightful, desperate, wild, and furious; 
 
 His prime of manhood daring, bold and venturous; 
 
 H13 age confirm'd. proud, subtle, sly, and bloody. — Shakspeare. 
 
 1.* (A. D. 1483.) One crime ever draws on another t 
 justice will revolt against fraud, and usurpation requires 
 security. As soon, therefore, as Richard was seated upon the 
 throne, he sent the governor of the Tower orders to put the 
 two young 1 princes to death ; but this brave man, whose 
 name was Brackenbury, refused to be made the instrument 
 of a tyrant's will ; but submissively answered, that he knew 
 not how to imbrue his hands in innocent blood. A fit in- 
 strument, however, was not long wanting; sir James Tyrrel 
 readily undertook the office, and Brackenbury was ordered 
 to resign to him the keys for one night. 2. Tyrrel, choosing 
 three associates, Slater, Deighton, and Forest, came in the 
 night-time to the door of the chamber where the princes 
 were lodged, and, sending in the assassins, he bid them ex- 
 ecute their commission, while he himself stayed without. 
 They found the young princes in bed, and fallen into a 
 sound sleep : after suffocating them with a bolster and pil- 
 lows, they showed their naked bodies to Tyrrel, who 
 ordered them to be buried at the stairs' foot, deep in the 
 ground, under a heap of stones. 
 
 3. But while the usurper thus endeavoured to establish 
 his power, he found it threatened in a quarter where he least 
 expected an attack. The duke of Buckingham, who had 
 been instrumental in placing him on the throne, now took 
 disgust, being refused some confiscated lands for which he 
 solicited. He therefore levied a body of men in Wales, 
 and advanced with hasty marches towards Gloucester, where 
 he designed to cross the Severn. 4. Just at that time the 
 river was swoln to such a degree, that the country on both 
 sides was deluged, and even the tops of some hills were 
 covered with water. The inundation continued for ten 
 days ; during which Buckingham's army, composed of 
 
 * See the note at the end of the reign of Henry VII. 
 
RICHARD III. 139 
 
 Welshmen, could neither pass the river nor find subsistence 
 on their own side ; they were therefore obliged to disperse, 
 and return home, notwithstanding all the duke's efforts to 
 prolong their stay. 5. In this helpless situation, the duke, 
 after a short deliberation, took refuge at the house of one 
 Bannister, who had been his servant, and who had received 
 repeated obligations from his family ; but the wicked seldom 
 rind, as they seldom exert, friendship. Bannister, unable to 
 resist the temptation of a large reward that was set upon 
 the duke's head, went and betrayed him to the sheriff of 
 Shropshire : who, surrounding the house with armed men, 
 seized the duke, in the habit of a peasant, and conducted 
 him to Salisbury ; where he was instantly tried, condemned, 
 and executed, according to the summary method practised 
 in those days. 
 
 6. Amidst the perplexity caused by many disagreeable 
 occurrences, the king received information that the earl of 
 Richmond was making preparations to land in England, and 
 assert his claims to the crown. Richard, who knew not in 
 what quarter he might expect the invader, had taken post at 
 Nottingham, in the centre of the kingdom ; and had given 
 commission to several of his creatures to oppose the enemy 
 wherever he should land. 
 
 7. Some time after, however, the earl of Richmond, who 
 was a descendant from John of Gaunt, by the female line, 
 resolved to strike for the crown. He had been obliged to 
 quit the kingdom ; but he now, knowing how odious the 
 king was, set out from Harfleur, in Normandy, with a 
 retinue of about two thousand persons, and after a voyage 
 of six days, arrived at Milford-haven, in Wales, where he 
 landed without opposition. 
 
 8. Upon news of this descent, Richard, who was pos- 
 sessed of courage and military conduct, his only virtues, 
 instantly resolved to meet his antagonist and decide their 
 mutual pretensions by a battle. Richmond, on the other 
 hand, being reinforced by sir Thomas Bouchier, sir Walter 
 Hungerford, and others, to the number of about six thou- 
 sand, boldly advanced with the same intention ; and in a 
 few days both armies drew near Bosworth-field,* where the 
 contest that had now for more than forty years filled the 
 kingdom with civil commotions, and deluged its plains with 
 blood, was determined by the death of Richard, who was 
 
 * In Leicestershire. The battle fought at this place was the last of thir- 
 teen between the houses of York and Lancaster 
 
140 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 slain in battle : while Richmond was salutea king by the 
 title of Henry the Seventh.* 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1 What was the first act of Richard ? 
 
 2. In what manner were his orders executed ? 
 
 3 From what quarter and on what occasion was Richard first threatened 
 
 4. What obliged Buckingham's army to disperse ? 
 
 5. What was the fate of the duke of Buckingham? 
 
 6. With what new opposer did Richard now contend 1 
 
 7. Where did Richmond land ? 
 B By whom was he joined ? 
 
 Where did the armies meet? 
 What was the result of the battle ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Poms. A.D. 
 
 SextusIV 1471 
 
 Innocent VIII 1484 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 Frederic II 1440 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 Bajazetll 1481 
 
 King of France. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Charles VIII 1483 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 John II 1481 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 King of Denmark and 
 Sweden. 
 
 A.D 
 
 John 14a 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 James III 146l 
 
 Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond. Stafford, duke of Buckingham. Verf 
 *5arl of Oxford. Thomas, lord Stanley. Howard, duke of Norfolk. Fr&ncii 
 viscount Lovel. Sir Richard Ratcliffe. Sir William Catesby. 
 
 * Richard's body, after being exposed, was buried in the church of the 
 Grey Friars, at Leicester. Henry VI f. bestowed a monument on it, which 
 was demolished at the dissolution of abbeys under Henry VIIL; and the 
 monarch's stone coffin actually served for a horse-trough, at the White Horse 
 ! on ; " Sic transit gloria mundi !" 
 
HENRY VII 141 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 HENRY VII 
 
 Born 1456. Died April 22, 1509. Began to reign Aug. 23, 1485. Reigned 23J years 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 But oh ! how altered was Ihe mournful tone, 
 
 When Harry Richmond . med with title trua 
 His baldrick 'cross his shoulder flung, 
 
 And with enliv'ning tin net blow 
 A call to arms thai through ihe island run?! 
 His claim announcing to the English throne. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1485.) Henry's first care, upon coming to the 
 throne, was to marry the princess Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Edward the Fourth ; and thus he blended the interest of the 
 houses of York and Lancaster, so that ever after they were 
 incapable of distinction. 
 
 2. A great part of the miseries of his predecessors pro- 
 ceeded from their poverty, which was mostly occasioned by 
 riot and dissipation. Henry saw that money alone could 
 turn the scale of power in his favour; and, therefore, 
 hoarded up all the confiscations of his enemies with the 
 utmost frugality. 
 
 Immediately after his marriage with Elizabeth, he issued 
 a general pardon to all such as chose to accept it ; but people 
 were become so turbulent and factious, by a long course of 
 civil war, that no governor could rule them, nor any king 
 please ; so that one rebellion seemed extinguished only to 
 give rise to another. 
 
 3. There lived in Oxford one Richard Simon, a priest, 
 who possessing some subtlety, and more rashness, trained 
 up Lambert Simnel, a baker's son, to counterfeit the person 
 of the earl of Warwick, the son of the duke of Clarence, 
 who was smothered in a butt of malmsey. But, as the im- 
 postor was not calculated to bear a close inspection, it was 
 thought proper to show him first at a distance ; and Ireland 
 was judged the fittest theatre for him to support his assumed 
 character. 
 
 4. In this manner Simnel, being joined by lord Lovel, 
 and one or two lords more of the discontented party, re- 
 solved to pass over into England ; and accordingly landed 
 in Lancashire, from whence he marched to York, expecting 
 the country would rise and join him as he marched along. 
 But in this he was deceived; the people, averse to join a 
 body of German and Irish troops, by whom he was sup- 
 
142 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ported, and kept in awe by the king's reputation, remained 
 in tranquillity, or gave all their assistance to the royal cause. 
 5. The opposite armies met at Stoke, In the county of 
 Nottingham, and fought a battle, which was more bloody, 
 and more obstinately disputed, than could have been ex« 
 pected from the inequality of their forces. 6. But a vic- 
 tory at length declared in favour of the king, and it proved 
 decisive. Lord Lincoln perished in the field of battle * 
 lord Lovel was never more heard of, and it is supposed he 
 shared the same fate. Simnel, with his tutor Simon, were 
 taken prisoners; and four thousand of the common men 
 fell in the battle. Simon, being a priest, couid not be tried 
 by the civil power, and was only committed to close con- 
 finement. 7. Simnel was too contemptible to excite the 
 king's fear or resentment ; he was pardoned, and made 
 a scullion in the king's kitchen, whence he was afterwards 
 advanced to the rank of falconer, in which mean employ- 
 ment he died. 
 
 8. A fresh insurrection began in Yorkshire. The people 
 resisting the commissioners who were appointed to levy 
 the taxes, the earl of Northumberland attempted to enforce 
 the king's command ; but the populace, being by this taught 
 to believe that he was the adviser of their oppressions, flew 
 to arms, attacked his house, and put him to death. The 
 mutineers did not stop there; but, by the advice of one 
 John Archamber, a seditious fellow of mean appearance, 
 they chose sir John Egremont for their leader, and prepared 
 themselves for a vigorous resistance. 9. The king, upon 
 hearing of this rash proceeding, immediately levied a force, 
 which he put under the earl of Surry : and this nobleman, 
 encountering the rebels, dissipated the tumult, and took 
 their leader, Archamber, prisoner. Archamber was shortly 
 after executed, but sir John Egremont fled to the court of 
 the dutchess of Burgundy, the usual retreat of all who were 
 obnoxious to government in England. 
 
 10. One would have imagined, that from the ill success 
 of Simnel's imposture, few would be willing to embark in 
 another of a similar kind ; however, the old dutchess of 
 Burgundy, rather irritated than discouraged by the failure 
 of her past enterprises, was determined to disturb that go- 
 vernment which she could not subvert, A. D. 1492. She 
 first procured a report to be spread that the young duke of 
 YorK, said to have been murdered in the Tower, was still 
 .iving ; and finding the rumour greedily received, she soon 
 
HENRY VII. H3 
 
 produced a young man who assumed his name and cha- 
 racter. 11. The person chosen to sustain this part was one 
 Osbeck, or Warbeck, the son of a converted Jew, who had 
 been over in England during the reign of Edward IV. 
 where he had this son named Peter, but corrupted, after 
 the Flemish manner, into Peterkin, or Perkin. 12. The 
 dutchess of Burgundy found this youth entirely suited to 
 ner purposes ; and her lessons, instructing him to personate 
 the duke of York, were easily learned and strongly retained 
 by a youth of very quick apprehension. In short his 
 graceful air, his courtly address, his easy manner, and 
 elegant conversation, were capable of imposing upon all 
 but such as were conscious of the imposture. 
 
 The English, ever ready to revolt, gave credit to all these 
 absurdities ; while the young man's prudence, conversation, 
 and deportment served to confirm what their disaffection 
 and credulity had begun. 
 
 13. Among those who secretly abetted the cause of 
 Perkin were lord Fitzwalter, sir Simond Mountford, sir 
 Thomas Thwaits, and sir Robert Clifford. But the person 
 of the greatest weight, and the most dangerous opposition, 
 was sir William Stanley, the lord chamberlain, and brother 
 to the famous lord Stanley, who had contributed to place 
 Henry on the throne. This personage, either moved by a 
 blind credulity, or more probably by a restless ambition, 
 entered into a regular conspiracy against the king ; and a 
 correspondence was settled between the malecontents in 
 England and those in Flanders. 
 
 14. While the plot was thus carrying on in all quarters, 
 Henry was not inattentive to the designs of his enemies. 
 He spared neither labour nor expense to detect the false- 
 hood of the pretender to his crown ; and was equally assi- 
 duous in rinding out who were his secret abettors. For 
 this purpose he dispersed his spies through all Flanders, 
 and brought over, by large bribes, some of those whom he 
 knew to be in the enemy's interest. 15. Among these, sir 
 Robert Clifford was the most remarkable, both for his con- 
 sequence, and the confidence with which he was trusted. 
 From this person Henry learnt the whole of Perkin's birth 
 and adventures, together with the names of all those who 
 had secretly combined to assist him. The king was pleased 
 with the discovery ; but the more trust he gave to his spies, 
 the higher resentment did he feign against them. 
 
 16. At first he was struck with indignation at the ingra- 
 
Ii4t HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 titude of many of those about him ; but, concealing his 
 resentment for a proper opportunity, he almost at the same 
 instant arrested Fitz waiter, Mountford, and Th waits, to- 
 gether with William Danbnry, Robert RatclifT, Thomas 
 Cressenor, and Thomas Astwood. All these were arraigned, 
 convicted, and condemned for high-treason. Mountford, 
 RatclifT, and Danbury were immediately executed ; the resl 
 received a pardon. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 L What was Henry's first care ? 
 
 2. What prudent measures did he take to secure his power? 
 
 3. Who counterfeited the person of the earl of Warwick ? 
 4 By whom was Simnel joined ? 
 
 5, 6. What were the consequences of this rebellion? 
 
 7. What became of Simnel ? 
 
 8. What caused a fresh insurrection ? and what was the conduct of the 
 
 mutineers ? 
 
 10. What other imposture was now undertaken? 
 
 11. Who was chosen to personate the duke of York? 
 
 12. Who instructed Perkin to personate him ? 
 
 13. Who were his abettors ? 
 
 14. 15. What was Henry's conduct on this occasion ? 
 16. What was the fate of those who opposed the king ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 James backed the cause of that weak prince 
 Warbeck, that Flemish counterfeit. 
 Who on the gibbet paid the cheat. — Scott. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1494.) The young adventurer, thus finding hi* 
 hopes frustrated in England, went next to try his fortune 
 in Scotland. In that country his luck seemed greater than 
 in England, James IV., the king of that country, receiving 
 him with great cordiality. He was seduced to believe the 
 story of his birth and adventures ; and he carried his con- 
 fidence so far, as to give him in marriage lady Catharine 
 Gordon, daughter of the earl of Huntley, and a near kins- 
 woman of his own ; a young lady eminent for virtue as 
 well as beauty. 2. But not content with these instances 
 of favour, he was resolved to attempt setting him on the 
 throne of England. It was naturally expected that, upon 
 Perkin's first appearance in that kingdom, all the friends of 
 the house of York would rise in his favour. Upon this 
 ground, therefore, the king of Scotland entered England 
 with a numerous army, and proclaimed the young adven- 
 turer wherever he went. But Perkin's pretensions, attended 
 
HENRY 111. 145 
 
 by repeated disappointments, were now become stale, even 
 jn the eyes of the populace ; so that, contrary to expecta- 
 tion, none were found to second his views. 
 
 3. In this manner the restless Perkin, being dismissed 
 Scotland, and meeting with a very cold reception from the 
 Flemings, who now desired to be at peace with the English, 
 resolved to continue his scheme of opposition, and took re- 
 fuge anion" - the wilds and fastnesses of Ireland. A. 1). 1497. 
 Impatient of an inactive life, he held a consultation with 
 his followers, Heme, Skelton, and Astley, three broken 
 tradesmen ; and by their advice he resolved to try the affec- 
 tions of the Cornish men ; and he no sooner made his ap- 
 pearance among them at Bodmid, in Cornwall, than the 
 populace, to the number of three thousand, flocked to his 
 standard. 4. Elated with this appearance of success, he 
 took on him, for the first time, the title of Richard the 
 Fourth, king of England ; and, not to suffer the spirits of 
 his adhere- ts to languish, he led them to the gates of 
 Exeter. Finding the inhabitants obstinate in refusing to 
 admit him, and being unprovided with artillery to force an 
 entrance, he broke up the siege of Exeter, and retired to 
 Taunton. 5. His followers, by this time, amounted to 
 seven thousand men, and appeared ready to defend his 
 cause ; but his heart failed him upon being informed that 
 the king was coming down to oppose him ; and, instead 
 of bringing his men into the field, he privately deserted 
 them, and took sanctuary in the monastery of Beaulieu, in 
 the New Forest. His wretched adherents, left to the king's 
 mercy, found him still willing to pardon ; and except a few 
 of the ringleaders, none were treated with capital severity. 
 6. At the same time some other persons were employed to 
 treat with Perkin, and to persuade him, under promise of 
 a pardon, to deliver himself up to justice, and to confess 
 and explain all the circumstances of his imposture. His 
 affairs being altogether desperate, he embraced the king's 
 offer without hesitation, and quitted the sanctuary. Henry 
 being desirous of seeing him, he was brought to court, and 
 conducted through the streets of London in a kind of mock 
 triumph, amidst the derision and insults of the populace, 
 which he bore with the most dignified resignation. 7. He 
 was then compelled to sign a confession of his former life 
 and conduct, which was printed and dispersed throughout 
 the nation ; but it was so defective and contradictory, that 
 instead of explaining tbe pretended imposture, it left it still 
 
 N 
 
H6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 more doubtful than before ; and this youth's real pretensions 
 are to this very day an object of dispute among the learned. 
 After attempting once or twice to escape from custody, he 
 was hanged at Tyburn : and several of his adherents suf 
 fered the same ignominious death. 
 
 8. There had been hitherto nothing in this reign but 
 plots, treasons, insurrections, impostures, and executions ; 
 and it is probable that Henry's severity proceeded from 
 the continual alarm in which they held him. It is certain 
 that no prince ever loved peace more than he ; and much 
 of the ill will of his subjects arose from his attempts to 
 repress their inclinations for war. The usual preface to all 
 his treaties was, " That, when Christ came into the world, 
 peace was sung ; and when he went out of the world, peace 
 was bequeathed." 
 
 9. He had all along two points in view ; one to depress 
 the nobility and clergy, and the other to exalt and humanize 
 the populace. With this view he procured an act, by which 
 the nobility were granted a power of disposing of their 
 estates ; a law infinitely pleasing to the commons, and not 
 disagreeable even to the nobles, since they had thus an im- 
 mediate resource for supplying their taste for prodigality, 
 and answering the demands of their creditors. The blow 
 reached them in their posterity alone ; but they were too 
 ignorant to be affected by such distant distresses. 
 
 10. He was not remiss also in abridging the pope's 
 power, while at the same time he professed the utmost sub- 
 mission to his commands, and the greatest respect for the 
 clergy. But while lie thus employed his power in lowering 
 the influence of the nobles and clergy, he was using every 
 art to extend the privileges of the people. In fact, his 
 greatest efforts were directed to promote trade and commerce, 
 because they naturally introduced a spirit of liberty, and 
 disengaged them from all dependence, except upon the laws 
 and the king. 11. Before this great era, all our towns 
 owed their origin to some strong castle in the neighbour- 
 hood, where some powerful lord generally resided. These 
 were at once fortresses for protection, and prisons for all 
 sorts of criminals. In this castle there was usually a gar- 
 rison armed and provided, depending entirely on the noble- 
 man's support and assistance. 12. To these seats of pro- 
 tection, artificers, victuallers, and shopkeepers naturally 
 resorted, and settled on some adjacent spot, to furnish the 
 lord and his attendants with all the necessaries they might 
 
HENRY VII. 147 
 
 require. The farmers also, and the husbandmen, in the 
 neighbourhood, built their houses there, to be protected 
 against tne numerous gangs of robbers, called Robertsmen, 
 that hid themselves in the woods by day, and infested the 
 open country by night. 13. Henry endeavoured to bring 
 the towns from such a neighbourhood, by inviting the in- 
 habitants to a more commercial situation. He attempted to 
 teach them frugality, and a just payment of debts, by his 
 own example ; and never once omitted the rights of the 
 merchant, in all his treaties with foreign princes. 
 
 14. Henry having seen England, in a great measure, 
 civilized by his endeavours, his people pay their taxes with- 
 out constraint, the nobles confessing subordination, the laws 
 alone inflicting punishment, the towns beginning to live in- 
 dependent of the powerful, commerce every day increasing, 
 the spirit of faction extinguished, and foreigners either 
 fearing England or seeking its alliance, he began to see the 
 approaches of his end, and died of the gout in his stomach, 
 (A. D. 1509), having lived fifty-two years, and reigned 
 twenty-three. 
 
 The reign of Henry VII. produced so many beneficial 
 changes in the condition of England, and the manners of its 
 people, that many historians have attributed to the monarch 
 a larger share of wisdom and virtue than is justly his due 
 He was a faithless friend, a bitter enemy, a cruel husband 
 to an amiable consort, an undutiful son to his venerable 
 mother, a careless father, and an ungenerous master. He 
 maintained peace because his avarice disinclined him to the 
 expenses of war ; he increased the power of the people 
 through jealousy of the nobles, and he checked the papal 
 encroachments, because they interfered with his taxes. In- 
 ordinate love of money and unrelenting hatred of the house 
 of York* were his ruling passions, and the chief sources 
 of all his vices and all his troubles. 
 
 * The pretensions of Perkin Warbeck, the last who claimed the crown 
 in right of the house of York, will naturally occur to the reader's mind, and 
 some anxiety will be felt to learn whether he was really an unfortunate 
 prince or a crafty impostor. The latter opinion seems to have prevailed 
 principally on the authority of Shakspeare and lord Bacon, certainly the two 
 greatest names in our literature, but as certainly witnesses wholly unworthy 
 of credit in the present instance. They wrote to please queen Elizabeth, 
 who was naturally anxious to raise the character of her grandfather Henry 
 VII. and depreciate that of his rival Richard III. 
 
 The first point to be ascertained is the fact of the murder of the two 
 young princes, and this, which would at once have decided the pretensions 
 of Warbeck, was so far from being proved, that the inquisition taken and 
 published by Henry's command is so full of contradictions and palpable 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Where next did the young adventurer try his fortune ? and what was 
 his success ? 
 
 3. After his disappointment in Scotland, what was Perk in's future scheme 
 
 of opposition ? 
 
 4. What title did Ferkin assume? 
 
 5. What was his conduct afterwards? 
 
 6. In what manner did Henry treat him ? 
 
 7. Of what nature was his confession? and what his fate ? 
 
 8. From what cause proceeded Henry's severity ? 
 What was his usual preface to his treaties ? 
 
 9. What were the two points which Henry had always in view ? and what 
 
 plan did he pursue to attain them? 
 
 10. How did he abridge the power of the; pope ? 
 
 11, 12. Before this era, what was the state of the towns in England ? 
 13, 14. By what means did Henry civilize his country ? 
 
 When did the king die ? and what was his character ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Innocent VI II .. 1484 
 
 Alexander VI 1492 
 
 Pius 111 1503 
 
 Julius III 1503 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Frederick II 1440 
 
 Maximilian 1 1493 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 Bajazet II 1481 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 A.n. 
 
 Charles VIII 1483 
 
 Louis XII 1498 
 
 King and Queen of Spain. 
 
 Ferdinand* the 
 Catholic, and 
 Isabella 1475 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 John 1481 
 
 A.I». 
 
 Emanuel... 1495 
 
 King of Denmark and 
 
 Sweden. 
 John 1481 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 James HI 1460 
 
 James IV 1489 
 
 absurdities, that Henry himself never made use of it in any of his later 
 declarations. Besides, the persons who were said to have confessed the 
 murder were never brought to trial for the crime. 
 
 The next evidence brought forward on the side of Henry is the confession 
 extorted from Warbeck after he was made prisoner. Like the former, it 
 bears internal evidence of its owai falsehood, though the unfortunate young 
 man is said to have repeated it at the time of his death. 
 
 On the other side, we have the evidence of the dutchess of Burgundy, 
 who could have had no possible motive for joining in such a foul conspiracy 
 against the husband of her own niece ; and to say nothing of a host of friends 
 of the house of York, we have the negative evidence of the dowager-queen, 
 whom Henry kept in close confinement from the moment of Warbeck's ap- 
 pearance. To have brought him into her presence would at once have set 
 the question at rest, for surely the mother would have known whether it 
 was her son or not that stood before her. But Henry took especial care to 
 prevent such an interview, and the inference is, that he had just reason to 
 Jread that its consequences would be a confirmation of Warbeck's preten 
 sions. — T. 
 
 * Till this period, Spain had been divided into three different governments, 
 viz. Leon, Castile and Arragon, under distinct sovereigns; but by the mar- 
 riage of Ferdinand and Isabella, heiress of Castile and Arragon, the whole 
 "\iis u in ted in one kimrdorF 
 
HENRY VIII. 149 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 John Morton, Renry Chicheley, Thoir.as Langton, archbisnops of Canter- 
 bury. Margaret, countess of Richmond, mother of the king. Cardinal 
 Morton, lord chancellor. Fox, bishop of Winchester. Sebastian Cabot, a 
 great navigator. Empson and Dudley, extortionate mimsters of the king. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 HENRY VIII. 
 
 Bern 1491. P-ed January 28, 1547. Began to reign April 22, 1509. 
 Reigned 37£ years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Now F?enry reigns, to learning much inclin'd, 
 
 But of strong passions, and a savage mind. — Egerton. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1 509.) No prince ever came to the throne with 
 a conjuncture of circumstances more in his favour than 
 Henry the Eighth, who now, in the eighteenth year of his 
 age, undeitook the government of the kingdom. As he 
 was at the head of a formidable army, fifty thousand strong, 
 and as a war with France was the most pleasing to the peo- 
 ple, he determined to head his forces for the conquest of that 
 kingdom. 2. But France was not threatened by him alone : 
 the Swiss, in another quarter, with twenty-five thousand 
 men, were preparing to invade it ; while Ferdinand of 
 Arragon, whom no treaties could bind, was only waiting for 
 a convenient opportunity of attack on his side to advantage. 
 Never was the French monarchy in so distressed a situation ; 
 but the errors of its assailants procured its safety. 3. After 
 an ostentatious but ineffectual campaign, a truce was con- 
 cluded between the two kingdoms ; and Henry continued 
 to dissipate, in more peaceful follies, those immense sums 
 which had been amassed by his predecessor for very differ- 
 ent purposes. 
 
 4. In this manner, while his pleasures on the one hand 
 engrossed Henry's time, the preparations for repeated ex- 
 peditions exhausted his treasures on the other. As it was 
 natural to suppose the old ministers, who were appointed 
 to direct him by his father, would not willingly concur in 
 these idle projects, Henry had, for some time, discontinued 
 asking their advice, and chiefly confided in the counsels of 
 
 N 2 
 
150 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Thomas, afterwards cardinal Wolsey, who seemea to second 
 him in his favourite pursuits. 5. Wolsey was a minister 
 who complied with all his master's inclinations, and flattered 
 hirn in every scheme to which his sanguine and impetuous 
 temper was inclined. He was the son of a private gentle- 
 man, at Ipswich. He was sent to Oxford so early, that he 
 was a bachelor at fourteen, and at that time was called the 
 boy bachelor. He rose by degrees, upon quitting college, 
 from one preferment to another, till he was made rector of 
 Lymington by the marquis of Dorset, whose children he 
 had instructed. 6. He was soon recommended as chaplain 
 to Henry the Seventh ; and being employed by that mo- 
 narch in a secret negotiation respecting his intended mar- 
 riage with Margaret of Savoy, he acquitted himself to the 
 king's satisfaction, and obtained the praise both of diligence 
 and dexterity. 7. That prince having given him a commis 
 sion to Maximilian, who at that time resided at Brussels, 
 was surprised in less than three days to see Wolsey present 
 himself before him ; and, supposing he had been delinquent, 
 began to reprove his delay. Wolsey, however, surprised 
 him with an assurance that he had just returned from Brus- 
 sels, and had successfully fulfilled all his majesty's com- 
 mands. 8. His despatch on that occasion procured him the 
 deanery of Lincoln ; and in this situation it was that he 
 was introduced by Fox, bishop of Winchester, to the young 
 king's notice, in hopes that he would have talents to sup- 
 plant the earl of Surry, who was the favourite at that time ; 
 and in this Fox was not out in his conjectures. Presently 
 after being introduced at court, he was made a privy coun- 
 sellor ; and as such had frequent opportunities of ingratia- 
 ting himself with the young king, as he appeared at once 
 complying, submissive, and enterprising. 9. Wolsey used 
 every art to suit himself to the royal temper ; he sung, 
 laughed, and danced with every libertine of the court; 
 neither his own years, which were nearly forty, nor his 
 character as a clergyman, were any restraint upon him, or 
 tended to check, by ill-timed severities, the gayety of his 
 companions. To such a weak and vicious monarch as 
 Henry, qualities of this nature were highly pleasing ; and 
 Wolsey was soon acknowledged as the chief favourite, and 
 to him was intrusted the chief administration of affairs 
 10. The people began to see with indignation the new fa 
 vourite's mean condescensions to the king, and his arro» 
 gance to themselves. They had long regarded the vicious 
 
HENRY VIII. 151 
 
 haughtiness and the unbecoming splendour of the clergy 
 witn envy and detestation ; and Wolsey's greatness served 
 to bring a new odium upon that body, already too mach the 
 object of the people's dislike. His character, being now 
 placed in a more conspicuous point of light, daily began to 
 manifest itself the more. 11. Insatiable in his acquisitions, 
 but still more magnificent in his expense ; of extensive ca- 
 pacity, but still more unbounded in enterprise ; ambitious 
 of power, but still more desirous of glory; insinuating, en- 
 gaging, persuasive, and at other times lofty, elevated, and 
 commanding ; haughty to his equals, but affable to nis de- 
 pendants ; oppressive to the people, but liberal to his 
 friends ; more generous than grateful ; formed to take the 
 ascendant in every intercourse, but vain enough not to cover 
 his real superiority. 
 
 12. In order to divert the envy of the public from his 
 inordinate exaltation, he soon entered into a correspondence 
 with Francis the First, of France, who had taken many 
 methods to work upon his vanity, and at last succeeded. 
 In consequence of that monarch's wishes, Henry was per- 
 suaded by the cardinal to an interview with that prince. 
 This expensive congress was held between Guisnes and 
 Andres, near Calais, within the English pale, in compliment 
 to Henry for crossing the sea. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What combination of circumstances favoured Henry the Eighth on com- 
 ing to the throne ? 
 
 3. What was the conduct of Henry after the truce with France ? 
 
 4. In what counsels did Henry chiefly confide ? 
 
 5 Whose son was cardinal Wolsey? 
 
 6 What disgraceful circumstance happened to Wolsey ? 
 7, 8. What circumstances led to Wolsey's advancement? 
 
 9 What were the arts used by Wolsey to please the king ? 
 
 10. What were the consequences? 
 
 11 in wnat manner did Wolsey's character now manifest itself? 
 
 1*2 SVith whom did he enter into a correspondence ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 At Guisnes, where France and England met 
 In dazzling panoply of gold. — Dibdin. 
 
 1 ( A.D. 1 520.) Some months before, a defiance had been 
 sent by the two kings to each other's court, and through 
 all the chief cities of Europe, importing that Henry and 
 
lOSf HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Francis, with fourteen aids, would be ready in the plains 
 of Picardy to answer all comers, that were gentlemen, at 
 tilt and tournay.* Accordingly, the monarchs, now all 
 gorgeously apparelled, entered the lists on horseback 
 Francis, surrounded with Henry's guards, and Henry with 
 those of Francis. 2. They were both at that time the 
 most comely personages of their age, and prided themselves 
 on their expertness in the military exercises. The ladies 
 were the judges in these feats of chivalry ; and they put an 
 end to the encounter whenever they thought proper. In 
 these martial exercises, the crafty French monarch gratified 
 Henry's vanity by allowing him to enjoy a petty pre-eminence 
 in these pastimes. 
 
 3. Bv this time all the immense treasures of the late king 
 were quite exhausted on empty pageants, guilty pleasures, 
 or vain treaties and expeditions. But the king relied on 
 Wolsey alone for replenishing his coffers ; and no person 
 could be fitter for the purpose. 4. His first care was to get 
 a large sum of money from the people, under the title of a 
 oenevolence ; which, added to its being extorted, had the 
 mortification of being considered as a free gift. Henry little 
 minded the manner of its being raised, provided he had the 
 enjoyment of it ; however, his minister met with some oppo- 
 sition in his attempts to levy these extorted contributions. 
 Sn the first place, having exacted a considerable sum from 
 the clergy, he next addressed himself to the house of com- 
 mons ; but they only granted him half the supplies he de- 
 manded. 5. Wolsey was at first highly offended at their 
 parsimony, and desired to be heard in the house ; but as 
 this would have destroyed the very form and constitution of 
 that august body, they replied, that none could be permitted 
 to sit and argue there but such as had been elected mem- 
 bers. This was the first attempt made in this reign to 
 render the king master of the debates in parliament. Wolsey 
 first paved the way, and, unfortunately for the kingdom, 
 Henry too well improved upon his plans soon after. 
 
 6. Hitherto the administration of all affairs was carried 
 on by Wolsey ; for the king was contented to lose, in the 
 embraces of his mistresses, all the complaints of his sub- 
 jects ; and the cardinal undertook to keep him ignorant 
 in order to continue his uncontrolled authority. But now 
 » period was approaching that was to put an end to this 
 
 * This game vas instituted by Henry I. of Germany, A.D. *J19, and abo 
 uaoodJJC ISfift 
 
HENRY VIII. 153 
 
 minister's exorbitant power. One of the most extraordi 
 nary and important revolutions that ever employed the 
 attention of man was now ripe for execution. This was 
 no less a change than the reformation. 7. The vices and 
 impositions of the church of Rome were now almost come 
 to a head ; and the increase of arts and learning among the 
 laity, propagated by means of printing, which had been 
 lately invented, began to make them resist that power, 
 which was originally founded on deceit. A.D. 1519. Leo 
 the Tenth was at that time pope, and eagerly employed in 
 building the church of St. Peter, at Rome. In order to 
 procure money for carrying on that expensive undertaking 
 he gave a commission for selling indulgences, a practice 
 that had often been tried before. 8. These were to free 
 the purchaser from the pains of purgatory ; and they would 
 serve even for one's friends, if purchased with that inten- 
 tion. The Augustine friars* had usually been employed in 
 Saxony to preach the indulgences, and from this trust had 
 derived both profit and consideration ; but the pope's 
 minister, supposing that they had found out illicit methods 
 of secreting the money, transferred this lucrative employ- 
 ment from them to the Dominicans.! 9. Martin Luther, 
 professor in the university of Wirtemberg, was an Augus- 
 tine monk, and one of those who resentea this transfer of 
 the sale of indulgences from one order to another. He 
 began to show his indignation by preaching against their 
 efficacy ; and being naturally of a fiery temper, and pro- 
 voked by opposition, he inveighed against the authority of 
 the pope himself. Being driven hard by his adversaries, 
 still as he enlarged his reading, in order to support his 
 tenets, he discovered some new abuse or error in the 
 church of Rome. 10. In this dispute, it was the fate of 
 Henry to be champion on both sides. His father, who 
 had given him the education of a scholar, permitted him to 
 be instructed in school divinity, which then was the princi- 
 pal object of learned inquiry. Henry, therefore, willing to 
 convince the world of his abilities in that science, obtained 
 the pope's permission to read the works of Luther, which 
 
 * They observed the rule of St. Augustine, prescribed them by pope AU;x 
 ander IV. in 1256. This rule was, to have all things in common: the rick 
 who entered among them, were compelled to sell their possessions, and g>vc 
 ihem to the poor. 
 
 t In some places called jacobins, and in others predicants, or preaching 
 friars ; thev were obliged to take a vow of absolute poverty, and to abandon 
 entirely their revenues and possessions. 
 
ttt* HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 had been forbidden under Dam of excommunication. 11. In 
 consequence of this, the king defended the seven sacraments, 
 out of St. Thomas Aquinas : and showed some dexterity 
 in this science, though it is thought that Wolsey.had the 
 chief hand in directing him. A book being thus finished in 
 haste, it was sent to Rome for the pope's approbation, which 
 it was natural to suppose would not be withheld. The 
 pontiff, ravished with its eloquence and depth, compared 
 it to the labours of St. Jerome, or St. Augustine, and re 
 warded the author of it with the title of defender of the 
 faith ; little imagining that Henry was soon to be one the 
 most terrible enemies that ever the church of Rome had to 
 contend with. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1, 2. Relate the particulars of the congress that took place in the plains of 
 Picardy. 
 
 3. In what manner were the late king's treasures exhausted ? 
 
 4. How were the king's coffers replenished ? 
 
 5. What was the first attempt made to render the king master of the de- 
 
 Dates in parliament ? 
 
 6. Why did Wolsey endeavour to keep the king ignorant of the complaints 
 
 of his subjects? 
 
 7. What practices led to the reformation ? 
 
 9. In what manner did Luther oppose the transfer of the sale of induJ 
 
 gences ? 
 ID 11. What was the king's conduct on this occasion? and what was hia 
 
 reward ? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 When, thunderstruck, that eagle Wolsey fell. — Young. 
 
 I. (A.D. 1527.) Henry had now been eighteen years 
 married to Catharine of Arragon, who had been brought 
 over from Spain, and married to his eldest brother, who 
 died a few months after. But, notwithstanding the submis- 
 sive deference paid for the indulgence of the church, Hen- 
 ry's marriage with this princess did not pass without scru- 
 ple and hesitation, both on his own side and on that of the 
 people. 2. However, his scruples were carried forward, 
 though perhaps not at first excited by a motive much more 
 powerful than the tacit suggestion of his conscience. It 
 happened that among the maids of honour then attending 
 the queen, there was one Anna Bullen, the daughter of sii 
 Thomas Bullen, a gentleman of distinction, and related to 
 most of the nobility. He had been employed by the king 
 
IIENRY VHI. irw 
 
 m several embassies, and was married to a daughter of tn* 5 
 duke of Norfolk. 3. The beauty of Anna surpassed what- 
 ever had hitherto appeared at this voluptuous court; and 
 her education, which she had received at Paris, set off 
 her personal charms. Henry, who had never learned 
 the art of restraining any passion that he desired to gra- 
 tify, saw and loved her; but, of course, could not marry 
 her without previously divorcing his wife, queen Catha- 
 rine of Arragon. 4. This obstacle, therefore, he hardly 
 undertook to remove; and as his own queen was now 
 become hateful to him, in order to procure a divorce, 
 he alleged that his conscience rebuked him for having 
 so long been married to the wife of his brother. In 
 this pretended perplexity, therefore, he applied to Cle- 
 ment the Seventh, who owed him many obligations, desir- 
 ing him to dissolve the bull of the former pope, which had 
 given him permission to marry Catharine ; and to declare 
 that it w r as not in the power, even of the holy see, to dis- 
 pense with the law so strictly enjoined in Scripture. 5. 
 The unfortunate pope, unwilling to grant, yet afraid to ro 
 fuse, continued to promise, recant, dispute, and temporize • 
 hoping that the king's passion would never hold out during 
 the tedious course of an ecclesiastical controversy. In this 
 he was entirely mistaken. Henry had been long taught to 
 dispute as well as he, and quickly found oi wrested many 
 texts in Scripture to favour his opinions, or his passions. 
 6. During the course of a long perplexing negotiation, on 
 the issue of which Henry's happiness seemed to depend, he 
 had at first expected to find in his favourite Wolsey a warm 
 defender and a steady adherent ; but in this he found him- 
 self mistaken. Wolsey seemed to be in pretty much the 
 same dilemma with the pope. On the one hand, he was 
 to please his master the king, from whom he had received 
 a thousand marks of favour ; and on the other hand, he 
 feared to disoblige the pope, whose servant he more imme- 
 diately was, and who, besides, had power to punish his dis- 
 obedience. 7. He, therefore, resolved to continue neutei 
 in the controversy ; and, though of all men the most haughty 
 he gave way on this occasion to Campeggio, the pope's nun- 
 cio, in all things, pretending a deference to his skill in canon 
 law. Wolsey's scheme of temporizing was highly displeas- 
 ing to the king, but for a while he endeavoured to stifle his 
 resentment, until he could act with more fatal certainty. 
 
156 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 He for some time looked out for a man of equal abilities and 
 less art ; and it was not long before accident threw in his 
 way one Thomas Cranmer, of greater talents, and probably 
 of more integrity. 
 
 8. Thus finding himself provided with a person who 
 could supply Wolsey's place, he appeared less reserved in 
 his resentments against that prelate. The attorney-general 
 was ordered to prepare a bill of indictment against him ; and 
 he was soon after commanded to resign the great seal 
 Crimes are easily found out against a favourite in disgrace, 
 and the courtiers did not fail to increase the catalogue of hi? 
 errors. He was ordered to depart from York-place palace , 
 and all his furniture and plate were converted to the king's 
 use. 9. The inventory of his goods being taken, they were 
 found to exceed even the most extravagant surmises. He 
 was soon after arrested by the earl of Northumberland, at 
 the king's command, for high-treason, and preparations were 
 made for conducting him from York, where he then resided, 
 to London, in order to take his trial. 10. He at first refused 
 to comply with the requisition, as being a cardinal ; but find- 
 ing the earl bent on performing his commission, he com 
 plied, and set out by easy journeys to London, to appear as 
 a criminal, where he had acted as a king. In his way he 
 stayed a fortnight at the earl of Shrewsbury's ; where one 
 day, at dinner, he was taken ill, not without violent suspi- 
 cions of having poisoned himself. Being brought forward 
 from thence, he with much difficulty reached Leicester-ab- 
 bey ; where the monks coming out to meet him, he said, 
 " Father Abbot, I am come to lay my bones among you :" 
 and immediately ordered his bed to be prepared. 11. As 
 his disorder increased, an officer being placed near him, at 
 once to guard and attend him, he spoke to him a little before 
 he expired to this effect : " Had I but served God as dili- 
 gently as I have served the king, he would not have given 
 me over in my gray hairs. But this is the just reward 1 
 must receive for my indulgent pains and study ; not regard- 
 ing my service to God, but only to my prince." He died 
 soon after, in all the pangs of remorse, and left a life which 
 had all a*ong been rendered turbid by ambition, and wretch- 
 ed by mean assiduities. 
 
 12. The tie that held Henry to the church being thus 
 broken, he resolved to keep no farther measures with the 
 pontiff. He, therefore, privately married Anna Bullen, 
 
HENRY VIII. 
 
 jrtTiir'HsiiiraitriiiiM'Ji^^ifiTiTni^niinn^iimmrTmimiri",,.,, 
 
 157 
 
 Death of Queen Catharine of Arragon. 
 
 whom he had created marchioness of Pembroke ; the duke 
 oi* Norfolk, uncle to the new queen, her father, and Dr 
 Cranmer, being present at the ceremony. Soon after, cir- 
 cumstances compelled him publicly to own his marriage : 
 and, to cover his disobedience to the pope with an appear- 
 ance of triumph, he passed with his beautiful bride through 
 London with a magnificence greater than had ever been 
 known before. But though Henry had thus seceded from 
 the church, yet he had not addicted himself to the system 
 of the reformers. 
 
 13. As the monks had all along shown him the greatest 
 resistance, he resolved at once to deprive them of future 
 power to injure him. He accordingly empowered Thomas 
 Cromwell, who was now made secretary of state, to send 
 commissioners into the several counties of England to inspect 
 the monasteries, and to report with rigorous exactness the 
 conduct and deportment of such as were resident there. 
 This employment was readily undertaken by some creatures 
 of the court, namely, Layton, London, Price, Gage, Peter, 
 and Bellasis, who are said to have discovered monstrous 
 disorders in many of the religious houses. The accusations, 
 whether true or false, were urged with great clamour against 
 these communities, and a general horror was excited in the 
 nation against them. 
 
 14. Queen Catharine of Arragon, Henry's first wife, lived in 
 retirement after her divorce until her decease. She was one 
 of the brightest characters in English history. Her charac- 
 ter and death are admirably depicted by Shakspeare 
 
 
 
*i8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 Who was Henry's first wife ? 
 
 2. Whom did he afterwards wish to obtain? 
 
 3. What description is given of Anna Bullen ? 
 
 4. What pretence did Henry allege to procure a divorce * 
 
 5. Wha was the conduct of the pope ? 
 
 6. What were the circumstances which put an end to Wolsey s power f 
 
 8. In what manner did the king act towards him? 
 
 9. What account is given of the inventory of his goods ? 
 10. What circumstances preceded the death of Wolsey ? 
 
 11 Relate Wolsey 's expression immediately before his death 
 
 12. What followed Wolsey's death ? 
 
 13. What commission did the king give to Cromwell? 
 14 What is said of queen Catharine ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Tyrannic cruelty, voluptuous pride. 
 
 Insatiable licentiousness and guilt, 
 So share this monarch, we can ne'er decide 
 
 On what one vice his ruling wish was built. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1536. ) A new visitation of the religious houses 
 was soon after appointed, and fresh crimes were also pro- 
 duced ; so that his severities were conducted with such seem- 
 ing justice and success, that in less than two years he became 
 uossessed of all the monastic revenues. These, on the whole, 
 amounted to six hundred and forty-five, of which twenty-eight 
 had abbots who enjoyed a seat in parliament. Ninety colleges 
 were demolished in several counties ; two thousand three hun- 
 dred and seventy-four chantries and free chapels, and a hun- 
 dred and ten hospitals. 2. The whole revenue of these esta- 
 blishments amounted to one hundred and sixty-one thousand 
 pounds, which was about a twentieth part of the national 
 income. But as great murmurs were excited by some on 
 this occasion, Henry took care that all those who could be 
 useful to him, or even dangerous in case of opposition, 
 should be sharers in the spoil. He either made a gift of the 
 revenues of the convents to his principal courtiers, or sold 
 them at low prices, or exchanged them for other lands on 
 very disadvantageous terms. 
 
 8. Henry's opinions were at length delivered in a law, 
 which, from its horrid consequences, was afterwards termed 
 the Bloody Statute; by which it was ordained, that who- 
 ever, by word or writing, denied transubstantiation, whoever 
 maintained that the communion in both kinds was necessary, 
 whoever asserted that it was lawful for priests to marry, 
 whoever alleged that vows of chastity might be broken, 
 whoever maintained that private masses were unprofitable, 
 t that auricular confession was unnecessary, should be found 
 
HENRY VIII. 15M 
 
 guilty of heresy, and burned or hanged as the coar* should 
 determine. 4. As the people were at that time chiefly coin- 
 posed of those who followed the opinions of Luther, and 
 such as still adhered to the pope, this statute, with Henry's 
 former decrees, in some measure included both, pnd opened 
 a field for persecution, which soon after produced its dread- 
 ful harvests. Bainham and Bilney were burned for their 
 opposition to popery. Sir Thomas More and bishop Fisher 
 were beheaded for denying the king's supremacy. 
 
 5. These severities, however, were preceded by one of a 
 different nature, arising neither from religious nor political 
 causes, but merely from a tyrannical caprice. Anna Bullen, 
 his queen, had always been favourable to the reformation, 
 and consequently had many enemies on that account, who 
 only waited some fit occasion to destroy her credit with the 
 king, and that occasion presented itself but too soon. 6. 
 The king's passion was by this time abated, and he became 
 as desirous to divorce the queen as he had formerly been 
 to marry her. He was now fallen in love, if we may so 
 prostitute the expression, with another, and was desirous 
 to marry Jane Seymour, who had for some time been maid 
 of honour to the queen. 
 
 7. In the mean time her enemies were not remiss in rais 
 ing an accusation against her. The duke of Norfolk, from 
 his attachment to the old religion, took care to produce seve- 
 ral witnesses, accusing her of impropriety with some of 
 the meaner servants of the court. Four persons were par- 
 ticularly pointed out as her favourites ; Henry Norns. 
 groom of the stool ; Weston and Breton, gentlemen of the 
 king's bedchamber; together with Mark Smeaton, a musi 
 cian. 8. Accordingly, soon after, Norris, Weston, Breton, 
 and Smeaton were tried in Westminster-hall, when Smeaton 
 was prevailed upon, by the promise of a pardon, to confess 
 a criminal correspondence with the queen ; but he was never 
 confronted with her he accused ; and his execution with the 
 rest, shortly after, served to acquit her of the charge. 9. 
 Norris, who had been much in the king's favour, had an 
 offer of his life if he "would confess his crime, and accuse 
 his mistress; but he rejected the proposal with contempt 
 and died professing her innocence and his own. The queen 
 and her brother were tried by a jury of peers ; but upon 
 what proof or pretence the crime was urged against them 
 is unknown : the chief evidence, it is said, amounted to 
 io more than that Rochford had been seen to lean on hsr 
 
I 00 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 bed before some company. 10. Part of the charge against 
 her was, that she had declared to her attendants that the king 
 never had her heart : which was considered as a Sianaer 
 upon the throne, and strained into a breach of law by statute, 
 by which it was declared criminal to throw any slander upon 
 the king, queen, or their issue. The unhappy queen, though 
 unassisted by counsel, defended herself with grest judgment 
 and presence of mind ; and the spectators could not forbear 
 declaring her entirely innocent. 11. She answered distinctly 
 to all the charges brought against her : but the king's authority 
 was not to be controlled ; she was declared guilty, and her sen- 
 tence ran that she should be burned or beheaded at the king's 
 pleasure. On the morning of her execution, her sentence being 
 mitigated into beheading, she sent for Kingstone, the keeper 
 of the Tower, to whom, upon entering the prison, she said, 
 " Mr. Kingstone, I hear I am not to die till noon, and I am 
 sorry for it ; for I thought to be dead before this time, and 
 free from a life of pain." 12. The keeper attempting to 
 comfort her by assuring her the pain would be very little, 
 she replied, " I have heard the executioner is very expert; 
 and (clasping her neck with her hands, laughing) I have but 
 a little neck." When brought to the scaffold, from a con- 
 sideration of her child Elizabeth's welfare, she would not 
 inflame the minds of the spectators against her prosecutors, 
 but contented herself with saying, that " she was come to 
 die as she was sentenced by the law." 13. She would ac- 
 cuse none, nor say any thing of the ground upon which she 
 was judged ; she prayed heartily for the king, and called 
 him " a most merciful and gentle prince : that he had always 
 been to her a good and gracious sovereign ; and if that any 
 one should think proper to canvass her cause, she desired 
 him to judge the best." She was beheaded by the execu- 
 tioner of Calais, who was brought over, as much more expert 
 than any in England. 14. The very next day after her 
 execution he married the lady Jane Seymour, his cruel heart 
 being no way softened by the wretched fate of one that had 
 been so lately the object of his warmest affections. He alsc 
 ordered his parliament to give him a divorce between her 
 sentence and execution, and thus he endeavoured to render 
 Elizabeth, the or.ly child he had by her, illegitimate, as he 
 had in the same manner, formerly, Mary, his only child by 
 queen Catharine, 
 
HENRY VIII. Ifil 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What monastic revenues now came into the king's possession? 
 
 2 What was the amount of these revenues ? 
 
 3 What were the opinions of Henry ? 
 
 4. What were the horrid consequences ? 
 
 5. What tyrannical act preceded these severities ? 
 7. Relate the charges alleged against Anna Bullen. 
 
 9. What is said to have been the chief evidence against her ? 
 10. What strange charge was brought against her? 
 
 1 1 What was her behaviour on the trial ? 
 
 12 13. What at her execution ? 
 
 1 1 In what manner did the king act after her execution ? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Superior Cranmer, in a crowd alone. 
 
 Dares friendship with the virtuous fallen own. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1537.) In the midst of these commotions the 
 fires of Smithfield were seen to blaze with unusual fierce- 
 ness Those who adhered to the pope, or those who fol- 
 lowed the doctrines of Luther, were equally the objects of 
 royal vengeance and ecclesiastical persecution. From the 
 multiplied alterations which were made in the national sys- 
 tems of belief, mostly drawn up by Henry himself, few 
 knew what to think, or what to profess. 2. They were 
 ready enough to follow his doctrines, how inconsistent or 
 contradictory soever ; but, as he was continually changing 
 them himself, they could hardly pursue so fast as he advanced 
 before them. Thomas Cromwell, raised by the king's ca- 
 price from being a blacksmith's son to be a royal favourite 
 (for tyrants ever raise their favourites from the lowest of the 
 people), together with Cranmer, now become archbishop of 
 Canterbury, were both seen to favour the reformation with 
 all their endeavours. 3. On the other hand, Gardiner, 
 bishop of Winchester, together with the duke of Norfolk, 
 were for leading the king back to his original faith. In 
 fact, Henry submitted to neither ; his pride had long been 
 so inflamed by flattery, that he thought himself entitled to 
 regulate, by his own single opinion, the religious faith of 
 the whole nation. 
 
 4. Soon after, no less than five hundred persons were im- 
 prisoned for contradicting the opinions delivered in the 
 Bloody Statute : and received protection only from the lenity 
 of Cromwell. Lambert, a schoolmaster, and doctor Barnes 
 who had been instrumental in Lambert's execution, felt the 
 
 o 2 
 
102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND- 
 
 severity of the persecuting spirit, and by a bill in pariiament 
 without any trial, were condemned to the flames, discussing 
 theological questions at the very stake. With Barnes were 
 executed one Gerrard, and Jerome, for the same opinions. 
 Three catholics also, whose names were Abel, Featherstone, 
 and Powel, were dragged upon the same hurdles to execu- 
 tion ; and who declared that the most grievous part of their 
 punishment was the being coupled with such heretical mis- 
 creants as were united in the same calamity. 
 
 5. During these horrid transactions, Henry was resolved 
 to take another queen, Jane Seymour having died ; and 
 after some negotiations upon the continent, he contract- 
 ed marriage with Anne of Cleves, his aim being, by 
 her means, to fortify his alliance with the princes of Ger- 
 many. 6. His aversion, however, to the queen secretly 
 increased every day ; and he at length resolved to get rid of 
 her and his prime minister together. He had a strong cause 
 of dislike to him for his late unpropitious alliance ; and a 
 new motive was soon added for increasing his displeasure. 
 Henry had fixed his affection on Catharine Howard, niece 
 to the duke of Norfolk ; and the only method of gratifying 
 this new passion was, as in the former cases, discarding the 
 present queen to make room for a new one. The duke of 
 Norfolk had long been Cromwell's mortal enemy, and eagerly 
 embraced this opportunity to destroy a man he considered as 
 his rival. 7. He therefore, made use of all his niece's arts 
 to ruin the favourite ; and when this project was ripe for 
 execution, he obtained a commission from the king to arrest 
 Cromwell for high-treason. His disgrace was n > sooner 
 known, than all his friends forsook him, except < 'raamer, 
 who wrote such a letter to Henry in his behalf, as no other 
 man in the kingdom would have presumed to offer How- 
 ever, he was accused in parliament of heresy and treason ; 
 and without even being heard in his own defence, condemn- 
 ed to suffer the pains of death, as the king should think 
 proper to direct. 8. When he was brought to the scaffold, 
 his regard for his son hindered him from expatiating upon 
 his own innocence. He thanked God for bringing him to 
 death for his transgressions ; confessed h& had often beec 
 seduced, bu< mat he now died in the catholic faith. 
 
 But the measure of Henry's severities was not yet filled 
 up. He had thought himself very happy in his new mar- 
 riage. He was so captivated with the queen's accomplish- 
 ments, that he gave public thanks for his felicity, and desired 
 
HENRY VIII. 163 
 
 his confessor to join with him in the sama thanksgmng. 
 9. This joy, however, was of very short duration. While the 
 king was at York, upon an intended conference with the 
 king of Scotland, a man of the name of Lassels waited upon 
 Cranmer at London; and, from the information of h?s sis- 
 ter, who had been servant to the dutchess-dowager of IN or 
 folk, he gave a very surprising account of the queen's crimi- 
 nality. When the queen was first examined relative to 
 her crime, she denied the charge ; but afterwards, finding 
 that her accomplices were her accusers, she confessed her 
 crime in part, but denied some of the circumstances. 10 
 Three maids of honour, who were admitted to her secreis 
 still further alleged her guilt ; and some of them mad 
 such confessions as tended to augment the nature of her 
 crime. The servile parliament, upon being informed of 
 the queen's crime and confession, quickly found her guilty. 
 and petitioned the king that she might be punished with 
 death ; that the same penalty might be inflicted on the 
 lady Rochford, her friend and confidant ; and that her 
 grandmother, the dutchess-dowager of Norfolk, together 
 with her father, mother, and nine others, men and women, 
 as having been privy to the queen's irregularities, should 
 participate in her punishment. With this petition the 
 king was most graciously pleased to agree ; they were 
 condemned to death by an act of attainder, which, at the 
 same time, made it capital for all persons to conceal their 
 knowledge of the criminality of any future queen. 11. 
 The queen was beheaded on Tower-hill, together with the 
 lady Rochford, who found no great degree of compassion, 
 as she had herself before tampered in blood. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 I What cruel persecution followed the multiplied alterations in the nationa 
 belief? 
 
 2. Who favoured the reformation ? 
 
 3. Who endeavoured to lead the king back to popery ? 
 5. Upon whom did Henry fix his affections ? 
 
 G. What caused Henry's dislike to Cromwell ? and what was the conso 
 quence ? 
 
1 G4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 9. fn what manner was the king informed of the criminality of h« 
 
 queen ? 
 10. Who were the witnesses that alleged her guilt ? 
 J 1 What was the fate of the queen ? 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 I would not have such a heart in my bosom 
 For the dignity of the whole body. — Skakspeare. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1543.) In about a year after the death of the 
 last queen, Henry once more changed his condition, by 
 marrying his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, who was 
 a widow. She w r as the widow of the late lord Latimer; 
 and was considered as a woman of discretion and virtue. 
 She had already passed the meridian of life, and managed 
 this capricious tyrant's temper with prudence and success. 
 
 2. Still, however, the king's severity to his subjects con- 
 tinued as fierce as ever. For some time he had been incom- 
 moded by an ulcer in his leg ; the pain of which, added to 
 his corpulence and other infirmities, increased his natural 
 irascibility to such a degree, that scarcely any of his domes- 
 tics approached him without terror. It was not to be ex- 
 pected, therefore, that any who differed from him in opinion 
 should, at this time particularly, hope for pardon. 
 
 3. Though his health was declining apace, yet his im- 
 placable cruelties were not the less frequent. His resentment 
 was diffused indiscriminately to all ; at one time a protes- 
 tant, and at another a catholic, were the objects of his se- 
 verity. The duke of Norfolk, and his son, the earl of 
 Surry, were the last that felt the injustice of the tyrant's 
 groundless suspicions. 4. The duke was a nobleman who 
 had served the king with talent and fidelity ; his son was 
 a young man of the most promising hopes, who excelled in 
 every accomplishment that became a scholar, a courtier, 
 and a soldier. He excelled in all the military exercises 
 which were then in request ; he encouraged the fine arts 
 by his practice and example ; and it is remarkable that 
 he was the first who brought our language, in his poetical 
 pieces, to any degree of refinement. 5. He celebrated 
 the fair Geraldine in all his sonnets, and maintained her 
 superior beauty in all places of public contention. These 
 
HENRY VIII. 105 
 
 qualifications, however, were no safeguard to him against 
 Henry's suspicions ; he had dropped some expressions of 
 .•esentment against the king's ministers, upon being dis- 
 placed from the government of Boulogne ; and the whole 
 family was become obnoxious from the la e conduct 
 of Catharine Howard, the queen, who was executed. 0. 
 From these motives, therefore, private orders were given 
 to arrest father and son ; and accordingly they were ar- 
 rested both on the same day. and confined in the Tower. 
 Surry being a commoner, his trial was the more expe- 
 ditious : and as to proofs, there were many informers base 
 enough to betray the intimacies of private confidence, and 
 all the connexions of blood. The dutchess-do wager of 
 Richmond, Surry's own sister, enlisted herself among the 
 number of his accusers; and sir Richard Southwell also, 
 his most intimate friend, charged him with infidelity to 
 the king. 7. It would seem that, at this dreary period, 
 there was neither faith nor honour to be found in all the 
 nation. Surry denied the charge, and challenged his ac- 
 cuser to single combat. This favour was refused him; and 
 it was alleged that he had quartered the arms of Edward 
 the Confessor on his escutiheon, which alone was sufficient 
 to convict him of aspiring to the crown. To this he could 
 make no reply ; and indeed any answer would have been 
 needless ; for neither parliaments nor juries, during this 
 reign, seemed to be guided by any other proofs but the will 
 of the crown. 8. This young nobleman was, therefore, 
 condemned for high-treason, notwithstanding his eloquent 
 and spirited defence ; and the sentence was soon after exe- 
 cuted upon him on Tower-hill. In the mean time the duke 
 endeavoured to mollify the king by letters of submission ; 
 but the monster's hard heart was rarely subject to tender 
 impressions. 9. The parliament meeting on the fourteenth 
 day of January (A.D. 1546), a bill of attainder was found 
 against the duke of Norfolk ; as it was thought he could not 
 so easily have been convicted on a fair hearing by his 
 peers. The death-warrant was made out, and immediately 
 sent to the lieutenant of the Tower. The duke prepared foi 
 death ; the following morning was to be his last ; but an 
 event of greater consequence to the kingdom intervened, and 
 prevented his execution. 
 
 10. The king had been for some time approaching fast 
 towards his end ; and for several days all those about his 
 person plainly saw that his speedy death was inevitable. 
 
160 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 t 
 
 The disorder in his leg was now grown extremely painful , 
 and this, added to his monstrous corpulency, which ren 
 dered him unable to stir, made him more furious than a 
 chained lion. He had been very stern and severe ; he was 
 now outrageous. In this state he had continued for nearly 
 four years before his death, the terror of all, and the tor- 
 mentor of himself; his courtiers having no inclination to 
 make an enemy of him, as they were more ardently em- 
 ployed in conspiring the death of each other.* 11. In this 
 manner, therefore, he was suffered to struggle, without any 
 of his domestics having the courage to warn him of his ap 
 proaching end ; as more than once, during this reign, per- 
 sons had been put to death for foretelling the death of the 
 king. At last, sir Anthony Denny had the courage to dis- 
 close to him this dreadful secret ; and, contrary to his usual 
 custom, he received the tidings with an expression of resig- 
 nation. 12. His anguish and remorse were at this time 
 greater than can be expressed ; he desired that Cranmer 
 might be sent for ; but before that prelate could arrive he 
 was speechless. Cranmer desired him to give some sign 
 of his dying in the faith of Christ ; he squeezed his hand, 
 and immediately expired, after a reign of thirty-seven years 
 and nine months, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. 
 
 13. Some kings have been tyrants from contradiction 
 and revolt ; some from being misled by favourites ; and 
 some from a spirit of party; but Henry was cruel from a 
 
 * The irritability of the king was so ungovernable, that many fell victim* 
 to it ; and his queen, who constantly attended him with the most tender and 
 dutiful care, had also, as will be seen by the following account, nearly fallen 
 a sacrifice. Henry's favourite topic of conversation was theology, and 
 Catharine had unwarily ventured to raise objections against his arguments 
 Henry, highly provoked that she should presume to differ from his opinion 
 complained of her obstinacy to Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, the chancel 
 lor, who inflamed his anger by representing the queen as a dangerous here 
 tic. Hurried by their insinuations, he went so far as to direct the chancellor 
 to draw up articles of impeachment, which he signed. This paper fortu- 
 nately fell into the hands of one of the queen's friends, who immediately car- 
 ried the intelligence to her. Next morning she paid her usual visit to the 
 king, and finding him disposed to challenge her to an argument on divinity 
 she modestly declined the conversation, saying, 'hat it did not become a 
 weak woman to dispute with one, who, by his superior learninsr, was enti- 
 tled to dictate, not only to her, but to the whole world ; and that if ever she 
 had ventured to object to any thing he advanced, it was only for the sake 
 of her own instruction, and to engage him upon topics which diverted his 
 pains. This seasonable piece of flattery suddenly revived his affections, and 
 the chancellor coming soon after with a numerous escort, to seize the queen 
 and carry her to the Tower, the king treated him very rough'.y, calling him 
 Knave, fool, and beast, and commanded him to be goae--De MoleviUe'4 
 Great Britain. 
 
HENRY VIII. 
 
 167 
 
 depraved disposition aione ; cruel in government, cruel m 
 religion, and cruel in his family. Our divines have taken 
 some pains to vindicate the character of this brutal prince, 
 as if his conduct and our reformation had any connexion 
 with each other. There is nothing so absurd as to defend 
 the one by the other ; the most noble designs are brought 
 about by the most vicious instruments ; for we see even that 
 cruelty ana injustice were thought necessary to be employed 
 in our holy redsmption. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. To whom was the king now married ? 
 
 2. What at this time increased the king's irascibility? 
 3 Who were the last who felt this severity ? 
 
 4, 5. What character is given of the earl of Surry ? 
 
 6. Who appeared among the number of Surry's accusers ? 
 
 7. What was the chief charge alleged against this nobleman ? 
 
 8. Where was he executed ? 
 
 9. What was the fate of his father, the duke of Norfolk ? 
 
 0. What description is given of the king during his illness? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Julius II 1503 
 
 LeoX 1513 
 
 Adrian VI 1522 
 
 Clement VII 1523 
 
 Paul III 1534 
 
 Emperors of German u. 
 
 Maximilian '1 1493 
 
 Charles V 1519 
 
 Emp<? r ors of the Turks. 
 
 Bajazetll 1481 
 
 SelimI 1512 
 
 Soliman II 1520 
 
 Kings of France. A.n. 
 
 Louis XII 1498 
 
 Francis I 1515 
 
 Kings and Qu. of Spain. 
 
 Philip 1 1504 
 
 Joan 1506 
 
 Charles 1 1516 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 Emanuel 1495 
 
 John III 1512 
 
 Kings of Denmark and 
 
 Sweden. 
 John 1481 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Christian II. , 
 
 a.i>. 
 1513 
 
 Kings of Denmark 
 alone. 
 
 Frederick 1 1524 
 
 Christian III- 1533 
 
 King of Sweden ilone. 
 Gustavus Vasa*. .. 1522 
 
 Kings and Queen of 
 Scotland. 
 
 James IV 1498 
 
 James V 1514 
 
 Mary 1542 
 
 Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury ; cardinal Wolsey and sii 
 Thomas More, lord chancellors ; Thomas, lord Cromwell ; Gardiner, bishop 
 of Winchester; Henry Howard, earl of Surry; Nicholas, lord Vaux.; John 
 Bourchier, lord Berners ; George Boleyn, viscount Rochford ; John, lord 
 Lumley , Edward, lord Sheffield ; dean Collet 
 
 * Gustavus Vasa delivered Sweden from the Danish yoke and fo> his 
 rccomnense was elected its independent sovereign. 
 
108 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 EDWARD VI. 
 
 Horn 1537. Died July G, 1553. Began to reign Jan. 29, 1547. Reigned 6| \ cart. 
 
 Men perish in advance, as if the sun 
 Should set ere noon. Young. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1547.) Henry the Eighth was succeeded oil 
 the throne by his onl) r son, Edward the Sixth, now in the 
 ninth year of his age. The late king, in his will, which he 
 expected would be implicitly obeyed, fixed the majority of 
 the prince at the completion of his eighteenth year ; and, in 
 the mean time, appointed sixteen executors of his will, to 
 whom, during the minority, he intrusted the government of 
 the king and kingdom : the duke of Somerset, as protector, 
 being placed at their head. 
 
 2. The protector, in his schemes for advancing the re- 
 formation, had always recourse to the counsels of Cranmer, 
 who, being a man of moderation and prudence, was averse 
 to violent changes, and determined to bring over the people 
 by insensible innovations to his own peculiar system. 
 
 3. A committee of bishops and divines had been appointed 
 by the council to frame a liturgy for the service of the 
 church ; and this work was executed with great moderation, 
 precision, and accuracy. A law was also enacted, permit- 
 ting priests to marry ; the ceremony of auricular confession, 
 though not abolished, was left at the discretion of the people, 
 who were not displeased at being freed from the spiritual 
 tyranny of their instructors ; the doctrine of the real pre- 
 sence was the last tenet of popery that was wholly aban- 
 doned by the people, as both the clergy and laity were loth 
 to renounce so miraculous a benefit as it was asserted to be. 
 4. However, at last, not only this, but all the principal 
 opinions and practices of the catholic religion, contrary to 
 what the Scripture authorizes, were abolished ; and the 
 reformation, such as we have it, was almost entirely com- 
 pleted in England. With all these innovations the people 
 and clergy in general acquiesced ; and Gardiner and Bon- 
 ner were the only persons whose opposition was thought of 
 any weight ; they were, therefore, sent to the Tower, and 
 threatened with the king's further displeasure in case of dis 
 obedience. A.D. 15^8. 
 
EDWARD VI 169 
 
 5. For all these the protector gained great applause and 
 popularity ; but he was raised to an enviable degree of 
 eminence, and his enemies were numerous in proportion to 
 his exaltation. Of all the ministers at that time in council, 
 Dudley, earl of Warwick, was the most artful, ambitious, 
 and unprincipled. Resolved, at any rate, to possess the 
 principal place under the king, he cared not what means 
 were to be used in acquiring it. However, unwilling to 
 tliro ,, v off the mask, he covered the most exorbitant views 
 under the fairest appearances. Having associated himself 
 with the earl of Southampton, he formed a strong party in 
 the council, who were determined to free themselves from 
 the control the protector assumed over them. That noble- 
 man was, in fact, now grown obnoxious to a very prevailing 
 party in the kingdom. 7. He was hated by the nobles for 
 his superior magnificence and power ; he was hated by the 
 catholic party for his regard to the reformation ; he was 
 disliked by many for his severity to his brother ; besides, 
 the great estate he had raised at the expense of the church 
 and the crown rendered him obnoxious to all. The palace* 
 which he was then building in the Strand served also, by 
 its magnificence, and still more so by the unjust methods 
 that were taken to raise it, to expose him to the censures of 
 the public. The parish church of St. Mary, with three 
 bishops' houses, were pulled down to furnish ground and 
 materials for the structure. 
 
 8. He was soon afterwards sent to the Tower ; and the 
 chief article of which he was accused was his usurpation of 
 the government, and taking all the power into his own 
 hands ; but his great riches were the real cause. Several 
 others of a slighter tint were added to invigorate this accu- 
 sation, but none of them could be said to amount to high- 
 treason. 9. In consequence of these, a bill of attainder was 
 preferred against him in the house of lords : but Somerset 
 contrived for this time to elude the rigour of their sentence, 
 by having previously, on his knees, confessed the charge 
 before the members of the council. 10. In consequence of 
 this confession, he was deprived of all his offices and goods, 
 together with a great part of his landed estates, which were 
 forfeited to the use of the crown. This fine on his estate 
 was soon after remitted by the king ; and Somerset, once 
 more, contrary to the expectation of all, recovered his li 
 
 * Sti'l called Somerset house. 
 P 
 
170 HiJsTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 herty. He was even readmitted into the council. Happy 
 lor him if his ambition had not revived with his security ! 
 
 11. In fact, he could not help now and then bursting out 
 into invectives against the king and government, which were 
 quickly carried to his secret enemy, the earl of Warwick, 
 who was now become the duke of Northumberland. As he 
 was surrounded with that nobleman's creatures, they took 
 care to reveal all the designs which thev had themselves 
 first suggested ; and Somerset soon found the fatal effects of 
 his rival's resentment. 12. He was, by Northumberland's 
 command, arrested, with many more accused of being his 
 partisans, and was, with his wife, the dutchess, also thrown 
 into prison. He was now accused of having formed a 
 design to raise an insurrection in the north ; of attacking 
 the train-bands on a muster-day ; of plotting to secure the 
 Tower, and to excite a rebellion in London. 
 
 13. These charges he strenuously denied ; but he con- 
 fessed one of as heinous a nature, which was, that he had 
 laid a project for murdering Northumberland, Northampton, 
 and Pembroke at a banquet, which was to be given them 
 Dy lord Paget. He was soon after brought to trial before 
 the marquis of Winchester, who sat as high-steward on the 
 occasion, with twenty-seven peers more, including Northum- 
 berland, Pembroke, and Northampton, who were at once 
 nis judges and accusers ; and being found guilty, was 
 brought to the scaffold on Tower-hill, where he appeared 
 without the least emotion, in the midst of a vast concourse 
 of the populace, by whom he was beloved. 14. He spoke 
 to them with great composure, protesting that he had always 
 promoted the service of his king, and the interests of true 
 religion to the best of his power. The people attested their 
 belief of what he said by crying out, " It is most true." An 
 universal tumult was beginning to take place ; but Somerset 
 desiring them to be still, and not interrupt his last medita- 
 tions, but to join with him in prayer, he laid down his head, 
 and submitted to the stroke of the executioner. 
 
 15. In the mean time, Northumberland had long aimed 
 at the first authority ; and the infirm state of the king's 
 health opened alluring prospects to his ambition. He re- 
 presented to that young prince that his sisters, Mary and 
 Elizabeth ; who were appointed by Henry's will to succeed 
 in failure of direct heirs to the crown, had been declared ille- 
 gitimate by parliament ; that the queen of Scots, his aunt 
 stood excluded by the king's will, and, being an alien also 
 
EDWARD VI. 171 
 
 (ost all right of succeeding. 16. And, as the three princesses 
 were thus legally excluded, the succession naturally devolved 
 'io the marchioness of Dorset, whose next heir was the lady 
 Jane Grey, a lady every way accomplished for government, 
 as well by the charms of her person as the virtues and ac- 
 quirements of her mind. The king, who had long sub- 
 mitted to all the politic views of this designing minister, 
 lgreed to have the succession admitted to council, where 
 Northumberland had influence soon after to procure an easy 
 concurrence 
 
 17. In the mean time, as the king's health declined, the 
 minister laboured to strengthen his own interests and con- 
 nexions. His first aim was to secure the interest of the 
 marquis of Dorset, father to lady Jane Grey, by procuring 
 for him the title of duke of Suffolk, which was lately become 
 extinct. Having thus obliged this nobleman, he then pro- 
 posed a Fiatch between his fourth son, lord Guildford Dud- 
 ley and ihe lady Jane Grey. 18. Still bent on spreading 
 his interests as widely as possible, he married his own 
 daughter to Lord Hastings, and had these marriages solem- 
 nized with all possible pomp and festivity. Meanwhile, 
 Edward continued to languish, and several fatal symptoms 
 of consumption began to appear. It was hoped, however, 
 that his youth and temperance might get the better of his 
 disorders ; and, from their love, the people were unwilling 
 to think him in danger. 19. It had been remarked, indeed, 
 by some, that his health was visibly seen to decline from 
 the moment that the Dudleys were brought about his per- 
 son. The character of Northumberland might have justly 
 given some colour to suspicion ; and his removing all, ex- 
 cept his own emissaries, from about the king, still farther 
 increased the distrusts of the people. Northumberland, 
 however, was no way uneasy at their murmurs ; he was as- 
 siduous in his attendance upon the king, and professed the 
 most anxious concern for his safety ; but still drove forward 
 his darling scheme of tiansferring the succession to his own 
 daughter-in-law. 
 
 20. The young king was put into the hands of an igno- 
 rant woman, who very confidently undertook his cure 
 After the use of her medicines, all the bad symptoms in 
 creased to a most violent degree ; he felt a difficulty of speech 
 and breathing ; his pulse failed ; his legs swelled ; his colour 
 became livid, and many other symptoms appeared of his 
 approaching end. He expired ai Greenwich, in the six- 
 
172 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 King Edward VI. refusing to place his foot on the Bible. 
 
 teenth year of his age, and the seventh of his reign, gr ally 
 regretted by all, as his early virtues gave a prospect of the 
 continuance of a happy reign, July 6, 1553. 
 
 An anecdote is related of this king to illustrate his piety 
 and reverence for the Scriptures. When in his library, one 
 day, being desirous to reach a book on a high shelf, he was 
 offered a large Bible as a footstool. But he refused the 
 offer, with strong expressions of disapprobation towards the 
 attendant who had made it. 
 
 Questions for Ex >mination, 
 
 1. Who succeeded Henry the Eighth ? 
 
 Who was appointed protector during the king's minority ? 
 
 2, 3. By what methods was the reformation begun and completed ? 
 
 4. Who were sent to the Tower for their aversion to the reformation f 
 
 5. By whom was the protector opposed ? 
 
 7. For what reasons was he universally disliked ? 
 
 8. What was the chief article of accusation against him ? 
 
 9. By what means did he elude the rigour of his sentence ? 
 
 10 Did the protector regain his authority ? 
 
 1 1 In what manner did he then conduct himself? 
 
 Mi By whose command was he afterwards arrested ? 
 Of what was he accused ? 
 
 1 3 What confession did he make ? 
 
 14 What was his behaviour when brought to the scaffold ? 
 
 15 Who next aspired tDthe chief authority? 
 10 17 What means did he take to secure it ? 
 
 18 19. What circumstances preceded the king's death ? 
 20 Where and at what age did Edward the Sixth dio ? 
 
MARY. 173 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Paul III 1534 
 
 Julius HI 1550 
 
 Emperor of Germany 
 
 and King of Spain. 
 
 Charles V 1547 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Soliman II 1520 
 
 Kuig of France. 
 Henry II 1547 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 John III 1541 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 
 AD. 
 
 Charles II 1534 
 
 King of Sweden. 
 Gustavus Va-sa.... 1522 
 
 Queen of Scotland. 
 Mary 1512 
 
 Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury. Heath and Day. bishops of Worcester 
 and Chichester. Lord Seymour. Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland 
 Ci^ildford, Lord Dudley. Lady Jane Grey. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 MARY. 
 
 3orn 1516. Died December 1, 1558. Began to reign July 1G, 1533. Reigned 
 
 5 years. 
 
 When persecuting zeal made royal sport 
 
 With royal innocence in Mary's court. 
 
 Then Bonner, blythe as shepherd at a wnke, 
 
 Enjoy'd the show, and danced about the stake- — Cowper. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1553.) Upon the death of Edward, two candi 
 dries put in their pretensions to the crown ; Mary, Henry's 
 daughter by Catharine of Arragon, relying on the justice of 
 her cause ; and lady Jane Grey, being nominated in the 
 late young king's will, and upon the support of the duke of 
 Northumberland, her father-in law. Mary was strongly bi- 
 goted to the popish superstitions, having been bred up among 
 churchmen, and having been even taught to prefer martyr- 
 dom to a denial of her belief. 2. As she had lived in conti- 
 nual restraint, she was reserved and gloomy ; she had, even 
 during the life of her father, the resolution to maintain her 
 sentiments, and refused to comply with his new institutions. 
 Her zeal had rendered her furious ; and she was not only 
 blindly attached to her religious opinions, but even to the 
 popish clergy who maintained them. 3. On the other hand, 
 Jane Grey was strongly attached to the reformers ; and, 
 though yet but sixteen, her judgment had attained to such 
 a degree of maturity as few have been found to possess. 
 All historians agree that the solidity of her understanding, 
 improved by continual application, rendered her the wondei 
 of her afxe. Jane, who was in a great measure ignorant of 
 
 v2 
 
174 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 all the transactions in her favour, was struck with equal 
 grief and surprise when she received intelligence of them- 
 She shed a flood of tears, appeared inconsolable, and it was 
 not without the utmost difficulty that she yielded to the en- 
 treaties of Northumberland, and the duke her father. 4 
 Orders were given also for proclaiming her throughout the 
 kingdom ; but these were but very remissly obeyed. When 
 she was proclaimed in the city, the people heard her acces ' 
 sion made public without any signs of pleasure ; no applause 
 ensued, and some even expressed their scorn and con 
 tempt. 
 
 5. In the mean time, Mary, who had retired, upon the 
 news of the king's death, to Kenning Hall, in Norfolk, sent 
 circular letters to all the great towns and nobility in the 
 kingdom, reminding them of her right, and commanding 
 them to proclaim her without delay. Her claims soon be- 
 came irresistible ; in a little time she found herself at the 
 head of forty thousand men ; while the few who attended 
 Northumberland continued irresolute, and he even feared to 
 lead them to the encounter. 
 
 0. Lady Jane, thus rinding that all was lost, resigned her 
 royalty, which she had held but ten days, with marks of 
 real satisfaction, and retired with her mother to their own 
 habitation. Northumberland, also, who found his affairs 
 desperate, and that it was impossible to stem the tide of po- 
 pular opposition, attempted to quit the kingdom ; but he was 
 prevented by the band of pensioner guards, who informed 
 him that he must stay to justify their conduct in being led 
 out against their lawful sovereign. Thus circumvented on 
 all sides, he delivered himself up to Mary, and was soon af- 
 terwards executed in a summary way. Sentence was also 
 pronounced against lady Jane and lord Guildford, but with- 
 out any intention for the present of putting it into execution. 
 
 7. Mary now entered London, and with very little effu- 
 sion of blood saw herself joyfully proclaimed, and peaceably 
 settled on the throne. This was a flattering prospect ; but 
 soon the pleasing phantom was dissolved. Mary was mo- 
 rose, and a bigot; she was resolved to give back their for- 
 mer power to the clergy ; and thus once more to involve the 
 kingdom in all the horrors from which it had just emerged 
 Gardiner, Tonstal, Day, Heath, and Vesey, who had been 
 confined or suffered losses, for their catholic opinions, din- 
 ing the late reign, were taken from prison, reinstated in theii 
 sees, and their former sentences repealed. 
 
MARY. 175 
 
 8. A parliament, which the queen called soon after, seem- 
 ed willing to concur in all her measures ; they at one blow 
 repealed all the statutes, with regard to religion, which had 
 passed during the reign of her predecessors ; so that the na- 
 tional religion was again placed on the same footing on which 
 it stood in the early part of the reign of Henry the Eighth. 
 
 9. While religion was thus returning to its primitive 
 abuses, the queen's ministers, who were willing to strengthen 
 her power by a catholic alliance, had been for some time 
 looking out for a proper consort ; and they at length chose 
 Philip, prince of Spain, son to the celebrated Charles the 
 Fifth. In order to avoid any disagreeable remonstrance 
 from the people, the articles of marriage were drawn as fa- 
 vourable as possible to the interest and honour of England ; 
 and this in some measure stilled the clamours that had already 
 been begun against it. 
 
 10. The discontents of the people rose to such a pitch, 
 that an insurrection, headed by sir Thomas Wyat, suc- 
 ceeded ; but Wyat, being made prisoner, was condemned 
 and executed, with some of his adherents. But what ex- 
 cited the compassion of the people most of all, was the 
 execution of lady Jane Grey, and her husband, lord Guild- 
 ford Dudley, who were involved in the punishment, thougn 
 not in the guilt of this insurrection. 11. Two days after 
 Wyat was apprehended, lady Jane and her husband were 
 ordered to prepare for death. Lady Jane, who had long 
 before seen the threatening blow, was no way surprised at 
 the message, but bore it with heroic resolution ; and being 
 informed that she had three days to prepare, she seemed 
 displeased at so long a delay. 12. On the day of her exe- 
 cution her husband desired permission to see her ; but this 
 she refused, as she knew the parting would be too tender 
 for her fortitude to withstand. The place at first designed 
 for their execution was without the Tower: but their youth, 
 beauty, and innocence being likely to raise an insurrection 
 among the people, orders were given that they should be 
 executed within the verge of the Tower. 13. Lord Dudley 
 was the first that suffered ; and while the lady Jane was 
 conducting to the place of execution, the officers of the 
 Tower met her, bearing along the headless body of her 
 husband streaming with blood, in order to be interred in 
 the Tower chapel. She looked on the corpse for some time 
 without any emotion : and then, with a sigh, desired them 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Death of Lady Jane Grey. 
 
 to proceed. 14. On the scaffold she made a speech, in 
 which she alleged that her offence was not the having laid 
 her hand upon the crown, but the not rejecting it with suf- 
 ficient constancy ; that she had less erred through ambition 
 than filial obedience ; and she willingly accepted death as 
 the only atonement she could make to the injured state ; 
 and was ready by her punishment to show, that innocence 
 is no plea in excuse for deeds that tend to Injure the 
 community. After speaking to this effect, she caused her- 
 self to be disrobed by her women, and with a steady serene 
 countenance submitted to the executioner. 
 
 15. At the head of those who drove these violent mea- 
 sures forward were Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, and 
 cardinal Pole, who was now returned from Italy. Pole, 
 who was nearly allied by birth to the royal family, had 
 always conscientiously adhered to the catholic religion, and 
 had incurred Henry's displeasure, not only by refusing to 
 assent to his measures, but by writing against him. 16. It 
 was for this adherence that he was cherished by the pope, 
 and now sent over to England as legate from the holy see. 
 Gardiner was a man of a very different character; his chief 
 dim was to please the reigning prince, and he had shown 
 already manv instances of his prudent conformity. 
 
MARY. 177 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What were the pretensions of the two candidates for the cro'Jvn? 
 
 2. What was the character of Mary ? 
 
 3. What is said of lady Jane Grey ? 
 
 4. In what manner was her proclamation received ? 
 
 5. How did Mary act, and what was her success ? 
 
 6. What was the fate of the duke of Northumberland f 
 
 7. What was Mary's conduct after her accession? 
 
 8. Did the parliament concur in her religious views? 
 
 9. What plan was resolved on to strengthen the catholic power? 
 ll. What was the fate of lady Jane Grey and her hushand ? 
 
 12 -14 Mention the circumstances that attended their execution. 
 15 16. Who were the instigators of those violent measures ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Curst superstition which deludes the mind 
 
 And makes it to the tender feelings blind. — Anon. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1554.) A persecution, therefore, began by 
 the martyrdom of Hooper, bishop of Gloucester, and Rogers, 
 prebendary of St. Paul's. They were examined by com- 
 missioners appointed by the queen, with the chancellor at 
 the head of them. Saunders and Taylor, two other clergy- 
 men, whose zeal had been distinguished in carrying on the 
 reformation, were the next that suffered. 
 
 2. 15onner, bishop of London, bloated at once with rage 
 and luxury, let loose his vengeance without restraint, and 
 seemed to take a pleasure in the pains of the unhappy suf- 
 ferers ; while the queen, by her letters, exhorted him to 
 pursue the pious work without pity or interruption. Soon 
 after, in obedience to her commands, Ridley, bishop of 
 London, and the venerable Latimer, bishop of Worcester, 
 were condemned together. 3. Ridley had been one of the 
 ablest cl tampions for the reformation ; his piety, learning, 
 and solidity of judgment were admired by his friends and 
 dreaded by his enemies. The night before his execution, 
 he invited the mayor of Oxford and his wife to see him ; 
 and, when he beheld them melted into tears, he himself 
 appeared quite unmoved, inwardly supported and comforted 
 in that hour of agony. When he was brought to the stake 
 to be burnt, he found his old friend Latimer there before 
 him, 4. Of all the prelates of that age, Latimer was the 
 most remarkable for his unaffected piety, and the simplicity 
 of his manners. He had never learnt to flatter in courts ; 
 and his open rebuke was dreaded by all the great, who al 
 ♦hat time too much deserved it. 5. His sermons, which 
 
178 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 remain to this day, show tha* he had much learning and 
 much wit ; and there is an air of sincerity running through 
 them, not to be found elsewhere. When Ridley began to 
 comfort his ancient friend, Latimer was as ready, on his 
 part, to return the kind office : " Be of good cheer, brother,'' 
 cried he ; " we shall this day kindle such a torch in Eng 
 land, as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished." 6. A 
 furious bigot ascended to preach to them and the people, 
 while the fire was preparing; and Ridley gave a most 
 serious attention to his discourse. No way distracted by 
 the preparations about him, he heard him to the last, and 
 then told him he was ready to answer all he had preached 
 upon, if he were permitted a short indulgence ; but this was 
 refused him. At length fire was set to the pile : Latimer 
 was soon out of pain : but Ridley continued to suffer much 
 longer, his legs being consumed before the fire reached his 
 vitals. 
 
 7. Cranmer's death followed soon after, and struck the 
 whole nation with horror. His love of life had formerly 
 prevailed. In an unguarded moment he was induced to 
 sign a paper condemning the reformation ; and now his 
 enemies, as we are told of the devil, after having rendered 
 him completely wretched, resolved to destroy him. 
 
 8. Being led to the stake, and the fire beginning to be 
 kindled round him, he stretched forth his right hand, and 
 held it in the flames till it was consumed, while he fre- 
 quently cried out, in the midst of his sufferings, " That 
 unworthy hand !" at the same time exhibiting no appearance 
 of pain or disorder. When the fire attacked his body, he 
 seemed to be quite insensible to his tortures : his mind was 
 wholly occupied upon the hopes of a future reward. After 
 his body was destroyed, his heart was found entire ; an 
 emblem of the constancy with which he suffered. 
 
 9. It was computed that, during this persecution, two 
 hundred and seventy-seven persons suffered by fire, besides 
 those punished by imprisonment, fines, and confiscations. 
 Among those who suffered by fire, were five bishops, 
 twenty-one clergymen, eight lay gentlemen, eighty-four 
 tradesmen, one hundred husbandmen, fifty-five women, and 
 four children. All this was terrible; and yet the temporal 
 affairs of the kingdom did not seem to be more successful. 
 
 10. (A. D. 1557.) Calais, that had now for above two 
 hundred years been in possession of the English, was 
 attacked, and by a sudden and unexpected assault, being 
 
MARY. 
 
 179 
 
 blockaded up on every side, was obliged to capitulate ; so 
 that in less than eight days, the duke of Guise recovered 
 a city that had been in possession of the English since the 
 time of Edward the Third, who had spent eleven months 
 in besieging it. This loss filled the whole kingdom with 
 murmurs, and the queen with despair; she was heard to 
 say, that, when dead, the name of Calais would be found 
 engraven upon her heart. 
 
 11. These complicated evils, a murmuring people, an in- 
 creasing heresy, a disdainful husband, and an unsuccessful 
 war, made dreadful depredations on Mary's constitution. 
 She began to appear consumptive, and this rendered her 
 mind still more morose and bigoted. The people now, 
 therefore, began to turn their thoughts to her successor ; 
 and the princess Elizabeth came into a greater degree of 
 consideration than before. 12. Mary had been long in a 
 very declining state of health ; and having mistaken the 
 nature of her disease, she made use of an improper regi- 
 men, whicli had increased her disorder. Every reflection 
 now tormented her. The consciousness of being hated by 
 her subjects, and the prospect of Elizabeth's succession, 
 whom she hated, preyed upon her mind, and threw her into 
 a linjrerinff fever, of which she died, after a short and un- 
 fortunate reign of five years, four months, and eleven days, 
 in the forty-third year of her age. 
 
 Questions for Examination . 
 
 1. Who were the first in this reign who suffered martyrdom for their re 
 
 ligion ? 
 2 Who were the principal actors in this persecution? 
 3, 4. Describe the behaviour and character of Ridley and Latimer. 
 6. What words did Latimer make use of at the stake to his friend and 
 
 fellow-sufferer? 
 8 What is said of the character and death of Cranmer ? 
 9. How many persons are said to have Deen burnt on account of their re 
 
 ligious tenets ? 
 
 10. By what means was Calais obliged to capitulate ? 
 
 11. What hastened Mary's death? 
 
 12. How long did she reign ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Julius III 1550 
 
 MarcellusII 1555 
 
 Paul IV 1555 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 Charles V 1519 
 
 Emperors of the Turks. 
 Koliman U .. . . 1520 
 
 King' of France. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Henry II 1547 
 
 King of Spain. 
 Philip II 1555 
 
 King of Voi tugal. 
 John 111 1521 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 
 A-C 
 
 Frederic U 1545 
 
 King of Sweden 
 Gustavus Vasa. . . 1522 
 
 Queen of Scotland 
 Mary 1542 
 
180 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Archbishop Cranmer; bishops Ridley, Hooper, Latimer, Fenes, Kogvra 
 Saunders, Taylor, and many others of the clergy who suffered for their cu 
 hgion. Cardinal Pole, bishops Gardiner, Bonner, Thirlby, &c. who were 
 fiery supporters of the papal power.* I/>rd Stafford. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 ELIZABETH. 
 
 liorn 1532. Died March 24, IC03. Began to reign November 7, 1558. Reigned 
 
 44} years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1558.) Nothing could exceed the joy that was 
 diffused among the people upon the accession of Elizabeth, 
 who now came to the throne without any opposition. 
 
 This favourite of the people, from the beginning, resolved 
 upon reforming the church, even while she was held in the 
 constraints of a prison ; and now, upon coining to the 
 crown, she immediately set about it. A parliament soon 
 after completed what the prerogative had begun ; act aftei 
 act was passed in favour of the reformation ; and in a single 
 session the form of religion was established as we at present 
 have the happiness to enjoy it. 
 
 2. A state of permanent felicity is not to be expected 
 here ; and Mary Stuart, commonly called Mary queen of 
 Scots, was the first person that excited the fears or the re- 
 sentment of Elizabeth. Henry the Seventh had married 
 his eldest daughter, Margaret, to James, king of Scotland, 
 who dying, left no issue that came to maturity except Mary 
 
 * " The common net at that time for catching of protestants was the rca' 
 presence, and this net was used to catch the princess Elizabeth ; for being 
 asked one time, what she thought of the words of God, this is my body 
 whelher she thought it the true body of Christ that was in tho saeramen' 
 It is said, that after some pausing, she thus answered: — 
 
 Christ was the word that spake it, 
 
 He took ihe bread and brake it. 
 
 And what that word did make it. 
 
 That I believe and lake it 
 Which, though ; t may seem but a slight expression, yet hath it moresohdnew 
 than at first sight appears , ai lenst it served her turn at that time to escape 
 die net. which bv direct a"s-.v«>r she could not have done." 
 
 ! 
 
ELIZABETH. '81 
 
 afterwards surnamed Mary queen of Scots. 3. At a very 
 «arly age, this princess, being possessed of every accom 
 plishment of person and mind, was married to Francis, the 
 dauphin of France, who, dying, left her a widow at the age 
 of nineteen. Upon the death of Francis, Mary, the widow, 
 still seemed disposed to keep up the title ; but, finding her- 
 self exposed to the persecutions of the dowager-queen, who 
 now began to take the lead in France, she returned home to 
 Scotland, where she found the people strongly impressed 
 with the gloomy enthusiasm of the times. 4. A difference 
 of religion between the sovereign and the people is ever 
 productive of bad effects ; since it is apt to produce con- 
 tempt on the one side, and jealousy on the other. Mary 
 could not avoid regarding the sour manners of the reforming 
 clergy, who now bore the sway among the Scots, with a 
 mixture of ridicule and hatred ; while they, on the other 
 hand, could not look tamely on gayeties and levities which 
 she introduced among them, without abhorrence and resent- 
 ment. The jealousy thus excited began every day to grow 
 stronger ; the clergy only waited for some indiscretion in 
 the queen to fly out into open opposition ; and her impru- 
 dence but too soon gave them sufficient opportunity. 
 
 5. Mary, upon her return, had married the earl of Darn- 
 ley ; but having been dazzled by the pleasing exterior of her 
 new lover, she had entirely forgotten to look to the accom- 
 plishments of his mind. Darnley was but a weak and igno- 
 rant man ; violent, yet variable in his enterprises ; insolent, 
 yet credulous, and easily governed by flatterers. She soon, 
 therefore, began to convert her admiration into disgust : 
 and Dainley, enraged at her increasing coldness, pointed his 
 vengeance against every person he supposed the cause of 
 this change in her sentiments and behaviour. 
 
 6. There was then in the court one David Rizzio, the 
 son of a musician at Turin, himself a musician, wliom Mary 
 took into her confidence. She consulted him on all occa- 
 sions ; no favours could be obtained but by his intercession ; 
 and aL suitors were first obliged to gain Rizzio to their 
 interests by presents or by flattery. 7. It was easy to 
 persuade a man of Darnley's jealous and uxorious temper 
 that Rizzio was the person who had estranged the queen's 
 affections from him : and a surmise once conceived became 
 to him a certainty. He soon, therefore, consulted with 
 some lords of his party, who accompanying him into the 
 queen's apartments, where Rizzio then was, they dragged 
 
162 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 him into the antechamber, where he was despatched with 
 fifty-six wounds ; the unhappy princess continuing her la 
 mentations while they were perpetrating their horrid crime. 
 8. Being informed, however, of his fate, Mary at once dried 
 her tears, and said she would weep no more, for she would 
 now think of revenge. She, therefore, concealed her resent- 
 ment, and so far imposed upon Darnley, her husband, that 
 he put himself under her protection, and soon after attended 
 her to Edinburgh, where he was told the place would be 
 favourable to his health. 
 
 9. Mary lived in the palace of Holyrood-house ; but as 
 the situation of that place was low, and the concourse of 
 people about the court necessarily attended with noise, 
 which might disturb him in his present infirm state, she 
 fitted up an apartment for him in a solitary house at some 
 distance, called the Kirk of Field. Mary there gave him 
 marks of kindness and attachment ; she conversed cordially 
 with him, and she lay some nights in a room under his. 
 10. It was on the 9th of February that she told him she 
 would pass that night in the palace, because the marriage of 
 one of her servants was to be there celebrated in her pre- 
 sence. But dreadful consequences ensued. About two 
 o'clock in the morning, the whole city was much alarmed 
 at hearing a great noise ; the house in which Darnley lay 
 was blown up with gunpowder. His dead body was found 
 at some distance in a neighbouring field, but without any 
 marks of violence or contusion. No doubt could be enter- 
 tained but that Darnley was murdered, and the general sus- 
 picion fell upon Bothwell, a person lately taken into Mary's 
 favour, as the perpetrator. 
 
 11. One crime led on to another ; Bothwell, though ac- 
 cused of being stained with the husband's blood, though 
 universally odious to the people, had the confidence, while 
 Mary was on her way to Stirling, on a visit to her son, to 
 seize her at the head of a body of eight hundred horse, and 
 to carry her to Dunbar, where he forced her to yield to his 
 purposes. 12. It was then thought by the people that the 
 measure of his crimes was complete; and that he who was 
 supposed to kill the queen's husband, and to have pos- 
 sessed himself of her person, could expect no mercy : but 
 they were astonished upon finding, instead of disgrace, that 
 Bothwell was taken into more than former favour; and to 
 crown all, that he was married to Mary, having divorced 
 his own wife to procure his union. 
 
ELIZABETH. 183 
 
 13. This was a fatal alliance to Mary; and the people 
 jvere now wound up, by the complication of her guilt, to 
 pay very little deference to her authority. An association 
 was formed that took Mary prisoner, and sent her into con- 
 finement to the castle of Lochlevin, situated in a lake of tha* 
 name, where she suffered all the severities of an unkind 
 keeper, an upbraiding conscience, with a feeling heart. 
 
 14. The calamities of the great, even though justly de- 
 served, seldom fail of creating pity, and procuring friends. 
 Mary, by her charms and promises, had engaged a young 
 gentleman, whose name was George Douglas, to assist her 
 in escaping from the place wherein she was confined ; and 
 this he effected by conveying her in disguise in a small boat, 
 rowed by himself, ashore. It was now that, the news of her 
 enlargement being spread abroad, all the loyalty of the peo- 
 ple seemed to revive once more, and in a few days she saw 
 herself at the head of six thousand men. 
 
 Questions for Examin atlon . 
 
 J. What were the first acts of Elizabeth in favour of? 
 
 2. Who was the first person that excited her resentment? 
 From whom was Mary queen of Scots descended ? 
 
 3. To whom was she first married ? 
 
 4. Why is the difference of religion between the sovereign and the people 
 
 apt to produce bad effects ? 
 
 5 Describe the character of the earl of Darnley. 
 
 6. Who was David Rizzio ? 
 
 7 What was the fate of Rizzio? 
 
 8. On what did Mary determine in consequence ? 
 
 9 Tlow did she affect to treat her husband ? 
 
 10. Relate the circumstances of the earl of Dar.iley's death- 
 
 13. Where was Mary confined ? 
 
 14. By what means did she escape ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Rut malice, envy, cruelty and spleen, 
 
 To death doom'd Scotia's dear devoted queen. — JWacdonald. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1568.) A battle was fought at Langside, near 
 Glasgow, which was entirely decisive against the queen of 
 Scots ; and now, being totally ruined, she fled southward 
 from the field of battle with great precipitation, and came 
 with a few attendants to the borders of England, where she 
 hoped for protection from Elizabeth, who, instead of pro- 
 tecting, ordered her to be put in confinement, yet treated 
 her with all proper marks of respect. 2. She was accord- 
 
184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ingly sent to Tutbury-castle, in the county of Stafford, and 
 put into the custody of the earl of Shrewsbury ; where she 
 had hopes given her of one day coming into favour, and 
 that, unless her own obstinacy prevented, an accommodation 
 might at last take place. 
 
 3. The duke of Norfolk was the only peer who enjoyed 
 the highest title of nobility in England ; and the qualities 
 of his mind were correspondent to his high station. Bene- 
 ficent, affable, and generous, he had acquired the affections 
 of the people ; and yet, from his moderation, he had never 
 alarmed the jealousy of the sovereign. He was at this 
 time a widower, and being of a suitable age to espouse the 
 queen of Scots, her own attractions, as well as his interest, 
 made him desirous of the match. 4. Elizabeth, however, 
 dreaded such an union, and the duke was soon after made 
 prisoner, and sent to the Tower. Upon his releasement 
 from thence, new projects were set on foot by the enemies 
 of the queen and the reformed religion, secretly fomented 
 by Rodolphi, an instrument of the court of Rome, and the 
 bishop of Ross, Mary's minister in England. 5. It was 
 concerted by them that Norfolk should renew his designs 
 upon Mary, and raise her to the throne, to which it is pro- 
 bable he was prompted by passion as well as interest ; and 
 this nobleman entering into their schemes, he, from being at 
 first only ambitious, now became criminal. His servants 
 were brought to make a full confession of their master's 
 guilt ; and the bishop of Ross, soon after finding the whole 
 discovered, did not scruple to confirm their testimony. 6. 
 The duke was instantly committed to the Tower, and or- 
 dered to prepare for his trial. A jury of twenty-five peers 
 unanimously passed sentence upon him; and the queen, 
 four months after, reluctantly signed the warrant for his 
 execution. He died with great calmness and constancy ; 
 and, though he cleared himself of any disloyal intentions 
 against the queen's authority, he acknowledged the justice 
 of the sentence by which he suffered. 
 
 7. These conspiracies served to prepare the way for 
 Mary's ruin, whose greatest misfortunes proceeded rather 
 from the violence of her friends than the malignity of her 
 enemies. Elizabeth's ministers had long been waiting for 
 some signal instance of the captive queen's enmity, which 
 they could easily convert into treason ; and this was no1 
 long wanting. 8. About this time (A.D. 1586), one John 
 Ballard, a popish priest, who had been bred in the English 
 
ELIZABETH. 185 
 
 seminary at Rheims, resolved to compass the death of the 
 queen, whom he considered as the enemy of his religion : 
 and with that gloomy resolution came over to England in 
 the disguise of a soldier, with the assumed name of captain 
 Fortescue. He bent his endeavours to bring about at once 
 the project of an assassination, an insurrection, and an 
 invasion. 9. The first person he addressed himself to was 
 Anthony Babington, of Dethick, in the county of Derby, a 
 young gentleman of good family, and possessed of a very 
 plentiful fortune. This person had been long remarkable 
 for his zeal in the catholic cause, and in particular for his 
 attachment to the captive queen. He, therefore, came 
 readily into the plot, and procured the concurrence and 
 assistance of some other associates in this dangerous under- 
 taking. 10. The next step was to apprize Mary of the 
 conspiracy formed in her favour ; and this they effected 
 by conveying their letters to her by the means of a brewer 
 that supplied the family with ale, through a chink in the 
 wall of her apartment. In these, Babington informed her 
 of a design laid for a foreign invasion, the plan of an insur- 
 rection at home, the scheme for her delivery, and the 
 conspiracy for assassinating the usurper, by six noble 
 gentlemen, as he termed them, all of them his private 
 friends, who from the zeal which they bore the catholic 
 cause, and her majesty's service, would undertake the 
 tragical execution. 11. To these Mary replied, that she 
 approved highly of the design ; that the gentlemen might 
 expect all the rewards which it should ever be in her power 
 to confer ; and that the death of Elizabeth was a necessary 
 circumstance, previous to any further attempts, either for 
 her delivery or the intended insurrection. 
 
 12. The plot being thus ripe for execution, and the 
 evidence against the conspirators incontestable, Walsing- 
 ham. who was privately informed of all, resolved to suspend 
 their punishment no longer. A warrant was accordingly 
 issued out for the apprehension of Babington and the 
 rest of the conspirators, who covered themselves with 
 various disguises, and endeavoured to keep themselves 
 concealed. But they were soon discovered, thrown into 
 prison, and brought to trial. In their examination they 
 contradicted each other, and the leaders were obliged to 
 make a full confession of the truth. Fourteen were con- 
 demned and executed ; seven of whom died acknowledging 
 their crime. 
 
 q2 
 
186 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 13. The execution of these wretched men only prepared 
 the way for one of still greater importance, in which a cap- 
 tive queen was to submit to the unjust decision of those who 
 had no right, but that of power, to condemn her. Accord 
 ingly a commission was issued to forty peers, with five 
 judges, or the major part of them, to try and pass sentence 
 upon Mary, daughter and heir of James the Fifth, king oi 
 Scotland, commonly called queen of Scots, and dowager of 
 France. 14. Thirty-six of these commissioners arriving at 
 the castle of Fotheringay on the 11th of November, 158G, 
 presented her with a letter from Elizabeth, commanding her 
 to submit to a trial for a late conspiracy. The principal 
 charge against her was urged by serjeant Gaudy, who ac- 
 cused her with knowing, approving, and consenting to 
 Babington's conspiracy. This charge was supported by 
 Babington's confession, and by the copies which were 
 taken of their correspondence, in which her approbation of 
 the queen's murder was expressly declared. 
 
 15. Whatever might have been this queen's offences, it 
 is certain that her treatment was very severe.* She desired 
 to be put in possession of such notes as she had taken pre- 
 paratory to her trial ; but this was refused her. She de- 
 manded a copy of her protest; but her request was not 
 complied with. She even required an advocate to plead 
 her cause against so many learned lawyers as had under- 
 taken to urge her accusations ; but all her demands were 
 rejected, and after an adjournment of some days, sentence 
 of death was pronounced against her in the Star Chamber 
 in Westminster, all the commissioners except two being 
 present. 
 
 Independent of the affairs of Mary queen of Scots, the 
 contents of this section are barren of information. It must 
 not, however, be supposed, that a period of eighteen years of 
 the reign of Elizabeth afforded no matter worthy of the 
 notice of the historian ; and we shall therefore endeavour to 
 supply the deficiency by the following brief chronological 
 memoranda : — On St. Bartholomew's day, 1572, a dreadful 
 massacre of the Protestants took place in France ; a circum- 
 stance which proved very detrimental to the Scottish queen, 
 as many of her adherents, who were Protestants, dreaded 
 her attachment to a religion that allowed its votaries to em* 
 ploy such abominable measures. In 1573, Elizabeth found 
 means, by economy, without imposing any additional burdens 
 on her subjects, to discharge, with interest, not only all the 
 
ELIZABETH. 187 
 
 debts she had incurred in her reign, but those of Edward VI. 
 her brother, and of her sister Mary. In 1574, so great a 
 dearth prevailed in England, that wheat sold for six shillings 
 a bushel. In 1577, pocket-watches were first brought into 
 England from Germany. In 1579, a proclamation was 
 issued, prohibiting the enlarging of the city of London ; to 
 effect which, it was ordered that no new houses should be 
 built within three miles of the gates of the city. In the 
 same year the Turkey Company was established. In 1580, 
 the use of coaches was first introduced into England by the 
 earl of Arundel. Before that time the queen, on public occa 
 sions, rode on horseback behind her chamberlain. 
 
 In the year 1580, also, Francis Drake, the first English 
 man who circumnavigated the globe, returned from his 
 voyage. He brought home with him immense treasures, 
 which he had taken from the Spaniards ; and many of the 
 English courtiers, dreading the Spanish power, advised Eli- 
 zabeth to discountenance the gallant adventurer. But the 
 queen, who admired valour, and was allured by the prospect 
 of sharing the booty, conferred on him the honour of knight- 
 hood, and accepted a banquet from him at Deptford,on board 
 the ship which had achieved so memorable a voyage. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Where did Mary fly after her defeat at Langside? 
 
 2. Where was she confined ? 
 
 3. Describe the character of the duke of Norfolk. 
 
 4. Of what was he desirous ? 
 
 5. What were the designs of the duke of Norfolk? 
 
 6. What were the consequences ? 
 
 8. What conspiracy was now formed in Mary's favour ? 
 10. By what means was Mary informed of it ? 
 12. What was the fate of the conspirators ? 
 J4. What was the principal charge alleged against Mary f 
 15. What favours were refused her previous to her sentence ? 
 
188 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Dcj&cted pity by her side, 
 
 Her soul-subduing voice applied. — Collins. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1588.) Whether Elizabeth was really .sincere 
 in her apparent reluctance to execute Mary, is a question 
 which, though usually given against her, I will not take 
 upon me to determine. Certainly there were great arts 
 used by her courtiers to incline her to the side of severity: 
 as they had every thing to fear from the resentment of 
 Mary in case she ever succeeded to the throne. 2. Accord- 
 ingly the kingdom was now filled with rumours of plots, 
 treasons, and insurrections ; and the queen was continually 
 kept in alarm by fictitious dangers. She, therefore, appeared 
 to be in great terror and perplexity; she was observed to 
 sit much alone, and mutter to herself half sentences, im- 
 porting the difficulty and distress to which she was reduced. 
 3. In this situation she one day called her secretary, Da- 
 vison, whom she order to draw out secretly the warrant 
 for Mary's execution, informing him that she intended keep- 
 ing it by her, in case any attempt should be made for the 
 delivery of that princess. She signed the warrant, and 
 then commanded it to be carried to the chancellor, to have 
 the seal affixed to it. 4. Next morning, however, she sent 
 two gentlemen successively to desire that Davison would 
 not go to the chancellor until she should see him : but 
 Davison telling her that the warrant had been already 
 sealed, she seemed displeased at his precipitation. Davison, 
 who probably wished himself to see the sentence executed, 
 laid the affair before the council, who unanimously resolved 
 that the warrant should be immediately put in execution; 
 and promised to justify Davison to the queen. 5. Accord- 
 ingly, the fatal instrument was delivered to Beale, who 
 summoned the noblemen to whom it was directed ; namely, 
 the earls of Shrewsbury, Derby, Kent, and Cumberland, and 
 these together set out for Fotheringay-castle, accompanied 
 by two executioners, to despatch their bloody commission. 
 6. Mary heard of the arrival of her executioners, who 
 ordered her to prepare for death at eight o'clock the next 
 morning. Early on the fatal morning she dressed herself 
 in a rich habit of silk and velvet, the only one which she 
 had reserved for this solemn occasion. Thomas Andrews, 
 the under-sheriff of the county, then entering the room, he 
 informed her that the hour was come, and that he must 
 
ELIZABETH. 189 
 
 attend her to the place of execution. 7. She replied that 
 she was ready, and bidding her servants farewell, she pro- 
 ceeded, supported by two of her guards, and followed the 
 sheriff with a serene composed aspect, with a long veil of 
 linen on her head, and in her hand a crucifix of ivory. 
 
 8. She then passed into another hall, the noblemen and 
 the sheriff going before, and Melvil, her master of the 
 household, bearing up her train, where was a scaffold 
 erected, and covered with black. As soon as she was 
 seated, Beale began to read the warrant for her execution. 
 Then Fletcher, dean of Peterborough, standing without the 
 rails, repeated a long exhortation, which she desired him to 
 forbear, as she was firmly resolved to die in the catholic 
 religion. The room was crowded with spectators, who 
 beheld her with pity and distress ; while her beauty, though 
 dimmed by age and affliction, gleamed through her sufferings, 
 and was still remarkable in this fatal moment. 9. The two 
 executioners kneeling, and asking her pardon, she said she 
 forgave them, and all the authors of her death, as freely as 
 she hoped for forgiveness from her Maker ; and then once 
 more made a solemn protestation of her innocence. Her 
 eyes were then covered with a linen handkerchief; and she 
 laid herself down without any fear or trepidation. Then 
 reciting a psalm, and repeating a pious ejaculation, her head 
 was severed from her body, at two strokes, by the execu- 
 tioners. 
 
 10. Thus perished Mary, in the forty-fifth year of her age, 
 and the nineteenth of her captivity in England. She was a 
 woman of great accomplishments ; and the beauty of her 
 person, the graces of her air, and charms of her conversa- 
 tion, combined to make her one of the most amiable of 
 women, and to produce a deep impression on all who had 
 intercourse with her. She was ambitious and active in her 
 temper, yet inclined to cheerfulness and society. She par- 
 took sufficiently of manlike virtues to give her vigour in the 
 prosecution of her purposes, without relinquishing those soft 
 graces which compose the proper ornament of her sex. 
 Such indeed were, on the one hand, her natural advantages 
 and her acquirements, and on the other her faults, that an 
 enumeration of her qualities might seem to be a panegyric, 
 while an account of her conduct must, in some parts, weai 
 the aspect of severe satire and invective. 
 
 Her numerous misfortunes, the solitude of her long capti- 
 vity, and the persecutions to which she had been exposed on 
 
190 H [STORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 account of her religion, had produced in her a degree of 
 bigotry in her later years ; and such were the prevalent spirit 
 and principles of the age, that we need not wonder if her 
 zeal, her resentment, and her interest uniting, induced her to 
 give consent to a design which conspirators, actuated by the 
 first of these motives only, had formed against the life ol 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 In contemplating the contentions of mankind, we find 
 almost ever both sides culpable ; Mary, who was stained 
 with crimes that deserved punishment, was put to death by a 
 princess who had no just pretensions to inflict punishment 
 on her equal. 
 
 11. In the mean time, Philip, king of Spain, who had 
 long meditated the destruction of England, and whose ex- 
 tensive power gave him grounds to hope for success, now 
 began to put his projects into execution. The point on 
 which he rested his glory, and the perpetual object of his 
 schemes, was to support the catholic religion, and exter- 
 minate the reformation. The revolt of his subjects in the 
 Netherlands still more inflamed his resentment against the 
 English, as they had encouraged that insurrection, and as- 
 sisted the revolters. He had, therefore, for some time been 
 making preparations to attack England by a powerful in- 
 vasion, and now every part of his vast empire resounded 
 with the noise of armaments, and every art was used to 
 levy supplies for that great design. 
 
 12. The marquis of Santa Cruz, a sea-officer of great 
 reputation and experience, was destined to command the fleet, 
 which consisted of a hundred and thirty vessels, of a greater 
 size than any that had hitherto been seen in Europe. The 
 duke of Parma was to conduct the land forces, twenty thou- 
 sand of whom were on board the fleet, and thirty-four thou- 
 sand more were assembled in the Netherlands, ready to be 
 transported into England ; no doubt was entertained of this 
 fleet's success; and it was ostentatiously styled the Invin- 
 cible Armada. 
 
 13. Nothing could exceed the terror and consternation 
 which all ranks of people felt in England upon the news of 
 this terrible armada being under sail to invade them. A 
 fleet of not above thirty ships of war, and those very small 
 in comparison, was all that was to oppose it at sea ; and as 
 for resisting it by land, that was supposed to be impossible, 
 as the Spanish army was composed of men well disciplined, 
 and long inured to danger. 
 
ELIZABETH. 191 
 
 14. Altliougn the English fleet was much inferior in num- 
 ber and size of shipping to that of the enemy, yet it was 
 much more manageable, the dexterity and courage of the 
 mariners being greatly superior. Lord Howard of Effing, 
 ham, a man of great courage and capacity, as lord admiral, 
 took upon him the command of the navy. 
 
 15. Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned 
 seamen in Europe, served under him ; while a small squad- 
 ron, consisting of forty vessels, English and Flemish, com 
 manded by lord Seymour, lay off Dunkirk, in order to 
 intercept the duke of Parma. This was the preparation 
 made by the English ; while all the protestant powers in 
 Europe regarded the enterprise as the critical event which 
 was to decide for ever the fate of their religion. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 2. With what rumours was the kingdom filled ? 
 
 3. What orders did Elizabeth give to her secretary ? 
 
 5. To whom was the warrant of Mary's death delivered ? 
 
 6, 7, 8. Relate the particulars of her execution. 
 9. What was her behaviour at the fatal hour ? 
 
 11. Who now meditated the destruction of England? 
 What was the chief object of his schemes ? 
 
 12. Who were his principal officers ? 
 
 What was the amount of the Spanish forces? 
 
 13. What was the number of the English ships? 
 14- VV r ho commanded them ? 
 
 15. What other preparations were made by the English ? 
 
102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Destruction follows where her flag is seen, 
 
 And haughty Spaniards stoop to Britain's queen. — Anon 
 
 1. (A. D. 1588.) In the mean time, while the Spanish 
 armada was preparing to sail, the admiral Santa Cruz died, 
 as likewise the vice-admiral Palino ; and the command of 
 the expedition was given to the duke de Medina Sidonia, a 
 person utterly inexperienced in sea affairs ; and this, in 
 some measure, served to frustrate the design. But some 
 other accidents also contributed to its failure. 2. Upon 
 leaving the port of Lisbon, the armada the next day met 
 with a violent tempest, which sunk several of the smallest 
 of their shipping, and obliged the fleet to put back into har- 
 bour. After some time spent in refitting, they again put to 
 sea ; where they took a fisherman, who gave them intelli- 
 gence that the English fleet, hearing of the dispersion of 
 the armada in a storm, had retired back into Plymouth har- 
 bour, and most of the mariners were discharged. 3. From 
 this false intelligence, the Spanish admiral, instead of going 
 directly to the coast of Flanders, to take in the troops 
 stationed there, as he had been instructed, resolved to sail for 
 Plymouth, and destroy the shipping laid up in that harbour 
 But Effingham, the English admiral, was very well prepared 
 to receive them ; he was just got out of port when he saw 
 the Spanish armada coming full sail towards him, disposed 
 in the form of a half moon, and stretching seven miles from 
 one extremity to the other. 4. However, the English 
 admiral, seconded by Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, 
 attacked the armada at a distance, pouring in their broad- 
 sides with admirable dexterity. They did not choose to en 
 gage the enemy more closely, because they were greatly 
 inferior in the number of ships, guns, and weight of metal ; 
 nor could they pretend to board such lofty ships without 
 manifest disadvantage. However two Spanish galleons 
 were disabled and taken. 5. As the armada advanced up 
 the channel, the English still followed, and infested their 
 rear; and their fleet continually increasing from different 
 ports, they soon found themselves in a capacity to attack 
 the Spanish fleet more nearly, and accordingly fell upon 
 them while they were as yet taking shelter in the port of 
 Calais. 6. To increase their confusion, Howard took 
 eight of his smaller ships, and filling them with combustible 
 materials, sent them, as if they had been fire-ships, one 
 
ELIZABETH. 193 
 
 after the other, into the midst of the enemy. The Spaniards 
 taking them for what they seemed to be, immediately took 
 flight, in great disorder ; while the English, profiting by 
 sheir panic, took or destroyed about twelve of the enemy. 
 
 7. This was a fatal blow to Spain ; the duke de Medina 
 Sidonia, being thus driven to the coast of Zealand, held a 
 council of war, in which it was resolved, that, as their am- 
 munition began to fail, as their ships had received greal 
 damage, and the duke of Parma had refused to venture his 
 army under their protection, they should return to Spain 
 by sailing round the Orkneys, as the winds were contrary 
 to his passage directly back. 8. Accordingly they pro- 
 ceeded northward, and were followed by the English fleet 
 as far as Flamborough-head, where they were terribly shat- 
 tered by a storm. Seventeen of the ships, having five 
 thousand men on board, were afterwards cast away on the 
 Western isles, and the coast of Ireland. Of the whole 
 armada, three-and-fifty ships only returned to Spain, in a 
 miserable condition ; and the seamen, as well as soldiers, 
 who remained, only served by their accounts to intimidate 
 their countrymen from attempting to renew so dangerous an 
 expedition. 
 
 9. From being invaded, the English, in their turn, attacked 
 the Spaniards. Of those who made the most signal figure 
 in the depredations upon Spain, was the young earl of Essex, 
 a nobleman of great bravery, generosity, and genius ; and 
 fitted not only for the foremost ranks in war by his valour, 
 but to conduct the intrigues of a court by his eloquence and 
 address. 10. In all the masques which were then performed, 
 the earl and Elizabeth were generally coupled as partners ; 
 and although she was almost sixty, and he not half so old, 
 yet her vanity overlooked the disparity ; the world told her 
 she was young, and she herself was willing to think so. 
 This young earl's interest in the queen's affections, as may 
 naturally be supposed, promoted his interests in the state ; 
 and he conducted all things at his discretion. 11. But, 
 young and inexperienced as he was, he at length began to 
 fancy that the popularity he possessed, and the flatteries he 
 received, were given to his merits, and not to his favour. 
 In a debate before the queen, between him and Burleigh, 
 about the choice of a governor for Ireland, he was so heated 
 in the argument, that he entirely forgot both the rules and 
 duties of civility. 12. He turned his back on the queen in 
 a contemptuous manner, which so provoked her resentment, 
 
 R 
 
194 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 that she instantly gave him a box on the ear. [nstead oi 
 recollecting himself, and making the submission due to hei 
 sex and station, he clapped his hand to his sword, and swore 
 he would not bear such usage even from her father. This 
 offence, though very great, was overlooked by the queen ; 
 her partiality was so prevalent, that she reinstated him in 
 her former favour, and her kindness seemed to have acquired 
 new force from that short interruption of anger and resent- 
 ment. 13. The death also of his rival, Lord Burleigh, 
 which happened shortly after, seemed to confirm his power. 
 At that time the earl of Tyrone headed the rebellious na- 
 tives of Ireland ; who, not yet thoroughly brought into sub 
 jection by the English, took every opportunity to make 
 incursions upon the more civilized inhabitants, and slew all 
 they were able to overpower. 14. To subdue these was an 
 employment that Essex thought worthy of his ambition ; 
 nor were his enemies displeased at thus removing him from 
 court, where he obstructed all their private aims of prefer 
 ment. But it ended in his ruin. Instead of attacking the 
 enemy in their grand retreat in Ulster, he led his forces into 
 the province of Munster, where he only exhausted his 
 strength, and lost his opportunity against a people that sub- 
 mitted at his approach, but took up arms when he retired. 
 15. This issue of an enterprise, from which much was ex- 
 pected, did not fail to provoke the queen most sensibly ; 
 and her anger was still more heightened by the peevish and 
 impatient letters which he daily wrote to her and the council. 
 But her resentment against him was still more justly let 
 loose, when she found, that, leaving the place of his appoint- 
 ment, and without any permission demanded or obtained, 
 he returned from Ireland, to make his complaints to herself 
 in person. 
 
 16. Though Elizabeth was justly offended, yet he soon 
 won upon her temper to pardon him. He was now ordered 
 to continue a prisoner in his own house till the queen's fur- 
 ther pleasure should be known, and it is probable that the 
 discretion of a few months might have reinstated him in al) 
 his former employments ; but the impetuosity of his cha 
 racter would not suffer him to wait for a slow redress of 
 what he considered as wrongs : and the queen's refusing h*s 
 request to continue him in possession of a lucrative mono- 
 poly of sweet wines, which he had long enjoyed, spurred 
 him on to the most violent and guilty measures. (A.D. 
 1600.) 17. Having long built with fond credulity on his 
 
ELIZABETH 195 
 
 great popularity, he began to hope, from the assistance of 
 the giddy multitude, that revenge upon his enemies in coun 
 cL, which he supposed was denied him from the throne. 
 His greatest dependence was upon the professions of the 
 citizens of London, whose schemes of religion and govern- 
 ment he appeared entirely to approve ; and while he grati 
 fied the puritans, by railing at the government of the church, 
 he pleased the envious, by exposing the faults of those in 
 power. 18. Among other criminal projects, the result of 
 blind rage and despair, it was resolved that sir Christopher 
 Blount, one of his creatures, should, with a choice detach- 
 ment, possess himself of the palace gates ; that sir John 
 Davis should seize the hall ; sir Charles Danvers the guard- 
 chamber ; while Essex himself should rush in from the 
 Mews, attended by a body of his partisans, into the queen's 
 presence, and entreat her to remove his and her enemies, to 
 assemble a new parliament, and to correct the defects of the 
 present administration. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 X, 2. What were the circumstances that contributed to retard the armada ? 
 
 4. Describe the gallant conduct of the English. 
 
 7, 8. What were the consequences ? 
 
 9. What was the character of the earl of Essex ? 
 
 12. How did he behave to the queen ? 
 
 13. What expedition did he undertake ? 
 
 14. What was his success ? 
 
 15, 16. In what manner did he increase the queen's resentment ? 
 17, From whom did Essex expect assistance ? 
 18 On what project did he afterwards resolve ? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Raleigh, with hopes of new discoveries fired. 
 And all the depths of human vril inspired. 
 Moved o'er the western world in search of fame. 
 Adding fresh glory to Eliza's name. — Dr. King 
 
 1 (A. D. 1601.) While Essex was deliberating upon 
 the manner in which he should proceed, he received a pri- 
 vate note, by which he was warned to provide for his own 
 safety. He now, therefore, consulted with his friends- 
 touching the emergency of their situation ; they were desti 
 tute of arms and ammunition, while the guards at the palace 
 were doubled, so that any attack there would be fruitless. 
 2. "While he and his confidants were in consultation, a per- 
 son, probably employed by his enemies, came in as a mes- 
 senger from the citizens, with tenders of friendship and 
 
196 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 assistance against all his adversaries. Wild as the project 
 was of raising the city in the present terrible conjuncture, it 
 was resolved on ; but the execution of it was delayed till 
 the day following. 
 
 8. Early in the morning of the next day, he was attended 
 by his friends the earls of Rutland and Southampton, the 
 lords Sandes, Parker, and Monteagle, with three hundred 
 persons of distinction. The doors of Essex-house were im- 
 mediately locked, to prevent all strangers from entering ; and 
 the earl now discovered his scheme for raising the city more 
 fully to all the conspirators. In the mean time, sir Walter 
 Raleigh sending a message to Ferdinando Georges, this 
 officer had a conference with him in a boat on the Thames, 
 and there discovered all their proceedings. 4. The earl of 
 Essex, who now saw that all was to be hazarded, resolved 
 to leave his house, and to sally forth to make an insurrec- 
 tion in the city. But he had made a very wrong estimate 
 in expecting that popularity alone would aid him in time of 
 danger ; he issued out with about two hundred followers, 
 armed only with swords ; and in his passage to the city was 
 joined by the earl of Bedford and lord Cromwell. 5. As 
 he passed through the streets, he cried aloud, " For the 
 queen ! for the queen ! a plot is laid for my life ;" hoping 
 to engage the populace to rise ; but they had received orders 
 from the mayor to keep within their houses ; so that he was 
 not joined by a single person. 6. In this manner, attended 
 by a few of his followers, the rest having privately retired, 
 he made towards the river ; and, taking a boat, arrived once 
 more at Essex-house, where he began to make preparations 
 for his defence. But his case was too desperate for any re 
 medy from valour ; wherefore, after demanding in vain for 
 hostages and conditions from his besiegers, he surrendered 
 at discretion, requesting only civil treatment and a fair and 
 impartial hearing. 
 
 7. Essex and Southampton were immediately carried to 
 the archbishop's palace at Lambeth, from whence they were 
 the next day conveyed to the Tower, and tried by the peers 
 on the nineteenth of February following. Little could be. 
 urged in their defence ; their guilt was too flagrant ; and 
 though it deserved pity, it could not meet an acquittal. 
 Essex, after condemnation, was visited by that religious 
 horror which seemed to attend him in all his disgraces, 
 He was terrified almost to despair by the ghostly remon- 
 strances of his own chaplain ; he was reconciled to his 
 
ELIZABETH. 
 
 197 
 
 Queen Elizabeth signing the death-warrant of Eases. 
 
 enemies, and made a full confession of his conspiracy 
 8. It is alleged upon this occasion, that he had strong hopes 
 of pardon from the irresolution which the queen seemed to 
 discover before she signed the warrant for his execution. 
 She had given him formerly a ring, which she desired him 
 to send her in any emergency of this nature, and that it 
 should procure his safety and protection. This ring was 
 actually sent by the countess of Nottingham* who, being a 
 concealed enemy to the unfortunate earl, never delivered it ; 
 while Elizabeth was secretly fired at his obstinacy in mak- 
 ing no application for mercy or forgiveness. 9. The fact 
 is, she appeared herself as much an object of pity as the 
 unfortunate nobleman she was induced to condemn. She 
 signed the warrant for his execution ; she countermanded 
 it; she again resolved on his death, and again felt a new 
 return of tenderness. At last she gave her consent to his 
 execution, and was never seen to enjoy one happy day more. 
 10. With the death of her favourite Essex, all Elizabeth's 
 pleasures seemed to expire ; she afterwards went through 
 the business of the state merely from habit, but her satisfac- 
 tions were no more. Her distress was more than sufficient 
 to destroy the remains of her constitution ; and her end was 
 now visibly seen to approach. Her voice soon after left 
 her; she fell into a lethargic slumber, which continued soma 
 hours ; and she expired gently, without a groan, in the 
 
 E 2 
 
198 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 seventieth year of her age, and the forty-fifth of her reign 
 11. Her character differed with her circumstances ; in the 
 beginning she was moderate and humble ; towards the end 
 of her reign haughty and severe. Though she was possess 
 ed of excellent sense, yet she never had the discernment to 
 discover that she wanted beauty ; and to flatter her charms 
 at the age of sixty-five was the surest road to her favour and 
 esteem. 
 
 12. But whatever were her personal defects, as a queen 
 she is ever to be remembered by the English with gratitude 
 It is true, indeed, that she carried her prerogative in parlia- 
 ment to its highest pitch, so that it was tacitly allowed in 
 that assembly that she was above all laws, and could make 
 and unmake them at pleasure ; yet still she was so wise and 
 good as seldom to exert that power which she claimed, 
 and to enforce few acts of her prerogative which were not 
 for the benefit of her people. 13. It is true, in like manner, 
 that the English, during her reign, were put in possession 
 of no new or splendid acquisitions ; but commerce was daily 
 growing up among them, and the people began to find that 
 the theatre of their truest conquests was to be on the bosom 
 of the ocean. A nation, which had hitherto been the object 
 of every invasion, and a prey to every plunderer, now as- 
 serted its strength in turn, and became terrible to its invad- 
 ers. 14. The successful voyages of the Spaniards and Por- 
 tuguese began to excite their emulation, and they planned 
 several expeditions for discovering a shorter passage to the 
 East Indies. The famous sir Walter Raleigh, without any 
 assistance from government, colonized New England, while 
 internal commerce was making equal improvements ; and 
 many Flemings, persecuted in their native country, found, 
 together with their arts and industry, an easy asylum in 
 England. 15. Thus the whole island seemed as if roused 
 from her long habits of barbarity ; arts, commerce, and le- 
 gislation began to acquire new strength every day ; and 
 such was the state of learning at that time, that some fixed 
 that period as the Augustan age of England. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh and Hooker are considered as among the first im- 
 provers of our language. 16. Spenser and Shakspeare are 
 too well known as poets to be praised here ; but, of all man- 
 kind, Francis Bacon, lord Verulam, who flourished in this 
 reign, deserves, as a philosopher, the highest applause ; his 
 style is copicus and correct, and his wit is only surpassed 
 by his learning and penetration. 17. If we look through 
 
ELIZABETH. 
 
 199 
 
 history, and consider the rise of kingdoms, we shall scarcely 
 find an instance of a people becoming, in so short a time, 
 wise, powerful, and happy. Liberty, it is true, still conti- 
 nued to fluctuate ; Elizabeth knew her own power, and 
 stretched it to the very verge of despotism ; but, now that 
 commerce was introduced, liberty soon after followed; for 
 there never was a nation that was perfectly commercial that 
 submitted long to slavery. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 What project did Essex resolve on for raising the city ? 
 
 3, 4, 5. How did he proceed to effect this ? 
 
 6, 7. What was the fate of Essex and Southampton ? 
 
 8. What induced Essex to have hopes of pardon ? 
 
 9. What was Elizabeth's conduct on this occasion ? 
 
 10. Did Elizabeth long survive the death of her favourite ? 
 
 11. What was her character? 
 
 13. What was the political condition of England at the death of Elizabeth .' 
 
 14. Did any important events take place during her reign ? 
 
 15. What was the state of learning ? and what eminent men flourished at thw 
 
 time? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Paul IV 1555 
 
 Pius IV 1559 
 
 PiusV 1565 
 
 Gregory XIII 1572 
 
 SextusV 1585 
 
 Urban VII 1590 
 
 Gregory XIV 1590 
 
 Innocent IX 1591 
 
 Clement VIII 1592 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Ferdinand 1 1558 
 
 Maximilian II 1564 
 
 Rodolphus II 1576 
 
 Emperors of the Turks. 
 Solimanll 1520 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Selim II 1566 
 
 Amurathlll 1574 
 
 Mahomet III 1595 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Henry II 1547 
 
 Francis II 1559 
 
 Charles IX 1560 
 
 Henry III 1574 
 
 Henry IV 1589 
 
 King of Spain. 
 Philip II 1555 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 Sebastian 1557 
 
 Henry 1579 
 
 Union of Spam and 
 Portugal. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Philip II 1580 
 
 Philip III 1597 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 
 Christian IV 1558 
 
 Frederick II 1559 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 EricX 1556 
 
 John III 1569 
 
 Sigismund 1592 
 
 Queen and King of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Mary 1542 
 
 James VI 1567 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Shakspeare. Spenser. Bacon. Sir Philip Sidney. Sir Walter Raleigh.* 
 Sir Francis Drake. Lord Howard of Effingham. Cecil, lord Burleigh. Ro- 
 bert Dudley, earl of Leicester. Sir Martin Frobisher. Sir John Hawkins 
 &c. &c. 
 
 * Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have attracted Elizabeth's notice by a 
 delicate act of gallantry. When the queen, in one of her customary 
 walks, hesitated about passing a miry spot, Raleigh, then a young ad- 
 venturer, threw his cloak before her as a carpet. He was immediately 
 invited to court, and the most brilliant prospects began to open before 
 him. 
 
200 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 JAMES I. 
 
 Horn 1566. Died March 27, lfv25. Began to reign March 24, 1C03. Reigned 22 
 years over Great Britain, 58 years (nearly) over Scotland. 
 
 Now on the great and glo r iou9 queen's demise. 
 
 The Scottish James her vacant place supplies; 
 
 Uniting into one, both crowns he claims, 
 
 And them conjunctively Great Britain names. — Egerlon. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1603.) James the Sixth of Scotland, and the 
 First of England, the son of Mary, came to the throne with 
 the universal approbation of all orders of the state, as in his 
 person were united every claim that either descent, bequest, 
 or parliamentary sanction could confer. However, in the 
 very beginning of his reign, a conspiracy was set on foot, 
 the particulars of which are but obscurely related. 2. It is 
 said to have been begun by lord Grey, lord Cobham, and 
 sir Walter Raleigh, who were all condemned to die, but had 
 their sentence mitigated by the king. Cobham and Grey 
 were pardoned after they had laid their heads on the block. 
 Raleigh was reprieved, but remained in confinement many 
 years afterwards, and at last suffered for his offence, which 
 was never proved. 
 
 3. Mild as this monarch was in toleration, there was a 
 project contrived in the very beginning of his reign for the 
 re-establishment of popery, which, were it not a fact known 
 to all the world, could scarcely be credited by posterity. 
 This was the gunpowder plot, than which a more horrid or 
 terrible scheme never entered into the human heart to con- 
 ceive. 
 
 4. The Roman catholics had expected great favour and 
 indulgence on the accession of James, both as a descendant 
 of Mary, a rigid catholic, and alpo as having shown some 
 partiality to that religion in his youth ; but they soon disco- 
 vered their mistake, and were at once surprised and enraged 
 to find James, on all occasions, express his resolution of 
 strictly exercising the laws enacted against them, and of per- 
 severing in the conduct of his predecessor. This declaration 
 determined them upon more desperate measures ; and they 
 at length formed a resolution of destroying the king and 
 both houses of parliament at a blow. The scheme was first 
 broached by Robert Catesby, a gentleman of good parts and 
 ancient family ; who conceived that a train of gunpowder 
 
JAMES I. 201 
 
 might be so placed under the parliament-house as to blow 
 up the king and all the members at once. 
 
 0. How horrid soever the contrivance might appear, yet 
 every member seemed faithful and secret in the league ; and 
 about two months before the sitting of parliament, they hired 
 a house, in the name of Percy, adjoining to that in which 
 the parliament was to assemble. 7. Their first intention 
 was to bore a way under the parliament-house from thai 
 which they occupied, and they set themselves labouring a) 
 the task ; but when they had pierced the wall, which was 
 three yards in thickness, on approaching the other side, they 
 were surprised to find that the house was vaulted underneath, 
 and that a magazine of coals was usually deposited there. 
 8. From their disappointment on this account they were 
 soon relieved, by information that the coals were then sell- 
 ing off, and that the vaults would then be let to the highest 
 bidder. They therefore seized the opportunity of hiring 
 the place, and bought the remaining quantity of coals with 
 which it was then stored, as if for their own use. 9. The 
 next thing done was to convey thither thirty-six barrels of 
 gunpowder, which had been purchased in Holland ; and the 
 whole was covered with coals and fagots, bought for that 
 purpose. Then the doors of the cellar were boldly thrown 
 open, and everybody admitted as if it contained nothing 
 dangerous. 
 
 10. Confident of success, they now began to plan the re- 
 maining part of their project. The king, queen, and prince 
 Henry, the king's eldest son, were all expected to be present 
 at the opening of the parliament. The king's second son, 
 by reason of his tender age, would be absent, and it was 
 resolved that Percy should seize or assassinate him. The 
 princess Elizabeth, a child likewise, was kept at lord Har- 
 rington's house in Warwickshire ; and sir Everard Dighy 
 was to seize her, and immediately proclaim her queen. 
 
 11. The day for the sitting of parliament now approached. 
 Never was treason more secret, or ruin more apparently in- 
 evitable : the hour was expected with impatience, and the 
 conspirators gloried in their meditated guilt. The dreadful 
 secret, though communicated to above twenty persons, had 
 been inviolably kept during the space of a year and a half. 
 When all the motives of pity, justice, and safety were too 
 weak, a remorse of private friendship saved the kingdom. 
 
 12. Sir Henry Percy, one of the conspirators, conceived 
 i design of saving the life of lord Mounteagle, his intimate 
 
202 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 friend and companion, who also was of the same persuasion 
 with himself. About ten days before the meeting of parlia- 
 ment, this nobleman, upon his return to town, received a 
 letter from a person unknown, and delivered by one who 
 fled as soon as he had discharged his message. 13. The 
 letter was to this effect : " My lord, stay away from this 
 parliament ; for God and man have concurred to punish the 
 wickedness of the times. And think not slightly of this 
 advertisement, but retire yourself into your country, where 
 you may expect the event in safety. For though there be 
 no appearance of any stir, yet I say they will receive a ter 
 rible blow this parliament ; and yet they shall not see who 
 hurts them. This counsel is not to be condemned, because 
 it may do you good, and can do you no harm. For the 
 danger is past as soon as you have burned the letter." 
 
 14. The contents of this mysterious letter surprised and 
 puzzled the nobleman to whom it was addressed ; and- 
 though inclined to think it a foolish attempt to affright and 
 ridicule him, yet he judged it safest to carry it to lord Salis 
 bury, secretary of state. 15. Lord Salisbury, too, was in 
 clined to give little attention to it, yet thought proper to lay 
 it before the king in council, who came to town a few days 
 after. None of the council were able to make any thing of 
 it, although it appeared serious and alarming. In the uni- 
 versal agitation between doubt and apprehension, the king 
 was the first who penetrated the meaning of this dark epistle. 
 16. He concluded that some sudden danger was preparing 
 by gunpowder; and it was thought advisable to inspect all 
 the vaults below the houses of parliament. This care be 
 longed to the earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain, who pur- 
 posely delayed the search till the day before the meeting of 
 parliament, November 5, 16C5. He remarked those great 
 piles of fagots which lay in the vault under the house of 
 peers, and seized a man preparing for the terrible enterprise, 
 dressed in a cloak and boots, with a dark lantern in his 
 hand. 17. This was no other than Guy Fawkes, who had 
 just deposited every part of the train for its taking fire the 
 next morning, the matches and other combustibles being 
 found in his pockets. The whole design was now disco- 
 vered ; but the atrociousness of his guilt, and the despair of 
 pardon, inspiring him with resolution, he told the officers of 
 justice, with an undaunted air, that, had he blown them and 
 himself up together, he had been happy. Before the coun- 
 cil lie displayed the same intrepid firmness, mixed even with 
 
JAMES 1. 
 
 203 
 
 Seizure of Guy Fawke*. 
 
 scorn and disdain, refusing to discover his associates, and 
 showing no concern but for the failure of his enterprise. But 
 his bold spirit was at length subdued ; being confined in the 
 Tower for two or three days, and the rack just shown him, 
 his courage, fatigued with so long an effort, at last failed 
 him, and he made a full discovery of all his accomplices. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Who succeeded Elizabeth? 
 
 2. What conspiracy was set on foot at the commencement of this reign 1 
 
 3. What project was contrived for the rc-establishment of popery ? 
 5. By whom was it first broached ? 
 
 6 — 9. In what manner was the project endeavoured to be carried into effect < 
 10. Who were expected to be present at the opening of parliament ? 
 11 To how many persons had the plot been revealed ? 
 
 12. What circumstance saved the kingdom ? 
 
 13. What were the contents of Percy's letter? 
 
 15. Who was the first to discover the meaning of the te'.ter ? 
 lb* Can you relate the measures taken to prevent the apprehended danger f 
 17 What was the name of the person engaged in this enterprise? and wha* 
 was his conduct on being discovered ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Ynt Raleinh left a deathless name. 
 To 'earning dear, and dear to fanie.- 
 
 Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A. 1). 1605) Catesby, Percy, and the conspirators 
 who were in London, hearing that Fawkes was arrested 
 fled with all speed to Warwickshire, where Sir Everard 
 
204 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Digby, relying on tho success of the plot, was already in 
 arms. But the country soon began to take the alarm, and 
 wherever they turned, they found a superior force ready to 
 oppose them. 2. In this exigence, beset on all sides, they 
 resolved, to the number of about eighty persons, to fly no 
 further, but to make a stand at a house in Warwickshire, to 
 defend it to the last, and sell their lives as dearly as possible. 
 But even this miserable consolation was denied them ; a 
 spark of fire happening to fall among some gunpowder that 
 was laid to dry, it blew up, and so maimed the principal 
 conspirators, that the survivors resolved to open the gate, 
 and sally out against the multitude that surrounded the house. 
 3. Some were instantly cut to pieces ; Catesby, Percy, and 
 Winter, standing back to back, fought long and desperately, 
 till in the end the two first fell covered with wounds, and 
 Winter was taken alive. Those that survived the slaughter 
 were tried and convicted ; several fell by the hands of the 
 executioner, and others experienced the king's mercy. The 
 Jesuits, Garnet and Oldcorn, who were privy to the plot, 
 suffered with the rest, and, notwithstanding the atrociousness 
 of their treason, Garnet was considered by his party as a 
 martyr, and miracles were said to have been wrought by his 
 blood. 
 
 4. The sagacity with which the king first discovered the 
 plot raised the opinion of his wisdom among the people , 
 but the folly with which he gave himself up to his favour- 
 ites quickly undeceived the nation. A.D. 1012. In the 
 first rank of these stood Robert Carr, a youth of a good 
 family in Scotland, who, after having passed some time in 
 his travels, arrived in London, at about twenty years of age 
 All his natural accomplishments consisted in a pleasing vi- 
 sage ; and all his acquired abilities in an easy and graceful 
 demeanour. 
 
 5. This youth was considered as a most rising man at 
 court , he was knighted, created vincount Rochester, ho- 
 noured with the order of the garter, made a privy counsellor, 
 and to raise him to the highest pitch of honour, he was at 
 last created earl of Somerset. 
 
 6. This was an advancement which some regarded with 
 envy ; but the wiser part of mankind looked upon it with 
 contempt and ridicule, sensible that ungrounded attachments 
 are seldom of long continuance. Some time after, being 
 accused and convicted, from private motives, of poisoning 
 sir Thomas Overbury in the Tower, he fell under the king's 
 
JAMES I. 205 
 
 displeasure : and being driven from court, spent the remain- 
 der of his life in contempt and self-conviction. 
 
 7. But the king had not been so improvident as to part 
 with one favourite until he had provided himself with an- 
 other. This was George Villiers, a youth of one-and-twenty, 
 the younger brother of a good family, who was returned 
 about that time from his travels, and whom the enemies of 
 Somerset had taken occasion to throw in the king's way, 
 certain that his beauty and fashionable manners would do 
 the rest. 8. Accordingly he had been placed at a comedy 
 full in the king's view, and immediately caught the monarch's 
 affections. In the course of a few years, he was created 
 viscount Villiers, earl, marquis, and duike of Buckingham, 
 knight of the garter, master of the horse, chief justice in 
 eyre, warden of the cinque ports, master of the king's bench 
 office, steward of Westminster, constable of Windsor, and 
 lord high admiral of England. 
 
 9. The universal murmur which these foolish attachments 
 produced was soon after heightened by an act of severity, 
 which still continues as the blackest stain upon this mo- 
 narch's memory. The brave and learned Raleigh had been 
 confined in the Tower, almost from the very beginning of 
 James's accession, for a conspiracy which had never been 
 proved against him ; and in that abode of wretchedness he 
 wrote several valuable performances, which are still in the 
 highest esteem. 10. His long sufferings, and his ingenious 
 writings, had now turned the tide of popular opinion in his 
 favour ; and they who once detested the enemy of Essex, 
 could not now help pitying the captivity of this philosophi- 
 cal soldier. He himself still struggled for freedom ; and 
 perhaps it was with this desire that he spread the report of 
 his having discovered a gold mine in Guiana, which was 
 sufficient to enrich not only the adventurers who should 
 seize it, but afford immense treasures to the nation. 11. 
 The king, either believing his assertions, or willing to subject 
 him to further disgrace, granted him a commission to try his 
 fortune in quest of these golden schemes ; but still reserved 
 his former sentence as a check upon his future behaviour. 
 
 12. Raleigh was not long in making preparations for this 
 adventure, which, from the sanguine manner in which he 
 carried it on, many thought he believed to be as promising 
 as he described it. He bent his course to Guiana, and re 
 maining himself at the mouth of the river Oronooko with 
 live of the largest ships, lie sent the rest up the stream, under 
 
 S 
 
206 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the command of his son, and captain Kemmis, a person en 
 tirely devoted to his interest. 13. But instead of a country 
 abounding in gold, as the adventurers were taught to expect, 
 they found the Spaniards had been warned of their approach, 
 and were prepared in arms to receive them. Young Ra- 
 leigh, to encourage his men, called out that " was the true 
 mine," meaning the town of St. Thomas, which he was ap- 
 proaching ; " and that none but fools looked for any other ;" 
 but just as he was speaking he received a shot, of which he 
 immediately expired. This was followed by another dis- 
 appointment ; for when the English took possession of the 
 town, they found nothing in it of any value. 
 
 14. Raleigh, in this forlorn situation, found now that all 
 his hopes were over ; and saw his misfortunes still farther 
 aggravated by the reproaches of those whom he had under- 
 taken to command. Nothing could be more deplorable than 
 his situation, particularly when he was told that he must be 
 carried back to England, to answer for his conduct to the 
 king. 15. It is pretended that he employed many artifices, 
 first to engage them to attack the Spanish settlements at a 
 time of peace, and, failing of that, to make his escape into 
 France. But all of those proving unsuccessful, he was de- 
 livered into the king's hands, and strictly examined, as well 
 as his fellow-adventurers, before the privy council. Count 
 Gondemar, the Spanish ambassador, made heavy complaints 
 against the expedition ; and the king declared that Raleigh 
 had express orders to avoid all disputes and hostilities 
 against the Spaniards. 16. Wherefore, to give the court of. 
 Spain a particular instance of his attachment, he signed the 
 warrant for his execution ; not for the present offence, but 
 for his former conspiracy. This great man died with the 
 same fortitude he had testified through life ; he observed, 
 as he felt the edge of the axe, that it was a sharp but a sure 
 remedy for all evils ; his harangue to the people was calm 
 and eloquent ; and he laid his head down on the block with 
 the utmost indifference. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1 What measures were taken by the principal conspirators 
 
 3 What was their fate ? 
 
 4 Who was king James's first favourite ? 
 
 6 How did Somerset fall under the king's displeasure ? 
 
 7. Wtio was the king's next favourite ? 
 
 8. What honours did he confer on him ? 
 
 9 For wnat was sir Walter Raleigh confined in the Tower 
 
JAMES I. 207 
 
 10. What report did Raleigh spread ? 
 12 -15. Mention the particulars relating to this expedition. 
 16 What was the fate of this great man ? 
 What was his behaviour at his execution ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Though scorn 'd abroad, bewilder'd in a maze 
 
 Of fruitless treaties, while at home enslaved, 
 
 He lost his people's confidence and love. — Thomson. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1618.) But there soon appeared veiy appa 
 rent reasons for James's partiality to the court of Spain, 
 This monarch had entertained an opinion which was pecu- 
 liar to himself, that in marrying his son Charles, the prince 
 of Wales, any alliance below that of royalty would be un- 
 worthy of him : he, therefore, was obliged to seek, either 
 in the court of France or Spain, a suitable match, and he 
 was taught to think of the latter. 2. Gondemar, who was 
 an ambassador from the court, perceiving this weak mo- 
 narch's partiality to a crowned head, made an offer of the 
 second daughter of Spain to prince Charles ; and that he 
 might render the temptation irresistible, he gave hopes of an 
 immense fortune which should attend the princess. How- 
 ever, this was a negotiation which was not likely soon to 
 be ended ; and from the time the idea was first started, James 
 saw five years elapse without bringing the treaty to any kind 
 of conclusion. 
 
 3. A delay of this kind was very displeasing to the king, 
 who had all along an eye on the great fortune of the prin- 
 cess ; nor was it less disagreeable to prince Charles, who, 
 bred up with the ideas of romantic passion, was in love 
 without ever seeing the object of his affections. In this 
 general tedium of delay, a project entered the head of Vil- 
 liers, who had for some years ruled the king with absolute 
 authority, that was fitter to be conceived by the knight of a 
 romance than by a minister and a statesman. 4. It was 
 projected that the prince should himself travel in disguise 
 into Spain, and visit the princess of that country in person. 
 Buckingham, who wanted to ingratiate himself with the 
 prince, offered to be his companion ; and the king, whose 
 business it was to check so wild a scheme, gave his consent 
 to this hopeful proposal. 5. Their adventures on this 
 strange project would fill novels ; and have actually been 
 made the subject of many. Charles was the knight-errant, 
 and Buckingham was the squire The match, however, 
 
208 HISTOR/ OF ENGLAND. 
 
 broke off, for what reason historians do not assign ; but, if 
 we may credit the novelists of that time, the prince had al 
 ready fixed his affections upon the daughter of Henry IV 
 of France, whom he married shortly after. 
 
 6. It may be easily supposed that these mismanagements 
 were seen and felt by the people. The house of commons 
 was become by this time quite unmanagable ; the prodigality 
 of James to his favourites had made his necessities so many, 
 that he was contented to sell the different branches of his 
 prerogative to the commons, one after the other, to procure 
 supplies. In proportion as they perceived his wants, they 
 found out new grievances ; and every grant of money was 
 sure to come with a petition for redress. The struggles be- 
 tween him and the parliament had been growing more and 
 more violent every session ; and the very last advanced their 
 pretensions to such a degree, that he began to take the 
 alarm : but these evils, which the weakness of this monarch 
 Aad contributed to give birth to, fell upon his successor. 
 
 7. These domestic troubles were attended by others still 
 more important in Germany, and which produced in the end 
 most dangerous effects. The king's eldest daughter had 
 been married to Frederic, the elector palatine of Germany ; 
 and this prince, revolting against the emperor Ferdinand the 
 Second, was defeated in a decisive battle, and obliged to take 
 refuge in Holland. 8. His affinity to the English crown, 
 his misfortunes, but particularly the protestant religion, for 
 which he had contended, were strong motives to the people 
 of England to wish well to his cause ; and frequent ad- 
 dresses were sent from the commons to induce James to take 
 a part in the German contest, and to replace the exiled 
 prince upon the throne of his ancestors. 9. James at first 
 attempted to ward off the misfortunes of his son-in-iaw by 
 negotiation, A.D. 1620 ; but this proving utterly ineffectual, 
 it was at last resolved to rescue the palatinate from the empe- 
 ror by force of arms. Accordingly, war was declared 
 against Spain and the emperor ; six thousand men were 
 sent over into Holland, to assist prince Maurice in his 
 schemes against those powers ; the people were every- 
 where elated at the courage of their king, and were satisfied 
 with any war which was to exterminate the papists. 10 
 This army was followed by another, consisting of twelve 
 thousand men, commanded by count Mansfeldt; and the 
 court of France promised its assistance. But the English 
 were disappointed in all their views ; the troops being em 
 
JAMES I. 
 
 209 
 
 darked at Dover, upon sailing to Calais they found no orders 
 Tor their admission. After waiting in vain for some time, 
 they were obliged to sail towards Zealand, where no proper 
 measures were yet concerted for their disembarkation. 11. 
 Meanwhile a pestilential disease crept in among the forces, 
 so long cooped up in narrow vessels ; half the army died 
 while on board ; and the other half, weakened by sickness, 
 appeared too small a body to march into the palatinate ; and 
 thus ended this ill-concerted and fruitless expedition. 
 
 12. Whether this misfortune had any effect upon James's 
 constitution is uncertain ; but he was soon after seized with 
 a tertian ague, which when his courtiers assured him from 
 the proverb that it was health for a king, he replied, that the 
 proverb was made for a young king. A.D. 1625. After 
 some fits he found himself extremely weakened, and sent 
 for the prince, whom he exhorted to persevere in the pro- 
 testant religion ; then, preparing with decency and courage 
 to meet his end, he expired, after a reign over England of 
 twenty-two years, and in the fifty-ninth year of his age. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What were the reasons for James's partiality to Spain ? 
 
 2. What offer was made by the Spanish ambassador ? 
 
 4. What project was formed by Villiers, and by whom was it undertaken 1 
 
 5. What was its success ? 
 
 6. How did the house of commons act towards James? 
 
 7 — 11. Relate the circumstances that occurred in Germany. 
 12. In what manner did the king conduct himself previously to his death ? 
 How long did he reign ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Clement VIII 1592 
 
 Leo XI 1605 
 
 Paul III 1605 
 
 Gregory XV 1621 
 
 Urban VIII 1623 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Rodolphusll 1576 
 
 Matthias 1 1612 
 
 Ferdinand II 1619 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Achmet 1 1603 
 
 Mustapha 1 1617 
 
 Osman 1 1618 
 
 Mustapha I. restor- 
 ed 1622 
 
 AmurathlV 1623 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Henry IV 1589 
 
 Louis XIII 1610 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Kings of Spain and 
 Portugal. a.d 
 
 Philip III 1597 
 
 Philip IV 1621 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 Christian IV 1588 
 
 Kings oj Sweden. 
 
 Sigismund 1592 
 
 Charles IX 1606 
 
 GustavusH 1611 
 
 Henry prince of Wales. Carr, earl of Somerset. Villiers, duke of Buck 
 ingham. Lord chancellor Bacon. William Shakspkare. Sir Walter Ra 
 leigh. Sir Hugh Middleton. Lord chancellor Maitland. W. A. earl of. 
 Stirling. Sir M. Kerr, earl of Ancram. J Hamilton, earl of Haddington 
 lames, duke of Hamilton. Henry Carey, lord Falkland. G. Calvert, lord 
 
 82 
 
210 HISTORY OF LNGLAND. 
 
 Baltimore. Robert Carey, earl of Monmonth. Sir M. Cecil earl of Salisbury 
 Henry Howard, earl of Northampton. Lord chancellor Ellesmere. S.i 
 Fulke Greville, lord Brooke. G. Carew, earl of Totnes. W. Herbert, earl 
 of Pembroke. Sir Dudley Carleton, viscount Dorchester E. Cecil, viscouni 
 Wimbledon, &c. &c. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 CHARLES I. 
 
 Born 1600. DiedJanuary 30, 1G49. Began to reign March 27, 1625. Reigned 
 
 23| years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The monarch's deeds shall large allowance claim, 
 With whom too often, to a nation's shame. 
 Success is virtue and misfortune blame. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1625.) Few princes ever ascended the throne 
 with more apparent advantages than Charles ; and none ever 
 encountered more real difficulties. Indeed, he undertook 
 the reins of government with a fixed persuasion that his 
 popularity was sufficient to carry every measure. 2. He 
 had been loaded with a treaty for defending the prince 
 palatine, his brother-in-law, in the last reign : and the war 
 declared for that purpose was to be carried on with vigour 
 in this. But war was more easily declared than supplies 
 grranted. After some reluctance, the commons voted him 
 two subsidies ; a sum far from being sufficient to support 
 him in his intended equipment. 
 
 3. To supply the want of parliamentary aid, Charles had 
 recourse to some of the ancient methods of extortion, prac- 
 tised by sovereigns when in necessitous circumstances. 
 That kind of tax called a benevolence was ordered to be 
 exacted, and privy seals were issued accordingly. With 
 this the people were obliged, though reluctantly, to comply; 
 it was in fact authorized by many precedents ; but no pre- 
 cedent whatsoever could give a sanction to injustice. 
 
 4. After an ineffectual expedition to Cadiz, another at- 
 tempt was made to obtain supplies in a more regular and 
 constitutional manner than before. Another parliament was 
 accordingly called ; and though some steps were taken to 
 exclude the more popular leaders of the last house of com- 
 mens, by nominating them as sheriffs of counties, yet the 
 present parliament seemed more refractory than the former 
 
CHARLES I 211 
 
 G. When the king laid before the house his necessities, and 
 asked for a supply, they voted him only three subsidies, 
 which amounted to about sixty thousand pounds; a sum no 
 way adequate to the importance of the war, or the necessities 
 of the state. In order, therefore, to gain a sufficient supply, 
 a commission was openly granted to compound with the 
 catholics, and agree for a dispensation of the penal laws 
 against them. He borrowed a sum of money from the no- 
 bility, whose contributions came in but slowly. 6. But the 
 greatest stretch of his power was in the levying of ship- 
 money. In order to equip a fleet (at least this was the 
 pretence made), each of the maritime towns was required, 
 with the assistance of the adjacent counties, to arm as many 
 vessels as were appointed them. The city of London was 
 rated at twenty ships. This was the commencement of a 
 tax, which afterwards, being carried to such violent lengths, 
 created such discontents in the nation. 
 
 7. War being soon after declared against France, a fleet 
 was sent out, under the command of Buckingham, to relieve 
 Rochelle, a maritime town in that kingdom, that had long 
 enjoyed its privileges, independent of the French king ; but 
 that had for some time embraced the reformed religion, and 
 now was besieged with a formidable army. This expedition 
 was as unfortunate as that to the coast of Spain. 8. The 
 duke's measures were so ill concerted, that the inhabitants 
 of the city shut their gates, and refused to admit allies, of 
 whose coming they were not previously informed. Instead 
 of attacking the island of Oleron, which was fertile and de- 
 fenceless, he bent his course to the isle of Rhe, which was 
 garrisoned and well fortified. He attempted there to starve 
 out the garrison of St. Martin's castle, which was plentifully 
 supplied with provisions by sea. 9. By that time the French 
 had landed their forces privately at another part of the island : 
 so that Buckingham was at last obliged to retreat, but with 
 such precipitation, that two-thirds of his army were cut to 
 pieces before he could re-embark, though he was the last 
 man of the whole army that quitted the shore. 10. This 
 proof of his personal courage, however, was but a small 
 subject of consolation for the disgrace which his country 
 had sustained, for his own person would have been the last 
 they would have regretted. 
 
 11. The contest between the king and the commons every 
 day grew warmer. The officers of the custom-house were 
 summoned before the commons, to give an account bv what 
 
212 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 authority they seized the goods of the merchants who had 
 refused to pay the duty of tonnage and poundage, which 
 they alleged was levied without the sanction of law. The 
 barons of the exchequer were examined concerning their 
 decrees on that head ; and the sheriff of London committed 
 to the Tower for his activity in supporting the custom-house 
 officers. 12. These were bold measures : but the commons 
 went still further, by a resolution to examine into religious 
 grievances, and a new spirit of intolerance began to appear, 
 A. D. 1629. The king, therefore, resolved to dissolve a 
 parliament which he found himself unable to manage ; and 
 sir John Finch, the speaker, just as the question concerning 
 tonnage and poundage was going to be put, rose up, and 
 informed the house that he had a command from the king 
 to adjourn. 
 
 13. The house upon this was in an uproar; the speaker 
 was pushed back into his chair, and forcibly held in it by 
 Hollis and Valentine, till a short remonstrance was framed, 
 and passed by acclamation rather than vote. In this hasty 
 production, papists and Arminians were declared capital 
 enemies to the state ; tonnage and poundage were condemned 
 as contrary to the law ; and not only those who raised that 
 duty, but those who paid it, were considered as guilty of 
 capital crimes. 
 
 14. In consequence of this violent procedure, sir Miles 
 Hobart, sir Peter Haymen, Selden, Coriton, Long, and 
 Strode, were, by the king's order, committed to prison, 
 under pretence of sedition. But the same temerity that 
 impelled Charles to imprison them, induced him to grant 
 them a release. 15. Sir John Elliot, Hollis, and Valentine 
 were summoned before the king's bench ; but they refusing 
 to appear before an inferior tribunal for faults committed in 
 a superior, were condemned to be imprisoned during the 
 king's pleasure ; the two former to pay a fine of a thousand 
 pounds each, and the latter five hundred, and to find sureties 
 for their good behaviour. The members triumphed in their 
 sufferings, while they had the whole kingdom as spectators 
 and applauders of their fortitude. 
 
 16. In the mean time, while the king was thus distressed 
 by the obstinacy of the commons, he felt a much severer 
 blow by the death of his favourite, the duke of Buckingham, 
 who fell a sacrifice to his unpopularity. 17. It had been 
 resolved once more to undertake the raising of the siege of 
 Koehelle ; and the earl of Denbigh brother-in-law to Buck 
 
CHARLES I. 213 
 
 ingham, was sent thither, but returned without effecting any 
 thing. In order to repair this disgrace, the duke of Buck 
 ingham went in person to Portsmouth to hurry on another 
 expedition, and to punish such as had endeavoured to de- 
 fraud the crown of the legal assessments. 18. In the general 
 discontent that prevailed against that nobleman, it was daily- 
 expected that some severe measures would be resolved on ; 
 and he was stigmatized as the tyrant and betrayer of his 
 country. There was one Felton, who caught the general 
 contagion, — an Irishman of a good family, who had served 
 under the duke as lieutenant, but had resigned, on being 
 refused his rank on the death of his captain, who had been 
 killed at the isle of Rhe. 19. This man was naturally me- 
 lancholy, courageous, and enthusiastic ; he felt for the coun- 
 try, as if labouring under a calamity which he thought it in 
 the power of his single arm to remove. He, therefore, re- 
 solved to kill the duke, and thus revenge his own private in- 
 juries, while he did service also to God and man. 20. Ani- 
 mated in this manner with gloomy zeal and mistaken 
 patriotism, he travelled down to Portsmouth alone, and 
 entered the town while the duke was surrounded by his 
 levee, and giving out the necessary orders for embarkation. 
 While he was speaking to one of his colonels, Felton struck 
 nim over an officer's shoulder in the breast with his knife. 
 
 21. The duke had only time to say, " The villain has killed 
 me ;" when he fell at the colonel's feet, and instantly ex- 
 pired. No one had seen the blow, nor the person who 
 gave it ; but a hat being picked up, on the inside of which 
 was sewed a paper containing four or five lines of the re- 
 monstrance of the commons against the duke, it was con- 
 cluded that this hat must belong to the assassin ; and while 
 they were employed in conjectures whose it should be, a 
 man without a hat was seen walking very composedly 
 before the door, and was heard to cry out, " I am he V* 
 
 22. He disdained denying a murder in which he gloried ; 
 and averred that he looked upon the duke is an enemy to 
 his country, and, as such, deserving to suffer. When asked 
 at whose instigation he had perpetrated that horrid deed, he 
 answered that they need not trouble themselves in that in- 
 quiry : that his conscience was his only prompter, and that 
 no man on earth could dispose him to act against its dictates 
 He suffered with the same degree of constancy to the last ; 
 nor were there many wanting, who admired not only his 
 fortitude, but the action for which he suffered 
 
214 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 1. Who succeeded James? 
 
 3 — 6. What methods were taken to procure supplies ? 
 7—10. What success attended Buckingham's expedition to France ? 
 11. What followed the contest between the king and the commons? 
 
 13. What uproar was excited by the king's command to adjourn? 
 
 14, 15. Under what pretence did the king send many of the members to 
 
 prison ? 
 1^ — 21. Relate the circumstances which attended the assassination of the 
 
 duke of Buckingham. 
 22. What was the conduct of the assassin ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 When civil dudgeon first grew high, 
 
 And men fell out, they knew not why. — Butler. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1627.) The king's first measure, now being 
 left without a minister and a parliament, was a prudent one 
 He made a peace with the two crowns against whom he had 
 hitherto waged war, which had been entered upon without 
 necessity, and conducted without glory. 2. Being freed 
 from these embarrassments, he bent his whole attention to. 
 the management of the internal policy of the kingdom, and 
 took two men as his associates in this task, who still acted 
 an under part to himself. These were, sir Thomas Went- 
 worth, afterwards created earl of Strafford; and Laud, after- 
 wards archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 3. While Laud, therefore, during this long interval, ruled 
 the church, the king and Strafford undertook to manage the 
 temporal interests of the nation. A declaration was dis- 
 persed, implying that during this reign no more parliaments 
 would be summoned ; and every measure of the king but 
 too well served to confirm the suspicion. 
 
 4. Tonnage and poundage were continued to be levied by 
 royal authority alone ; custom-house officers received orders 
 from the council to enter any house whatever, in search of 
 suspected goods : compositions were openly made with 
 papists, and their religion was become a regular part of the 
 revenue. 5. The high commission court and the court of 
 the star-chamber exercised their power, independent of any 
 law, upon several bold innovators in liberty, who only 
 gloried in their sufferings, and contributed to render govern 
 ment odious and contemptible. Prynne, a barrister at Lin- 
 coln's-Inn ; Burton, a divine ; and Bastwick, a physician ; 
 were tried before this tribunal for schismatical libels, in 
 which they attacked, with great severity and intemperate. 
 
CHARLES I. 215 
 
 zeal, the ceremonies of the church of England. They were 
 condemned to be pilloried, to lose their ears, and to pay five 
 thousand pounds to the king. 
 
 6. Evtry year, every month, every day, gave fresh in- 
 stances, during this long intermission of parliaments, of the 
 resolution of the court to throw them off for ever; but the 
 levying of ship-money, as it was called, being a general 
 burden, was universally complained of as a national griev- 
 ance. This was a tax which had, in former reigns, been 
 levied without the consent of parliament, but then the 
 exigency of the state demanded such a supply. 7. John 
 Hampden, a gentleman of fortune in Buckinghamshire, re- 
 fused to comply with the tax, and resolved to bring it to a 
 legal determination. He had been rated at twenty shillings 
 for his estate, which he refused to pay ; and the case was 
 argued twelve days in the exchequer chamber, before all 
 the judges of England. 8. The nation regarded, with the 
 utmost anxiety, the result of a trial that was to fix the limits 
 of the king's power. All the judges, four only excepted, 
 gave sentence in favour of the crown ; while Hampden, 
 who lost his cause, was more than sufficiently recompensed 
 by the applause of the people. 
 
 9. The discontent and opposition which the king met 
 with, in maintaining episcopacy among his English subjects, 
 might, one would think, hinder him from attempting to in- 
 troduce it among those of Scotland, where it was generally 
 hateful. Having published an order for reading the liturgy 
 in the principal church in Edinburgh, the people received it 
 with clamours and imprecations. 10. The seditious disposi- 
 tion in that kingdom, which had hitherto been kept within 
 bounds, was now too furious for restraint, and the insurrec- 
 tion became general over all the country, and the Scots flew 
 to arms with great animosity. 
 
 11. Yet still the king could not think of desisting from 
 his design ; and so prepossessed was he in favour of royal 
 right, that he thought the very name of king, when forcibly 
 urged, would induce them to return to their duty. Instead, 
 therefore, of fighting with his opponents, he entered upon a 
 treaty with them ; so that a suspension of arms was soon 
 agreed upon, and a treaty of peace concluded, which 
 neithei side intended to observe ; and then both parties 
 agreed to disband their forces. After much altercation, and 
 manv treaties signed and broken, both parties had recourse 
 
216 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 once more to arms, and nothing but blood could satiate the 
 contenders. 
 
 12. War being thus resolved on, the king took every 
 method as before for raising money to support it. Ship 
 money was levied as usual ; some other arbitrary taxes 
 were exacted from the reluctant people with great severity, 
 but these were far from being sufficient ; and there now re- 
 mained only one method more, the long-neglected method 
 of a parliamentary supply. 
 
 13. The new house of commons, however, could not be 
 induced to treat the Scots, who were of the same principles 
 with themselves, and contending against the same ceremo- 
 nies, as enemies of the state. They regarded them as 
 friends and brothers, who first rose to teach them a duty it 
 was incumbent on all virtuous minds to imitate. The 
 king, therefore, could reap no other fruits from this assem- 
 bly than murmurings and complaints. 14. Every method 
 he had taken to supply himself with money was declared 
 an abuse, and breach of the constitution. The king, there- 
 fore, finding no hopes of a compliance with his requests, 
 but recrimination instead of redress, once more dissolved 
 the parliament, to try the most feasible methods of removing 
 his necessities. 
 
 15. His necessities, however, continuing, that parliament 
 was called, which did not cease sitting till they overturned 
 the constitution. Without any interval they entered upon 
 business, and by unanimous consent, they struck a blow that 
 might be regarded as decisive. Instead of granting the 
 demand of subsidies, they impeached the earl of Strafford, 
 the king's first minister, and had him arraigned before the 
 house of peers for high-treason. 16. After a long and elo- 
 quent speech, delivered without premeditation, in which he 
 confuted all the accusations of his enemies, he was found 
 guilty by both houses of parliament ; and nothing remained 
 but for the king to give his consent to the bill of attainder. 
 Charles, who loved Strafford tenderly, hesitated, and seemed 
 reluctant, trying every expedient to put off so dreadful a 
 duty as that of signing the warrant for his execution. 17. 
 While he continued in this agitation of mind, not knowing 
 how to act, his doubts were at last silenced by an act of 
 heroic bravery in the condemned lord. He received a lettei 
 from that unfortunate nobleman, desiring that his life migh* 
 be made the sacrifice of mutual reconciliation between the 
 
CHARLES I. 217 
 
 king and the people ; adding, that he was prepared to die 
 and to a willing mind there could be no injury. 18. This 
 instance of noble generosity was but ill repaid by his mas 
 ter, who complied with his request. He consented to sign 
 the fatal bill by commission ; Strafford was beheaded on 
 Tower-hill, behaving with all that composed dignity of re- 
 solution that was expected from his character. 
 
 19. In this universal rage for punishment, the parlia- 
 ment fell with great justice on two courts, which had been 
 erected under arbitrary kings, and had seldom been em- 
 ployed but in cases of necessity. These were, the high 
 commission court, and the court of star-chamber. A bill 
 unanimously passed the houses to abolish both ; and m 
 them to annihilate the principal and most dangerous articles 
 in the king's prerogative. 
 
 20. In the midst of these troubles an insurrection in the 
 northern counties of Ireland, accompanied by several acts 
 of atrocious cruelty, excited great alarm throughout the 
 empire. The insurgents might have been easily subdued, 
 but the king's deputies in Ireland, eager to make their 
 fortunes by trading in confiscations, averred, that all the 
 catholics in the kingdom were involved in the guilt of this 
 rebellion, and by wicked arts changed the local disturbance 
 into a general civil war. Many wanton murders were com- 
 mitted on both sides ; religious zeal added bitterness to 
 political animosity ; the hatred of heresy by one party, and 
 of popery by the other, led men to perpetrate and palliate 
 crimes shocking to human nature. The war lasted several 
 years ; four hostile parties had armies in Ireland, the native 
 Irish, the descendants of the early settlers, usually called 
 " the lords of the pale," the royalists, and the puritans, 
 who supported the supremacy of the English parliament. 
 The last party, though infinitely the weakest, finally tri- 
 umphed by taking advantage of the dissensions and errors 
 of the other three. 
 
 21. The king, aware that he was already suspected of a 
 secret attachment to popery, and that the northern Irish 
 pretended to have his authority for taking up arms, used 
 every means in his power to put down the rebellion. But 
 he was no longer able to effect this desirable object, the 
 native Irish and the lords of the pale, frequently deceived 
 before, would not trust the royal promises ; Parsons and 
 Borlase, the lords justices of Ireland, refused to obey the 
 king's commands ; and the English parliament gladly used 
 
 T 
 
218 • HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the Irish war as a pretext for levying soldiers ; for every 
 one now clearly foresaw that the disputes between the king 
 and the parliament must finally be decided by the sword. 
 Many insinuations were thrown out that he had himself 
 fomented this rebellion, and no money could be spared for 
 the extinction of distant dangers, when they pretended that 
 the kingdom was threatened with greater at home. 
 
 It was now that the republican spirit began to appear 
 without any disguise in the present parliament ; and that 
 party, instead of attacking the faults of the king, resolved 
 to destroy monarchy. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the king's first measure after Buckingham's death ? 
 
 2, 3. By whom was the king assisted in his government? 
 
 4. In what manner did the custom-house officers exact taxes ? 
 
 5. What is said respecting the court of star-chamber? 
 
 6. What tax was the most generally complained of? 
 
 7. 8. By whom was the tax of ship-money opposed ? and what were the 
 
 consequences ? 
 9 — 12. What produced an insurrection in Scotland, and afterwards war' 
 13. How were the Scotch regarded by the nmv parliament? 
 15. What was the conduct of the next parliament ? 
 16 — 18. Describe the particulars of the trial and death of the earl ofStrafibra 
 
 19. What were the next proceedings of parliament ? 
 
 20. What insurrection took place in Ireland ? 
 
 21. How was the king treated by his parliament on this occasion ? 
 What spirit now openly manifested itself? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The son and fathor loose mild nature's ties, 
 
 And by a brother's hand a brother dies. — Egerton. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1641.) The leaders of opposition began their 
 operations by a resolution to attack episcopacy, which 
 was one of the strongest bulwarks of the royal power. They 
 accused thirteen bishops of high-treason, for enacting ca- 
 nons without the consent of parliament ; and endeavoured 
 to prevail upon the house of peers to exclude all the prelates 
 from their seats and votes in that august assembly. The 
 bishops saw the storm that was gathering against them ; and, 
 probably to avert its effects, they resolved to attend their 
 duty in the house of lords no longer. 
 
 2. This was a fatal blow to the royal interes-t ; but i* 
 soon felt a much greater from the king's own imprudence 
 Charles had long suppressed his resentment, and only 
 
CHARLES I. 219 
 
 strove to satisfy the commons by the greatness of his con- 
 cessions ; but, finding that all his compliances had but in- 
 creased their demands, he could no longer restrain it. 3. 
 He gave orders to Herbert, his attorney-general, to enter an 
 accusation of high-treason in the house of peers against lord 
 Kimbolton, one of the most popular men of his party, to- 
 gether with five commoners ; sir Arthur Haslerig, Hollis, 
 Hampden, Pym, and Strode. 4. The articles were, that 
 they had traitorously endeavoured to subvert the fundamen- 
 tal laws and government of the kingdom ; to deprive the 
 king of his regal power, and to impose on his subjects an 
 arbitrary and tyrannical authority. Men had scarcely lei- 
 sure to wonder at the precipitancy and imprudence of his 
 impeachment, when they were astonished by another rnea- 
 cure, still more rash and unsupported. 5. The next day the 
 kinof himself was seen to enter the house of commons alone 
 advancing through the hall, while all the members stood up 
 to receive him. The speaker withdrew from the chair, and 
 the king took possession of it. Having seated himself, and 
 having looked around for some time, he told the house that 
 he was sorry for the occasion that had forced him thither ; 
 that he was come in person to seize the members whom he 
 had accused of high-treason, seeing they would not deliver 
 them up to his serjeant-at-arms. He then sat down for 
 some time, to see if the accused were present; but they had 
 escaped a few minutes before his entry. 
 
 6. Thus disappointed, perplexed, and not knowing on 
 whom to rely, he next proceeded, amidst the clamours of 
 the populace, who continued to cry out "Privilege! privi- 
 lege !" to the common-council of the city, and made his 
 complaints to them. The common-council only answered 
 his complaints with a contemptuous silence ; and on his 
 return, one of the populace, more insolent than the rest, 
 cried out, " To your tents, O Israel 1" a watch-word 
 among the Jews, when they intended to abandon their 
 princes. 
 
 7. Being returned to Windsor, he began to reflect on the 
 rashness of his former proceedings, and now, too late, re- 
 solved to make some atonement. He, therefore, wrote to 
 the parliament, informing them that he desisted from his 
 former proceedings against the accused members ; and as- 
 sured them that upon all occasions he would be as careful 
 of their privileges as of his life or his crown. Thus his 
 former violence had rendered him hateful tc his com 
 
220 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 mons, and his present submission now rendered him con- 
 temptible. 
 
 8. The power of appointing generals and levying armies 
 was still a remaining prerogative of the crown. The com 
 mons having, therefore, first magnified their terrors of po 
 pery, which perhaps they actually dreaded, they proceeded 
 to petition that the Tower might be put into their hands 
 and that Hull, Portsmouth, and the fleet should be intrusted 
 to persons of their choosing. These were requests, the 
 complying with which levelled all that remained of the an- 
 cient constitution ; however, such was the necessity of the 
 times, that they were first contested, and then granted. 9 
 At last, every compliance only increased the avidity of mak- 
 ing fresh demands ; the commons desired to have a militia, 
 raised and governed by such officers and commanders as 
 they should nominate, under pretext of securing them from 
 the Irish papists, of whom they professed to be in greal 
 apprehensions. 
 
 10. It was here that Charles first ventured to put a stop 
 to these concessions, and being urged to give up the com- 
 mand of the army for an appointed time, he was so exas- 
 perated that he exclaimed, " No, not for an hour." This 
 preremptory refusal broke off all further treaty ; and both 
 sides were resolved to have recourse to arms. 
 
 11. No period since England began could show so many 
 instances of courage, abilities, and virtue, as the present 
 fatal opposition called forth into exertion, A.D. 1642. Now 
 was the time when talents of all kinds, unchecked by au- 
 thority, were called from the lower ranks of life, to dispute 
 for power and pre-eminence. 
 
 12. Manifestos on the one side and the other were now 
 dispersed throughout the whole kingdom ; and the people 
 were universally divided between two factions, distinguished 
 by the names of cavaliers and roundheads. The king's 
 forces appeared in a very low condition ; besides the trained 
 bands of the country, raised by sir John Digby, the sheriff, 
 he had not got together three hundred infantry. 13. His 
 cavalry, which composed his chief strength, exceeded not 
 eight hundred, and were very ill provided with arms. How 
 ever, he was soon gradually reinforced from all quarters , 
 but not being then in a condition to face his enemies, he 
 thought it prudent to retire by slow marches to Derby, and 
 thence to Shrewsbu/y, in order to countenance the levie.? 
 which his friends were making in those quarters. 
 
CHARLES I. 22] 
 
 14. In the mean time the parliament was not remiss in 
 preparations on their side. They had a magazine of arms 
 at Hull, and sir John Hotham was appointed governor of 
 that place by government. The forces also, which had been 
 everywhere raised on pretence of the service of Ireland, 
 were now more openly enlisted by the parliament for their 
 own purposes, and the command given to the earl of Essex, 
 a bold man, who rather desired to see monarchy abridged 
 than totally destroyed ; and in London no less than four 
 thousand men were enlisted in one day. 
 
 15 Edge-hill was the first place where the two armies 
 were put in array against each other, and the country 
 drenched in civil slaughter. It was a dreadful sight to see 
 above thirty thousand of the bravest men in the world, in- 
 stead of employing their courage abroad, turning it against 
 each other, while the dearest friends and nearest kinsmen 
 embraced opposite sides, and prepared to bury their private 
 regards in factious hatred. After an engagement of some 
 hours, animosity seemed to be wearied out, and both sides 
 separated with equal loss. Five thousand men are said to 
 have been found dead on the field of battle. 
 
 Questions for Examination 
 
 1. What was the first act of the leaders of the opposition? 
 
 By what means did the bishops avert the impending storm ? 
 
 2, 3. What was the king's conduct on this occasion ? 
 
 4. What were the articles of impeachment ? 
 
 5. How did the king conduct himself when he went to the house of com 
 mons? 
 
 6. How did the common-council afterwards receive him ? 
 
 7. What were the consequences of his rashness ? 
 
 8. 9. What were the next demands of the commons? 
 
 10. On what occasion did the king stop all further concessions ? 
 What was the result ? 
 
 12. By what names were the contending parties distinguished ? 
 
 13. In what situation were the king's forces? 
 
 14. What preparations did the parliament make ? 
 
 15. Where did the armies first meet ? 
 What was the issue of the battle ? 
 
 SECTION rv. 
 
 To live with Freedom or to die with Fame. — Day. 
 
 1. (A. D.) 1643.) It would be tedious, and no way in- 
 structive, to enter into the marchings and counter-marchings 
 of these undisciplined and ill-conducted armies; war was 
 
 t2 
 
222 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 a new trade to the English, as they had not seen a hostile 
 engagement in the island for nearly a century before. The 
 queen came to reinforce the royal party ; she had brought 
 soldiers and ammunition from Holland, and immediately 
 departed to furnish more. 2. But the parliament, who knew 
 its own consequence and strength, was no way discouraged. 
 Their demands seemed to increase in proportion to their 
 losses ; and as they were repressed in the field, they grew 
 more haughty in the cabinet. Such governors as gave up 
 their fortresses to the king were attainted of high-treason. 
 3. It was in vain for the king to send proposals after any 
 success ; this only raised their pride and their animosity. 
 But though this desire in the king to make peace with his 
 subjects was the highest encomium on his humanity; yet 
 his long negotiations, one of which was carried on at Ox 
 ford, were faulty as a warrior. He wasted that time in al- 
 tercation and treaty, which he should have employed in 
 vigorous exertions in the field. 
 
 4. However, his first campaign, upon the whole, wore a 
 favourable aspect. One victory followed after another ; 
 Cornwall was reduced to peace and obedience under the 
 king ; a victory was gained over the parliamentarians at 
 Stratton-hill, in Cornwall ; another at Roundway Down, 
 about two miles from Devizes ; and a third at Chalgrave 
 Field. Bristol was besieged and taken, and Gloucester 
 was invested ; the battle of Newbury was favourable to the 
 royal cause ; and great hopes of success were formed from 
 an army in the north, raised by the marquis of Newcastle. 
 
 5. In this first campaign, the two bravest and greatest 
 men of their respective parties were killed ; as if it was in- 
 tended, by the kindness of providence, that they should be 
 exempted from seeing the miseries and the slaughter which 
 were shortly to ensue ; these were John Hampden, and 
 Lucius Cary, lord Falkland. The first in a skirmish against 
 prince Rupert ; the other in the battle of Newbury, which 
 followed shortly after. 
 
 6. Hampden, whom we have seen, in the beginning of 
 these troubles, refusing to pay the ship-money, gained, by 
 his inflexible integrity, the esteem even of his enemies. To 
 these he added affability in conversation, temper, art, elo- 
 quence in debate, and penetration in council. 
 
 7. Falkland was still a greater loss, and greater character. 
 He added to Hampden's severe principles a politeness and 
 elegance but then beginning to be known in England He 
 
CHARLES I. 223 
 
 nad boldly withstood the king's pretensions while he saw 
 him making a bad use of his power ; but, when he per- 
 ceived the design of the parliament to overturn the religion 
 and the constitution of the country, he changed his side, and 
 steadfastly attached himself to the crown. 8. From the be- 
 ginning of the civil war, his natural cheerfulness and vivacity 
 forsook him ; he became melancholy, sad, pale, and negli- 
 gent of his person, and seemed to wish for death. His 
 usual cry among his friends, after a deep silence and fre- 
 quent sighs, was, " Peace ! peace !" He now said, upon 
 the morning of the engagement, that he was weary of the 
 times, and should leave them before night. He was shot 
 by a musket-ball in the chest ; and his body was next morn- 
 ing found among a heap of slain. His writings, his ele 
 gance, his justice, and his courage deserved each a death 
 of glory ; and they found it. 
 
 9. The king, that he might make preparations during the 
 winter for the ensuing campaign, and to oppose the designs 
 of the Westminster parliament, called one at Oxford ; and 
 this was the first time that England saw two parliaments 
 sitting at the same time. His house of peers was pretty 
 full; his house of commons consisted of about one hundred 
 and forty, which amounted to not above half of the other 
 house of commons. From this shadow of a parliament he 
 received some supplies, after which it was prorogued, and 
 never after assembled. 
 
 10. In the mean time, the parliament were equally active 
 on their side. They passed an ordinance commanding all the 
 inhabitants of London and its neighbourhood to retrench a 
 meal a week, and to pay the value of it for the support of the 
 public cause. 11. But, what was more effectual, the Scots, 
 who considered their claims as similar, led a strong body to 
 their assistance. They levied an army of fourteen thousand 
 men in the east under the earl of Manchester ; they had an 
 army of ten thousand men under Essex ; another, of nearly 
 the same force, under sir William Waller. These were su- 
 perior to any force the king could bring into the field ; and 
 were well appointed with ammunition, provisions, and pay. 
 
 12. Hostilities, which even during the winter season had 
 never been wholly discontinued, were renewed in spring 
 with their usual fury, and served to desolate the kingdom, 
 without deciding victory. A. D. 1644. Each county joined 
 that side to which it was addicted from motives of convic- 
 tion, interest, or fear, though some observed a perfect neu- 
 
224 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 trality. Several frequently petitioned for peace ; and all the 
 wise and good were earnest in the cry. 13. What particu- 
 larly deserves remark was an attempt of the women of 
 London, who, to the number of two or three thousand, went 
 in a body to the house of commons, earnestly demanding a 
 peace — " Give us those traitors," said they, " that are 
 against a peace : give them, that we may tear them to 
 pieces." The guards found some difficulty in quelling this 
 insurrection, and one or two women lost their lives in the 
 affray. 
 
 14. The battle of Marston Moor was the beginning of the 
 king's misfortunes and disgrace. The Scots and parlia- 
 mentarian army had joined, and were besieging York, when 
 prince Rupert, joined by the marquis of Newcastle, deter- 
 mined to raise the siege. Boih armies drew up on Marston 
 Moor, to the number of fifty thousand, and the victory 
 seemed long undecided between them. 15. Rupert, who 
 commanded the right wing of the royalists, was opposed by 
 Oliver Cromwell, who now first came into notice, at the 
 head of a body of troops which he had taken care to levy 
 and discipline. Cromwell was victorious ; he pushed his 
 opponents off the field, followed the vanquished, returned 
 to a second engagement, and a second victory ; the prince's 
 whole train of artillery was taken, and the royalists never 
 after recovered the blow. 
 
 16. William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, was sent 
 to the Tower in the beginning of the civil war. He was 
 now brought to his trial, condemned, and executed. And it 
 was a melancholy consideration, that in those times of trou- 
 ble, the best men on either side were those who chiefly suf- 
 fered. 
 
 17. The death of Laud was followed by a total alteration 
 of the ceremonies of the church. The liturgy was, by a 
 public act, abolished the day he died, as if he had been the 
 only obstacle to its formal removal. The church of England 
 was, in all respects, brought to a conformity to the puritani- 
 cal establishment; while the citizens of London, and the 
 Scots army, gave public thanks for so happy an alteration 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Who reinforced the royal party ? 
 
 2. What courage did the parliament display? 
 
 4, 5. In the first campaign, where were the principal battles fought ? 
 f>. Describe the character of Hampden 
 "i Describe the character of Falkland. 
 
CHARLES I. 225 
 
 i 
 
 8. How was his death occasioned ? 
 
 9. Where did the king summon a parliament ? and what were their pro- 
 
 ceedings ? 
 0. What ordinance was now passed ? 
 
 1 1. What other measures were taken in opposition to the king ? 
 
 12. What was the situation of the kingdom ? 
 
 13 What earnest desire for peace did the women of London discoxer ? 
 14, 15. Describe the particulars of the battle of Marston Moor. 
 16. What was the fate of archbishop Laud? 
 '7. What followed his execution ? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Guile, violence, nnil murder seized on man. 
 
 And, for milky streams, with blood tins rivers ran. — Thomson 
 
 1. (A.D. 1G45.) The well-disputed battle, which decided 
 the fate of Charles, was fought at Naseby, a village in 
 Northamptonshire. The main body of the royal army was 
 commanded by lord Astley ; prince Rupert led the right 
 wing, sir Marmaduke Langdale the left, and the king him- 
 self headed the body of reserve. 2. On the opposite side, 
 Fairfax and Skippon commanded the main body, Cromwell 
 led on the right wing, and Ire ton, his son-in-law, the left. 
 Prince Rupert attacked the left wing with his usual impetu- 
 osity and success ; they were broken, and pursued as far as 
 the village ; but he lost time in attempting to make himself 
 master of their artillery. 3. Cromwell, in the mean time, was 
 equally successful on his side, and broke through the enemy's 
 horse, after a very obstinate resistance. While these were 
 thus engaged, the infantry on both sides maintained the coiaflict 
 with equal ardour, but in spite of the efforts of Fairfax and 
 Skippon, their battalions began to give way. At this cri- 
 tical period, Cromwell returned with his victorious forces, 
 and charged the king's infantry in flank with such vigour, 
 that a total rout began to ensue. 4. By this time prince 
 Rupert had rejoined the king, and the small body of reserve: 
 but his troops, though victorious, could not be brought to a 
 second charge. The king, perceiving the battle whollv 
 lost, was obliged to abandon the field to his enemies, who 
 took all his cannon, baggage, and about fifty thousand pri- 
 soners. 
 
 5. The battle of Naseby put the parliamentarians in pos- 
 session of almost all the strong cities of the kingdom, Bris 
 tol, Bridgewater, Chester, Sherborn, and Bath. Exeter 
 was besieged ; and all the king's troops in the western 
 counties being entirely dispersed, Fairfax pressed the place, 
 and it surrendered at discretion. The king, thus surrounded, 
 
226 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 harassed on every side, retreated to Oxford ; that, in all con- 
 ditions of his fortune, had held steady to his cause ; and 
 there he resolved to offer new terms to his incensed pur- 
 suers. 
 
 6. In the mean time Fairfax was approaching with a 
 powerful and victorious army, and was taking the proper 
 measures for laying siege to Oxford, which promised an 
 easy surrender. To be taken captive, and led in triumph 
 by his insolent subjects, was what Charles justly abhorred : 
 and every insult and violence was to be dreaded from the 
 soldiery, who had felt the effects of his opposition. 
 
 7. In this desperate extremity he embraced a measure, 
 which, in any other situation, might justly lie under the im- 
 putation of imprudence and indiscretion. He took the fatal 
 resolution of giving himself up to the Scots army, who had 
 never testified such implacable animosity against him ; but 
 he soon found, that instead of treating him as a king, they 
 insulted him as a captive. 
 
 8. The English parliament, being informed of the king's 
 captivity, immediately entered into a treaty with the Scots 
 about delivering up their prisoner. This was soon adjusted. 
 They agreed, that upon payment of four hundred thousand 
 pounds, they would deliver up the king to his enemies, and 
 this was cheerfully complied with. An action so atrocious 
 may be palliated, but can never be defended ; they returned 
 home laden with plunder, and the reproaches of all good 
 men. 
 
 9. The civil war was now over ; the king had absolved 
 his followers from their allegiance, and the parliament had 
 now no enemy to fear, except those very troops by which 
 they had extended their overgrown authority. But, in pro- 
 portion as the terror of the king's power diminished, the 
 divisions between the members which composed the parlia- 
 ment became more apparent. 10. The majority in the house 
 were of the presbyterian sect, who were for having clergy ; 
 but the majority of the army were staunch independents, who 
 admitted of no clergy, but thought that every man had a 
 right to instruct his fellows. At the head of this sect was 
 Cromwell, who secretly directed their operations, and invi- 
 gorated all their measures. 
 
 11. Oliver Cromwell, whose talents now began to appear 
 in full lustre, was the son of a private gentleman of Hun- 
 tingdon : but, being the son of a second brother, he inherited 
 a verv small paternal fortune. From accident or intrigue, 
 
CHARLES I. 227 
 
 he was chosen a member for the town of Cambridge in the 
 ,ong parliament ; but he seemed at first to possess no ora- 
 torical talents ; his person being ungraceful, his dress slo- 
 venly, his elocution homely, tedious, obscure, and embar- 
 rassed. 12. He made up, however, by zeal and perseverance 
 what he wanted in natural powers ; and being endowed with 
 unshaken intrepidity, much dissimulation, and a thorough 
 conviction of the rectitude of his cause, he rose, through the 
 gradations of preferment, to the post of lieutenant-general 
 under Fairfax ; but, in reality, possessing the supreme com- 
 mand over the whole army. 
 
 13. The army now began to consider themselves as a 
 body distinct from the commonwealth ; and complained that 
 they had secured the general tranquillity, while they were 
 at the same time deprived of the privileges of Englishmen. 
 In opposition, therefore, to the parliament of Westminster 
 a military parliament was formed, composed of the officers 
 and common soldiers of each regiment. 14. The principal 
 officers formed a council to represent the body of peers : 
 the soldiers elected two men out of each company, to re- 
 present the house of commons, and these were called the 
 agitators of the army. Cromwell took care to be one of 
 the number, and thus contrived an easy method of secretly 
 conducting and promoting the sedition of the army. 
 
 15. The unhappy king, in the mean time, continued a 
 prisoner at Holmby Castle ; and as his countenance might 
 add some authority to that side which should obtain it, 
 Cromwell, who secretly conducted all the measures of the 
 army, while he apparently exclaimed against their violence, 
 resolved to seize the king's person. 16. Accordingly, a 
 party of five hundred horse appearing at Holmby Castle, 
 under the command of one Joyce, conducted the king to 
 ♦he army, near Cambridge. The next day Cromwell ar- 
 rived among them, where he was received with acclama- 
 tions of joy, and was instantly invested with the supreme 
 command. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 Where was the battle fought that decided the fate of Charles ? 
 Who were the leaders of the king's army ? 
 
 2 Bv whom was the parliamentary army conducted ? 
 
 4 What was the issue of the battle ? 
 
 5 What towns surrendered to the parliamentarians after this engagement 1 
 fi. Where did the king fly for refuge ? 
 
 7. On what measure did he now resolve ? 
 
228 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 8. What atrocious act was committed towards the king 1 
 
 10. Wnat were the parties which composed the parliament I 
 
 11. Who was Oliver Cromwell? 
 
 12. To what post ;n the army did he rise? 
 
 *4. In what manner was a council formed from the army ? 
 5. Where was the place of the king's confinement ? 
 6 By whose command was he taken and conducted to the army 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Though always by prosperity undone, 
 
 Yet in adversity this monarch shone. — Egerton. 
 
 1. (A.I). 1647.) The house of commons was now di- 
 vided into parties, as usual; one part opposing, but the 
 majority, with the two speakers at their head, encouraging 
 the army. In such an universal confusion, it is not to be 
 expected that any thing less than a separation of the parties 
 could take place : and accordingly the two speakers, with 
 sixty-two members, secretly retired from the house, and 
 threw themselves under the protection of the army, which 
 was then at Hounslow-heath. 2. They were received with 
 shouts and acclamations ; their integrity was extolled ; and 
 the whole body of the soldiery, a formidable force of twenty 
 thousand men, now moved forward, to reinstate them in 
 their former seats and stations. 
 
 3. In the mean time, that part of the house which was 
 Left behind resolved to act with vigour, and resist the en- 
 croachments of the army. They chose new speakers, they 
 gave orders for enlisting troops, they ordered the trainbands 
 to man the lines, and the whole city boldly resolved to resisf 
 the invasion. But this resolution only held while the enemy 
 was thought at a distance ; for, when the formidable force 
 of Cromwell appeared, all was obedience and submission ; 
 the gates were opened to the general, who attended the 
 speakers, and the rest of the members, peaceably to their 
 habitations. 4. The eleven impeached members, being 
 accused as causers of the tumult, were expelled, and most 
 of them retired to the continent. The mayor, sheriff, and 
 three aldermen were sent to the Tower ; several citizens 
 and officers of the militia were committed to prison, and 
 the lines about the city were levelled to the ground. The 
 command of the Tower was given to Fairfax, the general ; 
 and the parliament offered him their hearty thanks for having 
 disobeyed their commands. 
 
 a It now only remained to dispose of the king, who had 
 
CHARLES 1. 229 
 
 oeen sent by the army a prisoner to Hampton Court; trom 
 whence he attempted to escape, but was once more made 
 prisoner in the Isle of Wight, and confined in Carisbrook 
 Castle. 
 
 6. While the king continued in this forlorn situation, the 
 parliament, new modelled as it was by the army, was every 
 day growing more feeble and factious. He still, therefore, 
 continued to negotiate with the parliament for settling the 
 unspeakable calamities of the kingdom. The parliament 
 saw no other method of destroying the military power than 
 to depress it by the kingly ; and frequent proposals for an 
 accommodation passed between the captive king and the 
 commons. 
 
 7. But it was now too late : their power was soon totally 
 to expire ; for the rebellious army, crowned with success 
 was returned from the destruction of their enemies ; and, 
 sensible of their own power, with furious remonstrances 
 began to 'demand vengeance on their king. At the same 
 time they advanced to Windsor : and sending an officer to 
 seize the king's person, where he was lately sent under 
 confinement, they conveyed him to Hurst Castle, in Hamp- 
 shire, opposite the Isle of Wight. 8. The commons, 
 however, though destitute of all hopes of prevailing, had 
 still courage to resist, and attempted, in the face of the 
 whole army, to close their treaty with the king. But the 
 next day colonel Pride, at the head of two regiments, block- 
 aded the house, seized in the passage forty-one members of 
 the presbyterian party, and sent them to a low loom be- 
 longing to the house, that passed by the denomination of 
 hell. 9. Above a hundred and sixty members more were 
 excluded ; and none were allowed to enter but the most 
 furious and determined of the independents, in all not ex 
 ceeding sixty. This atrocious invasion of the parliamentary 
 rights commonly passed by the name of Pride's Purge, and 
 the remaining members were called the Rump. These soon 
 voted that the transactions of the house a few days before 
 were entirely illegal, and that their general's conduct was 
 just and necessary. 
 
 10. A committee was appointed to bring in a charge 
 against the king ; and a vote passed, declaring it treason in 
 a king to levy war against his parliament. A high court of 
 justice was accordingly appointed, to try his majesty for 
 this new-invented treason. 
 
 11. Colonel Harrison, the son of a butcher, was com 
 
 U 
 
230 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 manded to conduct the king from Hurst Castle to Windsor, 
 and from thence to London. His afflicted subjects, who 
 ran to have a sight of their sovereign, were greatly affected 
 at the change that appeared in his face and person. He 
 had allowed his beard to grow ; his hair was become vene- 
 rably gray, rather by the pressure of anxiety than the hand 
 of time ; while his apparel bore the marks of misfortune 
 and decay. 12. Thus he stood a solitary figure of majesty 
 in distress, which even his adversaries could not behold 
 without reverence and compassion. He had been long at- 
 tended only by an old decrepid servant, whose name was 
 sir Philip Warwick, who could only deplore his master's 
 fate, without being able to revenge his cause. 13. All the 
 exterior symbols of sovereignty were now withdrawn ; and 
 his new attendants had orders to serve him without cere- 
 mony. The duke of Hamilton, who was reserved for the 
 same punishment with his master, having leave to take a 
 last farewell as he departed from Windsor, threw himself at 
 the king's feet, crying out, " My dear master !" 14. The 
 unhappy monarch raised him up, and embracing him ten- 
 derly, replied, while tears ran down his cheeks, " I have 
 indeed been a dear master to you." These were severe 
 distresses ; however he could not be persuaded that his ad- 
 versaries would bring him to a formal trial ; but he every 
 moment expected to be despatched by private assassination. 
 
 15. From the sixth to the twentieth of January was spent 
 in making preparations for this extraordinary trial. The 
 court of justice consisted of a hundred and thirty-three 
 persons, named by the commons: but of these never above 
 seventy sat upon the trial. The members were chiefly 
 composed of the principal officers of the army, most of 
 them of very mean birth, together with some of the lower 
 house, and a few citizens of London. Bradshaw, a lawyer, 
 was chosen president ; Coke was appointed solicitor for ihe 
 people of England ; Dorislaus, Steele, and Aske were 
 named assistants. The court sat in Westminster-hall. 
 
 16. The king was now conducted from Windsor to St. 
 James's, and the next day was brought before the high 
 court to take his trial. When he was brought forward 
 he was conducted by the mace-bearer to a chair placed 
 witnin the bar. Though long detained a prisoner, and now 
 produced as a criminal, he still sustained the dignity of a 
 king ; he surveyed the members of the court with a stern 
 and haughty air ; and, without moving his hat, sat down 
 
CHARLES I. 231 
 
 while the members also were covered. 17. His charge was 
 then read by the solicitor, accusing him of having been the 
 cause of all the bloodshed which followed since the com- 
 mencement of the war : at that part of the charge he ccuid 
 not suppress a smile of contempt and indignation. After 
 his charge was finished, Bradshaw directed his discourse to 
 the king, and told him that the court expected his answer. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 What measures were pursued by the majority of the house of commons f 
 
 2. How were they received by the army? 
 
 3. What was the conduct of the remaining members ? 
 
 4. To whom was the command of the Tower given ? 
 
 5. Did not the king escape from his place of confinement ? 
 Where was he taken ? 
 
 6. Did he continue to negotiate with the parliament? 
 
 7 — 9. Describe the conduct of the army on this occasion. 
 il, 12. What was now the appearance of the king? 
 13. What passed between hiin and the duke of Hamilton? 
 
 15. How many persons sat on the king's trial ? 
 
 16. Who were the chief? 
 
 17. What was his behaviour on his trial ? 
 What was the charge alleged against him ? 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Nor agonies, nor livid death, disgrace 
 
 The sacred features of the monarch's face; 
 
 In the cold visage, mournfully serene, 
 
 The same indignant majesty is seen. — Rome's Lucan. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1648.) The king, with great temper, entered 
 upon his defence, by denying the authority of the court. 
 He represented, that, having been engaged in a treaty with 
 his two houses of parliament, and having finished almost 
 every article, he expected a different treatment from that 
 which he now received. He perceived, he said, no appear- 
 ance of an upper house, which was necessary to constitute 
 a just tribunal. 2. That he was himself the king and the 
 fountain of law, and, consequently, could not be tried by 
 laws to which he had never given his assent ; that having 
 been intrusted with the liberties of the people, he would 
 not now betray them, by recognising a power founded in 
 usurpation ; that he was willing, before a proper tribunal, 
 to enter into the particulars of his defence ; but that before 
 them he must decline any apology or plea of innocence, 
 lest he should be considered as the betrayer of, and not a 
 martyr for, the constitution. 
 
 3 Bradshaw, in order to support the authority of the 
 
232 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 court, insisted that they had received their power from the 
 people, the source of all right. He pressed the prisoner 
 not to decline the authority of the court, which was dele- 
 gated by the commons of England ; and he interrupted and 
 overruled the king in his attempts to reply. 
 
 4 In this manner the king was three times produced be- 
 fore the court, and as often he persisted in declining its 
 jurisdiction. The fourth and last time he was brought be 
 fore the self-created tribunal ; as he was proceeding thither, 
 he was insulted by the soldiers and the mob, who exclaimed, 
 "Justice! justice! execution! execution!" but he con 
 tinued undaunted. His judges, having now examined some 
 witnesses, by whom it was proved that the king had ap- 
 peared in arms against the forces commissioned by parlia- 
 ment, pronounced sentence against him. 
 
 5. The conduct of the king, under all these instances of 
 low-bred malice, was great, firm, and equal ; in going through 
 the hall, the soldiers and the rabble were again instigated to 
 cry out, "Justice and execution !" They reviled him with 
 the most bitter reproaches. Among other insults, one mis- 
 creant presumed to spit in the face of his sovereign. He 
 patiently bore their insolence. " Poor souls," cried he, 
 " they would treat their generals in the same manner for 
 sixpence." 6. Those of the populace who still retained 
 the feelings of humanity, expressed their sorrow in sighs 
 and tears. A soldier, more compassionate than the rest, 
 could not help imploring a blessing upon his royal head. 
 An officer, overhearing him, struck the honest sentinel to 
 the ground before the king, who could not help saying that 
 the punishment exceeded the offence. 
 
 7. After returning from this solemn mockery of justice, 
 the unhappy monarch petitioned the house for permission 
 to see his children, and desired the attendance of Dr. Juxon, 
 Dishop of London, to assist in his private devotions. Both 
 requests were immediately granted, and three days were 
 allowed to prepare for the execution of the sentence. This 
 interval was spent by Charles in the exercises of devotion, 
 and in administering consolation to his unhappy family. 
 8. During the progress of the trial, the French and Dutch 
 ambassadors vainly interceded in his behalf; and the Scots, 
 who had set the first example of resistance to his authority 
 now remonstrated against the violence offered to his person 
 and dignity. 9. After his condemnation, the queen and the 
 prince of Wales wrote the most pathetic letters to the par 
 
CHARLES I. 
 
 233 
 
 Execution of King Charles I. 1649. 
 
 liament ; but nothing could divert the stern regicides from 
 their atrocious design. 
 
 10. The king was confined in the palace of St. James's, 
 but the place selected for erecting the scaffold was the 
 street before the palace of Whitehall. 11. On the morning 
 of the execution he rose early, and having spent some time 
 in private devotion, received the sacrament from the hands 
 of bishop Juxon ; he was then conducted on foot through 
 the park to Whitehall, and partook of some slight refresh- 
 ment ; after a brief delay, he advanced to the place of execu- 
 tion, attended still by his friend and servant Dr. Juxon, who 
 used every exertion to soothe the last moments of his unfor- 
 tunate master. 12. The scaffold, which was covered with 
 black, was guarded by a regiment of soldiers, under the 
 command of colonel Tomlinson, and under it were to be 
 seen a block, the axe, and two executioners in masks. The 
 people, in immense crowds, stood at a great distance, in 
 dreadful expectation of the event. The king surveyed all 
 these solemn preparations with calm composure ; and as he 
 could not expect to be heard by the people at a distance, he 
 addressed himself to the few persons who stood around him 
 13. He there justified his own innocence in the late fatal 
 war; and observed, that he had not taken arms till after the 
 parliament had shown him the example. That he had no 
 other object in his warlike preparations than to preserve that 
 authority entire, which had been transmitted to him by his 
 ancestors ; but, though innocent towards his people, he 
 
 v2 
 
234 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 acknowledged the equity of his execution in the eyes of his 
 Maker. 14. He owned that he was justly punished fov 
 having consented to the execution of an unjust sentence 
 upon the earl of Strafford. He forgave all his enemies , 
 exhorted the people to return to their obedience, and ac- 
 knowledge his son as his successor ; and signed his attach- 
 ment to the protestant religion, as professed in the church of 
 England. So strong was the impression his dying words 
 made upon the few who could hear him, that colonel Tom- 
 linson himself, to whose care he had been committed, ac- 
 knowledged himself a convert. 
 
 15. While he was preparing himself for the block, bishop 
 Juxon called out to him, " There is, sir, but one stage more 
 which, though turbulent and troublesome, is yet a very short 
 one. It will soon carry you a great way. It will carry 
 you from earth to heaven, and there you shall find, to your 
 great joy, the prize to which you hasten, a crown of glory. " 
 16. " I go," replied the king, " from a corruptible to an 
 incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can have place." 
 — " You exchange," replied the bishop, " a temporal for an 
 eternal crown ; a good exchange !" Charles, having taken 
 off his cloak, delivered his George to the prelate, pronounc- 
 ing the word " Remember I" Then he laid his neck on the 
 block, and, stretching out his hands as a signal, one of the 
 executioners severed his head from his body at a blow ; 
 while the other, holding it up, exclaimed, "This is the 
 head of a traitor !" 17. The spectators testified their horror 
 of the sad spectacle in sighs, tears, and lamentations ; the 
 tide of their duty and affection began to return ; and each 
 blamed himself either with active disloyalty to his king, or 
 a passive compliance with his destroyers. 
 
 18. Charles was executed in the forty-ninth year of his 
 age, and the twenty-fourth of his reign. He was of a mid- 
 dle stature, robust, and well-proportioned. His visage was 
 pleasing, but melancholy ; and it is probable that the con- 
 tinued troubles in which he was involved might have made 
 that impression on his countenance. As for his character, 
 the reader will deduce it, with more precision and satisfac- 
 tion to himself, from the detail of his conduct, than from any 
 summary given of it by the historian. 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 235 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. 2. What did the king urge in his defence ? 
 SL What was the answer of Bradshaw ? 
 
 4. What treatment did he receive from the soldiers? 
 f». With what patience did he bear their reproaches ? and what was hie re 
 mark ' 
 
 7. 3. What followed the king's condemnation ? 
 
 9 10. What spot was chosen, as the place of the king's execution ? 
 12. What preparations were made for his trial ? 
 13, 14. What did he say in his address to the people ? 
 15. 16. What conversation passed between the king and bishop Juxon? 
 
 17. What effect had his execution on the minds of the people ? 
 
 18. How long did Charles reign? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Urban VIII 1623 
 
 Innocent X 1644 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Ferdinand II 1619 
 
 Ferdinand III 1637 
 
 Emperors of the Turks. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 AmurathlV 1623 
 
 Ibrahim 1649 
 
 Mahomet IV 1649 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Louis XIII 1620 
 
 Louis XIV 1643 
 
 King of Spain and 
 Portugal. 
 
 A.D 
 
 Philip IV 1621 
 
 Portugal alone. 
 John IV 1640 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Archbishop Laud. Earl of Strafford. John Hampden. Lucius Cary, lord 
 Falkland. Harry Cary, lord Falkland H. Montague, earl of Manchester 
 R Greville, lord Brooke. Lord-keeper Littleton. Arthur, lord Capel. Lord 
 Edward Herbert, of Cherbury. . G. Stanley, earl of Derby. J. t)igby, earl 
 of Bristol. Ulicke de Burgh, marquis of Clanricarde, and earl of St. Albans 
 Henry Carey, earl of Monmouth. Mildmay Fane, earl of Westmoreland. E. 
 Somerset, marquis of Worcester 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 OLIVER CROMWELL. 
 
 Bom 1599 Died September 3, 1G58. Became lord protector December 1G, 1853. 
 
 Ruled 4$ years. 
 
 THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Though cunning, bold, and though intrepid, sage. — Egerton, 
 
 1. (A.D. 1649.) Cromwell, who had secretly solicited 
 and contrived the king's death, now began to feel wishes 
 to which he had been hitherto a stranger. His prospects 
 widening as he rose, his first principles of liberty were 
 
 * The Portuguese shook off the Spanish yoke, and cleited John, duke of Bra 
 ganza, their ki-ig. 
 
236 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 all lost in the unbounded stretch of power that iay before 
 him. 
 
 2. Having been appointed to command the army in Ire- 
 land, he prosecuted the war in that kingdom with his usual 
 success. He had to combat against the royalists, com- 
 manded by the duke of Ormond, and the native Irish, led on 
 by O'Neil. But such ill-connected and barbarous troops 
 could give very little opposition to Cromwell's more nu- 
 merous forces, conducted by such a general, and emboldened 
 by long success. He soon overran the whole country ; 
 and, after some time, all the towns revolted in his favour, 
 and opened their gates at his approach. 3. But, in these 
 conquests, as in all the rest of his actions, there appeared a 
 brutal ferocity, that would tarnish the most heroic valour. 
 In order to intimidate the natives from defending their 
 towns, he, with a barbarous policy, put every garrison that 
 made any resistance to the sword. 
 
 4. After his return to England, upon taking his seat, he 
 received the thanks of the house, by the mouth of the 
 speaker, for the services he had done the commonwealth in 
 Ireland. They then proceeded to deliberate upon choosing 
 a general for conducting the war in Scotland, where they 
 had espoused the royal cause, and placed young Charles, 
 the son of their late monarch, on the throne. Fairfax re- 
 fusing this command upon principle, as he had all along 
 declined opposing the presbyterians, the command necessa- 
 rily devolved upon Cromwell, who boldly set forward for 
 Scotland, at the head of an army of sixteen thousand men. 
 
 5. The Scots, in the mean time, who had invited over 
 their wretched king to be a prisoner, not a ruler among them, 
 prepared to meet the invasion. A.D. 1650. A battle soon 
 ensued, in which they, though double the number of the 
 English, were soon put to flight, and pursued with great 
 slaughter, while Cromwell did not lose above forty men 
 in all. 
 
 6. In this terrible exigence young Charles embraced a 
 resolution worthy a prince who was willing to hazard all 
 for empire. Observing that the way was open to England, 
 he resolved immediately to march into that country, where 
 he expected to be reinforced by all the royalists in that part 
 of the kingdom. 
 
 7. But he soon found himself disappointed in the expec- 
 tation of increasing his army. The Scots, terrified at the 
 prospect of so hazardous an enterprise, fell from him in greai 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 237 
 
 numbers The English, affrighted at the name of his op- 
 ponent, dreaded to join him ; but his mortifications were 
 still more increased as he arrived at Worcester, when in- 
 formed that Cromwell was marching with hasty strides from 
 Scotland, with an army increased to forty thousand men. 
 8. The news had scarcely arrived, when that active general 
 himself appeared ; and, falling upon the town on all sides, 
 broke in upon the disordered royalists. The streets were 
 strewed with slaughter; the whole Scots army were either 
 killed or taken prisoners ; and the king himself, having 
 given many proofs of personal valour, was obliged to fly. 
 
 9. Imagination can scarcely conceive adventures more 
 romantic, or distress more severe, than those which at- 
 tended the young king's flight from the scene of slaughter. 
 After various escapes, and one-and-forty days concealment, 
 he landed safely at Feschamp, in Normandy ; no less than 
 forty men and women having, at different times, been privy 
 to his escape. 
 
 10. The particulars of Charles's escape, after the battle 
 of Worcester, are truly interesting. He left the fatal scene 
 of action, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham, the 
 earls of Derby and Lauderdale, the lords Talbot, Wilmot, 
 and fifty horse, and, without halting, arrived at Whiteladies, 
 twenty-five miles from Worcester, at five o'clock in the 
 morning. There he thought it best for his safety to separate 
 from his companions, and, without intrusting them with his 
 intentions, he went to Boscobel, a lone house in Staffordshire, 
 inhabited by one Penderell, a farmer, whose fidelity remained 
 unshaken, though death was denounced against all who con- 
 cealed the king, and a great reward promised to any one 
 who should betray him. Pendereil, and his four brothers, 
 having clothed the king in a garb like their own, led him 
 into the neighbouring wood, put a bill into his hand, and em- 
 ployed themselves in cutting faggots with him. For better 
 concealment he mounted upon an oak, where he sheltered 
 himself among the branches and leaves for twenty-four 
 hours. There he saw several soldiers passing in search of 
 him. This tree was afterwards called the royal oak, and for 
 many years was regarded by the neighbourhood with great 
 veneration. Thence he passed with imminent danger from 
 one cottage to another, feeling all the varieties of famine, 
 fatigue and pain, till he reached the house of Mr. Lane, a 
 gentleman of good reputation and fortune in Staffordshire. 
 In this station the king remained many days in quiet and 
 
23S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 eecurity. Thence he went to one of Mr. Lane s relations, 
 within five miles of Bristol, where he intended to embark ; 
 but finding that no ship was to sail for a month from that 
 place, he was obliged to go elsewhere for a passage, and 
 escaped frou. being discovered and arrested at Lyme, only 
 by a few minutes. Charles passed through many other 
 adventures, assumed different disguises, in every step was 
 exposed to imminent dangers, and received daily proofs of 
 uncorrupted fidelity. A little bark was at last found at 
 Brighthelmstone, (at that time a small fishing-town in Sussex 
 but now a place of considerable magnitude and opulence,) 
 where his majesty embarked, and arrived safely at Fres- 
 champ, in Normandy, October 22d. 
 
 11. In the mean lime, Cromwell, crowned with success, 
 returned in triumph to London, where he was met by the 
 speaker of the house, accompanied by the mayor of London, 
 and the magistrates, in all their formalities. His first care 
 was to take advantage of his late success, by depressing the 
 Scots, who had so lately withstood the work of the gospel, 
 as he called it. 12. An act was passed for abolishing roy- 
 alty in Scotland, and annexing that kingdom, as a conquered 
 province, to the English commonwealth. It was empow- 
 ered, however, to send some members to the English par- 
 liament. Judges were appointed to distribute justice, and 
 the people of that country, now freed from the tyranny of 
 the ecclesiastics, were not much dissatisfied with their pre- 
 sent government. The prudent conduct of Monk, who was 
 left by Cromwell to complete their subjection, served much 
 to reconcile the minds of the people, harassed with dissen- 
 sions, of which they never well understood the cause. 
 
 13. In this manner, the English parliament, by the means 
 of Cromwell, spread their uncontested authority over all the 
 British dominions. Ireland was totally subdued by Ireton 
 and Ludlow. All the settlements in America, that had de- 
 clared for the royal cause, were obliged to submit ; Jersey, 
 Guernsey, Scilly, and the Isle of Man, were brought easily 
 under subjection. Thus mankind saw, with astonishment 
 a parliament composed of sixty or seventy obscure and illi 
 terate members governing a great empire with unanimity 
 and success. 14. Without any acknowledged subordination 
 except a council of state, consisting of thirty-eight, to whom 
 all addresses were made, they levied armies, maintained 
 fleets, and gave laws to the neighbouring powers of Europe 
 15. The finances were managed with economy and exact* 
 
THE COMMONWEATLH 239 
 
 ness Few private persons became rich by the plunder of 
 ihe public : the revenues of the crown, the lands of the 
 bishops, and a tax of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds 
 each month, supplied the wants of the government, and 
 gave vigour to all their proceedings. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the nature of Cromwell's ambition? 
 
 2. What success attended him in Ireland ? 
 
 3. What cruelty tarnished his victories ? 
 
 4. Whom did the parliament appoint to the command of the army 
 
 against Scotland ? 
 
 5. What was Cromwell's success ? 
 
 6. What resolution did prince Charles embrace ? 
 
 7. What news did the prince receive at Worcester ? 
 
 8. What was the result of his undertaking ? 
 
 9. What were his sufferings ? and how did he escape ? 
 
 10. Mention more particularly the incidents of this escape. 
 
 11. What was Cromwell's first care after his return ? 
 
 12. What act was now passed respecting Scotland ? 
 
 13 — 15. What was the state of the British empire at this time ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 An evil soul, producing holy writ, 
 
 Is like a villain wilh a smiling cheek ; 
 
 A goodly apple rotien at the core. — Shakspeare. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1652.) The parliament, having thus reduced 
 their native dominions to perfect obedience, next resolved 
 to chastise the Dutch, who had given but very slight cause 
 of complaint. It happened that one doctor Dorislaus, who 
 was of the number of the late king's judges, being sent by 
 the parliament as their envoy to Holland, was assassinated 
 by one of the royal party, who had taken refuge there. 
 2. Some time after, also, Mr. St. John, appointed their 
 ambassador to that court, was insulted by the friends of the 
 prince of Orange. These were thought motives sufficient 
 to induce the commonwealth of England to declare wat 
 against them. The parliament's chief dependence lay in 
 the activity and courage of Blake, their admiral ; who, 
 though he had not embarked in naval command till late in 
 life, yet surpassed all that went before him in courage and 
 dexterity. 3. On the other side, the Dutch opposed to him 
 
240 HISTORY OF ENGVAND. 
 
 their famous admiral Van Tromp, to whom they have nevoi 
 since produced an equal. Many were the engagemen s be- 
 tween these celebrated admirals, and various was their sue 
 cess. Sea-fights, in general, seldom prove decisive ; and 
 the vanquished are soon seen to make head against the 
 victor. Several dreadful encounters, therefore, rather served 
 to show the excellence of the admirals, than to determine 
 their superiority. 4. The Dutch, however, who felt many 
 great disadvantages by the loss of their trade, and by the 
 total suspension of their fisheries, were willing to treat foi 
 a peace ; but the parliament gave them a very unfavourable 
 answer. It was the policy of that body to keep their navy 
 on foot as long as they could ; rightly judging, that, while 
 the force of the nation was exerting by sea, it would di- 
 minish the power of general Cromwell by land, which was 
 become very formidable to them. 
 
 5. This great aspirer, however, quickly perceived their 
 designs ; and, from the first, saw that they dreaded his 
 growing power, and wished its diminution. All his mea- 
 sures were conducted with a bold intrepidity that marked 
 his character, and he now saw that it was not necessary to 
 wear the mask of subordination any longer. Secure, there- 
 fore, in the attachment of the army, he resolved to make 
 another daring effort; and persuaded the officers to present 
 a petition for payment of arrears and redress of grievances, 
 which he knew would be rejected by the commons wftl: 
 disdain. 6. The petition was soon drawn up and pre 
 sented, in which the officers, after demanding their arrears 
 desired the parliament to consider how many years they 
 had sat ; and what professions they had formerly made of 
 their intentions to new-model the house, and establish free 
 dom on the broadest basis. 
 
 7. The house was highly offended at the presumption of 
 the army, although they had seen, but too lately, that their 
 own power was wholly founded on that very presumption. 
 They appointed a committee to prepare an act ordaining 
 that all persons who presented such petitions for the future 
 should be deemed guilty of high-treason. To this the offi- 
 cers made a very warm remonstrance, and the parliament 
 as angry a reply ; while the breach between them every 
 moment grew wider. 8. This was what Cromwell had 
 long wished, and had long foreseen. He was sitting in the 
 council with his officers, when informed of the subject on 
 which the house was deliberating ; upon which he rose up 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 24] 
 
 
 Cromwell dismissing the parliament. 
 
 in the most seeming fury, and turning to major Vernon, he 
 cried out, that he was compelled to do a thing that made 
 the very hairs of his head stand on end. 9. Then hasten- 
 ing to the house with three hundred soldiers, and with the 
 marks of violent indignation on his countenance, he entered 
 Stamping with his foot, which was the signal for the soldiers 
 to enter, the place was immediately filled with armed men. 
 Then addressing himself to the members : " For shame," 
 said he, "get you gone. Give place to honester men; to 
 those who will more faithfully discharge their trust. 10. You 
 are no longer a parliament : I tell you, you are no longer a 
 parliament : the Lord has done with you." Sir Harry 
 Vane exclaiming against this conduct : " Sir Harry," cried 
 Cromwell, with a loud voice, " ! sir Harry Vane, the 
 Lord deliver me from sir Harry Vane." He then, in the 
 coarsest and most violent manner, reproached many of the 
 members, by name, with their vices. "It is you," con- 
 tinued he, " that have forced me upon this. 11. I have 
 sought the Lord night and day, that he would rather slay 
 me than put me upon this work." Then pointing to the 
 mace, " Take away," cried he, " that bauble." After 
 which, turning out all the members, and clearing the hall, 
 he ordered the doors to be locked, and, putting the key iu 
 his pocket, returned to Whitehall. 
 
 12. The persons selected for his next parliament were 
 the lowest, meanest, and the most ignorant among the citi 
 
242 HISTOKY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 zens, and the very dregs of the fanatics. He was well ap- 
 prized, that, during the administration of such a group of 
 characters, he alone must govern, or that they must soon 
 throw up the reins of government, which they were unqua- 
 lified to guide. Accordingly, their practice justified his sa- 
 gacity. One of them particularly, who was called Praise 
 God Barebone, a canting leather seller, gave his name to 
 this odd assembly, and it was called Barebone's parliament. 
 15. The very vulgar now began to exclaim against so 
 foolish a legislature ; and they themselves seemed not insen- 
 sible of the ridicule which every day was thrown out against 
 them. Accordingly, by concert, they met earlier than the 
 rest of their fraternity, and observing to each other that this 
 parliament had sat long enough, they hastened to Crom- 
 well, with Rouse their speaker at their head, and into hi* 
 hands they resigned the authority with which he had invest- 
 ed them. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What circumstances produced a war with the Dutch ? 
 
 2. On what admiral did the English place their chief dependence 
 
 3. To whom was Blake opposed ? 
 
 4. What was the result of the war ? 
 
 ft. What petition did Cromwell persuade the officers to present ? 
 
 7. In what manner did the parliament receive the petition ? 
 
 7 — 11. Relate the particulars of this dispute, and its result. 
 J 2. Of whom was the next parliament composed? and what was it called f 
 13. To whom did they resign their authority? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Established violence and lawless might. 
 
 Avowed and hallowed by liie name of right. — Rowe's Lucan. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1653.) Cromwell accepted their resignation 
 with pleasure ; but being told that some of the members 
 were refractory he sent colonel White to clear the house 
 of such as ventured to remain there. They had placed one 
 Moyer in the chair by the time that the colonel had arrived , 
 and being asked by the colonel what they did there, Moyer 
 replied very gravely, that they were seeking the Lord 
 " Then may you go elsewhere," cried White ; ' for to my 
 certain knowledge, the Lord has not been here these many 
 years." 
 
 2. This shadow of a parliament being dissolved, the offi- 
 cers, by their own authority, declared Cromwell protector 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 243 
 
 j{ the commonwealth of England. He w T as to be addressed 
 by the title of highness ; and his power was proclaimed in 
 London, and other parts of the kingdom. Thus an obscure 
 and vulgar man, at the age of fifty-three, rose to unbounded 
 power : first by following small events in his favour, and at 
 length by directing great ones. 
 
 3. Cromwell chose his council from among his officers, 
 who had been the companions of his dangers and his victo- 
 ries, to each of whom he assigned a pension of one thousand 
 pounds a year. He took care to have his troops, upon 
 whose fidelity he depended for support, paid a month in ad- 
 vance ; the magazines were also well provided, and the 
 public treasure managed with frugality and care ; while his 
 activity, vigilance, and resolution were such, that he disco- 
 vered every conspiracy against his person, and every plot 
 for an insurrection, before they took effect. 
 
 4. His management of foreign affairs, though his schemes 
 were by no means political, yet well corresponded with his 
 character, and for a while were attended with success. The 
 Dutch, having been humbled by repeated defeats, and totally 
 abridged of their commercial concerns, were obliged at last 
 to sue for peace, which he gave them upon terms rather too 
 favourable. 5. He insisted upon their paying deference to 
 the British flag ; he compelled them to abandon the interest 
 of the king, and to pay eighty-five thousand pounds, as an 
 indemnification for former expenses ; and to restore the 
 English East India Company a part of those dominions of 
 which they had been dispossessed by the Dutch, during the 
 former reign, in that distant part of the world. 
 
 6. He was not less successful in his negotiation with the 
 court of France. Cardinal Mazarin, by whom the affairs 
 of that kingdom were conducted, deemed it necessary to pay 
 deference to the protector ; and desirous rather to prevail by 
 dexterity than violence, submitted to Cromwell's imperious 
 character, and thus procured ends equally beneficial to both. 
 
 7. The court of Spain was not less assiduous in its endea- 
 vours to gain his friendship, but was not so successful. 
 This vast monarchy, which, but a few years before, had 
 threatened the liberties of Europe, was now reduced so low 
 as to be scarcely able to defend itself. Cromwell, however, 
 who knew nothing of foreign politics, still continued to re- 
 gard its power with an eye of jealousy, and came into an 
 association with France to depress it still more. 8. He lent 
 ♦hat court a body of six thousand men to attack the Spanish 
 
244 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 dominions in the Netherlands ; and, upon obtaining a signa^ 
 victory by his assistance at Dunes, the French put Dunkirk, 
 which they had just taken from the Spaniards, Into his 
 hands, as a reward for his attachment. 
 
 9. But it. was by sea that he humbled the power of Spain 
 with still more effectual success. Blake, who had long 
 made himself formidable to the Dutch, and whose fame was 
 spread over Europe, now became still more dreadful to the 
 Spanish monarchy. He sailed with a fleet into the Medi- 
 terranean, whither, since the time of the crusades, no Eng- 
 lish fleet had ever ventured to advance. He there conquered 
 all that dared to oppose him. 10. Casting anchor before 
 Leghorn, he demanded and obtained satisfaction for some 
 injuries which the English commerce had suffered from the 
 duke of Tuscany. He next sailed to Algiers, and compel- 
 led the dey to make peace, and to restrain his piratical sub- 
 jects from further injuring the English. 11. A.D. 1655. 
 lie then went to Tunis, and having made the same demands, 
 was desired by the dey of that place to look at the two cas- 
 tles, Porto Farino and Goletta, and do his utmost. Blake 
 showed him that he was not slow in accepting the challenge ; 
 entered that harbour, burned the shipping there, and then 
 sailed out triumphantly to pursue his voyage. At Cadiz he 
 took two galleons, valued at nearly two millions of dollars. 
 12. At the Canaries he burned a Spanish fleet of six- 
 teen ships ; and returning home to England, to enjoy the 
 fame of his noble actions, as he came within sight of his na- 
 tive country he expired. This gallant man, though he fought 
 for an usurper, was yet adverse to his cause ; he was a zeal- 
 ous republican in principle, and his aim was to serve his 
 country, not to establish a tyrant. " It is still our duty," 
 he would say to the seamen, " to fight for our country, into 
 whatever hands the government may fall." 
 
 13 At the same time that Blake's expeditions were going 
 forward, there was another carried on under the command 
 of admirals Penn and Venables, with about four thousand 
 land forces, to attack the island of Hispaniola. Failing, how- 
 ever, in this, and being driven off the place by the Spa- 
 niards, they steered to Jamaica* which was surrendered to 
 them without a blow. So little was thought of the import- 
 ance of this conquest, that upon the return of the expedition, 
 Penn and Venables were sent to the Tower, for their failure 
 in the principal object of their expedition. 
 
 14. But it must not be supposed that Cromwell's situation 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 245 
 
 wns at that time enviable. Perhaps no situation, however 
 mean or loaded with contempt, could be more truly distress- 
 ing than his, at the time the nation were loading him with 
 congratulations and addresses. He had by this time render 
 ed himself hateful to every party ; and he owed his safety 
 to their mutual hatred and diffidence of each other. 15. His 
 arts of dissimulation had been long exhausted ; none could 
 now be deceived by them, those of his own party and prin- 
 ciples disdained the use to which he had converted his zeal 
 and professions. The truth seems to be, if we may use 
 the phrase taken from common life, he had begun with being 
 a dupe to his own enthusiasm, and ended with being a 
 sharper. 
 
 16. The whole nation silently detested his administration , 
 but he had not still been reduced to the extreme of wretch 
 edness, if he could have found domestic consolation. Fleet- 
 wood, his son-in-law, actuated with the wildest zeal, detest- 
 ed that character which could use religious professions for 
 the purposes of temporal advancement. 17. His eldest 
 daughter, married to Fleetwood, had adopted republican 
 principles so vehemently, that she could not behold even 
 her own father intrusted with uncontrollable power. His 
 other daughters were no less sanguine in favour of the royal 
 cause ; but, above all, Mrs. Claypole, his favourite daughter, 
 upon her death-bed, upbraided him with all those crimes that 
 had led him to trample on the throne. 
 
 18. Every hour added some new disquietude. Lord 
 Fairfax, sir William Waller, and many of the heads of the 
 presbyterians, had secretly entered into an engagement to 
 destroy him. His administration, so expensive both at home 
 and abroad, had exhausted his revenue, and he was left con- 
 siderably in debt. 19. One conspiracy was no sooner de- 
 tected, than another rose from its ruins ; and, to increase the 
 calamity, he was now taught, upon reasoning principles, that 
 his death was not only desirable, but his assassination would 
 be meritorious. A book was published by colonel Titus, a 
 man who had formerly been attached to his cause, entitled, 
 11 Killing no Murder." 20. Of all the pamphlets that came 
 forth at that time, or perhaps of those that have since ap- 
 peared, this was the most eloquent and masterly. " Shall 
 we," said this popular declaimer, " who would not suffer 
 the lion to invade us, tamely stand to be devoured by the 
 wolf ?" Cromwell read this spirited treatise, and was never 
 seen to smile more. 
 
 x2 
 
246 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Mention what followed the resignation of this parliament 
 
 2. What important events succeeded ? 
 
 3 — 5. What were the first acts of Cromwell ? 
 
 6, 7. In what manner did he act towards France and Spain ? 
 
 9 — 12. Relate the bold and successful enterprise of admiral Blake. 
 
 13. What other admirals did Cromwell employ ? and with what success 
 
 14, 15. What was Cromwell's situation at this time ? 
 16, 17. What were his domestic troubles? 
 
 IS Who entered into an engagement to destroy him ? 
 
 19. What effect had the pamphlet written by colonel Titus rr him ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 He left a name at which the world grew pale. 
 To point a moral or adorn a tale. — Johnson. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1658.) All peace was now for ever banished 
 from his mind ; and he found, that the grandeur to which 
 he had sacrificed his former peace was only an inlet to fresh 
 inquietudes. The fears of assassination haunted him in all 
 his walks, and were perpetually present in his imagination, 
 He wore armour under his clothes, and always kept pistols 
 in his pockets. 2. His aspect was clouded by a settled 
 gloom ; and he regarded every stranger with a glance of 
 timid suspicion. He always travelled with hurry, and was 
 ever attended by a numerous guard. He never returned 
 from any place by the road he went; and seldom slept above 
 three nights together in the same chamber. Society terrified 
 him, as there he might meet an enemy ; solitude was terri- 
 ble, as he was there unguarded by every friend. 
 
 3. A tertian ague came kindly at last to deliver him from 
 this life of horror and anxiety. For the space of a week no 
 dangerous symptoms appeared ; and in the intervals of the 
 fits he was able to walk abroad. At length the fever in 
 creased, and he became delirious. He was just able to an 
 swer yes to the demand, whether his son Richard should be 
 appointed to succeed him. He died on the third day of 
 September, the very day which he had always considered 
 as the most fortunate of his life ; he was then fifty-nine year? 
 old, and had usurped the government nine years. 
 
 4. Whatever might have been the difference of interests 
 after the death of the usurper, the influence of his name was 
 still sufficient to get Richard, his son, proclaimed proxer tor 
 in his room. But the army, discontented with such a lead 
 er, established a meeting at General Fleetwood's, which, us 
 lie dwelt at Wallingford-house, was called the cabal of Wal 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH 24"7 
 
 lingford. The result of their deliberation was a remonstrance, 
 that the command of the army should be instrusted to some 
 person in whom they might all confide ; and it was plainly 
 given to understand, that the young protector was not that 
 nerson. 
 
 5. Richard wanted resolution to defend the title that had 
 been conferred upon him; he soon signed his own abdica- 
 tion in form, and retired to live, several years after his re- 
 signation, at first on the continent, and afterwards upon his 
 paternal fortune at home. He was thought by the ignorant 
 to be unworthy the happiness of his exaltation ; but he 
 knew, by his tranquillity in private, that he had made the 
 most fortunate exchange. 
 
 While Richard Cromwell was on his travels, under an as- 
 sumed name, he was introduced to the prince of Conti, who, 
 talking of England, broke out into admiration of Cromwell's 
 courage and capacity : " But as for that poor pitiful fellow, 
 Richard," said he, " what has become of him ? How could 
 he be such a blockhead as to reap no greater benefit from all 
 his father's crimes and successes?" We have, however, 
 abundant proof that Richard was fonder of the social virtues 
 than of noisy fame, and justly appreciated the calm enjoy- 
 ments of retirement. When, on assuming the Protectorship, 
 one of his adherents pressed him to exert more vigour against 
 the royalists, he said, " I positively forbid shedding the blood 
 of a single man in my cause. I would rather relinquish the 
 post I hold, than proceed to such unwarrantable extremities. 
 I wish to retain my situation no longer than shall be consist- 
 ent with the public good, and the wishes of those I govern." 
 His peaceful and quiet life extended to the age of 86 ; and 
 he died in the year 1712, at the latter end of queen Anne's 
 reign. 
 
 6. The officers, being once more left to themselves, de- 
 termined to replace the remnant of the old parliament which 
 had beheaded the king, and which Cromwell had so digrace- 
 fully turned out of the house. 
 
 7. The rump parliament, for that was the name it went 
 by, being now reinstated, was yet very vigorous in its at- 
 tempts to lessen the power by which it was replaced. The 
 officers of the army, therefore, came to a resolution, usual 
 enough in those times, to dissolve that assembly by which 
 they were so vehemently opposed. 8. Accordingly, Lam- 
 bert, one of the generals, drew up a chosen body of troops 
 imd placing them in the streets which led to Westminister 
 
248 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 hall, when the speaker, Lenthall, proceeded in nis carnage to 
 the house, he ordered the horses to be turned, and very civilly 
 conducted him home. The other members were likewise in- 
 tercepted, and the army returned to their quarters to observe 
 a solemn feast, which generally either preceded or attended 
 their outrages. 
 
 9. During these transactions, general Monk was at the 
 head of eight thousand veterans in Scotland, and beheld the 
 distraction of his native country with but slender hopes of 
 relieving it. 
 
 10. Whatever might have been his designs, it was impos- 
 sible to cover them with greater secrecy than he did. As 
 soon as he put his army in motion, to inquire into the cause 
 of the disturbances in the capital, his countenance was 
 eagerly sought by all the contending parties. He still, how- 
 ever, continued to march his army towards the capital ; the 
 whole country equally in doubt as to his motives and aston- 
 ished at his reserve. But Monk continued his inflexible taci- 
 turnity, and at last came to St. Alban's, within a few miles 
 of London. 
 
 11. He there sent the rump parliament, who had resumed 
 their seat, a message, desiring them to remove such forces 
 as remained in London to country quarters. In the mean 
 time the house of commons, having passed votes for the 
 composure of the kingdom, dissolved themselves, and gave 
 orders for the immediate assembling of a new parliament. 
 
 12. As yet the new parliament was not assembled, and 
 no person had hitherto dived into the designs of the general. 
 (A. D. 1660.) He still persevered in his reserve; and al- 
 though the calling of a new parliament was but, in other 
 words, to restore the king, yet his expressions never once 
 betrayed the secret of his bosom. Nothing but a security 
 of confidence at last extorted the confession from him. 13. 
 He had been intimate with one Morrice, a gentleman of De- 
 vonshire, of a sedentary, studious disposition, and with him 
 alone did he deliberate upon the great and dangerous enter- 
 prise of the restoration. Sir John Granville, who had a 
 commission from the king, applied for access to the general ; 
 he was desired to communicate his business to Morrice. 
 14. Granville refused, though twice urged, to deliver his 
 message to any but the general himself; so that Monk T 
 finding that he could depend upon this minister's secrecy, 
 opened to him his whole intentions ; but, with his usual 
 caution still scrupled to commit any thing to paper- Io 
 
THE COMMONWEALTH. 249 
 
 consequence of this, the king left the Spanish territories, 
 where he very narrowly escaped being detained at Breda by 
 the governor, under the pretence of treating him with proper 
 respect and formality. From thence he retired into Hoi. 
 land, where he resolved to wait for further advice. 
 
 15. At length the long-expected day for the sitting of a 
 tree parliament arrived. The affections of all were turned 
 towards the king ; yet such were their fears, and such dan 
 gers attended a freedom of speech, that no one dared foi 
 some days to make any mention of his name. All this time 
 Monk, with his usual reserve, tried their temper, and exa- 
 mined the ardour of their wishes ; at length he gave direc- 
 tions to Annesley, president of the council, to inform them 
 that sir John Granville, a servant of the king, had been sent 
 over by his majesty, and was now at the door with a letter 
 to the commons. 
 
 16. Nothing could exceed the joy and transport with 
 which this message was received. The members, for a mo- 
 ment, forgot the dignity of their situations, and indulged in 
 a loud acclamation of applause. Granville was called in, 
 and the letter eagerly read. A moment's pause was scarcely 
 allowed : all at once the house burst into an universal assent 
 to the king's proposals ; and to diffuse the joy more widely 
 it was voted that the letter and indemnity should immediate!) 
 be published. 
 
 17. Charles IT. entered London on the twenty-ninth of 
 May, which was his birth-day. An innumerable concourse 
 of people lined the way wherever he passed, and rent the 
 air with their acclamations. They had been so long dis- 
 tracted by unrelenting factions, oppressed and alarmed by a 
 succession of tyrannies, that they could no longer suppress 
 these emotions of delight, to behold their constitution restored, 
 or rather like a phenix, appearing more beautiful and vigor- 
 ous from the ruins of its former conflagration. 
 
 18. Fanaticism, with its long train of gloomy terrors, fled 
 at the approach of freedom ; the arts of society and peace 
 began to return ; and it had been happy for the people if the 
 arts of luxury had not entered in their train.* 
 
 * A great number of religious sects sprung up in England during the civil wara 
 That of the Quakers was the most remarkable. The founder was George Fax 
 born at Drajlon, in Lancashire, in 1624. 
 
250 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 i, 2. What was the state of Cromwell's mind, and what was his con 
 
 duct previous to his death ? 
 3. When did he die ? at what age 1 and how long did he reign 7 
 
 5. What mode of life did Richard Cromwell prefer 1 
 
 6. What measures were now determined upon ? 
 
 7. 8. What consequences followed ? 
 
 9 — 12. What was now the conduct of General Monk? 
 13. In whom did general Monk confide 1 
 
 16. Relate the particulars which preceded the king's restoration. 
 1 7 At what time did Charles II. enter London 1 and what was his 
 reception 1 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Innocent X 1644 
 
 Alexander VII 1655 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Ferdinand III 1637 
 
 Leopold 1658 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 Mahomet IV 1649 
 
 King of France. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Louis XIV .1649 
 
 King of Spain. 
 Philip IV 1G21 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 
 John IV 1640 
 
 Alphonso. 1656 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 
 x. v. 
 Frederick III 1643 
 
 King and Queen of 
 Sweden. 
 
 Christiana 1633 
 
 Charles X 1653 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Joax Milton,* Waller; Davenant ; Cowley; sir John Denham, 
 Harrington; Harvey; Clarendon; Selden ; Hobbs. Admirals Blake, 
 Montague, &c. ; Generals Bradshaw, Ireton, Fairfax, Monk, Lambert, 
 Fleetwood ; the earl of Essex ; sir Henry Vane ; Bulstrode White- 
 lock, lord keeper. 
 
 * Milton was the greatest epic poet that England, perhaps that the wond, has 
 ever produced. He held the situation of Latin Secretary under Oliver Cromwell, 
 and was permitted to retain the emoluments of his office after he had become blind. 
 After the Restoration he was deprived of his office ; and it was amid all the dis- 
 tress arising from blindness, age and poverty, that Paradise Lost, the mas'. 
 eubiime poem which adorns any language, was written. 
 
CHARLES II. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CHARLES II. 
 
 Bom 1630. Died February 6, 1685. Began to reign May 29, 1680. 
 Reigned 24$ years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Already quench'd sedition's brand, 
 
 And zeal, which burnt it, only warms the .and. — Drjjden. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1661.) When Charles came to the throne he 
 was thirty years of age, possessed of an agreeable person, 
 an elegant address, and an engaging manner. His whole 
 demeanour and behaviour were well calculated to support 
 and increase popularity. Accustomed, during his exile, to 
 live cheerfully among his courtiers, he carried the same 
 endearing familiarities to the throne ; and, from the levity 
 of his temper, no injuries were dreaded from his former 
 resentments. 2. But it was soon found that all these ad- 
 vantages were merely superficial. His indolence and love 
 of pleasure made him averse to all kinds of business ; his 
 familiarities were prostituted to the worst as well as to the 
 best of his subjects ; and he took no care to reward his 
 former friends, as he had taken few steps to be avenged of 
 his former enemies. 
 
 3. Though an act of indemnity was passed, those who 
 had an immediate hand in the king's death were excepted. 
 Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw, though dead, were con- 
 sidered as proper objects of resentment ; their bodies were 
 dug from their graves, dragged to the place of execution, 
 and after hanging some time, buried under the gallows. 4, 
 Of the rest who sat in judgment in the late monarch's 
 trial, some were dead, and some thought worthy of pardon. 
 Ten only, out of fourscore, were devoted to destruction 
 These were enthusiasts, who had all along acted from 
 principle, and who, in the general spirit of rage excited 
 against them, showed a fortitude that might do honour to a 
 better cause. 
 
 5. This was the time for the king to have made himself 
 independent of all parliaments ; and it is said that South 
 ampton, one of his ministers, had thought of procuring his 
 master, from the commons, the grant of a revenue of two 
 millions a year, which would have effectually rendered him 
 
252 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 absolute ; but in this his views were obstructed by the 
 great Clarendon, who, though attached to the king, was still 
 more the friend of liberty and the laws. 6. Charles, how- 
 evei, was no way interested in these opposite views of his 
 ministers ; he only desired money in order to prosecute his 
 pleasures ; and, provided he had that, he little regarded the 
 manner in which it was obtained. 
 
 7. His continual exigencies drove him constantly to 
 measures no way suited to his inclination. Among others 
 was his marriage, celebrated at this time, with Catharine, 
 infanta of Portugal, who, though a virtuous princess, pos- 
 sessed, as it should seem, but few personal attractions. 
 It was the portion of this princess that the needy monarch 
 was enamoured of, which amounted to three hundred 
 thousand pounds, together with the fortresses of Tangier 
 in Africa, and of Bombay in the East Indies. 8. The 
 chancellor Clarendon, the duke of Ormond, and South- 
 ampton urged many reasons against this match, and op- 
 posed it with all their influence ; but the king disregarded 
 their advice, and the inauspicious marriage was celebrated 
 accordingly. 
 
 9. It was probably with a view of recruiting the supply 
 for his pleasures that he was induced to declare war against 
 the Dutch, as the money appointed for that purpose would 
 go through his hands. In this naval war, which continued 
 to rage for some years with great fierceness, much blood 
 was spilt and great treasure exhausted, until at last a treaty 
 was concluded at Breda, by which the colony of New York 
 was ceded by the Dutch to the English, and considered as a 
 most valuable acquisition. 
 
 10. This treaty was considered as inglorious to the Eng 
 lish, as they failed in gaining any redress upon the com 
 plaints which give rise to it. Lord Clarendon particularly 
 gained a share of blame, both for having advised an unne- 
 cessary war, and then for concluding a disgraceful peace. 
 He had been long declining in the king's favour, and he was 
 no less displeasing to the majority of the people. 
 
 11. This seemed the signal for the ear 's enemies to step 
 in, and effect his entire overthrow. A charge was opened 
 against him in the house of commons, by Mr. Seymour, 
 consisting of seventeen articles. These, which were only 
 a catalogue of the popular rumours before mentioned, ap- 
 peared, at first sight, false and frivolous. However, Cla- 
 rendon, finding the popular torrent, united to the violence of 
 
CHARLES II. 253 
 
 oower, running with impetuosity against him, thought pro- 
 per to withdraw to France. 
 
 12. Having thus got rid of his virtuous minister, the king 
 soon after resigned himself to the direction of a set of men, 
 who afterwards went by the appellation of the Cabal, from the 
 initials of the names of which it was composed. 
 
 13. The first of them, sir Thomas Clifford, was a man 
 of a daring and impetuous spirit, rendered more dangerous 
 by eloquence and intrigue. Lord Ashley, soon after known 
 by the name of lord Shaftesbury, was turbulent, ambitious, 
 subtle, and enterprising. The duke of Buckingham was 
 gay, capricious, with some wit, and great vhaoity. Arling- 
 ton was a man of very moderate capacity ; his intentions 
 were good, but he wanted courage to persevere in them. 
 Lastly, the duke of Lauderdale, who was not defective in 
 natural, and still less in acquired talents ; but neither was 
 his address graceful, nor his understanding just; he was 
 ambitious, obstinate, insolent, and sullen. 14. These were 
 the men to whom Charles gave up the conduct of his affairs, 
 and who plunged the remaining part of his reign in difficul- 
 ties, which produced the most dangerous symptoms. 
 
 15. From this inauspicious combination the people had 
 entertained violent jealousies against the court. The fears 
 and discontents of the nation were vented without restraint ; 
 the apprehension of a popish successor, an abandoned court, 
 and a parliament, which, though sometimes assertors of 
 liberty, yet which had now continued for seventeen years 
 without change, naturally rendered the minds of mankind 
 timid and suspicious, and they only wanted objects on 
 which to wreak their ill-humours. 
 
 The gloom which hung over the public mind was still 
 further increased by two fearful calamities. In the year 
 1665 the plague broke out in London, and raged so dread- 
 fully that 68,596 persons died within the bills of mortality. 
 The following year was as fearfully distinguished by the 
 great fire of London, in which 89 churches and 13,200 
 houses were consumed. The ruins of the city extended 
 over 436 acres, from the Tower along the river to the 
 Temple, and from the north-east gate along the city wall 
 to Holborn-bridge. Prompted by blind rage, some ascribed 
 the guilt of this accidental conflagration to the republicans, 
 others to the catholics ; though it is not easy to conceive 
 how the burning of London could serve the purposes of 
 either party. As the papists were the chie r objects of 
 
 Y 
 
254 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Dreadful fire in London. 1666. 
 
 public detestation, the rumour which threw the guilt on 
 them was favourably received by the people. No proof, 
 however, or even presumption, after the strictest inquiry 
 by a committee of parliament, ever appeared to authorize 
 such a calumny ; yet in order to give countenance to the 
 popular prejudice, the inscription engraved by authority on 
 the monument ascribed the calamity to this hated sect. 
 This clause was erased by James II. after his ascension, but 
 was again restored after the revolution. So credulous, as 
 well as obstinate, are the people in believing every thing 
 which flatters their prevailing passions. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1 What engaging qualities did Charles possess ? 
 
 2. Were these advantages of outward behaviour solid? 
 
 3, 4. What proceedings were taken against those who were concerned ir 
 
 the king's death ? 
 5 What proposition did Southampton make in favour of Charles and whe 
 
 opposed it ? 
 7. Whom did the king marry ? and what was his inducement ? 
 9 What is supposed to have induced the king to declare >var against th# 
 
 Dutch? 
 .0 In what way did lord Clarendon incur blame ? 
 
 11. To what country did Clarendon withdraw ? 
 
 12. What appellation was given to the new ministera 
 
 13. Who were they? 
 
 15. What consequences followed their appointmen 
 
CHARLES IJ. 255 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Some genuine plots on their authors were fix'd. 
 
 With plots to invent plots, most curiously mix'd ; 
 
 For Dangerfield. Bedloe, and Oates, found a Tongue 
 
 lo affirm half the natives deserved to be bung. — Dibihn. 
 
 1 (A. D. 1670.) When the spirit of the English is once 
 oused, they either find objects of suspicion, or make them. 
 On the 13th of August, one Kirby, a chemist, accosted the 
 king, as he was walking in the Park. " Sir," said he, 
 "keep within the company; your enemies have a design 
 upon your life, and you may be shot in this very walk." 
 2. Being questioned in consequence of this strange intima- 
 tion, he offered to produce one doctor Tongue, a weak, 
 credulous clergyman, who told him that two persons, named 
 Grove and Pickering, were engaged to murder the king; 
 and that sir George Wakeman, the queen's physician, had 
 undertaken the same task by poison. 3. Tongue was intro- 
 duced to the king with a bundle of papers relating to this 
 pretended conspiracy, and was referred to the lord-treasurei 
 Danby. He there declared that the papers were thrust under 
 his door ; and he afterwards asserted that he knew the author 
 of them, who desired that his name might be concealed, as 
 he dreaded the resentment of the Jesuits. 
 
 4. This information appeared so vague and unsatisfactory 
 that the king concluded the whole was a fiction. However, 
 Tongue was not to be repressed in the ardour of his loyalty 
 he went again to the lord-treasurer, and told him that a 
 packet of letters, written by Jesuits concerned in the plot, 
 was that night put into the post-house at Windsor, directed 
 to one Bedingfield, a Jesuit, who was confessor to the duke 
 of York, and who resided there. These letters had actually 
 been received a few hours before by the duke; but he had 
 shown them to the king as a forgery, of which he knew 
 neither the drift nor the meaning. 
 
 5. Titus Oates, who was the fountain of all this dreadful 
 intelligence, was produced soon after, who, with seeming 
 reluctance, came to give his evidence. This Titus Oates 
 was an abandoned miscreant, obscure, illiterate, vulgar, and 
 indigent. He had been once indicted for perjury, was after- 
 wards chaplain on board a man-of-war, and dismissed for 
 crimnal practices. 6. He then professed himself a Roman 
 catholic, and crossed the sea to St. Omer's, where he was 
 for some time maintained in the English seminary of that 
 city. At a time that he was supposed to have been intrusted 
 with 3 secret involving the fate of kings, he was allowed to 
 
256 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 remain in such necessity, that Kirby was obliged to supplj 
 him with daily bread. 
 
 7. He had two methods to proceed ; either to ingratiate 
 himself by this information with the ministry, or to alarm 
 the people, and thus turn their fears to his advantage. He 
 chose the latter method. 8. He went, therefore, with hi-s 
 companions, to sir Edmondsbury Godfrey, a noted and active 
 justice of the peace, and before him deposed to a narrative 
 dressed up in terrors fit to make an impression on the vulgar 
 The pope, he said, considered himself as entitled to the pos 
 session of England and Ireland, on account of the heresy of 
 the prince and people, and had accordingly assumed the 
 sovereignty of these kingdoms. 9. The king, who was 
 ridiculed by the Jesuits, was solemnly tried by them, 
 and condemned as a heretic. Grove and Pickering, to make 
 6ure work, were employed to shoot the king, and that too 
 with silver bullets. The duke of York was to be offered 
 the crown in consequence of the success of these probabl-e 
 schemes, on condition of extirpating the protestant religion. 
 Upon his refusal, " To pot James must go !" as the Jesuits 
 were said to express it. 
 
 10. In consequence of this dreadful information, suffi- 
 ciently marked with absurdity, vulgarity, and contradictions, 
 Titus Oates became the favourite of the people, notwith- 
 standing, during his examination before the council, he so 
 betrayed the grossness of his impostures, that he contradicted 
 himself in every step of his narration. 
 
 11. A great number of the Jesuits mentioned by Oates 
 were immediately taken into custody. Coleman, secretary 
 to the duke of York, who was said to have acted so strenuous 
 a part in the conspiracy, at first retired, and next day sur- 
 rendered himself to the secretary of state ; and some of his 
 papers, by Oates's directions, were secured. 
 
 12. In this fluctuation of passions an accident served to 
 confirm the prejudices of the people, and to put it beyond a 
 doubt that Oates's narrative was nothing but the truth. 
 
 Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey, who had been so active in un 
 ravelling the whole mystery of the popish machinations 
 after having been missing some days, was found dead in a 
 ditch by Primrose-hill, in the way to Hampstead. 13. The 
 cause of his death remains, and must still continue, a secret ; 
 but the people, already enraged against the papists, did nol 
 hesitate a moment to ascribe it to them. The body of God- 
 frey was carried through the streets in procession, preceded 
 
CHARLES II. 257 
 
 by seventy clergymen ; and every one who saw it made no 
 doubt that his death could be only caused by the papists. 
 14. Even the better sort of people were infected with the 
 vulgar prejudice ; and such was the general conviction of 
 popish guilt, that no person, with any regard to personal 
 safety, could express the least doubt concerning the informa- 
 tion of Oates, or the murder of Godfrey. 
 
 15. In order to continue and propagate the alarm, the 
 parliament affected to believe it true. An address was voted 
 for a solemn fast. It was requested that all papers tending 
 to throw light upon so horrible a conspiracy might be laid 
 before the house ; that all papists should remove from Lon- 
 don ; that access should be denied at court to all unknown 
 and suspicious persons ; and that the train-bands in London 
 and Westminster should be in readiness to march. 1 6. Oates 
 was recommended to parliament by the king. He was lodged 
 in Whitehall, and encouraged by a pension of twelve hundred 
 pounds a year to proceed in forging new informations. 
 
 The encouragement given to Oates did not fail to bring in 
 others also, who hoped to profit by the delusion of the times. 
 17. William Bedloe, a man, if possible, more infamous than 
 Oates, appeared next upon the stage. He was, like the 
 former, of very low birth, and had been noted for several 
 cheats and thefts. This man, at his own desire, was arrested 
 at Bristol, and conveyed to London, where he declared before 
 the council that he had seen the body of sir Edmondsbury 
 Godfrey at Somerset-house, where the queen lived. 18. He 
 said that a servant of Lord Bellasis offered to give him four 
 thousand pounds if he would carry it off; and, finding all 
 his information greedily received, he confirmed and height- 
 ened Oates's plot with aggravated horrors. 
 
 19. Thus encouraged by the general voice in their favour 
 the witnesses, who had all along enlarged their narratives in 
 proportion as they were eagerly received, went a step further, 
 and ventured to accuse the queen. The commons, in an 
 address to the king, gave countenance to this scandalous ac 
 cusation ; the lords rejected it with becoming disdain. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. In what manner did Kirby address the king? 
 2 — 4. Relate the circumstances of a pretended conspiracy. 
 5. What was the character of the principal actor in this business ? 
 7 — 11. By what means did he proceed ? 
 
 12 — 14. What accident served to confirm the prejudices of the people 
 
 Y 2 
 
258 HISTORY OF ENGLAND* 
 
 15. Wha» means were taken to continue the alarm ? 
 
 16. How was Oates treated by the government ? 
 
 17. What other delusion followed ? 
 
 19. Whom did they afterwards venture to accuse * 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 O think what anxious moments pass between 
 
 The birth of plots, and their last fatal periods ! 
 
 O 'tis a dreadful interval of time, 
 
 Made up of horror all. and big with death. — Jlddison. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1675.) Edward Coleman, secretary to the duke 
 of York, was the first who was brought to trial, as being 
 most obnoxious to those who pretended to fear the introduc- 
 tion of popery. Bedloe swore that he received a commis- 
 sion, signed by the superior of the Jesuits, appointing him 
 papal secretary of state, and that he had consented to the 
 king's assassination. 2. After this unfortunate man's sen- 
 tence, thus procured by these vipers, many members of both 
 houses offered to interpose in his behalf, if he would make 
 ample confession ; but as he was, in reality, possessed of no 
 treasonable secrets, he would not procure life by falsehood 
 and imposture. He suffered with calmness and constancy ; 
 and, to the last, persisted in the strongest protestations of his 
 innocence. 
 
 3. The trial of Coleman was succeeded by those of Ire- 
 land, Pickering, and Grove. They protested their inno- 
 cence, but were found guilty. The unhappy men went to 
 execution protesting their innocence, a circumstance which 
 made no impression on the spectators ; but their being Jesuits 
 banished even pity for their sufferings. 
 
 4. Hill, Green, and Berry were tried upon the evidence 
 of one Miles Prance, for the murder of Godfrey ; but though 
 Bedloe's narrative and Prance's information were totally 
 irreconcileable, and though their testimony was invalidated 
 by contrary evidence, all was in vain : the prisoners were 
 condemned and executed. They all denied their guilt at 
 execution ; and, as Berry died a protestant, this circumstance 
 was regarded as very considerable. 
 
 5. Whitebread, provincial of the Jesuits, Fenwick, Gaven, 
 Turner, and Harcourt, all of them of the same order, were 
 brought to their trial ; and Langhorne soon after. Besides 
 Oates and Bedloe, Dugdale, a new witness, appeared against 
 the prisoners. This man spread the alarm still further, and 
 even asserted that two hundred thousand papists in England 
 weie ready to take up arms. 6. The prisoners proved, by 
 
CHARLES II. 259 
 
 sixteen witnesses from St. Omer's, that Oates was in that 
 seminary at the time he swore he was in London. But, as 
 taey were papists, their testimony could gain no manner of 
 credit. All pleas availed them nothing: but the Jesuits and 
 Langhorne were condemned and executed ; with their last 
 breath denying the crime for which they died. 
 
 7. The informers had less success on the trial of sir 
 George Wakeman, the queen's physician, who, though they 
 swore with their usual animosity, was acquitted. His con- 
 demnation would have involved the queen in his guilt ; and 
 it is probable the judge and jury were afraid of venturing 
 so far. 
 
 8. The earl of Stafford, nearly two years after, was the 
 last man that fell a sacrifice to these bloody wretches ; the 
 witnesses produced against him were Oates, Dugdale, and 
 Tuberville. Oates swore that he saw Fenwick, the Jesuit, 
 deliver Stafford a commission from the general of the Jesuits, 
 constituting him paymaster of the papal army. 9. The 
 clamour and outrage of the populace against the prisoner 
 was very great : he was found guilty, and condemned to be 
 hanged and quartered ; but the king changed his sentence 
 into that of beheading. He was executed on Tower-hill, 
 where even his persecutors could not forbear shedding tears 
 at that serene fortitude which shone in every feature, motion, 
 and accent of this aged nobleman. 
 
 10. This parliament had continued to sit for seventeen 
 years without interruption, wherefore a new one was called ; 
 in which was passed the celebrated statute, called the Habeas 
 Corpus Act, which confirms the subject in an absolute se- 
 curity from oppressive power. By this act it was prohibited 
 to send any one to prison beyond the sea : no judge, under 
 severe penalties, was to refuse to any prisoner his writ of 
 habeas corpus ; by which the jailer was to produce in court 
 the body of the prisoner, whence the writ had its name, and 
 to certify the cause of his detainer and imprisonment. 
 
 11. If the jail lie within twenty miles of the judge, the 
 writ must be conveyed in three days, and so proportionably 
 for greater distances. Every prisoner must be indicted the 
 first term of his commitment, and brought to trial the sub- 
 sequent term ; and no man, after being enlarged by court, 
 can be recommitted for the same offence. 
 
 12. The Meal-tub Plot, as it was called, soon followed 
 the former. One Dangerfield, more infamous, if possible 
 than Oates and Bedloe, a wretch who had been set in the 
 
2C0 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 pillory, scourged, branded, and transported for felony ant! 
 coining, hatched a plot, in conjunction with a person, 
 whose name was Cellier, a Roman catholic of abandoned 
 character. Dangerfield began by declaring that there was 
 a design on foot to set up a new form of government, and 
 remove the king and the royal family. 13. He communi- 
 cated this intelligence to the king and the duke of York, 
 who supplied him with money, and countenanced his dis- 
 covery. He hid some seditious papers in the lodgings of 
 one colonel Mansel : and then brought the custom-house 
 officers to his apartment, to search for smuggled merchan- 
 dise. The papers were found ; and the council, having 
 examined the affair, concluded they were forged by Danger- 
 field. 14. They ordered all the places he frequented to be 
 searched ; and in the house of Cellier the whole scheme of 
 the conspiracy was discovered upon paper, concealed in a 
 meal-tub, from whence the plot had its name. Dangerfield, 
 being committed to Newgate, made an ample confession of 
 the forgery, which, though probably entirely of his own 
 contrivance, he ascribed to the earl of Castlemain, the 
 countess of Powis, and the five lords in the Tower. 15. He 
 said that the design was to suborn witnesses to prove ? 
 charge of perjury upon Oates, to assassinate the earl of 
 Shaftesbury, to accuse the dukes of Monmouth and Bucking- 
 ham, the earls of Essex, Halifax, and others, of having 
 been concerned in the conspiracy against the king and 
 his brother. Upon this information the earl of Castlemain 
 and the countess of Powis were sent to the Tower, and 
 the king himself was suspected of encouraging this impos- 
 ture. 
 
 16. The chief point which the present house of commons 
 laboured to obtain was the exclusion bill, which, though 
 the former house had voted, was never passed into a law. 
 Shaftesbury, and many considerable men of the party, had 
 rendered themselves so obnoxious to the duke of York, that 
 they could find safety in no measure but in his ruin. Mon- 
 mouth's friends hoped that the exclusion of James would 
 make room for their own patron. 17. The duke of York's 
 professed bigotry to the catholic superstition influenced 
 numbers : and his tyrannies, which were practised without 
 control while he continued in Scotland, rendered his name 
 odious to thousands. In a week, therefore, after the com- 
 mencement of the session, a motion was made for bringing 
 in a bill for excluding him from the succession to the throne 
 
CHARLES II. 201 
 
 and a committee was appointed for that purpose The 
 debates were carried on with great violence on both sides. 
 The king was present during the whole debate ; and had 
 the pleasure of seeing the bill thrown out by a very great 
 majority. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Who was first brought to trial ? 
 
 2. What was his behaviour at his execution ? 
 3 4. Who were the next that suffered ? 
 
 5 What others were tried for their lives ? 
 
 6 By what means did they prove their innocence ? 
 
 7 Which of the accused was acquitted ? 
 
 8. Who was the last that fell a victim to these wretches? 
 What was the evidence against him? 
 
 9. What sentence was passed upon the earl of Stafford ? 
 What effect had his fortitude on the beholders of his death X 
 
 !0, 11. What were the particulars of the Habeas Corpus Act? 
 
 12. What plot was now laid, and who was the principal actor in it? 
 
 13. How and when was it discovered ? 
 
 16, 17. What now engaged the attention of the Commons? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Vet sometimes nations will decline bo low 
 From virtue, which is reason, that no wrong, 
 But justice, and some fatal course annex'd, 
 Deprives them of their outward liberty, 
 Their inward lost. — Milton. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1683.) Each party had for some time resiled 
 and ridiculed the other in pamphlets and libels ; and this 
 practice at last was attended with an accident that deserves 
 notice. One Fitzharris, an Irish papist, dependent on 
 the dutchess of Portsmouth, one of the kinp-'s favourites, 
 used to supply her with these occasional publications. 
 2. But he was resolved to add to their number by his own 
 endeavours ; and he employed one Everhard, a Scotch- 
 man, to write a libel against the king and the duke of 
 York. The Scot was actually a spy for the opposite party ; 
 and supposing this a trick to entrap him, he discovered 
 the whole to sir William Waller, an eminent justice of 
 peace ; and to convince him of the truth of this informa 
 tion, postea him and two other persons, privately, where 
 they heard the whole conference between Fitzharris and 
 himself. 3. The libel composed between them was replete 
 with the utmost rancour and scurrility. Waller carried the 
 intelligence to the kinp;, and obtained a warrant for com 
 mitting Fitzharris, who happened at that very time to have 
 a copy of the libel in his pocket. Seeing himself in the 
 hands of a party from which he expected no mercy, he 
 
262 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 resolved to side with them, and throw the odium of the 
 libel on the court, who, he said, were willing to draw out a 
 libel which should be imputed to the exclusioners, and thus 
 render them hateful to the people. 4. He enhanced his 
 services with the country party by a new popish plot, still 
 more tremendous than any of the foregoing. He brought 
 in the duke of York, as a principal accomplice in the plot, 
 and as a contriver in the murder of sir Edmondsbury 
 Godfrey. 
 
 5. The king imprisoned Fitzharris ; the commons avowed 
 his cause. They voted that he should be impeached by 
 themselves, to secure him from the ordinary forms of jus- 
 tice ; the lords rejected the impeachment; the commons 
 asserted their right ; a commotion was likely to ensue ; 
 and the king, to break off the contest, went to the house, 
 and dissolved the parliament, with a fixed resolution nevei 
 
 o call another. 
 
 6. This vigorous measure was a blow that the parlia- 
 ment had never expected; and nothing but the necessity 
 of the times could have justified the king's manner of 
 proceeding. From that moment, which ended the parlia- 
 mentary commotions, Charles seemed to rule with despotic 
 power, and he was resolved to leave the succession to his 
 brother, but clogged with all the faults and misfortunes of 
 his own administration. 7. His temper, which had always 
 been easy and merciful, now became arbitrary, and even 
 cruel ; he entertained spies and informers round the throne, 
 and imprisoned all such as he thought most daring in their 
 designs. 
 
 8. He resolved to humble the presbyterians ; these were 
 divested of their employments and their places ; and their 
 offices given to such as held with the court, and approved 
 the doctrine of non-resistance. The clergy began to testify 
 their zeal and their principles by their writings and their 
 sermons ; but though, among these the partisans of the king 
 were the most numerous, those of the opposite faction were 
 the most enterprising. 9. The king openly espoused the 
 cause of the former ; and thus placing himself at the head 
 of a faction, he deprived the city of London, which had 
 long headed the popular party, of their charter. It was not 
 till after an abject submission that he returned it to them, 
 having previously subjected the election of their magistrates 
 to his immediate authority. 
 
 10. Terrors also were not wanting to confirm this new 
 
CHARLES II. 263 
 
 species of monarchy. Fitzharris was brought to trial be- 
 fore a jury, and condemned and executed. The whole 
 gang of spies, witnesses, informers, end suborners, which 
 had long been encouraged and sp^ported by the leading 
 patriots, finding now that the k-ig was entirely master, 
 turned short upon their ancient drivers, and offered their 
 evidence against those who had first put them in motion. 
 The king's ministers, with a horrid satisfaction, gave them 
 countenance and encouragement ; so that soon the same 
 cruelties, and the same injustice, were practised against 
 presbyterian schemes, that had been employed against catho- 
 lic treasons. 
 
 11. The first person that fell under the displeasure of the 
 ministry was one Stephen College, a London joiner, who 
 had become so noted for his zeal against popery, that he 
 went by the name of the protestant joiner. He had at 
 tended the city members to Oxford, armed with sword and 
 pistol ; he had been sometimes heard to speak irreverently 
 of the king, and was now presented by the grand jury of 
 London as guilty of sedition. 12. A jury, at Oxford, after 
 half an hour's deliberation, brought him in guilty, and the 
 spectators testified their inhuman pleasure with a shout of 
 applause. He bore his fate with unshaken fortitude ; and 
 at the place of execution denied the crime for which he had 
 been condemned. 
 
 13. The power of the crown became at this time irre- 
 sistible (A. D. 1683), the city of London having been de- 
 prived of their charter, which was restored only upon terms 
 of submission ; and the giving up the nomination of their 
 own magistrates was so mortifying a circumstance, that all 
 the other corporations in England soon began to fear the 
 same treatment, and were successively induced to surrender 
 their charters into the hands of the king. Considerable 
 sums were exacted for restoring these charters ; and all the 
 offices of power and profit were left at the disposal of the 
 crown. 14. Resistance now, however justifiable, could not 
 be safe, and all prudent men saw no other expedient, but 
 peaceably submitting to the present grievances. But there 
 was a party in England that still cherished their former 
 ideas of freedom, and were resolved to hazard every danger 
 in its defence. 
 
 15. The duke of Monmouth, the king's natural son 
 engaged the earl of Macclesfield, lord Brandon, sir 
 Gilbert Gerrard. and other gentlemen in Cheshire 
 
2()4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 in his cause. Lord Russel fixed a correspondence with 
 sir William Courtney, sir Francis Rowles, and sir Francis 
 Drake, who promised to raise the west. Shaftesbury. 
 with one Ferguson, an independent clergyman, and a rest- 
 less plotter, managed the city, upon which the confederates 
 chiefly relied. It was now that this turbulent man founfl 
 his schemes most likely to take effect. 
 
 16. After the disappointment and destruction of a hun* 
 dred plots, he at last began to be sure of this. But this 
 scheme, like all the former, was disappointed. The caution 
 of lord Russel, who induced the duke of Monmouth to put 
 off the enterprise, saved the kingdom from the horrors of a 
 civil war ; while Shaftesbury was so struck with the sense 
 of his impending danger, that he left his house, and lurking 
 about the city, attempted, but in vain, to drive the London- 
 ers into open insurrection. 17. At last, enraged at the 
 numberless cautions and delays which clogged and defeated 
 his projects, he threatened to begin with his friends alone. 
 However, after a long struggle between fear and rage, he 
 abandoned all hopes of success, and fled out of the kingdom 
 to Amsterdam, where he ended his turbulent life soon 
 after, without being pitied by his friends or feared by his 
 enemies. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1, 2. What incident next deserves notice ? 
 
 3, 4. How did the commons act on this occasion ? and what was the conse 
 
 quence ? 
 5. How did the dispute end between the king and parliament ? 
 
 7. What was now the temper of the king ? 
 
 8. How did the clergy act ? 
 
 9. Of what did the king deprive the city of London ? 
 10. What was now the conduct of the spies ? 
 
 11, 12. Who first fell under the ministry's displeasure ? and on what occa 
 
 sion? 
 13, 14. What resulted from the great power of the crown? 
 
 15. By whom was resistance made ? 
 
 16. 17. What was the issue of it? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 But let the bold conspirator beware. 
 
 For heav'n makes princes its peculiar care. — Dryden. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1684.) The loss of Shaftesbury, though it re 
 tarded the views of the conspirators, did not suppress them. 
 A council of six was elected, consisting of Monmouth, Rus- 
 
 
CHARLES II. 265 
 
 sel, Essex, Howard, Algernon Sidney, and John Hampden, 
 grandson to the great man of that name. 
 
 2. Such, together with the duke of Argyle, were the 
 leaders of this conspiracy. But there was also a set of 
 subordinate conspirators, who frequently met together and 
 carried on projects quite unknown to Monmouth and his 
 council. Among these men were colonel Rumsey, an old 
 republican officer, together with lieutenant-colonel Walcot, 
 of the same stamp ; Goodenough, under-sheriff of London, 
 a zealous and noted party -man ; Ferguson, an independent 
 minister ; and several attorneys, merchants, and tradesmen 
 Df London. 3. But colonel Rumsey and Ferguson were 
 the only persons that had access to the great leaders of the 
 conspiracy. These men in their meetings embraced the 
 most desperate resolutions. They proposed to assassinate 
 the king on his way to Newmarket; Rumbal, one of the 
 party, possessed a farm upon that road called the Rye-house, 
 and from thence the conspiracy was denominated the Rye- 
 house plot. 4. They deliberated upon a scheme of stopping 
 the king's coach, by overturning a cart on the highway at 
 this place, and shooting him through the hedges. The 
 house in which the king lived at Newmarket took fire ac- 
 cidentally, and he was obliged to leave Newmarket eight 
 days sooner than was expected, to which circumstance his 
 safety was ascribed. 
 
 5. Among the conspirators was one Keiling, who finding 
 himself in danger of a prosecution for arresting the lord- 
 mayor of London, resolved to earn his pardon by discover- 
 ing this plot to the ministry. Colonel Rumsey, and West, 
 a lawyer, no sooner understood that this man had informed 
 against them, than they agreed to save themselves by turning 
 king's evidence, and they surrendered themselves accord- 
 ingly. 6. Monmouth absconded ; Russel was sent to the 
 Tower; Grey escaped; Howard was taken, concealed in a 
 chimney ; Essex, Sidney, and Hampden were soon after 
 arrested, and had the mortification to find lord Howard an 
 evidence against them. 
 
 7. Walcot was first brought to trial and condemned, 
 together with Hone and Rouse, two associates in the con- 
 spiracy, upon the evidence of Rumsey, West, and Shep 
 pard. They died penitent, acknowledging the justness of 
 the sentence by which they were executed. A much 
 greater sacrifice was shortly after to follow. This was the 
 lord Russel, son of the earl of Bedford, a nobleman of aum- 
 
 Z 
 
266 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 berless good qualities, and led into this conspiracy from * 
 conviction of the duke of York's intention to restore popery. 
 8. He was liberal, popular, humane, and brave. All his 
 virtues were so many crimes in the present suspicious dis- 
 position of the court. The chief evidence against him was 
 lord Howard, a man of very bad character, one of the con- 
 spirators, who was now contented to take life upon such 
 terms, and to accept of infamous safety. 9. This witaess 
 swore that Russel was engaged in the design of an insur- 
 rection ; but he acquitted him, as he did also Rumsey and 
 West, of being privy to the assassination. The jury, who 
 were zealous royalists, after a short deliberation, brought 
 the prisoner in guilty, and he was condemned to suffer be- 
 heading. The scaffold for his execution was erected in 
 Lincoln-inn-fields ; he laid his head on the block without 
 the least change of countenance, and at two strokes it was 
 severed from his body. 
 
 10. The celebrated Algernon Sidney, son to the earl of 
 Leicester, was next brought to his trial. He had been 
 formerly engaged in the parliamentary army against the late 
 king, and was even named on the high court of justice that 
 tried him, but he had not taken his seat among the judges. 
 11. He had ever opposed Cromwell's usurpation, and went 
 into voluntary banishment on the restoration. His affairs, 
 however, requiring his return, he applied to the king for a 
 pardon, and obtained his request. But all his hopes and all 
 Ids reasonings were formed upon republican principles. For 
 his adored republic he had written and fought, and went 
 into banishment and ventured to return. 12. It may easily 
 be conceived how obnoxious a man of such principles was 
 to a court that now was not even content to be without 
 limitations to its power. They went so far as to take illegal 
 methods to procure his condemnation. The only witness 
 that deposed against Sidney was lord Howard, and the law 
 required two. 13. In order, therefore, to make out a se 
 cond witness, they had recourse to a very extraordinary ex 
 pedient. In ransacking his closet, some discourses on go- 
 vernment were found in his own handwriting, containing 
 principles favourable to liberty, and in themselves no way 
 subversive of a limited government. By overstraining, some 
 of these were construed into treason. 14. It was in vain 
 he alleged that papers were no evidence ; that it could not 
 be proved they were written by him ; that, if proved, tho 
 papers themselves contained nothing criminal. His defence 
 
CHARLES II. 267 
 
 was overruled; the violent and inhuman Jefferies, who was 
 now chief-justice, easily prevailed on a partial jury to bring 
 him in guilty, and his execution followed soon after. 15 
 One can scarce contemplate the transactions of this reign 
 without horror. Such a picture of factious guilt on each 
 side ; a court at once immersed in sensuality and blood, a 
 people armed against each other with the most deadly ani- 
 mosity, and no single party to be found with sense enough 
 to stem the general torrent of rancour and factious suspicion. 
 
 Hampden was tried soon after, and as there was nothing 
 to affect his life, he was fined forty thousand pounds. Hol- 
 loway, a merchant of Bristol, who had fled to the West In- 
 dies, was brought over, condemned, and executed. Sir 
 Thomas Armstrong also, who had fled to Holland, was 
 brought over, and shared the same fate. 17. Lord Essex, 
 who had been imprisoned in the Tower, was found in an 
 apartment with his throat cut ; but whether he was guilty 
 of suicide, or whether the bigotry of the times might not 
 have induced some assassin to commit the crime, cannot now 
 be known. 
 
 This was the last blood that was shed for an imputation 
 of plots or conspiracies, which continued during the greatest 
 part of this reign. 
 
 18. At this period the government of Charles was as ab- 
 solute as that of any monarch in Europe ; but, happily for 
 mankind, his tyranny was but of short duration. The king 
 was seized with a sudden fit, which resembled an apoplexy ; 
 and although he was recovered by bleeding, yet he languish- 
 ed only for a few days, and then expired, in the fifty-fifth 
 year of his age, and twenty-fifth of his reign. During his 
 illness some clergymen of the church of England attended 
 him, to whom he discovered a total indifference. Catholic 
 priests were brought to his bedside, and from their hands he 
 received the rites of their communion. 
 
 In this reign was begun the celebrated naval hospital at 
 Greenwich. The design was by Inigo Jones, and it was in- 
 tended as a royal palace. It remained unfinished till tho 
 reign of William III., when it was converted to its present 
 use. It was enlarged by the addition of three wings, en 
 riched by donations, and by a tax of Gd. a month from every 
 reaman, and it now supports 3,000 boarders, and pays pen- 
 sions to 5,400 in different parts of the kingdom. 
 
268 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Greenwich Hospital. 
 
 The reign of Charles II., which some preposterously re« 
 present as our Augustan age, retarded the progress of polite 
 literature ; and the immeasurable licentiousness indulged, or 
 rather applauded at court, was more destructive to the fine 
 arts, than even the court nonsense and enthusiasm of the 
 preceding period. — Hume. 
 
 Bishop Burnet, in his History of his own Times, says, 
 there were apparent suspicions that Charles had been poi- 
 soned. He also observes that the King's body was inde- 
 cently neglected ; his funeral was very mean ; he did not 
 lie in state; no mourning was given, and the expense of it 
 was not equal to what an ordinary nobleman's funeral will 
 
 amount to. 
 
 Questions for Examination 
 
 1. What new conspiracy was formed? 
 
 2. Who were the subordinate conspirators? 
 
 3. 4. What were their desperate resolutions ? 
 
 5. In what manner was this plot discovered? 
 
 6. What was the fate of the conspirators ? 
 
 7. What eminent nobleman was concerned in this conspiracy? 
 
 8 T )cscnbe the character of Russel. Who was principal evidence against hiro ? 
 9. Where did lord Russel suffer? 
 iO. Who was the next brought to trial? 
 
 11. Deicribe the character and conduct of Algernon Sidney. 
 
 12, 13. What methods were taken to procure his condemnation'' 
 
 14. Was his defence attended to ? and by whom was he tried ? 
 
 15. What dreadful picture did the kingdom now present? 
 lb\ IT. What other persons suffered ? 
 
 18 Describe the manner of the death of the king. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Alexander VII 1G55 
 
 doment IX 1667 
 
 Innocent XI 1676 
 
 Clement X 1G79 
 
 Emveror of Germany. 
 Leopold . . 1C58 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Mahomet IV 1649 
 
 King of France. 
 Louis XIV 1643 
 
 Kins of Spain. 
 
 piuiip iv: iC2i 
 
 Charlus II 1605 
 
 Kings of Portugal- 
 
 A A 
 
 Alphonso VI.- 1656 
 
 Pedro II 1688 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 
 Frederick III 1648 
 
 Christian V 1G7» 
 
 King of Sweden. 
 Charles XI 1S60 
 
JAMES II. 269 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Hyde, earl of Clarendon ; Villiers, duke of Buckingham * Butler, duke of Or. 
 mon'd ; Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury; sir William Temple; Algernon Sidney; 
 Wentworth Dillon, earl of Roscommon ; R. Boyle, earl of Orrery; G. Mackenzie, 
 earl of Cromarty ; G. Monk, duke of Albemarle ; C. Stanley, earl of Derby : Mon- 
 tague, earl of Sandwich ; J. Powlett, marquis of Winchester ; W. Cavendish, 
 duke of Newcastle; G. Digby, earl of Bristol; Denzil, lord Hollis ; Dudley, lord 
 North ; J. Touchet, earl of Castlehaven and baron Audley ; H. Pierpont, marquis 
 of Dorchester ; J. Wilmot, earl of Rochester;! Anthony Ashley ; Heneage Finch, 
 earl of Nottingham ; Francis North, lord-keeper Guildford ; J. Robarts, earl of 
 Radnor ; Arthur Annesley, earl of Anglesea ; marquis of Argyle , H. Finch, earl 
 of Winchelsea ; A Carey, lord Falkland; Anne, countess of Dorset, Pembroke 
 and Montgomery ; Margaret, dutchess of Newcastle. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 JAMES II. 
 
 Born 1633. Began to reign February 6, 1685. Abdicated the throne January 83. 
 1688. Reigned 2| years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Noar Bridgewater, the fatal place 
 
 Of Monmouth's downfall and disgrace, 
 
 The hopeless duke, half starved, half drown'd, 
 
 In covert of a ditch was fuund.— Dibdiiu 
 
 1. (A. D.) 1685.) The duke of York, who succeeded his 
 brother by the title of king James the second, had been bred 
 a papist by his mother, and was strongly bigoted to his 
 principles. He went openly to mass with all the ensigns of 
 his dignity, and even sent one Caryl as his agent to Rome, 
 
 * The strange character of this highly-gifted but profligate nobleman, 
 is thus graphically described by Dryden : 
 
 " A man so various that he seemed to be 
 Not one, but all mankind's, epitome : 
 Stiff in opinion — always in the wrong — 
 Was every thing by starts, but nothing long; 
 Who in the course of one revolving moon 
 Was chemist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon." 
 
 He died in wretchedness. Pope thus describes the miserable end of 
 his career : 
 
 44 In the worst inn's worst room, with mat half hung 
 The George and Garter dangling from that bed 
 Where tawdry yellow strove with dirty red, 
 Great Villiers lies— alas I how changed from him 
 That life of pleasure, and that soul of whim! 
 There victor of his health, of fortune, friends'. 
 And fame, the lord of useless thousands ends." 
 
 t Rochester was equally celebrated for his wit and profligacy. Hifl 
 mock epitaph on Charles II. contains a severe but just character of that 
 monarch : 
 
 44 Here lies our mutton-eating king, 
 Whose word no man relies on : 
 He never said a foolish thing, 
 And never did a wise one." 
 
 2z2 
 
270 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to make submission to the pope, and to pave the way for the 
 readmission of England into the bosom of the catholic 
 church. 
 
 2. A conspiracy, set on foot by the duke of Monmouth, 
 was the first disturbance in this reign. He had, since his 
 last conspiracy, been pardoned, but was ordered to depart 
 the kingdom, and had retired to Holland. Being dismissed 
 from thence by the prince of Orange, upon James's acces- 
 sion he went to Brussels, where finding himself still pursued 
 by the king's severity, he resolved to retaliate, and make an 
 attempt upon the kingdom. 3. He had ever been the dar- 
 ling of the people, and some averred that Charles had mar- 
 ried his mother, and owned Monmouth's legitimacy at his 
 death. The duke of Argyle seconded his views in Scot- 
 land, and they formed the scheme of a double insurrection ; 
 so that, while Monmouth should attempt to make a rising in 
 the west, Argyle was also to try his endeavours in the 
 north. 
 
 4. Argyle was the first who landed in Scotland, where he 
 published his manifestos, put himself at the head of two 
 thousand five hundred men, and strove to influence the peo- 
 ple in his cause. But a formidable body of the king's forces 
 coming against him, his army fell away, and he himself, 
 after being wounded in attempting to escape, was taken pri- 
 soner by a peasant, who found him standing up to his neck 
 in a pool of water. He was from thence carried to Edin- 
 burgh, where, after enduring many indignities with a gallant 
 spirit, he was publicly executed. 
 
 5. Meanwhile Monmouth was by this time landed in 
 Dorsetshire, with scarcely a hundred followers. However, 
 his name was so popular, and so great was the hatred of the 
 people both for the person and religion of James, that in 
 four days he had assembled a body of above two thousand 
 men. 
 
 6. Being advanced to Taunton, his numbers had increased 
 to six thousand men ; and he was obliged every day, for 
 want of arms, to dismiss numbers who crowded to his stand- 
 ard. He entered Bridgewater, Wells and Frome, and was 
 proclaimed in all those places ; but he lost the hour of action 
 in receiving and claiming these empty honours. 
 
 7. The king was not a little alarmed at his invasion ; but 
 still more so at the success of an undertaking that at first ap« 
 peared desperate. Six regiments of British troops were 
 recalled from Holland, and a body of regulars, to the nura- 
 
JAMES EI. 271 
 
 her of three thousand men, were sent, under the command of 
 the earls of Feversham and Churchill, to check the progress 
 of the rebels. 8. They took post at Sedgemore, a village 
 in the neighbourhood of Bridgewater, and were joined by 
 the militia of the county in considerable numbers. It was 
 there that Monmouth resolved, by a desperate effort, to lose 
 his life or gain the kingdom. The negligent disposition 
 made by Feversham invited him to the attack ; and his faith- 
 ful followers showed what courage and principle could do 
 against discipline and numbers. 9. They drove the royal 
 infantry from their ground, and were upon the point of gain- 
 ing the victory, when the misconduct of Monmouth, and the 
 cowardice of lord Grey, who commanded the horse, brought 
 all to ruin. This nobleman fled at the first onset ; and the 
 rebels being charged in flank by the victorious army, gave 
 way, after three hours' contest. 10. About three hundred 
 were killed in the engagement, and a thousand in the pur- 
 suit ; and thus ended an enterprise rashly begun, and more 
 feebly conducted. 
 
 Monmouih fled from the field of battle about twenty miles, 
 till his horse sunk under him. He then alighted, and chang- 
 ing his clothes with a shepherd, fled on foot, attended by a 
 German count, who had accompanied him from Holland. 
 11. Being quite exhausted with hunger and fatigue, they 
 both lay down in a field, and covered themselves with fern. 
 The shepherd being found in Monmouth's clothes by the 
 pursuers, increased the diligence of the search ; and by the 
 means of blood-hounds he was detected in this miserable 
 situation, with raw peas in his pocket, which he had gathered 
 in the fields to sustain life. 12. He wrote the most sub- 
 missive letters to the king ; and that monarch, willing to 
 feast his eyes with the miseries of a fallen enemy, gave him 
 an audience. At this interview the duke fell upon his knees, 
 and begged his life in the most abject terms. He even 
 signed a paper, offered him by the king, declaring his own 
 illegitimacy ; and then the stern tyrant assured him that his 
 crime was of such a nature as could not be pardoned. 13 
 The duke, perceiving that he had nothing to hope from the 
 clemency of his uncle, recollected his spirits, rose up, and 
 retired with an air of disdain. He was followed to the scaf- 
 fold with great compassion from the populace. He warned 
 the executioner not to fall into the same error which he had 
 committed in beheading Russel, where it had been necessary 
 to redouble the blow. 14. But this only increased the se 
 
272 HISTORY OP ETSGLAWD. 
 
 verity of the punishment ; the man was seized with an uni* 
 versal trepidation, and lie struck a feeble blow, upon which 
 the duke raised his head from the block, as if to reproach 
 him ; he gently laid down his head a second time, and the 
 executioner struck him again and again to no purpose. He 
 at last threw the axe down ; but the sheriff compelled him 
 to resume the attempt, and at two more blows the head was 
 severed from the body. 15. Such was the end of James 
 duke of Monmouth, the darling of the English people. He 
 was brave, sincere, and good-natured, open to flattery, and 
 by that seduced into an enterprise which exceeded his capa- 
 city. 
 
 16. But it were well for the insurgents, and fortunate for 
 the king, if the blood that was now shed had been thought 
 a sufficient expiation for the late offence. The victorious 
 army behaved with the most savage cruelty to the prisoners 
 taken after the battle. Feversham, immediately after the 
 victory, hanged up above twenty prisoners. 
 
 17. The military severities of the commanders were still 
 inferior to the legal slaughters committed by judge Jefferies. 
 who was sent down to try the delinquents. The natural 
 brutality of this man's temper was inflamed by continual in- 
 toxication. He told the prisoners, that if they would save 
 him the trouble of trying them, they might expect some fa- 
 vour, otherwise he would execute the law upon them with 
 the utmost severity. 18. Many poor wretches were thus 
 allured into a confession, and found that it only hastened 
 their destruction. No less than eighty were executed at 
 Dorchester ; and, on the whole, at Exeter, Taunton, and 
 Wells, two hundred and fifty-one are computed to have 
 fallen by the hands of the executioner. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 ] . In what manner did James act on succeeding to the thro *. 
 
 2 3. What was the first disturbance in this reign ? and wh , . th tto prir< 
 
 cipals concerned in it ? 
 4. What success attended Argyle's attempt ? 
 5 — 10. Relate the particulars of Monmouth's invasion. 
 
 11. In what situation was he found ? 
 
 12. What was his conduct after he was taken ? 
 13, 14. Relate what happened at his execution. 
 
 15. What was his character ? 
 
 1 6. How were the prisoners treated ? 
 
 17. What was the conduct of judge JerTeries ? 
 
 IS. How many rebels are said to have been executed? 
 
JAMES II. 273 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 With persecution arm'd, the sacred code 
 
 Of law he dashes thoughtless to the ground. — Valpy. 
 
 1 (A.l). 1686.) In ecclesiastical matters, James proceed. 
 «d with still greater injustice. Among those who distin- 
 guished themselves against popery was one Dr. Sharpe, a, 
 clergyman of London, who declaimed with just severity 
 against those who changed their religion by such arguments 
 as the popish missionaries were able to produce. 2. This 
 being supposed to reflect upon the king, gave great offence 
 at court; and positive orders were given to the bishop of 
 London to suspend Sharpe, till his majesty's pleasure should 
 be further known. The bishop refused to comply ; and the 
 king resolved to punish the bishop himself for disobe- 
 dience. 
 
 3. To effect his design, an ecclesiastical commission was 
 issued out, by which seven commissioners were invested 
 with a full and unlimited authority over the whole church of 
 England. Before this tribunal the bishop was summoned, 
 and not only he, but Sharpe, the preacher, suspended. 
 
 4. The next step was to allow the liberty of conscience 
 to all sectaries ; and he was taught to believe, that the truth 
 of the catholic religion would then, upon a fair trial, gain 
 the victory. He, therefore, issued a declaration of general 
 indulgence, and asserted that non-conformity to the estab- 
 lished religion was no longer penal. 
 
 5. To complete his work, he publicly sent the earl of 
 Castlemain ambassador extraordinary to Rome, in order to 
 express his obedience to the pope, and to reconcile his king- 
 dom to the catholic communion. Never was there so much 
 contempt thrown upon an embassy that was so boldly un- 
 dertaken. The court of Rome expected but little success 
 from measures so blindly conducted. They were sensible 
 that the king was openly striking at those laws and opinions, 
 which it was his business to undermine in silence and se- 
 curity. 
 
 6. The Jesuits soon after were permitted to erect colleges 
 in different parts of the kingdom ; they exercised the catho- 
 lic worship ii? the most public manner ; and four catholic 
 bishops, consecrated in the king's chapel, were sent through 
 the kingdom to exercise their episcopal functions, under the 
 title of apostolic vicars. 
 
274 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 7 Father Francis, a Benedictine monk, was recommend- 
 ed by the king to the university of Cambridge, for a degree 
 of master of arts. But his religion was a stumbling-block 
 which the university could not get over; and they pre- 
 sented a petition, beseeching the king to recall his mandate. 
 8. Their petition was disregarded, and their deputies denied 
 a hearing : the vice-chancellor himself was summoned to 
 appear before the high commission court, and deprived of 
 his office ; yet the university persisted, and father Francis 
 was refused. 
 
 9. The place of president of Magdalen college, one of the 
 richest foundations in Europe, being vacant, the king sent a 
 mandaie in favour of one Farmer, a new convert to popery, 
 and a man of bad character in other respects. The fellows 
 of the college made very submissive applications to the king 
 for recalling his mandate ; they refused admitting the candi- 
 date ; and James, finding them resolute in the defence of 
 their privileges, ejected them all except two. 
 
 10. A second declaration for liberty of conscience was 
 published about the same time with the former ; but with 
 this peculiar injunction, that all divines should read it after 
 service in their churches. (A.D. 1688.) The clergy were 
 known universally to disapprove of these measures, and they 
 were now resolved to disobey an order dictated by the most 
 bigoted motives. They were determined to trust their cause 
 to the favour of the people, and that universal jealousy which 
 prevailed against the encroachment of the crown. 11. The 
 first champions of this service of danger were Loyde, bishop 
 of St. Asaph ; Ken, of Bath and Wells ; Turner, of Ely ; 
 Lake, of Chichester ; White, of Peterborough ; and Tre- 
 lawney, of Bristol. These, together with Sancroft, the pri- 
 mate, concerted the address, in the form of a petition to the 
 king, which, with the warmest expressions of zeal and sub- 
 mission, remonstrated that they could not read his declaration 
 consistent with their consciences, or the respect they owed 
 the protestant religion. 
 
 12. The king in a fury summoned the bishops before the 
 council, and there questioned them whether they would ac- 
 knowledge their petition. They for some time declined 
 giving an answer ; but being urged by the chancellor, they 
 at last owned it. On their refusal to give bail, an order was 
 immediately drawn for their commitment to the Tower, and 
 the crown lawyers received directions to prosecute them for 
 a seditious libel. 
 
JAMES II. 275 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 I. In what way did Dr. Sharpe give offence to the king I 
 
 2 What was the conduct of James on that occasion ? 
 
 3 By what means did he effect his design ? 
 
 4 What was his next step ? 
 
 5. Whom did he send ambassador extraordinary to Rome ? and how vtvs 
 
 the embassy received ? 
 
 6. Relate the further proceedings of James. 
 9. What took place at Magdalen college ? 
 
 10. What were the consequences of another declaration ? 
 
 11. Who were the first that disobeyed the king's mandate? 
 12 In what manner did James act on this occasion ? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Forsaken thus, he other thoughts revolves 
 To quit the realm, and many a scheme resolves : 
 But let him go, nor heed, though thus you make 
 The gentle duke his lonely journey take. — Hoole. 
 
 1. (\.D. 1688.) The twenty-ninth day of June was fixed 
 i>r their trial ; and their return was more splendidly attended 
 ihan their imprisonment. The cause was looked upon as in- 
 Yo\\'m\T the fate of the nation ; and future freedom, or future 
 slavery, awaited the decision. The dispute was learnedly 
 manag3d by the lawyers on both sides. 2. Holloway and 
 Powel, two of the judges, declared themselves in favour of 
 the bi :hops. The jury withdrew into a chamber, where 
 they passed the whole night; but next morning they returned 
 into coMrt, and pronounced the bishops not guilty. 3. West- 
 minis ter-hall instantly rang with loud acclamations, which 
 were communicated to the whole extent of the city. They 
 even reached the camp at Hounslow, where the king was at 
 dinner, in lord Feversham's tent. His majesty demanded 
 the carse of these rejoicings, and being informed that it 
 was nothing but the soldiers shouting at the delivery of the 
 bishops " Call you that nothing?" cried he ; "but so much 
 the worse for them !" 
 
 4. It was in this posture of affairs that all people turned 
 their eyes upon William, prince of Orange, who had married 
 Mary, the eldest daughtei of king James. 
 
 William was a prince who had, from his earliest entrance 
 into business, been immersed in dangers, calamities, an 
 politics. The ambition of France, and the jealousies of Hol- 
 land, had served to sharpen his talents, and to give him a 
 propensity for intrigue. 
 
 5. This politic prince now plainly saw that James haii 
 incurred the most violent hatred of his subjects. (A. P 
 
276 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 1H88.) He was minutely informed of their discontents ; and 
 by seeming to discourage, still farther increased them, hoping 
 to gain the kingdom for himself in the sequel. 
 
 6. The time when the prince entered upon this enterprise 
 was just when the people were in a flame about the recent 
 insult offered to their bishops. He had before this made 
 considerable augmentations to the Dutch fleet, and the ships 
 were then lying ready in the harbour. Some additional 
 troops were also levied, and sums of money raised for other 
 purposes were converted to the advancement of this expe- 
 dition. 
 
 7. So well concerted were his measures, that, in three 
 days, above four hundred transports were hired ; the army 
 fell down the rivers and canals from Nimeguen, with all ne 
 cessary stores ; and the prince set sail from Helvoetsluys, 
 with a fleet of nearly five hundred vessels, and an army of 
 above fourteen thousand men. 
 
 It was given out that this invasion was intended for the 
 coast of France ; and many of the English, who saw the fleet 
 pass along their coasts, little expected to see it land on their 
 own shores. Thus, after a voyage of two days, the prince 
 landed his army at the village of Broxholme, in Torbay, on 
 the fifth of November, which was the anniversary of the 
 gunpowder treason. 
 
 8. But though the invitation from the English was very 
 general, the prince had for some time the mortification to 
 find himself joined by very few. He marched first to Exe- 
 ter, where the country people had been so much terrified at 
 the executions which had ensued on Monmouth's rebellion 
 that they continued to observe a strict neutrality 9. He 
 remained for ten days in expectation of being joined by the 
 malecontents, and at last began to despair of success. But 
 just when he began to deliberate about re-embarking his 
 forces, he was joined by several persons of consequence, and 
 the whole country soon after came flocking to his standard. 
 The nobility, clergy, officers, and even the king's own ser- 
 vants and creatures, were unanimous in deserting James 
 10. Lord Churchill had been raised from the rank of a p^ge, 
 and had been invested with a high command in the army ; 
 had been created a peer, and owed his whole fortune to the 
 king's bounty ; even he deserted among the rest, and carried 
 with him the duke of Grafton, the natural son of the late 
 king, colonel Berkeley, and some others. 
 
 11. The prince of Denmark, and Anne, his favourite 
 
JAMES II. 277 
 
 daughter, perceiving the desperation of his circumstances, 
 resolved to leave him, and take part with the prevailing side. 
 When he was told that the prince and princess had followed 
 the rest of his favourites, he was stung with most bitter 
 anguish. " God help me," cried he, in the extremity of his 
 agony, "my own children have forsaken me !" 
 
 12. The king, alarmed every day more and more with 
 the prospect of a general disaffection, was resolved to hearken 
 to those who advised his quitting the kingdom. To prepare 
 for this, he first sent away the queen, who arrived safely at 
 Calais, under the conduct of count Lauzun, an old favourite 
 of the French king. He himself soon after disappeared in 
 the night-time, attended only by sir Edward Hale, a new 
 convert : but was discovered and brought back by the mob. 
 
 But shortly after, being confined at Rochester, and ob- 
 serving that he was entirely neglected by his own subjects, 
 he resolved to seek safety from the king of France, the only 
 friend he had still remaining. 14. He accordingly fled to 
 the sea-side, attended by his natural son, the duke of Ber- 
 wick, where he embarked for the continent, and arrived in 
 safety at Ambleteuse in Picardy, from whence he hastened 
 to the court of France, where he still enjoyed the empty 
 title of a king, and the appellation of a saint, which flat- 
 tered him more. 
 
 15. The king having thus abdicated the throne, the next 
 consideration was the appointing a successor. (A.D. 1688.) 
 Some declared for a regent ; others, that the princess of 
 Orange should be invested with regal power, and the young 
 prince considered as supposititious. After a long debate in 
 both houses, a new sovereign was preferred to a regent, by 
 a majority of two voices. It was agreed that the prince 
 and princess of Orange should reign jointly as king and 
 queen of England, while the administration of government 
 should be placed in the hands of the prince only. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 -3. Relate the circumstances which attended the bishops' trial. 
 
 4 To whom did the people look for deliverance ? 
 
 5 What was the situation of the people when William entered upon this 
 
 enterprise ? 
 7 What measures did William concert 10 effect the invasion of England ? 
 
 Where did he land ? 
 0. By whom was the king deserted ? 
 il. What exclamation did the king make when he was told that the prince 
 
 aud princess had forsaken him ? 
 
 2 A 
 
tf8 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 12. What resolution uid the king adopt? 
 
 14. To vvhat court oid James repair? 
 
 15 What followed the king's abdication? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 SolymanI 1687 
 
 AD 
 
 
 King of France. 
 
 Pedro II 1683 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 
 Louis XIV 1643 
 
 King of Denmai h. 
 
 Leopold 1658 
 
 King of Spain. 
 
 
 Emperors of the Turks. 
 
 Charles II 1665 
 
 King of Sweden. 
 
 
 
 Charles XI 1660 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 The duke of Monmouth. Spencer, earl of Sunderland. Prince James 
 otherwise called the Pretender. Judge JefFeries. Colonel Kirk. G. Savile, 
 marquis of Halifax. George, earl of Berkeley. Thomas Osborne, duke of 
 Leeds. H. Booth, lord Delamore, and earl of Warrington. C. Sackville, 
 earl Dorset. H. Cavendish, duke of Devonshire. J. Thomson, lord Ha- 
 versham. Colin Lindsey, earl of Balcarras. James Dalrymple, viscount 
 Stair. R. Graham, viscount Preston. Roger Palmer, earl of Castlemain. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 WILLLIAM III. 
 
 Born 1C50. Died March 8, 1702. Landed in England, November 5, 1638. Bega« 
 to reign January 22, 1689. Reigned 13 years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 ■By turns they tell, 
 
 And listen, each with emulous glory fired. 
 
 How William conquer'd, and how France retired, 
 
 How Providence o'er William's temples held, 
 
 On Boyne's propitious banks, the heav'nly shield. — Prior. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1687.) William was no sooner elected to the 
 throne, than he began to experience the difficulty of govern- 
 ing 1 a people, who were more ready to examine the com 
 mands of their superiors than to obey them. 
 
 2. His reign commenced with an attempt similar to that 
 which had been the principal cause of all the disturbances 
 in the preceding reign, and which had excluded the monarch 
 from the throne. William was a Calvinist, and consequently 
 averse to persecution ; he therefore began by attempting 
 those laws which enjoined uniformity of worship ; and, 
 though he could not entirely succeed in his design, a tolera- 
 tion was granted to such dissenters as should take the oaths 
 of allegiance, and hold no private conventicle. 
 
 3. In the mean time, James, whose authority was still 
 
WILLIAM III. 279 
 
 acknowledged in Ireland, embarked at Brest for that kingdom 
 and on May 22d arrived at Kinsale. He soon after made 
 /lis public entry into Dublin, amidst the acclamations of the 
 inhabitants. He found the appearance of things in that 
 country equal to his most sanguine expectations. Tyrconnel, 
 the lord-lieutenant, was devoted to his interests ; his old 
 army was steady, and a new one raised, amounting together 
 to nearly forty thousand men. 
 
 4. As soon as the season would permit, he went to lay 
 siege to Londonderry, a town of small importance in itself, 
 hut rendered famous by the stand it made on this occasion. 
 
 5. The besieged endured the most poignant sufferings 
 from fatigue and famine, until at last relieved by a store- 
 ship, that happily broke the boom laid across the river to 
 prevent a supply. The joy of the inhabitants at this unex- 
 pected relief was only equalled by the rage and disappoint- 
 ment of the besiegers. The army of James was so dispirited 
 by the success of this enterprise, that they abandoned the 
 siege in the night ; and retired with precipitation, after 
 having lost about nine thousand men before the place. 
 
 6. It was upon the opposite sides of the river Boyne that 
 both armies came in sight of each other, inflamed with all 
 the animosities arising from a difference of religion, hatred, 
 and revenge. (A.D. 1690.) The river Boyne at this place 
 was not so deep but that men might wade over on foot ; 
 however, the banks were rugged, and rendered dangerous 
 by old houses and ditches, which served to defend the latent 
 enemy. 7. William, who now headed the protestant army, 
 had no sooner arrived, but he rode along the side of the 
 river in sight of both armies, to make proper observations 
 upon the plan of battle ; but in the mean time, being per- 
 ceived by the enemy, a cannon was privately broughi out, 
 and planted against him where he was sitting. The shot 
 killed several of his followers, and he himself was wounded 
 in the shoulder. 
 
 8. Early the next morning, at six o'clock, king William 
 gave orders to force a passage over the river. This the 
 army undertook in three different places ; and, after a furious 
 cannonading, the battle began with unusual vigour. The 
 Irish troops, though reckoned the best in Europe abroad, 
 have always fought indifferently at home. 9. After an 
 obstinate resistance, they fled with precipitation, leaving the 
 French and Swiss regiments, who came to their assistance, 
 to make the best retreat they could William led on his 
 
280 
 
 HISTORt OF ENGLAND 
 
 Battle of Aughrim) and Death of Genera* St Ruth, 
 
 horse in person ; and contributed by his activity and vigi- 
 lance to secure the victory. James was not in the battle, but 
 stood aloof during the action, on the hill of Dunmore, sur- 
 rounded with some squadrons of horse ; and at intervals was 
 heard to exclaim, when he saw his own troops repulsing those 
 of the enemy, "O spare my English subjects!" 
 
 10. The Irish lost about fifteen hundred men, and the 
 protestants about one-third of that number. The victory 
 was splendid, and almost decisive ; but the death of the 
 duke of Schomberg, who was shot as he was crossing the 
 water, seemed to outweigh the whole loss sustained by the 
 enemy. 
 
 11. The last battle fought in favour of James was at 
 Aughrim. ( A.D. 1691.) The enemy fought with surpris- 
 ing fury, and the horse were several times repulsed ; but the 
 English wading through the middle of a bog up to the 
 waist in mud, and rallying with some difficulty on the firm 
 ground on the other side, renewed the combat with great 
 fury. 12. St. Ruth, the Irish general, being killed, his 
 late so discouraged his troops, that they gave way on all 
 sides, and retreated to Limerick, where they resolved to 
 make a final stand, after having lost above five thousand of 
 the flower of their army. 13. Limerick, the last retreat 
 of the Irish forces, made a brave defence : but soon seeing 
 the enemy advanced within ten paces of the bridge-foot, 
 and perceiving themselves surrounded on all sides, they 
 determined to capitulate ; a negotiation was immediately 
 begun, and hostilities ceased on both sides. 14. The Ro« 
 
WILLIAM III. 231 
 
 man catholics, by this capitulation, were restored to the 
 enjoyment of those liberties in the exercise of their religion, 
 which they had possessed in the reign of king Charles the 
 Second. All persons were indulged with free leave to re- 
 move with their families and effects to any other country, 
 except England and Scotland. In consequence of this, 
 above fourteen thousand of those who had fought for king 
 James went over into France, having transports provided by 
 government for conveying them thither. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 2. What were the first acts of William ? 
 
 3. In what manner was James received in Ireland ? 
 
 4. What was the state of affairs in that country ? 
 
 5. Relate the particulars of the siege of Londonderry. 
 
 6. Where did the armies first meet ? 
 
 7. By what means was William wounded ? 
 
 8. 9. What was the issue of this battle ? 
 
 Describe the conduct of the rival kings during this engagement 
 iO. What loss did each side sustain ? 
 
 11. Where was the next battle fought ? 
 
 12. How many of the Irish fell in this engagement ? 
 
 13. What was the last place of their retreat ? 
 
 14. What were the articles of their capitulation ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Yet Fame shall stay and bend to William's praise, 
 
 Of him her thousand ears shall hear triumphant lays ; 
 
 Of him her tongue shall talk, on him her eyes shall gaze. — Congreve. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1692.) James was now reduced to the lowest 
 state of despondence : his designs upon England were quite 
 frustrated, so that nothing was left his friends but the hopes 
 of assassinating the monarch on the throne. These base 
 attempts, as barbarous as they were useless, were not en- 
 tirely disagreeable to the temper of James. 2. It is said he 
 encouraged and proposed them ; but they all proved unser- 
 viceable to his cause, and only ended in the destruction of 
 the undertakers. From that time till he died, which was 
 about seven years, he continued to reside at St. Germains, 
 a pensioner on the bounty of Louis, and assisted by occa- 
 sional liberalities from his daughter and friends in England. 
 He died on the sixteenth day of September, in the year 
 1700, after having laboured under a tedious sickness ; and 
 many miracles, as the people thought, were wrought at his 
 tomb. 3. Indeed, the latter part of his life was calculated 
 to inspire the superstitious with reverence for his piety. 
 lie subjected himself to acts of uncommon penance and 
 
 2a2 
 
282 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 mortification. He frequently visited the poor monks of La 
 Trappe, who were edified by his humble and pious deport- 
 ment. 4. His pride and arbitrary temper seemed to have 
 vanished with his greatness ; he became affable, kind, and 
 easy to all his dependants ; and at his last illness conjured 
 nis son to prefer religion to every worldly advantage, — a 
 counsel which that prince strictly obeyed. He died with 
 great marks of devotion, and was interred, at his own request, 
 in the church of the English benedictines at Paris, without 
 any funeral solemnity. 
 
 5. William, upon accepting of the crown, was resolved 
 to preserve, as much as he was able, that share of preroga- 
 tive which still was left him. But at length he became 
 fatigued with opposing the laws which parliament every day 
 were laying round his authority, and gave up the contest 
 6. He admitted every restraint upon the prerogative in Eng- 
 land, upon condition of being properly supplied with the 
 means of humbling the power of France. War, and the 
 balance of power in Europe, were all he knew, or indeed 
 desired to understand. Provided the parliament furnished 
 him with supplies for these purposes, he permitted them to 
 rule the internal polity at their pleasure. 7. For the prose- 
 cution of the war with France, the sums of money granted 
 to him were incredible. The nation, not content with fur- 
 nishing him with such sums of money as they were capable 
 of raising by the taxes of the year, mortgaged these taxes, 
 and involved themselves in debts which they have never 
 since been able to discharge. 8. For all that profusion of 
 wealth granted to maintain the imaginary balance of Europe, 
 England received in return the empty reward of military 
 glory in Flanders, and the consciousness of having given 
 their allies, particularly the Dutch, frequent opportunities 
 of being ungrateful. 
 
 The war with France continued during the greatest part of 
 this king's reign ; but at length the treaty of Rys wick, A.D. 
 1 697, put an end to those contentions, in which England had 
 engaged without policy and came off without advantage. 
 
 9. In the general pacification her interests seemed entirely 
 deserted ; and for all the treasures she had sent to the con- 
 tinent, and all the blood which she had shed there, the 
 only equivalent she received was an acknowledgment of 
 king William's title from the king of France. 
 
 10. William was naturally of a very feeble constitution : 
 and it was by this time almost exhausted by a series of con- 
 
WILLIAM III. 263 
 
 tinual disquietude and action. He had endeavouied to re 
 pair his constitution, or at least to conceal its decays, by 
 exercise and riding. On the twenty-first day of February, in 
 riding to Hampton-court from Kensington, his horse fell 
 under him, and he was thrown with such violence, that his 
 collar-bone was fractured. His attendants conveyed him to 
 the palace at Hampton-court, where the fracture was re- 
 duced, and in the evening he returned to Kensington in his 
 coach. 11. The jolting of the carriage disunited the frac- 
 ture once more, and the bones were again replaced, under 
 Bidloo, his physician. This in a robust constitution would 
 have been a trifling misfortune ; but in him it was fatal 
 For some time he appeared in a fair way of recovery ; but, 
 falling asleep on his couch, he was seized witli a shivering, 
 which terminated in a fever and diarrhoea, which soon be- 
 came dangerous and desperate. 11. Perceiving his end 
 approaching, the objects of his former care still lay next his 
 heart ; and the fate of Europe seemed to remove the sensa- 
 tions he might be supposed to feel for his own. The earl 
 of Albemarle arriving from Holland, he conferred with him 
 in private on the posture of affairs abroad. Two days after, 
 having received the sacrament from archbishop Tenison, he 
 expired in the fifty-second year of his age, after having 
 reigned thirteen years. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 .. To what situation was James reduced ? and what were the designs of his 
 friends ? 
 
 2. When and where did James die ? 
 
 3. How did the exiled monarch spend the latter part of his life ? 
 
 4. What counsel did he give to his son in his last illness ? 
 
 5. What was William's resolution on accepting the crown ? 
 
 6. Did his actions correspond with that resolution ? 
 
 7. In what manner did William act? 
 
 8. 9. What consequences resulted from the war with France ? 
 
 10, 11. What accident happened to William ? and what were the cons©' 
 
 quences? 
 12. What object lay nearest his heart? 
 
 How long did William reign, and what was his age ? 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Alexander VIII.... 1G89 
 
 Innocent XII 1691 
 
 Clement XI 1700 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 a.d. King of Portugal. 
 
 Achmetll 1691 a.b 
 
 Mustapha II 1 695 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 Leopold 1658 
 
 Emperors of the Turku 
 
 Kin^ of France. 
 Louis XIV 1643 
 
 Kings of Spain. 
 Charles II 1665 
 
 Soliman III 1687 1 Philip V l'.OO 
 
 Pedro II 168iJ 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 Christian V 1670 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 Charles XI 1660 
 
 Charles XII 169 
 
>94 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton John Locke. Archbishop Tillotson. Bishop Burnet. 
 Duke Schomberg. General Schomberg, son of the duke. Montague, earl 
 tlalifax. Russel, earl of Oxford. John, lord Somers. Anthony Ashley 
 Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury (grandson to the nobleman mentioned in a former 
 reign). Sheffield, duke of Buckingham. John, lord Cutts Admiral Russel 
 lord Berkley, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 ANNE. 
 
 Bo.n 1GG4. Died August, 1714. Began to reign March 8, 1702. Reigned 
 
 12| years. 
 
 SECTION 1. 
 
 Ye active streams, wlier'er your waters flow, 
 
 Let distant climes and farthest nations know 
 
 What ye from Thames and Danube have been taught, 
 
 How Anne commanded, and how Marbro' fought. — Prior. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1702.) Anne, married to prince George of 
 Denmark, ascended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of 
 her age, to the general satisfaction of all parties. She was 
 the second daughter of king James, by his first wife, the 
 daughter of chancellor Hyde, afterwards earl of Clarendon. 
 Upon coming to the crown, she resolved to declare war 
 against France, and communicated her intentions to the 
 house of commons, by whom it was approved, and war was 
 proclaimed accordingly. 
 
 Ss. This declaration of war, on the part of the English, 
 was seconded by similar declarations by the Dutch and 
 Germans on the same day. The French monarch could not 
 suppress his anger at such a combination, but his chief re- 
 sentment fell upon the Dutch. He declared with great emo- 
 tion, that, as for these gentlemen pedlars, the Dutch, they 
 should one day repent their insolence and presumption in 
 declaring war against one whose power they had formerly 
 felt and dreaded. 3. However, the affairs of the allies 
 were no way influenced by his threats. The duke of Marl- 
 borough had his views gratified, in being appointed general 
 of the English forces : and he was still farther flattered by 
 the Dutch, who, though the earl of Athlone had a right to 
 share the command, appointed Marlborough generalissimo 
 of the allied army. 4. And it must be confessed, that few 
 men shone more, either in debate or action, than he ; serene 
 in tne midst of danger, and indefatigable in the cabinet; so 
 
ANNE. 
 
 265 
 
 Marlborough. 
 
 that lie became the most formidable enemy to France that 
 England ever produced, since the conquering times of Cressy 
 and Agincourt. 
 
 5. A great part of the history of this reign consists in bat- 
 tles fought upon the continent, which, though of very little 
 advantage to the interest of the nraon, were very great 
 additions to its honour. These triumphs, it is true, are 
 passed away, and nothing remains of them but the names of 
 Blenheim, Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, where the 
 allied army gained great, but (with respect to England) use- 
 less victories. 
 
 6. A conquest of much greater national importance was 
 gained with less expense of blood and treasure in Spain. 
 The ministry of England, understanding that the French 
 were employed in equipping a strong squadron in Brest, 
 Bent out sir Cloudesly Shovel and sir George Rooketo watch 
 their motions. Sir George, however, had further orders to 
 convoy a body of forces in transport-ships to Barcelona, upon 
 which a fruitless attack was made by the prince of Hesse. 
 7. Finding no hopes, therefore, from this expedition, in two 
 days after the troops were re-embarked, sir George Rooke, 
 joined by sir Cloudesly, called a council of war on board 
 he fleet, as they lay off the coast of Africa. In this they 
 
 resolved to make an attempt upon Gibraltar, a city then be 
 longing to the Spaniards, at that time ill provided with a 
 g'trrison, as neither expecting nor fearing such an attempt. 
 
286 ANNE. 
 
 8. The town of Gibraltar stands upon a tongue of land 
 as the mariners call it, and defended by a rock inaccessible 
 on every side but one. The prince of Hesse landed his 
 troops, to the number of eight hundred, on the continent ad- 
 joining, and summoned the town to surrender, tut without 
 effect. 9. Next day the admiral gave orders for cannonading 
 the town ; and, perceiving that the enemy were driven from 
 their fortifications at a place called the South Mole Head, 
 ordered captain Whitaker to arm all the boats, and assault 
 that quarter. Those officers who happened to be nearest 
 the Mole immediately manned their boats without orders, 
 and entered the fortifications sword in hand. 10. But they 
 vvere premature ; for the Spaniards sprung a mine, by which 
 two lieutenants and about one hundred men were killed 
 or wounded. Nevertheless, the two captains, Hicks and 
 Jumper, took possession of a platform, and kept their ground 
 until they were sustained by captain Whitaker, and the rest 
 of the seamen, who took a redoubt between the Mole and 
 the town by storm. Then the governor capitulated, and 
 the prince of Hesse entered the place, amazed at the success 
 of the attempt, considering the strength of the fortifications. 
 11. When the news of this conquest was brought to Eng- 
 land, it was for some time in debate whether it was a cap- 
 ture worth thanking tha admiral for. It was at last consi 
 dered as unworthy public gratitude; and, while the duke of 
 Marlborough was extolled for useless services, sir George 
 Rooke was left to neglect, and soon displaced from his com- 
 mand for having so essentially served his country. A strik- 
 ing instance, that, even in the most enlightened age, popular 
 applause is most usually misplaced. 12. Gibraltar has ever 
 since remained in the possession of the English, and continues 
 of the utmost use in refitting that part of the navy destined 
 to annoy an enemy, or protect our trade in the Mediterra- 
 nean. Here the English have a repository capable of con- 
 taining all things necessary for the repairing of fleets or the 
 equipment of armies. 
 
 13. While the English were thus victorious by land and 
 sea, a new scene of contention was opened on the side of 
 Spain, where the ambition of the European princes exerted 
 itself with the same fury that had filled the rest of the conti- 
 nent. Philip the Fourth, grandson of Louis the Fourteenth, 
 had been placed upon the throne of that kingdom, and had 
 been received with the joyful concurrence of the greatest part 
 of his subjects. 14. He had also been nominated successor 
 
ANNE. 287 
 
 to the crown by the late king of Spain's will. But, m a 
 former treaty among the powers of Europe, Charles, son of 
 the emperor of Germany, was appointed heir to that crown ; 
 and this treaty had been guaranteed by France herself, though 
 she now resolved to reverse that consent in favour of a de- 
 scendant of the house of Bourbon. 15. Charles was still 
 farther led on to put in for the crown of Spain by the invi- 
 tations of the Catalonians, who declared in his favour, and 
 by the assistance of the English and the Portuguese, who 
 promised to arm in his cause. He was furnished with two 
 hundred transports, thirty ships of war, and nine thousand 
 men, for the conquest of that extensive empire. But the 
 earl of Peterborough, a man of romantic bravery, offered to 
 conduct them ; and his single service was thought equiva- 
 lent to armies 
 
 16. The earl of Peterborough was one of the most sin- 
 gular and extraordinary men of the age in which he lived. 
 When yet but fifteen, he fought against the Moors in Africa ; 
 at twenty he assisted in compassing the revolution, and he 
 now carried on the war in Spain almost at his own expense : 
 his friendship for the duke Charles being one of his chief 
 motives to this great undertaking. He was deformed in his 
 person ; but of a mind the most generous, honourable, and 
 active. His first attempt upon landing in Spain was the 
 taking of Barcelona, a strong city, with a garrison of five 
 thousand men, while the whole army amounted to little more 
 than nine thousand. The prince of Hesse was killed in this 
 action. 
 
 17. These successes, however, were but of short continu- 
 ance; Peterborough being recalled, and the army under 
 Charles being commanded by the lord Galway. This no- 
 bleman, having received intelligence that the enemy, under 
 the command of the duke of Berwick, was posted near the 
 town of Almanza, he advanced thither to give him battle 
 18. The conflict began about two in the afternoon, and the 
 whole front of each army was fully engaged. The centre, 
 consisting chiefly of battalions from Great Britain and Hol- 
 land, seemed at first victorious ; but the Portuguese horse, 
 by whom they were supported, betaking themselves to flight 
 in the first charge the English troops were flanked and sur- 
 rounded on every side. 19. In this dreadful emergency 
 they formed themselves into a square, and retired to an emi 
 nence where being ignorant of the country, and destitute of 
 "ill supplies, they were obliged to surrender prisoners of 
 
288 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Death of the prince of Heice at Barcelona. 
 
 war, to the number of ten thousand men. This victory was 
 complete and decisive; and all Spain, except the province 
 of Catalonia, returned to their duty to Philip their sovereign 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Who succeeded William ? 
 
 Against whom did *A.nrie declare war ? 
 
 2. How did the French monarch express his anger ? 
 
 3. Who was appointed generalissimo ? 
 
 4. What is his character ? 
 
 5. Where did the nation gain great victories ? 
 
 6, 7. What important conquest was next obtained ? 
 8—10. Relate the particulars. 
 
 11. What opinion did the nation entertain of it? 
 
 12. Was not this opinion unfounded ? 
 
 13 — 15. What new scenes of contention arose ? 
 
 16. What were the character and conduct of the earl of Peterborough ? 
 
 18 19. Relate the particulars of the battle of Almanza. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Henceforth, she said, in each returning year. 
 
 One stem :he thistle and the rose shall bear; 
 
 The thistle's lastine grace— thou, O my rose, shalt be; 
 
 The warlike thistle's arm a sure defence to thee. — Rome. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1707.) The councils of the queen had hitherto 
 been governed by a whig ministry ; for, though the duke 
 of Marlborough had first started in the tory interest, he soon 
 joined the opposite faction, as he found them most sincere 
 
ANNE. 
 
 289 
 
 m their desiies to humble the power of France. The whigs, 
 therefore, still pursued the schemes of the late king ; and 
 impressed with a republican spirit of liberty, strove to 
 humble despotism in every part of Europe. 2. In a go- 
 vernment, where the reasoning of individuals, retired from 
 power, generally leads those who command, the designs of 
 the ministry must alter as the people happen to change 
 The people, in fact, were beginning to change. But pre 
 vious to the disgrace of the whig ministry, whose fall was 
 now hastening, a measure of the greatest importance took 
 place in parliament; a measure that had been wished by 
 many, but thought too difficult for execution. 3. What I 
 mean is, the union between the two kingdoms of England 
 and Scotland ; which though they were governed by one 
 sovereign since the accession of James the First, yet were 
 still ruled by their respective parliaments, and often professed 
 to pursue opposite interests and different designs. 
 
 4. The attempt for an union was begun at the commence- 
 ment of this reign ; but some disputes arising relative to the 
 trade of the East, the conference was broken up, and it was 
 thought that an adjustment would be impossible. 5. It was 
 revived by an act in either parliament, granting power to 
 commissioners, named on the part of both nations, to treat 
 on the preliminary articles of an union, which should after- 
 wards undergo a more thorough discussion by the legislative 
 body of both kingdoms. The choice of these commission- 
 ers was left to the queen, and she took care that none should 
 be employed but such as heartily wished to promote so de- 
 sirable a measure. 
 
 6. Accordingly, the queen having appointed commission- 
 ers on both sides, they met in the council-chamber of the 
 Cockpit, near Whitehall, which was the place appointed for 
 the conferences. As the queen frequently exhorted the 
 commissioners to despatch the articles of this famous Union 
 were soon agreed to, and signed by the commissioners ; and 
 it only remained to lay them before the parliaments of both 
 nations. 
 
 7. In this famous treaty it was stipulated that the succc s- 
 smn to th3 united kingdom should be vested in the house 
 of Hanover ; that the united kingdoms should be represented 
 oy one and the same parliament ; that all the subjects of 
 Great Britain should enjoy a communion of privileges and 
 advantages. 8. That they should have the same allowance 
 and privileges, with respect to commerce and customs ; that 
 
 2B 
 
290 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the laws concerning public right, civil government, ani. 
 policy, should be the same through the two united king- 
 doms ; but that no alteration should be made in the laws 
 which concerned private rights, except for the evident benefit 
 of the subjects of Scotland. 9. That the courts of session, 
 and all other courts of judicature in Scotland, should re- 
 main, as then constituted by the laws of that kingdom, with 
 the same authority and privileges as before the union ; and 
 that Scotland should be represented in the parliament of 
 Great Britain by sixteen peers and forty-five commoners, to 
 be elected in such a manner as should be settled by the 
 present parliament of Scotland. 10. That all peers of Scot- 
 land should be considered as peers of Great Britain, *nd 
 rank immediately after the English peers of the like degree 
 at the time of the union, and before such as should be 
 created after it; that they should enjoy all privileges of 
 English peers, except that of sitting or voting in parliament, 
 or sitting upon the trial of peers ; and that all the insignia 
 of royalty and government should remain as they were. 
 11. That all laws or statutes in either kingdom, as far as 
 they may be inconsistent with the terms of these articles, 
 should cease, and be declared void by the respective parlia- 
 ments of the two kingdoms. These were the principal 
 articles of the union ; and it only remained to obtain the 
 sanction of the legislature of both kingdoms to give them 
 authority. 
 
 12. The arguments of these different assemblies were 
 suited to the audience. To induce the Scots parliament to 
 come into the measure, it was alleged, by the ministry and 
 their supporters, that an entire and perfect union would be 
 the solid foundation of a lasting peace. It would secure 
 their religion, liberty, and property ; remove the animosities 
 that prevailed among themselves, and the jealousies that 
 subsisted between the two nations. 13. It would increase 
 their strength, riches, and commerce ; the whole island 
 would be joined in affection, and freed from all apprehen- 
 sions of different interests ; it would be enabled to resist all 
 its enemies, support the protestant interests, and maintain 
 the liberties of Europe. It was observed, that the less the 
 wheels of government were clogged by a multiplicity of 
 councils, the more vigorous would be their exertions. 14. 
 They were shown that the taxes which, in consequence 
 of this union, they were to pay, were by no means so pro- 
 portionably great as their share in the legislature that their 
 
ANNE. 291 
 
 taxes did not amount to a seventieth part of those supplied 
 by the English ; and yet their share in the legislature was 
 not a tenth part less. Such were the arguments in favour 
 of the union addressed to the Scots parliament. 15. In the 
 English houses it was observed, that a powerful and dan- 
 gerous nation would thus for ever be prevented from giving 
 hem any disturbance. That, in case of any future rupture, 
 England had every thing to lose, and nothing to gain, 
 against a nation that was courageous and poor. 
 
 16. On the other hand, the Scots were fired with indig- 
 nation at the thought of losing their ancient and indepen- 
 dent government. The nobility found themselves degraded 
 in point of dignity and influence, by being excluded from 
 their seats in parliament. The trading part of the nation 
 beheld their commerce loaded with heavy duties, and con- 
 sidered their new privileges of trading to the English plan 
 tations in the West Indies as a very uncertain advantage. 
 17. In the English house it also was observed, that the 
 union of a rich with a poor nation would always be benefi- 
 cial to the latter, and that the former could only hope for a 
 participation of their necessities. It was said that the Scots 
 reluctantly yielded to this coalition, and it might be likened 
 to a marriage with a woman against her consent. 18. It 
 was supposed to be an union made up of so many unmatched 
 pieces, and such incongruous ingredients, that it could never 
 take effect. It was complained that the proportion of the 
 land-tax paid by the Scots was small, and unequal to their 
 share in the legislature. 
 
 19. At length, notwithstanding all opposition made by 
 the tories, every article in the union was approved by a 
 great majority in both parliaments. Thus all were obliged 
 to acquiesce in an union of which they at first had not the 
 sagacity to distinguish the advantage. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. By wnom had the queen's counsels hitherto been governed ? 
 
 2, 3. What important measure took place in parliament? 
 4- — 6. By what means was the union effected ? 
 
 7— -11. Relate the stipulations contained in this famous treaty. 
 12 — 14. What arguments were used to induce the Scots to come into the 
 measure ? 
 
 1 5 What arguments were made use of to the English? 
 
 16 In what manner did the Scots ieceive this message ? 
 
 17 How was it received by the English ? 
 
 18 What opinion was held concerning it ? 
 I r » Did the measure succeed ? 
 
£92 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 section m. 
 
 Ot" Church and State who dearest deems 
 Should carefully avoid extremes. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1708.) In the mean time the whig ministry was 
 every day declining. Among the number of those w horn 
 the dutchess of Marlborough had introduced to the queen, 
 to contribute to her private amusement, was one Mrs. 
 Masham, her own kinswoman, whom she had raised from 
 indigence and obscurity. The dutchess, having gained the 
 ascendent over the queen, became petulant and insolent, and 
 relaxed in those arts by which she had risen. 2. Mrs. 
 Masham, who had her fortune to make, was more humble 
 and assiduous ; she flattered the foibles of the queen, and 
 assented to her prepossessions. She soon saw the queen's 
 inclination to the tory set of opinions, their divine right and 
 passive obedience ; and instead of attempting to thwart her, 
 as the dutchess had done, she joined in with her partiality, 
 and even outdid her in her own way. 
 
 3. This lady was, in fact, the tool of Mr. Harley, secre- 
 tary of state, who also some time before had insinuated 
 himself into the queen's good graces, who had determined 
 to sap the credit of the whig ministers. His aim was to 
 unite the tory interest under his own shelter, and to expel 
 the whigs from the advantages which they had long enjoyed 
 under government. 
 
 4. In this career of his ambition he chose for his coad- 
 jutor Henry St. John, afterwards the famous lord Boling 
 broke ; a man of great eloquence, and greater ambition , 
 enterprising, restless, active, and haughty, with some wit and 
 little principle. To this junto was added sir Simon Har- 
 court, a lawyer, a man of great abilities. 
 
 5. It was now perceived that the people themselves began 
 to be weary of a whig ministry, whom they formerly ca- 
 ressed. To them they imputed the burdens under which 
 they groaned, — burdens which they had been hitherto ani- 
 mated to bear by the pomp of triumph ; but the load of 
 which they felt in a pause of success. 
 
 6. Harley, afterwards known by the title of lord Oxford 
 was at the bottom of all these complaints ; and though the*, 
 did not produce an immediate effect, yet they did not fan 
 of a growing and steady operation. 
 
 7. At length the whig party of the ministry opened their 
 eyes to the intrigues of the tories. But it was now too late . 
 
ANNE. 293 
 
 they had entirely lost the confidence of the queer Harle> 
 soon threw off the mask of friendship, and took more 
 vigorous measures for the prosecution of his designs. In 
 him the queen reposed all her trust, though he had now no 
 visible concern in the administration. 8. The first triumph 
 of the tories, in which the queen discovered a public par- 
 tiality in their favour, was seen in a transaction of no great 
 importance in itself, but from the consequence it produced. 
 The parties of the nation were eager to engage, and they 
 wanted but the watchword to begin. This was given by a 
 man neither of abilities, property, nor power ; but whom 
 accident brought forward on this occasion. 
 
 9. Henry Sacheverel was a clergyman bred at Oxford, 
 of narrow intellects, and an overheated imagination. He 
 had acquired some popularity among those who had dis- 
 tinguished themselves by the name of high churchmen, and 
 had taken all occasions to vent his animosity against the 
 dissenters. At the summer assizes at Derby, he held forth 
 in that strain before the judges. On the fifth of November, 
 in St. Paul's church, he, in a violent declamation, defended 
 the doctrine of non-resistance, inveighed against the tolera- 
 tion of dissenters, declared the church was dangerously at- 
 tacked by its enemies, and slightly defended by its false 
 friends. 10. He sounded the trumpet for the zealous, and 
 exhorted the people to put on the whole armour of God. 
 Sir Samuel Gerrard, lord mayor, countenanced this ha- 
 rangue, which, though very weak both in matter and style, 
 was published under his protection, and extolled by the 
 tories as a masterpiece of writing. These sermons owed 
 all their celebrity to the complexion of the times, and they 
 are now deservedly neglected. 
 
 11. Mr. Dolben, son of the archbishop of York, laid a 
 complaint before the house of commons against these rhap 
 sodies, and thus gave force to what would soon have been 
 forgotten. The most violent paragraphs were read, and 
 the sermons voted scandalous and seditious libels. Sache 
 verel was brought to the bar of the house, and he, far from 
 disowning the writing of them, gloried in what he had 
 done, and mentioned the encouragement he had received to 
 publish them from the lord mayor, who was then present. 
 12. Being ordered to withdraw, it was resolved to impeach 
 him of high crimes and misdemeanours at the bar of the 
 house of lords ; Mr. Dolben was fixed upon to conduct the 
 prosecution, in the name of the commons of England. A 
 
 2b2 
 
291 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 committee was appointed to draw up articles of impeach* 
 merit : Sacheverel was taken into custody : and a day was 
 appointed for his trial before the lords in Westminster-hall. 
 
 13. The eyes of the whole kingdom were turned upon 
 this very extraordinary trial, which lasted three weeks, and 
 excluded all other public business for the time. The queen 
 herself was every day present as a private spectator, whilst 
 vast multitudes attended the culprit each day as he went to 
 the hall, shouting as he passed, or silently praying for his 
 success. The managers for the commons were sir Joseph 
 Jekyl, Mr. Eyre, solicitor-general, sir Peter King, recorder 
 general Stanhope, sir Thomas Parker, and Mr. Walpole. 
 14. The doctor was defended by sir Simon Harcourt and 
 Mr. Philips, and assisted by doctor Atterbury, doctor Small- 
 ridge, and doctor Friend. While the trial continued, nothing 
 could exceed the violence and outrage of the populace. 
 They surrounded the queen's sedan, exclaiming, " God 
 bless your majesty and the church ! We hope your majesty 
 is for doctor Sacheverel." 15. They destroyed several 
 meeting-houses, plundered the dwellings of many eminent 
 dissenters, and even proposed to attack the bank. The 
 queen, in compliance with the request of the commons, 
 published a proclamation for suppressing the tumults ; and 
 several persons, being apprehended, were tried for high- 
 treason. Two were convicted, and sentenced to die ; but 
 neither suffered. 
 
 16. When the commons had gone through their charge, 
 the managers for Sacheverel undertook his defence with 
 great art and eloquence. He afterwards recited a speech 
 himself, which, from the difference found between it and 
 his sermons, seemed evidently the work of another. 17. 
 In it he solemnly justified his intentions towards the queen 
 and her government. He spoke in the most respectful 
 terms of the revolution, and the protestant succession. He 
 maintained the doctrine of non-resistance as the tenet of the 
 church in which he was brought up ; and in a pathetic con* 
 elusion endeavoured to excite the pity of his audience 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. 2. What circumstances led to the fall of the whig ministers ? 
 3, 4. Who were the principal persons opposed to them ? 
 
 5 What made the people dissatisfied ? 
 
 6 Who was the cause of their discontent? 
 7. In whom did the queen repose her trust ? 
 
ANNE. 295 
 
 &. m what accident originated the contention between tho two partjoa 
 9. What "-us the subject of Sacheverel's writings \ 
 
 10. Who countenanced and extolled them ? 
 
 11. What notice did parliament take of these writings ? 
 i2. What followed ? 
 
 13. Who were the managers for the commons? 
 
 14. By whom was he defended ? 
 
 What was the conduct of the populace ? 
 
 15. What outrages did they commit ? 
 
 16 17- What was the purport of Sacheverel's defence . 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Next to the thunderer let Anne stand 
 
 In piety supreme as in command ; 
 
 Famed for victorious arms and generous aid. 
 
 Young Austria's refuge, and fierce Bourbon's dread. — Lansdovme. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1709.) At length, after much obstinate dispute 
 and virulent altercation, Sacheverel was found guilty, by a 
 majority of seventeen voices ; but no less than four-and- 
 thirty peers entered a protest against this decision. He 
 was prohibited from preaching for three years ; and his two 
 sermons were ordered to be burnt by the hand of the com- 
 mon hangman, in presence of the lord mayor and the two 
 sheriffs. The lenity of this sentence, which was in a great 
 measure owing to the dread of popular resentment, was 
 considered by the tories as a triumph. 
 
 2. Such was the complexion of the times, when the 
 queen thought proper to summon a new parliament ; and 
 being a friend to the tories herself, she gave the people an 
 opportunity of indulging themselves in choosing representa- 
 tives to her mind. In fact, very few were returned but such 
 as had distinguished themselves by their zeal against the 
 whig; administration. 
 
 3. In the mean time the campaign in Flanders was con- 
 ducted with the most brilliant success. The duke of 
 Marlborough had every motive to continue the war, as it 
 gratified not only his ambition, but his avarice ; a passion 
 that obscured his shining abilities. 
 
 4. The king of France appeared extremely desirous of a 
 peace, and resolved to solicit a conference. He employed 
 one Perkum, resident of the duke of Holstein at the Hague N 
 to negotiate upon this subject, and he ventured also to solicit 
 the duke himself in private. A conference was at length 
 begun at Gerlruydenburg, under the influence of Marlbo 
 rough, Eugene, and Zinzendorf, who were all three, from 
 private motive , entirely averse to the treaty. 5. Upon this 
 occasion the French ministers were subjected to every spe- 
 
296 ITISTOEY ,)F ENGLAND. 
 
 cies of mortification. Spies were placed upon all theii 
 conduct. Their master was insulted, and their letters were 
 opened ; till at last Louis resolved to hazard another cam' 
 paign. 6. It was only by insensible degrees that the queen 
 seemed to acquire courage enough to second her inclinations, 
 and depose a ministry that had long been disagreeable to 
 her. Harley, however, who still shared her confidence, did 
 not fail to inculcate the popularity, the justice, and the secu- 
 rity of such a measure ; and, in consequence of his advice, 
 she began the changes, by transferring the post of lord- 
 chamberlain from the duke of Kent to the duke of Shrews 
 bury, who had lately voted with the tories, and maintained 
 an intimate correspondence with Mr. Harley. 7. Soon 
 after the earl of Sunderland, secretary of state, and son-in- 
 law to the duke of Marlborough, was displaced, and the earl 
 of Dartmouth put in his room. Finding that she was 
 rather applauded than condemned for this resolute proceed- 
 ing, she resolved to become entirely free. 
 
 8. Soon after the earl of Godolphin was divested of his 
 office, and the treasury put in commission, subjected to 
 the direction of Mr. Harley, who was appointed chancellor 
 of the exchequer, and under-treasurer. 9. The earl of 
 Rochester was declared president of the council, in the 
 room of lord Somers. The staff of the lord-steward, being 
 taken from the duke of Devonshire, was given to the duke 
 of Buckingham ; and Mr. Boyle was removed from the 
 secretary's office to make way for Mr. Henry St. John. 
 The lord chancellor having resigned the great seal, it was 
 first put in commission, and then given to sir Simon Har- 
 court. 10. The earl of Wharton surrendered his commis- 
 sion of lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and that employment 
 was conferred upon the duke of Ormond. Mr. George 
 Grenville was appointed secretary of war, in the room of 
 Mr. Robert Walpole ; and, in a word, there was not one 
 whig left in any office of the state, except the duke of 
 Marlborough. He was still continued the reluctant general 
 of the army ; but he justly considered himself as a ruin 
 entirely undermined, and just ready to fall. 
 
 11. But the triumph was not yet complete until the 
 parliament was brought to confirm and approve the queen's 
 choice. The queen, in her speech, recommended the pro- 
 secution of the war with vigour. The parliament were 
 ardent in their expressions of zeal and unanimity. They 
 ex-Vjrted her to discountenance all such principles and 
 
ANNE. 297 
 
 measures as had lately threatened her royal crown and 
 dignity. This was but an opening to what soon after fol 
 lowed. 12. The duke of Marlborough, who but a few 
 months before had been so highly extolled and caressed by 
 the representatives of the people, was now become the 
 object of their hatred and reproach. His avarice was justly 
 upbraided ; his protracting the war was said to arise from 
 that motive. Instances wer^ j every where given of his 
 fraud and extortion. These might be true ; but party had 
 no moderation, and even his courage and conduct were called 
 in question. 13. To mortify the duke still more, the thanks 
 of the house of commons were voted to the earl of Peter- 
 borough for his services in Spain, when they were refused 
 to the duke for those in Flanders ; and the lord-keeper, who 
 delivered them to Peterborough, took occasion to drop some 
 reflection against the mercenary disposition of his rival. 
 
 14. Nothing now, therefore, remained of the whig sys- 
 tem, upon which this reign was begun, but the war, which 
 continued to rage as fierce as ever, and which increased in 
 expense every year as it went on. It was the resolution 
 of the present ministry to put an end to it at any rate, as it 
 had involved the nation in debt almost to bankruptcy ; and 
 as it promised, instead of humbling the enemy, only to 
 become habitual to the constitution. 
 
 15. It only remained to remove the duke of Marlborough 
 from his post, as he would endeavour to traverse all their 
 negotiations. But here again a difficulty started ; this step 
 could not be taken without giving ofTence to the Dutch, who 
 placed entire confidence in him ; they were obliged, there- 
 fore, to wait for some convenient occasion. Upon his 
 return from the campaign he was accused of having taken a 
 bribe of six thousand pounds a year from a Jew, who con- 
 tracted to supply the army with bread ; and the queen 
 thought proper to dismiss him from all his employments. 
 16. This was the pretext made use of, though his fall had 
 been predetermined ; and though his receiving such a bribe 
 was not the real cause of his removal, yet candour must 
 confess that it ought to have been so. 
 
 In the mean time, Prior, much more famous as a poet 
 than a statesman, was sent over with proposals to France ; 
 and Menager, a mar of no great station, returned with 
 Prior to London, with full powers to treat upon the pre- 
 liminaries. 
 
 17. The ministry having got thus far, the great difficulty 
 
&$& HIS10RY. OF ENGLAND. 
 
 still lay before them, of making the terms of peace agreeable 
 to all the confederates. The earl of Strafford, who had 
 been lately recalled from the Hague, where he resided as 
 ambassador, was now sent back to Holland, with orders to 
 communicate to the pensionary Heinsius the preliminary 
 proposals, to signify the queen's approbation of them, and to 
 propose a place where the plenipotentiaries should assemble. 
 18. The Dutch were very averse to begin the conference, 
 upon the inspection of the preliminaries. They sent over 
 an envoy to attempt to turn the queen from her resolution ; 
 but, finding their efforts vain, they fixed upon Utrecht as a 
 place of general conference, and they granted passports to 
 the French ministers accordingly. 
 
 19. The conference began at Utrecht, under the conduct 
 of Robinson, bishop of Bristol, lord privy-seal, and the earl 
 of Strafford, on the side of the English ; of Buys and Van- 
 derdusson, on the part of the Dutch ; and of the marshal 
 d'Uxelles, the cardinal Polignac, and Mr. Menager, in 
 behalf of France. The ministers of the emperor and the 
 duke of Savoy assisted, and the other allies sent also pleni- 
 potentiaries, though with the utmost reluctance. 20. As 
 England and France were the only two powers that were 
 seriously inclined to peace, it may be supposed that all the 
 other deputies served rather to retard than advance its pro- 
 gress. They met rather to start new difficulties, and widen 
 the breach, than to quiet the dissensions of Europe. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. Was Sacheverel found guilty ? 
 What was his sentence ? 
 
 2. Which party prevailed in the new parliament ? 
 3 — 5. What took place in Flanders ? 
 
 6 — 10 What change in the ministry took place ? 
 
 11. In what manner did the parliament act ? 
 
 12, 13. What conduct was observed towards the duke of Marlborough 
 14 What was the resolution of the present ministry? 
 
 15. With what crime was Marlborough charged ? 
 
 16, 17. What proceedings were now adopted ? 
 18. Were the Dutch averse to the measure ? 
 
 :9 Where did the conference begin ? By whom was it conducted t 
 20 What retarded its progress ? 
 
ANNE. <*99 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 No reign than Anne's in war more justly crown'd. 
 No reign for learning justly morerenown'd; 
 Elizabeth a Shakspeare own'd ; 
 
 Charles could a Milton boast; 
 But Anne saw Newton high enthroned. 
 
 Amid the heavenly host. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1712.) The English ministers, therefore, finding 
 multiplied obstructions from the deliberations of their allies, 
 set on foot a private negotiation with France. They stipu 
 lated certain advantages for the subjects of Great Britain in 
 a concerted plan of peace. They resolved to enter into 
 such mutual confidence with the French as would anticipate 
 all clandestine transactions to the prejudice of the coalition. 
 
 2. In the beginning of August, secretary St. John, who 
 had been created lord viscount Bolingbroke, was sent to the 
 court of Versailles to remove all obstructions to the separate 
 treaty. He was accompanied by Mr. Prior and the abbe 
 Gualtier, and treated with the most distinguished marks of 
 respect. He was caressed by the French king and the 
 marquis de Torcy, with whom he adjusted the principal 
 interests of the duke of Savoy and the elector of Bavaria. 
 
 3. At length the treaties of peace and commerce between 
 England and France being agreed on by the plenipotentiaries 
 on either side, and ratified by the queen, she acquainted the 
 parliament of the steps she had taken. 
 
 4. The articles of this famous treaty were longer can- 
 vassed, and more warmly debated, than those of any other 
 treaty read of in history. The number of different interests 
 concerned, and the great enmity and jealousy subsisting 
 between all, made it impossible that all could be satisfied* 
 and indeed there seemed no other method of obtaining 
 peace but that which was taken, for the two principal powers 
 concerned to make their own articles, and to leave the rest 
 for a subject of future discussion. 
 
 5. The first stipulation was, that Philip, now acknow- 
 ledged king of Spain, should renounce all right to the 
 crown of France, the union of two such powerful kingdoms 
 being thought dangerous to the liberties of Europe. It was 
 agreed that the duke of Berri, Philip's brother, and after 
 him in succession, should also renounce his right to tha 
 crown of Spain, in case he became king of France. 6. It 
 was stipulated that the duke of Savoy should possess the 
 island of Sicily, with the title of king, together with Fenis • 
 trelles, and other places on the continent; which increase 
 of dominion was in some measure made out of the spoils 
 of the French monarchy. The Dutch had that barrier 
 
300 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 granted tnem, which they so long sought after ; and if the 
 crown of France was deprived of some dominions to enrich 
 the duke of Savoy, on the other hand the house of Austria 
 was taxed to supply the wants of the Hollanders, who were 
 put in possession of the strongest towns in Flanders. 7 
 With regard to England, its glory and its interests were 
 seemed. The fortifications of Dunkirk, a harbour that 
 might be dangerous to their trade in time of war, were 
 ordered to be demolished, and its port destroyed. Spain 
 gave up all right to Gibraltar and the island of Minorca. 
 France resigned her pretensions to Hudson's Bay, Nova 
 Scotia, and Newfoundland ; but they were left in possession 
 of Cape Breton, and the liberty of drying their fish upon 
 the shore. 8. Among these articles, glorious to the English 
 nation, their setting free the French protestants confined in 
 the prisons and galleys for their religion, was not the least 
 meritorious. For the emperor, it was stipulated, that he 
 should possess the kingdom of Naples, the dutchy of Milan, 
 and the Netherlands. The king of Prussia was to have 
 Upper Guelder ; and a time was fixed for the emperor's 
 acceding to these articles, as he had for some time obsti- 
 nately refused to assist at the negotiation. 9. Thus Europe- 
 seemed to be formed into one great republic, the different 
 members of which were cantoned out to different governors, 
 and the ambition of any one state amenable to the tribunal 
 of all. Thus it appears that the English ministry did 
 justice to all the world ; but their country denied that jus- 
 tice to them. 
 
 10. But while the whigs were attacking the tory minis- 
 ters from without, these were in much greater danger from 
 their own internal dissensions. Lord Oxford and lord Bo 
 iingbroke, though they had started with the same principle? 
 and designs, yet, having vanquished other opposcrs, now 
 began to turn their strength against each other. Both began 
 to form separate interests, and to adopt different principles. 
 Oxford's plan was the more moderate ; Bolingbroke's the 
 more vigorous, but the more secure. 11. Oxford, it was 
 thought, was entirely for the Hanoverian succession ; Bo- 
 lingbroke had some hopes of bringing in the pretender 
 But though they hated each other most sincerely, yet they 
 were for a while kept together for the good offices of their 
 friends and adherents, who had the melancholy prospect of 
 seeing the citadel of their hopes, while openly besieged 
 from without, secretly undermined within. 
 
ANNE 301 
 
 12. This was a mortifying prospect for the tories ; bu< 
 t was more particularly displeasing to the queen, who daily 
 saw her favourite minister declining, while her own health 
 kept pace with their contentions. Her constitution was 
 now quite broken. One fit of sickness succeeded another ; 
 and what completed the ruin of her health was the anxiety 
 of her mind. These dissensions had such an effect upon 
 her spirits and constitution, that she declared she could not 
 outlive it, and immediately sunk into a state of lethargic in- 
 sensibility. 13. Notwithstanding all the medicines which 
 the physicians could prescribe, the distemper gained ground 
 so fast, that the day afterwards they despaired of her life, 
 and the privy council were assembled on the occasion. 
 
 All the members, without distinction, being summoned 
 from the different parts of the kingdom, began to provide 
 for the security of the constitution. 14. They sent a letter 
 to the elector of Hanover, informing him of the queen's 
 desperate situation, and desiring him to repair to Holland, 
 where ne would be attended by a British squadron to con- 
 vey him to England. At the same time they despatched 
 instructions to the earl of Strafford, at the Hague, to desire 
 the states-general to be ready to perform the guarantee of 
 the protestant succession. 15. Precautions were taken to 
 secure the sea-ports ; and the command of the fleet was 
 bestowed upon the earl of Berkeley, a professed whig. 
 These measures, which were all dictated by that party, 
 answered a double end. It argued their own alacrity in the 
 cause of their new sovereign, and seemed to imply a danger 
 to the state from the disaffection of the opposite interest. 
 
 16. On the thirtieth of July, the queen seemed some- 
 what relieved by medicines, rose from her bed about eight 
 o'clock, and walked a little. After some time, casting her 
 eyes on a clock that stood in her chamber, she continued to 
 gaze on it for some minutes. One of the ladies in waiting 
 asked her what she saw there more than usual, to which 
 the queen only answered by turning her eyes upon her 
 with a dying look. 17. She was soon after seized with a 
 6t of apoplexy. She continued all night in a state of stu- 
 pefaction, and expired the next morning, in the forty-ninth 
 year of her age. She reigned more than twelve years over 
 a people that was now risen to the highest pitch of refine- 
 ment; that had attained by their wisdom all the advantages 
 
 2C 
 
302 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of opulence and, by their valour, all the happiness of ee- 
 curity and conquest.* 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1, 2. What circumstances preceded the treaty with France ? 
 S, 4. After its conclusion, in what manner was it received? 
 
 5. What was the first stipulation ? 
 
 6. What the next ? 
 
 7. How did the treaty regard England ? 
 
 8. Which article of the treaty was meritorious to the English nation ? 
 What were the stipulations regarding the emperor and the king of 
 
 Prussia ? 
 ? What appearance did Europe now exhibit ? 
 
 10. What dissension took place between Oxford and Bolingbroke 
 
 11. What was thought to be their different views ? 
 
 12. What effect had this disunion on the queen ? 
 
 13 — 15. When the queen's life was despaired of, what measures weio 
 taken ? 
 
 16. What immediately preceded the queen's death ? 
 
 17. How long did she reign ? 
 
 What was the situation of England at her death ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Clement XI 1700 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Leopold 1658 
 
 Joseph I . . 1705 
 
 Charles VI 1711 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 
 Mustapha II 1095 
 
 A. D 
 
 Achmet III 1703 
 
 King of France. 
 
 Louis XIV 1643 
 
 King of Spain. 
 
 Philip V 1700 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 Pedro II 1683 
 
 A. D 
 
 John V 1707 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 
 Frederick IV 1669 
 
 King of Sweden. 
 
 Charles XII 1697 
 
 g 
 
 King of Prussia. 
 Frederick 1 1701 
 
 * It has been a subject of general remark, that England flourished more under 
 the reigns of Elizabeth and Anne, than under those of its most distinguished 
 kings. Though the actions and principles of these princesses were widely differ- 
 ent, yet their reigns were equally remembered with gratitude by their subjects, 
 and both of them have acquired the endearing epithets of good queens. With a 
 pleasing countenance and melodious voice, were united in the person of queen 
 Anne those amiable virtues, which add so great a lustre to the charms of beauty, 
 and place the female character in so admirable a light. Good-natured, affable 
 and kind ; she was an affectionate wife, a tender mother, a warm friend, a gene- 
 rous patroness, and a benevolent and merciful sovereign. Though she was defi- 
 cient in the shining qualities of queen Elizabeth, yet she surpassed that princess 
 in her fondness for her subjects; and as Elizabeth acquired the good will of the 
 English by the greatness of her actions, so Anne was beloved by her people, be- 
 cause she evinced a maternal affection for them. Nor should the fact pass unno- 
 ticed, that notwithstanding the prevalence of factions and the dissensions of par* 
 ties, during this reign, the blood of no subject was shed 'or treason 
 
GEORGE I. 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 303 
 
 Chnrchill, duke of Marlborough ;* lord Bolingbroke ; sir William Temple; 
 tfoyle, earl of Orrery: Swift; Sidney, earl of Godolphin ; Harley.earl of Oxford ; 
 Mordaunt, earl of Peterborough; Howard, earl of Suffolk ; D. Finch, earl of 
 Nottingham; G. Grenville, lord Lansdowne ; Philip, duke of Wharton; R. lord 
 Raymond ; lord-chancellor King : T. lord Paget ; Sarah dutchess of Marlborough. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 GEORGE I. 
 
 Born 1660. Died June 11, 1727. Began to reign August 1, 1714. Reigned 12? years. 
 
 SECTION L 
 
 The common weal should be the first pursuit 
 Of the crown'd warrior ; for the royal browa 
 The people first enwreathed, — Seward. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1714.) Pursuant to the act of succession, 
 George the First, son of Ernest Augustus, first elector of 
 Brunswick, and the princess Sophia, grand-daughter to 
 
 * John Churchill, duke of Marlborough, was the son of sir Winston Churchill, 
 and was born at Ashe, in Devonshire, in 1650. At the age of 12 he became page 
 to the duke of York. About 1666 he was made an ensign in the guards, and 
 served for some time at Tangier; and this seems to have decided him in the 
 choice of a profession. He was a great favourite at court, and the duchess of 
 Cleveland presented him £ 5,000, with which he purchased a life-annuity. In 
 1772 he accompanied the duke of Monmouth to the continent as a captain of 
 grenadiers, and there fought under the great Turenne, with whom he was known 
 by the name of the handsome Englishman. At the siege of Maestricht he dis- 
 tinguished himself so highly as to obtain the public thanks of the king of France. 
 Returning to England, he advanced from one post to another. On the accession 
 of James II., he was created baron Churchill of Sundridge, and on that of Wil- 
 liam and Mary, earl of Marlborough. When Anne took the throne in 1702, he 
 was made captain-general of all the forces at home and abroad, and sent plenipo- 
 tentiary to the Hague, where he was also made captain-general by the states. 
 This was followed by a series of the most splendid campaigns ever made by the 
 armies of England. But in 1711, he was removed from his command by a minis- 
 try that was opposed to him. At the accession of George I. he was reinstated. 
 After assisting in the defeat of the rebellion in 1715, he withdrew from public 
 employments, and died in 1722, in the 73d year of his age. 
 
 The dutchess, his widow, a lady of great ambition and avarice, became very 
 celebrated, and died in 1744, after amassing great wealth. 
 
 The palace which was built for him by the nation at Woodstock, near Oxford, 
 after his celebrated victory at Blenheim, is one of the finest structures in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Blenheim. 
 The architect, sir John Vanburgh, has been censured as having built it in too 
 heavy a style ; and this caused the mock epitaph on him to be received witb 
 much favour : 
 
 Lie heavy on him, earth, for he 
 Laid many a heavy load on thee. 
 But many consider the criticism unjust. 
 
304 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 James the First, ascended the British throne. His mature 
 age, he being' now fifty-four years old, his sagacity and 
 experience, his numerous alliances, and the general tran- 
 quillity of Europe, all contributed to establish his interests, 
 and to promise him a peaceable and happy reign. 2. His 
 abilities, though not shining, were solid ; he was of a very 
 different disposition from the Stuart family whom he suc- 
 ceeded. These were known, to a proverb, for leaving their 
 friends in extremity. George, on the contrary, soon after 
 his arrival in England, was heard to say, " My maxim is, 
 never to abandon my friends, to do justice to all the world, 
 and to fear no man." 
 
 3. To these qualifications of resolution and perseverance 
 he joined great application to business. However, one fault 
 with respect to England remained behind ; he studied the 
 interest of those subjects ne had left more than those he 
 came to govern. 
 
 4. The queen had no sooner resigned her breath, than 
 the privy-council met, and three instruments were produced, 
 by which the elector appointed several of his known adhe- 
 rents to be added as lords-justices to seven great officers of 
 the kingdom. Orders also were immediately issued out foi 
 proclaiming George, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 
 The regency appointed the earl of Dorset to carry him the 
 intimation of his accession to the crown, and to attend him 
 on his journey to England. They sent the general officers, 
 in whom they could confide, to their posts ; they reinforced 
 the garrison of Portsmouth, and appointed the celebrated 
 Mr. Addison secretary of state. 5. To mortify the late 
 ministry the more, lord Bolingbroke was obliged to wait 
 every morning in the passage among the servants with his 
 bag of papers, where there were persons purposely placed 
 to insult and deride him. No tumult appeared, no commo- 
 tion arose against the accession of the new king, and this 
 gave a strong proof that no rational measures were even 
 taken to obstruct his exaltation. 
 
 6. When he first landed at Greenwich, he was received 
 by the duke of Northumberland, captain of the life-guard, 
 and the lords of the regency. When he retired to his bed- 
 chamber, he sent for such of the nobility as had distin 
 guished themselves by their zeal for his succession. Bu* 
 the duke of Ormond. the lord-chancellor, and the lord-trea- 
 surer, found themseives excluded. 
 
 7. The king of a faction is but the sovereign of Vialf his* 
 
GEORGE I 305 
 
 subjects Of this, however, the new-elected monarch did 
 not seem to be sensible. It was his misfortune, and con- 
 sequently that of the nation, that he was hemmed round by 
 men who soured him with their own interests. None now 
 but the leaders of a party were admitted into employment. 
 The whigs, while they pretended to secure the crown for 
 their king, were, with all possible arts, confirming their own 
 interests, extending their connexions, and giving laws to 
 the sovereign. 8. An instantaneous and total change was 
 made in all the offices of trust, honour, and advantage. The 
 whigs governed the senate and the court, whom they would 
 have oppressed ; bound the lower orders of people with 
 severe laws, and kept them at a distance by vile distinctions ; 
 and taught them to call this — liberty ! 
 
 9. These partialities soon raised discontents among the peo- 
 ple, and the king's attachment considerably increased the 
 discontents throughout the kingdom. The clamour of the 
 church's being in danger was revived. Birmingham, Bris- 
 tol, Norwich, and Reading, still remembered the spirit with 
 which they had declared for Sacheverel ; and now the cry 
 was, " Down with the whigs, and Sacheverel for ever !" 
 
 10. Upon the first meeting of the new parliament, in 
 which the whigs, with the king at their head, were predo- 
 minant, nothing was expected but the most violent measures 
 against the late ministry, nor were the expectations of man- 
 Kind disappointed. (A.D. 1714.) 
 
 11. The lords professed their hopes that the king would 
 be able to recover the reputation of the kingdom on the con- 
 tinent, the loss of which they affected to deplore. The 
 commons went much further ; they declared their resolution 
 to trace out those measures by which the country was de- 
 pressed ; they resolved to seek after those abettors on whom 
 the pretender seemed to ground his hopes ; and they deter- 
 mined to bring such to condign punishment. 
 
 12. It was the artifice, during this and the succeeding 
 reign, to stigmatize all those who testified their discontent 
 against government as papists and Jacobites. All who at- 
 tempted to speak against the violence of their measures were 
 reproached as designing to bring in the pretender ; and most 
 people were consequently afraid to murmur, since discontent 
 was so near akin to treason. The people, therefore, beheld 
 the violence of their conduct in silent fright, internally dis 
 approving, yet not daring to avow their detestation. 
 
 13. A committee was appointed, consisting of twenty 
 
 2c2 
 
306 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 persons, to inspect all the papers relative to the late negoii 
 ation for peace ; and to pick out such of them as might serve 
 as subjects of accusation against the late ministry. After 
 some time spent in this disquisition, Mr. Walpole, as chair- 
 man of the committee, declared to the house that a report 
 was drawn up ; and in the mean time moved that a warrant 
 might be issued for apprehending Mr. Matthew Prior and 
 Mr. Thomas Harley, who, being in the house, were imme- 
 diately taken into custody. 14. He then impeached lord 
 Bolinefbroke of high-treason. This struck some of the 
 members with amazement : but they were still more asto- 
 nished, when lord Coningsby, rising up, was heard to say, 
 " The worthy chairman has impeached the hand, but I im 
 peach the head ; he has impeached the scholar, and I the 
 master ; I impeach Robert earl of Oxford and the earl of 
 Mortimer of high-treason, and other crimes and misdemey 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. Under what circumstances did George I. ascend the throne ? 
 
 2. What were his abilities and disposition ? 
 What was his maxim ? 
 
 3. What fault has been attributed to him ? 
 
 4. What was the first act of the privy council? 
 
 5 In what manner was Bolingbroke treated ? 
 
 6 By whom was the king received on his landing ? 
 
 7 By whom was the king advised, and what was the result ? 
 8, 9- What did these partialities produce ? 
 
 10, 11. In what manner did the new parliament act? 
 
 12. What did their proceedings produce ? 
 
 13, 14. For what purpose was a committee appointed ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Where Scotland's cloud-capped hills appear. 
 
 See Mar the rebel standard rear : 
 
 The rash pretender's hopes are vain; 
 
 His followers dispersed or slain. — Davies. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1714.) When lord Oxford appeared in the house 
 of lords the day following, he was avoided by the peers as 
 infectious ; and he had now an opportunity of discovering 
 the baseness of mankind. When the articles were read 
 against him in the house of commons, a warm debate arose 
 upon that in which he was charged with having advised the 
 French king of the manner of gaining Tournay from the 
 Dutch. 2. Mr. Walpole alleged that it was treason. Sir 
 Joseph Jekyl, a known whig, said that he could never be 
 of opinion that it amounted to treason. It was his principle 
 
GEORGE I. 307 
 
 he said, to do justice to all men, from the highest to the 
 lowest. He hoped he might pretend to some knowledge of 
 the law, and would not scruple to declare, upon this part of 
 the question, in favour of the criminal. 3. To this Wal- 
 pole answered, with great warmth, that there were several 
 persons, both in and out of the committee, who did not in 
 the least yield to that member in point of honesty, and ex- 
 ceeded him in the knowledge of the laws, and yet were 
 satisfied that the charge in that article amounted to high- 
 treason. 4. This point being decided against the earl, and 
 the other articles proved by the house, the lord Coningsby, 
 attended by the whig members, impeached him soon after 
 at the bar of the house of lords ; demanding, at the same 
 time, that he might lose his seat, and be committed to cus- 
 tody. When this point came to be debated in the house of 
 lords, a violent altercation ensued. Those who still adhered 
 to the deposed minister, maintained the injustice and danger 
 of such proceedings. 5. At last the earl himself rose up, 
 and with great tranquillity observed, that, for his own part, 
 he always acted by the immediate directions and command 
 of the queen, his mistress : he had never offended against 
 any known law, and was unconcerned for the life of an in- 
 significant old man. Next day he was brought to the bar, 
 where he received a copy of his indictment, and was allow- 
 ed a month to prepare his answer. Though Dr. Mead de- 
 clared, that if the earl should be sent to the Tower his life 
 would be in danger, it was carried in the house that he should 
 be committed. 
 
 6. At the same time the duke of Ormond and lord Boling- 
 broke, having omitted to surrender themselves (for they had 
 actually fled to the continent) within a limited time, it was 
 ordered that the earl-marshal should rase out their names 
 and arms from among the list of peers ; and inventories were 
 taken of their estates and possessions, which were declared 
 forfeited to the crown. 
 
 7. Lord Oxford being confined in the Tower, he continued 
 there for two years, during which time the nation was in a 
 continual ferment, from an actual rebellion that was carried 
 on unsuccessfully. After the execution of some lords, who 
 were taken in arms, the nation seemed glutted with blood, 
 and that was the time that lord Oxford petitioned to be 
 brought to trial. 8. He knew that the fury of the nation 
 was spent on objects that were really culpable, and expected 
 that his case would look like innocence itself compared to 
 
308 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 theirs. A day, therefore, at his own request, was assigned 
 him, and the commons were ordered to prepare for their 
 charge. At the appointed time the peers repaired to the 
 court in Westminster-hall, where lord Cowper presided as 
 lord high steward. 9. But a dispute arising between the 
 lords and commons, concerning the mode of his trial, the 
 lords voted that the prisoner should be set at liberty. To 
 this dispute he probably owed the security of his title and 
 fortune ; for, as to the articles importing him guilty of high- 
 treason, they were at once malignant and frivolous, so that 
 his life was in no manner of danger. 
 
 10. In the mean time these vindictive proceedings excited 
 the indignation of the people, who perceived that the ave- 
 nues to royal favour were closed against all but a faction, 
 The flames of rebellion were actually kindled in Scotland. 
 The earl of Mar, assembling three hundred of his own vas- 
 sals in the Highlands, proclaimed the pretender at Castle- 
 down, and set up his standard at a place called Braemaer, 
 assuming the title of lieutenant-general of his majesty's 
 forces. 11. To second these attempts, two vessels arrived 
 in Scotland from France, with arms, ammunition, and a 
 number of officers, together with assurances to the earl, that 
 the pretender himself would shortly come over to head his 
 own forces. The earl, in consequence of this promise, soon 
 found himself at the head of ten thousand men, well armed 
 and provided. 12. The duke of Argyle, apprized of his in- 
 tentions, and at any rate willing to prove his attachment to 
 the present government, resolved to give him battle in the 
 neighbourhood of Dumblain, though his forces did not amount 
 to half the number of the enemy. After an engagement, 
 which continued several hours, in the evening both sides 
 drew off, and both sides claimed the victory. 13. Though 
 the possession of the field was kept by neither, yet certainly 
 all the honour and all the advantages of the day belonged to 
 the duke of Argyle. It was sufficient for him to have inter- 
 rupted the progress of the enemy ; for, in their circumstances, 
 delay was defeat. The earl of Mar soon found his disap- 
 pointment and losses increase. The castle of Inverness, of 
 which he was in possession, was delivered up to the king 
 by lord Lovat, who had hitherto professed to act in the in- 
 terest of the pretender. 14. The marquis of Tullibardine 
 forsook the earl, in order to defend his own part of the coun 
 try ; and many of the clans, seeing no likelihood of coming 
 soon to a second engagement, returned quietly home • lot 
 
GEORGE I 309 
 
 an irregular army is much easier led to battle than induced 
 to bear the fatigues of a campaign. 
 
 15. In the mean time the rebellion was much more un- 
 successfully prosecuted in England. From the time the 
 pretender had undertaken this wild project at Paris, in which 
 the duke of Ormond and lord Bolingbroke were engaged, 
 lord Stair, the English ambassador there, had penetrated all 
 his designs, and sent faithful accounts of all his measures, 
 and all his adherents, to the ministry at home. Upon the 
 first rumour, therefore, of an insurrection, they imprisoned 
 several lords and gentlemen, of whom they had a suspicion. 
 16. The earls of Home, Wintown, Kinnoul, and others, 
 were committed to the castle of Edinburgh. The king ob- 
 tained leave from the lower house to seize sir William 
 Wyndham, sir John Packington, Harvey Combe, and others. 
 The lords Lansdowne and Duplin were taken into custody. 
 Sir William Wyndham's father-in-law, tha duke of Somer- 
 set, offered to become bound for his appearance, but his 
 surety was refused. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the conduct of the peers towards lord Oxford 1 
 
 2. In what way was he defended by sir John Jekyl ? 
 
 3. What was the answer of Walpole ? 
 
 4. Who impeached the earl of Oxford before the lords ? 
 
 5. What answer did his lordship make to the charge ? 
 
 6. What proceedings were taken against Ormond and Bolingbroke ? 
 
 7. In what state was the nation at this time ? 
 
 8. Under what circumstances did Oxford request his trial ? 
 
 9. What occasioned his being set at liberty ? 
 10. What excited the indignation of the people ? 
 
 11 — 14 Relate the particulars of the rebellion of Scotland. 
 
 15. Who, penetrating into the wild project of the pretender, sent accounts ol 
 
 al] his measures ? 
 1G. Who were imprisoned in consequence ? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Swift to the north his troops he leads 
 
 O'er rapid floods and hills of snow; 
 No toil the glorious march impedes 
 
 That bears the Briton to the foe. — Anon 
 
 1. (A.D. 1715.) All these precautions were not able tu 
 stop the insurrection in the western counties, where it was 
 already begun. However, all their preparations were weak 
 and ill-conducted, every measure was betrayed to government 
 as soon as projected, and many revolts suppressed in the 
 very outset. 2. The university of Oxford was treated with 
 great severity on this occasion. Major-general Pepper, with 
 
310 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 a strong detachment of dragoons, took possession of tne city 
 at daybreak, declaring that he would instantly shoot any of 
 the students who should presume to appear without the limits 
 of their respective colleges. The insurrections in the northern 
 counties came to greater maturity. 3. In the month of Oc- 
 tober, 1715, the earl of Derwentwater, and Mr. Forster, took 
 the field with a large body of horse, and being joined by 
 some gentlemen from the borders of Scotland, proclaimed 
 the pretender. Their first attempt was to seize upon New- 
 castle, in which they had many friends, but they found the 
 gates shut against them, and were obliged to retire to Hex- 
 ham. 4. To oppose these, general Carpenter was detached 
 by government with a body of nine hundred men, and an 
 engagement was houily expected. The rebels had pro- 
 ceeded by the way of Kendal and Lancaster to Preston, of 
 which place they took possession without any resistance. 
 But this was the last stage of their ill-advised incursion ; for 
 general Wills, at the head of seven thousand men, came up 
 to the town to attack them, and from his activity there was 
 no escaping. 5. They now, therefore, began to raise barri- 
 cados, and to place the town in a posture of defence, repuls- 
 ing the first attack of the royal army with success. Next 
 day, however, Wills was reinforced by Carpenter, and the 
 town was invested on all sides. In this deplorable situation, 
 to which they were reduced by their own rashness, Forstei 
 hoped to capitulate with the general, and accordingly senl 
 colonel Oxburgh, who had been taken prisoner, with a 
 trumpeter, to propose a capitulation. 6. This, however, 
 Wills refused, alleging that he would not treat with rebels, 
 and that the only favour they had to expect was to be spared 
 from immediate slaughter. These were hard terms, yet no 
 better could be obtained. They accordingly laid down their 
 arms, and were put under a strong guard ; all the noblemen 
 and leaders were secured, and a few of the officers tried for 
 deserting from the royal army, and shot by order of a court- 
 martial. The common men were imprisoned at Chester 
 and Liverpool ; the noblemen and considerable officers were 
 sent to London, and led through the streets, pinioned and 
 bound together, to intimidate their party. 
 
 7. The pretender might, by this time, have been con 
 vinced of the vanity of his expectations, in supposing that 
 the whole country would rise up in his cause. His affairs 
 were actually desperate ; yet, with his usual infatuation, he 
 resolved to hazard his person among his friends in Scotland 
 
GEORGE I. 311 
 
 at a time when such a measure was too late for success. 8 
 Passing 1 , therefore, through France in disguise, and embaik- 
 ing in a small vessel at Dunkirk, he arrived, after a passage 
 of a few days, on the coast of Scotland, with only six gen 
 tlomen in his train. He passed unknown through Aberdeen 
 to Feterosse, where he was met by the earl of Mar, and 
 about thirty noblemen and gentlemen of the first quality. 
 9. There he was solemnly proclaimed. His declaration, 
 dated at Commercy, was printed and dispersed. He went 
 from thence to Dundee, where he made a public entry, and 
 in two days more he arrived at Scoon, where he intended to 
 have the ceremony of the coronation performed. He order- 
 ed thanksgivings to be made for his safe arrival ; he enjoined 
 the ministers to pray for him in their churches ; and, with- 
 out the smallest share of power, went through the ceremo- 
 nies of royalty, which threw an air of ridicule on all his 
 conduct. 10. Having thus spent some time in unimportant 
 parade, he resolved to abandon the enterprise with the same 
 levity with which it was undertaken. Having made a speech 
 to his grand council, he informed them of his want of money, 
 arms, and ammunition, for undertaking a campaign, and 
 therefore deplored that he was compelled to leave them. He 
 once more embarked on board a small French ship that lay 
 in the harbour of Montrose, accompanied by several lords, 
 nis adherents, and in five days arrived at Gravelin. 
 
 11. In this manner ended a rebellion, which nothing but 
 imbecility could project, and nothing but rashness could 
 support. But though the enemy was no more, the fury of 
 the victors did not seem in the least to abate with success. 
 The law was now put in force with all its terrors ; and the 
 prisons of London were crowded with those deluded 
 wretches, whom the ministry seemed resolved not to pardon. 
 
 12. The commons, in their address to the crown, declared 
 they would prosecute in the most rigorous manner the authors 
 of the late rebellion. In consequence of which the earls of 
 Derwentwater, Nithisdale, Carnwath, and Wintown, the 
 lords Widrington, Kenmuir, and Nairne, were impeached, 
 and, upon pleading guilty, all but lord Wintown received 
 sentence of death. No entreaties could soften the ministry 
 to spare these unhappy men. The countess of Derwent- 
 water, with her sister and several other ladies of the first dis- 
 tinction, being introduced into the presence of the king, be- 
 sought his clemency for her husband, but without effect. 
 
 13. Orders were despatched for executing the lords Der 
 
312 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 Countess of Derwentwater interceding for her husband. 
 
 wentwater, Nithisdale, and Kenmuir immediately ; the rest 
 were respited to a farther time. Nithisdale, however, had 
 the good fortune to escape in women's clothes, which were 
 brought to him by his mother, the night before he was to 
 have been executed. Derwentwater and Kenmuir were 
 brought to the scaffold on Tower-hill at the time appointed. 
 Both underwent their sentence with calm intrepidity, pitied 
 by all, and seemingly less moved themselves than those who 
 beheld them. 
 
 14. In the beginning of April, commissioners for trying 
 the rebels met in the court of common pleas, when bills 
 were found against Mr. Forster, Mr. Mackitosnh, and twenty 
 of their confederates. 
 
 15. Forster escaped from Newgate, and reached the con 
 tinent in safety ; the rest pleaded not guilty. Pitts, the 
 keeper of Newgate, being suspected of having connived at 
 Forster's escape, was tried for his life, but acquitted. Yet, 
 notwithstanding this, Mackintosli and several other prisoners 
 broke from Newgate, after having mastered the keeper and 
 turnkey, and disarmed the sentinel. 16. The court pro- 
 ceeded to the trial of those that remained : four or five were 
 hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn ; two-and-twenty 
 were executed at Preston and Manchester ; and about a 
 thousand prisoners experienced the king's mercy, if such it 
 might be called, to be transported to North America. 
 
 17. A rupture with Spain, which ensued some time after 
 
GEOKGE I. 313 
 
 served once more to raise the declining expectations of the 
 pretender and his adherents. It was hoped that, by the 
 assistance of cardinal Alberoni, the Spanish minister, a new 
 insuirection might be carried on in England. The duke of 
 Ormond was the person fixed upon to conduct this expedi- 
 tion ; and he obtained from the Spanish court a fleet of ten 
 ships of war and transports, having on board six thousand 
 regular troops, with arms for twelve thousand more. 18 
 But fortune was still as unfavourable as ever. Having set 
 sail, and proceeded as far as Cape Finisterre, he was encoun 
 tered by a violent storm, which disabled his fleet, and frus- 
 trated the expedition. This misfortune, together with the 
 bad success of the Spanish arms in Sicily, and other parts 
 of Europe, induced Philip to wish for peace ; and he at last 
 consented to sign the quadruple alliance. This was at that 
 time thought an immense acquisition, but England, though 
 she procured the ratification, had no share in the advantage 
 of the treaty. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 Of what nature was the insurrection in the western counties ? 
 
 2. In what manner was the university of Oxford treated ? 
 
 3. By whom was the pretender first proclaimed ? 
 
 4. Relate the manner in which they were opposed. 
 
 5. 6. What was the result of the siege of Preston ? 
 
 8, 9. What was the next proceeding of the pretender ? 
 
 10. What was his conduct on abandoning this enterprise ? 
 
 11. What was the conduct of the victors ? 
 
 12. What was the declaration of the commons ? and what was the eonao 
 quence ? 
 
 13. What orders were now despatched ? 
 
 14 — 16. Relate the particulars which regarded the other rebels. 
 
 17. What rupture raised the declining hopes of the pretender 1 
 
 18. What was the result ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 The South Sea bubble now appears. 
 
 Which caused some smiles, some countless tears. 
 
 And set half Europe by the ears. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1721.) It was about this time that one John 
 Law, a Scotchman, had cheated France by erecting a com- 
 pany under the name of the Mississippi, which promised 
 that deluded people great wealth, but which ended in involv- 
 ing the French nation in great distress. It was now that 
 the people of England were deceived by a project entirely 
 similar, which is remembered by the name of the South 
 
 2D 
 
314 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Sea Scheme, and which was felt long after hy thousands 
 2. To explain this as concisely as possible, it is to be ob 
 served, that ever since the revolution under king William, 
 the government, not having had sufficient supplies granted 
 by parliament, or what was granted requiring time to be. 
 collected, they were obliged to borrow money from severe.! 
 different companies of merchants, and, among the rest, from 
 that company which traded to the South Sea. The South 
 Sea company having made up their debt to the government 
 ten millions, instead of six hundred thousand pounds, which 
 they usually received as interest, were satisfied with five 
 hundred thousand pounds.* 
 
 3. It was in this situation of things that one Blount, who 
 had been bred a scrivener, and was possessed of all the 
 cunning and plausibility requisite for such an undertaking, 
 proposed to the ministry, in the name of the South Sea 
 company, to buy up all the debts of the different companies 
 of merchants, and thus to become the sole creditor of the 
 state. 4. The terms he offered to government were ex- 
 tremely advantageous. The South Sea company was to 
 redeem the debts of the nation out of the hands of the 
 private proprietors, who were creditors to the government, 
 upon whatever terms they could agree on ; and for the 
 interest of this money, which they had thus redeemed, and 
 taken into their own hands, they would be contentei to be 
 allowed by government, for six years, five per cent. ; then 
 the interest should be reduced to four per cent. ; and should 
 at any time be redeemable by parliament. 5. Eut now 
 came the part of the scheme big with fraud and ruin. As 
 the directors of the South Sea company could not of them- 
 selves be supposed to possess money sufficient to buy up the 
 debts of the nation, they were empowered to raise it by 
 opening a subscription to a scheme for trading to the South 
 Seas, from which commerce immense ideal advantages were 
 promised by the cunning directors, and still greater expected 
 by the rapacious credulity of the people. All persons 
 therefore, who were creditors to the government, were 
 invited to come in, and exchange their stocks for that of the 
 South Sea company. 
 
 6. The directors' books were no sooner opened for the 
 fijst subscription, than crowds came to make the exchange 
 of their stock for South Sea stock. The delusion was art- 
 fully continued and spread. Subscriptions in a very few 
 days sold for double the price they had been bought at. 
 
GEORGE I. 315 
 
 The scheme succeeded even beyond the projectors' hopes, 
 and the whole nation was infected with a spirit of avaricious 
 enterprise. The infatuation prevailed ; the stock increased 
 to a surprising degree, and to nearly ten times the value of 
 what it was subscribed for. 
 
 7. After a few months, however, the people awoke from 
 their dreams of riches, and found that all the advantages 
 they expected were merely imaginary, while thousands of 
 families were involved in one common ruin. 
 
 8. The principal delinquents were punished by parlia- 
 ment with a forfeiture of all such possessions and estates as 
 they had acquired during the continuance of this popular 
 phrensy, and some care also was taken to redress the suf- 
 ferers. The discontents occasioned by these public calami- 
 ties once more gave the disaffected party hopes of succeed- 
 ing. But in all their councils they were weak, divided, and 
 wavering. 
 
 9 The first person that was seized upon suspicion was 
 Francis Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, a prelate long ob- 
 noxious to the present government, and possessed of abilities 
 to render him formidable to any ministry he opposed. His 
 papers were seized, and he himself confined to the Tower. 
 Soon after the duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Orrery, the lord 
 North and Grey, and some others of inferior rank, were ar- 
 rested and imprisoned. Of all these, however, only the 
 bishop, who was banished, and one Mr. Layer, who was 
 hanged at Tyburn, felt the severity of government, the 
 proofs against the rest amounting to no convictive evidence. 
 
 10. The commons about this time finding many abuses 
 had crept into the court of chancery, which either impeded 
 justice or rendered it venal, they resolved to impeach the 
 chancellor, Thomas earl of Macclesfield, at the bar of the 
 house of lords, for high crimes and misdemeanors. 11. 
 This was one of the most laborious and best contested trials 
 in the annals of England. The trial lasted twenty days. 
 The earl proved, that the sums he had received for the sale 
 of places in chancery had been usually received by former 
 lord chancellors ; but reason told that such receipts were 
 contrary to strict justice. Equity, therefore, prevailed 
 above precedent ; the earl was convicted of fraudulent prac- 
 tices, and condemned to a fine of thirty thousand pounds, 
 with imprisonment till the sum should be paid, which was 
 accordingly discharged about six weeks after. 
 
 12. In this manner, the corruption, venality, and avarice 
 
316 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of the times had increased with the riches and luxury of the 
 nation. Commerce introduced fraud, and wealth introduced 
 prodigality. 
 
 It must be owned that the parliament made some new 
 efforts to check the progress of vice and immorality, which 
 now began to be diffused through every rank of life. But 
 they were supported neither by the co-operation of the 
 ministry, nor the voice of the people. 
 
 13. It was now two years since the king had visited his 
 electoral dominions of Hanover. He, therefore, soon after 
 the breaking up of the parliament, prepared for a journey 
 thither. (A. D. 1727.) Having appointed a regency in his 
 absence, he embarked for Holland, and lay upon his land- 
 ing at a little town called Voet. Next day he proceeded 
 on his journey, and in two days more, between ten and 
 eleven at night, arrived at Delden, to all appearance in per- 
 fect health. 14. He supped there very heartily, and conti- 
 nued his progress early the next morning, but between 
 eight and nine ordered his coach to stop. It being per- 
 ceived that one of his hands lay motionless, Monsieur Fa 
 brice, who had formerly been servant to the king of Swe 
 den, and who now attended king George, attempted to 
 quicken the circulation, by chafing it between his hands. 
 15. As this had no effect, the surgeon, who followed on 
 horseback, was called, and he also rubbed it with spirits. 
 Soon after the king's tongue began to swell, and he had just 
 strength enough to bid them hasten to Osnaburgh. Then 
 falling insensibly into Fabrice's arms, he never recovered, 
 but expired about eleven o'clock the next morning, in the 
 sixty-eighth year of his age, and the thirteenth of his reign 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 What was the conduct of the South Sea scheme ? 
 
 2 Explain the nature of it. 
 
 3. What proposition was made to the ministry ? 
 
 4. What were the terms ? 
 
 5 Wlrat part of the scheme was full of fraud and ruin ? 
 
 6. What success attended it? 
 
 3. How were the principal delinquents punished ? 
 
 9 What persons were now seized as obnoxious to government ? 
 
 10. On what charge was the earl of Macclesfield impeached ? 
 
 1 1. Relate thp particulars of his tria' 
 
 12 What wah now the state of the nation? 
 
 Vi About what time did the king prepare to visit his electoral dominions 1 
 
 14. What happened on his progress ihither ? 
 
 lfx In what niannei did the king die? and what was his age? 
 
GEORGE II. 
 
 317 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 
 
 Popei* a.d. 
 
 Clement XI 1700 
 
 Innocent XIII 1721 
 
 Benedict XIII 1724 
 
 Emperor of Germany. 
 Charles VI 1711 
 
 Emperor of the Turks. 
 AchnietHI 1703 
 
 Emperor of Russia. 
 Peter the Great, first 
 emperor 1722 
 
 Empress of Russia. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Catherine 1 1725 
 
 Kings of France. 
 
 Louis XIV .. 1643 
 
 Louis XV 1715 
 
 King of Spain. 
 Philip V 1700 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 JohnV 1707 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 
 A.D 
 
 Frederick IV 1699 
 
 King and Queen of 
 Sweden. 
 
 Charles XII 1697 
 
 Utricia Leonora... 11 JS 
 
 King of Prussia. 
 Frederic II 1713 
 
 Sir William Windham. Sir Robert Wal pole. William Pulteney. Francis 
 biahop Atterbury. John, lord Hervey. John Perceval, earl of Egmont, 
 inc. &e. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 GEORGE II. 
 
 Born 1G83. 
 
 Died October 25, 1760. 
 33| 
 
 Began to reign June 11, 1T27 
 years. 
 
 Reigned 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The royal sire to realms of bliss removed, 
 
 (Like the famed phoenix) from his pyre shall spring 
 
 Successive Georges, gracious and beloved, 
 And good aud glorious as the parent king. — Cunningham. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1727.) Upon the death of George the First, his 
 son George the Second came to the crown ; a man of infe- 
 rior abilities to the late king, and strongly biased with a 
 partiality to his dominions on the continent. The chief 
 person, and he who shortly after engrossed the greatest 
 share of power under him, was sir Robert Walpole, who 
 had risen from low beginnings, through two successive 
 reigns, into great estimation. 2. He was considered as a 
 martyr to his cause in the reign of queen Anne ; and when 
 the tory party could no longer oppress him, he still pre- 
 served that hatred against them with which he set out. To 
 defend the declining prerogative of the crown might, per- 
 haps, have been the first object of his attention ; but soon 
 after, those very measures by which he pretended to secure 
 it, proved the most effectual means to lessen it. By cor- 
 rupting the house of commons, he increased their riches 
 
 2n2 
 
31 8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 and power ; and they were not averse to voting away those 
 millions which he permitted them so liberally to share. 
 
 3. As such a tendency in him naturally produced opposi 
 tion, he was possessed of a most phlegmatic insensibility to 
 reproach, and a calm dispassionate manner of reasoning 
 upon such topics as he desired should be believed. His 
 discourse was fluent, but without dignity, and his manner 
 convincing, from its apparent want of art. i 
 
 4. The Spaniards were the first nation who showed the 
 futility of the treaties of the former reign to bind, when any 
 advantage was to be produced by infraction. The people 
 of our West India Islands had long carried on an illicit 
 trade with the subjects of Spain upon the continent, but 
 whenever detected, were rigorously punished, and their 
 cargoes confiscated to the crown. 5. In this temerity of 
 adventure, on the one hand, and the vigilance of pursuit 
 and punishment on the other, it must often have happened 
 that the innocent must suffer with the guilty, and many 
 complaints were made, perhaps founded in justice, that the 
 English merchants were plundered by the Spanish king's 
 vessels upon the southern coast of America, as if they had 
 been pirates. 
 
 6. The English ministry, unwilling to credit every report 
 which was inflamed by resentment, or urged by avarice, 
 expected to remedy the evils complained of by their favourite 
 system of treaty, and in the mean time promised the nation 
 redress. At length, however, the complaints became more 
 general, and the merchants remonstrated by petition to the 
 house of commons, who entered into a deliberation on the 
 subject. 7. They examined the evidence of several who 
 had been unjustly seized, and treated with great cruelty. 
 One man, the master of a trading vessel, had been used by 
 the Spaniards in a most shocking manner ; he gave in his 
 evidence with great precision, informed the house of the 
 manner they had plundered and stripped him, of their cut- 
 ting off his ears, and their preparing to put him to death. 
 " I then looked up," said he, " to my God for pardon, and 
 to my country for revenge." 
 
 8. These accounts raised a flame among the people, 
 which it was neither the minister's interest nor perhaps that 
 of the nation to indulge ; new negotiations were set on 
 loot, and new mediators offered their interposition. A treaty 
 was signed at Vienna, between the emperor, the king of 
 Great Britain, and the king of Spain, which settled the 
 
GEORGE II. 310 
 
 peace of Europe upon its former footing, and put off the 
 threatening war for a time. 9. By this treaty the king of 
 England conceived hopes that all war would be at an end. 
 Don Carlos, upon the death of the duke of Parma, was, by 
 the assistance of an English fleet, put in peaceable posses- 
 sion of Parma and Placentia, while six thousand Spaniards 
 were quietly admitted, and quartered in the dutchy of Tus- 
 cany, to secure for him the reversion of that dukedom 
 
 10. An interval of peace succeeded, in which nothing 
 remarkable happened, and scarcely any contest ensued, ex- 
 cept in the British parliament, where the disputes between 
 the court and country party were carried on with unceasing 
 animosity. 
 
 11. (A.D. 1731.) A society of men, in this interested 
 age of seeming benevolence, had united ihemselves into a 
 company, by the name of the Charitable Corporation ; and 
 their professed intention was to lend money at legal interest 
 to the poor, upon small pledges, and to persons of higher 
 rank upon proper security. Their capital was at first limited 
 to thirty thousand pounds, but they afterwards increased it 
 to six hundred thousand. 12. This money was supplied 
 by subscription, and the care of conducting the capital was 
 intrusted in a proper number of directors. This company 
 having continued for more than twenty years, the cashier, 
 George Robinson, member for Mario w, and the warehouse- 
 keeper, John Thompson, disappeared in one day. Five 
 hundred thousand pounds of capital was found to be sunk 
 and embezzled by means which the proprietors could not 
 discover. 13. They, therefore, in a petition, represented 
 to the house the manner in which they had been defrauded, 
 and the distress to which many of the petitioners were re- 
 duced. A secret committee being appointed to examine 
 into this grievance, a most iniquitous scene of fraud was 
 discovered, which had been carried on by Robinson and 
 Thompson, in concert with some of the directors, for em 
 bezzling the capital, and cheating the proprietors. Many 
 persons of rank and quality were concerned in this infamous 
 conspiracy ; and even some of the first characters in the 
 nation did not escape censure. 14. A spirit of avarice and 
 rapacity infected every rank of life about this time : no less 
 than six members of parliament were expelled for the mos( 
 sordid acts of knavery. Sir Robert Sutton, sir Archibald 
 Grant, and George Robinson, for their frauds in the manage- 
 ment of the Charitable Corporation scheme ; Dennis Bond 
 
320 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 and Serjeant Birch, for a fraudulent sale of the late unfortu- 
 nate earl of Derwentwater's large estate ; and, lastly, John 
 Ward, of Hackney, for forgery. 15. Luxury had given 
 birth to prodigality, and that was the parent of the meanest 
 arts of peculation. It was asserted in the house of lords, 
 at that time, that not one shilling of the forfeited estates was 
 ever applied to the service of the public, but became the 
 reward of fraud and venality. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. By whom was George the First succeeded ? 
 
 Who engrossed the greatest share of power under him ? 
 % 3. What measures did Walpole pursue ? what was his character? 
 4, 5. Under what circumstances did the dispute with Spain originate ? 
 6. What was the conduct of the English ministry 1 
 7 Relate the evidence of one who had been treated with great cruelty by 
 
 the Spaniards. 
 8. What for a time prevented the threatening war ? 
 
 10. In the interval of peace did any thing remarkable happen ? 
 
 1 1 . What was the origin of the Charitable Corporation ? 
 
 12. By whom was its capital embezzled ? 
 
 13. What followed the detection of this fraud? 
 
 14. What members of parliament were expelled for the most sordid acts of 
 
 knavery ? 
 
 15. What remarkable assertion was made in the house of lords at this time ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Of Spain dissatisfied once more we tell ; 
 
 On England's triumphs, too, the muse might dwell 
 
 And sing how Vernou foucht and Porto Bello foil.— Dibdi 
 
 1. (A. D. 1732.) A scheme, set on foot by sir Robert 
 Walpole, soon after engrossed the attention of the public, 
 which was to fix a general excise. The minister introduced 
 it into the house, by going into detail of the frauds practised 
 by the factors in London, who were employed by the Ame- 
 rican planters in selling their tobacco. 2. To prevent these 
 frauds, he proposed, that, instead of having the custom levied 
 in the usual manner upon tobacco, all hereafter to be imported 
 should be lodged in warehouses appointed for that purpose 
 by the officers of the crown; that it should from thence be 
 sold, upon paying the duty of fourpence a pound, when the 
 proprietor found a purchaser. 3. This proposal raised a 
 violent ferment, not less within doors than without. It was 
 asserted that it would expose the factors to such hardships, 
 that they would not be able to continue their trade, and that 
 
GEORGE II. 321 
 
 tmch a scheme would not even prevent the frauds complained 
 of. It was added, that a number of additional excisemen 
 and warehouse-keepers would thus be employed, which 
 would at once render the ministry formidable, and the people 
 dependent. 4. Such were the arguments made use of to 
 stir up the citizens to oppose this law : arguments rather 
 specious than solid, since, with all its disadvantages, the tax 
 upon tobacco would thus be more safely and expeditiously 
 collected, and the avenues to numberless frauds would be 
 shut up. The people, however, were raised into such a fer- 
 ment, that the parliament-house was surrounded with mul- 
 titudes, who intimidated the ministry, and compelled them 
 to drop the design. The miscarriage of the bill was cele- 
 brated with public rejoicings in London and Westminster, 
 and the minister was burned in effigy by the populace of 
 London. 
 
 5. Ever since the treaty of Utrecht, the Spaniards in 
 America had insulted and distressed the commerce of Great 
 Britain, and the British merchants had attempted to carry on 
 an illicit trade in their dominions. A right which the Eng- 
 lish merchants claimed by treaty, of cutting logwood in the 
 bay of Campeachy, gave them frequent opportunities of 
 pushing in contraband commodities upon the continent ; so 
 that, to suppress the evil, the Spaniards were resolved to an- 
 nihilate the claim. 6. This liberty of cutting logwood had 
 often been acknowledged, but never clearly ascertained ; in 
 all former treaties it was considered as an object of too little 
 importance to make a separate article in any negotiation. 
 The Spanish vessels appointed for protecting the coast con- 
 tinued their severities upon the English ; many of the sub- 
 jects of Britain were sent to dig in the mines of Potosi, and 
 deprived of all means of conveying their complaints to those 
 who might send them redress. 7. One remonstrance fol- 
 lowed another to the court of Madrid of this violation of 
 treaty ; but the only answers given were promises of inquiry 
 which produced no reformation. Our merchants complained 
 loudly of these outrages, but the ministers vainly expected 
 from negotiations that redress which was only to be obtained 
 by arms. 
 
 8. The fears discovered by the court of Great Britain 
 only served to increase the insolence of the enemy ; and 
 their guard-ships continued to seize not only all the guilty, 
 but the innocent, whom they found sailing along the Spanish 
 main. At last, however, the complaints of the English 
 
322 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 merchants were loud enough to interest the house of com- 
 mons ; their letters and memorials were produced, and their 
 grievances enforced by council at the bar of the house. 9. It 
 was soon found that the money which Spain had agreed to 
 pay to the court of Great Britain was withheld, and no rea- 
 son assigned for the delay. The minister, therefore, to gratify 
 the general ardour, and to atone for his former deficiencies, 
 assured the house that he would put the nation in a condition 
 for war. Soon after, letters of reprisal were granted against 
 the Spaniards ; and this being on both sides considered as 
 an actual commencement of hostilities, both diligently set 
 forward their armaments by sea and land. 10. In this 
 threatening situation, the French minister at the Hague de- 
 clared that his master was obliged by treaty to assist the 
 king of Spain ; so that the alliances, which but twenty years 
 before had taken place, were now quite reversed. At that 
 time France and England were combined against Spain ; at 
 present France and Spain were united against England ; 
 such little hopes can statesmen place upon the firmest trea 
 ties, where there is no superior power to compel the observ- 
 ance. 
 
 11. (A. D. 1739.) A rupture between England and Spain 
 being now become unavoidable, the people, who had long 
 clamoured for war, began to feel uncommon alacrity at its 
 approach ; and the ministry, finding it inevitable, began to 
 be as earnest in preparation. Orders were issued for aug- 
 menting the land forces, and raising a body of marines. 
 War was declared with proper solemnity, and soon after 
 two rich Spanish prizes were taken in the Mediterranean. 
 12. Admiral Vernon, a man of more courage than expe- 
 rience, of more confidence than skill, was sent as comman- 
 der of a fleet into the West Indies, to distress the enemy in 
 that part of the globe. He had asserted in the house of 
 commons, that Porto Bello, a fort and harbour in South 
 America, could be easily destroyed, and that he himself 
 would undertake to reduce it with six ships only. 13. A 
 project which appeared so wild and impossible was ridiculed 
 by the ministry ; but as he still insisted upon the proposal, 
 they complied with his request, hoping that his want of suc- 
 cess might repress the confidence of his party. In this, how- 
 ever, they were disappointed; for with six ships only he 
 attacked arm demolished all the fortifications of the place, 
 and came away victorious with scarcely the loss of a man. 
 This victory was magnified at home in all the strains of 
 
GEORGE II. 323 
 
 panegyric, and the triumph was far superior to the value of 
 the conquest. 
 
 14. While vigorous preparations were making in other 
 departments, a squadron of ships was equipped for distress- 
 ing the enemy in the South Seas, the command of which 
 was given to commodore Anson. This fleet was destined to 
 sail through the Straits of Magellan, and, steering northwards 
 along the coast of Chili and Peru, to co-operate occasionally 
 with admiral Vernon across the isthmus of Darien. The 
 delays and mistakes of the ministry frustrated that part of 
 the scheme, which was originally well laid. 15. When it 
 was too late in the season, the commodore set out with five 
 ships of the line, a frigate, and two smaller ships, with about 
 fourteen hundred men. Having reached the coast of Brazil, 
 he refreshed his men for some time on the island of St 
 Catherine, a spot that enjoys all the fruitfulness and verdure 
 of the luxurious tropical climate. From thence he steered 
 downward into the cold and tempestuous regions of the south ; 
 and in about five months after, meeting a terrible tempest, 
 he doubled Cape Horn. 16. By this time his fleet was dis- 
 persed, and his crew deplorably disabled with the scurvy ; 
 so that with much difficulty he gained the delightful island 
 of Juan Fernandez. There he was joined by one ship, and 
 a vessel of seven guns. From thence advancing northward, 
 he landed on the coast of Chili, and attacked the city of 
 Paita by night. 17. In this bold attempt he made no use 
 of his shipping, nor even disembarked all his men ; a few 
 soldiers, favoured by darkness, sufficed to fill the whole 
 town with terror and confusion. The governor of the gar- 
 rison, and the inhabitants, fled on all sides ; accustomed to 
 be severe, they expected severity. In the mean time a 
 6mall body of the English kept possession of the town for 
 three days, stripping it of treasures and merchandise to a 
 considerable amount, and then setting it on fire. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 What scheme now engrossed the public attention ? 
 
 2 How did the minister propose to effect it? 
 
 3. What were the arguments used in opposition to this measure ? 
 
 4. What was their success ? 
 
 5 From what cause originated the dispute with Spain ? 
 
 6. What was the conduct of the Spaniards ? 
 
 7 What measures were taken by the English merchants ? 
 
 8. What continued to be the conduct of the enemy ? 
 
 9. What induced the minister to gratify the general ardour of the nation ? 
 In what manner did the war commence ? 
 
324 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 10. Under what pretence did France assist Spain ? 
 
 11. What was the feeling of the people at the approach of the war! 
 
 12. What did admiral Vernon assert in the house of commons ? 
 
 13. Relate the success of this expedition. 
 
 14-17. Describe the proceedings of the squadron under commodore Aneou 
 from its sailing to the taking of Paita. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 But what are wreaths in battle won ? 
 
 And what the tribute of amaze 
 
 Which man too oft mistaken pays 
 
 To the vain idol shrine of false renown. — Anon. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1740.) Soon after, this small squadron advanced 
 as far as Panama, situated on the isthmus of Darien, on the 
 western side of the great American continent. The com- 
 modore now placed all his hopes in taking one of those 
 valuable Spanish ships which trade from the Philippine 
 islands to Mexico. Not above one or two at the most of 
 these immensely rich ships went from one continent to the 
 other in a year ; they were, therefore, very large, in order 
 to carry a sufficiency of treasure, and proportionably strong 
 to defend it. 2. In hopes of meeting with one of these, the 
 commodore, with his little fleet, traversed the Pacific Ocean ; 
 but the scurvy once more visiting his crew, several of his 
 men died, and almost all were disabled. In this exigence, 
 having brought all his men into one vessel, and set fire to 
 another, he steered for the island of Tinian, which lies 
 about halfway between the new world and the old. 3, In 
 this charming abode he continued for some time, till his 
 men recovered their health, and his ship was refitted for 
 sailing. 
 
 Thus refitted, he set forward for China, where he laid in 
 proper stores for once more traversing back that immense 
 ocean, in which he had before suffered such incredible dif 
 ficulties. 4. Having accordingly taken some Dutch and 
 Indian sailors on board, he again steered towards America, 
 and at length, after various toils, discovered the Spanish gal- 
 leon he had so long and ardently expected. This vessel 
 was built as well for the purpose of war as for merchandise. 
 It mounted sixty guns and five hundred men, while the 
 crew of the commodore did not amount to half that number. 
 5. However, the victory was on the side of the English, 
 and they returned home with their prize, which was esti- 
 mated at three hundred and thirteen thousand pounds ster- 
 ling, while the different captures thpt had been made before 
 amounted to as much more. Thus, after a voyage of three 
 
GEORGE II 325 
 
 years, conducted with astonishing perseverance and intre- 
 pidity, the public sustained the loss of a noble fleet, but a 
 few individuals became possessed of immense riches. 
 
 6. In the mean time the English conducted other opera- 
 tions against the enemy with amazing activity. When 
 Anson set out, it was with a design of acting a subordinate 
 part to a formidable armament designed for the coast of New 
 Spain, consisting of twenty-nine ships of the line* and almost 
 an equal number of frigates, furnished with all kinds of 
 warlike stores, nearly fifteen thousand seamen, and as 
 many land-forces. Never was a fleet more completely 
 equipped, nor never had the nation more sanguine hopes of 
 success. Lord Cathcart was appointed to command the 
 land-forces; but he dying on the passage, the command 
 devolved upon general Wentworth, whose abilities were 
 supposed to be unequal to the trust reposed in him. 
 
 7. When the forces were landed at Carthagena, they 
 erected a battery, with which they made a breach in the 
 principal fort, while Vernon, who commanded the fleet, 
 sent a number of ships into the harbour to divide the fire of 
 the enemy, and to co-operate with the army on shore. 8. 
 The breach being deemed practicable, a body of troops 
 were commanded to storm ; but the Spaniards deserted the 
 forts, which, if possessed of courage, they might have de- 
 fended with success. The troops, upon gaining this advan- 
 tage, were advanced a good deal nearer the city ; but there 
 they met a much greater opposition than they had expected. 
 
 9. It was found, or at least asserted, that the fleet could not 
 lie near enough to batter the town, and that nothing re 
 mained but to attempt one of the forts by scaling. The 
 leaders of the fleet and the army began mutually to accuse 
 each other, each asserting the probability of what the other 
 denied. At length, Wentworth, stimulated by the admiral's 
 reproach, resolved to try the dangerous experiment, and 
 ordered that fort St. Lazare should be attempted by scalade. 
 
 10. Nothing could be more unfortunate than this undertak- 
 ing ; the forces marching up to the attack, the guides were 
 slain, and they mistook their way. Instead of attempting 
 the weakest part of the fort, they advanced to where it 
 was the strongest, and where they were exposed to the fire 
 of the town. Colonel Grant, who commanded the grena- 
 diers, was killed in the beginning. 11. Soon after it was 
 found that their scaling ladders were too short ; the officers 
 were perplexed for want of orders, and the troops stood ex- 
 
 2E 
 
326 HISTORY OF ENGLANP. 
 
 posed to the whole fire of the enemy, without knowing how 
 to proceed. After bearing a dreadful fire for some hours 
 with great intrepidity, they at length retreated, leaving six 
 hundred men dead on the spot. 12. The terrors of the 
 climate soon began to be more dreadful than those of war 
 the rainy season came on with such violence, that it was 
 impossible for the troops to continue encamped ; and the 
 mortality of the season now began to attack them in all its 
 frightful varieties. To these calamities, sufficient to quell 
 any enterprise, was added the dissension between the land 
 and sea commanders, who blamed each other for every 
 failure, and became frantic with mutual recrimination. They 
 only, therefore, at last, could be brought to agree in one 
 mortifying measure, which was to re-embark the troops, 
 and withdraw them as quickly as possible from this scene of 
 slaughter and contagion. 
 
 13. This fatal miscarriage, which tarnished the British 
 glory, was no sooner known in England, than the kingdom 
 was filled with murmurs and discontent. The loudest burst 
 of indignation was directed at the minister ; and they who 
 once praised him for success he did not merit, condemned 
 him now for a failure of which he was guiltless. 
 
 14. (A. D. 1741.) The minister, finding the indignation 
 of the house of commons turned against him, tried every art 
 to break that confederacy, which he knew he had not 
 strength to oppose. The resentment of the people had been 
 raised against him to an extravagant height ; and their lead- 
 ers taught them to expect very signal justice on their sup- 
 posed oppressor. At length, finding his post untenable, he 
 declared he would never sit more in that house ; the next 
 day the king adjourned both houses of parliament for a few 
 days, and in the interim sir Robert Walpole was created earl 
 of Orford, and resigned all his employments. 
 
 15. But the pleasure of his defeat was but of short dura- 
 tion ; it soon appeared that those who declared most loudly 
 for the liberty of the people, had adopted new measures 
 with their new employments. The new converts were 
 branded as betrayers of the interests of their country ; but 
 particularly the resentment of the people fell upon Pulteney 
 earl of Bath, who had long declaimed against that very 
 conduct he now seemed earnest to pursue. 16. He had 
 been the idol of the people, and considered as one of the 
 most illustrious champions that had ever defended the cause 
 of freedom ; but allured, perhaps, with the hope of go- 
 
GEORGE II. 327 
 
 rerning in Walpole's place, he was contented to give up his 
 popularity for ambition. The king, however, treated him 
 with that neglect which he merited ; he was laid aside for 
 life, and continued a wretched survivor of all his former 
 importance. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 — 4. Relate briefly the further proceedings of the squadron under commo 
 dore Anson till the capture of the rich Spanish galleon. 
 
 5. What was the result of this enterprise ? 
 
 6. What other operations were undertaken ? 
 
 7 — 9. Describe the particulars of the siege of Carthagena. 
 i'J, 11. What causes rendered it unsuccessful ? 
 
 12. What was then the situation of the English troops? 
 
 13. What was the consequence of this miscarriage ? 
 
 14. What was the minister's conduct? 
 
 15. Did the conduct of his successors render them favourites of the people ? 
 On whom particularly did the public resentment fall ? 
 
 16. In what light had Pulteney formerly been considered by the people ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 By turns each army cams ihe vantage eround, 
 
 The cannons roar, and carnage spreads around. — Duncan. 
 
 2. (A. D. 1740.) The emperor dying in the year 1740, 
 the French began to think this a favourable opportunity for 
 exerting their ambition once more. Regardless of treaties, 
 particularly that called the Pragmatic sanction, by which 
 the reversion of all the late emperor's dominions was set- 
 tled upon his daughter, they caused the elector of Bavaria 
 to be crowned emperor. Thus the queen of Hungary, 
 daughter to Charles the Sixth, descended from an illustrious 
 line of emperors, saw herself stripped of her inheritance, 
 and left for a whole year deserted by all Europe, and without 
 any hopes of succour. 2. She had scarcely closed her 
 father's eyes, when she lost Silesia, by an irruption of the 
 young king of Prussia, who seized the opportunity of her 
 defenceless state to renew his ancient pretensions to that 
 province, of which it must be owned his ancestors had been 
 unjustly deprived. France, Saxony, and Bavaria attacked 
 the rest, of her dominions ; England was the only ally that 
 seemed willing to espouse her helpless condition. Sardinia 
 and Holland soon after came to her assistance, and last of all 
 Russia acceded to a union in her favour. 
 
 3. It may now be demanded what cause Britain had to 
 intermeddle in those continental schemes. It can only be 
 answered, that the interests of Hanover, and the security 
 
328 HISTOKV OF ENGLAND. 
 
 of that electorate, depended upon nicely balancing the dif- 
 ferent interests of the empire ; and the English ministry 
 were willing to gratify the king. 
 
 4. Accordingly the king sent a body of English forces 
 into the Netherlands, which he had augmented by sixteen 
 thousand Hanoverians, to make a diversion upon the do- 
 minions of France, in the queen of Hungary's favour ; and 
 by the assistance of these the queen of Hungary soon began 
 to turn the scale of victory on her side. 5. The French 
 were driven out of Bohemia. Her general, prince Charles, 
 at the head of a large army, invaded the dominions of Ba- 
 varia. Her rival, the nominal emperor, was obliged to fly 
 before her ; and being abandoned by his allies, and stripped 
 of even his hereditary dominions, retired to Frankfort, where 
 he lived in obscurity. 
 
 6. (A. D. 1743.) The French, in order to prevent the 
 junction of the Austrian and British forces, assembled an 
 army of sixty thousand men on the river Mayne under the 
 command of marshal Noailles, who posted his troops upon 
 the east side of that river. The British forces, to the num- 
 ber of forty thousand, pushed forward on the other side into 
 a country where they found themselves entirely destitute of 
 provisions, the French having cut off all means of their 
 being supplied. 7. The king of England arrived at the 
 camp while his army was in this deplorable situation ; 
 wherefore he resolved to penetrate forward to join twelve 
 thousand Hanoverians and Hessians, who had reached 
 Hanau. With this view he decamped ; but before his army 
 had reached three leagues, he found the enemy had enclosed 
 him on every side, near a village called Dettingen. . 
 
 8. Nothing now presented themselves but the most mor- 
 tifying prospects. If he fought the enemy, it must be at the 
 greatest disadvantage ; if he continued inactive, there was a 
 certainty of being starved ; and a retreat for all was impos 
 sible. The impetuosity of the French troops saved his 
 whole army. They passed a defile, which they should 
 have been contented to guard : and, under the command of 
 the duke of Grammont, their horse charged the English 
 foot with great fury. They were received with intrepidity 
 and resolution ; so that they were obliged to give way, and 
 repass the Mayne with precipitation, with the loss of five 
 thousand men 
 
 9. Meanwhile the French went on with vigour on every 
 side. They projected an invasion of England ; and Charles. 
 
GEORGE II. 329 
 
 the son of the old pretender, departed from Rome, in the 
 disguise of a Spanish courier, for Paris, where he had an 
 audience of the French king. 
 
 J 0. The family had long been the dupes of France ; but 
 it was thought at present there were serious resolutions 
 formed in their favour. The troops destined for the expedi- 
 tion amounted to fifteen thousand men ; preparations were 
 made for embarking them at Dunkirk, and some of the ports 
 nearest to England, under the eye of the young pretender. 
 11. The duke de Roquefeuille, with twenty ships of the 
 line, was to see them safely landed in England ; and the fa- 
 mous count Saxe was to command them when put on shore. 
 But the whole project was disconcerted by the appearance 
 of sir John Norris, who, with a superior fleet, made up to 
 attack them. The French fleet was thus obliged to put 
 back ; a very hard gale of wind damaged their transports 
 beyond redress ; and the French, now frustrated in their 
 scheme of a sudden descent, thought fit openly to declare war. 
 
 12. The French, therefore, entered upon the war with 
 great alacrity. They besieged Fribourg, and in the begin- 
 ning of the succeeding campaign invested the strong city of 
 Tournay. Although the allies were inferior in number, and 
 although commanded by the duke of Cumberland, yet they 
 resolved, if possible, to save the city by hazarding a battle. 
 They accordingly marched against the enemy, and took post 
 in sight of the French, who were encamped on an eminence, 
 the village of St. Antoine on the right, a wood on the left, 
 and the town of Fontenoy before them. 13. This advan- 
 tageous situation did not repress the ardour of the English, 
 who began the attack at two o'clock in the morning, and, 
 pressing forward, bore down all opposition. They were 
 for nearly an hour victorious, and confident of success, while 
 Saxe, a soldier of fortune, who commanded the French army, 
 was at that time sick of the same disorder of which he after- 
 wards died. However, he was carried about to all the posts 
 in a litter, and assured his attendants that, notwithstanding 
 all unfavourable appearances, the day was his own. 14. 
 A column of the English, without any command, but by 
 mere mechanical courage, had advanced upon the enemy's 
 lines, which, opening, formed an avenue on each side to re- 
 ceive them. It was then that the French artillery on the 
 three sides began to play on this forlorn body, which, though 
 they continued for a long time unshaken, were obliged at 
 
 last to retreat. 
 
 2e2 
 
330 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 15. This was one of the most bloody battles that bad 
 been fought in this age ; the allies left on the field nearly 
 twelve thousand men, and the French bought their victory 
 with nearly an equal number of slain. 
 
 This blow, by which Tournay was taken by the French, 
 gave them such a manifest superiority all the rest of the 
 campaign, that they kept the fruits of their victory during 
 the whole continuance of the war. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1„ On the death of the emperor of Austria, what was the conduct of the 
 French ? 
 
 2. Describe the situation of the emperor's daughter. 
 
 3 What cause had Britain to intermeddle in continental schemes ? 
 
 4, 5. With what success was Britain's interference attended ? 
 
 6—8. Relate the circumstances which preceded and attended the baltie of 
 Dettingen. 
 
 9. What other project did the French endeavour to effect ? 
 10, 11. What success attended their measures ? 
 12. What preceded the battle of Fontenoy? 
 13, 14. Relate the particulars of this battle. 
 15. What loss did each side experience ? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Bnt still to darken the dread gloom of war, 
 
 Misguided Smart drew rebellion's sword: 
 
 E'en Derby saw his vaunting banners wave, 
 
 And Scottish chieftains hailed him as their lord.— Valpy. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1745.) But though bad success attended the 
 British arms by land and sea, yet these being distant evils f 
 the English seemed only to complain from honourable mo- 
 tives, and murmured at distresses of which they had but a 
 very remote prospect. A civil war was now going to be 
 kindled in their own dominions, which mixed terrors with 
 their complaints ; and which, while it increased their per- 
 plexities, only cemented their union. 
 
 2. It was at this period that the son of the old pretendei 
 resolved to make an effort for gaining the British crown. 
 Charles Edward, the adventurer in question, had been bred 
 in a luxurious court without partaking of its effeminacy. 
 He was enterprising and ambitious ; but, either from inex- 
 perience or natural inability, utterly unequal to the bold un- 
 dertaking. He was long flattered by the rash, the supersti- 
 tious, and the needy : he was taught to believe that the 
 kingdom was ripe for a revolt, and that it could no longer 
 bear the immense load of taxes with which it was burdened. 
 3. Being now, therefore, furnished with some money, and 
 
GEORGE II. 331 
 
 with still larger promises from France, who fanned his am- 
 bition, he embarked for Scotland on board a small frigate, 
 accompanied by the marquis of Tullibardine, sir Thomas 
 Sheridan, and a few other desperate adventurers. Thus, 
 for the conquest of the whole British empire, he only brought 
 with him seven officers, and arms for two thousand men. 
 
 4. The boldness of this enterprise astonished all Europe, 
 It awakened the fears of the pusillanimous, the ardour of the 
 brave, and the pity of the wise. But by this time the young 
 adventurer was arrived at Perth, where the unnecessary ce- 
 remony was performed of proclaiming his father king of 
 Great Britain. 5. From thence, descending with his forces 
 from the mountains, they seemed to gather as they went for- 
 ward ; and, advancing to Edinburgh, they entered that city 
 without opposition. There again the pageantry of procla- 
 mation was performed ; and there he promised to dissolve 
 the union, which was considered as one of the grievances 
 of the country. However, the castle of that city still held 
 out, and he was unprovided with cannon to besiege it. 
 
 6. In the mean time, sir John Cope, who had pursued 
 the rebels through the Highlands, but had declined meeting 
 them in their descent, being now reinforced by two regi- 
 ments of dragoons, resolved to march towards Edinburgh, 
 and give the enemy battle. The young adventurer, whose 
 forces were rather superior, though undisciplined, attacked 
 him near Preston-pans, about twelve miles from the capital, 
 and in a few minutes put him and his troops to flight. 7. 
 This victory, by which the king lost five hundred men, gave 
 the rebels great influence ; and had the pretender taken ad- 
 vantage of the general consternation, and marched directly 
 for England, the consequence might have been fatal to free- 
 dom. But he was amused by the promise of succours which 
 never came ; and thus induced to remain at Edinburgh, to 
 enjoy the triumphs of an unimportant victory, and to be 
 treated as a monarch. 
 
 8. While the young pretender was thus trifling away his 
 time at Edinburgh (for, in dangerous enterprises delay is but 
 defeat), the ministry of Great Britain took every precaution to 
 oppose him with success. Six thousand Dutch troops, that 
 had come over to the assistance of the crown, were despatch- 
 ed northward, under the command of general Wade. The 
 duke of Cumberland soon after arrived from Flanders, and 
 was followed by another detachment of dragoons and in- 
 fantry, weli disciplined, and inured to action. Besides 
 
332 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 these, volunteers offered in every part of the kingdom , and 
 every county exerted a vigorous spirit of indignation both 
 against the ambition, the religion, and the allies of the young 
 pretender. 
 
 9. However, he had been bred in a school that taught him 
 maxims very different from those that then prevailed in 
 England. Though he might have brought civil war, and all 
 the calamities attending it with him, into the kingdom, he 
 had been taught that the assertion of his right was a duty 
 incumbent upon him, and the altering the constitution, and 
 perhaps the religion of his country, an object of laudable 
 ambition. 10. Thus animated, he went forward with vi- 
 gour ; and having, upon frequent consultations with his offi- 
 cers, come to a resolution of making an irruption into Eng- 
 land, he entered the country by the western border, and 
 invested Carlisle, which surrendered in less than three days. 
 He there found a considerable quantity of arms, and there 
 too he caused his father to be proclaimed king. 
 
 11. General Wade, being apprized of his progress, ad 
 vanced across the country from the opposite shore ; but re- 
 ceiving intelligence that the enemy was two days' march 
 before him, he retired to his former station. The young 
 pretender, thus unopposed, resolved to penetrate farther into 
 the kingdom, having received assurances from France that 
 a considerable body of troops would be landed on the south- 
 ern coasts, to make a diversion in his favour. 12. He was 
 flattered also with the hopes of being joined by a considera- 
 ble number of malecontents as he passed forward, and that 
 his army would increase on his march. Accordingly, leav- 
 ing a small garrison in Carlisle, which he should rather have 
 left defenceless, he advanced to Penrith, marching on foot 
 in a Highland dress, and continued his irruption till he came 
 to Manchester, where he established his head-quarters. 
 
 13. He was there joined by about two hundred English, 
 who were formed into a regiment, under the command of co- 
 lonel Townley. From thence he pursed his march to Derby, 
 intending to go by the way of Chester into Wales, where 
 he hoped to be joined by a great number of followers ; but 
 the factions among his own chiefs prevented his proceeding 
 to that part of the kingdom. 
 
 15 He was by this time advanced within a hundred 
 miles of the capital, which was filled with perplexity and 
 consternation. Had he proceeded in his career with that 
 expedition which he had hitherto used, he might have made 
 
GEORGE II. 333 
 
 himself master of the metropolis, where he would certainly 
 have been joined by a considerable number of his well- 
 wishers, who waited impatiently for his approach. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the situation of England at ihis time? 
 
 2. By whom was an effort made to gab: ihe English crown? 
 
 3. Under what circumstances was it undertaken ? 
 
 5. What were the first proceedings of die pretender? 
 
 6. With what success did he attack s;r Juhn Cope ? 
 
 7 What were the consequences of this victory ? 
 
 8 What precautions were taken by the English ministry ? 
 What was the conduct of the pretender ? 
 
 11. By whom was an attempt made to oppose him? and what was its re- 
 sult? 
 ' 2 To what places did he next proceed ? 
 
 13. By whom was he joined ? and whither did he next march ? 
 11 What might have been the result had he proceeded with expedition? 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Il!-fafpd you'h ; Culloden's bloody field 
 
 Sunk the vain fabrics of ambiii n low ; 
 
 Pressed with f ilipne, and hunger, long he roamed. 
 
 Mid scenes of danger and mid sights of woe. — ValvV- 
 
 1. (A.D. 1745.) In the mean time the king resolved to 
 take the field in person. Bat he found safety from the 
 discontents which now began to prevail in the pretender's 
 army. In fact, he was but the nominal leader of his forces ] 
 as his generals, the chiefs of the highland clans, were, from 
 their education, ignorant, and averse to subordination. They 
 had from the beginning began to embrace opposite systems 
 of operation, and to contend with each other for pre-emi- 
 nence ; but they seemed now unanimous in returning to 
 their own country once more. 
 
 2. The rebels accordingly effected their retreat to Carlisle 
 without any loss, and from thence crossed the rivers Eden 
 and Solway, into Scotland. In these marches, however, 
 they preserved all the rules of war ; they abstained in a 
 great measure from plunder ; they levied contributions on 
 the towns as they passed along ; and with unaccountable 
 caution left a garrison at Carlisle, which shortly after was 
 obliged to surrender to the duke of Cumberland at discre- 
 tion, to the number of four hundred men. 
 
 3. The pretender being returned to Scotland, he proceed 
 ed to Glasgow, from which city he exacted severe contribu 
 tions. He advanced from thence to Stirling, where he was 
 mined bv lord Lewis Gordon, at the head of some forces, 
 
334 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 which had been assembled in his absence. Other clans, to 
 the number of two thousand, came in likewise ; and from 
 some supplies of money which he received from Spain, and 
 from some skirmishes, in which he was successful againsv 
 the royalists, his affairs began to wear a more promising as- 
 pect. 4. Being joined by lord Drummond, he invested the 
 castle of Stirling, commanded by general Blakeney : but the 
 rebel forces, being unused to sieges, consumed much time to 
 no purpose. It was during this attempt that general Haw- 
 ley, who commanded a considerable body of forces near 
 Edinburgh, undertook to raise the siege, and advanced to- 
 wards the rebel army as far as Falkirk. After two days 
 spent in mutually examining each other's strength, the re- 
 bels being ardent to engage, were led on, in full spirits, to 
 attack the king's army. 5. The pretender, who was in the 
 front line, gave the signal to engage, and the first fire put 
 Hawley's forces into confusion. The horse retreated with 
 precipitation, and fell upon their own infantry ; while the 
 rebels following up the blow, the greatest part of the royal 
 army fled with the utmost precipitation. They retired in 
 confusion to Edinburgh, leaving the conquerors in posses- 
 sion of their tents, their artillery, and the field of battle. 
 
 Thus far the affairs of the rebel army seemed not unpros- 
 perous ; but here was an end of all their triumphs. The 
 duke of Cumberland, at that time the favourite of the Eng- 
 lish army, had been recalled from Flanders, and put him- 
 self at the head of the troops at Edinburgh, which consisted of 
 about fourteen thousand men. 7. With these he advanced 
 to Aberdeen, where he was joined by several of the Scotch 
 nobility, attached to the house of Hanover ; and having 
 revived the drooping spirits of his army, he resolved to find 
 out the enemy, who retreated at his approach. After having 
 refreshed his troops at Aberdeen for some time, he renewed 
 his march, and in twelve days he came up to the banks of 
 the deep and rapid river Spey. This was the place where 
 the rebels might have disputed his passage, but they lost 
 every advantage in disputing with each other. 8. They 
 seemed now totally void of all counsel and subordination, 
 without conduct, and without unanimity. After a variety 
 of contests among each other, they resolved to wait their 
 pursuers upon the plains of Culloden, a place about nine 
 miles distant from Inverness, embosomed in hills, except on 
 that side which was open to the sea. There they drew up 
 in order of battle, to the number of eight thousand men, in 
 
GEORGE II. 335 
 
 ifiree divisions, supplied with some pieces of artillery, ill 
 manned and served. 
 
 9. The battle began about one o'clock, in the afternoon ; 
 the cannon of the king's army did dreadful execution among 
 the rebels, while theirs was totally unserviceable. One of 
 the great errors in all the pretender's warlike measures, was 
 his subjecting wild and undisciplined troops to the forms of 
 artful war, and thus repressing their native ardour, from 
 which alone he could hope for success. 10. After they had 
 kept in their ranks and withstood the English fire for some 
 time, they at length became impatient for closer engagement; 
 and about five hundred of them made an irruption upon the 
 left wing of the enemy with their accustomed ferocity. 
 The first line being disordered by this onset, two battalions 
 advanced to support it, and galled the enemy with a terrible 
 close discharge. 11. At the same time the dragoons, under 
 Hawley, and the Argyleshire militia, pulling down a park 
 wall feebly defended, fell among them, sword in hand, with 
 great slaughter. In less than thirty minutes they were 
 totally routed, and the field covered with their wounded 
 and slain, to the number of three thousand men. The 
 French troops on the left did not fire a shot, but stood inac- 
 tive during the engagement, and afterwards surrendered 
 themselves prisoners of war. 12. An entire body of the 
 clans marched off the field in order, while the rest were 
 routed with great slaughter, and their leaders obliged with 
 reluctance to retire. Civil war is in itself terrible, but much 
 more so when heightened by unnecessary cruelty. How 
 guilty soever an enemy may be, it is the duty of a brave 
 soldier to remember that he is only to fight an opposer, and 
 not a suppliant. 13. The victory was in every respect 
 decisive, and humanity to the conquered would have ren- 
 dered it glorious. But little mercy was shown here ; the 
 conquerors were seen to refuse quarter to the wounded, the 
 unarmed, the defenceless ; some were slain who were only 
 excited by curiosity to become spectators of the combat, 
 and soldiers were seen to anticipate the base employment of 
 the executioner. 14. The duke, immediately after the 
 action, ordered six-and-thirty deserters to be executed. 
 The conquerors spread terror wherever they came ; and, 
 after a short space, the whole country round was one dread- 
 ful scene of plunder, slaughter, and desolation ; justice was 
 forgotten, and vengeance assumed the name. 
 
336 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the situation of the pretender's army ? 
 
 2. To what place did the rebels retreat? 
 
 3. By whom were they joined ? 
 
 4 What success attended them in besieging Stirling castle? 
 
 Who attempted to raise the siege ? 
 5. With what success did the rebels attack the royal army ? 
 t>. What ended their triumphs? 
 
 7. What was the conduct of the duke of Cumberland? 
 b. What was the determination of the rebel army ? 
 What was the amount of their forces ? 
 9 — 12. Relate the particulars and result of the battle of Culloden 
 13. 14. What was the conduct of the conquerors ? 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 The miaiity of mercy is not strained ; 
 
 It droppeth as the senile rain from heaven 
 
 Upon the p'a<"e beneath : it is twice blessed ; 
 
 It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. — Shakspcare. 
 
 I. (A.D. 1746.) In this manner were blasted all the 
 hopes and all the ambition of the young adventurer ; one 
 short hour deprived him of imaginary thrones and sceptres, 
 and reduced him from a nominal king to a distressed, forlorn 
 outcast, shunned by all mankind except those who sought 
 his destruction. To the good and the brave, subsequent 
 distress often atones for former guilt; and while reason 
 would speak for punishment, our hearts plead for mercy. 
 2. Immediately after the engagement, he fled away with v 
 captain of Fitz-james's cavalry, and, when their horses 
 were fatigued, they both alighted, and separately sought 
 for safety. He for some days wandered in this country, 
 naturally wild, but now rendered more formidable by war, 
 a wretched spectator of all those horrors which were the 
 result of his ill-grounded ambition. 
 
 3. There is a striking similitude between his adventures 
 and those of Charles the Second upon his escape from 
 Worcester. He sometimes found refuge in caves and 
 cottages, without attendants, and dependent on the wretched 
 natives, who could pity, but not relieve him. Sometimes 
 he lay in forests, with one or two companions of his dis- 
 tress, continually pursued by the troops of the conqueror, 
 as there was a reward of thirty thousand pounds offered 
 for taking him dead or alive. 4. Sheridan, an Irish adven- 
 turer, was the person who kept most faithfully by him, and 
 inspired him with courage to support such incredible hard 
 ships He had occasion, in the course of his concealments, 
 to trusi his life to the fidelity of above fifty individuals, 
 
 
GEORGE II. 337 
 
 whose veneration for his family prevailed above their ava- 
 -ice. 
 
 5. One day, having walked from morning till night, he 
 ventured to enter a house, the owner of which he well 
 knew was attached to the opposite party. As he entered 
 he addressed the master of the house in the following man- 
 ner : "The son of your king comes to beg a little bread, 
 and a few clothes. I know your present attachment to rny 
 adversaries, but I believe you have sufficient honour not to 
 abuse my confidence, or to take advantage of my distressed 
 situation. Take these rags, that have for some time been 
 my only covering : you may probably restore them to me 
 one day, when I shall be seated on the throne of Great 
 Britain." 6. The master of the house was touched with 
 pity at his distress ; he assisted him as far as he was able, 
 and never divulged the secret. There were few of those, 
 who even wished his destruction, that would choose to be 
 the immediate actors in it, as it would have subjected them 
 to the resentment of a numerous party. 
 
 7. In this manner he continued to wander among the 
 frightful wilds of Glengary for near six months, often 
 hemmed round by his pursuers, but still rescued by some 
 lucky accident from the impending danger. At length a 
 privateer of St. Maloes, hired by his adherents, arrived 
 in Lochnanach, in which he embarked in the most wretched 
 attire. He was clad in a short coat of black frieze, thread- 
 bare, over which was a common Highland plaid, girt round 
 by a belt, from whence were suspended a pistol and a dag- 
 ger. He had not been shifted for many weeks ; his eyes 
 were hollow, his visage wan, and his constitution greatly 
 impaired by famine and fatigue. 8. He was accompanied 
 by Sullivan and Sheridan, two Irish adherents, who had 
 shared all his calamities, together with Cameron of Lochiel, 
 and his brother, and a few other exiles. They set sail for 
 France : and, after having been chased by two English 
 men-of-war, they arrived in safety at a place called Roseau, 
 near Morlaix, in Bretagne. Perhaps he would have found 
 it more difficult to escape, had not the vigilance of his pin 
 suers been relaxed by a report that he was already slain. 
 
 9. In the mean time, while the pretender was thus pur- 
 sued, the scaffolds and the gibbets were preparing for his 
 adherents. Seventeen officers of the rebel army were 
 hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Kennington-common, in 
 the neighbourhood of London. Their constancy in death 
 
 2F 
 
338 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 gained more proselytes to their cause than even perhap 
 their victories would have obtained. Nine were executed 
 in the same manner at Carlisle, and eleven at York. A few 
 obtained pardon, and a considerable number of common 
 men were transported to the plantations in North America. 
 
 10. The earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and the 
 lord Balmerino, were tried by their peers, and found guilty 
 Cromartie was pardoned, and the rest were beheaded 01 
 Tower-hill. 
 
 In this manner victory, defeat, negotiation, treachery, and 
 rebellion, succeeded each other rapidly for some years, till 
 all sides began to think themselves growing more feeble, 
 and gaining no solid advantage. 
 
 11. A negotiation was, therefore, resolved upon; and 
 the contending powers agreed to come to a congress at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, where the earl of Sandford and sir Thomas 
 Robinson assisted as plenipotentiaries from the king of 
 Great Britain. This treaty was begun upon the preliminary 
 condition of restoring all conquests made during the war. 
 12. From thence great hopes were expected of conditions 
 both favourable and honourable to the English ; but the 
 treaty still remains a lasting mark of precipitate counsels 
 and English disgrace. By this it was agreed, that all pri- 
 soners on each side should be mutually restored, and all 
 conquests given up. That the dutchies of Parma, Placentia, 
 and Guastalla, should be ceded to don Philip, heir-apparent 
 to the Spanish throne, and to his heirs ; but in case of his 
 succeeding to the crown of Spain, then these dominions 
 should revert to the house of Austria. 13. It was con- 
 firmed that the fortifications of Dunkirk to the sea should 
 be demolished ; that the English ships annually sent with 
 slaves to the coast of New Spain should have this privilege 
 continued for four years ; that the king of Prussia should 
 be confirmed in the possession of Silesia, which he had 
 lately conquered ; and that the queen of Hungary should 
 be secured in her patrimonial dominions. 14. But one 
 article of this peace was more displeasing and afflictive to 
 the English than all the rest. It was stipulated that the 
 king of Great Britain should, immediately after the ratifica- 
 tion of this treaty, send two persons of rank and distinction 
 to France, as hostages, until restitution should be made of 
 Cape Breton, and all other conquests which England had 
 made during the war. 15. This was a mortifying clause 
 but, to add to the general error of the negotiation, no men 
 
GEORGE II. 339 
 
 lion was made of the searching the vessels of England in 
 the American seas, upon which the war was originally 
 oegun. The limits of their respective possessions in North 
 America were not ascertained ; nor did they receive any 
 equivalent for those forts which they restored to the enemy. 
 .6 The treaty of Utrecht had long been the object of re- 
 proach to those by whom it was made ; but with all its 
 faults, the treaty now concluded was by far more despicable 
 andf erroneous. Yet such was the spirit of the times, that 
 the ireaty of Utrecht was branded with universal contempt, 
 and the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was extolled with the 
 nightst strains of praise. 
 
 17. This treaty, which some asserted would serve for a 
 Dond of permanent amity, was, properly speaking, but a 
 temporary truce ; a cessation from hostilities, which both 
 sides were unable to continue. Though the war between 
 England and France was actually hushed up in Europe, 
 vet in the East and West Indies it still went forward with 
 undiminished vehemence ; both sides still willing to offend, 
 still offending, and yet both complaining of the infraction. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1,2. In what situation was the pretender after the battle of Culloden \ 
 
 3. Whose adventures did his resemble ? 
 
 i. Who was his most faithful attendant ? 
 
 5. In what manner did he address one of his opponents ? 
 
 7. By what means did he escape ? and what was his appearance ? 
 
 8. By whom was he accompanied ? 
 
 9. In what manner were his adherents punished ? 
 
 10. What noblemen were beheaded ? 
 
 11. What led to a negotiation between Great Britain and Spain ? 
 
 12. What hopes were expected from this treaty ? What was the result t 
 
 13. What were its conditions ? 
 
 14. Which article of the peace was very displeasing to the English ? 
 
 15. What was another error in the negotiation? 
 
 16. What opinion was held of this treaty ? 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 In distant climes we wage unequal war, 
 
 And transatlantic broils our com fort mar. — Joins 
 
 I. (A, D. 1750.) A new colony having been formed m 
 North America, in the province of Nova Scotia, it was 
 thought that thither the waste of an exuberant nation might 
 well be drained off; and those bold spirits kept in employ- 
 ment at a distance, who might be dangerous if suffered to 
 continue in idleness at home. Nova Scotia was a place 
 
340 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 where men might be imprisoned, but not maintained ; it was 
 cold, barren, and incapable of successful cultivation. 2 
 The new colony, therefore, was maintained there with some 
 expense to the government in the beginning ; and such as 
 were permitted soon went southward to the milder climates 
 where they were invited by an untenanted and fertile soil 
 Thus did the nation ungratefully send off her hardy veterans 
 to perish on inhospitable shores, and this they were taught 
 to believe would extend their dominions. 
 
 3. However, it was for this barren spot that the English 
 and French revived the war, which soon after spread with 
 such terrible devastation over every part of the globe. The 
 native Indians bordering upon the deserts of Nova Scotia, a 
 fierce and savage people, looked from the first with jealousy 
 upon these new settlers ; and they considered the vicinity 
 of the English as an encroachment upon their native pos- 
 sessions. 4. The French, who were neighbours, in like 
 manner, and who were still impressed with national animo- 
 sity, fomented these suspicions in the natives, and repre- 
 sented the English (and with regard to this colony the 
 representation might be true) as enterprising and severe. 
 Commissaries were, therefore, appointed to meet at Paris, 
 to compromise these disputes ; but these conferences were 
 rendered abortive by the cavillings of men, who could not 
 be supposed to understand the subject in debate. 
 
 5. As this seemed to be the first place where the dissen- 
 sions took their rise for a new war, it may be necessary to 
 be a little more minute. The French had been the first 
 cultivators of Nova Scotia, and by great industry and long 
 perseverance had rendered the soil, naturally barren, some- 
 what fertile, and capable of sustaining nature, with some 
 assistance from Europe. This country, however, had fre- 
 quently changed masters, until at length the English were 
 settled in the possession, and acknowledged as the rightful 
 owners, by the treaty of Utrecht. 6. The possession of 
 this country was reckoned necessary to defend the English 
 colonies to the north, and to preserve their superiority in the 
 fisheries in that part of the world. The French, however, 
 who had been long settled in the back part of the county, 
 resolved to use every method to dispossess the new-comers, 
 and spirited up the Indians to more open hostilities', which 
 were represented to the English ministry for some time 
 without redress. 
 
 7r Soon after this, another source of dispute began to be 
 
GEORGE II. 341 
 
 been in the same part of the world, and promised as much 
 uneasiness as the former. The French, pretending first to 
 have discovered the mouth of the river Mississippi, claimed 
 the whole adjacent country towards New Mexico on the 
 east, and quite to the Apalachian mountains on the west. 8. 
 In order to assert their claims, they found several English, 
 who had settled beyond these mountains from motives of 
 commerce, and also invited by the natural beauties of the 
 country ; they dispossessed them of their new settlements, 
 and built such forts as would command the whole country 
 round about. 
 
 9. Not in America alone, but also in Asia, the seeds of 
 a new war were preparing to be expanded. On the coasts 
 of Malabar, the English and French had, in fact, never 
 ceased from hostilities. 
 
 (A. D. 1756.) The ministry, however, in England now 
 began a very vigorous exertion in defence of their colonies, 
 who refused to defend themselves. Four operations were 
 undertaken in America at the same time. Of these, one 
 was commanded by colonel Monckton, who had orders to 
 drive the French from the encroachments upon the province 
 of Nova Scotia. 10. The second, more to the south, was 
 directed against Crown Point, under the command of gene- 
 ral Johnson. The third, under the conduct of general Shir- 
 ley, was destined to Niagara, to secure the forts on that 
 river ; and the fourth was farther southward still, against 
 fort du Quesne, under general Braddock. 
 
 11. In these expeditions Monckton was successful; 
 Johnson also was victorious, though he failed in taking the 
 fort against which he was sent ; Shirley was thought to 
 have lost the season for operation by delay ; Braddock was 
 vigorous and active, but suffered a defeat. This bold com- 
 mander, who had been recommended to this service by the 
 duke of Cumberland, set forward upon this expedition in 
 June, and left the cultivated parts of the country on the 10th, 
 at the head of two thousand two hundred men, directing his 
 march to that part of the country whence major Washington 
 had retreated the year before. 12. Being at length within 
 ten miles of the French fortress he was appointed to besiege, 
 and marching forward through the forest with full confidence 
 of success, on a sudden his whole army was astonished by 
 a. general discharge of arms, both in front and flank, from 
 an enemy that still remained unseen. It was now too lato 
 to think of retreating ; the troops had passed into the defile 
 
 2 f '2 
 
342 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 which the enemy had artfully permitted them to do before 
 they offered to fire. 13. The vanguard of the English now, 
 therefore, fell back in consternation upon the main body, 
 and the panic soon became general. The officers alone 
 disdained to fly, while Braddock himself still continued to 
 command his brave associates, discovering at once the 
 greatest intrepidity and the greatest imprudence. 14. An 
 enthusiast to the discipline of war, he disdained to fly from 
 the field, or to permit his men to quit their ranks, when 
 their only method of treating the Indian army was by pre- 
 cipitate attack, or an immediate desertion of the field of 
 battle. At length Braddock, having received a musket-shot 
 through the lungs, dropped, and a total confusion ensued. 
 All the artillery, ammunition, and baggage of the army was 
 left to the enemy ; and the loss sustained by the English 
 army might amount to seven hundred men. The remnant 
 of the army in this emergency was saved by the courage and 
 ability of Washington. 
 
 15. The murmurs, fears, and dissensions which this 
 defeat gave rise to, gave the French an opportunity of car- 
 rying on their designs in another quarter. The island of 
 Minorca, which we had taken from the Spaniards in the 
 reign of queen Anne, was secured to England by repeated 
 treaties. But the ministry at this time, being blinded by 
 domestic terrors, had neglected to take sufficient precaution 
 for its defence, so that the garrison was weak, and no way 
 fitted to stand a vigorous siege. 1G. The French, there- 
 fore, landed near the fortification of St. Philip, which was 
 reckoned one of the strongest in Europe, and commanded 
 by general Blakeney, who was brave indeed, but rather 
 superannuated. Tlte siege was carried on with vigour, and 
 for some time as obstinately defended on the side of the 
 English ; but the place was at length obliged to capitulate. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 \ f 2. From what motive was the new colonv in Nova Scotia furnished with 
 inhabitants ? 
 
 3. What was the cause of the renewal of the war? 
 
 4. Where were commissaries appointed to meet to settle these disputes ? 
 What rendered these conferences abortive ? 
 
 5. Who had been the first cultivators of Nova Scotia? 
 
 Who had been acknowledged rightful owners of this country? 
 6 What "method did the French use to dispossess the English ? 
 8 What other conduct of the French contributed to hasten the war 1 
 9, 10. What operations were undertaken by the English ? 
 • '.. What success attended them? 
 
GEORGE II. 343 
 
 J2 13. Relate the particulars of general Braddook's expedition. 
 14. What was the result of it? 
 
 15 16. What other enterprise did the French undertake '< and with what 
 success ? 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 How many traitors to their God and King 
 
 Escape the death which was reserved fur Byng. — Anon. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1757.) The ministry, being apprized of this un- 
 expected attack, resolved to raise the siege if possible, and 
 sent out admiral Byng, with ten ships of war, with orders 
 to relieve Minorca at any rate. Byng accordingly sailed 
 from Gibraltar, where he was refused any assistance of men 
 from the governor of that garrison, under a pretence that his 
 own fortifications were in danger. 2. Upon his approaching 
 the island, he saw the French banners displayed upon the 
 shore, and the English colours still flying on the castle oi 
 St. Philip. He had been ordered to throw a body of troops 
 into the garrison, but this he thought too hazardous an un- 
 dertaking, nor did he even make an attempt. While he 
 was thus deliberating between his fears and his duty, his 
 attention was quickly called off by the appearance of a 
 French fleet, that seemed of nearly equal force to his own. 
 3. Confounded by a variety of measures, he seemed re- 
 solved to pursue none, and, therefore, gave orders to form 
 the line of battle, and act upon the defensive. Byng had 
 been long praised for his skill in naval tactics ; and, per- 
 haps, valuing most those talents for which he was most 
 praised, he sacrificed all claims to courage to the applause 
 for naval discipline. The French fleet advanced, a part of 
 the English fleet engaged ; the admiral still kept aloof, and 
 gave very plausible reasons for not coming into action. The 
 French fleet, therefore, slowly sailed away, and no other 
 opportunity ever offered of coming to a closer engagement 
 
 4. Nothing could exceed the resentment of the nation 
 upon being informed of Byng's conduct. The ministry 
 were not averse to throwing from themselves the blame of 
 those measures which were attended with such indifferent 
 success, and they secretly fanned the flame. 5. The news 
 which soon after arrived of the surrender of the garrison to 
 the French, drove the general ferment almost to frenzy. In 
 the mean time Byng continued at Gibraltar, quite satisfied 
 with his own conduct, and little expecting the dreadful 
 storm that was gathering against him at home. Orders, 
 
344 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 however, were soon sent out for pi.tLng him under an 
 arrest, and for carrying him to England. 6. Upon his 
 arrival he was committed to close custody in Greenwich 
 nospital, and some arts used to inflame the populace against 
 him, who want no incentives to injure and condemn their 
 superiors Several addresses were sent up from different 
 counties, demanding justice on the delinquent, which the 
 ministry were willing to second. 7. He was soon after 
 tried by a court-martial in the harbour of Portsmouth, 
 where, after a trial which continued several days, his judges 
 were agreed that he had not done his utmost during the 
 engagement to destroy the enemy, and therefore they ad- 
 judged him to suffer death by the twelfth article of war. 
 At the same time, however, they recommended him as an 
 object of mercy, as they considered his conduct rather as 
 ihe effect of error than of cowardice. By this sentence they 
 expected to satisfy at once the resentment of the nation, and 
 yet screen themselves from conscious severity. 8. The 
 government was resolved upon showing him no mercy ; the 
 parliament was applied to in his favour ; but they found no 
 circumstance in his conduct that could invalidate the former 
 sentence. Being thus abandoned to his fate, he maintained 
 to the last a degree of fortitude and serenity that no way 
 betrayed any timidity or cowardice. On the day fixed for 
 his execution, which was on board a man-of-war in the 
 harbour of Portsmouth, he advanced from the cabin where 
 he had been imprisoned, upon deck, the place appointed for 
 him to suffer. 9. After delivering a paper, containing the 
 strongest assertions of his innocence, he came forward to 
 the place where he was to kneel iown, and for some time 
 persisted in not covering his face ; but his friends repre- 
 senting that his looks would possibly intimidate the soldiers 
 who were to shoot him, and prevent their taking a proper 
 aim, he had his eyes bound with a handkerchief; and then 
 giving the signal for the soldiers to fire, he was killed in- 
 stantaneously. There appears some severity in Byng's 
 punishment ; but it certainly produced soon after very bene- 
 ficial effects to the nation. 
 
 10. In the progress of the war the forces of the con- 
 tending powers of Europe were now drawn out in the 
 following manner. England opposed France in America, 
 Asia, and on the ocean. France attacked Hanover on the 
 continent of Europe. This country the king of Prussia 
 undertook to protect ; while England promised him troops 
 
GEORGE II. 
 
 345 
 
 Death of Admiral Byng. 
 
 and money to assist in the operations. en again Austria 
 
 had her aims at the dominions of Prussia, and drew the 
 elector of Saxony into the same designs. In these views 
 she was seconded by France and Sweden, and by Russia, 
 who had hopes of acquiring a settlement in the west of 
 Europe. 
 
 11. The east was the quarter in which success first 
 began to dawn upon the British arms. The affairs of the 
 English seemed to gain the ascendency by the conduct of 
 Mr. Clive. This gentleman had at first entered the com- 
 pany's service in a civil capacity ; but finding his talents 
 more adapted to war, he gave up his clerkship, and joined 
 among the troops as a volunteer. His courage, which is 
 all that subordinate officers can at first show, soon became 
 remarkable ; but his conduct, expedition, and military skill 
 soon after became so conspicuous as to raise him to the first 
 rank in the army. 
 
 12. The first advantage that was obtained from his ac- 
 tivity and courage was the clearing the province of Arcot. 
 Soon after the French general was taken prisoner ; and the 
 nabob, whom the English supported, was reinstated in the 
 government of which he had formerly been deprived. 
 
 13. The prince of the greatest power in that country 
 declared war against the English from motives of persona, 
 resentment ; and, levying a numerous army, laid siege to 
 Calcutta, one of the principal British forts in that part of 
 
346 HISTORY OF ENGLAND . 
 
 the world ; but which was not in a state of strength to <ie 
 fend itself against the attack even of barbarians. The fort 
 was taken, having been deserted by the commander ; and 
 the garrison, to the number of a hundred and forty-six per- 
 sons, were made prisoners 
 
 14. They expected the usual treatment of prisoners of 
 war, and were therefore the less vigorous in their defence ; 
 but they soon found what mercy was to be expected from a 
 savage conqueror. They were all crowded together into 
 a narrow prison, called the Black Hole, of about eighteen 
 feet square, and received air only by two small windows to 
 the west, which by no means afforded a sufficient circula- 
 tion. 15. It is terrible to reflect on the situation of these 
 unfortunate men, shut up in this narrow place, in the burning 
 climate of the East, and suffocating each other. Their first 
 efforts, upon perceiving the effects of their horrid confine- 
 ment, were to break open the door of the prison : but, as 
 it opened inwards, they soon found that impossible. They 
 next endeavoured to excite the compassion or the avarice of 
 the guard, by offering him a large sum of money for his 
 assistance in removing them into separate prisons ; but with 
 this he was not able to comply, as the viceroy was asleep, 
 and no person dared to disturb him. 16. They were now, 
 therefore, left to die without hopes of relief; and the whole 
 prison was filled with groans, shrieks, contest, and despair. 
 This turbulence, however, soon after sunk into a calm still 
 more hideous ! their efforts of strength and courage were 
 over, and an expiring languor succeeded. In the morning, 
 when the keepers came to visit the prison, all was horror, 
 silence, and desolation. Of a hundred and forty-six who 
 had entered alive, twenty-three only survived, and of these 
 the greatest part died of putrid fevers upon being set free. 
 
 17. The destruction of this important fortress served to 
 interrupt the prosperous success of the English company ; 
 but the fortune of Mr. Clive, backed by the activity of an 
 English fleet under admiral Watson, still turned the scale 
 in their favour. Among the number of those who felt the 
 power of the English in that part of the world was the 
 famous Tullagee Angria, a piratical prince, who had long 
 infested the Indian ocean, and made the princes on the 
 coast his tributaries. He maintained a large number of 
 galleys, and with these he attacked the largest ships, and 
 almost ever with success. 18. As the company had been 
 greatly harassed by hi3 depredations? they resolved to sub- 
 
 
GEORGE II. 34 7 
 
 due such a dangerous enemy, and attack him in his own 
 fortress. In pursuance of this resolution, admiral Watson 
 and colonel Clive sailed into his harbour of Geriah ; and 
 though they sustained a warm fire as they entered, yet they 
 soon threw all his fleet into flames, and obliged his fort to 
 surrender at discretion. The conquerors found there a large 
 quantity of warlike stores, and effects to a considerable value. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. Who was sent out to the relief of Minorca ? 
 
 2, 3. What was the conduct of admiral Byng ? 
 
 4. What was the consequence ? 
 
 5. What afterwards followed ? 
 
 6. What treatment did Byng experience ? 
 
 7. What was the result of die court-martial ? 
 
 8. 9. Relate the manner of Byng's execution. 
 
 • 0. In what manner were the contending powers opposed to each other? 
 11 In what quarter did success first attend the British arms ? 
 
 From whose conduct ? 
 12, 13. What were the first operations ? 
 14—16. Relate the terrible situation of the prisoners confined in the Black 
 
 Hole at Calcutta. 
 17, 18. What are the particulars of the success which attended colonel Clive 
 
 and admiral Watson ? 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 Pelham nis place and life resigns, 
 
 Clive, erst unheard of in the nation, 
 Saves India, brightest star that shines 
 
 In our commercial constellation. — Dibdin. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1757.) Colonel Clive proceeded to take re 
 venge for the cruelty practised upon the English. About 
 the beginning of December he arrived at Balasore, in the 
 kingdom of Bengal. He met with little opposition either 
 to the fleet or army, till they came before Calcutta, which 
 seemed resolved to stand a regular siege. As soon as the 
 admiral with two ships arrived before the town, he received 
 a furious fire from all the batteries, which he soon returned 
 with still greater execution, and in less than two hours 
 obliged them to abandon their fortifications. By these 
 means the English took possession of the two strongest 
 settlements on the banks of the Ganges ; but that of Geriah 
 they demolished to the ground. 
 
 2. Soon after these successes, Hoogly, a city of great 
 trade, was reduced, with as little difficulty as the former, 
 and all the viceroy of Bengal's storehouses and granaries 
 were destroyed. In order to repair these losses, this barba- 
 rous prince assembled an army of ten thousand horse and 
 
348 HISTORY 0* ENGLAND. 
 
 fifteen thousand foot, and professed a firm resolution ol 
 expelling the English from all their settlements in that pari 
 of the world. 3. Upon the first intelligence of his march, 
 colonel Clive obtained a reinforcement of men from the 
 admiral's ships, and advanced with his little army to attack 
 these numerous forces. He attacked the enemy in three 
 columns, and, though the numbers were so disproportionate, 
 victory soon declared in favour of the English. 
 
 i. The English by these victories having placed a viceroy 
 on the throne (for the Mogul had long lost all power in 
 India), they took care to exact such stipulations in their 
 own favour as would secure them in possession of the 
 country whenever they thought proper to resume their 
 authority. They were gratified in their avarice to its ex- 
 tremes! wish ; and that wealth which they had plundered 
 from slaves in India, they were resolved to employ in mak- 
 ing" slaves at home. 
 
 5. From the conquest of the Indians, colonel Clive turned 
 to the humbling of the French, who had long disputed 
 empire in that part of the world, and soon dispossessed 
 them of all their power, and all their settlements. 
 
 6. In the mean time, while conquest shone upon us from 
 the East, it was still more splendid in the western world. 
 But some alterations in the ministry led to those successes 
 which had been long wished for by the nation, and were at 
 length obtained. The affairs of war had hitherto been 
 directed by a ministry but ill supported by the commons, 
 because not confided in by the people. They seemed timid 
 and wavering, and but feebly held together, rather by their 
 fears than their mutual confidence. 7. When any new 
 measure was proposed which could not receive their appro- 
 bation, or any new member was introduced into government 
 whom they did not appoint, they considered it as an in- 
 fringement on their respective departments, and threw up 
 their places with disgust, with a view to resume them with 
 greater lustre. Thus the strength of the crown was every 
 day declining, while an aristocracy filled up every avenue 
 to the throne, intent only on the emolument, not the duties 
 of office. 
 
 8. This was, at that time, the general opinion of the 
 people, and it was too loud not to reach the throne. The 
 ministry that had hitherto hedged in the throne were at 
 length obliged to admit some men into a share of the govern* 
 aient, whose activity at least would counterbalance their 
 
GEORGE II. 349 
 
 timidity and irresolution. At the head of a newly intro- 
 duced party was the celebrated Mr. William Pitt, from 
 whose vigour the nation formed very great expectations, and 
 they were not deceived. 
 
 9. But though the old ministers were obliged to admit 
 these new members into their society, there was no legal 
 penalty for refusing to co-operate with them ; they, there- 
 fore, associated with each other, and used every art to make 
 theii new assistants obnoxious to the king, upon whom they 
 had been in a manner forced by the people. His former 
 ministry flattered him in all his attachments to his German 
 dominions, while the new had long clamoured against all 
 continental connexions, as utterly incompatible with the 
 interest of the nation. These two opinions, carried to the 
 extreme, might have been erroneous; but the king was 
 naturally led to side with those who favoured Ills own sen- 
 timents, and to reject those who opposed them. 
 
 10. Mr. Pitt, therefore, after being a few months in office, 
 was ordered to resign by his majesty's command ; and his 
 coadjutor, Mr. Legge, was displaced from being chancellor 
 of the exchequer. But this blow to his ambition was but 
 of short continuance ; the whole nation, almost to a man, 
 seemed to rise up in his defence ; and Mr. Pitt and Mr. 
 Legge being restored to their former employments, the one 
 secretary of state, and the other chancellor of the exche- 
 quer, began to act with vigour. 
 
 11. The consequence of the former ill-conducted counsels 
 still seemed to continue in America. The generals sent 
 over to manage the operations of the war loudly accused 
 the timidity and delays of the natives, whose duty it was 
 to unite in their own defence. The natives, on the othei 
 hand, as warmly expostulated against the pride, avarice, 
 and incapacity of those sent over to command them. 12. 
 General Shirley, who had been appointed to the supreme, 
 command there, had been for some time recalled, and re- 
 placed by lord Loudon ; and this nobleman also soon after 
 returning to England, three several commanders were put at 
 the head of separate operations. General Amherst com 
 manded that designed against the island of Cape Breton 
 The other was consigned to general Abercrombie, against 
 Crown Point and Ticonderoga ; and the third, still more to 
 the southward, against Fort du Quesne, commanded by 
 brigadier-general Forbes. 
 
 13. Cape Breton, which had been taken from the French 
 
 2G 
 
350 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 during the preceding war, had been returned at the treaty of 
 Aix-la-Chapelle. It was not till the English had been put 
 in possession of that island that they began to perceive its 
 advantageous situation, and the convenience of its harbour 
 for annoying the British trade with impunity. It was also 
 a convenient port for carrying on their fishery, a branch of 
 commerce of the utmost benefit to that nation. The wrest- 
 ing it, therefore, once more from the hands of the French, 
 was a measure ardently desired by the whole nation. 14. 
 The fortress of Louisbourg, by which it was defended, had 
 been strengthened by the assistance of art, and was still 
 better fortified by the nature of its situation. The garrison 
 also was numerous, the commander vigilant, and every 
 precaution taken to oppose a landing. An account of the 
 operations of the siege can give but little pleasure in abridg- 
 ment ; be it sufficient to say, that the English surmounted 
 every obstacle with great intrepidity. Their former timidity 
 and irresolution seemed to vanish, their natural courage and 
 confidence returned, and the place surrendered by capitula- 
 tion. The fortifications were soon after demolished, and 
 rendered unfit for future protection. 
 
 Questions for Examination., 
 
 1. What further successes attended colonel Clive ? 
 
 2, 3. What victory did he obtain over the viceroy of Bengal ? 
 4- What was the consequence of these victories ? 
 
 5. How did colonel Clive treat the French ? 
 
 6, 7. What was the conduct of the ministry ? 
 
 8. Who was at the head of the newly introduced party ? 
 
 9. What was the conduct of the old ministry ? 
 
 For what reasons was the king favourable to his former ministers ? 
 10. What followed the resignation of the new ministers ? 
 
 12. What generals commanded the American operations? 
 
 13. Why was Cape Breton considered an advantageous situation ? 
 
 14. Relate the particulars of the capture of Louisbourg. 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 His country's glory fired him as he died. 
 
 Her love still sounded in his falt'ring breath ; 
 O bless her arms, the falling conqueror cried, 
 
 Heav'n heard, and victory adorned his death. 
 
 Elegy on the death oj Wolfe. 
 
 1 (A.D. 1758.) The expedition of Fort du Quesne was 
 equally successful, but that against Crown Point was once 
 more defeated. This was now the second time that the 
 English army had attempted to penetrate into those hideous 
 wilds by which nature had secured the French possessions 
 in that part of the world. Braddock fell in the attempt, 
 
GEORGE II. 351 
 
 a martyr to his impetuosity : too much caution was equally 
 injurious to his successor. Abercrombie spent much time 
 in marching to the place of action, and the enemy were 
 thus perfectly prepared to give him a severe reception. 2. 
 As he approached Ticonderoga, he found them deeply in- 
 trenched at the foot of the fort, and still farther secured by 
 fallen trees, with their branches pointing against him. 
 These difficulties the English ardour attempted to surmount: 
 but as the enemy, being secure themselves, took aim at 
 leisure, a terrible carnage of the assailants ensued ; and the 
 general, after repeated efforts, was obliged to order a retreat. 
 3. The English army, however, were still superior, and it 
 was supposed, that when the artillery was arrived, some- 
 thing more successful might be performed ; but the general 
 felt too sensibly the terror of the late defeat to remain in 
 the neighbourhood of the triumphant enemy. He therefore 
 withdrew his troops, and returned to his camp at Lake 
 George, from whence he had taken his departure. 
 
 4. But though, in this respect, the English arms were 
 unsuccessful, yet upon the whole the campaign was greatly 
 in their favour. The taking of Fort du Quesne served to 
 remove from their colonies the terror of the incursions of 
 the Indians, while it interrupted that correspondence which 
 ran along a chain of forts, with which the French had envi- 
 roned the English settlements in America. This, therefore, 
 promised a fortunate campaign the next year, and vigorous 
 measures were taken to ensure success. 
 
 5. Accordingly, on the opening of the following year, the 
 ministry, sensible that a single effort carried on in such an 
 extensive country could never reduce the enemy, were re- 
 solved to attack them in several parts of the empire at once. 
 Preparations were also made, and expeditions driven for- 
 ward against three different parts of North America at the 
 same time. 6. General Amherst, the commander-in-chief, 
 with a body of twelve thousand men, was to attack Crown 
 Point, that had hitherto been the reproach of the English 
 army. General Wolfe was at the opposite quarter to entei 
 the river St. Lawrence, and undertake the siege of Quebec, 
 the capital of the French dominions in America ; while ge- 
 neral Prideaux and sir William Johnson were to attempt a 
 French fort near the cataract of Niagara. 
 
 7. The last-named expedition was the first that succeed- 
 ed. The fort of Niagara was a place of great importance, 
 and served to command all the communication between the 
 
352 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 northern and western French settlements. The siege was 
 begun with vigour, and promised an easy conquest ; but 
 general Prideaux was killed in the trenches by the bursting 
 of a mortar, so that the whole command of the expedition 
 devolved upon general Johnson, who omitted nothing to 
 push forward the vigorous operations of his predecessor, to 
 which also he added his own popularity with the soldiers 
 under him. 8. A body of French troops, who were sensi- 
 ble of the importance of this fort, attempted to relieve it ; 
 but Johnson attacked them with intrepidity and success ; for 
 in less than an hour their whole army was put to the rout 
 The garrison soon after, perceiving the fate of their coun- 
 trymen, surrendered prisoners of war. The success of ge- 
 neral Amherst was less splendid, though not less servicea- 
 ble ; upon arriving at the destined place, he found the forts, 
 both of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, deserted and de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 9. (A.D. 1759.) There now, therefore, remained but one 
 grand and decisive blow to put all North America into the 
 possession of the English ; and this was the taking of Que- 
 bec, the capital of Canada, a city handsomely built, popu- 
 lous and flourishing. Admiral Saunders was appointed to 
 command the naval part of the expedition ; the siege by 
 land was committed to the conduct of general Wolfe, of 
 whom the nation had great expectations. This young sol- 
 dier, who was not thirty-five, had distinguished himself £ii 
 many former occasions, particularly at the siege of Louis- 
 bourg, a part of the success of which was justly ascribed to 
 him, who, without being indebted to family or connexions, 
 had raised himself by merit to his present command. 
 
 10. The war in this part of the world had been hitherto 
 carried on with extreme barbarity, and retaliating murders 
 were continued without any one's knowing who first began. 
 Wolfe, however, disdaining to imitate an example that had 
 been set him even by some of his associate officers, carried 
 on the war with all the spirit of humanity which it admits 
 of. 11. It is not our aim to enter into a minute detail of 
 the siege of this city, which could at best only give amuse - 
 ment to a few ; it will be sufficient to say, that when we 
 consider the situation of a town on the side of a great river, 
 the fortifications with which it was secured, the natural 
 strength of the country, the great number of vessels and 
 floating batteries the enemy had provided for the defence oi 
 the river, the numerous bodies of savages continually hover 
 
GEORGE II. 353 
 
 ing round the English army, we must own there was such a 
 combination of difficulties as might discourage and perplex 
 the most resolute commander. 12. The general himself 
 seemed perfectly sensible of the difficulty of the undertaking 
 After stating, in a letter to the ministry, the dangers that pre- 
 sented, " I know," said he, " that the affairs of Great Britain 
 require the most vigorous measures. But then the courage 
 of a handful of brave men should be exerted only where 
 there is some hope of a favourable event. At present the 
 difficulties are so various, that I am at a loss how to deter- 
 mine." 13. The only prospect of attempting the town with 
 success was by landing a body of troops in the night below 
 the town, who were to clamber up the banks of the river, 
 and take possession of the ground on the back of the city 
 This attempt, however, appeared peculiarly discouraging. 
 The stream was rapid, the shore shelving, the bank above 
 lined with sentinels, the landing-place so narrow as to be 
 easily missed in the dark, and the steepness of the ground 
 such as hardly to be surmounted in the day-time. All these 
 difficulties, however, were surmounted by the conduct of 
 the general, and the bravery of the men. 14. Colonel How, 
 with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the 
 woody precipices with admirable courage and activity, and 
 dislodged a small body of troops that defended a narrow 
 pathway up to the bank ; thus, a few mounting, the general 
 drew the rest up in order as they arrived. Monsieur de 
 Montcalm, the French commander, was no sooner apprized 
 that the English had gained these heights, which he had 
 confidently deemed inaccessible, than he resolved to hazard 
 a battle, and a spirited encounter quickly began. This was 
 one of the most furious engagements during the war. 15. 
 The French general was slain ; the second in command 
 shared the same fate. General Wolfe was standing on the 
 right, where the attack was most warm ; as he stood con- 
 spicuous in the front line, he had been aimed at by the ene- 
 my's marksmen, and received a shot in the wrist, which, 
 however, did not oblige him to quit the field. Having 
 wrapped a handkerchief round his hand, he continued giving 
 orders without the least emotion, and advanced at the head 
 of the grenadiers, with their bayonets fixed : but a second 
 ball, more fatal, pierced his breast ; so that, unable to pro- 
 ceed, he leaned on the shoulder of a soldier that was next 
 him. 16. Now, struggling in the agonies of death, and just 
 expiiing, he heard a voice cry, " They run !" Upon which 
 
 2g2 
 
354 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 Death of General Wolfe. 
 
 he seemed for a moment to revive, and asking who ran, was 
 informed the French. Expressing his wonder that they ran 
 so soon, and unable to gaze any longer, he sunk on the sol- 
 dier's breast, and his last words were, " I die happy!" 
 Perhaps the loss of the English that day was greater than 
 the conquest of Canada was advantageous. But it is the 
 lot of mankind only to know true merit on that dreadful oc- 
 casion when they are going to lose it. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the success against Fort du Quesne? 
 
 2. What difficulties had Abercromhie to encounter? 
 
 3. To what place did he withdraw his troops ? 
 
 4. What was the general success of the campaign ? 
 
 5. What vigorous measures were adopted the following year ? 
 
 6. By whom were the different expeditions commanded ? 
 
 7. 8. What are the particulars of the expedition which first succeeded ? 
 9. What was the next decisive blow ? 
 
 To whom was intrusted the command of the expedition against Quebec f 
 
 10. In what manner did Wolfe carry on the war? 
 
 11. What was the situation and strength of Quebec? 
 *2 What was the opinion of the general? 
 
 I3» 14. Relate the particulars and success of the siege. 
 15 In what manner was general Wolfe wounded ? 
 G Relate his heroic conduct in the agonies of death. 
 
GEORGE II. 355 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 Fresh laurels graced the victor's brow 
 
 On Minden'8 gory plains : 
 But what avail those laurels now? — 
 
 Imaginary gains ! — Anon. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1759.) The surrender of Quebec was the con- 
 sequence of this victory ; and with it soon after the total 
 cession of all Canada. The French, indeed, the following 
 season, made a vigorous effort to retake the city ; but by 
 the resolution of governor Murray, and the appearance of 
 an English fleet under the command of lord Colville, they 
 were obliged to abandon the enterprise. 2. The whole 
 province was soon after reduced by the prudence and acti- 
 vity of general Amherst, who obliged the French army to 
 capitulate, and it has since remained annexed to the British 
 empire. To these conquests, about the same time was 
 added the reduction of the island of Gaudaloupe, under 
 commodore Moore and general Hopson ; an acquisition of 
 great importance, but which was restored at the succeeding 
 peace. 
 
 3. These successes in India and America were great, 
 though achieved by no very extensive efforts ; on the con- 
 trary, the efforts of the English made in Europe, and the 
 operations of their great ally, the king of Prussia, were asto- 
 nishing, yet produced no signal advantages. 
 
 4. England was all this time happily retired from the mi 
 series which oppressed the rest of Europe ; yet from hei 
 natural military ardour, she seemed desirous of sharing those 
 dangers of which she was only a spectator. This passion 
 for sharing in a continental war was not less pleasing to the 
 king of England, from his native attachment, than from a 
 desire of revenge upon the plunderers of his country. 5. As 
 soon, therefore, as it was known that prince Ferdinand had 
 put himself at the head of the Hanoverian army, to assist 
 the king of Prussia, his Britannic majesty, in a speech to 
 his parliament, observed that the late successes of his ally in 
 Germany had given a happy turn to his affairs, which it 
 would be necessary to improve. The commons concurred 
 in his sentiments, and liberally granted supplies both for the 
 service of the king of Prussia, and for enabling the army 
 formed in Hanover to act vigorously in conjunction with 
 him. 
 
 6. From sending money over into Germany, the nation 
 began to extend their benefits ; and it was soon considered 
 that men would be a more grateful supply. Mr. Pitt, who 
 
356 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 had at first come into popularity and power by opposing 
 such measures, was now prevailed on to enter into them 
 with even greater ardour than any of his predecessors. 7. 
 The hopes of putting a speedy end to the war by vigorous 
 measures, the connexions with which he was obliged to co 
 operate, and perhaps the pleasure he found in pleasing the 
 king, altogether incited him eagerly to push forward a con- 
 tinental war. However, he only conspired with the general 
 inclinations of the people at this time, who, assured by the 
 noble efforts of their only ally, were unwilling to see him 
 fall a sacrifice to the united ambition of his enemies. 
 
 8. In order to indulge the general inclination of assisting 
 the king of Prussia, the duke of Marlborough was at first 
 sent into Germany, with a small body of British forces to 
 join prince Ferdinand, whose activity against the French 
 began to be crowned with success. After some small suc- 
 cesses gained by the allied army at Crevelt, the duke of 
 Marlborough dying, the command devolved upon lord George 
 Sackville, who was at that time a favourite with the British 
 army. 9. However, a misunderstanding arose between him 
 and the commander-in-chief, which soon had an occasion of 
 being displayed at the battle of Minden, which was fought 
 soon after. The cause of this secret disgust on both sides 
 is not clearly known; it is thought that the extensive genius 
 and the inquisitive spirit of the English general were by no 
 means agreeable to his superior in command, who hoped to 
 reap some pecuniary advantages the other was unwilling to 
 permit. 10. Be this as it will, both armies advancing near 
 the town of Minden, the French began the attack with great 
 vigour, and a general engagement of the infantry ensued. 
 Lord George, at the head of the British and Hanoverian 
 horse, was stationed at some distance on the right of the in- 
 fantry, from which they were divided by a scanty wood that 
 bordered on a heath. The French infantry giving ground, 
 the prince thought that this would be a favourable opportu- 
 nity to pour down the horse among them, and accordingly 
 sent lord George orders to come on. 11. These orders 
 were but ill-observed ; and whether they were unintelligible 
 or contradictory, still remains a point for posterity to debate 
 upon. It is certain that lord George shortly after was re- 
 called, tried by a court-martial, found guilty, and declared 
 incapable of serving in any military command for the future. 
 12. The enemy, however, were repulsed in all their at- 
 tacks with considerable loss, and at length, giving way, were 
 
GEORGE II. 357 
 
 pursued to the very ramparts of Minden. The victory was 
 splendid, but laurels were the only advantage reaped from 
 the field of battle. 
 
 13. After these victories, which were greatly magnified 
 in England, it was supposed that one reinforcement more of 
 British troops would terminate the war in favour of the allies, 
 and a reinforcement was quickly sent. The British army 
 in Germany now, therefore, amounted to above thirty thou- 
 sand men, and the whole nation was flushed with the hopes 
 of immediate conquest. But these hopes soon vanished, in 
 finding victory and defeat successively following each other. 
 The allies were worsted at Corbac, but retrieved their ho- 
 nour at Exdorf. A victory at Warbourgh followed shortly 
 after, and another at Zirenburg ; but then they suffered a 
 defeat at Compen, after which both sides went into winter- 
 quarters. 14. The successes thus on either side might be 
 considered as a compact, by which both engaged to lose 
 much and gain little ; for no advantage whatever followed 
 from victory. The English at length began to open their 
 eyes to their own interest, and found that they were waging 
 unequal war, and loading themselves with taxes, for con- 
 quests that they could neither preserve nor enjoy. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1, 2. What consequence followed this victory? 
 
 4. What passion operated for sharing in a continental war? 
 
 5. What observation did his majesty make to the commons ? and how did 
 
 they concur in his sentiments ? 
 6,7. What was Mr. Pitt's conduct; and what were the general inclinations 
 of the people ? 
 
 8. What English commander was first sent to Germany ? 
 
 9. What caused the misunderstanding which took place between the com 
 
 manders ? 
 10, II. How did lord George Sackville act at the battle of Minden ? 
 
 12. What was the success of it? 
 
 13. What followed these victories? 
 
 t4- In what light might the events of this war be considered ? 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth ere gave, 
 
 Await alike the inevitable hour; 
 The pathB of glory lead but to the grave— Gray. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1759.) It must be confessed, that the efforts of 
 England at this time over every part of the globe, were 
 amazing, and the expense of her operations greater than had 
 ever been disbursed by any nation before. The king of 
 
358 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Prussia received a subsidy ; a large body of her forces com- 
 manded the extensive peninsula of India; another army of 
 twenty thousand men confirmed their conquests in North 
 America ; there were thirty thousand men employed in 
 Germany, and several other bodies dispersed in different 
 garrisons in various parts of the world ; but all these were 
 nothing to the force maintained at sea, which carried com- 
 mand wherever it came, and had totally annihilated the 
 French power on that element. 2. The courage and con- 
 duct of the English admirals had surpassed whatever had 
 been read in history ; neither superior force nor number, 
 nor even the terrors of the tempest, could intimidate them 
 Admiral Hawke gained a complete victory over an equal 
 number of French ships, on the coast of Bretagne, in Qui- 
 beron Bay, in the midst of a tempest, during the darkness 
 of night ; and what a seaman fears more, upon a rocky shore. 
 
 3. Such was the glorious figure the British nation appear- 
 ed in to all the world at this time. But while their arms 
 prospered in every effort tending to the real interests of the 
 nation, an event happened, which for a time obscured the 
 splendour of her victories. On the twenty-fourth of Octo- 
 ber, the king, without having complained of any previous 
 disorder, was found by his domestics expiring in his cham- 
 ber. 4. He had arisen at his usual hour, and observed to 
 his attendants, that, as the weather was fine, he would take 
 a walk in the garden of Kensington, where he then resided. 
 In a few minutes after his return, being left alone, he was 
 heard to fall down upon the floor. The noise of this bring- 
 ing his attendants into the room, they lifted him into bed, 
 where he desired, with a faint voice, that the princess Ame- 
 lia might be sent for : but, before she could reach the apart- 
 ment, he expired. An attempt was made to bleed him, but 
 without effect ; and afterwards the surgeons, upon opening 
 him, discovered that the right ventricle of the heart was 
 ruptured, and that a great quantity of blood was discharged 
 through the aperture. 
 
 5. (Oct. 25, 1760.) George the Second died in the se- 
 venty-seventh year of his age, and thirty-third of his reign, 
 lamented by his subjects, and in the midst of victory. If 
 any monarch was happy in the peculiar mode of his death, 
 and the precise time of its arrival, it was he. 6. The uni- 
 versal enthusiasm for conquest was now beginning to sub- 
 side, and sober reason to take her turn in the administration 
 of affairs. The factions which had been nursing during his 
 
GEORGE II. 359 
 
 long reign had not yet come to maturity ; but threatened, 
 with all their virulence, to afflict his successor. He was 
 himself of no shining abilities ; and while he was permitted 
 to guide and assist his German dominions, he intrusted the 
 care of Great Britain to his ministers at home. However, 
 as we stand too near to be impartial judges of his merits or 
 defects, let us state his character, as delivered by two writ- 
 ers of opposite opinions. 
 
 7. " On whatever side," says his panegyrist, " we look 
 upon his character, we shall find ample matter for just and 
 unsuspected praise. None of his predecessors on the throne 
 of England lived to so great an age, or enjoyed longer feli- 
 city. His subjects were still improving under him in com- 
 merce and arts ; and his own economy set a prudent example 
 to the nation, which, however, they did not follow. He 
 was in temper sudden and violent ; but this, though it influ- 
 enced his conduct, made no change in his behaviour, which 
 was generally guided by reason. 8. He was plain and di- 
 rect in his intentions, true to his word, steady in his favour 
 and protection of his servants, not parting even with his mi- 
 nisters till compelled to it by the violence of faction. In 
 short, through the whole of his life, he appeared rather to 
 live for the cultivation of useful virtues than splendid ones ; 
 and, satisfied with being good, left others their unenvied 
 greatness." 
 
 9. Such is the picture given by his friends, but there 
 are others who reverse the medal. " As to the extent of 
 his understanding, or the splendour of his virtue, we rather 
 wish for opportunities of praise than undertake the task 
 ourselves. His public character was marked with a predi- 
 lection for his native country, and to that he sacrificed all 
 other considerations. 10. He was not only unlearned him- 
 self, but he despised learning in others : and though genius 
 might have flourished in his reign, yet he neither promoted 
 it by his influence nor example. His frugality bordered 
 upon avarice ; and he hoarded not for his subjects, but him- 
 self." Which of these two characters is true, or whether 
 they may not in part be both so, I will not pretend to decide 
 If his favourers are numerous, so are they who oppose him 
 let posteiity, therefore, decide the contest. 
 
360 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What astonishing efforts did Britain make to carry on the war ' 
 
 2. In what manner was the courage of the English admirals shown 7 
 
 3. What important event obscured the lustre of these victories ? 
 
 4. What circumstances preceded the king's death 1 
 What was the cause of his death 1 
 
 5. What was his age, and how long did he reign } 
 
 6. What was the situation of the country at that time 1 
 
 7. 8. What is the character of the king as given by his friends f 
 9, 10. What, as given by his enemies 1 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 Popes* Emperors of the Turks. 
 
 ±. d. 
 
 Benedict XIII 1724 
 
 ClementXII 1738 
 
 Benedict XIV 1740 
 
 Clement XIII 1758 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Charles VI 1711 
 
 Charles VII 1740 
 
 Francis Stephen 1745 
 
 Emperors and Empresses of 
 Russia. 
 
 Peter II 1727 
 
 Anne 1730 
 
 John 1740 
 
 Elizabeth 1741 
 
 King of France. 
 Louis XV 1715 
 
 Kings of Spain. 
 
 Philip V. (restored^ 1724 
 
 Ferdinand VI....'. 1745 
 
 A. I), 
 
 Achmet III 1703 
 
 Mahomet V 1730 
 
 Osman II 1754 
 
 Mustapha III 1757 
 
 Kings of Portugal. 
 
 John V 1707 
 
 Joseph 1750 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 
 Frederick IV 1699 
 
 Christian VI 1730 
 
 Frederick V 1746 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 Frederick 1720 
 
 Adolphus 1750 
 
 Kings of Prussia. 
 
 Frederick II 1713 
 
 Frederick III - 1740 
 
GEORGE III. 361 
 
 EMINENT PERSONS. 
 
 William Pitt, earl of Chatham, Admiral Hawke. General Wolfa. 
 Alexander Pope. James Thomson.* Dr. Young. John, lord Carteret. 
 Philip, earl of Hardwick. Henry Pelham. H. lord Hyde and Corn- 
 bury. Horatio, lord Walpole. George Booth, earl of Warrington. 
 J. Hamilton, earl of Abercorn, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 GEORGE III. 
 
 Born 1738. Died 1820. Began to reign 17G0. Reigned 59 years. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Hail, monarch ! born the pledge of happier days, 
 
 To guard our freedom and our glories raise. 
 
 Given to the world to spread religion's sway, 
 
 And pour o'er many a land the mental day. — Mickle. 
 
 1. (October 25, 1760.) Though the health of George II. 
 had been long declining, his death was totally unexpected, 
 and the ministry, being unprepared for such an event felt 
 not a little embarrassed when they first waited on tneir new 
 sovereign. George III., who succeeded, was the son of 
 Frederick, prince of Wales, and Augusta, princess of Saxe- 
 Gotha. In consequence of the premature death of his 
 
 * The encouragement given to literary exertion during the reign of 
 queen Anne, was altogether withdrawn by her successors. Pope and 
 Swift, indeed, still continued to be patronized by their former friends, 
 but rising merit was entirely neglected. Frederick, prince of Wales, 
 during his brief career, was an ostentatious rather than a generous patron 
 of letters ; but after his death, even the semblance of encouragement was 
 laid aside. The ministry had even the incredible meanness to deprive 
 poor Thompson of a miserable pittance settled on him by Frederick. 
 After enduring great distress, this poet at length obtained a small place, 
 through the interest of lord Lyttleton, but he did not live to enjov its 
 advantages : to the disgrace of the nation and its rulers, he died in diffi- 
 culties and debt. 
 
 2H 
 
3()2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 father, who died without ascending the throne, his education 
 bad devolved upon his mother, by whom he was brought up 
 in the strictest privacy. She had unfortunately quarrelled 
 with the late king, and the prince, though now in his twenty- 
 second year, had been consequently such a stranger to the 
 court of his grandfather, that he was unacquainted even with 
 Jli3 persons of the ministers. 2. His first address to the 
 council was gracious and conciliatory : the only remarkable 
 occurrence that distinguished the opening of the new reign 
 was the elevation of the earl of Bute to the office of privy 
 counsellor. 3. The parliament was assembled in Novem- 
 ber, and the king's first speech gave universal satisfaction 
 to the country. The civil list was fixed at the annual sum 
 of 800,000/. ; and liberal supplies were voted for the main- 
 tenance of the war in which the country was engaged 
 The king, in return for this instance of affection on the part 
 of the people, assented to a bill for further securing the inde- 
 pendence of the judges, by providing that their offices should 
 not be vacated on the demise of the crown. 
 
 4. (A.D. 1761.) The act of settlement prohibiting the 
 sovereigns of Britain from intermarrying with Roman Ca- 
 tholics, his majesty was precluded from seeking a consort in 
 the great families of Europe ; he therefore selected as his 
 bride a daughter of the house of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, a 
 small principality in the north of Germany ; the marriage 
 was celebrated on the 8th of September, and on the 22d oi 
 the same month the ceremony of the coronation was per- 
 formed with great pomp and magnificence. 
 
 5. The war which had been carried on with great spirit 
 and success under the auspices of Mr. Pitt, continued to be 
 supported with unabated vigour ; prince Ferdinand, at the 
 head of the allies, pursued his victorious career in Germany, 
 and Belleisle was captured by a British force under the 
 command of admiral Keppel and general Hodgson. The 
 French court, terrified at these losses, made an abortive at- 
 tempt to obtain peace, but having failed in this, a successful 
 application for assistance was made to the king of Spain, 
 and a secret treaty, called the Family Compact, was made 
 between the two powers. 6. This transaction, though 
 carefully concealed, did not escape the penetration of Mr. 
 Pitt ; he warned his colleagues of the insidious designs of 
 Spain, and urged them to send out a fleet to intercept the 
 Spanish flota, or strike some other decisive blow before the 
 hostile projects of that court were ripe for execution. This 
 
GEORGE III. 3G3 
 
 proposal was very coolly received by the other members of 
 the cabinet ; they were not in possession of all the informa- 
 tion which their colleague had obtained, and they were 
 besides jealous of the influence which Mr. Pitt's superior 
 popularity conferred. The project was finally rejected, and 
 Mr. Pitt immediately resigned. As a mark of gratitude, 
 however, for his eminent public services, a pension of 
 3000/. a year was settled on him for three lives, and his 
 wife was created baroness Chatham. 
 
 7. The retirement of this popular minister was generally 
 attributed to the secret influence of the earl of Bute, who 
 was supposed to have obtained complete ascendency over 
 the mind of his royal master. This suspicion created ge- 
 neral displeasure among the people ; on the lord mayor's 
 day, when his majesty and suite proceeded to dine in the 
 city, the king and queen were received with coldness and 
 silence, the earl of Bute was grossly insulted, but Mr. Pitt 
 was welcomed with the loudest acclamations. 
 
 8. In a few months the wisdom of Mr. Pitt's anticipa 
 tions was fully established ; the hostile designs of Spain 
 could no longer be concealed, and when the British ambas- 
 sador remonstrated, he received nothing but evasive answers, 
 or flat refusals to all his demands. He was in consequence 
 recalled, and in a short time after a declaration of war was 
 published against Spain. 
 
 9. A new parliament being assembled, the consideration 
 of a provision for the queen, in the event of her surviving 
 his majesty, was recommended from the throne. An annu- 
 ity of 100,000/. was settled on her for life, together with 
 the palace of Somerset house (afterwards exchanged for 
 Buckingham house), and the lodge and lands of Richmond 
 park. 
 
 10. (A.D. 1762.) No change of importance had hitherto 
 been made in the cabinet, except the appointment of the 
 earl of Bute to the office of secretary of state ; but a more 
 important alteration had long been meditated, one that in- 
 volved almost a complete revolution in the domestic policy 
 of England. Since the accession of the house of Bruns- 
 wick, the administration of public affairs had been prin- 
 cipally confided to some of the great families, by whose 
 exertions that race of sovereigns had been placed upon the 
 throne. Their power had been considerably strengthened 
 by the suppression of the two rebellions in 1715 and 1745 . 
 and the two former kings, more attached to their German 
 
364 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 dominions than to their British kingdoms, surrendered the 
 government of these countries to their ministers without 
 reluctance. The new sovereign of Britain was entirely 
 free from German predilections ; in the court of his mother 
 he had been taught to dislike the politics of his grandfather, 
 and he had no longer any reason to dread dangers from the 
 change, for the claims of the young pretender had long since 
 sunk into total insignificance. Unfortunately, the earl of 
 Bute, to whom the management of such an important change 
 was confided, did not possess abilities equal to the task. 
 His domestic virtues, his refined taste, and generous liberality 
 had made him deservedly beloved in private life ; but his 
 reserved habits, his coldness of manner, and his total igno- 
 rance of state affairs, made his public career odious to the 
 people, painful to himself, and injurious to the popularity of 
 his sovereign. 
 
 11. It was resolved to get rid of the Pelham family, 
 which had been so long at the head of affairs ; the duke 
 of Newcastle was made so uneasy in his situation, that he 
 resigned his post as first lord of the treasury, and was suc- 
 ceeded by the earl of Bute ; the greater part of the ministers 
 imitated the duke's example ; and even the duke of Devon- 
 shire, whose exertions in behalf of the Hanoverian succes- 
 sion had been rewarded by the place of lord chamberlain, 
 found it necessary to resign his situation. A furious paper- 
 war ensued, and party spirit, which had slept during the 
 triumphant administration of Mr. Pitt, was revived, and 
 raged with unparalleled fury. National prejudices contri- 
 buted to fan the flame ; the earl of Bute was a Scotchman, 
 and the old jealousy between the natives of the northern and 
 southern divisions of the country was made a formidable 
 engine of party hostility. 
 
 12. The war was carried on with equal vigour and suc- 
 cess by the new administration. The French and Spaniards 
 having in vain endeavoured to detach the Portuguese from 
 their alliance with England, sent an army to invade the 
 country : but an English body of auxiliaries was imme- 
 diately despatched to Portugal, and the progress of the in- 
 vaders was soon checked. At first, indeed, the bigoted 
 Portuguese refused to unite cordially with their hereiical 
 allies ; but when count de la Lippe was appointed to the 
 command of their armies, he entered cordially into the views 
 of the English general, and the Spaniards were defeated in 
 two decisive engagements. Spain suffered still more se- 
 
GEORGE III. 365 
 
 verely in other quarters of the globe ; Havannah, with 
 plunder to the amount of three millions sterling, was taken 
 by the earl of Albemarle and admiral Pococke ; the city 
 of Manilla surrendered to general Draper and admiral Corn- 
 ish ; it was ransomed for the stipulated sum of one million, 
 but the Spaniards violated their engagements, and the ran- 
 som was never paid. Two valuable treasure ships, con- 
 taining property to the amount of two millions sterling, 
 were about the same time captured by British cruisers. 
 (August 12, 1762.) While the wagons that conveyed the 
 treasure taken from the Spanish vessels to the Tower were 
 passing in front of the palace, the cannon in the park an 
 nounced the birth of a prince of Wales, and this coincidence 
 not a little increased the public joy at this happy event. 
 
 13. While the arms of England were thus triumphant in 
 various quarters of the globe, the king of Prussia, her prin- 
 cipal, and, indeed, her almost only ally, after a series of 
 brilliant exploits, which have immortalized his name, seemed 
 to have been brought to the very brink of ruin by the junc- 
 tion of the Russians with his inveterate enemies. At the 
 very moment, however, that his destruction seemed certain, 
 he was rescued by one of those sudden revolutions which 
 baffle all human calculation. Elizabeth, empress of Russia, 
 dying, was succeeded by her nephew, Peter III., who was 
 an enthusiastic admirer of the Prussian king ; he not only 
 concluded a peace with Frederick, but even joined his arms 
 to those of that monarch, and began to act hostilely against 
 his former allies. Peter was, however, soon dethroned by 
 his subjects; Catharine II., his consort, then became em- 
 press of Russia ; she withdrew her forces from those of the 
 king of Prussia, and resolved to maintain a strict neutrality. 
 Frederic was not slow in availing himself of these favour- 
 able circumstances, and soon amply retrieved his former 
 losses. 
 
 14. All parties were now seriously anxious for the resto- 
 ration of peace. France was deprived of her colonial pos- 
 sessions, and saw her commerce on the brink of ruin ; Spain 
 had suffered still more severely ; the Austrians and Prus- 
 sians were wearied of campaigns, which left the armies at 
 their close nearly in the same situation they occupied at the 
 commencement ; and England, notwithstanding her triumphs, 
 felt that a continuation of such exertions would soon ex- 
 haust her resources. The seven years' war was terminated 
 by a general peace, bv which England was permitted to re- 
 
 2 ii 2 
 
36(5 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 tain Canada and several other conquests, receiving also from 
 Spain, Florida, in exchange for the Havannah. 15. Though 
 the terms of the peace were very favourable to the interests 
 of the English, yet the nation, intoxicated by success, re- 
 gretted the termination of the war. The articles had been 
 signed several months before the city of London could be 
 prevailed upon to present a tardy and reluctant address of 
 congratulation ; and on the day of its presentation, the lord- 
 mayor (Beckford) refused to attend, and the bells of the 
 different churches rung muffled peals during the procession 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. By whom was George II. succeeded ? 
 
 2. Did any thing remarkable occur at the first meeting of the privy council' 
 
 3. What proceedings took place in parliament ? 
 
 4 To whom did George III. unite himself in marriage ? 
 
 5. Did any circumstances tend to show hostile dispositions in the Spanish 
 
 court ? 
 
 6. Under what circumstances did Mr. Pitt resign his office? 
 
 7. What were the consequences of his resignation ? 
 
 8. Were Mr. Pitt's suspicions of the Spanish court well founded? 
 
 9. What dowry was settled on the queen ? 
 
 10. What great change took place in the administration? 
 
 11. Did any evil consequences result from the change of ministry? 
 
 12. How was the war conducted? what triumphs did the English obtain ? 
 
 13. By what means was the king of Prussia rescued from his difficulties? 
 
 14. Why were all parties anxious to terminate the war? 
 
 15. Was the peace popular in England ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Like smoKe emitted from Vesuvius* top, 
 
 (Dread harbinger of the volcano's powers,) 
 Bo breathe the fires of discontent — nor stop 
 
 Till all around is wrapt in burning showers. — Brown. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1763.) Tranquillity might naturally have 
 been expected at the conclusion of a glorious war, but this 
 was prevented by the domestic dissensions which party 
 spirit produced. The earl of Bute's unpopularity still con- 
 tinued, but his influence was apparently unabated, for not- 
 withstanding the most vigorous efforts of the opposition, he 
 prevailed upon parliament to impose a tax upon cider 
 which, without producing any great revenue, gave infinite. 
 dissatisfaction to the nation. Immediately after this triumph, 
 his lordship, to the great surprise of every one, resigned his 
 post and retired into private life. 2. He was succeeded by 
 Mr. Georo-e Grenville. The press soon teemed with the 
 most virulent libels from the partisans of the several factions 
 (hat divided the country. In these productions the person 
 
GEORGE III. 367 
 
 jf the sovereign was not always spared, until at length the 
 ministry was roused by the appearance of No. 45 of the 
 North Briton, a periodical paper conducted by Mr. Wilkes, 
 the member for Aylesbury, in which it was stated that the 
 king had uttered a deliberate falsehood in his speech to par- 
 liament. This was an offence which could not be passed 
 over, and a general warrant was issued for the arrest of the 
 author, printers, and publishers of that paper. Mr. Wilkes 
 was arrested and sent to the Tower ; several innocent per- 
 sons were taken into custody, and the ministry found that 
 in their eagerness to punish a delinquent, they had unfortu- 
 nately raised a great constitutional question, which must of 
 necessity be decided against them. 
 
 3. The printers taken up under the warrant, brought 
 actions against the messengers by whom they had been 
 arrested, and recovered heavy damages. Mr. Wilkes also 
 having been brought by habeas corpus before the court of 
 common pleas, was liberated, the judges being unanimously 
 of opinion, that privilege of parliament extended to the case 
 of writing a libel. The house of commons gave a different 
 decision. They voted that No. 45 of the North Briton 
 was a false, scandalous, and seditious libel, and that the 
 author of such was not protected by privilege of parliament. 
 Soon after, Mr. Wilkes fought a duel with Mr. Martin, 
 whom he had libelled, and was severely wounded ; he had 
 scarcely recovered from its effects when he thought fit to 
 retire to France. (A. D. 1764.) During his absence, he was 
 expelled the house of commons, and driven to an outlawry 
 in the court of king's bench for not appearing to stand his 
 trial. The only advantage that resulted from this struggle, 
 was the declaration of the illegality of general warrants by 
 a resolution of both houses of parliament. 
 
 4. (A. D. 1765.) The immense expenditure incurred 
 during the late war had involved the country in considerable 
 difficulties, and it was considered only just that the Ame- 
 rican colonies, whose interests had been most regarded in 
 the treaty of peace, should bear their proportion of the 
 public burdens ; accordingly, a bill for imposing stamp 
 duties on all mercantile transactions in the colonies was in- 
 troduced by Mr. Grenvilie, and passed into a law with but 
 (ittle opposition. The Americans had been for some time 
 previously very indignant at the treatment they had received 
 from the mother-country ; their profitable trade with thi, 
 Spanish colonies had been destroyed b\ new fiscal regula 
 
308 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 tions • the Indians had harassed their back settlements, and 
 no royal forces were sent to check the progress of the bar- 
 barians ; when, therefore, news arrived that fc axes were 
 about to be imposed on the colonies by a parliament in 
 which they were not represented, public indignation knew 
 no bounds, and the colonial legislatures sent remonstrances 
 couched in very strong language to the parliament and the 
 throne. 5. The progress of these dissensions was, however, 
 arrested by the downfall of the Grenville administration 
 the minister having omitted the name of the king's mother 
 in the bill for providing a council of regency in case of any 
 emergency, so displeased his majesty, that he was compelled 
 to send in his resignation. A new ministry was formed, 
 principally by the exertions of the duke of Cumberland, at 
 the head of which was placed the marquis of Rockingham, 
 a nobleman conspicuous for his public and private virtues, 
 but not distinguished by super-eminent abilities. 
 
 6. (A. D. 1766.) The chief business of the new ministry 
 was to undo all that their predecessors had done ; the stamp 
 act, which had excited so much dissatisfaction in America, 
 and the cider tax, which was equally unpopular in England, 
 were both repealed, and these judicious measures were fol- 
 lowed by a brief interval of tranquillity.* 
 
 7. (A. D. 1767.) The Rockingham administration was 
 so weakened by the death of the duke of Cumberland, that 
 it was broken up, and a new cabinet formed under the aus- 
 pices of Mr. Pitt, who was created earl of Chatham, and 
 the duke of Grafton was placed at its head, as first lord of 
 the treasury. The attention of government was first directed 
 to the affairs of the East India company, which had been 
 thrown into confusion by the avarice and rapacity of their 
 servants. Lord Clive was sent out to India, with full powers 
 to remedy these evils, and under his administration the com- 
 pany soon recovered its former prosperity, and laid the 
 foundations of future greatness. 8. The unfortunate design 
 of taxing America was again revived ; an act was passed 
 for granting duties on all glass, paper, painters' colours, and 
 tea imported into the British colonies ; which the Americans 
 resisted by petitions, remonstrances, and agreements not to 
 use British manufactures until the obnoxious duties were 
 repealed. An act was also passed enjoining the colonies to 
 provide his majesty's troops with necessaries in their quar- 
 ters ; the colonial house of assembly, in the state of New 
 York, peremptorily refused obedience, and another act was 
 
 * The old Pretender died at Rome in this year, at the age of 7G. 
 
GEORGE III. 3$M 
 
 passed restraining the assembly from making laws una! 
 they had complied with the terms of the former statute. 
 
 9. (A. D. 1768.) The natural date of the parliament 
 having nearly expired, it was dissolved, and writs issued 
 for the election of a new one. Wilkes embraced the op- 
 portunity of returning from exile which a change of minis- 
 try afforded ; he offered himself a candidate for Middlesex, 
 and was elected by an overwhelming majority. He then 
 surrendered himself to the court of king's bench, and pro- 
 cured the reversal of his outlawry ; he was, however, sen- 
 tenced to pay a fine of a thousand pounds, and to be im 
 prisoned for twenty-two months. As he was esteemed a 
 martyr in the cause of liberty, a subscription was opened 
 for paying his fine, supporting him while in prison, and 
 compounding his debts, which amounted to more than 
 twenty thousand pounds. 10. The disturbances in America 
 still continued to increase, and the states of New England 
 were particularly remarkable for their determined hostility 
 to the new duties. Descended from the puritans and re- 
 publicans, who had left England after the restoration of 
 Charles II., and sought in the wilds of America the liberty 
 of conscience denied to them at home, the New Englanders 
 possessed in no ordinary degree the spirit of independence, 
 and the obstinate resolution which had characterized the 
 soldiers of Fairfax and Cromwell. In Boston the commis- 
 sioners of customs were so severely handled, that they were 
 forced to take refuge from the fury of the populace in fort 
 William ; and to preserve the peace of the town, it was 
 deemed necessary to send thither two regiments of foot 
 from Halifax, and as many from Ireland. 
 
 11. The situation of Ireland began also to give the 
 minister considerable uneasiness ; by Poyning's law, passed 
 in the reign of Henry VII., and extended by several sub- 
 sequent statutes, the legislature of that country had been 
 made so completely dependent on the British government, 
 that it was become a mere nullity. An unwise and unjust 
 spirit of commercial jealousy induced the English to abuse 
 the advantages which they had obtained, and several im- 
 politic restrictions were imposed on Irish commerce and 
 manufactures. These measures produced little or no ad- 
 vantage to the English, while they crushed the rising ener 
 gies of the sister kingdom ; but they were obstinately main 
 tained, for the age was not yet sufficiently enlightened to 
 discover that the prosperity of one country was intimately 
 
370 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 connected with that of the other. A strong party had, 
 however, been formed in Ireland to achieve the legislative 
 independence of their country, and they gained no small part 
 of their object, by the passing of the octennial act, which 
 limited the duration of Irish parliaments to eight years, for 
 they had been previously dissolved only on the demise of 
 the crown. 
 
 12. In the East Indies, the English were assailed by an 
 enemy more formidable than any they had hitherto met in 
 that quarter. Hyder Ally, who had raised himself from the 
 rank of a common sepoy to that of a sovereign prince, com- 
 menced hostilities against the company's settlements, and 
 for several years kept them in a state of incessant alarm. 
 
 13. When the new parliament met, the people imagined 
 that Mr. Wilkes would be liberated to take his seat, and 
 therefore assembled in great numbers in St. George's fields, 
 round the king's bench prison, in order to conduct him to 
 the house of commons. The Surry justices took the alarm 
 and read the riot act, but the multitude refusing to disperse, 
 the military were called out, and unfortunately ordered to 
 fire. One man was killed on the spot, and a great number 
 were wounded, several mortally. It happened that a Scotch 
 regiment had been employed in this lamentable affair, a 
 circumstance which not a little increased the public indig- 
 nation. Verdicts of wilful murder against the soldiery 
 were returned by the different inquests, and on the sub- 
 sequent trials several of the soldiers were found guilty of 
 murder. 
 
 14. The government by no means participated in the 
 popular feeling ; not only were pardons granted to those 
 who had been convicted, but the secretary of state, lord 
 Weymouth, sent a letter to the justices thanking them for 
 their spirited conduct. This document was published by Mr. 
 Wilkes, with an indignant commentary, in which he termed 
 the affair " a horrid massacre," and added a virulent invec- 
 tive against the entire conduct of the government. 15. For 
 this publication Mr. Wilkes was expelled the house of com- 
 mons, and with strange inconsistency, the causes assigned 
 for his expulsion included not only his late offence, but the 
 former acts for which he had already atoned by undergoing 
 judicial punishment. This complication of charge afforded 
 just grounds of complaint, and not a little tended to give 
 Wilkes a decided superiority over his opponents. (A. D. 
 1769.) The freeholders unanimously re-elected him, but 
 
GEORGE III. 371 
 
 the house considered the election void, and issued a new 
 writ. The same proceedings were twice repeated ; until at 
 length colonel Luttrell was prevailed upon to offer himself 
 as candidate. Wilkes was once more returned by an im- 
 mense majority, the votes for him being 1143, while those 
 for his opponent amounted only to 269 ; the house of com- 
 mons, notwithstanding, declared that Luttrell was and ought 
 to be the sitting member. 
 
 16. This was considered, with some show of justice, a 
 fatal blow to the liberties of the subject; petitions and re- 
 monstrances of the most daring nature poured in from all 
 parts of the kingdom ; the press teemed with the most 
 virulent attacks on all the constituted authorities, some went 
 so far as to deny the legality of the present parliament, and 
 the obligation of the people to obey its laws. An anonymous 
 writer, named Junius, was particularly distinguished by the 
 fierce severity of his attacks on the ministry, and by the 
 superior brilliancy of his style, which still preserves his 
 celebrated letters from the. oblivion into which party pro- 
 ductions usually fall. Meantime the disputes with the 
 colonists continued to be maintained with unabated zeal ; 
 and the Irish parliament showed such a determination to 
 throw off the yoke, that it was found necessary to elude their 
 demands by a prorogation. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. How was the tranquillity of the country disturbed? 
 
 2. What circumstances took place respecting No. 45 of the North Briton ? 
 
 3. How did the affair terminate ? 
 
 4. What circumstances led to disunion between England and the American 
 
 colonies ? 
 
 5. How was the Grenville ministry overthrown ? 
 
 6. By what means was tranquillity restored ? 
 
 7. What was the first measure of the Grafton administration? 
 
 8. By what act was the discontent of the Americans revived ? 
 
 9. How did Wilkes behave on the change of ministry ? 
 
 10. In what manner did the Americans conduct themselves ? 
 il Was any important change made in the Irish legislature ? 
 
 12. Did any new power appear in the East Indies? 
 
 13. What unfortunate event took place in St. George's fields ? 
 
 14. How was Wilkes involved in a new contest with government ? 
 
 15 What was the decision of the house of commons respecting the Middlesex 
 
 election ? 
 1 3 Did this decision produce any unpleasant results? 
 
372 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 SECTION TIL 
 
 No self-subjecting force of sou! is theirs, 
 
 That public toil as noblest honour bears. — Sterling. 
 
 1. V 'A.D. 1770.) The health of the earl of Chatham had 
 been long in such a state as to prevent him from exerting 
 his energies for the benefit of his country ; he had the 
 mortification to find that his influence was lost in the 
 cabinet, and his popularity forgotten by the nation ; he 
 therefore resigned his office, and his example was imitated 
 by the duke of Grafton. Lord North succeeded the latter 
 as first lord of the treasury, and some trifling changes 
 were made in the inferior departments of government 
 2. Foreign nations seemed to have lost all respect for a 
 country whose councils were subject to such sudden vicis- 
 situdes, and the subjects of the realm were no longer 
 willing to pay that respect to the laws which is necessary 
 to the well-being of a state. The new ministry seemed ill 
 calculated to retrieve the honour of the country ; they per- 
 mitted France to acquire the island of Corsica without ven- 
 turing to interfere, and tamely submitted to an insult offered 
 by Spain to the British flag in the affair of the Falkland 
 islands. The spirit of the nation however forced the 
 ministry to make some exertions in the latter instance, and 
 the matter was finally adjusted by a convention. 
 
 3. (A.D. 1771.) The debates in parliament had been 
 hitherto printed surreptitiously, as their publication was 
 deemed a breach of privilege. The interest felt by the 
 public in the debates on the Middlesex election induced 
 the printers to act more daringly than before, and at length 
 a formal complaint was made in the house, and a messenger 
 was sent into the city to arrest the most notorious of the 
 offenders. One printer having been seized by the mes- 
 senger, sent for a constable, who carried both before the 
 lord mayor Mr. Crosby. That gentleman, with the alder- 
 men Wilkes and Oliver, not only discharged the printer, 
 but threatened to send the messenger to prison unless he 
 found bail to answer for his appearance on a charge of 
 illegal arrest. The house of commons received the news 
 of these proceedings with the most violent indignation ; the 
 lord mayor and Oliver were sent to the Tower, and Wilkes 
 was summoned to appear at the bar of the house. But an 
 unexpected difficulty was soon raised ; Wilkes refused to 
 appear unless permitted to take his place for Middlesex, 
 
 
GEORGE III. 373 
 
 and the house at length compromised its dignity, by ordering 
 him to attend on the 8th of April, and then adjourning to the 
 9th. Since this event no attempt has been made to check 
 the publication of the parliamentary debates, which now 
 constitute the most important, as well as the most interesting, 
 feature in the periodical press. 
 
 4. (A. D. 1772.) The marriage of the king's brothers, 
 the dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester, with subjects of 
 the realm, led to the enactment of the royal marriage act, 
 which prohibited any of the descendants of George II. 
 from marrying before the age of twenty-five without the 
 consent of the king in council. An act was also passed to 
 abrogate the law by which felons, who refused to plead, 
 were pressed to death ; it was enacted that, for the future, 
 those who did not plead should be held guilty of the crimes 
 laid to their charge. 
 
 5. The continent of Europe was the scene of an atrocious 
 act of injustice committed by three crowned heads ; the first 
 dismemberment of Poland was effected by an iniquitous 
 confederacy between the emperor of Germany, the empress 
 of Russia, and the king of Prussia ; they left the unfor- 
 tunate monarch of the country little more than a nominal 
 sovereignty, and even of this he was subsequently deprived 
 by the royal robbers, and the name of Poland blotted from 
 the list of nations. 6. About the same time the king of 
 Sweden, in violation of the most solemn obligations, abro- 
 gated the free constitution of his country, and made himself 
 despotic. 7. In Denmark, on the other hand, the royal 
 power was overthrown by a vile faction, who deprived the 
 king of his authority, murdered his ministers, and drove his 
 queen, Matilda, sister to the king of England, into exile, 
 where grief soon terminated her sufferings. 
 
 8. The planters in the island of St. Vincent had grossly 
 ill-treated the Caribbs, or native inhabitants, who had been 
 allowed to possess their lands in quiet while the colony 
 remained under the dominion of the French. A civil war 
 ensued, and the planters, notwithstanding all their advan- 
 tages, were worsted ; application for assistance against the 
 rebellious savages, as they thought fit to designate men 
 who refused to submit tamely to open robbery, was made 
 to the British parliament ; but the opposition was so strong, 
 that the advocates of the planters were forced to yield, and 
 peace was subsequently restored on equitable conditions. 
 
 9 (A. D. 1773.) Ireland and Scotland were, about this 
 
 21 
 
374 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 time ; drained of a large portion of their peasantry, driven to 
 emigration by the cruel rapacity of the landlords ; the exilea 
 sought an asylum in America, and supplied that country, 
 at the moment it was about to commence its great struggle 
 for independence, with a hardy population, animated by the 
 most bitter feelings of resentment against the country which 
 they had been forced to abandon. 
 
 10. The voyages of discovery undertaken during the 
 early part of this reign were very creditable to the adminis- 
 tration by which they were sent out. Captain Phipps 
 made an ineffectual effort to discover a north-west passage 
 to the East Indies ; Byron, Wallis, Carteret, and Cook suc- 
 cessively navigated the globe, and discovered several new 
 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The last named navigator was 
 killed during his third voyage at Owhyhee, in an unfortu- 
 nate dispute with the natives. 
 
 11. The determination of the Americans to use no 
 articles on which a duty was levied by the British parlia- 
 ment was still obstinately maintained, and the presence of 
 the British troops in Boston kept alive those feelings of ani- 
 mosity which more conciliatory conduct might have extin- 
 guished. In resisting a violent act of aggression, a party 
 of the military were compelled to fire on the populace, of 
 whom three were killed and five dangerously wounded. 
 The townsmen assembled on the following night, and were 
 with much difficulty prevented from proceeding to extremi- 
 ties ; but on the day that the unfortunate victims were in- 
 terred, most of the shops in Boston were closed, the bells of 
 all the churches in the town and neighbourhood rung 
 muffled peals ; and the funerals were escorted by all the 
 citizens, of every rank, in mournful procession. Captain 
 Preston, who had commanded the party, was tried for mur- 
 der, and it is highly creditable to the American character, 
 that his defence was intrusted to Adams and Quincy, the 
 most violent advocates of freedom ; and that a jury com- 
 posed of townsmen acquitted the prisoner without hesitation 
 
 12. These proceedings were naturally considered by the 
 provincial governors as strong evidences of a rebellious 
 spirit, aiid in themselves almost acts of treason ; they con- 
 sequently, in their public and private letters, described them 
 in no measured terms. Mr. Hutchinson, the governor oi 
 Massachusetts, and his lieutenant, Mr. Oliver, had written 
 several letters, in which they severely condemned the 
 American leaders, called for the adoption of the most vigor- 
 
GEORGE III. 375 
 
 ous measures, and even recommended the " taking off" of 
 the most active opponents of government. Of these letters 
 Dr. Franklin obtained possession, and he immediately laid 
 them before the provincial assembly of Massachusetts, 
 The perusal of these documents excited violent indignation ; 
 it was unanimously resolved, " that the tendency of the 
 said letters was to overthrow the constitution of this govern- 
 ment, and to introduce arbitrary power into the province ; 
 and it was further voted, " that a petition should be imme- 
 diately sent to the king, to remove Hutchinson and Oliver 
 for ever from the government of the province." The peti- 
 tion was immediately transmitted, and Franklin came over 
 to England to support it in person before the privy council. 
 
 13. (A.D. 1774.) On the day appointed for hearing the 
 petition, Mr. Wedderburne, the solicitor-general, appeared 
 on behalf of the governor, and assailed Franklin for the 
 treachery of publishing a private correspondence, in one of 
 the most elaborate invectives ever uttered. Less fervid elo 
 quence would have been sufficient to sway the determination 
 of the council ; the petition was declared to be scandalous 
 *nd vexatious, and Franklin was dismissed from the office 
 which he held of postmaster-general of the colonies. 
 
 14. The refusal of the Americans to purchase tea had 
 led to a vast accumulation of that article in the storehouses 
 of the East India company ; in order to afford them some 
 relief, a drawback of the import duty was allowed them on 
 all tea that should be exported ; and the ministry believed 
 that the colonists would gladly pay the small tax of three 
 pence per pound on an article which they could only pro- 
 cure by smuggling, and at an enormous expense. But those 
 who had formed such expectations had sadly miscalculated 
 the spirit and firmness of the Americans ; resolutions were 
 adopted in tke several provinces, declaring that all who aided 
 or abetted in the landing or vending of the expected tea, 
 should be deemed enemies of their country ; and the majo- 
 rity of the consignees, terrified at these proceedings, sent 
 back the cargoes. In Boston, the agents of the company 
 were dependants on the governor, and trusting to t.ie pro- 
 tection of the military, resolved to persevere : but during the 
 night the leading patriots, disguised as Indians, boarded the 
 vessels, and emptied the tea-chests into the water. 
 
 15. The news of this proceeding was received by the 
 British ministry with unmixed pleasure ; they thought that 
 Boston the great focus of American sedition, having been 
 
376 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 guilty of a flagrant delinquency, was now completely at tlieii 
 mercy, and they prepared to visit it with exemplary punish- 
 ment. A bill for shutting- up the port of Boston, and another 
 for annulling the charter of Massachusetts, were passed with 
 little opposition ; and these harsh measures were soon fol- 
 lowed by a third, of a still more dangerous tendency ; it 
 enacted, that "if any person were indicted for murder or 
 any capital offence, committed in the province of Massachu- 
 setts, in aiding the magistracy, such person or persons might 
 be sent by the governor to some other colony or to Great 
 Britain for trial." It was in vain that colonel Barre, and 
 some others, showed that this measure directly tended to 
 sanction military outrage by the hope of impunity ; it passed 
 through both houses with overwhelming majorities, and im- 
 mediately received the royal assent. 
 
 16. Nothing could exceed the burst of indignation with 
 which the first intelligence of these harsh measures was re- 
 ceived in the New England states. They sternly refused 
 to obey laws which deprived them of their natural and 
 chartered rights, and made active preparations to resist their 
 enforcement. All the other colonies, except Georgia, zeal- 
 ously adopted the cause of the people of Massachusetts, and 
 agreed to discontinue their commerce with Great Britain until 
 the obnoxious statutes should be repealed. To give greater 
 effect to their remonstrances, an assembly of delegates from 
 the different states was organized by Franklin and other 
 provincial leaders, which, under the name of a congress 
 met in Philadelphia. The congress promised every assist 
 ance to the New Englanders, and prepared a spirited peti- 
 tion to be laid before his majesty, soliciting a redress of 
 grievances. They also published addresses to the British 
 people, to the Canadians, and to the West Indian colonies 
 vindicating the purity of their motives, and declaring their 
 fixed resolution not to submit to oppression. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1 Were any changes made in the ministry ? 
 
 2 Did any remarkable events occur abroad ? 
 
 3. By what train of events was the right of printing the parliamentary de. 
 
 bates established ? 
 
 4. What remarkable acts of parliament were passed ? 
 
 5. Did any of the European powers combine to ruin Poland 
 G. What revolution took place in Sweden? 
 
 7 Did any thing remarkable occur in Denmark \ 
 8. What were the circumstances of the Carihb war ? 
 
 3 Oc what account did emigration to America increase ? 
 
GEORGE III. 37? 
 
 tO Were any remarkable voyages of discovery undertaken 
 
 11. What military outrage created a great sensation in Boston ? 
 
 12. How was the assembly of Massachusetts placed in open hostility to its 
 
 governor ? 
 
 13. How was the Massachusetts remonstrance treated by the privy council 
 
 14. How did the Americans treat the tea exported from England ? 
 
 15. What vindictive measures were sanctioned by the British parliament i 
 
 16. How did the Americans act in consequence ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 The hostile storms but rage awhile. 
 
 And the tired contest ends ; 
 But ah ! how hard to reconcile 
 
 The ibes who once were friends. — Whitehead. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1775.) An opportunity of retracting their steps 
 ,vas afforded to the British ministers by the presentation of 
 the petition from the congress at Philadelphia ; especially as 
 a new parliament had been summoned in the room of that 
 which had sanctioned the late severe measures of coercion. 
 It was reported that his majesty had received the petition 
 most graciously, and the public consequently indulged in 
 expectations of a reconciliation between the colonies and the 
 mother country. These hopes were destined to be disap- 
 pointed ; the houses of parliament, in their address to the 
 king at the opening of the session, stated that " a rebellion 
 actually existed in the province of Massachusetts," and in 
 the usual style offered to assist in its suppression with their 
 lives and fortunes. A few members, justly anxious to avert 
 the hazards of war, laboured hard to change the determina- 
 tions of the minister ; in particular Mr. Burke proposed a 
 plan for conciliating America, in a speech of unrivalled elo- 
 quence ; these efforts were vain, and nothing now remained 
 but an appeal to the sword. Franklin also, having been 
 long employed in a kind of treaty with the ministers, finding 
 them determined to persevere in their insane resolutions, 
 broke off the conference, and sailed for America, resolved to 
 6hare the fortunes and hazards of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 2. The New Englanders were determined to attack the 
 royal forces as soon as ever they should march out of Bos- 
 ton, and their adherence to this resolution was soon put to 
 the test. On the night of the eighteenth of April, a detach- 
 ment was sent from Boston to seize some military stores, 
 which the insurgents had collected at Concord. In spite of 
 every precaution, the country was alarmed, and when the 
 advanced guard arrived early on the following morning a* 
 Lexington they found a small body of provincials prepared 
 
378 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 to oppose them. A brief skirmish ensued, in which the 
 Americans were defeated with some loss, and the detach- 
 ment, proceeding to Concord, destroyed all the stores that 
 they found. But they were not permitted to return unmo- 
 lested ; the militia, assembling in force, furiously assailed 
 their flanks and rear ; a constant fire of rifles was maintained 
 from every hedge and every wall which skirted the road, 
 and had not a regiment under the command of lord Percy 
 been sent from Boston to cover their retreat, the entire de- 
 tachment would have been destroyed. It was late in the 
 evening when the British forces arrived at last within the 
 lines of their own fortifications, having lost 65 killed, 180 
 wounded, and 28 prisoners. 
 
 3. Blood having been thus drawn, the whole of the dis- 
 contented colonies boldly prepared to maintain the inevita- 
 ble contest. Volunteers enrolled themselves in every pro- 
 vince, and the king's stores were everywhere seized and 
 appropriated to the use of the insurgents. The fortress of 
 Ticonderoga and Crown Point were surprised by a body of 
 militia, and the Americans thus obtained possession of 100 
 pieces of cannon and a proportionate quantity of ammunition. 
 The towns and villages in the neighbourhood of Boston were 
 garrisoned, and that city thus placed under a strict 
 blockade. 
 
 4. General Gage, who commanded the garrison, soon re- 
 ceived reinforcements from Great Britain, under the com- 
 mand of generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton. He resolved 
 therefore to commence active operations ; but before com- 
 mitting himself to the chances of war, he issued a procla- 
 mation, offering pardon to all who should lay down their 
 arms, except Messrs. Hancock and Adams. The Americans 
 treated the proclamation with contempt, and soon after 
 elected Mr. Hancock president of congress. 
 
 5. In Charlestown, a place situated to the north of Boston, 
 is an eminence called Bunker's hill, which in some degree 
 commands the harbour ; this post the Americans resolved to 
 occupy; and a party was sent over from Cambridge to in- 
 trench themselves on the height. This they effected with 
 such rapidity and silence during one of the short nights of 
 June, that the appearance of their works at daybreak was 
 the first notice of their presence. The importance of dis- 
 lodging the enemy was evident to the British generals, and 
 a detachment under the command of Howe was sent to the 
 peninsula in boats. A tremendous cannonade was opened 
 
GEORGE III. 379 
 
 on the provincials from the ships and floating- batteries in the 
 harbour, and from Cop's-hill in Boston, but the provincials 
 maintained their post with undaunted resolution. They re- 
 served their fire until the royal forces had advanced within 
 sixty yards of their line, and then poured in so close and 
 murderous a discharge, that the assailants were broken, and 
 fled to the water's edge. A second assault was again de- 
 feated by the well-aimed and steady fire of the provincials ; 
 but when Howe rallied his men to the third attempt, the 
 ammunition of the Americans began to fail, and after an ob- 
 stinate resistance they were compelled to retreat. In this 
 fierce contest the provincials lost about 450 killed, wounded, 
 and missing ; but the victors suffered still more severely ; 
 their loss amounted to more than a thousand killed and 
 wounded, of whom 79 were officers. The unusual number 
 of officers that fell is attributed to the fatal aim which the 
 provincials took with their rifles, and to the belief generally 
 prevalent in America, that the war was odious to the great 
 body of the English people, and only supported by the no- 
 bility and gentry, from which classes the British officers are 
 generally selected. 
 
 6. Another effort to avert the horrors of war was made 
 by the congress, and a second pathetic petition forwarded 
 to his majesty. It was intrusted for presentation to Mr. 
 Penn, a descendant of the great founder of Pennsylvania, and 
 one of the chief proprietors in that province. But public 
 and private remonstrances were equally ineffectual, the peti- 
 tion was not even honoured with an answer. 
 
 7. The Americans were far from confining their exertions 
 to the pacific means of petition and remonstrance ; with a 
 happy unanimity, they elected George Washington, esquire, 
 commander-in-chief of all their forces ; and sent two bodies 
 of militia under generals Montgomery and Arnold to drive 
 the English from Canada. After a brief but brilliant career, 
 Montgomery was killed in an attempt to storm Quebec, and 
 the cruelties perpetrated by the infamous Arnold so alien- 
 ated the Canadians, that no hope remained of its uniting 
 with the revolted provinces. 
 
 8. (A.D. 1776.) Boston was closely blockaded by Wash 
 ington, and the garrison was soon reduced to the greatest 
 distress. Howe, who had succeeded Gage in the command, 
 though a general of great ability, found himself unequal tc 
 the difficulties of his situation. The inhabitants of Boston, 
 as well as the garrison, had to sustain the horrors of famine 
 
380 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 during the winter ; and early in the spring the Americans 
 opened batteries on the neighbouring hills, which swept the 
 town and harbour. Under these circumstances, the town 
 was evacuated by the English, and Washington, entering it, 
 was hailed by the citizens as their deliverer. 9. An expe- 
 dition undertaken by the British against Charleston, in 
 South Carolina, signally failed. The general (Clinton) was 
 unable to second the naval operations directed by sir Petei 
 Parker ; and, after a useless exhibition of bravery, the ad- 
 miral was forced to retire with the loss of a ship of war, 
 which he burned, to prevent its falling into the hands of the 
 enemy. 
 
 19. The Americans, and the greater part of their leaders, 
 had hitherto entertained hopes of peacefully accommodating 
 their disputes with England ; but the intelligence that the 
 British minister had hired a body of German mercenaries 
 for their subjugation wrought so powerfully on their excited 
 feelings, that they determined to renounce their allegiance. 
 (July 4th, 1776.) On the motion of Richard Henry Lee, 
 member for Virginia, the congress published their declara- 
 tion of independence, and elected the colonies into free and 
 sovereign states. At the very time that this resolution was 
 adopted, a British fleet was hovering round their coast, a 
 British army was preparing to invade their territories, and 
 symptoms of discouragement and disaffection were percep- 
 tible in their own soldiery. Still the congress refused to 
 despair, and prepared to support with spirit the independ- 
 ence which they had so courageously asserted. 
 
 11. General Howe did not long remain idle at Halifax, 
 whither he had retired after the evacuation of Boston ; he 
 sailed for New York, andpbeing there joined by his brother, 
 lord Howe, with a considerable fleet, he made himself mas- 
 ter of that city and Long Island. Following up his tri- 
 umphs, he expelled the provincial army from the Jerseys 
 and compelled them to take refuge beyond the Delaware. 
 This rapid success raised the hopes of the British to the 
 highest pitch ; the immediate conquest of America was 
 looked upon as absolutely certain, and little seemed wanting 
 to complete so desirable a consummation. 12. But they 
 soon found that Washington, though defeated, was not sub 
 dued, and that his knowledge of the country in a great 
 degree compensated for his inferiority of numbers. Cross- 
 ing the Delaware in the middle of December, he attacked a 
 body of Hessians at Trenton, and made 900 prisoners ; and 
 
GEORGE in. 38*i 
 
 then while lord Cornwallis was advancing to recover Tren- 
 ton, the indefatigable Americans suddenly appeared in his 
 lordship's rear, and destroyed or captured the greater part 
 of a detachment under colonel Mawhood. 
 
 13. A very extraordinary incident took place, about this 
 time, in the East Indies. The council of Madras had plunged 
 the company into an unjustifiable war with the rajah of 
 Tanjore, whom they attacks; ! and took prisoner. Lord 
 Pigot was sent out as governor, with positive orders to re- 
 store the rajah, but he had scarcely effected this object, 
 when he was seized and thrown into prison by certain 
 members of the council. This indignity worked so bitterly 
 on his feelings that he sickened and died, leaving behind 
 him a higher character for honour and integrity than most 
 of those who have made fortunes in the East. His perse- 
 cutors were subsequently brought to trial and punished, but 
 not with severity proportioned to their deserts. 
 
 14. (A.D. 1777.) The caution of Washington prevented 
 any decisive engagement in the early part of the new cam- 
 paign ; but the march of Howe towards Philadelphia induced 
 the American general to hazard a battle. The armies met 
 near the Brandywine river, and after a long and fierce battle 
 the English obtained a decisive victory. Philadelphia was 
 immediately surrendered, and occupied by the English 
 forces : a second attempt made by Washington to retrieve 
 his losses was defeated ; and by the aid of the fleet, Howe 
 reduced the fortifications which the Americans had con- 
 structed on the banks of the Delaware, and opened free 
 communication with his supplies. 
 
 15. But the successes of the English in the southern states 
 were more than counterbalanced by the disaster they expe 
 rienced in the northern. Early in the year, general Bur- 
 goyne, with an army of 7000 men, and a large body of 
 Indians, received orders to advance from Canada into the 
 state of New York, and co-operate with a body of troops 
 which Howe was to send to his assistance. This plan, if 
 successful, would cut off the New England states from the 
 rest of the union, and expose them to be overrun and con 
 quered in detail. Burgoyne's part in this expedition was 
 executed with equal skill and intrepidity : he marched 
 boldly through the country, bearing down all opposition. 
 But the Americans soon assembled an army in his front, and 
 as he had advanced to a distance from his supplies, his 
 situation soon became verv hazardous. The operations of the 
 
382 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 army, whose assistance he expected, were miserably con- 
 ducted ; sir Henry Clinton did not leave New York till 
 October, and even then, instead of hastening forward to his 
 destination, he employed his troops in burning the unre- 
 sisting towns and villages, and devastating the country 
 Whether this tardiness is to be ascribed to the weakness of 
 the general, or to the insufficiency of the orders sent out by 
 the ministry, is not easily ascertained, but from whatever 
 cause, it proved the ruin of the entire expedition. On the 
 15th of October, general Vaughan, with the van of Clinton's 
 army, could have rescued Burgoyne from all his difficulties, 
 but Vaughan stopped to plunder and burn the little town of 
 iEsopus, and before he was again prepared to advance, 
 Burgoyne and his army were prisoners of war to the Ameri- 
 can army under the command of general Gates. 
 
 16. Burgoyne, depending on the advance of the army 
 from New York, had allowed himself to be cooped up in 
 Saratoga ; his provisions were exhausted, his ammunition 
 beginning to fail, his troops dispirited, and his lines inca- 
 pable of long defence. He therefore surrendered on the 
 condition that his troops, after having laid down their arms, 
 should be sent home, provided that they should not serve 
 again in America during the present contest. Burgoyne 
 returned to England on his parole only to experience greatei 
 mortifications ; the leaders of administration threw all the 
 blame of a failure, attributable solely to themselves, on the 
 unfortunate general ; he was refused admittance into the 
 presence of the sovereign, denied the justice of a court 
 martial, and subjected to a series of petty persecutions 
 infinitely more disgraceful to the ministry than to their 
 victim. 17. General Gates, after his victory, advanced to 
 check the outrages committed by Clinton's soldiers ; sir 
 Henry retreated to New York before the victorious army 
 and the American general was consequently enabled to send 
 such a reinforcement to Washington's army, as made it 
 once more a match for that of Howe, and sufficient to 
 protect the province of Pennsylvania from the ravages of 
 he enemy. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. How were the hopes of the friends of peace disappointed ? 
 
 2 What were the circumstances of the affair at Lexington ? 
 
 3 Did the Americans begin the war vigorously ? 
 
 4 How was the proclamation of general Gage treated ? 
 
 5 What were the circumstances of the battle of Bunker's nil. I 
 
GEORGE III 383 
 
 6. Were any efforts made to restore peace ? 
 7 How did the invasion of Canada terminate ? 
 
 8. Why was Boston evacuated by the British ? 
 
 9. Did the expedition against Charleston succeed ? 
 
 10 Under what circumstances did the Americans publish the declarat ; 'Mk of 
 
 independence i 
 11. What successes did general Howe obtain ? 
 2. Was Washington dispirited by his losses ? 
 '3 Did any remarkable circumstance occur in the East Indies ? 
 
 14. Where was Washington defeated ? 
 
 15. What led to the surrender of Burgoyne's army ? 
 
 16. How was Burgoyne treated ? 
 
 17. How did Gates use his victory? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Shall Chatham die, and be forgot? Oh no ! 
 
 Warm from its source let grateful sorrow flow; 
 
 His matchless ardour fired each fear-struck mind, 
 
 His genius aoaied when Britons droop'd and pined. — Oarrick. 
 
 1 . (A.D. 1778.) The event of which the ministers had been 
 vainly warned from the commencement of the unfortunate 
 contest into which they had rashly precipitated the country, 
 at length took place. France acknowledged the independence 
 of the United States, and entered into a close alliance with 
 the revolted colonies. Before the news of this treaty could 
 reach America, lord North introduced two conciliatory bills 
 into the British parliament, granting the provincials every 
 thing that they had demanded before their declaration of 
 independence. In the debates that ensued, the minister 
 found some of his former supporters more virulent antago- 
 nists than the opposition — they taunted him for deserting 
 the high principles of prerogative and British supremacy 
 which he had hitherto maintained, and complained bitterly 
 of the deception by which he had gained their support. The 
 bills, however, passed the lower house, but their progress 
 through the upper was marked by an incident that must not 
 be carelessly passed over. It was known that the duke of 
 Richmond was of opinion that peace should be purchased 
 even by acknowledging the independence of America, and 
 that he intended to propound these sentiments during the 
 discussion. 2. The venerable earl of Chatham, sinking 
 under the weight of years and bodily infirmities, attended 
 in his place for the purpose of protesting against the dis- 
 memberment of an empire to whose greatness he had so 
 largely contributed, and deprecated such a proceeding with 
 great warmth and eloquence. The duke of Richmond hav- 
 ing answered this speech, the earl rose to reply, but the 
 powers of nature were exhausted, he fell on the floor of the 
 
384 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 house in the attempt to utter his sentiments, and oeing 
 removed to his favourite country-seat, expired in a short 
 time after. 3. The parliament paid merited honour to the 
 memory of the most successful and able minister that Eng 
 land had hitherto produced ; the sum of twenty thousand 
 pounds was granted for the payment of his debts, a pension 
 of four thousand pounds settled on his heirs ; his remains 
 were interred with great pomp in Westminster Abbey, and 
 a monument erected to his memory at the public expense. 
 
 4. Commissioners had been sent out to propose measures 
 of reconciliation to the Americans when it was too late ; of 
 course, their mission signally failed ; the congress would 
 not even listen to terms unless the recognition of their inde- 
 pendence formed a preliminary article, and the commis- 
 sioners, having made an unsuccessful attempt to bribe some 
 of the American deputies, were dismissed with mingled 
 contempt and indignation. 
 
 5. The first hostile collision between France and England 
 took place at sea ; admiral Keppel attacked a French squad- 
 ron under the command of D'Orvilliers, but, being badly 
 supported by sir Hugh Palliser, the second in command, 
 obtained no decisive success. Advantage was taken of this 
 circumstance by the ministry to crush Keppel, who had 
 been long their political opponent, and at their instigation 
 Palliser, preferred a charge of misconduct against his com- 
 mander. But the verdict of the court-martial disappointed 
 their expectations ; Keppel was honourably acquitted, and 
 Palliser being subsequently brought to trial for disobedience 
 to orders, was partially condemned, and but for the interpo- 
 sition of the entire power of the ministry, would have been 
 subjected to a more ignominious verdict.* 
 
 6. (A.D. 1779.) The Americans, having now obtained so 
 powerful an ally as France, fondly hoped that the war would 
 be terminated in a single campaign. Great, therefore, was 
 
 * This year a bold adventurer, of the name of Paul Jones, kept all the west- 
 ern coast of the island in alarm. He landed at Whitehaven, where he bumed 
 a ship in the harbour, and even attempted to burn the town. He afterwards 
 landed in Scotland, and plundered the house of the earl of Selkirk. He some 
 time after fought a bloody battle with captain Pearson, of the Serapis, whom 
 he compelled to submit : and so shattered was his own ship in the engage- 
 ment, that he had no sooner quitted her, in order to take possession of his 
 prize, than she went to the bottom. Captain Farmer, too, of the Quebec, 
 fought a no less desperate battle with a French ship of greatly superior force. 
 He continued the engagement, with unremitted fury, till his own ship acci- 
 dentally took fire, and was blown into the air, together with himself and 
 most ol the crew. 
 
UICORUL III 
 
 their mortification to find the English superior during the 
 entire year. Clinton maintained his defensive position in 
 New York, and baffled all the attempts of Washington to 
 force an engagement ; while in the southern states, Georgia 
 was subdued by colonel Campbell, aided by admiral Parker, 
 and the attempts made to recover it by the American general, 
 Lincoln, and the French admiral, D'Estaing, were signally 
 defeated. 
 
 7. But the honour of England was not similarly main 
 tained in other quarters ; several islands of the West Indies 
 were captured by the French ; and the united fleets of France 
 and Spain, for the latter country was now united to the ene- 
 mies of Britain, swept the channel, and insulted the coasts 
 with impunity. Lord Sandwich, the first lord of the admi- 
 ralty, was a man notoriously unfit for his situation ; but his 
 colleagues, with the blind obstinacy which characterized all 
 their measures, determined to retain him in office ; even 
 though they were aware, that by his neglect, Plymouth was 
 left in such a defenceless state, that its dockyards and arsenal 
 were only saved from destruction by the ignorance of the 
 admirals of the combined fleet. 
 
 8. In Ireland an important revolution commenced, which 
 though it terminated bloodlessly, threatened at one period 
 to have caused a separation between the two countries. 
 The greater part of the army necessary for the defence of 
 that country had been withdrawn to assist in the subjugation 
 of America ; and when the French and Spanish fleets 
 menaced the island with invasion, there were no preparations 
 made for its defence. The people, left to themselves, showed 
 spirit worthy of the crisis ; companies of volunteers were 
 embodied in every town and district ; arms were at first 
 cheerfully supplied by the government ; officers were chosen 
 by election ; and the patriotic earl of Charlemont appointed 
 commander-in-chief of the independent companies. When 
 England recovered her wonted superiority by sea, the fear 
 of invasion was removed, but the volunteers retained their 
 arms and preserved their organization. They had learned 
 the secret of their strength, and were determined to effect the 
 regeneration of their country, by establishing the indepen- 
 dence of her parliament and the freedom of her commerce 
 This was a new and unexpected difficulty to the ministry ; 
 but, pursuing consistently their steady course of narrow and 
 illiberal policy, they refused to make any concession, and 
 thus brought Ireland to the verv brink of a revolution. 
 
 2K 
 
385 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 9. (1780.) Holland was soon added to the enemies ol 
 England ; Mr. Laurens, who had been president of con- 
 gress, was taken by a Britibh cruiser, and the papers fornix 
 in his possession fully proved the existence of a treaty be- 
 tween the Dutch and the Americans. War was therefore 
 declared, and thus was England engaged with a fourth 
 enemy without a single ally. About the same time the 
 northern powers of Europe joined in a confederation called 
 the armed neutrality, which was aimed against the mari- 
 time claims of England. Its avowed design was to pro- 
 tect the trade of neutral vessels with the several belligerent 
 powers. 
 
 10. But the spirit of the English nation sunk not in this 
 apparently unequal contest. Admiral Rodney captured 
 a Spanish convoy, defeated the enemy's fleet, though forced 
 to engage under very disadvantageous circumstances, and 
 relieved Gibraltar, which the Spaniards had begun to be- 
 siege ; sailing thence to the West Indies, he dispersed a 
 French fleet far superior to his own. In America, South 
 Carolina was subdued by sir Henry Clinton ; and the 
 American general Arnold, believing the independent cause 
 almost hopeless, abandoned his country's cause, and entered 
 into the royal service. The acquisition of this worthless 
 deserter cost the life of one of Britain's best and bravest 
 officers. Major Andre, adjutant-general of the royal 
 army, having been sent to conduct the negotiation with 
 Arnold, was seized within the American lines, and hanged 
 as a spy, by a rigid interpretation of the laws of war. 
 
 11. The ministry had hitherto found the parliament well 
 disposed to support their measures ; but the number of pe- 
 titions presented from the counties and leading towns against 
 the administration, soon raised up a formidable opposition. 
 (April 6th.) At length Mr. Dunning moved his celebrated 
 resolution, " that the influence of the crown has increased 
 is increasing, and ought to be diminished," which was car- 
 ried by a majority of twenty-eight votes ; but a second re- 
 solution, designed to give effect to the former, was rejected 
 by a majority of fifty-one, and the ministry soon after re- 
 covered their wonted superiority. 
 
 12. Some of the penal laws against the Roman catholics 
 were wisely repealed by the parliament, but in consequence 
 of the exertions of some misguided bigots, these measures 
 Were followed by the most formidable riots that ever (Us 
 
OEORGK III. 3W* 
 
 graced ihe metropolis. June 2. An immense multitude' 
 Assembled in St. George's-fields, to petition for a repeal of 
 the laws that had been passed in favour of the Roman 
 catholics, and after adopting several resolutions, proceeded 
 in large parties to the avenues leading to the house of com- 
 mons, where they insulted several of the members. Lord 
 George Gordon, a visionary enthusiast, came out and made 
 a violent harangue to the multitude, informing them that 
 their petition had been rejected. The irritated mob at once 
 proceeded to acts of violence ; they destroyed all the Romish 
 chapels in and about town ; they burned the prisons of 
 Newgate, the king's bench, and the fleet, together with 
 several private houses ; they even threatened the bank, 
 which was preserved with difficulty. At length the military 
 were called out, and the rioters dispersed, though not until 
 two hundred and twenty of their number had been killed or 
 mortally wounded. 
 
 13. (1781.) The campaign which decided the question 
 of American independence seemed at its commencement 
 to promise a far different termination : Washington's army 
 was so distressed that 1500 troops deserted his lines ; but 
 though they had thus shown their resentment, they refused 
 to listen to any offers from the British generals, and the 
 emissaries sent to seduce them were given up and hanged 
 Congress, however, exerted itself so successfully, that the 
 distresses of the army were finally relieved, and Washing- 
 ton enabled to commence decisive operations. He at first 
 designed to besiege New York, but being baffled by the 
 superior forces of sir Henry Clinton, he suddenly resolved 
 lo march into the southern states, and overpower lord 
 Cornwallis before Clinton's army could move to his as- 
 sistance. 14. This decisive operation was crowned with 
 complete success ; lord Cornwallis was attacked in York- 
 town, by the combined armies of France and America ; his 
 lordship made a gallant defence, but two redoubts in his 
 front were carried by storm — his works ruined — his lines 
 swept by the fire of the enemy's batteries, and the effective 
 strength of his garrison diminished by sickness. Under 
 these circumstances, nothing remained but to propose 
 terms of capitulation. He accordingly surrendered to 
 general Lincoln with the same formalities that he had pre- 
 scribed to that officer eighteen months before at Charleston , 
 nd it is remarkable, as a second coincidence, that the 
 
3 y & HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 articles were drawn up by lieutenant-co.onel Laurens, whose 
 father was still detained as a close prisoner in the Tower of 
 London. 
 
 15. These losses were in some degree compensated by 
 the success of our arms in the East Indies, where sir Eyre 
 Coote defeated Hyder Ally, and restored the company's 
 ascendency. In the West Indies, the island of St. Eustatius 
 was taken from the Dutch, but subsequently recaptured by 
 the French. A desperate engagement also took place off 
 the Dogger Bank between an English squadron commanded 
 by admiral Parker, and a Dutch squadron under admiral 
 Zoutman ; after a fierce battle which lasted three hours, the 
 victory remained undecided, and both returned to their re 
 spective harbours. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. What measure did the British ministry propose? 
 
 2. Is there any thing remarkable in the circumstances of lord Chatham's 
 
 death ? 
 
 3. What honours were paid to his memory ? 
 
 4. How were lord North's commissioners treated by the Americans ? 
 
 5. In what disgraceful manner was admiral Keppel treated ? 
 
 6. Did the results of the campaign answer the expectations of the Ame- 
 
 ricans ? 
 
 7. How was the English navy neglected ? 
 
 8. What important events took place in Ireland ? 
 
 9. By what new enemies was England assailed ? 
 
 10. Did the British obtain any triumphs ? 
 
 1 1. What remarkable resolution was carried in parliament ? 
 
 12. Did any formidable riots occur in London ? 
 
 12. How was Washington baffled in the beginning of the la3t campaign? 
 
 14. What great triumph did the Americans obtain ? 
 
 15. Did the English obtain any successes ? 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 For thee, sweet peace, abundance leads along 
 Her joyous train, and bards awake to song. 
 
 Bland's Jlniholosv- 
 
 1. (A.D. 1782.) The American war was now virtually 
 at an end ; all rational hopes of reducing the country again 
 under the subjection of Great Britain were abandoned by 
 the great majority of the nation; but the ministry at least 
 manifested the virtue of perseverance, and declared their 
 resolution to carry on " a war of posts." The nation at 
 large was opposed to this insane project; and parliament 
 yielding to the voice of the people, gradually withdrew its 
 support from the administration. At length, on the motion 
 of general Conway, the hou&e of commons voted " that 
 
GEORGE III. i8y 
 
 whoever advised his majesty to the continuation of the 
 American war, should be considered as a public enemy." 
 This, of course, led to the resignation of lord North, and 
 d new ministry was formed under the auspices of Mr. Fox 
 and the marquis of Rockingham. 
 
 2. Negotiations for peace were immediately commenced, 
 nor were any of the belligerent powers disinclined to an 
 accommodation. The United States, having secured their 
 independence, had nothing to gain by a continuance of the 
 war ; the navy of France, after being severely crippled 
 daring the contest, was at its close almost annihilated by 
 a victory which admiral Rodney gained over count de 
 Grasse, in the West Indies, on the 12th of April; and the 
 Spaniards, after having besieged Gibraltar, and wasted 
 before its walls an incredible quantity of blood and trea- 
 sure, had the mortification to find all their efforts fail, their 
 grand attack signally defeated, and the floating batteries, 
 which they had deemed irresistible, burned to the water's 
 edge, by a tremendous storm of hot balls and shells poured 
 on them by the gallant garrison. 
 
 3. Wilkes took advantage of the altered spirit of the 
 times, and procured the removal of all the resolutions con- 
 cerning the Middlesex election from the journals of the house 
 of commons ; after which this celebrated demagogue sunk 
 into complete insignificance. In Ireland, the parliament, 
 roused by the fervid eloquence of Mr. G rattan, obtained 
 from the new ministry the concession of their legislative in- 
 dependence. Immediately after which, the Irish house of 
 commons voted a sum of ^£50,000 to purchase an estate for 
 Mr. Grattan, as a reward for the services which he had ren- 
 deied his country. 
 
 4. But while the new administration was exerting itself 
 for the reformation of abuses at home and the establishment 
 of peace abroad, it was suddenly dissolved by the death of 
 the marquis of Rockingham. The earl of Shelburne was 
 appointed premier, which so displeased Mr. Fox and his 
 friends that they immediately resigned. The noble lord did 
 not long retain his place ; Mr. Fox, to the utter astonish- 
 ment of the entire nation, entered into a coalition with lord 
 North, whom he had so long and so bitterly opposed. Their 
 united parliamentary influence was irresistible : and they 
 forced themselves into the royal councils, in spite of the se- 
 cret dislike of the king and the open disgust of the nation, 
 
 5, fA.D. 1783.) The success of the coalition was of short 
 
 2 k 2 
 
3«M HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 duration ; immediately after concluding the peace *v:th 
 France and America, Mr. Fox introduced a bill for regu- 
 lating- the government of India, which his influence carried 
 through the house of commons, notwithstanding the most 
 vigorous efforts of the company and its servants. But in 
 the lords the opposition was more effectual, the king him- 
 self avowed his hostility to the measure, and it was finally 
 rejected by a considerable majority. The ministry appear- 1 
 ing unwilling to resign, were summarily dismissed, and a 
 new administration formed, of which Mr. William Pitt, the 
 second son of the earl of Chatham, was the most conspi- 
 cuous member. 
 
 6. (A. D. 1784.) Parliament at its meeting exhibited the 
 unusual spectacle of ministers in a complete minority ; to 
 carry on the public business under such circumstances was, 
 of course, impossible, and no sooner were the supplies voted 
 than the parliament was dissolved. The coalition had given 
 such general offence to the nation, that the new ministry ob- 
 tained a decisive majority in the new house of commons. 
 Mr. Pitt's India bill, which was less violent, but also less 
 effective than that of Mr. Fox, was passed triumphantly ; 
 and an act for restoring the Scotch estates forfeited in 1745, 
 went through both houses without opposition, and received 
 the royal assent. 
 
 7. (A. D. 1785.) Mr. Pitt, pursuant to the promises he 
 ad so often made, brought forward his motion for a reform 
 
 in parliament ; his plans were very judicious and well ar- 
 ranged, but they were rejected by a considerable majority, 
 not, as was generally suspected, without his tacit consent. 
 8. (1786.) The south-western coast of New Holland afford- 
 ing several favourable spots for colonization, it was resolved 
 to transport convicts thither, and give them an opportunity 
 of retrieving their characters and reforming their manners in 
 another hemisphere. About the same time a maniac, named 
 Margaret Nicholson, made an attempt to assassinate the 
 king, as he was alighting from his carriage ; she was imme- 
 diately seized, and her insanity being fully proved, she was 
 sent to Bethlehem hospital, where she remained safely 
 guarded, but unmolested. 
 
 9. (1787.) Mr. Sheridan, aided by Mr. Burke, Mr. Fox 
 and several others, brought forward a motion for the im 
 peachment of Warren Hastings, late governor-general o. 
 India, for hign crimes and misdemeanours in the execution 
 3f his office, which passed with but little opposition. The 
 
GEORGE III. H9\ 
 
 consequent trial before the house of lords lingered out during 
 ihe seven succeeding years, and ended in the acquittal of the 
 accused. 
 
 10. A strong party in Holland, secretly supported by the 
 French court, violently opposed their stadtholder, the prince 
 of Orange, and disregarded the remonstrances made by 
 England in his favour. This dispute would probably have 
 rekindled a general war, had not the king of Prussia, en- 
 raged at an insult offered to his sister, sent a large army into 
 Holland, which soon restored the authority of the stadt 
 holder, and crushed the power of his opponents. 
 
 11. (1788.) While the nation was enjoying profound re 
 pose, and silently repairing the losses incurred in the Ame- 
 rican war, the country was suddenly astounded by the news 
 that his majesty had been attacked by a severe illness, which 
 incapacitated him for discharging the duties of government. 
 Mr. Fox insisted that the regency of right belonged to the 
 prince of Wales ; Mr. Pitt as vehemently asserted, that par- 
 liament alone could provide for such an emergency. (1789.) 
 After some very warm debates, it was finally resolved that 
 the prince of YVales should be declared regent, subject how- 
 ever to certain restrictions, and that the custody of the king's 
 person should be intrusted to the queen, assisted by a coun- 
 cil. The parliament of Ireland came to a very different de- 
 cision ; they decreed the regency of their country to the 
 prince of Wales, without any restriction whatever. This 
 difference between the two parliaments would probably have 
 led to fatal consequences but for the unexpected recovery of 
 the king. His majesty's restoration to health diffused uni 
 versal joy through the kingdom, and was celebrated by more 
 universal and splendid illuminations than any previously 
 known. 
 
 12. (1790.) A dispute took place between England and 
 Spain about the possession of Nootka Sound, on the north- 
 west coast of America, where the English had planted a 
 Fmall colony, which the Spaniards had seized, and made the 
 settlers prisoners. An armament was prepared with asto- 
 nishing rapidity, but at the expense of three millions sterling ; 
 Spain however was unprepared for war, and all disputes 
 were finally adjusted by an equitable convention. 
 
 13. While the country was thus respected abroad, and 
 enjoying profound peace at home, events were occurring m 
 a neighbouring nation which soon involved England in a 
 long, expensive, but not inglorious war ; and produced a de- 
 
392 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 cisive change in the aspect of Europe, all whose effect* are 
 probably not even yet developed. 
 
 Questions for Examination 
 
 1. How was the American war finally terminated ? 
 2 Why were all parties inclined to peace ? 
 
 3. What circumstances showed the altered spirit of the times ? 
 
 4. How was the ministry broken up ? 
 
 5. Did the coalition ministry long continue? 
 
 6. How was Mr. Pitt's power strengthened ? 
 
 7. What important motion made by Mr. Pitt was defeated ? 
 
 8. Was any attempt made on the king's life ? 
 
 9. Is there any thing remarkable in the trial of Warren Hastings ? 
 10 What disturbances took place in Holland ? 
 
 11. To what disputes did his majesty's illness give rise ? 
 
 12. What arrangements were made respecting Nootka Sound 1 
 
 13. What was the state of the country at this time ? 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Religion — freedom — vengeance— what you will, 
 
 A word's enough to raise mankind to kill; 
 
 Some factious phrase by cunning caught and spread, 
 
 That guilt may reign, and wolves and worms be fed. — Byron. 
 
 1. No event of equal importance with the French revolu 
 tion is recorded in history, and there is no subject which 
 has given rise to such diversity of opinion. Its causes, its 
 consequences, even the simple facts that occurred in its pro- 
 gress, are to this hour matters o f keen and violent debate, 
 nor can an impartial narrative be expected while many of the 
 actors are still alive, and while the impulse then given con- 
 tinues to be felt in every part of Europe. It is undeniable 
 that the form of government established in France sadly re- 
 quired amelioration ; the privileges of the nobles were tyran- 
 nical and oppressive, and they were exercised with strict 
 se\erity ; the conduct of the clergy was far from being in 
 accordance with the principles of that holy religion which 
 they professed ; the prodigality of the court was extreme ; 
 the criminal laws unjustly constituted, and worse adminis- 
 tered ; the government placed in the hands of nobles equally 
 ignorant and indolent ; nor was there a single office, civil or 
 military, open to the most superior merits, unless aided by 
 the possession of high birth and titled name. These were 
 evils poorly compensated by the private virtues of the hap- 
 Less sovereign, who came to the throne of France at the mo* 
 ment when the accumulated evils of centuries had nearly 
 reached their consummation. 2. While the higher classes 
 were sunk in luxury and sloth, the lower ranks, in a stat8 
 
GEORGE m. 39'i 
 
 of ignorance and degradation, and goaded on by misery 
 were ready to second every movement, and to join in every 
 excess. In the middle classes, the elements of strife were 
 even more thickly sown ; they were irritated at the con- 
 tempt shown them by their haughty superiors, they were in- 
 dignant at seeing the doors of preferment closed against the 
 exertions of honourable ambition, and their minds were de- 
 bauched by the perusal of the speculative treatises on " the 
 rights of man," which, despite of every restriction, daily 
 issued from the press, and which, with very few exceptions, 
 advocated principles subversive of ail religion, and conse- 
 quently of all good government. 
 
 3. The American war precipitated a revolution, which 
 probably, could not have been much longer delayed. The 
 French soldiers, while fighting in the cause of American 
 freedom, naturally imbibed the principles of their allies, 
 and diffused them over the country on their return home : 
 the royal exchequer, which had been nearly exhausted by 
 the profligate extravagance of the former reign, was totally 
 ruined by an expensive war, and the country was on the 
 very eve of a national bankruptcy. When a variety of ex- 
 pedients, most of which made matters worse, had been tried 
 in vain, the king determined to convoke the states-general, 
 which had not been assembled since 1614, and they accord- 
 ingly met at Versailles on the 5th of May, 1789. 
 
 4. After some angry debates, it was determined that the 
 three orders of the clergy, the nobles, and the commons, 
 should meet in one body, an arrangement which threw all 
 the power into the hands of the popular party. They as 
 sumed the name of the national assembly, and immediately 
 commenced a total change in the constitution of their coun- 
 try. Feudal privileges and titles were abolished ; local di- 
 visions set aside ; and the country distributed into depart- 
 ments instead of provinces, for the purpose of adopting an 
 uniform system of taxation ; monastic institutions were 
 suppressed, and the English system of trial by jury sub- 
 stituted for the administration of justice by the old provincial 
 parliaments. 
 
 5. Such an extensive alteration naturally disgusted the 
 court and the nobility ; unable to conceal their hostility tc 
 the new measures, they exposed themselves to popular in- 
 dignation, and dreading the consequences, the Count d'Artois 
 (afterwards Charles X.) the prince of Conde, and several 
 others, emigrated. But this flight aggravated the jealousy 
 
394 HISTORY OV ENGLAND. 
 
 of the people ; the Parisian mob stormed the fortress of the 
 Bastile, the state prison of France, and levelled it with the 
 ground ; they next formed a national guard, composed en- 
 tirely of citizens, at the head of which was placed M. de 
 la Fayette ; and at length a furious mob advanced to Ver- 
 sailles, and brought the king and royal family in triumph 
 to the capital. 
 
 6. (1791.) The progress of the revolution in France was 
 anxiously watched by two powerful parties in England, who 
 viewed it with very different feelings. While one party 
 looked upon it as the triumph of liberty, the administration 
 and a large portion of the aristocracy regarded it as the 
 triumph of anarchy over all legitimate authority. Nor 
 were such feelings confined to the higher classes, the popu- 
 lace shared largely in the hatred to the new politics of 
 France ; a dinner to celebrate the capture of the Bastile was 
 adjourned in London through dread of popular resentment ; 
 but in Birmingham a festive meeting to commemorate the 
 same event was dispersed by a furious mob, which sub- 
 sequently proceeded to destroy the dissenting chapels, and 
 the houses of all who were supposed favourable to the 
 French revolution. 
 
 7. (1792.) The principal powers on the continent having 
 entered into a treaty, to check the progress of the French 
 revolution, it was obvious that war could not long be de- 
 layed ; but the interference of the monarchs precipitated the 
 events which they wished to prevent. The duke of Bruns- 
 wick, as commander-in-chief of the allied armies, issued an 
 ill-judged and sanguinary manifesto, which, with some sus- 
 picious circumstances in the conduct of the king and queen, 
 so exasperated the French, that all the power of the state 
 was thrown into the hands of the jacobins, as the most 
 violent republicans were called. The consequences were 
 dreadful : the palace of the king was stormed, his guards 
 massacred, himself and family confined as close prisoners, 
 and royalty finally abolished in France. Ere yet the world 
 recovered from its astonishment at these events, it learned 
 with equal surprise and indignation, that the unfortunate 
 king had been brought to trial by his subjects, and con- 
 demned to death by a majority of votes. This iniquitous 
 sentence was executed on the 21st of January, 1793. 
 
 8. While France was thus distracted, England was 
 quietly enjoying the blessings of peace; and the parliament 
 engaged in the advancement of measures equally salutary 
 
GEORGE HI. 
 
 395 
 
 1'ae Duke of York at the surrender of Valenciennes. 
 
 and judicious. Several taxes that pressed on commerce and 
 industry were repealed ; a bill introduced by Mr. Fox to 
 make juries in cases of libel judges of law as well as fact, 
 was passed ; some further concessions were made to the 
 Roman catholics ; but Mr. Wilberforce's motion for the 
 abolition of the slave-trade was lost by a considerable ma- 
 jority. 9. In the East Indies, Tippoo Saib (son of Hyder 
 Ally), who seems to have inherited his father's hostility to 
 England along with his dominions, was completely subdued 
 Dy lord Cornwallis, and forced to purchase peace by the 
 cession of a large portion of his dominions, and the pay- 
 ment of an enormous sum, for the performance of which 
 his sons were given as hostages. 
 
 10. (1793.) The atrocities committed by the French 
 jacobins completed the alienation of the British people from 
 the cause of the new revolution ; and the ministry, now 
 certain of popular support, adopted several measures wnich 
 left their hostility no longer doubtful. The national con 
 vention immediately declared war against the king of 
 Great Britain and the stadtholder of Holland, intimating by 
 this artful phraseology that the people of these countries 
 had an interest distinct from their respective sovereigns. 
 11. It is certain that this declaration of war, if not directly 
 provoked, was by no means unacceptable to the British 
 ministry, and the great body of the aristocracy by which it 
 was supported. Immediately after its appearance, the duke 
 
396 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 of York was sent to join the allied armies in the invasion 
 of France ; but the invaders, though at first successful, 
 having taken Valenciennes, soon suffered some severe 
 checks ; and at the end of the second campaign were totally 
 defeated by the republicans. The fortified harbour of 
 Toulon having been surrendered to the English, the French 
 government made the most strenuous efforts for its recovery; 
 these proved for a time abortive, until the direction of the 
 siege was intrusted to Napoleon Bonaparte, who now for 
 the first time appeared on that scene where he afterwards 
 played so conspicuous a part. By his exertions the Eng- 
 lish were compelled to evacuate the town, leaving the 
 greater portion of the citizens exposed to the sanguinary 
 vengeance of the irritated republicans. 
 
 12. (1794.) To compensate for this ill success by land 
 the British navy established its wonted pre-eminence, in a 
 victory gained by earl Howe over the French fleet in the 
 West Indies ; and several of the colonies belonging to 
 France were about the same time conquered with little 
 trouble. 13. The domestic occurrences of this period, 
 though not very numerous, were not deficient in import- 
 ance : Messrs. Hardy, Home Tooke, and others, were 
 brought to trial at the Old Bailey on a charge of high-trea- 
 son, and acquitted, after a patient investigation, which lasted 
 several days. That they desired to effect a great change in 
 the constitution of the country was acknowledged by the 
 prisoners themselves ; but it was clearly proved that they 
 wished to obtain reform only by legal and constitutional 
 means, and that they were opposed to violence and insur- 
 rectionary movements. The ministers succeeded better 
 with similar prosecutions in Ireland and Scotland, where 
 several persons were found guilty of sedition, and sentenced 
 to several degrees of punishment. 
 
 14. (1795.) The ill success of the war induced many 
 of the continental sovereigns to make peace with the French 
 republic. The grand-duke of Tuscany set the example, 
 and was followed by the king of Spain, the Swiss cantons, 
 and the regent of Sweden. The king of Prussia only 
 waited until he had received the English subsidy, and then 
 signed a treaty with the power he had been paid to oppose. 
 The people of Holland expelled the stadtholder, and erect- 
 ing in their country what they called a Batavian republic 
 became virtually a province of France. In short, England 
 had scarcely an ally remaining but Austria, and the con 
 
GEORGE III. 3y* 
 
 sinued friendship of that power was never a matter of cer- 
 tainty. 15. The English navy obtained some triumphs, 
 especially a brilliant victory under lord Bridport, at Port 
 i'Orient; but an expedition undertaken by the French emi- 
 grants, under the auspices of the British ministry, was 
 signally defeated. 
 
 16. Symptoms of discontent, almost amounting to dis 
 affection, began to be manifested in various parts of the 
 empire ; the successes of the war had been few and of little 
 value ; but had they been still more decisive, they would 
 not have compensated for the distress occasioned by un- 
 precedented taxation. The people of London suffered se- 
 verely from the interruption of commerce, and some of the 
 lower class, irritated by their protracted misery, assailed 
 the king's carriage when his majesty went in state to the 
 house of lords. This outrage served, however, to strengthen 
 the administration, for the parliament, indignant at the out- 
 rage offered to the sovereign, sanctioned several bills for the 
 suppression of sedition ; bills, perhaps, rendered necessary 
 by the peculiar circumstances of the period, but which 
 greatly diminished the limits of British freedom. 17. The 
 prince of Wales, in order to procure the payment of his 
 debts, married his cousin, the princess Caroline of Bruns- 
 wick ; we must once again refer to this unfortunate union, 
 it is sufficient to say here, that a daughter was born in the 
 beginning of the following year, soon after which the parents 
 were finally separated. 
 
 18. (1796.) The Dutch and Spaniards, having joined their 
 forces to those of the French, were now become enemies 
 of Great Britain ; and this country, from being an accessary, 
 was now a principal in the war. Several of the Dutch set- 
 tlements in the East Indies were subdued, but England lost 
 the island of Corsica, which had been formally placed under 
 British protection a few years previously. The Austrians 
 were almost driven out of Italy by the French under Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte, whose brilliant career began now to excite 
 the attention of Europe. A fruitless effort to terminate the 
 war by negotiation was made by the British ministry ; it 
 failed, because probably it never was intended to succeed. 
 
 19. (1797.) The enormous expenses which Great Britain 
 had to sustain were found to have exhausted the resources 
 of the country so much, that at length the bank stopped 
 payment ; and an issue of paper money was of course the 
 consequence. Two alarming mutinies broke out in ihe 
 
 2L 
 
398 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 navy ; that at Spithead was settled by giving the seamer 
 additional pay, hut that at the Nore was not quelled without 
 bloodshed, and the execution of some of the ringleaders 
 20 But England still maintained her naval renown; a bril- 
 liant victory was gained by sir John Jarvis over the Spanish 
 fleet, off Cape St. Vincent, and an equally glorious triumph 
 was obtained over the Dutch by admiral Duncan, at Cam- 
 perdown. 21. Our ally had not equal fortune, Austria was 
 everywhere defeated, and to escape total ruin was obliged 
 to submit to the terms of peace which Bonaparte dictated at 
 Campo Formio. 
 
 Questions for Examination.. 
 
 1. What was the state of France at the commencement of the revolution f 
 
 2. In what dangerous circumstances were the different orders of society ? 
 
 3. How did the American war precipitate a revolution? 
 
 4. What triumphs were gained by the popular party at the meeting of the 
 
 states-general ? 
 
 5. Did these alterations produce any important results ? 
 
 6. In what manner was the French revolution regarded in England ? 
 
 7. What consequences were produced by the duke of Brunswick's protla 
 
 mation ? 
 
 8. What was the state of England at this time ? 
 
 9. Was any important advantages gained in the East Indies ? 
 
 10. How did the war commence ? 
 
 11. What reverses did the English experience? 
 
 12. By what naval triumphs were these compensated ? 
 
 13. Did any important trials occur at this time ? 
 
 14. How did the allies of England behave? 
 
 15. Where was lord Bridport victorious ? 
 
 16. How did the people of England show their discontent? 
 
 17. What royal marriage was contracted at this time ? 
 
 18. In what manner was the war conducted ? 
 
 19. Did any dangerous events occur in England ? 
 
 20. How did the^English navy behave ? 
 
 21. Where was peace made between France and Austria ? 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 O frantic thirst of glory and of fame ! — Micklc. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1798.) The restoration of the legislative inde- 
 pendence of Ireland in 1782 was far from satisfying the ex- 
 pectations formed by a considerable party in that country. 
 Reform in parliament, and a repeal of the remnant of the 
 penal laws against the Roman catholics, were rather de- 
 manded as a right than craved as a boon ; a d when the 
 government refused to make concessions, the majority re 
 mained sullen and discontented, while a few wilder spirits 
 
GEORGE III. 399 
 
 aieditated a total separation from England, and the esta- 
 Dlishment of an Irish republic after the example of France 
 The lower classes were easily induced to adopt schemes 
 that flattered their national pride ; and though government, 
 having received timely information, arrested the principal 
 leaders, disaffection was too extensive to be thus checked, 
 and several counties broke out in open insurrection. After 
 a sanguinary struggle, disgraced by several atrocities on both 
 sides, the revolters were everywhere defeated ; and on the 
 surrender of a small body of French who had been sent to 
 aid the insurgents, peace was finally restored by the judi- 
 cious and merciful measures of lord Cornwallis. 
 
 2. In the mean time, Napoleon, with a large fleet and 
 army, proceeded to Egypt, and on his voyage obtained pos- 
 session of Malta by the treachery of the knights. The ca 
 reer of the French invader was sufficiently triumphant in 
 Egypt, but his hopes of permanent success were sadly 
 blighted by the loss of his fleet, over which admiral Nelson 
 obtained one of the most complete victories recorded in the 
 annals of war. 3. This brilliant triumph was obtained in 
 Aboukir Bay, one of the mouths of the Nile, on the first of 
 August ; nine sail of the line were taken ; two more and a 
 frigate either burnt or blown up during ihe action, and only 
 two escaped, which, however, were subsequently captured. 
 Soon after Bonaparte was repulsed before Acre, chiefly by 
 the heroic exertions of sir Sidney Smith ; and having at the 
 same time received news from France that seemed to open 
 safer and brighter objects, he secretly returned home, and 
 soon effected a revolution, by which he placed himself at 
 the head of the government with the title of first consul. 
 
 4. The first measure taken by Napoleon after his eleva- 
 tion, was to send a letter to the king of England offering 
 peace ; this was instantly rejected, for a new and powerful 
 coalition had been formed against France, from which the 
 most splendid success was anticipated. But this coalition 
 soon fell to pieces ; the Russian emperor withdrew his 
 forces ; the duke of York was forced to quit Holland with 
 his army on finding the population indisposed to second his 
 efforts, and the French, under the new government, display- 
 ed even more than their former energies. 
 
 5. In the East Indies the English waged a successful war 
 against their old enemy Tippoo Saib ; his capital was taken 
 by storm, himself slain, and all his treasures divided among 
 the conquerors. Since that period the entire peninsula of 
 
400 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 India has been virtually subjected to the authority of the 
 English. 
 
 6. (A. D. 1800.) Austria had again commenced war 
 against France, and was maintaining it with characteristic 
 obstinacy, when Napoleon brought it to a sudden close by 
 one of those master-strokes of genius which baffle ordinary 
 calculation. He led his army across the Alps into Italy in 
 despite of the most appalling difficulties, and obtained a 
 complete victory at Marengo. A subsidy from England 
 induced the Austrian emperor to continue his resistance, but 
 Ithe battle of Hohenlinden placed him completely at the 
 mercy of the conqueror, and he was forced to solicit terms 
 of peace. 
 
 7. The question of a legislative union with England, 
 which had been previously negatived in the Irish house of 
 commons, was finally carried by the minister ; it was deter- 
 mined that from the 1st of January, 1801, there should be 
 but one imperial parliament for the British islands, in which 
 Ireland should be represented by four spiritual peers, taken 
 in rotation every session, twenty-eight temporal peers 
 chosen for life, and one hundred commoners elected in the 
 usual manner. 
 
 8. (1801.) Paul, emperor of Russia, not satisfied with 
 deserting the alliance of England, became her bitter enemy, 
 and persuaded the other northern powers to revive the 
 hostile confederation, called the armed neutrality. After 
 negotiation had been tried ineffectually, a fleet was sent 
 against Copenhagen, under the command of admiral Parker, 
 assisted by lord Nelson. After having passed the Sound 
 with little difficulty, Nelson attacked, and almost annihilated 
 the formidable lines of the Danish defence ; but some of 
 his own ships having grounded in a situation exposed to the 
 fire of the hostile batteries, he took advantage of his previ- 
 ous success to offer terms of accommodation, which were 
 immediately accepted. It is probable that the war might 
 have been again renewed had not intelligence been received 
 of the deposition of the emperor Paul, who had been the 
 head of the confederacy. His son and successor, Alexan- 
 der, was anxious to be on good terms with Great Britain ; 
 and the minor states found themselves obliged to imitate his 
 example. 
 
 9. An expedition, under the command of sir Ralpn 
 Abercrombie, was equally successful in expelling the French 
 from Egypt, but that distinguished officer fell in the arms of 
 
GEORGE III. 4QJ 
 
 victory. The French, having- been defeated at Alexandria, 
 offered terms when general Hutchinson was preparing to 
 besiege them in Cairo, and evacuated the country pursuant 
 to the articles of capitulation. 10. Before the news of this 
 success arrived in England, the country had been threatened 
 with an invasion. Troops were collected along the coasis 
 of France and Holland, and vessels prepared for their trans- 
 portation in the harbours along the channel. Lord Nelson 
 was sent with a flotilla to attack Boulogne, the enemy's 
 principal rendezvous, but failed after two brilliant efforts 
 The bravery, however, displayed by the British sailors, and 
 the manifest superiority of England by sea, convinced Na- 
 poleon that the enterprise was hopeless, and the project was 
 soon laid aside. 
 
 11. Both the belligerent powers were now heartily tired 
 of a war, which exhausted their resources, and conferred 
 advantages on neither. In deference to the general wish, 
 a change of ministry was effected in England ; Mr. Adding- 
 ton (afterwards lord Sidmouth) became premier in place of 
 Mr. Pitt, and negotiations instantly commenced. (1802.) 
 The terms were soon arranged, and a peace was concluded 
 at Amiens, which cannot be better described than by the 
 words of an eminent statesman, " it was a peace at which 
 everybody rejoiced, but of which nobody could be proud." 
 
 12. From the moment in which the treaty of peace was 
 signed, jealousies and discontents daily arose in France and 
 England, which threatened to produce fresh hostilities at no 
 very distant period. Bonaparte, having been appointed first 
 consul for life, used every exertion to enlarge dominions of 
 which he was now in all but name the sovereign ; he aggran- 
 dized France by the annexation of Piedmont to its territories, 
 and had given even greater offence by invading Switzer- 
 land. On the other hand, the first consul complained that 
 England still retained possession of Malta, which, by the 
 terms of the late treaty, should have been restored to the 
 knights, and remonstrated against the virulent libels on his 
 character, which were published in the English newspapers, 
 as he believed, with the connivance of government. (A.D. 
 1803.) These mutual bickerings soon produced more angry 
 demonstrations ; lord Whitworth, the English ambassador, 
 having been treated with unmerited indignity, withdrew 
 from f ranee and war was soon after proclaimed. 
 
 13. A short time previous to the recommencement of hos- 
 tilities, a conspiracy for the subversion of the government 
 
 2l2 
 
402 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 was detected in England. It was formed by a colonel Des 
 pard, who fancied that government had treated him with 
 unjust neglect ; his associates were desperate men of the 
 lowest ranks, and nothing could be more wild or inadequate 
 than the means by which they proposed to execute theii 
 insane projects. 14. The execution of the principal con 
 spirators restored public confidence ; but in a few months 
 the alarm was again renewed by the account of an insur- 
 rection having broken out in Dublin. The leader of the 
 revolt was Robert Emmett, a young man of the most amia- 
 ble qualities, but a wild and visionary enthusiast. The 
 insurgents were badly armed and worse disciplined ; they 
 were consequently subdued with little difficulty, but not 
 before lord Kilwarden and his nephew had been murdered 
 by the infatuated mob. 
 
 15. Napoleon recommenced the war with great vigour ; 
 his troops overran Hanover, and compelled the princes in the 
 north of Germany to close their ports against the English. 
 On the other hand, the British navy blockaded the mouths 
 of the principal rivers from which British traders were ex- 
 cluded, and captured several French colonies. The English 
 having made prizes of many French merchant-ships, and 
 treated their crews as prisoners, Bonaparte seized on all the 
 English visiters who were travelling in France, and detained 
 them as hostages. 16. About the same time, the French 
 army, which had been employed to suppress the revolt of 
 the negroes in St. Domingo, being cut off from all supplies 
 by the British cruisers, was forced to surrender, and the 
 island has since remained an independent state under the 
 name of Hayti. The threats of invading Britain were re- 
 peated, but after a vain display of force on both sides, no 
 efforts were made to put the threats in execution. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What calamitous event occurred in Ireland ? 
 
 2, Whither did Napoleon lead his new armament ? 
 
 3- How was the progress of the French in Egypt checked ? 
 
 4. What was Napoleon's first attempt when appointed consul ? 
 
 5. Did the English obtain any triumph in the East Indies ? 
 
 6. Where was the power of Austria overthrown ? 
 
 7 What important change was made in the government of Ireland ? 
 d. How did England escape the dangers threatened by the armed neu- 
 trality ? 
 9 By whom were the French driven from Egypt ? 
 
 10. What events were produced by the threats of invasion'/ 
 
 11. How was a peace effected ? 
 
 \1 Did the peace promise to be permf>n«nt ? 
 
GEORGE III. 403 
 
 13. What conspiracy was discovered in England ? 
 
 14. Was there not a new attempt at insurrection in Ireiand ? 
 
 15. How did the war commence ? 
 
 16 Of what island were the French deprived ? 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Aye — at the hour of utmost need 
 Thy statesmen tail, thy warriors bleed; 
 The vigorous mind, the valiant hand, 
 Desert at once the mourning land. — Cooke. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1804.) The administration of Mr. Aldington 
 having failed to give satisfaction to the nation, he resigned 
 and was succeeded by Mr. Pitt, who immediately devoted 
 all his energies to the formation of a new coalition against 
 France. In this labour he was not a little assisted by the 
 general indignation which was excited by the unprincipled 
 murder of the duke d'Enghien. This unfortunate young 
 prince was seized by the emissaries of Bonaparte in a 
 neutral territory, dragged to the castle of Vincennes, sub- 
 jected to the mockery of a trial before a military tribunal, 
 and shot in the ditch of the castle by torch-light. Immedi- 
 ately after the perpetration of this crime, Bonaparte was 
 proclaimed emperor of the French and king of Italy ; but 
 the assumption of the latter title gave great offence to 
 Austria, whose claims on Italy were thus contemptuously 
 disregarded. 
 
 2. One ally, however, was ensured to France by an act 
 of questionable policy on the part of England. Spain hav- 
 ing entered into a treaty with Napoleon, the British minister 
 determined to intercept the treasure ships from South 
 America, without waiting for the formality of a declaration 
 of war. Three of these vessels were intercepted by the 
 British squadron, two were taken, but the third unfortu- 
 nately blew up, and the greater part of the crew perished. 
 The Spanish court, on hearing the news, immediately pro- 
 claimed itself the enemy of Great Britain. 
 
 3. (A.D. 1805.) The naval triumphs of England were 
 consummated by the almost total annihilation of the hostile 
 fleets. The French ships of war in Toulon, having bairled 
 the vigilance of the blockading squadron, effected a junction 
 with the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, and sailed for the West 
 Indies ; hither they were pursued by lord Nelson ; but hav- 
 ing heard of his approach, the allied admirals returned to 
 Europe. Nelson soon followed, and after several disap- 
 pointments, had, at length, the satisfaction to discover the 
 
(104 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Death of lord Nelson. 
 
 French under Villeneuve, and the Spaniards under Gravina, 
 on the morning of October 21st, drawn up in a double line 
 of battle off Cape Trafalgar. The British navy attacked 
 in two columns, the windward line being led by Nelson, in 
 the Victory, the leeward by admiral Collingwood. After a 
 terrible engagement, which lasted three hours, the English 
 obtained a decisive victory. Nineteen sail of the line, with 
 Villeneuve, and two other flag officers, were captured ; the 
 remainder, under admiral Gravina, fled, but several of them 
 were subsequently taken by a squadron under sir R, 
 Strachan. 4. This victory was dearly purchased by the 
 death of lord Nelson, who had long been the pride of the 
 English navy. He was mortally wounded by a musket-ball 
 in the middle of the action, and died a little before its close. 
 5. The grief of his country was shown by the honours paid 
 to his memory ; his brother was raised to the peerage ; a 
 liberal pension settled on his widow ; his remains were 
 deposited in St. Paul's cathedral, accompanied by a proces- 
 sion more splendid and magnifient than England had ever 
 witnessed on a similar occasion, and a monument erected at 
 the public expense as a lasting testimony of national grati 
 tude. Rewards were also voted to the companions of his 
 victory ; admiral Collingwood was raised to the peerage, and 
 a liberal provision was made for the wounded, and for the 
 families of the slain. 
 
 6 The triumphs of France by land amply compensated 
 
GEOHGE XII. 405 
 
 for ner losses by sea. The Austrians were everywhere 
 defeated; the archduke Charles was driven from Italy by 
 Massena; Ulm was surrendered to Napoleon by general 
 Mack, under circumstances that led to strong suspicions of 
 treachery ; and, finally, Vienna itself submitted to the con- 
 queror. The junction of the Russians gave a temporary 
 confidence to the Austrian emperor; but his hopes proved 
 fallacious ; on the 2d of December Napoleon totally de- 
 feated the allied armies at Austerlitz, and Austria was 
 necessarily compelled to submit to whatever terms the con- 
 queror thought fit to dictate. 
 
 7. (A.D. 1806.) The failure of a coalition which he had 
 taken so much pains to form, and the mortification of seeing 
 his colleague, lord Melville, impeached by the house of 
 commons, preyed on Mr. Pitt's health, and, to use a com- 
 mon but expressive phrase, broke his heart. He was ho- 
 noured with a public funeral, and a monument erected to his 
 memory at the national expense. A new administration 
 was formed under the auspices of lord Grenville and Mr. 
 Fox, one of whose first measures was the final abolition of 
 the slave-trade. Mr. Fox did not long survive his great 
 political rival ; he died in the course of the same year. 
 
 8. During the late struggle the conduct of the king of 
 Prussia had been marked by singular indecision. Scaicely, 
 however, had Austria been crushed, than, to the great asto- 
 nishment of the world, it was announced, that Prussia, in a 
 moment of chivalrous enthusiasm, had determined singly to 
 cope with the victorious arms of France. The war was 
 decided in a single campaign ; the Prussians were irretrieva- 
 bly ruined at the battle of Jena ; fortress after fortress sur- 
 rendered to Napoleon, and the unfortunate king, stripped of 
 the greater part of his dominions, had now no hope but in 
 the assistance of Russia. 9. (A.D. 1807.) Even this last 
 hope failed, an indecisive battle was fought at Eylau ; but 
 the Russians having failed in an attempt to relieve Dantzic, 
 and suffered a total defeat at Friedland, solicited terms of 
 peace. A treaty was concluded at Tilsit, by which the 
 Prussian king was stripped of half his dominions, and had 
 the further mortification to learn that the remainder was 
 spared only in deference to the wishes of the young emperor 
 of Russia. 
 
 10. This decisive success enabled Bonaparte to execute 
 the projects which he had so long formed against the com- 
 merce of England. By the celebrated Berlin decrees, al' 
 
4(k> 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the continental ports were closed against British manufac- 
 turers and Denmark, though long in alliance with England, 
 was forced to comply with the imperious mandate. This 
 led to the adoption of measures by the British government 
 which could only be justified by the most stern necessity. 
 
 11. An expedition, under the command of admiral lord 
 Gambier, and general the earl of Cathcart, was sent to 
 compel the surrender of the Danish fleet, in order that it 
 might be retained as a deposite by England until the con- 
 clusion of the war, as Napoleon notoriously designed to 
 have employed it in restoring the navy of France. The 
 demand was peremptorily refused; but the English having 
 bombarded Copenhagen for three days successively, hia 
 Danish majesty, to save his capital from total destruction, 
 agieed to the proposed terms, and the whole fleet, consisting 
 of eighteen ships of the line, fifteen frigates, and thirty-one 
 smaller vessels, was given up, together with an immense 
 quantity of naval stores. 
 
 12. But the other foreign expeditions undertaken by the 
 English were unusually unsuccessful ; Buenos Ayres, after 
 its capture by sir Home Popham, was recovered by the 
 inhabitants, and an armament sent out for its recovery under 
 general Whitelocke failed signally and disgracefully : a 
 fleet under admiral Duckworth forced the passage of the 
 Dardanelles, but being unable to make an impression on 
 Constantinople, was compelled to retire with loss : Alexan- 
 dria, in Egypt, was captured by general Fraser, but he was 
 soon compelled to evacuate his conquest ; and an expedition 
 undertaken to assist the king of Sweden had an equally 
 inefficient termination. 
 
 13. The Grenville administration, which had been very 
 popular at the outset, had now declined considerably in 
 public favour ; and it probably had never possessed the full 
 confidence of the king. The ministers having brought for- 
 ward some measures of concession to the Roman catholics, 
 which his majesty disapproved, were compelled to resign, 
 and Mr. Pitt's friends were recalled to the cabinet. 
 
 14. Portugal was now the only part of the continent 
 open to Great Britain, and Napoleon determined that her 
 manufactures should be excluded from this country also. 
 The prince-regent of Portugal, alarmed by the appearance 
 of a powerful French army on his frontiers, promised obe- 
 dience to the demands of the French emperor ; but finding 
 that ever) r compliance was insufficient to conciliate the 
 
GEORGJE III 40"! 
 
 invaders, and that the annihilation of his kingdom was 
 intended, he embarked on board the English fleet, and was 
 conveyed to the Brazilian settlements in South America. 
 Immediately after his departure the French occupied Lisbon 
 without opposition. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. How did Napoleon excite the resentment of the European monarchs 
 
 2. Why did the Spaniards support the French with all their might ? 
 
 3. What great naval victory did the English obtain ? 
 
 4. By what event was the joy for this victory diminished ? 
 
 5. la what manner did the English nation show its respect for Nelson and 
 
 his companions ? 
 
 6. Did the French gain any advantages on land ? 
 
 7. Why was there a change made in the British ministry ? 
 
 8. What success had the Prussians in their war against France ? 
 
 9. By what events was a peace precipitated ? 
 
 10. What use did Napoleon make of his victory ? 
 
 11. How did the English act under these circumstances ? 
 
 12. In what expeditions were the English unsuccessful ? 
 
 13. What circumstances brought about a change in the British ministry? 
 '4. What remarkable events took place in Portugal ? 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 First from his franco the heroic Spaniard woke 
 
 His chains he bmke. 
 And casting off his neck the treacherous yoke 
 
 He called on England. — Southey. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1808.) The unprincipled occupation of Portu- 
 gal was followed by a series of transactions still more iniqui- 
 tous in Spain, which, though at first apparently successful, 
 blighted for ever the character of Napoleon, and contributed 
 not a little to his final overthrow. Seldom have the annals 
 of any country presented such a picture of vice and imbe- 
 cility as was displayed by the court of Spain at the period 
 which now occupies our attention ; the king was a weak and 
 irresolute monarch, destitute of abilities for managing the 
 affairs of state, even in the most tranquil times ; and, 
 consequently, wholly unfit to rule at a period when all 
 Europe was convulsed by the consequences of the French 
 revolution. His prime minister, and the virtual ruler of 
 Spain, was Godoy, whom the illicit attachment of the queen 
 had raised from the rank of a private gentleman to guide the 
 national councils, under the proud title of the Prince of the 
 Peace. But Godoy was by no means fitted to discharge the 
 duties of the station to which he had been raised. Possess- 
 ing neither talent nor principle, he pursued a selfish and 
 
408 HISTORY OF KNGLANP. 
 
 vacillating course of policy, which wasted the resources of 
 Spain, and made the country contemptihie in the eyes of all 
 the surrounding nations. 2. Godoy was of course unpopu- 
 lar ; the nobility despised him as an upstart ; the people 
 regarded him as the author of all the calamities by which 
 they were oppressed ; and, at length, reports having been 
 circulated that he intended to remove the royal family to 
 South America, a furious insurrection broke out, which 
 terminated in stripping Godoy of all his authority. De- 
 prived of his only reliance, the imbecile Charles resigned 
 the crown to his son Ferdinand, prince of Asturias, who was 
 at once proclaimed king, to the universal delight of the 
 people. 3. When Napoleon received intelligence of this 
 revolution, he immediately proceeded to Bayonne, in order 
 to be nearer the scene of action, and directed the numerous 
 army, which he maintained in Spain, to occupy Madrid. 
 By means of some obscure intrigues, Charles was induced 
 to withdraw his abdication, and claim the assistance of the 
 French emperor against his rebellious son; while at the 
 same time assurances were privately conveyed to Ferdinand 
 that Napoleon was attached to his cause, and would, if an 
 appeal was made, certainly decide in his favour. 4. By 
 such representations the entire Spanish royal family was 
 induced to cross the frontier ; and no sooner were they in 
 the power of the French emperor, than they were severally 
 compelled to abdicate their claims to the crown, which Na- 
 poleon was determined to transfer to his brother Joseph. 
 
 5. When the iniquitous transactions at Bayonne becam* 
 known, they filled the mind of every Spaniard with feelings 
 of the deepest indignation ; one sentiment seemed to per 
 vade the entire nation ; a determination to maintain the 
 independence of their country, and submit to none but theii 
 legitimate sovereign. The French were able to suppress 
 the insurrection at Madrid after a fearful massacre, which 
 is the deepest stain on the character of Murat, by whom the 
 garrison was commanded ; but in the provinces, provisional 
 juntas were formed, armies levied, and every preparation 
 made for a vigorous resistance to the usurpers. The gar- 
 rison of Gibraltar, and the British fleets in the Mediterra- 
 nean, lent their assistance to the efforts of the patriots, and 
 by their aid the important city of Cadiz was secured, and 
 the French fleet, which lay in the harbour, forced to sur- 
 render. 6. The armies of France also met some severe 
 checks ; Dupont, with a force of 15,000 men, was forced 
 
GEORGE III. 409 
 
 to surrender to the patriot general Castanos ; Moncey was 
 compelled to retreat from Valencia ; and lastly, a Spanish 
 army, which had been employed by Bonaparte in the north 
 of Germany, revolted, and was conveyed by a British squad- 
 ron to the peninsula. 
 
 7. The flame of insurrection soon spread to Portugal ; 
 and though the French generals in that unhappy country 
 endeavoured to suppress the revolt by cruelly massacring 
 all suspected of having shared in the efforts for the libera- 
 tion of their country, this detestable policy only engendered 
 a more determined spirit of resistance, and a fiercer thirst 
 for vengeance. 
 
 4 8. The news of the events in the peninsula was received 
 in England with the greatest enthusiasm. The Spanish 
 deputies were welcomed with the utmost warmth ; all the 
 Spanish prisoners released, clothed, armed, and sent to aid 
 the efforts of their countrymen ; munitions of war were 
 supplied to the patriots from the British arsenals ; public 
 aids and private subscriptions were liberally contributed for 
 the supply of their exhausted resources ; and a well-appointed 
 army under the command of sir Arthur Wellesley, sent to 
 assist in the liberation of Portugal. 
 
 9. On the first of August the British troops landed in 
 Mondego Bay, and soon commenced active operations. On 
 the seventeenth, the French were defeated at Rolica ; but on 
 the twenty-first, a still more decisive battle was fought at 
 Vimiera, and the English were completely victorious. 10. 
 Unfortunately at this important moment, sir Arthur Welles- 
 ley was superseded in his command by sir Harry Burrard, 
 who gave immediate orders to stop the pursuit, thus sacri- 
 ficing all the fruits of this brilliant victory. On the following 
 morning, sir Hew Dalrymple arrived to take the supreme 
 command, and he entered into negotiations with the French 
 commander. 11. A convention for the evacuation of Portu- 
 gal was concluded at Cintra, on terms so favourable to the 
 French that they excited universal dissatisfaction. One 
 article provided for the security of the Russian fleet then 
 lying in the Tagus ; but this the English admiral, sir Charles 
 Cotton, peremptorily refused to ratify ; and the ships were 
 surrendered to him on condition of being restored in six 
 months after the conclusion of peace with Russia. 
 
 12. Portugal being now free from the invader, sir John 
 Moore, who had been appointed to the command of the 
 British army, was directed to advance into northern Spain, 
 
 2M 
 
410 
 
 HTS'ICKl CiF KH6LAND. 
 
 Death of sir John Moore. 
 
 and aid the exertions of the patriots. The instructions sent 
 to the gallant general had been prepared on the faith of th» 
 representations made by the Spanish deputies in London : 
 it was not discovered, until too late, that these were wholly 
 unworthy of credit. 13. The resolute spirit of hostility to 
 the French in the lower ranks of the Spaniards is indubita- 
 ble ; but the upper ranks, at the same time ignorant and 
 conceited, were slow to make any exertion, and thought 
 more of securing for themselves some petty authority than 
 joining in efforts for the liberation of their country. Like 
 all weak and vain-glorious men, they were great boasters ; 
 they told of countless armies and exhaustless resources ; but 
 when the moment of trial arrived, their armies were found 
 to be an undisciplined rabble, and even sometimes to have 
 existed only on paper ; their magazines were discovered to 
 be empty, and their boasted preparations to have consisted 
 in doin<- T nothing. Even before sir John Moore had entered 
 Spain, the principal forces with which he had been destined 
 to co-operate were defeated and dispersed, in a great degree 
 by the sheer incapacity of their generals. When sir John 
 Moore found that all the expectations which he had been 
 led to form were utterly groundless, he resolved to return to 
 Portugal ; the British minister to the Spanish junta, how- 
 ever, prevailed on him to change his lesoiution and to hazard 
 an advance into the heart of the country. 14. In the mean 
 time Napoleon himself had arrived to take the direction of 
 the invading army, and the promptitude of his movements 
 
6EOROE III'. 411 
 
 soon left the British general no other choice but retrea\ 
 The sufferings of the army during this retrogade movement 
 transcend the powers of description ; discipline was for the 
 most part at an end, and the country they had come to 
 protect was treated by the famished soldiers as if it had 
 belonged to an enemy. 15. (A.D. 1809.) At length, when 
 they reached Corunna, the enemy was found to have pursued 
 them so close that nothing but a victory or a convention 
 could secure their embarkation. Sir John Moore at once 
 decided to risk the chances of battle ; he obtained a victory 
 so glorious as to shade the calamities of the retreat ; but 
 unfortunately the success of the army was purchased by the 
 life of its gallant commander. 
 
 16. (A.D. 1809.) Taking advantage of the withdrawing 
 of the French troops from Germany to recruit the armies in 
 Spain, the emperor of Austria again determined to encounter 
 the hazards of war, and endeavour to retrieve his former 
 fortunes. But the same fatality which had hitherto attended 
 the military operations of this power, still counteracted its 
 efforts. Napoleon, in a brief but decisive campaign, made 
 himself master of Vienna ; and though his army met a 
 severe check at Asperne, he soon after obtained a decisive 
 victory at Wagram, which prostrated the Austrian empire 
 at his feet. 
 
 17. But while this contest remained as yet doubtful, the 
 English were fast retrieving their tarnished honour in the 
 peninsula. Sir Arthur Wellesley was sent again to the 
 scenes of his former glory, and succeeded in expelling the 
 French from Oporto, and several other acquisitions which 
 they had made in Portugal after the retreat of sir John 
 Moore. He even advanced into Spain, and obtained a bril- 
 liant victory at Talavera ; but being unsupported by the 
 Spanish authoritiec, he was obliged to relinquish his con- 
 quests, and terminate the campaign without obtaining any 
 decisive advantage. For the skill and bravery, however, 
 which had been displayed at Talavera, sir Arthur Wellesley 
 was elevated to the peerage with the title of visr ount Wel- 
 lington. 
 
 18. To create a diversion in favour of Austria, an expedi 
 tion was sent to the coast of Holland, under the command 
 of the earl of Chatham and sir Richard Strachan. The 
 fortress of Flushing and the island of Walcheren were 
 subdued ; but the unhealthiness of the climate forced the 
 conquerors to evacuate these acquisitions after the sacrifice 
 
4 12 HISTORY OF FNGLaND. 
 
 of many valuable lives. It must be confessed that th , 
 unfortunate enterprise was badly conceived and badly exe- 
 cuted ; the armament did not reach the coast of Holland 
 until Austria had been irretrievably ruined ; and the main 
 objects of the expedition, the destruction of the French 
 f.eet in the Scheldt, and the occupation of Antwerp, were 
 scarcely attempted. 
 
 19. There were, however, some gallant exploits per- 
 formed during the year by the British navy, which contri- 
 buted to maintain the national courage. A French squadron 
 lying in Basque Roads was attacked by lords Gambier 
 and Cochrane ; four ships of the line and three frigates 
 were burned, and several others disabled. Lord Collingwood 
 destroyed, in the bay of Rossa, three sail of the line, two 
 frigates, and twenty transports. Sir James Saumarez cap- 
 tured a Russian convoy in the Baltic ; and several important 
 islands were wrested from the French in the West Indies. 
 
 20. At home the attention of the public was directed, in 
 no ordinary degree, to a parliamentary investigation into 
 the conduct of his royal highness the duke of York, as 
 commander-in-chief. After a laborious inquiry, the royal 
 duke was acquitted by a great majority, but he deemed it 
 right to resign his situation immediately after. On the 25th 
 of October, a jubilee was celebrated with great splendour 
 through the kingdom on account of his majesty's having 
 entered the fiftieth year of his reign. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the condition of Spain at this time ? 
 
 2. What were the consequences of Godoy's proceedings ? 
 
 3. How did Napoleon act under these circumstances ? 
 
 4. In what manner were the Spanish king and prince treated by their ally 1 
 
 5. Did the Spanish people show their indignation ? 
 
 6. Were any triumphs obtained by the Spanish patriots ? 
 
 7. What was the situation of Portugal at this time ? 
 
 8. How was the intelligence of these events received in England * 
 
 9 In what manner did sir A. Wellesley commence his victorious career ir 
 the peninsula ? 
 
 10 How were the fruits of his victory lost ? 
 
 11 What was the convention of Cintra ? 
 
 12 To what expedition was sir John Moore appointed ? 
 
 13 With what difficulties had he to struggle ? 
 
 14. How was he compelled to retreat ? 
 
 15. By what means was the embarkation of the army secured ? 
 
 16. What success had the Austrians in their new war against Franco 1 
 1"? For what victory was sir A. Wellesley raised to the peerage ? 
 
 18. In what unfortunate expedition did the English engage ? 
 
 19. Was this loss compensated by any victories? 
 
 •«y What delicate investigation took place in England 
 
GEORGF III. 413 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 Un'i.w lot each Briton join, 
 
 Courageously advance; 
 We'll baffle every vain defian, 
 
 And check the pride ol Franco. — E. Thompson 
 
 1. (A.l). 1810.) The peace with Austria enabled Napo 
 leon to send fresh armies into the peninsula, and the patriots 
 sustained a series of reverses which seemed to have decided 
 the fate of Spain. But it was not in the regular field of 
 battle that the hostilities of the Spaniards were most to be 
 dreaded ; their bands of guerillas, that cut off* all stragglers, 
 intercepted convoys, and harassed every march, were more 
 formidable than any regular army that could be assembled. 
 The presence of the British in Portugal was justly deemed 
 the principal impediment to the tranquillity of the French 
 in Spain ; and Napoleon, therefore, despatched Massena 
 with overwhelming forces to expel the British from the 
 entire peninsula. The French ruler deemed himself at this 
 time secure on the side of Germany, ft.r he had married 
 the archdutchess Maria Louisa, the daughter of the emperor 
 of Austria, having previously divorced Josephine, the faith- 
 ful companion of all his fortunes. 
 
 2. On the approach of Massena, lord Wellington deter- 
 mined to act on the defensive, and resisted every temptation 
 to abandon this cautious line of policy. He retreated lei- 
 surely before the enem)' until attacked at Busaco, when he 
 turned on his pursuers, and inflicted on them a severe de- 
 feat. His lordship then continued his retreat to the impreg- 
 nable lines of Torres Vedras, where he determined to remain 
 until famine should compel Massena to retire. Nothing 
 could exceed the astonishment of the French marshal, who 
 firmly believed that the British were retreating to their 
 ships, when he found them halted in a position which it 
 would have been madness to attack : he was at once reduced 
 to inactivity, and forced to spend the rest of the campaign 
 in watching the English lines. 
 
 3. While the war thus lingered, the death of the princess 
 Amelia, the favourite daughter of the king, spread a gloom 
 over the royal family, and brought on a return of that ma- 
 lady by which his majesty had been previously attacked. 
 The remainder of his life was spent in a state of mental 
 imbecility, and the government of the country was thence- 
 forth intrusted to the prince of Wales, who acted as regeni 
 4. A little before this event, a strange revolution took place 
 in Sweden the king was deposed, and his family exclude* 3 
 
 2 M2 
 
414 
 
 HIiTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 from the throne; his uncle was elected in his stead, ana as 
 he was childless, the succession was settled on Charles 
 John Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's generals. 
 
 5. (A.D. 1811.) The ability displayed by lord Wellington 
 in selecting the lines of Torres Vedras, and the patience 
 with which he w r aited the progress of events in that formi- 
 dable position, received at length their merited reward. 
 Hunger and disease made more havoc in the French army 
 than the sword, and Massena soon found that nothing but 
 instant retreat could save him from destruction. In this 
 retrograde movement the French marshal fully maintained 
 his former character for talent ; but in every other respect 
 his conduct merits the universal reprobation of posterity. 
 Every crime to which lust and rapine could prompt an un- 
 principled soldiery, was committed with impunity; the 
 claims of age or sex afforded no protection from murderous 
 outrage ; mangled corpses and smoking ruin marked the 
 tract by which these ruffian-warriors retreated from the land 
 where their hopes had been baffled and their pride tamed. 
 6. After this success, the campaign lingered without any 
 very decisive operation. An attempt was made to recover 
 Badajoz, which the Spaniards had surrendered to the French 
 under very disgraceful circumstances. Soult advanced to 
 relieve the place, and was engaged by general Beresford at 
 Albuera. The battle was fierce and bloody ; the English 
 purchased their victory at a very dear rate, and their losses 
 were so great that they were unable to continue the siege 
 which they had undertaken. Massena, to recover his lost 
 fame, attacked the English at Fuentes d'Honore, but met 
 with a severe repulse ; he was soon after recalled, and Mar- 
 mont appointed in his stead. 7. The management of the 
 Spanish armies continued to be intrusted to men, for the 
 most part, ignorant of the first rudiments of their profession. 
 They were frequently defeated in the course of the cam- 
 paign ; but they were incapable of being instructed even by 
 adversity. The English, under general Graham, obtained 
 a brilliant victory at Barossa ; but the obstinacy and igno- 
 rance of their allies prevented them from reaping the fruit 
 of their success. 
 
 8. (A.D. 1812.) The restrictions which had been im- 
 posed on the prince-regent being removed, it was expected 
 that some important changes would be made in the adminis- 
 tration ; none, however, took place at that time ; but a sad 
 event in the middle of the year produced a new modification 
 
GKORGE III. 415 
 
 in the ministry. The premier, Mr. Percival, was assassin* 
 ated in the lobby of the house of commons by a merchant 
 named Bellingham, who fancied that his just claims had 
 oeen neglected by government. The murderer was tried at 
 the Old Bailey, and executed ; but he seemed to feel little 
 remorse for the horrid crime which he had committed. 
 Lord Liverpool was appointed first lord of the treasury, and 
 Mr. Vansittart chancellor of the exchequer, in the room of 
 the deceased minister. 
 
 9. Marmont was even a ress successful rival of lord 
 Wellington than his predecessor Massena ; the importan 
 fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz were besieged 
 and stormed before the French marshal could move to their 
 relief, and the forts erected to secure the fords of the Douro 
 were taken almost in his presence. The two armies were 
 several days within sight of each other near Salamanca, 
 without coming to a general engagement : the forces were 
 nearly equal, and the leaders anxiously waited to take ad- 
 vantage of any blunder that might be made by their oppo- 
 nents. At length Marmont made an injudicious movement 
 to his left, in hopes to cut off the British from Ciudad 
 Rodrigo ; his line was thus necessarily weakened, and 
 Wellington instantly seized the opportunity to make his 
 attack. The consequence was the total rout of the French, 
 with the loss of fourteen thousand men, killed, wounded, 
 and prisoners. The number of killed and wounded, on the 
 part of the victors, scarcely exceeded five thousand. 
 
 10. Naturally expecting that the intelligence of this glo- 
 rious victory would stimulate the Spaniards to more vigorous 
 exertions ; and relying on the promise of the British ministry 
 to create a powerful diversion, by sending an expedition 
 from Sicily to the south-eastern coast of Spain, Wellington, 
 who had been lately created an earl, resolved to advance 
 into the centre of Spain, and drive the enemy from the 
 capital. This brilliant and hazardous enterprise succeeded ; 
 the English were received with enthusiasm in Madrid, and 
 joy was diffused throughout the entire peninsula. 11. But 
 the hopes which were thus inspired proved delusive ; the 
 Spaniards made no exertion to second the efforts for their 
 liberation ; Ballasteros, one of their generals, refused to re- 
 ceive instructions from a foreigner ; the force sent from 
 Sicily was, by some blunder of the British ministry, late 
 in lime and miserable in amount; the French were, there- 
 Tore, enabled to threaten Wellington with armies three times 
 
1\G 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Constitution and Guerriere. 
 
 more numerous than his own. Under these circumstances 
 the English general resolved to transfer the scene of his 
 operations to the north of Spain ; but having failed in an 
 attack on Burgos, he was compelled to retire to the frontiers 
 of Portugal. During the retreat, the British soldiers sullied 
 their laurels by several outrages, which were severely re- 
 prehended by Wellington, and measures taken for their pre- 
 vention in future. 
 
 12. In the mean time the ambition of Napoleon had 
 hurried him into a war with Russia, which, though success- 
 ful in the outset, ended in lamentable ruin. The French 
 army advanced in spite of every resistance to Moscow, the 
 ancient capital of the kingdom, but there iheir triumphs 
 ended. The Russians set fire to the city ; the invaders, de- 
 prived of quarters, were forced to retreat ; a severe winter 
 set in, cold and famine destroyed them by thousands, and 
 only a miserable relic of the finest army which had ever 
 been assembled in Europe escaped across the frontiers. 
 
 13. Some unfortunate disputes between the government 
 of Great Britain and the United States led to a war between 
 two countries, which similarity of language and ancient 
 connexion ought to have kept for ever in amity. The 
 Americans unsuccessfully invaded Canada, but at sea their 
 frigates obtained some signal triumphs over British vessels. 
 The fiist of this series of victories was the capture of the 
 
OEORGE III. 4)"! 
 
 British frigate Guerriere, by the American frigate Constitu 
 tion, commanded by captain Hull. 
 
 14. (A. D. 1813.) The Spanish Cortes became at length 
 convinced of the necessity of giving the command of their 
 armies to the British general, and a complete change in the 
 fortunes of the war followed this judicious measure. By a 
 series of brilliant operations, the French were driven from 
 their several positions on the Ebro and the Douro, com- 
 pelled to abandon the capital, and at length reduced to the 
 alternative of abandoning the country, or fighting a pitched 
 battle to preserve their conquests. Joseph adopted the 
 latter course, and drew up his forces near Vittoria, which 
 ftad been made the French depot in the northern provinces. 
 In this position he was attacked by lord Wellington, on the 
 21st of June, and after a severe contest utterly overthrown. 
 The artillery, baggage, and military chest of the fugitives, 
 fell into the hands of the victors ; and so complete was 
 the rout, that the remnants of the defeated army scarcely 
 deemed themselves safe until they had escaped beyond the 
 frontier. Before pursuing them into France, it was neces- 
 sary to reduce the fortresses of St. Sebastian and Pampe- 
 luna, which were immediately invested. The former, after 
 a frightful loss, was taken by storm ; the latter surrendered 
 some time after by capitulation. 
 
 15. The reverses of the French in the north of Europe 
 were equally signal. Prussia and Sweden joined their 
 armies to Russia ; Austria subsequently joined the alliance, 
 and their united forces obtained a decisive victory over those 
 of the French emperor at Leipsic. The retreat of the de- 
 feated army was disastrous in the extreme ; the Germans 
 everywhere joined the pursuers, and after suffering the 
 most severe calamities, Napoleon's army was driven across 
 the Rhine, and it became evident that the next campaign 
 would commence with the invasion of France both on her 
 eastern and western frontier. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1 How was Bonaparte enabled to give his undivided attention to the oflUin 
 
 of the peninsula ? 
 
 2 In what manner did Wellington act? 
 
 3. What remarkable event took place at this time *n England i 
 
 4. Did any revolution take place in Sweden? 
 
 5. How did Massena conduct his retreat from Torres Vedras? 
 6 Were there any other remarkable events in the campaign 1 
 
418 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 7. How did the Spanish government behave ? 
 
 8. What event caused a change of ministry in England ? 
 
 9. What great victory did Wellington gain over Marmont ? 
 
 10. How did Wellington endeavour to improve his triumph? 
 
 11. By what circumstances were Wellington's hopes frustrated 1 
 
 12. In what new war did Bonaparte engage ? 
 
 13. What new enemy assailed the English ? 
 
 14. What great victory did Wellington gain over Joseph Bonaparte f 
 
 15. Did Napoleon meet any other reverses ? 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 Oh, more or less than man— in high or low, 
 
 Battling with nations, flying from the field; 
 
 Now making monarch's necks thy footstool, now 
 
 More than thy meanest soldier taught to yield. — Byron. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1813.) The operations of the allied armies in 
 the south-eastern provinces of Spain were singularly ill- 
 conducted. Sir John Murray, to whose guidance they 
 were intrusted, proved totally unfit for his situation. He 
 precipitately commenced the siege of Tarragona, and then 
 abandoned his works and guns with still more disgraceful 
 rapidity ; after which he returned to a state of inactivity 
 2. But the vigour of Wellington more than atoned for these 
 deficiencies ; he crossed the Bidassoa in October, and on 
 the 10th of November defeated Soult's army on the Nivelle 
 (A. D. 1814.) Winter did not interrupt the operations of 
 the armies. Soult, continually pushed by the British forces, 
 assumed a strong position at Orthes, from which he was 
 driven with severe loss, and Bordeaux was consequently 
 exposed to the invading army. In the mean time the duke 
 d'Angouleme, the representative of the ancient line of French 
 monarchs, had arrived in Wellington's camp ; to him the 
 inhabitants of Bordeaux opened their gates, and received 
 with the utmost enthusiasm the descendant of their former 
 kings. 3. Wellington, pursuing his victorious career, again 
 defeated Soult at Toulouse ; but while preparing to follow 
 up his victory, news arrived from Paris that Napoleon had 
 abdicated, and that the war was at an end. 
 
 4. In January, 1814, the allied armies had crossed the 
 Rhine, and advanced into the heart of France ; negotiations 
 for peace were indeed commenced at Ohatillon, but the in- 
 sincerity which marked the conduct of the French commis- 
 sioners prevented them from coming to any conclusion. 
 Napoleon's great object was to recover Holland, which had 
 achieved its independence after the battle of Leipsic, by the 
 aid of England, and had recalled the stadtholder to his 
 ancient dominions. The French emperor had strong hopes 
 
GEORGE III. 419 
 
 that one great victory would restore him to his former pre 
 eminence. 5. Never in his proudest and most palmy days 
 did Napoleon display more energy and ability than in this 
 his time of difficulty; but he had beaten his enemies into 
 the art of conquering. While he was manoeuvring in theii 
 rear, the Prussians and Austrians made a rush on Paris, 
 which fell almost without resistance. On the 6th of April, 
 Bonaparte signed the instrument of abdication, and Louis 
 XVIII. was recalled from exile to ascend the throne of his 
 ancestors. The fallen emperor received the island of Elba 
 as an independent sovereignty ; the dutchies of Parma and 
 Placentia were settled on his wife and son. 
 
 6. The return of peace was celebrated with general re- 
 joicings throughout England ; and the metropolis was illu- 
 minated during three successive nights. Immediately after, 
 the emperor of Russia, the king of Prussia, and a numerous 
 train of other distinguished foreigners came over to England, 
 and met a most magnificent reception. After a short but 
 gratifying visit, they returned to the continent, leaving 
 behind a favourable impression of their urbanity, and of the 
 respect they showed for the institutions of this country. 
 
 7. The American war was soon after terminated ; the 
 triumphs and losses on both sides were nearly balanced by 
 land, but the superiority of American courage and discipline 
 at sea was made clearly manifest in every engagement, in 
 which ships of equal force on both sides were opposed to 
 each other. The treaty of peace was not signed before 
 December, 1814. 
 
 8. (A.D. 1815.) A congress of ambassadors from the 
 leading powers of Europe had assembled at Vienna to settle 
 the state of the continent, when they were astounded by 
 intelligence which threatened to render all their deliberations 
 useless. Bonaparte, wearied of his exile, and invited by 
 numerous partisans in France, sailed from Elba, and having 
 escaped the vigilance of the cruisers, landed once more in 
 the country which had so long acknowledged his sway. 9. 
 The army everywhere declared in his favour ; no effectual 
 resistance was attempted; Louis, with a few friends, escaped 
 beyond the Belgian frontier; and in an incredibly short time 
 Bonaparte once more ascended the imperial throne. The 
 allied sovereigns took immediate measures to dethrone an 
 usurper whom experience had shown to be the common 
 disturber of nations, and a violater of the faith of treaties; 
 and preparations were made for a second invasion of France 
 
4^0 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Battle of Waterloo. 
 
 10- The English and Prussians began rapidly to concen- 
 trate their forces in the newly formed kingdom of Belgium, 
 when Bonaparte, trusting to that activity which had before 
 produced so many triumphs, determined to become the as- 
 sailant, and rapidly advanced against the Prussians. After 
 a severe contest, Blucher was forced to retire from Ligny ; 
 but he accomplished his retreat in good order, and left no 
 trophy to the enemy but the field of battle. This caused a 
 corresponding movement in the English forces, which had 
 advanced to Quatre-bras, and fought a furious but indecisive 
 battle with the enemy. Wellington halted his troops on the 
 memorable plains of Waterloo, and rode across the country 
 to Blucher, in order to concert a plan for their mutual 
 operations. 
 
 11. On the 18th of June was fought the memorable battle 
 which may be said to have decided the fate of Europe. 
 Napoleon, believing the Prussians completely broken, hoped, 
 by forcing the British lines, to open a passage to Brussels, 
 and then overwhelm the allies in detail : the object of the 
 duke of Wellington was to maintain his ground until the 
 arrival of the Prussians should give him a decided superi 
 ority over his opponents. The efforts of the French to 
 force the British positions were met with most undaunted 
 firmness; the fire of an immense park of artillery, the 
 charges of the cuirassiers, the attacks of immense columns 
 
GEORGE III. 421 
 
 failed to break any of the squares which the English had 
 formed ; and at length, when night approached, the heads 
 of the Prussian columns were seen advancing to share in 
 the combat. Napoleon assembled his guards for one last 
 and desperate effort ; but instead of heading them himself, 
 he gave the command to marshal Ney. The English wings, 
 which had rather declined from the field at the commence- 
 ment of the fight, had, after the defeat of the former charges, 
 gradually come forward, until they formed a concave front 
 to the French. They now poured a dreadful storm of 
 musketry on the heads of the advancing columns ; the im- 
 perial guards were unable to deploy into line under the 
 heavy fire ; they made the attempt and fell into confusion 
 At this moment the duke of Wellington gave the word to 
 charge, the soldiers rushed forward with resistless impetu- 
 osity ; some battalions, which Ney had rallied, were broken 
 in an instant ; it was no longer a battle, but a rout. The 
 Prussians, who were comparatively fresh, continued the 
 pursuit, and the army of Napoleon was virtually annihilated. 
 
 12. The victorious armies now advanced towards Paris 
 without meeting any serious obstacle. On the 22d of June, 
 Napoleon once more abdicated the throne, and fled to the 
 aea-coast, in hopes of making his escape to America But 
 finding that it was impossible to baffle the vigilance of the 
 English cruisers, he surrendered himself to captain Ma it 
 land, of the Bellerophon, and was conveyed, with his retinue, 
 to an English harbour. When the allies were informed of 
 this event, they decided that he should be sent as a prisoner 
 to the island of St. Helena, in the southern Atlantic, and 
 there detained under the strictest observation. In this little 
 island the illustrious exile died on the 5th of May. 1821. 
 
 13. Louis XVIII. was restored to his throne without op- 
 position : a few of Napoleon's most zealous partisans, of 
 whom the chief were marshal Ney and colonel Labedoyere 
 suffered the penalties of treason ; but the greater part of 
 the delinquents escaped with impunity. The long wars 
 which had distracted western and central Europe were now 
 terminated, and a tranquillity, promising to be of long dura- 
 tion, was established. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. How were operations conducted in the south of Spain ? 
 
 2. Did Wellington obtain any success in France ? 
 
 3. Why was not the victory it Toulouse followed uo? 
 
 2N . 
 
422 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 4. What operations were undertaken at the north-east side of France I 
 
 5. How v as the war terminated ? 
 
 6. In what manner was the return of peace celebrated in England ? 
 ". How was ihe American war terminated ? 
 
 8. By what news was the congress at Vienna disturbed T 
 
 9. Did Napoleon again become master of France ? 
 iO. How was the war recommenced ? 
 
 11. What particulars of the battle of Waterloo are mentioned ? 
 
 12. What became of Bonaparte ? 
 
 53. Hdw was the war finally ended ? 
 
 SECTION XIIL 
 
 The deeds of those chiefs who fell covered with glory 
 
 Still beam on our record of triumphs and tears ; 
 While the memory of Nelson and Waterloo's story 
 
 Are blended by fame with the fall of Algiers. — Fitzstrald 
 
 1. (A.D. 1816.) It had been hoped, rather than expected 
 that the exertions made by the people in the different Euro- 
 pean nations to overthrow the power of Napoleon, would 
 have been rewarded by the sovereigns conceding to them 
 free constitutions. But the monarchs, terrified at the evils 
 which the French revolution had produced, were firmly 
 resolved to extend rather than abridge the royal authority. 
 2. The restored king of Spain, whose slavish weakness 
 had been the first cause of his own imprisonment and his 
 kingdom's degradation, treated with the greatest ingratitude 
 those whose blood had been shed like water to effect his 
 restoration. The inquisition was revived, and every despotic 
 custom, which made the government of Spain infamous, 
 and the country miserable, were re-established in full force. 
 The Spaniards, who entertained liberal opinions, and who 
 had been the most zealous opponents of the French power, 
 were bitterly persecuted, and either brought to the scaffold 
 or driven into exile. 
 
 3. This aspect of affairs by no means contributed to allay 
 the dissatisfaction which pervaded Britain at the termination 
 of the war. The channels of trade, which were only opened 
 by a long course of warfare, were suddenly closed ; the 
 manufacturers had no demand for their goods, the prices of 
 agricultural produce were seriously diminished, and all the 
 evils which attend a sudden transition from war to peace 
 were felt the more sensibly on account of the tremendous 
 addition which the expenditure requisite to support such un 
 paralleled exertions had made to the national debt. 
 
 4. The marriage of the princess Charlotte of Wales, with 
 Leopold, prince of Saxe-Cobourg, and that of the duke of 
 Gloucester, with his cousin the princess Mary, for a time 
 
GEORGE III 423 
 
 averted the gloom which seemed fast spreading oyer the 
 nation ; and a brilliant victory obtained by lord Exmouth 
 over the Algerines, diverted public attention from intestine 
 calamities. 5. Though Algiers was defended by 1000 
 pieces of cannon, it could not resist the intrepidity of Bri- 
 tish seamen ; its defences were destroyed, its fleet burned 
 in the harbour, and at length, to save it from total destruc- 
 tion, the dey offered terms of peace. He was pardoned on 
 the conditions of liberating the Christian slaves, more than a 
 thousand of whom were received on board the British fleet ; 
 of abolishing slavery for ever in his dominions ; and making 
 reparation to the powers who had been the more immediate 
 objects of his barbarous aggressions. 
 
 6. (A.D. 1817.) But even naval glory, always the most 
 pleasing to Englishmen, failed to allay the discontents that 
 pervaded the lower ranks of society ; alarming riots oc- 
 curred in many parts of the kingdom, and meetings were 
 held in the metropolis, where the most threatening discourses 
 were pronounced. The parliament in this crisis passed 
 laws to increase the powers of government, especially the 
 suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and several of the 
 popular leaders were arrested. Some were brought to trial 
 in London, and acquitted ; but in Derby several were found 
 guilty, and suffered the penalties of high-treason, which had 
 not been inflicted for seventy years before. These vigorous 
 measures, followed by a revival of commerce, and an im- 
 proved harvest, restored public tranquillity ; but the gloom 
 which hung over the nation was not dispelled, and a new 
 event served to deepen it still further. 7. The princess 
 Charlotte of Wales, the pride and darling of England, died, 
 with her child, who would have been heir-apparent to the 
 throne. Never was grief more universal — never was a 
 nation's sorrow so deeply felt, and so generally manifested. 
 The day of the funeral was voluntarily observed as a day 
 of fasting and humiliation throughout the three kingdoms ; 
 and a stranger, witnessing the affliction on every counte- 
 nance, might have supposed that every family in the realms 
 had been deprived of one of its most beloved members. 
 
 8. (A.D. 1818.) To supply the chasm which this lamen 
 table event had occasioned in the succession to the crown, 
 several of the royal family formed matrimonial alliances. 
 The dukes of Cambridge, Kent, and Clarence, and the prin- 
 cess Elizabeth were united to branches of different princely 
 families m Germany, and such an increase was made in 
 
4 "24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 their revenues by parliament as might enable diem to sup- 
 port the additional expenses which they necessarily incurred. 
 These arrangements had not been long concluded, when 
 the royal family suffered a second loss by the death of queen 
 Charlotte, who expired at Kew, on the 17th of November, 
 in the seventy-fifth year of her age. 
 
 9. (A.D. 1819.) The extensive colonies which Spain 
 had recently possessed in South America, wearied by the 
 tyranny to which they had been subjected, threw off the 
 yoke, and commenced a successful struggle for indepen 
 dence. The king of Spain, however, imagined that their 
 subjugation was still possible, and assembled an army at 
 Cadiz, in the isle of Leon, to form an expedition against 
 the revolted provinces. But the soldiers who had been thus 
 collected to crush the rising freedom of America, disap- 
 pointed the hopes of their despotic sovereign. 10. *They 
 unanimously refused to embark ; and directing their attention 
 to the miserable condition of their own country, they demand- 
 ed the establishment of a free constitution, which Ferdinand 
 was compelled to concede. Similar revolutions subsequently 
 took place in Portugal, Naples, and Piedmont ; but in the 
 two latter countries the old despotic governments were 
 restored by the Austrians, who have ever been strongly 
 opposed to liberal institutions. 
 
 11. The public mind in England continued to be agitated 
 by projects for effecting reform in parliament, and other 
 changes in the constitution. Public meetings, attended by 
 immense multitudes, were held in different parts of the 
 country. One in particular, at Manchester, was attended 
 with lamentable consequences. The magistrates having 
 determined to arrest the leaders, especially Mr. Hunt, sent 
 a party of yeomanry to aid the officers of police ; unfortu- 
 nately, in passing through the immense assembly, some 
 confusion took place, which led to a serious affray ; several 
 of the multitude were killed, and a still greater number 
 wounded by the sabres of the yeomanry, or severely crushed. 
 Hunt and his friends were taken into custody on a charge 
 of high-treason ; but this was soon abandoned, and they 
 were ordered to find bail on a charge of sedition. 12. This 
 event produced great diversity of opinion, and very angry 
 debates within and without the walls of parliament ; but the 
 sentiments of government were expressed unequivocally in 
 
 * These events did not take place until the following year ; but are placed 
 nere to preserve the continuity of the narrative. 
 
GEORGE ID 
 
 41>5 
 
 a letter of thanks addressed to the magistrates and yeomanry 
 of Manchester, for their prompt and spirited conduct. At 
 the following assizes the grand jury threw out the bills 
 charging the yeomanry with murder ; but Hunt and his 
 associates, being found guilty of sedition, were sentenced to 
 different periods of imprisonment. Sir Francis Burdett 
 also, who had denounced the conduct of the magistrates and 
 *he ministry in very severe terms, in a letter addressed to 
 his constituents, was brought to trial, and found guilty of a 
 libel on his majesty's government. Finally, parliament was 
 assembled in the end of the year, and six restrictive acts 
 passed for the prevention of seditious meetings, for prohi- 
 biting training and arming, for checking blasphemous and 
 seditious writings, and to impose a tax on cheap periodical 
 publications. 
 
 13. (A. D. 1820.) On the 23d of January, his royal 
 highness the duke of Kent died at Sidmoulh, in the 53d 
 year of his age, leaving behind him an only daughter, 
 the princess Victoria Augusta, now the presumptive inheritor 
 of the British throne. On the 29th of the same month, 
 George III. died at Windsor Castle, at the advanced age 
 
 Windsor Castle. 
 
 of eighty-one, after a reign of fifty-nine years seven months 
 and three days ; the longest and most memorable in the an- 
 nals of England. We are still too near the times in which 
 this event occurred, and too much swayed by the opinions 
 and prejudices resulting from personal feelings, to draw an 
 impartial character of this venerable sovereign. But what- 
 ever diversity of opinion there may be respecting the politics 
 of the monarch, none can deny the virtues of the man ; 
 
 2n2 
 
420 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 amiable, merciful, benevolent, he was an affectionate hus 
 band, a tender father, and a faithful friend ; no prouder epi. 
 taph needs to be inscribed upon his tomb.* 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. In what manner were the hopes of the people of Europe disap- 
 
 pointed ? 
 
 2. How did the restored king of Spain behave ? 
 
 3. What was the state of England after the war ? 
 
 4. By what circumstances were the hopes of the people raised ? 
 
 5. What victory was obtained at Algiers ? 
 
 6. How did government endeavour to check the progress of sedition t 
 
 7. What fatal event filled the nation with sadness ? 
 
 8. Did any other remarkable circumstance occur in the royal family t 
 
 9. What colonies revolted against the parent state? 
 How was a constitution established in Spain ? 
 What unfortunate circumstance took place at Manchester ? 
 What were the consequences of this event ? 
 What deaths took place in the royal family ? 
 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 13. 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Clement XIV 1769 
 
 Pius VI 1775 
 
 Pius VII 1800 
 
 Emperors of Germany. 
 
 Joseph II 1765 
 
 Leopold 1790 
 
 Francis II 1792 
 
 Assumed the title of em- 
 peror of Austria 1804 
 
 Emperors of the Turks. 
 
 Mustapha III 1757 
 
 Achmet IV 1774 
 
 Selimlll 1789 
 
 Mahmoud II 1808 
 
 Emperors and Empresses oj 
 Russia. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Peter III 1762 
 
 Catharine II 1763 
 
 Paul 1 1797 
 
 Alexander 1801 
 
 Sovereigns of France. 
 
 Louis XVI 1774 
 
 Republic 1793 
 
 Napoleon consul 1799 
 
 emperor 1804 
 
 Louis XVIII 1814 
 
 Kings of Spain. 
 
 Charles III 1759 
 
 Charles IV 1788 
 
 Ferdinand VII 1808 
 
 * The following lines form part of a poetic tribute to the memory of 
 George III. from the pen of the Rev. George Croley. Some may con- 
 sider them too laudatory ; but the world is so accustomed to hearing flat- 
 tery poured at the feet of Kings, that it would misunderstand a candid 
 acknowledgement of their virtues, unless made in the grave style of 
 lustory : 
 
 Raise we his monument ! what giant pile 
 
 Shall honour him to far posterity ? 
 
 His monument shall be his ocean-isle, 
 
 The voice of his redeeming thunders be 
 
 His epitaph upon the silver sea. 
 
 And million spirits from whose neck he bore 
 
 The fetter, and made soul and body free ; 
 
 And unborn millions, from earth's farthest shore, 
 
 Shall bless the Christian King till the last sun is o'er, 
 
OEOKGE IV. 
 
 42' 
 
 Queen and King of Portugal. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Maria 1777 
 
 John VI 
 
 Kings of Prussia. 
 
 Frederick II 1740 
 
 Frederick III 1786 
 
 Frederick IV 1797 
 
 Kings of Poland. 
 
 SJanislaus 1786 
 
 Augustus IV 1786 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Divided between Russia, 
 Prussia, and Germany. 1793 
 
 Kings of Denmark. 
 
 Christian VII 1756 
 
 Frederick VI 1808 
 
 Kings of Sweden. 
 
 Gustavus III 1772 
 
 GustavusIV 1792 
 
 Charles XIII 1809 
 
 Charles XIV 1818 
 
 For a list of those persons, who, during this long reign, distinguished 
 themselves in the literary, clerical, political, naval, military, or mercantile 
 worlds, we refer the reader to Chapter XL, in which many illustrious 
 names will be found arranged under different heads. Indeed, among so 
 many, it is difficult to draw a line between those without which our work 
 would be incomplete, and those which are necessarily excluded by the 
 want of space. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 GEORGE IV. 
 
 Born 1762. Died 1830. Began to reign 1820. Reigned 10 years. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 No, sirs — my regal claim, my rightful crown, 
 
 The honour'd title of your sovereign's wife. 
 No bribe shall e'er induce me to lay down. 
 
 Nor force extort it, save but with my life. — Eltham. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1820.) The accession of a monarch, who had 
 been actually in the possession of sovereign power for so 
 many previous years, produced no important political 
 changes. George IV. was publicly proclaimed on the 
 31st of January in London and Westminster, and matters 
 went on for some time in their ordinary course. On the 
 23d of February, the metropolis was astounded by intelli- 
 gence of a plot being discovered for the assassination of 
 his majesty's ministers. 2. The Cato-street conspiracy. 
 as it was called, from the little street near the Edgeware 
 road, where the conspirators used to assemble, was planned 
 by Thistlewood, who had been before acquitted on a charge 
 of treason, and some other men of desperate fortunes. 
 Their design was to obtain, on some pretence, admission to 
 
428 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 lord Harrowby's, when the ministers were assembled at a 
 cabinet dinner, and there murder the entire party. 3. Bui 
 all their plans were betrayed to government by a spy, and o 
 strong body of police, accompanied by a detachment of the 
 guards, burst into their rendezvous at the moment that they 
 were preparing for the execution of their designs. After 
 some resistance, in which Smithers, a police officer, was 
 killed, they were overpowered, and the greater part made 
 prisoners ; Thistlewood made his escape, but was subse- 
 quently taken at a house in Moorfields. Such was the 
 poverty and misery of these wretched madmen, who pro- 
 posed to subvert a powerful government, that when they 
 were searched, not even a shilling was found among the 
 whole party. They were soon after brought to trial : This- 
 tlewood and four others were executed, some more trans- 
 ported, and government, satisfied with these examples, gave 
 up the prosecution against the rest. 4. Preparations were 
 now commenced for the coronation of his majesty, when 
 they were suddenly suspended by an event which excited 
 more public interest and more angry feelings than any other 
 that had occurred for a long period. This was the return 
 of queen Caroline to England, and her subsequent trial be- 
 fore the house of lords — matters over which the historian 
 would willingly cast a veil, but which are far too important 
 to be omitted. 
 
 5. We have already mentioned the formal separation be- 
 tween the prince of Wales and his consort, soon after their 
 marriage ; some years after, her conduct was made the sub- 
 ject of a secret investigation, which, after a long and dis- 
 gusting inquiry, terminated in her acquittal. After being 
 subject to such an indignity, the unfortunate princess quitted 
 England, and spent her time in travelling, especially in 
 visiting the most celebrated spots on the coasts of the Me- 
 diterranean. She visited Jerusalem, and several other 
 towns of Palestine, and afterwards took up her residence in 
 that part of Italy which is subject to the Austrian emperor. 
 Reports very injurious to her character began to be circulated, 
 and a secret commission of eminent lawyers was sent out 
 to Milan to investigate their truth. 
 
 6. On the king's accession to the throne, the evidence 
 collected by the Milan commission was made the pretext 
 for omitting the queen's name in the liturgy ; and at the 
 same time the honours due to her rank were refused by 
 foreign powers. Deeply irritated at these insults, she de- 
 
GEORGE IV. 429 
 
 termined to return to England, though aware that her land- 
 ing would be the signal for the commencement of a rigorous 
 prosecution, and though she had been offered an annuity of 
 fifty thousand pounds on condition of her remaining abroad. 
 7. She landed at Dover on the 5th of June, and was re- 
 ceived with the greatest enthusiasm by the populace. Equal 
 honours were paid to her along the road to the metropolis, 
 and her reception in London was still more gratifying. 
 
 8. On the very day of the queen's arrival in London, a 
 message was sent to both houses of parliament, requesting 
 that her conduct should be made the subject of investigation, 
 and that the evidence collected at Milan should be taken 
 into consideration. Some delay was occasioned by an use- 
 less effort of the house of commons to effect a compromise : 
 this having failed, " a bill of pains and penalties," to deprive 
 the queen of her rights and dignities, and to divorce her 
 from her husband, was introduced into the lords. 9. The 
 trial soon commenced, and lasted forty-five days, after which 
 the bill was read a second time by a majority of twenty- 
 eight ; but on the third reading, the ministers could only 
 command a majority of nine, and the bill was therefore 
 abandoned. 
 
 10. During these proceedings, the agitation of the public 
 mind knew no bounds ; cavalcade after cavalcade was seen 
 proceeding out to Hammersmith, where the queen resided, 
 with addresses containing the warmest expressions of affec- 
 tion for herself, and hatred of her opponents ; the press 
 teemed with virulent libels on all who were conspicuous in 
 either party; disunion even reached the domestic circle, and 
 the question of the queen's guilt or innocence was debated 
 furiously in every society and in every family within the 
 British seas. The abandonment of the bill was hailed by 
 the queen's friends as a complete acquittal, and their delight 
 was testified by a pretty general illumination, though it 
 must be confessed that many who exhibited this outward 
 sign of joy were forced to the display through dread of 
 popular violence. 
 
 11. (A. D. 1821.) The heats and animosities produced 
 by the queen's trial continued to rage with unabated fury 
 through the remainder of the life of* that unhappy lady ; it 
 was even supposed that the rejection of her claim to par- 
 ticipate in the coronation would have led to some serious 
 commotion. But that august ceremony was performed 
 without interruption ; the queen, indeed, presented herself 
 
430 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 at the doors of Westminster Abbey, and was refused ad 
 mittance, but no serious display of popular displeasure 
 followed, 12. This last event produced a fatal effect on 
 her health, which had been long declining ; and her death, 
 which followed soon after, was generally attributed to a 
 oroken heart. The fatality which attended this unfortunate 
 woman seemed to follow her very remains. Her funeral 
 was a scene of outrage and violence. It had been intended 
 that the procession should not pass through the metropolis ; 
 but the populace attacked the military escort, and after some 
 loss of life succeeded in forcing away the hearse ; the fu- 
 neral array then passed through the city to Whitechapel, 
 where the corpse was restored to the constituted authorities, 
 and then allowed to pass quietly to Harwich, whence it was 
 transferred to Brunswick, to repose with the ashes of her 
 illustrious ancestors. 
 
 13. Immediately after the coronation, his majesty paid 
 a visit to Dublin, and was received by the Irish people 
 with a burst of loyal affection such as was probably never 
 before witnessed. After a short visit, he embarked at 
 Kingstown in the presence of a countless multitude, who 
 rent the air with acclamations, and with blessings on the 
 head of the first English sovereign who had visited Ireland 
 without hostile intentions. Shortly after his return, the 
 king made an excursion to Hanover, the cradle of his race ; 
 and after a brief stay returned to England. 
 
 14. Great distress was experienced throughout the British 
 islands by the depreciation of agricultural produce, and con- 
 sequent difficulty of paying rents. In Ireland, the mutual 
 discontents of the land-holders and peasantry led to several 
 outrages on the part of the latter, perfectly disgraceful to a 
 civilized country. By a little vigorous exertion, however, 
 these violences were repressed, and comparative tranquillity 
 restored. The distress of the lower classes, which indeed 
 almost exceeded credibility, was relieved by a general and 
 generous subscription in England, which arrested the pro- 
 gress of a pestilential disease, produced by famine and 
 distress. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. By what event were the minds of the people disturbed at the commence- 
 
 ment of the new reign ? 
 
 2. What were the designs of the Cato street conspirators ? 
 
 3. How were the plans of the conspirators defeated ? 
 
GEORGE IV. 43] 
 
 4 What event caused the coronation to be postponed 
 
 5. How did the queen become exposed to suspicion? 
 
 6. On what occasion were the elects of these suspicions manifested \ 
 
 7. How was the queen received in England ? 
 3. What measures were taken by the ministry ? 
 9. How did the queen's trial terminate ? 
 
 10 What effect did this lamentable occurrence produce in the country? 
 
 1 1 Was the ceremony of the coronation disturbed ? 
 
 12 Did any remarkable circumstances attend the queen's death and burial • 
 
 13. How was the king received in Ireland ? 
 
 14. Was any distress experienced in the country ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 O! heard they but the avenging call 
 
 Their brethred's murder gave; 
 Dissension ne'er their ranks had mown, 
 Nor patriot valour, desperate grown, 
 Sought refuge in the grave. — Scott. 
 
 1. A time of profound peace furnishes but few incident3 
 worthy of being recorded by the historian ; during such 
 a period a nation is silently employed in improving its re- 
 sources and repairing the injuries which had been inflicted 
 by war on its finances. The unparalleled contest in which 
 England had been so long engaged, imposed on her rulers a 
 task of no ordinary difficulty ; the immense debt which had 
 been accumulated, required a large taxation to pay its inter- 
 est ; and though many exertions have been made to relieve 
 the country from such pressure, no extensive reduction can 
 reasonably be expected for a very long period. (1822.) 2. 
 After the termination of the parliamentary session, the king 
 proceeded to visit the Scottish capital, and was received by 
 his northern subjects with the utmost enthusiasm. The 
 festivities were, however, soon interrupted by the melancholy 
 news of the death of the marquis of Londonderry, the se- 
 cretary for foreign affairs, who had committed suicide in a 
 fit of temporary insanity. After an interval of more than a 
 month, Mr. Canning was appointed his successor, and re- 
 ceived the seals of office at a time when a minister possessing 
 his talents and energy was most wanting to the country. 
 
 3. The European sovereigns had entered into a league 
 to check the progress of revolution, and chose to call their 
 union the holy alliance. A congress was held at Verona, 
 and a resolution taken to subvert the constitution, and restore 
 despotism in Spain. The duke of Wellington, on the part 
 of England, refused to sanction the design, the execution of 
 which was intrusted to the king of France. 4. (1823.) 
 Early in the following year, the duke of Angouleme, at the 
 head of a powerful army, entered Spain, and soon compelled 
 
432 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the constitutionalists, wholly unprepared for resistance, to 
 unqualified submission. Ferdinand, restored to the exer- 
 cise of despotic power, persecuted all whom he suspected 
 of liberal principles with extreme severity, and revived all 
 the cruel institutions by which the government of Spain 
 has been so long disgraced, with even more than ordinary 
 rigour. 
 
 5. The feelings of the great majority of the English peo- 
 pie were powerfully excited by this outrage on the liberties 
 of a neighbouring nation ; but the ministers had determined to 
 maintain a strict neutrality, though they severely condemned 
 the principles and conduct of the French government. But 
 while despotism was thus re-establishing its iron reign in 
 Europe, freedom had obtained signal triumphs in America ; 
 the revolted colonies of Spain had now completed their 
 emancipation, and their independence was acknowledged by 
 England and several other European powers. 
 
 6. A sanguinary struggle for the liberation of Greece 
 from the Turkish yoke had commenced some time previ 
 ously, but had long produced no result but terrific massacres 
 The principal members of the holy alliance viewed the 
 insurrection of the Greeks with secret dislike ; but the 
 sympathies of the greater part of the people of Europe 
 were awakened in their favour, and several volunteers from 
 England and other countries tendered their assistance to the 
 insurgents. 7. (1824.) Lord Byron, whose poetry had 
 created a powerful feeling in favour of the Greeks, proceeded 
 to aid them by his personal exertions, but unfortunately fell 
 a victim to a fever at Missolonghi, in Western Greece. 
 
 8. The British colonies in Africa and India were severely 
 harassed by the assaults of barbarous enemies ; in the 
 former, the governor, sir C. M'Carthy, was defeated, and 
 cruelly murdered by the Ashantees ; but his death was sub- 
 sequently avenged, and these savage warriors forced to 
 submission. 9. In Hindostan, the Burmese were totally 
 defeated, their strongest fortifications captured, and theii 
 territories placed at the mercy of the British troops ; they 
 were consequently forced to solicit peace, which was granted 
 on terms that tend greatly to increase the security of the 
 British possessions in the East. 
 
 10. From the time that the union between England and 
 Ireland had been effected, attempts were annually made for 
 the repeal of the remaining restrictive laws against the Ro- 
 man catholics ; repeated failures by no means diminished 
 
GEORGE IV. 433 
 
 the hopes of the catholic leaders and their friends ; and in 
 Ireland they formed a permanent association for the further- 
 ance of their objects. (1825.) The members of the Catholic 
 Association were not always very measured in their lan- 
 guage, or temperate in their attacks on government, and it 
 was judged expedient to suppress meetings which seemed 
 pregnant with danger. 11. A bill for extending the law in 
 Ireland against illegal societies was introduced into parlia- 
 ment, and as it was expected that catholic emancipation would 
 immediately follow, it passed with but little opposition 
 This hope was, however, doomed to be disappointed, the 
 catholic question was indeed carried in the lower house, but 
 it was lost in the lords principally on account of the exertions 
 made by his royal highness the duke of York. 
 
 12. Speculations and joint-stock companies of every 
 description had lately multiplied so fast, that the nation 
 seemed infected with a species of insanity ; but the bubbles 
 soon burst, and a terrible reaction ensued. The confusion 
 of the money market, and the commercial embarrassments 
 thus created, did not entirely disappear for the next two or 
 three years. 
 
 13. (A.D. 1826.) The state of Portugal, the oldest ally of 
 England, began now to attract the attention of the public. 
 On the death of John VI. the succession devolved on Don 
 Pedro, who resided in Brazil ; he, however, satisfied with 
 the imperial crown which he had acquired in South America, 
 abdicated the Portuguese throne in favour of his daughter 
 Donna Maria, and, to prevent any domestic commotion, 
 betrothed her to his brother Don Miguel. Before taking 
 this decisive step, he prepared a constitution, securing the 
 blessings of civil and religious liberty to the Portuguese, 
 who, unfortunately, could neither appreciate the one nor the 
 other. 14. A strong party resolved to make Don Miguel 
 absolute king, and under the secret sanction of the Spanish 
 government, began to assemble forces on the frontiers. 
 Under these circumstances, application was made to England 
 for assistance ; and an expeditton was sent out with a 
 promptitude that excited the admiration of Europe. To 
 preserve the continuity of the narrative, we must complete 
 the account of the transactions in Portugal before we again 
 return to the affairs of England. 15. In September, 1827, 
 Don Miguel was appointed regent by his brother, and imme- 
 diately proceeded to' assume the reins of power. In the 
 following year, after the departure of the English troops, he 
 
 2 o 
 
434 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 usurped the crown in defiance of the claims of his niece 
 and immediately after abrogated the constitution and pro- 
 claimed himself absolute. The young queen of Portugal 
 had, in the mean time, arrived in England, but rinding her 
 friends not sufficiently strong to overthrow the usurper, she 
 returned to her father's court at Rio Janeiro. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. By what circumstances have the English ministers been lon& embai 
 
 rassed ? 
 
 2. What event caused a change in the ministry ? 
 
 3. For what purpose was the holy alliance formed ? 
 
 4. How was the Spanish constitution overthrown ? 
 
 5. What revolutions occurred in South America ? 
 
 6. Did any European nation make a fierce struggle for freedom ? 
 
 7. What remarkable English nobleman died while aiding the Greeks ? 
 
 8. Did any wars take place in the British colonies ? 
 
 9. How did the Burmese war terminate ? 
 
 10. What remarkable circumstances occurred in Ireland ? 
 
 11. Did parliament adopt any measure in consequence ? 
 
 12. What pecuniary embarrassments occurred in England ? 
 
 13. How was public attention directed to the affairs of Portugal ? 
 
 14. In what manner did the English government behave ? 
 
 15. What was the final termination of the struggle in Portugal ? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 We cannot walk, or ?it. or ride, or travel, 
 
 I'ut dealli is by lo seize us when be li»-:s. — Scolt. 
 
 1. (A.D. 1827.) Death and disease, among the great and 
 noble of the land, produced some important changes in the 
 councils of Great Britain. On the 5th of January, his royal 
 highness the duke of York died, sincerely and generally 
 lamented, more especially by the army ; for his conduct ever 
 since his restoration to the office of commander-in-chief, had 
 deservedly procured for him the endearing appellation of 
 "the solclier's friend." 2. On the 17th of February, the 
 earl of Liverpool, prime minister of England, was seized 
 with a fit of apoplexy, which terminated his political exist- 
 ence, though his natural life was prolonged to the close of 
 the succeeding year. He was succeeded by Mr. Canning, 
 whose commanding eloquence and enlightened views had 
 made him almost irresistible in the house of commons. 3 
 But the additional fatigues imposed upon this highly-gifted 
 statesman, and the fierce opposition he had to encounter, 
 proved too much for a constitution already enfeebled by 
 neglected disease ; he died on the 8th of August, in the 
 
GEORGE IV. 435 
 
 fifty-eighth year of his age. 4. Mr. F. Robinson, having 
 been elevated to the peerage, by the title of lord Goderich, 
 was next appointed premier, but his administration was 
 loose and unsettled, and the cabinet which he had formed 
 soon fell to pieces. The duke of Wellington was then 
 called by his majesty to preside over the councils of Britain, 
 and aided by Mr. Peel, he succeeded in forming a ministry, 
 piomising more firmness and stability than that which it 
 succeeded. 
 
 5. The atrocities which marked the warfare between the 
 Greeks and Turks were so shocking to humanity, that the 
 sovereigns of Europe felt themselves bound to interfere, 
 and a treaty for the pacification of Greece was signed, in 
 London, on the 6th of July, 1827, by the representatives 
 of England, France, and Russia. 6. In consequence of 
 this, the allied fleets in the Mediterranean prepared to force 
 the combatants to consent to an armistice, and blockaded 
 the Turkish fleet in the harbour of Navarino. Ibrahim 
 Pacha, the Turkish commander in the Morea, paying but 
 little attention to the remonstrances of the allied admirals, 
 the united fleets sailed into the harbour, on the 20th of Oc- 
 tober, under the command of sir Edward Codrington, to 
 intimidate him into submission. 7. A shot fired by a 
 Turkish vessel was the signal for a general engagement, 
 which lasted four hours. It terminated in the almost utter 
 annihilation of the Turkish fleet, with comparatively little 
 loss to the allied squadrons. The independence of Greece 
 was virtually achieved by this brilliant victory, and was 
 further secured by the arrival of a small military force from 
 France ; the Turkish government, however, refused sub- 
 mission, and war was commenced against Russia. 8. The 
 events of this war, though not properly belonging to Eng- 
 lish history, demand a brief notice ; in the first campaign 
 the Turks made an obstinate resistance, and gained some 
 advantages over their opponents ; but in the following year 
 (1829), the Russian arms were everywhere successful ; the 
 passages of the Balkan were forced ; Adrianople, the second 
 city in the empire, was captured, and the sultan forced to 
 consent to terms of peace, dictated almost at the gates of 
 Constantinople. 9. The demands of Russia were, how- 
 ever, less exorbitant than might have been expected under 
 the circumstances, but there is reason to believe that this 
 moderation was inspired by a dread of provoking the jea- 
 lousy and resentment of England. 
 
436 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 
 
 10. (A. D. 1828.) After the resignation oflord Goderich 
 Mr. Huskisson and some other friends of the late Mr. Can- 
 ning, had joined in the duke of Wellington's administration, 
 but they soon found that little harmony could exist in such 
 a coalition. At length Mr. Huskisson, having voted against 
 ministers, tendered his resignation, which to his great sur- 
 prise and mortification was accepted, nor could all his sub- 
 sequent efforts alter the inflexible spirit of the duke of Wel- 
 lington. The time of the house of commons was wasted 
 in the discussion of this and similar petty disputes, but one 
 act of the session made an important change in the forms 
 of the constitution. The test and corporation acts, which 
 required the receiving of the sacrament of the Lord's supper, 
 according to the rites of the church of England, as a neces- 
 sary qualification for office, were repealed after a brief par- 
 liamentary struggle ; and the hopes of the Roman catholics, 
 for the repeal of the laws by which they were excluded 
 from parliament, were greatly raised by this event. A mo- 
 tion in their favour was made by sir Francis Burdett, and 
 carried by a majority of six; but it terminated ineffectively, 
 as a similar motion was negatived in the house of peers. 
 
 11. The country continued to be agitated by the catholic 
 question during the remainder of the year ; on the one 
 hand, Brunswick clubs were formed by the advocates of 
 protestant ascendency, to resist all further concession ; on 
 the other side, the catholic leaders and their friends strenu- 
 ously exerted themselves to render the cause of emancipa- 
 tion popular. In Ireland, the agitation was so violent that 
 there was reason to apprehend a civil war : the most in- 
 temperate harangues were made at Brunswick meetings and 
 in the Catholic Association ; it was manifest that nothing 
 but promptitude and decision on the part of government 
 could avert the effusion of blood. 
 
 12. (A. D. 1829.) The commencement of the ensuing 
 session of parliament was expected by all parties with the 
 utmost anxiety ; and it was not without surprise, that both 
 parties found catholic emancipation recommended in the 
 speech from the throne. A bill to give effect to this re« 
 commendation passed both houses by triumphant majorities, 
 though not without encountering a vigorous opposition, and 
 received the royal assent on the 13th of April. 
 
 13. From the date of this important change in the con 
 stitution, to the close of the reign, nothing of great import- 
 ance occurred in England ; but in France the dissatisfaction 
 
GEORGE IV. 437 
 
 of the people with their rulers became daily more manifest 
 A.n expedition was undertaken against Algiers, probably 
 with the hope of diverting the attention of the French peo- 
 ple from politics, to what had been so long their favourite 
 passion, — military glory. (A. D. 1830.) The expedition 
 was eminently successful ; Algiers was captured, and the 
 entire presidency subjected to the power of France : but 
 the discontents of the French people continued to rage wiih 
 as much violence as ever. 
 
 14. The illness of the king in the commencement of the 
 year 1830 threw a damp on public affairs, and as its fatal 
 tendency became more apparent, speculations were rife on 
 the probable political conduct of his successor. After a 
 tedious sickness, which he sustained with great fortitude 
 and resignation, George IV. died at Windsor Castle, on the 
 25th of June. The reasons already assigned for omitting 
 a sketch of the character of George III. are in the present 
 instance still more forcibly applicable ; we shall only say 
 of him as a distinguished writer has said of Henry IV. of 
 France, 
 
 Oh ! be his failings covered by his tomb, 
 And guardian laurels o'er his ashes bloom. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What death occurred in the royal family ? 
 
 2. By what circumstance was Mr. Canning placed at the head of the mi 
 
 nistry ? 
 
 3. What is supposed to have caused Mr. Canning's death ? 
 
 4. What changes took place in consequence of Mr. Canning's death ? 
 
 5. In what manner did the European sovereigns endeavour to effect the 
 
 pacification of Greece ? 
 
 6. What caused the battle of Navarino ? 
 
 7. What were the consequences of the battle ? 
 
 8. How did the Russian war with Turkey terminate ? 
 
 9. Why was Russia moderate in her demands ? 
 
 10. What remarkable circumstance occurred in the parliamentary session 
 
 of 1828? 
 
 11 . Was the British nation disturbed by the agitation of any important question? 
 
 12. How was the catholic question finally settled ? 
 
 13. Did the French government engage in any important expedition ? 
 
 14. When did George IV. die ? 
 
 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. A.D. 
 
 Leo XII 1823 
 
 Emperor of Austria. 
 Francis II 1792 
 
 King of Bavaria, 
 Louis Charles Au 
 
 King and Electorate of 
 
 Bohemia. A.n. 
 
 Francis II... 1792 
 
 King of Denmark. 
 Frederic VI 1808 j 
 
 King of Hanover A.D. 
 George IV. king of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 King of Naples and 
 Sicily. 
 Ferdinand IV rest. 1824 
 Kim: of France. I Francis Janiver 
 
 gustus 1825 Charles X 1824 1 Joseph 1825 
 
 •J o 2 
 
4J8 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 King of the Netherlands. 
 
 a.d. 
 
 William 1 1813 
 
 King of Poland. 
 Nicholas I. see Russia. 
 
 Queen of Portugal. 
 Donna Maria da 
 Gloria. 1826 
 
 King of Prussia, a .d. 
 Frederick IV 1797 
 
 Emperor of Russia. 
 Nicholas 1 1825 
 
 King of Sardinia. 
 Charles Felix 1821 
 
 King of Saxony. 
 Anthony Clement. 1827 
 
 King of Spain a.D 
 
 Ferdinand VII... *80b 
 
 King of Sweden and 
 
 Norway. 
 
 Charles XIV 1818 
 
 Grand Seignior of 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 Mahmoudll 1808 
 
 King of Wirtemlterg 
 rederic William 121 
 
 16 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 WILLIAM IV. 
 
 iiorn 1765. Began to reign 1830. Died June 20, 1837. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The love of liberty with life is given, 
 
 And life itself the inferior gift of heaven. — Drj/den. 
 
 1. Rarely has the accession of a new sovereign afforded 
 such general satisfaction, as was manifested by all classes, 
 when the duke of Clarence ascended the throne with the title 
 of William IV. Unlike his predecessors, his habits were 
 economical and his manners familiar ; he exhibited himself 
 to his people, conversed with them, and shared in their tastes 
 and amusements ; within a few weeks he attained an unpre- 
 cedented degree of popularity, and was reverenced by his 
 subjects as a father, and loved by them as a friend. 2. No 
 change was made in the ministry ,* but as his majesty was 
 connected by marriage with some of the leading whigs, it 
 was generally believed that the policy which rigidly excluded 
 that party from office during the two preceding reigns, 
 would not be maintained in full force. The hopes of a coali- 
 tion between the Wellington administration and the whigs 
 were, however, soon dispelled ; the opposition to the minis 
 try, which had been almost nominal during the preceding 
 sessions, was more than usually violent in the debate on the 
 address ; and though the formal business of both houses was 
 hurried through with all possible despatch, the whigs were? 
 pledged to a virtual declaration of war against the cabinet 
 before tne prorogation of parliament. 
 
 3. The parliament was dissolved on the 24th of July, but 
 before it could be again convened, a revolution in a neigh 
 
WILLIAM IV. 439 
 
 bouring country produced important effects on the public 
 mind, and in some degree convulsed all Europe. Charles X., 
 in defiance of the"wishes and feelings of the great majority 
 of the French people, was eager to restore the royal and so- 
 cerdotal power to the eminence which both possessed before 
 the revolution. He found in prince Polignac, a minister able 
 and willing to second his projects, and he placed him at the 
 head of the cabinet. Polignac thought that, by gratifying 
 the national vanity of the French, and indulging their pas- 
 sion for military glory, he might be able to divert their atten- 
 tion from domestic exploits : previously to dissolving the 
 chamber of deputies, he therefore proclaimed war against the 
 dey of Algiers, who had committed several outrages on the 
 subjects of France. But the expectations of the prince were 
 miserably disappointed. His cabinet was assailed with a 
 ferocity and violence to which the annals of constitutional 
 warfare furnish no parallel ; and as the actions of its mem- 
 bers afforded no opportunity for crimination, their opponents 
 made amends by attacking their presumed designs and inten- 
 tions. When the chamber of deputies met, an address, hos- 
 tile to the ministry, was carried by a large majority. 4. The 
 king instantly prorogued the chambers ; and when the reduc- 
 tion of Algiers had, as he fondly hoped, gratified the nation 
 and restored his popularity, he once more hazarded the 
 perilous experiment of a dissolution. The new chamber of 
 deputies was still more hostile than the preceding. Polignac 
 and his colleagues saw that they could not hope to retain 
 their power by constitutional means, and in an evil hour they 
 prepared three ordinances by which the French charter was 
 virtually annihilated. The first dissolved the chambers 
 before they assembled, the second disfranchised the great 
 body of electors ; and the third imposed a rigid censorship 
 on the press. 
 
 5. When these ordinances first appeared on Monday, the 
 28th of July, they excited astonishment rather than indigna- 
 tion ; a number of persons, however, connected with the 
 journals of Paris, assembled, and issued a manifesto, in 
 which they declared their resolution to resist, by all the 
 means in their powei, the enforcement of the ordinance im 
 posing restrictions on the press. Several of the daily jour 
 nals were not published on the following morning, and the 
 printers and compositors, engaged in their preparation, being 
 'eft without employment, formed a body of active rioters. 
 They were joined by the workmen from several manulac- 
 
440 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 tories, the proprietors of which had agreed to suspend their 
 business during the crisis, thus throwing into the streets an 
 insurrectionary force, whose ferocity was more formidable 
 than military discipline. Some disturbances took place at 
 the offices of two journals, the proprietors of which persisted 
 in publishing appeals to the populace , but they seemed to be 
 of so little importance, that Charles went to enjoy his favourite 
 amusement of hunting, and his ministers, with similar in- 
 fatuation, neglected to strengthen the garrison of Paris. 
 6. In the evening of Tuesday, the appearance of the military 
 to reinforce the police, became the signal for the commence- 
 ment of a contest. Several lives were lost, but the soldiers 
 succeeded in dispersing the riotous mobs ; and when they re- 
 turned to their barracks, Marshal Marmont, the military 
 commander of Paris, wrote a letter to the king, congratula- 
 ting him on the restoration of tranquillity ; and the ministers 
 prepared their last ordinance, declaring the capital to be in a 
 state of siege. 
 
 7. But the apparent triumph of the royalists was delusive ; 
 scarcely were the troops withdrawn when all the lamps in 
 Paris were broken, and the citizens, protected by darkness, 
 made energetic preparations for the struggle of the ensuing 
 day ; barricades were erected, arms were procured from the 
 shops, the theatres, and the police-stations, and the arsenal 
 and powder magazine were seized by the populace. When 
 the morning of Wednesday dawned, Marmont beheld with 
 alarm the tri-coloured flag, the banner of insurrection, waiv- 
 ing from the towers of the cathedral, and the preparations 
 made on all sides for an obstinate struggle. He instantly 
 wrote to the king, recommending conciliatory measures, but 
 receiving no answer, he prepared to act on his previous in- 
 structions. Dividing his troops into four columns, he direct- 
 ed them to move in difTerent directions, and make circuits 
 through the principal streets occupied by the insurgents. A 
 series of sanguinary conflicts took place, in all of which the 
 royalists were worsted ; the troops of the line manifested the 
 greatest reluctance to fire upon their countrymen ; some of 
 them disobeyed orders, and others went over to the insur- 
 gents. When evening closed, the soldiers had been beaten 
 at every point, and they returned to their barracks wearied 
 and disappointed. No provision was made for their refresh- 
 ment after the toils of the day, while all the houses in Parig 
 were freely opened to the insurgents, and the citizens vied 
 
WILLIAM IV. 441 
 
 with each other in supplying them with every thing that they 
 needed. 
 
 8. The struggle was renewed with great fury on the 
 morning of the third day ; Marmont and the ministers, now 
 convinced of their danger, proposed a suspension of arms ; 
 but before nnything decisive could be effected, two regiments 
 of the line unfixed their bayonets, and went over to the in- 
 surgents in a body. The populace reinforced by these, 
 rushed through the gap thus opened, carried the Louvre by 
 storm, and opened from this position a terrible fire on the 
 column of the royal army. Under this new attack the sol- 
 diers reeled; their assailants saw them waver, and charging 
 with resistless impetuosity, drove them to a precipitate re- 
 treat. Marmont and his staff escaped with great difficulty, 
 his scattered detachments were taken or cut to pieces ; before 
 three o'clock Paris was tranquil, and the victory of the peo- 
 ple complete. 
 
 9. The members of the chamber of deputies, who hap- 
 pened to be in Paris, met at the house of M. Lafitte, and orga 
 nized a provisional government ; and on the following Friday 
 they proclaimed the duke of Orleans lieutenant-general of 
 the kingdom. On the 3d of August the chambers met, pur- 
 suant to the original writs of convocation, and the national 
 representatives raised the duke of Orleans to the throne, 
 under the title of Louis Philippe I., king of the French. 
 Charles X. was dismissed to exile with contemptuous hu- 
 manity ; but the efforts of the new government to protect the 
 obnoxious ministers almost produced a new civil war. Four 
 of these unfortunate men, arrested by individual zeal, were 
 brought to trial ; an infuriated mob clamoured for their blood, 
 but their judges had the firmness to sentence them ^o per- 
 petual imprisonment ; and soon after their removal to their 
 destined place of confinement, public tranquillity was restored. 
 
 10. The revolution of Paris was closely followed by that 
 of Brussels. The union of Belgium with Holland by the 
 treaty of Vienna was an arrangement which contained no 
 elements of stability, for the Belgians and the Dutch were 
 aliens to each other in language, religion, and blood. The 
 arbitrary measures of the king of Holland's prime minister 
 provoked a formidable riot in Brussels, on the night of the 
 25th of August, which the indecision, cowardice, and stu- 
 pidity of the Dutch authorities, fostered into a revolutionary 
 war. The prince of Orange made some efforts to mediate 
 between the contending parties, but he only exposed himself 
 
442 HISTORY OF EXGLA3D. 
 
 to the suspicions of both : and, after a brief struggle, Bel- 
 gium was severed from the dominions of the house of 
 Nassau. 
 
 11. Several insurrectionary movements took place In Ger- 
 many ; the duke of Brunswick was deposed, and replaced 
 by his brother ; the king of Saxony was forced to resign in 
 favour of his nephew, and the elector of Hesse was compelled 
 to giant a constitutional charter to his subjects. Poland 
 next became the theatre of war ; its Russian governor, the 
 archduke Constantino, was expelled, and the independence of 
 the country proclaimed ; but after a long and sanguinary 
 struggle, the gallant Poles were forced to yield to the gigan- 
 tic power of Russia. 
 
 12. In England, the rural districts, especially Kent and 
 the northern counties, exhibited alarming signs of popular 
 discontent ; but the agitation in Ireland was of a still more 
 dangerous character, and seemed to threaten the dismember- 
 ment of the empire. Great anxiety was felt for the opening 
 of parliament, and the developement of the line of policy 
 which the ministers would adopt at such a crisis. It was 
 with surprise that the people learned from the premier, en 
 the very first night of the session, that not only he was un- 
 prepared to bring forward any measure of reform, but that 
 he would strenuously oppose any change in parliamentary 
 representation. 13. The unpopularity which the duke of 
 Wellington seemed almost to have courted by this declara- 
 tion, was studiously aggravated by the arts of his opponents ; 
 and when the king had accepted the invitation of the Lord 
 ■Mayor to dine with the citizens on the 9th of November, a 
 letter was sent to the duke of Wellington by a city magis- 
 trate, warning him that he would be insulted, perhaps in- 
 jured, by the mob, if he did not come protected by a military 
 escort. The ministers in alarm resolved to put a stop to the 
 entire proceedings, and on the 8th of November, to the great 
 astonishment of the public, it was announced, not only that 
 the king's visit would be postponed, but that there would be 
 neither the usual civic procession in honour of the new Lord 
 Mayor, nor the dinner in the Guild-hall, for which great 
 preparations had been made, in conseOjUence, as was alleged, 
 of some seditious conspiracy. The first effect of the an- 
 nouncement was a general panic; the funds fell four per 
 cent, in one day, and the whole country was filled with 
 anxiety and alarm. But when it was discovered that no 
 serious, grounds existed for the apprehensions which had 
 
 
WILLIAM IV. 443 
 
 been excited, all who had a share in exciting it were assailed 
 with a tempest of indignant ridicule, which even a stronger 
 cabinet than that bf the duke of Wellington could not have 
 resisted. 14. When the ministerial measure for the arrange- 
 ment for the civil list was introduced, Sir Henry Parnell 
 moved a resolution which implied that the ministers no longer 
 possessed the confidence of parliament. After a calm de- 
 bate, marked by unusual moderation on both sides, the rcso 
 lution was carried in a full house by a majority of twenty 
 nine votes ; the duke of Wellington and his colleagues 
 instantly resigned, and earl Grey received his majesty's com- 
 mands to form a new administration. 
 
 15. Earl Grey's ministry was formed of the leaders of 
 the old whig party and the friends of the late Mr. Canning; 
 the most remarkable appointment was that of Mr. Brougham 
 to the office of Lord Chancellor, as a very few days before 
 his elevation, he had declared " no change that may tako 
 place in the administration can by any possibility affect 
 me." His immediate acceptance of a peerage and office 
 consequently excited surprise, and provoked harsh comments. 
 Parliament adjourned for a short time to give the new minis- 
 ters an opportunity for maturing their plans, which were 
 stated by the premier to include economy and retrenchment 
 at home, non-interference in the affairs of foreign states, and 
 a reform in the commons' house of parliament. 
 
 16. Great anxiety was felt about the nature of the reform 
 which the ministers would propose. Their measure was 
 developed to the house of commons by lord John Russell, on 
 the 1st of March, 18.31, and it was found to include a 
 greater amount of change than had been anticipated either 
 by friends or enemies. All boroughs not containing two 
 thousand inhabitants were totally disfranchised, those that 
 had less than four thousand were restricted to returning one 
 member, and the rights of representation of which these 
 were deprived, were given to large manufacturing towns, 
 four districts of the metropolis, and to divisions of the large 
 counties. Similar changes were proposed in the representa- 
 tion of Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 17. A measure which involved so important a change in 
 the constitution, was one which necessarily provoked pro- 
 tracted discussions. The debate on its introduction lasted 
 seven nights ; the second reading of the bill was only carried 
 by a majority of one. The ministers were subsequently de- 
 feated on two divisions, and were compelled either to resign 
 
444 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 their situations or dissolve the parliament. His majesty 
 carried his resolution into effect to support the cabinet by 
 dissolving the parliament in person, and an appeal was then 
 made to the people, on the most important constitutional 
 question that had been raised since the accession of the 
 house of Hanover. 
 
 18. The event of the elections more than answered the 
 expectations of the most ardent reformer. When the new 
 parliament met, it appeared that fully two-thirds of the repre- 
 sentatives were pledged to support the minister. The pro- 
 gress of the Reform Bill through the house of commons 
 though slow was certain, and on the 22d of September it was 
 sent up to the lords. Its fate in the upper house was very 
 different ; it was rejected on a second reading by a majority 
 of forty-one. This decision produced violent and even dan- 
 gerous excitement : but the promptitude with which the house 
 of commons, on the motion of lord Ebrington, pledged itself 
 to the support of the ministers and their measure, calmed the 
 agitation in the metropolis and the greater part of the coun- 
 try. Serious riots, however, took place at Derby and Not- 
 ingham, which were not quelled until considerable mischief 
 had been perpetrated ; Bristol suffered still more severely 
 from the excesses of an infuriate mob, and the disturbances 
 were not suppressed until an immense quantity of public and 
 private property had been wantonly destroyed. 
 
 19. In the midst of this political excitement the country 
 was visited by a pestilential disease, called the Asiastic cho- 
 lera, which proved very destructive, though its ravages were 
 not so great in England as in some parts of the continent. 
 This must, under Providence, be attributed to the judicious 
 measures adopted by the government, and to the zealous ex- 
 ertions of all the gentlemen connected with the medical pro- 
 fession throughout the empire. In Ireland agrarian insur- 
 rections were added to the horrors of pestilence ; the peas 
 ants, driven to desperation by famine and oppression on the 
 one hand, and stimulated by the violent harangues of itiner- 
 ent demagogues on the other, committed several atrocious 
 outrages, which could not be restrained by the ordinary 
 operations of constitutional law. France and Italy were 
 also disturbed by insurrectionary movements, which were 
 however, soon suppressed ; and the revolution of Belgium 
 was completed, by its being formed into. a monarchy under 
 prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg, whose chief recomraenda 
 tion was his connection with the royal family of England. 
 
WILLIAM IV. 446 
 
 20. These circumstances induced the ministers to convene 
 parliament for the third time within the year ; the Reform 
 Bill was again introduced, and after the second reading had 
 been carried by a decisive majority, the houses adjourned till 
 the commencement of the following year. When they re- 
 assembled, the Reform Bill was carried steadily through its 
 remaining stages in the lower house, and once more brought 
 into the house of peers, where its fate was regarded with 
 great anxiety. Several of its former opponents, called wa- 
 verers, had resolved to vote for the second reading, with the 
 hope that the measure might be greatly modified in com- 
 mittee, and by their aid the bill passed this important stage 
 by a majority of nine. But the ministers had no reason to 
 boast of this success ; more than twenty of those who had 
 supported the second reading were pledged to resist the most 
 important clauses, and by their aid, a motion for instruction 
 to the committee on the bill, which virtually took all control 
 over the measure out of the hands of its proposers, was 
 carried by a majority of thirty-five. Lord Grey, in con- 
 junction with his colleagues, proposed to the king a new 
 creation of peers ; his majesty refused his assent to so ex- 
 treme a measure, and all the members of the cabinet in- 
 stantly resigned. The king then applied to the duke of 
 Wellington to form a new administration, and his grace un- 
 dertook the task under circumstances of greater difficulty 
 than had yet been encountered by a British statesman. Op- 
 posed by the bulk of the nation and by a large majority of 
 the house of commons, the duke soon discovered that it 
 would be out of his power to form a ministry ; he therefore 
 resigned the commission, and advised the king to recall his 
 former advisers. Lord Grey returned to power, having se- 
 cured the success of the Reform Bill by a compromise with 
 its opponents. It was agreed that the ministers should not 
 create peers, but that the leaders of the opposition should 
 secede from the house until the Reform Bill became the law 
 of the land. Under these circumstances the measure was 
 passed without any impediment through its remaining stages, 
 and on the 7th of June it received the royal assent. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. How was the accession of William IV. received ? 
 
 2. What was the state of parties at the commencement of the new 
 
 reign ? 
 
 3. With what design did the French ministers declare war against Algiers ? 
 
 2P 
 
446 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 4. What ordinances were issued by Polignac ? 
 
 5. How were they received in Paris ? 
 
 6. When did the contest between the citizens of Paris and the royal 
 
 troops begin ? 
 
 7. In what condition was the royal cause after the second day's struggle 
 
 in Paris ? 
 
 8. How was the contest in Paris terminated ? 
 
 9. Was any change made in the government of France ? 
 
 10. Did the French revolution produce any effect in Belgium ? 
 
 11. Were there any insurrectionary movements in other parts of the con- 
 
 tinent ? 
 
 12. What remarkable declaration was made by the duke of Wellington ! 
 
 13. Why was the king's visit to the city postponed ? 
 
 14. How was the Wellington administration dissolved ? 
 
 15. On what principle was lord Grey's ministry constructed ? 
 
 16. What was the general nature of the Reform Bill ? 
 
 17. How was it received on its first introduction into the house of com 
 
 mons ? 
 
 18. What was the fate of the Reform Bill in the new parliament ? 
 
 19. In what condition were Great Britain and the continent at this crisis! 
 
 20. How was the Reform Bill ultimately carried ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The palace sounds with wail, 
 
 The courtly dames are paie, 
 A widow o'er the purple howB, and weeps its splendour dim i 
 
 And we who clasp the boon, 
 
 A king for freedom won. 
 Do feel eternity rise up between our thanks and him. — Anon. 
 
 1. (A. D. 1833 — 7.) The revolution in France, the ex- 
 citement attending the agitation of the Reform Bill in Eng- 
 land, the difficulty which impeded the arrangement of the 
 affairs of Belgium, and the war in Poland, threatened con- 
 sequences fatal to the peace of Europe ; it was only by slow 
 degrees that the agitated waves were stilled, and appearances 
 more than once seemed to threaten a renewal of the storm. 
 Louis was zealously supported by the middle classes in 
 France, but he was exposed to the plots of the Carlists and 
 republicans, who were equally hostile to the continuance of 
 a government so adverse to their favourite schemes. A Car- 
 list insurrection in the south of France, and a republican not 
 at the funeral of General Lamarque in Paris, threatened to 
 involve the nation in the perils of a civil war ; but the re- 
 publicans were unable to withstand the firmness of the na- 
 tional guard, and the capture of the duchess of Berri put 
 an end to the war in the south of France. 
 
 2. Don Pedro had resigned the crown of Portugal when 
 he was chosen emperor of Brazil ; but when he was deposed 
 by his South American subjects, he resolved to support his 
 
WILLIAM IV. 447 
 
 daughter's claims to the throne of Portugal. Having se- 
 cretly organized a considerable force of English and French 
 adventurers, he effected a landing near Oporto, and took 
 possession of that city. He expected an insurrection, but 
 none took place ; and he was closely besieged in the city by 
 the usurper Miguel. A desultory war ensued, distinguished 
 by no remarkable events, until Miguel's fleet was captured 
 by Admiral Napier with a very inferior force ; after which 
 Lisbon was surprised by the constitutional forces, and the 
 usurper driven into exile. Don Pedro's death, which soon 
 followed his victory, did no injury to the constitutional cause, 
 and his daughter, Donna Maria de Gloria, remains in undis- 
 turbed possession of the crown of Portugal. 
 
 3. The influence of Russia was exercised in resisting tho 
 progress of liberal opinion in Germany, but was more alarm- 
 ingly displayed in the east of Europe. Mohammed Ali, the 
 pacha of Egypt, threw off his allegiance to the sultan, and 
 sent his son Ibrahim to invade Syria. The superior disci- 
 pline of the Egyptian troops rendered their victories easy, 
 and Ibrahim might have advanced to the suburbs of Constan- 
 tinople, and perhaps have taken that city, had not the sultan 
 sought protection from the Czar. A Russian armament de- 
 livered the Ottoman empire from the impending peril, but 
 the acceptance of such aid rendered the sultan a dependant 
 on the court of St. Petersburg. 
 
 4. Such was the state of Europe when the British parlia- 
 ment was dissolved, and a new election held pursuant to the 
 provisions of the Reform Bill. In England and Scotland the 
 ministers had very large majorities, but in Ireland a new 
 party mustered in considerable force, consisting of members 
 pledged to support the repeal of the union. 5. One of the 
 earliest measures which engaged the attention of the re- 
 formed parliament, was a coercion bill for suppressing the 
 agrarian disturbances in Ireland, and checking the political 
 agitation by which these tumults were in some measure en- 
 couraged. The bill passed the lords without difficulty; but 
 in the lower house it encountered so fierce an opposition, that 
 the ministers were compelled to abandon some of the most 
 obnoxious clauses. With the coercion bill a measure for the 
 regulation of the Irish church was very closely connected. 
 The Irish church stands in the unpopular predicament of 
 possessing a wealthy national establishment, while the great 
 majority of the people belong not merely to a different, but 
 to a hostile faith impediments have consequently been of- 
 
448 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 fered to the collection of its revenues, and there has scarcely 
 been any popular disturbance in Ireland during the greater 
 part of a century, which has not been more or less remotely 
 connected with the tithe-question. Under these circum- 
 stances, the conservative party generally supported the claims 
 of the church in their full efficiency; the moderate reformers 
 proposed, that after provision had been made for all neces- 
 sary ecclesiastical uses, the surplus should be applied to some 
 object of public utility, such as national education ; and a 
 third party, stronger in zeal than numbers, regarded the pro- 
 perty of the church as a fund that might be seized for the 
 purposes of the state. The ministers steered a middle course 
 between the extreme parties, and of course gave perfect satis- 
 faction to neither; they abolished ten bishoprics, but they 
 abandoned the clause for applying the surplus to purposes 
 not purely ecclesiastical, in order to facilitate the passage of 
 the bill through the house of lords. The motion was ren- 
 dered more agreeable to the Irish clergy, than it would other- 
 wise have been, by the grant of a million sterling as a loan, 
 in lieu of the arrears of tithes which they were unable to 
 collect. 
 
 6. The renewal of the charter of the bank of England, 
 led to some important discussions on the financial state of 
 the country ; but much more important was the change made 
 in the constitution of the East India Company. While that 
 body was secured in its political rights over the vast empire 
 which it had acquired in Hindostan, it was deprived of its 
 exclusive privileges of commerce, and the trade with India 
 and China was freely opened to all the subjects of the British 
 crown. Equally great was the change made in the constitu 
 tion of the British West India colonies by the total abolition 
 of negro slavery ; the service of the negro was changed into 
 a compulsory apprenticeship for a limited time, and a com- 
 pensation of twenty millions sterling was granted to the pro- 
 prietors of the slaves. 
 
 7. Notwithstanding the importance and value of these 
 changes, the reformed parliament was far from satisfying the 
 expectations which had been rather too sanguinely formed 
 by the people. Some dissatisfaction was expressed at the 
 limited amount of the reductions of taxation, the continuance 
 of the corn laws, and of military flogging, and the impress- 
 ment of seamen. It was also suspected that the cabinet was 
 itself divided on more than one question of public policy. 
 
 8. In the United States some discussions arose, in which 
 
WILLIAM IV. 449 
 
 the interests of England, as a commercial country, were ma- 
 terially involved. The tariff sanctioned by congress, im- 
 posing heavy duties on the import of manufactured goods, 
 was strenuously opposed by the southern states, especially 
 the Carolinas, and an appeal to arms was threatened. With 
 some difficulty a compromise was effected, but the attack 
 thus made on the permanance of the union is still felt in 
 America. The hostility of the American president to the 
 banking system, induced him to withdraw the public de 
 posites from the bank of the United States, and a violent 
 shock was thus given to commercial credit, which produced 
 injurious results on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 
 9. The agitation in Ireland for the repeal of the union 
 was continued during the recess ; and soon after the meeting 
 of parliament, Mr. O'Connell introduced the subject into the 
 house of commons. His motion was rejected by a majority 
 of five hundred and twenty against fifty-eight, but at the 
 same time parliament pledged itself " to remove all just 
 cause of complaint, to promote all well-considered measures 
 of improvement." But on the nature of these measures the 
 cabinet was divided, and the majority having evinced a dis- 
 position to appropriate the surplus ecclesiastical revenues to 
 secular purposes of general utility, the earl of Ripon, the 
 duke of Richmond, Mr. Stanley, and sir James Graham, re- 
 signed their offices. Their places were soon supplied, but 
 the changes were very distasteful to the house of lords, and 
 the new Irish tithe-bill was rejected by a decisive majority. 
 
 10. Another Irish question led to further changes in the 
 ministry. In the discussion on the renewal of the coercion 
 bill, it appeared that some members had agreed to certain 
 compromises with its opponents of which their colleagues 
 were ignorant. The disclosure of these negotiations led to 
 the resignation of lords Althorp and Grey, the former of 
 whom, however, returned to the office when lord Melbourne 
 was appointed premier. These ministerial dissensions and 
 the opposite views of the majorities in the houses of lords 
 and commons, greatly impeded the progress of legislation ; 
 almost the only important measure of the session was a bill 
 for the reform of the poor-laws, which, though it effected 
 very great changes, was not much connected with party 
 politics. 
 
 11. The anomalous position of the government gave 
 general dissatisfaction ; the cabinet was assailed with equal 
 violence by the conservatives and the extreme section of the 
 
 2 p2 
 
450 BISTOBY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 reformers, and the king soon began to show that he was by 
 no means satisfied with the conduct of his ministers, espe- 
 cially the lord chancellor, who, during a tour in Scotland, 
 had made some inconsistent and extraordinary speeches at 
 various public meetings. On the death of earl Spencer, lord 
 Althorp was obliged to vacate his office of chancellor of the 
 exchequer, and the king took this opportunity of dismissing 
 the Melbourne administration. Sir Robert Peel was appoint- 
 ed premier, but as he was absent on the continent, the duk-3 
 of Wellington undertook the management of public affairs 
 till his return. 
 
 12. After sir Robert Peel's return, and the formation of 
 his cabinet, the parliament was dissolved, and a new election 
 brought the strength of parties to a very severe test. In 
 England the partizans of sir Robert Peel's administration had 
 a small majority ; but in Ireland, an unfortunate affray at 
 Rathcormack, arising from an attempt to enforce the pay- 
 ment of tithes, so exasperated the catholic population, that 
 the ministerial candidates were almost everywhere unsuc- 
 cessful. When the parliament assembled, the ministers were 
 beaten at the very outset in the choice of a speaker ; Mr 
 Abercromby, the opposition candidate, having been preferred 
 10 the ministerial candidate, sir Charles Sutton, by a majority 
 of ten. Several other motions were decided against the 
 ministers, but none that involved a necessity for resignation, 
 until lord John Russell proposed a resolution, that any mea- 
 sure introduced regarding Irish tithes should be founded on 
 the principle of appropriating the surplus revenue to purposes 
 of general utility. The motion was carried by a majority of 
 twenty-three ; sir Robert Peel and his colleagues immediately 
 resigned, and the Melbourne cabinet was restored, with the 
 remarkable exception of lord Brougham, whose place, as 
 chancellor, was supplied by lord Cottenham. 
 
 13. A bill for reforming the corporations of England, 
 founded on the report of commissioners appointed to investi- 
 gate the condition of these bodies, was immediately intro* 
 duced by the Melbourne administration, and passed without 
 difficulty through the house of commons. Some important 
 changes were made in the measure during its progress 
 through the house of lords, but the ministers deemed it better 
 to accept these modifications than to risk the loss of the bill, 
 A law for regulating the marriages of dissenters was also 
 passed by both houses, but the ministerial measures for regu- 
 lating the Irish church were again rejected by the house of 
 lords. 
 
WILLIAM IV. 451 
 
 14. The state of Canada began to occupy a large share 
 of public attention during the latter part of the session ; the 
 colonial house of assembly opposed the measures of govern- 
 ment, and went to the extreme of withholding the supplies. 
 Commissioners were sent to arrange these differences, but 
 the Canadians of French descent made claims, not only in- 
 consistent with the continuance of British dominion, but with 
 the fair claims to protection of the British emigrants who 
 had settled in the country, and their demands were conse- 
 quently rejected. 
 
 15. During the struggle between the nicely balanced par 
 ties in England, the aspect of continental affairs was favour 
 able to the continuance of peace. An attempt was made on 
 the life of the king of the French, and various plots were 
 formed by enthusiastic republicans to effect a revolution, but 
 the friends of order rallied round the throne, and the only re- 
 sult of these attacks was to increase the strength of the 
 government. Spain was distracted by the horrors of a dis- 
 puted succession. A little before the death of Ferdinand 
 VII., the Salic law, which had been introduced by the Bour- 
 bon dynasty, was set aside in favour of that monarch's infant 
 daughter ; and she succeeded to the throne after her father's 
 decease (1833). Don Carlos and his partizans protested 
 against this arrangement, and they took advantage of the 
 unpopularity of the regent to kindle the flames of civil war. 
 To prevent the necessity of again returning to this subject, 
 we may mention here that this war still continues ; that the 
 queen regent, though aided by a British auxiliary legion, has 
 failed to establish her authority over the northern provinces, 
 and that so completely disorganized is the entire condition of 
 society in the peninsula, that there is no present prospect of 
 its being speedily restored to a state of order and settled gov- 
 ernment. Though the civil war in Portugal has not been 
 renewed, the country continues to be distracted by contests 
 between rival parties, whose struggles are too often decided 
 by open force rather than constitutional means. 
 
 16. The commencement of the parliamentary session in 
 1836, showed that the differences between the majority of 
 the lords and the majority of the commons were far from 
 being reconciled. They were at issue principally on the line 
 of policy that ought to be pursued towards Ireland, and on 
 the measures for regulating the established church in Eng- 
 land and Ireland. It was proposed that the Irish corporations 
 should be reformed according to the plan which, in the pre- 
 
452 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 ceding year, had oeen adopted for similar bodies in England, 
 and a bill embodying this principle received the sanction of 
 the lower house ; the lords, however, insisted that the state 
 of society in Ireland was such that municipal institutions 
 were not adapted to that country, and resolved that the cor- 
 porations should be altogether abolished : to this amendment 
 flic commons refused to agree, and the bill was consequently 
 lost. A similar fate awaited the Irish tithe-bill ; the lords 
 rejected the appropriation clause, and the commons would 
 not accept the measure without it. Laws, however, were 
 passed for the commutation of tithes in England, for the re- 
 gistration of births, deaths, and marriages, and for regula- 
 ting episcopal sees, the opposing parties having each yielded 
 a little to ensure unanimity. 
 
 17. In Upper Canada the refractory house of assembly 
 was dissolved, and at the new election a majority of members 
 favourable to the British government was returned. But in 
 X«ower Canada the demands of the French party were not 
 only renewed but increased, and the governor, after a vain 
 effort to conciliate the house of assembly, put an end to the 
 session. 
 
 18. In America the progress of the contest between Presi- 
 dent Jackson and the Bank of the United States, greatly em- 
 barrassed all commercial transactions. In spite of all legis- 
 lative prohibitions, the country was inundated by an over 
 issue of paper money, and the government, to check the 
 evil, decreed that specie alone should be received in payment 
 for public lands. The small notes were immediately depre- 
 ciated ; several banks failed, and many of the leading mer- 
 chants and traders were unable to discharge their engage- 
 ments. The crisis was sensibly felt in England, where it 
 greatly checked the speculation in rail-roads, which were 
 beginning to be carried to a perilous extent ; the manufac- 
 turing districts suffered most severely from the temporary 
 pressure ; but the crisis was soon over, and trade again 
 flowed in its accustomed channels. 
 
 19. The parliamentary session of 1837 produced few 
 measures of importance ; on Irish measures the houses 
 maintained their opposite opinions, and of course nothing 
 was done; in matters of ecclesiastical policy the result was 
 precisely the same ; the only matter in which there was any 
 appearance of unanimity, was in the adoption of resolutions 
 for administering the government of Lower Canada in oppo- 
 sition to the refractory house of assembly. A gloom was 
 
VICTORIA, 453 
 
 thrown over these and other discussions by the increasing 
 illness of the king, whose disease at an early period prog- 
 nosticated its fatal termination. His majesty died on the 
 morning of the 20th of June, sincerely regretted by every 
 class of his subjects. During his reign of near.y seven 
 years, the nation enjoyed tranquillity both at home and 
 abroad ; it was the only reign in the annals of England 
 during which there was no execution for treason and no 
 foreign war. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What was the condition of France after the Revolution ? 
 
 2. Did any civil war arise in Portugal ? 
 
 3. How was Turkey forced into dependence on Russia ? 
 
 4. What was the state of parties in the first reformed parliament ? 
 
 5. To what measure of domestic policy was the attention of parliament 
 
 directed ? 
 
 6. What change was made in the East and West India colonies ? 
 
 7. Did the reformed parliament satisfy expectations ? 
 
 8. To what dangers was the American union exposed ? 
 
 9. On what questions was lord Grey's cabinet divided ? 
 
 10. What circumstances led to further changes in the ministry'? 
 
 11. On what occasion was the Melbourne cabinet dissolved? 
 
 12. How was sir Robert Peel compelled to resign ? 
 
 13. With what measures did the Melbourne ministry succeed? 
 
 14. In what condition was Canada ? 
 
 15. Can you state the circumstances of the civil war in Spain ? 
 
 16. On what subjects were the majorities of the lords and commons at 
 
 variance ? 
 
 17. What was the progress of Canadian discontent? 
 
 18. What commercial crisis occurred in America? 
 
 19. Why was the session of 1837 unproductive of important events? 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 VICTORIA. 
 
 Born 1819. Began to reign 1837. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 They decked her courtly halls — 
 
 They reined her 'hundred steeds; — 
 
 They shouted at her palace gate, 
 A noble queen succeeds. — Anon. 
 
 1. Victoria, the only daughter of Edward, duke of Kent, 
 succeeded her late uncle, and her accession to the throne was 
 hailed with more than ordinary enthusiasm. All parties 
 vied with each other in testifying their affectionate allegiance 
 
454 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 to their youthful sovereign, called, at the early age of eighteen, 
 to rule over the destinies of a mighty empire. The formal 
 business of parliament was completed with all possible de- 
 spatch, and, at the close of the session, parliament was dis- 
 solved. Although there was a keen trial of strength between 
 the rival political parties, the elections were unusually tran- 
 quil; and, at their close, it appeared that the triumphs of 
 the opposing parties were very nearly balanced. Public atten- 
 tion was next directed to the preparations made for enter- 
 taining her majesty at a civic banquet on the 9th of November. 
 They were on a scale of unrivalled magnificence, and her 
 majesty's procession to the Guild-hall was one of the most 
 pleasing pageants ever displayed in England. No change 
 was made in the cabinet; and, when parliament assembled 
 towards the close of the year, it appeared that the ministers 
 retained their majority in the house of commons, and that 
 the opposition to them in the house of lords had become more 
 moderate. 
 
 2. The state of Lower Canada was one of the most pressing 
 subjects for the consideration of the legislature; the oppo- 
 nents of the government had taken up arms, and raised the 
 standard of rebellion. But it soon appeared that their mea- 
 sures were ill-concerted ; after a brief struggle, most of the 
 leaders abandoned their followers, and sought shelter in the 
 United States. Immediately after the re-assembling of par- 
 liament, in January, 1838, measures were introduced for the 
 temporary government of Canada, its constitution having been 
 suspended by the revolt; and the earl of Durham was ap- 
 pointed governor of all the British colonies in North America, 
 with power, as lord commissioner, to arrange the differences 
 between her majesty's government and her discontented sub- 
 jects. The result of his mission was, that the two provinces 
 were consolidated into one, under a joint political administra- 
 tion ; by which wise policy, party interests were dissolved, and 
 tranquillity soon restored. Beyond the Canadian question, the 
 parliamentary session was chiefly occupied with various mea- 
 sures of Irish policy, particularly the introduction of a Poor- 
 law into that country; there were, however, a few enactments 
 of general interest which obtained the sanction of the legisla- 
 ture; the parliamentary qualification was extended, arrest for 
 debt on mesne process was abolished, and the administering 
 of oaths in courts of justice dispensed with in respect to 
 Quakers, Moravians, and others. 
 
 3. The 28th of June of this year (1838,) witnessed the 
 
VICTORIA. 455 
 
 coronation of tne young queen, which took place amidst 
 universal rejoicing; many foreign princes and ambassadors 
 were present, who also took great interest in the imposing 
 ceremony. Soon after, parliament was prorogued by the 
 queen in person. The internal energies of the kingdom were 
 now developing themselves in the construction of vast works 
 of public benefit, among which the completion of several im- 
 portant railways was the most conspicuous. 
 
 4. The foreign policy of the country, however, was dis- 
 graced by a proceeding which, ended in the most lamentable 
 results. Under the erroneous impression that Russia contem- 
 plated some aggressive movement against the stability of the 
 British Indian empire through the instrumentality of Persia, 
 an Anglo-Indian army was marched into the wild and distant 
 country of Afghanistan. Sir John Keane was appointed to 
 the command of the expedition, and proceeded with vast 
 resources of men and means into the heart of the country. 
 Candahar was occupied ; and no difficulty was opposed to his 
 career until his arrival at the fort of Ghuznee. This strong 
 position he at once stormed and took ; and, the way being 
 thus opened to Cabul, he hastened on to the capital. Dost 
 Mohammed, the reigning prince, was deposed, and Shah 
 Soojah, a mouarch more friendly to British interests, was sub- 
 stituted in his place. Sir John Keane having left a strong 
 force in Cabul, with Macnaghten and Burnes, as the chief 
 officers of the mission, hastily returned to India, and from 
 thence to England, where, in honour of his brilliant successes, 
 he was raised to the peerage. 
 
 5. Difficulties began now to manifest themselves in con- 
 nexion with China, which ended in an open rupture with that 
 empire. The West Indian colonies also broke out into insu- 
 bordination, particularly Jamaica, in consequence of the inter- 
 ference of the legislature in the subject of West India slavery. 
 The difficulties, however, were eventually compromised, and 
 tranquillity restored. 
 
 (3. The internal state of the kiugdom was somewhat dis- 
 turbed by Chartism, the grand desideratum put forward by 
 the working-classes as a remedy for their supposed wrongs : 
 it required, 1st, universal suffrage ; 2d, vote by ballot ; 3d, 
 annual parliaments; 4th, paid members; and 5th, no property 
 qualification. The Chartists broke out into open riot to- 
 wards the close of the year 1839, at Newport, Monmouth- 
 shire. Frost, Williams, and Jones, the fomentors of these 
 disturbances, were captured, tried, and sentenced to death; 
 
456 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Sir Kobert Peel. 
 
 but. their sentence was ultimately commuted to transportation 
 for life. 
 
 7. The first great event of the new year (1840,) was the 
 marriage of her majesty with Prince Albert, of Saxe-Coburg 
 Gotha, which was solemnized in St. James's chapel, on Feb- 
 ruary 10th. The day was celebrated throughout the kingdom 
 by a general holiday and great rejoicing. The chief points 
 of interest connected with the foreign policy were the advance 
 of an expedition against China, to obtain indemnity for the 
 past, and better security for British commerce for the future ; 
 and the successes of the navy on the coast of Syria, in support 
 of the power of the sultan of Turkey, against his rebellious 
 pacha, Mohammed Ali. 
 
 8. The following year brought with it a cessation of hos- 
 tilities in China, by the occupation of Canton, which was ran- 
 somed by the payment of six millions of dollars to the British, 
 by way of indemnity for the expenses of the war. The paci- 
 fication of the Levant was also a matter of congratulation. The 
 government, however, did not seem to possess the confidence 
 of the country, and, although the parliament was dissolved, 
 and an appeal made to the people, yet lord Melbourne was 
 forced to resign. Sir Robert Peel came into office as leader 
 of the new administration. 
 
 9. The successes of the British arms, in the beginning of 
 
VICTORIA. 457 
 
 the year, were now more than counterbalanced by the sad 
 disasters which befell their army in Afghanistan. A fierce 
 rebellion broke out on November 2d, at Cabul ; Burnes and 
 Macnaghten, the British ministers, with other civil and mili- 
 tary officers, were successively murdered, and the whole country 
 rose in arms under the treacherous Akbar Khan, the son of 
 the deposed king, Dost Mohammed, who determined on the 
 massacre of the whole British force. Pusillanimity and inde- 
 cision in the councils of the general-in-chief, led to an imme- 
 diate evacuation of the country; 4500 fighting men, together 
 with about 12,000 camp followers, besides women and chil- 
 dren, set forward, through ice and snow, on their lamentable 
 retreat ; and no sooner had they cleared out of their canton- 
 ments, than the blood-thirsty Afghans began to plunder the 
 baggage, and fire upon the soldiery; they continued without 
 ceasing their revengeful assaults upon the bewildered and 
 desponding multitude, till there was nothing left to plunder, 
 and none left to kill. Out of a host of about 26,000 human 
 beings, only a few hundreds were rescued from death by cap- 
 tivity. The ladies and the wounded had been given up to the 
 enemy early in the march, and Dr. Brydon was the only officer 
 who made good his retreat. In the following year, however, 
 on the appointment of lord Ellenborough to the governor- 
 generalship of India, in the place of lord Auckland, the British 
 national character was repaired, the honour of their arms re- 
 trieved, and the unfortunate prisoners rescued. General 
 Pollock was despatched into Afghanistan with an invading 
 army; he advanced on Cabul with all possible rapidity; while, 
 on the other side, general Nott, who had held out at Candahar 
 during the recent difficulties, brought his forces also to bear 
 on the capital. Victory everywhere attended the British 
 arms; and the British officers and ladies, who had been taken 
 prisoners, were also rescued, at Bameean, on the road to 
 Turkistan ; the late disgraces having now been so gloriously 
 redeemed, it was determined to evacuate a country which 
 ought never to have been entered ; the fortifications and other 
 works of Cabul having been destroyed, the British troops set 
 forward on their return home, and, after a march of about ten 
 weeks, arrived safely on the banks of the Sutledge, December 
 17th, 1842. 
 
 10. The war in China had broken out afresh, in consequence 
 of the continued differences between the English and Chinese 
 authorities ; but it was renewed with so much vigour on the 
 part of the British government, that the haughty Chinese were 
 
 2Q 
 
458 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 compelled to solicit the establishment of peace. A treaty was 
 entered into by sir Henry Pottinger, on August 29th, 1842, 
 off Nankin, by which lasting peace and friendship were to exist 
 between the two nations. China was to pay twenty-one million 
 dollars, several of her ports were to be thrown open to the 
 British merchants, and the island of Hong-Kong to be ceded 
 in perpetuity to the British empire, with other important com- 
 mercial advantages. 
 
 11. At home, a few slight disturbances arose in the manu- 
 facturing districts from commercial depression ; the repeal of 
 the corn-laws had become a great source of political agitation ; 
 and questions of Irish policy continued to absorb much of the 
 attention of government. Wales, usually so tranquil, now 
 exhibited scenes of popular violence, originating in the op- 
 pressive system of turnpike-tolls. Government appointed a 
 commission in October, 1843, to inquire into the operation of 
 the turnpike laws, which ended in an amelioration of the 
 burden, and the cessation of all outrage. 
 
 12. The Afghan war had no sooner been terminated, than 
 the treacherous conduct of the Ameers of Scinde towards the 
 British troops in their late difficulties in Afghanistan, and 
 their subsequent attempt to break off their engagements with 
 the British Indian government, brought down upon them an 
 armed British force, under sir Charles Napier. A desperate 
 battle was fought near Hydrabad, which resulted in the dis- 
 comfiture of the Ameers, and the annexation of their country 
 to the British possessions. The Mahrattas also displayed 
 similar treachery; but they met a severe chastisement in the 
 battles of Maharajpoor, and of Punniar, in the neighbourhood 
 of Gwalior, which forced them to submit to the demands of 
 the Indian government. These great actions closed the year 
 1843. In the next year circumstances occurred in the govern- 
 ment of the British Indian empire, which led to the recall of 
 lord Ellenborough, who was succeeded by sir Henry Har- 
 dinge, as governor-general of India. It was not long after 
 sir Henry's arrival, before bis military skill was called into 
 active exercise. The Sikh chiefs were making formidable 
 preparations for invading the British territories ; the attempt 
 had been some time anticipated ) but it was the desire of 
 government to act on the defensive, rather than on the offen- 
 sive ; so that no great advances were made to check their 
 crossing the Sutledge, which separated us from the Punjaub. 
 The day at length arrived, when these lawless soldiers crossed 
 
VICTORIA. 459 
 
 the river, and bade defiance to the British Indian armies. 
 The first encounter took place at Moodkee, on December 14tb, 
 1845 ; the struggle was most desperate, but victory decided 
 in favour of the British. The terrible battles of Ferozeshah, 
 Aliwal, and Sobraon, followed in quick succession, the Sikhs 
 incurring great losses in each engagement : in the last battle, 
 the most terrific carnage took place ; men were mowed down 
 by hundreds; and hundreds upon hundreds were drowned 
 in attempting to recross the Sutledge. The success of the 
 British was complete ; but it was not achieved without an im- 
 mense sacrifice of officers and men ; in the battle of Sobraon, 
 the Sikhs lost 10,000 men in killed and wounded, and the 
 British 2383. The British army immediately marched upon 
 Lahore, and entered the capital without opposition ; the re- 
 maining Sikhs submitted ; a treaty was concluded, and indem- 
 nities were to be paid to the British government. Thus closed 
 one of the most eventful and fearful struggles that ever called 
 into action the strength and valour of the Anglo-Indian army, 
 February 10th, 1846. 
 
 13. During these martial proceedings abroad, affairs at 
 home were assuming a more cheering aspect; domestic tran- 
 quillity was restored, commerce greatly improved, and the 
 revenue sustained by the imposition of an income-tax. The 
 duties on articles imported from abroad were considerably re- 
 duced, and great advances made in the principles of free-trade. 
 The repeal of the corn-laws now continued to be a matter of 
 universal discussion, which was considerably promoted by the 
 formation of an anti-corn-law league, provided with immense 
 funds for the dissemination of its principles throughout the 
 country by means of lecturers. The moral and intellectual 
 welfare of the working-classes was also a matter of considera- 
 tion with the government. Annual grants of money were 
 allowed by parliament to provide for the education of the 
 people ; and a committee of the privy-council was appointed 
 to manage their disbursement, under the appellation of the 
 Committee of Council on Education. 
 
 14. In Ireland, political disquietude was on the decline; 
 many measures were passed by the legislature to improve its 
 position, and ameliorate the condition of the people; means 
 of academical instruction were also considerably extended by 
 grants from parliament. The failure of the potato crop, how- 
 ever, in 1845, and the deficiency of the harvest, carried 
 extreme misery and want throughout the whole of Ireland. 
 
460 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 To this failure may be ascribed the hasty settlement of the 
 corn-law question. The universal cry for food quickened the 
 government into an unflinching consideration of the subject; 
 and consequently a measure was brought before parliament 
 for the repeal of the corn-laws. After great discussion, this 
 important bill was passed ; sir Robert Peel and his colleagues 
 immediately resigned ; and soon after the anti-corn-law league 
 was dissolved. The formation of a new ministry devolved on 
 lord John Russell. The failure of the potato crop again in 
 1846, combined with a deficient harvest throughout Europe, 
 produced great and general distress ; and in the west of Scot- 
 land, but especially in Ireland, occasioned intense suffering; 
 in the latter country, multitudes perished from famine and 
 disease. Every effort, however, was made by public munifi- 
 cence and private liberality to arrest the progress of these 
 calamities; and, by the goodness of the Almighty, a most 
 bountiful harvest following the year of scarcity, the nation 
 was once more blessed with plenty and abundance. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. How wns the accession of Queen Victoria received ? 
 
 2. What subjects occupied the attention of her first parliament? 
 
 3. When did the coronation of the queen take place? 
 
 4. What events led to the occupation of Afghanistan by an Anglo- 
 
 Indian army? 
 
 5. What was the state of feeling in China, and the West Indies, at this 
 
 period? 
 
 6. What demand of the Chartists disturbed the public peace? 
 
 7. What were the chief events of the year 1840? 
 
 8. How were the differences with China settled? 
 
 9. What disasters befell the British army in Afghanistan? and how 
 
 were they retrieved ? 
 
 10. On what terms was peace finally established with China? 
 
 11. How were matters at home proceeding at this period, particularly in 
 
 Wales ? 
 
 12. What serious engagements occurred on the Indian frontier, with 
 
 treacherous allies, immediately after the Afghan war? 
 
 13. What important measures were effected by sir Robert Peel's govern- 
 
 ment? and by what means was the repeal of the corn-laws pro- 
 moted? 
 
 14. What was the state of Ireland at this period ? What important po- 
 
 litical measure was hastened on by the failure of the harvest ? 
 
VICTORIA. 
 
 461 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The stately homes of England, 
 
 How beautiful they stand ! 
 Amidst their tall, ancestral trees, 
 
 O'er all the pleasant land.— Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 1. The opulent dwellers, in what Mrs. Hemans styles "the 
 stately homes of England," — the nobility and gentry, as well 
 as the wealthy middle class — experienced a new call upon 
 their wonted liberality in the year 1847, when another defi- 
 cient harvest, and the utter failure of the potato crop, created 
 a recurrence of the sad scenes of famine and destitution in 
 Ireland and the west of Scotland. Benevolent persons in the 
 United States of America also contributed liberally to the 
 relief of the suffering poor in Ireland, by sending over cargoes 
 of provisions from their own abundant harvests. Numbers, 
 nevertheless, perished from famine and its attendant diseases. 
 
 2. The Orleans dynasty was not of long continuance. All 
 Louis Philippe's energies had been 
 devoted to the aggrandizement of 
 his family; many stringent measures 
 against the liberties of the French 
 people had gradually weakened their 
 affection. Dreading an outbreak, 
 he fortified Paris under a pretence 
 of safety against a foreign foe; but, 
 in reality, to secure himself from 
 insurrection. The king issued an 
 ordinance declaring the Reform 
 banquets, which were held at va- 
 rious places in France, illegal ; and 
 the attempt to suppress one in 
 Paris, in February, 1848, led to an 
 insurrection. Some of the troops 
 joined the people ; the palace was 
 attacked, and the king fled in disguise, 
 clared, and a provisional government formed. After various 
 changes, Louis Napoleon, nephew of the Emperor Napoleon, 
 was made President of the Republic for four years. Louis 
 Philippe and his family retired to England, where that monarch 
 soon after died. 
 
 3. The nation suffered a great loss in the death of sir Robert 
 Peel. He was thrown from his horse in St. James's Park, 
 and so injured that he survived but a few hours. His loss 
 was much regretted ; and to him the nation is indebted for 
 
 2q2 
 
 Louis Philippe. 
 
 A republic was de- 
 
462 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 many improvements in their commercial and domestic policy. 
 His death occurred July 2d, 1850. 
 
 4. In 1851, the fairy palace, erected in Hyde Park, was 
 opened to the public. It was, in every respect, a triumph; 
 and people flocked to the " Great Exhibition ,; from all parts 
 of the globe. The contents of the mammoth fabric were of 
 wonderful variety. It contained colossal statuary, and the 
 miniature needle ; the fur dress of the Greenlander, and the 
 silken robe of Persia; the Damascus blade, and the stone 
 hatchet used in the isles of the Pacific ; the golden altar of 
 extraordinary value from Spain, and the rude idols from 
 Australia. In this " Crystal Palace," productions from every 
 part of the globe were collected ; and, amongst these, the fruits 
 of native industry occupied an honorable position. The build- 
 ing was in the form of a Gothic cathedral, and some of the 
 tallest elms in the park were sheltered under its roof. 
 
 5. The electric telegraph between France and England was 
 completed. This new and important invention was now in 
 general use, both in England and on the continent of Europe. 
 
 Duke of Wellington. 
 
 y6. Arthur, Duke of Wellington, died suddenly at Walner 
 Castle, December 14th, 1852. He was one of England's 
 greatest generals, and, although he had fought many battles, 
 yet he never experienced a defeat. Deep and sincere was the 
 
VICTORIA. 463 
 
 lamentation of the English people at his decease. He was 
 buried in St. Paul's cathedral with much solemnity, and all 
 classes vied in paying honors to this truly noble and great man. 
 
 7. After repeated defeat, and resignation, lord John Rus- 
 sell's weak administration retired from office in February, 1852, 
 and was succeeded by a conservative government. 
 
 8. On the 7th of November, 1852, a senatus consultum was 
 issued by Napoleon to the French nation, proposing the re- 
 establishment of the empire. The people having, by an im- 
 mense majority, expressed their desire for the change, the 
 empire was proclaimed on the 2d of December. 
 
 9. The financial measures of lord Derby's administration 
 met with considerable opposition ; and a hostile vote in the 
 house of Commons led to the resignation of ministers. They 
 retired in December, 1852, after a short tenure of office of 
 nearly ten months' duration. A coalition cabinet, composed 
 of Whig, Peelite, and Radical legislators, under the premier- 
 ship of lord Aberdeen, succeeded to power. As many of the 
 new ministers were not only men of recognized ability, but 
 had, at various periods, held office, great expectations were 
 formed respecting them. 
 
 10. For many years a dispute had raged at Constantinople 
 between the Latin and Greek churches, with reference to the 
 guardianship of the holy places in Jerusalem. France 
 espoused the cause of the Latin, and Russia that of the Greek, 
 church. In November, 1852, the czar Nicholas first put for- 
 ward that claim to a protectorate of the Greek Christians in 
 Turkey, which lord John Russell afterwards so injudiciously 
 admitted. The preposterous demand was based upon a forced 
 interpretation of certain passages in the treaty of Kainardji, 
 concluded between Russia and Turkey in 1771. The rather 
 acrimonious discussion that took place between France and 
 Russia, respecting the key of the church of Bethlehem, brought 
 the matter fully before the public. In the course of the dis- 
 pute, both parties threatened hostile measures ; and, while the 
 Russian army on the Pruth was re-inforced, and put in readi- 
 ness for an advance, the French fleet in the Mediterranean 
 approached the Bosphorus. Early in 1853, a favourable 
 change occurred, and as the rival powers seemed willing to 
 make reasonable concessions, hopes were entertained of an 
 amicable solution of the difficulty. These were suddenly dis- 
 pelled by the arrival at Constantinople, in February, 1853, 
 of Prince Menschikoff, on an extraordinary mission. The real 
 nature of his mysterious errand did not transpire until May, 
 
464 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 when his demands were found to be altogether incompatible 
 with the dignity of the sultan as an independent sovereign. 
 
 11. These demands were of course rejected; and, in spite 
 of the anxiety of the sultan and his ministers to make every 
 reasonable concession, the Russian troops crossed the Pruth 
 early in July, and proceeded to occupy the principalities of 
 Moldavia and Wallachia. After this act of aggression, various 
 attempts were made to settle the matter by negotiation, but 
 they all failed ; and, on the 5th of October, the Porte formally 
 declared war. On the 14th, the combined fleets of France 
 and England passed the Dardanelles, at the request of the 
 sultan. 
 
 
 Battle of Sinope. 
 
 12. The Turks rushed to the rescue of the principalities, 
 and, under the judicious guidance of Omar Pasha, gained 
 many brilliant victories. The Russians, defeated on land, de- 
 termined to strike a blow at the Turkish navy, and committed 
 the unparalleled outrage at Sinope, which at once excited the 
 indignation of Europe. The Turkish fleet, riding in fancied 
 security, almost within sight of the armaments of the western 
 
VICTORIA. 465 
 
 powers, was ruthlessly attacked by an overwhelming force, and 
 destroyed. This wanton assault by the stronger on the weaker 
 state, showed that nothing but the most vigorous measures 
 could bring Russia to submission. 
 
 13. The English government displayed an unfortunate re- 
 pugnance to resist force by force, but events hurried them on, 
 and, in March, 1854, a royal message was communicated to 
 both houses of parliament, proclaiming war against Russia. 
 Even after this, English ministers clung to diplomacy, and 
 talked loudly of pacific measures, while they pretended to be 
 preparing for an energetic prosecution of the contest. 
 
 14. The emperor Napoleon III., having been duly recog- 
 nized by foreign powers, looked out for a partner to share his 
 throne. Instead of seeking an alliance with a royal house, 
 he selected Eugenie de Montejo, countess of Teba, for his 
 bride. The marriage was solemnized in January, 1853; and 
 the romantic manner in which the whole affair had been ar- 
 ranged, rendered it particularly interesting to the French 
 people. During this eventful year, a fusion between two 
 branches of the Bourbon family was effected, and the duke of 
 Bordeaux acknowledged by all, excepting the duchess of 
 Orleans, as the rightful heir to the French throne. 
 
 15. The queen of Portugal died on the 15th of November, 
 1853, and was succeeded by her eldest son, under the title of 
 Don Pedro V. Several ministerial changes occurred in Spain, 
 in which country the despotic interference of the queen-mother, 
 Christina, produced discontent, and led to rebellion. In Feb- 
 ruary, an attempt was made upon the life of the emperor of 
 Austria, but the assassin was disarmed and captured before 
 he could effect his purpose, and soon afterwards suffered the 
 extreme penalty of the law. 
 
 16. Afire broke out in Windsor Castle, March 19th, 1853, 
 but it was happily extinguished before much damage had been 
 done to that noble residence, endeared to the country by so 
 many associations. 
 
 17. The year 1854 was, in many respects, a memorable one. 
 While the much-despised Turks were gaining renown in ex- 
 pelling the Russians from the principalities, France and Eng- 
 land were engaged in making preparations to take part in the 
 contest. Lord Raglan was appointed to command the English 
 army, which reached Gallipoli in the spring. The Turks pur- 
 sued their victorious career on the banks of the Danube ; the 
 Russians, having been defeated in many desperate attempts, 
 abandoned the siege of Salishia, and virtually withdrew from 
 
466 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the contest in that direction. In the meantime, the allied 
 fleets had not been altogether idle. The Russians violated the 
 laws of honourable warfare by firing upon a flag of truce ; and, 
 soon after the commission of this outrage, the allied squadrons 
 bombarded Odessa. The attack lasted the whole day, April 
 22d. All the batteries erected for the defence of this com- 
 mercial city were silenced — some of them having been mate- 
 rially damaged, and others entirely destroyed. 
 
 18. The crowning event of the year was the expedition, 
 composed of French, Turkish, and English soldiers, which 
 sailed from the Turkish shores in the autumn. Its departure 
 had been delayed by the terrible ravages of the cholera amongst 
 the troops, and from the destruction of stores, caused by a 
 disastrous fire, which broke out in a mysterious manner at 
 Varna. The Russians did not attempt to dispute the landing 
 of the expeditionary force ; but retreated to a strong position 
 on the Alma, from which they were driven, with great 
 slaughter, by the French, English, and Turkish armies, on the 
 20th of September. Although the Russians fought obsti- 
 nately at first, they were so awed by the determined manner 
 in which the English troops carried the heights — for their 
 men advanced up to the terrible batteries — that they fled, in 
 utter confusion, from a position which their commander had 
 just before boasted he could hold against any assailant for 
 several days. There can be little doubt that, if the allied 
 army had possessed a proper cavalry force, or its leaders had 
 known the real condition of the enemy, the Russians might 
 have been completely subdued, and Sebastopol gained without 
 further trouble. But the expedition was, in too many respects, 
 a " leap in the dark j" hence, its numerous failures, and the 
 disappointment and suffering that ensued. 
 
 19. The first bombardment commenced October 17th, but 
 the results were unsatisfactory. In the meantime, the Rus- 
 sian government sent large re-inforcements to their army in 
 the Crimea, determined, if possible, to expel the allies. The 
 battle of Balaklava was fought October 25th, when the Eng- 
 lish cavalry made that celebrated charge, so disastrous, and yet 
 so glorious. The Russians quailed before their band of heroes, 
 who rode gallantly forward to almost certain destruction. 
 
 20. The occupation, by the Austrians, of the Danubian 
 principalities, released a large portion of the Russian army, 
 which was at once despatched to the relief of Sebastopol. 
 Having been harangued by the grand duke, excited by mili- 
 tary and religious ceremonies, and well primed with intoxi- 
 
VICTORIA. 467 
 
 eating beverages, these troops advanced in overwhelming 
 numbers upon the English lines. In the dense fog of a 
 November morning, they swarmed through the valley of 
 Inkermann, surprised, and carried the English outposts, and 
 commenced the battle with every advantage. But, for seven 
 hours on that terrible 5th of November, the small band of 
 English soldiers maintained their ground against their nume- 
 rous assailants. It was truly a soldier's battle. The general 
 determination was victory or death. At length, General Bos- 
 quet arrived at the scene of the struggle, with the gallant 
 French allies, and, from that moment, the issue was no longer 
 doubtful. The Russians were driven into Sebastopol with 
 fearful loss, and that victory terminated the first campaign. 
 The Muscovite hordes, naturally enough, felt unwilling to face 
 men who would not yield an inch of ground, but fought even 
 against hope. 
 
 21. A violent storm committed sad havoc amongst the 
 shipping, riding at anchor outside the little harbor at Balak- 
 lava, in which the Prince, Resolute, and several other noble 
 vessels, foundered. The catastrophe of the 14th of November 
 will long occupy a prominent place in the annals of disasters 
 at sea. 
 
 22. Lord Aberdeen's government did not realize the high 
 expectations that had been formed respecting it. In home 
 legislation it was particularly unfortunate ; and its feeble direc- 
 tion of the war created alarm and disquietude. Lord John 
 Russell's loudly-heralded reform bill proved a failure; and 
 this minister's attempt to repeal the parliamentary oaths was 
 defeated by a majority of five. 
 
 23. On the 20th of June, 1854, the queen opened the 
 Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, with great solemnity. She was 
 attended by her ministers and foreign ambassadors, and about 
 forty thousand persons were present at the ceremony. 
 
 24. Towards the close of 1853, the cholera again manifested 
 itself in the north of England. It reached the metropolis 
 early in the following year, and committed fearful ravages. 
 But the visitation of 1853 and 1854 was not so fatal in its 
 effects as that of 1849 had been. 
 
 25. In the midsummer of 1854, Madrid became the theatre 
 of an insurrection. The flight of the queen mother, Christina, 
 the dismissal of her favourites, and the formation of a constitu- 
 tional government under Espartero, had the effect of quelling 
 the storm, and saved the youDg queen's throne. 
 
 26. The year 1855 opened gloomily enough. The sad con- 
 
468 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 dition of the army in the Crimea excited general indignation; 
 so terrible were the evils of mismanagement, that hundreds 
 of brave soldiers perished from the effects of exposure. Mr. 
 Roebuck brought forward a motion for inquiry, which, on the 
 29th of January, was carried by a majority of 157. Thus fell 
 the Aberdeen administration, just two years after it had ob- 
 tained power. After some delay, lord Palmerston succeeded 
 in forming a second coalition ; but a slight difficulty having 
 occurred respecting the Sebastopol committee, the Peelites 
 soon after seceded, and left lord Palmerston sole master. 
 
 27. On the 3d of March, the public were surprised by the 
 announcement of the sudden death of the real author of the 
 war, the emperor Nicholas. The adhesion of Sardinia to the 
 western alliance, and the visit of the emperor Napoleon and 
 his empress to England, and their enthusiastic reception, in 
 some degree restored public confidence. During the summer, 
 Victoria returned the visit, and was received at Paris with 
 general rejoicing. 
 
 28. It was supposed by many that the death of the czar 
 would ensure the restoration of peace ; and the conferences, 
 re-opened at Vienna during the year 1855, were watched with 
 considerable interest. Although the English plenipotentiary, 
 lord John Russell, made the most disgraceful sacrifices, and 
 actually abandoned every point which he had been sent out to 
 maintain, the arrogance of Russia was such that she would 
 make no concessions. Lord John Russell's vacillation raised 
 a storm in the country, and he was afterwards compelled to 
 resign his post as minister of the crown. 
 
 29. Meanwhile the war was waged with renewed vigour. 
 The second bombardment of Sebastopol commenced on the 
 9th of April ; and several expeditions were organized in the 
 Crimea, most of which were completely successful. After the 
 third bombardment, which opened on the 6th of June, the 
 French gained possession of the Mamelon, whilst the English 
 won the Quarries. On the 18th (the anniversary of Waterloo), 
 the French assailed the Malakoff — and the English, the 
 Redan ; but the gallantry and devotion of the troops were not 
 rewarded with success. The failure preyed on lord Raglan's 
 mind; and he was soon after attacked by disease, which car- 
 ried him off on the 28th of June. His mild and gracious 
 behaviour at the council-board and in the private circle, as 
 well as his coolness in the field of battle, won the admiration 
 of all. He will ever be remembered as the good lord Raglan. 
 His gentle nature shone like a star amid the elements of strife 
 
VICTORIA. 469 
 
 and contention. But he was not the man for the emergencies 
 in which he was called upon to act a leading part. 
 
 30. On the 16th of August the Russians crossed the Tcher- 
 naya, and made a desperate effort to relieve the doomed for- 
 tress of Sebastopol, but were repulsed by the French and 
 Sardinians with great loss. This was their last effort. The 
 French gained possession of the Malakoff on the 8th of Sep- 
 tember, on which occasion the English again failed in an attack 
 upon the Redan ; but, on the following day, the Russians 
 evacuated the southern portion of Sebastopol. Thus, within 
 twelve months of the landing of the allied armies in the 
 Crimea, the " standing menace" had been wrested from the 
 foe — and the fleet, which committed the outrage at Sinope, 
 totally destroyed. 
 
 31. While these events were in progress in Europe, war 
 had been waged in the Asiatic dominions of the sultan. Gen- 
 eral Williams was sent by the English government to the 
 Turkish army, and, by his efforts, order and discipline were 
 established. On the 29th of September, the garrison of Kars, 
 under the direction of this gallant British officer, repulsed the 
 Russians, who assaulted it with immensely superior forces. 
 But no succor reached the heroic garrison ; and, although the 
 Turks endured their sufferings with great constancy, and 
 fought like lions whenever the enemy appeared, they were 
 finally compelled to surrender, and Kars fell on the 28th of 
 November. An expedition despatched from the Crimea, in 
 October, to the entrance of the Bug and the Dnieper, obtained 
 signal success. Kinburn was captured, and a French and 
 English force established there. Some naval operations in 
 the sea of Azoff were in every respect successful ; and, with 
 these, the campaign of 1855 closed. 
 
 32. This triumph led to the revival of negotiations. Aus- 
 tria proposed an ultimatum, which was eventually accepted by 
 Russia, and conferences were opened at Paris early in the 
 year. Russia, having learned wisdom from adversity, made 
 certain concessions; and, on the 30th of March, 1856, the 
 treaty of Paris was signed, which restored tranquillity to Europe. 
 
 3d. Meantime, Great Britain became involved in a serious 
 dispute with China. It arose out of a trifling incident. A 
 Chinese lorcha (a small vessel,) was fired upon by the Chinese 
 for some infraction of their police regulations. She was said 
 to have borne the British flag, and the act of the Chinese 
 authorities was resented as a national insult, though it haa 
 never been proved that she was under English colors. The 
 
 2 ii 
 
470 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 commissioner, Yeh, was called upon for reparation, which he 
 refused. This led to actual hostilities, during which the naval 
 force of the United States became involved ; and France also 
 took part in the conflict by sending out a strong armament. 
 Great Britain deputed lord Elgin as ambassador to negotiate 
 a settlement of the difficulties, and he was accompanied by a 
 large force to support his pretensions. France also despatched 
 thither an ambassador, and Mr. William B. Reed was sent out 
 on the part of the United States. The English bombarded 
 and took Canton. Yeh was made prisoner, but the emperor 
 showed no disposition to yield. The real object of all these 
 operations was to compel the Chinese to open their ports to 
 foreign nations, on a more liberal policy than hitherto. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What is said of the famine ? 
 
 2. Of the French revolution ? 
 
 3. Of sir Robert Peel ? 
 
 4. Of the Crystal Palace? 
 
 5. Of the telegraph ? 
 
 6. Of the duke of Wellington ? 
 
 7. Of lord John Russell's administration ? 
 
 8. Of Louis Napoleon ? 
 
 9. Of lord Derby's administration ? 
 
 10. Describe the origin of the war between Russia and the allied power* f 
 
 11. What countries did the Russians invade? 
 
 12. What followed ? 
 
 13. What was done by England ? 
 
 14. By the emperor Louis Napoleon ? 
 
 15. What transpired in Portugal ? 
 
 16. What happened at Windsor ? 
 
 17. What were the first military events of 1854 ? 
 
 18. What expedition was undertaken by the allies ? Describe the battle 
 
 of the Alma? 
 
 19. What is said of the first bombardment ? Of the Russians ? Of 
 
 Balaklava? 
 
 20. Of the Austrians ? Of Inkermann ? 
 
 21. Of the storm of November 14th ? 
 
 22. Of lord Aberdeen's government? 
 
 23. Of the Crystal Palace? 
 
 24. Of the cholera ? 
 
 25. What took place in Spain? 
 
 26. What were the early events of 1855? 
 
 27. What is said of the czar? 
 
 28. Of the attempts to make peace? 
 
 29. Of the military operations in the Crimea ? Of lord Raglan ? 
 
 30. Of operations in the Crimea? 
 
 31. What military operations took place in Asia? 
 
 32. How was the treaty of peace accomplished, and when was it signed? 
 
 33. What is paid of the war with China ? 
 
472 
 
 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 mAim 
 
 IP 
 111/ 1 
 
VICTORIA. 473 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 He is come to ope the testament 
 Of bleeding viax.—Sliakspeare. 
 
 1. The war with Russia had greatly increased the burden 
 of taxation in Great Britain, and had impaired its military 
 strength. But it was soon followed by another war, which 
 was not less expensive, and impaired far more seriously the 
 military strength of the empire. We refer, of course, to the 
 destructive war which was kindled by the mutiny of the sepoys 
 in India. This is so serious an affair, that we shall give its 
 incidents more particularly than in ordinary cases. 
 
 2. In the spring of 1856, lord Dalhousie ceased to be 
 governor-general of India, and was succeeded by Viscount 
 Canning. 
 
 3. Secured from all apprehension of foreign enemies, and 
 ruling an apparently prosperous and happy people, lord Can- 
 ning entered upon the government of India with fairer pros- 
 pects than any governor-general since the first conquest of 
 that country. Not many months, however, elapsed before a 
 naval and military expedition was on its way from Bombay to 
 Bushire, and war was publicly declared against the Shah-in- 
 Shah. After two or three slight actions, in which the Per- 
 sians were immediately put to flight, the king of kings was 
 constrained to sue for peace, and to accept the easy conditions 
 which were imposed upon him. The British troops were then 
 recalled to India, and arrived only in time to encounter the 
 most imminent peril that has ever menaced the Eastern empire 
 of Britain. 
 
 4. It had long been notorious that the Mohammedans of 
 Upper India were discontented with their subordinate position, 
 and that their idle and sensual habits rendered them insolent 
 and fractious. This feeling of unquiet was not a little embit- 
 tered by the decision arrived at with regard to the titular 
 dignity of the king of Delhi. The court of directors had 
 authorized lord Dalhousie, on the death of the heir-apparent 
 in 1849, to " terminate the dynasty of Timour, whenever the 
 reigning king should die." But as these instructions had 
 been issued with great reluctance, the governor-general had 
 recourse to a compromise, and agreed to recognize the king's 
 grandson as heir-apparent, on condition that he quitted the 
 fortress at Delhi for the royal palace at the Kootub. The 
 royal family had no choice but to submit, though the humilia- 
 tion to which they were about to be subjected rankled in their 
 
 2r2 
 
474 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 bosoms, and in those of the Delhi Mohammedans generally. 
 They were too sensible, however, of their weakness, to attempt 
 any opposition to the powerful British government, until an 
 opportunity presented itself in a quarter where, perhaps, it was 
 least expected. 
 
 5. From the time when lord Hastings created the Nawab 
 of Oude an independent king, and freed him from his alle- 
 giance to his rightful suzerain, the king of Delhi, there had 
 been a feud between those two houses, inflamed by their dif- 
 ference in religious matters — the one being a bigoted Soonnee, 
 the other as fanatical a Sheeah. But the dethronement of 
 Wajid Ally Shah, and the annexation of his kingdom, gave 
 deep offence to a large portion of the Bengal army, who were 
 natives of Oude, and drew together in one common cause the 
 Mohammedans of both sects. Still it was clear that, from 
 their numerical inferiority, the Mohammedans alone could not 
 hope to break the English yoke from off their necks, so lon.g 
 as the Hindoo soldiery remained true to their salt. Unfortu- 
 nately, circumstances occurred to remove this obstacle. From 
 various causes, which it would be tedious to enumerate, a sus- 
 picion had seized the credulous and childish mind of the 
 Hindoos that their religion, and, above all, their caste, were 
 in danger. It had been sedulously spread abroad that the 
 British government, relying on its power, had resolved to 
 compel all its subjects to embrace the Christian religion; and, 
 to render this the more easy, had devised a means for defiling 
 the whole of their Hindoo sepoys. This notable device was 
 no other than to issue cartridges greased with pig's and bul- 
 lock's fat for the Enfield rifles, the ends of which must be 
 bitten off before they could be used. Thus every Hindoo 
 soldier would become unclean and an outcast, and have no 
 other resource than to join the religion of his deceitful masters. 
 Mohammedan emissaries carefully fanned the latent sparks of 
 disaffection, and presently the smouldering fire burst forth into 
 a fierce, devouring conflagration. 
 
 6. The first symptoms of a mutinous spirit manifested 
 themselves in the 19th and 34th regiments, both of which 
 were disbanded, and one man of the 34th hanged for wound- 
 ing the adjutant and sergeant-major. Their example was fol- 
 lowed by the 3d Oude irregular infantry, stationed at Luck- 
 now, who were compelled by sir Henry Lawrence to lay down 
 their arms, and their ringleaders punished. On the 6th of 
 May, eighty-five men of the 3d light cavalry at Meerut refused 
 to use the new cartridges, and other symptoms of discontent 
 
VICTORIA. 475 
 
 were evinced, but disregarded. On the 10th, the troops broke 
 out into open mutiny, killed many of the officers, and other 
 Europeans (men, women, and children,) at the station, and 
 finally went off to Delhi. This course was dictated by the 
 fact that there was in the neighbourhood, at the time, ample 
 means for cutting the mutineers off, but for the culpable inac- 
 tivity of general Hewitt, commander of the station. 
 
 7. On the 11th of May, the mutineers from Meerut entered 
 Delhi, and were instantly joined by the native troops there, 
 who proclaimed the titular king of Delhi to be emperor of 
 Tuolia, massacred all the European residents they could find, 
 and even plundered the stores and dwellings of wealthy 
 natives. A handful of determined men, however, under the 
 command of lieutenant Willoughby, succeeded in blowing up 
 the arsenal, and thus prevented an immense amount of ammu- 
 nition from falling into the hands of the mutineers. It has 
 been observed by the author of an article in the Edinburgh 
 Review, referring to the mutinous occupation of the Monghol 
 capital on the morning of the 11th of May, that, " if all the 
 movements of the revolt had been pre-arranged, there could 
 have been no better stroke of tactics than this : Delhi is the 
 chief city of Mohammedan India; the 'imperial city/ the 
 { city of the Mogul :' it had been the home of those mighty 
 emperors who had ruled so long in Hindostan — of Shir Shah, 
 of Akbar, and of Aurungzebe ; and was still the residence of 
 their fallen successors, the titular kings of Delhi, whom, fifty 
 years ago, our armies had rescued from the grasp of the Mah- 
 rattas. Beyond the palace walls these remnants of royalty 
 had no power; they had no territory, no revenue, no authority. 
 In our eyes they were simply pensioners and puppets. Vir- 
 tually, indeed, the Mogul was extinct. But not so in the 
 minds of the people of India. Empty as was the sovereignty 
 of the Mogul, it was still a living fact in the minds of the 
 Hindoos and Mohammedans, especially in Upper India." 
 
 8. The rebellion now spread rapidly through the presidency 
 of Bengal, as well as in other parts of India. At Umballah, 
 the rebels, between the 26th of March and the 1st of May, 
 kindled fifteen incendiary fires, by which an immense amount 
 of ammunition, government stores, and private property, were 
 destroyed, but the garrison was saved from destruction by the 
 timely arrival of a re-inforcement of European troops from 
 Kussowlee. The whole kingdom of Oude, with the exception 
 of Lucknow, its capital, was soon in the hands of the insur- 
 gents. Beuares and Allahabad witnessed the revolt of many 
 
476 
 
 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 
VICTORIA. 477 
 
 regiments, and were saved from capture only by a frightful 
 expense of bloodshed and havoc. Similar outbreaks took 
 place at Juanpore, Sultanpore, Agra, Bareilly, and other 
 stations. 
 
 9. The mutiny had now become very widely extended, and 
 the situation of the British post?, still holding to their fidelity, 
 was becoming daily more perilous. 
 
 10. At Lucknow, sir Henry Lawrence attacked and defeated 
 a numerous body of insurgents, but was soon afterward him- 
 self besieged in the residency. Here he bravely held out 
 against overwhelming numbers until the beginning of July, 
 when he was mortally wounded in a sally, and the heroic little 
 band compelled to retire into a smaller fort. 
 
 11. At Cawnpore a terrible disaster befell the British arms. 
 Sir Hugh Wheeler, a veteran officer of approved bravery, had 
 entrenched himself in the barracks with a force of less than 
 300 fighting men, and upward of 500 women and children, the 
 wives and families of officers and civilians, and of the queen's 
 32d regiment then besieged at Lucknow. The insurgents were 
 commanded by Nena Sahib, or, rather, Dhandoo Pant, Rajah 
 of Bhitoor, the adopted son of the late Peishwah Bajee Rao. 
 This man, under the mask of kindly feeling toward the English, 
 nurtured a deadly hatred against the government which had 
 refused to acknowledge his claims as the Peishwah's successor. 
 He had long been addicted to the most revolting sensuality, and 
 had lost all control over his passions. Weaned and enraged 
 by the desperate resistance of this handful of brave men, he 
 offered them a safe passage to Allahabad if they would give 
 up their guns and treasure. The place, indeed, was no longer 
 tenable ; and the survivors, diminished in number, were ex- 
 hausted by constant vigils and want of food. In an evil 
 moment, then, they accepted the terms of their perfidious 
 enemy, marched down to the river, and embarked on board the 
 boats which had been prepared for them. Suddenly a masked 
 battery opened fire upon them, and crowds of horse and foot 
 soldiers lined either bank. Many were shot dead, still more 
 were drowned, and about 150 taken prisoners; four only 
 escaped by swimming. The men were instantly put to death 
 in cold blood \ the women and children were spared for a few 
 days longer. 
 
 12. All this time the main body of the rebels, frequently 
 strengthened by fresh arrivals, had their head-quarters at 
 Delhi. On the lower plateau that commands that city was en- 
 camped a British force burning for revenge, but too weak to 
 
478 history of England. 
 
 venture upon an assault. On every occasion, however, they 
 repulsed the repeated sorties of the enemy, and drove them, 
 with great slaughter, within the walls. A strange mortality 
 deprived them of their commanders at brief intervals. Gen. 
 Anson died of cholera at Kurnaul, on his way down from the 
 hills. His successor, sir Henry Barnard, was carried off by the 
 same disease before the walls of Delhi. The third was general 
 Reid, whose health likewise failed him, and compelled him to 
 resign the command to brigadier Wilson. 
 
 13. No sooner had the sad tidings of the massacre at Delhi 
 reached Calcutta, than the governor-general instantly dis- 
 patched a vessel to Ceylon to intercept the troops proceeding 
 to China, in support of lord Elgin's mission. At the same 
 time he telegraphed to Madras and Bombay for all the Eu- 
 ropean troops that could be spared; and, on the death of gen- 
 eral Anson, appointed sir Patrick Grant commander-in-chief 
 of the forces in India, pending the confirmation of the appoint- 
 ment by the home government. Large re-inforcements were 
 also drawn from Mauritius and the Cape ; and, as the mutiny 
 assumed still more formidable dimensions, the European resi- 
 dents in Madras and Calcutta were enrolled into voluntary 
 corps of horse and foot militia. 
 
 14. Never, perhaps, did greater excitement prevail in Eng- 
 land than when the first intelligence arrived of the revolt of the 
 Bengal army, and of the fiendish atrocities perpetrated by sol- 
 diers whose loyalty had become proverbial. As each successive 
 mail brought the narratives of additional horrors, indignation 
 at such unparalleled treachery and brutality almost surpassed 
 the natural feelings of sympathy for those who had suffered 
 such cruel wrongs. The government was urged on all sides 
 to send out immense armies of retribution, and to pause at no 
 amount of expenditure necessary to recover the lost position. 
 Volunteers from all ranks and classes of society spontaneously 
 came forward to tender their services, and, through the initia- 
 tion of the lord mayor of London, whose brother, colonel 
 Finnis, was one of the first victims of the mutiny, a relief fund 
 was instituted for the aid of the many hundreds so suddenly 
 reduced to destitution. 
 
 15. By the middle of October, upward of £150,000 were 
 subscribed for this purpose, and the fountain of charity still 
 gave no signs of drying up. It was in the latter end of June 
 that the news of the Meerut revolt and massacre was first re- 
 ceived by the ministry, and, within three months, more than 
 30,000 excellent troops had left the British shores, and regi- 
 
480 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
PROGRESS OP LITERATURE, 8CIENCE, ETC 493 
 
 0. The great extension and excellence of our periodical 
 press, both literary and political, is one of the most striking 
 characteristics of the age. Not merely the Reviews and 
 Magazines, but even the common newspapers, display literary 
 merits of a very high order. Men of the most eminent 
 abilities and exalted stations, contribute to our journals ; and 
 they consequently hold a high rank in the literature of the 
 age. Reviews, especially, have risen into unexampled emi- 
 nence, and have maintained their stations by a succession cf 
 articles that tend at once to improve the taste and enlarge the 
 understanding. Some of the periodicals have a circulation 
 which, in a past age, would not have been credited ; this is 
 owing to the more general diffusion of education among all 
 classes. 
 
 7. The importance of affording useful instruction to every 
 class of the community, is now universally acknowledged ; 
 and the progress of education has become so rapid, that there 
 is every prospect that its blessings will soon become univer- 
 sal. And not only is the quantity of instruction increased, 
 but its quality is greatly improved, as might easily be shown 
 by a comparison of our present school-books with those of 
 the last century. It is no exaggeration to state, that the ele- 
 ments of a really useful education, may be more easily at- 
 tained by the poor of the present day, than by the richest of 
 past generations. 
 
 8. History, which used to be a mere repetition of what had 
 been previously narrated by others, has called criticism to 
 its aid. Instead of a slavish adherence to authority, we now 
 see writers carefully examine facts, compare evidence, and 
 investigate the motives which might have led original authors 
 to conceal or disguise the truth. Lingard, Hallam, Turner, 
 Southey, and Sir James Mackintosh, have been especially 
 conspicuous for their critical sagacity, in eliciting the truth 
 from conflicting statements ; but, notwithstanding their exer- 
 tions, the English school of historical criticism may still be 
 regarded as in its infancy. 
 
 9. Perhaps we may ascribe this deficiency in our histories 
 to the unexampled progress and popularity of romantic litera- 
 ture, owing chiefly to the labours of Sir Walter Scctt, who 
 was among the first to unite, in works of fiction, the highest 
 flights of imagination with the realities of life. Novels and 
 romances have ceased to be dangerous and absurd, though 
 they were both, in a period not very remote. Historical ro- 
 mances are to this age, what the historical jrlays of Shaks- 
 
 2 t 
 
494 nisTORY of England. 
 
 peare were to a former period — vivid pictures of our ances 
 tors; representing them, if not exactly as they thought ana 
 acted, yet so nearly what they might have been, that they 
 become to us a kind of acquaintances, and seem brought 
 within the sphere of our personal knowledge. 
 
 10. Periodical criticism supplies the place of what used to 
 be termed general literature : hence formal works on mental 
 and moral philosophy and the belles lettres are rare. Blair 
 and lord Karnes were the guides of our fathers in matters of 
 taste ; we have rejected their authority, and defer more to the 
 principles maintained by the leading Reviews. These princi- 
 ples, however, are scattered in different essays over a multi- 
 tude of volumes, and no one has yet appeared of sufficient 
 authority to be entrusted with the task of collecting them 
 into a new code. 11. Reid, Stewart, and Brown, were the 
 last great writers on metaphysics ; their fame will probably 
 long remain uneclipsed, for the science of mind seems to have 
 lost its hold on public attention, as indeed have almost all 
 merely speculative studies. What is chiefly desired in the 
 present day, is something practical and immediately useful. 
 
 12. Political economy and statistics have occupied the po- 
 sition which was once held by metaphysics. Adam Smith 
 was in some measure the founder of the former science, 
 from his investigating the nature and causes of a nation's 
 wealth. Since his day, the subject has engaged the atten- 
 tion of several eminent writers, especially Ricardo, Malthus, 
 and Macculloch. The cultivation of statistics must be the 
 source of all future improvement in the science of political 
 economy, because it is to the table of the statistician that the 
 economist must look for his facts ; and all speculations not 
 founded upon facts, though they may be admired and ap- 
 plauded when first propounded, will, in the end, assuredly be 
 forgotten. 
 
 13. The abstract sciences have made great progress in 
 England during the last few years; principally owing to the 
 great exertions of Airy, Ivory, Peacock, and Hamilton, who 
 have greatly extended the domain of mathematical calcula- 
 tion. In the mixed and applied sciences, also, much has 
 been done, though no very conspicuous discovery can be 
 mentioned. 14. Astronomy owes much to the great im- 
 pulse it has received from the discovery of a new planet by 
 Sir William Herschell, and it has not been less benefitted by 
 the labours of his son and successor, Sir John Herschell, 
 whose investigations into the nature of the displacements 
 
PROGRE&S OF LITERATURE, SCtENCE, ETC. 495 
 
 observed among the fixed stars, have led lo many, and will 
 lead to more important results. The science of optics has 
 become almost wholly new, from the improvements effected 
 by Sir David Brewster and Dr. Young. But above all, dy- 
 namics have been enriched by a series of discoveries, amount- 
 ing to a complete revolution in our knowledge of motive 
 powers ; it will be sufficient to mention one of these, the ap- 
 plication of steam to machinery. 
 
 15. Chemistry, electricity, and electro-magnetism, may 
 be almost regarded as new sciences, in consequence of the 
 numerous discoveries of Davy, Dalton, and Farraday. It 
 would be impossible to enumerate all the practical advan- 
 tages that have resulted from the improvements in chemical 
 science ; but we may mention the use of gas to light our 
 cities and public buildings, and the invention of the safety- 
 lamp, by which the dangers to be dreaded from the explosion 
 of the fire-damp in mines have been in a great degree 
 averted. 
 
 16. The progress of maritime and inland discovery was 
 very great during the early part of the reign of Geoige III. , 
 it has since made less advance, because the first navigators 
 left little for their successors to explore. The interior of 
 Africa has, however, at length been penetrated by the Lan- 
 ders, and Burnes has found a practicable route from the Bri- 
 tish possessions in Northern India to central Asia. The 
 value of these researches has been fully proved by the fact 
 that many of the places discovered in the reign of George 
 III. by Cooke, Wallis, Carteret, Vancouver, &c, have al- 
 ready become colonies, or valuable depots of British com- 
 merce. 
 
 17. Only one speculative science, it seems, has enjoyed 
 popularity — we mean geology ; perhaps part of its success 
 is owing to its connection with the practical science of min- 
 eralogy. Geology makes us acquainted with so many sin- 
 gular facts tending to prove that the world was once tenanted 
 by a race of beings different from those now found in it, 
 that we cannot be surprised at the delight with which it is 
 studied. Indeed a much less agreeable subject might become 
 popular, if recommended by men of such ability as Cony- 
 beare, Smith, Buckland, Sedgwick, Mantell, and Lyell. 
 
 19. Physiology, anatomy, and natural history, have re- 
 ceived very remarkable improvements. Hunter's example 
 has stimulated many to exert themselves in the same field of 
 science : and the result has been a perceptible increase of 
 
496 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 the average duration of human life. The investigation of 
 the nervous system by Sir Charles Bell, is among the most 
 recent and brilliant of the additions that have been made to 
 the medical science. 
 
 19. Statistical science may almost be regarded as the 
 creation of this age. The word statistics was invented in 
 the middle of the last century by a German professor, to ex 
 press a summary view of the physical, moral, and social 
 condition of states ; he justly remarked, that a numerical 
 statement of the extent, density of population, imports, ex- 
 ports, revenues, &c, of a country, more perfectly explained 
 its social condition than general statements, however graphic 
 or however accurate. When such statements began to be 
 collected, and exhibited in a popular form, it was soon dis- 
 covered that the political and economical sciences were likely 
 to gain the position of physical sciences ; that is to say, they 
 were about to obtain records of observation, which would 
 test the accuracy of recognized principles, and lead to the 
 discovery of new modes of action. But the great object of 
 this new science is to lead to the knowledge of human na- 
 ture ; that is, to ascertain the general course of operation of 
 man's mental and moral faculties, and to furnish us with a 
 correct standard of judgment, by enabling us to determine 
 the average amount of the past as a guide to the average 
 probabilities of the future. This science is yet in its infancy, 
 but has already produced the most beneficial effects. The 
 accuracy of the tables of life have rendered the calculations 
 of rates of insurance a matter of much greater certainty 
 than they were heretofore ; the system of keeping the public 
 accounts has been simplified and improved ; and finally, the 
 experimental sciences of medicine and political economy, 
 have been fixed on a firmer foundation than could be antici- 
 pated in the last century. Even in private life this science 
 is likely to prove of immense advantage, by directing atten- 
 tion to the collection and registration of facts, and thus pre- 
 venting the formation of hasty judgments and erroneous con- 
 clusions. 
 
 20. Political economy, though an older science than sta- 
 tistics, must be regarded as intimately connected with that 
 branch of knowledge. Its object is to ascertain the laws 
 which regulate the distribution of wealth, and the relation of 
 demand and supply in the production and consumption of 
 both natural and artificial commodities. Such a science is 
 consequently of the highest importance to a commercial and 
 
PROGRESS OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, ETC. 497 
 
 manufacturing community ; and the increased attention paid 
 to it of late years has led to a removal of many seveiTe re 
 strictions, which, under a false notion of protection, were 
 imposed on British trade. At first political economy was 
 regarded with great suspicion, being looked upon as one of 
 those idle speculations which, under the false designation of 
 social sciences, were broached in France during the frenzy 
 of the revolution, at the close of the last century. But its 
 importance is now so fully recognized, that professorships of 
 the new science have been established in the principal uni 
 versities. 
 
 21. Even in this slight sketch it would be unpardonable 
 not to mention the great, the almost miraculous increase of 
 machinery in our manufactories; an increase consequent upon 
 the cultivation of the sciences and their practical application. 
 The use of steamboats, of locomotive engines, and of count- 
 less machines for superseding manual labour, has placed Bri- 
 tain far in advance of all other manufacturing countries, and 
 proportionably increased the comforts of every class of the 
 community. 
 
 22. Great as the progress of British industry, arts, and 
 sciences was, under the three preceding reigns, it has recently 
 received a new impulse by the formation of the British Asso- 
 ciation for the promotion of science, which promises to pro- 
 duce the most beneficial results. The meetings of this society 
 are held annually at some one or other of the great towns of 
 the empire: its objects are, to give a stronger impulse and 
 more systematic direction to scientific enquiry; to promote the 
 intercourse of those who cultivate science in the different 
 parts of the British empire, with each other, and with foreign 
 philosophers; to obtain a more general attention to the objects 
 of science, and a removal of any disadvantages of a public 
 kind which might impede its progress. The Association 
 lias had a meeting in each of the following places : York, 
 Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Dublin, Bristol, and Liver- 
 pool. It is divided into seven sections : 1, Mathematics and 
 Physics ; 2, Chemistry and Mineralogy ; 3, Zoology and 
 Botany; 4, Anatomy and Physiology; 5, Geology; 6, Sta- 
 tistics; and 7, Mechanical Science. In all these departments, 
 but especially the two last, the greatest benefits have resulted 
 from bringing practical men into immediate contact with the 
 theoretical cultivators of science. Magnetical observatories 
 have been established in consequence in various parts of the 
 empire, and several series of observations have been made 
 
 2 T2 
 
498 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 to determine the direction and intensity of the magnetic force. 
 The attention of the Association has also been directed to 
 experiments tending to illustrate the nature of the connexion 
 between electricity and magnetism ; and since its formation 
 meteorology has been so extended as to become a new science. 
 The attention of the statistical section has been recently 
 directed to the state of public education, and to the condition 
 of the working classes, both in the manufacturing and agri- 
 cultural districts. It is to be hoped that these investigations 
 will point out the evils which require to be remedied, and the 
 means by which the constitution of society in Great Britain 
 may be elevated and improved. 
 
 23. Turning from the useful to the elegant arts, we must 
 first remark the great revival of architectural taste during 
 the last two reigns, especially as displayed in the many im- 
 provements of the metropolis. Inconvenient and narrow 
 passages have been removed to make room for Regent Street, 
 one of the finest lines of communication in Europe; the 
 Regent's Park and the new squares in Pimlico, occupy spaces 
 which were recently unsightly wastes ; and the Strand, from 
 being an inconvenient thoroughfare, has been widened into a 
 street which for its beauty, combined with its adaptation to 
 business, has few, if any rivals. The erection of those two 
 magnificent structures, Waterloo and London bridges, has 
 led to the opening of new lines of communication, which 
 promise to be equally ornamental and useful. Recent cala- 
 mities have also given an impulse to architectural skill ; the 
 destruction of both houses of Parliament and the Royal Ex- 
 change by fire, have rendered the erection of new edifices 
 necessary ; and judging from the excellence of the designs 
 which have been tendered for the erection of new houses for 
 fhe legislature, there is every reason to believe that the new 
 building will be worthy of an enlightened age and nation. 
 
 24. Though painting and sculpture have not been unpa- 
 tronized, it must be confessed that they have not advanced 
 with the same rapidity and steadiness as the other arts, though 
 England possesses professors of both who deserve to be 
 ranked among the ornaments of their country. Many causes 
 may be assigned for this inferiority, but the principal is the dis- 
 continuance of the use of pictures and statues for religious pur- 
 poses since the time of the Reformation. Notwithstanding this 
 disadvantage, however, the English school of art has recently 
 made such great advances, that it bids fair at no distant day 
 to rank as the first in Europe. The National Gallery, which 
 
PROGRESS OF LITERATURE SCIENCE, ETC. 499 
 
 has been recently completed in Trafalgar Square, will pro- 
 bably be found one of the best aids to the encouragement of 
 excellence in statuary and painting, and to the formation of 
 the public taste for appreciating the beauties of art. 
 
 25. The great additions made to the British Museum, and 
 the freedom with which its treasures are opened to the public, 
 must tend greatly to inspire a taste for contemplating the 
 wonders of nature and art. The department of Natural 
 History must be taken in connexion with the Zoological 
 Gardens, which have been recently established, not only in 
 the metropolis, but in the various parts of the empire : thus 
 viewed, it is unrivalled in the world. The Elgin marbles 
 contain specimens of Athenian sculpture, belonging to an age 
 when that art had attained the summit of its glory, and though 
 unfortunately mutilated, they furnish models to the young 
 aspirants, which cannot be studied without the most advanta- 
 geous results. In the gallery of Egyptian antiquities, the 
 historical student has an opportunity of seeing the advances 
 made in civilization by a powerful nation three thousand years 
 ago, and for consulting the strongest evidences of the truth 
 of Biblical History. 
 
 26. In this rapid view of literature, science, and the arts, 
 space has only allowed the mention of a few leading features ; 
 but there is one circumstance more, too important to be 
 omitted: the growing and marked connexion between reli- 
 gion and every department in which human intelligence is 
 exercised. The discoveries of the traveller are combined 
 with the labours of the missionary ; the studies of the natu- 
 ralist are directed to elucidate the wonders of creative power; 
 our best poets have dedicated no small portion of their works 
 to celebrating the praises of their God ; and in other depart- 
 ments of literature few traces can be found of the levity, 
 the profaneness, and the sneers at things sacred, which so 
 often sullied the writings of the past generation. It is now 
 deeply felt and strongly enforced, that all researches, whether 
 mental or material, directly tend to give new proofs of the 
 power, the wisdom, and the beneficence of that Almighty 
 Being who has called into existence, and so wonderfully 
 adapted to each other, the universe of matter and the universe 
 of mind. 
 
 27. But it is not in reference to England alone that this 
 beneficial change in the character of our national literature, 
 demands our thankfulness and admiration. The language of 
 England girdles the globe ; it is spoken in every climate and 
 
500 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 every quarter of the earth ; her colonies are laying the foun- 
 dations of future states ; the descendants of her colonies 
 have already become one of the foremost nations in rank 
 and influence. England has thus obtained great influence in 
 the future progress of civilization, and on her is thrown the 
 responsibility of moulding the character of countless gene- 
 rations. While we thus perceive that she has been called 
 by the dispensation of Providence to fulfil a high destiny, 
 we should at the same time feel how important is the trust, 
 and earnestly desire that its performance should be such as 
 to promote the honour of God and the welfare of mankind 
 establishing everywhere the principles announced at the ad- 
 vent of our blessed Redeemer, " Peace on earth, good will 
 towards men." 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. In what state was British literature about the middle of the last 
 
 century ? 
 
 2. By what political event was a change effected ? 
 
 3. What consequences resulted from the French revolution ? 
 
 4. Were these effects exhibited in our poetical literature ? 
 
 5. How did the drama fail to share in the general improvement ? 
 
 6. What circumstances connected with the periodical press are pecu- 
 
 liarly characteristic of the present age ? 
 
 7. Has much been effected for the cause of national education ? 
 
 8. Are histories written in the present day remarkable for anything that 
 
 was rare in the last century ? 
 
 9. What branch of literature has flourished to the probable injury of 
 
 history ? 
 
 10. Why are works on general literature rare ? 
 
 11. Have metaphysics received much attention? 
 
 12. What advantages may result from the cultivation of political economy 
 
 and statistics ? 
 
 13. Have any advances been made in the mathematical sciences ? 
 
 14. What improvements have been effected in the physical sciences ? 
 
 15. Have any sciences been so much improved that they may almost be 
 
 regarded as new ? 
 
 16. What advantages have resulted from the progress of maritime and 
 
 inland discovery ? 
 
 17. Why has geology become popular? 
 
 18. Did the medical sciences share in the general improvement ? 
 
 19. What are the nature and objects of Statistical Science ? 
 
 20. In what condition is the new science of Political Economy ? 
 
 21. What great inventions have been made in the useful arts? 
 
 22. What is the design of the British Association ? 
 
 23. Have any improvements been made in architecture ? 
 
 24. What are the present state and future prospects of painting and 
 
 sculpture ? 
 
 25. What benefits result from the British Museum ? 
 
 26 Is there any circumstance peculiarly gratifying in the view' of mod- 
 ern iiterature ? 
 
 87. What is thers peculiarly important in the present condition of 
 England ? 
 
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 501 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 
 
 1. Every government is instituted to secuie the genera! 
 happiness of the community, and especially to protect the 
 person and property of every individual. Constitutions are 
 established to ensure the good administration of the govern 
 ment, by giving the people some direct or indirect control 
 over their rulers, and also a share in the formation of the 
 laws. 2. The British constitution differs from most others 
 in its formation ; it was formed very gradually, checks 
 against the abuses of power were not devised until the evils 
 were actually felt, and consequently its details, though some- 
 times cumbrous, and perhaps inconsistent, are the results of 
 long experience, and have been rendered by old habits ex- 
 actly suited to the peculiar circumstances of the nation. 
 
 3. The government established in England by the Nor 
 man conqueror was a feudal despotism ; the land was divi- 
 ded into fiefs, which were for the most part given to the Nor- 
 man lords or barons, who were invested with absolute power 
 over the lives and fortunes of their vassals. There were no 
 written limitations to the power of the king over the barons , 
 but, Henry I., eager to secure partizans in his usurpation of 
 the crown from his brother Robert, granted a charter of pri 
 vileges to his nobility, which contained also a few stipula- 
 tions in favour of the great body of the people. 4. The 
 conditions of this charter were flagrantly violated, until at 
 length, in the reign of John, the barons, with a powerful 
 body of their adherents, appeared in arms against the king, 
 and forced him to sign Magna Charta, the great foundation 
 of English liberty. Though this charter was principally de 
 signed to protect the nobles from the encroachments of royal 
 power, it contained some important provisions in favour of 
 general liberty ; a clear proof of the growing power of the 
 commons. 
 
 5. When the importance of commerce began to be under- 
 stood, it was found necessary to secure the trading towns and 
 communities from the exactions of their powerful neighbours, 
 for in the middle ages piracy and highway robbery were 
 deemed honourable professions by most of the feudal nobles 
 in Europe. To protect trade, charters of incorporations were 
 
502 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 granted to several cities and towns, by which they were re- 
 leased from dependence on a feudal lord, and permitted to 
 enjoy a government of their own choosing. A gradual 
 change took place through the country in consequence of 
 the adventurous and reckless spirits of the Norman barons ; 
 some sold their fiefs to raise money for joining the crusades ; 
 others wasted them by piecemeal to support their riot and 
 dissipation, and thus from various causes a body of small 
 landholders began to be formed, independent of the great 
 barons, and looking to the crown for protection against 
 them. 6. When the earl of Leicester took up arms to re- 
 strain the capricious tyranny of Henry III., he summoned a 
 parliament to sanction his designs, and that the voice of the 
 nation might be more clearly expressed, he invited the coun- 
 ties to elect knights of the shire, and the cities and towns to 
 send deputies, to aid in these consultations. This appears to 
 have been the first attempt to form a house of commons ; 
 but the origin and early progress of that branch of the legis- 
 lature is involved in great, not to say hopeless obscurity. 
 
 7. The commons were generally courted by the king as 
 a counterbalance to the power of the nobility ; until the civil 
 wars between the rival nouses of York and Lancaster, hav 
 ing thinned the ranks of the barons, extinguished many 
 noble houses, and almost annihilated the influence of the 
 rest, the royal power became supreme, and so continued 
 during the reigns of the four sovereigns of the house of 
 Tudor. 8. But the commons during this period had been 
 silently collecting their strength, and on the accession of 
 James I. they insisted on their privileges with a pertinacy, 
 which led to a long struggle between the king and the parlia- 
 ment. In this contest the majority of the house of lords, 
 which had been reinforced by the elevation to the peerage of 
 some of the heads of the old English families, espoused the 
 cause of the commons. At length Charles I. was coerced 
 into granting the petition of right, which secured many valu- 
 able constitutional privileges to the people. But passions 
 had been excited in the struggle which brought on a civil 
 war, that ended in the overthrow of the monarchy. 
 
 9. During the reign of Charles II. the celebrated habeas 
 corpus was passed, by which personal liberty is secured to 
 the subject ; but the perfection of the British constitution was 
 completed in 1688, when James II. was hurled from the 
 throne for his arbitrary principles, the right of parliament to 
 regulate the succession to the crown established, and the 
 
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 503 
 
 liberties of the people secured by the Bill of Rights, and the 
 Act of Settlement. 10. Since that period no important 
 change was made in the constitution until the passing of the 
 recent Reform Bill, by which the decayed and deserted 
 Doroughs have lost their right of sending members to parlia- 
 ment, and the privilege has been transferred to the larger 
 counties and more important towns. 
 
 11. The legislative power of England is placed in the par 
 liament, which consists of three parts, the king, (or queen), 
 the lords, and the commons. 
 
 12. The crown of England is hereditary, but parliament 
 has a right to alter the line of succession. After the abdi- 
 cation of James II., the right of succession was limited to 
 protestants, and on the impending failure of protestant heirs 
 to Charles I., the settlement was extended to the protestan 
 line of James I., viz. to the princess Sophia of Hanover, and 
 the heirs of her body being protestants. The present reign- 
 ing family is descended from the princess Sophia, and holds 
 the throne in right of her parliamentary title. 
 
 13. The duties of the sovereign are described in the coro- 
 nation oath ; they are, first, to govern according to law , 
 secondly, to execute judgment in mercy ; and thirdly, to 
 maintain the established religion. 14. The prerogatives of 
 the king, by which is meant those privileges which belong to 
 him in consequence of his high station and dignity, are either 
 direct or incidental. The chief of his direct prerogatives 
 are, the power of making war and peace ; of sending and 
 receiving ambassadors ; of pardoning offences ; of conferring 
 honours and titles of dignity ; of appointing judges and sub- 
 ordinate magistrates ; of giving or revoking commissions in 
 the army or navy ; and of rejecting bills proffered to him by 
 the other branches of the legislature. He is the head of the 
 national church, and nominates to vacant bishoprics and 
 other ecclesiastical preferments. 
 
 15. But the king can only exercise his prerogatives 
 through ministers, who are responsible to the nation for 
 every act emanating from royal authority. Hence arises 
 the aphorism that " the king can do no wrong," his minister 
 being alone answerable. 
 
 16. The incidental prerogatives of the king are various ; 
 a few alone need be mentioned: no costs can be recovered 
 against him ; his debt shall be preferred before that of a 
 subject ; no suit or action can be brought against, but any 
 
504 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 person having a claim in point of property on the king musl 
 petition him in chancery. 
 
 17. There are certain privileges also conceded to the royal 
 family : the queen retains her title and dignity even after the 
 death of her husband : she has authority to buy and sell in 
 her own name, and to remove any suit in which she is con- 
 cerned to whatever court she pleases, without any of the 
 usual legal formalities. The king's eldest son is by his birth 
 prince of Wales, and by creation, duke of Cornwall and 
 earl of Chester. All the king's children receive the title of 
 royal highness. 
 
 18. The house of lords is sometimes called the upper 
 house of parliament ; its members are either temporal peers, 
 whose dignities are hereditary, or spiritual peers, who sit 
 only for life. The Scottish representative peers sit only for 
 one parliament, the Irish representative peers sit for life. A 
 peer may vote by proxy; but each peer can only hold the 
 proxy for one absent peer. The house of lords can alone 
 originate any bills that affect the rights or privileges of the 
 peerage, and the commons are not permitted to make any al- 
 terations in them. Peers can only be tried by the house of 
 lords, and this house constitutes the court in which officers 
 of state are tried on impeachment by the house of commons ; 
 it is also the last court of appeal from inferior jurisdictions. 
 Each peer may enter his protest on the journals when a vote 
 passes contrary to his sentiments, and assign the reasons of 
 his dissent in writing. When sitting in judgment his verdict 
 is given " on his honour ;" the same form is observed in his 
 answers on bills in chancery, but in civil and criminal cases 
 he must be sworn. 
 
 19. The house of lords (A. D. 1836) consists of— 
 
 Princes of the blood royal, (all Peers of Scotland 16 
 
 dukes) 4 Peers of Ireland . . . . . "28 
 
 Other dukes* ........ 21 Englisn bishops 26 
 
 Marquesses 19 Irish bishops 4 
 
 Earls 110 — 
 
 Viscounts ....... 18 Making in all . . 426 
 
 Barons 180 
 
 * The origin and other particulars relative to the different classes of the 
 nobility. — Duke. — This title was unknown in England till the reign of 
 Edward III., who, in 1335, created his son, Edward the Black prince, 
 duke of Cornwall, (as before mentioned). 
 
 Marquis. — Richard II., in 1385, conferred the title of marquis on 
 Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, by making him marquis of Dubiin. 
 This is supposed to be the origin of the title in England. 
 
 Earl. — This is a very ancient title, having been in use among our 
 Saxon ancestors. In those times it was an official dignity, having a 
 
VICTORIA. 481 
 
 ment after regiment continued to be dispatched in the same 
 direction. 
 
 16. Within forty-eight hours of the notification of general 
 Anson's death, sir Colin Campbell was on his way to the 
 East to assume the chief command ; and a steady, fixed deter- 
 mination was evinced throughout the British islands to recon- 
 quer the revolted provinces at any cost of blood or treasure. 
 But, before sir Colin could reach his destination, the tide 
 had already turned, and the victories of British troops had 
 begun to supersede the massacre of defenceless women and 
 children. 
 
 17. Gen. Havelock, taking the command at Allahabad of the 
 78th Highlanders, the queen's 64th, the 1st Madras fusiliers, 
 and the Ferozepore regiment of Sikhs, had set out in the hope 
 of arriving at Cawnpore in time to release sir Hugh Wheeler 
 and his devoted comrades. After marching 126 miles, fighting 
 four actions, and capturing a number of guns of heavy calibre, 
 in eight days, and in the worst season of an Indian climate, he 
 was yet too late to avert the terrible catastrophe. The day 
 before he entered Cawnpore, Nena Sahib foully murdered the 
 women and children, who alone survived of the Cawnpore gar- 
 rison, and caused them to be flung, the dead and the dying, 
 into a well of the courtyard of the assembly rooms. 
 
 18. The indefatigable Havelock followed the treacherous 
 Mahratta to Bhitoor, which he captured and dismantled. Then 
 collecting some boats, he crossed the Ganges, and, thrice forcing 
 the enemy from strong positions, arrived within a day's march 
 of Lucknow. But, encumbered with his sick and wounded — 
 cholera having broken out in his little camp — he was compelled 
 to retrace his steps toward the river. 
 
 19. On the banks of the Ganges, for the eighth time, he de- 
 feated the enemy, and captured his guns ; and, a few days after- 
 ward, the 15th of August, he marched out from Cawp.pore, and 
 again drove them from Bhitoor. His approach had enabled 
 the garrison of Lucknow to sally forth and secure many head 
 of cattle, and, a little later, having undermined a house, they 
 blew up over a hundred of the insurgents, and disabled their 
 two heaviest guns. Thus relieved, they informed general 
 Havelock that they could hold their own until he received the 
 re-inforcements that were coming up from Calcutta. They 
 would have arrived at Cawnpore some weeks sooner than they 
 actually did, had not general Lloyd proved unequal to the 
 occasion at Dinapore. 
 
 20. Until the 25th of July, three regiments of native in- 
 
482 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 fantry, stationed at that place, had continued faithful, but cir- 
 cumstances having occurred to create suspicion, the general was 
 advised to disarm them. Instead of doing so, he merely ordered 
 them to give up their percussion caps before a certain hour, 
 by which time they were making the best of their way to the 
 river Soane. When it was too late to be of service, the 10th 
 and a battery of artillery were sent in pursuit, but failed to inflict 
 much loss. Subsequently a detachment under captain Dunbar 
 was dispatched to relieve Arrah, a civil station closely invested 
 by the Dinapore mutineers. Marching without taking proper 
 precautions, these troops fell into an ambush, and were driven 
 back to their boats, with the loss of 150 killed and wounded. 
 The glory of relieving Arrah was reserved for major Eyre, of 
 the Bengal artillery, who, with three guns and 150 men of the 
 5th fusiliers, dispersed the insurgents, captured Jugdeespore, 
 and restored the communication between Calcutta and the 
 upper provinces. 
 
 21. With rare exceptions, the native chiefs preserved their 
 engagements with the British government during this critical 
 period. The contingent forces, indeed, of Scindiah and Hol- 
 kar joined the mutineers, but those princes do not appear to 
 have been in any way accessory to the movement. The Sikh 
 states, and especially the rajahs of Jheend and Puttiala, ren- 
 dered signal service, and both the Nepaulese government and 
 the Maharajah Goolab Sing of Cashmere (who died on the 2d 
 of August,) sent considerable bodies of auxiliary troops to the 
 aid of the British. Still more significant is the fact that the 
 villagers, almost invariably, exhibited more sympathy for the 
 British than for their own countrymen. It is true that they 
 oftentimes plundered unarmed fugitives, but they showed still 
 less mercy to the rebel sepoys when not in sufficient force to 
 protect themselves. It thus appears evident that the revolt 
 of the Bengal army was actually a mutiny, and not a popular 
 insurrection. 
 
 22. Meanwhile the mutterings of disaffection began to be 
 heard also in the Bombay presidency. The 27th N. I. broke 
 out into open mutiny at Kolapore, and, shortly afterward, the 
 21st N. I. conspired at Kurrachee to massacre the European 
 inhabitants, but their projected villany being discovered, they 
 were promptly disarmed, and the ringleaders justly punished. 
 The Joudpore legion was not more faithful to its colors than 
 other contingent forces, and the trifling successes which at- 
 tended their first movements encouraged the enemies of the 
 
VICTORIA. 483 
 
 British government throughout Rajpootana to take up arms 
 and join their ranks. 
 
 23. The Madras troops, with the exception of the 8th light 
 cavalry, exhibited a rare and honorable example of fidelity amid 
 such wide-spread treachery and rebellion. But on the north- 
 east frontier of Bengal, the Assamese displayed a restlessness 
 that boded no good ; and their vicinity to the Burmese on the 
 one hand, and to the Santhals on the other, rendered it neces- 
 sary to adopt energetic measures to keep them in awe. 
 
 24. Unhappily, the governor-general of India, lord Canning, 
 too rarely manifested the decision of character demanded in 
 such an emergency. Of personal courage there was no want, 
 but he was deficient in quickness of conception, and in moral 
 hardihood. His counsellors were even more timid than him- 
 self, and thus the mutineers were encouraged, and the European 
 residents in Calcutta, in the same proportion, disheartened by 
 the habitual vacillation of the government. 
 
 25. At one time, during the advent of the great Mohamme- 
 dan festival of the Mohurrum, a panic prevailed throughout 
 all classes of the Christian inhabitants; and was only allayed 
 by the unexpected arrival of lord Elgin, with the Shannon and 
 the Pearl. 
 
 26. At a later period, lord Canning converted this feeling 
 of distrust into one of disgust and indignation by appointing a 
 lieutenant-governor of the central provinces, with two Moham- 
 medan assistants, to supersede martial law, and to tie the hands 
 of the military leaders, upon whose promptness and resolution 
 depended the safety both of individuals and of the state. In 
 pursuance of the same impolitic line of conduct, an act was 
 passed by the legislature, rendering it a misdemeanor to pos- 
 sess arms or ammunition, without first obtaining a license to 
 that effect. As his lordship in council had previously returned 
 an ungracious answer to a petition of the European commu- 
 nity, praying that the native population might be disarmed, it 
 was felt that this was at least an insulting intimation that the 
 European settlers were no more trustworthy than the people 
 of the country. 
 
 27. While these dissensions obtained at the Presidency, sir 
 James Outram, who had succeeded general Lloyd at Dinapore, 
 hastily collected what forces he could muster, and pushed on 
 to re-inforce general Havelock at Cawnpore. With character- 
 istic magnanimity, however, he first disclaimed all intention of 
 plucking the nobly-earned laurels from the grasp of his junior 
 officer, and intimated his desire to accompany him solely in his 
 
484 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 civil capacity of chief commissioner of Oude. His march up- 
 ward from Allahabad, however, was much impeded by the heavy 
 rains, and at one point a small body of the enemy attempted to 
 harass his flank ; but being vigorously attacked by a detachment 
 under major Eyre, they were destroyed almost to a man. It 
 was thus the 19th of September before general Havelock was 
 in a position to cross the Ganges for a third time, and to ad- 
 vance with an efficient force to relieve the long-beleaguered 
 garrison at Lucknow. 
 
 28. On that day the army of relief crossed the river by a 
 bridge of boats, and encamped on the other side. General 
 Havelock's force consisted of about 2000 European infantry, 
 the Sikh regiment of Ferozepore, three batteries of field artil- 
 lery, and a handful of volunteer cavalry. The rebels mustered 
 above 40,000 strong, but their numerical superiority only served 
 to enhance the prowess of their conquerors. The first engage- 
 ment took place on the 21st of September, at the village of 
 Mungarwar, and resulted in the total defeat of the mutineers. 
 Five field-pieces and two guns in position were taken, two of 
 the former being captured by the volunteer cavalry, led on to 
 the charge by general Outrani in person. 
 
 29. From this point the army pushed on by forced marches, 
 without encountering any organized opposition, until it arrived 
 before the city of Lucknow. Skirting the suburbs of that once 
 stately capital, general Havelock forced his way through every 
 obstacle, and, by the evening of the 25th, had relieved the 
 heroic garrison. 
 
 30. The relief was opportune. Two mines had already been 
 driven under the chief works, and, in a few hours more, would 
 have been loaded and sprung. The besieged would thus have 
 been placed at the mercy of those who knew no mercy. 
 
 31. The city, however, had still to be subdued. From seve- 
 ral advantageous positions the enemy continued to fire upon 
 the fort, and were only finally dislodged after a series of deter- 
 mined assaults. 
 
 32. In these operations the loss of the British was very severe. 
 General Neill, the brave and energetic saviour of Benares, and 
 the inexorable avenger of the massacre at Caw.npore, was among 
 the slain. With him fell major Cooper, in command of the 
 artillery, and many other gallant spirits. Even now much re- 
 mained to be done. Taking courage from their overwhelming 
 numbers, the enemy soon closed again around the army of de- 
 liverance, and cut off their communications with Cawnpore. 
 Encumbered with not less than 1000 women and children, and 
 
VICTORIA. 485 
 
 sick or wounded men, it would have been hazardous, if not 
 impossible, to have attempted a retrograde march across a dif- 
 ficult country, harassed on all sides by an active and desperate 
 enemy. Under these circumstances, sir James Outram, who 
 had now assumed the chief command, determined on remaining 
 at Lucknow, and awaiting the arrival of re-inforcements. His 
 position, indeed, was critical, but events in another quarter 
 were in the meantime operating in his favour. 
 
 33. Until the latter end of August, the British troops before 
 Delhi are rather to be considered as an army of observation, 
 than as a besieging force. Their inferiority in numbers and 
 artillery was barely counterbalanced by their superior disci- 
 pline, courage, and physical strength. These advantages ena- 
 bled them, indeed, to maintain their ground, but not to assume 
 the offensive. 
 
 34. Toward the close of August, however, a re-inforcement of 
 European and Sikh troops, under brigadier Nicholson, arrived 
 from the Punjab, and, on the 25th of that month, the rebels were 
 defeated at Nujuffghur, with great slaughter and the loss of thir- 
 teen guns. A few days later a heavy siege-train was received 
 from Ferozepore, and breaching batteries were constructed on 
 the north side of the city. The siege may be said to have com- 
 menced on the 7th of September, and, by the evening of the 
 13th, the engineers reported two practicable breaches — one 
 near the Cashmere, the other near the Water bastion. Arrange- 
 ments were, therefore, at once made for an assault to take place 
 at daybreak on the following morning. 
 
 35. The first column, commanded by brigadier Nicholson, 
 advanced under a tremendous fire, and, applying their scaling- 
 ladders, carried the Cashmere bastion, and established them- 
 selves in the main-guard. Almost simultaneously, the second 
 column, under brigadier Jones, stormed the Water bastion, 
 and effected a junction with their comrades inside the walls. 
 
 36. A third column, under colonel Campbell, awaited the 
 blowing open of the Cashmere gate to join in the assault. They 
 had not long to wait. Lieutenants Salkeld and Home, of the 
 engineers, accompanied by three sergeants carrying the powder- 
 bags, walked up to the gateway in broad daylight, and, while 
 exposed to a heavy fire of musketry, coolly fastened the bags to 
 the iron spikes of the gate. In the performance of this heroic 
 exploit, lieutenant Salkeld was severely wounded, and two of 
 the sergeants killed upon the spot; but the train was lighted, 
 and the gate blown open with a tremendous crash. 
 
 37. As the smoke cleared away, the storming party sprang 
 
 2s2 
 
486 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 through the ruins with a British cheer; and, the three columns 
 uniting, made themselves master of the whole line of works, 
 from the Water bastion to the Cabul gate ; and before nightfall 
 were in possession of Skinner's house, the Church, the College, 
 and the adjacent grounds. This brilliant success, however, was 
 not achieved without great loss of life. 
 
 38. Of the European soldiery, eight officers and 162 rank 
 and file were killed, with fifty-two officers and 510 rank and file 
 wounded ; of the sepoys, 413 were placed hors de combat, of 
 whom 103 were slain outright. The total number of casualties 
 thus amounted to 1145, or one-third of the entire assaulting 
 force. Among the mortally wounded was brigadier Nicholson, 
 whose death was justly deplored as a national calamity. 
 
 39. Simultaneously with these main attacks, a diversion was 
 made by a fourth column, consisting of Sikhs, Grhoorkas, and 
 Cashmerians, on the suburbs of Kishengunge and Pahareepore. 
 But, in spite of their most strenuous efforts, these troops 
 failed to overcome the desperate resistance offered by the 
 enemy, and, in the end, were compelled to retreat, though not 
 ingloriously. 
 
 40. The day following the assault was consumed in shelling 
 the palace, and in battering the magazine. A breach was effected, 
 and, at daylight on the 16th, a storming party dashed forward 
 with such impetuosity that the rebel artillerymen dropped their 
 lighted port-fires and fled, leaving undischarged six guns of 
 large calibre commanding the breach and loaded with grape. 
 On the 17th, the British troops became masters of the Bank, 
 formerly the palace of the Begum Sumroo, and, shortly after- 
 ward, of the Jumma Musjid, or principal mosque. Heavy 
 guns were now brought to play upon the palace and the bridge 
 of boats, and, by the evening of the 20th, the rebels entirely 
 evacuated the city and its suburbs. Then was seen the extent 
 of the damage sustained by the former capital of the Moghul 
 dynasty. Whole streets had been laid in ruins; dead bodies 
 tainted the air in all directions ; the inhabitants, reduced to 
 beggary, were crouching, terror-stricken, in obscure lurking- 
 places. But the British soldier is merciful in victory, as he is 
 irresistible in battle. To armed rebels, no mercy was shown ; 
 but women and children, and the defenceless citizens, were 
 spared and protected. 
 
 41. The venerable descendant of Timour — venerable only 
 by reason of his gray hairs and extreme old age — had fled, 
 with his principal Begum, two sons, and a grandson, to the 
 tomb of his ancestor, Hoomayoon, son of the mighty Baber. 
 
VICTORIA. 487 
 
 Here he was discovered and seized by captain Hodson, of the 
 2d European fusiliers. His own life, and that of his queen, 
 were respected — but the princes were led out and shot, and 
 their dead bodies publicly exposed at the kotwalee, or mayor's 
 court. 
 
 42. Gen. Wilson, whose health failed him in the hour of vic- 
 tory, now resigned the command to brigadier Penny, C. B., a 
 veteran of approved gallantry. Colonel Burn, whose father so 
 gallantly defended Delhi against Jeswunt Rao Holkar in 1803, 
 was appointed military commandant within the city, and mea- 
 sures were successfully taken to re-establish order, and to afford 
 protection to well-disposed and peaceful citizens. Two mova- 
 ble columns, consisting each of 1600 infantry, 500 cavalry, 
 three troops of horse artillery, and 18 guns, were told off, and 
 ordered to follow up the retreating enemy without delay. One 
 of these, commanded by colonel Greathed, of the 84th, came 
 up with a rebel force strongly posted near Bolundshuhur, 
 and, after a spirited engagement, utterly discomfited them 
 with the loss of two guns, a vast quantity of ammunition, and 
 100 men. 
 
 43. On the same day the other column overtook the muti- 
 neers at Muttra, and inflicted severe chastisement. The secu- 
 rity of Agra was thus assured, and a direct road laid open into 
 Oude. Re-inforeements from England were at the same time 
 arriving at Calcutta, and each successive day fresh troops were 
 rapidly pushed up the country. The tide had turned. The 
 mutineers had lost their opportunity. 
 
 44. Since June, 1857, a large body of Europeans, including 
 many women and children, had been held beleaguered in the 
 residency at Lucknow. Towards the close of September, gen- 
 eral Havelock attempted to relieve them. He had penetrated 
 through the enemy's numerous forces to the residency just in 
 time to prevent its fall. His force not being sufficient to pro- 
 tect the retreat of the women and children to Cawnpore, he 
 remained at the residency, the garrison of which was strength- 
 ened by a portion of the troops, the rest falling back upon 
 Cawnpore. 
 
 45. Lucknow was held by 50,000 rebels, who pressed the 
 siege of the residency with great vigour, and t'he position of 
 the defenders was extremely critical. 
 
 46. Sir Colin Campbell, the commander-in-chief, left Cawn- 
 pore with a strong force, on the 9th of November, to relieve 
 Lucknow. He succeeded, by a well-conceived stratagem on 
 
HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
VICTORIA. 489 
 
 the 12th, in bringing away the garrison with the women and 
 children, and marched for Cawnpore. 
 
 47. On the third day after leaving Lucknow, general Have- 
 lock died from the effects of dysentery, brought on by excessive 
 fatigue and anxiety. 
 
 48. In December, Cawnpore was attacked by 25,000 rebels 
 with 50 guns, and sir Colin Campbell was summoned from 
 the neighbourhood of Lucknow for its defence. He arrived 
 in season to save the place, after a severe action with the 
 enemy. 
 
 49. Sir Colin remained at Cawnpore, collecting a large force 
 for the final siege of Lucknow. During the time which was 
 thus occupied, several actions of minor importance took place; 
 but it was not till the 17th of March that Lucknow was re- 
 covered, after a short but active siege. After its fall, the 
 kingdom of Oude, of which it was the capital, was speedily 
 restored to obedience and comparative tranquility. 
 
 50. Since the fall of Lucknow, the war has assumed a 
 guerilla character in various parts of India; and no other 
 event of equal importance has transpired. 
 
 Questions for Examination. 
 
 1. What is said of the war with Russia? Of the Sepoy mutiny? 
 
 2. Of lords Dalhousie and Canning? 
 
 3. Of the Persian war? 
 
 4. Of the Mohammedans of Upper India? Of the king of Delhi? 
 
 5. Of the Mahommedans and Hindoos? Of the greased cartridges? 
 
 6. What took place in Oude? In Lucknow? At Meerut? 
 
 7. At Delhi? What was said by a writer in the Edinburgh Review? 
 
 8. What is said of the spread of the rebellion ? 
 
 9. Of the situation of the British posts? 
 
 10. What took place at Lucknow? 
 
 11. At Cawnpore? What is said of Nena Sahib? 
 
 12. What was occurring at Delhi? 
 
 13. At Calcutta? 
 
 14. In England ? 
 
 15. What force was sent out to India? 
 
 16. Who was appointed oommander-in-chief ? 
 
 17. What was done by general Havelock ? By Nena Sahib? 
 
 18. By Havelock at Bhitoor? 
 
 19. On the banks of the Ganges ? 
 
 20. What took place at Arrah ? 
 
 21. What is said of the native chiefs ? 
 
 22. What took place in the Bombay presidency? 
 
 23. What is said of the Madras troops? Of the Assamese? 
 
 24. What is said of lord Canning? 
 
 25. Of the Mohurrum? 
 
 26. Of lord Canning's measures respecting the central provinces ? 
 
 27. Of sir James Outram? Of Havelock? 
 
490 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 28. Of the battle of Mungarwar? 
 
 29. Of Havelock at Lucknow ? 
 30: Of the relief? 
 
 31. Of the city? 
 
 32. Of the losses? Of Outram? 
 
 33. Of the British troops before Delhi? 
 
 34. What events followed? 
 
 35. What was done by Nicholson? By Jones? 
 
 36. By Campbell? By Salkeld and Home? 
 
 37. By the storming party? 
 
 38. What is said of the losses ? 
 
 39. What was done in the suburbs of Delhi? 
 
 40. What was done on the 16th of September? The 17th? 
 
 41. What is said of the king of Delhi? 
 
 42. Of generals Wilson and Penny? Of Greathed? 
 
 43. What events followed? 
 
 44. What took place at Lucknow ? 
 
 45. What- is said of the siege? 
 
 46. Of sir Colin Campbell? 
 
 47. Of general Havelock? 
 
 48. What took place at Cawnpore? 
 
 49. At Lucknow? 
 
 50. After the fall of Lucknow? 
 
PROGRESS OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, ETC. 491 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND TUB 
 ARTS, DURING THE PRESENT CENTURY. 
 
 Calmly they show us mankind victorious 
 
 O'er all that 's aimless, blind, and base; 
 Their presence has made our nature glorious, 
 
 Unveiling our night's illumined face. — Sterling. 
 
 1. In the middle of the last century, science and literature 
 in England were fast losing all traces of originality ; inven- 
 tion was discouraged, research unvalued, and the examina- 
 tion of nature proscribed ; it seemed to be generally estab- 
 lished, that the treasures accumulated in the preceding age, 
 were quite sufficient for all national purposes, and that the 
 only duty which authors had to perform, was to reproduce 
 what had been thus accumulated, in a more elegant shape, 
 adorned with all the graces of polished style. Tameness and 
 monotony naturally result from a slavish adherence to es- 
 tablished rules, and every branch of literature felt this blight- 
 ing influence : history, perhaps, was in some degree an ex- 
 ception ; for Hume, Robertson, but more especially Gibbon, 
 exhibited a spirit of original investigation which found no 
 parallel amongst their contemporaries. 2. The American 
 war first broke the chains that had thus fettered the public 
 mind ; passions were excited, party zeal kindled, and in the 
 keen encounters of rival statesmen, an example was set of 
 bidding defiance to all arbitrary rules. Parliamentary elo- 
 quence was the first result of the change, and the principal 
 cause of its further extension. While Burke, Fox, Sheridan, 
 and at a later period, Pitt, spoke as. their peculiar habits of 
 thought prompted them, not as the rhetoric of schools taught, 
 Cowper and Burns made vigorous efforts for the emancipa- 
 tion of poetry, and substituted the suggestions of nature for 
 the dictates of art. Their success, however, would scarcely 
 have been decisive, had not the American war been followed 
 by a still more terrible convulsion. 3. The French revolu- 
 tion shook everything that had been morally as well as poli- 
 tically established in Europe, to the very foundation. There 
 was no principle, however sacred — no institution, howevei 
 sanctioned by long experience — no rule of conduct, however 
 tried and proved — that was not rudely questioned and fiercely 
 assailed. Hopes were entertained by some, that a new era 
 of social happiness was about to dawn upon the world ; 
 others feared that society was about to be rent in sunder, and 
 
492 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 
 
 every sign of civilization destroyed. It is not our purpose 
 to say anything of the political effects produced by tho 
 French revolution ; its literary consequences, as has been 
 the case with every period of great excitement, were de- 
 cidedly beneficial. A total change was wrought in ever} 
 branch of literature, a change which demanded from every 
 writer vigorous thought instead of elegant expression. 4. 
 Crabbe, the poet of rustic life in England, derived his im 
 pulse from the American war ; but it is to the struggle with 
 France that we owe Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey — 
 men alike in their devotion to nature, but different in their 
 modes of testifying that homage, because each has followed 
 the bent of his own mode of thought. The enthusiasm with 
 which these eminent poets hailed the dawn of freedom in 
 France, embittered their disappointment, when they saw the 
 evil uses to which the name of liberty was perverted ; they 
 became vehement opponents of the political developement 
 of the French revolution, but they clung fondly to its intellec- 
 tual principles, and maintained the right of genius to explore 
 untravelled paths, though its course might not be that pointed 
 out by critics. Their example was followed by Montgomery, 
 Byron, Scott, and Campbell ; and by a host of other writers 
 whose works have enriched modern literature. The female 
 mind also felt the influence of this mighty revolution, and 
 some of the noblest productions in modern poetry have been 
 written by ladies. We may mention the names of Miss 
 Joanna Bailie, and Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 5. There was, however, one species of poetry, the drama, 
 which had little or no share in the success which we have 
 described; in fact, it was almost destroyed by that very 
 means. It is at the moment when a nation is wakening into 
 intellectual life, that the drama most flourishes ; men are then 
 eager to receive instruction, and the theatre affords it in the 
 most pleasing as well as the most forcible form. But a? 
 civilization advances, other and more efficient means of in- 
 struction are provided ; the drama loses its influence over the 
 improved generation, just as the picture-books of childhood 
 cease to be valued in youth ; it sinks into a mere means of 
 entertainment, and its strength is lost with its high purpose. 
 The periodical press now holds the position that the stage did 
 m the time of queen Elizabeth : that the drama might ad- 
 vance, it would be necessary for civilization to retrograde, 
 nd that would be far too high a price to pay even for ano- 
 ther Shakspeare. 
 
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 505 
 
 20. The house of commons consists of members chosen 
 by counties, cities, boroughs, and universities. The mem- 
 bers for counties, commonly called knights of the shire, must 
 possess a real estate of 600Z. a year, and members for cities 
 or boroughs of 300Z. a year. The sons of peers and mem- 
 bers for the universities are not required to produce these 
 qualifications. 
 
 21. Aliens, clergymen, judges, returning officers in their 
 respective jurisdictions, officers of the excise, &c, those 
 who hold pensions of limited duration, contractors with gov- 
 ernment, and some others exposed to external influence, are 
 uneligible to parliament. 
 
 22. The right of voting for members of parliament is 
 given by the late reform act to leaseholders in counties seised 
 of lands or tenements worth ten pounds a year, to tenants at 
 will, farming lands at a rent of fifty pounds a year, and to 
 holders in fee-simple of lands or tenements of the yearly 
 value of forty shillings. In cities and boroughs the right of 
 voting is given to resident householders whose tenements are 
 worth an annual rent of 10Z., but the rights of freemen in 
 the old constituency are preserved for the term of their natural 
 lives. 
 
 23. The house of commons contains — 
 
 English county members . 143") 
 
 Universities 4 >471 
 
 Cities and boroughs . . 324 J 
 Welsh county members . 15? 2 q 
 
 cities and boroughs 145 
 Scotch county members . 30? ro 
 Cities and boroughs . . "235 
 
 24. In order to understand the manner in which the public 
 business is transacted in parliament, we insert a brief ac- 
 count of the usual forms, and an explanation of the terms 
 generally used. Discussions generally arise on a motion 
 
 jurisdiction over the place from which the title took its name. Soon after 
 the Norman conquest, we find that William created several earls, allot- 
 ting to each the third penny arising from the pleas in their respective dis- 
 tricts. That grant has, however, long since ceased, and in lieu of it the 
 earls now receive a small annuity from the exchequer. 
 
 Viscount. — The title of viscount is of much more recent date ; the 
 first we read of being John Beaumont, who was created viscount Beau- 
 mont by Henry VI. in the year 1439. 
 
 Barqn. — In English history we often find the word baron used to de- 
 nominate the -whole collective body of the nobility. When, after the 
 Norman conquest, the Saxon title of Thane was disused, that of baron 
 succeeded ; and being the lowest title among the nobles, was very gene 
 rally applied as the term lord is now ; with which, indeed, it appears to 
 be synonymous. 
 
 2tj 
 
 Irish county members . 64") 
 
 Universities . . . 2>105 
 Cities and boroughs . . 39 J 
 
 Making in all ... 658 
 
506 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 being made by a member, seconded by another, and then 
 put from the chair in the shape of a question ; on each of 
 these, every member is entitled to be heard once, but he may 
 rise again to explain, and the member who originates a mo- 
 tion is allowed to reply. 
 
 25. Committees are, first, those of the whole House, 
 which may be to consider of certain resolutions, in respect 
 to the nature of which considerable latitude prevails ; or the 
 house resolves itself into such committee to consider the de- 
 tails of a bill, the principle of which is never discussed unless 
 on its several readings; or there may be committees for 
 financial purposes, as those of "supply," or "ways and 
 means." Secondly, there are select committees, chosen by 
 ballot or otherwise, for some specific purpose — the numbers 
 composing such bodies seldom exceed twenty or thirty mem- 
 bers : occasionally these are declared committees of secrecy. 
 Thirdly, election committees, which are strictly judicial tri- 
 bunals, and whose duty it is to try the merits of controverted 
 elections — these are always chosen by ballot. Fourthly, 
 committees on private bills. 
 
 26. When the whole house is in committee, the speaker 
 vacates the chair, some other member is called on to preside, 
 and he sits in the seat of the senior clerk. The mace is 
 then placed under the table. For committees of supply and 
 ways and means, there is a chairman, who receives a salary. 
 
 27. The prorogation of parliament is an act of the crown; 
 but either house may adjourn its sittings to the next or any 
 future day, as of course it may adjourn any debate. Motions 
 of adjournment may be made at any time, and repeated at 
 the pleasure of any member. 
 
 28. When a motion has been made upon which the House 
 happens to be unwilling to come to a vote, there are formal 
 modes of avoiding a decision, among which are passing " to 
 the other orders," or moving " the previous question." The 
 former means, that the house should — casting aside and 
 taking no further notice of the matter then before it — pro- 
 ceed to the other business appointed for that day ; the latter, 
 that a vote be previously taken as to the expediency of their 
 coming to any decision on the question raised. If " the pre- 
 vious question" be decided in the negative, the motion en 
 which it bears is only gotten rid of for the time, whereas a 
 direct negative to the motion itself would be a proscription of 
 it for the remainder of the session, as well as a denial of its 
 principle. 
 
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 507 
 
 29. With respect to a bill, moving that it " be read this 
 day six months," is a mode of throwing it out without coming 
 to an express declaration against the principle of the measure. 
 
 80. An acceptance of " the Chiltern hundreds" is a form 
 which has now no other meaning than that the member ac- 
 cepting resigns his seat. By an express act of parliament, 
 no office having emolument attached, can be conferred by 
 the crown on a member of the house of commons without 
 his thereby vacating his seat, and it is only thus that a mem- 
 ber can rid himself of the duties which any body of consti- 
 tuents may impose even without his consent; the crown, 
 therefore, as an accommodation to the house at large, is 
 always ready to confer on any member " the stewardship of 
 his majesty's Chiltern hundreds," which office, when it has 
 Berved his purpose, he immediately resigns. 
 
 31. The king, we have already said, is the fountain of 
 executive justice. Law, whether criminal or civil, however, 
 is administered by the judges, who, with the exception of 
 the lord chancellor, hold their places during good behaviour. 
 No man can be tried for any offence until the grand jurors 
 of his country have decided that there is reasonable ground 
 for the accusation ; he is then given in charge to a jury of 
 his equals, and their verdict is final. No man can be tried 
 twice for the same offence, and when a person is convicted by 
 a jury, there is no appeal but to the mercy of the king. 
 
 32. The administration of civil law could not be described 
 within our narrow limits ; it must suffice therefore to state, 
 that the civil and common law courts are open to every 
 suitor, a#d that justice is freely administered to all, whatever 
 may be their rank or station. 
 
 Questions for Examination, 
 
 1. What is the use of a constitution ? 
 
 2. Whence arises the peculiar excellence of the British constitution ? 
 
 3. By whom was the first charter granted to the English people ? 
 
 4. What circumstances led to the concession of Magna Charta ? 
 
 5. Why were corporations established ? 
 
 6. What was the origin of the house of commons ? 
 
 7. Did the kings favour the house of commons ? 
 
 8. When did the authority of the king come into collision with the au- 
 
 thority of parliament ? 
 
 9. What led to the revolution of 1688 ? 
 
 10. What change was made by the Reform Bill ? 
 
 11. Into what branches is the British legislature divided ? 
 
 12. How is the inheritance of the crown regulated ? 
 
 13. Where are the king's duties prescribed ? 
 
508 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 
 
 14. What are the king's direct prerogatives ? 
 
 15. How are tiiese prerogatives exercised? 
 
 16. What are the king's incidental prerogatives? 
 
 17. Are any privileges conceded to the royal family ? 
 
 18. Can you describe the privileges of the peerage ? 
 
 19. How are the members of the house of lords classed ? 
 
 20. What are the qualifications for a member of parliament ? 
 
 21. Are any persons excluded from the lower house of parliament ? 
 
 22. How is the right of voting for members of parliament regulated ? 
 
 23. How are the members of the house of commons classed ? 
 
 24. In what manner do discussions arise ? 
 
 25. Can you describe the committees of the house of commons ? 
 
 26. What form is used on going into committee ? 
 
 27. How does prorogation of parliament differ from adjournment ? 
 
 28. How does the house avoid coming to a decision ? 
 
 29. How may a bill be rejected without prejudice to the principle it in- 
 
 volves ? 
 
 30. What is meant by accepting the Chiltern hundreds? 
 
 31. How is the criminal law administered ? 
 
 32. Has due provision been made for the administration of common an* 
 
 civil law? 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The following Tables are extracted from a very ingenious and valuable 
 Engraving, entitled " HISTORY MADE EASY, or a Genealogical 
 Chart of the Kings of England," by E. Reynard : to which we beg 
 to refer the reader for further useful information. 
 
 MONARCHS BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 I 
 
 ti 
 
 No. 
 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 MONARCHS. 
 
 Egbert* ..— < 
 
 Ethelwolf. .. *, 
 
 Ethelbald... .....-..., 
 
 Ethel bert.......... 
 
 Ethelredi.t ...... ~ 
 
 AlfredJ . 
 
 Edward the Elder... 
 
 Athelstan 
 
 Edmund I. §. .... . . . 
 
 Edred - 
 
 Edwy 
 
 Edgar 
 
 Edward IT. ......*** 
 
 Ethelred II.|| 
 
 Edmund Ironside II 
 
 Sweyn 
 
 Canute ...... 
 
 Harold I . . . . 
 
 Hardicanute 
 
 Edward III. or the Confessor 
 
 Harold II., son of Godwin, earl of Kent. 
 
 Began 
 to 
 
 Reign. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 827 
 838 
 857 
 860 
 866 
 872 
 901 
 925 
 940 
 946 
 955 
 959 
 975 
 978 
 1016 
 
 1014 
 1017 
 1036 
 1039 
 
 1041 
 1066 
 
 Reigned 
 Years. 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 29 
 
 24 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 3 
 
 37 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 3 
 2 
 
 25 
 1 
 
 * Egbert descended from Cerdic, the first king of Wessex, a Saxon general, who, 
 in the year A. D. 495, arrived in Britain. It is said in the Saxon annals, that he 
 was descended from Woden, the root of the Saxon families ; and by his conquest 
 which he made in Britain, he may be considered as one of the first founders of the 
 English monarchy : the kings of England descend from him in the male line to 
 Edward the Confessor, and in the female line to the illustrious princess who now 
 site upon the throne. 
 
 t Killed in battle against the Danes, in 871. 
 
 X Introduced trial by jury, divided England into shires and hundreds, and founded 
 the University of Oxford. 
 
 § Was killed by Leolf, a notorious robber. 
 
 li In 1014, Sweyn, king of Denmark, made himself master of England, and was 
 crowned king: and Ethelred fled into Normandy. On the death of Sweyn, which 
 happened in 1015, the crown was contested by Edmund Ironside, (the lawful sue- 
 censor of Ethelred), and Canute, the descendant of Sweyn, who at length agreed 
 to divide the kingdom among them; but Edmund being murdered shortly aftei 
 this treaty was entered into, Canute, (surnamed the Great) was declared king of 
 all Eng and in J017. 
 
 2 u 2 ( 509 > 
 
510 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 MONARCHS SINCE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 *§S 
 
 
 MONARCHS. 
 
 1063 
 1087 
 1100 
 
 1135 
 
 1155 
 1189 
 1199 
 
 1216 
 1272 
 
 1307 
 1327 
 1377 
 
 1399 
 
 William I* 
 
 William II 
 
 Henry I 
 
 Stephenf 
 
 Henry 114 
 
 Richard I 
 
 John 
 
 Henry III 
 
 Edward I 
 
 Edward II 
 
 Edward III , 
 
 Richard II 
 
 Henry IV.g 
 
 Henry V 
 
 Henry VI 
 
 Edward IV.|1 , 
 
 Edward V 
 
 Richard in 
 
 Henry VELff 
 
 Henry VIII 
 
 Edward VI 1546 
 
 Mary 1 1553 
 
 Elizabeth 1558 
 
 James I.** 1603 
 
 Charles 1 1625 
 
 Charles II 1661 
 
 James II 1685 
 
 Will. III. & Mary II. 1689 
 
 Anne 1702 
 
 GeoVgel.ft 1714 
 
 George II 1727 
 
 George III 1760 
 
 George IV 1820 
 
 William IV 1830 
 
 Victor ia 1837 
 
 Began 
 
 to 
 Reign. 
 
 1413 
 1422 
 
 1461 
 1483 
 1483 
 
 1485 
 1509 
 
 To whom married. 
 
 Matilda of Flanders 
 
 (Never married) 
 
 Matilda of Scotland 
 
 Matilda of Bologne 
 
 Eleanor of Guienne 
 
 Berenguella of Navarre.... 
 Earl Montague's daughter 
 
 A visa of Gloucester 
 
 Isabella of Angouleme 
 
 Eleanor of Provence 
 
 Eleanor of Castile 
 
 Mary of Prance 
 
 Isabella of France 
 
 Philippa of Hainault 
 
 Ann of Luxemburgh 
 
 Isabella of France 
 
 a 
 
 Mary Bohun 
 
 Joanna of Navarre 
 
 Catharine of France 
 
 Margaret of Anjou 
 
 Elizabeth Woodville 
 
 (Never married) 
 
 Ann Nevill 
 
 Elizabeth of York 
 
 Catharine of Arragon 
 
 A. Boleyn, 31 ; J. Seymour 
 Ann of Cleves, C. Howard.. 
 
 Catharine Parr 
 
 (Died young) 
 
 Philip, king of Spain 
 
 (Never married) 
 
 Ann of Denmark 
 
 Henrietta of France 
 
 Catharine of Portugal 
 
 A. Hyde, 1660; Mary Mod. 
 Mary, daugh. of James II. 
 Geo. prince of Denmark ... 
 
 Sophia of Zell 
 
 Wilhelmina of Anspach 
 
 Charlotte of Meek. Strel.... 
 
 Caroline of Brunswick 
 
 Adelaide of Saxe Mein 
 
 Albert of Saxe Gotha 
 
 When 
 mar- 
 ried. 
 
 1053 
 
 1100 
 
 1135 
 
 1151 
 1191 
 1185 
 1189 
 1200 
 1236 
 1253 
 1299 
 1308 
 1328 
 1382 
 1396 
 
 1317 
 1403 
 1420 
 1444 
 
 1465 
 
 1471 
 
 I486 
 1509 
 1536 
 1540 
 1543 
 
 1554 
 
 1589 
 1625 
 1662 
 1673 
 
 16S3 
 1683 
 
 Reign- 
 ed 
 Years. 
 
 21 
 13 
 35 
 
 19 
 
 34 
 10 
 17 
 
 56 
 35 
 
 19 
 
 50 
 22 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 38 
 
 22 
 
 2 
 
 23 
 
 37 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 44 
 
 22 
 24 
 24 
 4 
 1.3 
 12 
 
 * Son of Robert, duke of Normandy. 
 
 -j- Son of Adela and Count of Blois; hence the house of Blois. 
 
 t Son of Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet, hence the Plantagenet race. 
 
 I Son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster: hence the house of Lancaster. 
 
 I Son of Richard, duke of York, lineally descended from Lionel, duke of Clarence, 
 the second Son of Edward the Third: hence the House of York. 
 
 ^f Was the son of Margaret and Edward Tudor. Margaret was a lineal descendant 
 from John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster : Edmund Tudor was the Fon of Owen 
 Tudor, who married the widow of Henry V. : hence the House of Tudor. 
 
 ** Son of Mary, queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart, lord Darnley : hence the race 
 »f Stuarts. 
 
 tf Elector of Hanover: hence the race of Brunswick, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 511 
 
 DIVISION OF ENGLAND 
 At the time of the Roman invasion. 
 
 England, including Wales, was, at the invasion of the Romans, 
 divided into the following seventeen states : 
 
 Called by the Romans Consisting of 
 
 1. The Dammonii Cornwall and Devon. 
 
 2. Durotriges Dorsetshire. 
 
 3. Belg.e Somersetshire, Wilts, and part of Hants. 
 
 4. Attrebatii Berkshire. 
 
 5. Regni Surrey, Sussex, and remaining part of Hants. 
 
 G. Cantii Kent. 
 
 7. Dobuni Gloucester and Oxfordshire. 
 
 8. Cattieuchlani . . . Bucks, Bedford, and Herts. 
 
 9. Trinobantes Essex and Middlesex. 
 
 10. Iceni Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntingdon, aud Cambridge. 
 
 11. Coritani Northampton, Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, Not- 
 
 tingham and Derby. 
 
 12. Cornavi Warwick, * Worcester, Stafford, Chester, and 
 
 Shropshire. 
 
 13. The Silures . ...Radnor, Brecon, Glamorgan, Monmouth, and 
 
 Hereford. 
 
 14. DemetjE Pembroke, Cardigan, and Caermarthen. 
 
 1 5 Ordovices Montgomery, Merioneth, Caernarvon, Flint, and 
 
 Denbigh. 
 
 16. The Brigantes. . .York, Durham, Lancashire, Westmoreland, and 
 
 Cumberland. 
 
 17. Ottadini Northumberland to the Tweed. 
 
 KINGS OF ENGLAND, 
 From the invasion of Julius C&sar to the departure of the Romans. 
 
 anno, a c. 
 
 1. Cassivclaunus 83 
 
 2. Tbeomantius 50 
 
 3. Cymbeline 24 
 
 A. D. 
 
 4. Guiderius 45 
 
 5. Arviragus 73 
 
 A. D. 
 
 6. Marius 125 
 
 7. Coilus 179 
 
 8. Lucius 207 
 
 9. Severus (em.) ...-. 211 
 
 10. Bassianus. ....... 218 
 
 11. Carausius ......... 225 
 
 A. D. 
 
 12. Alectus 232 
 
 13. Asclepiodorus .... 262 
 
 14. Coilus II 289 
 
 15. Constantiusfem.). 310 
 
 16. Constantine(em.) 329 
 
 From the departure of the Romans till the introduction of the Saxons by 
 
 Vortigern. 
 
 a. d. I A.O. 
 
 Gratian 431 Constantius ......... 446 
 
 Constantine 1 4461 Vortigern. 450 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Octavius 383 
 
 Maxiininianus 391 
 
512 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 According to Bede, and other authentic historians, the kingdoms of 
 the Heptarchy embraced Christianity in about the following order : 
 
 Kent . ■..-.. ~- 593 
 
 East Saxons 604 
 
 Northumberland -.-*....-. 628 
 
 East Angila 636 
 
 Wessex .................. -.^. 636 
 
 Mercia . . - 660 
 
 South Saxons ..................... 686 
 
 Began. Ended. Capital. 
 
 The kingdom of Kent .............. 457 823 Canterbury. 
 
 East Saxons, or Essex ............ 527 746 London. 
 
 Northumberland. ......... v.. ..... 547 792 York. 
 
 East Anglia ...575 783 Dunwich. 
 
 ..... -.-.. West Saxons, or Wessex. ..... ... . . 519 1066 Winchester. 
 
 ~. • Mercia 582 847 Leicester. 
 
 —.... South Saxons............ 490 600 Chichester. 
 
 THE BRITISH MINISTRY. 
 
 September, 1841. 
 
 Salary. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel, Bart. . . . First Lord of the Treasury .£5,000 
 
 Lcrd Lyndhdrst .....Lord High Chancellor -. 14,000 
 
 Lord Wharncliffe -...-.- Lord President of the Council. ........ 2,000 
 
 Duke of Boccleuch....... .Lord Privy Seal ....................... 2,000 
 
 Sir James R. G. Graham .....Secretary of State — Home Dep .. 5,000 
 
 Earl of Aberdeen Secretary of State — Foreign Dep ... . . 5,000 
 
 Lord Stanley Secretary of State — Colonial Dep. . . ... 5,000 
 
 Rt. Hon. Henry Goclbodrn. Chancellor of the Exchequer ....... .-. 5,000 
 
 Earl of Haddington First Lord of the Admiralty 4,500 
 
 Sir Edward Knatchbdll ..* Paymaster-General 2,500 
 
 Earl of Ripon President of Board of Control 2,000 
 
 Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone.... President of the Board of Trade...... 
 
 Sir Thomas Freemantle Secretary at War 2,580 
 
 Duke of Wellington -.'. .Commander of the Forces. 
 
 THE ARCHBISHOPS. 
 
 Income. 
 
 William Howley, D. D., Primate . .Canterbury .............. £129,946 
 
 Edward Harcourt, D. C. L .York 223,220 
 
 REVENUE. 
 The total income of the year ending January 5, 1844, was 
 
 £50,071,943 
 
 THE END. 
 
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SARGENT'S STANDARD SPEAKER. 
 
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 (34) 
 
C. DESILVER, PUBLISHER, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
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 Sallust. — We commend this excellent translation to all enlight- 
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 FALL OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 This work is written in the attractive style for which the author is so 
 noted, and is admirably calculated to produce in the minds of pupils who 
 shall use it a love for the study. 
 
 It is beautifully illustrated with numerous fine Engravings, and contains 
 an excellent coloured Map of the United States, and several additional 
 maps showing the position of various battle-fields and noted places in our 
 history. 
 
 NOTICES. 
 From the Philadelphia American Courier. 
 
 This may very safely be pronounced a much needed and at the same 
 time a most admirably executed volume for the schools of the country, 
 and for which we unhesitatingly predict great popularity and an immense 
 demand. The great leading facts in our national history are presented in 
 plain, well expressed terms, without verboseness or ambiguity, by one 
 who has proved himself to be an able scholar, a just historian, and a pa- 
 triot of enlarged, liberal views. It is just the work to give the youthful 
 mind right and lasting impressions of the history of the country. 
 From the New York Evening Mirror. 
 
 It is not only an excellent School History, but an excellent general his- 
 tory, that may be perused with profit by readers of all ages and acquire 
 ments. 
 
 From the Philadelphia City Item. 
 
 This book will supply a deficiency long acknowledged in school litera- 
 ture. We doubt if any other man in the country is so well calculated to 
 write this history. Mr. Lord is a great favourite of ours. His style is 
 eminently lucid, vigorous, and comprehensive. We think we can, with- 
 out fear of contradiction, pronounce him a master of the English tongue. 
 With a wealth of language known to but few, he is singularly simple ih 
 his choice of words. His sentences are direct and to the point, and his 
 matter is always the gist of the story. These are rare qualifications, and 
 almost indispensable in a historian. We shall be mistaken if this work 
 is not at once hailed with acclamation as by far the best school history in 
 the United States yet published. It should at once be introduced into cur 
 
 Public Schools. 
 
 (16) 
 
WORKS ON THE NATURAL SCIENCES. 
 
 GUY'S ASTRONOMY, 
 
 AND 
 
 KEITH ON THE GLOBES. 
 
 GUY AND KEITH. 
 
 GUY ON ASTRONOMY, AND KEITH ON THE GLOBES: 
 
 Guy's Elements of Astronomy, and an Abridgment of Keith's New Treatise on the Globes. 
 
 THIRTEENTH AMERICAN EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS, 
 AND AN EXPLANATION OF THE ASTRONOMICAL PART OF THE AMERICAN 
 
 . ALMANAC. 
 
 SlUstrnbu rait lj (Kgjjtntt |5hh0, 
 
 DRAWN AND ENGRAVED ON STEEL, IN THE BEST MANNER. 
 
 A volume containing Guy's popular Treatise of Astronomy, and Keith 
 on the Glebes, having been submitted to us for examination, and carefully 
 examined, we can without any hesitation recommend it to the notice and 
 patronage of parents and teachers. The work on Astronomy is clear 
 intelligible, and suited to the comprehension of young persons. It com- 
 prises a groat amount of information and is well illustrated with steel 
 engravings. Keith on the Globes has long been recognised as a standard 
 Bchool book. Thu present edition, comprised in the same volume with the 
 Astronomy, is imploded by the omission of much extraneous matter, and 
 the reduction of size and price. On the whole, we know of no school 
 uook which comprised to much in so little space as the new edition of 
 Guy and Keith. 
 
 THOMAS EUSTAOE, CHARLES MEAD, 
 
 JOHN HASLAM, BENJAMIN MAYO, 
 
 W. CURRAN, HUGH MORROW, 
 
 SAMUEL CLENDEN1H, J. H. BLACK. 
 
 The following teachers of Baltimore, concur iu the opinion above ex- 
 iir^ssed : 
 
 E. BENNETT, O. W. TREADWELL, 
 
 C. F. BANSEMAR, JAMES SHANLEY, 
 
 E. R. HARNEY, DAVID KING, 
 
 ROBERT O'NEILL ROBERT WALKER, 
 
 N. SPELMAN, D. W. B. McCLELAN. 
 
 c2 (29) 
 
MATHEMATICAL WORKS. 
 VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE 
 
 MATHEMATICAL SERIES, 
 
 BY COL. FRANCIS H. SMITH, 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT OF THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO SMITH AND DUKE'S 
 ARITHMETIC. 
 
 BY FRANCIS H.SMITH, A.M. 
 
 AMERICAN STATISTICAL ARITHMETIC. 
 
 DESIGNED FOR ACADEMIES AND SCHOOLS. 
 
 BY FRANCIS H.SMITH, A.M. 
 
 Superintendent and Professor of Mathematics in the Virginia Military Institute ; lata 
 
 Professor of Mathematics in Hampden Sydney College, and formerly Assistant 
 
 Professor in the United States Military Academy, West Point; 
 
 And R. T. W. DUKE, 
 
 Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the Virginia Military Institute. 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 KEY TO SMITH AND DUKE'S AMERICAN 
 STATISTICAL ARITHMETIC. 
 
 PREPARED BY WILLIAM FORBES, 
 
 Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the Virginia Military Institute. 
 
 .^/\/VyW\/V^A_«> « 
 
 SMITH'S ALGEBRA. 
 
 AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON ALGEBRA, 
 
 PREPARED FOR THE USE OF THE CADETS OF THE VIRGINIA MILITAAI 
 
 INSTITUTE, AND ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT STATE OF MAT11E 
 
 MATICAL INSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, 
 
 AND COLLEGES OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 BY FRANCIS H. SMITH, A.M. 
 
 This work is designed to present as complete an Elementary course of 
 Algebra, as the time devoted to the study of Mathematics in the Colleges 
 of our country will allow; while it will be equally within the comprehen- 
 sion of the pupil of the High School or Academy. 
 
WORKS ON THE NATURAL SCIENCES. 
 
 PARTICULAR ATTENTION 
 
 IS INYITED TO 
 
 CjjarUa MtsilvtVB 
 
 SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS 
 UPON THE NATURAL SCIENOES. 
 
 AMONG THEM ARE 
 
 JOHNSTON'S SERIES. 
 JOHNSTON'S TURNER'S CHEMISTRY. 
 
 A MANUAL OF CHEMISTRY, 
 
 OH THE BASIS OP DR. TURNER'S ELEMENTS OP CHEMISTRY, CONTAINING, IN k 
 
 CONDENSED FORM, ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT PACTS AND PRINCIPLES 
 
 OP THE SCIENCE. DESIGNED AS A TEXT-BOOK IN COLLEGES 
 
 AND OTHER SEMINARIES OP LEARNING. 
 
 A NEW EDITION. 
 
 BY JOHN JOHNSTON, A.M., 
 
 Professor of Natural Science in Wesleyan University. 
 
 JOHNSTON'S TURNER'S ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY 
 
 FOR THE FSE OF COMMON SCHOOLS. One Vol. 18mo. 
 
 (25) 
 
WORKS OIS THE NATURAL SCIENCES. 
 
 Extract from the Proceedings of the School Commissioners of the State of 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 At a meeting of the Commissioners of Common Schools for the State of 
 New Hampshire, held in Concord, August, 1851, it was, on motion of Mr. 
 Whidden, of Lancaster, Coos county, 
 
 Voted, To recommend "Johnston's Natural Philosophy" to be used in the 
 Common Schools of the State. 
 
 From M. J. Williams, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 
 South Carolina College, Columbia, S. C. 
 I consider Johnston's Manual of Natural Philosophy a good text-book for 
 elementary instruction in schools and academies. 
 
 Extract from the Record of the Proceedings of the Board of Visitors of the 
 Natchez Institute, Natchez, Miss. 
 
 At a meeting of the Board of Visitors of the Natchez Institute, John- 
 ston's Natural Philosophy, and Johnston's Elements of Chemistry, were 
 unanimously adopted as text-books for the use of the pupils. 
 
 Signed, L. M. PATTERSON, Secretary. 
 
 Fiom Prof. Booth, of the High School, Philadelphia. 
 1 find, upon a careful examination of Johnson's Manual of Chemistry, 
 that it is extremely well adapted to the objects for which it is designed. 
 As a text-book, I regard it as superior to Turner's Chemistry, on which 
 it is based, being more condensed and practical, and yet sufficiently and 
 equally presenting the late rapid advancement of the science. 
 
 Extract from a Letter of F. Merrick, Professor of Chemistry in the Ohio 
 Wesleyan University and Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio. 
 Having carefully examined Johnston's Turner's Chemistry, without 
 specifying its particular excellencies, I am free to say that I regard it as 
 an excellent text-book. Indeed to most students in the higher seminaries 
 of learning, I know of no book upon the subject, which I would recom- 
 mend in preference to it. 
 
 From John F. Fraser, Professor of General Chemistry in the Franklin 
 
 Institute, Philadelphia. 
 
 I find it to be a carefully compiled and well digested Treatise, and, as \ 
 
 believe, well adapted to serve the purpose of a text-book. 
 
 This work has been introduced into many Academies and several Col 
 
 leges, and is held in the highest estimation. 
 S 5 (27) 
 
C. DESILVEE, PUBLISHER, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 ABSTRACTS 
 
 From Reviews, Notices, and Recommendations of the In* 
 terlinear Series of Latin Classic*, published by Chas. 
 Desilver, No. 714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. 
 
 From the New York Daily Times 
 
 The use of interlinear translations of the Classics has the sanction 
 of common sense, and has been warmly recommended by such men 
 as Cardinal Wolsey, Erasmus, Roger Ascham, John Milton, John 
 Locke, and Sidney Smith. 
 
 We believe, "with Sidney Smith, that this system, " the time being 
 given, will make better scholars ; and, the degree of scholarship be- 
 ing given, a much shorter time will be needed." 
 
 Charles Desilver, the Philadelphia publisher, has commenced issu- 
 ing a series of Greek and Latin Classics, with interlinear translations, 
 greatly superior to any we have yet seen. 
 
 From Eliza D. Willard, New York, Correspondent of the Boston Atlas. 
 
 Permit me to propose to all amateur students of the Greek and 
 Latin Classics, from Maine to California, a vote of thanks to Mr. 
 Charles Desilver, of Philadelphia, for the interlinear translations, 
 which he is now issuing. 
 
 Having myself spent five weary years at Greek and Latin, I think 
 I may pretend to venture an opinion in favour of the new system, 
 that is, to the general class of students, but with teachers, quite old 
 enough. 
 
 From the Daily Delia, New Orleans. 
 
 Cesar. — A more admirable literal translation of every word in 
 Caesar's great work, it would be impossible to meet with. 
 
 It must serve as the best possible work for the Latin student. 
 
 Horace. — A new edition, carefully revised and collated by Tho- 
 mas Clark. Too much praise cannot be given for the conscicntioui 
 manner in which the task has been performed. 
 
 From the Bulletin, New Orleans. 
 Virgil and Horace, interlinear. —These two books should be 
 in the hands of every scholar. They are gotten up in superior style, 
 and would adorn any library. 
 
JOHNSTON'S SERIES. 
 
 --** **>^-» HA/W»/V\ . 
 
 JOHNSTON'S NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 REVISED EDITION. 
 ENLARGED AND IMPROVED. 
 
 % 3&nul nf Jlutnral ^jiiliranpjni, 
 
 COMPILED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, AND DESIGNED AS A TEXT- 
 BOOK IN HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES. 
 
 BY JOHN JOHNSTON, A.M., 
 
 PROFESSOR OP NATURAL SCIENCE IN THE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 The above valuable series of books were prepared by John Johnston, 
 A.M., Professor of Natural Science in the Wesleyan University, Middle- 
 town, Ct. The Chemistry is the standard text-book of many of the lead- 
 ing Colleges and prominent Medical Institutions of the country. The 
 Elementary Chemistry, very recently published, has been adopted in 
 many High Schools and Academies, in all parts of the country. 
 
 The present edition of Johnston's Natural Philosophy will be found 
 much enlarged and improved. Exact in its definitions, original in its 
 illustrations, full and familiar in explanation, the publishers are assured 
 it will require only to be examined to be approved. It has been recently 
 recommended by the Board of Education of the State of New Hampshire 
 for the use of the Common Schools of the State j it has also bsen adopted in 
 the High School of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in many Academies and 
 Schools in various sections of the country. 
 
 A fow notices of the series, from among many which have been received. 
 
 are appended : 
 
 (26) 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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