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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I ■ ? • t . - \ - '■'■.■— ^ ENGLISH HISTORY I READING BOOKS .: A1>AStEa TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NEW CODE CHARLOTTE M. YONGE *IHE HKIR OF REDCLVFFE ' ' fe ':?!•' LONDON ^Iational Society's Depository broad sanctuary, westminster r> D E C -■ PREFACE In this book, which is intended for the Fifth Standard, the events of English History from the Reformation onwards to the present time, have been treated in as full a manner as space and the in- telligence of the children would permit. The endeavour has been to state facts as impartially as possible, and this cannot but lead to some baldness in the narrative. Allusion to burning questions and living statesmen has been as much as possible avoided ; and in the choice of poetry, the pieces breathing very strongly of par- tisanship have not been selected, but chiefly those which cannot but carry along with them general consent. The extracts from the Rape of the Lock and from Retaliation have been taken as illustra- tions of manners, and as giving specimens from the poets named in the text. Frequent reference throughout children's school life should be made to the genealogical tables, and the lists of battles and events. Also the pupils should be exerc'ised in answering the questions vivA voce as in writing. For this purpose the lists of Persons, Places, and Dates at the ends of the lessons wi!l be found very serviceable. CONTENTS. (The Titles of the Poetical Pieces are printed in Italics.^ lenry VII. ^outh of Henry VIII. . "^he Battle of Flodden 'he Royal Supremacy . Do. do. ^he Fall cf Wolsey )estruction of the Monas teries ^he Lady in the Tower Mward VI. Do. ^dy Jane Grey . )ueen Mary I. liccession of Elizabeth . ^be Days of Good Queen Bess . Hr Humfrey Gilbert . "he Spanish Armada Do. do, ^he Armada . "he Union of the Crowns wcign of James I. Charles I. and Bucking ham . Tie Long Parliament . 'he Great Rebellion . ^arston Moor Hie Fugitive King . 'he Death of Charles I. ?» a Quiet Conscience . Anes by Andrew Marvell on the Execution of Charles I, . The Commonwealth . . The Restoration ^e Old Ccpvalier . . . The Papist and Rye-House Plots . . . . rhe Revolution . . . PAGE 7 12 i6 20 24 28 31 36 38 41 44 49 54 58 64 67 69 73 79 84 89 95 100 107 109 III 116 117 118 124 129 136 LESSON PAGE 33. William III. and Mary II. 142 34. The War of the Spanish Succession . . .146 3S' Do 148 36. The Battle of Blenheim . 152 37. The Union of England and Scotland . . .154 38. Hampton Court Palace in Queen Antics Time . 159 39. The. War of the Austrian Succession . . .160 40. A Tradition of Culloden . 165 41. The Seven Years' V/ar . 167 42. The American War . .171 43. The Times of the Great French Revolution . 176 44. Characters of Burke ^ Gar- rick, and Reynolds . .181 45. The English Victories by Sea .... 183 46. Do. do. . .185 47. The Battle of the Baltic . 189 48. The Deaths of Nelson^ Pitt, and Fox . . . 192 49. The Peninsular War . .195 50. The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna . 199 51. Waterloo . . . . 201 52. The Crisis of Waterloo . 206 53. The Thirty Years' Peace . 209 54. Reform .... 213 55. The Morning Dream . .218 56. Early Years of Queen Vic- toria .... 220 57. The Duke's Funeral . . 225 58. Wars under Queen Victoria 228 59. Balaklatfa . . . . 233 60. The Second Twenty Vic- ENGLISH HISTORY READING BOOKS PART IV. ENGLISH MODERN HISTORY. I. HENRY VII. 1. The reign of Henry VII. brought peace to the English, who were wearied out with the long wars of York and Lancaster. The two lines were joined together when Henry, the descendant of John of Gaunt, married Elizabeth, the daughter of Ed- ward IV. A rose, both red and white, was therefore taken as the badge of the Tudor family. 2. All the Lancastrian nobles who had been in hiding, and in great poverty, came forth once more. Among them was the son of that Lord Clifford who had killed the young Earl of Rutland. His mother had sent him to a shepherd in Westmoreland, and he had been bred up to tend the sheep, never knowing his high birth, till he was brought to his own castle, and restored to his place and rank. He was a good and wise man, and the Shepherd Lordy as he Wcis called, was much loved. 3. Margaret, Duchess of BuigTvxvdcj ^ >0£v^ €va\.<^x 8 REIGN OF HENRY VIL of Edward IV., hated Henry VIL, and so did other friends of the House of York. The son of her brother George, Duke of Clarence, was weak in mind, and had always been kept shut up, though he bore the title of Earl of Warwick, which he had inherited from his grandfather, the King-maker. Everyone was surprised to hear a report that this young Earl was in Ireland, with an army, claiming to have his lands given to him. 4. King Henry made the real Earl ride through London that everyone might see him ; but Duchess Margaret sent the false one both men and money. The man then landed in England, but he was soon overcome and made prisoner. He confessed that his name was Lambert Simnel, and that he was the son of a baker, who had been trained by an ambitious priest to act the part of the Earl of Warwick. Henry forgave him and made him a scullion in the royal kitchen. 5. In the year 1491, another young man ap- peared. He called himself Richardy Duke of York, the younger of the two princes who had disappeared in the Tower. The Duchess of Burgundy treated him as her nephew, and the Kings of France and Scotland appeared to believe in his claim. Indeed the young Scottish King, James IV., raised an army and came with him to England to help him to gain the crown. 6. However, the young man did not shew himself brave, nor act like a prince, and James soon gave up ^/s cause, m^de ^ treaty with E.tvg\aTvd, ^.\\^l ^to- EXECUTION OF THE EARL OF WAR WICK. 9 mised to marry Henry's daughter Margaret. Before long, the supposed Duke was deserted by all who had joined him, and was taken by the King. He was forced to confess publicly, in London, that he was a young Fleming, named Perkin Warbeck, and he was then shut up in the Tower of London. 7. There he met the Earl of Warwick, and the two young men became friends. Perkin per- suaded the Earl to join him in trying to make their escape, but their plans were found out, and they were both tried and put to death, though the poor young Earl had been kept in captivity all his life, and had never done harm to any one. 8. The real cause of this cruel and unjust act was that King Henry wished to marry his eldest son, Arthur y Prince of Wales, to Katharine of Aragon, the daughter of the King and Queen of Spain, and he had found that her father did not believe that the house of Tudor could be safe upon the throne so long as any male of the family of Plantagenet survived. After the death of the Earl of Warwick, Katharine was brought to England and the wedding took place, but while the Prince and Princess were still children, Arthur died. The King then wished to give Katharine to his next son, Henry, but as this would have been against the Canon^ or rule of the Church, it could not be done without a dispensation ^ from the Pope. * Canon, a rule of the church. ' DIspensatioB, permission granted V>7 VVe'^o^^ ^a eiNs.^ae^'*- rale of the church. REIGN OF HENRY VII. [demi-lancer in full armour, time of liENKY \II.J g. The reign of Heniy VII. was a time of rest, and of preparing {or great changes. Most of the S^eat nobles bad suffered terribly in ttie NJat?, ol ftvt HIS DEATH. II Roses, and the families who remained were not nearly so strong or so rich as before. Henry would not let any noble keep great bands of armed gentle- men and servants in his service, and heavily fined or imprisoned whoever attempted to do so. He had two judges, named Dudley and Empsotiy who were much hated for carrying out all the hard unjust things he chose to have done. Thus the Crown grew more powerful, and the tradespeople and the peasants began to prosper, while the power of the nobles decayed. lo. The abbeys and monasteries had been much damaged also by the war. Soldiers had been quartered on them, sometimes robbing them, and often teaching the monks their lawless ungodly ways. Learning was not so much the fashion in abbeys as it had been ; the abbots were often like great farmers, and in the lesser houses there was much dis- order. The chief places for study were the schools and colleges, especially at Oxford and Cambridge, where many fresh colleges were founded. Scholars there were studying the New Testament in Greek, and looking deeply into the Bible, and, as printing was becoming more common, it was much easier to spread knowledge abroad. II. Henry VH. was a grasping covetous man, but he added to Westminster Abbey a most beau- tiful chapel which bears his name. He was there buried, when he died of an ague in 1 509^ leavltv^ three children, namely HeiU7, ULai^^x^X^ \5vwCvRi^^^ James IV. of Scotland, and TtwEy- 12 REIGN OF HENRY VI IL Persons : Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV.— Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy— The Earl of Warwick— Katharine of Aragon. Dates: Accession of Henry VII., 1485— Perkin Warbeck's Rebellion, 1491— Death of Henry VII., 1509. II. YOUTH OF HENRY VIII. 1. Henry VIII. was a fine young man of eighteen years old when he came to the throne in 1 509. He was tall, well made, skilful in all manly exercises, and well trained in scholarship ; for whilst his elder brother was alive, there had been some idea of bringing him up to a clerical life and making him Archbishop of Canterbury. All England admired him and was proud of him, and he had such a frank, hearty, good-natured manner that he kept that love of the people all his life, in spite of many deeds that ought to have forfeited it. 2. As a boy, he had been at first unwilling to marry his brother Arthur's espoused wife, Katharine of Aragon, as she was older than himself; but she was a noble and gracious lady, and as he grew up, he began to love her, so that he married her soon after his father's death. They had one daughter, who was named Mary, but all their other infants died as soon as they were born. 3. Everything else went well with Henry. The kingdom was richer and more powerful than it had been since the time of Henry V., and the people of 3}) rajiks were more prosperous. Learning was Nourishing at the universities, and there "wexe Vno THOMAS IVOLSMV. 13 at least of the young men who were trained at Ox- ford, who were making a good use of their studies. 4. John Colet, who was Dean of St. Paul's, was a great preacher and explainer of the Scriptures, and founded the school of St. Paul's. He caused a new and easier Latin grammar to be drawn up for his scholars, and tried to make the masters understand that their pupils would learn better if they were gently treated, instead of being always beaten and ill used, according to the usual fashion of the time in dealing with schoolboys. 5. Another of these Oxford scholars was Thomas More. It was no longer the custom that all lawyers should be clergy, and More was the son of a judge, and was bred to the law. He had a house and beautiful garden at Chelsea, where he caused his son and daughters to be educated in all the learning of the time. It was the resort of all the best and ablest people of the time, and Sir Thomas More himself was full of wit and drollery. King Henry himself would often come to see him, and walk about the garden paths with an arm round his neck. 6. The King's chief adviser was Thomas Wolsey, who is said to have been the son of a butcher, but who had such talents as a statesman that he rose in the world so as to hold all sorts of dignities. He was Archbishop of York and Bishop of Win- chester, and the Pope made him a Cardinal, and likewise Legate, that is, the "So^^^ s»^^Oc^ x^^\^^- sentative in the kingdom. He \v^.^ m^e.$i. ^^"^ *^^^ 14 REIGN OF HENRY VI I L last appointment, partly that he might have authority to reform many of the evils that had arisen in the English Church ; but he was too worldly and ambitious to do much good in that way. No- body had so many retainers,* or fed and clothed them so magnificently as the Cardinal, and the splendour in which he lived was the wonder of everyone. 7. Wolsey much wished to become Pope, and he thought he should gain influence by making his master interfere in the affairs of Italy, where the Kings of France and Spain had long been at war. A league was formed against King Louis XII. of France by the reigning Pope, Julius II., who was to raise the Italians against him, while Henry VIII. and his father-in-law, Ferdinand of Spain, attacked France in two places, Henry being led to hope that he should regain Bordeaux and all that had been lost in the time of Henry VI. 8. In 1513 Henry himself, with a splendid army, landed at Calais, and laid siege to the city of Teroiienne, The French army met him at Giiingate ; and he gained a victory, which the English called the Battle of the Spurs, because their enemies galloped away so fast. Terouenne soon surrendered, and he then besieged Tournay, 9. The French King and Queen thought that the best way to free themselves from Henry would be to stir up the Scots to give him trouble at home. So the Queen sent James IV. a turquoise ring and a ^love^ with a charge that he should break a ' R^tam&cs^ attendants, setvan\& THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN. 15 lance * in England for her sake. James called up all his bravest men, much against the advice of. his wise old lords, and marched in great force across the Border. Queen Katharine called on all the brave nobles who had been left at home to defend the country. She did not lead them herself, but put them under the command of the Earl of Surrey, and at Flodden Field there was a terrible battle, in which the Scots were utterly routed, and their King slain, though it was long before they would believe that they should never see him again. 10. Henry soon found that the Spanish King was playing him false, and using the English for his own ends, not to win back Bordeaux. Henry was displeased with all his feigned allies, who had broken their word to him several times, and he therefore listened when Louis of France begged for peace. Louis had lately lost his wife, and he now asked in marriage Henry's beautiful young sister Mary. The wedding took place, but the bride- groom was in bad health and the festivities were too much for him ; he died in 1514, in the sixth week of his marriage ; and before the young widow could be fetched home she secretly married an English gentleman, named Charles Brandon, She told her brother that she had married once to please him, now she would please herself. Henry forgave her, and made Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. King Ferdinand died soon after, and his grandson Charles succeeded him. ' Break a lance, ixisk^^^x. i5 REIGN OF HENRY Vtlt. Persons : Mar;, daughter of Henry VIII.— Maiy, sister to Henrr VIII.— Ctmrlea Bnndon, Duke of Suffolk- John Colet — Thomas More- Thomas Wolsey. Dates: Accession of Henry VIII., 1509— Battles of Spnrs and Flodden Field, 1513- [\\OLSE\ S TOWER, A OF WOLSE\ S PALACE III. THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN. From the sharp ridges of the hill. All downward to the banks of Till.' ' TilL— Jimes IV. had his army posted on a hill called Flodden Edge. He lost his advantnge by letting Loid Suiiey cross the river Till unattacked, so as to get between him and Scotland. Then he charged down the hill. His hoisemea gained some advantage at first, but Ihcy pursued the English force whom they had defeated too &r. ^/eanljcie, iheHJgblanders werebiokenbyLordSlanley, who THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN. 17 Was wreathed in sable smoke. Volumed^ and vast and rolling far, The cloud envelop'd Scotland's war, As down the hill they broke ; Nor martial shout, nor minstrel tone, Announced their march ; their tread alone, At times one warning trumpet blown, At times a stifled hum. Told England, from his mountain-throne King James did rushing come. — • Scarce can they hear or see their foes, Until at weapon-point they close. — They close, in clouds of smoke and dust. With sword sway, and with lance's thrust ; And such a yell was there, Of sudden and portentous^ birth, As if men fought upon the earth. And fiends in upper air. Oh ! life and death were in the shout, RecoiP and rally,* charge and rout, And triumph and despair. Wide raged the battle on the plain ; Spears shook and falchions* flashed amain ; Fell England's arrow flight like rain ; * then came to the help of the main body of the English, and this charge decided the victory, though the remnant of the Scots stood manfully till night closed the scene. ' Volumed, in large rolling clouds. « Portentous, full of wonder. * Reav^^ ^Nm%\3»s^ * Rally, recovering; and going forwatd. * "FelOoi'aaa^ v^ox^'^ B: IV. B ^^ 1 8 REIGN OF HENRY VI I L Crests rose, and stooped, and rose again. Far on the left, unseen the while, Stanley broke Lennox and Argyle, Though there the western mountaineer Rushed with bare bosom on the spear, And flung the feeble targe * aside, And with both hands the broadsword plied : 'Twas vain : — but fortune, on the right. With fickle smile cheered Scotland's fight. Let Stanley charge with spur of fire, With Chester charge, and Lancashire, Full upon Scotland's central host, Or victory and England's lost. By this, though deep the evening fell, Still rose the battle's deadly swell, For still the Scots, around their king. Unbroken, fought in desperate ring. • Where's now their victor vanward^ wing, Where Huntly, and where Home ? Oh, for a blast of that dread horn,' On Fontarabian echoes borne. That to King Charles did come. When Rowland brave, and Olivier, And every Paladin and peer. On Roncesvalles died ! ' Targe, shield. « Vanward, forward. ■ Horn. — Alluding to the story of a defeat of the rear of the army of Charles the Great in the pass of Roncesvalles in the valley of Fon- tarabia, when a blast of the horn of Couiit "RoYoodvias said to have ^^^fJ heard a great way off. THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN, 19 Such blast might warn them, not in vain, . To quit the plunder of the slain, And turn the doubtful day again, While yet on Flodden side Afar, the Royal Standard flies. And round it toils, and bleeds, and dies. Our Caledonian pride ! The English shafts in volleys hail'd, In headlong charge their horse assailed ; Front, flank, and rear, the squadrons sweep To break the Scottish circle deep. That fought around their King. But yet, though thick the shafts as snow, Though charging knights like whirlwinds go, Though bill-men ply the ghastly blow. Unbroken was the ring ; The stubborn spearmen still made good Their dark impenetrable wood. Each stepping where his comrade stood, The instant that he fell. No thought was there of dastard * flight ; Groom fought like noble, squire like knight, As fearlessly and well ; Till utter darkness closed her wing 0*er their thin host and wounded king. Then skilful Surrey's sage commands Led back from strife his shattered bands ; And from the charge they drew, As mountain-waves, from wasted lands^ Sweep back to ocean blue. ' Dastard, cowaxd. B 2 20 REIGN OF HENRY VHL Then did their loss his foemen know ; Their King, their lords, their mightiest, low, They melted from the fields as snow, When streams are swoll'n and south winds blow. Dissolves in silent dew. Tweed's echoes heard the ceaseless plash. While many a broken band, Disordered, through her currents dash, To gain the Scottish land ; To town and tower, to down and dale, To tell red Flodden's dismal tale, And raise the universal wail. Tradition, legend, tune, and song, Shall many an age that wail prolong : Still from the sire the son shall hear Of the stern strife and carnage drear, Of Flodden's fatal field. Where shivered was fair Scotland's spear^ And broken was her shield ! From Scott's Mannion. IV. THE ROYAL SUPREMACY. I. The new King of France, Francis I., was a vain ambitious man, and when the Emperor of Ger- many died, he endeavoured to get himself chosen in his place. When Charles, the young King of Spain, was elected, Francis was greatly at\g^ted,^.tv^l^o^\^^. HENRY LANDING AT CALAIS. at /nSNKY lANDlSQ AT CXLX\4.\ 22 KEIGN OF HENRY VIIL to ally himself with Henry VIIL, and begin again all the old quarrels between France and Spain. 2. Henry and Francis agreed to have a great meeting on the plain o( Ardres near Calais in 1520. Never before were such splendours seen, and the meeting was called the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The tents that the nobles and knights slept in were of velvet and silk, embroidered with gold and silver, and a sham castle of wood was set up, adorned as richly as possible, and with halls full of fine carpets, and hangings of silver and gold. The dresses were so magnificent that many of the gentlemen were said to carry a whole year's income on their backs. There were shows and tournaments,^ and the two Kings jousted ^ and played and wrestled together like two boys, but all this show and expense was in vain, for Henry really cared much more for his wife's nephew, the Emperor Charles, than for Francis, and Wolsey thought there was a chance of Charles's helping him to become Pope. 3. However, the Pope died, and Wolsey was not chosen in his stead. These were troublous times in the Church ; for a German monk named Martin Luther had begun to show the people that much oi their belief and practice was mistaken. On some points he was right, oft others in error, but Henry was greatly displeased with his teaching, and wrote a book against it. This pleased the Pope so much '' ToumAmentSf mock fights. ' Jcustedf eng^a^ed in mock fights ou^iox^Oo^k^ EXECUTION OF BUCKINGHAM. 23 that in 1521 he gave the title of Fidei Defensor^ which means 'the Faith's Defender/ to the English Kings, and they have borne it ever since. The letters F.D. on the coins stand for Fidei Defensor. 4. The better days of Henry VIII. were nearly ended. People became uneasy because he had no son to succeed him, and the Duke of Buckingham, who was descended from Edward III., was so foolish as to consult fortune-tellers as to who should reign next. The King and his Parliament con- sidered that this proved Buckingham to be intending to try to gain the crown. The diike was accordingly tried, and put to death, but there were many per- sons who thought that the real cause of his fall was that Wolsey was jealous of him, and the Em- peror Charles said that the butcher's dog had pulled down the finest stag in England. 5, Still there was great anxiety that the King should have a son, and a notion arose that it might be possible to set aside poor Queen Katharine, and let him marry again. No one knows whether the suggestion came from the King himself, or from Cardinal Wolsey, or from a French Ambassador who hinted that he did not think Henry's marriage a true and right one. If Katharine had been really Arthur's wife, there was no doubt that she could not properly be Henry's, but as both she and Arthur had been mere children at the time of his death, it had always been thought that the Po^^*^ ^J&s^^'^- sation had powtr to set her free ttoxcv \vex ^xovscw^^ to the Prince, 24 REIGN OF HENRY VII L V. THE ROYAL SUPREMACY (canHnuei). 1. WOLSEY had been willing to break the mar- riage at first, when he hoped the King would many some great princess, cruel as this would have been to poor Katharine ; but when he found that Henry- had set his heart on marrying an English lady, named Anne Boleyn, who was only a knight's daughter, though niece to the Duke of Norfolk, he saw that only mischief could come of the scheme, and that Henry would certainly offend everybody and disgrace himself Besides, when the Pope sent another Legate * to England to inquire into the matter, Katharine pleaded her cause most wisely and touchingly, and Wolsey saw that hers was a true marriage and ought to stand. 2. The King, however, was headstrong, and resolved to have his own way. He insisted on the Pope declaring his marriage void. When the Pope delayed, partly to look into the question and partly because he feared to offend either Henry or the Em- peror, Henry let himself be persuaded that it was the fault of Cardinal Wolsey. Either Anne Boleyn or Wolsey's secretary, Thomas Cromwell, put this notion into the King's mind, or else they worked together and turned Henry's mind against his old servant. First Wolsey was deprived of the chancel- lorship, and sent from Court ; then it was declared that by acting as the Pope's Legate he had been ^Uty of treason against the King, and he was made '' JLe^ate, an embassador from the Pope. (^See ^^^^ 1*^.^ FALL OF WOLSEY. iWOtSSV' AT LRICESTEB. ABWI-I.^ 26 REIGN OF HENRY VI 11. prisoner in Yorkshire. As he was being brought to London for trial he became so ill that he had to stop at an abbey at Leicester. When the abbot came out to meet him, the once great Cardinal said, * You see a poor old man who is come to lay his bones among you.* A few days later he died, in 1 5 30, say- ing, * Had I but sensed 7ny God as I have served my Ktngy He would not have forsaken me in my old age' He left all his property to the King, begging that the noble college of Christchurch, which he bad founded at Oxford, might be allowed to remain as he left it. 3. Sir Thomas More was the new Lord Chancellor, but the King chiefly attended to the advice of Thomas Cromwell, and to a learned priest named Thomas Cranmer. Cranmer said that if the Pope would give no answer concerning the marriage, Henry might ask the learned doctors in all universities in Europe whether a man could lawfully marry his brother's widow. The King declared, in his rough way, * the man has the right sow by the ear ; ' but the doctors, like the Pope, knew very well that the whole ques- tion depended on whether Katharine were really his brother's widow. 4. Henry now, by Cromwell's advice, declared that the Pope had no right to meddle at all, and that he himself was the only head of the English Church ; he stopped all payments to Rome, and entirely broke with the Pope in 1531. The clergy and people mostly did as he pleased ; they joined A/w In declaring his first marriage void, and, on tA^Ir authority and his own, he decVat^d XJcvaX. ^oox BIRTH OF THE PRINCESS ELIZABETH. 27 Katharine was no wife of his, and sent her away to Kimbolton Castle, where she died after a long lingering illness in 1536. S. Long before her death Henry had been mar- ried to Anne Boleyn, and they had had a daughter, who was named Eliz&beth. On the death of Archbishop W reham Cranmer had been made [old Archbishop of Canterbury. He confirmed the marriage, and indeed few of the clergy made any open objection to Henry's proceedings. Only, when he required an oath to be taken that he was head of the English Church, Dr. Fisher, Bishs? dt Bvohettor, re/bsed, and so did Sit TVomas "^Vot*^, because they felt such an oath to be a^^iivs't 'Cosw 28 REIGN OF HENRY VI I L creed. They were both thrown into the Tower, and Fisher, an old man of eighty, was kept in want of warm clothing and food. He was found guilty of treason and beheaded. 6. All Henry's friendship for Sir Thomas More was forgotten in his anger that anyone should withstand his will, and this brave and good man was likewise beheaded. He was cheerful to the last ; and his brave daughter Margaret made her way through the guards to comfort and embrace him. His head was set up on London Bridge, but she came at night in a boat and took it away. When she died she was buried with the beloved head in her arms. Persons: Henry VIII.— Francis I. of France— Charles of Spain— Martin Luther— Thomas Cromwell— Thomas Cran- mer— Anne Boleyn— Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII. — Fisher, Bishop of Rochester. Dates: 'Field of the Cloth of Gold,' 1520— Henry declared himself Supreme Head of the English Church, 1531. VI. THE FALL OF WOLSEY. [Events are here thrown together, and Thomas Cromwell is repre- sented as more faithful to his master than he has since been proved to have been.] Wolsey. What news abroad } Cromwell, The heaviest and the worst Is your displeasure with the king. Wolsey, God bless him ! Cromwell, The next is, that Sir Thomas More IS chosen Lord chancellor in your place. THE FALL OF WOLSEY. 29 Wolsey. That's somewhat sudden : But he's a learned man. May he continue Long in his highness' favour, and do justice For truth's sake and his conscience ; that his bones, When he has run his course and sleeps in blessings. May have a tomb of orphans' tears wept on ' em ! What more ? Cromwell. That Cranmer is return'd with wel- come, Install'd lord archbishop of Canterbury. Wolsey, That's news indeed. Cromwell. Last, that the lady Anne, Whom the king hath in secrecy long married, This day was view'd in open as his queen. Going to chapel ; and the voice is now Only about her coronation. Wolsey, There was the weight that pull'd me down. O Cromwell, The king has gone beyond me : all my glories In that one woman I have lost for ever : No sun shall ever usher forth mine honours, Or gild again the noble troops that waited Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Cromwell ; I am a poor fall'n man, unworthy now To be thy lord and master : Seek the king ; That sun, I pray, may never set ! I have told him .What and how true thou art : he will advance thee ; Some little memory of me will stir him — I know his noble nature — not to \et Thy hopeful service perish too : Good Cxotcwe^.^ 50 REIGN OF HENRY VI IL Neglect him not ; make use now, and provide For thine own future safety. Cromwell, O my lord, Must I, then, leave you ? Must I needs forego So good, so noble, and so true a master ? Bear witness all, that have not hearts of iron, With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord. The king shall have my service ; but my prayers For ever and for ever shall be yours. Wolsey. Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear In all my miseries ; but thou hast forced me. Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman. Let's dry our eyes : and thus far hear me, Cromwell ; And, when I am forgotten, as I shall be. And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee. Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour. Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ; A sure and safe one, though thy master miss'd it. Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition : By that sin fell the angels ; how can man, then. The image of his Maker, hope to win by it } Love thyself last : cherish those hearts that hate thee ; Corruption wins not more than honesty. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not : Let all the ends thou aim'st at be t\vy co\m\xy ^» DESTRUCTION OF THE MONASTERIES, 3! Thy God's, and truth's ; then if thou falFst, O Cromwell, Thou fall'st a blessed martyr! Serve the king ; And, — Pr'ythee, lead me in : There take an inventory^ of all I have, To the last penny ; His the king's : my robe, And my integrity ^ to heaven, is all I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Croniwell ! Had I but serv'd my God with half the zeal I serv'd my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies. Shakespeare's King Henry VI I L VII. DESTRUCTION OF THE MONASTERIES. I. When Wolsey had become the Pope's Legate, he had intended to look into th^ affairs of the monasteries, for many had fallen into a bad state. Since Henry VIII. had taken to himself the autho- rity of the Pope in England, he undertook to do this work by his own power, and not by that of the Pope. Thomas Cromwell was appointed to visit the smaller houses. Much disorder was found in some of these, and in others it was discovered that the monks deceived the people by showing them relics, that is, remains of saints* bodies or of their clothing, which were supposed to work miraculous ' Inventory^ a list, « Inte^tu> xx^rvi^Vxvessu 32 REIGN OF HENRY VIH. cures. In 1536, Henry and his Parliament broke up more than five hundred of these lesser houses, and sent their monks and nuns to the larger ones, saying that their lands and rents should be used to found schools and colleges. [kever castle, once the residence of anne boleyk.] 2. This same year some dreadful accusations were brought against Anne Boleyn, and she was at once sent to the Tower, where she was beheaded. The King's love had already passed away from her to one of her iadies named Jane Seymour, whom THE SIX ARTICLES. 33 he married on the very day after poor Anne*s exe- cution. At the end of a year, Jane had a son, who was named Edward. She caught cold on the day of the christening, and died in 1537. 3. Thomas Cromwell led the King as far as he could to make changes, and so did Archbishop Cranmer. The Litany was translated into English, and a translation of the Bible was also made. In some churches the Lessons were read in English from this Bible, and the people were so eager to listen to it, that they used to throng into the churches, and sit there while any person who could read went on for hours, sometimes reading, some- times expounding. 4. Henry feared that these preachings would lead people away from that faith which he still held in spite of his quarrel with the Pope. So he put forth Six Articles, diccovding to what he himself held, and any person who disputed them was liable to the horrible old punishment of being burnt for heresy. Therefore they were called i/ie whip with six lashes, 5. The King had found it much more convenient to keep the property of the lesser convents than to use it for good works. Some he had given or sold to his nobles, and from the lesser houses he now went on to attack the great old abbeys. They were mostly in good order, and very little evil could be traced to them, but the King and Cromwell wanted their lands, so they were all suppressed^ atvd^Jcv^vc^^•a^JCa ' Suppressed, put down, done awa.\ V\V\v. //. IV. ^ 34 REIGN OF HENRY VI 11. was seized. Some of the abbots and monks who were caught trying to hide church plate, or money, were put to death as traitors. The country people rushed in and seized on all they could get, so that for years after, if a fine bit of embroidery or a velvet cushion were seen in a farm-house, it was almost sure to have been stolen from the chapel of an abbey. 6. The buildings and lands were sometimes sold, sometimes granted to the nobles, sometimes even lost to them at dice. Pensions were granted to the elder monks and nuns, and they were ordered to go to their homes, the younger ones were to go back to common life. Six new bishop- rics were endowed out of the wealth of the abbeys, but most of the money was seized by the greedy King and his lords. 7. Cromwell was very anxious that his master should be connected with some of the foreign princes who had broken with the Pope. So he showed Henry a beautiful portrait of Anne, the sister of the Duke of Cleves. She was betrothed * to Henry, and brought to England, but she turned out to be a tall clumsy woman marked with the small-pox. Henry was much annoyed when he saw her, and though he let himself be married to her, he soon found an excuse for putting her away. This mis- adventure caused Cromwell to lose the king's favour. The Diike of Norfolk accused him of high treason, and in the year 1 540 lae vjas beheaded* ' Betrothed, promised in maina^e. QUEEN KATHARINE PARR. 35 8. Henry had fallen in love with Katharine Howard^ the niece of the Duke of Norfolk, and thus cousin to Anne Boleyn. She was fair and gentle, but she had been in bad hands when a young girl, and had fallen into sin, which her cruel tempters kept secret till she was a queen, and then revealed. She was forced to confess that all was true, and the King not only cast her from him, but had her beheaded in 1542. 9. Still the King wished for another wife, but one foreign lady to whom he proposed made answer that she could not venture, as she had but one neck. So his sixth wife was another English lady, Katharine Parr, who nursed him tenderly in his declining health, while his temper became more fierce and jealous, for he feared to die, and thus leave his young son to be fought over by ambitious men. 10. The King of France, Francis I., had begun another war, and persuaded James V. of Scotland to join in it. James tried to invade England, but his troops were overthrown on the Solway Moss, and he died soon after, leaving a baby daughter of a few days old, named Mary, to be Queen of Scot- land, in 1542. 11. Henry had an ulcer in his leg, which sud- denly grew worse, and he died in 1547. He had been a man of great promise in his youth, and he was never hated in spite of his matvy ctw^ ^.c\.^. These seem to have come chiefly becsius^ \v^ ^^^ determined to do his own will, and tVvat SS \V >Nex^ c 2 36 REIGN OF HENRY VIIL against the law, the law and all men should come round to it. Persons: Jane Sejrmour— Anne of Cleves— Katharine Howard— Katharine Parr— Prince Edward. Dates: Dissolution of Monasteries commenced, 1536— Battle of Solway Moss, 1542— Death of Henry VIIL, 1547. VIIL THE LADY IN THE TOWER. (Lines written after seeing a mound in Richmond Park, where Henry VIIL is said to have watched for a flag hung out from the Tower, to announce Anne Boleyn's execution.) On the dark Tower bright shone the morning sun That told the night was past, the day begun; The lady thought on what she once had been, A captive now, where once she reigned a queen. The hour was come and high the scaffold stood, The axe was ready for its work of blood. And many stood around, too proud to own They once had trembled at that lady's frown ; . And some few faithful damsels lingered nigh To see their guiltless, much loved lady die. The cold steel shone. Tis past — the gleam is gone. The fatal stroke was struck, the deed was done. And that bright head that'once had worn a crown, Ghastly, yet red with gore, came rolling down. The fawns were sporting in the bracken wild, And on the ancient oaks the sunlight smiled ; Through the gtttn \xtit^ arose the smoke wreaths then THE LADY IN THE TOWER. 37 That told of many a cot that slept within ; And the broad river nobly lay below, So still and calm you scarce might see it flow. No trace of human guilt or misery there, But all was still and dewy, calm and fair. There was one man upon a high green mound ; Oh ! did he gaze upon the scenes around ? He was a monarch, did he linger there To taste the sweetness of the summer air ? One distant spot, one spot, and only one. With eyeball fixed, that monarch gazed upon ; There, where in one thick cloud the smoke-wreath rose, Stood England's pride, the envy of her foes. In chequered * mass beneath that spot of sky Dwelt guilt and virtue, wealth and poverty ; But not the meanest of the lawless crew. Lurking till night his evil work to do, Bare heart more ruthless or more steel'd to crime Than that proud monarch of this western clime. Lo, on the smoky cloud, a floating thing ! Oh ! what a world of tidings did it bring ! Yea, fair and spotless was each waving fold, But what a mockery of the tale it told ; Then a strange rapture on the monarch came. Flashed in his eye and trembled in his frame ! He scarce supprest a wild exulting yell At her sad fate, whom once he loved so well, ' Chequered, intermjuigled, like t\xe \Aa.cV Mie^ ^wVixt 'anjissjek on a chess'boaxd. 38 REIGN OF EDWARD VI, IX. EDWARD VI. I. The young King Edward VI. was nine years old when he succeeded his father in 1 547. He was a fair, quiet, studious boy, brought up under careful tutors, and was alread)'' learned in Latin, Greek, and several other languages. His father had appointed a Council of twenty-eight persons to manage his affairs, and had given the keeping of the boy himself into the hands of his uncle, Edward Sejrmour, who was brother to Queen Jane Seymour, and had been made Earl of Hertford. Seymour, who was a proud vain man, was not contented with this post, but by giving lands and honours to the rest of the Council, he persuaded them to name him Lord Protector^ giving him all the power, and he caused his young nephew to create him Dnke of Somerset 2. Proposals were made to marry the young Edward to the little Queen Mary of Scotland, so as to join the two kingdoms, and to let the two children be brought up together; but the Scots hated the English too much to consent. Thereupon Somerset led an army into Scotland, and a great battle was fought near Edinburgh, at Pinkie, in which the Scots were routed ; but the Protector was called home by hearing that his brother Thomas was plotting against him, and as soon as he was gone, the Scots sent their little Queen away to France, to be warned to the King*s eldest son. EXECUTION OF THOMAS SEYMOUR. 39 3. Ibonuu SflTmonr had married the late King's widow, Queen Katharine Parr ; and when, in less than a year, she died, he wanted to marry her step-daughter, Elizabeth. He was a vain am- bitious man, who lent money Jn secret to the young King, and tried to set him a;jainst his elder uncle. [old somerset house. His plans were found out, and the Duke of Somer- set, though his brother, had no pity for him, but caused him to be beheaded in iS49- 4, Somerset cared greatly for show and splen- dour and had a household that mig\A \v^-Me, s,m\R,&. a king. He built himself a spVeiidid a^io^*; ^'»- AO REIGN OF EDWARD VL London, and called it after his own title, Somerset House. The gardens lay along the bank of the . Thames, and three churches, besides the remains of old monasteries, were thrown down to make room for them. His dachess was thought to be the proudest woman in England, and all the old nobles, who considered the Seymours as mere upstarts, were much offended. 5. Somerset was at the same time very earnest to carry on that Reformation of the Church which had been checked by Cromwell's disgrace. Arch- bishop Cranmer agreed with him, and the little King was taught to think the same. The Six Articles were repealed, and the services of the Church were translated into English. On the Whitsunday of 1549, a most suitable day, in all the churches of England, the worship of God was carried on in our own tongue, and the Lessons were read from the English Bible. 6. The relics of saints, which had been thought to do wonderful cures, were cleared away, and images of our Blessed Lord, His Mother and the saints, to which the people had come to give an idolatrous worship, were broken down. Those of the bishops who would not consent to these doings were deprived of their sees, and others placed in their stead. There was great anger at this in some places, and disturbances arose, partly because of these changes, and partly because some of the nobles had been breaking i?p their farms, atvd twYtvitv^ out the people, in order to have more room ^ot ^^^^vcv^ CHANGES IN THE PRAYER-BOOK. 41 sheep. These insurrections were put down, and the ringleaders were hanged. X. EDWARD VI. {continued). 1. Though some persons grieved for the old Latin forms and the customs of the Church of Rome, and thought all these changes grievously wrong, there were others who thought that the Church of England ought to be much more entirely reformed. Archbishop Cranmer and Somerset asked the ad- vice of some Swiss and German Reformers who did not care about the old customs of the Church at all, but thought nothing lawful that was not expressly ordered in the Bible. Their advice was followed, and the first Prayer-Book was altered, though not so much as they would have wished. This second Prayer-Book of Edward VI. is very nearly the same as that which is still used ; though some parts which these strangers took away have been since restored. 2. Somerset's pride caused him to be so much hated by the nobles that another of the Council, John Dudley, the son of the wicked judge, obtained support in scheming against him. An accusation was drawn up, accusing him of bad government, and he found himself obliged to resign the pro- tectorship. Dudley became the chief man in the kingdom, and, being already Earl of Warwick, obtained from the King the -title of Duke of Northmnberiand. After a few motv'Ocv?* ^otcv^x'^RX was accused of a plot to regain power, ^wdVomxxx^^x 43 REIGN OF EDWARD VI. the Duke of Northumberland. On this he was tried, sentenced, and beheaded early in 1552. 3. During that same spring of 1552 young Ed- ward had smallpox and measles, and the effectshung about him so that his strength decayed fast Now, if his sisters Mary and Elizabeth had been .bom of unlawful marriafjcs, they could have no right to the [DURHAM HOUSE, WHERE LADY JANE WAS MARRIED.] Crown, although their father in his will had made them his heiresses after Edward. Mary was now a middle-aged woman. She had always lived apart, hated the changes inthe Church, and would neveruse the English Prayer-Book. Elizabeth had gone along with her brother's changes, but Mary could not be set aside if she were to be put forward. The next Jia'ress was Mary, Queen of Scots, -wVose ^^mv^- LADY JANE GREY, 43 mother, Margaret, had been the eldest daughter of Henry VII., but she was in France, betrothed to the King's son, and bred up in the doctrines of Rome. 4. The younger daughter of Henry VII. had married the Duke of Suffolk. Their eldest grand- daughter, Lady Jane Grey, was a very learned and thoughtful girl of fifteen ; and the Duke of Northum- berland obtained her . from her father in marriage for his son. Lord Onildford Dudley, who was two years older. Then Northumberland persuaded the King that the only way to secure that England should not be restored to the Pope, and all the old superstitions revived, would be to pass over the two Princesses and the Scottish Queen, and to leave the Crown to the Lady Jane. 5, Edward agreed with him, and made a will by which Jane was to be the next sovereign. Arch- bishop Cranmer did not believe that any king had a right to dispose of his kingdom ; but the dying boy implored him to consent to this will for the sake of religion, and he yielded to these entreaties. Edward died soon after, on the 6th of July, 1553, aged sixteen. He had always been devout and earnest, and very studious, and he was much la- mented, and people called him the Youthful Saint, Persons: Edward VI.— Edward Scjrmour, Duke of Somer- set—Thomas Seymour— Mary, Queen of Scots— John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland— Lady Jane Grey— Lord Guildford Dudley. Dates: Accession of Edward VL and Battle of Pinkie, 1547— First Prayer-Book of Edward "VI. Vatto^>aK:^^^ "v^i^S— Death of Edward VL, 1553. 44 QUEEN JANE. XI. LADY JANE GREY. 1. The Duke of Northumberland had kept the sisters of Edward VI. ignorant that their brother was so near death, in order that he might be before- hand with them. As soon as Edward was dead, he and all his friends went to Lady Jane, told her that she was Queen, and did homage to her. The poor young lady, who was not yet sixteen, was so much terrified that she fainted away, and implored them not to lay this thing upon her, but they told her they were acting for the sake of the Gospel and of the true faith, and threatened to ill-use her if she still refused. So she yielded, and Queen Jane was proclaimed in London, but the people showed no signs of gladness or welcome, for they did not love either Northumberland, or the Duke of Suffolk, Jane's father. 2. Meantime a deceitful message had been sent to each of the two Princesses, that their brother was dying and wished to see them. Elizabeth did not trust these tidings, and would not come, guessing that Northumberland only wished to take them pri- soners ; but Mary had actually set out from her house in Norfolk, when her goldsmith brought her the news that her young brother was dead. She set up her standard and caused herself to be pro- claimed Queen. All the people, rich and poor, flocked to her. Northumberland marched with some hired soldiers as far as Cambridge \.o mee\.\v^t, W\. ACCESSION OF MARY I. 45 no one joined him, and when he saw there was no hope, he caused ftneen Kary to be proclaimed in the market place, and was the first to throw up his cap, though with the tears running down his face. Mary was proclaimed in London at the same time, and [the towek.] all the citizens showed the greatest joy. and received her with the warmest welcome, when she and her sister Elizabeth rode through the streets . tc^ether. 3. She went straight to the lOTi«t,^V\Ot\'«^-i. 46 REIGN OF MARY I. a palace as well as a prison. All the State pri- soners were drawn up on the green square of turf within, and knelt to receive her. Some of them were her mother's old friends, and she went from one to the other raising them, and comforting them. The only ones that she left in prison were those concerned in the attempt on behalf of the Lady Jane. The Duke of Northumberland was tried, condemned and executed, but Jane and her husband remained unhurt in the Tower, and were allowed to walk about in the gardens, and live as if in a house of their own. 4. Mary was thirty-seven years old, and her life had long been sad and lonely. She had grieved at all the changes in the Church, and thought that Somerset had no right to make them, while her brother was still too young to judge for him- self ; and she felt it wrong to call herself head of the Church, wishing for nothing so much as to reconcile herself and her kingdom to Rome and to bring back the old state of things. 5. She had been prevented from making friends in England, and she trusted no one so much as her mother's Spanish relations, and her own cousin. Cardinal Pole, who had fled beyond seas to save himself from the tyranny of-Henry VIII. 6. Mary's first thought was to bring home Cardinal Pole, and her next, to get her Spanish cousins to help her to bring her kingdom back under the power of Rome. The Emperor Charles V. proposed to her to marry Vv\s» soxv'CYsax^^ WYATrS INSURRECTION. 4,7 who would be King of Spain, and though he was fourteen years younger than herself, Mary eagerly consented. 7. All her best advisers thought this would be a very unfortunate marriage for her and for England, for the Spaniards were known to be harsh and cruel, and terrible persecutors of all whose religion they thought unsound. Cardinal Pole was so much against the marriage that the Emperor had him seized on his way to England, and shut up in a convent, lest he should persuade Mary out of it. 8. In England, Sir Thomas Wyatt, a gentleman who had been in Spain, had such a horror of the proposed wedding that he led a large number of people from Kent and Essex to attack London ; the Duke of Suffolk also called up his tenants, and Jane was again proclaimed by them, but most of the English still held by Queen Mary, and all these insurrections were put down, and their leaders were executed. 9. Poor Jane and her husband had been in the Tower all the time, and were quite guiltless of the rebellion, but Mary thought there would be no safety for the throne while they were alive. There- fore she consented to their being beheaded as traitors. Jane showed the most beautiful piety and resolution. She talked with the Queen's chaplain, who had tried to bring her* to the faith of Rome, but nothing could shake her in her attachment to what she had learnt from her Bible. She wrote a\e\X.^t ol ^'ax^^H^^ In Greek to her sister Katharine -itv tVvebXaxC^ V.-aN^^ 48 REIGN OF MARY I. of her Greek Testament, but she would not meet her young husband, fearing perhaps to lose her calmness. She only saw him walk past her window on his way to die on Tower Hill, and she wrote on a tablet in Latin ' Man's justice destroys his body, God's mercy preserves his soul.' She then, in perfect peace and hope, was led out, and in her turn duly laid her fair and wise head on the block, in her seven- teenth year, in 1554, full of faith and resignation. ■-■ r:, ^.. Persmii ■ Lady Jane Grey— Duke of Nerthamberkad— The Duke of Suffolk— Queen Mary— The Princess Elizabeth- Cardinal Pole—Philip of Spun— Sir Thomu Wyatt JTe/es: Accesaon of Queen tKiLt^, issi-EKecatiai of CHANGES, 49 XII. QUEEN MARY I. 1. Philip of Spain arrived soon after Lady- Jane's execution, and was married to Mary in Win- chester Cathedral by Stephen Gardiner, who had been set aside by Edward's Council from his bishop- ric but was now restored by Mary. None of the Bishops, who had been put into sees whose holders were alive, were accepted by her, and those who had not fled were imprisoned. There were commands to return to the Latin Mass ^ ever3rwhere, and that priests who had married should renounce their wives. 2. Reginald Pole was released by the Emperor and, coming to England, with the Pope's authority as legate, reconciled the country to Rome, and the day on which this was done, was probably the hap- piest in Mary's sad life, for she believed herself to be doing her duty and undoing what she thought to be the wrong done by her father. She wished to give back all the wealth that had been taken from the monasteries, but the nobles would not hear of giving up what they held, and she was advised not to try to compel them to do so. 3. It is to be feared that most of the people in the country neither understood nor cared much about religious matters, since they had made little objection to change about just as the Kirv^ ^x\si Queen and Parliament decided •, bwt V>cvex^ ^^x^ ' Mass, ehiTcelcbration of the "Loud's Svl^^^i* so REIGN OF MARY L some who were much more resolute in their faith. Dr. Hooper, who had been made Bishop of Gloucester, was one of these. He was one who had held with the foreign Reformers, and hated all forms and ceremonies. He so openly declared his faith that he was found guilty of heresy, and according to the terrible punishment that had been decreed for the Lollards, was burnt in the market place at Gloucester in 1555. Several clergymen were also sentenced and burnt, but so far from making the others less resolute, it only made them more staunch and firm. 4. At Oxford were imprisoned ArchbishopCran- mer, together with Bidley, who under Edward VI. had been Bishop of London instead of Edmund Bonner, and Hugh Latimer, a very old man, who had resigned his see of Worcester because of his great age. He was a great preacher of sermons full of sharp sayings and anecdotes, and young King Edward had often listened to him. All these three had supported Lady Jane, and had been first arrested on that ac- count; but they were closely examined on their faith. Their doctrine was declared to be false, and the sentence of death by fire was pronounced on Ridley and Latimer, but as Cranmer was an Archbishop, his judgment was referred to Rome. 5. Ridley was a very learned and excellent man, Latimer both brave and pious. They were led out to die together, and chained back to back to the same stake. * Be of good comfort, Master Ridley,* cried Latimer * and play the man. VVe shall this day, by God's grace, light sucYi a catvd\^ vxv^w^^wei. THE PERSECUTION. as I trust shall never be put out.' He died quickly, but Ridley's sufferings were long and terrible, though they y/ere borne with great constancy, -vitAA. ^^V'aaV A» corpse fell over the chjdns sX 'La.^Vniw'a It^"^- C2 REIGN OF MARY L 6. Their friend Cranmer could see the whole from the roof of his prison. He was not a man of strong character, and he let himself be persuaded to save his life by submitting to the Pope and the Queen, by false promises that if he would do so his life should be spared. Mary considered him to be beyond forgiveness, and was resolved not to forgive him. The Spanish clergy knew this, but they did not tell Cranmer, but persuaded him to draw up six papers in one day, and sign them, denying what he had hitherto taught. Then he was brought into St. Mary's Church at Oxford, and there he found that he was still to die ; his disgraceful act had been of no avail. His tears fell fast at finding himself thus cruelly deceived, and he spoke out fully, de- claring his true faith, and, holding up his right hand which had signed the deed, he said that it should perish first. So when the fire was lighted at the stake, he stretched out that arm to the flame crying 'This unworthy hand.* 7. Cardinal Pole became Archbishop. He was naturally a mild, gentle man, but he knew he had enemies at Rome who accused him of being inclined to the new opinions, and thus he was afraid to hin- der persecution. Bishop Gardiner had died shortly before the burnings at Oxford, and thenceforward to the end of the reign, took place a terrible number of these executions, chiefly at Smithfield and Can- terbury. Bishop Bonner of London came to be looked on with more and more dread axvd hatred^ because he so often sat in judgment on vVv^ \\c?C\m?», LOSS OF CALAIS. 53 and the men and women who were burnt shewed such faith and constancy as befitted martyrs for the truth. 8. In the meantime, Mary was a miserable wo- man. She was disappointed that she had no child, her health gave way, her husband did not love her, and she knew that her people's affection had turned to fear and hatred, so that they only longed to see her sister on the throne. Elizabeth had been sent to the Tower at the time of Wyatt*s rebellion, but as nothing could be proved against her, she was sent to her own house in the country, and afterwards was forgiven, and allowed to be at court again. 9. Philip much grieved Mary by leaving her when his father gave up the kingdom of Spain to him. Soon he had a quarrel with France, and making a short visit to England, he per- suaded Mary to join in the war. Her English troops helped him to win a great battle at St. Quentin, but soon after, in the year 1558, the French made a sudden attack upon Calais, and seized it, after it had been held by the English for 213 years. It was so great a grief to Mary that she declared that when she died, the name of Calais would be found written on her heart. ID. She was languishing, and broken down with care and grief. What she had thought good and pious acts had only led to horrid cruelty, and turned herj)eople*s hearts against the Church she loved, and against her. Her husband wo\i\d tvo\. ^V^^ ^X"^ ber, her old friends were dying touTid \iet^ ^xA ^^ 54 REIGN OF ELIZABETH, would soon have no one to trust. She and Cardinal Pole both became much worse in health about the same time. The Queen died first, November 17th, 1558, the Cardinal twenty-two hours later, and eight more of her Bishops died about the same time. About 300 persons had been burnt during the last thii'ce of the five years of this reign. Persons: Mary I. — Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester-r- Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester— Ridley, Bishop of London — Bonner, Bishop of London— Latimer, once Bishopof Worces- ter— Archbishop Cranmer— Philip of Spain. Places : Oxford — Smithfield— Canterbury — Calais. Dates: Persecution of the Reformers, 1555— Death of Mary, 1558. XIII. ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH. 1. Great was the joy of the English nation when Mary was carried to her grave in 1558, and Elizabeth was proclaimed as Queen. , Everyone rejoiced to be free from the gloomy Spanish King Philip II. and from the terrible persecution. Marj^, in her mistaken zeal, had made the people of England think of her Church and its doctrines with hatred and terror, and there were only a very few who still held that Elizabeth's rights to the throne were not really good, and who thought the true heiress was Mary of Scotland. 2. Elizabeth was twenty-seven years old, not taW, but very dignified and stately. She had studied and thought much, and wa^ ve^^ ^t>\4s:wt LORDS BURLEIGH AND LEICESTER. 55 ■■I and cautious, but she was ready of speech, witty and lively, and sJie had the same hearty kindly man- ner as her father, so that she gained the hearts of all those who saw her, rich and poor alik«, for they knew that she really loved them, and wished to be the mother of her people. 3. Sir William Cecil, who had been one of the state ministers through the last two reigns, was her chief adviser, and after a time she gave him the title of Lord Burleigh. The com- panion she liked best was Lord Robert Dudley, a brother of poor Lady Jane's husband. He is best known as Earl of Leicester, the title that she gave him after a few years. He was not a good man, and he was even suspected of having murdered his wife, in hopes of marrying the Queen. She would never believe anything against him ; but she knew her people would never endure her marrying Robin Dudley as they called him. Many foreign princes courted her at different times in her reign, but though she doubted long, and let herself be flattered by them, she made up her mind to be a virgin Queen, and to have, as she said, no husband but her people. 4. She began at once to have the English Prayer- Book used again, and as there were eight Bishops' sees to be filled up, besides the Archbishopric of Canterbury, she chose men to fill them who would be willing to support the English Church. 5. Many persons who had fVediot^^^x 0.1 "^"^ct^J^ persecution came back from \\v\tv^ m ?i\N\\.'L^'^'2>xN^ 56 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. and Germany. The foreign Reformers had cast oflf much more of the old ways of the* Church than the English had done, fancying that whatever the Roman Catholics had done must be wrong. Dread and hatred of Queen Mary's persecutions made some of the other English think so too. They wanted to lay aside all forms and rules of worship and would have done so but for Archbishop Parker and the Queen. Some of the Reformers in Germany were called Protestants, and this name has come to be given to all who protest against the errors of Rome, while the English who wanted to alter their Church still more came in time to be called Puritans. 6. It was an anxious thought for all the English that the very next heir to the Crown after Queen Elizabeth was the young Mary, ftneen of Scotland and France, who had been bred up a Roman Catholic. The French King, her husband, died when she was only eighteen, and she came back a widow to Scotland in 1560. She was so beautiful and engaging that it seemed as if no one could with- stand her, but fearful troubles were before her. 7. The Scots had, in her absence, become great Reformers. They had turned out all the monks and nuns, and the nobles had seized the lands. They had destroyed all they thought superstitious in the churches, and set themselves against all forms and ceremonies, and when their Queen arrived, they would hardly endure to let her hear Mass in her own chapel among her own servants. 8. Queen Mary married a youtVv xvam^di W^tcrj AfARV QUEEN OF SCOTS, 57 Stewart, Lord Damley, who was cousin both to her and to Elizabeth. It was a very unhappy marriage, for he was a foolish, jealous, headstrong lad, who could not forgive his wife for not making him King though he was her husband. They had one child, James, who was about six months old ; when one night while Mary was at a ball, the house at Edinburgh where Henry Stewart was, was blown up with gunpowder, and he himself was found strangled under a tree. Nobody knows to this day whether Queen Mary consented to his death. 9. Her subjects believed she had done so, and their belief was strengthened when one of the murderers, the Earl of Bothwell, carried her off to his Castle, and persuaded her to marry him. The Scots rose against her, took her prisoner, and while her husband fled away, she was shut up in a strong castle on an island in a lake called Lochleven^ while her little son James was made King. 10. After nearly a year, Mary escaped from her prison, but she could find no shelter in Scotland and rode across the Border to England. Queen Elizabeth did not venture to have her at Court, nor to let her go abroad, for fear the Kings of Spain and France should set her up as Queen of England and invade the country. So Mary was kept first in one castle, then in another, under charge of dif- ferent noblemen, and her life grew more and more sad, as less liberty was left to her. Persons: Queen Elizabeth— Lord B\xr\e\^\i— TVife '^as\ ^\ Lekester—Arcbbishop Parker— The Puntaosk— ^«n>Q^^^ 58 REIGN OF ELIZABETH, of Scots— Her son, James— Lord Damley— The Earl' of t BothwelL Places: Edinburgh— Lochleven. Date: Accession of Elizabeth, 1558. XIV. THE DAYS OF GOOD QUEEN BESS. 1. Every year tended to make Queen Elizabeth more looked uf)on as the head and guardian of all the Protestants in Europe, although she was too cautious to do much to help them. Philip II., v/ho had been husband to her sister Mary, was in like manner regarded as the chief protector and leader of the Roman Catholics everywhere. 2. For many years there was no open war be- tween England and Spain, but Elizabeth allowed her subjects to go and help the Protestants in Holland who had risen against Philip's cruel persecution, and on the other hand, the Spaniards were writing letters and promising help to the English Roman Catholics who were striving to set Mary of Scot- land free, and make her Queen in Elizabeth's stead. 3. Many of the English Roman Catholics were good subjects to Elizabeth, and could not bear the thought of the Spaniards coming to seize their country, but it was very hard to know who was honest and who was not. So, though Elizabeth had never meant to persecute anyone, she and her Government began to treat all Roman Catholic priests as traitors. If any were f outvd \tv >ive cq\\\x\x>j ^ SHAKESPEARE, SPENSER, AND BACON. 59 they were imprisoned and sometimes put to death, and heavy fines were imposed on those who shel- tered them. 4. Everyone who did not go to church was fined, and there were laws against wandering about and begging. Since the abbeys had been de- stroyed, there had been much distress for want of the alms that the monks used to give. Therefore a law was made that in each parish a rate should be paid to maintain the helpleiss poor, and this was the beginning of the Poor Law. 5. It was a prosperous time. The days of Good Queen Bess have always been remembered as a happy time in England, when there were great steps made in all that was for the welfare of the country, and when many great men lived. In this feign, William Shakespeare was writing the plays that have been the delight of all English people ever since, and Edmund Spenser^ who had received a grant of land in Ireland, there composed a wonderful poem called the * Fairy Queen.' Then likewise lived Lord Bacon, one of the greatest thinkers of any age. 6. The merchants flourished likewise. Sir Thomas . Gresham built the Royal Exchange for them to meet in, and transact their business, in London, and in those days trade with Russia was first begun by Thomas Chancellory a bold sailor, who had tried to sail across the Arctic Ocean, but had been forced to land on the sKote o^ ^Jwt'^^c^^.^ Sea and make his way across Russia, 6o REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 7. In 1492, in the time of Henry VII., grand- father to Queen Elizabeth, Columbus had dis- covered America in a Spanish ship, while trying to find the westward route to India. Ever since that time bold sailors had been trying to make further discoveries. Newfoundland was discovered by an Italian in an English ship. The Spaniards had made settlements in the West Indian isles, and from Mexico and Peru they brought home gold and silver. The English ships used to lie in wait for the Spanish treasure ships and rob them, and though the two countries professed to be at peace, Queen Elizabeth did not stop them. 8. One of these sailors, Francis Drake, was the captain who first sailed round the world, by going south of America. Magellan^^ Portuguese, had been beforehand in the same track, but he had died before his voyage was over Drake's ship, the Pelican, was brought into the Thames, and the queen came to see it, dined on board, and knighted the captain. 9. Among these famous sailors we must reckon Sir Hmn&ey Gilbert and Sir Walter Baleigh. They were half-brothers, Devonshire men, and Sir Hum- frey was the first person to think of making settle- ments of Englishmen in other lands, or, as we now call them. Colonies. He took out a number of people to make a home in Newfoundland, but the climate was cold, and the ground barren, and he was obliged to bring them back in two ships. He was lost at sea on his way home, but Raleigh tried to make another settlement further south. His coVoivy >n^^ c^^ S/Ji PHILIP SIDNEY. 6i Virginia, after the Virgin Queen. He could not feed bis settlers, and again the attempt failed, but in America he learnt the use of two plants which he brought back with him, namely potatoes and tobacco. He was noted as a scholar and soldier, and was in great favour with the Queen, la No one was more beloved and admired than Sir Philip Sidney, the nephew of the E,ai\o^\.^\.»Lt^'t'i'(. He, was considered ths mode\ ol aW 'Ctva.'t ■«'&-'^ 62 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. learned, honourable, and knightly, and the Queen sometimes deigned to ask his advice, as if he had been a much older man. She had the power of making all who came near her care for nothing so much as her service, and be ready to do or give anything for a kind look or word from her, though often she did not use them well, or reward them properly. 11. On most summers, she used to go on a Progress through some of her cities', lodging at the houses of the great lords and gentlemen. The people flocked to see her, there were great feastings and sports of all kinds, and she showed herself friendly and gracious to all, but she did not care if the expense of providing for her almost ruined the gentry she stayed with. 12. The grandest of all these royal visits was that which Elizabeth paid to the Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth Castle in 1575. He could well afford the entertainments, and they were so splendid as never to have been forgotten. The great clock was stopped at 1 2, that it might always appear to be the hour for dining, there were hunting matches, shows, dancings, and whatever could delight or entertain the Queen. 13. Elizabeth loved dancing, and one of her favourites, Sir Christopher Hatton, who became keeper of the Great Seal, first gained her notice by his fine dancing. It was true that, as L6rd Burleigh said of her, though she could be more than a man, she could ^Iso be less than a v7om^.Tv,Aox ^^>«^^ HER CHARACTER. 6i very vain, and loved flattery for her beauty, even when she was growing old. She had 3,000 different dresses, and 30 wigs, and she was always eager after presents of gold, jewels, and ornaments [a ruin of KFfJII-WORlH Ladies and gentlemen in her time wore enormous lace ruffs, standing up high at the back, and ladies had huge hoop petticoats quilted and embroidered. 14. Elizabeth was sometimes vev^ TOEa.xv, mA was not ashamed to show her jeaVausv "^^ Mv^\a&i 64 REIGN OF ELIZABETH, who was fairer or better dressed than herself. She kept her soldiers and sailors short of money, partly because she never was willing to ask her people for heavy taxes, and that was one reason v/hy she was so much loved by the nation in general, for, with all her faults, they knew she loved them. Persons: Philip II. of Spain— William Shakespeare— Ed- mund Spenser— Lord Bacon— Sir Francis Drake— Sir Hum- frey Gilbert-Sir Walter Raleigh-Sir PhiUp Sidney— Sir Christopher Hatton— Columbus. Places: Russia— Newfoundland — Virginia. Date: Columbus discovered America, 1492. XV. SIR HUMFREY GILBERT. Sir Humfrey Gilbert's ship, the * Squirrel/ was thought to be unseaworthy. He was urged to leave it for the other, the * Golden Hind,' but he said, * I will not forsake my little company going home- ward, with whom I have passed so many storms and perils.* The last time the ships were near each other, he called to those in the * Golden Hind,' 'We are as near to Heaven by water as by land.' He was seen sitting on deck, reading his Bible, but in the night the lights of his ship were lost sight of, and in the fol- lowing poem, it is supposed that it was carried away among the icebergs, which are here described as the fleet of Deathy because they often tower up like huge ships in full sail : — S//^ HUMFREY GILBERT. 65 Southward with fleet of ice Sailed the corsair/ Death ; Wild and fast blew the blast, And the east wind was his breath. His lordly ships of ice Glistened in the sun ; On each side, like pennons wide, Flashing crystal streamlets run. His sails of white sea mist Dripped with silver rain, But where he passed, there were cast Leaden shadows o'er the main. Eastward from Campobello Sir Humfrey Gilbert sail'd ; Three days or more, seaward he bore, Then, alas ! the land wind fail'd. Alas ! the land wind fail'd And ice cold grew the night. And never more, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humfrey see the light. He sat upon the deck. The Book was in his hand. Do not fear, Heaven is as near By water as by land. * Corsair, a piiaXt. E 66 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. In the first watch of the night, Without a signal's sound, Out of the sea, mysteriously, The fleet of Death rose all around. * The moon and the evening star Were hanging in the shrouds ; Every mast, as it passed, Seemed to rake the passing clouds. They grappled with their prize At midnight black and cold, As of a rock was the shock. Heavily the ground-swell rolFd. Southward, through day and dark, They drift in close embrace. With mist and rain, to the Spanish Main, Yet there seems no change of place. Southward, for ever southward They drift through dark and day. And like a dream, in the Gulf Stream Sinking, vanish all away. 11. W. Longfellow. DEATH OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 67 XVL THE SPANISH ARMADA. 1. Neither King Philip of Spain nor Queen Elizabeth wished to be at war; but in 1584 peace could be kept no longer, and Elizabeth allowed her sailors to do all the harm they could to the Spanish ships and settlements in America. At the same time she sent troops in her own name to back up the Dutch Protestants who had taken up arms against Philip. 2. The Earl of Leicester had the command of these troops in Holland. His nephew, Sir Philip Sidney ,went with him. While the town of Zutphen was being besieged, a shot struck Sir Philip in the thigh, and he v/as obliged to leave the field. His wound made him very thirsty, and with great diffi- culty some water was fetched for him. Just as he was putting it to his lips, he saw a poor dying man watching it with a face that showed parching thirst. He sent it to the man without tasting it, > saying, * Take it, thy necessities are greater than mine.* He died of his wound about a fortnight after, and was very much mourned. 3. All the time Queen Mary of Scotland had been in prison there had been plottings of the English Roman Catholics with her and with the Spaniards, to set her free. Lord Burleigh and the other advisers of Elizabeth thought thex^ ^csn:^^ be no peace or safety while she Wvedi', ^vl^ >0c^^^ were afraid of nothing, so much ashet ^sAxr^Wvcv^"^^ £ 2 6& kEIGN OF ELIZABETH. Queen, for there would then certainly be a war and if she were to gain the mastery, the evil days of Mary Tudor might come back. Thus they tried to persuade Elizabeth to put her to death, but for nineteen years the Queen had always refused. 4, At last, in 1587, Burleigh and his friend, Sir Francis Walsingham, found that another plot was going on. They contrived to get all the letters written between Mary and her friends, and to read and copy them before they were delivered. The plan was that Elizabeth was to be murdered, and then that the Roman Catholics should rise, and make Mary Queen by the help of the Spaniards. They let the correspondence go on that they might be able to shew the Queen the whole of the scheme, and be able to punish her enemies, but it was like setting a trap, and it was not a worthy way of treating them. 5. The plotters were taken, tried and put to death, and Queen Mary Stewart was found guilty of the same crime of conspiring against the Queen. She was sentenced to die, but Elizabeth could not bear to sign the death-warrant, and waited and doubted day after day. At last however she did put her name to it, and it was sent off to Fotheringay Castle, where Queen Mary was beheaded, -after being nineteen years a prisoner, in 1587. She shewed much piety and courage, and many persons who thought her innocent of all the crimes laid to her charge, looked on her as a martyr for the Roman Catholic Church. THE SPANISH ARMAbA, 69 XVII. THE SPANISH ARMADA {continued), 1. King Philip of Spain felt himself bound to revenge her death, as well as to punish the English for all the help they had given to the Dutch, and all their attacks on his American treasure ships. So he fitted out a large fleet in Spain, and prepared a great army in Flanders, intending to make an utter destruction of Elizabeth, and to restore the Roman Catholic Church. 2. The English watched his preparations, and Sir Francis Drake checked them by sailing with thirty swift ships into Cadiz Bay, and burning all the Spanish ships that he found there, and this he called singeing the King of Spain's whiskers for him. A fleet of English ships was prepared and put under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham, but even in this grievous danger Queen Elizabeth would not spare money enough to have them properly sup- plied with powder or to feed and clothe their crews. Many towns and many gentlemen fitted out vessels, and all the great sailors of England met at Plymouth to watch for the terrible Spanish fleet. So sure of conquest were the Spaniards that they called it the Invincible Armada, that is, the tuicoyiquer able fleet, 3. On the evening of the 19th of July, 1588, as the English captains were playing at bowls on the Hoe, a piece of high ground at Plymouth, word was brought them that the Armada was in the Channel. Sir Francis Drake would not show any haste or alarm, but quietly finished off his game 70 . REIGN OF ELIZABETH. before there was any hastening out to take the command of the ships. 4. All England was soon astir. The army came together, and Queen Elizabeth, riding a white horse, reviewed it at Tilbury Port, telling the people that though she had the body of a weak woman, she had the spirit of a man and a king. And they well knew it was so, and were ready to fight for her to the death, though she gave them no better leader than the Earl of Leicester. 5. On came the Spanish fleet of 130 large ships, ranged in the form of a crescent, with 30,000 men in it, intending to sail to Flanders, and there take up another great army, and then land near London and burn the city. The English ships, however, came out from Plymouth, and hunted them all the way along the English Channel. The Spanish shot flew over these little vessels, and seldom struck them, but if ever one of these stately ships lagged behind the rest, the English were ready to seize it. 6. Round the Isle of Wight there was much fighting, and several great ships were taken, but the English could not go on for want of powder. However, when the Spaniards had just passed the Straits of Dover, Drake sent some fire-ships in among them, which burnt many vessels and put the others to confusion. The next day Lord Howard gave battle, and took twelve more ships. The Spaniards found that they could not land. TAey durst not return through tive StraW^, ^xv^ ^^ FIRE SHIP AT iVORk'. n [fire-ship at wou^.^ 72 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. Ihey tried to sail all round Scotland and Ireland to reach home. 7. Terrible storms arose, many ships were wrecked on the Orkney Isles and in Ireland, and the others were pursued by the English and broken up or taken. Not one enemy set his foot in England save as a prisoner ; and such was the loss to Spain that it was said that every noble family had to mourn a son or a brother, for only 60 out of all the 130 ships found their way back to Spain. 8. Great were the rejoicings in England. Queen Elizabeth went in state to return thanks at St. Paul's for the safety of her people, and rewarded those who had fought for her so bravely. And, indeed, they had great reason to rejoice, for after the twenty years that her Crown and the English Reformation had been in danger, the defeat of the Armada had at last made them safe. Persons: Earl of Leicester— Sir Philip Sidney — Mary Queen of Scots— Lord Burleigh— Sir Francis Walsingham —Philip n. of Spain— Lord Howard of Effingham. Places: Fotheringay Castle— Cadiz— Plymouth— Tilbury Fort - Dover— The Orkneys. Dates: Execution of Mary Queen of Scots, 1587— The Spanish Armada, 1588. THE ARMADA. XVin. THE ARMADA. Attend, ye all who list to hear our noble Eng- land's praise ; I tell of the thrice famous deeds she wrought in ancient days, When that great fleet invincible against her bore in vain The richest spoils of Mexico,' the stoutest hearts of Spain. It was about the lovely close of a warm summer day, ' Mexico, in America, full of silve whence the Spanish 74 REIGN OF ELIZABETH, There came a gallant merchant-ship full sail to Plymouth Bay; Her crew had seen Castile's * black fleet, beyond Aurigny's isle,^ At earliest twilight, on the waves lie heaving many a mile. At sunrise she escaped their van,^ by God's especial grace ; And the tall Pinta,* till the noon, had held her close in chase. Forthwith a guard at every gun was placed along the wall ; The beacon ^ blazed upon the roof of Edgecumbe's lofty hall ; « Many a light fishing-bark put out to pry along the coast. And with loose rein and bloody spur rode inland many a post. With his white hair unbonneted,^ the stout old sheriff" comes ; Behind him march the halberdiers;^ before him sound the drums ; ' Castile, the chief kingdom of Spain. * Aurigny, Aldemey. ■ Van, their foremost division. * The Pinta, one of the Spanish vessels. * Beacon, the watch-fire. ■ Mount Edgecumbe, forming one side of Plymouth Bay. "* Unbonneted, without a cap or hat. ^ Halberdiers, men armed with halberts, or poles with axes at the end. THE ARMADA. 75 His yeomen ' round the market cross make clear an ample space ; For there behoves ^ him to set up the standard of Her Grace. And haughtily the trumpets peal, and gaily dance the bells, As slow upon the labouring wind the royal blazon ^ swells. Look how the Lion * of the sea lifts up his ancient crown. And underneath his deadly paw treads the gay lilies ^ down. So stalked he when he turned to flight, on that famed Picard field,^ Bohemia's ^ plume, and Genoa's® bow, and Caesar's ® eagle shield. So glared he when at Agincourt in wrath he turned to bay, ' Yeomen, men in attendance. ^ Behoves him, it is his duty. ■ Royal blazon, the setting forth of the arms of the Queen. • The Lion, the crowned lion, which is the crest of the English arms. • Lilies, the three lilies, or fleurs-de-lys of France, which Queen Elizabeth bore on her shield, as all the Kings had done since Edward III. set up his claim. They would be below the lion. • Picard field, Cregy. (See English History Reading Books, Part III. p. 104.) • The old king of Bohemia, whose badge was the ostrich feathers. • The archers of Genoa. • Caesar, Charles V., the German Empeioi, ca5\!^ "^x^^ ^x 76 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. And crushed and torn beneath his claws the princely hunters lay. Ho ! strike the flagstaff deep, sir Knight : ho ! scat- ter flowers, fair maids : Ho! gunners, fire a loud salute: ho! gallants, draw your blades : Thou sun, shine on her joyously ; ye breezes, waft her wide ; ^ Our glorious SEMPER EADEM,^ the banner of our pride. The freshening breeze of eve unfurled that banner's massy fold ; The parting gleam of sunshine kissed that haughty scroll of gold ; Night sank upon the dusky beach, and on the purple sea. Such night in England ne'er had been, nor e'er again shall be. From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, from Lynn to Milford bay, That time of slumber was as bright and busy as the day; For swift to east and swift to west the ghastly war flame spread, High on St. Michael's Mount it shone j it shone on Beachy Head. Far on the deep the Spaniard saw, along each southern shire, » Wide. See English History Reading Books, Part III. p. 146. ^ S^nipcr Es^dtm (l«atin),* Always l\ie?>«ccv^,' W^C^>\^^xj?^Tv\ottQ. THE ARMADA. 77 Cape beyond cape, in, endless range, those twink- ling points of fire. The fisher left his skiff to rock on Tamar*s glitter- ing waves : The rugged miners poured to war from Mendip's sunless caves : O'er Longleat's towers, o'er Cranbourne's oaks, the fiery herald flew ; He roused the shepherds of Stonehenge, the rangers of Beaulieu. Right sharp and quick the bells all night rang out from Bristol town. And ere the day three hundred horse had met on Clifton down ; The sentinel on Whitehall gate looked forth into the night. And saw o'erhanging Richmond Hill the streak of blood-red light. Then bugle's note and cannon's roar the death-like silence broke. And with one start, and with one cry, the royal city woke. At once on all her stately gates arose the answer- ing fires ; At once the wild alarum clashed from all her reel- ing spires ; From all the batteries of the Tower pealed loud the voice of fear ; And all the thousand masts of Thames sent back a Jouder cheer : 78 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. And from the furthest wards was heard the rush of hurrying feet, And the broad streams of pikes and flags rushed down each roaring street ; And broader still became the blaze, and louder still the din, As fast from every village round the horse came spurring in : And eastward straight from wild Blackheath the warlike errand went. And roused in many an ancient hall the gallant squires of Kent. Southward from Surrey's pleasant hills flew those bright couriers forth ; High on bleak Hampstead's swarthy moor they started for the north ; And on, and on, without a pause, untired they bounded still : All night from tower to tower they sprang ; they sprang from hill to hill : Till the proud peak unfurled the flag o*er Darwin's rocky dales, Till like volcanoes flared to heaven the stormy hills of Wales, Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze on Malvern's lonely height, Till streamed in crimson on the wind the Wrekin's crest of light. Till broad and fierce the star came forth on Ely's stately fane, THE EARL OF ESSEX, 79 And tower and hamlet rose in arms o'er all the boundless plain ; Till Belvoir's lordly terraces the sign to Lincoln sent, And Lincoln sped the message on o'er the wide vale of Trent ; Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burnt on Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle. Lord Macaulay. [By permission of Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co.] XIX. THE UNION OF THE CROWNS. 1. Queen Elizabeth had triumphed over all her enemies, and there was peace throughout her kingclom ; but she was becoming an aged woman, and all her glory could not keep sorrow from her. Lord Leicester -died in the midst of the rejoicings for the defeat ot the. Armada, and in 1598 she lost the adviser -on whose counsel she had most relied, William Cecil, Lord Burleigh. 2. His second son, Sir Sobert Cecil, became her chief adviser, and she had already taken into high favour the stepson of Leicester, Eobert Devereoz, Earl of Essex, a very gallant and brave young man, who m 1596 actuaWy looV >^v^ ^^"^^v^ REIGN OF ELIZABETH. city of Cadiz by a sudden attack with the fleet, and carried off a huge booty. [ENGLISH ATTACK ON CADIZ.] 3. Essex was an eager, high-spirited young man, not willing to loiter away \v\5 ^to^ as. C'^-itt EXECUTION OF ESSEX. 8i M^iM wm^ ^ ■■■■■■■■■ ■ ^^^^^ p— ^^» ■■■■ ■■■ ■ -■ — ■■- III ,. , ,^m in attendance on the Queen, and he persuaded her to appoint him as Lord Deputy, or Governor of Ireland. There, however, he did not succeed, and his doings were so reported to the Queen that she found great fault with him. 4. Without waiting for orders Essex hurried home to justify himself, and arriving early in the morning, he forced his way into the Queen's chamber, in his riding dress, with muddy boots. While she was being dressed. She was very angry and would not listen to him, but sent out another Lord Deputy to take his place, and he in his passion spoke of the Queen as an old woman as crooked in person as she was in temper. 5. Almost wild with vexation, Essex tried to raise a tumult in London against the Queen's advisers; but this was soon put down, and the rash young Earl was thrown into the Tower, tried for treason, and sentenced to death. Long before, the Queen had given him a ring, bidding him send it to her if ever he should have any special request to make of her, and she expected that he would now use it to obtain his pardon, which she longed to give. She waited and waited, but the ring never came to her, and she thought that the Earl was too proud and sullen to ask any favour from her, so she signed the warrant for his execution, and he was beheaded when only thirty-three years old. 6. A^ut eighteen months later the Queen re- ceived an* entreaty to come and visit Vv^t cow^vcs.^'CsNft. Countess of Nottingham^ who was svcVl v)lTv\.o ^^"aSScu -» IV. X? 82 REIGN OF ELIZABETH, There, it is believed, the dying lady confessed that Lord Essex had sent the ring by hjer sister, Lady Scrope, to be delivered to the Queen, but that it had been carried to her by mistake, and she, being the enemy of Essex, had cruelly kept it back. The Queen was bitterly grieved, and so enraged that she actually shook the dying woman, and said, * God may forgive you, but I cannot/ 7. The stout heart and high spirit that had borne so much were broken by this blow. Elizabeth was seventy years old, and her health was giving way, and she was never like the same woman again. She could not eat, and, though restless, grew weaker and weaker, till at last she could only sit on a pile of cushions, but she could not bear to go to bed, and answered sharply to all who persuaded her. 8. At last she was laid in bed. She was dying, and who was to reign next } James, King of Scots, was the right heir, and when he was named, her attendants thought she raised her hand to her head in token that she agreed. Then the Archbishop of Canterbury came and read prayers and psalms. Whenever he paused she made a sign that he .should continue ; and thus the great Queen died, at Richmond Palace, on the 24th of March 1603, 9. That instant Lady Scrope dropped a sap- phire ring out at the window to her brother. Sir Robert Carey, who was waiting below to know when the Queen ceased to live ; he rode off, day and nis^ht, to Scotland, so as to be ticve ^t?\. \.o \i\vwi^ ACCESSION OF JAMES L 83 the news to James that he was King of England as well as of Scotland, and that thus the whole island of Great Britain would come under one Sovereign. 10. James was the right heir, for his great-grand - mother, Margaret Tudor, had been the eldest daughter of Henry VII. He had been bred up by men who hated the Roman Catholic Church even more than the English did. So no one could rightly object to him, and yet there were a few who did not like the Scots, and who therefore wished to have as their queen his cousin Arabella Stewart, the daughter of his father's younger brother. Sir Walter. Raleigh was accused of being one of these, and was tried and sentenced, but was kept a prisoner in the Tower instead, of being put to death. 1 1. King James was sixth of his name in Scot- land and first in England. His surname was Stewarty and his family was called the House of Stewart He had been carefully brought up, and was full of learning. He could sometimes be very wise and shrewd in his judgment, but he was very awkward and ungainly, and said and did such absurd things that a great French statesman said he was the wisest fool in all Christendom. He was very nervous and timid, he could not bear to see a drawn sword, and wore his clothes padded with cotton that he might not be stabbed. 1 2. Altogether he was very unkingly in his looks and ways, and the English laughed at him when they compared him with their brave ^xv^ ^\.'a>L€s.>j Queen Elizabeth ; nor did they like \.\ve twraJoex cS. F 2 84 REIGN OF JAMES L Scotchmen who came to Court with him and expected all the best places and highest honours. His Queen was Anne of Denmark, a handsome graceful person, though not very wise, and they had three children living, Henry, Elizabeth, and Charles. 13. The Roman Catholics recollected that he was their Queen Mary's son, and hoped he would do something for them, and the Puritans hoped that he would put an end to all the forms and ceremonies they disliked, so that both parties were disappointed when they found that he had thought over the matter, and that he intended to keep up the English Church just as he found it ; and to put down with a strong hand all who differed from it, one way or the other. Persons: Sir Robert CecU— Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex— James, King of Scots— Arabella Stewart—Sir Wal- ter Raleigh. Dates: Capture of Cadiz, z596~Death of Queen Eliza- beth, z6oj. XX. REIGN OF JAMES I. I. The Parliament w^as about to meet on the Sth of November, 1605, ^"d the King, James I., was going to open it, with his young son Henry, Prince of Wales, by his side. One of the peers. Lord Hount- eagle, came to the Council on the day before and said he had received a strange \e\X^T,m^i5J\Tvo xvscnxfc THE GUNPOWDER PLOT. 85 to it, warning him not to have anything to do with that Parliament, for a sudden destruction would overtake everyone there, yet so that it would not be known who hurt them. [JAMES 1,] 2, There was much guessing what this evil could be, and the King, whose father had been killed in a house blown up with gunpowder, thought that this might be the means of doing the tbte.ax«\^4 deed. It was reso/ved that there shouXA^ie. ?i.^?.xOcv R^'jjf <:-^ 7.=LJ^iE:> n m t6e vaiilils beseari tire Ikrase ^ Westminster, wfaere Parliamifnr was ta nregti. 5. In t±ese ^ra^ilts- tfiere wiis fcnEcndL im tmth, a man wltft x cj^rs: lanrsrrr:,. arrd Efccwise a number of barrsLj of :^xi:::i:wder hioden uroier soane coals and feggots. Tlie man's naxne was Giej fkvkes,, and he was knowin to- be a RioiziaxL dtlnalki He was pot to dbe tocture^ ^er tfie onodl &sbiDOCt of fbrdng people to CQofe^ by stretckcng tibeir limbs on the 4. It soQo became kiaowtn tbat diiirteen RcMnan CathoIkgecEtfemeiifaadpIotteditsjgetlierto take the Ih-es of tb^ King ari^ Ms soQ^ and of all the Peers and Commoos hy exfrilodmg gunpowder m the cellars while Parliament was being opened. In die confu- sion that would ha\'e foIk>iied the dreadfid disaster, the>' meant to seize little Prince Charles^ who was only six years old, and breed him up as a Roman Catholic^ foolishly thinking that they could hold out against all the families and friends of the murdered gentlemen. Guy Fawkes was to have fired the train. 5. One rf these plotters^ howe\"er, loved his friend Motmteagle too much to let him perish with the rest, and thus was the warning given that led to the discovery. The traitors fled to a house, where they shut themselves up, but the King's troops followed them, and by chance some gun- powder caught fire and killed several in the very way they had intended for others. The rest were taken, and put to death as traitors. 6. James was very vain of having found out S/jR WALTER RALEIGH. 87 the plot. He kept a holiday in remembrance of it, and nothing pleased him better than to be called the English Solomon. He had really much learn- ing, and he caused the translation of the Bible, which had been made in the time of Henry VHL, to be looked over and corrected by the very best scholars in Hebrew and Greek who could be found. 7. James's eldest son, Henry, was full of pro- mise. He was good and devout, and free from his father's evil custom of profane swearing. He used to say that all the sport in the world was not worth a single oath. He was also very brave and high-spirited and took great interest in the navy, going often to Deptford to see the building of the ships. He would sometimes visit Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower, saying he wondered how his father could beep such a bird in a cage. It was a great grief to all England when, in 161 2, this young prince died of a fever, when nineteen years old. 8. Sir Walter Raleigh always said that he knew of a gold mine up one of the rivers in South America, and he persuaded the King to release him from the Tower to lead an expedition thither. He sailed, but he could find no gold, and he let his people attack and plunder some of the Spanish settlements. From one of these they were beaten off, and Sir Walter's only son was killed in the fight. 9. He came home a sad and broken man, and he was at once made prisoner again. The Spanish King complained of his having attacked the Spaniards in time of peace, and James, who wished 88 REIGN OF JAMES I. to be friendly with Spain, caused Raleigh to be beheaded, not for bad conduct, but on the old sentence that had been given thirteen years before. 10. The truth was, that James all his life let himself be led by favourites, to whom he gave silly nicknames. The last and chief of these favourites was Geoi^e VilHers, whom he made Duke of Bnclringham, and who was also a great friend of Prince Charles. The King used sometimes to call the Duke, Steenie^ because he was like a picture of St. Stephen, and sometimes his doggie. This name was given because the Duke used to put the King in mind when he was rude or awkward, as a dog might pull a pig by the ear ; and so James let him- self be called in return dear sow, dad, and gossip. The jroung Prince he called Baby Charles. 11. Buckingham was vain and haughty, and offended the nobles greatly. Besides, the King gave him far too large gifts. James was always calling upon his people for money, which Queen Elizabeth, with her saving ways, had taken care not to do. Many of the Puritans were also much disappointed that greater alterations were not made in the wor- ship in churches, and some of them who had gone to Holland in the reign of Elizabeth now took ship and sailed away to North America. They hoped that in that distant land they would be able to found a new home for themselves where they could worship God in the way they preferred. They are called the Pilgrim Fathers. 12. All the Tqdor Kings and Queens had done THE KING AND THE COMMONS. 89 much as they liked with their Parliaments. The nobles had lest much power and wealth in the ^^-ars of the Roses, and the Commons were willing to be guided by Henry VIIL, and still more by Elizabeth, whom they loved and trusted. If they opposed her, she would give them a scolding, but she knew how much they would bear, and would change her plans rather than offend them. 13. But what the Commons had borne from their Queen, offended them in the Scottish James, whom they did not like, and who was full of notions of kingly power and right. No disturbance took place in his time, but the seed of much future dissension was sown. Pet-sons: James I.- Guy Fawkes— Sir Walter Raleigh— Henry, Prince of Wales— Prince Charles— George Villiers, Dnke of Buckingham— The Pilgrim Fathers. Date: The Gunpowder Plot, 1605. XXI. CHARLES I. AND BUCKINGHAM. 1. James I. had all through his reign very different views from Queen Elizabeth, and instead of hating Spain and upholding the Protestants everywhere, he wished to have the Spaniards for allies, and was too timid and cautious to take up arms to help anyone. 2. His daughter Elizabeth was married to a German prince, called the Elector Palatine of the Sliine. She was very beautiful, and so charming I 90 REIGN OF JAMES L that she was called t/ie Queen of Hearts. The Protestants of Bohemia, being displeased with the German Emperor, offered to make the Elector their King, and she persuaded him to accept the offer. This brought on a long war between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants of Germany, which lasted thirty years, and in which Elizabeth and her husband lost not only Bohemia, but their beautiful home at Heidelberg on the Rhine. King James had warned them that he \\x>uld not bring England into trouble to help thcm» and he never did anything for them. 3. He wislied his son Charles to marry the sister of the King of Spain, but the Prince did not like to take a wife without having seen her, and he and the Duke of Buckingham set out in disguise for Madrid to make acquaintance with hen However, they found that it was the Spanish custom to shut up the royal ladies so closely that no man could speak to them, and though Charles made himself known, he was not allowed to have any conversation with her. 4. Once he climbed over a wall to try to talk to her, when she was walking in the garden, but she was frightened, and hastened away. The only lady to whom he could talk was the young Queen of Spain, a French princess, and she spoke of her sister, Henrietta Maria, describing her as very charming. On his way home, through Paris, Charles contrived to see Henrietta at a ball, and admired her so much that he persuaded his father ACCESSION OF CHARLES I. 91 to break oflf the engagement to the Spanish lady, and ask for the hand of the French one. 5. Just then, however, King James fell ill of an ague, and died at the end of a fortnight, in the year 1625. Charles I. became King when he was in his 25th year, and soon after, Henrietta Maria was brought to England and married to him. He loved her most tenderly all his life, but it was a great misfortune that she was a Roman Catholic, for the whole nation dreaded and distrusted her, doubting what she might lead the King to do. 6. The Duke of Buckingham was also much disliked, and was thought to have misused the money that was granted by the State. The Par- liament was just going to demand an account from him, when the King came and dissolved it. Then, as no supplies of money had been granted, the King tried to obtain it without a grant of taxes from the House of Commons. There were means of raising money which had come down from former times, and had been used by the Plantagenet and Tudor Kings, and the people had in those times submitted, but now they had begun to think whether these customs were just or not 7. When in 1628 the King had to call another parliament, the Commons, chiefly led by Sir John Eliot, from Cornwall, drew up what they called fhe Petition of Eight, and made it understood that they would grant no taxes, unless it were made unlawful for the King to demand loans and force 91 REIGN OF CHARLES I. people to pay the money, or to keep prisoners shut up without trial, or to quarter soldiers on private houses. 8. He consented, much against his will, and JCKIKOIIAM.] the money he required was granted, but he after- wards had Sir John Eliot thrown Into prison. The place was so unhealthy that Eliot died there, and as he was a good man and greatly respected, this did much to turn men's minds against tVelfJm?.. K STRAFFORD AND LAUD. 93 fleet was fitted out to help the French Protestants, who were being besieged at La Rochelle, and the Duke of Buckingham went to Portsmouth to take the command. There this favourite was stabbed to the heart, as he came out of his lodging, by a man named Felton, who was hanged for the murder. He apparently had no accomplices, though all the country rejoiced at Buckingham's death. 9. After this the King's chief advisers were William Land, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Wentworth, who was made Earl of Straf- ford. Wentworth had joined in obtaining the Peti- tion of Rights, but he afterwards came over to the King's side. It was a time when opinions were very much divided, and there were good honest men in each party. Some thought it their first duty to stand up for the Church and the Crown, and others that they ought to establish the rights of Englishmen, not to be oppressed, or forced to do anything against their conscience. 10. Archbishop Laud was striving to get all the rules in the Prayer-Book fully carried out, and the fines and punishments, that were enforced for neglecting them, much enraged the Puritans, who had always thought that forms and ceremonies interfered with worshipping in spirit. 1 1. Lord Strafford was equally busy in keeping Ireland in order, and in advising the King how to keep down the people, and to avoid calling together another Parliament. These two, L.^.vi.d and Strafford, had a sort ot ^waVcYv-^ot^ Xi^X-NN^*^^ 94 REIGN OF CHARLES L them. It was ' Thorough,' and it meant that the spirit of faction, as they considered it, must be thoroughly put down. 12. There was a court called the Star Chamber, from the starred ceiling of the room where it sat. Here, since the time of Henry VH., some of the King's Council sat to judge persons brought before them for certain offences, and to sentence them, sometimes to fines, sometimes to worse punish- ments. Men who wrote or spoke against the King were there sometimes condemned to have their ears cut off, and to stand in the pillory all day, to be mocked by the mob ; and for many otlier offences large fines had to be paid, which helped to fill the treasury. 13. Besides this, ever since King Alfred's time, the King had had a right to call on places on the coast to share in fitting out his navy. The money raised for this purpose was called Ship Money, but it had not often been demanded, except in time of need. However, the King thought it could be asked for without a Parliament, and so in 1634 he sent to collect the Ship Money. 14. John Hampden, a Buckinghamshire squire, believed that it was an unlawful tax, and refused to pay it. There was a trial, and out of the twelve judges five were in favour of Hampden and seven in favour of the King. People were dividing more and more into two great parties, one for the King and the other for the Parliament, one for the Church of England and iVve otici^i io^ >i^<5i THE TRIAL OF STRAFFORD. 95 Puritan reformers, and it was plain that a great struggle was near at hand. Many of the Scots had entered into a Covenant not to accept the Prayer- Book, and were called Covenanters. Persons : The Elector Palatine of the Rhine— Elizabeth, *the Queen of Hearts'— Henrietta Maria, of France— The Duke of Buckingham— Sir John EUot— William Laud, Arch- bishop of Canterbury— Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford — John Hampden — The Covenanters. R/ace : The Star Chamber. JDaies: Death of James I., 1625— The Petition of Right, Z628. XXII. THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 1. In 1640 the Scottish Covenanters took up arms, and it became impossible for King Charles to avoid calling his Parliament together, for he was in need of money to subdue them. The first thing that the Commons did on meeting was to impeach^ the Earl of Strafford and Arch- bishop Laud for treason against the laws of the country, and to send them to the Tower. / 2. Strafford was brought to trial l^efore the House of Peers, and defended hiiriself bravely ; but he had acted, with a high hand; and had taken little heed of people^s rights, so that all were against him, and he was condemned to death. Still, as he had done all for the King's sake, it was thought that Charles would save him, and indeed he strove hard to find some means of so doing, but there was ' To impeach Strafford, to charge hlnv with m\?»\«fca.N\ss«i\^ his ofEce, 96 REIGN OF -CHARLES I. a great outcry ; the Queen and her mother declared that all would be lost if the King did not yield StrafTord up to satisfy the people, and Strafford himself sent a message to the King telling him to have no scruple in doing what would serve best for his own safety. 3. So Charles gave way, and consented to his THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 97 friend's death. Strafford only said, * Put not your trust in princes/ and prepared to die like a brave man. The King never ceased to grieve over the way in which he had deserted his friend. 4. The Parliament then passed an Act to pre- vent its being dissolved without its own consent, and to this Act Charles was forced to agree. The Star Chamber was abolished, and the demand for Ship Mcfiey declared unlawful. After this many persons thought that enough had been done, but there were others in the Parliament who wanted to cut off more of the King*s power, so as to make sure of his not taking vengeance on them for what they had already done. 5. Hearing of these plans, the King determined to go down to Westminster in person and cause the five leading members, of whom Hampden was one, to be arrested. He told the Queen of his plans, she told one of her ladies, the lady sent word to one of the five, and by the time the King, with three hundred armed gentlemen, reached the House, the five were gone. 6. The King said that since he found the birds were flown, he desired that they might be delivered up to him, but the Commons and the people of London were exceedingly indignant at his attempt to seize them. When he returned to his coach he was assailed by cries of * Privilege ! privilege ! * meaning that it was the privilege of Members of Parliament only to be arrested by the decree of their own body. A paper was even thrown into the H. IV. G 98 REIGN OF CHARLES I. carriage window with the words, * To your tents, Israel.* 7. So far from delivering up the five members, the Parliament demanded an armed guard for its own protection. They knew that the King would do his best to undo whatever they did, though his consent might be wrung from him by force ; and he, on his side, looked on such forced concessions as not binding, and thought his royal power a trust which he was bound to use for his people, and which he ought to hand on undiminished to his heirs. Moreover, he and his Commons had very different ideas of what was for the good of his people. 8. Thus each side distrusted the other, and party nicknames were freely given. The King's friends, or Cavaliers, followed the new fashion that had come in from France, and wore their hair long and curled over a deep lace collar. The country party held this custom to be unmanly and un- scriptural, and kept the old mode of short cut hair, whence they were termed KonncUieads and Pricks ears, while they called the other side Malignants. 9. The King \vas himself a grave, thoughtful, religious man, and his leading friends were good, faithful, and pious ; but there were also among the Cavaliers a great many foolish, gay young men, who merely hated the staid gravity and seriousness of the Parliamentary party. Many of these last- mentioned were Puritans, and thought all pleasure ^nd amusement sinful and wot\dVy \ aivd viVvsV^ ^<atftR THE MILITIA BILL. 99 of the Cavaliers were wild, idle, and vicious, some of these Roundheads were strict, harsh, and sour. 10. Most of the people of London were strongly on the side of the Parliament. The King and his family were mobbed, and so much distressed there that Charles went away to York, while the Queen took her little daughter Mary to Holland to be mar- ried to the Prince of Orange. She carried with her all the plate and money she could collect, in case there should be need to buy weapons and powder for carrying on a war. 1 1. In those days there was no regular paid army always kept up, only a guard for the King. When there was need each county was bound, at the call of the King, to raise a certain number of men, called tJie Militia, The Parliament sent up two bills to the King, one giving to itself the right to call out the Militia, the other forbidding the Bishops to sit in the House of Lords. 12. Charles consented to the last of these, but he refused to pass the one depriving himself of the power of calling out the army. It was the spring of 1642, and both parties felt that nothing but arms would decide who should have the mastery, though all good men grieved very much at thus beginning a. civil war, especially the King's friend, lord Falk- land, on the one side, and on the other John Hampden, who wore on his breast the two lines — ' Not against the King 1 ftgVvt, But for the King and coutYtty's n^\.* G a loo REIGX OF CHARLES L Persons : Charles I. — The Parliament— Earl of Strafiford— Hampden— Lord Falkland— Cavaliers— Romidheads. DiUa: The Long^ Parliament first met, 1640— Civil war began, 1642. XXIII. THE GREAT REBELLION. 1. The first open act of revolt against Charles I. was by Sir John Hotham, governor of Hull, who refused to admit the King into the town in April, 1642. In August, Charles set up his Royal Stan- dard at Vottingliam Castle, in the midst of a storm of wind which instantly blew it down, to the dis- may of the Cavaliers who had flocked to it These Cavaliers were mostly loyal nobles and gentlemen, who had sold their plate to arm their sons and their tenants to fight for their Church and King. 2. The chief general was the Earl of Lindsay, a brave and prudent old warrior ; but the command of the horse was given to Prince Bnpert, son to the King's sister Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, a dashing young soldier, who had grown up in the midst of the Thirty Years* War, and who was hot, hasty, and eager. 3. The Parliament put its army under Sir Thomas Fairfax and the Earl of Essex, son to Queen Elizabeth's favourite. There were many squires in this army likewise, but the greater part of it consisted of lawyers, and people from the towns, who had no horses, though they were sturdy /bot-soldiers. Thus the Roya\ axmy ^aa ^Xxotvj^^x. I02 REIGN OF CHARLES /. in horse, and the Parliamentary army in foot. The only men in either army who had been trained to war were some German and some English, who had hired themselves to fight in the Thirty Years* War in Germany, and now hired themselves to help in training the troops. 4. This was not so cruel and savage a war as many have been ; though a civil war is always a dreadful one, because families are broken up and take different sides. The best men on each side grieved over it very much, and never allowed kill- ing, burning, and robbery if they could help it Women and children were almost always safe ; and in many places things went on just as usual, and the judges made their circuits as in time of peace. 5. The worst things that were done in this wai were the work of the men used to the cruel Ger- man wars ; also by some of the wild young men in the King's army, who were half mad with ex- citement. On the other hand, some of the Puritans in the Parliamentary army fancied all that was said in the Bible about the Canaanites and their idol temples applied to clergymen and churches first, and in some degree to all their enemies. Indeed, a man was sent round by the Parliament to destroy all that he thought superstitious ; and painted glass windows, fine old books, plate, and other things, which the first Reformers had spared, were now ruined. 6. The first battle was at Edgehill. Prince Rupert's horse defeated lliaV oi ticv^ ^outv^^^^^'s*, BATTLE OF EDGEHILL. 103 and he thought the battle won and galloped off in pursuit ; while old Lord Lindsay sighed at hax- iog been joined in command viiftv s\jk\v -i. ■t;a:^\«>"i. I04 REIGN OF CHARLES L Lindsay's force, not being supported by the cavalry, was broken, and he himself mortally wounded. He was carried into a stable and there died, in the arms of his son, who had given himself up as a prisoner rather than leave him. 7. The King came to Oxford, and he and his Queen held their Court among the old colleges. There were many skirmishes in the country round, and in one of them, at Chalgrove Field, John Hampden was shot in the neck. He died praying aloud to God to heal the wounds of his bleeding country. Lord Falkland was killed soon after in a fight at Newbury. He was glad to die ; he said he foresaw much misery to the country, and was rejoiced to be out of it. 8. A Huntingdonshire gentleman, a very active member of Parliament, named Oliver Crom- well, had told Sir Thomas Fairfax that what was wanting to his army was a firm and sturdy body of horsemen, who could always be trusted. Crom- well undertook to train such a troop, and he ad- mitted no one who was not deeply in earnest and ready to dare and bear everything. This troop, who were called CromwelVs IronsideSy soon became very terrible to the King's army, and brought great success to their own side. 9. The Scotch Covenanters had promised help to the Parliament, and they accordingly besieged York. Prince Rupert marched to relieve it, and at Marston Moor he met the English and Scottish armies together. The Scots fled, but the English BATTLE OF NASEBY. 105 stood firm, and Rupert was so completely defeated that he had to leave York to its fate, and return to the South. ID. Parliament had in the meantime been sit- ting at Westminster. It had sentenced Archbishop Laud to be beheaded, he being the fourth English Primate who had been put to a violent death. It had also forbidden the use of the Praycr-Book, and expelled from their parishes the clergymen who would not obey in this matter ; though of course this was only carried out in the places that were in the power of the Parliamentary army. 11. Cromwell had been made Lieutenant- General and the chief commander of the army, and in 164s he defeated the King most completely at the Battle of Naseby, in Northamptonshire, and took all his cannon and baggage. This was the ruin of the Royal cause : Charles left Oxford, and sent the Queen for safety to France. He soon found him- self altogether without shelter, for Bristol, which was the only important place now remaining to him, and which Rupert had been holding for him, surrendered to the Parliament. 12. The King then made up his mind to give himself up to the Scots, among whom he had been bom. Though they had taken the Covenant and had risen against him, when he had tried to make them use the Prayer-Book in their churches, he still thought they would stand by him in his distress. But they kept him as a sort of prisoner for some weeks while they made treaties with the English, and at last io6 REIGN OF CHARLES T. they gave him up to the Parliament for a large sum of money, ;^400,ooo. 13. Thus the war ended. This is only the thread of the chief events. There happened much more : there were sieges of towns and castles, brave defences, and gallant deeds, that must be read of more fully in other books. Persons: Sir John Hothtun— The Earl of Lindsay — Prince Rupert— Sir Thomas Fairfax— The Earl of Essez^John Hampden — Lord Falkland— Oliver Cromwell— Queen Hen- rietta Maria— Archbishop Laud. Batllis: Edgehilland Chalgrove, 1642— Newbuij, 1643— Harston Moor, 1644— Naseby, 1645. .-, ^^^.J^ ■»•_-=: [OXFORD CAStLt.^ MARSTON MOOR. 107 XXIV. MARSTON MOOR. (Related by a reckless old pirate, now fighting for the Parliament.) Would'ST hear the tale ? On Marston heath, Met front to front the ranks of death, Flourished the trumpets fierce, and now Fir*d was each eye, and flushed each brow ; On either side loud clamours ring, ' God and the Cause,' * God and the King;* Right English all, they rushed to blows With naught to win and ?ill to lose. I could have laughed, but lack'd the time, To see in phrenesy ^ sublime. How the fierce zealots fought and bled For King or State, as humour led : Some for a dream of public good. Some for Church tippet, gown or hood ; Draining their veins, in death to claim A patriot's 2 or a martyr's name. But I resume. The battle's rage Was like the strife which torrents wage When Orinoco ^ in his pride Rolls to the main no tribute tide, ' Phrenesy, frenzy, madness. * Patriot, a lover of his country. • Orinoco, a river in South America. The bore, or great com- motion in the waters caused by the comitv^ m ol XJaa V\AA ^^i:^^ against the current, is here compared to tVie meeXSn^^l^^ ^tcksrs*. lo8 REIGN OF CHARLES I. But, 'gainst broad ocean urges far A rival sea of roaring war, While in ten thousand eddies driven The billows fling their foam to heaven. And the pale pilot seeks in vain Where rolls the river, where the main. Even thus, upon the bloody field. The eddying tides of conflict wheel'd Ambiguous,* till that heart of flame Hot Rupert, on our squadrons came. Hurling against our spears a line Of gallants fiery as their wine. Then ours, though stubborn in their zeal, In zeal's despite began to reel. What wantest thou more ? In tumult tost Our leaders fell, our ranks were lost; A thousand men, who drew the sword For both the Houses, and the Word, Preached forth from hamlet, grange and down. To curb the crosier ^ and the crown. Now stark and stiff lie stretched in gore And ne'er shall rail at mitre more. Think not that there I stopped to view What of the battle should ensue, But as I cleared that bloody press Our northern horse ran masterlcss. Monkton and Milton told the news How troops of Roundheads crossed the Ouse, ^ Ambiguous, doubtiul. * Ciosiw, \.\ie ^v^o^'«» ^fcaff. THE FUGITIVE KING. 109 And many a bonny Scot aghast, Spurring his palfrey, northward past, Cursing the day when zeal or meed * First lured their Lesley o'er the Tweed. Yet when I reached the banks of Swalt Had rumour learnt another tale, With his barb'd horse, fresh tidings say Stout Cromwell has redeemed the day. From Rokeby^ by Sir Walter Scott, XXV. THE FUGITIVE KING. (On an incident during the wanderings of Charles I., after the attic of Naseby. It took place in Radnorshire in the year 16^5.) Cold grey cloud on the hill tops, Cold buffets of hill side rain, As a bird that they hunt on the mountain The King, he turns from Rhos lane, A writing of doom on his forehead. His eyes wan, wistful and dim. For his comrades seeking a shelter, But earth has no shelter for him. Grey silvery gleam of armour, White ghost of a wandering King, No sound but the iron-shod footfall, And the bridle chains as they ring. Save when the tears of heaven Shed thick o*er the loyal hills, Gush down in a hoarse-tongued torrent, Rude prophet of nearing ills, ' Meedy reward. REIGN OF CHARLES I. But now in wide sweeping curtains, In a solid wall comes the rain. And the troop draw bridle and hide them In the bush by the streamside plain. King Charles smiled sadly and gently, * In the Beggar's Bush,' said he, ' For I of England am beggar" d. And her be^ars may pity me.' Oh ! safe in the fadeless fir-tree The squirrel may take up his resti And the sparrow within the rafters Of God's own house has her nest But the land he lov'd well, not wisely, Will almost grudge him a grave; Then weep too late in her folly. The dark Dictator's ' slave. ^ ^ Palgrave. ' Dictator, one whose authnrily is uolimiied. It here mean Oliver CiomweU. THE KING AT CARISBROOKE. \ii XXVI. THE DEATH OF CHARLES L 1. King Charles was kept as a prisoner at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire, while the Parliament and the army were disputing. The Members of Parliament were mostly Presbyterians, and, though they disapproved of bishops, had ap- pointed ministers in every parish ; but in the army that Cromwell had trained the greater number were Independents, and held that any man who felt able to do so might preach and act as a minis- ter without being set apart for the purpose, 2. Cromwell and his army were quite as strong as the Parliament, and after four months an officer named Joyce carried off the King froni the keeping of the Parliament, and lodged him at Hampton Court, his own palace. Attempts were made to come to some settlement, but all in vain ; for the army and Parliament did not agree in what they asked, and the King would not grant all that they demanded, nor did they put faith in what he did promise. 3. Some of the more violent of the army be- came furious, and there was danger of their attack- ing the King's life. So he escaped from Hampton Court, but not finding any safe shelter, he gave himself up to Colonel Hammond, the governor of the Isle of Wight, where he was kep\. m ^wvfiww^*^ REIGN OF CHARLES /. Caatle, and there seemed to be a chance that he and the Parliament might come to an agreement which would set him on his throne aga.\u THE KING'S TRIAL. 113 4. Finding out this, General Cromwell sent a party of soldiers with Colonel Pryde, who stood at the door of the House of Commons and shut out all the members who were against the plans oC the army, leaving only about fifty, who were ready to do whatever he pleased. After this strange thin- ning out of the Parliament, the remainder were nicknamed the Siunp. 5. The remnant, at Cromwell's bidding, voted that the King should be brought to trial for treason against the nation. The House of Lords would not pass such a measure, so the Rump declared itself the chief authority in the kingdom, and ap- pointed a High Court of Justice of about 135 members. 6. The King had in the meantime attempted again to escape from Carisbrooke, but the window through which he tried to get out was too narrow, and held him fast. He had been seized there and had been taken to Hurst Castle. The patience and dignity with which he bore his troubles had touched the hearts of all who came near him, especially Colonel Hammond, who became his warm friend. 7. After this Charles was brought to the Palace of St. James's, London, and on the 20th of January, 1649, was led into Westminster Hall to be tried, as Charles Stewart^ for having levied war against the Parliament and caused the shedding of blood. He was called on to plead G\i\\fc^ ^x H^ot Guilty; but in answer he dedat^d vjVCsv \x>3S:cw H. IV. n 114 REIGN OF CHARLES L that this was no lawful court, and that it had no authority to judge him ; therefore he refused to make any reply or to plead before it. 8. Sixty-nine of the persons named as belong- ing to the Court of Justice were present, and of these fifty-nine at the end of a week signed a paper sentencing the King to be beheaded at Whitehall on the 30th of January. He was permitted to have Juxon, the Bishop of London, with him for his last day and night, which he spent in earnest prayer and preparation for death. 9. On the last evening he was allowed to see two of his children. Of the others, Charles, Prince of Wales, had long been abroad ; James, Dnke of York, had fled from Sion House, while sup- posed to be playing at hide-and-seek, and had been taken on board ship in girl's clothes ; Mary was married to the Prince of Orange ; and little Henrietta had been taken abroad disguised as a beggar's child. But Elizabeth, a girl of thirteen, and Henry, a boy of eight, were still kept at Sion House, under the care of the Duke of Northumber- land. 10. Elizabeth was old enough to write an ac- caunt - of this last meeting with her. father. He told her what books he wished her to read,, and gave her his messages to her mother and brothers. Then taking up little Henry on his knee, he. said, * Mark me, child, they will cut off thy father's head, and may perhaps make thee a King ; but mark what I say, you must not be a "Kaxv^ s>o \otv^ ^^ HIS EXECUTION. 115 your brothers Charles and James do live, for tliey will cut off your brothers' heads when they can catch them, and cut off thy head at last. There- fore, I charge thee, do not be made a King by them/ The little boy, with a deep sigh, said, * I will be torn in pieces first/ Afterwards the King gave them the few jewels he still had, and left the poor girl weeping in anguish. 11. He said that death was not terrible to him, since he thanked God that he was prepared, and he slept soundly for some hours, then prayed with the Bishop, and when called for by the guard crossed the Park to Whitehall, where he again had to wait till the scaffold was ready. * Sire,* said the Bishop, ' there is but one stage ipore, and it will carry you from earth to heaven.' * I go,' he said, *from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can be/ Then he laid his head on the block, and, after a brief prayer, he stretched out his arms as a signal to the execu- tioner, and so died in his forty-ninth year, on the 30th of January, 1649. 1 2. His body was carried to Windsor Castle, and there, through the falling snow, which whitened all the pall, he was carried to his grave in St. George's Chapel, attended by four faithful noblemen ; but no service was permitted at his burial. Persons: Oliver Cromwell— The Presbyterians— The In- dependents—Colonel Hammond— Colonel Prj^^— TVi<^ '^:osk!^ -^biurlea, Prince of Wales — James, Duke ol '^oi^ H2 ri6 REIGN OF CHARLES I. Fliua: Hddenby Houae— Hwnptoa Court— Carisbrooke CuUe— Hurst Castle— St James's PaUce— Westminster HaU— WhitebaU-Winilsor Castle. Dmt: Execntion of Charles I., 1649. On a Quiet Conscience. By King Charles I. (in Fawkes's Poetical Calendai^ Close thine eyes and sleep secure, Thy soul is safe, thy body pure ; He that guards thee, He that keeps, JVever slumbers, never sVeepa. A. quiet conscience in fhe bteaaS. THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I. 117 Has only peace, has only rest : The music and the mirth of kings Are out of tune unless she sings ; Then close thine eyes and sleep secure. XXVII. LINES BY ANDREW MARVELL* ON THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I. There, twining subtle fears with hope, He wove a net^ of such a scope, That Charles himself might chase To Car'sbrooke's narrow case, That thence the royal actor borne The tragic * scaffold might adorn, While round, the armed bands Did clap their bloody hands. He nothing common did or mean Upon that memorable scene. But with his keener eye The axe*s edge did try. Nor called the gods,^ with vulgar spite To vindicate^ his helpless right, But bow'd his comely head Down as upon a bed. ' Andrew Marvell was secretary to Cromwell, together with the poet John Milton. * It is Cromwell who * wove the net.* * Tragic, like a scene in a very sad play. * The GodSf meaning Fate or ProvVdeivce. ' Vittdicate, defend against oppos\l\on. 11 8 THE COMMONWEALTH. XXVIII. THE COMMONWEALTH. 1. Immediately after the execution of Charles I., the Rump abolished the title of King, and ap- pointed a Council of State to govern the Common- wealth of England. John Bradshaw was president of the Council, but Oliver Cromwell had really become the most powerful man in England, since he commanded the army, and no one could resist his soldiers. 2. The Irish, however, rose in favour of the son of Charles I., and Cromwell crossed over to Ireland and put down the rising with relentless severity. In the meantime the Scotch, shocked at the effect of their betrayal of their King, had proclaimed Charles XL, and invited him over to reign in their country, and be restored in England by their arms. 3. Charles entered England at the head of the Scots, but Cromwell met them at Worcester, in 165 1, and totally routed them. The young King rode away with only two gentlemen, and they had to put him in the charge of some poor woodcutters, named Penderelly near Boscobel, in Shropshire. His hair was cut, and he was dressed like a pea- sant, while he was hidden in Boscobel wood. Once he sat for some time hidden in the branches of a great oak, while the Roundheads were searching below. PRINCE CHARLES. 119 4. Afterwards he was di^uised as a groom, nd thus rode with a lady named Jane Lane on a lillion behind him ; but he was nearly found out, /hen they were stopping at an inn, because he ould not turn the spit for the cook in the kitchen. A^ile hidden in the secret room of a priest in a ioman Catholic house, he read a book which nade him at heart a Romanist, though he never laid so, because he knew that thus he should lose ill chance of reigning in England. 5. At last he reached Brighton, which was then I20 THE COMMONWEALTH. a little village, and sailed for France in a collier's vessel. His sister, Elizabeth, pined away. She was sent to Carisbrooke Castle, and there was found dead, with her cheek resting on her Bible, and after this little Henry was sent to join his mother at Paris. 6. There was a great war at sea with the Dutch, when Admiral Van Tromp sailed forth with a broom at his mast-head, saying that he meant to sweep the English fleets from their sea& But the English Admiral, Bobert Blake, was a greater commander than he, and such victories were won that the Dutch were glad to make peace. 7. The Long Parliament had lasted nineteen years, and only the fifty members called the Rump were left. As soon as they dared to bring in a bill that Cromwell disapproved, he marched into the House of Commons, with some soldiers, and told them that he had come to put an end to their prating, and that they were no Parliament. Point- ing to the mace, he said to his soldiers, *Take away that fooFs bauble.' He then locked the door, and put the key in his pocket, 8. He afterwards summoned, by name, a sort of Parliament of 150 persons, which is com- monly called Barebone's Parliament, from the name of one of the members. These men soon gave up all their powers to Cromwell, and he took the title of Protector, and reigned with all the powers of a king. 9. He was a large tall man, of coarse features DISMISSAL OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 131 122 THE COMMONWEALTH. and rough manners, but with kindly feelings beneath. He was harsh and severe at times, but never wantonly cruel. He was a man of g^eat ability, wisdom and prudence, and could speak most ably and to the point when he chose, but when he did not want to make his meaning plain, he wrapped it up in a strange mist of words that no one could understand. 10. The Cavaliers thought him a mere ambi- tious hypocrite, rebel, and murderer ; the Round- heads, a most religious patriot It is not easy to say which were right, nor whether he was deceiv- ing himself by thinking he only took the foremost place because no one but he could bring back order. 11. In the five years that he ruled, he certainly brought England into a peaceful state, and he made his power much respected abroad. He went to war with the Spaniards, and the island of Ja- maica, in the West Indies, was taken from them ; and he made an alliance with the King of France. On this, the young Charles and his brother James, Duke of York, had to leave Paris and go to Hol- land. James fought in the army of the King of Spain. Henry was left at Paris, where his mother tried to make him a Roman Catholic, but he stoutly resisted, until his brother sent for him to Holland. Queen Henrietta and her little daughter remained at Paris, where they were so poor that the Princess .sometimes had to lie in bed for want of firing. DEATH OF OLIVER CROMWELL. 123 12. Cromwell was much harassed by the plots of those who disapproved of his power, Cavaliers on the one hand, and on the other, those who had never meant to set him up when they put the King down. His health began to give way, and after the death of his favourite daughter, he never recovered his spirits. He died of an ague, on the 3rd of September, 1658. 13. His son, Bichard, was acknowledged as Protector, but he had hitherto lived a quiet country life, and had not his father's strength of will and force of hand. He felt unequal to his position, and, in less than a year, he resigned the Protectorship and went back to his quiet life. 14. The officers of the army now called to- gether the remains of the old Long Parlianient, forty-two in number, to decide what was next to be done ; but the army and the Parliament found it as impossible to agree as it had been before Cromwell took the lead. In the meantime George Monk, one of the generals, wrote to the young Charles in Holland, offering his support provided the King would promise a general pardon, and likewise toleration, that is, that no one should be persecuted for his faith. 15. Charles sent from Breda a declaration of his intentions. This satisfied the army, and a new House of Commons which had been elected. It was voted that the Government ought to consist of King, Lords, and Commons, and in 1660, Charles II. was invited to return. 124 REIGN OF CHARLES IL i» Persons: Oliver Cromwell— John Bradshaw— Charles II. — The Princess Elizabeth — Van Tromp — Robert Blake — Barebone's Parliament — Richard Cromwell — Georg^e Monk. Places • Ireland— Jamaica. Dates : Battle of Worcester, 1651- Death of Oliver Crom- well, 1658— Declaration of Breda, x66a XXIX. THE RESTORATION. 1. Charles 11. rode into London with his two brothers, James, Duke of York, and Henry, Duke of Gloucester, on the 29th of May, 1660. The streets were full of people, and they showed such delight that he declared he could not think why he had remained away so long, since everyone seemed so glad to see him. One regiment of the old army was made the King's guard and was never disbanded, and this was the first beginning of our standing army. A standing army is a body of men specially trained and maintained for warlike purposes, and making war their whole profession. 2. There was great thankfulness on the part of good men that the Restoration had been brought about without shedding any blood. Charles, how- ever, excepted from his pardon the men who had actually condemned his father to death, and who were called the regicides or * king-killers.' Fourteen were executed, and the bodies of Cromwell and MILTON AND BUNYAN. 125 Bradshaw were taken from their graves and hanged on Tyburn gallows. 3. Some of the leaders of Commonwealth times were imprisoned and others fled to America. Cromwell's secretary, John Milton, had in his early youth written those charming verses, the Allegro and Penseroso. In the disturbed times, he had chiefly been busied on political papers, but after the Restoration he lost his sight, and spent his time in dictating to his daughters his two great poems, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. 4. The .bishops and clergy who had been driven out by the Long Parliament were restored to their sees and parishes. All ministers were called upon to conform to the Prayer-Book, and such as refused to do so were turned out of the livings that they held. They were not allowed to hold meetings of more than five persons for praying and preaching even outside a church, and those who went to such meetings were fined or imprisoned, which was not according to the King's promise of toleration. John Bnnyan, a tinker, wrote the Pilgrim's Pro^ gress while thus imprisoned. 5. The King was of a very easy, careless nature, loving pleasure and amusement more than anything else, and, as he said, resolved on one thing, that he would never have to go on his travels again. He was very clever, witty, and good- natured, but he hated trouble and was easily led. The description of him was very true which was chalked on his door by one of his friends : — 126 REIGN OF CHARLES 11. Here lies our sovereign lord the King, Whose word no man relies on, Who never said a foolish thing, And never did a wise one. 6. Charles's youngest brother, Henry, died of small-pox soon after his return. The other brother, James, Duke of York, had married Anne Hyde, the daughter of Charles's minister. Lord Clarendon. 7. The Duke of York and Prince Rupert beat the Dutch in a great sea fight near Lowestoft in 1665 ; but that year was a very sad one, for London was visited by a most dreadful attack of the deadly sickness called the Plague. Numbers fled, and each house that was infected was fastened up, with a red cross marked in chalk on the door. No one was allowed to go in or out, except persons ap- pointed to bring food or medicine to the sick. Carts went along the streets at nights, the drivers ringing a bell, and calling ' bring out your dead.' The corpses were thrown into pits without any burial service. 8. Whole rows of houses were left empty, and the grass began to grow in the streets ; indeed 100,000 people are said to have died before the weather became colder, and thus checked the disease. Without doubt it was in great part caused by the dirt in the old houses, and the narrowness of the streets. 9. Therefore, the Great Fire which broke out in the City of London the next year, though it seemed THE FIRE OF LONDON. 127 a great misfortune, was really a great benefit. It began on the 2nd of September, 1666, in a baker's shop near the river, and, after raging for four days, was only stopped near the Temple by the blowing up of houses, by orders of the King and the Duke of York, who did all in their power to save life and stop the mischief. ID. St. Paul's Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, the Guildhall, and eighty-nine parish churches were burnt down by this fire, which curiously enough began at Pie Corner and ended at Pudding Lane. The people fancied that the fire had been the work of Roman Catholics, and they even caused an inscription to that effect to be placed on the Monument, which was set up in memory of the fire, and of which the poet, Alexander Pope (him- self a Roman Catholic), wrote, London's tall column, pointing to the skies, Like a tall bully, lifts its head and lies. 11. Peace was offered to Holland, but while negotiations were being concluded, and the English thought the war over, the Dutch fleet suddenly sailed up the Medway and burnt Chatham dock* yard. 12. However, peace was made the next year, but there was so much discontent against Lord Clarendon that he gave up the Ministry and left England. In his retirement, he wrote a full History of the Rebellion and of his own time, with descrfptions of all the principal people. t2S REIGN OF CHARLES 11. P.rsimi : Charles II.— Jflmes. Duke of York— John MitUm — John Bunjan — Lord Clarendon. Dalis: Accessign of Charles II., iti6o— The PlaguCi KMs —The Great Fire, 1666. [THE DUTCH FLEttT II THE OLD CAVALIER. 129 XXX. THE OLD CAVALIER. (The Cavaliers who had fought for the King were much dis- Ajppoiiited in Charles II., who neglected them much, and lived so tvil a life. This- poem expresses the feelings of one of these gentle- who naturally felt strongly against the Parliamentary party.) For our martyr'd Charles I pawned my plate, For his son I spent my all, That a churl might dine, and drink my wine, And preach in my father's hall. That father died on Marston Moor, My son on Worcester plain. But the King he turned his back on me '" When he got his own again. I now am poor and lonely. This cloak is worn and old, But yet it warms my loyal heart Through sleet, and rain, and cold, When I call to mind the Cavaliers, Bold, Rupert at their head. Bursting through blood and fire, with cries That might have waked the dead. Then spur and sword was the battle word And we made their helmets ring, Howling, like madmen, all the time For God and for the King. ff. IV. I Ijo REJGN OF CHARLES II. And though they snuffled Psalms, to give The rebel dogs their due, When the roaring shot poured close and hot They were stalwart men and true. On the fatal field of Naseby, When Rupert lost the day, By hanging on the flying crowd Like a lion on his prey, I stood and fought it out until, In spite of plate and steel, The blood that left my veins that day Flowed up above my heel. And certainly it made those quail Who never quailed before. To look upon the awful front Which Cromwell's horsemen wore, I felt that every hope was gone When I saw their squadrons form, And gather for the final charge Like the coming of the storm. Oh, where was Rupert in that hour Of danger, toil, and strife } It would have been to all brave men Worth a hundred years of life, To have seen that black and gloomy force As it poured down in line, Met midway by the Royal horse And Rupert of the Rhine. THE CABAL. 131 All this is over now, and I Must travel to the tomb, Though the King I served has got his own. In poverty and gloom. Well, well, I served him for himself. So I must not now complain. But I often wish that I had died With my son on Worcester plain. Sir Francis Hastings Dovle. (Abridged. ) XXXI. THE PAPIST AND RYE-HOUSE PLOTS. 1. The Ministry that succeeded that of Cla- rendon was called the Cabal, because that word can be formed from the initials of the members of it, Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale. They began another war with Spain, with Sweden and Holland for allies, to keep down the power of Louis XIV., King of France. 2. However, Charles's youngest sister, Hen- rietta, had married the French King's brother, and she was sent to persuade her brother to change his mind, and to offer pensions to him and to his chief advisers, if they would join with France. Charles and his friends agreed to all that was proposed, and the King even promised to declare himself a Roman Catholic, as he was already at heart. Louis was to help him with troops in case his people should I 2 132 REIGN OF CHARLES II. rise against him in consequence, but this article was, of course, kept secret. 3. Charles II. did not dare to avow his real belief, but the Duke of York, who was always the more honest of the two, openly joined the Church of Rome, and so did his wife, Anne Hyde ; but their two daughters, Haiy and Anne, held fast to the English Church, and Mary soon after married her cousin, William, Prince of Orange, the son of Charles I.'s daughter Mary, and the chief enemy of Louis XIV. 4. The country was in a very uneasy state. The King and his Queen, Catherine of Portugal, had no child, and there was much distress at his next heir being a Romanist. People were (as we have seen by their notion about the Fire of London) ready to believe anything against the Romanists, and an idea went abroad that there was a plot for murdering the King, in order to set the Duke of York on the throne. 5. A wicked clergyman, named Titus Oates, pretended to have been told all the plot, and went to a magistrate to make a declaration of what he knew. Soon afterwards, this magistrate was killed by some ruffians. No one knows who they were, or why it was done, but, of course, it was supposed that the Papists did it, and at the funeral, the clergyman, who preached, had a man with a loaded pistol standing on each side, to protect him. 6. Everybody was wild "wvth fear about this Popish plot Only the King \a\ig\ve^>vi€\\;xv^^iwM|, THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT. 133 that he was as much liked as his brother was dis- liked : * Nobody would kill me to make James King,* he said ; but he let the people do as they pleased, and Titus Oates was impudent enough to accuse not only the Queen's doctor, but Queen Catherine her- self, of meaning to poison the King. 7. The King stopped the wretch when he had gone as far as this, but numbers of people were thrown into prison on these charges, and fifteen were even put to death, though there really never was any Popish plot at all. 8. One good thing was done at this time. In the Parliament of 1679 ^^ Act was passed forbid- ding the keeping people in prison without a trial, or with the sentence not executed, as had been done with Raleigh and Eliot. This is called the act of Habeas Corpus, because the first words mean in Latin ' If thou hast his body.' 9. There was all this time much disturbance in Scotland. Charles had renewed the attempt to make the people accept the Prayer-Book, and place their Church under bishops, but the Covenanters were resolved against these changes. They were harshly used, and in their rage they shot the newly appointed Archbishop Sharpe. Soldiers were sent under Colonel Graham of Claverhouse, who treated them savagely, and they rose in rebellion, but were beaten at Bothwell Bridge in 1679, and then Claverhouse's troopers persecuted them cruelly, shooting down those whom they ca^tute.d ^ preachings among the moors, ot ^2l^Kavg, ^€\t 134 REIGN OF CHARLES II. ministers to Edinburgh, where they were tortured and hanged for their resistance to the law. ID. Half the nation wanted to shut out James from succeeding to the Crown, and to guard what- ever freedom they had gained. They were called by the nickname of Whigs. This word came from Scotland, and is said to mean ' sour buttermilk/ or, as some say, the word was really Whigamore, and meant ' a driver of horses.* It was given because the Scots Covenanters were many of them farmers and country people. 11. The other half of the nation were resolved to uphold the King's power at all costs, whatever he might do, and were afraid that a bad use might be made of liberty ; and they thought that nothing ought to put the natural heir out of the line of succession. These were nicknamed Tories, from an Irish word for robbers, because all the Irish Romanists, of course, wished James to be their King. 12. At this very time likewise the French King was trying to force all his Protestant subjects to join his Church, and using them so cruelly that many families fled, and made new homes in Eng- land, where there was a great subscription for them. Many of them, who were silk-weavers, settled in Spitalfields, and carried on their trade for many years there. 13. There was a lady named Lucy Waters, who declared that Charles II. had married her while he was in exile, and that their son was the right THE RYEHOUSE PLOT. 135 heir to the crown. Charles had made him Duke of Monmouth, and married him to a great Scottish heiress. He was a Protestant, and many persons hoped that he might be King. 14. A bill was brought into Parliament to shut out Roman Catholics from the throne, but it was not passed. Then some of the chief Whig leaders began to hold consultations as to what way they should take of hindering James from doing harm, or else of giving the Crown either to the Duke of Monmouth or to the Prince and Princess of Orange. 15. Some wild bad men of the party meant to hide themselves in a barn called the Byehouse and shoot the King and the Duke of York on their way to the Newmarket races. One, however, informed against the rest, and all the gentlemen who had been planning against the Duke were accused of being concerned in it, though most of them had never known of the murderous part of the scheme. 16. Monmouth and some of the plotters fled to Holland, but the others were arrested and tried. William, Lord Bussell, the Earl of Essex, and Algernon Sydney, were all condemned to die. Lord Russell's wife, Lady Rachel, sat by him and wrote like a clerk for him all through his trial, and comforted him nobly till he went forth to his death. 17. Charles went on with his easy, careless, vicious life till he was suddenly struck with apo- plexy, and lay dying so many hours, that, with his 136 REIGN OF CHARLES II. usual habit of good nature, he begged his people's pardon for being so long in dying. At the last, he was secretly received into the Church of Rome by the priest whose book had converted him, though he never had spoken the truth about it all these years. He died in the year 1685, having reigned twenty-five years, and having done much harm by his bad example. Persons : The Cabal— Louis XIV. of France— The Duke and Duchess of York —Mary and Anne, daughters of the Duke of York— William, Prince of Orange— Titus Oates/— Archbishop Sharpe — Colonel Graham of Claverhouse — The Whigs— The Tories— The Duke of Monmouth— William, Lord Russell. Dates: Battle of Bothwell Bridge and Act of Habeas Corpus, 1679— Death of Charles II., 1685. XXXII. THE REVOLUTION. 1. James 11. was at once owned as King in 1685, but the Duke of Monmouth thought he had a party strong enough to overthrow his uncle. He was to raise the people in England, and the Duke of Argyle was to call up those in Scotland, but the latter was seized immediately on his landing, and put to death. 2. Monmouth landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, and was greeted by many as the true King James H., numerous persons gathering round him as he ACCESSION OF JAMES IL 137 went on into Somersetshire. At Taimtony twenty- seven little girls from a young ladies' school met him and presented him with a Bible and a banner, and he was so graceful and courteous that all were charmed with him. 3. The army, however, stood firm by the King, and under Lord Feversham and Oenexal Clmrcliill marched against Monmouth. Neither the Duke nor his people knew much about war, and in the battle of Sedgemoor they were totally defeated and dispersed. Monmouth fled into Hampshire on foot, and was taken there, hiding in a ditch, in a labourer's coat, half starved, and with only a few dried peas in his pocket. 4. He was taken to London, where he begged hard to speak with his uncle ; and James saw him, but was resolved not to forgive him, and would not listen to his promises, and he was executed. James was a grave, stem, unforgiving man, who thought that his father had been ruined by not being severe enough, and he would show no mercy. 5. Unhappily there was then a most wicked Judge named JefBreys, and he was sent to try the rebels, while Colonel Kirke, with some savage soldiers, hunted them out Some were shot, or died under Kirke*s cruelty, others were brought before Jeffreys, who ordered great numbers of them to be hanged. A good old lady in Hampshire, nahied Alice Lisle, respected by everyone, was hanged for having sheltered a rebel in her house for one night. The only way in which it was possible RFIGN OF JAMES II. for anyone to escape was to giv.e a heavy bribe to the judge. 6. The poor Uttle at Taunton were all THE SEVEN BISHOPS. 139 thrown into prison, where one of them died of fright at the judge's terrible voice and scowl. They were only set free when their parents had paid what amounted to ;^7,ooo as fines for them. Judge Jeffreys* father was so much ashamed of him that he refused to see him, and yet the King made him Lord Chancellor. 7. James was putting Roman Catholics into every place of trust, though this was in violation of a law passed in his brother's time and called the Test Act, which required all magistrates and members of Parliament to be communicants qf the Church of England. 8. In 1687, he issued a declaration that there were henceforth to be no fines or other penalties for those who did not belong to the Church of England, and all clergymen were required to read it from their pulpits. Now, though toleration is wise and right in itself, the King had no power to change the law without his Parliament, and besides, everyone knew that he was only doing this for the sake of the Roman Catholics, and that he really hated the other Nonconformists, while he seemed to be benefiting them. 9. Therefore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bancroft, and six more Bishops would not send orders to their clergy to read the declaration, and wrote a letter to the King, explaining their reasons. It was a very respectful letter, but James and his judges said it was a libel and sent the seven Bishops to the Tower, to be tried. HO REIGN OF JAMES 21. 10. As they went, the people in the streets fell down on their knees to ask their blessing. So did the sentinels who guarded them, and the heart of the whole country was with them. They were tried in Westminster Hall, and were fully acquitted. Never was there such rejoicing : bon- fires were lighted everywhere, seven candles were placed in every window, and the shouts even of the soldiers were so loud that the King heard them in Whitehall, and said, ' So much the worse for them.* 11. All this time, the hope of the people was in the future, as the King's two daughters, Mary and Anne, were both Protestants, and so were their husbands. Their mother, Anne Hyde, was dead, and the King had married an Italian wife, Mary Beatrice of Este, whose children had hitherto died as soon as they were born, but in the midst of the excitement about the Bishops, she gave birth ' to a living and healthy son. 12. The birth of this child caused great dismay. Numbers of people did not scruple to say that it was all a cheat, and that he was not the Queen's child at all. Even those who knew that this was an absurd fancy were filled with alarm at the ex- pectation of the reign of one bred up as was sure to be the case with this little James Francis. 13. William, Prince of Orange, had been all this time on the watch. Not only was he the husband of James's eldest daughter; but he was the next heir after the children of James, being THE ENGLISH REVOLUTIOM 14 1 the son of Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I. He was a cool, wary, prudent man, with a dry stiff manner, and had all his life been defending the Dutch against Louis XIV., the friend of James. 14. He took this opportunity for landing at Tor*, bay with a chosen army composed of Dutch troops and Scottish and English exiles, and published a declaration that he had. come to redress the wrongs of the nation and protect their faith. Crowds flocked to him. The King waited in doubt, but soon sent away his wife and child to France for safety ; and it was time, for one officer after another left James's army to join William, and the King found it vain to attempt to defend himself. 15. His daughter Anne and her husband de- serted him, and, in his grief and despair, he left London, throwing the Great Seal into the Thames ; but he was seized on the way, and brought back again. The Prince of Orange, however, did not wish to keep him, and took care that he should be allowed to escape a second time. Louis XIV. received him most kindly, gave him the palace of St. Germain to live in, and undertook to do his utmost to recover his crown for him. Thus took place what is called the English Bevolution of 1688. Persons: James II. — The Dukes of Monmouth and Argyle — Lord Fevcrsham — General Churchill— Judge Jeffreys — Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury— Mary Beatrice of Este —Prince James Francis— William, Prince of Orange— Mary, his wife— The Princess Anne— Louis XIV. of France. Dates: Accession of James II., and battle of Sedgemoor, 1685- The English Revolution, x688. 142 REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY. XXXIII. WILLIAM III. AND MARY II. 1. James II. having fled, the Parliament, after some disputing, offered the Crown to William, Prince of Orange, and Mary his wife, giving him all the power as King, although the figure of Mary's head was placed together with his upon the coins. It was further enacted that no Romanist, nor person married to a Romanist, should ever reign in England, and that the Sovereign had no right to set aside the laws, but must always act with the consent of Parliament. 2. Queen Mary came to join her husband. She was a grand-looking stately lady, and was far better liked than her husband, who was a foreigner in all his ways, and had shy, rude, reserved manners. He was an able, active general, though his health was very bad : he suffered constantly from asthma, and looked like a living skeleton. Mary was devoted to him, and was called by the Tories too bad a daughter and too good a wife, since she was thought to show little feeling for her father. Indeed, when she sent to ask Arch- bishop Sancroft's blessing, he bade her first seek that of her father. 3. A new oath of allegiance was drawn up, but many of those who had sworn fealty to James II. thought that their first oath would be broken if THE JACOBITES. 143 they swore to another King in the lifetime of the first. Among these were the Archbishop and seven more Bishops, four of them, like himself, being the same who had so bravely withstood James's un- lawful measures. After waiting to see whether they would change their opinion as to their duty, they were deprived of their sees, and 400 clergy also left their parishes on the same grounds. They were called Hon-jnrors, that is, * not- swearers.* 4. The terms of the British Constitution may then be said to have been fully fixed. Every law is made by consent of the Commons, who are elected by the counties and the borough towns ; of the Peers, who inherit>their rights, or have them given for their services ; and of the Sovereign. When all have consented, the measure is an Act of Parlia- ment and is Law; while only under consideration it is called a Bill. Only the Commons can deal with money matters. 5. The persons who still held by King James and were ready to fight in his cause were called Jacobites, from Jacobus^ the Latin form of his name. Among them were all the Scots who were not Covenanters. They rose, under Graham of Claverhouse, to whom James had given the title of Visconnt Dnndee, and they defeated the King's troops at the pass of Killiecrankie ; but Dundee was killed in the moment of victory, and the Scots were disheartened and returned to their homes. 6. A day was fixed for the Highland chiefs to come to Edinburgh and swear allegiance to 144 REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY. William, and most of them did so, but one^Hacdonald of Olencoe, was delayed. His enemies took advan- tage of this, and persuaded the King to sign an order for his punishment Then Captain Campbell, an old enemy of Macdonald, with 120 soldiers, marched to Glencoe. After a peaceable stay of twelve days, they fell on the unhappy chief and his family and clan, killing every creature, man, woman, and child. This was the dreadful Massacre of Glencoe. 7. King James, with the help promised him by Louis XIV., landed in Ireland, and was eagerly welcomed by the Roman Catholics, but the northern province, Ulster, had^beeri filled with Protestants by Elizabeth, JamesJ and Cromwell, and they — especially the people of Londonderry — were resolved to hold out against James. 8. There were so few soldiers in Londonderry that their commander would not have held out, but the apprentice-boys shut the gates of the town with their own hands, and the townsmen took up the defence, under the command of a clergyman named Walker. King Jaihes himself blockaded the place, and tjjere was such dreadful hunger there that dogs, cats, horses, tallow, and starch were eaten up, while the starving people could see the English fleet in Lough Foyle laden with provisions, but not daring to come in ; till at last a great effort was made, the ships forced their way in, and the patient people were relieved after having held out for 105 days. THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 145 9. King James went back to Dublin and held an Irish Parliament there, but in 1690 William himself landed in Ireland, and on the ist of July the two Kings, father-in-law and son-in-law, fought the great battle of the Boyne, in which William was slightly wounded, but gained a complete victory. James fled to Dublin, and thence to Waterford, where he embarked for France. Limerick held out for him for a year, but was forced at last to vield to William's forces. 10. The French fleet, however, defeated the English off* Beachy Head. It was thought that this was because the English Admiral Herbert was secretly a Jacobite, and he was dismissed from the service. However, Admiral Russell x^^A^ up for this defeat by giving the French fleet a most severe beating off" Cape La Hogne, just as James was going to embark in it to invade England. The battle lasted five days, and he watched it all the time. Having been a commander at sea himself, he could not help crying out with pride, * See my brave English sailors.' 11. It was after this battle that Queen Mary founded Oreenwich Hospital for disabled sailors of the royal navy ; just as her uncle, Charles II., had founded Chelsea Hospital for old soldiers. 12. Mary managed the government when her husband was away. They had an anxious reign, for it was hard to tell whom to trust. A set of statesmen had grown up who had very little honour or virtue, and cared chiefly for their own safety H. IV. K 146 REIGN OF WILLIAM IIL and interest; and as no one could then guess whether James might not come back, persons, who outwardly served William were really writing to assure James of their friendship and support. 13. It was a great shock when Queen Mary II. died of the small-pox in 1694. Her husband had been cold and neglectful of her at times, but he was in an agony of grief at her death, and she was mourned for by almost all the nation. She left no children, and this v/as considered by the country to be a great misfortune. Persons: William III. and Mary II. — The Non-jurors— The Jacobites— Viscount Dundee— Macdonald of Glencoe— Admiral Herbert— Admiral Russell. Places : Killiecrankie— Londonderry — Limerick — Beachy Head— Cape La Hogue — Greenwich Hospital — Chelsea Hospital Dates: Accession of William and Mary, 1688— Battle of the Bojrne, 1690— Death of Queen Mary II., t^\. XXXIV. THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. I. William III. was to go on reigning, though his wife was dead ; next to him Anne, the other daughter of James II., was to reign. She was mar- ried to George, a son of the King of Denmark, a very dull, helpless man, who was declared never to say anything but * Is it possible ? ' (in French) whenever anything was told to him. All her children died in infancy except one son, William, Duke of Glou- cester, who was looked on as the future King, until he also died when he was seven years old, in 1700. THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT 147 2. Then it had to be considered who should reign after the Princess Anne. William III. was an only child, and the children of Charles I.'s daughter Henrietta Stewart were Roman Catholics. So in 1 70 1 the ParHament passed on to the numerous family of Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of James I. ; but most of these were dead, and their children had become Romanists. There only remained the youngest daughter, Sophia, who had married a Ger- man prince, the Duke of Brunswick and Elector of Hanover, and to her and her son Oeorge the crown was to descend after the Princess Anne. This was called the Act of Settlement. 3. In the meantime a great European war was about to begin. King Charles II. of Spain was the last man of his family, and as his sisters and aunts had married into the royal lines of Austria and of France, the heir was to be found in one of these families. The really direct heir was the Dauphin, but the other nations of Europe — who were already much afraid of France becoming too powerful — would not suffer Spain to be joined with it. So the Dauphin gave up his claims in favour of his second son, Philip ; and when in 1700 Charles died, his will named this same Philip as his heir. 4. However, this was almost as much for the advantage of France as if the Dauphin himself had succeeded. Indeed, when Louis XIV. saluted his grandson as Philip IV. of Spain, he said, * There are no more Pyrenees,' meaning there was no barrier between the two countries. Now, the grandmother 148 REIGN OF WILLIAM IIL of Philip had renounced all her claims to Spain when she was married, but the wife of the Emperor, who was a younger sister, had not done so. There- fore, the Emperor declared his own second son, the Archduke Charles, to have the best right. 5. William III. promised the Emperor to take Charles's part. He was the more angry with Louis XIV. because, when James II. died in 1701, the French King had acknowledged the Prince of Wales, or, as the Whigs called him, the Pretender, as James IIL the only true King of England. 6. However, before the war began, while William was riding out from his palace at Hampton Court, his horse trod into a mole-hill, stumbled, and threw him. His collar-bone was broken, and this, in his weak state of health, caused his death in the year 1702. No one had much liked him, but he had been a very wise and able King, very patient, strong and prudent. The Jacobites, who hated him, used to drink the health of 'the little gentleman in a black velvet coat,' meaning the mole which had caused his death. XXXV. THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION (continued). I. Queen Anne was at once crowned. She was a very good, pious, well-meaning woman, but very slow, dull, and ignorant, and her husband. Prince George of Denmark, was not likely to help ACCESSION OF ANNE, 149 her. From her childhood she had been led by her greatest friend, Sarah Jennings, a clever, high- spirited girl, who had married General Churchill, the greatest captain in Europe, and a good-natured and kind-hearted man, who would deserve much admiration if it had not been for his double dealing ways under James and William. 2. The title of Earl of Marlborough had been given to Churchill, arid he was sent out to take the command of the army. The French had begun to invade Germany, Marlborough joined the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy, and in 1704 at Blenheim, in Bavaria, gave the French a thorough defeat, taking their general and i,2CX) officers prisoners. 3. The same year Admiral Rooke took from the Spaniards the fortress of Gibraltar, which the English have kept ever since, because it guards the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The Archduke Charles meant to try to win Spain, and the Earl of Peterborough was sent to fight for him. They took the city of Barcelona, and subdued all the eastern part of Spain, but Charles's German officers were tardy and timid. Lord Peterborough was hot and fiery, they quarrelled, he was recalled, and nothing went well with the Archduke after- wards. The English army in Spain was com- manded by a French exiled Protestant noble, who had been made Earl of Oalway, when they were defeated by the French, under the Duke of Berwick, a Jacobite exile, and thus on the only occasion in ISO REIGN OF ANNE. this war when the victory was against the British, it was when the French were commanded by an Englishman, and the EngHsh by a Frenchman. 4. The Netherlands belonged to Spain, but Louis XIV. much wished for land there, and sent his armies to win it. But over them Marlborough and Eugene won very great victories — namely, those of Samillies, Oudenarde, and Halplaquet. They also besieged Lille, and many other cities. The French were very brave, and had excellent leaders, but no one could stand against the skill of Marlborough. He was so courteous that all the other commanders, his allies, respected and loved him. He took great care of his soldiers, and always was careful of the wounded. Thus he carried all before him, France was quite broken down and worn out, and he was nearly ready to march to Paris. 5. There was, however, a great change taking place at home, and it was chiefly his wife's fault She and the Queen had always been such friends that they laid aside their titles and called each other Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman ; but the Duchess of Marlborough was a proud, passionate woman, and the Queen's" favour and her husband's greatness so puffed her up, that she scolded and domineered over her mistress till there was no bearing it any longer. When the Queen went in state to St. Paul's to give thanks for the victory at Oudenarde, she was in tears because the Duchess had been scolding her for altering the arrangement of her jewels. THE PEACE OF UTRECHT. ■5' 6. The Queen then poured out her griefs to Kt8. Hasham, a poor cousin of the Duchess. This lady brought in secretly a gentleman named Harley, to whom the Queen gave her confidence. He was a Tory, and was inclined to pity the state of France, and to think the war had gone far enough, and Anne was ready to do anything to be free of the Duchess, So Marlborough, in the height of his glory, was forbidden to do any more, peace was made, and as the Archduke Charles lost his elder brother and became Emperor, he gave up his claims on Spain, and the War of the Spanish Succession was ended by the Peace of Utreobt, in the year 17 13. Marlborough was most ungratefully treated, he was accused of having misused the public money, and was obliged to go into exile until Queen Anne's reign was over. [ORLEANS HOUSE, T52 REJGN OF ANNE. Persons: Queen Anne— Prince George of Denmark- Sophia, Electress of Hanover— Her son George— Philip IV. of Spain— The Archduke Charles— The Pretender— The Duke of Marlborough— Prince Eugene of Savoy— The Eari of Peterborough— The Earl of Galway— The Duke of Ber- VTick— Mrs. Masham— Harley. DaUs: Act of Settlement, 1701— Death of William III., 1702— Battle of Blenheim and Capture of Gibraltar, 1704 — Peace of Utrecht, 1713. XXXVI. THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM. It was a summer evening. Old Kaspar*s work was done. And he, before his cottage door, Was sitting in the sun, While by him sported on the green. His little grandchild, Wilhelmine. She saw her brother Peterkin Roll something large and round, Which he beside the rivulet, In playing there had found. He came to ask what he had found, That was so large and smooth and round. Old Kaspar took it from the boy. Who stood expectant by, And then the old man shook his head, And with a natural sigh, * Tis some poor fellow's skull,' said he, * Who fell in the great victory? THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM. 153 * I find them in the garden, For there's many hereabout, And often, when I go to plough, The ploughshare turns them out : For many thousand men, ' said he, * Were slain in that great victory.* ' Now tell us what 'twas all about,' Young Peterkin, he cries. And little Wilhelmine looks up With wonder-waiting eyes ; * Now tell us all about the war. And what they fought each other for.* * It was the English,' Kaspar cried, * Who put the French to rout, But what they fought each other for I could not well make out, But everybody said,' quoth he, * It was a famous victory. * My father lived at Blenheim then. Yon little stream hard by, They burnt his dwelling to the ground, And he was forced to fly. So with his wife and child he fled. Nor had he where to lay his head. * With fire and sword the country round Was wasted far and wide, And many an ailing mother there And new-born baby died. 154 REIGN OF ANNE. But things like that you know must be At every famous victory. * They say it was a shocking sight, After the fight was won, For many thousand bodies there, Lay rotting in the sun. But things like that you know must be After each famous victory. ' Great praise the Duke of Malbro* won, And our good Prince Eugene.* * Why 'twas a very wicked thing,' Said little Wilhelmine. * Nay, nay, my little girl,' quoth he, * It was a famous victory. * And everybody praised the Duke, Who the great fight did win ! * * But what good came of it at last ? * Quoth little Peterkin. * Nay, that I cannot tell,' said he, * But 'twas a famous victory.' Robert Southey. XXXVII. THE UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. I. While the War of the Spanish Succession was going on the Queen's ministers were Whigs. In the year 1707 the Union of England and Scotland UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 155 took place. Ever since James VI. of Scotland had become King of England, 105 years before, the two countries had had the same King, and yet they had been separate kingdoms, each with a Parlia- ment of its own ; one meeting at Edinburgh, and the other in London. 2. By the Union the two Parliaments were joined together, so that the Scottish members for counties and towns had to come and sit at Westminster in the English House of Commons, and the Scottish peers chose sixteen of their number to represent them in the English House of Lords. The Union was a very good thing for Scotland, which has prospered greatly ever since, but at first many persons disliked it extremely, and it made many Scots become Jacobites in the hope of getting a king and kingdom to themselves. 3. When Queen Anne had quarrelled with the Duchess of Marlborough and had Tories about her instead of Whigs, the Jacobites began to have hopes ; for the Queen was left all alone in the world. Her husband died in 1708, and she began to yearn towards her brother in France ; and would never invite her cousin, the Electress Sophia, to England, much to the disappointment of that lady, who reckoned much on being a Queen. However, she died the year before Queen Anne. 4. Many very able men lived in this reign. Sir Christopher Wren had planned St. Paul's Cathe- dral and many churches and public buildings, instead of those burnt down in the Fire of London, 156 REIGN OF ANNE. all of them in the old Greek style of building, which was then more admired than the Gothic. There were many poets, of whom Alexander Pope is now the best known ; Jonathan Swift wrote very droll, but coarse and spiteful, books in mockery of the Whig Government and of the foolish and evil habits of the day; and Joseph Addison set up a magazine called the Spectator^ which came out twice a week, and in which he and his friends did their best — sometimes seriously, sometimes playfully — to raise and improve people's minds, and to get them out of their bad customs. Tea and coffee were just coming into use, and the wits — as the clever men were called — used to meet at coffee-houses for conversation. 5. None of all this brilliancy came near the Queen. She hardly ever read anything, and the per- sons of her court had little occupation as she grew old except gossip and card-playing, though she was a kind good woman, as far as she knew how to be, and nobody wished to do her any harm ; but much trouble was expected at her death. Her Tory friends, however, quarrelled in her very presence. Harley was dismissed ; and she was so frightened and distressed that she had a fit, and while she lay speechless and dying, those about her persuaded her to make a sign that tiie Duke of Shrewsbnry, a Whig, should take Harley's place. 6. Thus the Whigs took all their measures for keeping the country quiet before her death, which took place in August, 1714, They immediately ACCESSION OF GEORGE I. 157 proclaimed the Elector of Hanover King George I., and sent to invite him over ; but he was fifty-four years old, he liked his home in Germany much better than England, and would not thrust himself on the nation unless they were resolved to have him, so that stwtn weeks passed before he came to London. 7. People were disappointed in him, for he was a silent, awkward man, and could not speak Eng- lish, nor did he try to make himself at home. He had believed cruel stories of his wife, Sophia Doroihea of Zelle, and kept her shut up in a castle in Germany, and there was so little to like about him that it was only the fear of the Stewarts* love of tyranny and of the Romish Church that kept the nation firm to him. 8. Young James Stewart had only waited for his sister's death to claim the Crown, hoping that she would name him as her heir. Old Louis XIV. promised help, but he had reigned seventy years — through five English reigns — and he died during the winter that followed the death of Queen Anne. However, the Scots who hated the Union, and the English Jacobites, who were very strong in the north, resolved to make a rising in favour of the heir of the Stewarts. 9. In September, 17 15, the Earl of Mar and the Highland chiefs raised 10,000 men in this cause and marched to Perth. At the same time the Earl of Derwentwater raised the Jacobites of West- moreland and the other northern counties. Each army fought a battle on the same day, the 1 3th of 158 REIGN OF GEORGE I. November, 171 5. That in Scotland between Mar and the Duke of Argyle was at Sherriff Mnir, near Dumblane, and no one could tell who was the winner, for half of each army was victorious and the other half ran away; but it did almost as much harm to the Jacobites as a rout would have done. ID. At Preston, in Lancashire, Derwentwater and his friends were so shut in by the Royal troops that they were forced to surrender. James Stewart, or, as he was called, the Chevalier de St, George^ came to Scotland when it was too late, but showed so little spirit, that his adherents were disappointed in him. He soon returned to France, and his chief supporters fled and took service abroad. 11. Of the prisoners, twenty-six gentlemen were tried for treason and executed. There were also seven noblemen who were tried by their peers and sentenced to be beheaded. Three of these were pardoned and two made their escape ; one, namely the Earl of Nithsdale, by the brave contri- vance of his wife, who dressed him in her clothes, so that he safely passed the sentinel, while she re- mained in his room until the guard was changed, and then, coming out herself, joined him in a small lodging the very night before the time fixed for his execution. There they heard the bell tolling for the beheading of Lords Derwentwater and Ken- mare, and after a time they safely escaped to France. 12. It was in this reign that it was decided that Parliament must be dissolved and the Com- HAMPTON COURT PALACE. 159 mons freshly elected once in every seven years, in- stead of every three years, as it had been fixed under William III. Persons: The Electress Sophia— George I.— Sophia Doro- thea of Zelle— The Chevalier de St George— The Earl of Mar— The Earl of Derwentwater— The Earl of Nithsdale— Sir Christopher Wren—Alexander Pope— Jonathan Swift- Joseph Addison. Dates: Union of England and Scotland, 1707— Death of Queen Anne, 1714— Battle of Sheriff Muir, and Surrender at Preston, 17 15. XXXVIIL HAMPTON COURT PALACE IN QUEEN ANNE'S TIME. Close by those meads, for ever crown'd with flowers. Where Thames with pride surveys his rising towers. There stands a structure of majestic frame. Which from the neighbouring Hampton takes its name. Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom Of foreign tyrants and of lords at home. Here, thou, great Anna, whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes council take and sometimes tea. Hither the heroes and the nymphs ^ resort, To taste awhile the pleasures of the court. In various talk, the instructive hours they passed, Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last, * Nymph originally meant a goddess of the mountains, woods, or waters. It is now applied to a young woman, especially in poetry. i6o REIGN OF GEORGE II, One speaks the glory of the British Queen, And one describes a charming Indian screen. For lo, the board with cups and spoons is crown'd, The berries crackle and the mill turns round. On shining altars of Japan they raise The silver lamp, the fiery spirits blaze. From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide, And China's earth receives the smoking tide. At once they gratify their scent and taste. And frequent cups prolong the rich repast — Coffee, which makes the politician wise. And see through all things with his half shut eyes. From the Rape of the Lock, by Pope, a very fair picture of the solemn frivolity of Queen Anne's Court. XXXIX. THE WAR OF THE AUS- TRIAN SUCCESSION. 1. George I. never loved England, and spent as much time in Hanover as possible. There he died suddenly in the year 1727. He was succeeded by his son George XL, who was not much more English than his father had been. The great Whig Minister, Sir Sobert Walpole, who had come into office two years before, could speak neither German nor French, and the King transacted all his busi- ness with him 'in bad Latin. 2. The King had a very clever wife, Caroline of Anspach, who as long as she lived managed his BATTLE OF DETTINGEN. i6i court and much of the affairs of the kingdom, though she was too sensible to put herself too much forward. They had two sons, Frederick, Prince of Wales, and William, Duke of Cnmberland, 3. Peace was kept with other countries while Queen Caroline lived and Walpole was in power, but she died in 1737, and Walpole's power began to decline. He was averse to war, though all the nation was very angry with the Spaniards, who had greatly misused English sailors on the coast of America. A man named Jenkyns came home with his ears cut off, and the rumour was that the Spaniards had told him to show them to his King and tell him they were ready to treat him in the same way. 4. Thus a war by sea began with Spain, and Walpole soon had to resign his office. Another great European war was beginning, caused by a dispute whether all the great possessions of the House of Austria should be inherited by Maria Theresa, the daughter of the Emperor Charles VI., or by the grandson of his elder brother Joseph, the Elector of Bavaria. 5. The French took the side of the Elector of Bavaria, and the English that of Maria Theresa. George II. himself joined his army, and at the battle of Dettingen, in 1743, fought on foot among his infantry and gained a complete victory. It was the last battle in which an English King fought in person. In 1745, the battle of Fontenoy was fought, the last in which a French King was present, but the command of the French army was II. IV. L i62 REIGN OF GEORGE II. really in the hands of MarsJtal Maurice of Sachs, a German by birth, and the greatest captain of his time. It was a very fierce and stubborn fight, but in the end the English were defeated, 6. The Duke of Cumberland had to return home in haste, for Charles Edward, the eldest son of James Stewart, had taken advantage of this war to try his fortune in Scotland, landing with only seven followers in the summer of 1745. He was full of spirit, gracious and courteous, and so entirely wqp the hearts of those wIao camt Tveai \Cvto. •&aB, PRESTON PANS AND FALKIRK. 163 the Highland chiefs rose eagerly in his cause, and so suddenly that no one was prepared to meet them. 7. Coming down from the riiountains in large numbers, the Highlanders entered Perth and Edinburgh, and proclaimed James VIII, of ScoU land there, though they never could take the Castle. They surprised Sir John Cope, the English general, in his camp at Preston Pans, in the early morning, and totally routed him. 8. After this, they marched on into England, J|K3j)ing to be joined by everyone there, but le sight of the wild plaided Highlanders filled country people with terror, and very few itlemen cared to join them, or to break up the they were enjoying under the House of fanover. When they reached Derby, Charles [ward's friends decided on turning back, and very rillingly he was forced to comply. The Lon- lers were greatly relieved, for they had been in it terror, expecting to be plundered by the wild [Higlilanders. 9. Charles Edward reached Scotland safely and gained another victory at Falkirk, but he was attacked by the Duke of Cumberland at Ctilloden and utterly routed. He was dragged from the field by some of his friends, while his followers were savagely slaughtered. The Duke of Cumberland's troops were chiefly Germans, and they gave no quarter, but slew even the wounded lying on the field, and wasted all the country to>\Tv^% 'X^nk^ hunted out every on^ they could fvndN»jVvo\v^.^ Y^vcsrA. 1 64 REIGN OF GEORGE IL the Prince, killed the men, stripped the women and children, and burnt the houses, so that Cum- berland earned for himself the name of tlie Butcher. ID. Three noblemen were sent to London and beheaded, and about a hundred gentlemen were executed at Carlisle and in other places. Mean- time Charles Edward wandered in Scotland in disguise, hidden now in one place, now in another. Once he spent some weeks in a sort of bower called the Cagey with some wild outlawed High- landers, one of whom brought him a piece of gingerbread as a great treat. He travelled once in woman's clothes, as Betty Burke, the maid- servant of a brave young lady named Flora Mac- donald, and though his wanderings lasted five weeks, a great price was set on his head, and he was made known to more than fifty people, no one betrayed him and he safely embarked in a French ship. II. So much was he loved that an old High- lander with whom he had shaken hands would never allow his right hand to be touched by any mean person. The Jacobites never ceased to love him. They sang songs about him, saying, * Charlie is my darling, the young Chevalier,' and they would neither pray for King George nor drink his health. But now that he had lost all hope of gaining the kingdom of his ancestors, Charles Edward fell into vile habits, and became au unworthy man. He died in J ^88, and his btolVvet \l^Tvt^,\^\va ^^^ ^ PEACE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 165 Cardinal, died at Rome in 1807, having lived on a pension from our George III. ; and thus ended the line of Stewart. 12. The Bebellion of 1745, as it was called, had been of advantage to the French by calling home the English forces. However, Admirals Anson and Hawke had won two great victories at sea, and Anson had, like Drake before him, sailed round the world to attack the Spanish settlements. Europe was, however, weary of war, and a general peace was signed at Aix-la-Chapelle in the year 1748. Persons: George I.— George II.— Caroline of Anspach — Frederick, Prince of Wales— William, Duke of Cumberland ^Sir Robert Walpole— Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary —The Elector of Bavaria— Charles Edward, the Young Pre- tender. Dates : Accession of George II., 1727— Battles of Dettingen, 1743; Fontenoyand Preston Pans, 1745; Culloden, 1746-- Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748. XL. A TRADITION OF CULLODEN. They found him on Culloden heath, A sight for soldiers' tears, His beauty all too strong for death, His life but twenty years. They muttered low, * God send him grace,* The gory plaid they drew For corpsehood ^ o'er the fair proud face And eyes of lustrous blue. > Coipsefaoodi a covering fox lYie \it^!dk. ol «. cQT^<sft.% 1 66 REIGN OF GEORGE IT. They bore him past an ancient hall, Deep set in vernal ^ trees ; The lady looks o'er the terrace wall, The heavy sight she sees. Her only son, in Urquhart Glen, With kinsmen bides afar. She will not call him home again 'Till sinks the blast of war. Her joy is in that precious life. Fenced round and kept secure. From gathering clans, and deadly strife, And dark Drummossie muir. * Far other weird * was thine, poor youth ; ' She bids the bearers wait. Her bosom thrills with woman's ruth,^ Her hand unbars the gate. She looks upon the long bright hair. And fast her tears overflow : ' Some mother's heart, my darling fair. Beside thee lieth low. God's kindness cheer that stricken heart, He hath been kind to me, Else haply, e'en as now thou art, So might my Ronald be.' Her own soft hands the corpse will streek,* She draws the plaid away, > Vernal, growing as in spring. * Weird, destiny. • Ruth, pity, tenderness. * Streek* stretch, * lay out.' WILLIAM PITT. 167 Comes ghastly whiteness o'er her cheek, Her lips are cold as clay. Ah ! close her arms the dead enfold, Her lips to his are pressed ; The mother's heart lies still and cold, Upon her Ronald's breast. Canon Bright. XLI. THE SEVEN YEARS* WAR 1. There were five years of peace between 1748 and 1753. During this time William Pitt, or, as he was called, tAe Great Commoner^ rose to have much influence with the people, though George II. greatly disliked him. 2. Causes of war were, however, growing up everywhere. The English and French had hated each other bitterly, ever since the English Revolu- tion, and Spain was in alliance with France. These three nations all had large possessions beyond sea. The Spaniards held great part of South America and the West Indies ; the French had large settle- ments in North America and in India; and the English had colonies in North America, possessed several West Indian islands, and ever since the time of Charles II. had been establishing a great trading company in the East Indies. 3. There were frequent disputes among the settlers whose lands bordered on one another, and these at last led to a war. It began badly for i68 REIGN OF GEORGE II. England; Minorca was retaken by the Spaniards, owing, it was thought, to the slackness of Admiral Byng, who did not bring his fleet to relieve the garrison, thinking it overmatched by that of the enemy. For this he was tried by court-martial, and was shot, lest the example of cowardice should do harm ; or *to encourage the rest/ as a clever Frenchman said. 4. In America, where the French were trying to join their lands in Canada and Louisiana by a chain of forts, between the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, General Braddock led a force to attack them near the Ohio. He was set upon by the French and the wild Red Indian tribes who served under them, in a narrow valley covered with forest. He was defeated with terrible loss ; five horses were killed under him, and he was so badly wounded that he died on the way back. 5. Another war had broken out in Europe, be- tween Maria Theresa and the King of Prussia. The English and French were as usual on opposite sides, though they had changed their allies ; George II. now taking the part of Frederick II. of Prussia, and Louis XV. of Maria Theresa, whose husband was now Emperor. 6. The English were much out of spirits, but Pitt becanie Secretary of State, and everything went better. A young general, named James Wolfe, was chosen by him to take the command of a body of troops in North America. With these he crossed the river St. Lawrence into the French THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 169 settlements in Lower Canada. General Montcalm with a great army was watching to prevent him, but he took his men over in boats at night, and climbed the Heights of Abraham, a very steep hill overhanging the city of Quebec. 7. In the morning, the French found the English already on the hill. A great battle was fought in the September of 1759, in which the English gained a complete victory, and both the generals were killed. As Wolfe lay under a tree dying, someone called out * They run, they run ! ' * Who run } ' he asked. * The French/ he was told ; then he said, * I die happy.' Montcalm, on the other hand, was told he had but a few hours to live. ' It is well,* he said, * for I shall not see Quebec surrendered to the British.* 8. Quebec was surrendered, and though the French tried to retake it, they could not succeed, and Canada has ever since belonged to the English. The Red Indian tribes were allies, some of the English, some of the French, and they used to fall on the homesteads of their enemies, burning, killing, and torturing, so that there was much to make this war very horrible. 9. In 1756 there had been a great disaster in India. One of the native Princes, called the Nabob Snraja Dowlah, had fallen on the small body of English merchants settled at Calcutta, had seized the town, and thrust 146 prisoners into a cell less than twenty feet square, in the very hottest season. There was only one window, and at the I70 REIGN OF GEORGE 11. end of twenty-four hours, only twenty-three persons remained alive, the dead lying heaped up below the window. This place was called the Black Hole of Calcutta. ID. A young man named Robert dive saved the fortunes of the East India Company. He brought together the English, trained the natives in their service or made alliances with them, and not only defeated the Hindoo princes, but the French who set them on to attack the English. In the great battle of Flassy, in 1757, he routed Suraja Dowlah and his French allies, he regained Calcutta, and placed the chief power in Bengal in the hands of the East India Company of merchants and traders, who ruled it from their office in London. 1 1. The Duke of Cumberland had led an army into Germany, but he was turned back by the French and driven up into a narrow corner between the river Elbe and the sea, where, to save himself from being made prisoner, he had to sign a treaty called the Conventioii of Klosterseven, leaving Hanover to the French. The King was very angry and would not confirm the treaty. The Duke resigned his command, and when he came home he was received by his father with the words, * Here IS my son, who has betrayed me and disgraced himself.' 12. However, in 1760, the English shared in a great victory gained at Minden, by Prince Fer- dinand of Brunswick, over the French and their German allies. It was the last great battle of ACCESSION OF GEORGE III. 171 the Seven Years' war in which the English were concerned, though peace was not made for three more years, and by that time George II. had died, like his father, very suddenly, in 1760. His eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died in the year 175 1, very little mourned, for he was both worthless and ill-tempered ; he was on bad terms with his parents and did not make him- self respected by the people. Persons : WiUiam Pitt— Admiral Byngf— General Braddock —Queen Maria Theresa— Frederick II. of Prussia— James Wolfe— General Montcalm— Robert Clive— Frederick, Prince of Wales— The Duke of Cumberland. Dates : Battle of Plassy, 1757— Conquest of Canada, 1759 —Battle of Minden and Death of George II., x76a XLII. THE AMERICAN WAR. I. The eldest grandson of George 11. was twenty-two years of age, when, in 1760, he came to the throne as George m. His mother, Augosta, Princess of Wales, had trained him carefully, and he was deeply religious, and thoroughly anxious to do his duty with an honest heart, and great firmness of temper. Though he sometimes made mistakes and held fast to them, it was from want of judgment, not from selfishness or any meaner reason. He was born in England too, and loved England heartily, instead of caring most for Germany, and in return the great body of his people loved and honoured him greatly. i;2 ttEtGN OF GEORGE III. 2. So long as his mother lived she had great influence over him. She chose his wife for him, CharloUe of Hecklenbsrg, which is a little duchy in Germany, The chosen Queen was only about seventeen, but she had written of her own accord a letter to the King of Prussia, be^ng him not to let his troops hurt the poor people in her brother's country. She used to tell her ladies how she was told one day that she was to dine at court, and her brother bade her not to behave like a child ; her mother also lent her a pair of garnet earrings. She sat next an English gentleman, and. DISPUTE WITH AMERICAN COLONIES, 173 trying to talk to him, observed, * They say that your King is very amiable/ She thought he smiled a little, and by-and-by she found that she was to be married immediately to this same young King! 3. The King and Queen did their best to put an end to the many evil practices that had become common in England. The King showed no favour to any State Minister or member of Parliament who took bribes, or did not act honestly, and the Queen would have no lady at court who did not conduct herself rightly, so that in course of time the whole tone of the court and country improved very much. 4. The war in North America had been very expensive, and it was thought just that the colonists should help to pay for it, so they were taxed for this purpose. But the colonists contended that no place ought to be called upon to pay taxes unless it had sent a member to the House of Commons to give his consent to them. Pitt, who had been made Earl of Chatham, thought there was reason in this, and tried to hinder the taxing, but he was over- ruled by the Earl of Bate, who had much influence with the King. 5. The Americans were very angry. They resolved to do without the articles that were taxed, and as tea was among these, a number of young men, dressed as Red Indians, boarded the tea ships in Boston Harbour, and threw all the tea into the sea. Soldiers were sent from England to put down 174 REIGN OF GEORGE III. the disturbances, but this only angered the colonists still more. They took up arms in 177S, and be- sieged the garrison in Boston. 6. The troops tried to break their lines, and fought the battle of Bnnker^s Hill, just outside the city. The Americans were beaten, but the English suffered heavily, and the siege still continued. On the 4th of July, 1776, representatives from thirteen American settlements met, and drew up a Dedara- tion of Independence, by which they cast themselves loose from the mother country, and declared that England had no control over them. 7. George Washington, a Virginian gentleman, became the American commander-in-chief, and soon showed himself a great general, as spirited as he was patient. He did not always gain the victory in his battles, but he was never disheartened, and in the year 1777 the English General Bnrgoyne and 10,000 men were taken prisoners. 8. Such a success as this made the French think it worth while to own the United States of America to be a separate power, and to send out troops to help them. This made the war much more serious, and it was thought that it must be given up, and that the King must renounce his rights to the thirteen States. 9. Lord Chatham was old and in bad health. He would have prevented the war by making terms with the colonists ; but he could not endure that England should yield her rights to revolted subjects in alliance with her old enemy, France. So, feeble INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 175 as he was, he came down to the House pf Lords to speak. He made one speech with great force. It was answered, and he rose to reply, but at that moment he was seized with a fit He was carried out of the House insensible, and died a few days later, in his 70th year. 10. The war went on, sometimes with victory on one side, sometimes on the other; but the Spaniards and the Dutch both joined the Americans and the French, and England stood alone. The French tried to take Jersey, but were beaten off by a brave young officer. Major Feirson, who was killed in the fight ; and the Spaniards for three whole years besieged Gibraltar, which held out gallantly under General Elliot, till they were forced to give up the siege. Moreover, Admiral Rodney defeated the whole French fleet in the West Indies, and brought its commander to Eng- land as a prisoner. 11. However, in 1781 the English army under Lord Comwallis was obliged to surrender itself to the allied French and American armies, and it was decided that no more blood should be shed, but that George III. should resign the colonies, thence- forth known as the United States. He said to their deputies, * I was the last man to acknowledge your independence, I will be the last man to do anything to violate it* 12. Peace was finally signed in 1783, and all the places which England had taken from France or Spain in the war were restored to them. All 176 REIGN OF GEORGE III. Canada and the country to the northward still remained British possessions. Persons: Gtxx^ III.— Angvsta, Princess of Wales- Queen Chailotte of Mecklenbnrig^— The Earl of Chatham— The Earl of Bute— George Washington — General Burgoyne — Major Peirson— General Elliot— Admiral Rodney. Dates: Accession of George III., 1760— Battle of Bunker's Hill» 1775— American * Declaration of Independence,' 1776— Surrender of General Burgoyne, T777— Surrender of Lord Comwallis, X78Z.— Independence of United States acknow« ledged, 1783. XLIII. THE TIMES OF THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION. 1. There was a time of peace after the American War, except that there were still struggles with the native princes in India, always ending in success to the English, and the gaining of more territory for the East India Company. The Governor, Warren Hastings, was, however, on his return, impeached before Parliament for having unjustly enriched himself at the cost of the natives; and Edmund Bnrke, the greatest orator England ever produced, spoke most indignantly against all such oppression. 2. Burke was one of a number of very able men who were great friends in the earlier half of this reign. Dr. Samuel Johnson, who wrote a famous English dictionary, was the greatest scholar and wisest man among them ; Oliver Goldsmith, an Irish physician. THE KING'S ILLNESS. 177 was the most noted poet ; Sir Joshua Reynolds was the best of English portrait painters ; and David Oarrick was much noted as an actor who brought out the spirit of Shakespeare's plays. 3. There was, however, much wickedness still going on. George, Prince of Wales, the eldest of the fifteen children of George III., was unhappily- one of the foremost in all that was evil. He was very handsome, and could put on such manners that he was called the first gentleman in Europe ; but he was a most undutiful son, and seemed to study to do whatever could vex his father most. His next brother, Frederick, Duke of York, who was Commander-in-Chief, was not much better, though he treated his father with more respect. Charles James Fox was the most witty and bril- liant of the companions of the Prince. He was the chief leader of the Whig party, and might have been a really great man if he had cared more for virtue and less for pleasure. 4. In 1788 the King had an illness which affected his mind so much that it was feared that the Prince of Wales must take the government, but he recovered, to the great joy of the nation, though there was always something strange and quick about his manner. He used to ask questions too fast for anyone to answer, always ending with *What? What?* He read and thought much, however, and understood music well, being the great patron of Handel, a German, the grandest composer who ever lived. H. IV, ivi 178 REIGX OF GEORGE III. 5. King George's pleasure was to lead the life of a country gentleman at Windsor Castle, riding and walking about in a blue coat turned up with red, and talking to anyone he met Once he was found reading the Bible in a cottage to a sick woman whose little girl had led him to her without knowing him. He used to say, he hoped the time would come when every poor man would be able to read his Bible and have a fat pig in his sty. 6. So the people loved * Farmer George,' as the Whigs called him, and it was well that there was a strong love between the King and the nation, for France was in a dreadful state. That country had for more than a hundred years been very badly and selfishly governed, and when, at last, a better king, Louis XVIc, tried to do something to relieve the people, they were so wild with the longing for freedom that they did not know where to stop. Thus began the great French Eevolution. 7. Madness seemed to seize upon the leaders of the French, and especially on the people of Paris. They were so much afraid that the King and the nobles might bring back the old bad times, that they put everyone to death who could be supposed to wish to hinder their changes. The King and Queen were both beheaded by a machine called the Guillotine, and so were innumerable noblemen, ladies, priests, and all persons of every class whom any one chose to accuse of conspiring against the nation. Such torrents of blood were shed that this period is known as the Eeign of Terror. WILLIAM PITT. 179 8. At first many English people, especially Fox, sympathised with the French, who had been so long oppressed ; but the Tories distrusted the French leaders, and feared that they would go too far. William Pitt, the second son of the great Lord Chatham, was the head of the Tory party, and guided the counsels of England at this time. The French hated him beyond all measure, and there were many of them who fancied that Paris was full of his spies, and that he paid persons to cause all the horrors of the Reign of Terror ! 9. Yet beyond kindly receiving the persons who fled from the perils at home, England had never interfered with the Revolution, except that, when the French put their King to death, the English recalled their Ambassador from Paris. This was held by the French to be a declaration of war, and the English nation, who were horrified at their doings, were hot against them. 10. The Duke of York led an expedition to Holland, to join the Germans and the nobles who had fled from France, but it was very badly managed, and effected nothing. The French, in their new ardour, were extremely brave and daring soldiers, and a young Corsican officer, named Vapoleon Bonaparte^ seemed to be able to lead them anywhere. The horrible doings of the Reign of Terror were over, and a Republic was set up at Paris, which ruled the country and seemed disposed to conquer all other nations. 11. There were two great risings in Ireland aad M 2 i8o REIGN OF GEORGE IIL ' the rebels hoped that the French would come to their aid, but two French expeditions for the pur- pose failed, and the rebellion was put down with much severity and often with great cruelty on the part of the soldiers. By sea the French never prospered. Admiral Howe gave them a great beat- ing in the English Channel on the ist of June, 1794 ; and Admiral Jervis in 1797 again defeated them off Cape St Vincent. 12. But the English sailors were pressed, that is, seized and made to serve by force for small pay and bad food. The consequence was a dangerous mutiny in the fleet at the Nore, but larger wages were promised and the ringleaders were punished, and soon afterwards another grand victory was won at Camperdown. Persons: Warren Hastings— Edmund Burke— Dn Samuel Johnson— Oliver Goldsmith— Sir Joshua Reynolds— David Garrick— George, Prince of Wales— Frederick, Duke ot York— Charles James Fox— Handel— William Pitt— Napdeoo Bonaparte— Admiral Howe — Admiral Jervis. Places: Paris— Cape St Vincent— The Nore— Camper- down. Dates: English victory in the English Channel, 1794— Battle of Cape St. Vmcent, 1797. BURKE, GARRJCK, AND REYNOLDS. i8i XLIV. CHARACTERS OF BURKE, GARRICK, AND REYNOLDS. (Supposed epitaphs written by Goldsmith.) Here lies our good Edmund,' whose genius was such, We scarcely can praise it or blame it too much ; Who, born for the universe, narrowed his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for man- kind. Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat. To persuade Tommy Townsend ^ to give him a vote; Who, too deep for his hearers, still went on re- fining. And thought of convincing, while they thought of dining. Though equal to all things, for all things unfit, Too nice ^ for a statesman, too proud for a wit. For a patriot too cool, for a drudge, disobedient. And too fond of the right to pursue the expedient ; In short 'twas his fate, unemployed, as in place, sir. To eat mutton cold, and cut blocks with a razor. * Edmund Burke. * Tommy Townsend, a dull member of Parliament. ■ Nice used to mean scrupulous. The meaning of the whole character is that Burke, though devoted to the Tory party, was loo clever and earnest to be always understood, and too conscientious to get on in the world. i82 REIGN OF GEORGE II L Here lies David Garrick, describe me who can, An abridgment * of all that was pleasant in man. As an actor, confest without rival to shine. As a wit, if not first, in the very first line. Yet with talents like these, and an excellent heart The man had his failings, a dupe to his art. On the stage, he was natural, simple, affecting, It was only that when he was off he was acting ; With no reason on earth to go out of his way, He turned and he varied full ten times a day ; Of praise a mere glutton, he swallowed what came, And the puff of a dunce, he mistook it for fame. Here Reynolds is laid, and to tell you my mind, He has not left a wiser or better behind ; His pencil was striking, resistless and grand. His manners were gentle, complying and bland ; Still born to improve us in every part, His pencil our faces, his manners our heart. To coxcombs averse, and yet civilly steering, When they judged without skill, he was still hard of hearing. When they talked of their Raphaels, Correggios,* and stuff. He shifted his trumpet and only took snuff.' * Abridgment, Garrick was a very small man. ^ Raphael and Correggio, celebrated Italian painters. ■ Sir Joshua was very deaf, and used a trumpet. The meaning is that when conceited people laid down the law about pictures which they did not understand, he would not contradict them, and therefore took care not to listen. NELSON, i8j XLV. THE ENGLISH VICTORIES BY SEA, 1. The great desire of the French was to invade and conquer England, and never were her wooden walls more needed. There was a fleet constantly watching in the Channel, and in the country almost every able-bodied Englishman was in training as a volunteer, while all along the coast beacons were kept ready for being lighted, and arrangements were made for sending the women and children inland if the enemy should land. 2. -However, Bonaparte had another plan. He meant to fall on the English in India, and in 1798, he set off with a fleet and army to Egypt, expecting to win his way there and over all the East to India. The English fleet, under Admiral Horatio Nelson, the greatest of all our sailors, followed him along the Mediterranean. 3. A thick fog prevented Nelson from over- taking the French before the army had landed in Egypt, but he found their fleet ranged in Abonkir Bay. He had only fourteen ships, not one with more than 74 guns ; the French had seventeen, and their flag-ship, V Orient, carried 120 guns. * By this time to-morrow I shall have obtained a peerage or Westminster Abbey,* said Nelson, in the Van- guard, 4. The English fleet made the attack, and before the end of that ist of August, thirteen French ships 1 84 REIGN OF GEORGE II L were burnt or taken, U Orient had blown up, her dying Admiral on board, and also her Captain, Casablanca, and his little boy of ten years old. Attempts had been made to save the child with the sailors, who were taken on board English ships, but he would not go without orders from his father, who lay senseless on the deck. For one moment after the explosion, he was seen swimming, but in the confusion the noble child was lost. Nelson was wounded in the head, but he obtained his peerage, as he well deserved, for he had already been in 104 sea fights, and had lost an eye and an arm. 5. The battle of the Nile had quite cut Bona* parte off from France, and he had not much chance in India, even if he could have reached that country ; for his ally, the Sultan Tippoo Sahib, had just been defeated and killed at Seringapatam. However, the French marched into the Holy Land, and sub- dued the country until they came to Acre. Here another English sailor. Sir Sidney Smith; so helped the inhabitants to defend the town that Bonaparte had to give up the siege. After this he always said that Sir Sidney had made him miss his destiny. 6. While treating with the French before Acr^ Smith lent them some newspapers, and there Bona- parte found that affairs were getting into such a state in France that he had better return. So he hastened away, leaving an army in Egypt, which was totally routed by Sir Ralph Abercrombie ; UNION WITH IRELAND. 185 Alexandria was surrendered to the English and Turks, and so ended the Eastern hopes of the French. 7. The Emperor Paul of Russia admired Bona- parte and wanted to unite the northern nations with him against England, to prevent other countries from trading with her. Eord Nelson was sent with a fleet, which bombarded Copenhagen and made all the Danish ships surrender to him, thus forcing Denmark to keep the peace, and shutting Russia into the Baltic Sea. This was in 1801, and the Emperor Paul soon afterwards died. XLVI. THE ENGLISH VICTORIES BY SEA (continued), 1. In the year 1800, it was thought that Ireland would be more safe and loyal if, like Scotland, it were united with England, and sent its members to Parliament, not at Dublin, but at Westminster. This accordingly was done, but the Irish did not become more contented. Indeed, Mr. Pitt thought the Union with Ireland needful, and that some relief should be given to the Roman Catholics, and had made promises to that effect ; but the King thought this contrary to his corona- tion oath, and was so much distressed at Pitt's proposals as nearly to have another attack of madness. 2. This resistance of George III. was the last i86 REIGN OF GEORGE III. occasion on which a King opposed his Ministry suc- cessfully. Since that time, the sovereign has always complied with the will of Parliament. The govern- ment has been chiefly carried on by the Ministry, and they always resign if the votes in the House of Commons are so strongly against their measures that there is reason to believe that the greater part of the people do not approve of their manner of conduct- ing the government. 3. Pitt resigned his office, and Lord Sidmouth came in. A peace was made with the French called the Peace of Amiens. Numbers of people hurried to see France in its changed state, and to behold the famous General Bonaparte, who was now at the head of affairs there, and was called First Consul. But it had been part of the treaty that all conquests on each side should be restored. The French did not give up theirs, and so the English would not quit the little isle of Malta, which they had recovered from the French, and which properly belonged to the Knights of St John. On this, Bonaparte raged against the English Ambassador, drove him away, and made prisoners all the peaceable English travellers, a shameful act, never equalled before or since amongst civilised nations ; 10,000 were kept in cap- tivity for eleven years, that is, from 1803 to 18 14. 4. The preparations for invading England went on in earnest, and Boulogne Harbour was full of flat-bottomed boats in which the French were to land ; and medals were actually made in Paris, to TRAFALGAR. 187 be given after the victory, with the false inscription, * Struck in London/ Pitt returned to office, and Nelson watched closely in the Channel, and so successful was his defence of the coasts that no Frenchman set foot in England save as a prisoner. 5. The French meantime made Napoleon their Emperor^ and he allied himself with Spain, which had a fine fleet of large three-decked ships, so that he hoped to be a match for the English. The two fleets joined in Cadiz bay, and numbered forty-six ships, their masts looking, as Admiral ColUngwood said, as thick as trees in a wood. Then, on the 21st of October 1805, off Cape Trafolgar, Lord Nelson attacked them with forty ships. *No English captain can go wrong who lays himself alongside of an enemy's shipl he said, and his signal was, * England expects every man to do his duty! 6. The great crescent in which the enemy was drawn up was soon broken, their defeat was com- plete, but in the midst of the fight a shot from a man in the rigging of a French ship struck Nelson in the spine, and he fell on the deck of his flag-ship, the Victory. He lived long enough to hear the cheers of his men as each enemy's ship struck, nineteen in all being taken, and so many others sunk, that the French had only nine large ships left, the Spaniards only fifteen. Both ad- mirals were made prisoners; the Spaniard was dangerously wounded, and the Frenchman killed himself. i88 RE/G.V OF GEORGE ///. r- THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 189 7. After this greatest of our naval victories ttere was no more fear of a French invasion, and Britain remained alone ruler of the seas. The worst danger was thus over before, in 1806, Pitt \ died, worn out with care and anxiety, and in the course of the same year Fox also died. Fkrsons: Admiral Nelson— Napoleon Bonaparte — Sultan Tipfoo Sahib— Sir Sidney Smith— Sir Ralph Abercrombie - Tiie Emperor Paul of Russia— William Pitt— Lord Sidmouth. Dates : Battle of the Nile, 1798— Union of Great Britain aii4 Ireland, 1800— Battle of Trafalgar, 1805— Deaths of Pitt •ad Fox, z8o6. XLVII. THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. (Copenhagen.) Of Nelson and the North Sing the glorious day's renown, When in battle fierce came forth All the might of Denmark's crown, And her arms along the deep proudly shone. By each gun the lighted brand. In a bold, determined hand. And the Prince^ of all the land Led them on. Like leviathans ^ afloat Lay their bulwarks on the brine, While the sign of battle flew On the lofty British line ; ' Prince, the Crown Prince of Denmark commanded the Danes. ' LeyiathanSi great whales. 190 REIGy OF GEORGE UL It was an April mom by the chime. As they drifted on their path. There was silence deep as death. And the boldest held his breath For a time. But the might of England flushed To anticipate the scene. And her van the fleeter rushed O'er the deadly space between. Hearts of oak!' our captain cried, when each gun. From its adamantine^ lips. Spread a death shade round the ships, Like the hurricane eclipse Of the sun. Again ! again ! again ! And the havoc did not slack, Till a feeble cheer the Dane For our cheering sent us back ; Their shots along the deep slowly boom, Then ceased, and all is wail. As they strike the shattered sail. Or in conflagration^ pale Light the gloom. Out spake the victor then, As he hailed them o*er the wave, ' Adamantine properly means hard as loadstone, * Conflagratioiiy a great fire. THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC, . 191 * Ye are brothers, ye are men ! And we conquer but to save ; So peace instead of death let us bring ; But yield, proud foe, thy fleet, With the crews at England's feet. And make submission meet To our King.* Then Denmark blessed our chief That he gave her wounds repose. And the sounds of joy and grief From her people wildly rose, As death withdrew his shades from the day ; While the sun looked smiling bright. On a wide and woful sight, Where the fires of funeral light Died away. Now joy Old England raise. For the tidings of thy might, By the festal cities* blaze, While the wine-cup shines in light. And yet amidst that joy and uproar Let us think of them that sleep. Full many a fathom deep. By thy wild and stormy steep Elsinore ! * Thomas Campbell. (Abridged. ) ' Elsinore is situated at the narrowest part of the channel, called the Sounds by which ships usually enter the Baltic Sea. \ 192 . REIGN OF GEORGE III. XLVIII. THE DEATHS OF NELSON, PITT, AND FOX. Deep graved in every British heart, O never let these names depart ! Say to your sons, * Lo, here his grave Who victor died on Gadite* wave/ To him, as to the burning levin,^ Short, bright, resistless course was given. Where'er his country's foes were found Was heard the fatal thunder's sound. Till burst the bolt on yonder shore, RoU'd, blazed, destroyed, and was no more. Nor mourn ye less his perish'd worth Who bade the conqueror go forth. And launched that thunderbolt of war On Egypt, Hafnia,^ Trafalgar ; Who, born to guide such high emprise,* For Britain's weal was early wise ; Alas ! to whom the Almighty gave, For Britain's sins, an early grave. Now is the stately column broke, The beacon light is quenched in smoke, ' GaditC) of Cadiz. Cades was the old name. ^ Levin, lightning. ' Hafnia, Copenhagen. ^ Emprise is a contraction ot enterprise. NELSON, PITT, AND FOX. 193 The trumpet's silver sound is still. The warder silent on the hilL Then while on Britain's thousand plains One unpolluted Church remains, Whose peaceful bells ne'er sent around The bloody tocsin's' maddening sound, But still upon the hallow'd day Convokes the swains to praise and pray. While faith and civil peace are dear, Grace this cold marble ^ with a tear, — He who preserved them, Pitt, lies here. Nor yet suppress the generous sigh. Because his rival slumbers nigh. Nor be thy requiescat' dumb. Lest it be said o'er Fox's tomb. For talents mourn, untimely lost When best employed and wanted most ; Mourn genius high and lore profound. And wit that loved to play, not wound. And all the reasoning powers divine To penetrate, resolve, combine, And feeling keen, and fancy's glow. They sleep with him who sleeps below ; And if thou moum'st they could not save From error him who owns this grave, * Tocsiiiy the ringing of a bell for the purpose of ginng an alarm. * Marble, supposed to be spoken in Westminster Abbey, vhexe Pitt and Fox are both boricxl. * Reqoiescaty a Latin word meaning * 5faj he rest.' H. IV. N 194 REIGN OF GEORGE 111. Be every harsher thought supprest, And sacred be the last long rest. Here, where the end of earthly things Lays heroes, patriots, bards and kings, Where stiff the hand and cold the tongue Of those who fought, and spoke, and sung. Here, where the fretted ^ aisles prolong The distant notes of holy song. As if some angel spoke again. Are peace on earth, good will to men. • •.•••• Where, taming thought to human pride, The mighty chiefs sleep side by side, Drop upon Fox's grave the tear, 'Twill trickle to his rival's bier ; O'er Pitt's the mournful requiem ^ sound, And Fox's shall the notes rebound ; The solemn echo seems to cry, * Here let their discord with them die. • •••••• But search the land of living men. Where wilt thou find their like again ? ' Scott. Introduction to Martnion (abridged). ' Fretted, delicately carved out. ^ Requiem, properly a mass for the dead, the beginning of which is ^Requiem ceternam ; ' but it has come to mean a hymn of rest. FRENCH CONQUESTS, 195 XLIX. THE PENINSULAR WAR. 1. After the deaths of Pitt and Fox, the chief EngHsh statesmen were Spencer Perceval, George Canning, and Lord Castlereagh. All this time the member for Yorkshire, William Wilberforce, one of the best of men, had been striving to put an end to the slave-trade ; that is, the stealing of negroes from Guinea to become slaves in the West Indian islands. In 1807, ^fter twenty years* perseverance, he carried an Act of Parliament forbidding such deeds by British subjects ; although slavery itself still continued in the West Indies. 2. Though the battle of Trafalgar had saved England from the danger of invasion, the times were still full of peril. Napoleon had been victorious over every other nation in Europe and had forced them to bend to his will. He had joined Italy to France and driven the King of Naples into Sicily, but that island was guarded by the English fleet. Switzerland and Holland were also absorbed into the French Empire ; Austria, Russia, and Prussia had all been defeated, and Prussia, deprived of half her lands. No one seemed able to resist the French by land, any more than the English could be resisted by sea. 3. Spain had always been the ally of France and Portugal of England ; Napoleon offered to divide Portugal with Charles IV., the Kin^oC St^^vol^ N 3 296 REIGN OF GEORGE II.. if the French army were allowed to pass through Spain to seize the little kingdom. Charles consented, and the Portuguese royal family, thinking it in vain to resist, took ship and went off to their possessions in Brazil, in South America ; but their people had more spirit, and called upon the English to help them. 4. Napoleon had now obtained a footing in Spain. There was a family quarrel between the King and his eldest son, Ferdinand ; and Napoleon offered to meet them at Bayonne and judge between them. They foolishly consented, and were no sooner there, than they were both seized and kept captives, closely guarded by French soldiers, while Napoleon sent his army to master their country and set his own brother Joseph Bonaparte up as King of the whole Peninsula. 5. The Spaniards were angry at this wicked robbery, and rose against the French all over the country, and they too asked aid from England. An army was sent out in 1808 under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley, an officer who had gained great distinction in India, while his brother the Marquis Wellesley was Governor there. Sir Arthur gave the French a total rout at Vimiera, which forced them to quit Portugal immediately, and he then returned home. 6. Sir Jolm Moore came out with some more troops, and entered Spain in the north-east, mean- ing to join the Spaniards and prevent the French from taking Madrid. He found, however, that it was too Jate to save the Spanish capital, and that THE PENINSULAR WAR, 197 the French were stronger and the Spaniards not so strong as had been reported to him. He, therefore, had to make his way to the port of Corunna, where the fleet was. It was winter, and he had to go through rough mountain roads in Galicia, where his army suffered sadly and all stragglers were cut off by the French, who followed closely on his rear. 7. On the heights above Corunna, to protect the embarkation, the British army turned to bay, and gained a splendid victory, but with the loss of their brave leader, whose shoulder was shattered by a cannon ball, and who died in the evening, glad to have saved the honour of his country. He was buried on the ramparts that night, just before his sorrowful friends embarked for England. 8. The French returned to Portugal when the English had left it, but another army was at once sent out with Sir Arthur Wellesley, and before long they were driven out of Portugal. Following them closely. Sir Arthur beat them at Talavera. After this victory he was raised to the peerage by the title of Wellington. 9. The ablest of Napoleon's generals was sent in 1 810 to make a third attempt on Portugal, but was beaten at Busaco. However, his troops were so numerous that Wellington afterwards kept within a great entrenched camp, called Torres Vedras, which protected Lisbon, and where the French durst not attack him. In the spring of the next year he again followed them into Spain, and de- feated them at Fuentes d'Onor. ( 198 REIGN OF GEORGE III. 10. In i8i2, the English army took the two cities of Ciudad Bodrigo and Badajos by storm, and won the great battle of Salamanca. They even entered Madrid, but they had to fall back for the winter upon Ciudad Rodrigo. However, in the spring of 1813, they advanced again, and met the French army at Vittoria, the place of the victory of the Black Prince more than four centuries before. 11. Joseph Bonaparte, the so-called King of Spain, was with the French army, carrying off all the money, plate, jewels, and pictures he had been able to collect. The French tried to make a stand, but were utterly routed at Vittoria, and all this treasure fell into the hands of the English, while Joseph made his escape as best he could. 12. Right up to the Pyrenees were the French now driven before the English. Nothing was left to Bonaparte in all the Peninsula except the two cities of St. Sebastian and Pamplona, and another French force was sent to try to save them. Two more battles, called the battles of the Pyrenees, were fought, and the French again were defeated, St. Sebastian was stormed and Pamplona surrendered. 13. Wellington next hunted the French over the mountains into their own country, beating them again at the towns of Orthes and Toulouse. This last battle, fought on the loth of April, 1814, was the final one of the Peninsular war, which had lasted six years, without the British having received a THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE, 199 ^1 1 !-■ ^ J I . -^ - TT I single defeat, nor even lost so much as a gun or the colours of a single regiment Persons : Spencer Perceval — George Canning — Lord Qatlereagh— William Wilberforce— Charles IV. of Spain- Joseph Bonaparte— Sir Arthur Wellesley— Sir John Moore. Battles: Vimiera, z8o8— Corunna and Talavera, 1809 — Busacoy 1810— Fuentes d'Onor, i8zi— Ciudad Rodrigo, Ba- di^os, Salamanca, z8z2— Vittoria, 1813— Pyrenees, Orthes, and Toulouse, z8z4. L. THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE AT CORUNNA. Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the ramparts we hurried ; Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot, O'er the grave where our hero we buried. We buried him darkly at dead of night, The sod with our bayonets turning, By the struggling moonbeams' misty light, And the lantern dimly burning. No useless coffin enclosed his breast. Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him. But he lay like a warrior taking his rest. With his martial cloak around him ! Few and short were the prayers we said. And we spoke not a word of sorrow. REIGN OF GEORGE III. But we steadfastly gazed on the face that was dead. And we bitterly thought of the morrow. [BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE.] We thought as we hollowed his narrow bed, And smoothed down his lowly pillow, THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE. 201 That the foe and the stranger would tread o*er his head, And we far away on the billow. Lightly they*ll talk of the spirit that's gone, And o*er his cold ashes upbraid him — But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on In the grave where a Briton has laid him. But half of our heavy task was done When the clock struck the hour of retiring, And we heard the distant and random gun, That the foe was sullenly firing. Slowly and sadly we laid him down. From the field of his fame fresh and gory ; We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone. But we left him alone with his glory. C. Wolfe, LI. WATERLOO. I. While the British army was fighting in Spain, England had kept a great Jubilee for the fiftieth year of George III. ; but the King was now fast losing his sight and, hearing, and in 18 10, grief for the loss of his youngest daughter, Amelia, brought on a return of his insanity from which he never recovered. Queen Charlotte took charge of him, and he lived for ten years at Windsor Castle, ::o2 REIGN OF GEORGE HI. sometimes able to occupy himself with music, but cut off from almost everything by his deafness and blindness. 2. The Prince of Wales became Regent, and being now older and more prudent than in the days of Fox, he carried on the same policy as his father had done. But in 1812, all England was horrified by the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, being shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons by a man named Bellingham, for no motive that could be understood. Perceval was a good man and much lamented ; Lord Liverpool took his place. 3. In the meantime, the ambition and violence of Napoleon had grown unbearable to all the other nations of Europe. He had beaten each singly, except the English, but when they at last all joined together against him, they overwhelmed him ; and just as Wellington was fighting the battle of Toulouse they had driven him to his palace of Fontainebleau, where he resigned his crown and yielded himself to them. 4. The Duke of Wellington crossed France from Toulouse to Paris, and met the Emperors of Russia and Austria and the King of Prussia, who had all entered the city at the head of their armies. The people of France invited home their late King's brother, Louis XVIIL, who had been sheltered in England, and he returned to take possession of his throne; while Napoleon was* sent to a little island in the Mediterranean Sea, named BATTLE OF WATERLOO, 203 Elba, in order that he might never again disturb the peace of Europe. 5. All the three allied Sovereigns, as they were called, with their chief generals, came to London, to visit the Prince Regent, and were welcomed with the greatest eagerness. There was much rejoicing that peace was at last come after a twenty years' war. Afterwards each country sent representatives to Vienna to arrange the affairs of Europe, after all the shocks it had undergone. . 6. In the midst of these consultations, early in 181 5, the news came like a thunderclap that Bona- parte had escaped from Elba, and was in France, rapidly gathering his old friends about him. The army hailed him with delight, Louis XVIIL fled to Ghent, and Paris opened its gates to the Emperor once more. 7. Each Sovereign hastened to call together his troops to crush the enemy of all, but England and Prussia were ready before the rest, and their armies were to join together in Belgium, thence to march into France. Napoleon set off thither with his choicest troops, hoping to defeat them before the Russians and Austrians could combine with them. 8. The Prussians had a fight with the French on the 14th of June, at Ligny, which was un- decided. The English meanwhile had been sta- tioned on a range of low hills, near the village of Waterloo, and here on the i8thof June, 181 5, the great battle took place. All day there was hard fighting on each side, especially at a farm-house 204 REIGN OF GEORGE III. called Hougoumont, but towards evening Napoleon ordered his best troops, his Imperial Guard, to charge on the squares of British infantry on the top of the hills, which nothing had yet broken. Again the British stood firm, waiting to fire on the Guard till it was almost close to them. Then, as this last body of French fell back repulsed, the British in- fantry advanced in good order, steadily in their ranks, and the enemy gave way before them, rushing down the slopes brokea and routed, while the Prussians coming up, completed the utter discomfiture of the French. 9. Napoleon was obliged to fly for his life. He had no fresh army to call up. The English troops were marching on Paris, and after a day or two of doubt, he fled to the port of Rochefort, hoping to escape to America, but finding this impossible, he surrendered himself to Captain Maitland of the English ship Bellerophon, and was carried to Ply- mouth. 10. He was kept on board ship till his fate could be decided upon, and it was determined that he should be sent to St. Helena, a lonely island in the Atlantic Ocean, whence he could not possibly escape, and he was to be closely watched by the English governor, Sir Hudson Lowe. In St. He- lena he died in the year 1821. 1 1 . The Congress of Vienna was resumed, and England gave up all the places she had conquered during the war, except the islands of Malta and Heligoland in Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA. and part of Ceylon, which had been taken from the Dutch while they were under the alliance of France, and the islands called Mauritius and Sey- chelles, which had been French. 12. During the last two years a war had been 2o6 REIGN OF GEORGE III. going on with the United States. It was caused by the English claiming the right to search Ame- rican vessels and take out British sailors. In the course of this war the Americans tried in vain to conquer Canada, and the English landed on the American coast and attacked New Orleans, but in vain, and peace was made early in 1815. 13. The English and Dutch fleets now joined together to put an end to the piracies of the Dey of Algiers, a Mohammedan Prince, whose robber ships were the terror of the Mediterranean. Lord Exmouth, at the head of the two fleets, bombarded the city, forced it to surrender, set free hosts of Christian slaves, and entirely broke up the nest of pirates. Persons : The Prince of Wales— Spencer Perceval— Lord Liverpool— Napoleon — The Duke of Welling^n — Louis XVI IL of France— The Dey of Algiers. Places : Elba — St. Helena. £>a/es : Battle of Waterloo and Congress of Vienna, 28x5. LII. THE CRISIS OF WATERLOO. (The Charge of the Imperial Guard. ) On came the whirlwind, like the last, But fiercest sweep of thunder blast. On came the whirlwind, steel gleams broke Like lightning through the rolling smoke : The war was waked anew. Three hundred cannon mouths roared loud. And from their throats, with fla^ and cloud, Their showers of iron threw. THE CRISIS OF WATERLOO, 207 Beneath their fire, in full career, Rush'd on the ponderous cuirassier,^ The lancer couch'd his ruthless spear. And hurrying as to havoc near, The cohorts' 2 eagles ^ flew. In one dark torrent broad and strong The advancing onset roll'd along. Forth harbinger'd by fierce acclaim That, from the throat of smoke and flame, Peard wildly the Imperial name.'* But on the British heart were lost The terrors of the charging host. For not an eye the storm that view'd Changed its proud glance of fortitude. Nor was one forward footstep stay'd As dropped the dying and the dead. Fast as their ranks the thunders tear. Fast they renewed each serried square, And on the wounded and the slain Clos'd their diminished lines again. Till from their line, scarce spear's lengths three. Emerging from the smoke they see Helmet, and plume, and panoply : Then wak'd their fire at once ; Each musketeer's revolving knell ^ ' Cuirassier, so called from the cuirass or steel breastplate. * Cohort, a division of a Roman legion, the name here ap- plied to the French regiments. • Eagles were the ensigns of the Empire. * Imperial name, — the Guard shouted * Vive NapoUon,^ • The report of the musket is called a knell because, like the tolling of a bell, it announced a person's death. 2o8 REIGN OF GEORGE III. As fast, as regularly fell, As when they practise to display Their discipline on festal day — Then down went helm and lance, Down were the eagle banners sent, Down, rolling, steeds and riders went. Corslets were pierc'd and pennons rent ; And to augment the fray, Wheerd full against their staggering flanks. The English horsemen's foaming ranks Forc'd their resistless way. Then to the musket knell succeeds The clash of swords, the neigh of steeds ; As plies the smith ^ his clanging trade. Against the cuirass rang the blade. And while amid their close array The well-served cannon rent their way. And while amid their scattered band Raged the fierce rider's bloody brand. Recoiled in common rout and fear. Lancer, and Guard, and Cuirassier, Horsemen and foot, a mingled host. Their leaders fallen, their standards lost. Then Wellington, thy piercing eye The crisis caught of victory. The British hosts had stood That morn 'gainst charge of sword and lance As their own ocean rocks hold stance, > Smith, — a soldier compared the sound to a huge smith's foige. THE THIRTY YEARS' PEACE, 209 But when thy voice had said * Advance ! ' ^ They were their ocean's flood ! Scott's Field of Waterloo. LIII. THE THIRTY YEARS* PEACE. 1. Peace had come at last, the longest peace that England has ever enjoyed ; but with peace there did not at once .come all the blessings that the nation expected from it. The expense of the war had been enormous, and taxation therefore continued very high. The workmen employed in trades connected with war had been earning high wages while the war lasted, and they became dis- contented now that their work was not so much required. Moreover, there is sure to be much sadness about the end of a reign, especially a very- long one, and George III. had reigned longer than any other King of England. Henry III. and Ed- ward III. alone had, like him, reigned more than fifty years. 2. The King, by his deafness and blindness, as well as his insanity, was prevented from sharing the joys and griefs of his people. He talked on to him- self all day, and when at night his chair was moved to show that it was bedtime, he said his prayers, and then put a strong force on himself to keep from speaking again, stuffing his handkerchief into his mouth if he could not stop himself otherwise. ' 'Advance!' What he did say was to the colonel of the advanced regiment, * That's right 1 Go on I Go on I* H. IV. O 2IO REIGN OF GEORGE III. 3. The chief hope of the nation was fixed on the only child of the Prince Regent, Charlotte of Wales. The Prince had been persuaded, by a pro- mise to pay his debts, to marry a German Princess, and no sufficient inquiry had been made whether the chosen lady, Caroline of Brunswick, were fit for him. She proved to be a rude, untrained girl, and the Prince took a dislike to her on the first moment of seeing her. 4. He was too selfish to have patience with her or try to improve her, and very soon they hated each other, and lived apart. Their only child, the Princess Charlotte, was under the charge of persons ap- pointetl by her father, and had an unhappy girl- hood ; she was often in disgrace for self-will, and had no one to be really kind to her. Her mother wont abroad as soon as the war was over, and lived in Italy, amusing herself, and caring little what might be said of her. 5. In 1816 Charlotte's happy days began, for she was married to a kind and excellent prince, Leopold, of Saxe Cobnrg. She was so eager and vehement that he was always saying to her, * Gently, my dear ; * and he was tenderly taming down her strong will, and all the nation were expecting to have an excellent Queen in her, when she died, in her twenty-fourth year, in 18 17. 6. Her grandmother, good old Queen Charlotte, died in 1818, and the next year followed Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of the King, leaving an infant daughter, named Victoria. The old ACCESSION OF GEORGE IV. 211 — King, George III., unaware of all these losses, died a few days after his son, on the 26th of June, 1820, having reigned sixty years, and having had the grandest and most victorious, as well as the longest, of the reigns of all our English kings. 7. Oeorge IV. had not been King a month before a conspiracy was discovered for killing the Ministers and seizing the Bank and the Tower. The ringleader, Arthur Thistlewood, was put to death ; and this is the last execution for treason that took place in England. This is sometimes called i/ic Cato Street Conspij-aeyy because the plotters met in a loft over a stable in that street. 8. The title of Queen and a pension were offered by George IV. to his wife, if she would remain abroad and not put herself forward to share the throne. However, she would not hear of being set aside, and came to London, where many persons took her part, thinking her unjustly used ; and in truth she was much to be pitied ; but, on the other hand, she had not acted in such a way as to be fit to be the head of the ladies of England. 9. The King called on the House of Lords to pronounce that she must be divorced ; but, though there was no doubt that her conduct had been wrong, the feeling of the country was that George himself had no right to be harsh and to let her bear all the blame, so the proceedings were dropped. At the Coronation, which was one of the most splendid that ever took place, poor Caroline tried to force her way into Westminster Abbey, but she Oil 212 REIGN OF GEORGE IV. was kept out, and soon afterwards she died of dis- appointment and vexation. 10. Canning was Foreign Secretary from 1 822 to 1827, when he became Prime Minister, but he died a few months afterwards. The great event of the time was a treaty between the Powers of Europe to put a stop to the wars between the Turks and the Greeks who were subject to them. It was in- tended that there should be no fighting; but at Navarino a great sea fight took place, in which the Turkish fleet was ruined, and after this the kingdom of Greece was set up. 11. The Duke of Wellington soon after became Prime Minister. The question whether Roman Catholics should be allowed to become magistrates and sit in Parliament had come forward again, since the death of George III. Now that Ireland, where there were so many Roman Catholics, had been united to England, it was held to be just to give them votes. Both the King and his Ministers were very unwilling to do so, but Ireland was on the point of rebellion, and in 1829 the Act for Boman Catholic Emancipation ^ was passed. 12. The King's next brother and chief com- panion, Frederick, Duke of York, died in 1827, leaving no children. After this the King's health began to break. He shut himself up at Windsor, only going out for drives in the private parts of the Park, and never showing himself publicly nor > Emancipation, setting free from controlling influences; laking awa^ the rules which had restricted liberty. ACCESSION OF WILLIAM IV, 213 seeing anyone he could possibly avoid. He died on the 26th of June, 1830. 13. During these years of peace many improve- ments had been made, and great inventions were coming into use. Excellent roads had been made, gas was used, and the powers of steam had been discovered, chiefly by James Watt, as long ago as 1769. It was used in cotton-spinning and weaving, and was making England the chief manufacturing country in the world. Steamboats were beginning to ply, though at first for only short distances ; and George Stephenson formed the first railway, where the first locomotive engine ran, the autumn after the death of George IV. . Persons r Georgia IV.— Queen Caroline of Brunswick— The Princess Charlotte— Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg — The Princess Victoria— The Duke of Wellington — James Watt— George Stephenson. Dates: Death of George III., 1820— Battle of Navarino, 1827— Act for Roman Catholic Emancipation, 1829— Death of George IV., 1830. LIV. REFORM. I. William 17. was the third son of George III., and was married to Adelaide of Meiningen. He had been in the navy, and had a bluff manner, something like that of his father. He was under- stood to be more in favour of changes than his brother had been in his latter years, and he was therefore very popular. 514 REIGN OF WILLIAM IV, 2. The old parties of Whigs and Tories still continued ; but such Whigs as wished for the greatest changes began to be called Radicals by the Tories, and Liberals by themselves, and the Tories, who wished to preserve the existing system, were termed Conservatives. 3. There was need of some change in what are called comtituencies \ that is, the places that have a right to send members to Parliament ; for some borough towns had dwindled down so as to be mere villages, while others had grown up into very thickly inhabited places, and still were only reckoned as forming parts of the counties. The rules also as to who were entitled to vote were different in various places, so that there was much room for unfairness. 4. It was proposed to revise all this, and to give votes to many more persons. This was called the Eeform Bill. The Duke of Wellington and the Tories were averse to the change, thinking it would alter the old British Constitution,* and the Duke went out of office. He was abused, hooted, pelted, and was even forced to have iron blinds put to the windows of his London house ; but he bore all as calmly as he had once borne general praise. 5. Earl Grey and the Whigs came in, Parlia- ment was dissolved, and a new House of Commons elected, which passed a Reform Bill so . much > The British Constitution, the established form of Government ; in this country the Constitution consists of a Monarch, Lords, and Commons. THE REFORM BILL. 215 stronger than had been at first proposed that the Lords threw it out ; that is, they refused to agree to it. 6. There were great disturbances all over the country. The labourers imagined that the passing of a Reform Bill would make every one well off and prosperous, and that all those who hesitated to pass it were cruel and tyrannical. They were also extremely angry because the farmers had be- gun to use thrashing machines. These were then only worked by horses ; but the people, who were very ignorant, fancied that the saving of labour meant throwing them out of work and taking the bread out of their mouths. 7. So in several counties, large gangs of men went about, breaking the machines, burning the ricks, and doing as much mischief as they could. Soldiers had to be called out, and many of the ringleaders were hanged and others transported. 8. When for the third time the Reform Bill was brought into Parliament, the Peers who disap- proved of it stayed away from the House, and it was passed in the year 1832. By this Act all renters of ten-pound houses in borough towns received a vote for the town member, and all per- sons who lived in the counties and paid rents of more than fifty pounds a year, besides, of course, the owners of lands who had votes before, were entitled to vote for the county members. 9. This year, 1832, was the first in which England was visited by that terrible disease^ the fi6 REIGN OF WILLIAM IV, cholera ; and as the treatment of it was not under- stood, the number of persons who died in many large towns was frightful. It has several times re- turned, but as the way to treat it, and, better still, to prevent it, is more studied, it has each time been less severe. People had in those days scarcely learnt how much infection depends upon dirt, bad smells, and tainted water ; and cholera and typhus fever have been their great and terrible appointed teachers. ID. In the year 1833, the work that had been begun by Wilberforce was carried out, and in August 1834 all the slaves in the British dominions were declared free. A sum of ;g' 20,000,000 was voted to make up to their owners for the loss, and it was hoped that the negroes would continue to work as free labourers ; but they proved to be far too lazy to do so, and much of the prosperity of the West India islands Has been lost in conse- quence. Still it is a great thing that English people are free from the wickedness of keepings their fellow-men in bondage. II. In 1834 the old law for the relief of the poor, which had been made in Queen Elizabeth's time, was altered, because it had been found that when people obtained parish relief too easily, they were apt to ask for it without being really in need, and that strong men were not ashamed to live on parish pay. Unions of parishes were made, that the rates might fall less unequally, and that ex- penses might be less than was the case when each HIS DEATH. 217 parish had to provide for itself. Outdoor relief was made much less frequent. 12. At the same time much was done by- benevolent persons to put the poor in the way of helping themselves and of assisting them to emigrate to Canada, where they were much better off than at home, and at the same time more work was left for those who remained. 13. The country was beginning to be covered with a net-work of railways. This gave employ- ment to great numbers of persons ; and as travel- ling became cheaper, it also became easier for families to move about to places where employment was to be found. 14. An accidental fire in 1834 burnt down the Houses of Parliament, but happily spared West- minster Hall. The new Houses were begun, from designs by Sir Charles Barry. 15. In 1837, King William IV. died, leaving no children, two little Princesses having died when infants. Persons : William IV.— Earl Grey. Dates: Accession of William IV., 1830— The Reform Bill passed, 1832— Abolition of Slavery in the British dominions, 1833— A new Poor Law passed, 1834— Death ^f William IV., 1837. 2i8 REIGN OF WILLIAM IV. LV. THE MORNING DREAM. (Brilannia releasing the slaves ; a dream of the poet Cowper*s fifty years before its fulfilment.) 'TWAS in the glad season of spring Asleep at the dawn of the day, I dreamt what I cannot but sing, So pleasant it seemed as I lay. I dreamt, that on ocean afloat, Far hence in the westward I sailed, While the billows high lifted the boat, And the fresh blowing breeze never failed. In the steerage, a woman I saw, Such at least was the form that she bore, Whose beauty impressed me with awe. Ne'er taught me by woman before. She sat, and a shield at her side, Shed light, like a sun on the waves, And smiling divinely, she cried, * I go to make freemen of slaves.' Then, raising her voice to a strain The sweetest that ear ever heard, She sang of the slave's broken chain, Wherever her glory appeared. Some clouds, which had over us hung, Fled, chas'd by her melody clear, And methought, while she liberty sung, Twas liberty only to hear. THE MORNING DREAM. 219 Thus, swiftly dividing the flood, To a slave-cultur'd island we came, Where a Demon, her enemy stood. Oppression his terrible name. In his hatid, as the sign of his sway, A scourge hung with lashes he bore. And stood looking out for his prey, From Africa's sorrowful shore. But soon as approaching the land, That goddess-like woman he viewed. The scourge he let fall from his hand, With blood of his subjects imbrued.* I saw him both sicken and die. And the moment the monster expired, Heard shouts that ascended the sky, From thousands with rapture inspired. Awaking, how could I but muse At what such a dream could betide, But soon my ear caught the glad news. Which served my weak thought for a guide, That Britannia, renowned o'er the waves. For the hatred she ever has shown To the black sceptred rulers of slaves, Resolves to have none of her own. William Cowper. 1 Imbrued, drencheJ. 220 REIGN OF VICTORIA, LVI. EARLY YEARS OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 1. The heiress to the crown was Victoria^ the only child of Edward, Duke of Kent, a young girl only just eighteen, the age at which sovereigns are considered capable of governing for themselves without a regent. The kingdom of Hanover, not going in the female line, passed from her to her uncle, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. 2. The young Queen had been very carefully brought up by her mother, and her kindness and earnest desire to do her duty won all hearts. At her coronation Lord Rolle, one of the oldest men among the peers, missed his footing in coming to do her homage, and almost fell, and her quick, in- stinctive^ start forward to his assistance, forgetting all but the old man's feebleness, touched everyone with love for her. 3. In 1840 Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert, the second son of the Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha. The love of the royal pair and the perfect way in which they kept up the relations of husband and wife, was a noble example to all the kingdom. 4. Not long after their marriage the Queen showed her royal courage. As she was driving in Hyde Park a shot was aimed at her. The mis- creant was not detected, and the police thought ' Instinctive} prompted 'b7iia.\.>>x^lejs^2a^. REPEAL OF THE CORN LAWS. 221 that if she went the same way again the next day, they should be able at once to seize him before any harm was done. She went unflinchingly, though she forbade any of her ladies to accompany' her. The man was taken with his pistol ready, and he proved to be a poor madman, who was shut up till his death. 5. Hitherto, to encourage British farmers, there had been a duty paid on all corn brought into England from foreign countries. There was a great effort on the part of the Liberals to get this taken off. The Conservatives resisted ; but in the year 1846 the potato disease first appeared, and as the poor had come to depend greatly on these roots for their food, great dfstress was produced, and Sir Bobert Peel, the Conservative leader, saw the necessity of giving way and having corn brought in free of duty. The Corn Laws were therefore repealed. 6. The Irish peasants had for quite a century lived on hardly any food but the potato, and the famine produced in Ireland by the disease was hor- rible beyond measure. Subscriptions were raised, and charitable people devoted themselves to the relief of the poor wretches ; but whole families died off, either from hunger or the sicknesses caused by want. Many were sent to America, and for a time the face of Ireland was quite changed. 7. The year 1848 was a time of danger for all governments, and the French rose upon their king, Lotus Philippe, and drove him away to take refuge 222 REIGN OF VICTORIA. in England, and there were disturbances in almost every country. In England a large number of men had banded themselves together to demand what they called tAe Peoples Charter ^ and the loth of April, 1848, was appointed for an enormous meeting on Kennington Common and a procession to present a monster petition for what would have produced a revolution. 8. There was much alarm, and almost every man who loved peace and order was sworn in as a special constable, but only armed with a staff. The Duke of Wellington posted soldiers in the neigh^ bourhood to be ready if needed, but he kept them as much as possible out of sight, so as to avoid all chance of irritating the people ; for no one hated war and violence so much as this merciful soldier, who had once said a great victory was the most dreadful thing in the world, except a great defeat After all, the whole affair passed off quietly. No harm was done, no riot was begun, and the Chartists broke up quietly. 9. At this time the ' Old Duke,' as everyone called him, was spending an honoured old age, greatly beloved by his young Queen, and looked up to with pride and reverence by all the nation who had forgotten all their former anger against him, knowing that he had then, as ever, only been holding staunchly to his one watchword, * duty,* 10. In 1851, under the management of Prince Albert, took place the first Great International^ ' International, common to two or more nations. THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 223 [TflE r.REAT EXHinniOW OS AV'\ 224 REIGN OF VICTORIA. Exhibition, when the beautiful Crystal Palace was set up in Hyde Park, and the produce and manu- factures of almost every country in the world were collected under it, beneath the motto, chosen by Prince Albert for the central arch, * The Earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof.' 1 1. In the course of that same year the country suffered a great loss in Sir Robert Peel, who died in consequence of a fall from his horse while riding in London ; and the following year, 1852, the great Duke, now eighty-three years old, died after a short illness, and was borne to his grave in St. Paul's Cathedral by the old generals who had shared his victories. Deputations were also sent from the other countries of Europe for whom he had fought ; and the whole world seemed to feel how great a life his had been made by the one straightforward endea- vour to do his duty, looking neither to the right nor left; and caring neither for praise nor blame, com- pared with duty. 12. During these years the great gift of a cheap postage was conferred by the excellent scheme of Sir Aowland Hill, who invented the plan of prepay- ment by stamps. It has been adopted not only in England, but all over the world. Persons: Queen Victoria— Ernest Aug^ustus, Duke of Cum- berland—Prince Albert— Sir Robert Peel— Sir Rowland Hill. Dates: Accession of Queen Victoria, 1837— Repeal ^^ ^^ Com Laws, 1846— The Great International Exhibition, 1851. THE DUKE'S FUNERAL. 225 LVII. THE DUKE'S FUNERAL. See how the people gather together, , All thoughts of self disdaining, How feeble women in the stormy weather Stand worn but uncomplaining. It is because they here await The coming of the good and great ; The man who down to death from youth. Steered by the living star of Truth, Made his lov'd country's cause his own, And served her for herself alone ; Therefore the Queen upon her throne Weeps bitter tears to-day ; Therefore the humblest workman here Bares a rough head before the bier. When that which was the Duke draws near ; Therefore the soldiers, sadly, proudly. Move on their mournful way ; Therefore the cannon boometh loudly. Athwart the fog-smoke grey ; Therefore the leaders of the State Around the gorgeous pageant wait, And chiefs from many a land afar. From proud and distant kings, Each wise in peace or brave in war. His sign of reverence brings. H. IK 226 REIGN OF VICTORIA. Who knows not how that orb^ subh'nie Its matchless course hath run ; It were an idle waste of time To show the noonday sun ; Enough that when the ruthless GauP Became on earth the scourge of God, When one man moved the lord of all, And crushed a people where he trod, His dauntless heart in stedfast ardour burned With that gigantic foe to cope ; His eagle eye on distant hills ^ discerned The sunrise of a living hope. Thence undismayed through lands afar, With steady motion like a star. That knows not haste, nor doubt, nor rest. Still on, and on, and on he pressed. Till from that Titan,^ prostrate and forlorn, That soul of iron mix'd with clay. The purple mantle of his pride was torn, The strong sword wrench'd away. Then first our hero paused, whilst Europe shed Her stars, and crowns, and honours on his head ; And though he sought no glory, found his name The light that fiU'd the golden skies of fame. His deeds in war were great, but greater still The high clear spirit, the unfaltering will ; ' Orb, — the Duke's course is compared to that of the sun in one day. 2 Gaul, Frenchman. * Hills, the heights of Torres Vedras. * Titan, giant ; in this case it is applied to Napoleon. THE DUKE'S FUNERAL, 227 His intellect all honoured, not so much For gifts which dazzle wheresoever they touch, As that in him calm courage, zeal like fire, Which when fate darkened only blazed the higher, And patient justice that no wrong could tire, Enrich'd a simple soul without pretence. And to rare genius raised its common sense. • He was by all beloved, but less because His sword had triumphed in his country's cause. Than that men knew His life was true ; That when he saw his duty, power and pelf,* All lust of glory and all thought of self. Away like dross he threw ; That not ambition's lures, nor wounded pride, Nor malice of unjust rebuke. From honour's instant path could turn aside One footmark of the Iron Duke. • •••••• This is why the land wept o'er him. And as one man the people bore him. To sleep where Nelson slept before him. Sir Francis H. Doyle. * Pelf, riches. The word is generally used to signify moaey obtained in an unworthy manner. P2 228 REIGN OF VICTORIA. LVIII. WARS UNDER QUEEN VICTORIA. 1. The wars of Queen Victoria's reign were waged chiefly at a distance. In 1841 an English force, which had been placed in Afghanistan to sup- port a native prince, was suddenly attacked by the natives and had to retreat in the depth of winter through a rocky country full of steep mountain passes, where it was so easy to cut them off that only two men safely reached Jellalabad. Here Sir Robert Sale bravely defended himself till the spring, when General Pollock relieved him and defeated the Afghans. 2. In 1846 there began a war with the Sikhs, a warlike people in the north of India, in which, after several victories, the Punjaub, or Country of the Five Rivers^ tributaries to the Indus, was added to the English dominions in India. 3. There was, however, no European war till 1854. The Russians had always longed to drive the Turks out of Europe, saying that Turkey was a very sick man, near his death, but the English and French joined together to prevent the Rus- sians from thus gaining Constantinople, and sent their fleets and armies to guard it. 4. In the Crimea, the peninsula projecting into the Black Sea, the Russians had a great fortified town, called Sebastopol, which was intended as a stronghold whence to attack Constantinople. It was decided to lay siege to t\C\s ^\a.cfty «,tid the THE WAR IN THE CRIMEA. 229 English and French armies landed in the Crimea. The English commander was Fitzroy Somerset, lord Aaglan, and six days after the landing, a great victory was gained on the banks of the river Alma, on the 20th of September, 1854. 5. Next, Sebastopol was besieged by sea and land, and a Russian army came to try to relieve it, and drive away the allies. An order, which was either wrongly repeated or wrongly delivered, caused 600 English horsemen to charge a Russian battery, and, though all knew it was almost cer- tain death, no one faltered. They rode a mile and a half through shot and shell, fulfilled their orders, and fought their way back, men dropping every moment, and often sabred by the Russians. The Balaklava charge, though a sad waste of life, was a grand instance of British valour and discipline. 6. On the Sth of November a great night attack was made by the Russians on the besiegers on the heights of Inkermann. There was a terrible fight, lasting eight hours, but the English held their ground with unbroken valour against four times their number, till the French came and finally drove back the enemy. 7. The siege lasted the whole winter amid much suffering from cold, hunger, and exposure. It was then that the brave Flormce Nightingale brought a band of nurses to take care of the wounded, and all England did their best for the comfort of the soldiers. 8. On the i8th of June, 1855, an attack was INDIAAT MUTINY. 231 made on Sebastopol, and beaten off, to the great sorrow of the good old commander, Lord Raglan, who died a few days later. However, the siege continued, the French took one tower, and the English an outwork, known as the Rcdan^ but they had to leave it in a few minutes, and almost im- mediately after, it blew up. 9. The Russians withdrew from the nearer half of the town in the course of the next night. They got away so quietly that the English only found out what had happened by missing the sound of the cannon. The Russians now thought it time to make peace, and in 1856 the Peace of Paris was signed, the Russians engaging not to molest the Turks, and the Turks promising not to misuse their Christian subjects. 10. There was much joy at this peace, but in 1857 there was a dreadful war in India. The Sepoys, or native soldiers in the English service, imagined that there was a plan for making them Christians against their will. The natives, though much better treated by the English than by their own princes, hated the rule of strangers, and in 1858 there was a mutiny all over the province of Bengal. 11. The Sepoys murdered the English officers, with their wives and children. Terrible massacres took place, the worst of all at Cawnpore, where every English man, woman, and child were slaughtered, and only one man lived to tell the tale. The Sepoys collected at Delhi, and shut 233 REIGN OF VICTORIA. themselves up there, while another body besieged the English in the city of Lucknow. 12. Calcutta had remained quiet, and so had the Presidency of Bombay. General Havelock tried to relieve Lncknow, and won twelve battles [sir COLIN CAMPrELI,.] on his march, and he only entered the place to die of cholera not long after, having fulfilled the great wish of his life, to be a victorious general. English troops were sent out with all speed, SelM was taken on the 2oth of September, and Sir Colin THE EMPRESS OF INDIA. 233 Campbell at last brought off the brave defenders of Lucknow. 13. The mutinous Sepoys were hunted down like wild beasts, for revenge had made the British troops very cruel, but it was not before a full year had passed that the mutiny was entirely put down, and peace restored. After this, India ceased to be governed by the Company, which had existed since the time of Queen Elizabeth, and was placed under the immediate government of the Crown. There is no longer a separate army for India in the Company's service, but all alike are the soldiers of the Queen. In 1876, the title of Empress of India was added to those of the Queen. Persons : Sir Robert Sale— The Sikhs— Fitzroy Somerset, Lord Rag^lan— General Havelock — Sir Colin Campbell. Da/is : Siege of Jellalabad, 1842— War with the Sikhs, 1846 — Battle of the Alma, Charge of Balaklava, and Battle of Inkermann, 1854— Sebastopol taken, 1855— Peace of Paris, 1856— Mutiny in India commenced, 1857. LIX. BALAKLAVA. Thin glowing threads of English horse. Why do your haughty trumpets wake ? Through yon gray myriads,^ massed in force. None but the mad could hope to break. ^ MyriadSi numbers that cannot easily be counted. 234 REIGN OF VICTORIA. * Men may be mad or men be wise, * But not with us the question lies. 'Although we guess not their intent, ' This one thing well we know, * That where the Light Brigade is sent, * The Light Brigade will go.' What need to tell. Of splintering shell. Of cannon-shot and rifle-ball } The death hail smites them one and all. Through smoke that wraps them like a pail, As rain drops, each on each, they fall. Horse rolls o'er horse. Corse hideth corse. The gaps grow wide and wider, Deep-wounded men Crawl back again. Steeds rush without a rider. But still against the wondering foe, In stubborn silence forward go, Unchecked, unslackening, undismayed. The living of the Light Brigade, Till that wild onset overbears The guns in front, one moment theirs ; Sudden and sharp the halt is made. They seem in mute reprogf to say, * Your orders have been now obeyed, * As far as in us lay. * Yours are these guns, with life-blood red, * But can ye hold them by the dead ? ' Meanwhile the cannon from each hill BALAKLA VA. 235 Kept showering slaughter on them still. All paths with death are lined ; Dense columns bar their onward course, And long blue streaks of Russian horse Like nets are spread behind. That shattered remnant pauses there, Blown chargers, wounded men. Oh ! they will break like yielding air, And who will blame them then ? Not so, through that bewildered throng Like fire the leaders glance along. From rank to rank, too far to hear, We seem to feel a British cheer. While Fancy, from each blade waved high, Each gesture fierce and flashing eye, Can proud words, such as these supply : * Gather ye, gather ye, close up once more, * Swords red to the wristband, hearts steel to the core. * Lance, sabre, and carbine, dragoon and Cossack * Are strong to the sight, but they dare not attack. * No cutting, give point, were they twenty to one, ' Men who wait to be charged, when we gallop will run.* They gather, they gather, they close up once more. Swords red to the wristband, hearts steel to the core. Though wide wounds may weaken, though horses may blow. They have pace enough left for a dash at the foe; 236 REIGN OF VICTORIA. Then as hawks might sweep down through the toils of a spider, Right at the blue line goes each horse and its rider. It is rent like a rag, burst like bubbles asunder, When down from each height roars redoubled their thunder. Still unstayed and unbroken they cut their way through, Past spears that outflank them, from swords that pursue. With cannon and riflemen hot on their track. Destroyed but unconquered we welcome them back. Not a man in that death charge his chief hath forsaken. And the guns that you flung them at, were they not taken ? And though beneath yon fatal hill. Their dead the valley strew. Grimly with cold hands, clenching still The broken swords they drew. We will not call their lives ill spent. If in all time they shew That where the Light Brigade is sent. The Light Brigade will go. Sir F. II. Doyle. rr^^f^mst MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 237 LX. THE SECOND TWENTY VICTORIAN YEARS. 1. The year 1861 ended with a great mis- fortune to the Queen and to the whole country. The Prince Consort, who had well earned the title oi Albert the Good^ died of fever, on the 14th of De- cember, at Windsor Castle. He had great abilities and strength of character, but his whole life had been spent in assisting the Queen in her many cares, never putting himself forward into her place, but keeping so much in the background that his full worth was hardly known till he was missed. 2. Two years later, the Prince of Wales was married to the Princess Alexandra of Denmark, amid the greatest rejoicings, and bonfires on ajmost every hill* top in England. 3. A short war took place, in 1868, with Theo- dore, the half savage King of Abyssinia. He had once seemed willing to let his people be instructed and improved, and had several British subjects living at his capital, Magdala ; but taking offence at a letter to the Queen not being answered as he expected, he threw them into prison, and refused to release them. Sir Robert Napier was therefore sent out, made a most skilful march, and stormed Magdala. Theodore killed himself in his rage and despair, and his only child, a boy of five years old, was brought to England to be educated, but he died just as he was reaching manhood. 238 REIGN OF VICTORIA. 4. In the year 1867, a bill had been passed ex- tending the franchise (that is, the power of voting for members of Parliament) to all householders in borough towns who paid rates, and lodgers paying ten pounds for the year ; and in counties to persons paying twelve pounds rent. Five years later, in 1872, another act was passed that votes should be given by ballot, in the hope that when the names were not recorded, it would be less likely that the voters would be led to take bribes, or be drawn aside by fear or favour instead of following their judgment and conscience. 5. In order that no one should be too ignorant thus to do his duty to the State, Acts were passed in 1870, and again in 1876, to prevent any children from growing up without being taught. Their parents have the choice as to what schools they will send them to, and in what form of doctrine they shall be instructed ; but no child in health can be allowed to run wild and idle, or be set to work before he or she has gone through a course of instruction. 6. Railroads and electric telegraphs have made communication with all parts of the world so rapid and easy, that what was a wonder fifty years ago is a common thing now. Kings and Queens go about and visit one another as they never thought of doing formerly, and England has been visited at different times by most of the Princes of Europe, besides the Shah of Persia and the Queen of the Sandwich Islands. The Prince of Wales has TREATY OF BERLIN. 239 visited America and India, and his brother, the Duke of Edinburgh, an officer in the Navy, has visited most of the English colonies, in spite of being once badly wounded by an assassin in Australia. 7. A war took place with the savage Negro King of Ashantee, who had interfered with British trade ; but Sir Garnet Wolseley successfully carried this through, taking Coomassie, the capital, almost without loss, and bringing King Koffee to terms. 8. After the Crimean war, the Christians in Turkey had been placed under the protection of the European powers, but they were still often ill- treated. There were insurrections in the provinces which were thought to be encouraged by Russia in the hope of gaining Turkey. Much savage ferocity was shown by the Turks in putting down these risings, especially in Bulgaria, and this led to another war between Turkey and Russia, and it was thought that England was bound by her treaties to take up the defence of the weaker country, where the Turks were fighting bravely. It did not, however, prove necessary to take up arms. Only the English fleet was sent to Constan- tinople and troops were brought to Malta, thus showing that the Government would interfere to prevent the conquest of Turkey. On this the Czar consented to a new treaty, which was made at Berlin in 1878. Again the Sultan made engage- ments with the European powers that his Christian 240 REIGN OF VICTORIA, subjects should not be molested, and by another convention made between England and Turkey, the English undertook to protect the Asiatic pro- vinces of the latter country, on receiving the Island of Cyprus from the Turks in order to have a station near at hand in case of need. 9. That same year, 1878, the colony of Natal became involved in a quarrel with Cetewayo, the King of the Zulu tribes on the frontier. A war began, and the English advanced into the Zulu country in two divisions. One of these, by some unhappy error, allowed itself to be surprised and cut off by the Zulus. Almost every living creature in the camp at Isandalana was slaughtered, and very few escaped. The two lieutenants who carried the colours were found dead upon them, close to the River Tugela, which forms the boundary between Natal and Zululand. ID. However, the other camp, under Colonel Pearson, held out bravely, though surrounded by Zulus ; and at last, more troops coming out from home, a victory was gained at TJliindi, and Cete- wayo was hunted down, made prisoner, and brought to the Cape. His power has been broken up under lesser chiefs, who may not be so dangerous. II. The Ameer, or Prince of Afghanistan, having refused to receive an English Resident at his Court at Cabul, it was suspected at the per- suasion of the Russians, another war was begun with him. He died in the midst of it, just as he had been defeated. His son, Ta^'ob ]QiSiar, w'as THE FUTURE, 241 set up in his stead by the English, but did not prevent the Cabulese from attacking the English Residency and killing all within. On the advance of the English, Yakoob fled and surrendered to them ; but these fierce mountain tribes are hard to subdue, and in their country all is as yet in an un- settled state. 12. Thus, so far as is possible, we have gone through the main events of English history. Let us remember that what is yet to come depends upon ourselves. The nation is made up of single persons, and whoever tries to lead an honest, brave, upright life, doing his or her duty to God, to man, and to the country, is helping to keep our beloved old England in honour and in safety. Persons: The Prince Consort— The Prince and Princess of Wales— Theodore, King of Abyssinia— Sir Robert Napier- Sir Garnet Wolseley— Cetewayo, King of the Zulus— Yakoob Khan. Dates: Storming of Magdala and the passing of a new Reform Bill, 1867— The Education Acts, 1870 and 1876— The Ballot Act, 1872— War with the Zulus began, 1878. T\T C\ 242 TABLES, KINGS OF THE HOUSES OF TUDOR, STEWART, AND BRUNSWICK. 1485. Henry VIL, great-great-great-grandson to Edward III., and Elizabeth, daughter to Edward IV. 1509. Henry VIIL, son to Henry VIL, grandson to Edward IV. 1547. Edward VL, son to Henry VIIL 1553. Mary L, daughter to Henry VIIL 1558. Elizabeth, daughter to Henry VIIL 1603. James L, great-grandson to Henry VIL 1625. Charles I., son to James I. 1649. ^^ Commonwealth, 1660. Charles II., son to Charles I. 1683. James II., son to Charles I. 1685. William III., grandson to Charles I., and Mary IL, daughter to James II. 1702. Anne, daughter to James 1 1. 1 7 14. George L, great-grandson to James I. 1725. George IL, son to George I. 1760. George III., grandson to George IL 1820. George IV., son to George III. 1830. William IV., son to George HI. 1837. Victoria, grand-daughter to George III. STEPS IN THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. (About) 900. Alfred drew up a code of Old English Customs. 1066. WilJiam L brought in the feudal system. TABLES. 243 121.5. Magna Charta. 1265. Representatives sent to Parliament. 1294. Right of taxing secured to Parliament 1 308. Peers and Commons separated. 1679. Habeas Corpus Act. 1694. Triennial Parliaments. 1707. Union with Scotland 1 716. Septennial Parliaments. 1800. Union with Ireland. 1829. Roman Catholics and Nonconformists admitted to sit in Parliament and hold offices of State. 1832. The Reform Bill passed. 1867. The Second Reform Bill 1872. Vote by Ballot. THE QUEEN'S DESCENT FROM KING ALFRED AND FROM WILLIAM L Egbert. Ethclwolf Alfred the Great. Edward the Elder. Edmund I. Edgar the Peaceable. Ethelred the Unready. Edmund Ironside. Edward the Stranger. William I. Margaret Atheling. Henry I. David I. of Scotland. Matilda. Henry, Prince of Scotland. Henry II. David, Earl of Huntingdon. ^oVvtu <i2 244 TABLES. Isabel, Countess of An- nandale. Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce. Robert I. of Scotland Marjorie, m, Walter Stewart Robert 11. of Scotland. Robert III. of Scotland. James I. of Scotland. James II. of Scotland. James III. of Scotland. Henry HI. Edward I. Edward 11. Edward HI. Lionel Philippa, m, Mortimer. Roger Mortimer. Anne, ;//. Edmund of York. Richard of York. Edward IV. Elizabeth of York. James IV. of Scotland married Margaret Tudor. James V. of Scotland. Mary m, Henry Stewart James I. of England. Elizabeth m, Frederick of the Rhine. Sophia ;//. Ernest of Brunswick. George I. George II. Frederick. George III. Edward. Victoria. o o D h O in D O s ^m\\k 244 TABLES, Isabel, Countess of An- nandale. Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce. Robert I. of Scotland Marjorie, m. Walter Stewart Robert II. of Scotland. Robert III. of Scotland. James I. of Scotland. James II. of Scotland. James III. of Scotland. Henry III. Edward I. Edward II. Edward III. Lionel Philippa, m, Mortimer. Roger Mortimer. Anne, m. Edmund of York. Richard of York. Edward IV. Elizabeth of York. James IV. of Scotland married Margaret Tudor. James V. of Scotland. Mary m, Henry Stewart James I. of England. Elizabeth m. Frederick of the Rhine. Sophia ;//. Ernest of Brunswick. « George I. George II. Frederick. George III. Edward. Victoria. 0^ o o D h O en D O s 244 TABLES, Isabel, Countess of An- nandale. Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce. Robert I. of Scotland Marjorie, m. Walter Stewart Robert II. of Scotland. Robert III. of Scotland. James I. of Scotland. James II. of Scotland. James III. of Scotland. Henry III. Edward I. Edward 11. Edward III. Lionel Philippa, m, Mortimer. Roger Mortimer. Anne, m. Edmund of York. Richard of York. Edward IV. Elizabeth of York. James IV. of Scotland married Margaret Tudor. James V. of Scotland. Mary m, Henry Stewart James I. of England. Elizabeth m, Frederick of the Rhine. Sophia m, Ernest of Brunswick. George I. George II. Frederick. George HI. Edward. Victoria. 0^ o o D H O en D O I I s s o 2 ^^ ^* N 1 « I -5 & ;:9 111 ^ ^ 1 a Mg *!! Is •3 » 5 M S H ^2 * s o B« ST) O ^o s •5 -5 SO I u 00 O c o SP4 -5^ a !^ 1 9 « 00 € •• W o 12 2 ■« i S 1 -Le- S C! H M Ei < CO {in O H CO I 8 I Urn O 5 a I s ■8 • 5 - O fa 5 s 9 s o o CO i 6 .a •O H ja o •So s M .00 244 TABLES. Isabel, Countess of An- nandale. Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce. Robert I. of Scotland Maijorie, ;//. Walter Stewart Robert II. of Scotland. Robert III. of Scotland. James I. of Scotland. James 11. of Scotland. James III. of Scotland. Henry III. Edward I. Edward II. Edward III. Lionel Philippa, m, Mortimer. Roger Mortimer. Anne, w. Edmund of York. Richard of York. Edward IV. Elizabeth of York. James IV. of Scotland married Margaret Tudor. James V. of Scotland. Mary m. Henry Stewart James I. of England. Elizabeth m, Frederick of the Rhine. Sophia m, Ernest of Brunswick. George I. George II. Frederick. George III. Edward. Victoria. 0^ o o D h O in D O s «i^\# J. u^j. ■/#■«## tu0 m BATTLES. 15 13. Guingate, or the 1745. Fontenoy. Spurs. Preston Pans. Flodden. 1746. Culloden. 1547. Pinkey. 1757. Plassy. 1642. Edgehill. 1759. Minden. Chalgrove. Quebec. J 643. Newbury. 1775. Bunker's HilL 1644. Marston Moor. 1806. Maida. 1645. Naseby. 1808. Vimiera. 165 1. Worcester. 1809. Corunna. 1689. Killiecrankie. Talavera. 1690. The Boyne. 1 8 10. Busaco. 1704. Blenheim. 181 2. Salamanca. 1706. Ramilies. 1813. Vittoria. 1707. Almanza. 1 8 14. Pyrenees. 1708. Oudenarde. Orthes. 1709. Malplaquet. 'Ibulouse. 1 7 15. Preston. 1815. Waterloo. Dumblane, or Sheriff 1854. Alma. Muir. Balaklava. 1743. Dettingen. Inkermann. SEA F IGHTS. 1588. Defeat of the Ar- 1797. Camperdown. mada. 1798. Aboukir, or the Nile. 1666. At the Thames. 1 80 1. Copenhagen. 1692. Ta Hogue, 1805. Trafalgar. 1782, Jamaica. 1816. Algiers. T^gj. St Vincent. 1827. Navarino. QUESTIONS, 247 QUESTIONS. The Kings. How many Royal Houses or dynasties have reigned in England ? How did the Norman line come in ? How did the Plantagenet line come in ? How did the Tudors come in ? What was the claim of the Stewarts ? How was the House of Brunswick brought in ? How many Queens in their own right have there been? Wlien was England without King or Queen ? Which King died young ? Which Queen never married ? What Princes have our Queens married ? Which of these were acknowledged as Kings ? What other claim had William IH. to be King? Which King was beheaded ? Which King abdicated ? In what two reigns were there Regencies ? For what causes ? The Union. When did Scotland and England first have one King? AVhen did the Union with Scotland take place ? What was meant by the Union ? Who was the first Sovereign of United Great Britain? When did the Union with Ireland take place ? Who was the first Sovereign of the United British Isles ? 24S QUESTIONS. The Five R's. What was the Reformation ? What was the Rebellion ? What was the Restoration ? What was the Revolution ? What was Reform ? Changes. What period is meant when we speak of the Common- wealth ? Who then governed England ? Who brought back the Stewart family ? Why was James II. again expelled ? What attempts were made to restore him and his family ? Where were his- attempts made ? AVhere was he defeated ? When was his son's attempt made ? Where? In what battles were his friends defeated ? What was the name of his grandson ? When did he land in Scotland ? What were his battles ? How far did he advance in England ? Party Names. Who were the Puritans ? Who were the Cavaliers ? Who were the Roundheads ? Who were the Covenanters ? Who were the Whigs ? Who were the Jacobites ? Who were the Tories ? QUESTIONS. 249 The Church. What led to the Church of England breaking with Rome ? What two Sovereigns have since been Roman Ca- tholics ? When was it made a law that no English Sovereign may be a Roman Catholic ? When was there a persecution by the Rr)man Ca- tholics? How many persons suffered then? When was the Bible first read in English ? Who caused our present version to be made ? When was the Prayer-Book arranged ? When was its use forbidden ? When was it restored ? What four Archbishops of Canterbury have died violent deaths ? And for what causes ? What were the Seven Bishops tried for ? Wars. Who have been the greatest English Generals ? Who have been the greatest English Admirals ? What commanders have been killed in the moment of victory ? What reigns have been peaceful throughout ? In what reigns have there been civil wars ? In what reigns have there been wars with France ? In what reigns have there been wars with Spain ? In what reign was there a war with Russia ? When was Calais lost ? What was the Spanish Armada ? 250 QUESTIONS. How was it defeated? Who were Queen Elizabeth's great sailors ? What battles were fought in the great Rebellion ? What sea fights took place with the Dutch ? What battles were caused by the English Revolution? What was the War of the Spanish Succession ? What battle was then fought in Germany ? \Vhat t)attles in Spain ? What battles in the Low Countries ? What Spanish fortress was taken ? What peace ended the War of the Spanish Suc- cession ? At what date ? What was the War of the Austrian Succession ? What battles were then fought ? In what battle was George II. present ? What attack was made on Scotland during this war ? \Vhat peace ended the AVar of the Austrian Suc- cession ? AVhat was the Seven Years* War ? Where did the English and French chiefly fight ? What was the Indian victory ? What was the American victory ? What battle was fought in Germany ? What convention ended our part in the Seven Years* War? What was the American War? With what battle did it begin? How did it end ? In what year ? What was the French Revolution ? What great naval victories were then gained? Which were won by Lord Nelson ? QUESTIONS. 251 Where did Lord Nelson die ? What peace was made ? In what year? How was it broken ? ^Vhat was the Peninsular War? • What battles were gained there? Who was the first French Emperor ? Where was he finally overthrown ? What was the Crimean War? What were the battles there fought? What treaty ended it ? In what wars did Marlborough fight ? Where did Clive fight ? Where were the wars of the Duke of Cumberland ? Where were Nelson's chief victories? AVhere were Wellington's battles? The Colonies. What are Colonies ? Where was the first British Colony ? Who first led English people to America ? What were the settlers in North America In the time of James I. called? When was Jamaica gained by the English ? When did the East India Company begin? How was Canada gained ? 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