M ; ? , r^nMTT^HlMFWM^FTl yk/ -;v vie [ ^i( v -;' 4 ^Sri \v TRUE STORIES MODERN HISTORY. FH03 6. ?. TRUE STORIES, MODERN HISTORY: CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED, FROM THE DEATH OF CHARLEMAGNE TO THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. BY THE AUTHOR OF TRUE STORI p P '"OM ANCIENT HISTORY, ALWAYS HAPPY, ETC. " The study of History may contribute to our improvement in self-know- edge." Mrs. H. More. Ztebfsetf antt amcnticK. Jfa '^nrk raft fetnn : C. S. FRANCIS AND COMPANY. 1854. CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX. . D. PAGE 828 Egbert, King of England 9 840 Germany severed from France 12 870 Iceland peopled from Norway 22 871 Alfred the Great 17 886 Oxford University founded 20 912 The Normans settle in Neustria 24 915 Cambridge University founded 26 956 Hugh Capet, King of France 31 1066 William the Norman, King of England 38 1070 Feudal law introduced into England 39 1080 Roderigo the Cid flourished 43 1087 William Rufus, King of England 46 1095 The first Crusade 9 1 100 Henry I. Beauclerc, King of England 51 1135 Stephen, King of England 57 1138 Guelphs and Ghibellines 61 1 139 Alphonso, first King of Portugal 61 1147 Second Crusade 63 1 1 54 Henry II. Plantagenet, King of England 68 1171 Thomas a Becket assassinated 71 1 172 Ireland conquered by Henry II 71 1189 Richard I. Cceur de Lion, King of England 77 1199 John (Lackland), King of England 84 1202 Constantinople taken by the French 84 1204 Inquisition established 92 1214 Battle of Bouvines 88 1215 Magna Charta 91 1216 Henry III. King of England 97 1226 St. Louis, King of France 105 1227 Zingis Khan, the Tarter Chief 103 1261 The first Parliament in England 97 VI CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX. A. D. PAGE 1272 Edward I. (Longshanks), King of England 113 1282 Sicilian Vespers 118 1283 Wales conquered by Edward 1 114 L285 Philip IV. King of France 128 1290 William Wallace, the Scottish Hero 116 1299 Ottoman Empire established 120 1307 Swiss Republics established 121 1307 Edward II. King of England 125 1309 The Papal Seat removed to Avignon 127 1312 Knights Templars abolished 128 1327 Edward III. King of England 133 1330 Gunpowder invented 152 1333 Casimir III. the Great, King of Poland 160 1341 Jane, Duchess of Brittany 136 1341 Jane, Countess of Montfort 137 1344 The Widow Clisson 141 1346 Battle of Crecy 134 1347 Surrender of Calais 135 1356 Battle of Poitiers 142 1360 Janizaries, or Zingi Cheri, instituted about this time 120 1364 Charles V. the Wise, King of France 154 1377 Richard II. King of England 162 1380 Tamerlane, or Timour Beg, the Tartar Chief. . 166 1380 Charles VI. King of France 174 1387 Margaret, the Semiramis of the North 169 1399 Henry IV. King of England 170 1413 Henry V. King of England 174 1415 Battle of Azincourt 178 1417 Paper first made from rags 181 1422 Henry VI. King of England 185 1428 Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans 186 1440 Invention of Printing 183 1453 Constantinople taken by the Turks 197 1461 Edward IV. King of England 199 1461 Louis XI. King of France, 207 1479 Ivan frees Russia from the Tartars 203 1483 Edward V. King of England, 206 1483 Richard III. King of England 211 1485 Henry VII. King of England 214 1492 The Moors driven out of Spain 224 1 492 Columbus discovers America 225 1494 Entry of Charles VIII. of France, into Florence 218 1497 First Passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope 229, 349 CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX. VU A. D. PAGE 1498 Louis XH. King of France 229 1509 Henry VIII. King of England 234 1515 Francis I. King of France 239,250 1517 The Reformation begun by Martin Luther 234 1519 Charles V. Emperor 250 1523 Gustavus Vasa, King of Sweden 244 1524 Death of the Chevalier Bayard . . . . , 241 1525 Battle of Pavia 251 1527 Pizarro invades Peru 228 1534 The Reformation in England 236 1535 The Society of Jesuits formed 247 1547 Edward VI. King of England 255 1647 Gabriel, Count de Montgomery 258 1653 Mary I. Q. of England : Lady Jane Grey be- headed 263 1 558 Calais recovered by the French 265 1558 Elizabeth, Queen of England 266 1572 Massacre of St. Bartholomew 270 1578 Battle of Alcazar : Don Sebastian killed 281 1579 The Republic of Holland begins 267 1581 The Admirable Crichton assassinated 283 1585 Shah Abbas, the Great, Sovereign of Persia ... 281 1587 Mary Queen of Scots beheaded 268 1588 Destruction of the Spanish Armada 268 1589 Henry IV. the Great, King of France 289 1600 English East India Company incorporated .... 269 1603 James I. King of Great Britain 284 1605 Gunpowder Plot discovered 285 1611 Order of Knights Baronets instituted 286 1623 Cruelties of the Dutch at Amboyna 350 1625 Charles I. King of Great Britain 295 1632 Henry Duke de Montmorenci beheaded 308 1640 Revolution of Portugal 300 1641 Earl of Strafford beheaded 297 1643 Louis XIV. King of France 312 1644 Revolution in China 342 1649 Charles I. beheaded: England a republic. 298,303 1653 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England.. 304 1660 Charles II. King of England, restored 320 1660 Aurengzebe, the Mogul Emperor 341 1661 The Man with the Iron Mask 315 1682 Peter I. the Great, Czar of Russia 326 1683 Lord William Russell beheaded 322 1685 James II. King of Great Britain 329 1688 Revolution in Great Britain 332 HI! CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX. A. T). PAGE 1689 William and Mary joint Sovereigns of Great Britain 337 1697 Charles XII. King of Sweden 332 1700 Philip V. King of Spain 340 1702 Anne, Queen of Great Britain 343 1703 Gibraltar taken by Sir G. Rooke 345 1709 The Battle of Pultowa 334 1714 George I. King of Great Britain 352 1715 Louis XV. King of France 356 1720 South-Sea Bubble in England 355 1720 Mississippi Scheme in France 357 1725 Death of Peter the Great, of Russia 329 1727 George II. King of Great Britain 360 1740 Frederick the Great, King of Prussia 368 1744 Anson sails round the World 363 1746 Victory of Culloden 361 f752 New Style introduced into Great Britain 362 755 Lisbon destroyed by an Earthquake 364 1759 General Wolfe takes Quebec 364 1760 George III. King of Great Britain 374 1762 Catherine II. Empress of Russia 372 1772 Poland dismembered <'. 372 1774 Louis XVI. King of France 378 1783 America independent 375 1789 Revolution in France 379 1804 Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of the French. 391 1806 Slave Trade abolished in Great Britain 377 1815 Battle of Waterloo, June 18 * 391 TRUE STORIES FROM MODERN HISTORY CHAPTER I. EGBERT, FIRST KING OF ENGLAND. I HAVE already told you,* that the Saxons, a people from Germany, had conquered England, and divided it into seven kingdoms, each ruled by its own prince ; and that this was called the Saxon Heptarchy, or sevenfold government. Egbert, one of these princes, having become sovereign of more than one of these kingdoms, by the right of succession, resolved to make himself master of the rest. He therefore raised an army ; and soon conquering all the other princes, he succeeded in his plan, and united all the small principalities into one great monarchy. * See " True Stories from Ancient History." 10 EGBERT. X . Thus, almost four hundred years after the first arrival of the Saxons under Hengist and Horsa, Egbert became sole king of England. Egbert was a brave and polite prince ; for he had resided in France during the reign of Charlemagne, and there he had learned not only polished manners, but many useful arts. He was crowned at Winchester ; and the southern part of the island was then first called England. The English had become very wise and civilized in comparison of the naked Britons, who so bravely opposed the Romans under Julius Cae- sar. Good houses, neat furniture, decent cloth- ing, were to be seen ; instead of mud hovels, wooden bowls, platters, stools, and fur garments. The Christian religion was established, and the clergy had acquired much learning. The greater portion of the people were, however, still very ignorant ; and you will smile to hear that an eclipse of the sun was deemed an omen of approaching calamity. Even you children now know an eclipse of the sun to be caused by the moon coming between the earth and the sun, and hence keeping from us the light of that luminary. Egbert did not long enjoy his dominions in peace ; for the Danes invaded his kingdom. The Danes were one of those rude nations which EGBERT. 11 swarmed from the north of Europe ? They were anciently caHed Cimbri, one of the Gothic tribes, and are said to have been governed by a king, named Schiold, sixty years before Christ. Rag- ner Lodbrog, one of their monarchs, was killed in England, which he had invaded with a strong army. On some future day, you will have much amusement in reading of Odin, or Woden. He lived in the time of Pompey ; and, being driven from the south, fled to the north, where he laid the foundation of a city, on the island of Funen, in the Baltic Sea. Look in the map of that place, and you will see the name of Odensee. This Odin was worshipped as a god by the Scandinavians, the general name for many of the northern nations. When Egbert was attacked by the Danes, Norway, Sweden and Denmark were united un- der one king ; but the English monarch, after many battles, drove away the invading barbari- ans, and for a short period procured peace for his country. After the death of Egbert, the Danes again attacked England, and kept the island in con- tinued alarm. Ethelwolf, the son and successor of Egbert, tried in vain to subdue the invaders : they yearly gained ground. His son Ethelbald 12 GERMANY SKVERED was equally unfortunate ; and on the death of this last prince, A. D. 871, England was in a most wretched state. CHAPTER II. GERMANY SEVERED FROM FRANCE. CHARLEMAGNE, you may remember, was the sovereign of a very extensive empire ; of France, Germany, and Italy. But great changes took place after his death. I think you must observe how generally the dominions of great con- querors fall away from their successors ; and that the only permanent advantage which great men can bestow is in instructing and improving mankind ; for virtue and wisdom, once attained, are not soon lost. Louis I. the son of Charlemagne, was of so mild and kind a disposition, that he obtained the surname of Debonnaire, or Gentle ; yet, though he possessed many and great virtues, his reign proved very unfortunate, in conse- quence of his second marriage to Judith of Bavaria, a very haughty bad woman. To se- cure the crown for her son Charles, she sowed FROM FRANCE. 13 dissensions between Louis and his three sons by his former marriage, so that they rebelled against him, and forced him to take refuge in a monastery, whilst one of them, named Lotha- rius, assumed the title of Emperor. Some time afterward, Louis regained his dominions, and forgave his sons ; but they soon again rebelled ; and Lotharius was so wicked and cruel as to make his father do public penance, that is, con- fess himself in fault before the people, clothed in a mean, coarse dress. Lotharius now thought his father would be too much despised, ever to be able to regain his throne ; for, in those days, the doing penance exposed a man to the con- tempt of all the world. His subjects, however, did not believe Louis to be guilty of the crimes he had been forced to confess ; and therefore, finding a proper opportunity, they took him out of the cell in which his unnatural son had con- fined him, and once more proclaimed him Em- peror. With his usual good nature, Louis pardoned Lotharius, and even made him king of Italy, but commanded him never to leave that country without his permission. Some time afterward, the three brothers again quar- relled with him, and, in marching against one of them, he was so overcome by fatigue, vexa- tion, and a fright occasioned by a total eclipse 14 GERMANY SEVERED of the sun, that he fell ill, and died at the age of sixty-two. Those who could wickedly abuse a parent, were not likely to regard any of the other ties of life. The brothers quarrelled among them- selves ; and, after many contests, made a divi- sion of the empire : Charles was declared King of France, and Lotharius was established as Emperor of Germany. This Charles, to whom I have just alluded, was surnamed " the Bald ;" for in those days it was customary to give even kings what we should call nicknames, derived from some per- sonal quality, defect, or circumstance. He was son of Louis the Debonnaire and the wicked Judith ; and, being as bad as his mother, was hated by all his subjects. He was only seven- teen years of age when he became king, and is to be pitied rather than condemned, on account of his youth and his want of a proper education. He lived extravagantly, and dressed gaudily and effeminately ; so that everybody despised him. When he grew up to be a man. he had children, who proved as undutiful to him as he had been to his father ; a just retribution for his former conduct. Carloman, one of his sons, rebelled against him ; but Charles took him FROM FRANCE. 15 prisoner, had his eyes put out, and confined him for the rest of his days. After the death of Lotharius and his son Louis II. Charles recovered the empire ; but he had held it not quite two years, when one of iiis nephews led an army against him, to wrest it from him. Charles marched into Italy, to meet his adversary ; but being betrayed by his nobles, he fled, and was poisoned, it is said, by his phy- sician, a Jew, in a miserable cottage near Mount Cenis. He was at first buried near Lyons ; but, seven years afterward, his remains were re- moved to St. Denis, where he had desired to be interred. His son Louis succeeded to the throne of France*, but the empire was dissevered from it. It was during the reign of Charles the Bald that the Normans, one of the Gothic tribes from Scandinavia, first appeared in France, and, sail- ing up the Seine, burned a great part of the city of Paris ; and Charles, instead of fightingj gave them large sums of money to retire ; a certain method of ensuring their return. They then entered Germany, where they committed extensive depredations, and had laid siege to the city of Hamburgh, when the Germans at- tacked them and put them to flight. The Pope of Rome was now gaining much 16 GERMANY SEVERED power : he ruled not only in religious affairs, but had great territorial possessions. I shall make you laugh, when I tell you, that about this time a woman named Joan, in male attire, ob- tained the papal dignity. It is said that Pope Joan governed a couple of years without her sex being known ; but this report is not univer- sally believed. The Saracens were still in great power ; and, attacking the Venetians, destroyed their fleet. But now that the states of Europe are rising into consequence, and each offering matter for a distinct history, it will be impossible for me to notice all the events that occurred in every sep- arate kingdom. What I shall here relate must be of a general nature ; and I can only record remarkable circumstances that have happened throughout the world. So you must bear in mind that Italy under the Popes (thence called the Papal dominions), France, Spain, Germany, England, under their respective sovereigns, and the Eastern or Greek Empire (the last relic of Roman dignity), under its Emperor, are each and all subsisting, whilst I, perhaps, am confining my narrative to one of them. The Scots had now a king who deserves no- tice, Kenneth M'Alpin. This warlike monarch FROM FRANCE. 17 fought and conquered the Picts, a people who had long dwelt in the northern part of the island ; and, having completely mastered them, joined their territories to his own. Scotland was anciently called Caledonia ; but, .from a people named Scoti, who passed over from Ire- land in the eleventh century, and settled in that country, it was thenceforth denominated Scotland. CHAPTER III. ALFRED THE GREAT. I HAVE told you, that England was in a mis- erable condition at -the time of Ethelbald's death. But I can now tell you how England was res- cued from foreign foes, and the foundation of her present greatness laid. A younger brother of Ethelbald, Alfred the Great, was this preserver and benefactor. Alfred was only twenty-two years old when he became king of England. The Danes were then in possession of much land in the northern part of the island, and Alfred at first was un- successful in his attempts against them. But he was too brave and too wise to de- 18 ALFRED THE GREAT. Bpair. He knew that " perseverance conquers all things ;" and he therefore continued his ef- forts and gained some advantages. But when the Danes received fresh troops from their own country, the English were so disheartened that many of them deserted their valiant king ; and, as he could not fight without an army, he retired from the unequal contest. It was not from the base motive of saving his life, that he thus retired ; no, he retired to gain time for making farther preparations ; he pre- served his life for the future service of his country. It is not courage, but foolhardiness, to attempt impossibilities. Alfred dismissed his friends and attendants, and, without even a single servant, he wandered about in the dress of a peasant ; but still he contrived to become acquainted with all that was going on, as well among his enemies as among his friends ; and when he supposed his presence might be serviceable to the latter he left his retirement. The Earl of Devonshire had just conquered some of the Danes, and slain Hubba, one of their principal generals. Before he discovered him- self, Alfred desired much to know many particu- lars respecting the main army of his foes ; and he resolved to undertake the hazardous task of . ALFRED THE GREAT. 19 entering the Danish camp, for the purpose of observation. For the sake of his country he had formerly- preserved his life ; for the sake of his country- he was now willing to lose it. This was true courage. Disguised as a minstrel, and with a harp in his hand, Alfred went into the midst of his foes, where he so well acquitted himself, that he was carried before Gruthrum, the Danish prince, and was by him much admired. The youthful harper made every necessary observa-- tion ; and, when he had informed himself of the force of the enemy, their plans and arrange- ments, he retired in safety, and soon afterward summoned his people to take up arms in their own defence. c . ; n From this time prosperity crowned the en- deavors of Alfred. The few soldiers his friends had collected were -soon joined by numbers of* the bravest English. The Danes were repulsed, and driven out of the country ; and though they returned again, they were again vanquished. Alfred having procured that first of blessings, peace, to his beloved country, and having taken measures to ensure a continuance of tranquilli ty, next devoted himself to improve the condition of his subjects. He only loved arms when they were necessary for defence. Unlike many other 20 ALFRED THE GREAT. men, also called Great, he did not think all glory consisted in war. You have seen how little good came of Alexander's mighty conquests : you shall hear what were the effects of Alfred's labors. That his subjects might improve in knowledge, he not only wrote books for their instruction, but he also founded colleges, or public schools, at Oxford, and invited thither learned men from all parts of Europe. He encouraged the useful manufactures, and thus not only increased the comforts and con- veniences of life but aroused the industry of his people. Idleness is fruitful of vice and misery ; when Alfred, therefore, encouraged honest in- dustry, he discouraged the miserable vice of idleness. To ensure a better administration of justice, Alfred drew up a code or book of laws, some of which were so good, that they are still acted upon. He built ships and provided soldiers to guard the land ; so that when foes appeared, they were quickly repulsed. You will ask, how did he contrive to perform so much ? I will tell you. He regulated his time, and was never idle. He divided the day into three portions. He gave eight hours tg ALFRED THE GREAT. 21 public business, and the duties of government ; eight hours he devoted to study and devotion, reading and writing ; and eight hours to sleep, meals, and recreation. Of all this excellent king's sage rules, this last is most suited for general acceptation. To be kings, generals, and lawgivers, is the lot of only a few ; but all can in some degree govern their time, and, by early rising and persevering industry, render every hour valuable. Alfred, it is said, was twelve years old before he began to acquire any learning. But the queen, his mother, being a sensible woman, gave him afterward so much encouragement, that when he had once begun to improve him- self he rapidly advanced in learning. He was sent to Rome for his education, and was care- ful to take advantage of every opportunity of instruction. He was handsome in his person and pleasing in his manners ; mild in peace, though valiant in ^var ; severe in duty, but merciful in govern- ment. His subjects loved him as much as his enemies feared him. After a busy life, unremittingly employed for the benefit of his fellow-creatures, Alfred died, in the fifty-second year of his age, and the ihirtieth of his reign, A. D. 900. 22 ICELAND PEOPLED. What think you of him ? Did he, or Alex- ander of Macedon, best deserve the title of Great ? Alfred first divided England into counties, ti things, and hundreds. At this period, Wales was a distinct princi- pality, and had a king of its own, who, however, did homage to his neighbor Alfred, king of England. Of Ireland little was known at this era, ex- cept that, like England, it was occasionally rav- aged by the Danes, and that the Norwegians also made inroads into it. These latter once were masters of the cities of Dublin, Waterford, and Limerick, reckoned the finest in Ireland. CHAPTER IV. ICELAND PEOPLED FROM NORWAY. AT the death of Ragner Lodbrog, his three sons divided the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, among them. About this time, a colony from Norway, under Ingolfr, emigrated to Iceland, an interesting island, lying between Greenland and Norway. These Norwegians are supposed to have been the first inhabitants DEATH OF CARLOMAN. 22, of this northern island ; they built there the town of Reykeavik, and were joined by some families from Ireland and Scotland. Iceland is full of natural wonders. Though it has a very cold climate, it contains numerous springs of water, that issue from the earth, boiling hot. It has also many volcanoes, the most remarkable of which is Mount Hecla. This, like Vesuvius (of which I have already spoken), is a high hill, from which fire and hot ashes are frequently thrown out. Pray contrive to read a full account of the interesting island of Iceland. About the time that Alfred subdued the, Danes, Carloman began to reign in France, of whom I have a little anecdote worth recording. He was son of Louis the Stammerer, and grand- son of Charles the Bald ; and he reigned jointly with his brother Louis III. They were always united and happy together ; but their reign was short and full of trouble. Carloman was killed accidentally, and at his death showed a generosity of character, which deserves to be remembered. He was very fond of hunting the wild boar, an exercise then much in fashion, and in which great courage was often displayed. One day, when he was following that diversion, one of his guards, aiming at the boar, had the 24 EVENTS IN CHlNE.,Jfi HISTORY. misfortune to wound the king mortally, by striking him instead of the animal. Carloman, aware that, although the poor man had done it unintentionally, he would be put to a cruel death, if it were thought that he had slain his sovereign, generously attributed the wound to the boar, and, by so doing, saved the life of his guard. Not long after the death of Alfred, the Nor- mans continued their depredations in France ; and Hollo, one of their chiefs, obliged the French king, Charles the Simple, to give him his daugh- ter in marriage, with a large tract of land, call- ed Neustria. Hollo built there the city of Kouen, and the province was called Normandy, after its conquerors. I beg you will remember this early history of the Normans, and how they first settled in France. You will find that their after-history is connected with that of England. About the year 600, it is reported, some Christians entered China, and were graciously received by the Emperor Tay-tsong. You know, I told you he was one of the best sovei eigns that ever reigned in China. His empress was also good and learned, and wrote a book on the duties of women. His successor allowed himself to be governed EVENTS IN CHINESE HISTORY. 25 by Vooshu, a beautiful but wicked woman, whom he called the " Queen of Heaven," but whom his subjects were disposed to call by a very dif- ferent name. She was base and cruel beyond parallel, and caused the death of the Empress, who had used her most kindly. She poisoned one of her own sons, and banished another, on purpose that her third son might reign. She pursued this sys- tem of oppression and tyranny even after the death of the Emperor, until one of her sons, at the head of some troops, dispossessed her of her usurped and abused power. When she found all resistance would be fruit- less, she patiently submitted to necessity : with her own hands she placed her conquering son on the throne, and retired to the private apart- ments of the women ; for in China women live shut up in their rooms and secluded gardens, and do not appear in public. Vooshu died soon after her retirement. During the reign of Alfred, another emperor of China was seized by his mutinous subjects, and confined in a small and strong apartment, where he was fed through a hole in the wall. He regained his liberty for a short time, but was at last beheaded, A. D. 889. c 3 26 FROM ALFRED'S DEATH TO CHAPTER V. FROM THE DEATH OF ALFRED TO THE REIGN OF HAROLD. ALFRED had three sons and three daughters. His eldest son dying, he was succeeded by Ed- ward, his second son. Edward was a very valiant prince ; and, though not so fond of study as his father, he encouraged learning among his subjects, and founded the university of Cambridge. Athelstan came to the throne on the death of his father, Edward. A nobleman raised a conspiracy against him ; but, when charged with the crime, he stoutly denied it, and offered to take an oath that he was innocent ; accord- ingly, he solemnly swore that he was guiltless of any plot against the king. But it is record- ed that he had scarcely taken this false oath when he was seized with convulsions, and died within three days ; an awful instance of the power of conscience ! During the reign of Athelstan, Wales was benefited by the services of its celebrated king and lawgiver, Howel-Dha. When Athelstan died, his younger brother, THE REIGN OF HAROLD. 27 Edmund L, wore the crown of England. He gave the county of Cumberland to Malcolm, king of Scotland, and promised to be worthy of his grandfather, Alfred ; but he was prema- turely murdered. One day, when sitting down to dinner, he observed that Leolf, a notorious robber, whom he had banished for his crimes, had the bold- ness to place himself at the same table. Ed- mund, provoked at this insolence, unwisely gave way to his passion, and seized him by the hair ; but the ruffian instantly plunged a dagger into the king's bosom. Thus died Edmund, a victim to indulged anger. He might have calmly or- dered his attendants to seize the traitor ; but it was beneath his dignity it is beneath any person's dignity to yield to rage. Edred, another grandson of Alfred, succeeded his brother. Edred allowed himself to be too much ruled by Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury ; but he died before England had greatly suffered from his weak superstition. Edwy, his nephew, was the next king; he married a lovely young woman, called Elgiva. The day on which he was crowned, instead of remaining to drink and carouse with his cour- tiers, he went to spend a quiet hour with his wife and her mother. The audacious Dunstan, 28 FROM ALFRED'S DEATH TO not approving of the marriage, entered the apartment, and forcibly drew the king out of it. The courtiers afterward persuaded Edwy to banish the abbot. But this king was doomed to suffer by the insolence of his clergy. Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, pretending that Elgiva was too near a relation of the king's to be his wife, divorced them ; and, obliging Edwy to give up his consort, had her face burned with hot irons to spoil her beauty. Elgiva was afterward carried to Ireland ; and, because she returned to her husband, she was again seized, and put to death in a most cruel manner. The history of Edgar, the successor of Edwy, is also rendered remarkable by his marriage. The Earl of Devonshire had a beautiful daugh- ter, of whom the king had often heard ; so he despatched Ethelwald, his friend, to visit her, and bring an account wb.etb.er she was really so charming as rumor had described. Ethelwald was quite a young man, and so beautiful did he find Elfrida, that he fell in love with her, and secretly married her ; then he returned to court, and told the king the lady was more rich than lovely, and persuaded him to consent to his own marriage with her. All falsehoods are certain of detection. THE REIGN OF HAROLD. 29 Edgar soon discovered the deceit that had been practised by his favorite, and resolved to behold the lady. He therefore took a journey to that part of the country where Elfrida lived, and, without saying that he had discovered the trick, he begged Ethelwald to introduce him to his wife. Ethelwald, however shocked at the request, could not refuse the wishes of his sover- eign ; and he hastened forward, under pretence of preparing his wife for the honor. Falsehood pretence you see how one lie brings on an- other ; you see how Ethelwald is entangling himself in a net of his own weaving pray mark the end of his deceptions. Ethelwald hastened to his wife, told her of the falsehood he had uttered, and implored her to veil her beauty from the king. Elfrida was a vain, unfeeling woman ; and, vexed at having lost her royal admirer, instead of dressing plainly, put on her most becoming garments. Edgar beheld her, and was enchanted with her charms. Ethelwald was soon after found murdered, some say by the hand of the king doubtless by his order. Elfrida was married to Edgar ; but he shortly died, and then she far- ther showed her wicked disposition. Edward, surnamed the Martyr, succeeded his father, Edgar ; but his widow, having a son of 30 FROM ALFRED'S DEATH TO her own, though she affected to love Edward, secretly plotted against his life. One day, the young monarch called upon his mother-in-law, at her residence, Corfe Castle, in Dorsetshire ; he was alone, and, being thirsty, requested to have a draught of wine. Whilst drinking, a servant of Elfrida's, by her order, stabbed him in the back. Feeling the wound, he galloped from the spot ; but, becoming faint from loss of blood, he fell from his horse, and was found mangled and dead. His domestics privately buried his body at Wareham. Ethelred, for whose advancement Elfrida had performed this bloody deed, was a feeble prince ; and in his reign the Danes, under Sweyn, their king, gained -possession of a large part of England. Under the reign of his son Edmund, surnamed Ironside, they completed their conquest ; and, murdering this brave but unfortunate prince, Canute the Great, King of Denmark, became also King of England. Of this Canute you will read a pretty drama, in the " Evenings at Home." He was consid- ered a wise and good monarch ; and, as he pos- sessed three crowns, at his death he gave one to each of his sons. Sweyn had Norway; Hardicanute, Denmark ; and Harold, England. THE REIGN OF HAROLD. 31 Hardicanute, or Canute II., after the death of Harold, possessed the English throne. Edward the Confessor, a Saxon prince, next reigned. He was supported in his claims by Godwin, Earl of Kent. This Godwin was so much loved by the people, that his son Harold became king after the death of Edward. Ed- ward's nephew, Edgar Atheling, the great-ne- phew of King Edward, was too young to reign ; so, it is said, the dying king thought of calling in William, Duke of Normandy. Harold reigned only a few months. You see, England was first conquered and governed by the Romans ; secondly, by the Saxons ; thirdly, by the Danes ; and, fourthly, you will find a Norman king wearing the Eng- lish crown. It was in the time of Ethelred and Canute, that France was governed by Robert, son of Hugh Capet. This Hugh Capet was originally a high oflScer in the kingdom, and bore the title of Duke of France ; but, in conse- quence of the feeble government of the descend- ants of Charlemagne, the people chose him for their king, instead of the rightful heir ; and from him are descended the present royal fami- ly of France. Robert, as I have just said, was son of Hugh Capet, and ascended the throne at the age of twenty-five. He married" Bertha, a 32 ROBERT AND HIS QUEEN. very amiable princess, who was the delight of his life ; notwithstanding which, this marriage caused him great misery ; and I will tell you how this happened. In France, the people are of the Roman Catholic religion ; and the high- est of all the priests of that religion is called the Pope. Now the Roman Catholics are very much afraid of offending the Pope, for they be- lieve his power to be greater than that of any king on earth, and think that whatever he or- ders is the will of God himself, and that he can even forgive sins. Well, the Pope was very angry with Robert for marrying Bertha, because he had not asked his consent ; so he dissolved the marriage, and condemned the king and queen to do penance continually for seven years. Robert, loving his wife very much, refused to obey ; upon which the Pope became quite furi- ous, and excommunicated him. Now this was a very terrible thing ; for it means laying a per- son under the curse of the Pope ; and when any one is excommunicated, he is not allowed to go to church ; all people are forbidden to re- ceive him into their houses, or to have any kind of intercourse with him ; and if he dies in that state, he is not buried in holy ground, no pray- ers are read, nor is any kind of ceremony used at his funeral ; so that every one considers ex- ROBERT AND HIS Q.UEEN. 33 communication as the most dreadful thing in the world. Poor Robert was thus shamefully persecuted by the Pope, without having done anything that deserved punishment. All the people, and even the nobles, deserted him ; only two of his servants remained with him ; and these were so superstitious, that they purified with fire the plate he made use of at his table, as if it had been infected by touching his hands. Every one. had such a hatred of an excommuni- cated person, that he did not appear any longer as a man, but a monster. At last, Robert was obliged to give way, and to break his marriage with the good Bertha, whom he dearly loved, and who was an excellent wife. He then mar- ried Constance, a proud, imperious woman, who made him very unhappy ; and was such a tyrant that, when he did a good action, he was obliged to conceal it from her. If he rewarded any of his servants, he always said to them, " Take care that Constance does not know of it." Rob- ert died at the age of sixty, universally regret- ted, for he was an excellent prince, mild, pious, and diligent. His greatest praise is, " that he was sovereign over his own passions as well aa over his people." In his reign there was a dreadful famine, which was the cause of many crimes and calamities. 34 EVENTS OF SCOTTISH HISTORY. CHAPTER VI. EVENTS OF SCOTTISH HISTORY. VLADIMIR THE GREAT. You have not yet read Shakspeare's plays ; but at some future day you will, and I almost envy you the pleasure of their first perusal. Many of his plays are founded on historical facts, so that they are instructive as well as amusing. Among them is a tragedy called Macbeth ; the horrid deed which forms the story of this play was perpetrated in the reign of Hardicanute, 1040. Macbeth, a usurping noble, after procuring the death of his royal master, " the gracious Duncan," caused himself to be proclaimed king ; and the sons of Duncan fled from the villany of the usurper. Malcolm, one of these sons, afterward col- lected a force, and fought successfully against Macbeth. He finally defeated him, and ascend- ed the throne of Scotland, under the title of Malcolm III. surnamed Canmore. Before this period, the history of Scotland is not well known. When Harold II., son of Godwin, Earl of Kent, ascended the English throne, the rightful THE TURKS AND SARACENS. 35 successor, Edgar Atheling (the great-nephew of the last Edward), fled with his two sisters, Margaret and Christina, to the court of Scot- land. The King of that country, Malcolm, re- ceived them kindly, and soon after married Margaret. Pray fix in your memory this mar- riage of a Saxon princess with the Scottish monarch. I shall hereafter call upon you to recollect the union. You have heard of the lake of Geneva, and the city, of the same name, situated on its banks. This city was visited by Julius Caesar ; and the successors of Charlemagne added it to the Ger- man empire. The Saracens pillaged it in the reign of Athelstan. The Turks also ravaged the neighborhood of Bagdad. This magnificent city had been for many centuries the residence of the Caliphs ; but the Turks burned a great part of it ; and their chief, Togrul, very much diminished the power of the Caliphs. The Turks also possessed themselves of Je- rusalem, after subduing the Saracens, who had long been its masters. Observe this event the city of Jerusalem in the hands of the infi- del Turks ! The Turks were called Infidels, because they did not believe in the Christian religion. 36 VLADIMIR THE GREAT. The Saracens were driven out of the island of Sicily by Robert Guiscard, a Norman. In short, the Normans were in great power ; they possessed a large portion of Italy, a fine pro- vince in France, and, to crown all, gave a king to England. The Russians, a people descended from the Sclavonians, and settled in the north of Europe, though in a very rude state, had been long gov- erned by a king. They were pagans, and none of the Russian monarchs showed more de- voutness in the adoration of their heathen dei- ties than Vladimir, who began to reign toward the close of the tenth century. It was his practice to express his gratitude for the success which they granted to his arms by offering on their altars some of the prisoners whom he had taken in war. About the year 1000, Vladimir became a Christian, and thenceforward set his subjects a shining pattern of charity and be- nevolence. He not only abjured idolatry him- self, and destroyed the idols which he had caused to be raised in his dominions, but used every exertion to persuade and compel his subjects to follow his example. To convince them how senseless and worthless these idols were, he ordered one of them to be tied to the tail of a horse, beaten with sticks, and dragged to the VLADiMIR THE GREAT. 37 river ; and, as this was doing, he observed to his subjects " How can this wooden image be a god to let us beat and abuse it in such a man- ner !" As a pagan, Vladimir had been lavish of human blood, and set but a trifling value on the life of a man ; but after he had adopted the re- ligion of Jesus, he could scarcely be persuaded to sentence to death a single highway robber. His former delight had been in storming towns and gaining battles ; but he now found his greatest pleasure in building churches and en- dowing seminaries of education. On great fes- tivals, he gave entertainments to the inhabit- ants of his capital, and was accustomed to send refreshments to those who, by sickness and in- firmity, were prevented from attending them. By these and other marks of regard for the welfare of his people, he contributed to wean them from their former idolatry, and to win them over to the mild doctrines of the religion which he himself professed. 38 WILLIAM I. CHAPTER VII. WILLIAM I. SURNAMED THE CONQUEROR. WILLIAM was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy. Ethelred had married Emma,* sister of Richard, Duke of Normandy. Ed- ward the Confessor was their son ; and William, thus related to him on his mother's side, pre- tended that Edward had called him, as his kins- man, to the throne. At the head of a fine army, composed of French and Normans, William landed at Peven- sey, on the Sussex coast ; and sending back his fleet, proceeded to Hastings. Harold, son of Earl Godwin, who had got pos- session of the crown, soon appeared with some gallant troops to oppose the invader. They fought. Harold performed all that skill or courage could inspire, and died in the thickest of the fight, with his sword in his hand, amidst heaps of fallen foes. His death decided the struggle, and William was proclaimed king of England. The English had formerly paid a tax, called * After the death of Ethelred II. Canute married his widow Emma, and Hardicanute was their son. THE CONQUEROR. 39 Danegelt, either to be sent as a tribute to the Danes, or as a fund to protect the kingdom from the Danes. Edward had abolished this tax : William revived it. He was fond of hunting ; and, to enjoy this recreation, he destroyed seve- ral villages, and sent their houseless inhabit- ants to wander abroad, without homes, or with- out any compensation for the homes he had taken from them. You know the New Forest, in Hampshire ; that was the scene of this in- iquitous proceeding ; and thirty miles of land were there planted with trees, to serve as sport- ing ground for the King. He caused an account of all lands, their value, and their inhabitants, to be compiled in regular order ; and this account, when completed, was called Domesday Book. Do you remember what has been said about the feudal laws ? William introduced this feu- dal system into England, dividing the land into portions, and requiring from those to whom he gave them a promise of military service for the gift. He tried to make the French language gene- rally spoken : but in this he could not succeed. In the courts of law, business was done in that foreign tongue ; and there, even to this day, some French phrases are in use. Indeed, you 40 WILLIAM I. can suppose, what is the truth, that the English language has many words derived from the French and Saxon tongues, and also several from the Latin ; and, as Greece was the coun- try where the arts and sciences early flourish- ed, the terms of art and science are generally taken from Greek words. One excellent service was performed by Wil- liam for the people he had conquered. He es- tablished the trial by jury,* which the Saxons and Normans had long practised. A jury means twelve men of nearly the same rank in life with the person about to be tried. These twelve men hear all that is said for and against the prisoner, and then declare, on their oath, whe- ther they think him " guilty" or " not guilty ;" according to what they declare, the judge con- demns or acquits the prisoner. Before this ad- mirable regulation, the English had strange modes of trying offences : sometimes the ac- cused was made to walk blindfold among red- hot ploughshares ; and if he escaped being burn- ed, he was pronounced guiltless. You plainly perceive that chance, not justice, determined the point. Sometimes the accused person was tied hand * First known in the time of Ethelred I. and afterward revived by Alfred. THE CONQ.UEROR. 41 and foot, and thrown into water ; if he sank, he was pronounced innocent ; if he swam, he was deemed guilty, as accomplishing so difficult and unnatural an act. Observe, that in either case the accused lost his life ; this plan then was worse than the other. Sometimes the accused and the accuser fought together, and the victor was proclaimed guilt- less. Skill and strength were in these cases the deciders. William, as a king and a conqueror, might be thought an object of envy ; but his heart was wounded by piercing sorrows, by that keenest of foes the ingratitude of children. Robert, his eldest son, a rash, impetuous youth, strove to seize upon Normandy. Wil- liam hastened to punish him. In a skirmish, the father and son met : their helmets so cov- ered their faces that neither knew the other. The prince threw his father from his horse, wounded him in the arm, and would in another moment have killed him, had not William called aloud for help. Robert instantly recognized his father's voice ; and, shocked at the crime he was about to commit, jumped from his horse, and assisted his parent to rise. Then, throw- ing himself on his knees, he showed that some goodness yet remained in his bosom, some wis- 4 42 WILLIAM I. THE CONQUEROR. dom in his mind, by confessing his fault, im- ploring pardon, and promising amendment. So great a fault could not be easily overlook- ed ; but, after some time, Robert was forgiven by his justly offended father. The reason of this young prince's rebellion was a quarrel with his brothers. When they were boys at play together, the three younger sportively threw water at their elder brother : this offence Rob- ert never properly forgave ; yet, whilst thus harboring animosity, he presumed to ask pardon of his father for a fault how much greater ! Do not copy this bad example, but freely forgive .others, as you would be freely forgiven. William died at a village near Rouen, in Nor- mandy, in the sixty -first year of his age ; twen- ty-one of which he had sat on the English throne. Like all other usurpers, he was always afraid of plots against him ; and therefore, to prevent secret and nightly meetings of the people, he ordered that at eight o'clock every evening, at the sounding of a bell, all fires and . candles should be extinguished. Couvre-feu, the Nor- man term, was the origin of curfew, the Eng- lish name for this law. You remember the line of Gray's, " The curfew tolls the knell of parting day." RODERIGO, THE CID. 43 CHAPTER VIII. RODERIGO, THE CID.* 1080. HUGH CAPET, as I have already mentioned, seized upon the crown of France in 987, and established his family on the throne. A grand- son of his, Philip I., reigned there when Wil- liam I. conquered England. This Philip great- ly incensed the Pope by marrying a second wife whilst his first wife was alive. The Pope, as head of the church, always interfered in such affairs, and in this case punished the King by excommunication. Philip was afterward relieved from this heavy judgment ; and a gallant son rescued him from the contempt and misery that his disgrace had drawn upon him, and also saved him from his domestic and foreign foes. Louis was a wise and virtuous prince, and not only gained many battles for his father, but, by steady good conduct, caused his own and his parent's name to be feared and respected. How much may be done by a single person, active and well-disposed ! * Cid, a chief, a commander ; from El Seid, the Arabic for Lord. 44 RODERIGO, The Emperors of Germany were struggling to be considered as chiefs of all the states of Europe ; and affected to have a right to elect kings for every country, calling themselves Head of all. This supremacy the Pope denied ; and hence various contests between these two poten- tates. The Emperors sometimes succeeded in choos- ing a Pope ; but, in the end, the Pope obtained the long-desired privilege of being at the head of the states of Europe. Henry IV. of Ger- many, after besieging Rome, and twice making the Pope his prisoner, was at length so com- pletely subdued by his antagonist, that he was obliged to do him homage. When on his knees before the Pontiff, humbly suing for mercy, it is said, the Pope insolently kicked the crown from the head of the Emperor. This was taking a base, ungenerous advantage of power. Spain was almost all in the possession of the Moors, and Portugal was also in their hands. Koderigo di Bivar, a very valiant captain, of whom you will often hear under his other title of Roderigo the Cid, now much distinguished himself. He fought bravely for his sovereign, Alphonso, King of Old Castile, and gained for him the kingdom of New Castile. For this THE CID. 45 service he was rewarded by the gift of the pro- vince of Valencia. You have heard us all talk of the adventures of Don Quixotte, a pretended knight-errant, go- ing about relieving -distressed damsels and pun- ishing disloyal knights. Well, this famous Cid was a real knight, who performed many gallant and chivalrous actions, and was deemed the no- blest of that class of warriors, for he fought for the unfortunate, and combated for his country. Under him, Henry, Count of Burgundy, son of Robert, King of France, was trained to war. This Henry rescued Portugal from the Moors, and was the father of its first king, Alphonso. Thus, without being a king, he raised a kingdom, and bequeathed a crown. In those times, chivalry, or knighthood, great- ly flourished. The rank of knighthood was only conferred on men of good character, and honor- able lineage. The ceremonies by which a knight was installed were very curious, and the vow he took upon himself was very solemn and binding. He received a sword blessed by the priest, and he promised to speak the trtith, to help the dis- tressed, to be courteous, temperate, and vigi- lant, to maintain the right, and to fight for the protection of his religion. The knight devoted himself to martial duties ; at home, he was mild 46 WILLIAM II. RTJFTJS. and polite ; abroad, fierce and valiant. He was the particular friend and protector of women ; and every lovely lady had in those days a gal- lant knight. Knighthood, at its first institution, dispensed benefit and procured esteem ; but when, after- ward, it degenerated into folly and extrava- gance, it promulgated evil and was despised. The romance of Don Qulxotte was written to ridicule this degenerate state of knighthood. CHAPTER IX. WILLIAM II. RUFUS. ROBERT, as the Conqueror's eldest son, ought to have succeeded him ; but he had too much ofiended the King to expect much favor. Rob- ert, therefore, had only the dukedom of Nor- mandy ; and William II. became King of Eng- land ; he was surnamed Rufus, from the red color of his hair. The youngest brother, Henry, was very ill- used by both his elder brothers ; and, being despoiled of even his father's legacy of five thousand pounds,* he wandered about without * A large sum of money in those times, when the pro- WILLIAM II. RUFUS. 47 a home for many years. He did not, however, yield his rights without a struggle ; for he en- tered a small fortress in Normandy, and defend- ed it against the attacks of Robert and William. One day, when William had carelessly strayed from his camp, he was attacked by two armed horsemen, who were on the point of slaying him ; but on William crying out, " Stop, ruffians ! I am the King of England !" the soldiers instant- ly desisted : one of them gave up his horse to the fallen monarch, and William, bidding this man follow, liberally rewarded him. Mean- while the garrison of the little fortress were enduring the greatest distress from want of water. We, who have abundance of this puri- fying and refreshing fluid, know not how to estimate its real worth ; so it is, that we dis- cover the value of our best blessings, not in their possession, but in their loss. Robert, hearing of this distress, not only or- dered that Henry should be supplied with wa- ter, but also sent him some wine. William did not like this generosity, and said so : to which Robert replied, " Shall we let a brother die for thirst ? Where shall we find another, when he is gone ?" cious metals were scarce, and the articles of life cheap. An ox, 6s. ; a sheep, Is. ; a cow, 4s. 48 THE CRUSADES. This tender and generous action, this feeling speech, is not in character with what is else- where said of Robert's implacable temper. So, as it is always best to judge kindly, we will be- lieve this story, and hope the other was not true. Robert afterward, wanting a sum of money to go on the crusades, or holy wars, persuaded William to lend him some, and mortgaged (that is, pledged put in pawn) his dukedom for the amount. William immediately made his clergy, who were the wealthiest of his subjects, produce the sum. Robert departed toward Jerusalem, and William took possession of his dukedom. Nor- mandy was thus again attached to the English crown. It was this province that afterward occa- sioned many wars between France and England. William was as fond of hunting as his father, and he lost his life by his favorite sport, and on the very spot which had been disgraced by his father's tyranny, as I have already related in the English Stories. CHAPTER X. THE CRUSADES. JERUSALEM was the capital of Palestine : a country in which Jesus Christ was born, and THE CRUSADES. 49 lived, and died : Palestine was therefore called the Holy Land ; it was always reverenced and loved by Christians, and they frequently trav- elled thither to offer up their prayers. In pro- cess of time, a very fierce and warlike people, called Turks, became masters of this venerated country ; and, as they were very great enemies to the Christians, they oppressed them heavily, and all the sovereigns of Europe, as well as their subjects, were sadly grieved that this sa- cred spot should belong to these infidels, as they were called. There lived at that time, in Amiens, a town of Picardy, in France, a man remarkable for his piety, zeal, and secluded life ; he was called Pe- ter the Hermit. He had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; and, shocked to think that the holy city should be in the power of infidels, he went to Rome, and described the wretched condition of the Christians living in Palestine. The Pope was very willing to subdue the Turks, the followers of Mohammed, and to res- cue the followers of Christ : he therefore sent Peter to all the states of Italy and France, to tell his mournful story, and describe the misery he had felt and seen. By degrees, the different nations were arous- ed to fight in the cause ; and, as the Pope gave E 5 50 THE CRUSADES. the soldiers leave to wear a figure of the cross on their shoulders, the enterprise was called the " Crusade."* An order was also instituted called " The Knights of Jerusalem." You will often hear of such institutions, and must under- stand that such titles were bestowed by kings and potentates as marks of honor and distinc- tion. Peter the Hermit himself led the first army that proceeded from Europe to Palestine ; but this army was almost all cut to pieces, and Peter with a few troops only escaped. Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert of Normandy, and several other illustrious personages, fol- lowed, with a second army, in 1096. These conquered the Turkish sultan, Solyman ; and then advancing to Jerusalem, they besieged and took it. The inhabitants of this city were bar- barously murdered, the Christians alone ex- cepted. After they had taken possession of the city, the crusaders began to think that they must have a king to govern it ; and they chose Godfrey of Bouillon, a very brave and a very good man. The great princes, therefore, took him to the church of the Holy Sepulchre of our Saviour, and were going to crown him : but he refused a * This term is taken from the Latin word crux, a cross. HENRY I. BEAUCLERC. 51 crown of gold, which they offered him, saying " They should never see him wear so magnificent a crown in the place where the Saviour of the world had been crowned with thorns." He also refused to be called king, and would only have the title of " Defender of the Holy Sepulchre." After the city of Jerusalem had been taken, most of the troops returned to Europe ; and on their arrival they so astonished their friends and neighbors with accounts of what they had seen and achieved, that numberless people left their homes, and travelled to Palestine to pay their devotions at the shrine of the blessed Saviour ; and those who undertook this long journey obtained the name of pilgrims. CHAPTER XI. HENRY I. BEAUCLERC. As William Rufus left no children, his elder brother ought to have succeeded him. But Rob- ert just then was in Palestine, far distant from England. He set off, to be sure, on his return when he heard of his brother's death ; but, on his journey, he fell in love with a beautiful Ita- lian lady, named Sibylla. He married her, and 52 HENRY I. BEAUCLERC. trifled away so much time, that he lost the Eng- lish crown. Henry was in the New Forest when William was killed there ; and, hastening to London, pro- cured himself to be acknowledged king. Robert, on his arrival in Normandy, strove to make Henry give up his usurped royalty. The brothers had many meetings and many battles on the subject. Henry was finally triumphant ; but he did no honor to himself. The opportu- nity of doing so was before him, but he did not use it. How often we perform in fancy gene- rous deeds, and utter in thought magnanimous sentiments ! When favorable occasions offer for the real performance of noble acts, the audi- ble expression of liberal feelings, how seldom are such occasions seized ! It is better to per- form the smallest deed of virtue than only in imagination project the most illustrious actions. Unmindful of his brother's generous mercy toward him in his hour of need, Henry basely and ungratefully committed the gallant though imprudent Robert to a prison. In the castle of Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, Robert remained a captive twenty-eight years, and there he died. Mournful as must have been his life, and dear as liberty is to every heart, who would not ra- HENRY I. BEAUCLERC. 53 ther have been the gallant prisoner than the ungrateful King ! Robert had unquestionably many faults : but it was not the duty of a brother to punish him to punish him, too, so much beyond what he de- served ! There is a horrid story, that Henry rendered his brother blind, by ordering red-hot copper basins to be held to his eyes : but it is difficult to believe such an act of wanton cru- elty. Robert left a son, named William ; a brave and virtuous youth ; and Henry, fearing his pre- tensions to the crown of England and the duchy of Normandy, tried to make him his prisoner. Louis I. of France protected William ; and the youth showed himself worthy of his protec- tion by his valor and good conduct. The uncle and nephew fought many battles against each other ; in one of which Henry was dreadfully cut in the head by Crispin, a valiant Norman knight. Wounded as he was, he rushed fiercely on the knight who had hurt him, and struck him to the ground. This bravery conduced to his victory: and, eight years afterward, Wil- liam died, leaving his uncle without a competitor. Henry was now surrounded with all he could desire. His daughter Matilda was married to the Emperor of Germany ; and he had a prom- 54 HENRY I. BEAUCLERC. ising son, whom lie loved tenderly, and who was now eighteen ; but this son was snatched from him by a melancholy catastrophe, of which an account has been given in the " Stories from the History of England." --,. No one but a parent can judge of a parent's affliction on the loss of a beloved and promising child ! Henry now seemed indifferent to all the hon- ors and pleasures of the world. He made some efforts to secure the succession to his grandson, Henry, the son of Maud, who, on the death of the Emperor, had married Geoffrey Plantagenet the Count of Anjou's eldest son ; and Henry was the son of Maud and this her second hus- band. The Barons swore to receive this grandson of Henry for their king. The monarch died shortly after. It is supposed that his death was occasioned by eating too abundantly of lampreys, a fish of which he was uncommonly fond. He was sixty-seven years old, and had shown so much attachment to study and learn- ing, that he was surnamed Beauclerc, the French for fine scholar. ANNA COMNENA. 55 CHAPTER XII. ANNA COMNENA. WHEN the first crusade took place, Alexius Comnenus was Emperor of the East. The events of his reign were recorded by his daugh- ter, the celebrated Anna Comnena. She was a woman of singular spirit and ability, and was only thirteen at the time of the first crusade. She was of a very ambitious temper ; and it is related that she and her mother Irene endea- vored to persuade Alexius to disinherit his son. Disappointed in this wish, she conspired against the life of her brother ; and when her husband opposed her cruel schemes, she ex- claimed, in a rage, " that nature had mistaken his sex, and given him the soul of a woman." Here we see to what dreadful lengths ambi- tion may lead its votaries ! Happier far the privacy and obscurity which virtue dignifies, than the highest eminence, the proudest rank, which vice taints and disgraces ! Had Anna Comnena devoted herself to do- mestic and studious pursuits, her life would have been happy and her memory respected. 56 ANNA COMNENA. Her brother, John Comnenus, when he became Emperor, hearing of her perfidy, banished her from court, but left her fortune untouched. She was born at Constantinople, and died in retirement. Her father, Alexius, sat on his throne to receive the homage of the Latin princes, some of whom even condescended to kiss his feet. A French baron presumed to sit down by the side of the Emperor. Count Bald- win, a celebrated leader among the crusaders, reproved him for this audacity, exclaiming, " Who is this rustic that keeps his seat while so many valiant captains are standing round him ?" I told you that Margaret, the daughter of Edward, married Malcolm, King of Scotland. She was considered so wise and pious a prin- cess, that after her death she was canonized, that is, declared to be a saint, and was thence- forth called Saint Margaret. After the death of her brother, Edgar Athel- ing, her children became the lawful heirs to the crown of England. Henry I. married Maud, her daughter ; by which marriage he strength- ened himself on the English throne. Malcolm, the husband of Margaret, and son of the murdered Duncan, after a glorious reign, was killed when besieging the town of Alnwick. STEPHEN. 57 His son fell at the same time, and it has been thought that they were treacherously massa- cred. The brother of Malcolm, Donald Bane, next wore the Scottish crown, but only for a short time ; for he was dethroned by Duncan II. who reigned in his stead. Just before the accession of Henry I., Edgar, the son of Malcolm, ascend- ed the throne of Scotland. CHAPTER XIII. STEPHEN. STEPHEN was the grandson of William the Conqueror; for his mother, Adela, was the youngest daughter of that king ; consequently he was nephew to Henry I. Stephen had been very kindly treated by his uncle : yet did he ungratefully usurp the throne, in disobedience to the will of the deceased King, and to the injury of his cousin Maud and her son Henry Plantagenet. Stephen, having obtained the crown unjustly, found himself obliged to maintain it by submit- ting to undue concessions. He gratified the nobles in their excessive demands, indulged the 58 STEPHEN. * wishes of the clergy, and humored the whims of the people. Thus, in fact, by the very means he took to secure his power, he in reality un- dermined it. Whatever begins with injustice must end in shame. The people, oppressed by the powerful barons, began to murmur loudly ; and Maud appeared with an army to assert her rights. Numerous battles and skirmishes took place between the troops of both parties. Maud was at one time decisively successful. Stephen fought with the greatest bravery ; though on foot and alone, and attacked by numbers, he defended himself with his battle-axe in a surprising manner. The battle-axe broke in his hand. The brave never despair. Stephen drew his sword, and con- tinued manfully to guard himself. At last, his sword also was shivered to pieces ; and, being without any farther means of defence, he unwil- lingly surrendered himself. Courage, you see, gives honor to the vanquished, as well as to the victor. Accident may bestow success, and we may despise the conqueror ; but the brave are respected, even when overcome. It was a pity that Stephen's valor was shown in so bad a cause. His injustice and ingratiude make us hear without regret that he was thrown into a prison and loaded with chains. STEPHEN. 59 Maud reigned but a short time. It is said, she conducted herself with pride, and showed a hasty, irritable temper. Always listen with candor to the recorded characters of persons living or dead. Acquaint yourselves with their actions, and judge for yourselves how far they have done well or ill. Stephen was taken from his dungeon ; and, Maud fleeing before the arms of his party, he became once more a king. But his dominion was not tranquil ; for as soon as young Henry was fit to wield a sword, he raised an army, and, entering England strove to possess himself of his rightful throne. His claim was so just that it was feebly disputed. Stephen entered into a treaty, by which it was determined that he should reign during his life, but that, at his death, Henry should succeed. Stephen's eldest son, Eustace, died about this time ; and his second son, William, inherited Boulogne and his patrimonial estate. The King died soon after the signing of this treaty, at Canterbury, and was buried in that city. His life had been eventful : at one time a mighty monarch, at another a fettered captive. You cannot fail to remark that his ambition neither added to his happiness nor his honor. In early times, when writing was not known, 60 STEPHEN. the Britons had no laws but such as were au- thorized by custom. Thus what had once been done under certain circumstances was, in the same circumstances, again adjudged. Such a fine, or such a punishment, had been inflicted for a certain crime : when that crime was again committed, the same sentence was again decreed. To the present time,. the common law of Eng- land is of this nature ; not regularly written down, but adjudged from precedent, that is cus- tom, or what had been done before. In the reign of Stephen, the canon and civil laws were introduced into England. The canon laws relate to the government of the church and ecclesiastical affairs ; the civil laws, to the government of cities, and matters of general business. Some of these laws were derived from the famous code of laws collected by Justinian from those of ancient Rome. You remember the twelve tables, instituted by the Decemviri, a set of men who visited Greece on purpose to select the wise rules and regulations of that refined and learned country. From these and other laws Justinian formed his celebrated code. A portion of this code, called " The Pandects," containing, in fifty books, the opinions of the ALPHONSO, KING OF PORTUGAL. 61 most celebrated ancient lawyers, was accident- ally discovered at Amalfi, in Italy, 1137. Num- bers of learned men in Europe began to study these Pandects, and hence the opinions they contained found their way in to the jurisprudence of most countries. The " written laws" are laws made by the Parliament ; but of these you shall hear more hereafter. For though, in the time of the Saxon princes, there were public assemblies of the people holden to transact business, yet these assemblies were not like the meetings which are now called the Parliament. CHAPTER XIV. GUELPHS AND GI1IBELLIN KS. SECOND CRUSADE. Do you recollect what was told you of Henry, Count of Burgundy ? Alphonso, his son, following his example, was a great captain ; and, after gaining many victo- ries over the Moors, who had long ruled in Por- tugal, he at length so completely routed those warlike foes, that his soldiers proclaimed him King of Portugal. The States-General confirm- ed this august title, and made laws to preserve p 62 GUELPHS AND GHIBELLINES. it to the family of Alphonso. It was several years before he was able to reduce the whole country under his dominion. In 1146, he un- dertook the siege of Lisbon with a small army ; but made little progress in it, owing to the strength of the place and the numerous garrison by which it was defended. At length a fleet of adventurers of various nations, going to the Holy Land, anchored at the mouth of the river Tagus ; and with their assistance, which he so- licited, the city was speedily reduced. His de- scendants long reigned in Portugal. Look for that kingdom in the map of Europe : you will find it adjoining to Spain, as Wales is united to England. Alphonso I. ascended the throne of Portugal in the reign of Stephen, of England, 1139. An occurrence, that obtained extensive notice, happened about this period ; and, as it is often spoken of in history, you must understand its rise. The Pope, now possessing temporal do- minion, desired to gain unlimited power in all spiritual matters. The Emperor of Germany opposed these pretensions. Two parties were thus created : the friends of the Pope were call- ed Guelphs ; the friends of the Emperor were designated Ghibellines. The adherents of the Pope were called Guelphs, GUEPLHS AND GHIBELLINES. 63 because the family name of Henry of Bavaria was Guelf, or Guelph ; and Henry opposed the measures of the Empepor of Germany, and fa- vored the wishes of the Pope. The origin of the name of Ghibellines is unknown. At the head of that party was Frederick, Duke of Suabia. Frederick was brother to the Emperor Conrad III., whose election was opposed by Henry of Bavaria. Thus the parties of the Guelphs and Ghibellines were embroiled ; and the rival factions took a prominent part in the general dissensions. Guelph, you know, is the name of the present royal family of England, as the House of Brunswick is descended from that of Bavaria. You will frequently read of the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and will now com- prehend something of what those terms mean. It was about this time that the second cru- sade was undertaken. The Turks, after their defeat by Godfrey of Bouillon and the other European princes, continued greatly to harass the Christians. Their sultan, Solyman, still occupied the open country, and took every op- portunity of annoying the conquerors of Jeru- salem. The Christians, harassed and distressed, again applied for succor to the states of Europe; 64 SECOND CRUSADE. and the priest. Bernard, like his predecessor, Peter the Hermit, exerted himself to arouse the people and the princes. At this time, Louis VII. occupied the French throne. He was a very religious prince, but sometimes acted imprudently, from want of suf- ficient reflection. A civil war having broken out in his kingdom, Louis marched into Cham- pagne, and made himself master of the town of Vitri. Some of the inhabitants took refuge in the principal church, and defended themselves in it ; which enraged the King so much, that he ordered it to be set on fire, and more than thir- teen hundred persons perished in the flames. Louis was afterward miserable at the recollec- tion of his own cruelty, and reproached himself most bitterly for this barbarous act. He was very unhappy for some time ; and at last resolv- ed to go on a crusade to the Holy Land, in the hope that God would restore him to peace of mind, after going on so long and dangerous an expedition as a proof of his repentance. He therefore ordered an assembly of the people at Vezelai, in Burgundy, in the year 1146 ; and there the King and Bernard, who had persuad- ed him to go on this crusade, mounted a scaf- fold in an open field, and exhorted every one to enter into this holy warfare. All ranks of per- SECOND CRUSADE. 65 sons were earnest to set off; and -princes, no- bles, bishops, in short, all sorts of people, took the cross with the greatest enthusiasm. The King and Queen received it from the hands of Bernard, whose advice was looked upon as the counsel of heaven. The crosses which had been prepared being insufficient for the number of people who wished to have them, Bernard made some from part of his own robe, and per- mitted every one present to do the same. The command of this army was then offered to the priest ; but he was too prudent to accept it, be- cause he knew that he was not fit for it ; but he continued preaching to the people ; and, after he had stirred up the whole kingdom, he went into Germany, to persuade the Emperor and his sub- jects to join this cause. Though he could not speak the German language, yet everybody hearkened to him ; and even the Emperor, Con- rad III., though he was not at first inclined to go on the crusade, suffered himself to be per- suaded, and set out the first. Louis, contrary to the advice of his wise minister Suger, then began to march, accompanied by his queen. In each of the armies there were seventy thousand soldiers, completely armed ; these consisted of the nobility, heavily armed, and followed by light cavalry. But this grand expedition cost 6 66 SECOND CRUSADE. the Emperor and the King very dear ; for every- thing went unfortunately with them, and, from various causes, the ruin of the Crusaders was brought about. Instead of conquering the Turks, the Emperor Conrad and Louis had no advantage but that of visiting devoutly the holy places ; and they both returned to their domin- ions without glory, and almost without attend- ants. The want of soldiers caused the institution of a new order of knights. Some monks en- tered the military service, under the title of Knights Templars and Knights Hospitallers. The pilgrims of Germany also enrolled them- selves in an order, called the Teutonic Knights. Before his departure, Louis had appointed Suger, his good minister, to be Regent, or Gov- ernor, of the kingdom, in his absence, with the approbation of the whole nation ; and when he came back, he found all things flourishing under his wise management. But envious people en- deavored to ruin Suger in the opinion of his master by misrepresenting his actions ; but this wickedness was not successful ; for the King did justice to his minister's virtues, and gave him the greatest of rewards, by calling him Father of his country. This great and good man had been, when young, in very humble life, SECOND CRUSADE. 67 and it is not even well known where he was born ; but he raised himself by his talents and integrity to a very high station. He was a monk of St. Denis, and that monastery was then a school where children of the highest nobility were educated ; even those of the royal family were brought up there. Louis VI. had receiv- ed his education there, and then he had an op- portunity of knowing the virtues of Suger. When Louis became king, he took him out of the monastery, and made him his prime minis- ter. At the death of Louis VI. his son Louis VII. retained him in the same situation ; and he would have obtained the reputation of a great monarch, had he always followed the counsel of his wise minister, who was worthy of all his confidence. Suger died in 1152, aged seventy, after fulfilling his duty in an exemplary man- ner; and his death was a great loss to his country. A celebrated warrior now began to make him- self renowned ; Saladin, from a comparatively humble station, raised himself to the highest rank. His father and uncle, by their bravery, had also elevated themselves to posts of high distinction. In early youth, Saladin was idle, fond of pleasure, and much addicted to drinking ; but DO HENRY II. PLANTAGENET. when his mind became capable of noble thoughts, he blushed for his former weakness, and ceased to indulge in unworthy gratifications. The indolent and voluptuous can never become great, wise, or happy. Saladin, when he found himself sultan, resolved to act worthy of his high rank. He wore plain garments, drank only water, and was temperate, chaste, and religious. A sincere Mohammedan, he was earnest to extend the influence of the creed he professed ; and resolved to wrest Jerusalem from the Christians, and restore it to the Turks. You will soon see whether he succeeded in his de- sign. CHAPTER XV. HENRY II. PLANTAGENET. ACCORDING to the treaty with Stephen, Henry II. grandson of Henry I. ascended the throne of England. Henry was young, vigor- ous, and well educated, when he thus became the head of a powerful nation. How elevating to a generous and virtuous mind, to be at once possessed of the power of HENRY II. PLANTAGENET. 69 causing the felicity of thousands of one's fellow- creatures ! Henry was no usurper ; he therefore was not compelled to admit of faults, to prevent his own from heing too closely noticed. He was the lawful prince : and had an undisputed right, as he seemed to have a wish steadily and wisely to govern. By marriage and inheritance, he possessed many provinces in France ; and was considered the most powerful monarch of his age. Thomas a Becket, the son of a London citizen, was made Archbishop of Canterbury by Henry, who, when he conferred this honor, was little aware of the troubles about to ensue from it. The clergy in those days were proud and licen- tious, rich and powerful, yet desiring increased riches and power. Henry did not like to hear of their oppression and luxury, and deemed it advisable that such oppression should be pun- ished, and such luxury prevented. He expected, by making Becket head of the church, that he should in him possess a ready and sagacious friend. But Becket disappointed his generous master, and was more anxious to increase the privileges of the clergy than to diminish them, more inclined to limit the pre- rogative of the crown than to enlarge it. 70 HENRY II. PLANTAGENET. The offended King and his unworthy subject were involved in continual disputes. Becket, to win the favor of the Pope, submitted himself to severe austerities ; he wore sackcloth next his skin, fed upon bread and water, and beat himself with rods, He daily washed the feet of thirteen beggars, and affected excessive hu- mility and self-denial. The Pope, as he expected, espoused his cause ; and the Pontiff and the King were irritated against each other. By great concessions, a sort of reconciliation was effected between the Archbishop and his sovereign ; but Becket, con- tinuing his haughty, overbearing carriage, Hen- ry, in a moment of anger and vexation, ex- claimed " I have no friends about me, or I should not so long have been harassed by the insults of that ungrateful hypocrite." The words of the great are often powerfully impressive. Some courtiers who heard this ex- clamation, instantly retired from the presence- chamber, and, binding themselves by a solemn oath, hastened to fulfil what they considered the wishes of their monarch. The conspirators proceeded to Canterbury, and entered the palace of the Archbishop. They reproached him with his faults, and, following him into his chapel, just as he had reached the HENRY II. PLANTAGENET. 71 altar, and was about to begin his vespers (or evening prayers), they fell upon him and killed him with many blows. This dreadful murder greatly shocked the King, who had tried to prevent it ; and it was a long time before he recovered his spirits. The people, too, were much affected ; and Henry projected an expedition against Ireland, to divert them from their mournful reflections. Ireland was in ancient times considered as abounding in learned men ; but the incursions of foreign foes, and the oppression of foreign rulers, had caused learning to be checked ; and the people were now therefore reduced to a state of barbarism. The island was governed by many petty princes, all of whom were in turn subdued by the English King. Roderic O'Con- nor, King of Connaught, was the last that sub- mitted ; but Henry contrived finally to make himself master of the whole island ; and from that period, 1172, Ireland may be considered as under the dominion of the sovereigns of England, although little intercourse subsisted between the nations for several centuries. But this splendid conquest only for a short time amused the minds of the people ; and, the Pope persisting in remembering the murder of Becket, Henry was constrained to remember it 72 HENRY II. PLANTAGENET. too. To pacify his murmuring subjects, and soothe the incensed Pontiff, Henry consented to do penance. Becket had been canonized, and a church at Canterbury was dedicated to his memory, as St. Thomas of Becket. To this church Henry repaired, walking barefoot through the town to the altar : there he fasted, prayed, and was beat- en with rods. This ceremony was deemed a full expiation of his crime ; and he was thenceforth considered pardoned. The eldest son of Henry behaved insolently toward his father, though he had been raised to the throne, and made a sharer of the regal state. At his coronation, Henry, to do him honor, waited on him at table, and remarked how honorably he was attended. The prince scorn- fully replied, " What is there so wonderful in the son of a count waiting on the son of a king ?" These words bespoke a base and ungrateful character. For the young prince should have remembered that, if he had the greater dignity in being the son of a king, he owed that dignity to his father. But young Henry died, and never obtained that undivided dominion for which he panted. He and his brothers had rebelled against their father ; but the valiant Henry overcame them, BANK OF VENICE. 73 and widely spread around his fame. William, King of Scotland, who had abetted the rebel- lious sons, was vanquished, and obliged to do homage to the English monarch. The King of France also felt the power of his arms. A second insurrection of the cruel and un- feeling young princes shortened their father's days. When Henry heard that his youngest and favorite son, John, had joined the rebellious brothers, he broke forth into bitter lamentation ; and, falling ill, died soon after of that worst of maladies, a broken heart. Henry deserved a better fate. He appears to have been brave, active, generous and wise. The fame of England was augmented by his valor ; her domestic improvement and tranquil- lity were increased by his wisdom. CHAPTER XVI. BANK OF VENICE. You daily see bank-notes, and you frequently hear of banks. A bank is an establishment for receiving and taking care of money, and paying it out again as it is wanted. One man, or two or three men, establish an office for this kind of G 7 74 BANK OF VENICE. business ; and as gold and silver and copper are heavy and unwieldy substances to pay large sums with, bills, or notes, are issued, of differ- ent value, bearing the name of the bankers, or keepers of banks ; thus notes worth one dollar, twenty dollars, five hundred dollars, pass cur- rent, or for coin ; and trade and commerce are more easily carried forward. The first bank was established at Venice, 1157,* which at this period was a place of great trade. Before the discovery of a passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, Venice was the resort of merchants from differ- ent parts of the world. Look at its situation, and you will quickly understand why it became the chosen spot for carrying on commerce be- tween India and Europe. The Crusades also caused other parts of Italy to be visited by numerous strangers ; and thus trade was made to flourish in its different prin- cipalities. The bank of Venice was the only bank in Europe for two centuries and a half. The next establishment of the kind was opened in 1407, at Genoa, a city of Italy, also famous for its riches and commerce. Since that period, banks have been instituted * Bank-notes were contrived long after banks had been established. ORIGIN OF ROMANCES. 75 in all parts of Europe. The Bank of England was established in 1694 ; and at present there is scarcely a small town in England or the Uni- ted States, that has not one or two banks. The Crusades, you see, encouraged the trade of some of the Italian states ; they also produced a new species of writing. You can readily sup- pose that the youthful and valiant knights and their pages often met with strange adventures, which, when narrated, formed very amusing tales. To write such tales, and upon a few cu- rious facts to engraft many fictitious adventures, was soon the occupation of writers, and the pe- rusal of these compositions became the favorite entertainment of readers. The language then spoken at the court of France was called the Romant* language ; hence these tales were call- ed romances ; a name still given to wild and improbable fictions. After the disastrous termination of the sec- ond Crusade, Saladin, collecting his forces, made a vigorous attack upon Jerusalem. Guy de Lusignan was then king of the city ; his wife was heiress of the Count Baldwin, who had suc- ceeded Godfrey on the throne of Jerusalem. Lusignan was vanquished by the valorous Sultan ; and, being led captive into the tent of * Romant, romans, or romantic. 76 JERUSALEM TAKEN BY SALADIN. his conqueror, lie fainted from fatigue and afflic- tion. Saladin instantly presented him with a cup of sherbet, cooled in snow (for in warm countries liquors so cooled are peculiarly refresh- ing), saying, as he did so, " The person and dig- nity of a king are sacred." The city soon after came into the possession of the Sultan. It is said that Saladin used his power with clemency, and was as lenient in peace as daring in war : he behaved kindly to Sybilla, wife of Lusignan ; and, after a short captivity, liberated her husband for a certain ransom. But the Sultan stained his glory by the execution of two hundred and thirty knights, whose only fault was their faithful valor. He converted the churches into mosques, and restored the Moham- medan religion. The golden cross, the symbol of the Christian faith, was thrown down, and the Koran supplanted the Bible. The word " Koran," like our word "Bible," means "Book," emphatically distinguishing the holy volume from all other books. RICHARD I. COEUR DE LION. 77 CHAPTER XVII. RICHARD I. CCEUR DE LION. RICHARD, the second son of Henry, ascend- ed the throne, and, when it was too late, repent- ed of his undutiful conduct toward his father. When he saw the pale corpse, he started with horror, and exclaimed, " Alas ! it was I who murdered him !" A horrible reflection ! Few, probably, have just cause for such profound self-reproach ; but how many act unkindly toward their best friends, and thus prepare for themselves future regret ! It would be wise for all of us to medi- tate often how we shall wish to have acted toward those whom we love when they are no longer with us. If we desire to think upon our departed relatives and friends without remorse, we must behave toward them with duty and affection. Richard showed his repentance by dismissing from his presence all who had encouraged his faulty conduct ; and perhaps it was with a hope of expiating his filial misdemeanors that he turned his mind to an expedition against the infidels. 78 RICHARD I. CCEUR DE LION. Jerusalem being again in the hands of the Turks, the Christians again solicited its deliver- ance. Richard united his endeavors with Philip, King of France, in this holy cause. It is said, that the third Crusade was the only military ex- pedition in which a king of England and a king of France ever fought under the same banners. Richard, by every means in his power, com- pelled his subjects to assist him with money and soldiers. Valiant and enthusiastic, he too often resort- ed to oppressive and violent measures ; so that a clergyman, incensed at his tyranny, advised him to part with his three daughters, Pride, Avarice, and Love of Pleasure. The King gaily replied : " You are right, my friend. I have al- ready provided husbands for them all. I will give my pride to the lawyers ; my avarice to the monks ; and my love of pleasure to the clergy." The monarchs of England and France, and their armies, met on the borders of Burgundy, and afterward took shipping, one at Genoa, the other at Marseilles. Overtaken by storms, they found shelter in the island of Sicily, and there some disagreements occurred between them. These were, however, made up, and at last the armies arrived at Palestine. RICHARD I. CCEUR DE LION. 79 The city of Acre was taken ; and Philip, per- haps disgusted at finding himself outdone in valorous acts by Richard, returned to France, leaving some troops under the command of the Duke of Burgundy. The English King gained many advantages, and took the city of Ascalon from the warlike Sultan. He was not so fortu- nate in his proposed attack on Jerusalem, the siege of which he found himself unable to pros- ecute. He had lost many of his best soldiers ; and those who remained were weakened from fatigue and want of food. Saladin willingly consented to a truce for three years, and agreed to yield some points to the Christians. This mighty warrior and the English monarch did not swear to the perform- ance of the articles of their treaty. It is very truly remarked,* that " an oath must always imply a suspicion of falsehood and dishonor." The sovereigns simply gave their word ; and why should not a simple assertion be always a sufficient bond between man and man ? For the lowliest can be as faithful to truth as the might- iest ; and to be false and treacherous is as great a crime in the meanest as the noblest Saladin died a few months after this truce, and Richard set sail for his native country. * Gibbon. 80 RICHARD I. CCEUR DE LION. Arrived in Italy, he proceeded overland through Germany ; for he feared the resentment of the jealous Philip : but he was stopped at Vienna by Leopold, Duke of Austria, who, being affront- ed by Richard's conduct toward him at the siege of Acre, basely took advantage of this op- portunity of oppressing the man he hated. Henry VI. Emperor of Germany, dishonor- ably seconded the measures of Leopold ; and, loaded with fetters, Richard was thrown into a dungeon. The intercourse between distant countries was not expedited, as now, by post and packets. It was long before the people of England knew of the imprisonment of their sovereign, and of the large ransom required for his liberation. A minstrel is said to have discovered the place of his confinement ; for, accidentally playing a tune near the fortress in which the King was immured, he heard the voice of Richard respond- ing to the well-known air. Prince John endeavored to prevent the libe- ration of his brother ; but, the people melting down the plate of the monasteries, and produ- cing all their coin, the enormous sum demanded was at length collected, and Richard was set at liberty. It is said the unworthy Emperor re- pented of having released his royal captive, and FOURTH CRUSADE. 81 despatched soldiers to overtake him, but this base design was not accomplished ; Richard was in a vessel, and out of sight of land, when his pursuers reached Antwerp, the place of his embarkation. At the request of his mother, he forgave the plotting John, saying, " I forgive him ; and wish I could as easily forget his offences as he will forget my pardon." A rebellion of his subjects on the continent drew Richard from England, and he was severe- ly wounded when besieging the castle of Cha- lus. Surgery was not so well understood as now ; for it has been thought that the King's life might have been saved, had his wound been properly treated ; for want of this, Richard died, in the tenth year of his reign, and forty- second of his age, bequeathing his kingdom to his brother John. CHAPTER XVIII. FOURTH CRUSADE. ABOUT three years after the death of Rich- ard, the Pope announced the necessity of another 82 FOURTH CRUSADE. Crusade. Baldwin, count of Flanders, -was the leader of this fourth expedition. With some other noble warriors, he proceeded to Venice, to solicit the aid of that rich and powerful re- public. The Venetians were not only great as mer- chants ; they were also celebrated for possessing a fine fleet. The chief magistrate was called the Doge ; and was elected by the votes of a general assembly. To him Baldwin and his friends applied for assistance ; and by him and his council their suit was heard and granted. The republic of Venice liberally assisted the Christian princes ; and a numerous and well- filled fleet sailed from her port. Constantinople was then distracted by civil war; and it was determined that the taking of this city should be a prelude to the siege of Jerusalem. After an interesting siege, in which Dandolo, the blind and aged Doge of Venice, conspicuously shone, Constantinople was taken by the Vene- tians and their French allies. The young Alexius and his father, the vene- rable Isaac Angelus, were placed on the throne, from which they had been driven by the brother of Isaac, Alexius Angelus, the tyrant, who es- caped in a small vessel. The son of Angelus enjoyed only a short FOURTH CRUSADE. 83 reign. He was attacked in his becUroom by his chamberlain, Murtzuphlus, a wretch in whom he had confided, and who, under pretence of saving him from a conspiracy, inveigled him into a prison, and loaded him with chains. After being kept for some days in this wretched situa- tion, it is said, he was beaten to death with clubs, in the presence of the trait<3r. Isaac soon followed his son to the grave ; and the usurper drew upon himself the forces of the allied princes. The Venetians again joined the armament, and, Constantinople being wrested from the grasp of the perfidious Murtzuphlus, Baldwin, count of Flanders, was proclaimed its Emperor. Murtzuphlus, the assassin of his confiding prince, met with the fate he deserved. Some pretended friends of his, punishing treachery by treachery, seized him in his bath, put out his .eyes, robbed him of his ill-gotten power and riches, and drove him forth to wander alone, despised and neglected. He was soon after taken by the Latins, and carried to Constantinople, where he was condemned to a cruel death. He was carried to the top of the Theodosian column, a pillar of white marble, 147 feet high, and cast headlong to the ground. Of course he was 84 JOHN (LACKLAND). dashed to pieces, and a crowd of spectators witnessed the event. The Crusade, you have seen, was thus diverted from its original purpose ; only a few knights reached Jerusalem ; and the Christians of Pa- lestine were left to groan in unrelieved oppres- sion. The Saracens continued to possess Jerusalem in undisturbed power ; and Constantinople was the prize gained by the French and Venetians. CHAPTER XIX. JOHN (LACKLAND). RICHARD bequeathed the crown of England to his brother John ; but he had no right to do so, because John's eldest brother, Geoffrey, had left a son, named Arthur. John, however, profited by this improper will ; and, by an act of injustice, doomed himself to a life of turbulence and strife. Philip, King of France, supported the claim of Arthur, then a fine boy, twelve years of age. After a short struggle, Arthur and his mother Constance, thinking Philip fought more for his own aggrandizement than for theirs, put them- selves under the protection of John. TRUE STOUIKS. PKINCE ABTliUIJ AND HUBERT. Page ST>. JOHN (LACKLAND). 85 This king had, however, so offended his sub- jects, by marrying a lady while her husband and his own wife were alive, that it was con- jectured he began to fear Arthur might gain friends as he lost them. Constance, therefore, fled with her son. She escaped ; but Arthur was taken prisoner by his uncle, and never heard of more. How he died is not positively known ; but it was reported, and is believed, that the poor youth was murdered in prison, some say, by John himself ; and this is their story : the king had desired some persons might be found to destroy the prince ; Hubert, his chamberlain, offered to execute the deed, but made the offer only that he might save the innocent child. John, having discovered Hubert's mercy, re- solved to make himself sure of Arthur's death, by perpetrating it with his own hand. He had the prince carried to a castle near Rouen, in Normandy, and at midnight went down the river Seine to the place. Arthur, alarmed by this late visit and the ferocious looks of his uncle, saw his danger and besought his life. As he knelt imploring mercy, the tyrant, without speaking a word, stabbed him to the heart , and, fastening heavy stones to his body, threw it into the river. This is the common account : when you grow H 86 JOHN (LACKLAND). older, and have read history, you can better judge how far it is likely to be true. John's subjects believed that the murder happened as here described, and hated him for the bloody deed. They afterward despised him for the weakness of his conduct. The Pope, Innocent III., presumed to name a cardinal, Stephen Langton, to be archbishop of Canterbury, in opposition to the wishes of the King, who had selected another person. The Pope announced this nomination in a plausible letter, accompanied by four gold rings, desiring him to consider the nature of the present. He insinuated that the rings, being round, signified eternity, for which he must prepare. The number represented the four cardinal vir- tues,* which he must practise. The material, being gold, the most precious of the metals, de- noted wisdom, the most precious acquirement. Their color was thus explained : the emerald's green, faith ; the sapphire's yellow, hope ; the ruby's red, charity ; the topaz, good works. John persisted in his choice, and the Pope put him and his kingdom under the sentence of an interdict. This sentence stopped all religious services ; and, being followed by excommunica- * Justice, Temperance, Fortitude, and Prudence. JOHN (LACKLAND). 87 tion, completed the dismay of the nation and the unpopularity of the King. He increased in violence and cruelty as he diminished in power, and performed several cruel and tyrannical actions. The Pope next absolved the English from their oath of allegiance to their sovereign. It is always supposed that the subjects of the reign- ing monarch are bound to serve and obey him in all lawful commands ; therefore, though they may not have sworn to do so, yet such a vow is implied, by their consenting to his becoming their sovereign. You may guess what disor- ders must follow the dissolution of all bonds between the ruler and the ruled. Innocent completed the ruin of John's government by giving the crown of England to Philip, King of France. How unbounded at that time were the prerogatives of the holy Pontiff ! Philip II., King of France at this juncture, was surnamed Augustus, on account of his great exploits. He had succeeded his father Louis VII. at the age of fifteen, and was one of the greatest soldiers that ever governed France. In war, he directed everything himself ; and in peace, he allowed himself no kind of luxury. Before a battle, he was calm and prudent ; but in the midst of it, terrible as a lion. After a 88 JOHN (LACKLAND). victory, he was most humane to his prisoners ; and his own soldiers idolized him. During the whole of his reign, many dread- ful wars raged all over Europe, in which he was constantly engaged ; and, though his enemies were very numerous, yet, through his valor and good fortune, he was always a conqueror. Otho IV., Emperor of Germany, John, the wicked King of England, who, as we have seen, had murdered his nephew Prince Arthur, and the Count of Flanders, united in a war against Philip ; and they made themselves so sure of conquering him, from the numbers of their troops, that they had even determined how they would divide his kingdom among them. They had an army of 150,000 men, and Philip only 60,000 ; notwithstanding which, he gained a complete victory over them, in the plain of Bou- vines, on the 27th of July, 1214. It was a most desperate battle, and both armies distinguished themselves on that day by their bravery and determination not to yield : every nobleman and every soldier displayed the most heroic valor ; and, among others, Philip de Dreux, bishop of Beauvais, was particularly remarked by the havoc he made among the enemy ; for he knocked down the English general with an iron club, with which he killed all who came within JOHN (LACKLAND). 89 his reach ; and he chose this method, because, as a bishop, he pretended to abhor the shedding of human blood, though his victims died from the violence of the blow. King Philip was him- self the bravest and most skilful knight in his army, showing the genius of a general and the courage of a hero. He received a wound in his throat from a lance, and his horse was killed under him. Thrown down under the feet of the horses, he rose more terrible than ever, and, mounting another horse, he put himself at the head of a troop of cavalry which had flown to his assistance, and charged a squadron of Ger- mans, in the midst of which was the Emperor himself. This prince, thrown from his horse, was on the point of being made prisoner ; but his soldiers, arriving in crowds to protect him, opened a way for him to escape ; he got on horse- back again in haste, and saved himself by a pre- cipitate flight. Philip, seeing him set off" at full gallop, could not help smiling, and said to the nobles who were near him : " My friends, we shall see no more of him than his back this day." The flight of the Emperor was the signal of defeat ; the French pursued his troops, and made a great slaughter of them. In this man- ner Philip conquered and dispersed the most formidable army that had appeared against 8 90 JOHN (LACKLAND). France for an age. The number of dead on the field was immense ; and it is said that more than half of the enemy's troops were killed. Philip then marched to Paris, which he entered in tri- umph. The counts of Flanders and Boulogne, who were the most violent of his foes, were ta- ken prisoners, and followed the triumphal car of the conqueror ; after which they were both confined in the large tower of the Louvre. The Louvre, which was partly rebuilt by King Louis XIV., was then a sort of citadel, situated at the entrance into Paris, upon the banks of the river, surrounded by large moats or ditches, and flanked by towers. The large tower, which Philip Augustus built, but which was after- ward pulled down by Francis I., stood by itself, in the middle of the court and in the centre of the whole building, the apartments of which it made still more gloomy and dark. The Louvre now forms, in connection with the Tuilleries, one of the many fine palaces belonging to the Kings of France. It was this Philip to whom the Pope gave the English crown ; but this was only done to fright- en John ; for, when Philip proposed to take pos- session of his new kingdom, the Pope interfered, and, finding he had brought John to due sub- mission, sent over a legate, Pandolph, to accom- JOHN (LACKLAND). 91 inodate matters. John was now willing to submit to any concessions. He made Langton the primate ; paid a large tribute ; solemnly gave up his kingdom to the Pope ; and, humbly kneeling, received his crown back as a gift. Thus humbled, but not amended, John con- tinued to be despised by his people, and to harass and oppress them. The barons, at length, worn out by the injustice, weakness, and vio- lence of their monarch, roused their vassals, and collected an army. At first, they were willing to expostulate, and come to an amicable settlement, without shedding blood ; but, find- ing John deaf to their remonstrances, they un- sheathed their swords, and resolved to gain by force that justice which reason could not pro- cure. The kingdom was now ravaged by civil war, until the King, finding himself deserted by all ranks, at length consented to listen to terms of accommodation. On the 19th of June, 1215, he signed, at Runnimede, near Windsor, that famous charter, entitled " Magna Charta," which is considered as the corner-stone of English liberty.* This bill confirmed certain privileges to the clergy, * Magna Charta. or The Great Charter, was so called to distinguish it from all others. 92 THE INQUISITION ESTABLISHED. the barons, and the gentry, limited in some de- gree the King's power, and paved the way for the greater freedom of the lower classes. John was not long pacific ; he was again em- broiled with his nobles. Louis, son of the King of France, landed with an army against him ; and he was about to make one great effort for the preservation of his dominion, when, after being deprived of all his treasures and baggage by the rising of the tides, as he passed along the coast of Lincolnshire, he died at Newark, of an illness caused by despair and fatigue, aged forty-nine. In his reign, London obtained the privilege of having and electing a mayor and other ma- gistrates ; that is, it then became a corporation. CHAPTER XX. THE INQUISITION ESTABLISHED. I HAVE told you of various institutions : I have now to describe one, which was made the instrument of extensive authority and of most shameful despotism. You will have perceived how the popes and the clergy gradually increas- ed in consequence and dominion, wealth and THE INQ.UISITION. 93 honors ; you will therefore be prepared to hear that they asserted and confirmed their power by every means they could devise. The inhabitants of Alby, in the Pays de Vaud (a province of Switzerland,) presumed to avow religious opinions contrary to the Catho- lic church. The Pope, as the peculiar head of the Catholic church, established a commission to try and punish these heretics. A crusade was sent against the Albigenses, for so were these people called ; and Simon de Montford was its leader. The tribunal instituted to judge these dis- senters from the Catholic religion was found so useful, and so likely to extend and confirm the papal authority, that Pope Innocent III. ren- dered it a permanent establishment, under the name of the Inquisition. Thus it became a perpetual court, to try all offenders against the church and the clergy. St. Dominic, a monk, the founder of the order of Dominicans, was allowed, with his followers, to control and have the principal management of this new tribunal. Pope Innocent III. was the pontiff who not only sanctioned the foundation of the institu- tion, but established its perpetual authority. " The Inquisition," or " Holy Office," long held 94 THE INQUISITION. the minds of men in slavery and awe. Its laws were despotic, its power unquestioned, its de- crees unhesitatingly obeyed. The accused were seized in the midst of their families and friends ; not one arm was raised, not one word was ut- tered, to rescue them. The most prominent blemish in an institution, in which every part was faulty, was, that the accused was never confronted with his accuser, was never told who had informed against him ; hence, the evil- minded and revengeful could, by a few words of whispered malice, cause the imprisonment, and perhaps the death, of the innocent and happy. Nay, sometimes the accused never discovered what they were suspected of ; all justification was therefore impossible. The head of this new court was the " Inqui- sitor-General," who acknowledged no other su- perior than the Pope. The name of the tribu- nal explains its office, to inquire for, and dis- cover, all offenders. As soon as detected, the unhappy person was secretly and forcibly drag- ged from his home and his family, thrust into a damp dark cell, tried in the dead of night, and punished by torture, imprisonment, flagellation, or death, according to the will of his merciless judge, the Inquisitor-general. The faults that drew down this mysterious THE INQUISITION . 95 and merciless condemnation were sometimes very trivial ; a few words carelessly spoken against the clergy, an unintentional incivility to an officer of the holy office, &c. Numbers of human beings were annually hur- ried from their friends, without the shortest no- tice ; and if they ever emerged from their secret dungeons, it was generally after long captivity and severe sufferings, weakened in body and in mind : melancholy evidences of the detestable system under which they had been groaning. The first courts of Inquisition were establish- ed in Italy." Afterward, Spain and Portugal were disgraced and gloomed by institutions of the same kind. In those barbarous times, when one half the people were cunning, and the other half ignorant, and all were comparatively un- refined, such horrid tribunals were not so much to be wondered at ; but, I regret to say, in Spain there are persons friendly to this institution at the present moment, desirous, should they come into power, to re-establish the Inquisition. The procession of the " Auto da Fe " was a horrible and imposing spectacle. The poor wretches condemned to death by the Inquisi- tion appeared clothed in a strange and terrific garb : the Inquisitor-general, richly attired, and seated on a white horse, surrounded by nobles, HE 96 THE INQUISITION. attended the unhappy culprits; monks, fami- liars, and various officers, also followed in the train. The whole procession moved slowly forward to the place of execution, the bell of the cathe- dral mournfully tolling, and crowds of persons of both sexes attentively watching the melan- choly scene. Arrived at the appointed place, some of the devoted sufferers were strangled, and then burnt ; whilst others were more cruelly burnt alive ; the mob shouting and approving the severity of their inhuman rulers. Hideous and exquisitely painful as must have been the sufferings of the condemned, yet their previous misery must have been almost greater. Imagine a solitary wretch, immured perhaps for years in a small dark dungeon, a bundle of rushes his only bed, bread and water his only food : perhaps ignorant of his crime, certainly uninformed of his accusers : not only without friends, but surrounded with hideous-looking men, who were doing all in their power to alarm and terrify him : with a body wasted by con- finement and bad food, not unfrequently lace- rated by torture and various inflictions. This is no exaggerated picture of a prisoner of the Inquisition. HENRY III. 97 You will not easily forget under what Pope this tribunal was erected. It was the most iniquitous that ever existed ; but the pontiff who established it assumed the name of Pope Innocent III.; a curious and remarkable mis- nomer ! CHAPTER XXL HENRY III. PRINCE Henry, the son of John, succeeded his father when he was only nine years old. Louis of France was defeated and driven from the island, and Henry III. proclaimed King. In his reign, the first parliament, properly so called, was assembled. You often hear of the parliament, and you know that it is a meeting of gentlemen and noblemen, who assemble to consider what must be done for the good of the nation. They make laws, which are written down, and are called " Acts of Parliament." The Magna Charta, which John signed, and which his son Henry III. confirmed, was the first of these written laws. There are two rooms in Westminster, near the Abbey, which are called the two houses of i 9 98 HENRY III. parliament. In one of these, the dukes, mar- quises, earls, viscounts, barons, and bishops meet, and it is therefore called the House of Lords, or Peers. In the other apartment, the wealthy and respectable gentlemen, chosen by counties and towns for their members, assemble ; hence it is called the House of Commons. All the people of the kingdom could not go to Lon- don to transact public business ; they therefore send some opulent and sensible person to act for them. Thus every county sends its mem- bers, and almost every large town does the same. These members are therefore considered as the representatives of the people. The parliament meets every year, and the same members keep their seats during one par- liament. A parliament cannot last more than seven years ; but the King can dissolve it when- ever he pleases. This assembly consists of three estates ; that is, the lords temporal (dukes and earls, &c.) ; the lords spiritual (archbishops and bishops) ; and the commons, or gentlemen. The King is deemed the head of all, and sits on a throne in the House of Lords.* Before an act, or law, can be established, it must be approved by the King, the Lords, and the Commons ; without this general consent no * Blackstone. HENRY III. 99 act is completed. When money is to be raised, for the paying of soldiers, &c., or any new loan is desired, the members of the House of Com- mons first debate the matter, and determine the amount of the sum and the means by which it shall be raised. They then send to inform the House of Lords of what they think ought to be done. The lords consider the affair, and if they also approve of it, the bill, as it is called, is sent to the King for his approbation. It is curious that the King's decision is always expressed in the French language. If he consents, the clerk of the parliament declares aloud, " Le Toy le veut" the King wills it ; or " Soit fait comme il est desire" be it as it is desired. If the King does not assent, his refusal is graciously ex- pressed thus : " Le roy s'avisera" the King will consider it. The royal assent to a money bill is yet more courteous : " Le roy remercie ses loyaux sujets, accept e lew benevolence, et aussi le veut ;"* the King thanks his loyal sub- jects, accepts their benevolence, and wills it so to be. Henry was mild and yielding ; and his barons took advantage of his gentleness of temper. One of them, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Lei- cester, headed an army against him, and took * Blackstone, 100 HENRY III. him and his son Edward prisoners. The young prince contrived to escape by an ingenious stratagem. When riding out with his guards, he proposed that they should run races for amusement, whilst he only looked on. Thus the horses of the guards became fatigued and out of breath, while Edward's horse was fresh and unwearied. Now this horse was remark- able for its swiftness. The prince, watching his opportunity, bade his guards farewell, arid galloped away. Their tired horses could not overtake the fleet steed of Edward, and there- fore he was soon out of their reach. He made good use of his freedom ; for, join- ing his friends, he soon appeared with a fine army against the rebel lords. Leicester, aston- ished at the spirit and activity of the young prince, called out, on beholding his army, " Heaven have mercy on our souls ! for our bodies, I see, are doomed to destruction." He, however, did all in his power, as all wise and brave men do, to retrieve his fortune. One of his arrangements was very cruel ; for he obliged Henry to put on armor, and fight against his own son. The feeble old King was placed in the front of the battle, and was soon wounded. A soldier was on the point of killing him (for the helmet and other parts of armor HENRY III. 101 almost entirely cover the face, and disguise the figure) ; but Henry, seeing his danger, cried out, " I am Henry of Winchester, your King !" Prince Edward happened to be valorously fight- ing near the spot, and, recognizing the voice of his father, instantly hastened to his relief. He arrived in time to rescue him, and bore him in safety to his own camp. Leicester was killed, and his troops were put to flight. Ed- ward thus not only preserved his father's life, but restored him to liberty and dominion. It is pleasant to talk of the virtuous and the brave ; the young prince not only reduced the barons to submission, but afterward gave a charming instance of mercy and self-command. In a contest with a powerful rebel, Adam Gordon, he was led on by his ardor and prow- ess to the enemy's camp, and, leaping the trenches that encircled it, found himself with a few followers amidst many foes. Gordon in- stantly distinguished and attacked his royal an- tagonist ; a single combat ensued, during which, the rebel's foot slipping, he fell, and lay at the mercy of his prince. Edward scorned to take advantage of an unlucky accident, or to stain his sword with the blood of a fallen enemy. He t checked his ardor, stayed his uplifted arm, and bade his vanquished adversary " Live !" This 102 ZINGIS KHAN, was truly heroic ; for it showed that Edward could govern himself, and that his nature was merciful as well as courageous. This gallant prince had just sailed with an army to join the fifth Crusade, under Louis King of France, when his father died. Henry III. reigned fifty-six years ; the longest reign of any English monarch, except the late King George III. You can easily remember which Henry reigned so long, by recollecting that he, as well as the late King, was the third of his name. CHAPTER XXII. ZINGIS KHAN, THE TARTAR CHIEF. WHEN Henry III. became King of England, an Emperor of Constantinople, called Peter De Courtenay, ruled in that famed city. The pre- sent family of Courtenay, of Devonshire, Eng- land, are descendants of this French Emperor of Constantinople, being a branch from the first Earl of Devonshire, Hugh De Courtenay.* Not very long after the death of this Emperor Peter, and in the reign of his son, Baldwin II., * Gibbon. THE TARTAR CHIEF. 103 Constantinople fell again under the dominion of a Greek Emperor, and the French and Vene- tians were driven from a throne which they had conquered and enjoyed. You will perhaps have remarked, that some warlike chief, or warlike nation, was always rul- ing and desolating the world. Alexander and his Macedonians ; Hannibal and his Carthagi- nians ; the Romans, under their various gene- rals ; Alaric the Goth ; Attila the Hun ; Char- lemagne and his brave Franks ; the Saracens, headed by daring chiefs. You will now have to observe a hitherto un- noticed race changing the destiny of empires and states. You have heard of the Turks, a northern tribe of barbarians. The Tartars and Moguls were also wild hordes that issued from the north, carrying war and desolation along with them. Zingis Khan* was a Tartar of noble family, and son of a warrior chief. His private appel- lation was Temugin ; but, when he became re- nowned in arms, he was recorded in history as Zingis, or Genghis Khan. Though a barbarian, he believed in God, acknowledged His power, and revered His mercy. * Gibbon. 104 ZINGIS KHAN. He led his rude and daring troops into China, Persia, Greece, Russia, and Poland ; but rapine and blood marked his steps. He desolated a great part of China, and added five of her pro- vinces to his own empire. He made large con- quests in India, and subjected almost all Persia. In Russia, his victories were great and exten- sive. In short, it is said that his conquests ex- tended eighteen hundred leagues from east to west, and a thousand from north to south. His descendants completed the subjugation of the nations which he had partly vanquished. After his death, his grandson, Hulaku, made himself master of Bagdad, and, overturning the government of the Caliphs, put an end to the Saracen empire. Batau Sagin, another of his grandsons, fixed himself in Russia, and rendered that country subject to the Tartars ; a dominion which they held for three centuries. Zingis Khan raised the Tartar name to a high rank, and is celebrated as the greatest, as well as the first, Emperor of the Moguls'. He died full of years and honors, with his last breath exhorting and instructing his sons to continue their warlike exploits, and, if possible, to sub- due the vast empire of China. The year before this Tartar chief died, Louis LOUIS IX. 105 IX., called the Saint, ascended the throne of France, at twelve years of age. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was appointed Regent till Louis should be old enough to govern ; and she united benevolence of disposition to firmness of mind, in a very eminent degree. The young King applied himself diligently to the study of his duties ; and when he attained the age of twenty-one, he assumed the govern- ment, but without withdrawing his confidence from his mother, whose advice he still followed. He was a very great, as well as a very extraor- dinary man ; fierce and terrible in battle, but so mild and gentle in his private character, that his mother commanded him, and his domestics gained too much influence over him. Religion was the first object of his life ; and he was deep- ly grieved at the accounts of the hardships which the Christians endured ?n the Holy Land, from the cruelty of the Turks and other infidels. The city of Jerusalem was taken and pillaged by the Persians ; and Louis, being dangerously ill at the time this afflicting news arrived, made a vow that, if he recovered, he would go himself to the relief of the Christians. In vain did his mother, the Bishop of Paris, and all the wise people of his court, unite their endeavors to dissuade him against so dangerous an under- 106 CRUSADES OF ST. LOUIS. taking ; all they could say was useless, and they were obliged to yield to him. Most of the no- bles followed his example, and took up the cross. After three years' preparation, he entrusted the care of his dominions to his mother, and embarked, and arrived safely in the Island of Cyprus. He first determined to turn his arms against Egypt, thinking, if he conquered that country, it would make the taking of Jerusalem very easy. In this expedition he performed acts of valor almost beyond belief : his fleet be- ing dispersed in a violent storm, he collected the remains of it, and arrived off Damietta, a very strong city, at the mouth of the river Nile. The ships and army of the infidels lined the coast, and made the landing very danger- ous ; but Louis feared nothing ; the vessel he was in was scarcely within reach of the shore, when he threw himself into the sea with his sword in his hand, and, advancing through showers of arrows, landed, followed by his soldiers, whom he ranged in order of battle, and then they put the Saracens to flight. He took the city of Damietta, and gained many other advantages ; but the Saracens received great reinforcements. Louis resolved, in spite of this, to besiege the city of Grand Cairo, the capital of Egyot : but during the march, which was CRUSADES OF ST. LOUIS. 107 long and difficult, the Saracens made many at- tacks upon his army. The Count d'Artois, bro- ther to the King, pursuing a squadron of these infidels with too much ardor, entered with them and some of his own soldiers into the town of Mansoura, where he was attacked in the streets and killed, after fighting like a hero, and being covered with wounds. Louis, hearing of the danger of his brother, flew to his assistance with the bravest of his army ; but it was too late : the battle then became general, and the King was surrounded by enemies, who tried to take him prisoner, but he defended himself so bravely that he dispersed them on all sides. New battles, though equally glorious, weakened the French army considerably ; they also began to be in want of provisions, and many of them fell sick. All the camp was like a hospital ; and the King distinguished himself by his hu- manity and kindness to his soldiers as much as by his bravery. They had now no chance but to return to Damietta, which was very danger- ous, surrounded as they were by the victorious army of the Saracens. On the march, the French were attacked and beaten; and the King himself, after many efforts of valor, was taken prisoner, with all the nobles who accom- panied him. Sick and in prison, without hope, 108 CRUSADES OP ST. LOUIS. and with only one single attendant near him, he displayed such heroic patience and so much true grandeur of soul, that he astonished all the infidels. At last, after great sufferings, he en- tered into a treaty with them, by which he agreed to restore to them the city of Damietta in exchange for his own liberty, and to pay them a large sum of money for the ransom of his army. His Queen, whose name was Margaret, had ac- companied him in this expedition ; and he had left her at Damietta, when he set off for Grand Cairo. When she heard that the King was a prisoner, she threw herself at the feet of an old knight who attended her, and made him swear to grant the request she was going to make. After he had taken the oath she required, she said, " It is, that if the Saracens take posses- sion of this city, you will cut off my head before they make me a prisoner." " Most willingly," replied the knight, in his honest language ; " I had before thought of doing so, if that event should come to pass :" and without doubt he would have kept his word, had not the Queen been included in the ransom. Louis concluded a truce with the Saracens for ten years ; after which he assembled the re- mains of his little army, and went to the Holy Land, where he passed four years in acts of de- * CRUSADES OF ST. LOUIS. 109 votion. in pilgrimages, and in endeavoring to convert the infidels to the religion of Jesus Christ. At last, the death of his mother made it necessary for him to return to France, in the year 1254, where he was received with trans- ports of joy by all his subjects. After he had been at home a little while, he undertook to visit the various parts of his dominions ; and wherever he went, he left behind him tokens of his generosity and wisdom. Though the first expedition of St. Louis to the Holy Land had been unfortunate, he was always desirous of going on a second crusade. News of the most afflicting nature was received from Palestine, in the year 1267. Some socie- ties of knights, some called Templars, and others Hospitallers, which had been established for the defence of that country, were spreading de- solation all around them, in consequence of quarrels among themselves. The infidels took all the strong places from the Christians, and persecuted them with great cruelty. The King longed to go to their assistance ; and though he was too weak to sit on horseback, or to support the weight of his armor, yet he determined upon another crusade, and engaged almost all his nobles to accompany him. The preparations were very long, and in pro- 110 CRUSADES OP ST. LOUIS. portion to the greatness of the undertaking ; so that the crusaders did not embark till the year 1270. Every one thought he was going to Egypt, or Palestine ; but, all at once, the King steered his course toward Tunis, as he flattered himself that the conquest of that kingdom would open the way for him to make himself master of Egypt ; without which he saw that it was in vain for him to hope for success in the Holy Land. Before he landed, the infidels threatened to kill all the Christians in their country if the French came on shore : but this threat did not prevent the army from disembarking ; and they encamped near the ruins of a celebrated ancient city, called Carthage. Louis could not attack Tunis till he had re- ceived some succors from his brother Charles, King of Sicily ; and, whilst he was waiting, his army was attacked by the plague, which carried off half his soldiers in a few days. To add to the sufferings of the crusaders, the Saracens, by means of machines, showered burning hot sand upon the Christians ; and so continually attacked them, that the strength of the army was completely exhausted. The living were not enough to bury the dead : mos t of the no- bles were among the number of the latter ; and the Count de Nevers, the beloved son of CRUSADES OF ST. LOUIS. Ill " Louis, expired in his arms. The King himself was seized with the disorder, and he felt from the first that he should not recover ; but he tried to conceal his sufferings ; and, with every appearance of death upon his countenance, he visited the hospitals, and administered all the consolation he could to the sick and dying. From the duties of charity, he passed to those of a King, watching over the safety of the camp, and attending to the affairs of his subjects. Philip, his son and successor, never quitted his father, who was at last confined to his tent ; and then he wrote, on his death-bed, instructions and advice to his son, which can scarcely ever be read without tears. On the morning of the 25th August, 1270, feeling his death to be near, he made those around him lay him on a bed of ashes, in token of his humility, where he remained extended, with his arms crossed over his breast, and his eyes raised to heaven. In the midst of the ruins of Carthage, the camp of the Christians presented a mournful spectacle : not the least noise was heard ; and the dying soldiers crawled out of the hospitals, and dragged themselves through the ruins to approach their expiring King. Louis was surrounded by his afflicted family ; the deputies from the Emperor of Con- 112 CRUSADES OF ST. LOUIS. stantinople were present ; and all were filled with admiration for the dying Christian hero. At last, giving a deep sigh, Louis pronounced distinctly these words, " Lord, I will enter into Thy house, and I will adore Thee in Thy holy temple !" and at that moment he breathed his last. The fleet of the King of Sicily now appeared in view ; the trumpets of these new crusaders were heard, and they arrived full of hope and joy, bringing large succors with them. No answer being given to their signals, Charles, their King, was astonished, and began to fear that some dreadful misfortune had happened : he landed, and seeing the sentinels with their spears reversed, he flew to the tent of his brother Louis, and found him dead, extended upon his bed of ashes ; he threw himself on the dead body, and gave marks of tenderness and feeling, such as could never have been ex- pected from so haughty a soul. The coun- tenance of St. Louis had yet no appearance of death ; and even his lips retained their color. His body was brought to Europe, to be buried at St. Denis ; but the soldiers Avould not let it depart before themselves, saying, that the precious remains of their beloved sovereign would be the safeguard of the army. EDWARD I. 118 CHAPTER XXIII. EDWARD I. EDWARD heard on the same day of the death of his father and of his son ; and ex- claimed that the loss of the first was most ter- rible ; " For," said he, " I may have other sons, but I can never have another father." Reflect on the justness of this sentiment, and cherish your parents whilst they are yet with you, for their loss can never be repaired. There was a people in Persia and Syria called Hassassins, from Hass, the Arabic term for to kill, because they thought the crime of murder a great virtue. Hence arose the expression assassin. The chief of these savages was called " The Old Man of the Mountain ;" and at his command they travelled to all places, far and near, to slay whomsoever he ordered them. Hulaku, the conqueror of Persia, mentioned in the last chapter, exterminated this sanguinary race. Before the race was so exterminated, one of these assassins attempted to murder Edward. He entered the royal tent, when the Prince was with ' his army in Palestine, and tried to stab him with a dagger. Edward caught the blow on his arm, and throwing down 10 114 EDWARD I. the ruffian, soon despatched him. It was feared the wound on the arm might have been given with a poisoned dagger ; but the Prince happily recovered, to the great joy of his army and his nation. He returned to England, and was crowned at Westminster. The Welsh had often harassed their English neighbors, and laid waste the adjacent counties ; Edward therefore resolved to bring that people under his dominion, and, raising an army, attacked Llewellyn, Prince of Wales. Llewellyn was killed in battle ; and from that period Wales became a part of England. Edward sullied the glory of his victory by ordering all the Welsh bards to be massacred. He excused this barbarity, by saying he did so to preserve tranquillity in the kingdom ; the bards being likely to keep up a spirit of dis- sension, as they were always reciting verses about the prowess of their ancestors. The Welsh, provoked at this cruelty, and proud of their long-preserved independence, did not seem disposed to submit patiently to the yoke of their conqueror ; but Edward softened their anger by an ingenious arrange- ment. He promised the Welsh a prince, born in Wales, and who could speak no English. EDWARD I. 115 His Queen soon after had a son, born in the castle of Caernarvon. Edward presented the infant to the Welsh lords, as their native prince ; certainly he could not speak one word of English. The Welsh lords smiled at the trick, yet joyfully accepted of the little prince for their future ruler. It happened that the King's eldest son, Al- phonso, died soon after ; thus the little Edward became heir to the throne of England; and from that time the eldest son of the English King is called Prince of Wales. Pray re- member how that title was acquired, and when it was first conferred. Another very interesting event marked the reign of Edward I. The King of Scotland, Alexander III., died, and left a grand-daughter for his successor ; but, she also dying, the crown of Scotland was claimed by many competitors. Three of these had nearly equal claims ; John Hastings, John Baliol, and Robert Bruce. The pretensions of these were laid before Edward, ( for his opinion ; who, after some deliberation, astonished the claimants by declaring himself to be the righful heir. The Scots were not willing to admit his preten- sions ; but at last acknowledged his superiority, and received from his hands Baliol as their King. 116 EDWARD I. But Baliol, uneasy at the dominion exerted over him by Edward, intrigued with Philip, King of France. New dissensions arose ; and Baliol was made prisoner by the English monarch, and confined in London. He was afterward releas- ed, and spent the rest of his life in France, in peace and privacy. William Wallace, the illustrious Scottish hero, next essayed to rescue the freedom of his na- tive land. But, after many glorious efforts, he was betrayed (I write it with indignation) by a pretended friend into the hands of Edward, brought to trial, and hanged as a traitor : a most undeserved punishment for a brave man, whose only political sin was his heroic patriot- ism ! Do you not think the ignominious death of Wallace is a disgrace to the memory of the first Edward ? Robert Bruce, grandson to that Robert who opposed Baliol, instructed and inspired by the gallant Wallace, resolved to emulate his deeds, and rescue Scotland from a state of vassalage. Edward was aware of his intentions, and sur- rounded him with spies. Bruce was warned of his danger by the ingenious present of a friend, who sent him a pair of gilt spurs and a purse full of money. Flight being thus insinuated EDWARD I. 117 Bruce ordered his horse to be shod with the shoes turned the wrong way, to elude pursuit, and happily escaped. He afterward fought so bravely, and planned so wisely, that he soon found himself at the head of a fine army. He was crowned King of Scotland at Scone, and the English were compelled to retire into their own country. Edward, though advanced in age, was not en- feebled in mind, and he immediately determin- ed to humble the new monarch. He himself appeared at the head of his forces ; and, direct- ing his anger against the Scottish nobles, he is represented as having acted with lenity and pity toward the Scottish peasantry. It is related, that he shut up the sister of Bruce in a wooden cage, and had his two brothers put to death. But all farther designs against the independ- ence of Scotland were arrested by the decease of the King. Edward was taken ill at Carlisle, in Cumberland, and expired there, after com- manding his son to complete the reduction of Scotland. Like Zingis Khan, the hero of the last chapter, he lived and died a warrior ; and with his latest breath desired to bequeath his spirit and his animosity to his successor. Considering the times in which he lived, Ed- ward is reckoned one of the best kings that ever 118 SICILIAN VESPERS. sat on the English throne. Valorous, persever- ing, respecting justice, yet loving mercy, his fame would have been brighter, had his conduct toward Wallace been more lenient and honor- able. CHAPTER XXIV. SICILIAN VESPERS (1382). THE OTTOMAN EM- PIRE ESTABLISHED (1299). DURING the reign of the first Edward of England, a bloody tragedy was acted in the island of Sicily. Sicily, you know, is in the Mediterranean Sea, at the southernmost point of Italy. The Saracens once possessed it ; but they were driven out by Tancred and his brave Normans, who were in turn supplanted by the French. Charles of Anjou, uncle to Philip III. of France, governed the Sicilians with so much rigor, that a conspiracy was formed to expel all the French from Sicily. Some Frenchmen having insulted and abused a Sicilian lady, the animosity of the islanders was heightened, and their desire of revenge quickened. SICILIAN VESPERS. 119 A horrible plot was laid, and boldly executed. On Easter Monday, 1282, at the tolling of the church-bell for vespers, or evening service, a general massacre of all the French in Sicily took place. This signal was so punctually and universally observed, that, it is said, in little more than two hours, scarcely a Frenchman was left alive in the whole island. This sanguinary and successful conspiracy is known in history by the appellation of " the Sicilian Vespers." Peter, King of Arragon, in Spain, had coun- tenanced and assisted the conspirators ; and, on the execution of their horrible project, he took possession of the Island of Sicily. This island, however, came afterward into the hands of the French, and again under the rule of the House of Anjou. Is not this massacre almost incredible ? Does it not seem unlikely to have occurred among the most barbarous of nations ? Should we not turn with horror and disbelief from the account of such a warfare among the most ferocious brutes ; tigers, lions, bears ? What shall we say to it ? What can we think' of it, as the coolly-arranged scheme of a civilized nation of rational creatures ? I wish it were the only transaction of the kind recorded in history ; but you will hear of a yet more extensive massacre, committed in a more 120 OTTOMAN EMPIRE. civilized era, and by the most polite people of Europe ! But I will not forestall events. On the 27th of June, 1299, Othman, the re- nowned leader of the Turks, commenced the vic- torious career, which ended by his laying the foundation of a new empire. The Turks had been till then a wandering race ; but they were established as a people in the lands they had conquered ; and this new empire was called, after its founder, the Ottoman empire, Othman being its first Sultan. The capital city was Byrsa (sometimes called Prusa) in Bithynia ; and a race of very warlike princes succeeded the veteran Othman. The Turks, you know, were and are Mohammedans ; and Byrsa was enriched with a mosque and also a college. Amurath, the grandson of Othman, instituted those haughty foot-soldiers called Janizaries. In his wars against the Sclavonian nations, he made a great many prisoners. The handsomest and stoutest of these captives were trained to arms, formed into a militia, and consecrated by a Der- vish, or holy man.* Standing in the front of their ranks, he stretched the sleeve of his gown over the head of the foremost soldier, and his blessing was delivered in these words : " Let * Gibbon. THE SWISS REPUBLICS. 121 them be called Janizaries (Zingi cheri, or new soldiers)! May their countenances be ever bright ! their hands victorious ! their swords keen ! May their spears always hang over the head of their enemies ! and wheresoever they go, may they return with a white face." Such was the origin of the Janizaries. CHAPTER XXV. THE SWISS REPUBLICS ESTABLISHED. GERMANY long consisted, as it still does, of several independent principalities, each gov- erned by its own prince ; and the Emperor of Germany was head of the whole. This Emperor was chosen by the princes from among them- selves, and regarded as their sovereign. Just when the first Edward became King of England, Rodolph, a Swiss Baron, Count of Hapsburgh, was elected Emperor of Germany. Rodolph afterward obtained possession of Aus- tria, and gave it to his eldest son Albert. This was the beginning of the greatness of the House of Austria, which for three centuries gave em- perors to Germany. Rodolph was hereditary sovereign of many K 11 122 THE SWISS REPUBLICS. of the Swiss cantons ; and his son Albert was desirous to subjugate the whole of Switzerland, and make it a dominion for one of his sons. But Albert did not govern with the lenity and good sense displayed by his father. Rodolph is de- scribed as a prince of rare merit ; and it is re- lated of him, that he so well knew when every duty should be performed, and every effort made, " that he never once began anything too soon or too late" Albert I. when he became Emperor of Ger- many, treated his subjects, the Swiss, with so much severity, and placed over them such tyran- nical governors, that those brave mountaineers disdained to submit to his yoke. Gessler, one of the harsh Austrian rulers, in the wantonness of power, set up a pole, with his hat upon it, and commanded the Swiss to do homage to it, as to himself. This order, you may be sure, a people fond of freedom did not choose to obey. One of them, the celebrated William Tell, often passed this hat without making the required obeisance ; and for his contumely he was sen- tenced to be hanged, unless he should shoot an arrow through an apple placed on his son's head. Tell was an excellent marksman, and very dex- terously hit the apple, without hurting his child. When he had performed this exploit, Gessler, THE SWISS REPUBLICS. 123 approaching him. observed a second arrow stuck in his girdle, and inquired for what use it was intended ? " To have pierced your heart, had I wounded my son," replied the intrepid William Tell. The brave, you see, always speak truth, even when, by doing so, they risk their safety. Tyrants are seldom generous, or capable of feeling the charms of virtue. Gessler ordered Tell to prison ; but this brave man, escaping from his dungeon, killed the tyrant, and thus aided the deliverance of his country. Before this event, a secret conspiracy had been forming, of which three gallant Swiss were the principal contrivers, Stauffacher, Melchthal and Furst. Pray roiaeuiber the names of these three worthy patriots. I know nothing better worth remembering than the names and actions of the lovers and benefactors of their country. Switzerland is divided into many cantons. Three of these, Uri, Schwitz, and Unterwalden, were the first to throw off the Austrian yoke ; the other cantons followed their example, till at length the whole of Switzerland became free, and so remained for many centuries. I wish I could tell you a quarter of the gal- lant actions and intrepid efforts of the Swiss, in their contest for liberty and independence. At one time, a few hundreds of these spirited 124 THE SWISS REPUBLICS. warriors conquered many thousands of their Austrian foes, and made the pass of Morgarten as famous in modern history, as Leonidas and his Spartans rendered the pass of Thermopylae in ancient times. Tell and Furst fought in this memorable bat- tle, 15th November, 1315 ; and a chapel was raised on the spot to commemorate their glori- ous victory. Albert, the cruel oppressor of a free people, was himself the victim of cruelty ; for he was murdered by his nephew John, in 1308, the year after the commencement of the struggles of the Swiss. When these brave people had recovered their dearly prized liberty, they form- ed themselves into s@^|H publics. Each canton was governed " - its' own magistrates, and all were bound to*' nite in the preservation of the freedom, and the peace, and the rights of all. Thirteen cantons, besides some towns and districts, considered as allies, were joined in this confederacy. Pray look for Switzerland in the map ; you will find it at the foot of the Alps, with the lake of Geneva on one side, and the lake of Constance on the other, and situated between France, Germany, and Italy. EDWARD II. 125 CHAPTER XXVI. EDWARD II. OF CAERNARVON. EDWARD II., at the age of twenty-three, succeeded his father. He was a prince of a mild and yielding disposition, and would have been amiable and happy in private life ; but he had not spirit and firmiress to rule a turbulent people. Instead of attending to the advice of his lather, in pursuing the conquest of Scotland ; instead of devoting himself to the duties of his high station, he gave up his thoughts to unwor- thy favorites, aiK^ his time to pleasure and in- dolence.- No good could accrue from such unwise in- dulgence ; how much evil thence arose the events of his life will show. Piers Gaveston, a Gascon knight, remarkable only for a handsome figure and agreeable manners, was the first favorite of the King. He allowed this youth to rule him in all things, and loaded him with favors. The Barons were provoked at the preference given to a silly and worthless young man ; they combined against him. and did not cease their* persecutions till they had made Gaveston their 126 EDWARD II. prisoner, and, profiting by their success, had him immediately beheaded. The feeble monarch was easily appeased, and turned his thoughts to the invasion of Scotland. In this attempt he was defeated at Bannock- burn, near Stirling, by the intrepid Bruce ; and by flight alone saved himself from becoming the captive of the Scots. Another favorite now occupied the affections of Edward : Hugh Spencer, an Englishman of rank and high accomplishments, supplied the place of the murdered Gaveston ; but, as worth- less as the former favorite, he shared his fate, for he was put to death by the incensed nobles, after a short career of splendor and profligacy. The King, during the rule of Spencer, had made a formidable attack upon his Barons, and subdued the most turbulent ; but he was after- ward unsuccessful. His wife, Queen Isabella, was as vicious as her husband was weak ; she loved a young nobleman, called Mortimer, and for his sake was willing to get rid of her royal consort. Isabella, therefore, openly abetted the insurrection of the rebellious nobles, and thought herself happy when they had made Edward their captive. I shudder to repeat with how much cruelty the triumphant traitors treated their sovereign. EDWARD II. 127 He was led from prison to prison, and made to endure every indignity which malice could in- vent or power inflict. At one time, they caused him to be shaved in the open fields, and the cold dirty water of a neighboring ditch to be used for the purpose. Disgraceful barbarity ! Could men, performing such low-minded cruelties, presume to call themselves Nobles? Edward, deeply afflicted by this malignity, shed tears ; and, as the warm drops trickled down his cheek, with a patient gaiety he exclaimed, " In spite of the malice of my foes, here is warm and clean water on my cheeks." lie was put to death at Berkeley Castle, by most violent and brutal means. In this reign lived the famous" Guy, Earl of Warwick, of whom many wonderful stories are told. Clement V. was now Pope of Rome ; but, Italy being distracted by contending factions, he removed the seat of the papal government to Avignon, 1309. Avignon is a town of France, on the banks of the Rhine. Philip III. King of France, yielded it to the Popes, who. by residing there, caused it to be enriched with many fine buildings, so that it became a place of great magnificence. In 1791, it was taken from the Pope by the revolutionary gov- 128 PHILIP IV. ernmerit, und again forms part of the French King's dominions. Clement V. allowed Philip IV. of France to commit a very cruel action ; for he gave him a bull, as it is called (that is, a papal order, or letter), to extirpate the Knights Templars. These persons were therefore driven out of all the kingdoms of Europe ; and, when taken, were tried and burnt alive, for pretended crimes against religion ; when, in fact, their only crime was, that they had offended Philip. This Philip IV. was a grandson of St. Louis, and was surnamed Le Bel, or the Fair, on ac- count of his personal beauty. He succeeded his father, Philip the Bold, at the early age of seventeen : he was a very brave prince, and had some great qualities ; but he was also ob- stinate, greedy of riches, and full of revenge against those who had offended him. His ex- pensive wars obliged him to impose heavy taxes ; the people, harassed and drained, be- came turbulent and seditious ; and the Knights Templars, being very rich, were accused of causing the riots and discontents. By their expulsion, their property became confiscated to the King : you see, therefore, why 'he desired their extirpation. Philip had many enemies, but the most dan- POPE BONIFACE VIII. 129 gerous of them was the Pope, Boniface VIII., a very haughty, violent, ambitious man, and equally wicked. He had made himself Pope "by persuading his predecessor, Celestine, to resign the popedom ; after which he imprisoned the unfortunate Celestine, and inflicted so many cruelties upon him as caused his death. Boniface was quite furious if any one opposed his will ; and he wished to make all the kings of Europe yield to his imperious commands. He was generally inclined to favor the King of France, till some differences arose between him and Philip, who was not less haughty and violent than himself. Philip had detained Guy, Count of Flanders, and his two sons, in prison very unjustly, and the Pope sent to entreat that they might be" set at liberty ; but Philip was offended at his interference, and refused the request. Many events of a similar nature occurred to make the Pope and the King more and more dissatisfied with each other, .till at last Philip refused all submission to the papal authority, and all kinds of insults passed be- tween them. The Pope then excommunicated the King ; but Philip would not yield to the sentence, and prepared to avenge himself, in a manner that no Christian prince had ever dared, to do before. He sent William de 130 POPE BONIFACE VIII. Nogaret, Sciarra Colonna, and others, who were bitter enemies to the Pope, into Italy, and they settled themselves at Staggia, a castle not far from Anagni, (where the Pope was born, and where he then resided,) pretending to be there upon business of state. These men, who were plotting against Boniface, took with them about three hundred horse soldiers ; and, by means of money, they got many people to join their cause, even in the city of Anagni. When all was prepared, and they were sure that the gates of the city would be opened to them by a traitor within, they marched rapidly toward it and entered, the French riding through the streets, accompanied by the Italian friends of Colonna, crying " Long live the King of France, and let Boniface die !" They then entered the palace of the Pope, without meet- ing any resistance ; but the French dispersed themselves immediately through all the apart- ments, to plunder the immense treasures which Boniface had collected there, so that Colonna, alone, with some Italians, came to the room where the Pope was. There is not a doubt that they intended to murder him ; but the old man, whose great age of eighty-six should have made him respected even by his enemies, had put on his pontifical robes and triple crown, PHILIP IV. 131 called the tiara, and thrown himself on his knees in prayer to God at the holy altar, when he heard the approach of the conspirators. His enemies were so struck with awe at this sight, that they did not dare to touch him ; hut threatened to take him a prisoner to France, and have him brought to trial. The French continued plundering for three days, without determining what to do with their prisoner ; till at last, the people of Anagni, who had been taken by surprise, and at first appeared inclined to favor the French, were induced to take up arms ; they then attacked the conspira- tors, drove them from the palace, and set the Pope at liberty. The criminal intentions of the King of France were, however, accomplished, without his being obliged to have the old Pope put to death ; for the insults he had received during the three days of his captivity had so terrified and enraged him, that he lost his health and his reason : he repaired to Rome, to be in safety ; became fu- riously jealous of his power ; and looked upon all opposition to his will as an attack upon his authority. One day when he wanted to go from the palace of the Vatican to the church of the Lateran, the people about him, not wishing to expose his madness to the eyes of the public, 132 DEATH OP POPE BONIFACE VIII. refused to let him stir out, and forced him back to his own apartment, where the old Pope, trem- bling with rage, was left alone with John Cam- pano, a man who had proved faithful to him in all circumstances. This good old servant ex- horted him to support his misfortunes with courage, and to confide in that Power which alone can comfort us under all afflictions, and would give him consolation and strength to sup- port his trials like a Christian. But Boniface did not answer a single word ; his eyes became sunk ; he foamed with rage, gnashed his teeth, and refused all food. His madness seemed to increase as night approached, and he passed it without sleep, as he had passed the day with- out nourishment. At last, appearing quite ex- hausted from the anguish of his mind, he order- ed the domestics to retire ; and, remaining alone, he locked his door. After waiting a long time, the servants broke open the door, and found him on the bed quite stiff and cold. A staff which he had in his hand was gnawed and covered with froth, and he appeared to have dashed himself with violence against the wall (for his white hairs were stained with his own blood), and then to have thrown himself on the bed, and covered his head with the clothes, by EDWARD III. 133 which means he most probably smothered him- self. Philip lived some years after the Pope ; but he had many vexations, which preyed upon his health, and made him very unhappy. One day, when hunting the wild boar in the forest of Fontainebleau, the animal ran between the legs of his horse, which plunged, and fell with the King under him. This fall occasioned his death, at the age of forty-five, and after he had reigned twenty-seven years. On his death-bed Philip repented bitterly that he had given way to his violent pas- sions, and gave excellent advice to his son Louis Hutin, who succeeded him ; but good example is always better than good advice, and has more influence on those around us. Dante, the famed Italian poet, died a few years before Edward II. was murdered. CHAPTER XXVII. EDWARD III. EDWARD III. was only fourteen when his father was so cruelly murdered, as I stated in the last chapter. His mother and her minion, Mortimer, usurped the regal power ; but the 134 EDWARD III. brave young Prince soon threw off the yoke of these unworthy rulers. Assisted by some of his faithful barons, he entered into a plan for freeing himself and his country from the tyranny of Mortimer and the shameless Isabella. Edward seemed willing to devote himself to the good of his people ; but his love of arms led him continually into military exploits. In his wars against France, his son, Edward the Black Prince, (so called from the color of his arms,) shone very conspicuously. At the famous battle of Crecy, in 1346, the Prince of Wales performed prodigies of valor. Being hemmed around by numerous troops of the enemy, some of his officers, anxious for the safety of the gallant youth, sent messengers to his father (who was at a distance watching the engagement) to despatch succors to his son. The King hearing that Edward was as yet un- hurt, calmly replied, " I will not send any rein- forcement ; be all the honor of the day his own ; let him show himself worthy of his illustrious rank." The Prince fulfilled the wishes of his father ; he obtained a complete victory ; and on his re- turn to the camp received the warm embrace of his delighted parent, who exclaimed, " My valiant son ! go on as you have begun you have acquitted yourself nobly." SURRENDER OF CALAIS. 135 How grateful to the ardent bosom of the juve- nile warrior (then only fifteen years of age) must hare been this praise ! The siege of Calais was the next brilliant undertaking of the English monarch, and after twelve months the city surrendered, on August 3, 1347. Edward was so provoked at the trouble and time the siege had caused, that, forgetting that what had been harassing to him was most honorable to his brave and enduring enemies, he vowed to take a signal revenge. His anger, however, being somewhat pacified, he declared that if six citizens would deliver themselves to him for execution, bareheaded, barefooted, and with halters round their necks, he would forgive the rest. Have I not told you something similar to this in ancient history. Try and remember. The citizens of Calais, like the inclosed Ro- mans, were at first dismayed ; but, like those ancient heroes, finally decided, that it is some- times glorious to submit to ignominious terms, when, by so doing, we can benefit our country or our fellow-creatures. Eustace de St. Pierre immortalized his name by being the first to offer himself as a victim to rescue his fellow-citizens. His noble example was instantly followed. It is thus that virtue 136 PHILIP VI. is often doubly serviceable ; in the actions of the individual, and in arousing the emulation and imitation of beholders. It is thought that the King would have sacrificed these six high- minded townsmen to his blind rage, had not the Queen Philippa, on her knees, pleaded for their lives, and opened her husband's heart to gene- rous feelings. St. Pierre and his companions were saved ; and Edward did himself more honor by mas- tering his revenge, than by conquering Ca- lais. At this time Philip VI., surnamed of Valois, ruled in France, and his reign was distinguish- ed by the extraordinary valor of three ladies of high rank, whose exploits excited the admi- ration of all Europe. As their names are im- mortalized in history, and they are deservedly ranked with the greatest warriors, you will be glad to have some account of them. John, the third Duke of Brittany, being with- out children, adopted his niece Jane, and hav- ing declared her heiress of his duchy, married her to the Count De Blois, nephew to King Philip. On the death of the Duke of Brittany, in 1341, the Count de Montfort, one of his brothers, wished to deprive his niece of the duchy, to which the late Duke had made her THE COUNTESS OF MONTFORT. 137 heiress ; and, fearing the King of France might take her part, as she was married to his nephew, he joined himself to Edward III. King of Eng- land, who was at war with France, and then seiz- ed the principal cities in Brittany. The King of France sent an army into that province, to the assistance of his nephew, and, besieging Nantes, the capital, they made themselves mas- ters of it, took the Count De Montfort prisoner, and sent him, strongly guarded, to Paris, where he was shut up in the great tower of the Louvre. The war, however, was not ended, though the chief had been taken ; for the Countess De Montfort, whose name also was Jane, continued it with incredible vigor. This Princess was one of the most illustrious and extraordinary women in the world ; and was endowed with the greatest fortitude, courage, and ability. She managed a war-horse better than any knight; was skilful in all kinds of warlike exercises ; and could fight by sea and by land with as much ease and unconcern as another lady would have shown in a ball-room. Like a perfect general, she knew how to order a battle, to guard a city, to make a treaty, to provide for the safety of an army without con- fusion, to surprise the enemy ; when to advance and when to retire, to attack and to defend, and 12 138 THE COUNTESS OP MONTFORT. to support every kind of hardship and fatigue. This heroine, hearing that her husband was taken prisoner, instead of losing time in useless repining, visited all the towns, to assure herself of the fidelity of the people, and to inspire them with confidence, taking with her her infant son, who was only three years old, and whom she held in her arms. Fearing for the safety of this dear boy, she sent him to England, to the care of King Edward, who sent six thousand men to her assistance ; but as these troops did not ar- rive in time to defend the city of Rennes, which the French were then besieging, the inhabitants were obliged to surrender. The French afterward attacked the town of Hennebon, where the Countess herself was, and where the fight was long and obstinate ; but she defended the place with such skill, that the enemy were obliged to retire. Ascending to the top of one of the towers of the city, to ob- serve the situation of the French camp, she per- ceived a part, which appeared to be ill guarded ; and, immediately getting on horseback, she put herself at the head of three hundred knights, galloped through one of the gates of the city, surprised that part of the camp, and set it on fire. The report of this attack, the sight of the fire, and the flight of those who had been sur- TRUE STORIES. A : I k : ~ --" i * 'i : ii Hi? , " ' ~^=^ 1)R MOUXTFOKT. THE COUNTESS OF MONTFORT. 139 prised, spread such alarm and consternation among the French, that their general gave up the siege of the city, and marched to the relief of his own camp. The Countess, seeing that her undertaking had succeeded, rallied her troops, and would have taken the road back to the town ; but the enemy had cut off her retreat, and she could not return ; upon which she gave orders to her soldiers to escape toward Brest. The French, seizing some of those who were fleeing away, were astonished to learn from them that the Countess herself had been at the head of the attack on the camp, and was among the troops they were then in pursuit of. The people of Hennebon, not knowing Avhat was become of her, were full of anxiety for her safety ; but, at the end of five days, she appeared again, with a reinforcement of six hundred men, well armed and mounted. The inhabitants sallied out to receive her ; and she entered the city with trumpets sounding, and in the face of the enemy, who were filled with admiration and astonish- ment at her intrepidity. The Count De Blois having also received a reinforcement, the assault on the town was re- newed with greater fury than ever ; and in many places the walls were so battered that the besieged began to think of surrendering. The 140 THE COUNTESS OF MONTFORT. Countesa De Montfort, in despair, looked out toward the sea, and, perceiving an English fleet at a distance, cried out, " Courage, my children ! We are saved ; for succors are coming from our friends !" Such unexpected glad tidings gave courage to the people ; they talked no more of yielding; and the English general landed his soldiers, attacked the French camp, and com- pelled the enemy to raise the siege. A little time after, a truce was concluded between Eng- land and France, during which the Count De Montfort was set at liberty. As soon as he found himself free, he renewed the war with great vigor ; but he was taken ill, and died in 1345. The Countess was no more dismayed by the death, than she had been by the imprisonment, of her husband. She fought many battles, and put to flight the army of the Count De Blois, who was wounded himself, taken prisoner, and conducted to England. His wife, Jane, endowed with courage equal to that of the Countess De Montfort, took up arms also ; and these two heroines, continuing the war for a long time, both distinguished themselves by prodigies of valor. Another female, equally extraordinary, has been celebrated in history in a similar manner. The same Philip VI., under pretence of giving a OLIVER CLISSON. 141 tournament, had attracted some nobles from Brit- tany to Paris, among whom was Oliver Clisson. As soon as they arrived, they were arrested upon a slight suspicion that they had held corres- pondence with the English ; and Philip ordered them to be beheaded immediately, without even the form of trial. This violation of justice made King Edward renew the war ; and the widow of Clisson, to avenge the murder of her husband, sold her jewels, fitted out three vessels, crossed the sea, landed in Normandy, took many castles, and set many villages on fire. She was always found amidst the greatest dangers and horrors of the war, with a sword in one hand and a torch in the other, exciting to carnage, and encourag- ing her people. She had a son twelve years of age, whom she sent to London to be in safety ; and, as soon as he was old enough to bear arms, she excited him to distinguish himself by great exploits. She had the satisfaction of seeing him prove himself the worthy son of such a- mother ; and the battle of Aurai, fought in 1364, in which he lost an eye, was gained in a great degree by his valor. This battle decided the fate of the Dutchy of Brittany, in favor of the young Count De Montfort. Philip VI. died at the age of fifty-seven, and was succeeded by his eldest son John II., surnamed the Good. 142 JOHN II. At the very commencement of his reign, John, notwithstanding his title of " Good," unjustly put to death the Count D'Eu, Constable of France. This execution alienated all hearts from John, and brought upon him many misfor- tunes. Among others, was a renewal of hostili- ties with England. Edward III. landed in France with an army, and sent his son, the Black Prince, to join the Duke of Lancaster in Guyenne, a province in the south of the king- dom. All the surrounding country was laid waste, according to the cruel custom of those days ; and the Prince, with an army of twelve thousand men, spread devastation and terror as far as the province of Berry, in the midst of the kingdom. Here he found the country before him too well guarded to permit his farther ad- vance : and, as the bridges behind were broken down, he could not retreat. In this state of perplexity, the King of France advanced toward him with an army of eighty thousand men, and they came in sight of each other near the town of Poitiers, in September, 1356. It was impossible for the Prince of Wales to escape from so large an army ; he therefore pre- pared for a battle with all the courage of a hero and the prudence of a skilful general ; and then endeavored to negotiate with the French King, BATTLE OP POITIERS. 143 from a consciousness of his inferiority as to num- bers, and a desire to avoid shedding the blood of his soldiers uselessly. He offered to agree to any terms that would not be dishonorable to himself and to England ; promised to give up all the conquests he had just made ; and not to serve against France for seven years to come. But King John insisted that the Prince and a hundred of his nobles should surrender them- selves prisoners, in which case he promised to let the rest of the English army go safely home. The Prince refused this offer with disdain, and declared that, whatever fortune might happen to him, his country should never be ashamed of his conduct. All hope of avoiding a battle was now at an end, and the English passed the night in pre- paring for it. The prudence of the Prince made amends for the smallness of his army ; and the impetuosity of the French, joined to their too great confidence of success, brought them into dangers which they did not foresee. The Eng- lish were so posted that they could be reached only through a narrow lane, covered by hedges on each side ; and, while part of the French army advanced along the lane, a body of Eng- lish archers, who were behind the hedges, let fly their arrows on each side, and killed a great 144 JOHN II. many of them. Those who got safe to the end of the lane, found the Black Prince at the head of some of the bravest of his soldiers, ready to re- ceive them. They were consequently beaten ; one of their commanders was killed, the other taken prisoner ; and the rest of the French, who were still in the lane, fled back upon their own army, where they threw everything into confusion. The sudden retreat of the Dauphin (which is the title of the eldest son of the King of France) increased the terror and the disorder, so that King John soon found himself exposed to the greatest danger. His soldiers were killed around him ; his nobles fell by his side one af- ter another ; and his favorite son Philip, who was scarcely fourteen years old, received a wound while fighting valiantly in defence of his father. The King himself, who performed prodigies of valor, and was wounded in the face, being quite exhausted and covered with blood, might easily have been slain ; but every English gentleman, desirous of taking alive the royal prisoner, spar- ed him in the action, prayed him to surrender, and offered him his life. Many who attempted to seize him suffered for their boldness, and he overthrew all who dared to approach him. He continued to call out for the Prince of Wales, and seemed unwilling to become prisoner to any THE KING OF FRANCE TAKEN. 145 person of lower rank ; till at last, hearing that the Prince was at a distance, he yielded himself to a French knight, who, under unfortunate cir- cumstances, had been exiled from his own coun- try, and had entered into the service of the English. The Black Prince had been carried away in pursuit of the fugitive enemy ; and on finding the field entirely clear, had ordered a tent to be pitched. Here, as he refreshed himself after the toils of battle, he inquired anxiously as to the fate of the French monarch, and despatch- ed a nobleman to bring him tidings. This no- bleman arrived just in time to save the life of the royal captive, which at that moment was exposed to greater danger than it had been dur- ing the action. The English had taken him by force from the French knight, whose party claim- ed the honor of detaining him ; and some bru- tal soldiers, rather than give up their prize, had threatened to put him to death. The nobleman whom the Prince had sent, overawed both par- ties ; and approaching the King with great re- spect, offered to conduct him to the Prince's tent. On his approach, Edward went out to meet the captive monarch with every mark of respect ; endeavored to comfort him in his mis- fortunes ; gave him the praise due to his valor, M 13 146 JOHN II. and ascribed the victory to a superior Provi- dence rather than to any merit of his own. The behavior of John was worthy of such generous treatment ; his misfortunes did not make him forget that he was a King, and he was greatly affected by Edward's generosity to him, Baying that his own honor was still unsullied, and that it was a great consolation to him, that he had fallen into the hands of the most valiant and virtuous prince in the world. Edward or- dered a repast to be prepared for his royal pris- oner, and served himself at table, as if he had been one of his attendants. He stood at the King's back, and would not take a place at the table, declaring that he was a subject, and knew the distance between his own rank and that of royal majesty : all the English knights follow- ed the example of their prince, and treated their prisoner in the same generous manner. After concluding a truce with France for two years, the Black Prince conducted the King to England, where he was met by all ranks of peo- ple at his landing. The prisoner was dressed in royal robes, and mounted on a white horse, distinguished for its beauty and size, and richly caparisoned : the conqueror rode by his side, plainly clad, on a small black pony : and thus they passed through the streets of London. HIS HONORABLE CONDUCT. 147 The Prince presented the King of France to his father, who advanced to meet him, and re- ceived him as if he had been a neighboring sov- ereign come to pay him a visit. After some time, John grew tired of his captivity, and was so humbled by his ill-fortune, that he had the weakness to conclude a disgraceful treaty with the English, which would have ruined his king- dom ; but the Dauphin and the nobles would not agree to it, and Edward went to France again with a large army, and committed great ravages all over the country. At last, a peace was con- cluded, part of the conditions of which were, that France should pay, at different times, one million and a half of sterling money for the ran- som of its King, and that the King of England should retain many of the French provinces, which he had conquered. Forty hostages, or persons given in pledge, to be kept till the terms of the treaty were fulfilled, were to be sent to England, among whom were the two sons of John, and the Dukes of Orleans and Bourbon. John confirmed this treaty most willingly, after which he was restored to his people ; and he executed the conditions with the greatest fideli- ty ; for he was a strict observer of his word, and used to say, that, " if truth and justice were banished from the rest of the world, they 148 DEATH OF JOHN II. ought to be found in the mouth and heart of all Kings." About three years after John had left Eng- land, one of his sons returned to France be- fore the time for his remaining as a hostage had expired, and without King Edward's leave, protesting that he would not go back again. This conduct gave the King of France so much uneasiness, that he determined to give himself up instead of his son, and, contrary to the ad- vice of his counsellors, who did all in their power to dissuade him from such a step, he went to England, where King Edward received him with the greatest magnificence and respect : but, a few days after his return to London, he was taken ill, and died, at the age of fifty-five, at the palace of the Savoy in the Strand. John of France was more unfortunate than John of England ; but the French King gave honor to misfortune, and is remembered with pity and esteem. The English monarch dis- graced his fate, and caused his own sorrows ; hence he is recollected with scorn and detesta- tion. Observe, I beseech you, that disaster may pain and humble, but cannot disgrace. His conqueror, the Black Prince, survived him about twelve years. To the great grief of the nation, this valiant Prince died of consump- DEATH OF EDWARD III. 149 tion in the forty-sixth year of his age, leaving behind him a character without blemish. He was wise, merciful, brave ; and promised to have been as great in peace as he had proved himself in war. Edward III. soon followed his accomplished son to the grave, broken-hearted with his irre- parable loss. He died in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and fifty-first of his reign, leaving his kingdom to his grandson Richard II., a youth about eleven years of age, and son of the Black Prince. Just before Edward died, the Popes quitted Avignon, which had been for seventy years the seat of papal dominion, and returned to Rome. Pope Gregory XI. was the pontiff who made this removal. It was in the reign of Edward III. that the business of the courts of law began to be con- ducted in the English tongue. Until that period, the French language had been used in all legal proceedings. In his reign, the Order of the Garter was instituted, of which some account has been given in the " English Stories." 150 DAVID KING OF SCOTLAND. ffhrjI !'i:i* fa. -. CHAPTER XXVIII. GUNPOWDER FIRST USED. WHEN Edward III. began his reign, David II. was King of Scotland ; but the English monarch caused Edward Baliol to be crowned King of the Scots at Scone. Baliol was however soon deprived of his crown, and expelled ; and David II., making war against England, was defeated by an army commanded by Queen Phi- lippa, and carried prisoner to London. Thus two monarchs were captives in this metropolis at the same time ; but David recovered his lib- erty. Sir Henry Picard, Lord Mayor of Lon- don, boasted that four monarchs had dined to- gether at his table ; the Kings of England, Scotland, France, and Cyprus ; of whom the three latter were captives. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, famous in poetry as the supposed residence of Venus the goddess of beauty. In some verses, it is called Paphos ; hence Venus is de- nominated the Paphian Queen. I need not tell you that this is all a fable. The early history of Cyprus is highly interesting. The Saracens conquered it in more modern times ; during the THE MARINER'S COMPASS. 151 Crusades, the Venetians made themselves mas- ters of it, and continued to rule it in Edward's time, as they also did for many years after- ward. The Turks, who first entered Europe about 1352, and gradually obtained extensive domin- ion in the eastern part of it, seized the island of Cyprus in 1571, almost two hundred years afterward, and possess it to this day. The world was now beginning to be enriched with various useful inventions. At Naples, the mariner's compass had been discovered ; a val- uable invention for sailors. You know, that the loadstone has the property of always point- ing toward the North ; this surprising prop- erty it can communicate to steel ; and you can imagine that, by lightly hanging a steel needle, charged with the magnetism of the loadstone, in a box, and seeing which way it points, the north will be always known ; and when the north is accurately known, the other quarters can be easily ascertained. Thus you plainly see how easy it is, with such assistance, to guide a ship across the wide and trackless ocean. Before the discovery of this property in the loadstone, and before the invention of its use in a compass, sailors directed their course by watching the sun, and the moon, and the 152 INVENTION OF GUNPOWDER. stars. Tn cloudy weather, this observation was impossible : hence the immense advantage gain- ed by a permanent and unchangeable guide. Do ask to look at a compass. The discovery of gunpowder produced less obvious and certain advantages. It has indeed been said that wars have been less frequent and less sanguinary since the invention of this death- scattering mixture. Besides ponderous ma- chines to throw stones and beat down walls, the Greeks produced a kind of liquid fire, which they managed to throw blazing into the midst of their enemies. Close combat between man and man, with swords, javelins, clubs and spears, must have been terrible. The shock of a can- non ball, and wounds from muskets and pistols, must more easily and instantly kill, and the wounds given by them, when not fatal may be less lacerated and severe. Still it is difficult to consider the invention of gunpowder as a benefit to mankind. The Chi- nese pretend that they had discovered it many centuries before Schwartz, a German, is suppos- ed to have first made it known in Europe, about 1330. Edward III. was the first English mon- arch who used it : at the battle of Crecy, his artillery is said to have done dreadful execu- tion. Perhaps the horror of so terrible an in- GUNPOWDER FIRST USED. 153 strument of slaughter may have occasionally prevented a hasty and thoughtless commence- ment of warfare. You will perhaps ask, how are these various discoveries in arts and sciences made ? Schwartz was a chemist ; and, probably in mixing differ- ent ingredients, and trying ingenious experi- ments, he found that sulphur, nitre, and char- coal, mixed together, when touched with fire, produced effects that might render the mixture useful for some purposes. It is thus that most discoveries are made ; by accident perhaps, but not by chance. There is no such thing as chance ; for certain causes must produce certain consequences. Think a little. Is it not so ? By close obser- vation on what happens, and judicious reflection on what may be made to happen, some inven- tions are produced ; often in prosecuting one discovery, another, very unexpected, and, it may be, much more valuable, is found out. Thus you see, a person of observation and reflection, who carefully exerts his senses and faculties, is very likely to find out something useful and before unknown, or to contrive some- thing new and ingenious. Do pray, therefore, acquire the habit of see- ing what you look at, attending to what you 154 CHARLES V., THE WISE, * hear, reflecting upon what you observe, remem- bering what you read. CHAPTER XXIX. CHARLES V., THE WISE, KING OF FRANCE. You remember that the unfortunate John, King of France, died a prisoner in England. His son, Charles V., surnamed the Wise, suc- ceeded him, and so well deserved the epithet bestowed on him, that I think it right you should hear something of him. France was in a sad condition when Charles ascended the throne. Into this misery a feeble and thoughtless monarch had plunged the na- tion ; from this misery a wise and active sov- ereign rescued it. I hope, you do not fail to observe, how fre- quently the conduct of a single person changes the fate of an empire. If such are the conse- quences of individual exertion in states and kingdoms, the effect caused, in private and do- mestic circles, by the virtue or the vice of one human being, must be greatly more decisive and influential. Charles, collecting an army, compelled his re- KING OF FRANCE. 155 bellious subjects to yield to his authority, and thus restored tranquillity to his country. He next turned his forces against foreign foes, and drove the English from almost all their French possessions. He compelled the King of Na- varre, a troublesome neighbor, to sue for peace ; and obliged all turbulent persons to quit the kingddm. Peace thus restored, Charles devoted himself to the domestic improvement of his subjects, patronized literature, and encouraged the arts of life. To fulfil his various duties, he careful- ly regulated his time. Without judicious regu- lation of time, nothing valuable can be executed. With a wise arrangement of the hours of every day, everything may be performed; for every business leisure can be found. Charles never appeared at the head of his armies, because his health would not allow him to bear fatigue ; but he chose skilful men to command them, and always acknowledged and rewarded their services. One of his greatest generals, and in whom he placed the most con- fidence, was Bertrand du Guesclin, a knight from Brittany, who had distinguished himself in the reign of King John, and whose courage was undaunted. When a child, he was so violent in his disposition, that everybody dis- 156 CHARLES V., THE WISE, liked him, and even his own parents could not manage him; his mother used to say, that he was the naughtiest boy in the world, because he was always fighting and quarrelling with every one around him ; and that his father and she should rejoice to see him dead. But this ungovernable boy grew up to be a great hero, and saved his country by his valor and skill. The wars in Brittany still continuing between the Count De Blois and the young Count De Montfort, of whom I have spoken before, the King of France sent Du Guesclin with an army te the assistance of the former ; but, as he would not follow the general's advice, he was killed in the battle of Auray, and Du Guesclin was also taken prisoner, covered with wounds. Charles paid a large sum of money for his liberation, and then sent him with an army into Spain, where Peter the Cruel and his brother Henry were carrying on a destruc- tive war against each other. Du Guesclin conquered all before him ; and Peter fled to Edward the Black Prince, who was then in Guienne, and persuaded him to assist him with his army. Edward accordingly repaired to Spain, where he gained a great victory, and took Du Guesclin prisoner again ; but he after- ward restored him to liberty, and he returned KING OF FRANCE. 157 to France. Some of the courtiers at last grew jealous of him, and tried to set the King against him ; in which they succeeded so well, that Charles, believing their wicked insinua- tions, wrote a letter to his old and faithful gen- eral, full of reproaches and complaints. The hero, deeply grieved, resigned the command of the army ; but the princes of France and many of the great nobles espoused his cause, and convinced the King of the falsehood of the courtiers. Charles, therefore, acknow- ledged his error, and sent two of the royal dukes to Du Guesclin, inviting him to return to court. This, at first, he was unwilling to do ; but he afterward consented, and the King and he were reconciled. Charles then sent him to command an army against the English in the south of France ; but he never saw his master again, for he was taken ill while besieg- ing a fortress, and died at the age of sixty-six. Charles lamented his loss very much ; and, as a mark of his gratitude and esteem, ordered him to be buried in the church of St. Denis, where he raised a monument to- his memory, near the tomb he had prepared for himself. The King did not long survive the hero who had restored the glory of France ; for he died the same year, in consequence of poison given N 158 CHARLES V., THE WISE, him when Dauphin. A German physician had stopped the progress of the poison at that time, by making a wound in his arm to draw it off, hut had declared that whenever the wound should heal, it would cause his death ; which was really the case. Charles was beloved and regretted by the whole kingdom, and truly deserved the title of WISE, which was bestowed upon him by his own subjects, and recognized by all the world. From a very clever book, I will extract, for your amusement, a most interesting and in- structive passage relative to this monarch. " Charles always rose at six o'clock ; and, having performed his devotions, gave audience to all who presented themselves, rich or poor, receiving their petitions, and reading them himself. At ten o'clock he dined, spending a very short time at table, and eating only of one dish : he drank his wine mixed with water. During dinner, he was instructed by the dis- course of some wise and virtuous man. After dinner, he gave audience to the foreign ambas- sadors : he next admitted his ministers, and learned from them the state of the kingdom. At one o'clock, he retired to his chamber for repose ; an hour afterward, his chamberlains entered, and entertained him with conversation : KING OP FRANCE. 159 at three, he attended vespers, and afterward walked in the garden. On his return, the Queen brought in his children, whom he inter- rogated respecting their progress in education. In winter, instead of walking, he employed himself in reading the Holy Scriptures. He took little supper, and went to bed early." At home, he dressed and appeared like a private man : abroad, he was apparelled, and behaved, like a king. This was as it should be ; for home is the place for the mind and the heart to be gratified. In public, rank must be sus- tained; and great characters, by dress and equipage, must encourage manufactures and patronize the arts. If you reflect on the journal of this sensible King, you will gain much and various informa- tion. You will obtain "an insight into the cus- toms and manners of those times, when ten in the morning was the hour of dinner for great people. Now-a-days, you know, fashionable folks dine toward night. You will perceive how one occupation follow- ed another ; and how every claim of public and private duty had its appointed hour. For a King, a statesman, or any illustrious public character, the appropriation of time must be difficult of arrangement, because many duties 160 CASIMIR III. OP POLAND. claim attention. To such persons, especially, methodizing the business of the day must be indispensable. In private life, the regulation of time must be more easy ; and I do anxiously hope you will never yield to the listless, desultory occu- pations of irregulated time. Arrange your hours so as to fulfil every ne- cessary duty ; and if your station does not de- mand the whole day to be spent in business, make business for yourselves. Devote your leisure to some useful or elegant pursuit. Dig- nify existence by active and unremitted em- ployment. Let yourselves or your fellow-crea- tures be pleased or benefited by your exertions. " Let the world be the better for your having lived." You will observe that every nation boasts of a celebrated monarch. Casimir III. was the hero of the history of Poland. Casimir died just ten years after Charles V. of France began to reign. Casimir is celebrated as the great legislator of Poland : he so earnestly encouraged the building of stately edifices, that it was said of him, " he found Poland of wood, and left her of marble." He founded the Academy of Cracow, CASIMIR III. OF POLAND. 161 and in every possible way improved the condi- tion of his subjects. It is remarked of him, that " he considered war as a matter of necessity, not of choice ; as the means of safety, rather than of glory :" an admirable sentiment, which cannot be too ear- nestly studied by kings and statesmen. The peasants are in general, and were in that age especially, a most oppressed class of people in the northern states of Europe. Casimir was very solicitous to amend the situation of his peasantry, and in many ways softened the evils of vassalage. His nobles for this called him, in mockery, Rex Rusticorum, King of the Peas- ants ; but posterity will repeat the appellation, as most honorable to the bearer of it. Casimir was favorable to the Jews ; doubt- less, from a wish of enriching his kingdom by the industry and opulence of this persecuted race. He allowed them to settle, in Poland, where they afterward established themselves in considerable numbers. After reigning forty years, and almost every year augmenting the comfort and tranquillity of his subjects, Casimir died of a fall from his horse whilst hunting. He was buried in the principal church of Cracow ; a city which, in ancient days, was the capital of Poland. When 14 162 RICHARD II. Mr. Coxe visited his tomb, he approached it, he says, with reverence ; not on account of the learning or valor of Casimir, but because he had given good laws to his people and improved the condition of his peasantry. Casimir succeeded his father, Ladislaus, and in him ended the house of Piast. CHAPTER XXX. RICHARD II. THE son of the Black Prince, Richard II., succeeded his grandfather to the throne of England, when he was only eleven years old. At the age of sixteen, he showed a spirit and resolution worthy of his illustrious father. A poll-tax (that is, a head-tax, or so much for every head) was ordered to be collected. The poor people did not understand, nor did they like, this tax ; and they resisted its payment. Wat Tyler, a blacksmith, did all in his power to increase the tumult, and was especially angry because all people were to pay the same sum, the poor as much as the rich. The young King proposed to have a confer- ence with the principal insurgents, and sailed RICHARD II. 163 down the river Thames in a barge for that pur- pose ; but, when he attempted to land, the mob was so riotous, that he was forced to take shel- ter in the Tower. Although some concessions were made, the populace continued very noisy and turbulent ; and a party of them, under Wat Tyler, met the King in Smithfield. Tyler advanced alone, and spoke in so haughty a manner, that the Lord Mayor of London struck him from his horse, and he was instantly killed by the other royal attendants. The populace were enraged at the death of their chief. The King, seeing their fury, and that they were about to avenge themselves, with admirable presence of mind rode into the midst of them, calling out, " How, my people ! will you kill your King ? Do you mourn your leader ? Cheer up ; I will be your leader, and grant you all you desire." There was a good sense, a genuine bravery, and firmness in this action, that leads one to think Richard was worthy of his father, and owed his errors to improper management, a bad education, and evil or silly counsellors. He gave another proof of spirit, when, being amidst his council, he asked what was his age ? Being told that he was twenty-two, he surpris- 164 RICHARD II. ed the lords by saying, " Then I am old enough to govern ; and will prove my capacity to do so by removing the tutors, who have too long ruled me." The Duke of Hereford accused the Duke of Norfolk of treason, and, according to the custom of those barbarous times, agreed to fight in sin- gle combat, to prove the truth of his charge. The King was present when the meeting took place, and stopped its proceeding to bloodshed, by passing sentence of banishment upon both the combatants ; the Duke of Norfolk for life ; the Duke of Hereford for ten years, which was afterward reduced to six years. As Norfolk had been accused of treason, and was probably guilty of it, his banishment was perhaps only a just punishment ; and as Hereford was the King's relation, Richard might award him a slight chastisement, to escape the charge of par- tiality, as well as to humble the spirit of that haughty noble. Richard II. was unfortunate ; he is generally mentioned with contempt. There is something in one's nature that makes one always anxious to defend the unfortunate, and soften censure against the feeble. I dare say you all feel this. It is very right to applaud merit and censure wickedness. It is quite as right, and much more RICHARD II. 165 agreeable to find out some unnoticed excellence in those who can no longer vindicate themselves, and who may have heen falsely condemned. This very Hereford, on hi"s father's death, be- came Duke of Lancaster. His father, John of Gaunt, was the third son of Edward III. ; con- sequently, Hereford was Edward's grandson, and Richard's cousin. As Duke of Lancaster, he returned from France, and claimed the throne of England. Richard in vain sought to oppose his army. This unfortunate monarch was taken prisoner, and, after a short confinement in Pom- fret Castle, was murdered there, in the thirty- fourth year of his age. He made a brave defence against the ruffians sent to despatch him, and was not killed till he had laid four of them dead at his feet. The apartment in which this tragedy was acted is shown to strangers a low, stone-floored room. I have stood in it, and recalled with pain the tragical event that gave it celebrity Wickliffe, the reformer, died in the reign of Richard II. 166 TAMERLANE. CHAPTER XXXI. TAMERLANE. IN the reign of the second Richard of Eng- land, Timour Beg, better known by the name of Tamerlane, was the hero of the day. Tamerlane was a Tartar prince, who consid- ered himself as descended from the famous Zingis Khan. He was a soldier at the early age of twelve years ; and at twenty-five was looked up to as the most promising warrior of his warlike tribe. He was so ambitious, that it has been said of him, " The conquest and mon- archy of the world was the first object of the ambition of Timour."* In 1380, he began his triumphant military career, conquering in Tartary, Persia, and India. Beyond the victories of Alexander he pushed his military exploits ; passed the Ganges, and took the city of Delhi, in Hindoostan. Bajazet I. was then Emperor of the Turks : he was the son of Amurath I., who had embod- ied the Janizaries. Bajazet was also ambitious and fond of war, had gained many victories, and caused the Emperor of Constantinople to trem- * Gibbon. TAMERLANE. 167 ble on his throne. He was on the point of be- sieging that city, when, Tamerlane appearing with a large army against him, he was obliged to think of his own defence. The two haughty warriors addressed each other in terms of contempt and defiance ; and, having mutually aroused their indignation, they prepared to settle their contest with the sword. On the plains of Angoria* a desperate battle was fought. Bajazet proved himself skilful as a general, and valiant as a soldier ; but some of his troops, being bribed by Tamerlane, deserted, and Bajazet was taken prisoner. It has been related, that he was confined in an " iron cage ;" but this account is not now believed. Other writers extol the excessive clemency and affability of Tamerlane to his cap- tive. Such undue condescension is but the re- fined exertion and expression of superiority : at least it strikes me so. We may not compare the victorious Black Prince with the half-civilized Tartar chief. But the recorded description of their excessive gra- ciousness to their prisoners awakens similar disapprobation. In the various contradictory accounts of historians, it is impossible to ascer- * Or Ancyra, in Phrygia. 168 TAMERLANE. tain the acts how much more impossible to ascertain the feelings of departed heroes ! Bajazet died soon after his defeat ; and Ta- merlane sent his body to be interred at Bursa, in the monument which he had there erected. Bajazet was the first Turkish chief who took the title of Sultan ; his predecessors having been content with the designation of Emir. The Emperor of Constantinople consented to pay a considerable tribute to Tamerlane ; and the Sultans of Egypt, with rich presents, prevent- ed his intention of turning his arms toward their territory. Solyman I., the son of Ba- jazet, held his power as the gift of the con- queror ; and Samarcand, the capital of Tamer- lane, was enriched by the treasures of distant climes. Are the ambitious ever satisfied ? Are war- like heroes ever disposed to rest and peace 1 In the seventieth year of his age, Tamerlane projected and commenced the conquest of China. In the severity of winter, mounted on horseback, he led his hostile troops to the invasion of that distant and immense empire. But his progress was arrested by death. After suffering in a short but severe fever, he expired at Ortar, 1405. And what became of all his mighty con- Q.UEEN MARGARET. 169 quests 1 The same fate attended them that generally attends the success of warriors. No lasting benefits accrued ; no permanent em- pire existed. His sons and grandsons contest- ed for superiority ; but none of them were celebrated. Most of the nations he had sub- dued recovered their freedom at his death ; China remained unmolested ; and the succes- sors of Bajazet rendered the Turkish empire more powerful than it had ever been. While Tamerlane was rendering himself cele- brated in one part, a female heroine was ac- quiring a deathless fame in another. Margaret, the daughter of Valdimar III., King of Den- mark, by her talent and spirit obtained the name of the Semiramis of the North. You remember the Semiramis of more southern climes ? Margaret married Hakon, King of Norway ; and showed so much prudence and energy in the management of public aflairs, that her fa- ther frequently said, " Nature had intended her soul for the body of a man, and not for that of a woman." Upon the death of Hakon, her husband, and that of Oloff her son, she contrived to be pro- claimed Queen of Norway, Denmark, and Swe- den ; thus uniting in herself the sovereignty o 15 170 HENRY IV. OF LANCASTER. of those three states. When Albert, who had been chosen King of Sweden, styled her in deri- sion "the King in petticoats," she did not answer him by woman's weapons, words ; but made her actions speak for her : and he bitterly lamented his joke, when he found himself vanquished by this despised sovereign, made her prisoner, and indebted for his life to her mercy. After pro- curing a glorious peace for her subjects, she long preserved it for them ; and at her death left the three kingdoms, which she had united, to her successor. CHAPTER XXXII. HENRY IV. OF LANCASTER. HENRY IV. was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III.* But Lionel, Duke of Clarence, was the third son of Edward. Mortimer, Earl of Marcjie, was descended from a daughter of Lionel ; and, being the offspring of an elder branch of the royal house. Mortimer, on the deposition and death of Richard II., became the true heir to * See Shakspeare's King Henry VI., act ii., scene 6. HENRY IV. OP LANCASTER. 171 the throne, and had been declared such by that unfortunate monarch. The Earl of Cambridge, second son of the Duke of York, married the daughter of the Earl of Marche, and endeavored to place the son of that nobleman on the throne. But Henry, on the death of Mortimer, in Ireland, obtained pos- session of his young son, and kept him closely confined. Mortimer died in prison without leav- ing any children, and his sister's son became heir to his rights. Hence arose the civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster, which for many years deluged England with native blood. The Earl of Marche married the daughter of the famous Owen Grlendower, a warlike leader, of whom, to this day, the Welsh speak with praise and emu- lation. The life of a usurper must be harassed with opposition, and tormented by rebellions and con- spiracy ; the sense of injustice must alone prove severely chastening. Henry found that a crown obtained by usurpation must be kept by unre- mitting vigilance and exertion. The Welsh, under Glendower, harassed him in one quarter j the Scots, under the Earl of Douglas, in another. The Earl of Northumberland, offended at his conduct, went over to the side of Mortimer; 172 HENRY IV. OP LANCASTER. and, at the battle of Shrewsbury, the Earl's son, the celebrated Henry Percy, surnamed Hot- spur, after making the most valiant efforts, was killed on the field of battle, and his army was overthrown. Shakspeare has written some charming plays on these events, and described Hotspur as fall- ing by the hand of Henry of Monmouth, the young Prince of Wales ; but history records the hero's death as caused by an ignoble hand. This Harry of Monmouth was the wild Prince of Wales, of whose follies and freaks you will often hear. It was he who, when one of his pro- fligate associates was carried before the judge for some misdemeanor, so far forgot himself as to strike the judge, Sir William Grascoigne, because his dissolute companion was doomed to punishment. The judge, duly sensible of the dignity of his station, and the necessity of punishing every breach of respect to the laws of the land, and to the magistrate who administered those laws, immediately ordered the Prince into custody. Young Henry gave proof of the magnanimity of his character, by instantly submitting himself to the laws of his country and the orders of her insulted magistrate. He showed that, if he could err in the moment of thoughtless indigna- IV. OF LANCASTER. 173 tion, he knew his duty in the interval of recov- ered reason, and would fulfil it. The King was delighted to*!iear of the transaction : for he con- sidered himself " happy in having a judge who so boldly and uprightly administered justice : and still more happy in a son, wise and generous enough to submit patiently to deserved chastise- ment." The King was very subject to severe fits : whilst he was in one of them, the Prince of Wales entered his apartment, and, seeing his father lying senseless, he concluded he was also lifeless ; he therefore bore away the crown, which he found by the bedside. The King, re- covering himself soon after, missed his crown, and anxiously inquired for it. The Prince hastened to restore the diadem, which he said, he had only removed, as considering his father no longer capable of wearing it. It is related, that he excused himself so well, that the King not only forgave but blessed him. But how can any apology be offered for so in- delicate an action ? If the son really thought his parent dead, would not some expression of sorrow over the corpse of his father have been more natural than instantly to deck himself with the golden circlet of majesty? Would the thoughts of a tender and dutiful child be so 174 HENRY V. little engrossed with the loss of a fond and in- dulgent parent, that he could so early think of what was to be gained by it ? In one of these fits, Henry IV. died, in the forty-sixth year of his age. The most ancient of our English poets, Geof- frey Chaucer, died in 1400, just after Henry had usurped the throne. His numerous poems will show the mode of spelling, and the quaint forms of expression, used in those days. The story of Griselda, the pattern of a good wife, will interest and amuse you. It is one of Chau- cer's Canterbury Tales. CHAPTER XXXIII. HENRY V. THE madcap Prince of Wales left all his follies behind him when he ascended the Eng- lish throne. He soon became the darling of the people, and carried his triumphant arms into the heart of France. Charles the Wise was dead ; and his son and successor, Charles VI., never very wise, had lost his senses. He was but twelve years of CHARLES VI. OF FRANCE. 175 % age when he ascended the throne ; and, although France suffered great misery and disgrace dur- ing his reign, he obtained the title of " Well- beloved ;" indeed he was a prince of great un- derstanding and goodness, desirous. of making his people happy ; but Providence was pleased to bring great troubles upon him, and the hopes of the nation were soon entirely disappointed. Charles was marching into Brittany at the head of his army, and when he arrived at the town of Mans, he was seized with a slow fever, but could not be persuaded to take rest or med- icine. On the 5th of August, 1391, having travelled all day in the heat of the sun, as he was riding through the forest, a miserable, wild- looking fellow rushed from behind a tree, and laying hold of his bridle, cried out, " Stop, King ! Whither are you going ? You are be- trayed !" and immediately went back into the wood. Charles, however, rode on, though very much agitated ; and soon after, one of his pages, who rode behind and carried the King's lance, overcome with heat, fell asleep, and let it fall upon the helmet which was carried by another page ; the King, hearing the noise, looked about, and, perceiving the page lifting up the lance, instantly killed him : then, riding furiously with his sword drawn, he struck at every person till 176 CHARLES VI. OF FRANCE. he broke his sword, upon which one of his gen- tlemen leaped up behind him and held his arm ; he fell soon after, and lay as if he had been dead, when he was taken up, bound in a wag- on, and carried back to Mans. After continu- ing two days in a state of insensibility, he re- covered a \ittle, and expressed great sorrow for the blood he had shed in his delirium. The nation, who were much grieved at his illness, were equally rejoiced at his recovery ; but, un- fortunately, it was soon discovered that the wisdom and judgment, for which he had before been remarkable, were quite gone. In a few months, indeed, his understanding seemed to be sufficiently restored ; but, in the year 1393, it was again disturbed by an accident as extraor- dinary as the former. At a grand entertain- ment given by the Queen, on the marriage of one of her attendants, the King and five of his nobles entered the room, masked as satyrs, and dressed in linen clothes, covered with rosin and stuck over with down. The Duke of Orleans, out of diversion, thrust a lighted torch against one of them, when his whole dress instantly took fire, and set all the rest in flames, as they were chained to each other. The masks, not- withstanding the dreadful situation they were in, cried out, " Save the King ! Save the CHARLES VI. OF FRANCE. 177 King !" On which the Duchess de Berri, find- ing that he was one of them, threw her cloak over him, and thereby extinguished the flames. One of the others escaped by jumping into a cistern of water ; but the other four were burn- ed to death. The terror and shock which the King received, instantly brought on his deli- rium again, and he never was perfectly himself afterward. So much for the termination of a silly and unkingly frolic ! How often do such frolics so end, in shame, if not in suffering ! Two of the royal Dukes, with the Queen, un- dertook to govern the nation ; and they brought the greatest miseries on the people by their shameful conduct. The Queen was a very wicked woman, and had no affection either for her husband or children ; the former was neg- lected by every one, and the latter were fre- quently in want of what was necessary to their rank in life. Their governess told the poor King, that she had often neither clothes nor food proper for them ; and he replied, " Alas ! I ain not better treated myself." He was five months without going to bed, or having his linen changed ; and he seemed to be forgotten by all the world. This unfortunate monarch died in 1422, aged 54 : not one prince of his family attended his funeral ; but his people sin- 178 HENRY V. cerely mourned for him, as they loved and pitied him, and were too just not to know that the miseries of the kingdom had been occasion- ed by the crimes of the Queen and her asso- ciates. This wicked woman lived thirteen years after her husband, and died so hated and de- spised by all the French, that her body was carried in a little boat to St. Denis to be buried, and no ceremony was observed on the occasion. Henry, taking advantage of the insanity of Charles, and of the consequent confusion of affairs in France, hastened thither with a large army ; and, though his troops were weakened by disease, he ventured to attack the French on the plains of Azincourt. Who has not heard of the battle of Azin- court, when a small number of feeble and sickly English conquered a large army of French on their own ground ! Though soldiers fight the battle, and therefore, in one sense, may be said to obtain it, yet much depends on the skill of their commanders, in placing them so that they may fight to the greatest advantage. Henry posted his troops with skill, and sus- tained them with spirit. Afraid at one time that the battle was going against him, he jump' ed from his horse, and rushed forward to the head of his brave soldiers. In this desperate TUUK STOUIES. IIGNKV V. AND THE PKI.VCKSS OF FRAXCK. PagO 179. HENRY V. 179 hazard, he was so stunned with a blow, that he fell, and would soon have been despatched, had not David Gam, a Welshman, with some of his countrymen, come to the aid of the prostrate monarch. The instant Henry recovered his senses, he sprang forward with increased cour-' age, and, whilst rescuing his brother from peril, was again severely struck. He sank on his knees, but, mustering all Jlis strength, was once more on his feet, and fighting. Victory now rewarded his persevering prowess, though the Duke of Alenc.on had interposed to arrest it : crying out, " I am the Duke of Alenc,on !" he rushed upon Henry, and struck him on the head. Henry, not for an instant remitting his vigilance, turned upon his antagonist, and felled him to the ground. There the Duke was soon killed by the surrounding soldiers, and the triumph of the English was complete. What think you of the hero of Azincourt ? On a second invasion of France, Henry ob- tained so many conquests, that at last he per- suaded Charles to let him marry his daughter, the Princess Catherine, and be declared heir to the French crown. The son of Charles was not so imbecile as his father ; by his prudence and activity he disput- ed the unjust demands of Henry. But he corild 180 HENRY V. effect little during the life of this King of Eng- land, who carried over numerous fine troops in- to France, and kept his court at Paris in great pomp and splendor : his father-in-law having the name, but not the dignity nor the authority, of a sovereign. The Dauphin* retired to wait for a more pros- perous period. This was soon presented by the early death of his rival. Henry V. expired in the thirty -fourth year of his age, and the tenth of his reign. He is considered as one of the most heroic of the English monarchs, although his waste of treasure and blood, in prosecuting useless wars, purchased empty fame, and not lasting benefit. His desertion of his vicious associates and profligate habits does him more honor ; and his generous conduct toward Sir William Gas- coigne, the judge who had nobly dared to com- mit him to prison, was truly laudable. The forgiveness of injuries, and the gracious treatment of rivals and foes, are deeds which bespeak a great mind, and demand and receive universal approbation. In the reign of Henry V. the Portuguese * The Dauphin, a title given to the eldest son of the King of France, from a fine province of that name, called formerly Dauphin^, INVENTION OF PRINTING. 181 discovered the island of Madeira; some time before, they had ascertained the situation of the Cape of Good Hope ; but the doubling (or pass- ing) the Cape was not effected by them until 1497. CHAPTER XXXIV. INVENTION OF PRINTING. WICKLIFFE JOHN HUSS JEROME OF PRAGUE. You know that the paper we write upon is made from rags. It is said that this invention was first known in 1417, but not brought into England till many years afterward. Do you ask what was used before that time for writing upon? Rollin says that the ancients first wrote upon the leaves of the palm tree ; next, on the inside of the bark (whence the word liber, or book, is derived) ; after that, upon tables covered over with wax, on which the characters were impress- ed with an instrument called stylus, sharp- pointed at one end to write with, and flat at the other to efface, when necessary, what had been written. At last, the bark of the papyrus, a plant abundant in Egypt, was brought into use. This plant grows to a great height, and its root 182 INVENTION OP PRINTING. throws out numerous triangular stalks. The bark of these stems was split into thin flakes, or leaves, which were called paper, from papyrus. The thin leaves were glued together with the waters of the Nile, pressed, and dried in the sun. Thus sheets of various sizes could he fbrmed, and of various thickness. The papyrus plant was also useful for sails, cloths, &c. ; and paper was formed of it many years hefore Alex- ander the Great appeared in Egypt. Pliny says that parchment (the prepared skin of sheep) was substituted for the above-named kind of paper by Eumenes, King of Pergamus ; perhaps about 250 years before Christ. The weaving of linen from the fibres of flax is an invention of great antiquity, and was car- ried to great perfection in Egypt. The fine linen vestments of the priests are repeatedly mentioned in the Bible, so early as the time in which Moses lived, 1550 years before Christ. But it was not until almost as many years after Christ, that the old and dirty rags of linen were converted into a fine and snow-white paper. The Peruvians, a people of America, noted down their thoughts by means of colored cords, and specified numbers by knots on these strings. Some uncivilized nations describe events by INVENTION OP PRINTING. 183 rude pictures formed of feathers, or some other method of delineating objects and things. Good paper once perfected, the art of print- ing soon followed. In little more than twenty years (A. D. 1440) Guttemberg, a German, con- trived types, by which to impress letters. All writings before were performed by the hand, and thence called manuscripts, from two Latin words, inanus, hand, and scriptus, written. How slow, how fatiguing, must have been this mode of sending forth literary productions ! Yet the persevering and industrious ancients accumulated vast stores of learning by this laborious process. Pray imagine how knowledge and information must have been disseminated and advanced, when the art of printing gave the power of mul- tiplying copies with ease and rapidity ! I do not know a more curious and ingenious art ; and when you have seen a printing-office, I think you will agree with me that it displays great skill and ability in the printers, and great fidelity and beauty of execution. Of course, the first attempts, as all first attempts must be, were inelegant and imperfect. But persever- ance that best friend of talent, that best mean of perfection gradually improved the first rude efforts of printing into the excellence and com- 184 WICKLIFFE. JOHN HUSS. pletion that now attend the works of the printer, The merit of this discovery has been contested ; I have informed you who was the most accredited inventor. There were many persons who did not en- tirely believe all the articles of the Roman Catholic religion. Wickliffe, an Englishman, in the reign of Richard II., educated at Oxford, was among the first to propagate opinions dis- sonant from the church of Rome. After him, in the reign of Henry V., appeared John Huss, a Bohemian, brought up in the uni- versity of Prague, who also expressed senti- ments little accordant with the Roman Catholic church. Huss was imprisoned for his opposi- tion, and after a short captivity, was burned to death. The Council of Constance sentenced him to this agonizing punishment. Could those human beings have known the extremity of the torture to which, by this sentence, they consigned a fellow-creature 1 Put your hand to the fire : hold your finger half a minute in the flame of a candle, and then judge of the intense suffering of being burned to death. Huss was compelled to behold the public burning of his papers and writings ; and then, , HENRY VI. 185 refusing to save his life by recanting the opin- ions he had professed, he was himself fastened to a stake, and expired, steady to his faith in the last agony of death. Jerome of Prague, the faithful friend of John Huss, avowed the same sentiments and shared the same fate. Terrified by the threats of ex- quisite anguish, he for a short time wavered ; but, becoming more fixed in his principles, he remained steady to them, and sealed his belief by his martyrdom. I beg you to observe the death of these men, as the first step to that Reformation, which afterward formed a new sect, and divided it from the church of Borne. You are Protestants ; that is, protesting from, dissenting from, the Romish creed. These men led the way for the establishment of that faith in which you are educated. This subject is to you, therefore, very momentous. CHAPTER XXXV. HENRY VI. HENRY VI. was an infant only nine months old, when. he was proclaimed King of France and England. His uncles ruled for him during 186 HENRY VI. ^ his childhood ; but, though they were able and valiant, they could not preserve for him his dominion of France, The indefatigable Dauphin assuming, on the death of his father, his legitimate title of King Charles VII., took vigorous measures to compel the English to withdraw from France. In his attempts he was essentially aided by a female. There was a country girl, about twenty-seven years of age, a servant at an inn, who was re- markable for her piety and modesty. She had fulfilled her humble duties with propriety and simplicity, and seemed fitted for her quiet and lowly station. But, when she heard of the troubles and disasters into which her country was plunged, a new spirit seemed to infuse it- self into her bosom. She felt so profoundly, and thought so earnestly, that she became full of fanciful ideas ; and at last imagined herself divinely appointed to rescue her native land from foreign aggression. When we long and deeply meditate on any painful subject, the thoughts naturally become confused, and the feelings are agitated. In such a state, it is very likely for whimsical con- ceptions to be formed, and strange plans to be elicited. If circumstances concur to render these ideas reducible to action, and these plans JOAN OF ARC. 187 prove successful, the person so meditating is believed, and believes himself, to be inspired. But, in hearing of such remarkable incidents, do not too hastily join the number of the cre- dulous. Joan of Arc was the name of this enthusias- tic female, (though, in consequence of her re- lief of Orleans, she is known in history as the Maid of Orleans,) and she confided her thoughts to the Governor of Vaucouleurs, the town near which she lived. The miseries of her country had made a great impression on her mind, and she had thought of them so constantly and so anxiously, that at last she persuaded herself that Heaven had appointed her to deliver her native land from its terrible invaders. She often had dreams, and fancied that she heard voices exhorting her to fight, and promising that she should rescue the kingdom and chase away the English. Her repeated importunities induced the gov- ernor to send her to the King ; and the King had sense enough to profit by the event. What- ever he believed himself, he knew his ignorant subjects would believe that Joan was indeed in- spired by Heaven to save her country. On being presented to Charles, she offered, in the name of the Almighty, to raise the siege 188 JOAN OF ARC. of Orleans, and conduct him to Rheims (a city where all the kings of France are crowned), in order that the crown should there be placed on his head. She described a particular sword, which she had never seen, and which was pre- served in the church of St. Catherine de Fierbois, and she demanded this sword as the instrument of her future victories. Charles and his coun- cillors listened to her after some time, and granted what she desired. She was armed from head to foot, mounted on a fine war-horse, and shown to the people in her military dress. The skill with which she managed her horse was re- garded as a new proof that she was really des- tined by Heaven to save her country ; and she was received with the greatest acclamations wherever she went. The English were engag- ed at the siege of Orleans, where everything seemed to promise them success : but Joan un- dertook to raise the siege ; and, girding herself with the extraordinary sword, and holding a consecrated banner in her hand, she ordered all the soldiers to say their prayers before they began to march, and then assured them of suc- cess. Such confidence on her side raised the spirits of the French army : and even the Eng- lish, though they pretended to despise her, be- gan to feel secretly afraid of her, and waited, JOAN OF ARC. 189 with anxious expectation, the event of these preparations. A supply of provisions was to be conveyed into the town, and Joan, with a body of troops, undertook to cover the embarkation. She entered Orleans at the head of the convoy which she had protected, and, displaying the consecrated banner, was received by the garri- son and all the inhabitants as their deliverer sent from Heaven. With the assistance of the governor, she obliged the English to give up the siege, after she had defeated them in many sal- lies from the town. In the first of these she led on the troops, carrying the sacred banner in her hand, encouraging them with words and actions, and overpowering the besiegers in their own redoubts. In the attack of one of the forts, she was wounded in the neck with an ar- row ; but, instantly pulling it out with her own hands, and getting the wound hastily dressed, she returned to her dangerous post, determined to plant her victorious banner on the ramparts of the enemy. On another occasion, she receiv- ed a blow with a stone, by which she was stun- ned and beaten to the ground ; but she soon re- covered herself, and in the end was successful ; for the English, as much appalled as the French were elated by this singular heroine's 190 CHARLES VII. prowess and energy, retreated from before the city of Orleans. The raising of the siege of Orleans was one part of Joan's promise to Charles ; the crown- ing of him at Rheims was the other : and she now declared that it was time to have that cere- mony performed. He was therefore persuaded to set out for that city, at the head of an army of twelve thousand men, though it was in a dis- tant part of the kingdom, and was then in pos- session of the English, and all the country through which he had to pass was filled with their garrisons. Till this time, the King had kept far from the scene of war, as the safety of the state depended upon his preservation ; hut he determined now to appear at the head of his army, and to set the example of valor to all his soldiers. He began his march, and every city on the road opened its gates to him ; so much were the people impressed with the belief that Joan was the messenger of Heaven, and that everything must yield to her. Charles was re- ceived at Rheims as its deliverer, the ceremony of his coronation was performed there, and he was also anointed with the holy oil : the victorious Joan, now called the Maid of Orleans, stood by his side in complete armor, displaying her sacred banner, which had so often confounded JOAN OF ARC. 191 his fiercest enemies ; and all the people shouted with joy at the sight. When the ceremony was over, Joan threw herself at the King's feet, em- braced his knees, and, having with tears con- gratulated him on this glorious event, declared that all her wishes had now been gratified, and that she only desired to return to her former manner of life. But the King and his nobles were so convinced of the service her presence would be of, that they begged she would not quit the army till the English were driven com- pletely out of France. Yielding to their en- treaties, she made her way into the town of Compiegne, which the enemy were then besieg- ing ; and the garrison, on her appearance, be- lieved they should conquer all before them ; but their joy was soon over ; for, the day after her arrival, she went out at the head of some troops, and, after driving the English twice from their entrenchments, found their numbers increase so much that she ordered a retreat. Being hard pushed by the pursuers, she turned upon them, and drove them back ; but at this moment she was deserted by her troops, and the gates of the city were shut against her. She was now surrounded by the enemy : and at last, after displaying the greatest courage, was taken pri- soner. The English were overjoyed at this 192 JOAN OF ARC. event, and used her with the greatest cruelty ; they brought her to trial, clothed in her mili- tary dress, but loaded with chains. She first' desired to be eased of her chains, which they refused ; and, after treating her with the ut- most contempt, and asking her many insulting questions, they condemned her to be imprison- ed for life, and to have only bread and water for her sustenance. Her barbarous enemies, however, were not satisfied till she was put to death ; and, suspecting that the female dress, which she now resumed, was disagreeable to her, they placed in her room a military suit, which she had been ordered never to wear again, and watched to see what effect this temptation would have upon her. On the sight of a dress in which she had gained so much renown, and which she once believed she wore by the appointment of Heaven, all her former ideas and wishes re- turned, and she ventured, in her solitude, to clothe herself again in the forbidden garments. Her deceitful enemies caught her in that con- dition ; and she was condemned, as a sorceress, to be burned alive in the market-place at Rouen, a town of Normandy. This infamous sentence was executed, to the great disgrace of the Eng- lish : for Joan's only crimes were the wonder- ful services she had rendered her King and TRUE STORIES. JOAS OK ARC. Tacro 19-?. HENRY VI. 193 country. This iniquitous conduct of the Eng- lish justly roused the hatred and indignation of the French : they ardently desired to avenge the death of their injured countrywoman. With redoubled fury they attacked their ungenerous foes : and, before the close of Henry's disas- trous reign, he was despoiled of all his posses- sions in France, except Calais and Guignes. I have not patience to give you the particu- lars of Joan's imprisonment and undeserved death. You must, therefore, read it elsewhere ; and, having done so, I think you will, with me, condemn the wanton cruelty and mean artifice of her murderers. But the English must have been deplorably ignorant in those days ; for they burned another female, under pretence that she was a witch, and had made a figure of the King in wax. This figure, being placed before the fire, of course gradually dissolved ; and, in the same degree, its dissolution was to cause the enerva- tion of the King's health and strength. Did you ever hear of anything more ridiculous and irrational ? Henry was, in truth, more weak in mind than in body ; and his imbecility caused some of his subjects to desire another King. Hen- ry, you may remember, was descended from Q 17 194 HENRY VI. the Duke of Lancaster ; but the nephew and heir of Mortimer (now Richard, Duke of York), had assuredly a prior right. This right was now enforced ; and as the ensign of Rich- ard (York) was a white rose, and that of Hen- ry (Lancaster) a red rose, this contest was called the war of the red and white roses. Margaret, the wife of Henry, was a clever and accomplished princess, and did all in her power to rouse the courage of her husband. He joined his army ; but, being worsted, he sought shelter in a cottage, where he was taken prisoner by the Yorkists. The Queen, how- ever, succeeded in again placing him in arms against his adversary ; and again he was made a captive. Undaunted by these disappointments, Mar- garet once more rallied her forces, and hastened to liberate her husband. In a severe battle she was victorious, and the Duke of York was slain in the action. The King, once more at large, was too much overpowered by ill health and timidity to take advantage of her success. Edward, the son of the Duke of York, pursued the path his father had essayed, and was pro- claimed King. But the Queen would not resign the rights of her own son, Edward, whilst it was possible HENRY VI. 195 to assert them. The fatal battle of Hexham dissipated all her hopes. As she fled with her child from the field of carnage, she was be- nighted in a wood, and robbed of all her jewels. Still her undismayed spirit could not be taken from her ; and it was this which urged her to deliver herself to another ruflian, who singly attacked her. " I am the wife of your King, and this is his son Save us !" Such was the address with which this magnanimous woman awakened the patriotism of a lawless robber. Struck with her confidence, or respecting her misfortunes, the man swore to protect her, and kept his oath. With his assistance, she es- caped with her child to Flanders. The Earl of Warwick, called the King- maker, from his alternately raising Edward and Henry to the throne, was now desirous to defend the latter. Offended with Edward, he drew Henry from prison, and restored him to his crown. Edward fled, but only to return with augmented forces. At Barnet, in a bloody battle, Warwick was killed, and Edward was victorious. The Queen, after a short agony of grief, contrived to make one more effort for dominion. At the battle of Tewkes- bury, all was lost : herself, her son, and her husband, were all captives to the enemy. 196 THE EASTERN EMPIRE. Henry was killed in prison, as it is generally believed, by Richard, Duke of Gloucester ; Margaret survived a few years, and died in France. Her son, the gallant Edward, when asked by his conqueror wherefore he took up arms? boldly replied, " I have taken up arms to avenge my father's injuries, and assert my own rights." A generous enemy would have ap- plauded this speech, and preserved the fearless speaker ; but Edward IV. was not such an enemy. He struck the noble youth ; and the cruel Dukes of Gloucester and Clarence, ta- king the signal, massacred the undaunted Ed- ward on the spot. CHAPTER XXXVI. EXTINCTION OF THE EASTERN EMPIRE OF THE ROMANS. WE have traced the history of the Romans, from the foundation of their city to the removal of the seat of government to Constantinople. We have beheld the extinction of the Western Empire, and seen the sceptre of the Caesars pass into the hands of the Popes. We are now THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 197 to note the extinction of the Eastern Empire, and see Constantinople exchange the Greek Emperors for the rule of a Turkish Sultan. Constantine Palseologus held the reins of government when Mohammed II., Sultan of the Turks, planned and executed the wishes of his father, Amurath II., by the taking of Constan- tinople. It is curious, that the founder and loser of that city, like the founder and loser of Rome, should bear the same name : a Romulus founded Rome, and a Romulus lost it ; a Constantine founded Constantinople, and a Constantine lost it. Judicious reflection on such coincidences greatly assist the remembrance of the events with which they are associated. Mohammed vigilantly and ardently pushed on his operations against this city, and, after the siege, in which cannon was used against the walls, he effected a breach, and the Turks en- tered sword in hand. The siege lasted fifty days, and the slaughter was immense. It has been finally said, that the last speech of Con- stantine Palaeologus "was the funeral oration of the Roman Empire."* The nobles fought around the Emperor with desperate valor, and he seemed only fearful of falling alive into the hands of the barbarians. " Cannot there be * Gibbon. 198 THE EASTERN EMPIRE. found a Christian to cut off my head ?" was his mournful exclamation. The death he sought he found : as he had thrown off the distinguishing purple, his body lay beneath heaps of the slain, unknown and unhonored. With him fell the last pillar of the Roman greatness ; and, of all its ancient splendor and dominion, nothing now remains but the ruins of her palaces and columns, and the account re- corded in the historian's page. Do not forget, that the memorable event of the taking of Con- stantinople by the Turks, under Mohammed II., took place on the 29th of May, 1453. A pathetic description of this interesting circumstance is given by Mr. Gibbon ; and you will read it, I am sure, with mournful feelings. Disorder and rapine reigned in the conquered city till Mohammed himself entered it ; and his first care was to preserve the magnificent edi- fices that met his eye. Waving his scimitar, he observed that, if he had yielded the people and their property for spoil, the public buildings he reserved for himself. The churches were used as mosques ; the crosses were demolished ; and every vestige of the Christian religion was re- moved or destroyed. As Mohammed gazed upon the naked walls of the palaces of so many illustrious successors EDWARD IV. 199 of Constantino, he is related to have repeated the lines of a Persian poet, of which the follow- ing is the sense : " The spider has woven his web in the imperial palace ; and the owl has sung her watch-song on the towers of Afrasiab." How true a comment on all sublunary splen- dor ! This world, " and all that it inherits," shall pass away ; and the place and the persons now most illustrious shall one day be as the dust of the earth ! Wherefore is man proud of ad- vantages, which are as perishable as himself ! CHAPTER XXXVII. EDWARD IV. WHEN you recollect that the early part of Edward's reign was tarnished with the cruel murder of the gallant son of his predecessor, Henry, and afterward stained by the death of that monarch, you will not expect much glory or happiness to attend its latter period. Edward IV. was deemed remarkably hand- some, and, as a soldier, very brave ; but when I tell you these are the only excellences ascribed to him, you will have little inclination, and less cause to admire him. 200 EDWARD IV. He undertook, indeed, an invasion of France, and alarmed the French King with a formidable army. But, the two monarchs meeting on the bridge of Pecquigny, near Amiens, Louis agreed to pay a sum of money ; and Edward, eager to return to a life of indolence and luxury, imme- diately withdrew his forces. Among his favorite ladies was Jane Shore, a most beautiful and ac- complished woman, the wife of a merchant, but who left her husband to reside with her hand- some lover. You shall hear more of her by and by. The Duke of Clarence had fought against Edward ; but afterward, deserting Warwick, he took the part of the King. Edward, however, never forgave him his early enmity, and was glad of an occasion of getting rid of him. The King was once hunting in the park of a servant of the Duke's, and killed a white doe, of which Burdett (the Duke's servant) was very fond. The owner was so angry when he heard of the destruction of his favorite, that he swore bitterly against the King ; and for this violence he was tried and hanged. The Duke heard of Burdett's death with the greatest grief ; and, though Edward was his brother, he exclaimed against the injustice of his conduct. EDWARD IV. 201 The King, dead to every feeling but that of revenge, not only arraigned Clarence in the House of Lords, but appeared there as his ac- cuser. When the monarch was so unjust and yet so despotic, he had little conscience and small difficulty in causing the condemnation of whom he pleased. The Duke was declared guil- ty, and the only mercy shown him was his being allowed the choice of his death. It is to be presumed that Clarence was very fond of wine, for he chose to be drowned in a butt of malm- sey ; and, being plunged head foremost into a large cask of this liquor, he soon expired. The King was too much devoted to pleasure and self-indulgence to live long. His mind de- based by low pursuits, and his body enfeebled by idleness and luxury, his existence was worth- less, and his death premature. Being seized with a disease which his emaciated constitution could not resist, he died in the forty-second year of his age : a mournful instance of abused prosperity. The state of civilization in England may be understood from the following hints of the con- veniences of life enjoyed at that period. In large cities, houses were roofed with thatch, and chimneys were unknown. Glass windows were seldom seen ; and, instead of carpets, the floors 202 EDWARD IV. were covered with rushes, or straw. Wine was considered as a medicine, and sold in small quan- tities at the shops of apothecaries. In France, Charles VII. had published an order that none should presume to entertain with more than two dishes and a mess of soup. How different the present state of France and England ! The happiness of the latter part of Charles VII.'s life was interrupted by the bad conduct of his eldest son, afterward Louis XI. He re-. belled against his father several times, and wished to have him poisoned, which so alarmed the King, that, for many days, he refused every kind of food ; this, joined to vexation at the in- gratitude of his son, caused his death at the age of sixty. Charles died regretted by the whole nation ; but his unnatural son refused to pay the expenses of his funeral, and they were borne by Tanequi Du Chatel, a knight, who had been always faithfully attached to the King. RUSSIA FREED FROM THE TARTARS. 203 CHAPTER XXXVIII. RUSSIA FREED FROM THE TARTARS. IN 1462, when Ivan Vassilievitch I. ascended the throne of Moscow,* Russia was divided into many small principalities, the rulers of which were continually at war with each other. Most of them were tributary to the Great Duke of Moscow, and he and all of them were vassals to the Tartars. To prove how much the Great Duke was in the power of these barbarians, it is related that, when they sent an embassy to Moscow, the am- bassadors were seated on rich furs in the audi- ence chamber, and read aloud the Khan's letter ; whilst the Duke and his nobles knelt around, and respectfully listened. The Duke also went forth to meet the ambassadors, and, as a token of respect, offered them a cup of mare's milk. Ivan I. delivered his country from this igno- minious vassalage ; he was valiant as a warrior, and fortunate as a statesman. During his reign Moscow was first visited by ambassadors from the several powers of Europe ; and he relieved his subjects from the heavy tribute so long ex- * See Coxe's Travels in Russia. 204 RUSSIA FREED acted by the Tartars. He introduced the use of gunpowder into Russia, and erected many stately edifices. In short, he seems well to have earned the title of Great, which posterity be- stowed upon him ; since he gave freedom to his people, and raised their credit among surround- ing nations. His mind and manners were much softened and improved by the society and influ- ence of his wife Sophia, a Grecian princess, beautiful and accomplished. She was the niece of the brave but unfortunate Constantine Pa- Iseologus, and had quitted Constantinople with her father, on the taking of that city. Sophia resided some time at Rome, under the protection of the Pope, who arranged her marriage with the Great Duke. Probably, it was by Sophia's desire, that her husband introduced Italian ar- tists and builders into his dominions ; and it is related that she urged and encouraged him in his efforts for the liberation of his people. All this may be easily believed, for Sophia is not a solitary example of female heroism and female talent ; history records the names of many wo- men who have benefited and refined a nation. Ivan the Great died in 1505 ; his tomb is still to be seen in the cathedral of St. Michael, in the Kremlin, at Moscow, and can never be FROM THE TARTARS. 205 approached without inspiring sentiments of re- spect in the spectator. The Kremlin is a portion of the city peculi- arly appropriated to the use of the sovereign. It is enriched with palaces, churches, convents, and various public buildings, and is described as singularly splendid and imposing. Ivan is sometimes called John Basilides, in history. Remember this, that you may not be confused, in reading different accounts of the early history of Russia. The son of Ivan was very unworthy of his illustrious parents, and dis- graced his rank as much as they had honored theirs. He gave himself up to every species of folly and debauchery ; and it is reported that, in a fit of passion, he killed his own son. It seems, however, that he gave a code of laws to his sub- jects ; some of which were excellent, and others most wild and oppressive. It is related, that some English merchants, landing at Archangel, proceeded to Moscow during his reign, and were received by him with joy, and offered his protec- tion for a continuance of their trade. His name is distinguished from his father's by the odious appellation of the tyrant ! 206 EDWARD V. CHAPTER XXXIX. EDWARD V. THE surviving brother of Edward IV., Rich- ard, Duke of Gloucester, became Protector of England, and guardian of the young King, Ed- ward V., a boy thirteen years of age. Richard contrived to have the King and his brother, the Duke of York, placed in the Tower, under pretence of insuring their safety. The Queen, with many tears, resigned her sons to the keeping of their uncle, of whose kindness and fidelity she seems to have had some doubts. Richard immediately commenced his dark project of setting aside his nephews, and ob- taining the crown for himself. Once proclaimed King, he resolved to es- tablish himself in safety, by destroying the rightful heir. Brackenbury, the governor of the Tower, disdained to obey the mandate of the tyrant, and massacre his helpless charge. But a less conscientious person was soon found to execute the horrid deed : Sir James Tyrrel, without hesitation, promised to rid Richard of his fears, by the murder of his innocent and un- TRUE STORIES. MURDER OF THE INFANT PUISCKS. Page 20T. EDWARD V. 207 protected nephews. He introduced three ruf- fians into the Tower, who, entering the chamber of 'the princes at night, when they were sleep- ing in each other's arms, smothered them, as they lay, with the holsters of their bed. These merciless monsters (men I cannot call them) then carried the bodies to the bottom of the stairs, and carelessly threw them into a hole, dug for the purpose, which they covered with a heap of stones. The nation knew not of this black deed until the succeeding reign,* or they would probably have avenged it. It was given out, that the princes died from sickness ; and at that time probably, this account was gene- rally believed. I have already alluded to the wicked com- mencement of the reign of Louis XI. in France : I will now give you some account of his death, which took place in the same year that Edward V. and his brother are reputed to have been murdered. Louis XL, son of Charles VIL, King of France, proved as cruel a tyrant on the throne, * And then it was propagated by the adherents of Henry VII. who had slain Richard in battle, and assumed the crown. My young readers should receive the popular ac- counts of Richard III. with great caution ; the perusal of Walpole's Historical Doubts may help them to obtain a cor- rect knowledge of his conduct and character. 208 CRUELTY OF LOUIS XI. as he had been undutiful as a son ; the minis- ters he employed were as bad as himself, par- ticularly one, named Tristan the Hermit, who was himself the accuser, the judge, the gaoler, and the executioner, of the victims whom Louis sent to him. The King was very superstitious, and kept at his court several astrologers, who pretended to foretell future events by the stars. One of these men having offended him, he order- ed him to be brought into his presence, intending to have him put to death ; " Tell me," said Louis, " thou who canst foretell all things, tell me when thou shalt die !" "I shall die," re- plied the man, " three days before your majesty." By this ready answer he saved his own life ; for the King believed him, and ordered the greatest care to be taken of him. The latter part of Louis's reign was even more wicked than the beginning ; for he caused his brother Charles, Duke of Guienne, to be poisoned, and put to death many of the great nobles ; but one of them, the Duke De Ne- mours, was particularly the object of his ven- geance. This unfortunate nobleman, after be- ing shut up for some time in an iron cage, in the prison called the Bastille, was condemned to be beheaded ; and Louis ordered the two young sons of the Duke to be placed directly HIS DREAD OF DEATH. 209 under the scaffold, that they might be covered with their father's blood ! He then sent the two boys to the Bastille, where they were thrown into deep dark dungeons, and taken out twice a week to be flogged, in the presence of the governor. All kinds of barbarities were inflicted upon them ; so that the elder became an idiot whilst he remained in prison, but the younger was set at liberty on the death of Louis. This cruel tyrant suffered more tor- tures, for some time before he died, than any he had occasioned his unfortunate subjects ; for he had a long and painful illness, and his con- science was so tormented by the recollection of his crimes, that he thought of death with dread and horror. History records that he had gene- rally been present at the barbarous executions of his miserable victims, and seemed to tri- umph in their sufferings. Many of the nobles were carried about in iron cages, like wild beasts ; while others, loaded with heavy chains, had their feet put into a particular kind of ring, called the King's Nets. His consciousness of guilt, and fear of punishment in the other world, haunted him continually ; and he grew suspicious of every one around him, even of his own son and daughter. He often changed his servants, through fear of them, and removed from one 18 210 DEATH OF LOUIS XI. place to another, taking up his abode at last in the castle of Plessiz-les-Tours, which he order- ed to be encompassed with large bars of iron, in the form of a grate, with a watch-toAver of iron at each of the four corners of the building ; soldiers were placed all round and in the watch- towers, with orders to shoot any one who should approach the castle before eight o'clock in the morning, when the courtiers were permitted to enter. In the day-time, the captains were com- manded to guard the posts, as if they were in a town closely besieged ; so constantly was the tyrant in fear of being betrayed and murdered. Everything was done to prolong the life of this miserable guilty man, and to keep at a distance the evil he dreaded. He sent for a holy hermit from Italy, at whose feet he kneeled, and whose prayers to Heaven for him he attempted to buy, by building him two convents. He paid his physician the enormous sum of ten thousand crowns a month, because he feared he might poison him, and fancied that this large stipend would induce the doctor to keep him alive as long as possible. At last he died, in 1483, at the age of sixty, after suffering dreadful agonies of body and mind, and causing fear and terror to his subjects to the last moment of his life, from his continued and increasing cruelties. His RICHARD III. 211 dread of death was the natural consequence of a life stained with every vice ; for those only may hope to die peacefully, who have lived vir- tuously. This execrable monarch obtained from the Pope the title of " Most Christian Ma- jesty," which his successors have ever since re- tained ! CHAPTER XL. RICHARD III. MANY acts of cruelty and oppression are as- cribed to Richard III. : let us hope he did not commit them all. He had married Anne, widow of that Edward, Prince of Wales, whom he had murdered at Tewkesbury ; and, it is thought, he poisoned her, to make room for another wife. He much wished to espouse Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV., in order to strengthen his right to the throne ; but Elizabeth scorned to ally herself with the reputed murderer of her in- nocent brothers. Richard had not, however, much time to de- vote to thoughts of peace and domestic arrange- ments. A formidable antagonist appeared to 212 RICHARD III. dispute his claim to the crown of England. Henry, Earl of Richmond, remotely descended by the female line from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, asked for Elizabeth in marriage ; and proposed, by this union of the Houses of York and Lancaster, to establish a double right to the throne ; for Elizabeth, as the daughter of Edward IV., was of the House of York. The Earl of Buckingham, the former friend of Richard, was so disgusted by his ingrati- tude, that he supported Richmond in his de- mands. Tyrants never can have friends ; for friendship must be founded on virtue. Who can love and esteem vice ? Not even the vicious. Richard saw the danger of his situation, and prepared to defend himself. Buckingham was betrayed into his hands by one of his own ser- vants, in whose house he had taken shelter; and, after a short trial, was condemned and ex- ecuted. Henry thus early lost one of his warm- est advocates ; but the brave never despair. He continued his efforts, and appeared in Wales with a train of two thousand persons. Richard was ready to receive him ; and the two armies met on Bosworth field, near Leicester. Though Henry's army was not half so large as that of his adversary, yet he obtained a decisive vic- tory. The tyrant fought with skill and brav- RICHARD III. 213 ery ; but, seeing all was lost, he rushed with a loud shout into the midst of the enemy, and soon met his death. His hody was found, amidst heaps of slain, covered with wounds ; and, being thrown carelessly across a horse, he was carried to Leicester, and buried without pomp or cere- mony. His crown being picked up in the field by one of the soldiers, was presented to Henry, and placed on his head ; the troops crying out, with one voice, " Long live King Henry !" Here ended the race of Plantagenet ; and here ended the contests of the Red and White Roses. By the marriage of Henry with Eli- zabeth, the opposing Houses were united, and civil wars for a while prevented. Lord Stanley had married the widow of Edward IV. ; and as Richard, therefore, doubted his fidelity, he kept a son of the Earl's as a hostage for the father's allegiance. But Stanley, sacrificing his private feelings to public duty, on the field of Bosworth carried over his troops to Rich- mond. The tyrant instantly ordered young Stanley to be killed, in revenge for his father's desertion; but, happily, in the hurry of the moment, this order was not executed ; and the Earl found his son alive and safe after the bat- tle was over. 214 HENRY vii. (TUDOR.) CHAPTER XLI. HENRY vii. (TUDOR.) HENRY VII. gave conspicuous evidence of the excellence of the virtue of econmy ; for, by refusing to spend money on useless wars and worthless favorites, he accumulated so much wealth as to render the royal treasury capable of meeting every just and honorable demand. Do not make the too common mistake of confounding economy with avarice. Avarice means the saving of money without any motive for so doing, except the mean gratification of collecting together a large sum. Economy, on the contrary, implies the judicious expenditure of wealth ; not unwisely saving, but wisely spending ; and so steadily abstaining from care- less and useless profusion, as more fully to possess the means of meeting the demands of necessity, justice, and generosity. Perhaps Henry carried this principle too far ; for he has been accused of parsimony toward the close of his life. His son, however, profited by the riches he had accumulated. Two very remarkable events occurred during the reign of Henry VII. His crown was twice HENRY vii. (TUDOR.) 215 disputed by impostors. Lambert Simnel, a baker's son, was instructed to counterfeit the Earl of Warwick, and made his appearance in Ireland, pretending to be the Earl. He was received with great honors in Dublin, and the Irish believed or affected to believe him. The real Warwick, son of that Duke of Clarence who was drowned in a butt of Malmsey, was then a prisoner in the Tower. He was shown to the people of London, to convince them that the person honored in Ireland was an impostor. I suppose some people considered the son of Clarence and the nephew of Edward IV. as the rightful heir to the throne. However, Henry routed the army of the im- postor, and took Simnel and Simon (the man who had tutored him) prisoners. Simon was closely imprisoned, and Lambert Simnel was made a scullion in the King's kitchen ; a curious reverse of fortune for a would-be king, but a proof that Henry did not fear him, and was disposed to lenity. Not long after the settlement of this ridicu- lous affair, another impostor appeared. This was a young man, called Perkin Warbeck, whom the Duchess of Burgundy had taught to personate the Duke of York, who was generally believed to have been smothered in the arms 216 HENRY vii. (TUDOR.) of his brother, the little King Edward V. Perkin, however, said that he had escaped from the assassins of his brother ; and, calling himself Richard Plantagenet, landed in Ireland, where he was welcomed by the Irish. The Duchess of Burgundy supported him with all her credit, acknowledged him for her nephew, and called him the White Rose of England. Charles VIII., King of France, was friendly to him ; and the people of England began to give him credit for being what he pre- tended to be. Henry sent to Flanders, where he obtained exact intelligence of the birth and parentage of Warbeck, and then commenced decisive measures against him. The adventurer, in the mean time, had obtained belief in Scotland, and was married to Lady Catherine Gordon, a relation of James IV., King of the Scots. In spite, however, of all that the friends of Perkin attempted in his favor, he fell at last into the hands of Henry. Lady Catherine, his wife, was honorably treated, placed near the Queen, and allowed a pension ; but Perkin was sent into confinement in the Tower of London. From this fortress he contrived to escape ; but, being shortly recaptured, he was put into the stocks, and then carried back to HENRY vii. (TUDOR). 217 the Tower, where he continued to repeat his efforts for escape. The appearance of a third impostor compelled Henry to resort to severe measures, to preserve the peace of the kingdom. He therefore ordered Perkin to be tried for his deception ; and, being convicted, he was hanged. The guiltless Earl of Warwick was also brought to trial ; and for the crimes of others and the sin of royal birth, was sentenced to be beheaded. State policy dictated his death ; and, if we reflect that he had been a prisoner from early childhood, we may less lament his premature dissolution. But it was an act which cannot be justified. Henry was very earnest in abstaining from entering into foreign wars, and usually began the terms of any treaty with the following pacific words : " That when Christ came into the world, peace was sung ; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed." It would be well if all Christian princes remembered this truth, and governed accordingly. Henry had married his eldest son, Arthur, to the Infanta* of Spain, Catherine, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. But, Arthur shortly dying, Catherine was next espoused to Henry's second son, who, by his brother's death, became * Infanta, the title of the daughter of the King of Spain. s 19 218 CHARLES VIII. Prince of Wales, and afterward reigned as Henry VIII. Henry VII. is considered as one of the best monarchs that ever sat on the English throne. Except Alfred, perhaps he was so ; and when you have read a more extended history of him, you must consider how much praise he deserves. He died after a prosperous reign of twenty- three years, in the fifty-second year of his age. The celebrated entry of Charles VIII., of France, into Florence, took place during this reign. Charles VIII., son and successor of Louis XI., pretended a right to the crown of Naples, and he marched an army into Italy, in order to establish his claim. On his road, he had to pass through the celebrated city of Florence, where the governors and the people wished to pay him honor, and to receive him as their visitor ; but his intentions were very different ; for he had determined to make them acknowledge him for their master. He entered into the city through the gate of San Friano on the evening of the 17th November, 1494, and was received under a gilt canopy, carried by the young Florentine nobility. The clergy surrounded him, singing hymns ; and he was welcomed by the people with every demonstration of affection and joy. CHARLES VIII. 219 But Charles was not satisfied with this recep- tion ; for he wanted the submission, not the friendship, of the Florentines. He carried his lance as if prepared for battle, in token that he entered the city as a conqueror ; his soldiers fol- lowed him, completely armed, and with threaten- ing looks ; and their strange language and im- petuosity of manner, together with the long hal- berts of the Swiss troops, which had never been seen in that part of Italy before, and the artil- lery, which the French had been the first to move about with their armies, inspired quite as much terror as curiosity and surprise. The ad- vanced guard was composed of Swiss and Ger- mans, who marched to the sound of their drums, and with colors flying : their coats were short, and of various colors, cut according to the shape of the body ; their chiefs wore high plumes of feathers on their helmets, to distinguish them ; and the soldiers were armed with short swords, and lances ten feet long ; some of them carried halberts instead of lances, the iron of which was like a sharp axe. The first rank of each battalion was covered with helmets and breast-plates, and this also was the armor of the captains ; the others had no defensive armor. After the Swiss, five thousand Gascon cross-bow men marched, and the ease with which they drew their bows 220 CHARLES VIII. was very extraordinary : but in other respects, their diminutive size, and the plainness of their dress, made them appear to great disadvantage, compared with the Swiss. Next came the cav- alry, which was composed of the flower of the French nobility, whose silk cloaks, helmets, and gilt collars, were very splendid ; their horses were large and strong, and each cuirassier, or horseman in armor, was followed by three horses, the first mounted by a page armed like himself, and the two others by squires. The light horse- men carried large bows and arrows, and some of them had a short pike, to pierce those whom the heavy horse had thrown down ; their cloaks were ornamented with plates of silver, which displayed the coats of arms of their chiefs. Four hundred archers marched at the side of the King, and two hundred French knights, chosen from the highest nobility, surrounded him on foot ; thirty-six pieces of cannon followed the whole army. The Florentines, who received these unwelcome guests with great uneasiness, had not, however, neglected any means of their own defence ; each citizen had been requested to assemble all his dependents in his town- house, and to keep them ready armed to defend their liberty, if the alarm-bell should be sounded. The Condottieri, or leaders of the soldiers, in CHARLES VIII. 221 the pay of Florence, were also called to the city, with all their troops ; and by the side of the French army, which had taken up their abode in the town, another army was secretly formed, , and ready for action in case it should be neces- sary. As soon as the King of France had taken up his abode in the palace, which had been pre- pared for him, he began to make his intentions known to the governors of the city. His first de- mands caused both terror and surprise ; he de- clared that, as he had entered Florence with his lance couched (which means prepared for battle), he considered it as his conquest, and that he should soon decide whether he would allow the late rulers to govern in his name, or appoint others. The Florentines answered, with respect- ful firmness, that they had received him as their guest, and had not wished to dictate to him the manner in which he should enter their city ; but that they had opened their gates to him out of respect, and not from being forced to do so, and they would never give up their liberty and their independence, either to him or to any other per- son. Though Charles and the Florentines were very far from feeling friendly toward each other, yet neither party wished to come to an open quarrel. The French were astonished at the immense numbers of people in Florence ; at the 222 CHARLES VIII. massy and strong palaces there, which seemed like so many fortresses ; and at the courage the citizens showed : they were, therefore, afraid of beginning a battle in the streets, where they might be overwhelmed with stones, &c., from the windows and roofs of the houses. The Florentines only wished to gain time, and to appear bold and courageous, till it should please the King to set out for his intended conquest of Naples. The conferences, however, still con- tinued ; and Charles gave up his pretensions to be the ruler of the Florentines, on condition that they would pay him a sum of money ; but this sum was so very large, that, after the King's secretary had read his master's declaration that nothing less would satisfy him, Peter Capponi, one of the Florentine secretaries, snatched the paper out of his hand, and tore it into pieces, crying out, " Very well, if this be the case, do you sound your trumpets of war, and we will ring our alarm-bells." Without waiting for a reply, he rushed out of the room ; and this ap- pearance of courage had such an effect upon the King and his court, that they called him back, for they thought the Florentines must be well prepared, or they would not dare to speak so boldly, when they knew the French army was within their city. Charles then made proposals AMERICA DISCOVERED. 223 much more moderate, which were accepted by the Florentines ; and a treaty of peace was con- cluded, the particulars of which were published in the Cathedral of Florence, on the 26th of November, during divine service, both parties swearing most solemnly to keep the terms of the treaty. Two days after this, Charles and his army quitted Florence, and relieved the in- habitants from their great uneasiness. This King succeeded in conquering the kingdom of Naples ; and then returned into France, where he died of apoplexy, in 1498, at the early age of twenty-seven. He was greatly beloved for the goodness of his disposition and his agreeable manners, which gained him the surnames of Affable," and " Courteous." CHAPTER XLII. AMERICA DISCOVERED BY CHRISTOPHER COLUM- BUS. 1494. SPAIN, like all other countries in their early state, was composed of many small kingdoms. Granada was the capital city of the Moors, who continued to possess a large territory in Spain. By the marriage of Isabella, lioi*s* of Cas- 224 AMERICA DISCOVERED BY tille, with Ferdinand, King of Arragon, those two monarchies were united. Ferdinand, by cunningly causing an increase of rebellion in the kingdom of Granada, where a nephew was struggling to dethrone his uncle and make him- self King, so effectually weakened both parties, that, on the death of one, he easily conquered the other, and made himself master of the con- tested province. Thus the Moors were finally expelled from Spain ; and their dominion in that country ceased, after it had subsisted about eight hun- dred years. By the union of so many principalities, Fer- dinand enjoyed such extensive authority, that he took upon himself the title of King of Spain. The Jews, banished from France by Charles VI. in 1394, were expelled from Spain by Fer- dinand in 1492, just one century later: and these persecuted people have continued to wan- der over the world, without possessing any country for their own, yet residing in all as fugitives and exiles. The wealth of Spain was to be supplied by fresh sources, now that she had driven away the most ingenious and industrious of her artifi- cers, the Jews. Christopher Colon, commonly called Colum- CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 225 bus, a native of Genoa, was an experienced sail- or ; and, from observations he had made during his numerous voyages, and from reflection on the observations of others, felt assured that an- other continent must exist in the space between those already known. Look at the map of the world : you see Eu- rope, Asia, and Africa, are united to each other, and so contiguous that the existence of each must be known to each. But America stands in the expanded ocean, between the western side of Europe and Africa, and the eastern side of Asia, but unconnected with either of the three. The Portuguese, as I have already said, had been for some time prosecuting discoveries on the west of Africa ; and Columbus had been welcomed in Portugal by its enlightened and liberal Prince, Don Henry. Columbus was convinced that a passage to the East Indies by sea was attainable, as also that vast unknown lauds remained to be discovered. By reading his life, you will find by what circumstances and considerations he came to this conviction ; and hence it will be seen that the discovery he made was not by accident, but the result of the rea- soning of a great miftd. In the prosecution of his mighty undertaking, he required ships, men, and money, and the pro- 226 AMERICA DISCOVERED BY tection of some sovereign power. He applied to the Genoese, to Portugal, Spain, and England, and was by all those powers refused assistance. Ferdinand and Isabella, the sovereigns of Spain, at length agreed to forward the views of the enterprising Columbus. By their aid, he com- menced his voyage, and never gave up the pur- suit until he had fully discovered the extensive continent of America. This was not easily ef- fected : few valuable labors are easy of execu- tion. But the great mind of Columbus was aware of this : he expected difficulties ; he was prepared to combat, and, if possible, overcome them ; and he did so. To read in a book that Columbus discovered America, raises in the mind no ideas of the numerous and severe hard- ships and disappointments encountered in the pursuit ; but read the narrative of his voyage of discovery, and you will better appreciate the various merits of the navigator his patience, perseverance, fortitude, and ingenuity. You will better comprehend, that, if you desire to be eminent in any way, you must exert all your faculties, never remit your exertions, never de- spair of the accomplishment of your rational expectations. You will be as angry as is every one else that the real discoverer of the New World did not CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 227 give his name to it. Americus Vespucius, a Florentine gentleman, had that undeserved honor, although he did not visit the country till some years after Columbus had landed on it. It is with severe regret I inform you, that, after performing this eminent service to Spain after having given such undeniable testimony of a superior mind a base cabal united against Columbus. On some trifling and unfounded charges, he was removed from the government of his newly discovered country, which had been solemnly promised to him as the reward of his exertions, and sent to Spain loaded with fetters. The captain of the vessel, shocked at the un- grateful conduct of his countrymen, approached his illustrious prisoner with respect, and offered to take off his chains. " No !" said the indig- nant captive : " the rulers of Spain have given orders for my bondage, and I will obey them in this, as Lhave done in all other commands. By their will I am fettered by their will alone will I oeireed." Ferdinand blushed for his injustice, and libe- rated his noble prisoner, but never rewarded him. Columbus,. after a life dignified by extra- ordinary talent and *erit, died at Valladolid, worn out with fatigue, sorrow and disappoint- AMERICA DISCOVERED. ment a memorable instance of the ingratitude of kings ! His funeral was splendid the tardy homage to excellence ; and words to the following effect were inscribed on his tomb, in Spanish. I give you the brief but comprehensive epitaph in English : " To Castille and Leon A new world gave Colon." You will suppose that only a small part of America was discovered by Columbus, and that by degrees its extent and form were ascertained. Of its aborigines (native inhabitants) you must read a full account. Some of them are wild savages ; but the Peruvians and Mexicans were found in a very advanced state of civilization. The Empire of Mexico had subsisted for a century ; that of Peru, governed by its Incas, was also a flourishing state. Both were adorned with magnificent cities ; and, being rich in gold and silver mines, tempted the avarice of the Spaniards. Mexico was conquered l^PCortez, 1521 ; Peru was ravaged and subjugated by Pizarro, 1527. I forbear to describe the inhuman cruelties practised by the Spaniards on these unoffending people. Your hearts will bleed when you read of them : my hand is not firm enough to write LOUIS xii. 229 of them. I can only tell you, that every form of injustice, barbarity, insult, and rapine, was committed by the refined people of Spain on the ill-fated aborigines of America. A couple of years after the discovery of Co- lumbus, the Portuguese, under Vasco de Gama, obtained their long-desired object, by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and reaching the Mal- abar coast, on the western side of the continent of India. Consult your maps ; trace the voy- ages of these two great navigators, and fix the era of their discoveries in your memories. In France, Charles VIII., who died without children, was succeeded by the Duke of Orleans, under the title of Louis XII. He was the nearest relation to the late King, and was called the " Father of his People ;" which he merited in many respects. He had received many inju- ries and insults from some of the nobles before he caj|^^a the throne, which his courtiers re- mindeq^Bk of on his becoming King, recom- mending him to avenge himself, now he had the power ; but he replied, that " the King of France did not wish to punish affronts shown to the Duke of Orleans." jjfrut his fatal ambition of reigning in Italy broi^ht great misfortunes on himself and his people. Besides pretending to the crown of Naples, he laid claim to the duchy 230 LOUIS xn. of Milan, in right of one of his grandmoth- ers. In 1501, Louis passed into Italy with an army of 20,000 men, and in three weeks made himself master of Milan and the republic of Genoa. The King, clad in ducal robes, entered the former city in triumph, and happy had it been for himself and his subjects could he have been satisfied with his conquest ; but he enter- ed into alliance with Ferdinand, King of Spain, in order to drive the King of Naples from his kingdom, and divide it between them : in this they succeeded ; but, afterward quarrelling about the division, from friends they became bitter enemies. The Spaniards, under their great captain, Gonsalvo de Cordova, stripped the French of all they had gained in Naples, and secured the whole kingdom for their master, King Ferdinand. On one occasion, a Spanish general, named Mendoza, who commajded a number of Italian Soldiers in the service of Spain, took a great many of the Frencn prison- ers, and among them Charles de la Mothe, an officer of distinction. He was invited, the next day, to a feast at Menctaai's table, whose pris- oner he was ; and the Spmiards, in talking over the battle that had been fought the day before, did justice to the bravery of the French, and THE CHALLENGE. 231 attributed their success to the intrepidity and discipline of the Italian cavalry. The French- man was very ready to allow the merits of the Spaniards, but thought it an affront that the Italians, for whom he felt a great contempt, should be reckoned better soldiers than the French ; and he insisted that the Italians had been so often conquered as to make it impossi- ble for them to be equal to the French in any sort of combat, or with any sort of arms. He repeated the same sentiment on the following day, in the presence of the Italian commander, Prosper Colonna, who called upon him to prove his assertion. The honor of the two nations now appeared to be at stake, and the two gene- rals consented to decide the quarrel by a battle between thirteen Italian soldiers and as many French. The combatants were to meet in a field inclosed for the purpose, (which kind of inclosiH^was called, in those days, " the Lists ;") aii'l th^l ^w were to fight to the last extrem- ity, l^^^nclosure was marked out with a plough, and it was agreed that whoever should be driven beyond the Lists, should be declared conquered, and not allowed to take any farther part in the battle. IBeT commander s-in-chief on each side had consented to a truce, and each had advanced with his army, ranged in order of LOUIS XII. battle, to guard the inclosure. The champions had been chosen with great care, particularly on the Italian side, as the honor of their coun- try seemed most interested. According to the terms of La Mothe's challenge, each party was to arm himself in any manner he thought most to his advantage ; so that they were very differ- ently prepared. The lances of the Italians were a foot longer than those of the French, and they had besides stuck two spears in the ground, to be ready for any knight who might be thrown from his horse ; the vanquished were to remain prisoners to the conquerors, till each had paid a hundred crowns of gold for his ransom. This combat, which the Italians thought of more im- portance than a regular battle, was fought on the 13th of February, 1503 ; their champions were chosen from the cavalry of Prosper Colon- na, who had taken care to select them from every part of Italy. The good wishfi|^f the generals, of the army, and of the people, accom- panied them : and it is not to be w^B^ed at, that an oppressed nation, who were more divided than conquered, and who shed their blood for strangers, without having the power to fight for their own independenbe^hould be anxious to vindicate their honor, when everything else was lost for them. Instead of rushing on their ad- LOUIS xn. 233 \rersaries full gallop, as the French did, they waited firmly for them, and by this means threw them into confusion. Some of the French horses became unruly, and got beyond the Lists, which excluded their riders from the battle ; other knights were thrown down by the longer lances of the Italians, without being able to reach them in their turn. Two Italian knights, who were thrown from their horses at the first attack, laid hold of the javelins which were in the ground, and overturned many of the French horses with them. One single Frenchman was killed ; his comrades, overthrown one after an- other, submitted to the Italians, who made them prisoners ; and, after a severe struggle, they acknowledged themselves conquered, and were led in triumph to Barletta. Not one of them had brought the crowns for his ransom, for they had not thought it possible that they should be were equally surprised and mor- punishment which their arrogance and presumption had brought upon them. 20 234 HENRY VIII. CHAPTER XLIIL HENRY VIII. KINO OF ENGLAND. WE are now come to a very interesting por- tion of history ; for in the reign of Henry VIII. a new form of religion was introduced into Europe, and established in England. The Roman Catholic religion, of which the Pope was the head, had been the religion of the civilized world for many centuries, and had originated in the doctrines of Jesus Christ. But some persons began in time to consider that the Roman Catholic was not precisely the religion taught by Christ, and they gradually formed a new creed. Martin Luther, a monk of the order of St. Augustine, was displeased at some of the ordi- nances of the Pope, and publicly reprobated them. Now the power of the Pope at tins epocha was enormous. You have seen him take T^ay and bestow crowns, and lay monarchs and nations under the penalty of excommunication. Reflect- ing persons began to doubt whether such ex- cessive authority ought to be possessed by any individual ; and also whether the Pope rightly explained and faithfully performed the precepts KING OF ENGLAND. 235 of the blessed Jesus. These reflections caused the momentous subject to be more closely in- vestigated ; and a party soon appeared, profess- ing a new faith. As the members of this new faith solemnly protested against some articles of belief they were required to accept, they were called Pro- testants ; a title by which professors of the new form of religion have ever since been known. Luther was at the head of the Reform- ers in Germany : but the English monarch wrote a book in favor of the Pope, for which composition his Holiness conferred upon him the title of " Defender of the Faith." But mark the inconsistency of Henry. He hap- pened afterward to fall in love with a beautiful lady, called Anne Boleyn ; and, that he might marry her, desired to be divorced from his wife Catherine. Marriage being a holy rite, the Pope, as head of the church in those times, was the odBlp&rson who could authorize a divorce. To hiin/tnerefore, Henry applied for the priv- ilege of separating himself from Catherine, on the plea of her being too nearly related to him (as the widow of his brother) for her second marriage to be lawful. Because the Pope would not consent to this request, Henry, in a violent rage, denied the supremacy of his Holi- 236 HENRY VIII. ness, called himself " Head of the Church," divorced Catherine, and married the fair Anne Boleyn. A new form of religion was now instituted ; a translation of the Bible into English was ordered to be read -in the churches, and all monasteries were dissolved. Pray remember this, as the period of the Reformation in Eng- land 1534. Besides the two already named, Henry had four wives ; in all, six ; and his cruelty toward them all has rendered him infamous in every well-regulated mind. They were in the follow- ing order : 1. Catherine of Arragon was divorced ; and, with her little daughter Mary, retired from court, and spent the remainder of her days in peace and privacy. 2. Anne Boleyn was beheaded, under pre- text of faultiness ; but, in reality, because her husband was tired of her, and in love with another lady. Anne left a daughter, called Elizabeth. 3. Jane Seymour, the next Queen, only escaped the tyrant's cruelty by her early death, which was accompanied with some circumstances of inhumanity on the part of Henry. Edward VI. was her son. KING OF ENGLAND. 237 4. Anne of Cleves, a German princess, was espoused by Henry, to strengthen his power abroad ; but, as she was not handsome, he soon divorced her. 5. Catherine Howard now became his wife, and so remained till he wished for a fresh bride. She had certainly been very faulty, and, being tried for her crimes, was beheaded. 6. Catherine Parr was the sixth and last wife of this English Bluebeard, and she stood a chance of suffering by his tyranny; but, acting with the greatest circumspection, she secured her safety, and survived her cruel hus- band. It would have been well, if Henry had only acted cruelly as a husband ; but a long cata- logue of sufierers, during his reign, mournfully denotes his barbarously despotic temper. His favorite (for he had no friends) was Thomas Wolsey, the son of a gentleman at Ipswich, not of a butcher, as it is sometimes reported.' Wolsey made himself very useful to the King, and hence gained great power and riches. He contrived to be elected one of the cardinals of Rome (a body of eminent persons, from among whom the Pope is chosen), and he had some expectation of being chosen Pope himself. In this he was disappointed ; and his 238 HENRY VIII. enormous wealth drew on him the displeasure of his royal master. Despoiled of all his authority, and of all his possessions, he died, broken-hearted and humbled, at Leicester Ab- bey ; bequeathing to posterity these memorable words : " Had I served my God half as dili- gently as I have served my King, he would not have forsaken my gray hairs." Henry made a rather better figure abroad than he did at home. His meeting with Fran- cis I., King of France, was attended with every circumstance of magnificence. It took place near Calais ; and, from the splendor dis- played by both sovereigns, the place so distin- guished was called " The Field of the Cloth of Gold." Henry met Francis with great cordial- ity, and they retired together into a rich tent. As they met to complete a treaty of alliance, Henry began reading the articles of it : " I, Henry, King ."* He stopped a moment, and instead of adding the customary term " of France" only subjoined "of England." Fran- cis observed and applauded this delicacy ; and really, I think, it did Henry great honor. Francis was not behind-hand in generosity ; for he was truly a gallant prince. Instead of * From the time of Henry V., the Kings of England had assumed the title of Kings of France. DEATH OF HENRY. 289 visiting Henry surrounded by guards, as was the custom of royal visitors, Francis one morn- ing galloped to the tent of Henry, attended only by a couple of gentlemen,- calling out to the English guards, as he passed them, " We are your prisoners." Henry was charmed with this mark of con- fidence, and, politely acknowledging himself the captive (as bound by the chain of obliga- tion), he placed a collar of pearls on the neck of Francis, begging him to wear it for the sake of the prisoner. Francis graciously accepted the gift, and gave Henry a bracelet of great value. From that moment, the Kings lived together in the greatest harmony and friend- ship, and parted with regret. After a long and painful illness, Henry ex- pired in the fifty-sixth year of his age and thirty-eighth of his reign. Of Francis I. and his General, the Chevalier Bayard, I have some interesting anecdotes. Francis having married the daughter of Louis XII., succeeded him on the throne, because he had no son. As soon as Francis was settled on the throne, he prepared for an expedition into Italy ; and, having passed the Alps, he gained a famous battle against the Swiss, at Marignan, near Milan, which continued for two 240 DUKE OF BOURBON. days, and was one of the most furious and ob- stinate combats recorded in modern history. But all the states in Italy, with the Pope, the Emperor of Germany, and the King of Eng- land, united together against France ; and, what made this union still more formidable was, the revolt of the Duke of Bourbon, Grand Con- stable of France, and the greatest subject in the kingdom. He was a very brave general, and had gained great glory in the battle of Ma- rignan ; but the King, instead of recompensing him as he deserved, took every occasion to mor- tify him ; and the King's mother, a woman of a very violent temper, who hated Bourbon, did all in her power to make Francis his enemy. The estates of the Duke .were most unjustly taken from him, and he was so ill-used, that at length he determined to join the enemies of his sovereign. One of the bravest and most loyal knights in the service of the King was the Chevalier Bayard, who had distinguished him- self upon many occasions, and by his honorable and heroic conduct had obtained the appellation of " the Knight without fear and without re- proach." In times of real danger, he was al- ways at the post of greatest difficulty and im- portance, and his gallantry inspired courage in all whom he commanded. But his country had DEATH OF BAYARD. 241 to mourn his loss at a time when his services were most wanted ; for, in one of the battles fought in Italy between the Emperor's troops and the French, in 1524, he received a wound, which he immediately felt would cause his death ; and, being unable to sit on horseback, he ordered one of his attendants to place him under a tree, with his face turned toward the enemy, observing that, as he had never turned his back to an enemy during his life, he ought not to do so in the hour of death : then, fixing his eyes on the guard of his sword, which he held up instead of a cross, he addressed his prayers to God ; and in this posture he calmly waited the approach of death. The Duke of Bourbon, who led the advance of the enemy's troops, found him in this situation, and express- ed his regret and pity at the sight. " Pity not me," said the brave soldier ; " I die as a man of honor ought to die, in the discharge of my duty ; but they are objects of pity, indeed, who fight against their King, their country, and their oath !" The Marquis of Pescara, the imperial general, passing soon after, showed his admiration of Bayard's virtues, as well as his sorrow for his situation, with the generosity of a gallant enemy ; and finding that he could not be removed with safety from the spot where he u 21 242 GUSTAVUS VASA, lay, ordered a tent to be pitched there, and proper persons to take care of him ; but he died notwithstanding, as his ancestors had died for several generations, in the field of battle. Pes- cara ordered his body to be sent to his rela- tions ; and it was received with the greatest honors in all the cities through which it passed. In Dauphine, the province of France in which Bayard was born, people of all ranks came out in solemn procession, to show it respect. This period was enriched with many learned and elegant writers, and other great men : Raphael, the painter ; Cardinal Ximenes, the statesman ; Machiavel, the historian ; Ludovico Ariosto, the poet ; Guicciardini, the historian ; Copernicus, the philosopher ; Erasmus ; and the excellent Sir Thomas More. This last was as remarkable for his virtue as for his erudition ; yet, in the blindness of false zeal, he was be- headed for not acknowledging the supremacy of King Henry VIII. CHAPTER XLIV. GUSTAVUS VASA, KING OF SWEDEN. MARGARET of Valdimar, called " the Semi- ramis of the North," by the treaty of Calmar, KING OF SWEDEN. 243 not only united the three crowns of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, but enjoyed those crowns, and bequeathed them to her successor, Eric. Christian II. was the last monarch who profited by the union of Calmar. In order firmly to es- tablish himself in absolute power, he projected and executed one of those barbarous schemes, which a tyrant only could propose, a tyrant only perpetrate. This was nothing less than the mas- sacre of all the nobles of Sweden, so that that unhappy country might lie without defence, at the mercy of the sanguinary Christian. How ill did his name suit his actions ! How un- christian was his diabolical plot. On the 8th of November, 1520, a general murder of all the nobility in Stockholm took place. After a mock trial, on a false charge of heresy, the King commanded his victims to be marched out, guarded by soldiers, and seventy* of them were executed. That none might es- cape, the military were directed to search the houses, and destroy all the obnoxious persons they could find. In the provinces, a similar tragedy was acted. Eric Vasa, the father of the afterward celebrated Gustavus Vasa, a descendant of the ancient Kings of Denmark, was the first who lost his life. His son Gus- * Coxe says, six hundred in all. 244 GUSTAVUS VASAj tavus escaped ; and, an immense price being offered for his apprehension or murder, he took refuge in the mines of Dalecarlia. Can you imagine what sort of a place a mine is ? Dark, damp, hundreds of feet under ground, far from the pure air and cheerful light of heaven ; inhabited by bands of poor wretches, covered with dirt and rags, pale from want of fresh air, thin from want of proper nourishment, toiling all day for an humble pittance. Into such a place, among such people, dooming him- self to such labor and such privations, Gustavus voluntarily ventured : but he so humbled and afflicted himself, only to save himself for the rescue of his forlorn country. It seems impossible that, under such circum- stances, any human being could plan or execute any glorious project. But great minds are in- vigorated by difficulties, and best show their superiority amidst peril and vicissitude. Many very interesting anecdotes are related of the adventures of Vasa, of his danger, and of his magnanimity. He gradually infused his patri- otism into the bosoms of some of his fellow- miners and of the neighboring peasantry : and, throwing off his squalid garments and his quiet deportment, he appeared at the head of his countrymen, their general and their monarch. KING OF SWEDEN. 245 Christian, though married to the sister of the powerful Emperor and King, Charles V., found that he had no friends, either at home or abroad, that could or would protect him. He abdicated the throne, and with his family retired to the Netherlands. Charles V. gave him some as- sistance to recover his throne ; but, failing in this attempt, Christian was thrown into prison, and died after many years' captivity. It is said, that his sufferings greatly ameliorated his character ; and that, in place of his early fero- city, he was, in his latter life, mild, patient, and capable of affection. Frederick, Duke of Holstein, the uncle of Christian, was chosen King of Denmark and Norway; and those two kingdoms remained united under one monarch till 1814 ; Sweden was the prize of the magnanimous Gustavus Vasa, who, after a long and prosperous reign, transmitted his crown to his posterity, who con- tinued to enjoy it till 1818. Truth is indispensable to the humblest writer of history. You have heard of Christian's evil deeds ; it is just to record his meritorious ac- tions. He enacted many useful laws. Once, when dictating a regulation, he was reminded that its enforcement would greatly diminish the royal revenue ; Christian instantly declared, 246 GUSTAVUS VASA. " I would rather lose all my revenues, than ad- mit of such shameful acts of injustice on those poor people." I dare say, we should often meet with good actions, mingled with the bad, of those persons condemned in history as worthless. Therefore it is that I so repeatedly urge you to be candid in your opinions of those who cannot vindicate themselves : therefore it is that I would have you more disposed to believe the virtue than the vice recorded. A modern traveller relates a very curious anecdote respecting Gustavus Vasa's adven- tures, whilst endeavoring to escape from the officers sent by Christian to discover and seize him. Gustavus had taken shelter in a lonely cot- tage, the owner of which hurried away to pre- pare a boat to expedite his flight, and left him with his wife, eating a hasty meal. Gustavus, placed by the fire, and accompanied only by the old woman, was surprised by the appearance of some military ; he thought all was lost, and looked mournfully on his hostess, who, however, bade him not despair. The officer and his troop now entered the kitchen ; and the woman, with admirable presence of mind, instantly planned a mode of saving Gustavus. How valuable is THE JESUITS. 247 presence of mind ! She went up to him, and, giving him a rude blow, ordered him as if he were her servant, to quit the kitchen, and not stay lounging and eating there all day. Gustavus, profiting by her ingenuity, immediately depart- ed ; and the woman bustled to entertain her guests with food and liquor, till she thought her husband had insured the safety of Gustavus. CHAPTER XLV. THE JESUITS, INSTITUTED BY IGNATIUS LO- YOLA, 1535. THERE was an officer in the army of Ferdi- nand, King of Spain, called Ignatius Loyola, who was dangerously wounded in defending the city of Pampeluna. As he was confined to his bed and his chamber for a long time, he beguiled his pain, and employed his solitude, in reading the lives of the saints. Now in those books much fable is mixed with some truth ; and Loyola's mind was so inflamed by reading of wonderful exploits and miraculous enterprises, that he fancied himself inspired to perform deeds like those he admired. Accordingly he avowed himself a knight of the blessed Virgin, 248 INSTITUTION and undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He visited Spain and France ; and, after per- forming various strange actions, he began to conceive the idea of forming a new religious order. The Pope, Paul III., gladly sup- ported and encouraged the establishment of this institution, which, under the name of the " Society of Jesuits," or the " Society of Jesus," soon spread its members all over Europe. The Jesuits, considering themselves as the soldiers of the Pope, and acknowledging him for their head, yet possessed peculiar laws and ordi- nances of their own. They found their way into all the courts of Europe, and thus secretly gov- erned the governors of states. They rambled into distant countries, and were seen ruling the rulers of China, Hindoostan, and America. Their secret laws were most extraordinary, and some of them most iniquitous. These rules were given to their missionaries, who acted upon them Avherever they went. Though Charles V. opposed the establishment of this society, and many nations resisted its advancement ; yet, so artful and so persevering were its members, that it gained ground rapidly. Loyola com- menced with ten disciples ; and, in little more than half a century, more than ten thousand persons had entered into the society. Any one OF THE JESUITS. 249 might become a Jesuit ; but, once professed, he was bound to yield implicit obedience to the rules of the order, and the commands of its general. The principal aim of the society was its own aggrandisement, its own increase in riches and authority. Thus, a Jesuit would ingratiate him- self with the powerful to obtain power, with the opulent to obtain wealth. The ingenuity with which they made their creed consonant to all sorts of humors, and the influence they attained over every variety of character, it is impossible to describe. You will, on some future day, read of the art, and I must add, the wickedness of the doctrine taught and advocated by these in- sinuating logicians. But the iniquity of their system was not known till many years after the abolition of the society. When I tell you that this system opposed every honored principle of truth and justice for its own aims, made the worse appear the better cause, and justified every de- gree of criminality in the rich and the great, you will judge how sinful and shameful it must have been. Among all the charges brought against the Jesuits, it is, however, generally acknow- ledged, that they conferred benefits on the rude natives of America, by teaching them many use- ful arts : to build houses, till the ground, and tame wild animals. The natives of Paraguay, 250 CHARLES V. OF SPAIN A.ND especially, found in them benevolent teachers and lenient rulers. CHAPTER XLVI. CHARLES V. KING OF SPAIN AND EMPEROR. FRANCIS I. KING OF FRANCE. You will often hear of the Hans Towns, or Hanseatic League ; I think it necessary, there- fore, to inform you, that a number of towns in Germany and the north of Europe associated for the protection of their commerce. In 1226 (during the reign of Henry III. of England), so many as seventy-two towns had united to- gether, each promising to protect the trade of the rest. Lubeck was considered as the head of the League. This association* was in its highest estimation about the year 1500. At that period, Maximilian, Emperor of Germany, divided Germany into ten circles (as they are called). Look into a map and you will bet- ter understand what I mean. Maximilian married Mary, the only child of Charles, Duke of Burgundy ; and their son, * The Hanseatic League expired in J 806. FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE. 251 Philip the Handsome, espoused Joanna, eldest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Philip and Joanna were the parents of Charles V., who is famous in history as King of Spain and Emperor of Germany. The contemporary of Charles V. (that is, a person who lived at the same time) was the gallant Francis I. King of France, who held the splendid meeting near Calais with Henry, VIII., as I have already re- lated. I told you that the Emperors of Germany were chosen by the different Electors, or princes, of that empire. Francis had some expectation of being elected ; and on the choice falling up on Charles, King of Spain, he was a good deal mortified. From this and other causes, these two sovereigns were involved in war, and had a desperate battle at Pa via, in which Francis was taken prisoner. After the engagement he wrote to his mother Louisa, whom he had left Regent (or governess) of France in his absence, the fol- lowing laconic and memorable billet : " Madam, we have lost everything but our honor." Charles is represented to have behaved well to his royal captive, whom he liberated on cer- tain conditions. When Francis was delivered from thraldom, and had passed the boundaries which divide Soain from France, he sprang joy- 252 FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE AND fully on his horse, and, waving his sword over his head, exclaimed, " I am yet a King !" So precious is liberty to every human being the peasant and the prince. We are always free : are we sufficiently thankful for our inestimable freedom ?" It happened, some time afterward, that Charles passed through France, not without fears that his rival would arrest him, according to the base policy of some rulers. What did I tell you of Richard I. of. England? Francis, however, scorned to take advantage of his ad- versary ; he received him in Paris with every mark of distinction, and, for the six days dur- ing Avhich his visit was prolonged, treated him with royal magnificence. Charles made him some promises at the time, which he had not the honesty to fulfil, and af- terward had the baseness to deny. In those days, there was generally a fool kept at the houses of kings and great men a sort of per- sonage, who, under the excuse of silliness, was allowed to say and do what he pleased. That some of these fools did not want sense and wit is proved by the following remark on the above circumstance by a fool belonging to Francis. He wrote down on his book, " Charles is a great- er fool than I am, for passing through the terri- THE EMPEROR CHARLES V. 253 tories of his rival, Francis." " But what will you say," observed Francis, " if I let him pass in safety ?" " I shall say you are the greatest fool of all," replied the wag. The " History of Charles V."* is the most interesting of many delightful works, which you will have the gratification of reading. It com- prises many of the most important events that occurred in Europe during that period ; is full of anecdotes of the great, and the good, and the faulty ; and is written in a most instructive manner. And, I dare say, if you read it once for information, you will read it twice for pleas- ure. I will not presume to offer any abridgment of what is so excellent ; every line omitted would be a satisfaction lost. Francis died in the same year that Henry VIII. expired, 1547. Charles lived almost ten years longer ; but, what was very strange, he abdicated his throne, and gave up Spain to his son, Philip II. ; and Germany to his brother Ferdinand. On his abdication, he retired to a private residence, and devoted himself to reli- gious duties ; his only relaxation being experi- ments in mechanism and some other of the arts. But the most singular of his whims was his having his funeral ceremony performed whilst * Of course, Robertson's work is meant. V 254 DEATH OF CHARLES V. he was living. The coffin, the bearers, the burial service, all were regularly in place ; but Charles was so exhausted by the efforts he made on that memorable day, that he sickened, and died soon after, a victim to his curiosity and pride. It is difficult to assign any adequate motive to this preposterous fancy. It could be of no service to his own mind ; for, if that mind were not before awakened to the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death, it was almost too late to arouse it, and by a ceremony, too, more likely to alarm than amend. Charles could not do this to obtain celebrity ; his re- nown, such as it was, had before been estab- lished. Solyman II. the Magnificent, considered as the most illustrious of the Turkish Emperors, was a powerful adversary of Charles V. He obtained possession of the Island of Rhodes, and drove from it the Knights of St. John, who retired to Malta, an island given to them by Charles. Solyman carried his successful arms into Hungary ; and, entering Austria, besieged Vi- enna ; but the approach of Charles obliged him to retreat. It is of this Solyman that an in- teresting anecdote is told. Just after he had taken the city of Belgrade, a woman came to EDWARD VI. 255 him, bitterly complaining of his soldiers, who had taken away all her cattle, her only property. " You must have slept very soundly not to have heard the thieves," observed the Emperor. " Yes, Sire," replied the woman, " I did sleep ; but it was in the confidence that your highness was awake to the public service." Solyman was pleased with this sensible remark, and in- stantly repaired the loss which the poor woman had sustained. CHAPTER XLVH. EDWARD VI. KINO OF ENGLAND. EDWARD VI. was only nine years old when his father, Henry VIII., died ; and, unhappily for England, he himself expired at the early age of sixteen. During the reign of Henry, lived Pope Leo X., whose pontificate is celebrat- ed as the era in which the arts remarkably flourished. Many admirable painters enriched Italy ; and oil-painting was invented by the excellent Flem- ish painters. Sculpture and architecture were also carried to high perfection by the genius of Michael Angelo, an Italian, of whose various 256 DUKE OP SOMERSET. talents you will often hear. Some elegant writers also then appeared ; so that the age of Leo X. is always mentioned as the age of learn- ing and learned men, and of the elegant arts and the most admirable artists. But, to return to England, Edward VI. and his protector, the Duke of Somerset, were friendly to the Protestant religion, and con- siderably forwarded its fuller establishment. Too many executions, however, tarnished their administration ; and, by the intrigues of a party, the Duke of Somerset himself, though uncle to the King, was tried and condemned to be be- headed. He appeared on the scaffold with a cool and unmoved countenance, and his speech to the populace obtained much applause. He wished, however, to prevent any commotion, and therefore besought the crowd not to interrupt his last prayers. Having given some minutes to devotion, he laid his head on the block, and it was instantly severed from his body. You wonder how Edward could sanction this execution. It seems that the enemies of the Duke invented and told falsehoods of him, and thus steeled the young King's bosom against his uncle. How seldom do princes hear the truth ! How rarely do they possess friends ! Let us be grateful for a state of mediocrity, and EDWARD VI. 257 that we live in an age and a country which afford us the best chance of enjoying the blessings of sincere friendship, and forming just views of characters and events. The Duke of Northumberland, the stern ene- my of the Duke of Somerset, had great influ- ence over the mind of the King, whose health now began rapidly to decline. Northumberland devoted himself to his own advancement ; and, as a first step toward augmented dignity, he married his son, Lord Guildford Dudley, to Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane was the daughter of the Duchess of Suffolk, and by some persons considered as heir to the throne. Edward, at the instigation of Northumberland, avowed her right, and declared her to be his successor. Soon after this declaration, the young King's disorder rapidly increased ; and he expired at Greenwich, in the seventh year of his reign, unfeignedly regretted by the nation. Edward was a prince of great promise : he had cultivated his understanding with the ut- most diligence ; he spoke many languages, and perfectly understood Greek and Latin. In short, he was extolled as a prodigy of learning. Lady Jane Grey, his cousin, was equally remarkable for her accomplishments, and so well versed in Greek, that once, when Ascham, the tutor of 22 258 COUNT DE MONTGOMERY. Elizabeth, visited her, he found her reading Plato. When he expressed his surprise at her studious hahits, she assured him that her books were more amusing to her than all the enter- tainments of the gay world. Her being a Pro- testant was, perhaps, one reason why Edward bequeathed his throne to her. Gabriel, Count De Montgomery, was remark- able for his bravery and noble actions, but still more for his misfortune in putting out the eye of Henry II. King of France, who succeeded Francis I. in the same year that Edward VI. ascended the English throne. Henry, having engaged several knights in a tournament (a warlike sport, performed by knights in ancient times to show their courage and dexterity), on occasion of the marriage of one of his daughters, wished to try his skill against the young Mont- gomery, who was reckoned one of the strongest knights in France : but the latter, as if he had foreseen the fatal consequence, repeatedly de- clined the combat, and only consented when he found the King was likely to be offended at his refusal. In the course of the struggle, Mont- gomery's lance broke in the King's visor (or that part of the helmet which covers the face), and wounded him in the eye. Henry died from the wound on the eleventh day after receiving COUNT DE MONTGOMERY. 259 it, and gave orders on his death-bed that Mont- gomery should not be tried or injured on account of what had happened, as it was an accident. After this unfortunate event, Montgomery went for some time to his estate in Normandy, and then visited Italy : not returning to France till the breaking out of the civil wars between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics, when he be- came one of the brave leaders of the former party. In 1562 he defended the city of Rouen, in Nor- mandy, against the Catholics, with great valor and obstinacy. The city being at last taken, he threw himself into a small vessel, and made his escape to Havre. After this, he passed through many dangers, and performed many exploits, which gained him great glory. He was at Paris in 1572, when the Protestants were treacherously massacred, by order of Charles IX. (who was then King) and his mother Catherine de Medi- cis ; and he was only informed of what was taking place just in time to mount his horse, and save himself by galloping off, with some Protestant gentlemen, who lodged near him. They were pursued ; and Montgomery owed his safety to the swiftness of his horse, which, it is said, carried him thirty leagues without halting. Having escaped this danger, he took refuge, with his family, first in Jersey, and afterward 260 COUNT DE MONTGOMERY. in England. The next year he went with a con- siderable fleet, which he had armed and fitted out there, to the relief of Rochelle, which was then besieged by the Catholics. After this he returned into Normandy, and joined the Pro- testant nobility of that province ; but, being driven from all his fortresses in those parts, he retired to a rock, called the Tombelaine. At that time there was a castle on it, which was afterward demolished, and of which scarcely any ruins now -remain. From this fastness, which could only be got at when it was low water, he continually made excursions, and annoyed the enemy, who never dared to attack him ; so that he became the dread of all the country round. Wishing to surprise the neighboring mount of St. Michael, on the summit of which was an abbey, about the same size with that on the Tom- belaine, he found means to engage one of the monks of the abbey, who promised to give him the signal for his enterprise by displaying a white handkerchief. But the monk betrayed him ; for, before he made the signal, he had armed all his companions, who waited Montgom- ery's arrival. The chieftain came, attended by fifty chosen soldiers, desperate, and capable of any attempt. They crossed the sand, and, hav- ing placed their scaling ladders, mounted one COUNT DE MONTGOMERY. 261 by one : but as they came to the top, they were murdered, each in turn without any noise. Montgomery, who followed last, discovered the perfidy just in time to escape with two of his men, and with them he regained the Tombelaine. The ladders and grappling-irons used on this occasion are still preserved with great care. After this, he distinguished himself on many occasions. In 1574, Matignon, the Catholic general in Lower Normandy, to whom Catherine de Medicis had given a particular charge to seize Montgomery, came upon him unexpectedly in Saint-Lo, and laid siege to that city. On the evening of the fifth day he left Saint-Lo, with about seventy horse, and escaped amidst a shower of musket-bullets, without losing a single man, leaving the command of the place to his friend Coulombieres. Arriving at Domfront with only twenty followers, he was joined the same day by several gentlemen, who brought a company of forty horse to his assistance. In the mean time Matignon, informed of his escape, and enraged at having lost his prey, galloped at the head of a party of horse, and arrived before Domfront, which he blockaded on all sides, till the infantry and cannon, which were following, should come up. When they arrived, he at- tacked the city with great violence, and Mont- 262 COULOMBIERES. gomery was soon obliged to retire into the castle with the garrison, amounting to no more than 150 men. He fought with the greatest bravery, and exposed himself to danger like one who wished to die ; at length, perceiving his soldiers were greatly reduced in number, he surrendered, and Matignon conducted him to Saint-Lo, in hopes that he might be able to persuade Cou- lombieres to surrender. For this purpose Mont- gomery was brought near the wall, and he en- treated Coulombieres, who appeared on the top of it, to follow his example ; but the brave com- mander, full of indignation, reproached him severely for his cowardice in surrendering, in- stead of dying like a soldier, with his sword in his hand. The intrepid Coulombieres was killed, some days after, in defending the breach. In the mean time Catherine de Medicis, regent of the kingdom, her son Charles being dead, ordered Matignon to send Montgomery to Paris, strong- ly guarded : and when he arrived, he was con- fined in a tower, which is still called by his name. He was afterward brought to trial, and condemned to die ; and his children were de- prived of their nobility. After undergoing very severe torture, he was carried to the Place de Greve, dressed in mourning, and there beheaded on the 26th of June, 1574. He appeared on MARY I. 263 the scaffold with an undaunted countenance, and made a long speech to the spectators. When he had finished, he fell on his knees heside the block, bade adieu to those around him, desired the executioner not to cover his eyes, and sub- mitted to his fate like a hero. CHAPTER XLVIII. MARY I. QUEEN OF ENGLAND. WE now come to the short but cruel reign of Mary. You remember, I suppose, that she was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII. and Catherine of Arragon. A strong party soon placed her on the throne, and the will of Edward was set aside. Northumberland hastened, in- deed, to offer the crown to Lady Jane Grey ; but this amiable and lovely princess refused to accept it, and burst into tears when earnestly entreated. At last, she yielded to the wishes of her father, and consented to be made a Queen. But transitory was her elevation ! The friends of Mary soon became most power- ful, and, her claims being deemed strongest, she was proclaimed Queen of England. The innocent and accomplished Lady Jane 264 MARY I. and her youthful husband were sentenced to be beheaded. This virtuous princess heard the sentence without emotion, and prepared to meet it without regret. Lord Dudley was first exe- cuted, and as his headless body was taken from the scaffold, it was met by his heroic wife. She paused for a moment to gaze on the corpse, and heaving one deep and heavy sigh, bade the bearers proceed. When she had reached the scaffold, she spoke to the crowd ; owned herself guilty, not of usurping the crown, but of not more firmly refusing it ; and mildly hoped her death would restore tranquillity to the state. She meekly laid her head on the block, and one blow terminated her sufferings and the power of her enemies over her. Mary, a bitter enemy to Protestantism, mar- ried Philip II., of Spain, the son of Charles V. ; as determined a bigot to the Roman Catholic religion as ever lived. When I tell you that Philip not only condemned his son to a painful death, but actually chose to be a spectator of the wretched youth's agonies, you will know what to think of Philip. That Mary passion- ately loved this cruel monster proves her heart to have been as hard as his. I really cannot repeat all the dreadful butche- ries committed in England by this merciless n:rr. STOR | I.AUY .JANE (il'.KV. QUEEN OF ENGLAND. 265 couple ; for whatever Philip desired, Mary exe- cuted. Hundreds of people were burned alive because they would not say they believed every- thing that Mary chose they should believe. Reflect on the folly, the barbarity of this pro- ceeding ! Who can make himself believe just what he is ordered to believe ? Merely to say he does so, Avhen in his heart he thinks very differently, is pronouncing an absolute falsehood. When you read of the dreadful agonies willingly endured to avoid this, you will be disposed to respect the fortitude of the human mind ; you will be inclined more warmly to venerate the religion for which so many wise and virtuous persons suffered. Even women submitted, with unshrinking firmness, to be bound to the stake, and consumed by slow and piercing flames. But my heart recoils from the afflicting image. Calais, a valuable port of France, which for two centuries had been in the hands of the Eng- lish, and was most important to them, was taken by the French : a loss which so deeply afflicted Mary, that she often declared " the name of Calais would be found written on her heart when she died." Happily for England, the reign of this unfeel- ing woman was short. Her husband's want of affection for her (could such a man as Philip w 23 266 ELIZABETH. love anything, or anybody ?) the vexation of reflecting that her sister Elizabeth would gain the crown when she left it ; these are the causes stated as producing a slow fever, which soon de- stroyed her. She died in the forty-third year of her life, and sixth of her reign. CHAPTER XLIX. ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF ENGLAND. THE last chapter closed with the death of the cruel Mary ; the present opens with the acces- sion of Elizabeth, daughter of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn. . Elizabeth had lived very privately, employing herself in improving her mind, and obtaining every kind of knowledge that might assist her in wisely ruling a mighty nation : she assumed the sceptre, therefore, well prepared for the ar- duous duties of government. How many persons envy the honors of royalty, forgetful of the numerous and, weighty cares that attend the regal state ! Elizabeth resolved never to marry, although many princes sought her hand ; among the rest ELIZABETH. 267 were Eric, the son of Gustavus Vasa, and Philip of Spain, the widower of her sister Mary. Philip II., of Spain, had heen sovereign of the Netherlands, hut so cruelly had he abused his rights of sovereignty, that the people revolted against him, and proclaimed the Prince of Or- ange their Stadtholder. Philip despatched the Duke of Alva to quell the revolt ; and this nohleman, as barbarous as his master, caused the execution of eighteen thousand persons in the course of five years. After this information, I think the word Alva will remain in your mind associated with cruelty. In spite of Philip's severe measures, the Prince of Orange liberated his country from the Spanish yoke. Seven of the seventeen pro- vinces of the Netherlands (or Low Countries) declared themselves an independent Republic, like the Swiss cantons, and assumed the name of Holland, or the Seven United Provinces, in 1579 ; making William Prince of Orange their Stadtholder, or chief governor. Elizabeth had essentially assisted the revolt- ers ; therefore Philip determined to invade England. For this purpose he armed a large force, and fitted out an immense fleet, which was called the " Invincible Armada :" a pom- pous title, but one it little deserved ; for a hea- 268 THE EARL OF ESSEX. vy storm of wind dispersed this wondrous fleet, and the navy of England completed its destruc- tion. Elizabeth evinced great spirit on this occasion ; she showed herself to her army at Tilbury, mounted on a fine horse : cheered the spirits of her subjects, aroused the valor of her soldiers, and infused courage and confidence into all who saw or heard her. Thus she in some degree earned the victory she obtained. Another remarkable circumstance in Eliza- beth's reign, was her beheading a Scottish Queen, who was also her first cousin. I need not remind you that this unhappy person was Mary Queen of Scots. I have already given an outline of the transaction in the " Stories from English History," and some day you may read a full account of it in Goldsmith's " His- tory of England." Elizabeth had more than one favorite : but the most distinguished was the Earl of Essex. This impetuous young nobleman too often en- croached on the indulgence of his royal mis- tress ; and once, particularly, spoke in so haugh- ty a manner that the Queen gave him a box on the ear. Essex put his hand to his sword, muttering some threats : altogether, his conduct was so improper, and he raised such commotions TRUE STORIES.