t/ 
 
 / / 
 
 -trrfH,fi^
 
 METRICAL 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 Sfc. Sfc,
 
 \

 
 METRICAL 
 
 ^istor^ of Cnglantij 
 
 OR, 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS, IN RHYME, 
 
 Of some of the most prominent Features in our 
 
 NATIONAL CHRONOLOGY, 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 LANDING OF JULIUS CAESAR, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 OOMMENCEMENT OF THE REGENCY, 
 IN 1812. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 " Their Names, their Years, spelt by th' unletteTcd Muse." Gray. 
 
 BY THOMAS DIBDIN, 
 
 AUTHOR Of " THE JEW AND THE DOCTOR," " THE CABINET," AND OTHER 
 DRAMATIC ATTEMPTS. 
 
 *jltborities from Home, Hollingshead, Smollett, Salmon, Dr. Goldsmith, GibboD, 
 Dr. Henry, J. P. Andrews, De Molevilie, Lockman, Rapin, &c. &c. 
 
 P With Characteristic Quotations, Illustrative Annotations, c. Sjc. 
 
 i 
 
 lonDon : 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, 
 
 er JOSgPH HARTHtLL, WIVE-OFFICECOURT, Fl.KET-STRF.ET 
 
 50I.D BT LONOMAK, HUHST, REFS, ORME, AND BROWNE, PATERNOSTE* BOW J 
 
 BY ,W, ELLISTON, AT BIS ESTABLISHMENT IN BRISTOL; 
 
 AMD BT ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1813.
 
 DA 
 
 7.1 
 
 TO 
 
 George and Joseph Ranking, Esqrs. 
 
 Mij Worthy Friends^ 
 
 Should the following Bagatelle 
 be permitted to occupy a place in your 
 Parlour Windows, it will attain a reflected 
 respectability, similar to that which your 
 unaffected and hearty kindnesses have con- 
 ferred upon its Author. 
 
 The exemplary mode of education 
 practised in your famihes, will be, to a large, 
 yet select, circle, a most unexceptionable 
 guarantee that nothing of immoral or 
 invidious tendency can pervade any Work 
 A 3 admitted 
 
 77550S
 
 Vi DEDICATION, 
 
 admitted under your roof; and should the 
 Author's name create a suspicion that you 
 have, in the present instance, for the first 
 time, patronized Nonsense, it will at least 
 be anticipated as Nonsense of a very 
 harmless description. 
 
 A Song, an Epigram, or a Distich, 
 have frequently effected indelible impres- 
 sions on the minds of Youth ; and should 
 this be deemed a Book not unuseful to 
 Children, I shall have solid reason to be 
 satisfied. 
 
 The brief, but comprehensive. Ballad 
 of the *' Chapter of Kings," written by 
 Mr. Collins, gave me a wish to attempt 
 versifying (on a scale scarcely more cn-r 
 larged) the leadhig points of our Historj', 
 with an humble endeavour to vary the 
 style, as the colour of circumstances to be 
 depicted in each Reign might seem to 
 require ; and, from the presumption that a 
 Narrative alternately relieved by a Comic 
 
 Song,
 
 BEDICATIOK. Yli 
 
 Song, a Tragic Tale, or an irregular Poem, 
 might impress on some juvenile memories 
 a species of Index to the voluminous 
 labours of genuine Historians. 
 
 From the regular and respectable class 
 of Reviewers I do not feel of sufficient 
 consequence to apprehend much ; and to 
 those genuine literary characters who probe 
 and prune with the benign and useful 
 intentions which actuate a humane Surgeon, 
 or skilful Horticulturist, I bow with un- 
 feigned respect, and entreat the honor and 
 favor of their friendly admonitions. 
 
 To the unsparing host, who write with 
 the impression that positive abuse will 
 experience a speedier sale, and cost 
 infinitely less trouble, than discriminative 
 candour, or who find it imperiously 
 convenient to approve or satyrize in 
 proportion to the interest their Bookseller 
 may have in what they undertake to dissect, 
 a4 I
 
 U1 . DEDICATION. 
 
 I would Spare much time and trouble by 
 offering for their choice, with due deference 
 and humility, a few ready-manufactured 
 sketches of 
 
 Anticipated Analyzation, 
 
 No. 1. "The Work before us is another lament- 
 " able instance that Book-makers ought to read a little 
 "before they attempt to write; had this woefully 
 *' neglected principle been attended to by the fabricator 
 "of the subjects under present discussion, we should 
 "have escaped the PAIN of remarking, that the 
 "introduction of Newspapers and Hackney Coaches 
 "at the period of the Heptarchy, and, above all, putting 
 ** a vulgar modern Ditty, intitled " Nobody coming to 
 "marry me" into the mouth of such a Monarch as King 
 " Henry the Eighth, (actually the first who obtained 
 ** the glorious Title of Fidei Defensor ^ or, Defender of 
 " the Faith) are evidently most ignorant and indefensible 
 " Anachronasms ; we speak from genuine information 
 " and can assure our Readers, on authorities not to be 
 *' disputed, that Hackney Coaches were not licenced 
 "till the Year 1625,* nor do we despair of ascertaining 
 " the very name of the very man who obtained the very 
 " first Plate or Number. With respect to the Ballad of 
 
 Vide Tablet of Memory. Peacock's Pocket Books. Cum multis aliis. 
 
 " Nobody
 
 BEDICATIOW. X 
 
 *' Nobody coming to matry me," we are certain, made 
 
 " its fii-st appearance. Anno, One Thousand Seven 
 
 ** Hundred and something, published by Longman 
 
 " and Broderip, 26, Cheapside, Price Is. and reviewed 
 
 " among other Works of equal importance and celebrity 
 
 " in our 46th Number of the 
 
 Critical Cat u'Nine Tails. 
 
 No. 2. " Some of the '^ Metrical" Attempts at 
 
 " Poetry are better than others, and, as it frequently 
 
 " happens in works of this kind, part of the version is 
 
 " not so good as the rest. We shall in oiu' next give a 
 
 " specimen of the worst couplets, tlie best not being 
 
 " worth perusal*" 
 
 Bibliotkecal Blunderbuss. 
 
 No. 3. '" This Melange, being the avowed pro- 
 " duction of a modern, would-be-Dramatist, we shall 
 " briefly say, that it commences with aTitlc-Page, and 
 " the only succeeding word likely to be read with pleasure 
 " is Finis. The residue of the W^ork (being a perfect 
 *' (or rather an imperfect) Parenthesis) may of coufse 
 " be omitted without loss to the Reader." 
 
 A7iy little Review. 
 
 No. 4." Not having perused the Book, we do 
 
 " not conceive ourselves fairly entitled to recommend 
 
 it." 
 
 r.qvifnhle Epitome. 
 
 No. 5.
 
 X DEDICAXrON. 
 
 No. 5." There is neither novelty of Character, 
 
 " Plot, nor Incident, to be discovered in the whole Book; 
 
 " which is merely a versified list of notorious Facts, 
 
 " pilfered from every Historian the Plagiarist could lay 
 
 " his hands on." 
 
 Touchstone of Truth, 
 
 I purposely omit the affectionate and 
 well-meant incisions (Corrections I mean) 
 of the " Tomahawk," '' Scalping Knife," 
 ' Cleaver," and " Scarificator," and shall 
 conclude with a sample of castigation, in 
 perspective, from the 
 
 Fedantjc Exterminator. 
 
 " The Cacoethes Scribendi hath attained its acnie,-^ 
 " The Author in his ^'Otium sine dignitate'hoxh scribbled 
 ** certain lines " tant pis" for his Readers, (should he 
 " have any) and tarit mieux for the Pastry-Cooks and 
 " Trunk-makers, seeing he hath published them. 
 
 Although short, its tediousness makes it " un 
 Ouvrage de longue haleine" never to be prescribed by 
 critical Doctors as ^'^xim laTguon, or mental physic. 
 
 ' We seek not to break a Butterfly on the Wheel, 
 
 " but
 
 DEDICATION. ^ 
 
 *' but the Title-Page, ad captandum vtdgns, is merely 
 *' intended Nugis nddere Poiidtis, and promises too much. 
 ** We may say with the Italians, Og'ii MedagU-j ha. il suo 
 " reversoy ox with the Spaniards, Aviendo pregonado vino 
 ** venden Vinagre ; in short " Parturiunt mantes nascitur 
 " ridiculus Mm5." 
 
 BoiLEAu tells US, Le plus sage est ceiui qui 
 nepeme point I'etre, and Cumberland makes 
 his Belcour say **if I knew a man who 
 * * thought more humbly of me than I do 
 " of myself, I would take up his opinion and 
 ** forego my own;" the last sentence is ex- 
 pressive of more diffidence than I may find 
 credit for, but I am really so little anxious, in 
 this or any other shape, to encounter the ha- 
 zard of public comment, that, were it not for 
 certain duties, my intrusions would quick- 
 ly and permanently cease ; could I ensure 
 one moiety of the sum for suppressing my 
 Work I am to receive for its publication, you 
 would not be troubled with this Address ; 
 and who knows, but some public-spirited 
 Dcplorer of the dearth of modern genius, 
 
 after
 
 %U DEDICATION. 
 
 after this declaration, may treat with me 
 for the Copy-right of a future tlireatened 
 production, on the principle of paying a 
 vociferous ballad-singer, or music-grinding 
 annoyance, to quit your door ? 
 
 Be ray reception in this new form 
 what it may, I ardently hope that you, and 
 a few other highly-respected individuals, 
 will not an'aign the intentions of 
 
 Your sincere 
 
 and obliged Friend, 
 
 THOMAS DIBDIN. 
 
 Hill-Cottage, 
 
 Betchvorth, Surrey, IBl?. 
 
 England, &c.
 
 ENGLAND, &c; 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 I. 
 
 At humble distance from Apollo's shrine, 
 A wandering minstrel seeks it in the dark, 
 
 And, all unworthy of the flame divine 
 That warms his betters, asks but for a spark: 
 
 Fain would he soar, as mounts the matin lark. 
 But for a Pegasus who ne'er, God wot. 
 
 Had wings to bear him up beyond the mark 
 Of sluggish walk, or jolting doggrel trot, 
 Yet drive this jade he must, tho', faith, he'd 
 rather not. 
 
 n. 
 Of Cam and Isis, (whose inspiring streams 
 ByL.L.D. ; B.A.; A.M.; invoked, 
 
 have
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Have so besprinkled their poetic dreams, 
 They've sung, like Maro, or, like Flaccus, joked) 
 
 Ne*er may the sources be by blockheads choked, 
 Where wit, in classic wreaths, the Sisters twine; 
 
 Had but my cranium in such springs been soak'd, 
 Oh! Alma Mater ! tho* no son of thine, 
 My worthy mother's son had better woo'd the 
 Nine. 
 
 III. 
 Yet deem not Cam, that ign'rance quite pervades 
 
 My brain, tho' never in thy halls refined ; 
 Nor Isis, think thine academic shades, 
 
 Tho' out of sight, were always out of mind ; 
 Thoughts of ye both, to neither tho' consigned, 
 
 Wou'd put my infant bosom in a flutter; 
 For oft my taste was seriously inclined, 
 
 With how much goiit I'm half ashamed to 
 
 utter, 
 To Oxford sausage rich ; and curious Cam- 
 bridge butter. 
 
 V 
 
 IV. 
 
 A sort of wish for these, may yet remain. 
 
 (There's no accounting for the tastes of men), 
 Else had I spared the luckless reader's pain 
 
 In
 
 INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 In following thro' its cheerless path, my pen ; 
 Nor had I roused that lion in his den, 
 
 Yclep'd Reviewer ; better had I halt ; 
 But Bard, and Critic, both eat now and then, 
 
 And if JJard's errors furnish Critic's food, 
 
 He'll feel, though not allow, they've done some 
 good. 
 
 One glorious thought my meditation chears, 
 A hope that gives some courage to the Muse, 
 
 A claim she dares to make, because she fears 
 No Critic living can the plea refuse ; 
 
 Reader, you may reject it if you chuse, 
 
 But that you'll scarcely think of, when you're 
 told, 
 
 In spite of all who pity and abuse, 
 'Tis Insignificance hath made her bold, 
 'Gainst Censure, hissing hot, or Commenda- 
 tion cold. 
 
 *:JThe
 
 g:|r The Reader will perceive how frequently the Author is 
 indebted for historical annotations to the very excellent 
 History of Great Britain, " connected with the Chronology 
 of Europe," by James Petit Andrews, F. A. S. ; as also to 
 the " Civil and Military History of Great Britain," and 
 "Historical Anecdotes," by the same Author; likewise to 
 the " Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors,^' by Horace 
 Walpole ; the " MedullaHistorise Anglicanae," &c. &c. The 
 miniature attempts to point out, by abridged examples, th6 
 progress of English Poetry, necessarily cease at the period 
 of (^harlfcs the Second's Restoration, the Works of most 
 Authors of that and subsequent periods being generally 
 known. 
 
 The dates of every incident occurring in the History, were 
 correctly and progressively placed opposite the relation 
 of them, (as in the three last Reigns), but it has since been 
 thought better to detach them from the version, and place 
 them at the end of the Second Volume, in the form of a 
 Chronological Table of Contents.
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 PART THE FIRST. 
 From the Aborigines to the End of the Heptarchy. 
 
 The Ancient Britons. Four Love Songs of the Young Abori- 
 gines the Romans Caractacus Boadiceu the Saxons'- 
 the Heptarchy Kent Antiquity of Punning Northumber- 
 land East Anglia Mercia, Essex, Sussex, JVessex. 
 
 Bold were those Britons, who, the careless sons 
 
 Of Nature, roatn'd the forest-bounds, at once 
 
 Their verdant city, high embowering fane. 
 
 And the gay circle of their woodland wars. THOMSON. 
 
 Their's was the science of a martial race. 
 To shape the lance, or, decorate the shield: 
 
 Ev'n the fair virgin stain'd her native grace. 
 
 To give new horrors to the tented field. Shenstone. 
 
 THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 
 
 When Britons *' first at Heaven's command, 
 
 Arose/' by chronicles we're told, 
 They wore no cov'ring, thro' the land, 
 
 But Paint to guard their bodies from the cold. 
 B The
 
 18 ENGLAND. 
 
 The Celtic beaux, of frame robust. 
 With Celtic belles, almost as stout, 
 
 Thro' wind, and rain, and sun, and dust, 
 Thus only, kept the weather out : 
 
 'Till men grew sick of paint, and cou'dn't bear it, 
 Some of the ladies (I believe) still wear it: 
 
 Not that the ancient warriors of our Isle 
 
 Wou'd fly their colours; no the sturdy elves, 
 
 (Spite of the critic's pun-detecting smile) 
 
 Beheld their colours fly, and not themselves. 
 
 Folks who were rich were painted mortal fine, 
 With fish, and fowl, and suns, and moons, and 
 beasts; ^ 
 
 And those best painted oftenest ask to dine, 
 And burn fat prisoners at Druid-feasts. 
 
 Those who were poor, or very much in debt, 
 For oil and turpentine. Historians say, 
 
 Were merely white washed, 'tis a custom yet, 
 Much in observance* at this very day. ,1 
 
 " More honoured in the breach.'' Suakespeare. 
 
 Then
 
 ENGLAND. '19 
 
 Then too, as now, ladies, when least attired, 
 For what they did not wear, were most admired. 
 
 " Yet ev'n these charms from insult to protect, 
 *' Some club-arm'd Warrior stood, terrific, nigh, 
 " With uncouth forms, and shapeless monsters 
 
 deck'd, 
 * Who thus implored his mistress, with a sigh : 
 
 (Observe, that, when these rough-hewn rhymes 
 
 they sung. 
 The ancient Britons were but very young.) 
 
 Vide Gray's Elegy in a Country Church Yard. 
 
 * 2 Ccedwalla
 
 50 ENGLAND. 
 
 CCEDWALLA to EDDA. 
 
 An Ancient British Love-Song. 
 
 L 
 
 By those raven-dyed ringlets that float round thy 
 
 form, 
 And circle that heaven thy beauties display ; 
 By that face, like the sun-beam that peeps thro* 
 
 the storm, 
 Our hopes to encourage, our fears to allay ; 
 By that dove, dearest Edda, pourtrayed on thy 
 
 breast ; 
 With one smile of assent let Ccedwalla be blest ! 
 
 Druid Chiefs my suit befriend. 
 
 While the misletoe I twine. 
 
 Let the sacred flame ascend, 
 
 Say, shall Edda's charms be mine ? 
 
 II. 
 
 By the speed of my coursers in hunting and war, 
 
 Whose trembling impatience for action I prize ; 
 
 -By the scythes on my chariot, less dangerous far, 
 
 Than the shafts dearest Edda can dart from her 
 
 eyes, 
 
 By
 
 ENGLAND, 21 
 
 By the groans of the wounded, the shades of the 
 
 slain, 
 I beseech thee, dear Edda, to shorten my pain! 
 
 Holy Druid Chiefs, befriend. 
 
 While the misletoe I twine, 
 
 See the sacred flame ascend, 
 
 Edda must, and shall, be mine. 
 
 EDDA to CCEDWALLA. 
 
 Being* the Answer of an AAcieat British Damsel in her Teenju 
 
 I. 
 
 Chief of thy daring tribe, with pride I see 
 
 Those looks, of late so dreadful to the foe, 
 Soften to kindness, when they bend on me. 
 
 As melts, in cheering Spring, the mountain's 
 snow. 
 
 II. 
 Yes, seek the altars of our warlike sires. 
 
 With rev'rence bend before each hallow; cdshrine, 
 Pure be thy passion, as their sacred iires, 
 
 And, Heaven approving, Edd.a shall be thine, 
 B 3 These
 
 22 ENGLAND. 
 
 These were their sentiments, or may have been, 
 'Ere Britons found the way to Gretna Green ; 
 But these, however homely, were the strains 
 Of lovers o^ haul ton, and form'd with pains. 
 When meaner folks by Cupid were perplexed, 
 Haply a ditty, simple as the next, 
 Might have been carol'd to a lady's maid. 
 By some bold serjeant, corporal, or the like, 
 Should it want force your faculties to strike, 
 Remember War, not Writing, was his trade. 
 
 COURTSHIP of the CANAILLE. 
 I. 
 
 My love's so like a ikie field day. 
 
 No colour does she lack ; 
 But varied, as the rainbow gay. 
 
 She's slraiter in the back. 
 
 II. 
 Her hose is red, her lips are blue, 
 
 Her chin as green as grass ; 
 And what of saffron colour'd hue. 
 Can Ba's neck surpass ? 
 
 My
 
 ENGLAND. 23 
 
 111. 
 
 JSIy heart how soft it's grown to prove, 
 
 Next prisoner 1 take, 
 ni shut him in an image, love, 
 
 And burn him for thy sake. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Or shou'd we e'er be put to flight, 
 And savage foes give chace, 
 
 I'll pierce thy bosom with delight, 
 To save thee from disgrace. 
 
 The MAIDEN'S REPLY. 
 
 I. 
 
 My love, of pilfering Danes the dread, 
 
 What warrior may abide? 
 A lion's painted on his head, 
 
 A dragon decks his side. 
 
 ir. 
 A wolf grins lovely on his chest, 
 
 A serpent twines his arms, 
 And captives' hides which form his vest 
 
 Add softness to his charms. 
 
 When
 
 24 ENGLAND. 
 
 m. 
 
 When forth he strides with martial glee, 
 
 No peasant dares to laugh ; 
 He wears a bull upon each knee, 
 
 A cow on either calf. 
 
 IV. 
 
 I know a little Druid's cell, 
 
 I know the Druid too, 
 And, if we ask him, who can tell, 
 
 What gold for us may do ? 
 
 V. 
 
 They say true lovers oft he weds, 
 
 And with a sacred^bough 
 Sprinkles cold water on their heads. 
 
 To warm the mutual vow. 
 
 Such were our ancestors, or such Pve sung ^em, 
 Till Vent, Vidi, Vici, came among 'em. 
 No Nelson on the well-defended main 
 Was there, to beat tl\e Roman back again ; 
 
 No
 
 ENGLAND. 35 
 
 No Abercrombie butvthe countless names 
 Of heroes, vvhoM have wrapt their fleet in flames, 
 Overpower the Muse: Ah! had the least of those 
 Been placed between Britannia* and her foes; 
 CiESAR had prov'd a baffled, beaten, fool, 
 Had fled with foul dishonour from our shore ; 
 Nor had I, and some thousand dunces more, 
 Jken, through his Commentaries, whipt at school, 
 
 P'ngland, including Wales, was. at the invasion of the 
 Romans, divided into the following seventeen states ; 
 
 CALLED BY THE ROMANS, 
 
 % The Danmonii; now, the counties of Cornwall and Devon. 
 Q Durotriges; Dorsetshire. 
 
 3 Belgje; Somerset, Wiitj^ part of Hants. 
 
 4 Attrebatii ; Berks. 
 
 5 Regni; Surrey, Sussex, and remaining part of Hants. 
 Cantii; Kent. 
 
 7 Dcbuni ; Gloucester and Oxon. 
 
 8 Cattieuchlani ; Bucks, Bedford, and Herts. 
 
 9 Trinobantes ; Essex, a;.d Middlesex. 
 
 JO Iceni ; Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntingdon, and Cambridge. 
 
 11 Coritani; Northampton, Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, Not* 
 tingham, and Dtrby. 
 
 J 2 Cornayi; Warwick, Worcester, Stafford, Chester, and Shrop- 
 shire. 
 
 13 TheSilures; Radnor, Brecon, Glamorgan, Monmouth, and 
 
 Hereford. 
 
 14 Demetce; Pembroke, Cardigan, Caermarthen. 
 
 13 Ordovices; Montgomery, Merioneth, Caernarvon, Flint, and 
 
 Denbigh. 
 IC The Brigantes; York, Durham, Lancashire, Westmoreland, 
 
 and Cumberland, 
 jr Ottadini ; Northumberland to the Tweed, 
 
 THE
 
 26 ENGLAND. 
 
 tS9tO$V- 
 
 ' THE ROMANS. 
 
 A. c. 55, 
 
 " The Romans in England, once did sway," 
 
 Ballad, by Collins. 
 
 It was about fifty-five years before the Christian iEra 
 that Rome, at the lieight of her glory as a Republic, 
 determined to add Britain to her Empire. 
 
 Lucan, Horace, Tacitus, and TibuUus dissent from the idea 
 of tlie absolute Conquest of Britain. The latter says : 
 " Te manet invictus Romana Marte Britannus." 
 
 Vide J. P. Andrews. 
 
 " Witness the toil, 
 " The Blood of Ages, bootless to secure 
 " Beneath an Empire's yoke a stubborn Isle, 
 " Disputed hard, and never quite subdu'd.'^ 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 Well, Caesar came, saw, conquered, and went 
 home, 
 
 Came back, return'd, and met his fate in Rome ; 
 
 ^Tis said, he somewhat civihzed our sires, 
 
 Quench'd, for a time, their sacrificial fires ; 
 
 Grave some shght notion of domestic hfe. 
 
 And taught the use of clothes to maid and wife. 
 
 But yet, whatever improvement they obtained 
 
 Was bought with JFreedoxM, for the Romans 
 reign'd 
 
 ^' When
 
 ENGLAND. - 27 
 
 When C^SAR fell, Augustus, fond of peace, 
 By acquiescence, bade our burthens cease ; 
 
 Tiberius, jealous of his General's fame. 
 Left Britain all her freedom but the name ; 
 Crack-brain'd Caligula, like modern France, 
 In big bravado, bade his powers advance ; 
 Then too, like Gaul, forgot to keep his word, 
 And, loudly threatening sheathed th' invading 
 sword. 
 
 Not so when Claudius bore imperial sway, 
 
 [a. d. 43] 
 He bent the stubborn island to obey ; 
 Nor bold Caractacus, his country's pride, 
 Nor bravest chieftains fighting by his side, 
 Prevail'd before the legionary band. 
 Whose iron discipline subdued the land ; 
 While the great victim to a conqueror's laws, ^ 
 Greater than King, when chdin'd in Freedom's f 
 cause, C 
 
 From CvESAr's self extorts deserv'd applause. J 
 
 [a. d. 50.] 
 
 When
 
 2S ENGLAND 
 
 "VThen Nero's sceptre, o'er the world, began 
 To prove a daemon blended with a man, 
 MoNA, to tyrant priesthood only known, 
 The Druid's senate, sanctum, and their throne, 
 Became the seat of war ; destruction flew 
 O'er the devoted sanguinary crew; 
 Their fates we mourn not, they, whose blood- 
 stained knife, 
 In mock religion* prey'd on human life. 
 Whose pow'r, increasing thro' successive reigns, 
 For centuries had held the mind in chains ; 
 Worthy to die on that polluted spot 
 Where Virtue was, in Virtue's name, forgot. 
 
 But thou, whose offspring, neither sex nor age 
 
 Preserv'd, from more than barb'rous Roman rage, 
 
 Great Boadicea, glory of thy race, 
 
 Britannia's honor, and thy foe's disgrace ; 
 
 In burning fancy 1 behold each fight 
 
 Where female valour warr'd for Albion's right : 
 
 Thy very fall perpetuates thy fame. 
 
 And Suetonius' laurels droop with shame. 
 
 Among other curious impositions practised on tlieir 
 devotees, the Druids were in the habit of borrowing large sums 
 of them, to be repaid in the othei world. " Druida: pecuniam 
 mutuo accifiebant in posteriore vita reddituri." Patuicius. 
 
 A^'esfasian's
 
 ENGLAND. 29 
 
 Vespasian's chieftains kept the land in awe, 
 But softenM martial into milder law ; 
 Agricola, tho' form'd for warlike strife, 
 Revered the decencies of social life; 
 He chaced Galgacus* o'er the Northern plain, 
 And bound his footsteps with a mural chain. 
 Adrian and Severus the work pursued, 
 A work extinct, and ne'er to be renewed. 
 No wall again shall British hearts divide. 
 Whose UNION, is their best, their safest, pride. 
 
 *' Ye gentlemen of England,'* who criticise the 
 times, 
 
 Tho', heav'n knows, they must be rather better 
 than these rhymes ; 
 
 Give ear unto my narrative, and it will plainly 
 shew. 
 
 That things were ten times worse almost two 
 thousand years ago. 
 
 Agricola totally defeated Galgacus, who commanded the 
 last Army the Country cou'd raise, reduced almost the whole of 
 England and Scotland to the denomination of a Roman Province, 
 and begaa to build the famous Barrier called Picts'-Wall. 
 
 For
 
 30 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 For Rome grew a little too big, 
 
 And the people, like most people, grumbled ; 
 At grievances all had a dig, 
 
 ^Till down the whole edifice tumbled. 
 
 The nations around, who'd been robb'd of their 
 pelf, 
 
 Their freedom, their name, or what not. 
 At Rome were so busy, each helping itself. 
 
 Our Island alone was forgot. 
 
 KINGS OF BRITAIN, 
 
 From the invasion of Julius Cesar to the departure of the Romans. 
 
 (according to luffman.) 
 
 ANNO A.C. 
 
 1 Cassivelaunu? 83 
 
 2 Theomantius 50 
 
 3 Cyn-beline 24 
 
 A.D. 
 
 4 Guiderius 45 
 
 5 Arviragus 73 
 
 6 Marius... -, 125 
 
 7 Coilus 179 
 
 8 Lucius 207 
 
 A.D. 
 
 9 Severus (Emperor) ... 211 
 
 10 Bassianus 218 
 
 1 1 Carausius 225 
 
 12 Alectus 282 
 
 13 Aselepiodorus 262 
 
 14 Coilus II 289 
 
 15 Constantius (Emperor) 310 
 
 16 Constantine (Emperor) 329 
 
 THE
 
 ENGLAND. 31 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 The Romans all gone, or of pow'r bereft, 
 Each Briton rejoic'd with his brother ; 
 
 'Till, finding they'd not one competitor left. 
 They wisely fell out with each other. 
 
 Protection with unity ever will fly, 
 
 The Wall too was idly forgot ; 
 And, leaping its boundary, hourly you'd spy 
 
 A stern Pict* or a muckle bra' Scot. 
 
 " The groans of.the Britons" are mournfully sent 
 " To i^Tius,! thrice Consul," who sighs ; 446 
 
 But turns the ambassadors back as they went, 
 Without one single word of supplies. 
 
 ^ The Picts, (so called from Pictich, a Plunderer, and not 
 from Picti, painted) and the Scots, from Scuite, a Wanderer, in 
 the Celtic Tongue, were only different tribes of Caledonians. 
 
 Ur. HtNKY, 
 
 t^tius. Prefect of Gaul, was thus addressed by "The Groans of 
 the wretched Britons, to thethrice-appointtd Consul, /Etius. TIjc 
 Barbarians drive us into the Sea, and the Sea forces us back oii 
 the swords of the Barbarians." yEtius was too closely engaged 
 in opposing Attila, the renowned King of the Huns, to spar<; thera 
 any attention. DtsTitvcxiuN of the BKiTTAits. 
 
 Each
 
 32 ENGLAND. 
 
 Each Briton, now dejected and a slave, 
 Flies to the ocean from the foe's attack ; 
 
 Nor less relentless, the destructive wave 
 Devours or hurls them to their tyrants back. 
 
 KINGS OF ENGLAND, 
 
 From the departure of the Romans. 
 (according to luffmak.) 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Octavlus 383 
 
 Maximinianus 391 
 
 Gratian , 431 
 
 Constantine 1 446 
 
 Constantius 446 
 
 Vortigern, who introduced the SAXONS. 
 
 THE
 
 ENGLAND. 33 
 
 THE SAXONS. 
 
 A. D. 447. 
 
 "A Naffon known only to the Britons by their continued 
 "and successful acts of Piracy." 
 
 J. P. Andrews. 
 
 But hark! what foreign drum on Thanet's isle 
 Proclaims assistance ? 'tis the Saxon band. 
 
 By Hengist led, and Horsa ; see, they smile, 
 And greet their hosts, with false, insidious hand. 
 
 Not arms alone they bring, but specious art. 
 And beauty, too, must aid the plan they lay ; 
 
 RowENA, form'd to bear a nobler heart. 
 Can stoop a falling monarch to betray.* 
 
 Imprudent Vortigern ! how much to blame ! 
 What ! yield a throne to Woman's asking eye ! 
 
 The Saxons, it is supposed, gained great advantages over 
 Britain by means of a foolish passion which the old Vortigern 
 conceived for the young and beautiful Rowena, niece to Hengist 
 "She presented him," (say our old Historians) "on her knee, with 
 a cup of wine, saying *Waes heal, hlaford cyning,' or, 'Be of 
 health. Lord King'! to which Vortigern, being instructed in the 
 custom, answered < Drinc heal,' or, 'I drink your health' This 
 introduction led to the subsequent marriage of Rowena to 
 Vort gem, who felt no more anxiety respecting the Saxon en- 
 croachments on his dominions, Vehstecan, &cc ice. 
 
 Q Had 
 
 //
 
 34 ENGLAND. 
 
 Had / been there, I should have done the same, 
 But then, the prince was wrong, and so am I. 
 
 Where, spreading far and wide, old Sarum's plain 
 Presents a prospect, like the boundless main. 
 The ruins of a once tremendous pile, 
 Where white-rob'd Druids held their orgies vile, 
 Yet rise upon the sight ; and here, 'tis said. 
 Where still repose in heaps, the slaughterM dead, 
 Three hundred nobles of our clrooping state, 
 Betray 'd by Hen gist, met a savage fate. 
 Stone-Henge yet called, perhaps, the words 
 
 impart 
 The traitor's name, and texture of his heart. 
 
 To VoRTiGERN* deposed, his sonf in vain 
 Succeeding fought to stem the Saxon tide ; 
 
 In Ailsford's desp'rate battle, Horsa slain, 
 Adds to their names who for ambition died. 
 
 Weak VoRTi GERM, restored to pow*rless name, 
 
 Yields Hen GIST all the profit and the fame. 
 
 The British Kings from Vortigern, till the settlement of the 
 
 Saxons at the time of the Heptarchy, after which Wales became 
 
 the seat of Government of the genuine Britons, were Aurelius, 
 
 Ambrosius, Uther Pendragon, Arthur, Constantine II. Conan, 
 
 Vortipor,Malyo,Coranus, Caractacus II. Cad wan, Cadwallan,Cad- 
 
 wallader ; for the succession of Welch Princes see the reign of 
 
 Edwvdl. 
 
 
 
 t Vortimer. 
 
 I haste
 
 ENGLAND. 35 
 
 I haste to pass the heart-afflicting page 
 That tells, in fine, how Saxon wiles prevailed ; 
 
 I turn the retrospect from that dark age. 
 When every manly, patriot, effort fail'd : 
 
 When British worth was driven to give place 
 To fancied friendship, and a foreign race. 
 
 The Saxons once well settled, sent, by dozens,* 
 For brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins : 
 Caird this the sweetest island under heaven. 
 And split one little kingdom into seven. 
 
 The Saxons seem to have anticipated the descriptive mode 
 of naming the months adopted by the modern French Kalendar, 
 the Fioreal, Germinal, &c. of which, though more elegant, are not 
 more expressive of the Seasons than the following : 
 
 December their first month was styled " Midwinter Monath" 
 January ^'^ Aefler Yula" or, after Christmas. 
 February "Sol Monath^ from the returning Sun. 
 March" Rede'' or, " Rethe Monat/i," Rugged Month. 
 April " Easier Monath^ from a Saxon Goddess, whose name 
 
 we still preserve. 
 ' May " Trimilchi" from Cows being then milked thrice a day. 
 June ^'Sere MonatA,'' dry month. 
 
 JvLX ** Mad Monaih J* the meads being then in tlieir bloom. 
 August " Weod Monath" from the luxuriance ot weed*. 
 Sfptemblr '-JJaJ'tst, (or, Harvest) Monath." 
 OciOBLR "Winter Fyllith^ from Winter approaching, with 
 
 the full moon of that month. 
 NovtMBEU "ii/of Monath,'' from the blood of Cattle slain 
 
 that month, and stored for winter provisions. 
 
 c2 THE
 
 36. ENGLAND. 
 
 THE HEPTARCHY. 
 
 "Indeed, Sir, we are seven." 
 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 "While undecided yet which part should fall, 
 "Which nation rise the glorious Lord of all." 
 
 CrEch's Lucretius. 
 
 Odd numbers are deem'd fortunate, we know, 
 
 And yet, 'tis odd enough they should be so ; 
 
 The graces, muses, with their threes and nines, 
 
 Were dear to Pagan reverend divines. 
 
 The number seven, too, a stand has made; 
 
 Seven wonders once the universe displayed ; 
 
 Seven deadly sins, seven sacraments assist, 
 
 Seven sleepers, and my readers in the list ; 
 
 Seven days each week; on seven if longer 
 dwelling, 
 
 'Twill cost nie seven too many lines the telling. 
 
 Seven kingdoms once our little isle admitted. 
 
 Each with a king, and queen, and courtiers, fitted. 
 
 East Anglia, Mercia, Essex, Sussex, Kent, 
 
 Northumberland, and "Wessex; each extent 
 
 Mark'd carefully, of course, by sovereign order, 
 
 To settle rates of postage on the border. 
 
 Now
 
 
 
 ENGLAND 37 
 
 Now, for digression's sake, FIl simply ask, 
 
 Who, in each court, wou'd undertake the task 
 
 Of Clement-Cottrellizing ? sure, no dunce, 
 
 Six English embassies to name at once. 
 
 The Plenipofrom Persia, when with us. 
 
 Could ne*er create more diplomatic fuss ; 
 
 The newspaper, when things unkindly went, 
 
 Announces '* The Ambassador from Kent 
 
 *' Having received a warm official note,. 
 
 *' Has left this country in a Gravesend boat." 
 
 *' The Essex envoy, too, has turnM his back, 
 
 " And quits the kingdom in a neutral hack, 
 
 " Attended by a confidential friend, 
 
 " Whose passport goes no further than Mile-end," 
 
 *' Bold Sussex, in a ministerial rage, 
 
 *' Departs to-morrow in the Brighton stage!" 
 
 " While great East-Anglia, flouncing like 
 a dragon, 
 
 ** Has taken places in the Norwich waggon.'* 
 Critics will smoke by this time, without doubt. 
 
 London and Essex both obeyed one king 
 Agreed, grave sirs, and now the blunder's out, 
 
 Let my joke pass, and take your ample swing. 
 
 THE
 
 gS ENGLAND. 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF KENT. 
 
 Began 457 Ended 823. Metropolis, Canterbury. 
 
 "Kent, in the Commentaries Caesar writ, 
 "Is term'd the civil'st place of all this isle: 
 "Sweet is the country, beauteous, full of riches, 
 "The people liberal, valiant, active, worthy." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Garden of Britain ! whose whitecliffs have named 
 Our island Albion. Kent ! so justly famed 
 For bow-men, bishops, monks, and monasteries, 
 For warriors, watering-places, hops, and cherries. 
 I name thy monarchs of the Saxon race ; 
 Escus, then Octa, ruled in Hengist's place ; 
 Next Herme>kic, and Etheibert succeed ; 
 The last, renowned for many a valiant deed. 
 But most renowned, that, to the Pagan's loss, 
 By Austin taught, he rear'd the sacred cross, 
 
 [a.d. 597."! 
 His ear and heart inclin'd to Christian lore, 
 And light difFus'd, where darkness reign'd before. 
 St. PauFs Cathedral, form'd but rudely then, 604 
 First rose where now the spot is graced by Wren. 
 
 Two
 
 ENGLAND. 39 
 
 Two well-form 'd Englishmen were ask'd at 
 Rome, 
 
 By Pontiff Gregory, to name their home. 
 
 ** We're Angli called," the British spokesman 
 cried. 
 
 " Say rather Angeli" the Pope replied. 
 
 ** So would ye be, were you of Christian race.'* 
 
 And Austin's mission, hence, 'tis said, took 
 place. 
 
 This Gregory, most pious and most wise, 
 Made, at that time, three similar replies.* 
 We have thought proper to select but one. 
 To shew the Ancients not disdain'd a pun ; 
 That even Popes, of Toleration full, 
 A joke enjoy'd, and patroniz'd a bull. 
 While this dull age, as duller people name it, 
 Sees wit, folks tell ye, winking in the socket, 
 And swears, who makes a pun, howe'erhe frame 
 it, 
 
 Enquiring further the name of their Province, he was 
 answered Deiri; (a district of Nortliumberland) " Deiri" replied 
 he, "that is good ; they are called to the Mercy of God from his 
 Anger; tht is, De Ira." * But how is the King of that Province 
 named?'' He was told ^Ella, or Alla ; " Alleluia !" cried he, " we 
 must enaeavor that the praises of God be sung in their Courtry." 
 
 Hume. 
 
 The
 
 40 ENGLAND. 
 
 With equal eagerness would pick a pocket.* 
 
 The son of Ethelbert, unlike his sire, 
 
 (To Woden's worship and incestuous fire 
 
 Basely devoted) scorn'd religion's ties, 
 
 And, in too-late repentance, clos'd his eyes. 
 
 Ercombert, Egbert, Loth aire, Widred, 
 reign'd, 
 
 Eadbert and Ethelbert the crown sustained ; 
 
 Next Alric, Egbert, Cuthred, Baldred, 
 sway'd, 
 
 ^Till one great Egbert all the land obeyed. 
 
 Fide Murphy's Grays-Inn Journal, 
 
 THE
 
 ENGLAND. 41 
 
 KINGDOM OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 
 
 Began a.D. 547. Ended 792. Comprised two Kingdoms, 
 Bernicia and Deira. Bamburgh and York were the 
 Capitals. 
 
 Scene of full many a desp'rate border fight ! 
 (Where Northern Chiefs, in ancient order dight, 
 By Percys led, met gallant Scots in arms;-^ 
 Percys, for prowess fam'd and female charms,) 
 Thy first king Adelfrid historians name, 
 
 'Till conquest prov'd young Edwin's better 
 
 claim. 
 (Such just administration his, we're told. 
 Infants might safely bear uncounted gold !) 
 'Till slain by Mercian Pen da. Civil jars 
 Divide Northumbria ; and continued wars 
 By OsRic, Eanfrid, Oswald, Oswy, waged, 
 
 Destroyed those monarchs ; nor less furious 
 raged. 
 
 While Egfrid, Alfred, Osred, Celwolf, 
 all. 
 
 Fought but to reign ; and only reign'd to fall. 
 
 Like
 
 42 . ENGLAND. 
 
 Like Oswald, Mollo, Ailred, slain ; deposed 
 
 Like Celwold, Osred, Ethelbert, they 
 closed 
 
 A list of horrors, fated not to cease, 
 
 'Till Egbert Union gave, and Union Peace. 
 
 THE
 
 ENGLAND. 43 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF EAST-ANGLIA. 
 
 Began 575. Ended 793. Included Cambridgeshire, 
 Suffolk, Norfolk, and the Isle of Ely. Dunwich , 
 was the Royal Residence. 
 
 RIatter of fact is dull, when told at best, 
 Then how can coarsest poetry digest 
 Such names as Uffa, Earpwold, and a host 
 Of Egrics, Alduffs, Elfwolds ; who but boast 
 Short usurpation, or sad length of feud, 
 With fate of friends and subjects' blood imbrued ! 
 The sanction of the venerable Bede, 
 Who saw so many monarchs reign and bleed, 
 Pourtrays a cheerless picture of that time, 
 When crime expelled was but expelled by crime ; 
 When chiefs, alternate doomed to smile or groan, 
 Saw Anglia fall before the Mercian throne ! 
 Yet here, 'mid deeds that sullied British earth, 
 Cambridge !* thy seat of learning first had birth 
 FromSiGEBERT; like the eastern star it rose. 
 To cheer the dim horizon ; Sigebert's name 
 Derives from hence more enviable fame. 
 Than from a thousand fields of slaughtered foes. 
 
 By some suppoied to have been founded by Edward the Elder. 
 
 THE
 
 44 ENGLAND. 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF MERCIA. 
 
 Began 582. Ended 847. Contained Huntingdon, Rutland, 
 Lincoln, Northampton, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, 
 Oxford, Chester, Salop, Gloucester, Worcester, Stafford, 
 Warwick, Bucks, Bedford. Metropolis, Leicester. 
 
 O'er midland Mercia, Wibba rul'd; his 
 crown J 
 
 He left to Leorl. Penda's chief renown 
 Sprang from his turbulence ; by Oswy slain, 
 Peada, and swift-succeeding sovereigns reign, 
 Then Off a, well-beloved by Charlemagne. 
 WiGLAFFj.last ruler, Egbert taught to yield 
 Lord of his fate, and master of the fitld. 
 
 THE
 
 ENGLAND. 45. 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF ESSEX, 
 
 OR, EAST SAXONS. 
 
 Began 527. Ended 746. Contained Essex, Middlesex, 
 Part of Herts. Capital, London. 
 
 Of Essex monarchs, little more is said 
 
 Than, that two kings among them lov'd white 
 bread :* 
 
 That Offa took great Pen da's child to wife, 
 
 |y And vow'd, when married, to be chaste for life: 
 
 That Westminster, if records are believ'd, 
 
 From Sebert's gift her Abbey Church receiv'd; 
 
 By Sled A governed first, by Sigered last, 
 
 This state, with other states, to Egbert pass'd. 
 
 Sexted and Seward, sons and conjunct successors to Sebert, 
 grandson of Erkinwin, who founded the kingdom of Essex. 
 To shew the rude manner of living in that age, Bede tells us, 
 that these two kings expressed great desire to eat the white bread 
 distributed by] Mellitus, the bishop, at the communion. But on 
 his refusing them, unless they would submit to be baptised, they 
 expelled him their dominions. 
 
 Hdmi. 
 
 THE
 
 46 ENGLAND. 
 
 THE KINGDOM. OF SUSSEX, - 
 
 OR, SOUTH SAXONS. 
 
 Began 490. Ended 600. Contained Sussex and Surrey. 
 Metropolis, Chichester. 
 
 Sussex ! of modern summer beaux the boast, 
 When British beauty gladdens Albion's coast ; 
 Where waves transparent soften, more than hide. 
 Those charms, encircled by the happy tide. 
 Sussex ! which erst saw conqu'ring William land, 
 And subject England to his iron hand. 
 Thine ancient chronicles have less in store, 
 Than the imperfect legends sung before ; 
 A long parenthesis of names, I ween 
 From (Ella down to Adelwalch is seen ; 
 'Till Egbert's, paramount by all confessed, 
 Like Aaron's pow'rful rod engulphs the rest. 
 
 THE
 
 ENGLAND. 47 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF WESSEX, 
 
 OR, WEST SAXONS. 
 
 Began 519. Ended 1066, Comprised Hants, Berks, Wilts, 
 Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Part of Cornwall, and the Isle 
 of Wight. Chief City, Winchester. 
 
 A RACE of warlike princes, whose success 
 
 This realm increased, and other realms made less. 
 
 From Cerdic and his sons, to Brithric reign'd. 
 
 And still accession of domain obtained. 
 
 Wessex each neighbouring monarch could 
 controul, 
 
 And spread, like snows that gather as they roll. 
 
 ^Till Egbert's genius, by misfortune taught. 
 
 In camps and courts each gainful lesson caught; 
 
 By travel tutor'd, and by woes made wise, 
 
 By others* fall instructed how tori.se, 
 
 Esfbert
 
 4$ . - ENGLAND. 
 
 Egbert securely mounted England's throne, 
 
 And made the Seven Kingdoms all his own.* 
 
 [a.d. 828.] 
 
 * Though Egbert became Monarch of England, he 
 
 was not perfectly absolute ; he actually possessed Wessex, 
 Sussex, Kent, and Essex, which had been peopled by Saxons and 
 Jutes, and contented himself with preserving the sovereignty over 
 the other three Kingdoms, (originally inhabited by the Angles) 
 and permitting them to be governed by Kings who were his 
 Tassals. 
 
 END OF PART TFIE FIRST. 
 
 ENGLAND.
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 PART THE SECOND. 
 
 From the Union of the Seven Kingdoms to the Deat^ of Edgar, 
 turnamed the Peaceable, 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Egbert Ethelwolf the Danes Ethelhald and Ethelbert. 
 Ethered, or Ethelred Alfred the Great-Edward the Elder 
 Athehtan Edmund Edred 5/. Dunstan Edv:y 
 Edgar the Peaceable Three Love Stories of him Elfrida, 
 
 VOL. I. Summary
 
 50 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EGBERT. 
 
 Began his reign over the West Saxons, A. D. 800; over 
 England, in 828. Married Eadburgha, an English Lady. 
 Had Issue, Ethelwolf, Ethelstan, and St. Editha. Died, 
 February 4th, 836. Buried at Winchester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Union of the Seven Kingdoms. Danes land in the Isle 
 of Shepey. Defeat Egbert at Charraouth; are defeated by 
 him at Hengsdown-Hill, and compelled to quit the Island. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Earls Osmond and Dudda. Bishops Wigfurth and Here- 
 furth. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Pope. 
 Gregory IV. A. D. 828. 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 Michael II. 821. Theophilus I. 829. 
 
 Emperor of the West and King of France. 
 ' Lewis I. 814. 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Congallus III. 824. Dongallus 829. 
 
 Alpinus834. 
 
 G BERT.
 
 ENGIAND. 51 
 
 EGBERT. 
 
 Rules the num'rous band. 
 
 " And crowded natioas wait his dread command.** 
 
 Pope's Homer. 
 
 Egbert o'er Kings subduM scarce 'gan to reign, 
 E're he's invaded by the savage Dane *. 
 Charmouth, in Dorsetshire, supplied the field 
 Where British chiefs to foreign leaders yield "j". 
 Yet, soon avenged, the English blood they spill; 
 A year not pass'd, when famous Hengsdown- 
 
 Hill 
 Proves, to the northern spoilers dear bought cost. 
 That Egbert cou'd regain what late he lost. 
 The King in peace lived five succeeding years. 
 And his best epitaph was England's Tears J. 
 
 * The Danes first landed in 789, and were so little known 
 that a peace officer, at Portland, asked them, in the name of his 
 King, (Brithric,) what thty die! there? unused to the checks of 
 magistracy, these uncivilized rovers murdered the intruder, pluix- 
 dered the country, and retired unmolested. 
 
 II. Hunt, Sajon Chronology. 
 
 t Had it not been for this unfortunate battle, (in whicli the 
 Bishops Wigfunh and lierefurtli, and the Earls Dudda and 
 Osmond were slain,) Egbert would have added North Wales to 
 his dominions, having already over-run the country to the foot 
 ofSnowdon. J. P. Akdrews. 
 
 X '1 he following was inscribed on a chest containing his and 
 other royal bones, at VVinchestcr : 
 
 Hie Rex EoBERTUs pausat cum Rcge Kexulpho, 
 Nobis egregia raunera uterquc tulit. 
 
 D 2 SUMMARY
 
 52 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 ETHELWOLF. 
 
 Originally a Monk and Bishop of Winchester, absolved of 
 his vows by Gregory IV. Began to reign A. D. 836. Mar- 
 ried twice, first to Osburgha, an English Lady, by whom he 
 had issue, Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred, and Alfred: he 
 afterwards married Judith, daughter of the Emperor Charles 
 the Bald. Died January 13th, 857. Buried at Winchester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 England much infested with the Danes, The King makes 
 Pilgrimage to Rome. Divides the Kingdom between his 
 Sons. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Wolfhere, Cethelhelm, and Ceorle, Governors of Pra- 
 vinces, who defeat the Danes. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes. 
 Gregory IV. A. D. 828. Sergius II. 844. 
 
 Leo IV. 847. Benedick III. 835. 
 
 Emperors of the East, 
 ' Theophilus I. 829. Michael III. 842. 
 
 Emperors of the West and Kings of France. 
 
 Lewis I. 814. Lotharius, 840. 
 
 Lewis II. 855. 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 Alpinus, 834. Kennethus II. 839. 
 
 Ethflwolf.
 
 ENGLAND. ^ 
 
 ETHELWOLF. 
 
 " The Danes are landed/* 
 
 Home. 
 
 The warwhoop echoes still our Island round, 
 And, as the surge encroaching on the land, 
 
 Gives note of mischief by terrific sound, 
 
 Like wave on wave, the robbers crowd to land,. 
 
 The Danes! The Danes! the young and aged cry. 
 
 And mothers " press their infants" as they fly,* 
 
 The pirate parties, spreading far and wide, 
 Avoid our armies, and our powers deride: 
 Then to their barks return, like loaded bees, 
 And, with our ravishM treasure, cross the seas. 
 
 Nothing could be more dreadful than the manner in which 
 these fierce barbarians carried on their incursions ; they spared 
 neither age nor sex, and each Q>mm<inder urged the soldiers to 
 inhumjnity. Oliver, a celebrated chieftain, gained, from his 
 dislike to the favorite amusement of his soldiers, (that of tossing 
 children on the points of their spears,) the contemptuous sur- 
 arae of Bl-hnakal, or, " the Preserver of Children." 
 
 Bartuolin. 
 
 Oh,
 
 54 ENGLAND. 
 
 Oh, had but then some tight built ships, and tars, 
 
 Like modern Trigges, andTfioLLOPEs, round 
 them cruised : 
 
 How brief had been their predatory wars, 
 
 What trouble had my readers been excused ! 
 
 O'er Thanet, now the scene of summer mirth, 
 
 Where, erst, the world^s imperial eagle flew. 
 
 Where the white steed on Saxon banners came, 
 
 The Danish raven's wing is spread ; 
 
 And an unsparing and remorseless crew, 
 
 By Scandanavian chieftains led, 
 
 Demand in Kent to share, with British birth, 
 
 *' A local habitation and a name." 
 
 While Ethelwolf, who s/iow'c^ have made them 
 run, 
 
 (As gallic navies since at Nelson's fame), 
 Gave to Athelstan, as his eldest son, 
 
 One half the Kingdom and ('twas more than 
 shame !) 
 Instead of watching England's weal at home, 
 
 He went on pious pilgrimage to Rome. 
 To Rome, who havmg then no arms to rilte us, 
 Deputed Monks to govern and befool us. 
 
 And
 
 ENGLAND. 55 
 
 And, well I wot, the Pope was glad to see him, 
 
 Who paid Priests, Deacons, Choristers and 
 all, 
 With pockets full of England's gold to fee him, 
 
 And purchase lamps for Peter and for Paul*. 
 At home he found affairs had changed their faces; 
 
 His first son dead, and Ethelbald, the next, 
 Usurper of his Sire's and Brother's places, 
 
 The former's weakness furnishing pretext. 
 
 Scarce do the Son and Sire the land divide. 
 When the King feed the Monks once more, and 
 
 died : 
 To future reigns the people turn their hope. 
 And Ethelwolf's regretted by the Pope. 
 
 One of the pious pretences under which the papal see ob- 
 tained money from bigotted princes was that of selling sacred 
 lamps to burn before figures of the apostles. 
 
 SUMMAaV
 
 j^ ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGNS OP 
 
 ETHELBALD and ETHELBERT. 
 
 Began to reign conjunctly, A. D. 857. Ethelbald married 
 his mother-in-law. Queen Judith. Died 859. Ethelbert 
 died 866. Neither had issue ; and both were buried at Sher- 
 borne, in Dorsetshire, from whence Ethelbald was after- 
 wards removed to Salisbury. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Continued scenes of trouble with the Danes. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Swithun, bishop of Winchester. Osryck, earl of Hamp- 
 ton. Lambert and Ethelhard, archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes, 
 Benedict IIL A. D. 855. Nicholas I. 858. 
 
 Emperor of the East. 
 Michael IIL 842. 
 
 Emperor of the West and King of France. 
 Lewis IL 855. 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Kcnnethus IL 839. Donaldus V. 859* 
 
 Constantinus II. 865. 
 
 Ethelbald
 
 ENGLAND. 57 
 
 ETHELBALD and ETHELBERT. 
 
 " This crown I part between you." Shakespeare. 
 
 ExHELWULrH's grants to the Clergy were such, 
 
 Let this lesson oeconomy teach, 
 
 From the State to the Church he had given so 
 much. 
 
 His Sons got but half a Crown each. 
 
 But, then he'd two younger lads, critics may cry, 
 
 Perhaps so, we'll talk about them by and bye. 
 
 Prince Ethelbert proved himself worthy his 
 birth, 
 
 I can't say as much for his Brother, 
 Who being the veriest monster on earth, 
 
 Was actually wed to his Mother 
 In law, Lady Judith, not she who so called 
 
 Destroy'd Holofernes the big, 
 But daughter to Emperor Charley, the bald, 
 
 So named from the want of a wig. 
 We can't say that Ethelbald's reign was long 
 
 lived, 
 Or happy the period his brother survived ; 
 He was teazed by the Danes, who in England 
 
 wou'd sway. 
 But died 'ere he'd give the marauders their way. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 58 ENGLAND. 
 
 SCMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 ETHERED. 
 
 Began to reign, A. D. 866. Had issue, Alfred, Oswald, 
 and a daughter, named Thyre. Received a mortal wound in 
 battle at Basing, and died at Wittington, 872. Buried at 
 Wimborne, in Dorsetshire. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 Danish hostilities; and a great plague in England. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Osbricht and ffilla, Northumbrian Princes, who were 
 killed while bravely opposing the Danes, 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Fope. 
 Nicholas I. A.D. 8-58. 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 Michael III. 842. Basilius I. 867. 
 
 Emperor of the West and King of Francv. 
 Lewis IL 855. 
 
 King of Scotland. 
 Constantinus IL 855, . 
 
 Ether ED,
 
 ENGLAND. 59 
 
 ETHERED, or ETIIELRED. 
 
 " Dulce & decorum, est pro patria mori.'* 
 
 Horace. 
 
 Wou'd that past records happier tales could tell 
 
 Of Ethered than truth has handed down ! 
 Few years he reign 'd, by Alfred's side he fell, 
 
 Defending England's honor and his crown. 
 A taint of Superstition dimm'd, alas ! 
 
 A mind by nature meant to shine more bright; 
 Tho' brave, he fear'd to leave unfinished mass, 
 
 Till Danes near won the day at Aston fight. 
 This folly almost cost a brother's life ; 
 But Alfred's arm upheld the doubtful strife.* 
 So in our days Iberia's chief, they say, 
 Lost Spain, and Britain join'd, a glorious day ' 
 And let the Gallic Victor run avvay.-f 
 
 ] 
 
 * The following inscription was placed over King Ethered's 
 torab : " In hoc loco quiescet corpus Sancti Ethelredi, Regis West 
 ** S3xonum Martyris, qui A. D. 872, 23 die Aprilis, per manum 
 ** ducorum paganorum occubnit.'' 
 
 t Vide Dispatches from Spain in the London Gazette, when 
 Marshal Victor was permitted to escape from a most disadvan- 
 tageous position, through tle Spanish General's horror of fight- 
 ing on a holy day. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 60 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 Born at Wantage, a. d. 850. Crowned at Winchester, 
 872. Married Ethelswitha, daughter of a Mercian Earl. 
 Had issue Edmund, who died, childless, in his father's life- 
 time ; Edward, surnamed the Elder ; Ethelward, who lived 
 a private life, and inherited his father's literary taste. Alfred 
 had also three daughters. He died at Oxford, 25th October, 
 900, and was buried at Winchester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Fifty-six battles fought with the Danes, who were com- 
 pletely defeated, and many of them incorporated with the 
 English. Ships first built in England, 886. University of 
 Oxford founded. The kingdom divided into counties ; and 
 a great plague in England, 887. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Oddune, earl of Devon, who killed Hubba, the Dane, and 
 took the famous Reafen, or enchanted Standard. Ulfi'edus, 
 Trelolegaldus, Celnoth, Ethelred, and Plerumdus, were 
 archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Pojies, 
 
 John VIII. 872. Martin II. 882. Adrian III. 884. 
 
 Stephen VI. 885. Formosus, 891. 
 
 Emperors of the East. 
 Basilius I. 867. Leo VI. 886. 
 
 Emperors of the West and Kings of France. 
 
 Lewis II. 855. Charles I. 873. Charles II. 880. 
 
 Arnold, 888. Lewis III. 899. 
 
 Kings of Scotland. 
 
 Constantine II. 863. Ethus, 878. Gregory, 880. 
 
 DonalduB VI. 898. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND. 61 
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 *' He was a man, (then boldly dare to say,) 
 
 " la whose rich soule the vertues well did aute, 
 
 " In whom so mix.'d the elements all lay, 
 " That none to one cou'd sou'raigntre impute, 
 
 *' As all did governe, yet all did obey ; 
 " He of a temper was so absolute 
 
 ** As that it seem'd when nature him began 
 
 ** She meant to shew all that might be in man." 
 
 Drayto- 
 
 *' A little island boasts his glorious birth, 
 "His fame for wisdom fills the spacious earth." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 When Guthrum's* momentary might 
 Had taken place of Alfred's right 
 His fainting friends, dispersing, fled, 
 While he a life erratic led, 
 Folding the herdsman's flock for bread. 
 Condemned that bread himself to bake, 
 And when (his royal thoughts astray, 
 On projects soon to see the day,) 
 
 Guthrum was King of the Danes- 
 
 His
 
 62 ENGLAND. 
 
 His mind to nobler tasks awake, 
 He tended ill the household cake ; 
 A woman's tongue, a woman's blows. 
 Add to the humbled Monarch's woes. 
 
 More watchful for his sufF'ring state, 
 
 Alive to every turn of fate, 
 
 Alfred assumes a temporary throne ; 
 
 Where stagnate thick the Parret and the 
 
 Thone. 
 (In Athelney two acres in extent) 
 Scarce hold the British Sov'reign's tent ; ^ 
 Yet here, encircled by a daring few, 
 The hero's future greatness grew. 
 From hence, in oft successful sally, 
 
 Issue the unexpected warrior band, f 
 
 And chase o'er forest, mount, and valley, 
 The Danish spoilers of our native land. 
 And Oddune, Devon's chief, by Kinwith's 
 
 towers. 
 Slew HuBBA, and destroy'd his pirate powers. 
 
 The great, good, ruler of the little isle. 
 Who justly balanced fortune's ev'ry smile. 
 
 Beholds
 
 ENGLAND. 63 
 
 Beholds his projects ripening, and goes, 
 In harper's guise, among his numVous foes. 
 The miustrers air, and gait, so well he feigns. 
 The royal tent admits him ; he obtains 
 Knowledge of martial efforts to be made, 
 And by whose influence each attempt is sway'd: 
 For of intents and means the chiefs spoke loud. 
 Nor heeded Alfred in the mingled crowd ; 
 For potent mead, from oft replenished shell, 
 Urg'd the gay tongue each inmost thought to 
 
 tell, C 
 
 While well the harper playM ; and listened well.-' 
 Right skilful was his finger, and right dear 
 The Danes soon learn'd how accurate his ear. 
 
 } 
 
 :i 
 
 '* When music, heavenly maid ! was young, 
 *' When yet in early Greece she sung,' 
 Tho' vast her powers and sweet her tongue, 
 They both had fail'd to celebrate his name. 
 
 Who, while he struck the antient British lyre. 
 With all the purity of patriot flame, 
 
 That cou'd a parent Monarch's breast inspire, 
 A meaning drew from ev'ry tone. 
 To Danes, outwitted, little known; 
 
 Who
 
 64 ENGLAND. 
 
 Who wanted sauls to tell them each proud 
 
 string 
 Responded to the feelings of a King. 
 
 Let not the nicely scrupulous exclaim, 
 " The subtle spy obscures the soldier's fame !" 
 By art, as well as arms, his foes succeed, 
 Through foreign art his native subjects bleed. 
 And, when to bring the Dane to open strife, 
 For England's welfare, Alfred risks his life, 
 The noble issue, and the glorious end. 
 To which his perilous adventures tend. 
 Made, in a cause for which he wou'd have died^ 
 The means he used his glory and his pride. 
 
 Those means with most deserv'd success were 
 bless'd ; 
 
 GuTHRUM, in turn, discomfited, distrest. 
 
 At Eddington beholds his army beat. 
 
 And sues for mercy at the Minstrel's feet. 
 
 Hunted, pursued, by youths whose earlier age 
 
 Had seen their parents fall by Danish rage, 
 
 The Danes, now suppliant for British grace. 
 
 Renounce their Pagan gods, and heathen race ; 
 
 And
 
 ENGLAND. 65 
 
 And humbly seek permission to reside 
 
 In peace with those whom lately they defied. 
 
 ** Ye who have view'd, in pleasure's choicest 
 hour, 
 
 * The earth embellished on the banks of Stour ; 
 
 '* Where, with pure love of smiling nature 
 warmed, 
 
 " A second Paradise the founder formed*." 
 
 You've seen (not far from where embower'd round, 
 
 The river's source first glides with trilling sound) 
 
 On terraced lawn majestically high. 
 
 Great Alfred's Tow'r, arrest the wond'ring 
 eye ; 
 
 Inscribed by truth, a modern race to shew 
 
 What solid blessings to his reign we owe. 
 
 His first-built Navy taught us how to sweep, 
 
 With flag triumphant, the subservient deep; 
 
 His English Jury, form'd in happiest hour, 
 
 Still guards the innocent from lawless pow'r ; 
 
 His battles were, as our traditions fix, 
 
 (Successful most) in number fifty-six. 
 
 * llayley's epitaph on Heiiry Iloare, Esq. in Stourton church, 
 Wilts. 
 
 VOL. I. K Yet
 
 66 ENGLAND. 
 
 
 
 Yet let not here our admiration cea^e, 
 
 Tho' fam'd in war, he lovM and cherish'd peace. 
 
 His aim in battle sought no other plan 
 
 But to convince, then bless, his fellow man ! 
 
 Thy venerable turrets, Oxford, rose, 
 
 From him, who, unsubdued by fiercest foes. 
 
 Was great alike in danger and repose. 
 
 Philosophy and Christian worth combined 
 
 Their vast effects in one capacious mind. 
 
 Replete with soul, the Monarch stood alone, 
 
 And built, on freedom's basis, England's throne. J 
 
 A legislator,* parent,f warrior, sage, 
 
 He died " the light of a benighted age." 
 
 Bede and Orosius, historians grave, 
 
 ^ Saxon dress the studious Sov'reign gave ; 
 
 A very singular circumstance occurs in those laws which 
 the great Alfred formed for the regulation of the English Church. 
 The introduction produces a copy of the Ten Commandments, in 
 which the second has only these words, *< Make not thou gods of 
 gold and silver." This alteration was certainly made to favor the 
 literal adoration of paintings and images. 
 
 Andrews, from Spelman. 
 
 t So little was learning attended to by the great, that Asser, 
 the biographer of Alfred, mentions with amazement, the King 
 having taught his youngest son, Ethelward, to read before he 
 made him acquainted with hunting. 
 
 Elfredi. 
 
 BoETIIUJS
 
 ENGLAND. 67 
 
 BoETHius too, our tongue he taught to speak, 
 And yFsop's morals, from their native Greek.* 
 Of thirty years in which the land he sway'd, 
 Not one elaps'd but some good laws he made ; 
 
 And proved, as grateful pens record. 
 
 There never yet was Britain's lord 
 Who better knew to rule, or better was obey'd. 
 
 He also rendered the Holy Gospels into the Saxon tongue, 
 in which the Lord's Prayer, (which is inserted here as a specimen 
 of the language of Alfred's day,) s'^ands as follows; 
 
 Faeder ure thu the earth on heafenum, si thin nama gehalgod, 
 to be cume thin rice, Gewurthe thin willa on eorthan swa swa on 
 heafenum, urne ge da?gwanlican hiaf syle us to dasg ; and for 
 gyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgivath urura gyltendum, and 
 ne geraeddethii us on cosenung ac alyse us of yfle. (Si it swa.j 
 
 MrnvM-A Historic Akc.lican*. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 68 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDWARD suRNAMED THE ELDER. 
 
 ^ Born, A. D. 872. Crowned at Kingston-on-Thames, 900-1 
 Married thrice to English Ladies, first to Edgwina,* by whom 
 he had Athelstan, who succeeded him ; ^Elfred, who died 
 during his father's reign ; and Editlia, a nun. By Elfleda,^ 
 or Alfreda, his second Queen, he had Eswald, Edwin, and 
 six daughters. By his third wife, Edgiva, he had Edmund, 
 Edred, and a daughter named Edgina. He reigned 24 years, 
 and was buried at Winchester, 925. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 Scotland sued to Edward for peace. Wales revolted, and 
 was obliged to return to allegiance. Ethelward, son of 
 Ethelbert, repulsed, in attempting to obtain the crown. 
 Thurktill, the Dane, subdued. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Ethelflida, sister of Edward, a great warrior, and very 
 instrumental in assisting to gain her brother's victories. 
 Atholme, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 Benedict IV. 900. Leo V. 904. Sergius IIL 905. Ana- 
 statins III 910. Lado, 912. John X. 913. 
 
 Eviperors. 
 Of the East. Leo VI. 886. Constantiae Porphyrogenitus, 
 
 910. 
 Of the WesLLevfis III. 899. Conrade L 912. Henry I. 919. 
 
 Kings. 
 Of F;ce. Charles III. 898. Robert I. 922. Raoul I. 923. 
 OJSco tland.BonoXd VI. 898. Constantiiie III. 909. 
 
 * Some butorians denj bis being legally united to this lady. 
 
 Edward
 
 ENGLAND. 69 
 
 EDWARD THE ELDER. 
 
 " For I shall sing of battles, blood, and rage, 
 " Which princes and their people did engage; 
 " And haughty souls, that moved with nautual hate, 
 " la fighting fields, pursued and found their fate," 
 
 Dryden's Yiroil. 
 
 Tho' less renown'd for what the learnM acquire, 
 Edward in arms was worthy of his sire ; 
 And happy for the realm, great Alfred's son. 
 Maintained with honor, what his father won ; 
 In spite of insurrection, rapine, guilt, 
 And blood that flow'd for blood unjustly spilt*. 
 First Ethelwald, from Ethelbert derived, 
 (Tho' two of royal Alfred's sons survived,) 
 , Claim'd England's sceptre, and in frequent fight, 
 Warr'd against Justice and his Cousin's right; 
 A Norman and Northumbriem miscreant crew, 
 With Danes and Mercians to his side he drew, 
 
 (And led his pupils in rebellion's school 
 That land to ravage which he might not rule. 
 
 Edward.
 
 70 ENGLAND. 
 
 Edward, with royal indignation fired, 
 
 Obeyed the impulse which his rage inspired, 
 
 And peaceful hartilets, towns, and cities mourn 
 
 The Monarch's and the Rebel's force in turn; 
 
 For civil discord glories in the ills 
 
 With which she indiscriminately fills 
 
 The royal mansion, or the rebel's hold. 
 
 The patriot cot, or den of ruffian bold, 
 
 While blood on both sides eagerly she spills. 
 
 The Kentish men, long England's warlike boast, 
 
 Assail'd at Bury, by the traitor's host. 
 
 With Danes maintain'd a most unequal fray, 
 
 'Till Ethelwald, his treasons to repay, 
 
 Lost, with his life, the honor of the day. 
 
 Northumbria, Mercia, and the scattered Dane, 
 
 Hostile by turns, and unsubdued, remain. 
 
 A powerful fleet, the Monarch bids prepare. 
 
 He sails, and quickly the rapacious band 
 
 Haste to despoil the absent Edward's land ; 
 
 The King, as briefly of their plans aware, 
 
 Returns, with slaughter Stafford's plains to 
 dye, 
 
 And see again his flag victorious fly. 
 
 ' Yet,
 
 ENGLAND. 7 1 
 
 Yet, by misfortune unsubdued, 
 The restless chiefs again unite, 
 
 Again their blood the earth imbrued, 
 At Tunsford, and in Maldon fight. 
 
 Jhurktill the Dane, invincible esteem'd, 
 Not so, perdie, by Edward deem'd, 
 Vanquish'd, retreats before the conqueror's lance. 
 To pillage other lands in France ; 
 At length, by perseverance, toil, and pains, 
 Edward, in wellearn'd peace, with glory reigns,* 
 
 Ladies, if thus far Somnus lets ye look 
 In this my nice narcotic book. 
 
 It may awake your sex's proper pride, 
 To recollect that, in each doubtful day, 
 Edward had oft a sister by his side. 
 Whose genius pointed to success the way; 
 Active, yet prudent, masculine, yet fair, 
 , The widow'd Ethelflida,"!" good and great 
 
 He was fortunate not only in military enterprize, but in 
 domestic concerns ; he matched four of his nine daughters to the 
 greatest Princes in Europe; and three of his five sons successively 
 jsourted their f ithor's tluone, Athelstan, Eklraund, and Edred. 
 
 t This patriotic amazon was the wife of Ethered, Duke of 
 Mercia ; she is universally said by historians to have been the 
 exact resemblance of her parent Alfred in every quality of the 
 mind, and in many old writings she is actually styled, not Do- 
 niina, but Rex. J. P. Andrews. 
 
 Ruled
 
 72 ENGL.\Nlil. 
 
 Ruled Mercia*s province with propitious care, 
 
 And proved the grand appui of Edward's 
 state. 
 
 Let it not from the Monarch derogate, 
 That he by female wit was sway'd. 
 
 Women, whrn good, are angels, and I wot, 
 
 (He who denies it is a senseless sot,) 
 Good angels may with safety be obeyed, 
 
 Edward survived, to grace his sister's urn 
 With a fraternal tear ; nor did he mourn 
 Her absence long, but sought that awful bourn. 
 From whence, nor slave nor monarch may return. 
 
 SUMMAR^r '
 
 ENGLAND. 73 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REION OF 
 
 ATHELSTAN. 
 
 Born A. D. 895. Crowned 925. Died, without imhc, 
 October 28th, 941- 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Hoel, Prince of Wales, rendered tributairy. Constantine 
 III. of Scotland, with six Irish and Welsh Princes, killed at 
 the battle of Brunanburgh. Athelstan restored those, wh 
 submitted, to their respective governments, observing, " It 
 was more honourable to make a King than to be a Xing.** 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Guy, Earl of Warwick, is supposed to liave lived in tills 
 reign, and to have conquered Colbrand, a gigantic Dane, 
 and performed many extraordinary actions. Abbot GBlfrichi, 
 a priest of great learning. Terketyl, cousin to the King, 
 was a successful warrior, an abbot of Croyland, and chan- 
 cellor of England. Wolstane, archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 COTSMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 John X. 913. Leo. VI. 928. Stephen VIII. 929. Joha 
 XI. 931. Leo VIL 936. Stephen IX. 939. 
 
 Emperors. 
 Of tke East Constantine Porphyrogenitus, 912, 
 O/tke fTa/ Henry L 919. Otho I. 936. 
 
 Kings. 
 Of France R;ioul I. 923. Lewis IV. 936. 
 ^5cv</an(i Constantine IH. 909. 
 
 Athelsiak,
 
 74 ENGIAND. 
 
 ATHELSTAN. 
 
 " Thou nature art my goddess !" 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " Ay, my mother, 
 
 *' With all my heart, I thank thee for my father." 
 " Shakespeahe. 
 
 Athelstan's birthright (if they say not well, 
 
 Blame older tales,) was doubtful From his 
 brother, 
 
 However born, Athelstan bore the belle, 
 
 I. E. the throne 
 
 He made his own, 
 
 And tho' the chances are, he had a mother, 
 
 Her name, not knowing, we forbear to tell : 
 
 Wbere heirs claim interest doubts like these grow 
 double, 
 
 And hence the King experienced no small trouble. 
 
 One Alfred first conspired, but being seized. 
 
 And losing every gleam of hope, 
 Declared, if so his Liege would be appeas*d, 
 
 HeM swear his innocence before the Pope, 
 
 The
 
 ENGLAND. 75 
 
 The Pope was then a wight of some renown, 
 *' Viceroy o'er Monarchs"* he no equal knew. 
 
 And, sans/agon, wou'd crack the iron crown 
 Of any Emperor that look'd askew. 
 
 Well, Alfred went, and tho' you may despise 
 My tale, 'tis what my betters 'erst have wrote, 
 
 The oath he took, of most tremendous size, 
 Stuck in his throat. 
 
 To bear with patience is my muse^s pride, 
 
 Not e'en by incredulity provoked. 
 She asks you^ll but believe Lord Alfred died 
 
 As soon as he was choked. 
 
 Anlaff, the Dane, against the King essayed. 
 
 In minstrel garb, to count his loyal bands; 
 
 And failing, proved, however well he play'd. 
 
 The part was better when in Alfred's - 
 hands "f. 
 
 Shakespeare. * 
 
 t The pride of Anlaff betrayed him; while he explored the 
 hostile camp as a minstrel, a soldier observing him throw awajr 
 the reward he had received for his performance, watched him and 
 recogaized the Northumbrian leader. 
 
 Discover'd,
 
 76 ENGLAND. 
 
 Discovered, and compeUM to open fight. 
 His stratagems and projects end in flight 
 At Brunsburi/y where, naan to man, 
 The Chancellor of England led the van. 
 
 And much it grieves the muse to tell, 
 Among the slain a Bishop fell ; 
 
 Thus Lawn and Woolsack both upheld the crown, 
 Not only in the senate, bar, and church, 
 But 'ere they'd leave the Sovereign in the lurch, 
 
 E'en Bishops from beneath their beavers frown ; 
 While law's great leader, in the place 
 Of painted, gilded, wooden mace. 
 
 With mace of iron knocks invaders down. 
 
 And thus in latter days I ween, 
 England's Lord Chancellor I've seen, 
 (With dignity and grace no lesjs. 
 Than when in pride of legal dress.*) 
 In Bloomsbury, at daily drill. 
 
 Grasp not the ancient weapon 'clep'd Browri 
 Bill, 
 But a more modern mischief, call'd Brown Bess. 
 
 * Lord Erskine was a subaltern, or private, in the Bloomsbury 
 Volunteers, and Lord Tburlow \^s a corporal in tie same corps. 
 
 Guy,,
 
 ENGLAND. 77 
 
 Guy, Earl of Warwick, now was famed 
 CoLBRAND, the Danish Chief, he slew, 
 
 And other deeds he did are named, 
 And many more he did not do. 
 
 To foster our commercial school, 
 
 Athelstan made a useful rule; 
 
 Three voyages for merchants should acquire 
 
 The rank and place of gentleman, or squire 
 
 Had all the squires we daily see 
 
 So earn'd the right of their assumed d 
 
 Lord ! what a travelled nation we sho 
 
 egrec, V 
 u'd be ! } 
 
 At Glocester, after sixteen well spent years, 
 Athelstan's exit caus'd some genuine tears, 
 And it bespeaks their mutual worth. 
 That Edmund of more certain birth, 
 Against the King his name wou'd never lend, 
 But, like a brother, liv'd his brother's friend, 
 And mourn'd with others his lamented end. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 78 ENGL.\ND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDMUND, suRXAMED Tp[E PIOUS. 
 
 Born, A. D. 923. Crowned at Kingston-on-Thames^, 941. 
 Married Elgiva, or Elgina, an English lady, by whom he 
 had Edwy, and Edgar, who both (after the reign of Edred) 
 succeeded him. Edmund reigned about &ix years. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 The Northumbrians defeated in a rebellious enterprize. 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland given to the Scots, who were 
 to pay homage for them. The King assassinated at Puckle- 
 kirk, in Gloucestershire, on Tuesday, May 26th, 946, by 
 Leolf, a robber. Buried at Glastonbury. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 Stephen IX. 939. Martin III. -943. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East Constantine Porphyrogenitus, 9r2. 
 O/t/ie West Oiho I. 936. 
 
 Kings. 
 Of France Lewis IV. 936. 
 0/'5co//an</ Constantine III. 909. 
 
 Edmund
 
 ENGLAND. 79 
 
 EDMUND. 
 
 Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd." 
 
 Shakespearc 
 
 Edmund his eighteenth year had not yet known, 
 When he succeeded to Athelstan's throne, 
 And, ecce iterum! the Monarch found 
 The Danes encroaching still on English ground ; 
 Malcolm of Scotland having lent him aid, 
 With Westmoreland and Cumberland he paid; 
 And when kind peace was dawning o'er the land. 
 
 Or e'er six summers smiled upon his reign. 
 By Leolf, leader of a lawless band. 
 
 The youthful Sov'reign was untimely slain.* 
 
 The King espied this outlaw presumptuously seated at a 
 royal banquet and, being inflamed with wine, seized him by the 
 hair, when the felon, instigated by despair, plunged his dagger 
 in the body of the King: the intoxication of the nobles and at- 
 tendants permitted the assassin's escape. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 so ENGLANI>. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDRED. 
 
 Crowned A. D. 946. Had issne, Elfrid and Berfrid, neither 
 f whom saeceeded. Died 955, Buried at Winchester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 An Insurrection of the Danes quieted in Northumberland, 
 The King submits to corporal discipline from the church, 
 and founds several abbeys. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Danstan^ Abbot of Glastonbury ; Otho, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 COTEMPOBARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Pope. 
 Agapetus. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East Constantine Porphyrogenitus, 912. ' 
 Of the West Olho I. 936. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France Lewis lY. 936. 
 Of Scotland Malcolm I. 943. 
 
 Edred.
 
 ENGLAND. 81 
 
 EDRED. 
 
 " Priest-ridden by a man 
 
 " Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking 
 
 " Himself with Princes." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " They who possess the Prince, posseiss the laws. ' 
 
 Drtden. 
 
 The name of Edred we record in vain, 
 
 For this was properly Saint Dunstan's* reign. 
 
 Specious, yet haughty, full of smiling evil, 
 
 And more than match, he boasted, for the Devil. 
 
 * In friendship false, implacable in hate, . 
 
 " Resolv'd to ruin or to rule the state/'f 
 
 The King, whose sword subdu'd a rebel crowd, 
 
 Before the supercilious Churchman bowM ! 
 
 The Monk, entrusted with supreme command, 
 
 Ruled England's Monarch with an iron hand, 
 
 Pow'rless the sceptre, yielding Edited sway'd. 
 
 Not his but Dunstan's wishes were obeyed ; 
 
 'Till Death, who spares nor prince nor peasant 
 swain, 
 
 Released the master from his servant's chain. 
 
 The Monks in England married and supported their fami- 
 lies with decency until the reign of Fxired, when Dunstaa intro- 
 duced celibacy, and tore their wives and children from the Priests, 
 ityling them harlots and bastards. Sckipt. Amoi,. Passim. 
 
 t Dryden. 
 
 VOL. I. F SUMMARY
 
 82 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDWY. 
 
 Crowned, A. D. 955. Married Elgiva, an English lady, 
 who was persecuted and eventually murdered by Dunstan 
 and his partisans. Died 959. Buried at Winchester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 The King's brother, Edgar, revolts against his sovereign, 
 and is supported by the Mercians. The Monks influenct 
 the people against the King. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Dunstan. Odo, archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Pope, 
 John XII. A. D. 956. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East Constantine Porphyrogenitus, 912. 
 0/ the fVestOtho I. 936. 
 
 Kmgs. 
 
 Of France Lothaire I. 951. 
 
 0/ Sco^/owii Malcolm I. 949. Indulphus, 958. 
 
 Edwy.
 
 ENGLAI^D. 83 
 
 EDWY. 
 
 " Yet all was colourM with a smooth pretence 
 
 " Of specious love, and duty to their Prince, 
 
 " Religion, and redress of grievances, 
 
 " Two names that always clieat, and always please." 
 
 " The next successor whom I fear and hate, 
 "My arts have made obnoxious to the state; 
 " Turn'd all his virtues to his overthrow, 
 " And gained our elders to pronounce a foe." 
 
 Dryden 
 
 So DuNSTAN thought, and so he wou'd have said, 
 
 But Dryden wrote not 'till the Monk was dead. 
 
 Edwy who knew his predecessor's mind, 
 
 (Warp'd by the Priest, infatuated ! blind !) 
 
 To insignificance had sunk the Throne, 
 
 I^oldly resolv'd at first to *' hold his own," 
 
 But Edwy was, alas ! too young by far, 
 
 With such a wolf, and fox combined, to war. 
 
 Fell Dunstan's wiles revengeful, made him feel 
 
 Where vulnerable most : what breast of steel. 
 
 What fiend, embodied in a mortal mould, 
 
 (.'ou'd have performed what scarce can it be 
 told 
 
 f p2 Elgiva,
 
 84 ENGLAND. 
 
 Elgiva, fair, the youthful Monarch's wife, 
 Lovely in form, and dear to him as' life, 
 A virtuous, blooming, youngand new-made bride, 
 Torn from her husband, and her mother's side ; 
 By ruffians, whom no human ties cou'd bind, 
 Tortur'd ; her frame to lingering death consignM ; 
 Her sex insulted, and her charms defaced. 
 By wretches who the forms of men disgraced!* 
 
 The people too, deluded by the priest, 
 And ODO,t less -a bishop than a beast. 
 Rebel against the crown ; Rome too conspires, 
 And launches all St. Peter's fiercest fires. 
 With mournful indignation next I sing. 
 The hapless, widow'd, persecuted King! 
 His earthly crown he quits, on Heav'n relies, 
 Invokes the spirit of his wife and dies. 
 
 * Many of the earliest Missionaries were hostile to, and 
 dreaded the company of, the fair sex. The unpolished St. Co- 
 Ittmba prohibited his catechumens the comforts of milch kine, 
 because, " Where there is a cow," aid the brute, " there must be 
 a woman, and where there is a woman there must be mischief." 
 
 Vide Pennant. 
 
 t Odo, successively promoted, through Dunstan's influence, 
 to the sees of Worcester, London, and Canterbury, is handed 
 down to posterity by the Monks, as % man of piety. 
 
 Hurc. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND, 85 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OP 
 
 EDGAR, suRNAMED THE PEACEABLE. 
 
 Born, A. D. 943. Crowned at Kingston-on-Thames, 959. 
 Married two English ladies; the first a Nun, called Editha, 
 Ethelflida, or Wolfchild, by whom he had, Edward the Mar- 
 tyr; the second, Elirida, Daughter of a Duke of Devonshire, 
 hy whom he had, Edmund, (who died young,) and Ethelred; 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 The King imposed an annual tribute of 300 wolves* heads 
 on the Welsh. Favored the Monks, reformed the secular 
 Clergy, and paid homage to the Pope. The navy of Eng- 
 land improved. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Dunstan and Elsius, Archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes, 
 
 John XII. 956. Benedict V. 964. John XIII. 965. 
 Benedict VI. 972. Domus II. 972. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the fFestOiho II. 973. 
 
 Of the East Romanus, the Younger, 959. Nicephorus, 
 963. Zemisces, 970. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France Lothaire, 954. 
 
 Of Sco//rtrt(/ Indulphus, 958. Duffus, 967. Culenus, 
 972. 
 
 Edgar 
 
 f
 
 86 ENGLAND. 
 
 EDGAR THE PEACEABLE. 
 
 " Pleas'd let me trifle life away, 
 " And sing of love.'' 
 
 Hammond's Tibullls, 
 
 ** None but the brave deserve the fair." 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 ** Equal to both,..aud arm*d for either field." 
 
 RowE. 
 
 Edgar encreas'd our navy he was right, 
 Tho', toujottrs pret, he'd little cause to fight. 
 Next, he obliged the Prince of Wales 
 
 To pay three hundred wolves a year ; 
 Which, with three amatory tales, 
 
 Is all that of his Majesty we hear. 
 Whether these tales are worthy of perusal, 
 
 Or, whether their contents are false or true, 
 They wait acceptance or refusal. 
 
 As may, my readers kind, seem good to you. 
 
 Love
 
 ENGLAND. Sf 
 
 LOVE TALE THE FIRST 
 
 WiLFRiDA* was the fairest of the fair; 
 
 So thought the King, for lovers think on stilts ; 
 Which made her parents, with most proper care, 
 
 Immure her in a Nunnery of Wilts. 
 (Whether 'twas Amesbury, where ancient Q 
 Imported Nuns from France, I never knew.) 
 
 King Edgar, living in such days as those, 
 When DuNSTAN took the Devil by the nose,-f 
 Was doubtful in what manner to proceed. 
 Now DuNSTAN and the Devil were not foes 
 (But in appearance) for, tout autre chose, 
 They help'd each other in the time of need. 
 
 To Du^csTAN quoth Old Nick, " My plans 
 
 'twill aid, 
 " If Edgar from yon abbey force the maid, 
 
 Ilume calls this lady Epita; she is, by another author 
 named Wolfchild. 
 
 t The Monks whom Dunstan and Edgar put in possession 
 f of Convents, were so nearly perfect, that they knew nothing of 
 
 religion but continence and obedience. 
 
 Inoulphus. 
 I > 
 
 yi>^ " Then,
 
 8f . ENGIAND. 
 
 " Then, prithee, brother Dunny, don't impede 
 bim." 
 Quoth DuNSTAN to Old Nick, " 'Tis my design 
 ** To let him take her, then a glorious fine, 
 " /*// levy first, and next the Pope shall 
 bleed him.*' 
 
 In short, the Monarch took the Nun away, 
 There was, in consequence, I scarce need say, 
 The Devil and the Friar both to pay. 
 
 WVE TALE THE SECOND. 
 
 At An DOVER with great applause 
 A pir dwelt, sans rebuke ; 
 
 The wife a Duchess was, because 
 The husband was a Duke! 
 
 A lovely daughter eke had they. 
 Well-favored, fair, and mild, 
 
 'yhey had no other, for folks say, 
 She was an only child. 
 
 K'"{
 
 ENGLAND. 80 
 
 King Edgar lov'd, King Edgar woo'd, 
 
 You'll all allow, 1 ween, 
 'Twas grossiertv^ 'twas wrong, 'twas ^ude^ 
 
 For Edgar had a Queen, 
 
 In vain he offered heaps of gold, 
 
 In vain to work he went, 
 More ways than we have yet been told. 
 
 To win the maid's consent; 
 
 When words, and sighs, and tears had fail'd. 
 
 He feign'd him deadly sick. 
 The Lady, since nought else prevail'd, 
 
 Then play'd a King a trick. 
 
 All in the dark she made believe, 
 
 She*d grace the Monarch's bed. 
 Then sent, nor did the Prince perceive. 
 
 Another in her stead. 
 
 At Highgate, I am much afraid. 
 
 They ne'er had sworn his Gracfe, 
 Else had he never let the Maid, 
 
 Assume her Lady's place. 
 
 Such
 
 90 ENGLAND. 
 
 Such shocking things 
 
 Prove, modern Kings 
 Are better than of yore ; 
 
 Which probably, 
 
 Is reason why, 
 Some folks abuse them more. 
 
 LOVE TALE THE THIRD. 
 
 Yet how dare I attempt to tell a story, 
 Which Mason has related con amove. ^ 
 No matter, whether good or bad, my song, 
 I'll promise this, shall not be very long. 
 
 Elfrida with her father liv'd retired, 
 iFew eyes beheld her, yet, who saw, admired ; 
 And fame, of beauty ever prone to sing, 
 'Proclaimed her modest merits to the King ; 
 Who, 'ere he credence gave, resoly'd to send, 
 The truth to ascertain, a fancied friend. 
 
 Who lead my simple legend, ah, beware ! 
 
 Those are not always friends who say they are. 
 
 When
 
 ENGLAND, 91 
 
 When Athelwold beheld the beauteous maid 
 Too soon his trust from Edgar was betray'd ; 
 With false report his master's ear abus'd, 
 He weds the fair the cheated King refus'd ; 
 Triumphed awhile in baseness and deceit, 
 Nor fear'd the vengeance he was doom'd to meet. 
 My legend who peruse, on this depend, 
 Dishonest dealing ne'er meets happy end. 
 
 The King by other favorites made wise, 
 For favorites on fav'rites still are spies. 
 Views his friend's treason in Elfrida's charms, 
 Who flies from Athelwold to Edgar's arms : 
 The faulty Earl is slain, and on the spot, 
 Another abbey falls to Dunstax's lot. * 
 
 So much for love ! the gallant King expires, 
 And, scarcely he reposes with his sires, 
 'Ere fell Elfrida (like the Scottish Dame, 
 Who fann'd Macbeth's ambitions flame,) 
 IJer sex forgot, her soul's repose disdaiii'd. 
 With blood of deepest dye the empire stain'd. 
 
 The usual mode of compensation was resorted to, and a 
 pile was raised in honour of a saint, to expiate the crime of mur- 
 dering a sinner. 
 
 By
 
 92 ENGLAN. 
 
 By way of Postcript, suflfer me to add, 
 
 The King hi& Magistrates with care inspected, 
 The just rewarded; woe betide the bad ! 
 
 Whom neither rank, nor friends, nor place, 
 protected. 
 
 He taught the Clergy to reform their lives. 
 Clergy who deem'd it wicked to have wives ; 
 And therefore openly '* withouten shame," 
 Were kind to Ladies with another name. 
 
 Edgar, and it was noble in the Prince, 
 
 Made yearly circuits to discover 
 
 Where pardon might reform and more convince 
 
 -Than punishment. Of Peace an ardent 
 lover. 
 
 Where more congenially cou'd Mercv rest, 
 
 Than thus companion'd in a Monarch's breast I 
 
 ND OF PART THE 31- CON D. 
 
 England.
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 PART THE THIRD. 
 
 From EdKOid the Martyr to the Norman Conquest. 
 
 CONTENTS. * 
 
 Edward the Martyr Ethelred the Unready Edmund Ironside. 
 Danish Sovereigns : Canute the Great Harold Harefoot^^ 
 Hardicanute Edward the Confessor Harold Landing of 
 William of Normandy Conquest of England. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 94 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDWARD THE MARTYR. 
 
 Crowned, A. D. 975. Reigned near four years. Died, 
 (unmarried,) by the bands of a ruffian, employed by Elfrida, 
 his mother-in-law, at Corfe Castle, in the isle of Purbeck, 
 978. Buried at Warham, afterwards removed to Shafts- 
 bury. 
 
 Principai, Events. 
 
 Commotions raised by the Clergy respecting the marriages 
 of Priests. A Plague, and great mortality of cattle. In an 
 assembly of the Peers and Commons the floor gave way, 
 many were killed ; Dunstan escaped unhurt, it was suppos- 
 ed by miracle. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 The Earl, or Duke of Mercia, who took part with Elfrida 
 and the Clergy, against the King. Dunstan, Ethelgar, and 
 Elfrick, Archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 Pope, 
 Benedict VII. 975. 
 
 ^ Emperors. 
 
 Of the East Basilius II. 975. 
 Of the West Ol\io II. 973. 
 
 Kings, 
 
 Of Trance Lothaire, 954. 
 
 0/^co^/ad Culenus, 972. Kenneth III. 277. 
 
 Edward
 
 ENGLAND. 93 
 
 EDWARD THE MARTYR. 
 
 " Cut off even in the blossom of my sin, 
 ** Unhousell'd, unannointed, unanneal'd, 
 " No reck'uing made, but sent to my account, 
 " With all my imperfections on my head." 
 
 " I have given suck, and know 
 
 " How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me; 
 
 " I wou'd, while it was smiling in my face, 
 
 " Have pluck*d my nipple from his boneless gums, 
 
 ** And dash'd the brains out." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 From Radcliffe^s ivy mantled towers, 
 
 Where *'foul deeds rise" in midnight gloom, 
 
 To haunt guilt's wakeful, ling'ring hours, 
 And warn the murd'rer of his doom ; 
 
 Lewis ! from where thy spectres glide, 
 
 And sable plumed assassins wait, 
 Where malice, deck'd in monkish pride, 
 
 Allures some victim to her fate ; 
 
 From, FusELi ! thy touch of fire, 
 
 Enthusiastic, madly bold- 
 Much aid my muse may well require, 
 
 For fell a tale as e'er was told. 
 
 ^-.-. F.LFRIDA !
 
 93 ENGLAND. 
 
 Elfrida ! had wild fiction's page 
 Thy fiend-like outline dar'd to shew, 
 
 This all enlighten'd critic age 
 
 Had damn'd the lines that drew thee so ! 
 
 Reader ! howe'er the hardy task 
 My feeble pen may ill beseem. 
 
 Your patience I shall boldly ask, 
 While I attempt, to tell ^ Dream. 
 
 Where mouldering Corfe's antique remains 
 
 Attract the passing trav'ler's eye, 
 Recal the scene of former reigns. 
 
 And tell of ages long gone by ; 
 
 With toil and thought my nerves unstrung, 
 I woo'd repose ; old Somnus smiled, 
 
 The gale through moss clad fragments sung. 
 And fancy thus my sense beguil'd : 
 
 Methoughttheblastgrew loud, and long, and keen, 
 The barren heath grew dark, and wide, and drear, 
 
 For shelter scarce a trembling leaf was seen, 
 And direst noises mock'd th' uncertain ear ! 
 
 And
 
 ENGIAND. 07 
 
 And now it seem'd as if the yell 
 
 Of Evil Spirits, high in air, 
 Mix'd with the winds, now, like the knell 
 From some deep toned sepulchral bell, 
 
 Or, as the lingering groan of sad despair, 
 
 Upon the terror stricken heart it fell, 
 
 Yet, what these sounds might bode no living 
 man could tell. 
 
 Ne'er did such fearful torrents leave the sky, 
 
 i Ne'er from such angry clouds did torrents pour, 
 
 Ne'er did such lightening paralize the eye, 
 
 Nor ever thunder burst with such indignant 
 roar. 
 
 An hour so dread, a desert place so wild, 
 
 Might well the stoutest, firmest, heart subdue. 
 
 Convert the soul of manhood to a child, 
 
 And with big drops the forehead pale bedew. 
 
 Amid the countless wonders of the night. 
 
 While sulph'rous flashes breaking o'er the 
 scene 
 Made " darkness visible," my startled sight 
 Beheld a female of majestic mien, 
 vol.. 1. G Dark
 
 98 ENGLAND. 
 
 Dark were her tresses which a blood-stained veil 
 
 Confined, a diadem her temple bound, 
 Twas more than terrible to hear her wail, 
 
 Cold ran my heart's-blood at the mournful 
 sound ! 
 
 "Guilty Elfrida !" was her ceaseless cry, 
 The breast she beat gave back a hollow groan ; 
 
 *' Guilty Elfrida \" echo made reply. 
 And nature shook with horrors not her own. 
 
 Of martyred Edward's step-dame *twas the shade, 
 {So fancy whisper'd to my fear-struck mind) 
 
 "Who, nightly thus compelled, confession made. 
 Yet from confession no relief might find. 
 
 *' Ambition 1" shrieked the form, " thou hateful 
 name, 
 
 " Thou worst of evils, cause of all my woe, 
 
 " Not less corrosive thy detested flame 
 
 *' Than fires that scorch my guilty heart below i 
 
 *' Sage Peers, of my aspiring hopes aware, 
 " Opposed me to protect my hapless son, 
 
 *' That son who should have been a mother's care, 
 " Became her hate, and we were both undone. 
 
 " DUJJSTAN,
 
 ENGLAND* |^ j 
 
 " DuNSTAN,* that sainted hypocrite, conspir'd 
 
 t *' My royal name in disrepute to bring ; 
 
 " 'Twos thirst of pow'r the daring Churchman 
 fir^d, 
 
 *' I wishM to rule a State, he ruled a King. 
 
 * Four years my death-devoted step-son reign'd, 
 ** Beloved by most, but least bejoved by me, 
 
 " His virtue my too vicious aims restrain'd, > 
 
 " Who from restraint determined to be free. 
 
 ** Foremost of Cavaliers so gay 
 
 *' Who drove with ** hound andhorn'* the game, 
 *' His train outstript, he came to pay 
 
 " His duty to a parent's name. 
 
 *' Ob, then! what tortures equal mine 
 " A heart to shew depraved as this! 
 Judas ! my guilt is next to thine, 
 *' Betraying heaven with a kiss. 
 
 ** Youth, health, and exercise combined 
 I " With manly beauty decked his brow, 
 And locks in glossy ringlets twined 
 ** Might charm a vestal from her vow. 
 
 Dunstan sided with (not from loyalty, but because he go- 
 verned) the King, and opposed the unnatural and ambitious 
 tiews of Elfrida, whojc party was strong and hcaJed by tbc Earl 
 of Mercia. > 
 
 G 2 Yet
 
 lOO ENGLAND. 
 
 ** Yet could not these my heart disarm, 
 " Yet cou'd not these my bosom sway, 
 
 ** I nerved the shrinking ruffian's arm 
 " His monarch and my son to slay. 
 
 " Should Infidels to direst foe 
 
 " Once 'ope the hospitable door 
 ** The cup a pledge of faith they know, 
 
 '* They drink, and then are foes no more. 
 
 " But I who stain'd a Christian name, 
 
 *' In the deceitful cup I gave, 
 " Forgot my son, my sov'reign's claim, 
 
 " And plung'd him in an early grave, 
 
 " Yet on that day the sun shone bright, 
 ** (That day of most atrocious guilt !) 
 
 " Which shou'd have been eclipsM in night, 
 " Or redden'd like the blood I spilt. 
 
 " The sparkling bev'rage from this hand 
 *' He took, and rais'd to drink, when lo ! 
 
 '* A minion of my savage band 
 
 " Struck deep the unexpected blow. 
 
 *' Struggling
 
 ENGLAND. 101 
 
 ** Struggling with death, he turn'd his steed, 
 I " And from me as he urged his way, 
 '* His parting glance the dreadful deed 
 *' Began already to repay. 
 
 " Not long his hand the curb retains, 
 " Vainly on absent friends he calls, 
 
 " In faint contention with his pains, 
 
 " Helpless, the martyr'd Edward falls. 
 
 ** Dragg'd by his courser's speed at length 
 ** O'er rudest roads and ways uneven, 
 
 * He finds, while losing life and strength, 
 " A sharp and thorny path to heaven. 
 
 *^ And dare I name that place, forbid 
 
 .*' To wretches, pure^ compared with me? 
 ** Though plung'd in hell, my crime unhid 
 " And unatoned must ever be, 
 
 * To ev'ry pile my selfish care 
 I " Founded,* to compromise the deed, 
 ** My form must nightly now repair, 
 F " Again to see my Edward bleed. 
 
 I 
 
 The monasteries of Amesburj', Worwell, &c. 
 
 " And
 
 1C>S ENGLAND. 
 
 " And where, with mock religious zeal, 
 " And downcast eye, my arms I cross'd, 
 
 *' Fm dooiiiM ingenuine woe to feel 
 " The blood I shed, the heaven I lost 1* 
 
 " And hark ! a summons deep and drear, 
 " Unlike each sound of mortal ken, 
 
 ** Warns me no more to linger here, 
 
 " But hence, and count my crimes again." 
 
 And deep and drear the summons came. 
 The spectre fled, the charm was broke. 
 
 And (haply you may be the same), 
 Right glad was I when T awoke. 
 
 Edward was canonized soon after, and ranked among the 
 martyrs; because he had defended the cause of the monks, eject- 
 ed the secular cle gy from their benefices, and made Dunstan 
 archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 I.OCKMAN. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 ETHELRED the lid, surnained THE UNREADY. 
 
 Born, A. D. 966. Began to reign 978, was crowned at 
 Kingston-oa-Thames. Married twice, first to KIgiva, an 
 English Lady, by whom he had Edmund, his successor; 
 Ethclstan, died an infant; Edwy, murdered by Canute; 
 Edgiva, married an English Earl; Edgith, married Edric, 
 the infamous Dukeof Mercia;* and Edgina, married Uthred, 
 Earl of Northumberland: by his second wife, Emma, of 
 Normandy, he had Alfi'ed and Edward, and a daughter 
 named Goda, married to Gautier, Earl of Mantas, and to 
 P^ustace, Earl of Boulogne. Ethelrcd reigned 37 years. 
 Died, April 23d, 1016, was buried in St. Paul's, London. 
 
 Principal Evfnts. 
 A great massacre of the Danes throughout England, 
 which occasioned an invasion of this country by Sweyn, 
 Kins: of Denmark, who after receiving an immense sum to 
 re-embark, returned, put King Ethelredto flight and pillaged 
 the whole kingdom. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Dunstan, Siricus and Alphage, Archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Benedict VIL 975. John XIV. 984. John XV. 985. 
 Gregory V. 996. Silvester IL 999. John XVI. 1003. 
 John XVII. 1004. Seigius IV. 10i)9. Benedict, 1013. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the E<M^ Basil II. 975. 
 
 Of the West. Otho II. 973. Otho III. 933. Henry IL 1002. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 O/" France. Lothaire, -954. Louis V. 986. Hugh Capet, 
 
 987. Robert IL 997. 
 0/ Scotland.Kenueth III. 977. Constantine IV. 1002. 
 
 Grimus, 1005. Malcolm II. 1014. 
 
 * Vide the Dcst Reign. 
 
 Ethelred
 
 104 ENGLAND. 
 
 ETHELRED THE UNREADY. 
 
 " As tedious as a King." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 *' This Boy will turn out a Poltroon and a Coward." 
 
 Si. Dunstans Declaration at the Baptism of t/tis Prince. 
 
 "II paroit Maitre de tout les autres Homraes: Mais il 
 ^' n'est pas Maitre de lui merae. 
 
 " On Voyoit plusieurs de ces Rois severement punis, non 
 " pour les Maux qu'ils avoient faits, mais pour avoir neglige 
 " lie biens quils auroient du faire." 
 
 Fenelon. 
 
 Little recorded in this reign we find 
 But cowardice and cruelty combined ; 
 Denmark again her warlike fortune tries, 
 And the " Norweyan banner flouts the skies ; 
 The fearful King pays tribute to the Dane, 
 Who partially retires ; those who remain 
 In treacherous massacre are basely slain. 
 A full revenge th' unkingly act succeeds, 
 And England in her every province bleeds; 
 Prelates and Nobles in the ruin share, 
 Nor sex nor age, the northern ruffians spare : 
 
 Our 
 
 !
 
 ENGLAND. ]0i5 
 
 Our seats of learning and its stores they burn, 
 Nor quit us but to menace swift return. 
 With Danish Olave came ambitious Sweyx, 
 Wlio here obtained a momentary reign ; 
 And fell, as Dunstan's tonsured tribe advance, 
 By spectred Edmund's* visionary lance; 
 Canute, too, vainly hail'd our Albion's Lord, 
 Sees Ethelred by Londoners restored ; 
 While gallant Edmund flies to aid his sire. 
 And wake within his breast a noble fire ; 
 In vain the pious son his King wou'd save, 
 Untaught by ills, to every vice a slave, 
 The Monarch sinks to an inglorious grave. 
 
 save, "J 
 
 '" \ 
 
 rave. J 
 
 * The Monks reported that the spectre of Edmund, King of 
 East Anglia, whose remains Sweyn had disturbed by laying the 
 Abbey of Bury under militar}' execution, fought under Duntan's 
 banner. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 1^ ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDMUND, suRNAMED IRONSIDE. 
 
 Born, A. D. 989. Began to reign 1016. Married Algi- 
 tha, the English Widow of a Danish Noble, by whom he had 
 issue, Edward, surnamed the Outlaw, (from living out of 
 England during the ascendancy of the Danes) ; and Edmond. 
 Reigned but nine monthis. Was murdered 1017, Buried at 
 Glastonbury. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 Several battles with Canute, King of Denmark, and a 
 single combat between that Monarch and Edmund, who 
 divided the kingdom with him. 
 
 \ 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 ivingus. Archbishop of Canterbury. Edric, Duke of 
 
 Mercia^ eminent for his treasons. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Pope. 
 Benedict VIII. 1012, 
 
 Emperors. 
 Of the East. Basil II. 975. 
 Of tke JVest Henry IL 1002, 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. Robert II, 997 
 Of Scotland. Ms\co\m IJ. 1014. 
 
 EDMU^'D
 
 ENGLAND. |gqf 
 
 EDMUND IRONSIDE. 
 
 Belloaa's bridegroom." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " *Twas valonr taught the art of war, 
 " To throw tlie lance and drive the car, 
 " Taught the bold warrior how to die, 
 " And bade the vanquish'd scorn to fly. 
 
 <' And valour's self, to roam no more, 
 
 " Has come to Albion's white cliff'd shore." 
 
 Leigh Hunt. 
 
 " We fought with swords ! a brave man shrinks not at 
 "death! from my early youth I have learn'd to dye the 
 " steel of my lance in blood." 
 
 Mallet's Northebn Antiquj^ties. 
 
 " How are the mighty Mien, and the weapons of war 
 
 perished!" 
 
 2 Samuel, chap. i. 
 
 t. 
 
 Short was thy reign, thou gallant youth ! 
 
 Tho' famed for valour, worth, and truth ; 
 
 Thine unsuspicious soul ne'er thought, 
 
 Man's honour could be sold or bought. 
 
 And, trusting Edric's hollow guile, 
 
 Edric, by stratagem most vile, 
 
 la
 
 108 ENGLAND. 
 
 In Sberstan's fight, with artful lie, 
 Caus'd thine embattled ranks to fly.* 
 
 Yet keen thy sword, and strong thine arm, 
 Which taught Canute to shrink from harm ; 
 And rather England's rule divide 
 Than thy fierce prowess more abide : 
 At Athelney, where single fight. 
 Was arbiter of double right. f 
 
 Edmund, tho' soon thy race was run, 
 Thy life immortal fame has won ; 
 Thy cruel death in endless shame 
 Involves a hated traitor's name : 
 For not a year thy reign had known, 
 ^Ere murder mark'd thee for his own. 
 Edric, cursed Edrtc closed thine eyes, 
 And carried to Canute as prize 
 
 * Edric, observing the Danes gave ground, raised the bleed- 
 ing head of a soldier on the point of a spear, and cried aloud, 
 " Haro, Haro, flee Englonde ! deid is Edmiinde!'' He afterwards 
 betrayed Edmund at the battle of Asandone, or Ashdon, in 
 Essex. 
 
 t Edmund perceiving Canute at the head of his forces, rode 
 off from his own, and Canute advancing, a furious combat en- 
 sued, in which neither having much advantage, they agreed to 
 divide the kingdom. The author of the Medulla Historiae An- 
 glicanaj, says, Canute was wounded and first proposed forbear- 
 ance. 
 
 Thy
 
 ENGL.\ND. 
 
 109 
 
 Thy bleeding corse, requiring at his hand, 
 
 Advancement o'er the Peerage of the land, 
 
 Th* indignant King assented with a frown. 
 
 And placed the traitor's head high o'er the regal 
 town. 
 
 So the Amalekite, who Saul had slain, 
 
 Aspired from David rich reward to gain. 
 
 So they who slew the King of Israel's Son, 
 
 And deem'd the Royal Psalmist's favour won, 
 
 Found retribution: suchjust guerdon be. 
 
 In ev'ry age, the Meed of Treachery ! 
 
 Danish
 
 110. ENGLAND. 
 
 DANISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE ftEIGN OF 
 
 CANUTE THE GREAT. 
 
 Crowned sole Monarch, 1017. Married, first to Alfwena, 
 daughter of an Earl of Hampshire;, by whom he had issue, 
 Sweyn and Harold, afterwards Kings of Sweden and Eng- 
 land: secondly to Emma, of Normandy, widow of Ethel- 
 red II. by whom he had Hardicanute, (King of Denmark 
 and afterwards of England,) and Gunilda ; the latter mar- 
 ried Priqce Henry, eldest sou of Conrad, Emperor of Ger- 
 many. Reigned 18 years. Died 1036. Buried at Win- 
 chester. 
 
 PniNciPAL Events. 
 
 A war with the Danes of two hundred years duration 
 ended by Canute's accession. Scotland rendered tributary. 
 The Church and Town of St. Edmundsbury, built in honour 
 of Edmund, King of East Anglia, who had been killed by 
 the Danes. Ashdon Priory, and St. Bennet's, Norfolk, 
 founded by the King. 
 
 EMiNEfiT Persons. 
 
 Elnothus, Archbishop of Canterbury. Edmond and 
 Edward, sons of the late King Edmond, who were sent, 
 with intent to have them murdered, to the King of Sweden, 
 that Monarch, however, permitted them to retire to Huit2^ 
 gary. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGIVS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Benedict VIII. 1012. John XVIII. 1024. Benedict IX. 
 1033. 
 
 Emp<;rors. 
 
 Of the East.~~Bi.H\\ II. 975, Constantine X. 1025. Roma- 
 
 nus III. 1028. Michael IV. 1034. 
 OfthtWtst.Vieiwyn. 1002. Conrad II. 1024. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. Robert II. 997. Henry I. 1031. 
 OfScotland.~-Mdi\co\m II. 1014. 
 
 Canute
 
 ENGLAND. i j | 
 
 CANUTE THE GREAT. 
 
 " A little flattery sometimes does well." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " Ely's JWonks sang cheerfully, 
 
 " When Canute the King was passing by ; 
 
 " ' Row to the shore. Knights,' said -the King, 
 
 " ' And let us hear these Churchmen sing.' " 
 
 Written by Canute. Fide Sturt. 
 i 
 
 Kdmund by Edrtc thus unjstly slain, 
 Hritons are now sole '* liegemen to the Dane ;" 
 Who, less by right than power of the sword. 
 Of England, Denmark, Norway, is the Lord. 
 Hence, servile courtiers as they bent the knee, 
 IlaiPd him great master of the land and sea ; 
 His better feeling courts th' unconscious waves, 
 To roll reproof around his cringing slaves.* 
 
 The Sons of Edmund most unjustly sent 
 From their inheritance to banishment ; 
 Seek Sweden's aid in vain, and, after, found, 
 A kind asylum on Hungarian ground. 
 
 The itory of Canute's reproof of his flatterers, is too ge- 
 nf rally known to need insertion here. 
 
 Canute
 
 112 ENGLAND. 
 
 Canute in four the British state divides, 
 
 And Dane &nd Englishman in turn presides ; 
 
 Olaus, of Norway, next his arms subdue, 
 
 And Scottish Malcolm pays the tribute due.* 
 
 A splendid pilgrimage to Rome he takes, 
 
 And needless homage to the Pontiff makes. 
 
 llebuilt the Abbey, whicli his sire destroyed 
 
 At Bury, hence new wealth the Monks enjoyed. 
 
 To appease Old Edgar Ath'ling^s spirit,! who, 
 
 So legends tell, Canute's great father slew. 
 
 As (Pallas taught) Idomeneus of Crete 
 
 Gave to the useful arts protection meet ; 
 
 Some wholsome laws the British Monarch made, 
 
 Encouraged genius, and assisted trade. 
 
 It has been said,* that, '* Like Augustus, he 
 
 " Shou'd never have been born." We also see 
 
 In the same sentence it has been replied. 
 
 That, " being born, he never shou'd have 
 died.'' 
 
 Unjustly tho' the English crown he gain'd, 
 
 Few subjects of his Government complaia'd ; 
 
 Who, finally, to all his people proved 
 
 A Sovereign respected, and beloved. 
 
 * A. D. 1036. A tribute levied by the Danish invaders on 
 the English, in arrear for several preceding reigns, and called 
 Danegelt. 
 
 t Fide the reign of Ethelred the f econd, page 105.
 
 ENGIANb. 113 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HAROLD, suRNAMED HAREFOOT. 
 
 Began to reign, A. D. 1036. Reigned three years. Died 
 without issue, 1039, at Oxford; was buried at Westmin- 
 ster. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Prince Alfred, son of Etheldred II. invited to England by 
 the King, and murdered, as it is supposed, by Earl God- 
 win. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Godwin, Earl of Kent, whose estates being afterward* 
 swallowed by inundations of the sea, are now denominated 
 the Goodwin Saudi:. Elnothns, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Pope. 
 Benedict IX. 1033. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the J?<w;. Michael IV. 1034. 
 0/ the WestConTSid II. 1024. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. Uenry I. 1031. 
 
 Of Scotland. yidicolm II. 1014. Duncan I. 1034. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 H Harold
 
 114 ENGLAND. 
 
 HAROLD HAREFOOT. 
 
 " Nought hath he done for us arid nought deserved." 
 
 Voltaire. 
 
 " Eq vain, du sang des Rois, dont je suis I'oppresseur, 
 
 " Les peuples abuses ni'ont cru le defenseur, 
 
 " De quinze ans de travaux j'ai perdu tout le fruit. 
 
 " Croi moi, ces prejuges de sang et de naissance 
 
 " Revivront dans les cceurs, y prendront sa defense." 
 
 Ibidem. 
 
 " In vain have I oppressed the blood of Kings, whilst i\ie 
 
 " deluded people adored me as their friend, if yet there lives 
 
 " a hateful offspring, all the prejudice of birth and blood 
 
 " revives." 
 
 Smollet's Voltaire. 
 
 By mutual accord, it was decreed, 
 
 Hardicanute his father should succeed ; 
 
 But absence seldom helps the claim of right, 
 
 And Harold, in fraternal honour's spite, 
 
 Usurp'd the Crown. His reign was short, and 
 these, 
 
 Some of his acts, are little fram'd to please; 
 
 Mixture of insignificance and pride, 
 
 (Proud to love walking better than to ride.*) 
 
 * Hence his surname of Harefoot. 
 
 To
 
 ENGLANa 
 
 115 
 
 To nnrrowness of soul he added guilt, 
 
 And caus'd the blood of Alfred to he spilt, 
 
 Alfred, (of Edmund Ironside the Son,) 
 
 Who crossed the seas, by Harold's treachery 
 won. 
 
 Well may my reader tire of tasteless rhymes, 
 
 Which but repeat a catalogue of crimes ; 
 
 But faithful narrative must be content 
 
 With fact, nor seek for bland embellishment. 
 
 Else had some episode or harmless joke 
 
 Your present comfortable slumbers broke. 
 
 Edward, the brother of the Prince who fell, 
 
 Escap'd the snare, and 'twill be ours to tell 
 
 Hereafter of his fate ; it now remains, 
 
 That Hardic'a'ute a powerful army gains, 
 
 Against King Harold to assert his right ; 
 
 But, while the doubtful issue of the fight 
 
 Depends, the reigning Monarch yields his breath, 
 
 And civil strife is ended by his death. 
 
 Earl Godwin, lord of the once fertile land 
 Where many a bark now moulders in the sand; 
 First flourished in this reign, and by his aid, 
 The selfish King his brother's right betra^^'d. 
 
 H 2 SUMMARY
 
 1 16 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HARDICANUTE. 
 
 Began to reign, 1039. Reigned two years and a half. 
 Died, without issue, 1042. Buried at Winchester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Worcester burnt for opposing the King's levies. Harold 
 Harefoot taken from his grave and thrown into the Thames. 
 Earl Godwin tried and acquitted of the murder of Prince 
 Alfred. The custom of pledging each other while drinking 
 first introduced.* 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Elnothus, Archbishop of Canterbury. Godwin, Earl of 
 Kent. 
 
 4 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Tope. 
 Benedict IX. 1033. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 0/* Me <Mf. Michael V. 1041. Constantine XI. 104'2. 
 Of the Jrc5^ Henry III. 1039. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. Renry I. 1031. 
 
 CySco/Zan^i. Malcolm II. 1041. Duncan I. 1034. 
 
 Assassinations of (and perhaps by) the English were so 
 common, that no man would drink until another pledged his 
 safety in the mean time. 
 
 Hardicanute,
 
 ENGLAND. 117 
 
 HARDICANUTE. 
 
 They call me a foul-feeder. 
 
 " There's no bottom, none 
 " In my voluptuousness. 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 To each iinprincely appetite inclined, 
 Hardy in form, but inabecile in mind; 
 Two years (too long) he reign'd, when at a feast 
 The tyrant died, as he had lived, a beast. 
 A surfeit stopp'd the sensual Caitiff's breath, 
 And merry England celebrates his death* 
 Hogs tide the anniversary they call 
 Of that good day which saw the glutton fall. 
 During his life, his brother from the grave 
 He dragg'd, and gave his body to the wave ; 
 The wave rejects it, and fraternal crime, 
 Disturbs the hapless corse a second time. 
 Earl Godwin joins with sacrilegious hand. 
 To hurl dead Harold from the shelt'ring land.* 
 
 None of tlie names of these tools of a tyrant's caprice 
 have escaped posterity. The diggers up of Harold are known to 
 have l^en Alfric, Archbishop of York; Earl Godwin; Styr, the 
 toward; Edric, th: sewer; and Troudle, the executioner. 
 
 J.P.Andrews., 
 
 Godwin,
 
 118 ENGLAND. 
 
 Godwin, who, when Prince Edward dares to 
 call, 
 
 To answer for young Alfred's timeless fall; 
 
 With venal ofF'ring of a splendid barge 
 
 Buys from the shameless King his crime's dis- 
 charge. 
 The Danegelt next provokes the subjects* ire. 
 
 Whose ^plaints are answer'd but with sword and 
 fire ; 
 
 In fine, tho' brief, from crime this reign appears 
 
 In two-and-twenty lines as many years. 
 
 .!! n; Hi '?;) 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND. Hg 
 
 THE SAXON LINE RESTORED, 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REION OF 
 
 EDWARD, suRXAMED THE CONFESSOR, 
 
 Born, A. D. 1001. Crowned on Easter-day, 1042, at 
 Winchester. Married Editha, daughter of Earl Godwin. 
 Reigned about 13 years. Died, without issue, January 5th, 
 1065. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Edrl Godwin's banishment and remarkable death. The 
 King's mother, on a false accusation, submitted to the ordeal 
 trial by fire, by walking over nine red-hot plough-shares, 
 which she passed unhurt. The Danes repulsed. Malcolm 
 III. of Scotland, restored by Edward's assistance, to the 
 throne which Macbeth had usurped. The tax called Danegelt 
 abolished. The King supposed to have the power of curing 
 the evil. Westminster Abbey, St. Margaret's, St. Mary 
 Ottcry, in Devonshire, and other churches founded. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Siward, Earl of Northumberland. Godwin, Earl of Kent, 
 Edsineand Robert, Archbishops of Canterbury. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVERIGNS, 
 
 Popes. 
 Benedict IX. 1033. Gregory VI. 1044- Clement II. 104G. 
 Damascus II. 1048. Leo IX. 1049. Victor II. 1155. 
 Stephen X. 1057. Nicholas II. 1059. Alexander II. 1064. 
 
 Ewpeiors and hwprtss. 
 Of tht rasr Conslantine XL 1042. Theodora. 1054. 
 
 Micbael VI. 1050. Isaac Comnenus, 1057. Ccnstantiiie 
 
 XII. 1059. 
 OfthelWst.nemy III. 1039. Henry IV. 1056. 
 
 Kinge. 
 0//'rance. Henry I. 1031. Philip I. lOGO. 
 Uf 6'4C'^/a/^/ MMbcU). 1040. Mulcolta HI. 1057. 
 
 Edward
 
 120 ENGLAND. 
 
 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 " How he solicits Heaven 
 " Himself best knows, but strangely visited people, 
 '* The mere despair of surgery, he cures, 
 " Hanging a golden stamp about their necks, 
 " Put on with holy pray'rs : With this strange virtue, 
 "He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy ; 
 " And sundry blessings hang about his throne 
 " That speak hira full of grace." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Whether King Edward ownM the powers 
 Our Bard immortal speaks of, is not our's 
 To canvass. 'Tis our province to set down 
 Sans comment, wh2Lt, it was supposed the Crown 
 Did, or had pow'r to do. Of Danegelt eas'd, 
 The subjects with the sovereign were pleas'd ; 
 And gave him equally deserv'd applause, 
 For well digested and impartial laws. 
 
 What sad procession meets the eye ? 
 
 Why trickles that reluctant tear 
 From chiefs who pass in order by, 
 
 What sounds of woe salute the ear ? 
 
 The
 
 ENGLAND. j2i 
 
 The solemn Pibrochs mournful tone 
 Which marks the step of yonder band 
 
 Proclaim that Scotia's legal throne 
 Is stainM by an usurper's hand. 
 
 And Edward lends his ready aid, 
 And SiwARD leads a valiant train ; 
 
 Who, by the tyrant undismay'd, 
 Replace the son of Duncan sjairj. 
 
 The swan of Avon knew full well 
 
 To touch each chord that thrills the heart ; 
 
 Then let his magic numbers tell 
 
 Of murd'rous guile and fiend-like art. 
 
 The blasted heath, the wizard crew, 
 
 The *' unsex'd" wife of Glamis' Thane, 
 
 Whose trait'rous hand his master slew. 
 And earn'd a transitory reign. 
 
 Whatever his skill, who says or sings, 
 
 This moral he can only shew. 
 That crowns are but uncertain things, 
 And, (or in Subjects, or in Kings,) 
 
 Error must surely end in woe. 
 
 For
 
 J 2^ ENGLAND. 
 
 For proofs that mortal saints are sometimes weak. 
 With little trouble, in this reign, we seek ; 
 His breast was coldly fraught with filial love, 
 Who cou'd, remorseless, cause his mother prove 
 The fire ordeal. Next, for having wed 
 A child of one he had good cause to dread ; 
 The coward Prince revenged upon the dame 
 That hate he dared not for her sire proclaim. 
 
 Godwin, ambition's child, the scourge we're told 
 
 Of worthier men, " saucy and over bold" 
 
 In state affairs. Revengeful, cruel, proud, 
 
 When least he deem'd to fate's stern summons 
 bow'd. 
 
 ^Tis said denial of Prince Alfred's death 
 
 By his connivance, stopt the murd'rer's breath.* 
 
 ^Twas Edward's wish, when dying, to resign 
 The regal chair to Norman William's line; 
 But, while deliberation held the beam. 
 The king of terrors closed each worldly dream ; 
 Harold, Earl Godwin's son, assumed the sway. 
 With what success a future page must srfy. 
 
 Legends report tlut Godwin was supernaturally suffocated, 
 immediately subsequent to a solemn declaration of his innocence 
 respecting the Prince's murder. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND. 123 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HAROLD THE SECOND. 
 
 Began to reign, A. D. 1065. Married twice, by his first 
 wife, whose name is not correctly known, he had issue, tliree 
 sons, Goodwin, Edmund, Magnus : by his second, Algitha, 
 sister of Morcar and Edwin, he had a .son, named Wolf, 
 knighted by William Rufas, and two dapgliters, Gunilda, 
 who was blind and pa~sscd her days in if convent; and a 
 second who married Uladimir, Grand Duke of Russia. 
 Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings, 1066, after a 
 reign of one year, nine months, and as many days. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Disputes and negociations with William, Duke of Nor- 
 mandy, which terminated in Harold's death, apd the cob- 
 quesi of the kingdom. 
 
 Eminent Persons, 
 
 Leofwin and Gurth, brothers to the King. Stigand, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. Tosti, Earl of Northumberland. 
 
 Cotemforary Sovereigns. 
 
 Pope. 
 Alexander II. 1061. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 X 
 
 Of the East. Constantine XII. 1059. 
 Of the Wtst.nemy IV. 1056. 
 
 Kings. 
 (yfrance. Philip I. 1060. 
 Of Scotland. U^UoXm III. 1057. 
 
 ' i '1 
 
 Harold
 
 J 24 ENGLAND. 
 
 HAROLD THE SECOND. 
 
 " 'Twas party deceit, 
 " Help'd the Normans to beat, 
 " Of traitors they managed to buy land j 
 " Pict, Saxon, or Dane, 
 " Had assail'd us in vain, 
 " While true to the king of the island. 
 *' Brave Harold fought hard for the island, 
 ** He lost both his life and the island; 
 " And the records of fame 
 ' Shall add to his name, 
 ^' Like a Briton he died for his island." 
 
 T. Dibdin's Songs. 
 
 The truth demands, yet we record with pain, 
 
 How brief the honours of this short liv'd reign. 
 
 Crowns take some value from a nation's voice,- 
 
 And Harold was, 'tis said, the people's choice: 
 
 Harold, (the son of Godwin,) who proclaim'd 
 
 That he by Edward w^as successor named ; 
 
 William, the Duke of Normandy, declares. 
 
 The same pretence j and these two self-named 
 heirs. 
 
 Alike, rejecting each the other's word. 
 
 Refer decision to the sharpest sword ; 
 
 Mean time, as oft the muse of hist'ry sings. 
 
 The subjects suffer for contending Kings. 
 
 William
 
 ENGL.\ND. 
 
 1^ 
 
 5 
 
 William 'ere yet his fortune he essayed, -s 
 
 With Norway's chief, and Harold's brotherf 
 made 
 
 A league that they should first the isle invade 
 
 Their early efforts with success were crown'd, 
 
 And British men gave way on British ground. 
 
 Northumberland and Mercians Earls were beat, 
 But Harold's arm so well that loss redeem'd 
 
 That' neither of his foes surviv'd defeat. 
 
 And victory in mercy's smile was drest, 
 The last, last time she beam'd, 
 
 On hapless Harold's crest. 
 
 To Norway's son the King allow'd retreat, 
 
 And greatly gave him back his father's captive 
 fleet. " 
 
 But whose the ships afar descried, 
 Reflected by the glassy tide. 
 Where chiefs in arms refulgent ride, 
 
 Our fears exciting ? 
 
 *Tis Norman William and his band, 
 Near, and more near, they make the land ! 
 And who their prowess shall withstand, 
 
 For England fighting! 
 Mark!
 
 1^ ENGLAND. 
 
 Mark ! high exalted o'er the rest, 
 Where Baieux* Bishop proudly drest, 
 Blesses the crew with hands unblest, 
 
 To blood inviting ! 
 
 They land ! To earth see mail-clad William 
 falls, 
 
 His troops the om6n not appals ; 
 
 Turf, and the cotter's thatch, his warriors bring, 
 
 As seizen of the soil, and hail the invader, King. 
 
 What knight, in breast-plate wrought with gold, 
 Marshals yon troop of bowmen bold. 
 Who land in numbers yet untold. 
 
 Each other chearing ? 
 
 ^Tis AiMAR, with good reason vain 
 Of troops he leads from Acquitain, 
 Each knight of whom some peer has slain, 
 
 No foeman fearing. 
 
 And there, a thousand men at arms 
 F^tz-Osborn's shrill-toned clarion charms. 
 While every echoing blast alarms 
 
 Our startled hearing. 
 
 The
 
 ENGLAND. 127 
 
 The deep drum rolls, and, as the threat'ning 
 throng, 
 . Beneath their frowning banners move along, 
 The shore resounds with Rollo's martial song. 
 
 De Beaumont, Lacy, Pevrel, each an host, 
 
 (The noblest warriors from the Norman coast) 
 
 D'EvREux, FiTZ-RicHAiiD, with that chieftain 
 famed, 
 
 Charles M artel, and (too numerous to be 
 named) 
 
 LONGUEVILLE, De ThOURS, GrANTMESNIL, 
 
 and Mortaigne, 
 
 De Estaples, Warrean, Giffard, jtnd b 
 train, 
 
 With Eustace de Boulogne of men renowned. 
 And, hark again the drum, and h^rk the trum- 
 pet's sound ! 
 
 Forward they march, and now, from William 
 sent, 
 
 A Norman herald seeks the royal tent ; 
 
 There fiercely throws his master's gauntlet down, 
 
 Who proffers single combat for the crown. 
 
 Harold with stern disdain the pledge denies, 
 
 And on his people's love, and heav'n's high aid, 
 relics. 
 
 Yet
 
 128 ENGLAND. 
 
 Yet why before the arbitrative day, 
 Expectant of the fight. 
 Did Britons pass the night 
 In song unseemly and carousal gay ? 
 While to the sacred pow'r that rules the skies, 
 Unnumbered Norman prayers and praises rise. 
 
 'Tis dawn ! 'Tis day ! once more the trumpet's 
 throat 
 
 Brays bold defiance who can tell 
 
 What numbers in its dreadful note 
 
 Have heard their dying knell ? 
 
 No thund'ring cannon here the field affrights, 
 
 But from a thousand chosen knights 
 The Norman bowstring's fatal twang 
 Echoed by groans responsive rang. 
 
 Not there with simultaneous sound 
 
 The well-timed rausquetry is found ; 
 
 But on the glitt'ring ranks, 
 
 On iron helms the falling iron clanks. 
 
 And cleaves through shiver'd mail with dreadful 
 wound. 
 
 Not there, as late on Maida's plains. 
 The British bayonet the palm obtains; 
 
 But
 
 ENGLAND. 129 
 
 But sturdy pikemen pierce th' embattled field, 
 And bear to earth who bears th* opposing shield. 
 
 The English bill, dread weapon, hews it way. 
 And Harold's valour almost claims the day. 
 Three foaming coursers under William slain 
 Add blood to blood on the ensanguined plain : 
 The Duke undaunted, " dares again the field," 
 The dauntless monarcb^corns alike to yield; 
 His loyal soldiers gallantly contend. 
 While Norman hopes of conquest nearly end ; 
 The Kentish phalanx ev^ry onset dares. 
 And fierce invasion pauses and despairs. 
 
 O, stratagem ! in war, as love, allow'd, 
 
 Too oft thy keen-brain'd cunning foils the 
 I brave ; 
 
 Too oft his living laurels charm the crowd. 
 
 Who vanquish'd, but for thee, had found a 
 grave. 
 
 While fortune, and while justice in the scale, 
 
 Alternately our hopes and fears divide : 
 While justice seems a moment to prevail, 
 L See fortune turn, by artifice, the tide. 
 
 VOL. I. I The
 
 130 .ENGLAND, 
 
 The foe before th5 English force retreat, 
 The Enghsh follow to unlookM defeat; 
 For suddenly the wily band returns, 
 The fray renew'd with ten-fold fury burns. 
 Again the spear, the battle-axe, the bow, 
 Destroy the van, and lay the distant low ! 
 The British, late of victory secure, 
 Outwitted thus, the contest scarce endure. 
 
 But Harold, Harold, now supremely great, 
 
 Proudly superior to thy savage fate ; 
 
 Once, twice, and thrice, from rank to rank he 
 
 flew, 
 
 Once, twice, and thrice, his ranks the fight 
 renew. 
 
 Again he leads *em with resistless rage, 
 Again*a fruitless war the Normans wage ; 
 Another onset ends the doubtful strife, 
 He leads, he falls, and loses but his life ! 
 His crown he never lost, who, unsurpast. 
 Maintained it hke a Briton, to the last. 
 While hand to hand death threaten'd him in 
 
 vain, 
 The shaft accurs'd that pierc'd his royal brain 
 l^eft William less a victor than the slain. 
 
 llUfame.
 
 ENGLAND. 131 
 
 Ill-fame betide the coward hafid that drew 
 The fatal strings and such an hero slew. 
 Two gallant brothers* fighting by his side, 
 Thousands of faithful hearts, their leader's pride, 
 His patriot laurels with his fate divide. 
 
 Peace to their manes ! cou'd th' unequal pen 
 But justly celebrate the glorious men; 
 The Poet's lay a deathless fame shou'd raise, 
 And deeds immortal meet immortal praise. 
 
 * Gurth and Leofwin. 
 
 I 
 
 END OF PART HIE TinRD. 
 
 \ 
 
 l2
 
 m 
 
 ,. >:*
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 PART THE FOURTH. 
 
 Trom the Conquest to the Signature of Magna ChartaX 
 
 "K %>'*! -fir: "yr , " 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LINE OF NORMAN KINGS. 
 ^. William the Conqueror William Rufus Henry the First. 
 
 B* THE SAXON LINE RESTORED. 
 
 Stephen The Empress Maud Henry the Second^ the First 
 Plant agenet St. Thomas a Becket Fair Rosamond' 
 Richard Cceur de Lion John Prince Arthur Revolt of 
 the Barons Magna Charta. 

 
 134 ENGLAND. 
 
 THE NORMANS, 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 
 
 Born at Falaise ia Normandy, A.D. 1025. Crowned King ^ 
 of England, 1066. Married Matilda (or Maud) daughter of 
 Baldwin V. Earl of Flanders; by whom he had issue, four 
 sons and six daughters ; viz. Robert, succeeded to the duke- 
 dom of Normandy; Richard, was killed by a deer in New 
 Forest; William and Henry, succeeded in turn to the throne 
 of England; Cicely, was Abbess of a Monastery in Caen; 
 Constantine, married Alain Fergeant, Duke of Bretagne; 
 Adeliza, died an infant; Adela, married Stephen, Earl of 
 Blois; Gundred, married William Warrenne, Earl of Surrey; 
 Agatha, contracted to Alphonso, King of Gallicia, died on her 
 voyage to that kingdom. William the Conqueror died 1087, 
 and was interred at Caen in Normandy. 
 
 Principal Events. ; 
 
 The conqttest of England. The Curfew (or cover fire) bell ' 
 estab^shed, at which signal fires and candles through the 
 kingdom were arbitrarily extinguished at eight o'clock in 
 the evening. The English language forbidden at court, and 
 in courts of law. The country laid waste for sixty miles, 
 between the Humber and Trent, and the New Forest formed. 
 Domesday -book made, containing a regular account of all 
 the landed property in England. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Prince Edgar Athling. Stigand and Lanfrank, Arch- 
 bishops of Canterbury. Earls Edwin and Morcar, Earls of 
 Northumberland and Mercia. 
 
 Cotemporart
 
 ENGLAND. 1^5 
 
 ^ COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 Po/>fJ. 
 
 Alexander II. 1061. Gregory VII. 1037. Victor III. 1086. 
 
 Emperors. 
 Of the c^ Constantine XII. 1059. Roraanus VI. 1068. 
 
 Michael VII. 1071. Nicephorus I. 1078. Alexis Com- 
 
 nenu8^ 1081. 
 Of tht WesLUenry VI. 1056. 
 
 Kingi. 
 
 0/ France. Philip I. 1060. 
 0/^5to/fanrf. Malcolm III. 1057. 
 
 William
 
 106 ENGtAND. 
 
 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 
 
 ,tt*.v/A ....... 
 
 *' Le Premier qui fut Roi, fut un soldat heureux." 
 
 Voltaire. 
 
 * " Arma, Virumque cano." 
 
 Virgil. 
 
 " Able, ambitious, generous, arbitrary, cruel." 
 
 Anox. 
 
 " Julius Caesar the Roman, 
 
 " Who yielded to no man, 
 " Came by water, he cou'dn't come by land ; 
 
 " And Dane, Pict, and Saxon, 
 
 " Their homes turned their backs on, 
 " And all for the sake of our island. 
 
 " Then another great war-man, 
 
 " Call'd Billy the Norman, 
 *' Cried, truly I never liked my land; 
 
 " And 'twou'd be much more handy, 
 
 " To leave this Normandy, 
 ** And live on yon nice little island." 
 
 T. DiBDiN's Songs. 
 
 -He loved, understood, and was successful in war." 
 
 LOCKMAN. 
 
 PARODY. 
 
 The Curfew tolls the knell of Danish sway, 
 The British Chiefs their arms reluctant yield, 
 
 The soldiers homeward march their weary way, 
 And leave to William the disputed field ! 
 
 Now
 
 ENGLAND. 1S7 
 
 Now fades each gleam of freedom on the sight, 
 And ev*ry Englishman is doom'd a slave, 
 
 Save those who nobly perish'd in the fight, 
 And sunk unconquer'd to a patriot grave. 
 
 Save GuRTH and Le'fwix to iheir brother true, 
 Who shared with Harold that disastrous hour, 
 
 Save MoRCAR, Edwin, and a loyal few. 
 
 Who lived to combat oft the victor's power. 
 
 Beneath those ruin'd walls* that ivy's shade. 
 
 Where whitening bones in sad promiscuous 
 heap. 
 
 Unseemly to the traveler's eye are laid, 
 
 The gallant victims of the battle sleep. 
 
 The hollow drum at incense-breathing morn, 
 No more resounding thro' the tented shed. 
 
 The warlike clarion, or the echoing horn, 
 
 No more shall rouse them from their lowl}' bed. 
 
 For them no more shall royal Harold show'r 
 
 Reward for loyalty and val'rous deed, 
 No lady fair awaits them in the bovver. 
 
 To pay with beauty's smile the warrior's meed. 
 
 
 
 Battel Abbey, in Sussex, where bones are yet to be seea 
 piled up, supposed to be thoic of the fallen in that memorable 
 fight. - ' , ir 
 
 Oft
 
 138 ENGLAND. 
 
 Oft did invaders to their prowess yield, 
 
 Their biting bills full many a helm have broke, 
 
 How loudly rang their anlace on the shield. 
 How bow'd the foe beneath their sturdy stroke ! 
 
 Let not the modern soldier mock their toil 
 
 Who, cased in iron, trod th' ensanguined plain. 
 
 Nor light-arm'd cavalry at heroes smile 
 
 Whose mail-clad steeds still answer'd to the 
 reign. 
 
 The rich pelisse, the gorgeous epaulette. 
 The tube destructive, and the sabre brave. 
 
 Can only pay the same much honoured debt. 
 The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 
 
 Nor men of wealth impute to these the blame, 
 No marble monument, with studied lays. 
 
 At Paul's or Peter's consecrates their fame. 
 While nasal organ*d vergers chaunt their praise. 
 
 Cou'd Praxiteles, were he now alive, 
 
 CouM famed Pygmalyon, or Promethean lore, 
 
 Cou'd Roubilliac's or Bacon's art revive, 
 The daring chiefs who fell to rise no more ? 
 
 Perhaps
 
 ENGLAND. 139 
 
 Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid 
 
 Some head, once fraught with diplomatic fire, 
 
 Hands that Calcutta's sceptre might have 
 swayM, 
 
 And brought from India many a rich Jaghirc. 
 
 But commerce to their eyes her figur'd page, 
 Rich with a Nabob's spoil, did ne'er unroll, 
 
 No navy seconded adventurous rage, 
 
 To barter wealth ** from Indus to the Pole." 
 
 Full many a mind with force to guide a storm, 
 Or politics, or trade, must think alone ; 
 
 Full many a heart of valour's boldest form 
 Is doom'd to wither in the ranks unknown. 
 
 Some Abercrombie who, with dauntless breast,. 
 
 Aggressing Gaul had chaced from Egypt's shore ; 
 
 Some Marlbro', Wolfe, Cornwallis, here 
 may rest, 
 
 A Smith, a Stuart, Wellington, or Moore. 
 
 < 
 The thanks of British Senates to command. 
 
 The threats of Gaul's Colossus to despise, 
 
 To fight for freedom in Iberia's land. 
 
 And raise our fame in Lusitasia's eyes. 
 
 Tlieir
 
 140 ENGLAND. 
 
 Their lot forbad, nor circumscribed alone 
 
 Their growing virtue's but their crimes confin'd, 
 
 Forbade to wade thro' blood to Gallia's throne, 
 And shut the gates of freedom on mankind. 
 
 The struggling pangs of murder'd truth to hide, 
 To quench the useful ardor of the press, 
 
 To heap the shrine of self-created pride 
 
 With honours which but make the wearer less. 
 
 Far from subverting an establish'd throne, 
 
 Such modern doctrines were by them denied, 
 
 They'd hands and hearts to combat for their own, 
 
 And for their sov'reign's rights they fought and 
 died. 
 
 Yet e'en these bones which grave nor tomb pro- 
 tect, 
 
 Nor sculptured arts, with letter'd graces vie, 
 Oft shall the feeling passer by reflect, 
 
 And pay their patriot virtue with a sigh. 
 
 For who to dumb forgetful ness a prey 
 But thinks on him whose patriotic mind 
 
 Can for his country cast his life away, 
 Tho' mindful of the friends he leaves behind. 
 
 Nor
 
 ENGLAND. 141 
 
 Nor name, nor years, sang by the loftiest muse, 
 Cou'd praise to equal their desert supply, 
 
 Who, scorning Norman William, dared refuse 
 To yield, and for that bold refusal die. 
 
 For William, bane of those most honour'd dead, 
 
 Few are the lines that may his tale relate, 
 
 A life of warfare in his reign he led, 
 
 His sons, and Harold's sons, still cross'd his 
 fate. 
 
 And foreign wars he waged, and built the Tow'r, 
 
 And caus'd our laws the Norman tongue to 
 speak. 
 
 And tax'd poor devils who were in his power, 
 And helpM the strong to triumph o'er the weak. 
 
 The Exchequer first at Westminster he placed, 
 Next, to secure of hunting ground a stock, 
 
 New forest for his pleasure he laid waste. 
 And made folks go to bed at eight o'clock. 
 
 At Mantes, to burn a town it was his will. 
 
 His horse took fright. Will puU'd him up in 
 yain, 
 
 And,
 
 142 ENGLAND. 
 
 And, or he died, or was used very ill, 
 For certainly they buried him at Caen. 
 
 There, at due stated periods of the year. 
 Were requiems and masses sung and said, 
 
 And little choristers oft warbled there. 
 As choristers will do when they are paid. 
 
 Around his tomb they march in sad array. 
 Where is an Epitaph inscribed most fair, 
 
 Whether the following, I dare not say, 
 Because I own, I never saw it there. 
 
 The
 
 SNGL.\ND. J 43 
 
 The EPITAPH. 
 
 Here rests his head upon its native earth 
 
 A Prince to fame and fortune greatly known, 
 
 Of high ambition, tho' of doubtful l)irth, 
 
 Albion he saw, and mark'd her for his own. 
 
 Large was his army, numerous his fleet. 
 Fate did commensurate success send down. 
 
 He gave to Harold a severe defeat, 
 He gainM from victory, all he wished, a crown. 
 
 No farther seek his merits to disclose. 
 
 Or on a conqueror's faults too nicely look. 
 
 He'll find, when waking from the tomb's repose, 
 His sentence is inscribed in doomsday-book * 
 
 Doomsday-book, is a register now extant, of all landed 
 possessions, introduced among the fetidal regubtions by tiA 
 Conqueror. 
 
 SUM MART
 
 144 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 WILLIAM II. suRNAMED RUFUS. 
 
 Born, A. D. 1056. Began to reign, September 23, lOSt. 
 Bied, without issue, August 2, 1100, after reigning thirteen 
 years. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Normandy invaded, and an expedition undertaken to the 
 Holy Land. Quarrels between the King and Anselm, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. The Tower, Westminster-hall, and 
 London-bridge built. The King killed in New Forest. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Iianfranc and Anselm, Archbishops of Canterbury. Odo, 
 Bishop of Baieux. Flamlard, Bishop of Durham. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes. 
 Victor in. 1086. Urban II. 10S8. Paschal II. 1099. 
 
 Emperors, 
 Of the East. ^Alexis Comnenus, 1081. 
 Of the West. Henry, 1056. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 O/Trawce. Philip I. 1060. 
 
 Of Scotland. m^XcoXra III. 1059. Donald VII. 1093. 
 Ponald VIII. 1095. Edgar, 1097. 
 
 William
 
 :ngland. 145 
 
 WILLIAM RUFUS. 
 
 " And that Red vting, who, wljile of old 
 " Through Boldrewood the chase he led, 
 " Uy kjs ioved hiuttsman's wrow bled." 
 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 " Too low for a high praise, and too little for a great pr^se." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " So, so is good, very ^ood, very excellent good, and yet it 
 is not, it is hut so so." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 King William Rufus wore red hair, 
 
 Was rather short, and very fat, 
 I J is eyes, we're told, were not a pair, 
 
 Yet who could blame the Kinoj for that ! 
 
 His brother Robert claim'd a right 
 To reign, which Bishop Odo aided, 
 
 But when thev were both beat in fi?ht. 
 One (led, and t'other was degraded. 
 
 The holy war, by zealots led, 
 . Began, and much the muse it irks, 
 That Infidels like Christians bled. 
 
 And Christian soldiers fought like Turks. 
 'VOT.. I. K Westminster-
 
 146 ENGLAND. 
 
 "Westminster Hall King William reared, 
 When finish'd swore in princely hufF, 
 
 The fabrick to his eyes appeared 
 Not half-a-quarter large enough.* 
 
 The sea, which, as Canute had shown. 
 Respects nor wealth, nor rank, nor pow'r, 
 
 O'erflowed Earl Godwin's land, since known 
 As Goodwin Quicksands, to this hour. 
 
 New Forest, which the conqu'ror meant 
 For sport, was of his son the bane. 
 
 There by a shaft, which chance missent, 
 In prime of life was Rufus slain. 
 
 Here too, his brother and his nephew fell. 
 
 By darts dispatch'd from undiscovered hand. 
 
 Which folks around, as fearful judgments tell. 
 
 On those, who for the chace despoiPd the poor 
 man's land. 
 
 * The author hopes he has not exceeded the reported charac- 
 ter of William's coarseness and vulgarity. When ten English- 
 men had been cleared by the ordeal of fire, for the charge of kill- 
 ing dear, Rufus exclaimed, " Pretty justice above, indeed, to let 
 * ten such scoundrels escape !" 
 
 J. P. Andrews. 
 
 Yet William exhibited a mixture of firmness and naivete, 
 when a pilot was fearful of embarking with him on an expedition 
 in tempestuous weather; the Monarch asked, "whether he had 
 ever heard of a King beiitg drowned," 
 
 Nor
 
 ENGLASTD 
 
 141 
 
 Nor much lamented was the Norman King, 
 Whose people were in most reduced condition; 
 
 His Ministers had tax'd each sort of thing, 
 For there were then no Whigs in opposition. 
 
 Of his attire the Sovereign took due heed, 
 
 As you shall learn from ancient lines annexed, 
 
 Robert of Glo'ster scripsit what you'll read, 
 Tho' Camden rather modernized the text. 
 
 K 2 Poetry
 
 w 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Poetry of the Year IO98. 
 
 Which the author of the Medulla Hwtoria Anglican* calleth 
 *' a pretty passage.'* 
 
 ** His Chamberlain him brought, as he rose on a 
 day, 
 
 " A morrow for to wear, a pair of hose of say ; 
 
 He ask'd what they costen'd ? *' Three shil- 
 lings," he said, 
 
 )' Fie a dible," quoth the King, " to say so vile 
 a deed, 
 
 " King's to wear so vile a cloths, that costened 
 no more ! 
 
 " Buy ^ pair for a marke, or thou shall reu it sore.** 
 
 ** A worse pair, sure enough, the other him 
 brought, 
 
 ** And said they costened a marke Unneath he 
 then bought; 
 
 ** Aye ! Bel-ami," quoth the King, " these are 
 well bought ; 
 
 '* In this manner serve me, otherwise serve me 
 not.** 
 
 SUMMARY 
 
 \
 
 KNGlANa 149 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REION OF 
 
 HENRY I. suRNAMED BEAUCLERC. 
 
 Born at Winchester, 1068. Began to reign^ 1100. Twic* 
 married, first to Maud, daughter of Makolm, King of Scot- 
 land ; afterwards to Adeliza, daughter of Geoffry, Earl of 
 Louvaine. He had issue only by his first Queen, viz. Wi} 
 liara, Duke of Normandy, who by the carelessness of drunken 
 pilots was drowned near Barfleur, which tragic event so 
 affected the King he was never seen to smile afterwards. 
 Maud, married to the Emperor Henry V. and a second timfe 
 to Geoffry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. Henry is als6 
 said to have hsili twelve naturail children, of whom Robert, 
 Earl of Glocester, was the chief. The King died at St. 
 Denis, in France, of a surfeit, from eating Lampreys, 1135. 
 Buried at Reading. 
 
 Principai. Events. 
 
 Henry seizes the crown while bis elder brother Robert is 
 absent in the Holy land. Grants a charter to the Barons to 
 purchase their sipport. Conquers Normandy, defeats and 
 imprisons Robert for life. The quarrel with Archbishop 
 Anselm renewed; the King resigns the right of investiture, 
 but preserves his claim to homage from the Bishops. The 
 great standard of France taken. The Welch repulsed. 
 Shipwreck and loss of the King's son. The Sees of Carlisle 
 and Ely ; the Abbies of Hide, Cirencester, and Priory of 
 Dunstable erected and endowed. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Anselm and Radulph, Archbishops of Canterbury. Wil- 
 liam Crito. son of Duke Robert of Normandy. Robert, 
 Earl of Shrewsbury. 
 
 COTF.MPORAEY
 
 J40 ENGLAND. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Pascal IL 1099. Gelastius II. 1118. Calixtus II. 1119. 
 HonoTius II. 1124. Innocent II. 1130. 
 
 Emperors. 
 0/ the East. Alexis Comnenus, 1081. John Comnenus, 
 ' 1118. 
 
 Of the Jf^esf. Henry IV. 1056. Henry V. 1106. Loth*- 
 riusll. 1125. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 q/Trflnce. Philip I. 1060, Lewis VI. 1108. 
 
 Of Portugal. ^Alphonsus I. 1112. 
 
 (y5cof/anrf.-> Alexander I. 1107. David I. 1124. 
 
 11 4 
 
 Henrt
 
 ENGLAND. I5I 
 
 HENRY BEAUCLERC. 
 
 " But who shall teach my harp to gain 
 
 " A sound of the romantic strain 
 
 " Whose Anglo-Norman tones while're 
 
 " Cou'd win the royal Henry's ear. 
 
 " Famed Beauclere call'd, for that he loved, 
 
 " The minstrel, and his lay approved." 
 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 ** For learning is better than house or land." 
 
 School Boy's Poetry. 
 
 " Henry was called ' Beauclere,* from his attention to 
 ' learning, he had heard his father say, that ' Illiterate Kings 
 ** were little better than crowned asses," and determined nqt 
 " to come under that description." 
 
 Camdev. 
 
 |. Of Henry's learning, and the wise reform, 
 He in the royal houshold made, nay more, 
 Abolished nightly curfew bells that rung 
 Throughout the land of Albion, and deranged 
 At early hour the interesting chat 
 Of lovers just affianc'd or of friends. 
 Who, brought to council by the hope of gain 
 
 f On trade, were speculating hundreds deep; 
 Or learned clerks, in disquisition grave, 
 By classic lamps ; or poets, poor as I, 
 
 Condemned
 
 152 ENGlANDi 
 
 Condemn'd to rhyme for waj^s and means to eat; 
 Sing, muse historic Widows too, we learn, 
 By his command have jointures, and are free 
 To marry as they list, and marry did, 
 Merely to shew the loyal reverence 
 They bore the King's behest. The laws 'erst made 
 By the Confessor Edward were restored 
 By Henry, who, to please the English, wed 
 With Maud, descendant of the Scottish King, 
 And Edgar Ath'ling's sister.* At this time 
 
 * Queen Maud, or Matilda, was the delight of the English, 
 both on account of her descent and goodness of heart. To her 
 we owe the first stone arched bridges England ever possessed : 
 she built two at Stratford, in Essex, (thence called De Arcubus, 
 or Le Bow,) where she had nearly been drowned for want of such 
 a convenience. What follows is part of an eulogy on her, pre- 
 served by Carnden : 
 
 Prospcra non lastam facere, nee aspera tristem, 
 
 Prospera terror ei, aspera risus erant, 
 Non decor efficit fragilem non sceptra superbam 
 
 SoU potens hijmilis, sola Pudica depens. 
 
 Imitate^. 
 
 By woes her mind was near cast down, 
 
 Nor by success beguiled. 
 She met good fortune with a frown, 
 At fortune's frowns she smiled : 
 Where shall we find a Queen with this to pair, 
 Tho' sceptrpd, humble-r-chaste, tho' great and fiiir? 
 
 J. P, Andrews, 
 
 ''* Kins:
 
 ENGLAND. I53 
 
 King Henry's Brother Kobert claitn'd the 
 crown, 
 
 And from the Holy Land return'd with troops 
 
 His fancied right to aid subdued, forgiven, 
 
 And set at liberty, again he fights 
 
 Against his brother ; captive ta'en, and sent 
 
 To Cardiff, whence, in vain, he tries escape. 
 
 And, first deprived of sight, soon finds a grave; 
 
 Glo'ster Cathedral holds the Duke's remains, 
 
 EncagM in treliis'd iron. Heart of Oak 
 
 Supplies a figure, armed cap-a-pie, 
 
 But such as modern warriors would disdain, 
 
 And ladies' ridicule on gay parade. 
 
 Lewis, of France, invades the Norman lands, 
 
 Him Henry meets, and quells th' invading King. 
 
 But when returning, mournful is the tale. 
 
 Prince William, Beauclerc's son, a splendid 
 train 
 
 Of Knights and Nobles, with the Princess Maud, 
 
 Ami many worthies perish'd in the waves ! 
 
 And when to Normandy the King return'd, 
 
 By (not habitual) intemp'rance, he 
 
 Met also with his death. He was interred 
 
 At Heading Abbey, which his zeal endow'd. 
 
 Twice
 
 154 ENGLAND. 
 
 Twice did he wed his second Queen, the child 
 Of Godfrey, of Loraine. In time of dearth 
 (From April till the harvest time,) he fed 
 Ten thousand of his Norman subjects, built, 
 In Oxfordshire, famed Woodstock Palace, which 
 Still bears the stamp of his munificence. 
 
 Yet will the liberal minded mourn to hear 
 That, having ta'en in war a hapless bard. 
 Who in some paltry measures (like to mine,) 
 Had ridiculed his greatness, his revenge, 
 (Tho' Sovereigns for the poet pleaded hard,) 
 Depriv'd the wretched captive of his eyes. 
 Whose agony ensuing caus'd his death.* 
 Henry Beauclerc, of all our British Kings, 
 ShouM have respected the proud name he bore, 
 Nor by inordinate and mean revenge. 
 Have own'd the poet's satyre had its force, 
 
 * " No, no," said the irritated King to i great foreign Prince 
 who interceded for the wretched poet, " for this man being for- 
 ** sooth a Wit, a Bard, and a Minstrel, hath composed many inde- 
 " cent songs against me, and moreover hath sung them openly to 
 *' the great entertainment of my enemies. Now, since it hath 
 " pleased God to deliver him into my hands, he shall be punished 
 ** to deter others from the like petulance." So the sentence took 
 place, and the imprudent poet died of the wounds he receiv'd in 
 struggling with the executioner. 
 
 Oepehicus VniLiSr^Vide Anprews. 
 
 In
 
 ENGLAND. I55 
 
 In this King's reign a house of monk's first gave 
 The Dunmow Charter, which entitles those 
 AVho live in wedlock, sans debate, one year 
 To a fine flitch of bacon one blest pair 
 Ask'd and obtained it ; and about that time, 
 Thames water fail'd, the river bed was dry, 
 Men, women, children, walked across where now 
 Stands London Bridge. This and the happy two 
 Who gain'd the Dunmow Flitch, astonishM much 
 The gaping vulgar, and we hav'nt heard 
 That either prodigy occur'd again, 
 
 A Muse, cotemporary with the King 
 By way of Elegy, thus chose to sing. 
 
 Poetry
 
 156 ENGLAND. 
 
 Poetry of the Year 1133. 
 
 King HtENRY is ded ! bewty of the world, 
 
 For whom is grete dole ; 
 
 The Goddes now maken room for their kind bro- 
 ther, 
 
 For he is Sole. 
 Mercarius in speech, Marce in battayle. 
 
 In best strong Appollo ; 
 Jupiter in best,* egall with Saturn, 
 
 And enemie to Cupido ; 
 
 King he was a right, 
 
 And man of most myght, 
 
 And glorious in rayninge. 
 
 And when be left bis crovvne 
 Then fell honour down. 
 
 For misse of such a King ; 
 Normandy then gave Lowre, 
 For loss of their flowre, 
 
 And sange wel-a-way ! 
 Englond made mone. 
 And Scotland did grone, 
 
 For to see that day ! 
 
 Vide " The Muse's Library.'* 
 Hest Command. 
 
 The
 
 CNGLAND. 157 
 
 THE SAXON LINE RESTORED, 
 
 8MMABT OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 STEPHEN. 
 
 Born at Blois, 1105. Crowned, December 6, U35. 
 Married Maud, daughter of Eustace, Earl of Boulogne. 
 Had issue, Baldwin, Eustace, "William, Maud, Mary, and 
 two natural sons, William, and Gervase, Abbot of West- 
 minster. Reigned nineteen years. Died 1154. Buried at 
 Faversham. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 Stephen usurps the crown from the Empress Maud. The 
 Barons assert their independence, and erect upwards of 
 eleven hundred castles. The Empress Maud, with various 
 uccess, attempts to gain the crown, her claim is at length 
 compromised in favour of her son's succession. The Welch 
 successful against the English. David, of Scotland, invades 
 England and is repulsed. The Abbies of C'oggeshall, Essex; 
 Farness, in Lancashire ; Carew and Higham, with an Hos- 
 pital at York, and a Monastery at Faversham, erected. A 
 fire, beginning at London stone, burnt eastward to Aldgate, 
 and westward to St. Paul's. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 John of Salisbury, Roger de Hoveden, Henry of Hunt- 
 ingdon, Ailred, Abbot of Revesby, Geoffry of Monmouth, 
 Bi^op of St. Asaph's, William of Malmsbury, historians 
 lived about this period. Curboil and Theobald, Archbishops 
 of Canterbury. Thurstan, Archbishop of York, Lieutenant 
 to the King, appoints Ralph, Bishop of Durham, his Gene- 
 ral against the Scots. Robert, Earl of Glocester. Ranulph, 
 Earl of Chester. 
 
 COTEMPORARY
 
 158 ENGLAND. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Ccelestine II. 1143. Lucius IL 1144. Eugenius IIL 1145. 
 Anastatices IV. 1153. Adriau IV. 1154. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East. John Comnenus, 1118. Emanuel Comnenus, 
 1143. 
 
 0/ the West Lotha-ire U. 1125. Conrad IIL 1128. Fre- 
 derick L 1152. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. Lewis Yl. 1108. Le\Tis VIL 1137. 
 Of Portugal. Alphonsus I. 1112. 
 OfScotland.-^T)&yii I. 1124 
 
 SlLPUtN
 
 ENGIAND. 159 
 
 STEPHEN. 
 
 " King Stephen was a worthy Peer." 
 
 Old Ballads. 
 
 " A fellow of infinite jest." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " Stephen was a man of great facetiousness, and much of 
 
 " his success is to be imputed to the familiar pleasantry of 
 
 " his conversation." 
 
 William of Malmsbury. 
 
 ** Since they have made me their King," said the gallant 
 Stephen, " why do they now forsake me ? By the birth of 
 " God I will not be called an abdicated Monarch." 
 
 Ibidem. Vide J. P. Andrews. 
 
 Brave to a fault, of humour fair and free, 
 Yet his possession of Old England's Throne, 
 
 Was A faux pas, since reasons strong there be. 
 To prove the property was not his own. 
 
 The daughter of King Henry, Maud by name,* 
 (Matilda, ladies, sounds more sweet, I ween,) 
 
 Was heiress and King Stephen, to his shame. 
 Had sworn allegiance to her as his Queen. 
 
 Maud, or Matilda, first married the Emperor Henry FV. 
 and afterwards GeofFry Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, by whom she 
 had King Henry U. of England. 
 
 Not
 
 100 ENGLAND. 
 
 Not that I blame the Monarch for his oath, 
 'Twas merely common honesty to take it, 
 
 But every gentleman should be right loath 
 Having an affidavit made to break it. 
 
 Much in this fashion too Matilda thought, 
 
 Whose reasons were so backM with horse and 
 foot, 
 
 That tho', while axe and sword w^ere good, he 
 fought,* 
 
 He lost his liberty and crown to boot. 
 
 But ^^ fortune ^e la guerre " is quick in change, 
 Stephen was freed, and Maud forced to be off in 
 
 (Conveyance for a living Queen most strange,) 
 Not coach or chariot, but a screw'd p coffin.f 
 
 In strains of Scott we next declare, 
 
 How '* Scotland's dauntless King and Heir, 
 
 *' (Although with them they led 
 " Galwegians, wild as ocean's gale, 
 " And Lodon's Knights, all sheath'd in mail, 
 
 'i7 
 
 * It was In this battle Stephen used the words above quoted. 
 t Several historians represent a coffin as the vehicle in which 
 the Empress was reduced to make her escape, 
 
 " And
 
 ENGLAND. Iqj 
 
 " And the hoU men of Teviotdale,) 
 " Before his standard fled.'^* 
 
 Next came Plantagenet (Matilda's son), 
 To make essay for what his mother won ; 
 
 But England's Monarch kept the youth at bay, 
 Till Eustace, Stephen's hope and heir, 
 (Death shews for princes little care,) 
 
 Was from the scene of warfare snatch'd away. 
 
 Then, and you wo*nt imagine him unwise, 
 King Stephen, to conclude the strife, 
 
 With his opponent made this compromise, 
 
 He was to wear the crown while he had life. 
 
 Mean time young Henry swore to keep the 
 peace. 
 
 And take the sceptre at the King's decease. 
 
 
 
 Nor did he long survive. For nineteen years 
 But little in this reign appears, 
 
 This was attributed by the superstition of the times (when 
 David 1. with his son Henry, invaded Northumberland, in 1136,) 
 to the holy banner of St. Cuthbert, under which the English 
 marched, and owed to its efficacy the great victory they obtained 
 in the bloody battle of Northallerton, or Arton Moor. 
 
 Fide Margebion, Notes to Canto II. 
 
 VOL. I. L Save
 
 J^ ENGIAND. 
 
 ' Save contests sung of and that Chiefs had leave, 
 Often in law's despite, 
 To build strong castles, and bereave, 
 
 By force and arms, the poor man of his right. 
 The Canon law, cotemporaries say, 
 First in this reign, to England found its way. 
 
 Stephen's remains at Faversham inurn'd, 
 Remained until, disgrace upon their names, 
 Reformers, who dug up, pull'd down, andburn'd. 
 Threw the once valiant Sov'reign in the Thames ; 
 With sacrilegious hands profaned the dead, 
 For paltry plunder of his coffin'd lead. 
 
 Line
 
 ENGLAND. I63 
 
 LINE OF PL ANT AGE NET; 
 
 OR THE 
 
 HOUSE OF ANJOU. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HENRY II. suRNAMED COURT MANTLE. 
 
 Eldest son of Geoffry, Earl of Anjou, &e. and the Em- 
 press Maud, heiress to Henry I. of England. Born at 
 Mans, A. D. 1131. Knighted by David, King of Scotland, 
 1149. Made his first campaign, 1152. Stephen of England 
 adopted him, 1153. He was crowned at London, 1154; and 
 at Worcester, 1155. Married Eleanor, of Aquitaine, heiress 
 of Poictou and Guienne, by whom he had issue, Richard 
 and John, who succeeded him ; Geoffry, killed in a tourna- 
 ment at Paris ; Henry, who married Margaret, daughter of 
 Lewis VII. of France; and Philip died young: Maud, mar- 
 ried to Henry, the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria; 
 Eleanor, married to Alphonso, King of Castile; and Joan, 
 espoused first to William the 11. King of Sicily, surnamed 
 the Good,* and afterwards to Raymond, of Thoulouse. 
 Henry reigned 35 years. Died at Chiuon, in Tourane, 
 1189; and was buried at Font Evraud. 
 
 Principal Evfnts. 
 
 Foreigners banished the kingdom. Unnecessary fortresses 
 destroyed. Judges first appointed to go the circuits at 
 stated periods. Differences between the King and Becket. 
 Murder of that prelate, and death of Fair Rosamond. Fre- 
 quent rebellion of the King's sou. Conquest of Ireland. 
 William, King of Scois taken prisoner. Philip, Earl of 
 Flanders, invades England and is defeated. 
 
 ThU Monarch had refused the daughters of the Eastern and Western 
 liinperors, and at the instance of Peter of I31ois, a northern Bcclessiastic, 
 !''< tcrrcd an I'la'lisli Princess. 
 
 L 2 Eminent
 
 J^-^ 
 
 tm ENGLANB. 
 
 Eminent Person*. 
 
 Theobald, Becket, Richard (a Monk,) and Baldwin, 
 Archbishops of Canterbury. Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, 
 who, with Robert Fitz-stephens, was general in the Irish 
 war. William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury; GeofFry, 
 Archbishop of York;* and Morgan, Bishop of Durham; 
 natural sons of the King, the two first by Fair Rosamond, 
 the latter by a daughter of Sir Ralph Blewitt. Hugh Lacy, 
 and Ralph de Glanville, justiciaries of Ireland and England. 
 Gilbert Foliot, John Hanwell. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 Adrian IV. 1154.t Alexander II. 1159. Lucius III. 1181. 
 
 He was made Bishop of Lincoln, when no more than a proud greedy 
 boy ; Walter de Mapes, a humourous Chapleiiii, (called the Anacreon of 
 England) used, when he heard him swear " by his father's royalty," to bid 
 him remember " his mother's honesty ;" it was said of him tho' not old 
 enough to feed his sheep, he was able enough to shear them, his affection- 
 ate duty to Henry at his dying hour, and his valour in the field ought, 
 
 however, to throw a veil over his faults. 
 
 J. P. Andrews. 
 
 t Pope Adrian was an Euglishraan, by name Nicholas Breakspear, he 
 was choked by a fly, in the fifth year of his Popedom ; he sent the follow- 
 ing version of the Lord's Prayer to England, to be taught his countrymen : 
 
 Ure Fadyr in Heaven rich. 
 
 Thy name be halyed ever lich. 
 
 Thou bring us thy michel bliss, 
 
 Als hit in Heaven y doe, 
 
 Bvear in y the earth been it alsoe, 
 
 That holy brede that lasteth ay 
 
 Thou send ous, this ilke day. 
 
 Forgive ous all that we have don. 
 
 As we forgive uch other mon. 
 
 Ne let ous fall into no founding, 
 
 Ac shield ous fro the foul thing. Amen. 
 
 Medulla Historij; Anglican*. 
 Urban
 
 ENGLAND. 165 
 
 Urban III. 1185. Gregory VIII. 1187. Clement III. 
 1188. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East. Emaauel Comneuus, 1143. Alexis Comne- 
 nus II. 1180. Andronicus Comnenus I. 1183. Isaac 
 Angelas I. 1185. 
 
 0/the IVest. Frederic I. 1152. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 (^France. Lewis VII. 1137. Philip IL 1180. 
 
 O/'PortM^fl/. Alphonsus, 1102. Sancho I. 1185. 
 
 Of Denmark. Waldemar I. 1157; the regular succession 
 and history of Denmark does not commence properly till 
 the accession of Waldemar I. (called the GreatJ who con- 
 siderably enlarged and civilized the country. 
 
 Of Scotland. Day'ii I. 1134. Malcolm IV. 1153. Wil- 
 liam 1165. 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 jIenry
 
 166 ENGLAND. 
 
 HENRY THE SECOND. 
 
 " With thee, Plantagenet, from civil broils 
 
 ** The land awhile respired, and all was peace. 
 
 " Then Becket rose, and impotent of mind, 
 
 " Bid murd'rous priests the sov'reign frown contemn, 
 
 ''And, with unhallow'd crosier, bruised the crown. 
 
 " Yet yielded not supinely tame a prince 
 
 " Of Henry's virtues, learn'd, courageous, wise, 
 
 " Of fair ambition." 
 
 Shenstone. 
 
 " Still must that tongue some wounding message bring, 
 " And still thy priestly pride provoke thy King ; 
 " For this are * foreign oracles* explored, 
 " To teach the land to murmur at its lord." 
 
 Fide Pope's Homer. 
 
 (FAIR ROSAMOND.) 
 
 " A maid unmatch'd in manners as in face, 
 " Skill'd in each art, and crown'd with ev'ry grace; 
 " Not half so dear were wedded * Ellen's' charms, 
 ** When first her blooming beauties met my arms." 
 
 Ibidem 
 
 " The tempest in my mind 
 " Doth from my senses take all feeling else, 
 *' Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude !" 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Throughout his day much sorrow Henry | 
 prov'd, 
 
 Cross'd in his pow'r by those whom most he lov'd ; 
 
 A constantj
 
 ENGLAND. 167 
 
 A constant warfare was his reign on earth, 
 By sons fomented, who disgraced their birth ; 
 His Queen too, (tho' tis said much cause was hers 
 To doubt his faith, yet story often errs), 
 Join'd to oppose her husband and her lord, 
 And lift against his crown rebellion's sword ! 
 
 Becket, another curse of Henry's life, 
 Adds to the foes he found in sons and wife ; 
 Becket, the kingdom's bane, the popedom's 
 
 glory* 
 With temper scarcely I relate the story, 
 
 A proof, since told ye in most homely fashion, 
 We can do nothing well, when in a passion. 
 
 A NEW LEGEM) OF ST. THOMAS A BECKET. 
 King Henry and the realm to spite, 
 
 St. DuNSTAN being dead and gone. 
 Some evil genius sent his sprite, 
 
 In Becket's form, to curb the throne. 
 
 Archbishop, Chancellor, and more 
 Than I can say in these brief rhymes, 
 [e gainM all Dunstan gain'd before, 
 ' All WoLSEY got in after times. 
 
 And
 
 'i 
 
 im ENGLAND. 
 
 And what return to Henry made 
 This upstart, who deservM a rope ? 
 
 Of dignity he formM a trade, 
 
 And sold his master to the Pope ! 
 
 Rebellion into exile sent 
 
 The meddling Monk, who yet return'd 
 More honour'd, tho' much less content. 
 
 While treason in his heart still burn'd. 
 
 Repeated insult Henry drove 
 
 Some hint to drop in angry mood,* 
 
 Which caus'd, who heard their zeal to prove, 
 Unhappily, in Becket's blood. 
 
 * " Is there not one of the crew of lazy, cowardly knights, 
 " whom I maintain, that will rid me of this turbulent priest, 
 " who came to court but t'other day on a lame horse, with no- 
 " thing but his wallet behind him?" These words unfortunately 
 animated to action Reginal Fitz-urse, William de Tracey, Hugh 
 dc Morvil, and Richard Brito. 
 
 Berington's Life of Si. Thomas a Becket. 
 
 The vulgar of Glocestershire have proverbially assigned a 
 whimsical punishment for one of the families concerned in the 
 assassination, thus: 
 
 The Tracies, 
 " Have always the wind in their faces.'' 
 
 James Petit Andrews sportively add, " No very severe judg- 
 ment on a summer's day." 
 
 The
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 169 
 
 The King to penance keen and sore, 
 And public ignominious pain, 
 
 Submitted ! ne'er was Prince before 
 So humble, nor is like to be again. 
 
 
 Had but the justice of the land, 
 
 For which' too oft he'd given cause, \\ 
 
 Struck Becket with a legal hand, ' 
 
 Instead of shame the King had gain'd applause.* 
 
 Ireland and Wales and Scotland pay 
 Their homage to the King, whose prosp'rous day, 
 
 His ill-bred haughtiness was such, that when the English 
 prelates, in one body, represented to him the consequences 
 which mwst inevitably attend his turbulent obstinacy, he an- 
 swered only, " I hear you." Nothing could exceed his pride, or 
 the splendor of his household. Before his advancement to the 
 primacy he had been used to travel attended by two hundred 
 knights and other gay domestics: eight waggons were in his 
 suite, two of those bore his ale, three the furniture of his chapel, 
 of his bed-chamber, and of his kitchen, and the other three car- 
 ried provisions and necessaries. Twelve pack-horses bore his 
 money, plate, &c. to each ' waggon was chained a fierce mastiff, 
 and on each pack-horse there sat a baboon. 
 
 The following Epitaph, among others, was made on Becket: 
 Quis moritur? Praesul. Cur ? Pro grege. Qualiter? Ense. 
 Quando? Natal i. Quis locus ? Ara dei. 
 
 Imitated by J. P. Andrews. 
 Who's slain ? The Frimate. How ? In dire affray. 
 Why ? For his flock. Wlfcn ? On his natal day. 
 Say where? Twas where we kneel to heaven and pray. 
 
 Shortened
 
 170^ , ENGLAND. 
 
 Shorten'd by civil jars, 
 And most unnatural wars, 
 In unenjoy'd possession, dies away. 
 
 -ill VTV* 
 
 Henry, his son, was by his father crown'd. 
 As England's King, an early death he found.* 
 Jeffery and William too, the latter died 
 A child, the former fell in martial pride. 
 Richard and John succeeded to the throne 
 In turn, with shame the Muse makes known, 
 That Richard, who with Gallia's King took part, 
 His sire subduing, broke a parentis heart. 
 
 A story told of Woodstock bow'r, I wis, 
 I might be deem'd neglectful did I miss. 
 Whether correct, or but by fancy penn'd, 
 My humble tale your leisure doth attend. 
 
 At this coronation, young Henrj', on his father's humility 
 being pointed out, arrogantly replied, " A great honour truly, 
 for the son of a King to be waited on by the son of an Earl !" 
 At other times too, he requited his father's tenderness with most 
 unfilial ingratitude, a sense of which, is said, at length to have 
 broken his own heart. His body was carried tcfwards Roan, but 
 the clergy and citizens of Mans took it by force and interred it 
 in their cathedral, near the Old Geoffry Plantagenet, whence it 
 was ultimately taken and re-interred at Roan. King Henry, in 
 allusion to the ingratitude of his sons, had an allegorical picture 
 painted for his palace at Windsor, representing an old eagle, his 
 young ones fighting with him, and one scarcely fledged striving 
 - to peck out his eyes; the last he used to say was John, whom he 
 loved best of all. Giraldus Cambrensis.
 
 ENGLAND. 171 
 
 ROSAMOND'S BOWER, 
 
 A PARODY. 
 
 THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 " Henry the Second keepeth (with much care,) 
 
 " Lord Clifford's daughter, Rosamond the faire ; 
 
 " And ivhilst his sonnes do Normandy invade 
 
 " He, forced to France, with wond'rous cost hath made 
 
 " A lahyrinthe in Woodstocke, where unseene 
 
 '' His love might lodge safe from his iealous queene." 
 
 Drayton- 
 
 I. 
 Embow'h'd sat a lover and lady so gay, 
 
 Where jas*mine with lilies were curPd, 
 They gazM on each other with tender delight ; 
 The warrior Wrh Harry Planta genet hight, 
 
 And the lady the Rose of the World. 
 
 ir. 
 Said the fair, " when you follow the drum and 
 the fife, 
 
 *' I shall wish by my side you had tarried, 
 
 *' For as soon as you leave me your termagant 
 
 wife, 
 
 ** Will be certain to frighten me out of my life,*' 
 For, I'm sorry to say, he was married. 
 
 Oh,
 
 173 ENGLAND. 
 
 ' III. 
 "Oh, hush these suspicions," Plaktagenet 
 said, 
 " Offensive to Ellen and me, 
 " For if she, by anger or jealousy led, 
 ** Should alarm you, while I am abroad, by my 
 head, 
 " Who's at home,* I shall soon let her see." 
 
 IV, 
 " Besides '^ cried the King, *'can my beautiful 
 rose 
 *' Fear surprize in this intricate place ? 
 
 " Where it answers no purpose to follow one's 
 nose, 
 
 " Unless a silk clue, that you know of, disclose 
 
 " A road none could ever yet trace," 
 
 V. 
 
 They parted in sorrow; poor girl, she turnM cold, 
 
 She ne'er felt so nervous before ; 
 Nor yet many days had elaps'd, when, behold ! 
 The Queen, with a reg'ment of troopers, so bold, 
 
 'Gan thunder at Rosamond's door. 
 
 The phrase of letting a person know " Who's at home," 
 kas (unless the custom is very much out,) since obtained conside- 
 rably in domestic circles. 
 
 Their
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 173 
 
 VI. 
 
 Their swords on the porter the Grenadiers drew. 
 
 The poor man was sadly distrest ; 
 The Queen tried a bribe, soon discoverM the clue. 
 And of poison so sable, or steel polish'd blue, 
 Ask'd Rosamond " which she liked best?" 
 
 VII. 
 
 The " Flower of the World" changed her " re- 
 dolent" hue 
 
 To white, while she sank on her knee ; 
 
 The tear on her cheek look'd like heaven-dropp'd 
 dew, . 
 
 When she said ** If, dear ma'am, it's the sam 
 thing to you, 
 
 " Not either, 1 thank you, for me.'* 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Her majesty threaten'd, her victim complied, 
 
 She drank, and Planta genet's power 
 The death* of his mistress reveng'd on his brido, 
 
 Rosamond was buried at Godstow, and the following quaint 
 r.pitaph inscribed on her tomb. 
 
 Ilic jacet in 'I'umha IJosi Mumii, non Kosamunda, 
 Non redoiet, sed olet, qua; redolerc solct. 
 
 Thus iniifated by J. P. Jiiidrfws. 
 Here lies, not Rose the Chaste, but Itose the Fair, 
 Her scents no more perfume bur taint the air. 
 
 And
 
 174 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 And shut her, from that, to the day that she died, 
 Up three pair of stairs in a tow'r. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Should couples take warning from " Rosamond's 
 Bovv'r/' 
 
 Not vainly the Muse has harangued ; 
 And, ladies, if rivals shou'd fall in your pow'r, 
 The Commons consult, or instead of the tovv'r, 
 
 If von kill them, you're sure to be hangM. 
 
 ;t: *!.MAK V
 
 BNGL.4ND. 175 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 RICHARD I. suRNAMED CGEUR DE LION. 
 
 Born, A. D. 1157. Began to reign, 1189. Was con- 
 tracted to Alice, daughter of Louis VII, of France. Married 
 Bercngcria, daughter of Sancho VI. King of Navarre. Had 
 no legitimate issue. Was killed, 1199, at the siege of a 
 castle at Chains, belonging to the Viscount of Linnges, by 
 Bortrand Gourdon, a crossbowman, who, though pardoned 
 by the King, was afterwards fleed alive. He reigned tcu 
 years, and was buried with his father at Font Evraud. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Richard released his mother who had been confined sixteen 
 years. Took an army of thirty-five thousand men to the 
 Holy Land, where he greatly signalized himself against Sa- 
 ladin the Great, was imprisoned on his return, by Leopold, 
 Duke of Austria, and purchased his ransom for one hundred 
 thousand marks. Sterling money first coined, and so called 
 from the Easterlings, a people of Germany, who first gave 
 it currency firom its purity. Loudon divided into corporate 
 companies. {Mtdull. Hist. Aug) 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry Fitzalwyn, 
 first Lord Mayor of London, the city having been formerly 
 governed by Portreeves. Philip and Isabel, natural children 
 of the King. William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, Regent 
 iii Ricliard's absence. Robin Hood and Little .lohn, cele- 
 brated outlaws. Richard de Higel, Bishop of London, was 
 the King's Apothecary, (the first we find mentioned.) 
 
 COTEMrORARV
 
 % 
 
 176 ENGLAND. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Fopes. 
 
 Clermont III. 1188. Celestine III, 1191. Innocent HI. 
 1198. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of theEast.ls9AcU. 1185. Alexis III. 1195. 
 0/"^^eW^w^ Frederick I. 1152. Henry VI. 1190. PhUip 
 I. 1197. 
 
 Kinss. 
 
 Of France. Philip U. 1180. 
 Of Portugal. SsLXicho I. 1180. 
 Of Denmark. C&nute V. 1182. 
 Of 5co//fl(Z. William, 1 1 65. 
 
 Richard
 
 ENGLAND. ' ] 77 
 
 RICHARD CCEUR DE LION. 
 
 " Against whoge fury and unmatched force 
 " The awless lion could not wage the fight, 
 " Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " When Richard Coeur de Lion reign' d, 
 " .Which means a lion's heart.'* 
 
 Swift, 
 
 " CoBur do Lion loves the wars, 
 " Richard's joys are blows and scars, 
 " Conquer'd Pagans fly before him, 
 " Christian warriors all adore him.'* 
 
 Opera of Richard. 
 
 " Here the cowl'd zealots, with united cries, 
 
 " Urg'd the Crusade: 
 
 " Of ten fair suns that roll'd their annual race 
 
 " Not one beheld him on his vacant throne : 
 
 " While haughty Longchamp 'mid his livery'd files 
 
 " Of wanton vassals spoil'd his faithful realm. 
 
 " Battling in foreign fields ; collecting wide 
 
 " A laurel harvest for a pillaged land." 
 
 Shenstone, 
 
 O, GALLANT Prince ! who loved to roam, 
 When you had better stay'd at home ; 
 Whose subjects at thy. crowning slew 
 Many an unoffending Jew. 
 
 VOL. I. If Who
 
 m 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Who conquer'd Cyprus, which denied 
 A lodging to yourself and bride, 
 (For on his road to Holy Land, 
 He stopp'd to win a lady's hand,) 
 Who 'gainst the Turks flew in a passion, 
 Because just then it was the fashion. 
 With Saladin* the sword wou'd try. 
 Without once ever asking why ; 
 Who in each battle did the work. 
 Of cleaving Saracen^ and Turk, 
 And kept the Infidels at bay. 
 While jealous Philip walk'd away! 
 Who, (for he was impertinent,) 
 Kick'd Austria from the royal tent, 
 (For so the tale appears to us, it 
 Being set down ^^ pede percussit")^ 
 
 Who 
 
 * Once, during this campaign, Richard was dangerously 
 sick, and iiis disorder required fresh fruit and snow to render it 
 cool : the generous Saladin sent both in profusion, and thus pre- 
 served the life of the only foe he dreaded. 
 
 Vita Saladin r. 
 
 t The Saracens so dreaded his name they would say to their 
 restive horses, " What do you start at, do you think you see King 
 Richard ?" 
 
 t To encourage the soldiers in repairing the ruined wall oF 
 Acre, (a spot which has since acquired such additional celebrity 
 from the distinguished gallantry of Sir Sidney Smith and his 
 
 brave
 
 ENGLANDi JJQ 
 
 Who found, returning, to thy cost. 
 The mem'ry of that kick not lost. 
 And washy Austria's lads surrounded, 
 And 'till great ransom paid, impounded. 
 Or, as your Troubadour* folks tell, 
 Was fiddled out by one Blondel^ 
 
 Fiddled 
 
 brave associates,) Coeur de Lion not only laboured in person, but 
 appointed hours for other leaders to work at the head of their 
 men. All chearfully obeyed, except the Duke of Austria, who 
 sent word that his father having been neither bricklayer nor 
 mason, he had not learned either business. The English King 
 hearing this insolent speech repeated to his face by the haughty 
 Duke, " cum pede percussit" Anglice kicked him out of his 
 tent, and ordered his banner to be disgraced. 
 
 Brompton. 
 
 * King Richard was a passionate lover of poetry, and bears 
 
 a rank among the Provencal Poets or Troubadours, who were the 
 
 first of the modern Europeans that distinguished themselves by 
 
 attempts of that nature. 
 
 Hume. 
 
 Crescimbini, in his Commentary on the Lives of the Proven- 
 cal Poets, says that Richard composed a sonnet which he sent to 
 Princess Stephanetla, wife of Hugh de Baux, and other sonnets, 
 while a prisoner, which he sent to Beatrix, Count of Provence ; 
 the whole of one the latter productions is given in the Catalogue 
 of Royal Authors, one or two verses will be sufficient here to ;ive 
 an idea of the supposed softness of the Provencal dialect. 
 
 REIZ RIZARD. 
 J A nus horn pris non dira sa raison, 
 Adreitamout se com hom do!ent non, 
 Mas per tcnort pot il faire chanson. 
 Pro adamis, mas povre son 11 don, 
 
 M 2 Onu
 
 * 
 
 180 ENGLAND. 
 
 Fiddled or not (excuse me hyper- 
 Critics) Old England paid the piper. 
 Who made with Saladin a truce, 
 (As was the war) of little use. 
 Whose brother John took arms, and then 
 You made him lay ^em down again. 
 Who beat King Philip out of measure, 
 And lost your life while seeking treasure, 
 
 O, gallant Prince ! such store of deeds 
 To tell, my pen must mending needs, 
 Therefore I only, valiant King, 
 Have set down what I wished to sing ; 
 
 Onta j avron, se por ma Reezon, 
 Soi fai dos yver pris. 
 Or sachon ben mi hora e mi baron, 
 Engles, Norman, Pettavin & Gascon, 
 Que ge navoie si' povre compagnon, 
 Que laissasse por aver en preison, 
 Ge nol di pas, por nulla retraison, 
 Mas anquar soise pris, 
 
 * While besieging the Castle of Chalons, or Choley, where it 
 was supposed a treasure lay concealed, which Richard claimed, and 
 where "an Arbalaster standing upon the wall, and seeing his 
 time, charged his steel bow with a square arrow, making first his 
 prayer to God that he would direct that shot and deliver the inno- 
 qency of the besieged from oppression, mortally wounded the 
 Jfing in the left shoulder; the anguish and peril whereof was 
 extremely increased by the unskilfulness of the chirurgeon." 
 
 Mf^DULLA HiSTORI.E AXGLICAN.E. 
 
 For 
 
 I
 
 ENGLAND- jqi 
 
 For in thy reign, Pm told, a bard 
 Found it a subject keen and hard, 
 And much was forced his brain to tax, 
 Even to sing thy battle axe, 
 With all its murderous hews and hacks. 
 This version shall conclude my page, 
 And shew the genius of thy age. 
 
 1 
 
 Specimen
 
 182 ENGLAND. 
 
 SPECIMEN OF POETRY, 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1190. 
 
 King Richard, I understonde, 
 When he went out of En-ge-londe ; 
 Let make an axe, for the nones. 
 To break therewith the Sarasyns bones. 
 The head thereof was wrought full weel, 
 Therein was twenty pounds of Steele ; 
 And when he came to Cyprus londe, 
 This axe taketh he in honde, 
 The Griffons* fast away they rapp'd 
 All that he hit, he also frapp'd.f 
 And the prison when he came to, 
 With his axe he smote right thro' 
 Dores, barres, and iron chaynes ! 
 
 Wa RTON. 
 
 * Griffons. Heathens. 
 
 t Frapp'd. Knocked down. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND. 183 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN Or 
 
 * 
 
 JOHN, 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 SANS TERRE, or LACKLAND. 
 
 Born in London, A. D. 1166. Crowned at Westminster, 
 1199. Married thrice, first to Alice, daughter of Hugh, 
 Earl Morton ; next to Avisa, heiress of Glocester, whom lie 
 repudiated, and married Isabella, daughter to Aimar, Earl 
 of Angouleme; he had issue only by his third wife, viz. 
 Henry, his successor; Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and King 
 of the Romans ; Joan,* espoused Alexander XL of Scotland ; 
 Isabella, consort to the Emperor Frederick il. ; and Eleanor, 
 married first to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, and 
 afterwards to Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. He left 
 also six natural children. He reigned seventeen years and 
 a half. Died in 1216, and was burled at Worcester. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Wars with France. The King of Scotland pays homage 
 at Lincoln. -Quarrels with the Pope, manly resistance and 
 subsequent mean submission of the King to the See of Rome. 
 The King and kingdom excommunicated. The French fleet 
 destroyed. A revolt of the Barons, and the signature of 
 Magna Charta. London-bridge first built of stone. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Prince Arthur, nephew to and supposed to be murdered by 
 the King. Gerald Barry, better known as Giraldus Cam- 
 brensis. Gervase, of Canterbury, and Ralph de Dreese, 
 
 This amiable Princess was styled Joan Makepeace for her constant 
 and snccessful endeavours to keep England and Scotland in aniity. 
 
 celebrated
 
 184 ENGLAND. 
 
 celebrated -writers and historians. Stephen Langton, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, divided our Bible into chapters and 
 verses. The Earl of Salisbury, who defeated, the French 
 fleet. Robert Fitzwalter, chosen General of the Baron's 
 army. John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster, famous for his 
 strength and prowess. Fitzpeter, great justiciary of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 Innocent III. 1198. Honorius III. 1215. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East Alexis 111. U95. Alexis IV. 1203. Alexis 
 
 V. 1204. Theodore I. 1205. 
 0/ the JVesLFhWip, 1197. Otho IV. 1208. Frederick II. 
 
 1211. 
 
 Kings. 
 Of France. PhiVip II. 1180. 
 
 Of Portugal Ssiucho I. 1185. Alphonsus II. 1212, 
 Of Denmark. WAlAemdiT II. 1202. 
 Of Scotland. WiWisim, 1165. AJexander II. 1214. 
 
 JOJIN.
 
 ENGIAND. 185 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 " When England's ancient Barons, clad in arms, 
 " And stern witli conquest from their tyrant King 
 " (Now render'd tame) did challenge and secure 
 " The charter of thy freedom." Akenside. 
 
 " When faithless John usurp'd the sully'd crown, 
 
 " What ample tyranny ! Six tedious years 
 
 " Our helpless fathers in despair obey'd 
 
 " The Papal interdict; and who obey'd 
 
 " The Sovereign plunder'd." Shenstone. 
 
 *' Throw thine eye 
 " On yon young boy. I'll tell thee what, my friend, 
 " He is a very serpent in my way, 
 " And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread 
 " He lies before me." Shakespeare. 
 
 " No Italian Priest 
 " Shall tithe or toll in our dominions ; 
 " But, as we, under heav'n are supreme head, 
 " So under him, that great supremacy, 
 " Where we do reign, we will alone uphold. 
 " So tell the Pope ; all reverence set apart 
 " To him, and his usurp'd authority." Ibidem. 
 
 K. John. " Thus have I yielded up into your hands 
 " The circle of my glory." 
 
 Pandulph. " Take again, 
 
 " From this my hand, as holding of the Pope 
 " Your sovereign greatness and authority." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 At length a dawn of freedom 'gins to streak 
 The gloomy horizon ! and Lackland's reign, 
 
 Most
 
 lg(5 ENGLAND. 
 
 Most inauspiciously begun, concludes 
 With privilege for which our fathers fought, 
 Knee-deep in slaughter; and, to which their sons, 
 True to each other, ever will adhere. 
 
 Success but seldom blest the claim of right 
 In days when strength and skill too frequent won 
 The regal circle ; else had Arthur's name, 
 With supercession legal, graced the roll 
 Where John's is now recorded but what is, 
 We're told is right. Had Arthur, haply, reign'd 
 His milder sway had fail'd create the cause 
 Which did the glorious great effects produce, 
 Of England's freedom, and of England's rights. 
 As if too conscious of his tottering claim, 
 And, that his crown sat lightly on his head. 
 Four times inaugurated was the King. 
 
 Philip of France, whose envy ne'er cou'd bend 
 The warlike .mind of Richard, now declares 
 Against the title of his brother John, 
 And in behalf of Arthur, claims the throne. 
 
 Arthur !
 
 ENGLAND. 1S7 
 
 Arthur ! unfortunate ! thy seat usurp'd 
 By an ambitious uncle, and thy right 
 Made, by pretended friendship, but a plea, 
 To sanctify it*s intetested views ! 
 
 The English Barons murmur and deny 
 Their aid to John, who yet o'ercomes his foes; 
 And Arthur, captive, youthful, innocent, 
 Nor author of the war that Phillip wag'd. 
 Dies in imprisonment. By some we read. 
 And our great Bard, with magic minstrelsy. 
 Has sung the tale, that from his prisoa walls. 
 Attempting hopeless egress, he was dash'd 
 Against the earth below, and found, alas ! 
 The spirit of his uncle ** in those flints 
 With which 'twas bedded."* Other stories tell 
 That murder, (that so frequent blot upon 
 Our English reigns, related, and to come,) 
 
 * Arcentbe, in his " Illstoire de Bretagne,*' says that, John 
 
 came late one evenings and took his nephew out of prison ; that 
 
 he rode with him to a clifFthat overhung the sea; that there he 
 
 stibb'd him, and drawing his body by the heels to the brink of 
 
 B. the precipice, threw it into the ocean. 
 
 M^ith
 
 188 ENGLAND. 
 
 With circumstantial cruelty, depriv'd 
 
 The Prince of life * 
 
 Philip of France, on this pretext, proclaim'd 
 
 King John a traitor and a murderer; 
 
 Seiz'd on his French possessions, while the Pope 
 
 In all concurring, and, pretending right 
 
 To chuse our Church Directors, John defies 
 
 (The sole good deed he did) the pow'r of Rome; 
 
 The Vatican, with thunder loud, replies ; 
 
 And England excommunicate, cut off 
 
 From ev'ry human privilege, cou'd still, 
 
 Firm in herself, have scornM th' unblest decree. 
 
 Which dared to arrogate an awful right 
 
 By heaven's almighty power alone possessed. 
 
 * " Fair Eleanora ! t wou'd no gallant mind 
 
 " The cause of love, the cause of justice own, 
 4 " Matchless thy charms, and was no life resign'd, 
 
 " To see them sparkle on their native throne ? 
 " Oh, shame of Britons ! in one sullen tow'r 
 
 " She wet with royal tears her daily cell, 
 " She found keen anguish ev'ry rose devour, 
 
 " They sprung, they rose, they faded, and they fell. 
 
 Sh EM STONE. 
 
 t Eleador, of Bretagne, the lawful heiress of the English Crown 
 upon the death of Arthur.^-esteem'd the beauty of her time, she died in 
 Bristol Castle, after sofferiug forty years ioiprisonmeat 
 
 At
 
 ENGIAND. 189 
 
 At length with meanness equal to his pride, 
 For pride and meanness are concomitant, 
 The land, the people, King, the crown itself, 
 Are pros'trate thrown beneath the Pontiff's feet; 
 The Barons feel just anger, and disdain 
 To serve a Prince who owns himself a slave. 
 
 And soon, of filaments from this disgrace 
 And other grievances, most justly drawn, 
 Was Magna Ciiarta woven, and the King 
 After subscription tried too oft to break 
 The golden compact, which has since upheld 
 
 Our legal title as a People Fuee.* 
 
 Winding 
 
 The following short sketch of what the people gained by 
 Magna Charta, is an abridgement from Hume, by the ingenious 
 James Petit Andrews. 
 
 " Immunities granted to Barons, are extended to their vassals." 
 
 " No Baron to levy money from his vassals, except for attend- 
 *ing the King to war, repairing his castles, and the highways 
 and bridges " 
 
 " ^Measures to be equal through the realm." 
 
 " Merchants not to be illegally taxed." 
 
 " Free egress, and regress to Freemen." 
 
 " Cities to preserve their privileges, and only to be t.ixed by 
 Parliament." 
 
 " Bridges to be equitably built or supported." 
 
 " Freemen to dispose of good^ by will, or, if intestate, their 
 ^ next heir to succeed." 
 
 * The King's I'urveyor not to sicze goods, ^'c." 
 
 " Courts
 
 390 ENGLAND. 
 
 Winding beneath the earth, a spacious range 
 Of subterranean chambers yet is seen,* 
 Where first, in secresy, the Barons met 
 To frame the code of Freedom. Short the space 
 From hence to where my humble cot is hid, 
 By wild sequester'd scenery, and oft, 
 Bending my footsteps downwards, do I seek 
 The rock-hewn seats that round the cave remain, 
 And muse with awfully-dehghted mind, 
 While witchery of fancy brings to view 
 Majestic forms, and men of other times ; 
 Those aged peers whose venerable locks 
 A crested helm, the terror oft of France,, 
 Concealed in iron bands, those youthful lords, 
 
 " Courts of Justice not to follow the King, but to be statio- 
 ** narjr, open, and equal to all men ,'' 
 
 " Justice not to be paid for, nor refused to any one, (this was 
 " a necessary proviso in a realm where bribes were received by the 
 " King to a great amount, and shamelessly set down in books 
 * kept for that purpose,) Sheriffs not tc put any one on trial with- 
 " out good cause and lawful witnesses." 
 
 " No Freeman to be in any way injured in person or goods, 
 " except by the law of the land. [Query, would that bean injury, 
 " D,] Redress to be given to those who have suffered illegally. 
 " No extravagant fines to be levied on Freemen. No villain, i. e. 
 *' rustic, to be deprived of his cart or other instruments of hus- 
 " bandiy by fine.'' 
 
 * At Reigate, in Surrey, it is still called " The Bahon's 
 Cavf." 
 
 Who
 
 ENGLAND. ]91 
 
 Who proud of martial splendour, shone in arms. 
 Which, back reflecting ev'ry torch's blaze, 
 W^ith double light the sacred vault illumed. 
 
 There mitred Langton, with Fitzwalter brave, 
 Clare, ALBERiiARLE, and Gloster, Hereford, 
 Mowbray, and Oxford, Delaval, and Say, 
 Norfolk, De Ros, and bands of heroes more, 
 Retired to fan the patriotic fire. 
 Which bursting into day at Runnimede, 
 With rays of glory lighten'd all the land. 
 
 The King's bad faith the civil wars renew'd. 
 And Lewis, son of France, call'd in, was own'd 
 As England's master : but the patriot lords, 
 111 brooking Gallic rule, to John restored 
 Hfs legal state, short time by him enjoy'd. 
 At Newark Castle (not at Swinestead, where 
 Our legendaries tell a fearful tale 
 Of monks and poison,) John respired his last.* 
 
 * The story of John's being poisoned at Swinestead Abbey is 
 
 of a late date, and deserves no credit. 
 
 Anderson. 
 
 END OF PART THE FOURTIL
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 PART THE riFTH. 
 
 From the Signature of Magna Charta to the Death of Edward 
 
 the Second^ 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Henrif Ill.^Edward I. Lltwtlfyn, Prince of JValesDaiid 
 
 cf Scotland^ Baliol^ Bruce ^Wallace ^Edward U. Ais 
 Deposition and Dcalk 
 
 N fiUMMAi"'.
 
 194 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HENRY III. suRNAMED OF WINCHESTER. 
 
 Born at Winchester, A. D. 1206-7. Crowned at Glouces- 
 ter, October, 1216. Married Eleanor, daughter of Ray- 
 mond of Provence. Had issue, Edward, who succeeded 
 him ; Edmund, Earl of Lancanter, and nominal King of 
 Sicily ; Margaret, married to Alexander III. of Scotland ; 
 Beatrice, espoused to John de Dreux, Duke of Bretagne; 
 and five others who died in their infancy. Henry reigned 
 fifty-six years. Died, tmS. was buried at Westminster, 1272. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 The Da;uphin expelled by Pembroke, the Lord Protector. 
 Barons conspire against the King. The first (so named) 
 Parliament called, to which Knights and Burgesses were 
 summoned. The King and Family made prisoners at the 
 battle of Lewes. Prince Edward escapes. Battle of Eve- 
 sham. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Richard Magnus, Edmund of Abingdon, Boniface, and 
 Robert Kilwarby, Archbishops of Canterbury. Des Moches, 
 Bishop of Winchester, and Lord Chancellor. Bishop of 
 Valence, brother to the Queen. Earl of Pembroke, Protec- 
 tor. Montfort, Earl of Leicester, General of the Barons. 
 Richard Clare, and Gilbert, his sons. Earls of Glocester. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 HonoriusIII. A.D. 1216. Gregory IX. 1227. Caelestine 
 IV. 1241. Innocent IV. 1243. Alexander IV. 1254. 
 Urban IV. 1261. Clement IV. 1265. Gregory X. 1271. 
 
 Emperonl
 
 ENGLAND. iq^ 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of tht East. Theodore I. 1204. John III. 1232. Theo- 
 dore II. 1225. John IV. 1259. Michael VIII. 1259. 
 0/"/;ie/r/. Frederick II. 1211. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 O/Trance. Philip II. 1180. Louis VIII. 1223. St. Louis 
 
 IX. 1226. Philip IIL 1270. 
 Of Pc/r/uga/. Alphonsus II. 1212. Sancho II. 1233. 
 
 Alphousus III. 1247. 
 0/ Denmark. WMemar 11. 1202. Eric VI. 1240. Abel 
 
 L 1-250. Christopher I. 1252. Eric VIII. 1259. 
 OfSzicden. Walderaar, 1250. 
 Of Scotland. Alexander II. 1214. Alexander III. 1249. 
 
 X 2 Henry
 
 196 \ ENGLAND. 
 
 HENRY THE THIRD. 
 
 " The sequent reign beheld the beggar'd shore 
 
 " Grim with Italian usurers, prepared 
 
 " To lend, for griping unexampled hire 
 
 ** To lend, what Rome might pillage uncontroU'd 
 
 Shenstone. 
 
 " J<es hommes plus estimables sont encore hommes, et 
 
 " montrent encore quelques restes des foiblesses de I'huma- 
 
 " nite parmi les pieges innombrables & les embarras inse- 
 
 " perables de la Royaute. Tel Critique aujourd'hui im- 
 
 " pitoyablement les Rois, qui gouvernoroit demain moins 
 
 " bien qu'eux, & qui feroit les memes fautes avec d'autres 
 
 " infiniraeut plus grandes, si on lui confisit la meme puis- 
 
 " sance." 
 
 Fenelon. 
 
 " Mercy, 
 
 " Is mightiest in the mightiest ! it becomes 
 " The throned monarch better than his crown i 
 " It is an attribute to God himself, 
 " And earthly power doth then shew likest God's, 
 " When mercy seasons justice !" 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Howe'er historians may our Henry blame, 
 Mercy was ever blended with his name, 
 Nor should his foibles in our memory live, 
 Who knew his worst opposers to forgive ; 
 Humane, indulgent, (haply to a fault,) 
 The* wanting energy when cares assault, 
 
 Henry
 
 ENGLAND. 197 
 
 Henry of Winchester, an instance brings, 
 Of *' Mercy throned in the hearts of Kings." 
 
 Eleven years, no more, the Prince had known, 
 When Pembroke's aid secured him England's 
 throne : 
 
 The gallant Regent, Lord of Lincoln fight, 
 Asserted Henry's, and the kingdom's right ; 
 * Compell'd French Louis to depart the land, 
 And held 'till death, the reins with equal hand. 
 
 Hubert de Burgh and Winchester combined, 
 Rule Albion, one in pow'r, but two in mind; 
 Each Regent disapproves the other's act, 
 And jarring counsels ^the young Prince distract : 
 The Prelate Winchester is first displaced, 
 Restored, and Hubert in his turn disgraced. 
 Successless war with France the state alarms. 
 And a new Pembroke* calls the land to arms ; 
 Against the King, his rebel sword he tries, 
 1 ortune first smiles, deserts him, and he dies ; 
 
 Son of the late Ilegent; lie afterwards died miserably 
 through the artifices of the Bishop of Winchester, who was him- 
 self quickly disgraced by the new Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 LoCKMATf. 
 
 And
 
 198 ENGLAND. 
 
 . And, Winchester a second time expelTd, 
 The people's discontents are somewhat quell'd. 
 
 Not long in quiet did the realm remain, 
 The flames of evil warfare rage again ; 
 The Sovereign, whether wisely, or misled^ 
 Fair Eleanor of Provence having wed. 
 The Barons, jealous of her former friends, 
 Relume the brand, which far and wide extends; 
 SixMON DE MoNTFOUT, Earl of Leicester, heads 
 Th- martial NojWes, and their army leads ; 
 Aw'd by their active union, Henry signs 
 The Oxford statutes, and his pow'r resigns 
 To a Conservative Commission ; framed 
 One half by him, the rest the Barons named ; 
 Again, ill reconciled, the crown and Peers 
 Are foes, and Civil Broil her standard rears 
 At Lewes; Henry and each haughty Lord 
 " Refer decision to the sharpest sword." 
 The King, his brother, son, and nephew, ta'en, 
 Submit to MoNTFORT, and his Barons reign ; 
 We know not if the end what means they tried 
 May sanction, but it cannot be denied, 
 To Leicester and his friends, our nation owes 
 The source whence all her independence flows, 
 
 The
 
 engiakd; 199 
 
 The Com mons' Sen ATE,and the People's Voice", 
 
 Long may it's fabric rest upon therr choice, 
 
 And by it's Freedom tell the nations round, 
 
 Safety alone with Liberty is found. 
 
 The fate of war, capricious, now ordains 
 
 That Edward, Henry's son, shall break his 
 chains ; 
 
 A third intestine feud at E'sham vale. 
 
 Sees MoNTFORT fall, and Henry's son prevail ; 
 
 Young Leicester's and He Gourdon's prompt 
 
 . defeat. 
 And Gloucester's fall, submission nowcompleat 
 The fame of Edward ; and his father's life 
 Closes ujichecquer'd by succeeding strife ; 
 Yet not a Chief of those subdued, 
 AVith blopd the vengeful axe imbued ; 
 Xor scarce a subject died, as records tell, 
 S;ivc those who in the sanguine contest fell. 
 
 The kingdom in pieace, we're by chronicles told, 
 Wrth the fame thai young Edward acquired 
 
 " To Palestine hasten'd the hero so bold," 
 In whose absence King He njiy expired. 
 
 And
 
 m 
 
 900 ENGLAND. 
 
 And thus the longest reij^n in Britain ended 
 The present cou'd our warmth of wish extend it 
 In length, as glory should excee(! it far. 
 And peace, and plenty, cure the ills of war. 
 These times,'tis said, old Math ew Paris graced, 
 Among respectable historians placed, 
 And those who love worn out poetic lays, 
 May read two specimens of Henry^s days. 
 
 Robert of Glocesfere, his Character of Mnglish 
 Towns, 
 
 '* In the countrie of Canterburie plenty offish is; 
 
 ^* And most chase of wild beasts about Salsbrie, 
 I wis, is ; 
 
 ** At London, ships most; and wine at Winches- 
 tere ; 
 
 ** At Hartford, sheepe and oxe ; and fruit at Wor- 
 cestere ; 
 
 ** Sope, about Coventry ; iron, at Glocestere ; 
 
 " Metals, lead and tyn, in the couptrie of Exces- 
 tere; 
 
 '^ Evorwick, for fairest wood ; Lincolne for fairest 
 men, &c, &c.^' 
 
 Part
 
 ENGLAND. goi 
 
 Part of a Ballad on Richard of Cornwell, King 
 of the Romans^ written 12o.5. 
 
 Richard of Alemayne, while he was King, 
 He spende alle his tresour iip<ni swyviug, 
 Haveth he nought of Wallingford oferling? 
 Let him have, as he brew, bale to drying. 
 Maugre Wyndesore. 
 
 By God that is above us, he deede much sin. 
 
 That let passen over see th* Erl of Warynne, 
 
 He hath robb'd Englonde, the mores and the 
 fenne, 
 
 The gold and the silver, and y beren henne* 
 
 For love of Wyndesore, 
 
 Sir Simon de Montfort bath sworn by ys chyn 
 Hevede"!" he now here the Erl of Warynne, 
 Shulde he never more come to ys inn, 
 Ne with shelde, ne withspere, ne with other gyn, 
 To help of VV^yndesore. 
 
 Bore it hence. 
 ^- Hevcdc, is had. 
 
 Sir
 
 202 ENGLAND, 
 
 Sir Simon de Montfort hath sworn by ys fot, 
 Hevede he now here Sire Hue de Bigot, 
 Ah ! he shulde grant here twelf moneth scot, 
 Shulde he never more, with his sot pot, 
 
 To helpe Wyndesore. 
 Reliques of English Poetrt. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 ENGLAND. 203 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDWARD I. suRNAMED LONGSHANKS. 
 
 Bom at Westminster, June, 1239. Began to reign, 1272. 
 Married twice, first to Eleanor, daughter of Ferdinand III. 
 King of Castile, by wltoin he had issue, .Fohn, Henry, and 
 Alphonsus, who died young ; Edward, his successor ; Elea- 
 nor, married to Henry, Dukede liur; Joan, to Gilbert Clare, 
 Earl of Glocester, and afterwards to Robert de M onthermer ; 
 Margaret, to John, Duke of Brabant; Elizabeth, to John, 
 Earl of Holland, and afterwards to Humphrey Bohun, Earl 
 of Hereford; Berenguella, Alice, Blanche, and Beatrice, 
 died unmarried. King Edward's second wife was Margaret 
 of France, by wiiom he Uad Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, and 
 Earl Marshal of England; Edmund, Earl of Kentj and 
 Eleanor, died in infancy. He reigned near thirty-five years. 
 His body was buried at Westmiaster, his heart in the Holy 
 Land. . . , 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Conquest of Wales. Jews expelled from England. Edward 
 chosen umpire of the Scots, acts unfairly. Scotland greatly 
 defended by Sir William Wallace, who, however, is taken 
 and shamefully put to death. Courts of King's Bench and 
 Common Pleas put on their present establishment. Parlia- 
 ments more regularly called. Westminster Abbey finished. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 John Peckham, Robert Winchelsea, Walter Reynold, and 
 John Stratford, Archbishops of Canterbury. Richard, Earl 
 of Cornwall. Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. Humphrey 
 Bohun, Earl of Hereford. John Plantagcnet, Earl of War- 
 ren. Roger Bacon. WicklifFe. 
 
 COTEMPORARY
 
 204 ENGLAND. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Gregory X. 1271. Innocent V. 1276. Adrian V. 1276. 
 John XXI. 1276. Nicholas III. 1277. Martin IV. 1281. 
 Honorius IV. 1285. Nicholas IV. 1288. Ccelestine V. 
 1294. Boniface VIII. 1294. Benedict IX. 1303. Cle- 
 ment V. 1305. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East. Michael VIII. 1259. Andronicus II. 1283. 
 Of the fFe*?. Frederick II. 1202.* Rodolphus I. 1273. 
 Adolphus of Nassau, 129h Albert, 1298. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. VhiW^ III. 1270. Philip IV. 1285. 
 Of Portugal. Alphonsus III. 1247. Dennis, 1275. 
 O/" Denmark Eric VII. 1259. Eric VIII. 1286. 
 Of Sweden. Msignns II. 1279. Birger II. 1290. 
 Of Scotland. Alexamder III. 1249. John Baliol, 1293. 
 Robert Bruce, 1306. 
 
 * After the death of Frederick, there was an interregnum in the em- 
 pire until Rodolphus ; during which the following Princes either reigned, 
 or were elected : Conrad III. William, Earl of Holland. Richard, Earl 
 of Gornwall, Edward IV. and Alphonso, King of Castile. 
 
 LOCKMAN'. 
 
 Edward
 
 ENGLAND. 205 
 
 EDWARD THE FIRST. 
 
 '* Facta mea, non dicta, vos, Milites, sequi volo; nee 
 discipliuain raodo, sed Exemplura etiain a me petere." 
 
 LiVT, Book vii. 
 
 " Helm, nor hanberk, twisted mail, 
 " Nor e'en thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail 
 " To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, 
 " From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears. 
 " Such were the sounds that o'er the crested pride 
 " Of the first Edward, scatter'd wild dismay, 
 " As down the steps of Snowdon's craggy side 
 " lie wound with toil, and march'd his long array. 
 " Stout Glo'ster stood aghast in speechless trance, 
 ' To arms! cried Mortimer, and couched his quiv'ring 
 lance." 
 
 Gray. 
 
 " Oh ! I am come from the Holy Land, 
 " Where saints did live and die, 
 
 " Where with valiant miglit 
 
 " Do the Christians fight, 
 " And have won the victory." 
 
 Glee of the Red Cross Knights. 
 
 Tlie red cross flies in Holy Land, 
 
 The Saracen his crescent waves, 
 And Enghsh Edward*s gallant band 
 
 .Seek proud renown, or glorious graves ! 
 
 Yet
 
 f 
 20d ENGLAND. 
 
 Yet true religion sure they slight 
 
 Who deem that worship pure and good 
 
 Which offers, reeking from the fight, 
 Hands deeply dipp'd in human blood ! 
 
 Surely of life the living Lord 
 
 For sinners would have died in vain ; 
 Did his lov'd cause require the sword 
 
 Its peaceful doctrine to maintain ? 
 
 Yet so it was, and ^tis so still, 
 
 Mistaken impulse wooes the strife, 
 
 Proud to be conquer'd, as to kill, 
 So she but shews contempt of life. 
 
 No matter whose, or what, the cause 
 For which the front of death we face ; 
 
 If fashion bids us court applause 
 To hesitate were foul diso:race. 
 
 "O" 
 
 Edward to aid the sire he loved, 
 
 Where British Chiefs with Britons met, 
 
 His manly hardihood had proved, 
 Yet deem*d his honour still in debt. 
 
 That
 
 I 
 
 ENGL/\ND. 207 
 
 That Pagart proselytes might yield 
 To war's sharp arguments, he fought 
 
 Till, from his prowess in the field 
 
 They fled, and treacherous vengeance sought. 
 
 A Zealot reared the poison'd knife, 
 
 Nor less a Zealot had he slain,- 
 But to the Prince he yields his life, 
 
 And love's sweet lips the venom drain.* 
 
 Returning, while on Cyprus shore. 
 
 Heralds the solemn tidings bring, 
 That Edward's father is no more,*]* 
 
 And Edward's self is Albion's King. 
 
 Now burst his daring passion forth, 
 And clarions loud proclaim afar, 
 
 * Eleanor of Castile, consort to the Prince, is said, at the 
 imminent hazard of her own life, to have preserved that of her 
 husband, by extracting the poiaou with her lips. 
 
 t He received at the same time intelligence of his son's 
 death, a boy six years of age, which he received with resigna- 
 tion; but appeared extremely afflicted at the death of his father: 
 some surprise being expressed at this, he observed, the loss of a 
 on he might hope to replace ; but that of a father was irrepara- 
 ble. 
 
 Andrews, &c. 
 
 To 
 
 I 
 
 i
 
 208 ENGLAND. 
 
 To east, and west, to south, and north, 
 That Edward lives but in the war. 
 
 And first Llewellyn's native land, 
 Where dwelt the genuine British race, 
 
 Is doomM to prove stern Edward's hand. 
 And feel oppression's iron mace. 
 
 Mark ! the blood in torrents streaming, 
 Helm, and shield, and faulchion ring, 
 
 Lightning from each buckler beaming. 
 Hark ! the bards indignant sing, 
 
 (Flamps around their harp-strings gleaming,) 
 " Ruin seize thee, ruthless King !"* 
 
 To war's keen sword behold sweet peace succeed, 
 And Wallia for an instant ceas'd to bleed ; 
 Short was the time the olive branch prevail'd, 
 
 Llewellyn, stirr'd by David's honest pride, 
 Renew'd the strife of nations ! fought and fail'd, 
 
 And graced the felon block on which he died; 
 
 Gray. 
 
 It is but j-jjtice to observe, that the tale of Edward's ciutlty 
 to the Welch Bards is much disputed. Andrews says, " It has 
 "little authority on its side, except an obscure tradition, and* 
 hint in the Gwydir MS." 
 
 Next
 
 ENGLAND. 209 
 
 Next David on the scafibid yields his breath, 
 And Edward's laurels wither in their death. 
 
 His Queen the politic usurper sends 
 Caernarvon with a royal birth to grace ; 
 
 And compliments his new made Cambrian friends 
 With a Welch sovereign of English race.* 
 
 Next, Scotia, thou wert doom'd to know 
 Edward a fierce and cruel foe. 
 
 Baliol and Bruce from civil feud, 
 
 Appeal to England to award, 
 Whose title was " maist faire, and gude,'' 
 
 To reign as Caledonia's Lord ; 
 And Edward's arbitrary arbitration 
 To Baliol decrees the Scottish nation, 
 Provided to the English Monarch's throne 
 The King so named does homage for his own ; 
 Baliol with this, at first, complies. 
 Then, blushing for his bargain, from it flies, 
 
 Edward the Second, born at Caernarvon Castle. The 
 Welch bad promised, it is said, to be satisfied with a native 
 prince, who could not speak a word of English, and this ruse of 
 Edward's perfectly tMccttdc^. Vide The Chapter of Welch 
 Princes at the end of this reign. 
 
 VOL. I. o And
 
 
 
 210 ENGLAND. 
 
 And, Edward being then at war with France,* 
 
 ^Gainst England Baliol ventures to advance ; 
 
 But England made a sudden truce 
 
 With France, and gain'd the aid of Bruce,'|' 
 
 Who sided with the English band, 
 
 And luckless Baliol lost his land. J 
 
 And Scotia too had bow'd her down 
 For ever to the English crown, 
 
 * Edward was delighted when Baliol, by refusing to go and 
 pay homage, gave him pretence to subdue Scotland. " Ila," said 
 he, " Le fol felon tal folie fait ! S'il ne voulut venir a nous, nous 
 ** viendrons a lui." " Is he then so great a fool '. Well, if he will 
 " not come to me, I must e'en go to him." 
 
 FORD0K. 
 
 t The wife of Bruce, while at the English court, had the 
 
 following odd attendant allowed her: " a footboy, sober, and not 
 
 " riotous, to make her bed." 
 
 Rymer's F^dera. 
 
 She had also three men and three women servants, three 
 
 greyhounds, plenty of fish and game, and the fairest house in the 
 
 manor. 
 
 J. P. Andrbws. 
 
 t At the battle of Dunbar, where Baliol was taken prisoner, 
 and Edward became possessed of the national regalia, together 
 with the fatal stone, on which was engraven, 
 
 Ni fallat fatura, Scoti quocunque locatum, 
 Invenient Lapidem, Ilegnare tenentiur ibidem. 
 
 An g lice. 
 Or fate's deceived, and heav'n decrees in vain, 
 Or where they find this stone, the Scots shall reign." 
 
 Camb-Wals. 
 
 But
 
 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 211 
 
 But Wallace, far-famed Wallace, rose, 
 The terror of invading foes. 
 
 *' Scots wha hae wi Wallace bled," 
 
 Cou'd ye my feeble muse inspire, 
 
 With soul of feeling, and of fire, 
 
 To sing the good, the valiant dead ! 
 
 Whose patriot aims by men of birth, 
 
 (Poor substitute for genuine worth), 
 
 Were meanly thwarted, cooled, and crost, 
 
 Till what his talents gainM their envy lost; 
 
 Who after many a hard fought field. 
 
 Where English chiefs were fain to yield, 
 
 In Falkirk's long remember'd fight, 
 
 (His band preferring death to flight,) 
 
 When left alone to stem the day, 
 
 Still kept his enemies at bay, 
 
 And from his native sheltering rocks, 
 
 Awhile fierce Edward's fury mocks ; 
 
 Till Fortune, fickle, worthless, bUnd, 
 
 The patriot to his foe resigned. 
 
 The savage foe by honour unconfin'd. 
 
 Again bids '* hangman's hands" pollute the brave, 
 
 \nd dooms an Hero to a Traitor's grave. 
 
 ! 
 
 O 2 COMYN
 
 212 ENGLAND. 
 
 I 
 
 CoMYN next leads the plaided warriors on, 
 
 And Stirling battle is by England won ; 
 
 Still are the Scots determined to oppose, 
 
 And treat intruding Edward's friends as foes. 
 
 Till the revengeful King in proud array, 
 
 *S wears to make Scotland bend beneath his sway ; 
 
 Or to exterminate the hardy race. 
 
 Who greatly scorn'd to give invasion place : 
 
 But Heaven, in all its dispensations just, 
 
 LevelFd the haughty monarch with the dust 
 
 Thus LoNGSHANKs fell, and thus did hebequeatli, 
 
 His hate to Scotia with is dying breath. 
 
 " Edward, my gallant son," the monarch cried, 
 
 ** Carry my bones against the Scots," and died.* 
 
 In this reign Wickliffe lived, and Roger 
 Bacon : 
 
 One preach'd reform, Rome thunder'd, he 
 preachM louder ; 
 
 Hecjdled the Cod of Mercy (a most ill-applied attribute) 
 to witness that he would utterly exterminate the Scotch fcvolters, 
 which oath was rendered more solemn (accordijig to tlie strange 
 romantic turn of the age) by the presence of two milk white 
 swans with trappings of gold, which were brought into West- 
 minster-abbey on this occasion, and had their part in the sacred 
 
 rites of the day. 
 
 > Speed. 
 
 The
 
 ENGLAND. 213 
 
 The second, or historians are mistaken, 
 
 From nitre found the way to make gunpowder ; 
 But Bacon was of fellow men a lover, 
 Nor would the death-fraught recipe discover : 
 Some manuscripts, he left behind, reveaPd 
 What his humanity had kept concealM. 
 
 That poetry in progress was but slow. 
 These lines of " Adam Davie,'' serve to show 
 (Adam was Marshall styled of Stratford Bow) 
 
 I 
 
 *' To our Lord Jhesu Christe in heaven, 
 
 " I, to-day, shew mine swyven ; 
 
 *' That ich motte,*)' in one nycht, 
 
 *' Of a knyghte of myche mycht, 
 
 '* His name is j hole, J Syr Edward the Kyng, 
 
 *' Prince of Wales, Engelonde, the fair thyng*. 
 
 f** Me motte that he was armed well, 
 ** Both with yrne and with stele ; 
 *' And on his helm that was of stele, 
 *' A coroune of gold bccomen him wele; 
 ' Before the shryne of St. Edward he stood, 
 '* Myd glad cheere, and mylde of mood." 
 
 ilream. t Dreamed. J Called.
 
 214 ENGLAND. 
 
 As the Title of PRINCE of WALES has from this 
 period been given to the eldest sons of the Kings of 
 England, it may not be intrusive to insert here a 
 brief but correct Chronology of the Princes of Wales, 
 from Cadv/allader, which was written by the 
 Author of this Work some years ago, at Caermar- 
 then, and frequently sung to the air of Collins's 
 ^' Chapter of Kings." 
 
 The Chapter of JVelch Princes, 
 
 I 
 
 When Cadwallader, tired of staying at home, 
 Was bit by the Monks, and retired to Rome, 
 Prince IvoRreign'd qext, of his subjects the hopej 
 Till he too went over to visit the Pope ; 
 Yet barring all pother, 
 Of this, that, or t'other, 
 
 All came to be Princes in turn. - 
 
 IL 
 
 Then Roderick the first governed Cambrian land. 
 And after him Conan took sceptre in hand; 
 
 Next
 
 ENGLAND. 215 
 
 Next Merfyn, the valiant, whoperish'd in fight. 
 
 When Roderick the Great became Britain's de- 
 light. 
 
 Yet barring, &c. 
 
 III. 
 Sanguine and brief'was Prince Anaraud's reign, 
 Till in battle himself and his son were both slain ; 
 
 (Most reigns at this period with discord were 
 curst,) 
 
 Next Edwal succeeded, then Howel the first. 
 
 Yet barring, &c. 
 
 IV. 
 
 I A GO and Ievaf together bore sway, 
 
 Whosix hundred wolves' heads toEnglanddid pay, 
 
 JRrave Howel the second in war met his death ; 
 
 And a brother deprived poor Cadwalhan of 
 breath. 
 
 Yet barring^ &. 
 
 V. 
 
 Prince Meridith died of a broken heart, 
 Edwal the second by Svveyno's dart; 
 
 Mdav
 
 216 ENGLAND. 
 
 i^DAN in battle too finished his race, 
 
 And Llewellyn by traitors who wanted his 
 
 place. 
 
 Yet barring, &c. 
 
 VI. 
 
 I A GO the second by treachery fell, 
 
 As did Gryffyd the first, tho' he reign'd long 
 and well; 
 
 And Blethyn ap Confyn, was murder'd too. 
 
 By Trahaern, whom Gryffyd in battle slew. 
 
 Thus barring, &c. 
 
 VIL 
 
 Good Grtffyd the second ruled many bright 
 years, 
 
 And his tomb was bedew'd by a whole nation's 
 tears ; 
 
 He by Owen was follow'd his offspring and heir;* ; 
 
 Next David succeeding, was hurPd from the 
 
 chair. 
 
 For barring, &c. 
 
 VTir. 
 Llewellyn the second, so good and so great, 
 To David the second bequeathed his state ; 
 
 * Llewellyn
 
 ENGLAND. 217 
 
 Llewellyn the third, like a hero did reign, 
 Till by Edward of England he basely was slain. 
 
 Yet barring, &c. 
 
 IX. 
 Caernarvon gave birth to the next British 
 
 Prince, 
 And England's first-born have been Sovereigns 
 
 since ; 
 
 While loyal, affectionate, hardy, and free, 
 
 The Welch have remained, and for aye may they 
 be. 
 
 And Cambria united see all of her Princes 
 
 Come safe to be Kings in their turn. 
 
 1 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 218 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDWARD II. 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 OF CAERNARVON. 
 
 Born at Caernarvon, April 2oth, 1284. Crowned at 
 Westminster, February 23d, 1307. Married Isabel, daugh- 
 ter of Philip le Bel, of France, in the church of Our Lady at 
 Bologne, January 28th, 1307, by whom he had issue, 
 Edward, his successor; John, of Elthara, who died in the 
 flower of his youth ; Joan, married to David, King of Scot- 
 land; and Eleanor, to Reynold, Duke de Guelders. Edward 
 reigned near twenty years, was cruelly murdered in Berkley 
 Castle, and buried at Gloucester, A. t>. 1327. * 
 
 -^.-. j^ -r Principal Events. '-^ 
 
 Civil wars with the Barons on account of the King's at- 
 tachment to his minions. The Queen joins against her hus- 
 band, who is eventually deposed. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 John OfFord, Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Plan- 
 tagenet. Earl of Lancaster. Roger, Lord Mortimer; Piers 
 ^aveston, and the two Spencers, favourites of the King. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Clemenii V. 1305. John XXII. 1316. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East Amh-omcvis II. 1283. Andronicus III. 1320. 
 Of the West Albert I. 1298. Henry VIII. 1304. Lewis 
 IV. 1314, 
 
 Kings.
 
 ENGLAND. 219 
 
 Kingt. 
 
 Of Frtnce. Philip IV. 1285. Louis X. 1314. Philip V, 
 
 1316. Charles IV. 1322. 
 Of Portugal. Dennis, 1272. Alphonsus IV. 1325. 
 Of Denmark. Eric VIII. 1286. Christopher II. 131, 
 0/ Sweden. Birger II. 1290. Magnus III. 1320 
 0/'Sco//anrf.-'Robert Bruce, 1306. 
 
 Ldward
 
 220 ENGLAND. 
 
 EDWARD THE SECOND. 
 
 " Now, lighter humour, leave me and begone, 
 
 " Your passion poor yields matter much too slight t 
 
 " To write these plagues that then were coming on, 
 " Doth ask a pen of Ebon, and the night; 
 
 *' If there be ghosts their murder tliat bemoane, 
 " Let them approach me, and in piteous plight, 
 
 " Howie, and about me with black tapers stand, 
 
 " To lend a sad light to my sadder hand." 
 
 Drayton. 
 
 To illustrate his character. Jet* us view his common amuse- 
 ments from an old French MS of his private expeuces : 
 
 Item. Paye a Jak de scint Albon, peyntre de Roi qui 
 daunsa devant le Roi sur une table, et lui fist grandement 
 rire, &c. 
 
 The extract is long, and not easily understood from the 
 obsoleteness of the language ; but, it proves that the King 
 played at tossing up " heads and tails" for farthings, be- 
 sides rewarding the above-mentioned buffoon for making hira 
 laugh by dancing on a table; he remunerated another for 
 tumbling off a horse before"him. Moreover tliat he made a 
 party on the water in a returned faggot barge, and bought 
 cabbages of the gardeners on the banks of the Thames to 
 compose his soup. 
 
 Anciilnt Relics. 
 
 ** Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day," 
 When second Edward claimed the regal sway ; 
 
 A reign
 
 ENGLAND. 22 1 
 
 A reign of imbecility. and care, 
 
 A life of terror closed in sad despair. 
 
 A scene unchanged of fierce, domestic jars, 
 
 Rebellion, tyranny, and civil wars, 
 
 Mark'd the whole period of a monarch's rule. 
 
 Who knew not how to learn in sorrow's school. 
 
 Adversity should prove a wholesome friend. 
 
 And past experience teach us how to mend ; 
 
 But who of mild correction takes no heed. 
 
 Lost to reflection, must be lost indeed ! 
 
 Could turn of face or majesty of form, 
 
 Shield from misfortune's overwhelming tide, 
 
 Edward had weather'd the relentless storm. 
 Nor uifder pangs unprecedented died. 
 
 The eye of beauty beams with dazz'ling light, 
 Yet brighter far the lustre of the mind : 
 
 And dark and cold as drearest winter night 
 The soul to intellectual pleasure blind. 
 
 Immersed in soft effeminacy's down. 
 
 The feeble Prince his subjects good neglects 
 
 For minions, who monopolize the crown. 
 
 And stain the sceptre which their vice protects. 
 
 The
 
 232 ENGLAND. 
 
 The pamperM Gaveston, of favour vain, 
 
 First rous'd our angry Barons* slighted pride ; 
 
 Till forced to banish him, the King with pain. 
 Escorts his darling to the vessel's side. 
 
 4 
 
 Soon he retum'd, again in exile sent, 
 
 Edward once more his favourite recalls ; 
 The land o'erflows with furious discontent. 
 And, spite of royal frowns, the Gascon falls.* 
 
 Next in the list, two worthless Spencers came, 
 Whose arrogance the people's rage renew'd ; 
 
 Who peaceful England gave to quenchless flame, 
 
 And harmony exchanged for civil feud. 
 
 
 The Scotch too, mindful of their former woes, 
 
 When the first Edward with his spoilers came. 
 
 At Banxockbourn on their now humbled foes 
 
 Take great revenge and win eternal fame. 
 
 BaflBed by Bruce, the King of England bends 
 
 To terms prescribed, that wars abroad may 
 cease ; 
 
 * Gaveston retomuig m 1312, the whole -kingdom was up un 
 arms ; the favourite was besieged in Scarborough, taken, and be- 
 headed by the Earl of Warwick. 
 
 Yet
 
 ENGL.\ND. 223 
 
 Yet loses all his best domestic friends 
 
 By follies which at home destroy his peace. 
 
 The Spencers driven from their native land, 
 For rude^extortion and oppression sore ; 
 
 Turn pirates, and with fierce marauding band. 
 Infest the coast they oft had robb'd before. 
 
 Great Lancaster* the Barons' phalan 
 Edward for once against a foe succeeds 
 And his opponent on a scaffold bleeds 
 
 IX leadsj'j 
 ids; > 
 
 But Isabel,*!" the monarch's angry wife, 
 
 (Jealous of influence the Spencers gain, J) 
 
 Against her husband mingles in the strife, 
 
 And thoughtless Edward quickly ceas'd to 
 reign. 
 
 Disgust had made the Queen repair 
 
 To seek her brother, Charles the Fair ; 
 
 Thomas, Earl of Lincaster, grandson of King Henry III. 
 
 t Isabella of France, daughter of Philip le Bel, the greatest 
 beauty of her age, whom Edward's father had in his dying mo- 
 ments conjured him to marry. 
 
 J The Spencers were recalled and loaded with fresh honours.-^ 
 They were, however, on the King's fortunes suffering a reverse, 
 both executed by the Queen's and Mortimer's party. 
 
 Theo
 
 2-24 ENGLAx\D. ' 
 
 Then leagued with Philip of Hainault, 
 Her lord and sov'reign to assault. 
 
 Yet who shall free the Gallic dame 
 From stigma, and deserved blame ; 
 Was it for her the mote to spy 
 That haply dimm'd her consort's eye : 
 When Mortimer as it should seem, 
 Was, in her own, a monstrous beam. 
 
 Drayton, thy verse can better tell, 
 The hapless King what next befell ; 
 Deposed, deserted, and disgraced. 
 In Ruffian restriction placed. 
 To insult cruelly exposed. 
 With agony his being closed ! 
 GuRNEY,* Mautr AVERS, and the crew, 
 Who dared so fell a crime to do. 
 
 Were 
 
 * Miscreants, who after practising every degradation on the 
 deposed King, that meanness and malice could invent, put him 
 to a most excruciating death in Kenilworth Castle. When to 
 add to other atrocious indignities, they brought cold and dirty 
 water for Edward to shave with, the unfortunate Monarch, 
 whose tears flowed fast, exclaimed, " You see I have warm water 
 *' in spite of you !" It is some, alleviation to kr.ow that all con- 
 cerned in Edward's murder met signal retribution. Gurney died 
 by the hands of the executioner; Mautravers perished for want ; 
 
 - Edmund,
 
 ENGLAND. 225 
 
 Were punishM for the blood they spilt, 
 Yet live immortalized in guiir. 
 Oh ! may the careless, thoughtless, great, 
 Profit by reading Edwauo's fate, 
 
 And men ot cruel nature know, 
 
 '.'. olJofMd'X' 
 Like Edward's murd'rers, more than Edward s 
 
 woe. ' ^-'^'^^ 
 
 The Spencers, who had caus'd this strife, 
 Paid for delinquency with'life ; 
 And what the folks of England gain, 
 Is, Edward's son styled King in vain, 
 \Vhile Mortimer and Isabella rei2:n. 
 
 & 
 
 I 
 
 Edmund, Earl of Kent, who conspired against the King, his bro- 
 ther, was beheaded through the intrigues of Mortimer, and the 
 Queen; of whom the former was hanged, and the latter im- 
 prisoned for life. 
 
 Adam de Orleton, Bishop of Hereford, is said to have sanc- 
 j^tioned the assassination of Edward by this ambiguous line -. 
 
 Edwardum occidere, nolite timere, bonum est. 
 
 Or, 
 Edwardum occidere nolite, timere bonum est. 
 
 The punctuation making it either, 
 
 Edward to slay avoid, to fear 'tis good. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Edward to sl.iy, avoid to fear! 'tii good. 
 
 VOL. T. r Royal 
 
 I
 
 226 ENGLAND. 
 
 Royal Poetry of this Reign. 
 
 Edward was learned, tho', like me, no poet ; 
 The fbllox^fing lines, his own, may serve to shew it; 
 When, to a dungeon fallen from a throne, 
 The royal sufferer thus made his moan : 
 
 Written by Edjwtard the Second.* 
 
 (On the authority of Fabiak.) 
 
 Damnum mihi contulit 
 
 Tempore bruraali, 
 Fortuna satis aspera 
 
 Vehementis mali. 
 Nullus est tarn sapiens, 
 
 Mitis, aut formosus 
 Tarn prudens virtutibus, 
 
 Caeterisque famosus 
 Quin, stultus reputabitur 
 
 Et satis despectus, 
 Si fortuna prosperos 
 
 Avertat effectus. 
 
 Of these verses, which Bishop Tanner styles, " Lamentatio glories i 
 " Regis Edwardi, de Kamarvon, quam edidit tempore suae incarceratio- 
 " nis." 
 
 Horace Walpole says, 
 
 I should beUeve that this melody of a dying Monarch is about as autheu- 
 
 tic as that of the old poetic warbler the Swan, and no better founded 
 
 than the title of Gloriosi. 
 
 Cataloove of Royal Authors. 
 
 Imitated
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Imitated by J. P. Andrews. 
 
 On my devoted head 
 
 Her bitterest showers, 
 All from a wintry cloud 
 
 Stern fortune pours; 
 View but her favourite. 
 
 Sage and discerning, 
 Grac'd with fair comiiuessi 
 
 Famed for his learning ; 
 Should she withdraw her smiles 
 
 Each grace she banishes, 
 Wisdom and wit are flown, 
 
 And beauty v.inishe*. 
 
 227 
 
 P 2 SUMMARY
 
 228 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 EDWARD III. suRNAMED OF WINDSOR. 
 
 Born at Windsor, November 30th, 1312. Crowned at 
 Westminster, February 1st, 1327. Married Philippa, daugh- 
 ter of William, Earl of Hainault and Holland. Had issue, 
 Edward, of Woodstock, the Black Prince of Wales, and 
 first Duke of Cornwall ; married to Joan, daughter of 
 Edmund, Earl of Kent, (by whom he had Edward, who died 
 young; and Richard the Second, who succeeded his grand- 
 father :) the other children of King Edward were, William 
 of Hatfield, who died in childhood; Lionel, Duke of Cla- 
 rence; John of Ghent or Gaunt, Earl of Richmond, and 
 Duke of Lancaster ; Edmund of Langley, Earl of Cambridge, 
 and Duke of York; William of Windsor, died young; and 
 Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester ; Isabella mar- 
 ried the Earl of Soissons ; Joan, died on her journey to marry 
 a Prince of Castile; Blanche died young; Mary married to 
 the Duke of Bretagne ; and Margaret, to John Hastings, Earl 
 of Pembroke. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Mortimer, Earl of March, executed at Bariie Elms ; and 
 the Queen Dowager imprisoned. Battles of Crecy and Poic- 
 tiers, the Kings of France and Scotland taken prisoners. 
 Listitution of the Garter. Death of Edward, tlie Black 
 Prince. The statute of iiigh treason first enacted. St. 
 Stephen's Chapel, the present House of Commons, and 
 Windsor Castle built. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 Thomas Bradwardin, Simon Islip, Simon Langham, Wil- 
 liam Witlesey, and Simon Sudbury, Archbishops of Canter- 
 bury. Edward the Black Prince of Wales. De Montacute 
 
 . King
 
 ENGLAND. 229 
 
 King of Man. Earl of Salisbury. John, Lord Chaudos^ 
 Latimer, Lord Chamberlain. James, Lord Andlcy, Sec. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 John XIL 1316. Benedict XI. 1334. Clement VI. 1342. 
 Innocent VI. 1352. Urban V. 13G2. Gregory XI. 1370. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the Eff*^ Andronicus III. 1320. John V. 1341. John 
 
 VI. 1355. 
 O/Me/r^Y. CliarlesIV. 1347. Lewis IV. 1314. 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. CharUslY. 1322. Philip VI. 1328. John L 
 1353. Charles V. 1364. 
 
 O/'Por/M^o/. Alphonsus IV. 1325. Pedro I. 1357. Fer- 
 dinand I. 1367. 
 
 0/ DtTiOTor/t. Christopher IL 1319. Waldemar IIL 1340. 
 Olaus IIL 1375. 
 
 Of Sweden. Magnas III: 1320. Albert, 1363. 
 
 Of Scotland. Robert Bru( e, 1.306. David II. 1330. 
 Edward Baliol, 1332. David I L restored, 1342. Robert 
 (Stuart) 11. 1370. 
 
 Edward
 
 230 ENGLAND. 
 
 EDWARD THE THIRD. 
 
 " Honi soit (jui mal y pense." 
 
 Motto of the Garter. 
 
 " Edward first enroll' d 
 " His Redcross Knights, and Barons bold. 
 " Whose vacant seats, by virtue bought, 
 " Ambitions Emperors have sought; 
 " Where Britain's foremost names are found, 
 " In peace beloved, in war renowned; 
 " Who made the hostile nations moan, 
 
 " Or brought a blessing on their own." 
 
 TiCKELL. 
 
 " Ich Dien.'* 
 
 Motto of the Black Prince. 
 
 " Whose ripe manhood spread our fame so far^ 
 " A sage in peace, a demi-god in war ; 
 *' Who stern in fight made echoing Cressey ring,' 
 " And mild in conquest, served hia captive King V' 
 
 TiCKELL. 
 
 With form and aspect to command respect, 
 With mind, desert and talent to protect, 
 Edward presents a model to admire: 
 
 His subjects' hearts before their sovereign bend; 
 The widow's guardian, and the orphan's sire ; 
 
 Foe to the vicious, to the good a friend. 
 
 Domestic
 
 ENGLAND. 23l 
 
 Domestic happiness his rich reward, 
 Link'd to his Queen by mutual regard ; 
 Proud of a son, whose better scarce drew breath, 
 Through life beloved, lamented in his death. 
 
 The King, while yet his years were but sixteen, 
 Saw Mortimer ascendant o'er the Queen ; 
 Indignant at their joint and lawless rule, 
 Scorning to be a mean, convenient, tool, 
 He boldly took the reins, well knowing, he 
 Who rules o'er Freemen should himself be free. 
 " To Nottingham, the north's imperious eye, 
 
 ** Which as a pharos doth survey the soile, 
 *' Armed by nature, danger to defie, 
 
 ** March E* to repose him after all his toile. 
 '* Where treason (least advantage might espie) 
 
 " Closely convey'd his past price valued spoyle; 
 "* That there residing from the publique sight, 
 ** He might with measure relish his delight."'!' 
 There with " ninescore of special worth and sort 
 " Marche and the Queen maintaine one equal 
 port." J 
 
 Mortimer was created Earl of March, at the close of the 
 last reign, in 1327. 
 
 + DraytiJn, J Drayton. 
 
 So
 
 ^2 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 So Drayton. siiigs, and further sings how " he 
 
 *' And the bright Queen ^ule all things by 
 r their might, 
 " The^ state \yherein at Npttingham they be, 
 *' The cost wherewith their pompeous court is 
 
 *' Envy'd by those their hateful pride that see : 
 
 " The King attempts the dreadful cave* by 
 night ; 
 
 ** Entering the castle, taketh him from thence 
 
 "And Marche at London dyes for his offence 
 
 
 The King's fair fame but owns a single blot,'|" 
 Ambition taught him to deceive the Scot ; 
 
 Baliol 
 
 ** A labyrinth consti:ucte(i under the castle, through which 
 the King's guards made way to the apartmeijt, where, 
 " Vnarm'd was March (she onely in his annes) 
 " Too soft a shield to beare their boys'trous blowes, 
 " Who least of all suspected such alarmes." 
 
 t Taking an ungenerous advantage of some border excur- 
 Bions, he declared the treaty of Northampton broken, and be- 
 sieged Bei*wick; while Baliol (who had been intruded on the 
 Scots as King by Edward, to the prejudice of David Bruce, and 
 chased back to England by the indignant natives,) with an Eng- 
 lish army entered Scotland, and made Moray, the Regent, pri- 
 soner. Archibald Douglas, who succeeded to the Regency, at- 
 tacking the English, with more courage than conduct, at Halli- 
 down Hill, was slain with the principal nobility, and the army 
 
 utterly
 
 E-NQLAND. 233 
 
 ^.. 
 
 Baliol agaiust his native plains allied, 
 
 With Caledonian blood his broad sword dyed; < 
 
 At Hallidown too, mournful legends tell, 
 
 The Douglas with his thirty thousand fell. A 
 
 X 
 Turn we the page to where the regal lance 
 
 With more of honour thins the ranks of France; 
 
 To where in nayal fight 'tis Edward's boast 
 
 Their fleet to vanquish on the Flemish coast; 
 
 Two hundred ships destroyed, some tell us more,* 
 
 With thirty thousand corses, fright the shore; 
 
 The King, with half their force,-this vict'ry gains. 
 
 And England's flag most gallantly maintains ; '-. 
 
 With less success the warlike chief, on land, . ' 
 
 Headed an Anglo-German-Flemish band, 
 
 utterly dfestroyed, with hardly any loss on the side of Edward,*- 
 And sj^s an old MS. in the Haileian Collection, ' ' ' '^> 
 
 " This was do, with mery soune, < " '*^ 
 
 " With pipes, trompes and tabors therto, 
 " And loud clarionnes they blew also." 
 
 . Fide J. V. ANDRtw8. 
 
 ' The French vc said to, have had four hundred vessels, outf' 
 of which number they lost two hundred and thirty : while 
 Edward's fleet only consisted of two hundred and forty. It is 
 presumed these ships were *principally transports, and those but 
 of small dimensions; the disparity of numbers, however, serves 
 tp prove that the bravery and conduct of the British were always 
 supcrerainent on the ocean. 
 
 A short-
 
 334 ENGLAND. 
 
 A short-lived peace suspends a weak campaign, 
 
 Till quarrels, for the duchy of Bretagne, 
 
 " Cry havock 1 and let loose the war" again. 
 
 Edward to ^venge his friend, the slain Artois, 
 
 Joins MoNTFORT*s party against Charles de 
 Blois : 
 
 While valiant Jane de Montfort leads the fight, 
 
 To vindicate a captive husband's right ; 
 
 ' Sustaining Against De Blois' superior powers, 
 
 A fierce blockade and siege in Hennebonne 
 Towers, 
 
 , Where, nearly forced by famine to give place. 
 Sir Walter Manny saves her from disgrace ; 
 From conquest almost gain'd, her foes retreat, 
 ' Aw'd by the presence of an English Fleet ! 
 The muse to aid with mingled power of pen, 
 
 Cou'd time, fame, vict'ry, furnish each a wing, 
 She might essay, but faintly even then, 
 
 The laurels won on Crecy's plains to sing. 
 With what success then shall her humble plume 
 Of goose-quill uninspired, the task asume? 
 Dare she attempt the praise of England's King, 
 Who like the lion cross'd in wish'd retrea^ 
 Turn'd sudden on his hunters? dare she tell 
 
 How
 
 ENGLAND. 235 
 
 How theBLACK Prince, high thronM in valour's 
 seat. 
 
 Directed fortune as by magic spell. 
 
 And saw BohEiMIa's Monarch at his feet. 
 
 While round him Gallia's choicest leaders felH 
 
 i 
 
 Alas I she knows not or to praise or blame 
 The King, who cared but for the Prince's fame 
 And valued less his safety than his name. 
 
 When nearly overpower'd the youthful chief, 
 (His age fifteen,) sought from his sire relief; 
 No, cried the father, with demeanour stern, 
 My aid would snatch the laurel he may earn, 
 More worthy he to grace a future throne. 
 Who can in danger make success his awn> 
 And owe the glory to himself alone. 
 Bohemia's King, eleven leaders more. 
 Who regal ensigns on their armour bore, 
 With eighty bannerets, twelve hundred knights, 
 
 Of nobles, fifteen hundred men of name ; 
 Four thousand (so undoubted hist'ry writes). 
 
 With thirty thousand soldiers of less fame, 
 
 Four thousand men at armi, which implies a distinction, 
 jitc given in the list; boides thirty thousand common soldiers. 
 
 Fell 
 
 !
 
 ii36 ENGLAND. 
 
 * 
 
 Fell on that ever memorable day : 
 While Edward's loss was only, strange to say, 
 Three knights^ one valiant squire, and few indeed 
 Of private station who were known to bleed. 
 
 Calais, besieged, great Edward's pow'r defies, 
 , Till "famine cling them,*' and the King enraged, 
 Soon as the city at his mercy lies. 
 
 To punish those whom self-defence engaged 
 In patriot warfare, to their pray'r for peace. 
 Decrees from slaughter 'ere the sword shall cease, 
 Six of their noblest with disgrace shall die: 
 Six, self-devoted, to the tlireat reply ; 
 But great and good Phillippa's suppliant breath,* 
 Saves Edward from dishonour, them from death ; 
 Phillippa who from England came, 
 AYith more of wreaths for Edward's name. 
 The Scottish King who vainly thought, 
 
 He, in the royal absence, might invade 
 
 Phillippa on more than one occasion had the happiness to 
 be successful in the amiable character of an intercessor. In the 
 fourth year of this reign, a scaffold on which the Queen and 
 many ladies were seated to see a tournament in Cheapside, fell 
 down, and the royal and noble auditresses were precipitated from 
 a considerable height ; thecar penters would have inevitably suf- 
 fered death, but the stern Edward was softened by the prayers 
 and tears of the amiable Phillippa. 
 
 Our
 
 ENGLAND. 237 
 
 Our land, with loss of crown the effort bought, 
 And by Phtllippa's arm was prisoner made 
 At Nevill's Caoss, where, fatal to his reign, 
 Of valiant Scots are fifteen thousand slain. 
 
 His son and comrades to reward. 
 For triumphs won in contest hard, 
 O'er Edward's oft defeated foes. 
 The Order of the Garter rose. 
 
 1 
 
 *Tis said of gayer origin it came. 
 The story coupled with a lady's name,* 
 Yet, with due rev'rence to the lovely dame, 
 (We delicately touch so soft a siring) 
 Tho' great effect froni little cause may spring, 
 'Twere better here to have it understood, 
 As royal guerdon for the great and good. 
 Glory, untired of decking Edward's helm, 
 (And with her beams his enemies to whelm) 
 
 Though many give credit to what Andrews calls the pic- 
 *turesque story of this order, originating from the Countess of 
 ^'8alisb\iry's garter, yet he adds fi"om Rastell's Chronicle, that 
 * Some do affirme that this order beganne fyrit by King Ricliard 
 " Coeur de Lyon, at the siege of the citie of Acres, where in his 
 " greate neccssytie there were but twenty-five knights that finnlye 
 " and surelye abode by him, where he caused all them to wear 
 " thonges of blue leytliere aboute their legges, and afterwards 
 " they were called knights.'' 
 
 Again
 
 238 ENGLAND. 
 
 Again illumes the Sable Princf, who gains 
 Another day, unmatchM in former reigns : 
 A second Crecy to the first succeeds, 
 At PoiCTiERS, scene of more than mortal deeds ; 
 With front unmoved, the Prince beholds advance, 
 To crush his little band, the power of France : 
 Attacked by Monarch, Princes, Nobles, all. 
 He sees their Princes, Nobles, Warriors, fall ; 
 Hears their King own himself in grief's despite, 
 Surpass'd in curtesy as foil'd in fight ;* 
 While England views her sovereign mildly greet 
 Two captive Monarchs kneeling at his feet, 
 
 A cloud at length obscures the brilliant day, 
 YoungEdward, after deeds excelled by none, 
 
 'Mid dazzling career was snatch'd away. 
 And with him, for a while, set England's sun ! 
 
 Scarcely a year his mourning sire survived 
 
 The darling son in whom his glory lived ; 
 
 The number of French slain were, two Dukes, nineteen 
 Earls, many Knights and Gentlemen, with several thousand men 
 at arms. The prisoners were still more numerous, at the head of 
 whom was their King John, who was treated with the most deli- 
 cate respect by his conqueror, after his arrival in England. Henry 
 Picard, Lord Mayor of London, had the honour to entertain the 
 captive Kings of France and Scotland, and the King of Cyprus 
 at one table, with most hospitable magnificence. 
 
 And
 
 ENGIAND. fj39 
 
 And prov'd, however fortunate and brave, 
 " The paths of glory lead but to a grave.'^ 
 
 I Tho' yet our stubborn language gave small scope, 
 - To poesy and " lisp'd in numbers" still ; ,, ^^^ 
 Chaucer* gave birth to a prophetic hope, 
 
 Of what succeeding ages might fulfil. 
 From him and others, en passant , we chuse, 
 Some dozen lines, which occupy a place, 
 fe Not as fair samples, haply of the muse, 
 
 But the gradations of our tongue to trace 
 Since our last extract and because their rhymes, 
 In some sort, sketch the manners of the times ; 
 And, first from Chaucer, we are* taught to guess 
 At style of living, cookery, and dress. 
 
 Eating, 
 
 " A coke thei hadde with them for the nonce, 
 " To boil the chikens and the marie-bones, 
 
 * Chaucer, styled the first English poet, was page to Edward 
 III. in 1359, married Phillippa, the sister of Catherine Swynford, 
 (the future wife of John of Gaunt,) and is said to have had a 
 large income, he was imprisoned as a Lollard, bt ended his life in 
 ease and plenty, at Donnington Castle, Berks, where he composed 
 most of his best productions. 
 
 "And
 
 540 ENGLAND. 
 
 *' And powder marchaunt, tarte and galengale, 
 " Well couth he knew a draught of London ale; 
 *' He couth roste, boile, grille, and frie, 
 " And make mortries, and well bake a pie ; 
 " For blank manger that made he with the best, 
 &c." 
 
 ^,,,,.? Drinkincr. 
 
 " We shall have Rumney and malespine, 
 
 * Both Ypocras and Vernage wyne, 
 
 *' Mountrese and wyne of Greke, 
 
 * Both Algrade and despice eke, 
 
 " Antioche and Bastarde, 
 
 ** Pymont also and Garnarde, &c. 
 
 Spices. 
 
 " There was ike wexin many a spice, 
 
 " As clowe, gilofre, and licorice, 
 
 " Gingiber, and grein de Paris, 
 
 *' Canell at sette wale of prys, 
 
 ** And many a spice delitable, 
 
 ** To eten when men rise fro' table.'' 
 
 Dress
 
 ENGLAND, 241 
 
 Dress of an Archer. 
 
 I " And he wiis cladde in cote, and hode of grene, 
 ** A shefe of pecockes arrwes bryghte and clene, 
 " Under his belt he bore full thriftily, 
 ** And in his hand he bare a mighty bowe, 
 '* A not hed hadde he, with browne visage, 
 " Of wood craft couth he wel al the usage ; 
 " Upon his arme he had a gai bracer, 
 " And by his side a sworde and a bokeler ; 
 " And on the other side a gai daggere, 
 " Harneised well, and sharp as point of spere ; 
 " A christofre on his breste of silken shene, 
 ** An home he bare, the baudrike was of grene." 
 
 Chaucer. 
 
 Spring, 
 
 *** This was in midst of month of May, 
 
 " When birdis sing on ilka spray, 
 
 * Melland* their notes with seemly soun, 
 
 ** For softness of the sweet seasoun. 
 
 ** And leaves of the branches spreeds, 
 
 " And bloomis bright, beside them, breeds, 
 
 Mingling. 
 
 VOL I. Q ' And
 
 242 ENGLAND. 
 
 " And fieldis strawed are with flowers, 
 " Well favouring of seir* colours." 
 
 John BARBouR.f 
 
 Hunger. 
 
 " Hunger, in heste, though, hent Wastour by the 
 
 mawe, 
 " And wronge him so by the wembe that both 
 
 his eien water'd ; 
 *' He buffeted the Breton about the chekes, 
 ** That he loked lyke a lanterne all his life after.^^ 
 
 Robert Langlande.J 
 
 Chaiicer thus describes the delicate distress of a 
 maiden, injirst disclosing her affections. 
 
 And as the new abashed nightingale, 
 
 That stinteth first when she beginneth sing, 
 When that the herith any hardis' tale, 
 
 * Their. 
 
 t Born at Aberdeen, but who, after he was an Archdeacoa, 
 obtained a licence from Edward III. to study at Oxford. 
 
 , X Fellow of Oriel College, 
 Hardis, shepherd. 
 
 Or
 
 ENGLAND. 243 
 
 Or in the hedgis anie wight stirring, 
 And after, siker* doth her voice outring ; 
 Right so Cresseidc (when that her drede stent,)t 
 Open'd her herte, and told him her intent. 
 
 With confidence. f Stopped. 
 
 Q 2 SUMMARY
 
 244 ENGLA.ND. 
 
 SUMMARY or THE REIGN OF 
 
 RICHARD THE SECOND. 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 OF BOURDEAUX. 
 
 Born at Bourdeaux, A. D. 1366. Crowned, June 21, 
 1376. Married twice, first to Anne of Luxemburg, sister 
 of the Emperor Wenceslaus; and afterwards to Isabel, 
 daughter of Charles VI. of France. Died, without issue, 
 supposed to have been murdered in Pontefract Castle, York- 
 shire, 1399, in the thirty-third year of his age, and twenty- 
 third of his reign. Buried at Langley, afterwards removed 
 to Westminster. > 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 Wat Tyler's insurrections. The dagger first placed in the 
 city arms in compliment to the Mayor's courageous attack 
 on Tyler. The Duke of Gloucester smothered. Death of 
 the Duke of Lancaster. Bolingbroke returns from banish- 
 ment and seizes the crown. Violent death of the King. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 William Courtney, Thomas Arundel, Archbishops of Can- 
 terbury. William Walworth, Lord Mayor of London. 
 Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, Grandson to Clarence, 
 heir apparent. Henry of Bolingbroke. Vere, Duke of Ire- 
 land. Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Gregory XL 1370. Urban VI. 1378. Boniface IX. 1389. 
 
 Emperor's
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 OfthtEast.itihxim. 1355. Emanuel II. 1391. 
 Of tht fresr. Charles IV. 1347. WenceslauR, 1378^ 
 
 Kings and Queens. 
 
 Of France. Charles V. 1364. Charles VI. 1380. 
 Of Portugal. Ferdin&nd, 1367. John I. 1385. 
 (y DwimarA:. Olaus III. 1375. Margaret, 1385 
 Of Sweden. Margaret held Sweden with Denmark. 
 Of Scotland. Roheri 11. 1370. Robert III. 1390. 
 
 245 
 
 
 
 IllCHAED
 
 It- ' J 
 
 240 ENGLAND. 
 
 RICHARD IT. suRNAMED ofBOURDEAUX. 
 
 " Thus when you see this land by faction lost, 
 
 " Her nobles slain, her laws, her freedom, lost; 
 
 " Let this reflection from the action flow, 
 
 " We ne'er from foreign foes can ruin know. 
 
 " Oh, let us then intestine discord shun, 
 
 " We ne'er can be but by ourselves undone." 
 
 Savase. 
 
 " I was not made a horse, 
 
 '* And yet I bear a burden like an ass.'* 
 
 ^' Spur gall'd and tir'd by jaunting Bolingbroke." 
 
 " The skipping King he ambled up and down, 
 
 ^' With shallow jesters and rash basin wits, 
 
 " Mingled his royalty with carping fools ; 
 
 " Had his great name prophaned with their scorns ; 
 
 " Grew a companion to the common streets, 
 
 " That, being daily swallowed by men's eyes, 
 
 " He was but as the cuckoo is, in June, 
 
 ** Heard, not regarded." '" 
 
 Shakespeare's Rich. II. 
 
 An infant Monarch to the Throne succeeds, 
 Son of the Black Prince Edward, but in sooth, 
 No heir to his great sirens illustrious deeds. 
 Was Richard, "being but a moonish youth "* 
 
 * Shakespeare. 
 
 His
 
 ENGLAND. 247 
 
 His Uncles Lancaster* and Gloucester sway, 
 
 With York, whose guardianship the States obey. 
 
 Ambitious guardians ! to prolong their rule, 
 
 They represent their nephew as the tool 
 
 Of Nevil and Tresilian, Pole and Verb,-)- 
 
 (Who certainly had gained the royal ear.) 
 
 Much more his uncles had their charge befriended, 
 
 If they in honesty had recollected. 
 
 Some faults without exposure may be mended, 
 
 And by mild means are ofttimes best cor- 
 rected. 
 
 But, as there's little in this reign, 
 
 Save what we must record with pain, 
 
 Sans further comment let us try, 
 
 A very brief Chronology, 
 
 'Twill trouble spare to you and us, 
 
 Kind reader if you'll take it thus : 
 
 In thirteen hundred seventy-seven^ 
 
 King Edward went, we hope, to heaven ; 
 
 The celebrated John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; t\y 
 EarJ of Camb.idge, afierwanls Duke of York; and the Duke of 
 Gloucester; ail uncles to the King, were appointed his guardians, 
 he being but ten years old. 
 
 t Verc, Earl of Oxford, Marquis of Dublin, and Duke of 
 Ireland; Tresilian, a Judge; Michael de la Pole, a merchant's 
 son ; and Nevil, Archbishop of York. 
 
 And
 
 24S ENGLAND. 
 
 And left his grandson, doom'd by birth, 
 To wear a careful crown on earth. 
 In thirteen hundred seventy eight, 
 Wickliff's* Opinions posed the state. 
 And John of Gaunt marched many men 
 To France, to bring them back again ; 
 AV^hile thirteen severity nine and eighty^ 
 Are not renowned for matters weighty, 
 Until a poll tax, ill collected, 
 Much danger to the land effected ; 
 And caused the evils which were done 
 In thirteen hundred eighty one, 
 Wat Tyler and his friend'^jACK Straw, 
 Into their own hands take the law, 
 ^ill WALWORTH-f knock'd rebellion down. 
 By cracking Master Tyler's crown ; 
 And 'tis but just in Richard's cause, 
 To say his gallantry deserved applause, 
 
 * A reformer of the Romish Church, he was cited by the 
 Ecclesiastical Courts, but protected against them by the Duke 
 of Lancaster. 
 
 t Sir William Walworth, Lord Mayor of London, enraged at 
 Tyler's insolence in an interview with the King, struck him to 
 the ground, and the dagger with which he dispatched him is 
 commemorated by a place in the city arms. 
 
 The
 
 
 
 ENGLAND. 249 
 
 The savage crew, by Tyler^s death inflamed. 
 
 Were by his conduct, mild, yet brave, reclaimed. 
 
 The anarchy that er'st prevailed, 
 
 Is by friend Andrew's thus detailed. 
 
 Translated in a prosperous hour. 
 
 From that famed poet Master Gower : 
 
 ** Wat cries, Tom flies, nor Symkin stays aside; 
 
 '*And Batt and Gibb, and HvKE-f they 
 summon loud, 
 
 " Colin and Bob combustibles provide, 
 
 *^ While VV^iLL the mischief forwards in the 
 crowd ; 
 
 " Greg bawls, Hob bawls, and Davy joins the 
 cry 
 
 * With J^arry, not the least among the tlirong; 
 
 Gower*$ verses as a specimen of this reign's literature may 
 not be unacceptable, particularly from the comic effect produced 
 by putting English nick-names into a Latin dress. 
 
 ** Watte vocat cui Thoma venit, neque Symme retardat, 
 
 " Bat que, Gibbe simul, IIyrke venire subent. 
 
 " CoLLE furit, quem Burbe juvat, nocumenta parantes, 
 
 " Cum quibus ad damnum Wille coire vovet. 
 
 " Grigge rapit, Dun Davie, strepit, com'es est quibus IIobbe, 
 
 ' LarkiN, et in medio non minor esse putat, 
 
 " Hldde ferit, quem Jcdde terit, dum Tibbe juvatur, 
 
 " Jakke domosque vivoi vellit, & ense necat, &c." 
 
 t Ia:e. 
 
 "With
 
 2S0 ENGLAND. 
 
 " Hodge drubbs, Jude scrubbs, whileTiB stands 
 grinning by, 
 
 ** And Jack with sword and firebrand madly 
 strides along. 
 
 In thirteen hundred eighty two. 
 
 The King had something more to do; 
 
 For doomed to lead a restless life, 
 
 Bohemian Ann he took to wife. 
 
 In thirteen hundred eighty three, 
 
 A Bishop* militant we see ^ 
 
 Against the French, who does no more 
 
 Than John of Gaunt achieved before. 
 
 In eighty four and eighty jive. 
 
 The Scots against our armies thrive ; 
 
 And Richard loses Joan his mother, f 
 
 For grief, he would'nt spare his brother. 
 
 In thirteen hundred eighty six. 
 
 King Richard^s favourites play sad tricks; 
 
 Degrading so their lord's condition. 
 
 The crown was rendered in commission. J 
 
 In 
 
 * Norwich, 
 
 t She broke her heart because Richard would not forgive 
 Lord Holland, her son by a second marriage, for the murder of 
 Lord Stafford's heir. Yet the inconsistent King gianted him tiie 
 next day the very pardon which, however unjust, would some 
 hours earlier have saved his parent's life. 
 
 X The King was forced through a dread of deposition to 
 
 abandon
 
 ENGLAND. 251 
 
 In eighty seven the French confess, 
 
 The British Tars command success ; 
 
 Being by Nottingham's brave fleet. 
 
 As since by others, soundly beat.* 
 
 'Twas Tresil'an and Brembres fate. 
 
 To swing in thirteen eighty eight \ 
 
 *' Sponges '' who '*soak'd authority " 
 
 'Till " squeez'd, and then hung up to dry;" 
 
 In this year too we find a place 
 
 For famous fight of Chevy CHACE.f 
 
 In thirteen hundred eighty nine. 
 
 The Nobles to the King resign 
 
 Unfettered rule,;}: and ninety sees 
 
 (Only one year) the land at ease. 
 
 With 
 
 abandon his Ministers, and even commit the government of the 
 realm to twelve commissioners appointed by parliament. 
 
 * He took one hundred and fifty sail. 
 
 t Celebrated by ancient Scotch Bards as the battle of Otter- 
 bourne. Vide Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, p. 27. 
 
 t Richard at this period abounded in money, which he raised by 
 various extortions, to squander it away in ridiculous prodigality; 
 of this, John Ilardinge, a coteraporary poet, " not over smoothly," 
 sings : 
 
 " Truly I herd Robert Irclefle say, 
 
 * rcierke of the grene cloth) that to the hou^holdc 
 
 " Came every daye forth, most part alway, 
 
 " Ten thousand folkis, bi his messes told, 
 
 " That follow'd the house, ayi as thei wold ; 
 
 "And
 
 252 ENGLAND. 
 
 With nineiif one some Daemon sent 
 Famine and plague and discontent ; 
 Nor ninetif two, nor three brought more 
 Of happiness, while ninety four, 
 Still to depress the luckless man, 
 Deprived him of his good Queen Ann ; 
 Who bid the fair no more bestride 
 Their steeds like men, but first to ride 
 As now, with decent modest pride, 
 Gracing the happy saddle's side. 
 
 And, in the ketchin, three hundred servitours, 
 " And, in eche office, many occup'ours ; 
 ** Chamberers also, eke and launderers, 
 ** And ladies fair, with their gentlewomen, 
 ^ Three hundred of them occupied were then, 
 " There was great pride among the officers ; 
 And of all men far passing their compeers, 
 * Of rich arraye, and more cost o-us, 
 " Than was before or since more precious." 
 
 Richard's favorite method of obtaining money, was by loan; the 
 proportions of the respective sums (as given by Andrews, from 
 Rymer's Faedera) will shew the comparative wealth of the English 
 Ci;ies : 
 
 ** From,London, was asked 10,000 Marks. 
 
 " York, Gloucester, Salisbury, and Uncoln, each 200 
 ** Cambridge, Canterbury, & Southampton, each 100 
 
 Bristol 800 
 
 "Norwich 500 
 
 **Lynn 400 
 
 " Bath, Derby, and Litchfield, each 20 
 
 ' Harwich and Liskeard. each 10 
 
 In
 
 ENGLAND. 333 
 
 In ninety five his better star 
 
 Assists him in the Irish war ; 
 
 And 'tis his fate in ninety six^ 
 
 On Is'bel* for a wife to fix. 
 
 Some bridegrooms had prefer'd to wail. 
 
 The lady's years were only eight. 
 
 In ninety seven Glo'ster fell, 
 
 And foully too, as records tell. 
 
 In ninety eight the banishment 
 
 Of HEREFORof such discontcnt 
 
 Did in his partizans create. 
 
 As caus'd the King's ensuing fate ; 
 
 For Hereford, his father dead, 
 
 (He, Duke of Lancaster instead), 
 
 Returns with means which soon encrease, 
 
 As Richard's failing powers cease ; 
 
 And BouxgbrokeJ the King deposes. 
 
 Whose scene of earthly grandeur closes. 
 
 Forced 
 
 Daughter to Charles the Sixth of France. 
 
 t Henry of Bolingbroke, son to the Duke of Lanc-a.tcr. 
 
 I A maouscript in the late Royal Library at Paris, entitled 
 Embassies, and numbered 8448, makes the unfortunate Richard 
 rej)roach the ingratitude of Bolingbroke, in what are given as hii 
 genuine words: 'Thrice have I saved his life; once my dear 
 uncle of f.aocaster (on whom God five mercy) would have sJaii 
 
 him
 
 254 ENGLAND. 
 
 Forced Albion's sceptre to resign, 
 In thirteen hundred ninety nine. 
 And soon in the succeeding year. 
 By means most horrible we fear, 
 His spirit sought that Judge most just^ 
 Who sees in Kings but common dust. 
 
 *Tis said Piers Exton and eight more, 
 Of fiend-like ruffians join'd to slay 
 
 Their 'prisoned Sovereign, who bore 
 Himself in knightly sort that fatal day, 
 
 Of his opponents killing four, 
 
 As tho' the spirit of his sire in death, 
 
 Breathed valour from the source which gave the 
 Monarch breath. 
 
 him for his treason and villainy ; and then, O God of Paradise, all 
 night did I ride to preserve him from death. Once, also, he drew 
 his sword on me, in the chamber of Queen Ann ! Oh, heaven ! 
 how truly is it said that the most deadly foe a man can have, is he 
 whom he has saved from destruction." 
 
 END OF PART THE FIFTH. 
 
 ENGLAND.
 
 I 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 PART THE SIXTH. 
 
 From the Death of Richard II. to the Accession of the 
 House of York, 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 KINGS OF THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 
 
 Henry IV. Henry V. Battle of Agincourty and Conquest of 
 France Henry VI. The Maid of Orleans lied and White 
 Roses Jack Cade Accession of the House of York, 
 
 SUMMART
 
 256 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HENRY THE FOURTH, 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 BOLINGBROKE. 
 
 Born, A. D. 1367. Crowned at Westminster, September 
 29th, 1399. Married twice, first to Mary le Bohun, daughter 
 of Humphery Earl of Essex, Hereford, and Northampton, 
 and Constable of England; by whom he had issue Henry of 
 Monmouth, who succeeded him ; Thomas, Duke of Clarence; 
 John, Duke of Bedford; Humphery, Duke of Gloucester; 
 Blanche, married to Lewis Barbatus, Elector Palatine of the 
 Rhine ; and Philippa, wife to Edric, King of Denmark and 
 Norway. Henry afterwards married Joan of Navarre, by 
 whom he had no issue. Reigned near fourteen years. Died 
 at London; was buried at Canterbury, 1413. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 War with France, Scotland, Wales, and with English insur- 
 gents. Battles of Holmdon and Shrewsbury. Revolt and 
 death of Henry Percy. Unpromising conduct of the Prince 
 of WjJes. A plague in London, which destroyed thirty 
 thousand people. (In the Meudlla Historiae Anglicanae, and 
 other Chronicles, less authentic than entertaining, are men- 
 tioned " sundry spirits, of divers colours, that appeared 
 (before the rebellion of the Percies) between Bedford and 
 Biggleswade, issuing out of the woods in the morning, which, 
 to such as stood afar off, seemed to encounter one another in 
 most terrible manner, but when they drew near, nothing was 
 to be found. Also the devil appeared in the habit of a minorite, 
 at Danbury church in Essex, to the incredible astonishment 
 
 f
 
 ENGLAND. 257 
 
 of the parishioaers.) The first gun used in England was in 
 this reign, at the siege of Berwick. An act passed to burn 
 the Lollards. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. Edmund 
 Mortimer. Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur Chief Justice 
 Gascoigne. William of Wickham, Bishop of Winchester; 
 founder of that school, and of Merton College, Oxford. Sir 
 Robert KnoUes. Sir Richard Wliittington, Lord Mayor of 
 London. John Gower; and Geoffrey Ciiaucer. 
 
 COTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 Boniface IX. 1389. Innocent VIT. 1404. Gregory XIL 
 14UG. Alexander V. 1409. John XXIII. 1410. 
 
 Emperors. 
 Oft/ieEast.^EmsinueML 1391. 
 
 Of the (r^ Wenceslaus, 1378. Robert le Pet, 1400. ^ 
 Sigismuud, 1410. 
 
 Kings and Queen. 
 
 0/F/fl/Jcr Charles VI. 13S0. 
 Of Portugal. John I. 1385. 
 Of Denmark 1 
 
 and S Margaret, 1385. Erie XIIL 1411. 
 Sweden, J 
 Of Scotland.-~Roben III. 1309. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 HOUSE
 
 258 ENGLAND. 
 
 HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 
 HENRY THE FOURTH. 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 OF BOLINGBROKE. 
 
 " When rude misgoverned hands from window tops 
 " Threw dust and rubbish on King Richard's head." 
 
 " The banished Bolingbroke repealed himself; 
 
 " Mounted upon a hot and fiery steed, 
 
 "Which his aspiring rider seem'd to know, 
 
 "With slow but stately pace kept on his course, 
 
 " While all tongues cried, God save thee, Bolingbroke, 
 
 " Jesu preserve thee, welcome Bolingbrokej 
 
 " Whilst he from the one side to the other turning, 
 
 " Bareheaded, lower than his proud steed's neck." 
 
 " I dress'd myself in such humility 
 " That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts, 
 "Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths, 
 "Even as the presence of the crowned king." 
 
 Heaven knows 
 
 " By what paths and crooked ways 
 
 "I met this crown; and I myself know well 
 
 " How troublesome it, sat upon ray head. 
 
 " And I had many living to upbraid 
 
 " My gain of it, by their assistance, 
 
 " And by whose power I well might lodge or fear 
 
 " To be again displaced: which to avoid, 
 
 " X cut them off." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Q. Under
 
 ENGLAND. 259 
 
 Q. Under what colour, or pretended claim, 
 
 ])id BoLiNGBROKE aspire to Richard's 
 Throne ? 
 
 A. Edward the third's fourth son, who bore 
 the name 
 
 Of JoHN' of Gaunt, as Henry's sire was 
 known. 
 
 Q. What claimant else look'd upward to the 
 crown 1 
 
 A. One whose more just pretensions were put 
 down 
 
 By Henry's friends, young Mortimer the 
 heir 
 
 Of Clarence, Edward's second son, more 
 fair 
 
 His title : but in Henry's hand was power, 
 
 Which brow beats Justice to this very hour. 
 
 Q. What troubles shaded Henry's prosp'rous 
 star? 
 
 A. A scene of foreign and of civil war ; 
 
 And tho' he conquered eacli domestic foe, 
 
 ' Twas Henry's lot to find new troubles grow; 
 
 From these o'ercome, as poets sing of yore, 
 
 That Hydra Heads, when crop'd, encreas'd 
 the more. 
 
 R 2 As
 
 260 ENGLAND. 
 
 As if the Gods refused that Prince to bless, 
 
 Whose tyranny but grew with his success. 
 
 Religion too excites mistaken ire, 
 
 And martyrM Lollards* feed the bigots fire ; 
 
 " Henry the Cruel" was the name obtainM 
 
 From blood of subjects almost daily drain'd. 
 
 Q. What foreign powers join with mighty foes. 
 
 The right and reign of Henry to oppose? 
 
 A. The Scotch ; bold Douglas leads a hardy 
 band, 
 
 To aid young Percy of Northumberland 
 
 In Mortijvler's behalf, their efforts meet 
 
 In frequent fields, succession of defeat. 
 
 The Douglas yieldsf , the Percy breathless 
 lies : 
 
 And Scotland's Prince becomes the Victor's 
 prize. 
 
 Q. \Yhat 
 
 ^^ 
 
 * Thomas Badby, a Worcestershire tailor, burnt in Smithfield 
 for denying the corporeal presence in the sacramental bread, v.as 
 one of the first English martyrs. The young Prince Henry twice 
 ordered him to be taken from the stake, and a pardon and a pen- 
 sion were offered him; but he persisted, and died in the mainte- 
 nance of his opinion. 
 
 ^'- t Earl Douglas had before been taken prisoner, at the battle 
 of Ilolmcdon, where, enraged at the havoc made by the English 
 archers, (acci;rding to Walsingham) he rushed forward, accom- 
 panied
 
 ENGLAND. 261 
 
 Q. What nations else co-operation bring, 
 To join with those who hate the reigning king? 
 
 J. The French assist the fiery chiefs of Whales, 
 Whose enterprize, Hke that related, fails ; 
 Glen dower's fortune seems at first to soar, 
 Aided by stormy blasts, and thunder's roar. 
 So strangely that the lustre of his arms 
 Is dimm'd by a belief that magic charms 
 Enabled him to lull his foes to sleep, 
 A^nd " conjure spirits from the vasty deep." 
 
 Q. Against the King what else attempted France? 
 
 A. In GuiENNE with some success their arms 
 advance, 
 
 At Calais too the chance of war they tried ; 
 
 Ikit Henry's arts the gallic chiefs divide. 
 
 Distract their councils, keep their force at bay, 
 
 'Till " Divide and Imj/ra " wins the day. 
 
 panied by eighty men of rank, to disperse that formidable corps ; 
 but was wounded in five places, and made prisoner. After his 
 liberation, he again led the Scots at the b:itileof Worcester, 
 where he broke through the English ranks, and slew three persons 
 dress'd like Henry. At length he fled, and having fallen down 
 and wounded himself in a strange manner, was taken. The 
 Prince of Wales, hitherto not an estimable character, fought 
 bravely, and though wounded in the face, would not quit the 
 field : the King, too, is said to have performed prodigies of valour, 
 and to have slnin thirtysix rebels with his own hxnd. 
 
 Q. Was
 
 ^^ i;ngland, 
 
 Q. W'ds he not with paternal cares opprest? 
 
 A. The conduct of his son disturbed his rest ; 
 
 The Prince forgetful of his rank and worth, 
 
 Associates with men of slightest worth, 
 
 Unblushing leads their vulgar sports by day, 
 
 And, rendered by their nightly revels gay, 
 
 "Hot with the Tuscan grape and high in blood,'* 
 
 ^Tis said with robbers leagued he rashly stood, 
 
 And here might we "in jocund strains recite,* 
 
 The prurient ^'humours of thebraggart knight;t" 
 
 But one Will Shakespeare having told the 
 tale, 
 
 We should but make a shrimp of Billy's whale. 
 
 The Prince who thus his dignity could stain. 
 
 Had power lost reputation to regain ; 
 
 And " revocare gradus " firmly tried, | 
 
 ' nil, from its scorn, he shone a nation's pride i 
 
 * The Prince had the imprudence to appear in Court, to 
 countenance one of his offending associates, and actually struck. 
 the Judge on the ikach ; but, as instantly ashamed of his 
 conduct, submitted to go to prison. Ihe King was equally 
 pleased with the firmness of the Judge, (Gascoigne) and the 
 obedience of his Son ; who afterwards hearing his Father sus- 
 pected him of measures to disturb the public peace, went to 
 Court to acquit himself, in a kind of allegorical habit, whicli has 
 never been accounted for. "He was apparelled in a gown of 
 blue satin, full of oilet holes ; at every hole, the needle hanging 
 by a silk thread with which it was sewed." 
 
 t Garrick's Jubilee. 
 
 '* And
 
 ENGLAND. 263 
 
 *' Offending so, to make offence a skill, 
 
 " Redeeming time" he'd let too long stand still. 
 
 Q Or did the Monarch feel, or seem to feel, 
 Against the infidels " most christian" zeal ? 
 
 A. Yes, and no more of foes at home afraid, ^ 
 He meant to undertake a grand crusade ; 
 For some false prophet ventured to divine, 
 He should expire in holy Palestine, 
 And expiating sins and folly's past, 
 Jerusalem should see him breathe his last. 
 
 Q. And did it? 
 
 A. Yes ; and yet the prophet err'd, 
 
 For this Jerusalem, as we have heard. 
 
 Was but a room so called, where Henry's 
 breath. 
 
 Cut short by leprosy,* was closed in death. 
 
 Q. What men of eminence his reign adorn ? 
 
 A. With English science 'twas but early morn ; 
 
 William of Wickham, Chaucer, Master 
 GowER,'!* 
 
 Sir Robert Knolles, of valiant knights the 
 
 flower ; 
 
 And 
 
 Or by a paralytic attack. 
 
 t Cower; a specimen from whom if given under Richard II. 
 
 <iicd in 1 102. 
 
 Chaucer
 
 264 ENGLAND, 
 
 And surely to omit would not be fair, 
 
 The famed Sir Richard Whittington, Lord 
 
 Mayor, 
 Of whom each ^prentice has the story pat. 
 Of London bells, cross cook maids, and a cat.* 
 
 Q. Did not the King, who ow'd it most protec- 
 tion, 
 
 Oft' violate the freedom of election ? 
 
 A, Most shamefully^ and Sheriffs were required 
 
 But to return what men the Court desired ; 
 
 Who, acquiescing with obsequious bow. 
 
 Projected taxes, high as they are now. 
 
 The rich the taxes tvou'd'nt pay, 
 
 The poor the taxes cou'd'nt pay ; 
 
 And middle ranks might rightly say, 
 
 (As sang a poet of that day) : 
 
 Chaucer addresses him, " O ! moral Gower ! &c. &." 
 
 James I. of Scotland thus spe?,ks of him and Chaucer : 
 
 ** Unto Impnis of my maisteris dere 
 
 " Gower and Chaucer, on the steps they sate 
 
 " Of rhetorike, whyle they were 13'vande here, 
 
 " Superlative as Poets-Laureatte. 
 
 " In nioralitie and eloquence ornate." 
 
 * W^hittington founded an Hospital, made many charitable 
 bequests, and rebuilt Newgate, where the statue of his Li.t, 
 according to Pennant, accompanied his cwn. 
 
 " Duce
 
 ENGLAND. 52(35 
 
 *' Duce ace non possunt, et sise cinque solvere 
 nolunt, 
 
 *' Est igitur notum, Cater-tray solvere totiim." 
 
 Camden. 
 
 Of which, for ladies' information, 
 
 We add James Petit Andrew's imitation : 
 
 " Says Duce Ace I can't, 
 ** Sa^'s Size Cinque I sha'n't : 
 " So poor Cater-tray 
 *' The whole sum must pay." 
 
 .Sf>l M Avy
 
 266 ENGLAND. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 HENRY THE FIFTH, 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 OF MONMOUTH. 
 
 Born at Monmouth, 1388. Crowned 1413. Married the 
 Princess Katherine of France, by whom he had Henry VI. 
 'who succeeded. The Queen Dowager afterwards married 
 Owen Tudor, a private Welch Gentleman, from whom de- 
 scended Henry VII. The King reigned near Ten years ; 
 died 1422, and wais buried at Westminster. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 The Earl of Cambridge, and others, beheaded for Treason. 
 Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, burnt alive for heresy. 
 Sixty thousand French defeated by fifteen thousand English, 
 at Agincourt. Conquest of France. A law was passed in 
 this Reign, that Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, serving in 
 Parliament^ should be residents of the places represented. 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury. Cardinal 
 Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, younger Son of John of 
 Gaunt, and Preceptor to Henry the Fifth and Sixth. Talbot 
 Earl of Slirewsbury. 
 
 Cotemporary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes. 
 
 John XXIII. 1410. Martin V. 1417. 
 
 Etnperoti.
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 Of the East. Emsimiel II. J394. 
 Of the IFtst.Sh^isaiixnd, 1410, 
 
 Kings. 
 
 Of France. C\mr\es VI. 1380. 
 
 Of PurtusaL John I. 1385. 
 
 Oj' Denmark ^ 
 
 and VEricXIIl. 1411. 
 Suidin. ) 
 
 Of Scotland. ttoherl III. 1390. 
 
 287 
 
 IUnry
 
 208 ENGLAND. 
 
 HENRY Y. suiiNAMEDOF MONMOUTH. 
 
 " Young Harry's the lad for me." 
 
 Mrs. Brookes. 
 
 Who gain'd at Agincourt the victor^s bays. 
 
 Nor took himself, but gave to lleav'ii, the-praise ! 
 
 TlCKEt- 
 
 "By pleasure's bright allurements led along, 
 
 " Soon did he shake his head, and say that ail was wrong! 
 
 " Then, streams of radiance mark'd his destin'd way ; 
 
 " Where'er he trod the magic gleams appear ; 
 
 " His burnish'd breast-plate sparkled on the day, 
 
 ** And glory^s harp still roll'd along his ear." 
 
 Leigh Hunt's Palace of Pleasure. 
 
 " Not to day, O ! lord, 
 " Oh ! noj; to-day ! Think not upon the fault 
 " My father made in compassing the crown. 
 " I Richard's body have interred new, 
 ** Andon it have bestowed more contrite tears, 
 '' Than from it issued forced drops of blood. 
 *' FivS'hundred poor have I in yearly pay, 
 "Who, twice a day, their wither'd hands hold up 
 " To H8av'n,to pardon blood ! And I have built 
 *' Two chauntries, where the sad and solemn priests 
 " Sing still for Richard's soul ! 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " In our fifth Harry's reign, when 'twas the fashion 
 " To thump the French, poor creatures, t9 excess, 
 "Tho' Britons now-a-day show more compassion, 
 "And thump them, certainly, a great deal less.*"' 
 
 * Mr. Colman wrote this before some late glorious events iji ihu i 
 Peaiasula, and other pnrts of Europe. 
 
 "For
 
 ENGTAND. , 269 
 
 " For Harry's reign, when flushed Lancastrian roses 
 
 " Of York's pale blossoms had usurp'd the right, 
 
 " As wine drives nature out of drunkards' noses, 
 
 " 'Till red, triumphantly, eclipses white 
 
 " In Harry's reign. But let me to my song, 
 
 " Or, good King Harry's reign may seem too long.""* 
 
 George Colman, the Youngeh. 
 
 Scarce Bolingbroke lay quietly inurned, 
 E're the succeeding Frince with ardour bumM 
 To^ay obedience to a sire's behest, 
 And keep the nobles from reflective rest. 
 
 Hut first with manly promptness it was said. 
 To stigmatise the life he lately led, 
 Young Henry bade his former friends draw near. 
 And on his own, as on their faults severe ; 
 Taking an ample share of serious blame, 
 Pointed the better path to honest fame, 
 Admonish'd,gavethemeans, their lives to mend 
 Yet promised only further to befriend, 
 When merit justly claiming his regard, 
 By reformation led, should seek reward. 
 
 Those who of late reproved his lawless youth, 
 And served his father with unyielding truth. 
 
 They
 
 27(> ENGLAND. 
 
 They trembling now approach'd the rising sun, 
 But found his thoughtless race of error run ; 
 Advancement on their former zeal attends, 
 And all are hailed as counsellors and friends.* 
 But chiefly himf whose bold and upright mind 
 (To all distinction, in his duty, blind,) 
 Mainlain'd the honor of his master's place, 
 Nor would permit a prince the law disgrace ; 
 Without reproof ; his ancient. sovereign then 
 Proclaimed himself most blest of royal men. 
 In such a son who feared to disobey. 
 Or rather, who, for disobedience shown, 
 Submitted gracefully his fault to own, 
 Confess'd himself inferior to the laws. 
 And turn'd past censure to deserv'd applause. 
 
 The youthful monarch now to Paris sends, 
 Proposing France and England should be friends, I 
 
 " He was not only anxious to repair his own misconduct, 
 but also to make amends for those iniquities into which his 
 father had been betrayed. lie expressed the deepest sorrow at 
 the fate of the unhappy Richard ; performed his funeral obsequies 
 with pomp and solemnity; and cherished all who had been at- 
 tached to him." 
 
 Hume. 
 
 t Judge Gascoigne. 
 
 That
 
 ENGLAND. 5j71 
 
 That Catherine's* hand with his in wedlock 
 join'd, 
 
 A league of lasting amity might bind r 
 
 But then, for dowry, 'tis demanded, France 
 
 Two million crowns, prompt payment, should 
 advance ; 
 
 With an old debt of near two million more. 
 
 As King John's ransom, bargained for before. 
 
 Then Normandy and other lands beside, 
 
 Were woo'd with much more ardor than the 
 bride. 
 
 France offers Harry, and I think no slight, 
 
 A wife, eight hundred thousand crowns, with 
 right 
 
 Of Sovereignty in Guienne, and to be Lord 
 
 Of Rouerne, Saintongue, Aug'more, Perigord ; 
 
 But Henu^ ready with a numerous fteetjf 
 
 Refused, for less than what he ask'd to treat. 
 
 Tiierebe some cunning folks to think inclined, 
 
 The King had pretty well made up his mind, 
 
 Daughter of Charles VI. of France. 
 
 t He was, perhaps, the first Rnglisli Monarch who had shipt 
 of his own; two were called the King's Chamber, and the King's 
 Hall ; they had purple sails, and were large and beautiful; there 
 were also the Trinitie, the Grace de Uieu, the Holy Glioit, and 
 many more which now be lost. 
 
 Vide J. P. Andrews. 
 
 That
 
 272 ENGLAND. 
 
 That France would surely beg to be excused, 
 From terms on purpose framed to be refused ; 
 Whether such policy suit ill or well 
 With honest dealing, is not mine to tell, 
 My task but gives in brief the Sovereign's acts, 
 ^Tisyour's to make due inference from facts. 
 
 There is a tale, but founded not in truth. 
 
 That Charles the Dauphin, slighting Henry's 
 youth, 
 
 A tun of tennis balls in gibe sent o*er, 
 
 As suited to the life Hal led before ; 
 
 But all historians of respected name 
 
 The verity of such an act disclaim ; 
 
 France at all time, from circumstances, was far 
 
 From wishing ought that might provoke a war. 
 
 "' Now all the youth of England are on fire,'* 
 
 And France is threaten'd with our hottest ire ; 
 
 When treason midst an host of knightly peers, 
 
 Close to the King's her felon banner rears, 
 
 LordScRoPE, Earl Cam BRIDGE, and Sir Thomas 
 Grey, 
 
 Conspire (supposed with March,) to take away 
 
 The
 
 ENGLAND. 273 
 
 ^The crown and life of Harry ; Justice keen, 
 As sudden as unlook'd for, steps between 
 Th\^ plot and execution, treason fails, 
 The traitors fall, and gallant Henry sails. 
 
 At Harfleur now the gallic drums, 
 Give note our English hero comes. 
 
 Harfleur surrenders ; Henry's host 
 
 Prepares for Calais, when 'tis found 
 
 That France, collecting all her boast 
 
 Of rank and valour, line the coast. 
 
 And with proud threat the British band sur- 
 round. 
 
 Henry makes offer Harfleur to restore, 
 And to retrace his steps ; the French deny ; 
 
 The English Chief has but one project more. 
 To beat his four-fold enemy or die. 
 
 Oh, memory of Crecy, come again. 
 
 And PoiCTiERS too. Shades of the slain ne'er 
 scoff. 
 
 Let your bright blades assist to mend my pen, 
 Or AGiNCouaT* will come most tamely off. 
 
 
 
 Called also, Azincourt, 
 
 VOL. I. 8 The
 
 274 ENGLAND. 
 
 The French, who *ere a prisoner had been taken, 
 
 Had sold the English as they did before, 
 Lost ev'ry purchase, cou'dn't save their bacon, 
 
 And got, to clench the nail, one drubbing more. 
 Their gilded herald asked our iron King 
 
 His army's safety, and his own to buy ; 
 Harry thrice answer'd he'd do no such thing, 
 
 And his applauding troops with shouts reply. 
 
 The French, astonish'd at our not retreating 
 On any terms, so pitied us the beating 
 Intended for us, they'd no heart to give it, 
 And (Memory of the deed will long out-live it !) 
 The kind compassionating well-bred elves, 
 Were good enough to take it on themselves ; 
 In two words, never was a day so dashing, 
 ^or ever did Mounseer get such a thrashing. 
 
 Six Princes* of the blood were slain outright, 
 Or, a-la-modern French, the dust did bite ; 
 Archbishop Sens, and Constable of France, * 
 Fall also victims to the English lance. 
 
 The Count of Nevers, Vaudemonte, and Marie; the 
 Bukes of Brabant, Altnzon, and Barre. 
 
 Orleans,
 
 ENGLAND. 275 
 
 Orleans, two Bourbouns, Vendome, D'Ett, 
 who yield 
 
 With BoucicAUT, and Richemonte on the field. 
 
 Of fourteen thousand captives swell the train. 
 
 Who mourn at least ten thousand comrades slain ! 
 
 The Duke of York, brave Suffolk, and as few 
 
 As thirty* more, if chronicles speak true, 
 
 Were all who fell on conquering Harry's side ; 
 
 Among them Davy Gam,-)" of Wales the pride, 
 
 Who being ask'd how many were the foe ? 
 
 Answered, '* Hur did not quite exactly know : 
 
 *' But this hur poldly wou'd peg leave to say, 
 
 ** There wou'd pe found enough upon that day, 
 
 '* To die, be taken, or to run away." 
 
 Yet this great victory, like those of yore. 
 
 At Cressy and Foictiers, produced n more 
 
 Than reputation, Henry made a pause, 
 
 In which his foes recruit their sinking cause. 
 
 With the English Army tFiere was only one Surgeon, who, 
 says Rtmer'sF^dera, had engaged to find fifteen more; three of 
 whom were to act as Archers. 
 
 t " The King had been rescued by Davt Gam, and two 
 others, right valiant Welclimen, Roger Vauguan and Walter 
 Lloyd, of Brecknock, who were knighted as they lay bleeding 
 to death." Monstrelet. 
 
 s 2 To
 
 ^76 ENGLAND. 
 
 To England, with his prisoners, sailed away, , 
 Gaining alone the honor of that day ; 
 While in succession to dissentions rude, 
 A two years truce the adverse Kinsrs conclude. 
 
 Now, by her children wounded, Gallia bleeds. 
 And " civil dudgeon" foreign wars succeeds ; 
 Henry returns and joins King Charles poor 
 
 elf, 
 To fight against the Dauphin for himself; 
 Wins lower Normandy, each claim renews 
 That France erst did, but dare not now refuse, 
 Proving our sacred Master's lesson good, 
 " No kingdom self-divided ever stood." 
 
 Thus Henry strength from Charles's weakness 
 gains, 
 
 And each ambitious wish with ease obtains ; 
 
 Kate's hand endowed with treasure, province, 
 town, 
 
 And the reversion of the Gallic crown, 
 
 (Which came in time, for he had pawn'd his 
 own.)* 
 
 At 
 
 * The revenues of the Government, and the grants of 
 Parliament, were so inadequate to Henry's expensive aimies and 
 expeditions, that he was forced to pawn his crown to his uncle, 
 . Cardinal
 
 ENGLAND. 277 
 
 At Troyes a solemn treaty they prepare, 
 AVlicn England is of France decreed the heir; 
 The Dauphin, scorning to resign his right. 
 Subdues and is subdued, in frequent fight. 
 1 'enry to reinforce bis troops comes over, 
 And levies bands which rendezvous at Dover ; 
 Mean time the Scots, by gallant Buchan led, 
 Against us in the Dauphin's cause make head ; 
 For England royal Claiience heads the strife, 
 And lose?, in a brother's cause, his life.* 
 Dorset and Somerset, of English lords, 
 With Huntingdon, resign their captive swords. 
 When Henry with his new-raised force arrives. 
 To 'venge his brother's and his warriors' lives. 
 
 CarcUnil Beaufort, for a large sum ; and certaJn jewels to the 
 Lord Mayor of London, for ten thousand marks ; he was also 
 ob'ir^ed to pledge two gold chased basons, weighing together 
 2^1b , 8oz. to two Canons of "^aint Paul's, for six hundred nia:k.s ; 
 and two golden shells to the Dean of Lincoln, for one hundred 
 more. The cost of liis army was great : each Knight received 20t. 
 per die n ; a'Squire, \0s. ar.d each Archer, 5* Besides which, he 
 hid a costly band of niusic,among which were ten clarions^ which 
 played an hour, night and morning, before his t^tit. ' 
 
 BkRTRAMD Db MoLVIl.I.E| J.P. Andkewsh^ 
 
 liyMLA'sFiKDKRA, MONSTRELET, ScC. 
 
 r 
 
 In the battle of Bareges, where a Knight, wounded the 
 Duke of Clarence in the face, and the mace of Lord Duchan 
 deprived him of bis Lice. 
 
 Bevond
 
 278 ENGLAND. 
 
 Beyond the Loire the Dauphin^s standard 
 chaced, 
 
 And well retrieved what late our arms disgraced. 
 
 Scarce had his conquering sword this laurel won, 
 
 *re Catherine presents him with a son; 
 
 His glory and success attain their height, 
 
 When death converts his brilliant day to night. 
 
 The Lollards still, from persecuting zeal, 
 Were doom'd the fires of bigotry to feel ; 
 And good Lord Cobham,* for opinion's sake, 
 With other martyrs suffered at the stake. 
 Few other incidents to tell remain, 
 The visit of an Emp'rorf graced this reign ; 
 Three Popes J at once assume St. Peter^s Chair, 
 And Seven Dolphins^ swam to Greenwich 
 
 fair!!! 
 
 A modest 
 
 * This Martyr's name is in the catalogue of noble authors. 
 
 t The Emperor Sigisraond, who came to medisite between this 
 country and France. 
 
 t '' Benedict, Gregory, and John, the Council of Constance, 
 sate to terminate this schism. Henry sent nine English prelates 
 thither; one of whom, Richard Cliffo;d, Bishop of London, was 
 the first nominated by the Council to be Pope, and the first nomi- 
 nated him that succeeded, which was Otho Cojonna, by the name 
 of Martin the Fifth," 
 
 Medulla Historic Anclicanj:, 
 
 In the third year of Henry's Reign, four of them were taken ; 
 j.hey made their appearance in the Thjiraes on Candlemas day, but 
 
 the
 
 ENGLAND. 979 
 
 A modest Poet claims some notice here, 
 Somewhat of Chaucer '* doth in him appear ;" 
 And it were well, perhaps, you think for me. 
 To take good note by " hys humiletie ;" 
 Thro* which fair veil a spark of genius shines, 
 As is " set forth" in these " his pythie lines." 
 
 " I am a monk by my profession, 
 
 " Of Bury, call'd John LvDCATEby my name, 
 " And wear a habit of perfection, 
 
 *' Altho' my life agree not with the same ; 
 " That meddle should with things spiritual, 
 " As I must needs confess unto you all." 
 
 " But seeing, as I did in this proceed, 
 *' At his* commands whom I could not refuse, 
 
 ** 1 humbly do beseech all those that read, 
 " Or leisure have this story to peruse, 
 
 " If any fault therein they find to be, 
 
 *' Or error that committed is by me, 
 
 author finding that date no rhyme to " St. Peter's Chair," took the 
 liberty ot treating the said Do'lphins with an Easter or VVhitiuntidc 
 peep at the grand gala of the London 'prentices. 
 
 King Henry the Fifth. 
 
 That
 
 280 ENGLAND. 
 
 " That they will of their gentleness, take pain, 
 *' The rather to correct, and mend the same, 
 " Than rashly to condemn it with disdain ; 
 . " For well I wot, it is not without blame^ 
 *' Because I know the verse therein is wrong, 
 " As being some too short, and some too long," 
 
 In this reign too, thus singeth Tom Occleve, 
 'VV^hoforhis "mayster'^ Chaucer's loss doth grieve: 
 " But vv^eil awaye so is myne hert'e wo', 
 *' That the honour of English tongue is dede, 
 *' Of which I wont* was ban cousel rede ! 
 
 i 
 
 *' O, n^ayster dere, and fader reverent ! 
 
 " My mayster Chaucer, flowre of eloquence ! 
 
 *' What eyjed Deth ? alas ! why wode he sle' 
 the? 
 
 ** O Deth thou didst no harm singuliere, 
 
 " In slaughter of him, both all the land it smarteth; 
 
 ^ But nathless yt hast thou no power, 
 
 ** His name to sle," &c. &c. 
 
 '^ Was wont to have. 
 
 SUMMARY
 
 BNGI.AND. og| 
 
 SUMMARY Of THE RF.IGN OF 
 
 HENRY THE SIXTH, 
 
 SURNAMEO 
 
 OF WINDSOR, 
 
 Born at Windsor, December 6th, A. D. 1421. Succeede^i 
 his father the year following, when only nine months old. 
 Married Margaret of Anjou, daughter to Reigner, Titnlar 
 Kin^ of Sicily ; by whom he had Edward, slain in cold blooil 
 after the Battle of Tewkesbnry. Henry was dethroned in 
 the fortieth year of his age, and thirty-ninth of bin reign ; 
 and died (not without great suspicion of violence,) in the 
 Tower, in 1471. He was buried at Cherisey, and afterwards 
 removed to Westminster. 
 
 Principal Events. 
 
 France gradually, but completely, lost. Jack Cade's re- 
 ,bcllion. Long and bloody civil wars between the Red and 
 White Roses of Lancaster and York. The Eustcrn Empire 
 conquered by the Turks, 
 
 Eminent Persons. 
 
 John Stratford, John Kemp, and Thomas Bourloteur, 
 Archbishops of Canterbury. De la Pole, Duke of Suiibik. 
 The Dukes of Bedford. Gloucester, Exeter, and Bisiiop of 
 Winchester, Regents and Guardians to the King. Richard 
 Duke of York, and Partisans. 
 / 
 
 Cotempobary Sovereigns. 
 
 Popes. 
 Mirtin V. 1417. Eugenins IV. 1431 Nicholas V. 1447. 
 i'alixtus IIL 1455. Pius II. 1458. 
 
 EiHicrors
 
 082 ENGLAND. 
 
 Emperors. , 
 
 0/"/^;fl5^. Emanuel 11.1391. John VII. 1426. Constan- 
 tine III. and lastChristian Emperor. Succeeded 
 by his conqueror, Mahomet II. who took Con- 
 stantinople by storm. May 29th, 1453. 
 
 O/'/Ae ^;. Sigismund, 1410. Albert II. 1438. Frederic 
 III. 1440. 
 
 Kmgs. 
 
 P/Prance. Charles VII. 1422. Louis XI. 1461. 
 
 Of Portugal John 1. 13S5. Edward, 1433. Alphonsus,1438. 
 
 Of Denmark and Sweden. Eric IX. 1411. Christopher III. 
 
 1439. Christian I. 1448. 
 Of Scotland. Rohen III. 1390. James I. 1424. James II. 
 
 1437. James III. 1460. 
 
 Hfvrv
 
 ENGLAND, 393 
 
 HENRY VI. suRNAMED OF WINDSOR. 
 
 " More siou'd against than sinning." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " The best of meu have ever loved repose ; 
 
 '' They hate to mingle in the filthy fray, 
 
 " Where the soul sours, and gradual rancour grows 
 
 " Imbittered more from peevish day to day." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 " While second Richard's blood for vengeance calls, 
 
 " Doom'd for his grandsire's guilt, poor Henry falls 
 
 ** In civil jars, avenging judgment blows 
 
 " And royal wrongs, entail a people's woes ; 
 
 " Henry unversed in wiles, more good than great, 
 
 *' Drew on by meekness his disastrous fate." 
 
 Savace. 
 
 " Plague of both your houses." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 " Wh<a Greek met Greek, theu was the tug of war." 
 
 Lek. 
 
 Eight months of life the little monarch owns, 
 Whose baby sceptre ruled a brace of thrones ; 
 At Westminster and Paris, crown'd in both, 
 His subjects take the customary oath. 
 
 In
 
 284 ENGLAND. 
 
 In both to break it 3oon his foreign crown 
 Sits loose, his English sceptre beaten down 
 By party and rebelhous civil war, 
 He proves the splendor of a falling star ! 
 
 Gloucester as Regent of the realm appears, 
 During the infant Sovereign's tender years ; 
 Bedford in France not destin'd long to stay, 
 In Henry's name supports the English sway J 
 The Dauphin, (who when meaning to be merry. 
 The English styled " the little King of Berry,") 
 Still of his birthright kept encreasing hold, 
 Nor let his, surely just, pretence take cold.* 
 And now to help him with most wond'rous aid, 
 From fields obscure,')' darts forth a village maid ; 
 A shepherdess her story you may mark, 
 Told wond^ously in " Southey's Joan of Arc ;" 
 So well indeed the Imp of Envy fetch it ! 
 That I'm afraid in outline but to sketch it. 
 
 * " About this time, at the siege of Orleans, fell the Earl of 
 Salisbury by a cannon shot, being the first English gentleman ever 
 
 slain thereby." 
 
 ^ Cambtn, 
 
 t In the Village of Domremi, near Va^coleiirs, on the 
 borders o^Loraine. 
 
 Poor
 
 ENGLAND. . 286 
 
 Poor Joan, who cou'd'nt read, *' Oh, spite of 
 
 . spite !" 
 Has an historian now, who cannot write ; 
 She's to be pitied, but unless I err, 
 The loss is more to me, than 'twas to her : 
 Well, be it so, whether I win or lose. 
 The tale V\\ tell, and tell it how I chu^e. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 A Tragedyefulle of Merrie Conceites. 
 
 Joan of Arc, they say, was mad, 
 Some a conjuror misname her ; 
 
 And swear she by the Dauphin had 
 A little but why here defame het?* 
 
 Who against the maid say this ? 
 
 Enemies 1 dare assure ye ; 
 And she's no subject well I wis, 
 
 For trial by an EnIslisii Jury. 
 
 * French authors say she never slept in camp without two of 
 her brothers to guard her ; nor in a town without some female, of 
 exemplary character, to bear her company. 
 
 Britons
 
 td5 ENGLAND. 
 
 Britons then would jibe, as now, 
 
 At men of France, -could kill and eat 'em ; 
 Yet contrived, I can't tell how, 
 
 To let a French young woman beat 'em. 
 
 Joan, derived of parents' poor. 
 
 Had nor learning, name, nor riches ; 
 
 Yet did wonders, to be sure. 
 
 As ladies' will who wear the breeches. 
 
 By some 'tis not unshrewdly thought, 
 She by the Dauphin's friends was taught 
 To play her pretty patriotic part ; 
 Well, if she was, 
 She own'd, that's poz. 
 Uncommon skill, and most consummate art. 
 
 Joan was a simple shepherd's maid, 
 
 Yet nightly visited, she said, 
 By visions, and by angel sights ; 
 
 Which told her where, if she'd a mind, 
 
 A rare and rusty sword to find. 
 With power to put the English folks to rights^ 
 
 Then in the stoutness of her soul, 
 
 She sent to William De la Pole, 
 
 And
 
 ENGLAND. 287 
 
 And bid him lead his Britons back ; 
 
 Or, by the guardian pow'rs of France, 
 She swore to make his people dance. 
 
 And bang his body like a sack. 
 
 I own the simile is very low. 
 
 But Joan would speak her mind you know; 
 And, I know too, a shepherd wench is, 
 (Whether she English girl or French is). 
 
 Not sheepish when conversing with a foe. 
 
 Something she must have said, which form 
 derides, 
 
 For De la pole 
 
 Thought it so droll. 
 
 He laugh'd enough to split his Suffolk sides. 
 
 But when his armour she began to batter. 
 
 The chief declared 'twas no such laughing matter; 
 
 Nor knew by what ill-natured names to christen 
 her. 
 
 When, spite of his broad sword, she took him 
 prisoner.* 
 
 Talbot, and Hungerfobd, Rampstone, and 
 Scales, 
 
 Fretted like hottest geijtlemen of Wales 
 
 Suffolk was taken by Renaud, a French gentleman, whom 
 he firt knighted before he would surrender to him. 
 
 When
 
 288 ENGMND. 
 
 When they were taken, swore 'twas very odd, 
 The French ascribed the power of a God 
 To sturdy Joa.v, while Enghshiiien less civile 
 Declared such treatment was the very Devil * 
 
 Towns she relieved, more cnptives took. 
 
 And thro' her valour Charles, it seems. 
 
 Was crovvn'd the Sovereign of France at 
 Rheims j* 
 
 W^hen by her brilliant star forsook, 
 
 A knight of Burgundy o'ercame poor Joan, 
 
 Sent her in irons to be tried at Roan. 
 
 Where can I without shame relate it? 
 
 Wicked transaction ! how I hate it ! 
 
 Soldiers and noMes, gentlemen of note. 
 
 Prelates, the story's sticking in my throat, 
 
 A mean trap laid, 
 
 To catch the maid 
 
 * The P.egent, In his letter to the King and Council, speaks 
 of Joan as a Disciple and Lymmc of the Fii.nde that used fals 
 Enchauntments and Sorcene, the which strocke and discomfiture 
 not onlie leased in grete Pertie the nombre of youre people there, 
 bote as well withdrowe the courage of the reminant in mervelloua 
 wyse." Rymek's Yjldlk.a. 
 
 t After the coronation,' she embfaced the King's knee.-, and 
 with tears extorted by pleasure and tenderness, congrafulited him 
 in this singular and marvellous event." Hume. 
 
 While
 
 ENGLAND. 339 
 
 i 
 
 While putting on, poor girl, a suit of armour ; 
 And, foul befal the chiefs that so could harm her ! 
 t To all their everlasting shames, 
 (I burst to call them fifty names,) 
 Condemn'd the gallant damsel to the flames. 
 And was this most unmanly action done 
 Merely for putting martial harness on 1 
 No, 'twas mere spite, one sees it in a minute. 
 Because she had most soundly thrash'd 'em in it. 
 
 The death of Bedford* matters didn't mend, 
 Each day we gain'd a foe or lost a friend ; 
 Each day our gallic fortune met reverse, 
 And bad news only came to herald worse. 
 King Henry some time after this got married,! 
 A match which gave his subjects little pleasure, 
 For all his wishes, save the Queen, miscarried. 
 
 And folks grew discontented out of measure.J 
 
 To 
 
 When the Dauphin, after being crowned, was advised to 
 demolish the Regent's decent monument of black marble, " Let 
 him repose", said the generous monarch, " in peace, and be thank- 
 ful that he does repose ; were he aw^ake, he would make the 
 stouteijt among us tremble." 
 
 t To Margaret of Anjou, Daughter to Reigner, King of Sicily. 
 
 t Cardinal Beaufort had been a Bishop fifty years ; he left an 
 illegitimate daughter, and founded the Abbey of Saint Cross, at 
 
 VOL. I. T Winton;
 
 290 ENGLAND. 
 
 To Margaret, we hope with falsehood's breath, 
 The people laid the good Duke Humphrey's 
 
 death ;* 
 H^s nephew Beaufort 'twere as just to deem 
 Am agent too, his constant wrangling strife, 
 Embitter'd the deceased protector's life. 
 Beaufort not long survived, at it should seem 
 
 And left, sans sign of grace, this world's unequal 
 dream. 
 
 Ariairs in trance proceed as ill as ever, 
 Normandy, Gascony, their interests sever ; 
 While Somerset in France is losing ground. 
 At home dissentions and distrust abound. . , 
 
 VfiD iiJa 
 
 The Duke of York that flame 'gins light, 
 Which, fed by Roses red and white. 
 Produced to hundreds, then unborn, 
 Many a sharp and burning thorn ; 
 
 VVJnton ; as Legate frora Rome, and as an ambitious meddling 
 Priest, he was universally dreaded. He survived his uncle, the 
 good Duke, whom he had greatly persecuted, but a few days. 
 
 * Soon after having been seized by the Queen's party on a 
 charge of treason, he was found dead in his bed. His wife 
 ticanor had been ignominiously punished on a charge of sorcery, 
 and was not permitted to enjoy lier jointure after her husband's 
 deatbv The Duke has the credit of having founded the Bodliean 
 Libraiy, 
 
 Accused
 
 M). m 
 
 Accused of gooc! Duke HcMi*HRY'fe en^, * 
 
 St^PFOLK is banished^ 6tt hfs way ia friend " *^ " 
 Of Yokk's, turned pirate, as 'tis said, 
 
 Makes Suffolk shorter by tlie head. 
 
 bn$ ic: -'/ bnA 
 
 And now, disunion's cawse to.^id^ / woK 
 
 *' Lord of Misrule,'^ comes famed Jack CAimiA 
 And thus the essence of his doctrine ran, , Y 
 And, thus inscribed, his standard graced the van : 
 
 " When Adam deiv'd, 
 
 "And Eve span, j^^^yjij^ui 
 , *' Who was then ' ' " ' . j j;i i 
 
 " A Gentleman!"* ' * 
 
 With Johnny decent dress or education 
 W^ere ^clep'd high treason 'gainst the natioltL;jL,.ii-. 
 And every mortal that could read or spell. 
 By axe or halter swang or fell. 
 For taking peoples nobs off, Jack took [xide in : 
 
 Yet changed his tone, 
 
 Just as his own x.i ;i. 
 
 Was going to be cropp'd by .Mister Ioe5 ;vdT 
 
 'Now am 1 master of London.*' said Cade, striking his 
 staff upon I.ondon-stone. Ile.hnd Beth a dqiendant oo Sir 
 Thomas Dacre, in Sussex, and lately itturned from Inifice, whitiicr 
 he had fled in consequence of having murdered a wcm.'in and her 
 child. .. -^: ';m ^ ' '' "IlVfctrn. 
 
 i 2 Who
 
 292 ENGLAND. 
 
 Who for the death of this high, low, Commander, 
 Was, by King Henry, dubb'd Sir Alexander. 
 
 Vic'try continues on the French to smile, 
 And we lose Talbot and the valiant Lisle : 
 Now York and Lancaster with fury glow, 
 And Roses, red and white, alternate blow. 
 York heads St. Alba?i^shsitt\e^ and the King, 
 
 Wounded, defeated, and in rebel hands. 
 Begins, as Avon's swan doth sweetly sing, 
 
 To envy peasants on his humblest lands. 
 The Duke of York protector they create. 
 And on a thread depends King Henry's fate ; 
 Next year the new protector is displaced. 
 And Henry, once more, with dominion graced : 
 Now mark a strange reverse, the Frenchmen land 
 At Sandwich, fifteen thousand from their band 
 In Devonshire and Cornwal too, to make 
 
 Reprisals on old England they begin. 
 And unprotected spoil they burn or take ; 
 
 Thus have we war without, and war within. 
 
 York, at Bloreheath, in sanguinary fight, 
 
 Depressed the red rose, fo exalt the white ; 
 
 At Ludlow battle Henry's fortune led, 
 
 To crush the white and elevate the red ; 
 
 North-
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Northampton's contest turns the scale again, 
 A fatal field to Harry and his reign. 
 When treacherous Ruth yn, most disloyal Grey, 
 Deserting, changed the fortune of the day. 
 The King again is prisoner, and the crovvn 
 Decreed to pass to York's descendants down ; ' 
 But martial Margaret, on Wakefield's plains, 
 Her husband's honor manfully regains ; 
 York, late triumphant, fierce defeat appals. 
 And crimsoned o'er, "the white rose leader falls." 
 Edward his son his better fortune tries,* 
 And fickle vict'ry from Henry flies ; 
 The Queen again essays the doubtful field. 
 And now once more the white rose banners yield. 
 This second battle of St. Alban's fought, 
 Redeem'd the captive King, but still it brought 
 No true advantage : London chose to name 
 Edward of York their Sovereign, he came: 
 The shadow only of poor Hal remain'd, 
 Who from this time in substance never reigned. 
 After events which Edward's life will tell, 
 liy crooked Gloucester's sword King Henry 
 fell. . ' 
 
 * At Mortinaer's Cro^s. 
 
 A man
 
 I 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 A man, tho' weak, of pious, blameless life, 
 Foil'd by his friends, and governed by his wife ; 
 The last a foible you may often see^ij^g^ii tisA^f 
 In other folks besides him, you, or me. i^asG 
 Eaton and Cambridge each a College owe 
 To Henry's bounty.* Of no man the foe, 
 Unless it were himself. He deemed each woe 
 He suffered here, correction kindly sent ,|j 
 
 From Heaven, in lieu of future punishment, 
 A gracious earnest given to insure ^% 
 
 Him bliss, where bliss can only long endure.f 
 
 * Queen Margaret founded Queen's College, Cambridgs; 
 Archbishop Chicheley, All Souls and Bernard's College, Oxon ; 
 and Wainfleet, Bishop of Winchester, founded Magdalen College 
 there. 
 
 t To a Ruffian who struck him in the face, while prisoricr, 
 he only said, " Forsooth you do wrong to strike ydur anointed 
 King;" and when some ladies appeared at a masque with their 
 necks apparelled too much like our modern fashion, he exclaimed 
 with characteristic simplicity, " Fie, fie, for shamcr-in sooth you 
 sre to blame." 
 
 END Or' VOL I. 
 
 mrw!*ll, Wire-OfSce Court, rieet-Sifi,
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 54, line 10, for Soandanavian read Scandinavian. 
 
 62, 9, dele Parenthesis. 
 
 87, 5 from bottom, for Edita read Editha. 
 
 105, 3 from bottom, for Du/i/an read Dunstan. 
 
 151, last line, for 7 read we. 
 
 155, first line, for Monk's read Monks. " 
 
 156, line 16, for g-aue read 'gan. 
 
 161, last line, for Margerion read Mabmiok. 
 
 189, line 4, for /jrosVra^e read prostrate. 
 
 238, 10, for car/e*y read courte^. 
 
 256, 21, for Meudlla read Medulla. 
 
 270, 8, dele Semicolon. 
 
 ...... 273, 10, for line read lines.
 
 JL
 
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