m MAUNDER'S TREASUEY OF HISTORY. LONDON PKIXTED BT SPOTTISWOODB AND CO. NEW-STBEET SQUAEH mP^'jul miij THE TREASURY OF HISTORY: COMPRISIMG A GENERAL INTRODUCTORY OUTLINE OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY, ANCIENT AND MODERN AND A SEIUES OF SETARATE HISTORIES OF EVERY PRINCIPAL NATION. SAMUEL MAUNDEK, AUTHOR OF THE 'tBEASITRY OP KNOWLF.BGB,' 'BIOGRAPHICAL TBEASUET,' 'LlTBKABr AND SCIENTIFIC IREASrEY,' ETC. • Xe quid falsi dicere audeat, ue quid reri non audeat historicus.' NEW EDITION, CAIIEFULLT REVISED AXD BEOUGHT DOWN TO THE rilESEXT TISIE. LONDON: LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, & GREEN. 1S64. 1> PREFACE. In the present edition some alterations have been made in the order of the sepa- rate Histories, while tlio Introductory Remarks and the Ancient History of Greece and Rome, witli some otlier portions, have been cither wholly or in part rewritten. To give in the compass of a single volume a detailed history of every nation and country which may render any further study superfluous, is a manifest Impossibility ; but the Hist07-ical Treasury may serve a good purpose without attributing to it a design which was never intended. There are many who are unable to enter on courses of historical study, but yet do not wish to remain ignorant of the general character of that history which lays before us the pro- gress of the human mind from the eai-liest times to the present. For such readers it is very important to define clearly the laws of historical evidence, and to put the subject before them in such a manner that they may be able to judge for themselves of the truth or the incorrectness of what has been said. In history, more perhaps than in any other subject, it is of the greatest importance that our knowledge should be derived as much as possible from original sources. We are not justified in receiving the statements of historians on their own undisputed authority. Hence the value of a historical work with- out references is greatly impaired. In such a case the reader cannot satisfy him- self whether he is right or ^vrong in accepting or rejecting any statement : and this remark applies especially to those times of which confessedly we have no authentic contemporary records. But in a work like this, a multiplicity of references would be out of place ; in the present edition, therefore, the references are cliiefly to the works of standai-d English writers which wUl furnish any further guidance which the reader may require : and to sucli works the Historical Treasury must be regarded as strictly subordinate. If no richer field for the exercise of the human intellect can be found than that of history, it is not less certain that it will not 3deld its harvest without abundant toil ; and in history especially it is true that no one can be said to have a real knowledge of any part until he has patiently bestowed on it all the labour that it requires, until he has surveyed it in its relations to other parts with wliich it may be connected, and until he has resorted to the best, that is to say, to the original sources of infor- mation. Tliis, if the reader pleases, the references now given will in some degree enable him to do ; and the writers to whom he is guided will at once supply his fiurther wants. Not less important are the tests by which genuine history may be distin- guished from that which is uncertain or false. These tests are laid down in the Introductory Remarks ; and what is there said may enable the reader to form some idea of the recent progress and the present state of historical criticism, as applied especially to the histories of Greece and Rome, and of the great empires of Assyria, Persia, and Egj^t. These tests are of course of imiversal application: if they could not be so applied they would be worthless. Their use must at once remove the reader from the region of vague conjecture to a gi'ound where he may be sure of his footing. Nothing but confusion of ideas can follow, if fi-om a string of legends, such for instance as those of the Trojan wars or the Roman kings, we take a few facts not intrinsically incredible and set up these as a real A 2 vi preface. history of the time. Such legends supply indeed an inexhaustible field of instruction, but we misapply them if we seek from them to draw up an authentic narrative of events. The criticism which says that they can never be made to yield such a narrative may appear to be simplj' destructive : but Sir Comewall Le'wis has rightly and forcibly insisted that ' researches into ancient history, which lead to merely negative results, are important and useful as well as similar researches which lead to positive results ; they distinguish between fiction, which, however diverting, instructive or elevating, can never be historical, — and reality, which is a necessary attribute of a historical narrative.'* The value of ancient Oriental history in general may be measured by the degree in which the Eastern empires came into contact with Greek thought and civilisation. That interest reaches its greatest height in the invasion of Xerxes. The battle of Marathon ensured the victory of Hellenic freedom over barbaric tjTanny, and detennined the futmre history of the world. It was the subsequent work of imperial Athens to exhibit in its fiJl perfection the freedom of indi- vidiial wiU and action with a voluntary obedience to the supreme law of the state. The success of Xerxes would not have averted the future ascendency of Rome ; but that ascendency would have been an absolute tyranny of the state over the inner as well as the public life of every citizen, and the great idea of English freedom would in all probability never have been realised. The history of Greece supplied a link, of which, so far as we can see, notliing coiHd have remedied the loss. When the task of the Hellenic race was accomplished, Rome gathered almost the whole world under her yoke, and merged the interpolitical autonomy of separate to^vns in the wider life of a nation. But it was necessary that some more vigorous races should combine the great system of Roman law and national union with the freedom of the individual citizen ; and so from the convulsions which attended the fall of imperial Rome arose the new society of Christendom. The infusion of Teutonic blood ensured the ultimate growth of that national life which unites the personal liberty of the Athenian with the Roman genius of law and government, and which has reached its highest de- velopment in the constitution of England. This connection of cause and effect in the history of Europe and the world should determine the order in which the histories of the several races and states may best be studied. The histories in this voliune have accordingly been re- arranged, so far as was practicable, in the order of their actual connection. This order must exhibit, however imperfectly, the real chain of cause and effect which has had its issue in the society of modem Europe, and must, to a far greater degree than any arbitrary arrangement, impress itself upon the memory of the reader. The perception of this connection, which can be nothing less than the work of God, will of itself convince him that ' history ' contains no mean treasures. ' Whatever there is of greatness in the final cause of all human thought and action, God"s glory and man's perfection, that is the measure of the greatness of history. Whatever there is of variety and intense interest in human nature, — in its elevation, whether proud as by nature or sanctified as by God's grace ; in its suffering, whether blessed or unblessed, a mart3-rdom or a judg- ment ; in its strange reverses, in its varied adventures, in its yet more varied powers, its courage and its patience, its genius and its wisdom, its justice and its love, — that also is the measure of the Interest and variety of history. The treasures indeed are ample ; but we may more reasonably fear whether we may have strength and skill to win them.' f G. W. COX. * Astronomy of the Ancients, p. 433. t Arnold's ' Lectures on Modern History,' p. 22. p STENTS. AGE xi xvii [Xiii xxiv OF 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 12 15 14 PAGE CHAPTER Xin. Tlie Reformation, and Progress of Events PKEl.IMINARY OBSERVATIONS, His- TomiAL, CUKONOLOOICAL, AND GEO- CHAPTER XIV. From the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century to the Peace of Westphalia 16 CHAPTER XV. From the Civil War in England, to the Peace of Ryswick 18 General Histokv of Modern Eukoi'E.. GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE WORLD.. INTRODUCTORY OUTLINE SKETCH GENERAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. CHAPTER XVI. Commencement of the Eighteenth Century, to the Peace of Utrecht 20 CHAPTER XVU. The Age of Charles XII of Sweden, and Peter CHAPTER n. From the Deluge, to the Settlement of tV <■ Jews CHAPTER XVIIL The Affairs of Europe, from the Establish- nienr of tlie Hanoverian Succession in Eng- land, to the year 1740 24 CHAPTER XIX. From the Accession of the Empress Theresa, of Austria, to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 26 CHAPTER XX. Progress of Events during the Seven Years' War in Europe, America, and tlie East The Fabulous and Heroic Ages, to the Institu- CHAPTER IV. From the Institution of the Olympic Games, CHAPTER V. From the Erection of the Persian Empire, to the division of the Grecian Empire after the CHAPTER XXL From the Conclusion of the Seven Years* War, From the Wars of Rome and Carthage, to the Birth of Christ CHAPTER XXIL From the Commencement of the American War, to the Recognition of the Indepen- dence of the United States 31 CHAPTER XXIII. From the Commencement of the French Revo- lution, to the Death of Robespierre 32 CHAPTER XXIV. From the Establishment of the French Direc- CHAPTER VII. From the Beginning of the Christian Era, to the Ajjpearauce of Mahomet CHAPTER VIIL From the Rise of Mahomet, to the Comracnce- CHAPTER IX. From the First Crusade, to the Death of CHAPTER X. From the Death of Saladin, to the End of the CHAPTER XXV. From the Recommencement of Hostilities, to CHAPTER XL From the time of Genghis Khan, to that of CHAPTER XXVL The French Invasion of Spain, and subse- CHAPTER XIL From the Time of Tamerlane, to the Six- teenth Century CHAPTER XXVIL From the Invasion of Russia by the French, to the Restoration of the Bourbons 57 €antmti. CHAPTER XXVIII. From the Return of Buonaparte from Elba, to the general Peace ^ fi-crt'tiS nf Separate f^istnric^. The Ancient History of EOITT 41 The Ancient History of PERSIA 43 The Ancient History of PALESTISEand, more particularly, of the JEWS 44 The Ancient History of GkeECE 48 The History of KOME 51 CI)e ISt^tors of (ifnstantf. BRITISH AND ROM Ay PERIOD. CHAPTER I. The British and Roman Period— to the Sub. jugation of the Island by the Saxons 6£ THE HEPTARCHY. CHAPTER II. CHAPTER III. The Heptarchy (continued) 79 CHAPTER IV. The Heptarchy (continued) 80 AXGLO-SAXOy KI.XGS. CHAPTER V. The Anglo-Saxons after the Dissolutii CHAPTER VI. The Reigns of Ethelbert and Ethelred 85 CHAPTER VII. The Roign of Alfred the Great 86 CHAPTER VIII. History of the Anglo. Saxons, from the Dodth of Alfred the Great to the Reign of Edward the MartjT 92 CHAPTER IX. From the Accession of Edward the Martyr to the Death of Canute 100 CHAPTER X. The Reigns of Harold and Hardicanute .... lOG CHAPTER XI. The Reign of Edward the Confessor 107 CHAPTER XII. The Reign of Harold the Second Ill NORMAN LINE. CHAPTER XIII. 114 CHAPTER XIV. The Reign of WILLIAM I. (continued) 1 19 CHAPTER XV. The Reign of WlLLI.VM II 126 CHAPTER XVI. The Reign of Henkt L 131 CHAPTER XVII. The Reign of Stephek 138 P LA ST A GENETS. CHAPTER XVIII. The Reiffn of HEXEV II. : preceded by Ob- servations on the Right of the English to Territory in France 141 CHAPTER XIX. The Reign of HENRY II. (continued) 148 CHAPTER XX. The Reign of HEXRY II. (concluded) 155 CHAPTER XXI. The Reign of Richard 1 159 CHAPTER XXII. The Reign of John 168 CHAPTER XXIII The Reign of Henry III 179 CHAPTER XXIV. The Reign of EDWARD 1 183 CHAPTER XXV The Reign of EDWARD II 200 CHAPTER XXVI. The Reign of EDWARD III 207 CHAPTER XXVII. The Reign of RICHARD II 220 HOUSE OF LANCASTEH. CHAPTER XXVIII. The Reign of IlEXRY IV 230 CHAPTER XXIX. The Reign of HENRY V 235 CHAPTER XXX. The Reign of Hexry VI 242 CHAPTER XXXI. The Reign of Hexry VI. (continued) 249 CHAPTER XXXII. The Reign of Henry VL (concluded) 256 HOUSE OF YORK. CHAPTER XXXIII. The Reign of EDWARD IV 264 CHAPTER XXXIV. The Reign of Edward V 072 CHAPTER XXXV. The Reign of RlCHAiiD III 277 HOUSE OF TUDOR. CHAPTER XXXVI. The Reign of H.'ury VII ogo CHAPTER XXXVII. The Reign of HENRY VII. (continued) .... 285 The The The The The The The The The The The The The I'AGE CHAPTER XXXVin. Reign of HENitT VII. (concluilcii) 200 CHAPTER XXXIX. Rdgn of HENRY VIII 294 CHAPTER XL. Reign of Heney VIII. (continued) .... 297 CHAPTER XLI. Reign of HENltY VIII. (concluded) .... 304 CHAPTER XLII. Reign of Edwaud VI 314 CHAPTER XLIII. Reign of ED^VARD VI. (continued) .... 520 CHAPTER XLIV. Reign of MARY 524 CHAPTER XLV. Reign of Mary (continued) 532 CHAPTER XLVI. Reign of ELIZABETH 339 CHAPTER XLVII. Reign of Elizabeth (continued) 358 HOUSE OF STUART. CHAPTER XLVIII. Reign of James 1 363 CHAPTER XLIX. Re THE DIVTSIOXS OF BISTORT. If then we can draw no sharp chrono- logical barriers between any one age and those which precede or follow it, it is ne- cessary to define very distinctly what we mean by such divisions as those of Ancient and Modem History. The di- vision is worthless, if by it we mean that all beyond a certain time belongs to a world which has wholly passed away. It is difficult to determine precisely the amoimt of influence which Greek thought and Roman law exercise on the society of the present day ; and one condition of Wstovital, ClbroKoIoflital, ntHS (&easta]}l)kal. xv society is removed from another not so much by periods of time as by its own internal character. It may be partially true to speak of the soi'iety of the Greek heroic ages as ancient to us ; but the term will not apply to the history of Greece after the Persian War. Eastern mon- archies preserve throughout the same un- changing characteristics ; and, as stand- ing wholly apart from the civilisation of Western Europe, may in a certain sense be regarded as ancient in comparison witli the latter. But it must be remem- bered that Greece and Rome and the na- tions which they have influenced never passed throiigh that condition which has been stereotyped in Oriental despo- tism. But while we speak of Greek and Ro- man History as in one sense really mod- ern, we do not mean that their national life represents in all its elements the so- ciety to which we belong. If by Modern History we mean the history of national existence which is not j'et extinct, then the Fall of the Western Empire becomes a true division and enables tis to detine the essential distinction which separates the ages which go before from those which follow it. The national life of Teutonic and Celtic Europe dates from the convulsions which rent asunder the empire of the Caasars. Dr. Arnold has brought out this distinction most forcibly in liis Inaugural Lecture on Modern His- tory. ' In onr own island we see this most clearly : our history clearly begins with the coming over of the Saxons : the Britons and Romans had lived in our country, but they are not our fathers : we are connected with them as men in- deed, but, nationally speaking, the his- tory of Caesar's invasion has no more to do with us than the natural history of the animals which then inhabited our forests. We, this great English nation, whose race and langtiage are now over- running the earth fi'om one end of it to the other, — we were bom when the white horse of the Saxon had established his dominion from the Tweed to the Ta- mar. So far we can trace our blood, our language, the name and actual di^'isions of our country, the beginnings of some of our institutions. So far our national identity extends, so far history is modern, for it treats of a life which was then, and is not yet extinguished. ' And if we cross the channel, what is the case with our great neighbotir nation of France ? Roman G aul had existed since the Christian era: the origin of Keltic Gaul is older than history : but France and Frenchmen came into being when the Franks established themselves west of the Rhine. Not that before that period the fathers of the majority of the actual Freucli people were living on the Elbe or the Baal ; for the Franks were numerically few, and throughout the south of Franco the population is pre- dominantly, and much more than pre- dominantly, of Gallo-Roman origin. But Clovis and his Gennans struck root so deeply, and their institutions wrought such changes, that the identity of France cannot be carried back beyond their in- vasion ; the older elements no doubt have helped greatly to characterise the exist- ing nation ; but they cannot be said by themselves to be that nation. ' The essential character, then, of Mod- em History appears to be this — that it treats of national life still in existence : it commences with that period in which all the gi-eat elements of the existing state of things had met together ; so that subsequent changes, great as they have been, have only combined or disposed these same elements dift'erently : they have added to them no new one. By the great elements of nationality I mean race, language, institutions, and religion : and it wall be seen that throughout Eu- rope all these four may be traced up, if not actually in every case to the fall of the Western empire, yet to the dark pe- riod which followed that fall, while in no case are all the four to be found united before it. ' * The division of Ancient History into two parts, the fabulous and the historic, must be dismissed as being at least super- fluous. Where we cannot bring for facts the same kind of evidence which would be required to prove any fact in our o\\Ti day, the period to which those facts are referred becomes to us so far not his- torical at all. No age can be strictly considered such for which we have not the witness of contemporary writers; but, with certain restrictions, oral tradi- tion may be expected to preserve a tol- erably faithful account of events for two or three generations. Hence some ages may be regarded as partially historical : and the task of sifting in these that i which is legendary from that which may ', be accepted as true becomes the arduous I task of the critical historian. Hence it is impossible to say when the Historic Age begins. We can but lay down cer- tain dates as approximate, remembering at the same time that they are nothing more. The history of Egj^pt, Assyria, and Persia may be held to assume some- « Lectures on Modem History^ p. 25. XVI Preltminarg (Bb&txbutianS, thing like an authentic character when it comes into contact with that of West- ern Europe. The two kinds of evidence which are alleged iii favour of the former do not in truth tell us much. The long series of astronomical observations which they are said to have possessed cannot be verified without some real knowledge of their political history ; and in the case of Egypt we cannot be said to possess this before the opening up of the country to Greek commerce in the days of Psam- metichus. The statements which tell us that the God Belus taught the SjTians astronomy, or that the Chaldsan obser- vations extended over three or four or five hundred thousand years, are for us practically useless. The statements of Greek writers, on the antiquity of the Egj'pti^Q people, come to no more than this, that in their time they had amassed a store of astronomical observations, that they had a calendar scarcely so ac- curate as the Greek, and that they useTH PERIOD. — (1648—1714.) The political system of Europe expe- rienced a change at the commencement of this period. France extended its ter- ritory, and became very jxjwerfiil under Louis XIV. ; but the wars carried on by this prince against Spain, HoUand, and the empire, exhausted the resources of the kingdom. Germany presented some interesting changes. — Leopold established a ninth electorate in favour of the house of Ha- nover. — Augustus, elector of Saxony, was elected king of Poland ; and George, elec- tor of Hanover, ascended the throne of Great Britain. — Prussia was erected into a kingdom under Frederick, the third elector of Brandenburg, who took the title of Frederick I. Spain lost power under the latter prin- ces of Austria, and was dismembered by the ' succession ' war, which terminated in favour of the house of Boiu-bon. Alphonsus VI., king of Portugal, was deposed, and the kingdom declared in- dependent of Spain by the peace of Lis- bon. In England, Charles I. was beheaded and the monarchy abolished. — Oliver CromweU was declared protector of the commonwealth, which lasted but a short time after his death. — The Stuart family were established again on the throne. — James II. abdicated. — WiUiam, stadt- holder of the XJnitetl Pro\Tnces, was elected king, and secured the succession to the house of Hanover at the death of Anne. Italy underwent an almost entire change by the peace of Utrecht : the house of Austria was put in possession of its most fertile countries. At the same time, the house of Savoy, profiting both by the war and the peace, increased its possessions in Italy, and thereby raised its influence in Europe. The United Provinces increased in riches and power : their independence was secured by the peace of Westphalia ; but thej' engaged in wars which drained them of their treasures, without aug- menting their power. The republics of Switzerland and of Venice appeared to be of less consequence among the European states than hereto- fore ; but the former continued to be happy in its mountains ; the latter, tran- quil among its lakes. Sweden, whose power was prodi^ous under Charles X. and Charles XII., lost much of its grandeur after the defeat of the latter piince at Pultowa. — Russia be- came almost on a sudden enlightened and powerful under the auspices of Peter the Great. — Poland, tmfortunate under John Casimir, was made respectable under John Sobieski. — Hungary was desolat«l by continual intestine war, and deluged with the blood of its own inhabitants. The Ottoman empire continued weak under princes Incapable of governing, I^f^tovtcar, (Cl)r0n0l0fitcal, anlf (§coflrajp]^tcal. xxl will) placed tlie sceptre in the hands of ministers altogether as weak and inca- pable as themselves. EIGHTH PEMOD.— (1714— 1789.) Tills period was replete in negotiation, in treaties, and in wars. The balance of power, intended systematically to pro- duce perpetual peace, had, on the con- trary, been the means of exciting con- tinual war. — Thepeaceof Utrecht, signed by almost all the powers of Europe, failed to reconcile the emperor and the king of Spain. — Philip V. commenced war. — The English and Dutch procured the treaty of Vienna, in 1731, which put an end to that calamity ; but a new war commenced on the election of a lung of Poland. — France declared war against the emperor, which terminated by the peace of Vienna. — The death of Charles VI., 1740, produced a new war, more im- portant than the fomier was, and of longer duration. France took the part of the elector of Bavaria, as a competitor for imperial dignity against the house of Austria. The success of the arms of the French and Bavarians induced the queen of Hungary to detach the king of Trussia from the alliance. The defection of this prince clianged the face of affairs ; and the subsequent victories of marshal Saxe obliged the belligerent powers to con- clude the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, which afforded but a short calm to ensanguined Europe. — The houses of Bourbon and Austria, so long enemies and rivals, now united their efforts to maintain the ba- lance of power. But the English and French soon found pretext for new dis- agreements, and war was again declared. The king of Prussia took part with the English, and the king of Spain with the French. This war terminated much in favour of the English, and peace was concluded in 1763. In Italy, the houses of Austria and Bourbon had the principal sway. — Savoy, assisted by England, augmented its pow- er : the island of Sardinia was given in exchange for Sicilj'. — Charles Emmanuel III. joined a small part of the Milanese j to this territory, and Corsica became a province to France. In Holland, AVilliam IV., prince of Orange, was declared stadtholder of the Seven United Provinces. Sweden after the death of Charles XII. underwent an entire change : the house of Holstein Dutin ascended the throne. G-nstavus III., the second king of this family, seized upon the liberties of his people, and became a despot. In Russia the four princesses who had held the sceptre since the death of Peter the Great, I'endcred the empire worthy of the great genius who may be styled its founder. Poland was dismembered by its three powerful neighbours, Russia, Austria, and Prussia. Prussia, which had not ceased to ag- grandise itself since the elector of Bran- denburg received the title of king, was raised to the height of grandeur and power under the wise government of that celebrated hero and philosopher, Frederick II. In Turkey, Aclmiet III. was obliged to surrender his crown to his nephew, Mahomet V. Mustapha III. espoused the cause of the Poles against tlie Rus- sians, and sustained great losses. His successor, Achmet IV., put an end to this unfortunate war by a peace, to gain which he made great sacrifices. The English colonies in America re- volted from the mother country, threw off its yoke, and declared themselves in- dependent. France, Spain, and Holland, declared in their favour ; when, after a war of eight years, it was termmated in 1783 by a peace, whereby they v.ere ac- knowledged as an independent nation. KINTH PERIOD.— (1789— 1815.) This period was ushered in by one of the greatest revolutions that ever hap- pened in Europe, or the world. The French, so long habituated to despotism, threw off, as it were in a moment, the yoke imposed upon them and their fore- fathers for many ages. Their king, Louis SVI., apparently joined in tlic effort, but at length, wanting firmness for so trjdng an occasion, prevaricated, and attempted to fly ; he was seized, tried, ini- quitously condemned, and executed. His queen, Antoinette of Austria, suffered also under the guillotine. — The powers of Europe, headed by the emperor and the king of Prussia, coalesced together to crush the revolutionary spirit of France. Great Britain, Spain, Russia, Holland, Sardinia, Naples, the Pope, and a variety of inferior powers, joined the confede- racy : to this w-as added a powerful party in the interior, and the flame of civil war spread far and wide. Massacre, rapine, and horror stalked through the land ; notwithstanding which, the con- vention formed a constitution, levied numerous armies, and conquered Hol- land, the Netherlands, and all the coun- try west of the Rhine. Italy submitted also to the Gallic republicans ; and Ger- many was penetrated to its centre. Several changes took place in the preKmtnars ^bitvimtianS, government. Buonaparte conquered Egj-pt ; and, in his absence, France lost gi'eat part of liis conquests in Italy. He returned, and assuming the government under the title of first consul, reconquered Italy. Soon after, he established the Italian republic ; was himself constituted president ; and made peace 'n'ith England, which lasted but a short time. A new ■war commenced. — Buonaparte was elect- ed emperor of the French. Great Britain, notwithstanding the part it took in the confederate war, pushed its commerce and manufactures to an extent heretofore miknown. It made several conquests, nearly annihi- lated the French navy, and obliged their army to evacuate Egypt. Peace was restored, but was of short duration. — War again commenced : a military spirit showed itself thi-oughout the nation, and tremendous efforts were made. — French impetuosity and British valour were for years witnessed in the Spanish peninsula. Russia was invaded by a powerful host under Napoleon Buonaparte, but the in- vaders were utterly annihilated. The crowaiing act of the war was the ever- memorable battle of Waterloo, whereby the overthrow of Napoleon was effected, and the peace of the world restored, after gigantic efforts and sacrifices on aU sides, which have no parallel in history. CHKONOLOGY. CojrPAKATi V KLY speaking, the science of chronology is but of recent origin ; for many ages elapsed before the mode of computing time, or even of giving dates to important events, was at all regarded : nay, after the value of historical writings was felt and acknowledged, chronology long remained imperfect ; the most an- cient historians leaving the precise pe- riods they record undetermined. "When Homer and Herodotus wrote, and for centuries afterwards, there was no regu- lar distribution of time into such parts as months, weeks, and hours : nor any reference to clocks, dials, or other instru- ments by which the perpetual current of time was subdivided. The divisions of time which are con- sidered in chronology- relate either to the different methods of computing days, months, and years, or the remarkable eras or epochs from which any year re- ceives its name, and by means of which the date of an3' event is fixed. The choice of these epochs is for the most part arbitrary, each nation preferring its own most remarkable revolution as the stand- ard by which to regulate its measure- ment of time. Thus, the Greeks have their Argonautio expedition, their siege of Troy, their arrival of Cecrops in At- tica, and their Olympic Games. The Romans reckoned from the foundation of their city ; but in their annals they also frequently advert to their various civil appointments and external con- quests. The modem Jews reckon from the creation ; and the Christians from the birth of our Saviour. From this we count our years backward towards the beginning of time, and forivard to the present day. It was not till the year 532 that this plan was introduced ; but as the calculation was erroneous, it was found six centuries afterwards to be de- ficient four years of the true period. As an alteration of a system wMch had been adopted by nearly all Europe, would have occasioned incalculable inconve- niences in civil and ecclesiastical affairs, the error was, by general consent, suf- fered to remain, and we continue to reckon from what is called the 'vulgar era,' which w-ants four years and six days of the real Christian epoch. It cannot be denied that there are many difficulties in the way of fixing a correct chronology ; but still there are four data from which satisfactory con- clusions relative to certain events may be drawn ; and, by ascertaining whether others occurred before or after them, we may in general an-ange the most remote transactions with a degi-ee of regularity that at the first view might have ap- peared hopeless. These are, 1. Astro- nomical observations, particularly of the eclipses of the sun and moon, combinwl with the calculations of the years and eras of particular nations. 2. The testi- monies of credible authors. 3. Those epochs in history which are so well at- tested and determined as never to have been controverted. 4. Ancient medals, coins, monuments, and inscriptions. — We have also some artificial distinctions of time, which nevertheless depend on astronomical calctdation ; such are the solar and lunar cycles, the Eom.an in- diction, the feast of Easter, the bis- sextile or leap-year, the jubilees and sabbatic years of the Israelites, the olym- piads of the Greeks, the Hegira of the Mahometans, (tc. But it must not be forgotten that chro- nological schemes and computations be- come worthless when applied to periods of which we have no authentic contem- porary history. Thus, the Romans fixed a date for the foimding of the city, and comited fi-om it ; and the conspiracy of CatiUne, for example, was recorded to have W^tarlcKX, CTjronoToatraT, antf (gpngrajiTjfral. xxiii been discovered in the Cnoth year of the city. Now, supposing tlio notation of events to have been carefully liept, it is clear that this would enable us to determine, more or less accurately, the events of Roman history for all the time of which we have contemporai'y nar- ratives. Thus, the defeat of Perseus and the fall of the Macedonian monarchy is recorded as having taken place in the /i85th year of the city : hence that event preceded the conspiracy of Catiline by 10.5 years. We may determine the length of time which separates the invasion of Greece by Xerxes from the invasion of Persia by Alexander the Groat ; because we have a narrative spreading over the whole of this time, which may fairly be considered as contemporary. But when Herodotus says that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, we are not justified in assigning the time from 850 to 900 B.C. as the age of Homer, because we have no contemporary his- tory by which to determine the truth or the falsehood of this statement. And therefore chronology, to be of real use, must he based on authentic history. Hence it is of no value, when applied to the long series of Egyptian dynasties, of which we have no contemporary re- cords, and of which the very order is given in many ways which it is impos- sible to reconcile or explain. Thus, it is impossible to make the earlier dynasties of Manetho harmonise with those of Herodotus ; and as neither of these wri- ters can claim to be contemporary wit- nesses of this portion of Egyptian his- tory, the authority of the one is worth no more than that of the other. If then, we take these dynasties, and seek to i-econcile them by assuming that some of the kings reigned conjointly, or by any other arbitrary hypothesis, we may make up a chronology satisfactory to om'selves, but which cannot undergo the test of a rigid and impartial criticism. The re- sult can only be that we shall multiply insoluble difficulties ; and such difficul- ties, sir Cornewall Lewis believes, must arise when chronology is ' dissociated fi-om history, handed down by conflict- ing authorities, and reduced to an ai-ith- metical puzzle.'* Thus chronology, which may rank as a science as long as it is concerned with an oi'der of events for which we have some contemporary testi- mony, ceases to be such when it professes to determine the course of a history which comes to us only by the oral tradition of many generations. * Agronomy of the Ancients, ch. vi. sect. xi. GEOGRAPHICAl, SKETCH OP THE WORLD. By Geoorapht ia understood a descrip- tion of the Earth. It is divided into Physical or Natural Geography, and Civil and Political Qeography. The first, or Pin'siCAL Geoqiiaphy, refers to the siu*- face of the eai-th, its divisions, and their relative situations ; the climate and soil ; the face of the country ; and its produc- tions, animal, vegetable, and mineral. The second, or Civil Geography, in- cludes the various nations of the earth, as divided mto empires, kingdoms, re- publics, provinces, &c., and the origin, language, religion, government, political power, commerce, education, and man- ners and customs of those nations. The form of the earth is very nearly spherical ; the polar axis being only about 38 miles shorter than the equatorial ; and as the diameter is nearly 8,000 miles, so slight a difference in a globiUar body would be imperceptible. In the study of Geography, maps and globes are indispensable ; but, owing to their form, globes give a better idea of the relative sizes and situations of coun- tries than can be learned from maps. The earth has an annual and a diurnal motion ; it moves completely round the sun in about .365 days, 6 hours ; and turns completely round, as if on an axis or spin- dle, from west to east, in about 24 hours : an imaginary line, therefore, passing through its centre, is called its Axis. The extremities of the axis are called Po/m— North and South — the one nearest to the country we inhabit being the North Pole. A line drawn round a globe is obvious- ly a circle ; and as various circles are de- scribed on artificial globes, for reasons hereafter mentioned, we speak of them as though they were really so delineated on the earth's surface. The principal circles on the globe are the Equator, the Ecliptic, the TrojMC jf Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Arctic and Antai-ctic circles. All circles are considered as divisible into 3G0 equal parts, called degrees ; each degree into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 sec- onds : a degree is thus marked °, a min- ute thus', and a second thus" : so that 28° 52' 36" means 28 degrees, 52 minutes, 36 seconds. And as a whole circle con- tains 360 degrees, a semicircle (or half a circle) will contain 180°, and a quadrant (or quarter of a circle) 90°. That circle on the surface of the globe ■which is everywhere equally distant from each pole, is called the Equator ; and it XXIV ^9rrtt'mfnHru ^hStrb^tianS. divides the globe Into two equal parts or Hemispheres, the Northern and the South em. The anpellation Equator, or Equi uoctial (noctes (sgiiayitnr), is given to it, because when the sun, through the an nual motion of the earth, is seen in this circle, the days and nights are equal in every part of the world. The Ecliptic is so called because all eclipses of the sim or moon can only take place when the moon is in or near that circle. This circle is described on the terrestrial globe solely for the pur- pose of performing a greater number of problems. The Tropics are two parallels to the equator, drawn through the ecliptic, at those points where the ecliptic is at the greatest distance from the equator ; which is about 23° -3iy from tlie equator, on either side. When the sun is opposite to one of the tropics, those people who are as far from the corresponding pole as the tropic is from the equator, see the sun for more than twenty-four hom-s. This is the case with every part nearer to the poles, but never with any part far- ther from them. To point out this pe- culiarity, a circle is described on the globe, 23i° from each pole. One of these Polar Circles is called the Arctic, the other the Antarctic ; signifying the nctrth, and that which is opposite to the north. The Zones (so called from a Greek •word signifying belts or girdles) denote those spaces, between the several prin- cipal circles before described. Thus be- tween the poles and polar circles are the two frigid zones, between the two frigid zones and the tropics are the two tem- perate zones, and between the two tro- pics the torrid zone ; deriving these ap- pellations from the temperature of the atmosphere. The Latitude of a place is its distance from the equator. It is measured by the number of degrees, &c., in the arc of the meridian, between the place and the equa- tor ; and is called A^or-ih or South, accord- ing as the place is north or south of the equator. longitude is the distance of any place fi'om a given spot, generally the capital of the country, measured in a direction east or icest, either along the equator, or any circle parallel to it. The English measure their longitude east and west of Greenwich, the French east and west of Paris, &c., &c. Meridians, or circles of longitude, are so called from meridies, or mid-day ; be- cause, as the earth makes one complete revolution round its own axis in twenty- four hours, evei-y part of its surface must in the course of that time be directly op- posite to the sun. The sun , therefore, at that point, will appear at its greatest al- titude, or, in other words, it will be ?nid- day or noon. Divisions of the Earth. It waa usual until the present century to speak of the great divisions of the Earth as the Fovr Quarters of the World, viz. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. But a more scientific distribution has since been generally adopted ; and the chief terrestrial divisions of the earth's surface are now thus enumerated : Eu- rope, Asia, Africa, X'orth and South America, Australia, and Polvuesia. Of tlii^e, Europo, Asia, and Africa, form the Eastern Hemisphere (or the Old World) ; and America the Western He- misphere, which, from its not being known to Europeans till the close of the loth cent-jry, is called the New World. Australia includes that extensive region called New Holland, together with New Zealand, and adjacent isles ; and Poly- nesia comprehends the numerous groups of volcanic and coralline islands in the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward to the Phihppine Islands, and from New Gui- nea to the coast of America. The Ocean occupies about two thirds of the earth's surface ; and its waters are constantly encroaching upon the land in some places, and receding from it in others. To this cause may be attributed the formation of many islands in differ- ent parts of the world. The greatest depth of the ocean which has been ascer- tained is about 900 fathoms ; its mean depth is estimated at about 200 fathoms. Near the tropics it is extremely salt, but the saltness considerably diminishes to- wards the poles. This immense expanse of water is di- vided into smaller oceans or seas, gulfs, bays, &c., limited partly by real, partly by imaginary boundaries. — The Pacify Ocean, which covers nearly one third of the earth's surface, and is about 10,000 miles in breadth, lies between the east- em coast of Asia and Australia and the western coast of America. — The Atlantic Ocean lies between Europe and Africa on the east, and America on the west. — The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are each dis- tinguished into North and South. The Indian Ocean is bounded by Asia, Africa, and Australia. The Arctic or Frozen Ocean hes to the north of Europe, Asia, and part of America. The Southern Ocean lies south of all the continents. THE TREASURY OF HISTORY. INTRODUCTORY OUTLINE SKETCH OF GENERAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. TJie Antcdiluman World As speculations upon the origin and form- ation of tlie world belong rather to phi- losophy than history, we should deem it supererogatory to notice the subject, how- ever slightly, were it not probable that its entire omission might be considered an un- necessary deviation from an almost univer- sal practice, inasmuch as it has been sanc- tioned by the example of the most eminent writers of ancient and niodiTU times. That the earth has uniliii,'oiie many vio- lent revolutions, no pos< it il ■ . I. mht can exist in the mind of anyone who has paid even the most superficial attention to the dis- coveries in geological science during the last and present centuries ; but the mighty process by which our globe was nri'_'iimlly formed is a mystery quite asunfatlHiiiialilc now as it was in the darkest periods of human existence. Let us, then, be content with the sublime exordium of the great Jewish lawgiver; and we shall find that the account he gives of the creation, though eloquently brief, is neither allegorical nor mystical, but corresponds, in its bold out- line, witli the phenomena which is exhi- bited to us in the great book of nature. It is true that there is nothing in the writings of Moses either calculated or intended to satisfy curiosity; his object was simply to declare that the whole was the work of an Almighty architect.who, as the Creator and Sovereign of tie Universe, was alone to be worshipped. With regard to the primitive condition of mankind, two very opposite opinions pre- vail. Some represent a golden age of in- nocence and bliss ; others a state of wild and savage barbarism. The former of these is foimd not only in the inspired writings of the Jews, but in the books esteemed sacred by various oriental nations, as the Chinese, Indians, Tersians, Babylonians, and Egj'p- tians. The latter began their history with dynasties of gods and heroes, who were s.aid to have assumed human form, and to have dwelt among men. The golden age of the Hindoos, and their numerous avatars of the gods, are fictions of a similar character, as well as their two royal dynasties descended from the sun and moon. According to the other doctrine, the human race was originally in the lowest state of culture ; and gradually, but slowly, attained perfection. It is in vain, however, for us to look to the tra- ditionary tales of antiquity ; for with the exception of the Mosaic history, as con- tained in the first six chapters of Genesis, we can find none which does not either abound with the grossest absurdities, or lead us into absolute darkness. That the antediluvians led a pastoral and agricultural life, forming one vast commu- nity, without any of those divisions into different nations which have since taken place, seems fully evident. But the most material part of their history is, that having once begun to transgress the divine com- mands, they followed the allurements of liassion and sensuality, and proceeded in tlK'ir careerof wickedness, till atlength the universal corruption and impiety of the world had reached its zenith, and the Al- mighty Creator revealed to Noah his pur- pose of destroying the whole human race, except himself and his family, by a general deluge ; commanding him to prepare an ark, or suitable vessel, for the preservation of the just from the impending judg- ment, as well as for the reception of animals destined to reproduce their several species. CHAPTER ir. From the Deluge, to the Settlement of the Jews in Canaan. After the Flood had prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days, and had de- creased for aji equal time, Noah became con (©utlt'ue ^iitU}) of (Scufral W^ior^. vinceil, by the retiini of a dove, with an olive- branch, that the land had again emerged. The time when this great event toolc rface was, according to the common computa- tion, in the 1656th year of the world ; though other dates have been assigned by different chronologists. Many other nations, in the mythological part of their history, narrate circumstances attending a vast inundation, or universal deluge, which In their essential particulars correspond with the scriptural accotmt, and are supposed to owe their origin to it. The Chaldeans described a universal deluge, in which all mankind was destroyed, except Xisuthrus and his family. A ccording to the traditionarj' history of the Greeks, the inhabitants of the earth all perished by a flood except Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. By the Hindoos it is be- lieved that a similar catastrophe occurred, and that their king, Satyavrata, with seven patriarchs, was preserved in a ship from the universal destruction. Even the American Indians have a tradition of a similar deluge, and a renewal of the human race from the family of one man. But these ac- counts being unsupported by historic evi- dence, it would be an unprofitable occu- pation of the reader's time to comment on them. "We shall therefore merely observe, that many ingenious theories have occu- pied the attention of distinguished men in their endeavours to account for this tmi- versal catastrophe. The Mosaic account simply teUs us, that the windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the deep were broken up, and that as the flood de- creased the waters returned from off the face of the earth. According to the narration of the inspired writer, the Individuals preserved from the deluge were JCoah and his wife, and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, with their wives ; in all, eight persons. We are informed that the ark rested on mount Ararat (in Armenia) ; but whether Noah and his sons remained long in that neigh- bourhood must be left to mere conjectiu-e. We merely learn that the greatest portion of the human race were some time after- wards assembled on the plains of Shinar, where they beg:an to build a tower, with the foolish and impious intention of reach- ing the skies, or, in the language of Scripture, ' whose top may reach unto heaven.' But this attempt, we are infonned, was frustrated by the Almighty, who con- founded their language, so that they no longer understood each other's speech. The scene of this abortive undertaking is sup- posed to have been upon the Euphrates, where Babylon was built, not far from which are extensive masses of ruins ; and the remains of a large mound, called by the Arabs the Birs Kimrod, or Nimrod's tower, is generally believed to be the foundation of the tower of Babel. From the families of the three sons of Noah, then, are all the nations of the earth descended. The children of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. Elam settled in Persia, where he became the father of that mighty nation ; the de- scendants of Asshur peopled Assyria ; and Arphaxad settled in Chaldea. To the family of Lud is generally assigned Lydia ; and Aram is believed to have settled in Mesopo- tamia and Syria. The children of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. The descendants of Cush are supposed to have removed from the south-east of Babylonia, afterwards called Khusestan, to the eastern parts of Arabia ; from whence they by degrees mi- grated into Africa. Mizraim peopled Egypt, Ethiopia, Lybia, and the rest of the north- ern parts of the same continent. No parti- cular cotmtry has been assigned to Phut, who Is believed to have settled somewhere in -Arabia near to Cush. But Canaan is sup- posed to have settled in Phoenicia ; and to have founded those nations who inhabited Judea, and were for the most part subse- quently exterminated by the Jews. The seven sons of Japhet were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Jubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Gomer, according to Josephus, was the father of the Gomerites or Celts, viz. of all the nations who Inhabited the north- ern parts of Europe, under the names of Gauls, Cimbrians, Goths, &c., and who also migrated into Spain, where they were called Celtiberians. From Magog, Meshech, and Jubal, proceeded the Scythians, Sarmatians, and Tartars; from Madai, Javan, and Tiras, the Medes, lonians, Greeks, and Thracians. The first considerable national revolution on record is the migration of the Israelites out of Egypt, and their establishment in the land of Canaan. This event was at- tended with a terrible catastrophe to the Egyptians. The settlement of the Jews in the land of Canaan is supposed to have happened about 1491 B.C. For nearly 200 years after this period we find no authentic account of any other nations than those mentioned in Script lu-e. CHAPTER III. The Fabulotis and Heroic Ages, to the InstU tution of the Olympic Gaines. We have already spoken, in the Introduc- tory Remarks, of the impossibility of obtain- ing any authentic history of Greece previous to the first recorded Olympiad or 776 B.C. Of the works of the chroniclers who pre- ceded Herodotus we have only a few ex- tracts : from these, as well as from the statements of other writers, we gather that they had but slender right to the title of historians. Niebulir has distinctly asserted that, before the work of Herodotus was written, there was no writing in Greece which couid be properly caUed historical,* and Herodotus himseli was not strictly ^contemporary with any parWjf the history which he writes. Still, although it would be useless to assign definite dates where we have no evidence to warrant our so doing, we can trace out a certain order of developement which is unquestionably historical. In the Greeks we have a race which brought to their greatest perfection the highest gifts of the great Aryan stock to which they be- * Lectares on Ancieat History, vol. i. p. 16 i^utlint ^ftetrlj of (general W^tax^, longed. Coming into thcirnew homes witii the stores of a mytliology, or ratlier of a mythical speech which they sliared in eom- nion with the Celt, the Teuton, and tlic Scandinavian, they showed at once a ni;ir- vollous creative power, whether in poetry, science, or art. From their mythical speeili sprang up, in process of time, the great epics of the heroic age. From their own innate genius was evolved a physical science, to which Egyptians and Assyrians could lay not the most distant claim, and an asfrunomy which rose indefinitely above the barren observations of Chaldasan star- gazers. We cannot, with Thucydides, dis- sect the wonderful legends of the Trojan war, and, after making an arbitrary selection of a few details and incidents, assert the narrative so produced to be historical. The legend could not bear the criticism of Herodotus : it is not likely to stand before the criticism of our own day. But in the state of society which is depicted in the Homeric poems we see a real condition of things which made the future developemcnt of Greek life a matter of certainty, and without which the later society would never have come into existence. We sec in them a picture of political life utterly different from any exhibited in the Eastern world ; and in the discussions of the Agora, in the influence of wisdom and eloquence over physical force, in the sense of beauty and the conscious submission to law, we have the earnest of Athenian greatness in the days of Pericles. Of the events which are alleged to have preceded the foundation of Rome, we can say nothing. There is no evidence that any national epic poems ever existed, although such was the hypothesis of Nie- buhr ; and of the wanderings of JSneas there are many versions, all contradicting each other, and all as much or as little de- serving of belief.* Whatever basis of real fact there may be in the legendary history' of the Roman kings, we can.detect none in that of the supposed migration of .iEncas Into Italy. Though we necessarily omit, in this brief outline, a multitude of important transac- tions which are recorded in the Bible, the reader must not lose sight of the fact that the sacred volume is full of historical in- terest ; and we shall have frequent occasion to refer to the actions of ' God's chosen people 'as we describe events mentioned by profane writers. For the present it is suflicient to state, that about 1050 years before the birth of Christ the kingdom of Judea, under king David, approached its utmost extent of power; that in the glo- rious reign of his son, the wise and peace- ful Solomon, which followed, that stupen- dous and costly edifice, ' the temple of God,' was completed, and its dedication solem- nised with extraordinary piety and magni- ficence ; that the revolt of the ten tribes took place in the reign of Rehoboam, tlie son and successor of Solomon, by which Jerusalem was rendered a more easy prey * Sir G. C. Lewis, Credibility of Early Roman History, ToL i. p. 508, &c. to the Egyptian king, called in Scripture Shishak, and supposed to be the great Sesostris, whose deeds make so conspicuous a n gure in the history of his country. After the liipsc of another century, we learn that Zcra, an Ethiopian, invaded Judea with an army composed of a million of infantry and three hundred chariots, but was defeated with great slaughter by Asa, whose troops amounted to about half that number. By this time the Syrians had become a power- ful people ; and, taking advantage of the rivalry which e.tisted between the king- doms of Israel and Judah, aimed at the subjugation of both. The Syrian empire was, however, eventually destroyed by the Assyrians, under Tiglath Pilesar, in 740 i).c. ; as was also the kingdom of Samaria by Shalmaneser his successor, in 721 ; and such of the people as escaped death, were carried captives into Media, Persia, &c. While the resources of the mighty nations of the East were expended in efliecting their mutual destruction, the foundations of some powerful empires were laid in the West, which were destined, in process of time, to subjugate and give laws to the Eastern world. About eight centuries liefore the Christian era the city of Carthage, in Africa, was founded by a TjTian colony, and became the capital of a powerful re- public, which C(mtinucd 724 years ; during the greater part of which time its ships traversed the Mediterranean and even the Atlantic, whereby it was enabled to mono- polise, as it were, the commerce of the whole world. CHAPTER rV. From the Institution of the Olympic Games, to the Death of Cyrus. The first recorded Olympiad belongs to the year 776. Of these games Hercules was the mythical founder, and this era is supposed to be that of their revival. But Mr. Grote has admitted that if from this time we can speak of some events as his- torical, the real history of Greece does not commence for two centuries later. The first Olympiad simply records the Victory of Corcebus : but of the historical existence of Corcebus we liave no further evidence than a monument which was alleged to mark his grave (Pausanias, v. 8, 3, viii. 26, 3. See also Car's Persian War, p. 287). These games, however, were of the greatest importance not merely as furnishing the means of chronological computation, but in their influence on the national character of the Greeks. In fact, it was only or chiefly in reference to these religious festi- vals, that they could be said to have any national character at all. Their life was essentially one of cities, and their alliances bring before us a mere collection of imits entirely independent of each other. In these games then they had a bond of union which kept up some feeling of national lUe, and contributed powerfully to bring about their victory over the armies of Darius and Xerxes. Of the migrations of barbarians in North- ern Europe we can say nothing positively. ^utXint ^iisttti of (general l^tstDrg. The Celtic tribes who forced tlieir way at a later time into Italy and Greece and Asia Minor, may have approached the Alps ; hut the want of all contemporai-y evidence must make every statement uncertain. Rome, we may perhaps say, was now en- tering on the course which hereafter was to carry her to universal conquest ; and even this may be a hazardous assumption. Amon.q the Greek States, those of Athens and Sparta were the most prominent. The latter, under the institutions ascribed to Lycurgus, was growing more and more like a camp of hostile occupation in a conquered country ; the former, free in great part from the factions which vexed other cities, was becoming rapidly prosperous, and lay- ing the foundation of her maritime ascen- dancy. The sceptre of Babylon was at this time swayed by Nebuchadnezzar, by wliom the kingdom of Judea was totally overthrown, 5S7 B.C., and its temple burned to the ground in the following year. He also took and demolished the city of Tyre, despoiled Egypt, and made such prodigious conquests both in the East and West, that the fame of his victories filled the world with awe ; till at length his empire comprehended Phoenicia, Palestine, Syria, Babylonia, Me- dia, Persia, and part of India. One great object of his pride and ambition was to render his capital beyond all example gor- geous ; nor can we consider the wonders of that city, as related by Herodotus, at all incredible, when we remember that the strength and resonrces of his mighty em- pire was made subservient to the purpose. The next important event that occurred was the revolution occasioned by the mis- conduct of Evil-merodach, Nebuchadnez- zar's son, who, without provocation, wan- tonly attacked and began to plimder and lay waste the country of the Medes. This pro- duced an immediate revolt, which quickly extended over all Media and Persia. The Medes, headed by Astyages and his son Cyaxares, drove back the intruder and liis followers with great slaughter ; nor does it apiiear that the Babylonish monarch was afterwards able to reduce them to subjec- tion. We now come to the period when the brilliant career of Cjtus demands our notice. He had signalised himself in va- rious wars under Astyages, his grandfather, when, having been appointed generalissimo of the Median and Persian forces, he at- tacked the Babylonish empire, and the city of Babylon itself fell before his victorious arms. Cyrus now issued a decree for the restoration of the Jews, and the rebuilding of their temple. By a succession of vic- tories he had become master of all the East, .and for some time the Asiatic affairs continued in a state of tranquillity. It is necessary to observe in this place, that the Medes, before the time of Cyrus, though a great and powerful people, were eclipsed by the superior prowess of the Babylonians. But Cyrus having conquered their king- dom, by the united force of the Medes and Persians, it appears that the gi-eat empire of which he was the founder must have taken its name from both nations ; so that the empire of the Medes and that of the Persians were one and the same, though in consequence of the glory of its wise and victorious leader it subsequently retained only the latter name. Meanwhile, it con- tinued to extend itself on every side ; and at length Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, conquered Egypt, and added that coimtry to his already overgrown domin- ions. CHAPTER r. From the Erection of tlie Persian Empire, to the Dii'ision of the Orecian Empire after the Death of Alexander. The Babylonians, groaning tmder the oppressive yoke of their Persian masters, in 517 B.C. made a desperate effort to shake it off ; but they were signally defeated by Darius Hystaspis, who besieged the city of Babylon, demolished its fortifications, and caused its walls to be lowered from 200 to 50 cubits. Darius then turned his arms against the Sc>-thians ; after which he di- rected his course eastward, and reduced tlie country as far as the Indus. In the mean- time the lonians, who had submitted to G.vrus, revolted, which led to the invasion of the Grecian states, and those disasters to the Persians by land and sea, which we have elsewhere related. In 459 e.c. the Egyptians made an ineffectual attempt to regain their independence. They also again revolted in 413 B.C. and, being assisted by the Sidonians, drewupon the latterthat ter- rible destruction foretold by the prophets, while they more firmly riveted the chains which bound themselves to the Persian rule. The Persian history exhibits every cha- racteristic of oriental cruelty, treachery, and despotism ; and with a few splendid exceptions, presents us with a series of monarchs whose lust of power was equalled only by their licentiousness. But the great- ness of the Persian empire was soon about to be humbled. Ten thousand Greek mer- cenaries had served under the younger C.v- rus in his rebellious attempt to seize the throne of his elder brother, Artaxerxes Mnemon ; but he was defeated and killed at the battle of Cunaxa, near Babylon ; and his Grecian allies, though in a strange country, and surrounded on all sides by enemies, effected their safe retreat under Xenophon, whose conduct on this occasion has been extolled both by ancient and modern writers, as exhibiting a matchless imion of prudent caution and military skill. In this rapid sketch we shall not stop to notice thevarious contests which tookplace between the Grecian states, though they make a considerable figure in their respec- tive histories ; but pass on to the time of Philip of Macedon, who, taking advantage of the wars and dissensions which were gra- dually weakening the neighbouring states of Greece, began to meditate their conquest; and by sometimes pretending to assist one state and sometimes another, he finally effected his object. Having become master of all Greece, he projected the conquest of (Outline SHitttf) af f barbarism in one part of the world, the conquests and spoliations of the Turks, like those of the Goths and Huns before noticed, were fast obliterating the faint traces of human science and learning that remained in the other. At last the Cru- sades (though they must ever be deplored as the wretched offspring of enthusiasm and misguided zeal), by directing the attention of Europeans to one particular object, made them in some measure suspend the slaugh- ter of one another, and were the means of extricating Christendom from a state of political and moral bondage. CHAPTER IX. Frovi the First Criisadc, to the death of Saladin. The world, as we have seen, was at this time divided into two grand religious par- ties, namely, the Cliristians and the Maho- metans, each of whom affected to regard the small territory of Palestine, which they called the Holy Land, as an invaluable ac- quisition. The origin of the crusades may therefore be attributed to a superstitious veneration for the places where our Saviour had lived and performed his miracles, which animally brouglit vast numbers of pilgrims from all parts of Christendom to visit the city of Jerusalem, and those particular spots 10 eo, llierofore, finding there w.as no hope of reclaiming so incorrigible a heretic. Is- sued a sentence of excommunication, A.D. l.'iL'O : but lie was screened from its effects by the friendship of the elector of Saxony. On the election of Charles V. to the im- perial throne of Germany, his first act was the assembling a diet at Worms, to check the progress of Lutheranism. In the pro- gress of his arduous work, Luther had the assistance of several learned men, among whom were Zuinglius, Melancthon, Carols- tadius, &c. : and there was the greatest pro- bability that the papal hierarchy would have been overturned, at least in the north of Europe, had it not been for the opposition of the emperor Charles V., who was also king of Spain. On the death of Frederic, his brother John succeeded to the electorate of Saxony, by whose order Luther and Me- lancthon drew up a body of laws relating to the form of ecclesiastical government, the mode of public worship, &c., which was pro- claimed by heralds throughout the Saxon dominions: this example was immediately followed by all the princes and states of Germany who had renounced the papal su- premacy. In a diet held at Spires, in 1529, the edict of Worms was confirmed; upon which a solemn protest was entered against this decree by the elector of Saxony and other reformers ; from which circumstance they obtained the name of Protestants,— an appellation subsequently applied to all who dissented from the doctrines of the Romish church. In the same year the elector of Saxony ordered Luther and other eminent divines to commit the chief arti- cles of their religion to writing, which they did ; and, farther to elucidate them, Me- lancthon drew up the celebrated 'Con- fessions of Augsburg,' which, being sub- scribed by the princes who protested, was delivered to the emperor in the diet as- sembled in that city, in 1530. From this time to the death of Luther, in 1546, various negotiations wore employed and schemes proposed, imder pretence of settling reli- gious disputes. Wliilst these transactions occupied the public attention in Germany, the principles of the reformers were making a rapid pro- gress in most other countries of Europe : in some they were encouraged by the govern- ing powers, while in others they were dis- countenanced, and their advocates sub- jected to cruel persecutions. The Turks were now menacing Hungary, and Charles V. thought it prudent to forget his differences with the protestant princes and their subjects, for the sake of engaging them to assist him against the genera] enemy ; but on the approach of the emperor at the head of 100,000 men, although the army of Solyman was at least double that number, the latter retired ; and Charles re- turned to Spain, and engaged in an expe- dition to Tunis, against the famous corsair Barbarossa, whom he deposed from his assumed sovereignty. A long and obstinate war had been car- ried on between the rival sovereigns of Ger- 16 &\xtlint ^it0tc^ 0f iSntrrat HiStorg. many and France ; and the former, at the head of 50,000 men, invaded the southern proTinces, while two other armies were ordered to enter Picardy and Champagne. Francis laid waste the country, and forti- fied his to-svns ; so that after the lapse of a few months, disease and famine so reduced the array of the emperor, that he was glad to retreat, and a truce was effected at Nice under the mediation of the pope, a.d. 1538. Charles had also to quell a serious insur- rection in Ghent, and endeavoured in vain to arrange the religious affairs of Germany at the diet of Ratisbon. The progress of the Turks, who had become masters of nearly the whole of Hungary, and his de- sire to embark in an expedition against Algiers, induced him to make concessions to the Protestants, from whom he expected assistance. The conquest of Algiers was a favourite object of Charles ; and in spite of the remonstrances of Doria, the famous Genoese admiral, he set sail in the most imfavourable season of the year, and landed in Afi'ica : the result of which was, that the greatest part of the armament was de- stroyed by tempests, a.d. 1541. The desire of Charles V. to humble the protestant princes, and to extend his own power, continued to manifest itself in every act. At length, being wholly free from domestic wars, he entered France ; but the gallant defence of the duke of Guise com- pelled him to raise the siege of Metz, with the loss of 30,000 men. In the following year he had some success in the Low Coun- tries ; but the Austrians were unfortunate in Hungary. In Germany a religious peace was flnaUy concluded by what is called the 'recess of Augsburg.' It was during the progress of this treaty that Charles V., to the great astonishment of all Europe, re- signed the imperial and Spanish crowns, and retired to spend the remainder of his life at the monastery of Tuste, in Spain, where he died three years after, aged 58, A.D. 1566. Charles was succeeded by his son Philip, and no monarch ever ascended a throne under greater advantages. The Spanish arms were everjTvhere successful, and the rival nations appearing unanimous in their desire for repose after a series of devas- tating wars, peace was reestablished be- tween France and Spain, which included in it, as allies on the one side or the other, nearly all the other states of Europe. At "this time Elizabeth filled the throne of England, and Protestantism had there not merely gained the ascendancy, but it was established as the religion of the state. In France also the reformed religion was making considerable progress ; but its members, who in that country were called Huguenots, met with the fiercest oijpo- sition, from the courts of France and Spain, who joined in a ' holy league,' and a ran- corous civil war raged for several years in many of the French provinces. The duke of Anjou commanded the catholics ; the protestants were led by Coligui and the prince of Conde. At length a hollow truce was made the prelude to one of the most atrocious acts that stain the page of his- , tory— the savage and indiscriminate mas- sacre of the Huguenots throughout France, on the eve of St. Bartholomew (Aug. 24, 1572). The account of this diabolical deed by which 60,000 persons met with a treache- rous death, was received in Rome and Spain with ecstacy ; and public thanks- givings were offered up in their churches for an event which, it was erroneously supposed, would go far towards the ex- tirpation of a most extensive and formi- dable heresy. About this period a serious insurrection of the Moors in Spain broke out, and a most sanguinary war ensued, which raged with great violence in the southern pro- vinces ; but the insurgents were at length quelled, and public tranquillity restored. It was not long, however, before the revolt of the Dutch took place, which ended in their final emancipation from the Spanish yoke, in 1572. But of all the preparations that were made for war and conqivest, none equalled that of Philip's ' invincible armada,' wliich he fondly hoped would conquer England, and thus destroy the great stay of protes- tantism. But this immense armament, consisting of one hundred and thirty ships, and nearly 30,000 men, after being partly dispersed, and losing several vessels during a Wolent storm, was most signally defeated by the English ; and Philip had the morti- fication to hear that his naval force was nearly annihilated. The particulars of this event, so glorious to England and so dis- astrous to Spain, will be found in another part of this work ; and we shall here merely observe, that it greatly tended to advance the protestant cause throughout Europe, and efEectually destroyed the decisive in- fluence that Spain had acquired over her neighbours : indeed, from the fatal day which saw the proud armada shipwrecked, (1588), the energies of that once powerful country gradually declined, and its in- habitants sank into a state of lethargic indolence. It is worthy of remark that, in all the states of Europe, towards the latter end of this centurj', a decided tendency towards the concentration of power in the hands of few indi^aduals was fully perceptible. The republics became more aristocratical, the monarchies were unlimited, and the des- potic governments less cautious. The sys- tem pursued by the domineering court of Philip served more or less as an example to his contemporary sovereigns ; while the recent and rapid increase in the quantity of the precious metals, and the progress of the industrial arts, by producing a multi- tude of new desires, rendered the court more avaricious and the nobles more de- pendent. CHAPTER xrr. From the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century, to the Peace of IVestphalia. THE seventeenth century, at its com- mencement, found Spain drained of its treasure, and destitute of eminent men CButlinc ^ftctrij of (Scnrral l^i^torg. 17 The colonlsalimi of America, flip war in the Low C'limitrlcs, mill tlio iiircss.-iiit. cii- terprisfs iP^; many feudal priri- leges and ancient abuses were exercised Toll'^'rlT^'^'V''''^ ' contriburionsand fo^^'. ^'"^^ voluntary, were exacted by force; the forms of law were disregarded by the court of star-chamber ; Englishmen JS^X^f'^^'i""^ '° l™s: imprisonments ^d ^?h cn'l? '^"es; and their rights treated ^,^h t?'''™^"- ■ ^""O"" tl^e discussions to n,^l ^^f^?- ^'evances gave rise, arose , others relating to the nature and origiiTof . political constitutions. The violence of par- ^»^i^''\''/ '^'^feased ; but as the king con- ! ceded, the parliament grew more arrogant . in their demands, and the hour was rapidly [ approaching when it was evident anarchy I ^i!"? Iri!™Pj'' "Po" 'lie ruins of monarchv I At length a fierce civU war arose ; religion was made a political stalking-horse and gross hypocrisy overspread the land. En- ^^?f,'%^- *' ^1°^"y inaccessible to reason or revelation, to a sense of proprietv or any moral restraint, exercised the most irre- ^hof'-'^J"£"^°J;*'o° 'l^e course of events. 1 he high church sunk into misery ; the an- cient nobility were basely degraded; the whole constitution feU into ruins ; a ' so- lemn mockery,' miscalled the king's trial took place ;-and Charies finally perished by the axe of the executioner, a.d. iM9 uis death was soon followed by the usur- pation of Cromwell, soon after whose death the nation, weary of tj-ranny and hypo- crisy, restored the son of their murdered sovereign to the throne : a.d 1660 From the peace of Westphalia untU the death of Ferdinand III., in 1657, Germany remained undisturbed ; when considerable ferment prevailed in the diet, respecting the election of his successor. Tlie choici of the electors, however, having fallen on Ins son Leopold, he immediately contracted an alliance with Poland and Denmark against Sweden, and a numerous army of Austnans entered Pomerania; but failing in their object, peace was quicklv restored He next turned his arms against the Turks who had invaded Transylvania, and gave them a signal overthrow. In this situation (Bntlint ^%ttcif a( (general l^i^torg. 19 of atfairs the vniitliful ami amliitious r.duis | XIV., kill^'^f"K^.■un■l•, (lislurl.cJ tin- peace of the eiMiiire hv an allai-k npun the laiuls, vvliiih lie clahned in life'ht qiieiai, of Spaii si.-tei- (if I'hiliii IV., In a serr.'t Ire: J.eolH.lclhaailhide.l IheS|) late king l.v, lidiiis and itti t'li II. lie .Irinlso Of hinanlL. Hav- ihe kin.i< and and iniinedi- Iul; iirepared aliiiil.- mean Tni'enne entered Klander aLel.v reduced Chai'leroi, Tournay, Uouay, and Lille. Such rapid success alarmed the Dilnr ICuriirieaM powers, who feared that anoi her camp.aigu would make him master of I he l,i.« I'nnntries ; and a triple alliance was loinird between England, Holland, and Sweden, with a view of setting bounds to his ambition, and of comi)elling Spain to accede to certain prescribed conditions. A treaty was, accordingly, negotiated at Aix-la-Chapelle, by which Louis was al- lowed to retain the towns he had taken ; and these he secured by entrusting their fortifications to the celebrated Vauban, and by garrisoning them with his best troops : A.D. 1668. Louis DOW saw that his designs on the Netlierland.s cnnld not be carried into effect wii hunt the c.wipeiation of England; but belie\ inglliat t he prulligate court of Charles 11. wa.s open to corruption, he easily suc- ceeded, tlu-ough the medium of Charles' sister Henrietta, the duchess of Orleans, in prevailing on the prodigal king of Eng- land to conclude a secret treaty with him, in which it was agreed that Charles should receive a large pension from Louis, and aid hira in subduing the United Provinces. The cabinet of Versailles having also suc- ceeded in detaching Sweden from the triple alliance, both monarchs, under the most frivolous pretences, declared war against the States, A.D. 1672. Without the shadow of a pretext, Louis seized the duchy of Lor- raine ; and Charles made a base and un- successful attempt to capture the Dutch Smyrna fleet, even while the treaty be- tween the two countries existed. The power that was thus confederated against Holland, it was impossible to withstand. The combined fleets of F'rance and Eng- land amounted to more than 120 sail ; the French army on the frontiers consisted of 120,000 men. The latter. In the flrst in- stance, bore down all opposition ; but on tjie command of the Dutch army being given to the young prince of Orange, VFilliam III., the spirits and energy of the nation revived ; and both the government and the people were united in their deter- mination, rather than submit to disgrace- ful terms, to abandon their country, and emigrate in a body to their colonies in the East Indies. Meanwhile, their fleets under Van Tronip and De Ruyter engaged the combined French and English fleets under prince Rupert, in three hard-fought but indecisive actions ; the emperor and the elector of Brandenburg joined the Dutch cause ; and Charles II., distressed for want of money, and alarmed by the discontent of his own subjects, flrst concluded a Ber>ai'ato peace with Holland, and then (ittered his mediation towards bringing abdut a reconciliation of the other con- t( iiding parties. Louis at the head of one of his armies ciiuquercd Fr.anche-Compto in the next campaign; while Turcnne was sticcessful on the side of Germany ; btit disgraced his trophies by the devastation and ruin of the Palatinate. In 1675, he was killed by a cannon-ball ; and the French army was forced to recross the Rhine. They were successful, however, in the ensuing cam- paign ; and their fleet defeated De lluyter, after a series of obstinate engagements off Sicily, in one of which he was slain. In 1677, another campaign was opened, which proved still more favourable to the French. Valenciennes, Cainbray, and St. Omer were taken ; marshal De Luxemburg defeated the prince of Orange, and several impor- tant advantages were gained by the French. At length the Dutch became anxious fur peace, and signed the treaty of Nimeguen, in 1678. Louis employed this interval of peace in strengthening his fi'ontiers, and in making prep.arations for fresh conquests. He then treacherously made himself master of Stras- burg, and some other places in Flanders. By these aggressions the flames of war were nearly rekindled ; but the treaty of Ratisbon prevented the continuance of hos- tilities, and left the French in possession of Luxembiu-g, Strasburg, and the fort of KJiel. At this time p683) the imperial arms were occupied in opposing the Turks, who invaded Hungary, and marched to- wards Vienna, which city was on the point of being carried by assault, when the cele- brated John Sobieski, king of Poland, came to its relief at the head of a ninnerous army. This revived the confidence of the besieged, and their assailants were repulsed; while the main body, which had been led by the grand vizier to meet the Poles, were thrown into confusion at the flrst charge of the Polish cavalry, and fled in the utmost con- fusion ; leaving in possession of the victors their artillery, baggage, treasures, and even the consecrated banner of the prophet. During the siege of Vienna, Louis had sus- pended his operations, declaring that he would not attack a Christian power while Europe was menaced by infldels. He was now at the height of his power ; and no sooner had the valour of Sobieski over- whelmed the Ottoman force, than he re- commenced his war of aggrandisement. He had just before humbled the pirate states of Africa, trampled on the independ- ence of Genoa, concluded an advantageotis peace witli Spain, and rendered himself ob- noxious to the papal court by insulting the dignity of the pope. But while his ambi- tion was alarming the fears and rousing the indignation of Europe, he committed an error which, in a political point of view, the most intolerant bigotry could scarcely be blind enough to excuse. Henry IV. had wisely granted religious freedom to the French protestants, and the edict of Nantes which secured it to them was designed to 20 OutliitP ^Sctclj of (general W^taru. be perpetual. But after vainly endeavour- ing to control their consciences or reward their apostacy, Louis formally revoked the edict of Nantes, and treated his protestant subjects with all the injustice and cruelty that blind fanaticism could dictate, or bru- tality execute. By this insensate act be deprived his country of half a million of in- habitants, who transferred to otiier lands their wealth, their industry, and their com- mercial intelligence. The Tm-kish war having been terminated, a league was formed at Augsburg, between the princes of Germany, to resist the fui-- ther encroachments of the French king. To this league Spain, Holland, Sweden, and Denmark acceded ; and Louis having un- dertaken to restore James II., who had lately been dethroned by William, prince of Orange, England joined the alliance. We must here briefly allude to the revo- lution which had placed the prince of Orange on the throne of England. James II., brother of the facetious but unprinci- pled Charles II., was a zealous proselyte of the Roman Catholic faith. One part of the nation was enthusiastically attached to freedom, and another was chiefly inspired by hatred of the papal ceremonies ; but all agreed that the king had no just or consti- tutional power to dictate to the nation in matters of religion. James had offended many of the nobles ; and they, instead of succumbing to the man they despised, ad- dressed themselves to thestadtholdcr, who was his nephew and successor, ,ind the pre- sumptive heir to the throne. At this junc- ture the queen of England bore a son ; an event which produced different effects on the hopes of the catholics and protestants. The stadtholder, immoveable in all contin- gencies, was confirmed in his resolution of rescuing England from the tyranny by which it was now oppressed : but he kept his own secret, and preserved his usual character of tranquillity, reserve, and im- penetrability. Many of the English nobility repaired to the Hague, where William lamented their situation ; and, with great secresy, fitted out an armament that was to effect the deliverance of the English nation from popery and despotism. Though the king of France had sent James information of the proceedings of the prince of Orange, the infatuated king could not be persuaded of his danger until the expedition was on the point of sailing. At length the stadt- holder landed in Torbay ; and the unfortu- nate monarch, finding the situation of his affairs desperate, hastily quitted the Eng- lish shores, and sought an asylum in France. A convention was then summoned, the throne declared vacant, and the prince and princess of Orange, as ' king William III. and queen Mary,' were proclaimed king and queen of England. This was followed by the passing of the 'Bill of Rights' and the ' Act of Settlement,' by which the future liberties of the people were secured. At the head of the league of Augsbiirg was the emperor Leopold; but Louis, not d.aunted by the number of the confederates, assembled two large armies in Flanders ; sent another to oppose the Spaniards in Catalonia ; while a fourth was employed as a barrier on the German frontier, and ra- vaged the palatinate -nlth fire and sword ; driving the wretched victims of his barba- rous policy fi-om their burning houses by thousands, to perish with cold aud hunger on the frozen ground. In the next cam- paign his troops achieved several important victories, and the French fleet defeated the combined fleets of England and Holland off Beachy-head, a.d. 1696. Thus the war con- tinued for the three following years, ex- hausting the resources of evei-y party en- gaged in it, without any important change taking place, or any decisive advantage being gained by either that was likely to produce a cessation of hostilities. With all the militai-y glory that France had acquired, her conquests were unproductive of any solid advantage ; her finances were in a sinking state ; her agriculture and com- merce were languishing ; and the country was threatened with the horrors of famine, arising from the failure of the crops and the scarcity of hands to cultivate the soil. All parties, indeed, were now grown weary of a war in which nothing permanent was effected, and in which the blood and trea- sure of the combatants continued to be profusely and uselessly expended. Ac- cordingly, in 1697, negotiations were com- menced, under the mediation of the youth- ful Charles XII., king of Sweden, and a treaty concluded at Ryswick, by which Louis made great concessions, restoring to Spain the principal places he had wrested from her; but the renunciation of the Spanish succession, which had been the main object of the war to enforce, was not even alluded to in ttie treaty. CHAPTER XVI. Commencement of the Eighteenth Century, to the Peace of Utrecht. The declining health of Charles II. king of Spain, who had no children, engaged the attention of the European powers, and kept on, the alert those princes who were claimants of the crown. The candidates were Louis XIV., the emperor Leopold, and the elector of Bavaria ; and it was mani- festly to the interest of those who wished to preserve the balance of power in Eux'ope that the choice should faU on the latter ; but he was unable to contend with his rivals. A secret treaty of partition was therefore signed by France, England, and Holland, by which it was agreed that Spain, America, and the iS^etherlands should be given to the electoral prince of Bavaria ; Naples, Sicily, and the Italian states to the dauphin ; and the duchy of Milan to the emperor's second son, the archduke Charles. This treaty coming to the know- ledge of the king of Spain, he was naturally indignant that his posseseions should thus be disposed of during his life ; and he im- medi.ately made a will in favour of the electoral prince. This well suited the views of England and Holland : but the intention was scarcely made known, when the favoured prince died suddenly, not (ButXint ^SctfT) at (general l^tStnrg. 21 without suspicion of bavins been poisoned. Tlie prince's death revived the apprehen- Bions of England and Holland, and they entered into a new treaty of partition. But the king of Spain bequeathed the whole of his dominions to the duke of Anjou, second son of the dauphin, who was universally acknowledged by the nation after the death of Chai-Ies, wlio died in 1701; and the young king was crowned under the title of Philip V. The emperor Leopold being determined to support the claims of his son, war im- mediately commenced, and an army was sent into Italy, where he met with great success. Prince Eugene having expelled the French from the Milanese, a grand alli- ance was formed between Germany, Eng- land, and Holland. The avowed objects of this alliance were ' to procure satisfaction to his imperial majesty in the case of the Spanish succession ; oljtain security to the English and Dutch for their dominions and commerce ; prevent the union of the mo- narchies of France and Spain ; and hinder the French from possessing the Spanish dominions in America,' James II., the exiled king of England, died at St. Germain's, in France, on Sep- tember 7, 1701 ; and was succeeded in his nominal titles by his son, James III., better known by the appellation of the Pretender. With more magnanimity than prudence, Louis XIV. recognised his right to the throne his father had abdicated, which could not be considered in any other light than that of an in.^ult to 'William and the English nation ; and the parliament strained every nerve to avenge the Indig- nity offered to the monarch of their choice : liut before the actual commencement of hostilities, "William met with his death, occasioned by a fall from his horse, a.d. 1702. Anne, second daughter of James II. and wife of George, prince of Denmark, imme- diately ascended the vacant throne ; and, declaring her resolution to adhere to the grand alliance, war was declared by the three powers against France, on the same day, at London, the Hague, and Vienna. Her reign proved a series of battles and of triumphs. Being resolved to pursue the plans of her predecessor, she entrusted the command of the army to the earl of Marl- borough, who obtained considerable suc- cesses in Flanders ; while the combined English and Dutch fleets captured the gal- leons, laden with the treasures of Spanish America, which were lying in Vigo bay, under the protection of a French fleet. Meanwhile the French had the advantage in Italy and Alsace ; but in Flanders the genius of Marlborough (now raii.>.d to a dukedom) continued to be an overmatch for the generals opposed to him. Having secured his conquests in tliat coimtry, he resolved to march into Germany, to the aid of the emperor, who had to contend with the Hungarian insurgents as well as the French and Bavarians. He accordingly crossed the Rhine, and meeting prince Eugene at Mondlesheim, a junction was agreed on and effected with the imperialists under the duke of Baden ; and, thus united, they advanced to the Danube. The rival armies each amounted to about 60,000 men. The French and Bavarians were posted on a liill near the village of Blenheim, on the Danube ; but though their position was well chosen, their line was weakened by detachments, which Marlborough perceiv- ing, charged through, and a signal vic- tory was the result. The French com- mander, TaUard, was made prisoner, and 30,000 of the French and Bavarian troops were killed, wounded, and taken ; while the loss of the allies amounted to 5,000 killed, and 7,000 wounded : a.d. 1704. By this bril- liant victory the emperor was liberated from all danger ; the Hungarian insurgents were dispersed ; and the discomfited army of France hastily sought shelter witliin their own frontiers. In Spain and Italy the advantage was on the side of the French ; but the victory of Blenheim not only com- pensated for other failures, but it greatly raised the English character for military prowess, and animated the courage of the allies. Among other gi'eat exploits of the war was the capttu'e of Gibraltar by admiral Sir George Rooke and the prince of Hesse. This fortress, which had hitherto been deemed impregnable, has ever since con- tinued in possession of the English, who have defeated every attempt made by the Spaniards towards its recovery. In the following year (1705) the emperor Leopold died, and was succeeded by his son Joseph. In Italy the French obtained some considerable advantages ; while in Spain nearly all Valencia and the province of Catalonia submitted to Charles III. The hopes and fears of the belligerents were thus kept alive by the various successes and defeats they experienced. Louis ap- peared to act with even more than his usual ardour : he sent an army into Ger- man.v, who drove the imperialists before them; while his Italian army besieged Turin, and marshal ViUeroy was ordered to act on the offensive in Flanders. This general, with a superior force, gave battle to Marlborough at Ramlllies, and was de- feated, with a loss of 7,000 killed, 6,000 prisoners, and a vast quantity of artillery and ammunition. All Brabant, and nearly all Spanish Flanders, submitted to the con- querors. The allies, under Prince Eugene, were also successful in Italy; while, in Spain, Philip was forced for a time to abandon his capital to the united forces of the English and Portuguese. Louis was so disheartened by these reverses that he proposed peace on very advan- tageous terms ; but the allies, instigated by the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, rejected it, although the objects of the grand alliance might at that time have been gained without the further effu- sion of blood. Thus refused, Louis once more exerted all his energies. His troops having been compelled to evacuate Italy, he sent an additional force into Spain, where the duke of Berwick (a natural scm of James II.) gained a brilliant and decisive victory at Almanza, over the confederates, 22 0utltnc ^iitUl) at ©cncral l^i^torg. who were commanded by the earl of Gal- way and the marquis de las Minas ; whilst the duke of Orleans reduced Valencia, and the cities of Lerida and Saragossa. The victory of Almanza restored the cause of the Bourbons in Spain ; and marshal Vil- lars, at the head of the French army in Germany, laid the duchy of Wirtemberg under contribution. The general results of the war hitherto had miserably disappointed the English ; Marlborough felt that a more brilliant cam- paign was necessary to render him and his party popular. He therefore crossed the Scheldt, and came up with the French army, under Vendome, at Oudenarde. They were strongly posted; but the British cavalry broke through the enemy's lines at the first charge ; and though the approach of night favoured the retreat of the French, they were put to a total rout, and 9,000 prisoners fell into the hands of the English. Shortly after. Lisle was forced to surrender ; and Ghent and Bruges, which had been taken by Vendome, were retaken. About the same time the islands of Sardinia and Minorca surrendered to the English fleet, and the pope was compelled to acknow- ledge the archduke Charles as the lawful king of Spain : a.d. 1708. The treasury of Louis being greatly ex- hausted, and his councils distracted, he again expressed his willingness to make every reasonable concession for the attain- ment of peace, offering even to abandon the whole of the Spanish monarchy to the archduke; but his proffers being rejected, except on terms incompatible with national safety orpersonal honour, the French king, trusting to the affection and patriotism of his people, called upon them to rise in de- fence of the monarchy, and in support of their humbled and aged king. His appeal was patriotically responded to. Every nerve was strained to raise a large army, and the salvation of France was confided to mar- shal Villars. The allied army was formed on the plains of Lisle ; the French covered Douay and Arras. Eugene and Marlborough Invested Mons. Villars encamped within a league of it, at Malpla^iuet. Elated with past success, the confederates attacked him in his intrenchments : the contest was obstinate and bloody : and though the allies remained masters of the field, their loss amounted to about 15,000 men ; while that of the French, who retreated, was not less than 10,000 : Sept. 11, 1709. Louis again sued for peace ; and con- ferences were opened at Gertruydenburg early in the following spring; but the allies stiO insisting upon the same con- ditions, the French monarch again re- jected them with firmness. The war con- tinued, and with it the successes of the allies in Flanders and in Spain, where the archduke again obtained possession of Madrid. But the nobility remaining faith- ful to Philip, and fresh succours arriving from France, the duke of Vendome com- pelled the allies to retire towards Cata- lonia, whither they marched iu two bodies. The English general Stanhope, who com- manded the rear division, was surrounded I at Brighuega, and forced to surrender, with 5,000 men ; and though the principal division, led by Staremberg, compelled Vendome to retreat, and continued their march in safety, they were unable to check the victorious progress of Philip's arms. Tlie expenses of a war so wholly unpro- ductive to England had by this time ex- hausted the patience of the nation ; and a change had taken place in the British cabinet that was imfavourable to Marl- borough and his designs. Through the death of the emperor Joseph, which had just occurred, the archduke Charles suc- ceeded to the imperial dignity ; thus giving a new turn to the politics of the sovereigns of Europe, who were in alliance to pre- vent the union of the Spanish and German crowns : a great obstacle to the restoration of peace was therefore removed. Hosti- lities however continued, but with so little energy, that no event of importance oc- curred during the whole campaign. At length the English and French plenipo- tentiaries concurring in the same desire for peace, preliminaries were signed be- tween England and France, at London, Dec. 1712. The following year a congress was held at Utrecht for the general paci- fication of Europe; and a definite treaty I of peace was signed on the 31st of March, 1713, by the plenipotentiaries of all the belligerent powers, except those of the emperor and the king of Spain. It was stipulated that PhUip should renounce all title to the crown of France, and the dukes of Berri and Orleans to that of Spain ; that if Philip should die without male issue, the duke of Savoy should succeed to the throne of Spain ; that the Spanish Netherlands, Naples, Milan, and the Spanish territories on the Tuscan coast should be secured to Austria ; that the Rhine should be the boundary between France and Germany ; and that England was to retain Gibraltar and Minorca. In the following year the emperor signed the treaty of Rastadt, the conditions of which were less favourable to him than those offered at Utrecht; and Philip V. acceding to it soBie time after, Europe once more enjoyed tranquillity. Shortly after having thus extricated him- self from all his difficulties, the long and eventful reign of Louis XIV. was termi- nated by his death ; and his great-grand- son, Louis XV., being a minor, the duke of Orleans was made regent of France. CHAPTER XVIL The Age of Charles XII. of Stceden, and Peter the Great of Sussia. Thocgh we have confined our attention to the wars which occupied the south and west of Europe at the latter end of the 17th century, we must not overlook the events which took place in the north and east, through the rivalry and ambition of two of the most extraordinary characters that ever wielded the weapons of war, or controlled the fate of empires : these men were Charles XII. of Sweden, and Peter the Great of Russia. It Is here necessary to retrace onr steps (ButUm ^ftptrf) 0f (Sriteral ?|tgtoiy. 23 for a lew vr.irs. In HJCl tlie iieoiilc of IJrii- iiiark, (liSLTiislcii Willi llir tyranny of tbcir HDlik'S, siilfinnly surri'mlcnHl their lilirrlics to tlic kins ; and Froderic, almost- witlionl any cft'ort of his own, became an ahsi.lule monarcli. His Rucccssor, Christian V., made waronCliarlesXI.of .Swodeu.wliodeJeniled hinisclf Willi Ki'cat ability, and, dyinu in IiHir, left liis crown to his son, tho valiant aiid'rnleri.iisiiiK Charles XII. Durinntlu' reiun of Alexis, Russia beKan to einerue from the barbarism into wliieh it had heiMi plunired by the Mongolian in- vasion and the civil wars occasi(jned by a hint,' (•oursc^o[ tvrannvon tli(; jiarl of its rnlers. His son Tlie..d..re inir-iieil an en- lightened iMiliey, rerormiiif; the laws, en- conraKiiiK the arts, and Introduciim' the manners and customs of more civilised nations. At his death he bequeathed the crown to his younger brother I'etur, in lireterence to his imbecile brother Ivan, wlio \v;is several years Ids senior. Through tho intrigues of their ambitious sister (so]ihia, a rebellion broke out; .and owing to the incapacity of one brother and the y.>ulh of the other, she continued to ex- ercise the whole sovereign iiower. Being accused however, of plotting the ilestruc- tioiKd-li'ervoungesl. lirother.shewasiniiiie- dialelv arrested and iiiii.risoiied;anil Ivan liaving retired into inivate life, I'eter be- came sole and nndi spilt ed master of I he liiis- siaii empire, which was destined, tlirom--h hisellorts, to aciiuire eventually an eminent rank among the leading powers of Europe. Endovced with an ardent thirst for know- ledge, gifted with the most persevering courage and animated by the hope of civi- lising his nation, I'eter I., deservedly sur- naiiied the Great, exhibited to the world the unusual spectacle of a sovereign de- scending awhile from the throne, for the purpose of rendering himself more worthy of the crown. Having regulated the in- ternal affairs of Russia, Peter quitted Mosc.w and visited France, Holland, and Eie-^lami iiirutpiito; investigating their laws, studying tlieir arts, sciences, and manu- factures, and everywhere engaging the most skilful artists and mechanics to fol- low him into Russia. But his desires did not end there : he wished also to become a coieiueror. He accordingly, in 1700, entered into an alliance with Poland and Denmark, for the pill pose of slriiiiiing the youthful Charles XII. of the whole, or of a part of his dominions. Nothing dismayed, the heroic Swede entered into alliance with Holland and England, laid siege to Copen- hagen and compelled the Danish govern- ment to sue fur peace. The Russians had in tlie meantimebesiegedNarvawKh 80,000 men. But Charles having thus crushed one of his enemies, in the short space of three weeks, immediately marched to tlie relief of Narva, where, with only 10,000 men, he forced the Russian intrenchments, killed 18 000 and took 30,000 prisoners, with all their artillery, baggage, and ammunition. Peter being prepared for reverses, coolly observed, ' I knew that the Swedes would lieat us, but they will teach us to become conquerors in our turn.' Having wintered at Narva, In the fol- lowing year Charles defeated the Poles and Saxons on the Duna, and overran Livonia, Coniiand, and Lithuania. Elated with his successes, he formed the project of de- throning Augustus, king of Poland. Com- bining policy with the terror of his arms, lie entered Warsaw, and, through the In- trigues of the primate of Poland, he ob- tained the deposition of Augustus, and the election of his friend, the young palatine Slanislaus Lecninski : A.n. 1704. Though Peter bad been unable to afford his ally Augustus mucli assistance, he had not been inactive. Narva, so recently the scene of his discomfiture, he took by storm, and sent an army of 00,000 men into Poland. The Swedish king, however, drove them out of the country; .-iiul, at the bead of a nohli' and victorious army, he marched on- wards with the avowed intention of de- throning his most formidable enemy, the czar of Russia. Peter endeavoured to avert the storm by sending proposals of peace ; which being haughtily rejected, he re- treated beyond the Dnieper, and sought to Impede the progress of the Swedes towards Moscow, bv breaking up the roads, and lay- iiitr wasi'e the surrounding country. Charles, afii i- leiviut-' eiiilured great privations, and bi'iiig nigi'd by Mazei'pa, hetmanorchief of the Cossacks, who offered to join him with 30,000 men, and supply him with provisions, penetrated into the Ukraine. He reached the place of rendezvous ; but the vigil.ance of Peter had rendered the designs of the hetman abortive, and he now appeared rather as a fugitive, attended with a few hundred followers, than as a potent ally. The Swedish army had still greater dis- appointments to meet with. No supplies were provided ; and gener.al Lewenhaupt, who had been ordered to join the king with 15,000 men from Livonia, had been forced into three engagements with the Russians, and his array was reduced to 4,000. Brav- ing these misfortunes, Charles continued the campaign, though in the depth of win- ter. In the midst of a wild and b.arren country, with an army almost destitute of food and clothing, and perishing with cold, he madly resolved to proceed. At length he laid siege to Pultowa, a fortified city on the frontiers of the Ukraine, which was vigorously defended. His army was now reduced to 30,000 men ; and he was suffer- ing from a wound which he had received while viewing the works. The czar, at the head of 70,000 men, advanced to the relief of Pultowa ; and Charles, carried in a lit- ter, set out with the main body of his army to give him battle. At first the impetuosity of the Swedes made the Russians give way ; but Charles had no cannon, and the czar's artillery made dreadful havoc in the Swedish lines. Notwithstanding the desperate va- lour of the troops, the irretrievable ruin of the Swedes was soon effected ; 8,000 were killed, 6,000 taken prisoners, and 12,000 fu- gitives were forced to surrender on the banks of the Dnieper, from want of boats to cross the river. The Swedish army was thus wholly destroyed. Charles, and about three hundred men, escaped with much 24 Oittliite ^ftctclb of (Stncral UtiStorg. difficulty to Bender, a Tui'kish town in Bes- sarabia, where he was hospitably received, aud where he remained inactiye during se- veral years, buoyed up with the hope that the Ottoman Porte would espouse his cause, and declare against the czar of Russia. In one fatal day Charles had lost the fruits of nine years' victories ; and the shattered remnant of that army of veterans, before whom the bravest troops of other countries quailed, were transported by the victorious czar to colonise the wild and inhospitable deserts of Siberia. But the inflexible king of Sweden had not even yet abandoned all hope of hum- bling the power of his hated rival. At length, in 1711, war was declared against Russia by the Porte, and the vizier Baltagi ilehemet advanced towards the Danube at the head of 200,000 men. By this Immense force, the Russian army on the banks of the Pruth was closely surrounded and re- duced to a state of starvation. At this cri- tical juncture, the czarina Catherine, who accompanied her husband, sent a private message to the vizier, and procured a ces- sation of hostilities preparatory to opening negotiations, which were speedily followed by a treaty of peace. Charles, who had calculated on the total destruction of the czar, felt highly incensed at the disappoint- ment of his most ardent hopes, and even- tually procured the dismissal of the vizier. His successor, however, stillless favourable to the views of the royal warrior, persuaded the sultan Achmet III. to signify his wish that Charles should quit the Ottoman em- pire. But he resolved to remain, and the Porte had recourse to compulsory measures. His house was invested by Turkish troops, and after a fierce defence on the part of him- self and his few attendants, he was taken and conveyed as a prisoner to Adrianople. The enemies of Sweden were, in the meantime, prosecuting their successful career. Stanislaus, whom Charles had placed on the throne of Poland, had been compelled to yield it to .Augustus ; and the Swedish frontiers were threatened on every side. General Steinbock, after having gained a brilliant victory over the Danes and Saxons at Gadebusch, and burnt Altona, was be- sieged in Tonningen, and forced to sur- render with the whole of his army. Roused at this intelligence, the king of Sweden quitted Turkey, and after traversing Ger- many without any attendant, arrived safely at Stralsund, the capital of Swedish Pome- rania. At the opening of the next campaign (A.D. 17151, Stralsund was besieged by the Prussians, Danes, and Saxons, and though obstinately defended by the king, was forced to capitulate, while he narrowly escaped in a smaU vessel to his native shores. All Europe now considered that his last effort had been made, when it was suddenly an- nounced that he had invaded Norway. He had found in his new minister, baron de Goertz, a man who encouraged his most extravagant projects, and who was as bold in the cabinet as his master was undaunted in the field. Taking advantage of a cool- ness that existed between Russia and the other enemies of Sweden, Goertz proposed that Peter and Charles should unite in strict amity, aud dictate the law to Europe. A part of this daring plan was the restora- tion of the Stuarts to the throne of Eng- land. But while the negotiations were in progress, Charles invaded Xorway a second time, and laid siege to FrederickshaU ; but while there a cannon-ball terminated his eventful life ; and his sister Ulrica ascended the throne : a.d. 1718. By the peace which Peter signed with Sweden, he obtained the valuable provinces of Carelia, Ingria, Esthovia, and Livonia. On this glorious occasion he exchanged the title of czar for that of emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, which was re- cognised by every European power. One year after (A.D. 1725) this truly extraordi- nary man died, in the 53rd of his age, and the 43rd of a glorious and useful reign, Peter the Great must be considered as the real foimder of the power of the Russian empire; but while history records of him many noble, humane, and generous actions, he is not exempt from the charge of gross barbarity, particularly in his early years. He must not, however, be judged according to the standard of civilised society, but as an absolute monarch, bent on the exalta- tion of a people whose manners were rude and barbarous. Catherine I., who had been crowned em- press the preceding year, took quiet pos- session of the throne, and faithfully pur- sued the plans of her illustrious husband for the improvement of Russia ; obtaining the love of her subjects by the mildness of her rule and the truly patriotic zeal she evinced for their welfare. She died in the second year of her reign, and left the crown to Peter II., son of the unfortunate Alexis, and the regency to prince Menzicoff, who was afterwards disgraced and banished to Siberia. After a short and peaceable reign Peter II. died, and with him ended the male line of the family of Romanof : A.D. 1730. CHAPTER XTIII. The Affairs of Europe, from the Establish- ment of the Hanoverian Succession in Eng- land, to the year 1740. Arrived at a period of comparative repose, we may now take a retrospective glance at the affairs of Great Britain. In 1707, Scotland and England had been united un- der this appellation ; and the act of union introduced equal rights, liberties, commer- cial arrangements, and a parliament con:- nion to both nations. During the life of j William III. the protestant succession had i been decided, by act of parliament, in fa- vour of the countess palatine Sophia, duchess of Hanover, wife of the first elec- toral sovereign of that territory and mother of George 1. This princess died a short time before queen Anne ; and George I., upon that event, took the oath of succes- sion, by which he engaged to observe and maintain the laws and liberties of Britain ; not to engage that kingdom even in defen- sive wars, on account of his electorate ; and to employ no other than British ministers (Outline i^^tU^ of <@cncral W^taryi. 25 and privy counsellors In the administration uf government. As George I. In a great measure owed his sni'copsiun to the crown to the Whig party, lie openly avowed himself their friend and piilron; and tliey were no sooner In olllee tliioi lliey used their power to crush their piilliii-al adversaries, the Tories. One of tlie llrst acts of his reign was the impeach- nieiit of the duke of Onuond, and tlie lords Oxford and Htilingbroke. Oxford was eoiniidlted to (lie Tower; hut Bolingbrolie and Onnond made tlicir escape to the con- liiieiit. The evident partiality of the nio- niircli for the Whigs, and their vindictive lir(jceedings, gave great urabr.age to many persons, and roused the anger of all who were favourable to the Stuart dj-nasty. These feelings more especially prevailed in tlie llighlandsof Scotland, and apian was formed for a general insurrection in favour of tlie Pretender, whom they proclaimed, under tlie title of James III. By the au- thority of the prince, the earl of Mar had raised his stand.ard, and the clans tiuickly crowded to it, so that he was soon at the liead of 9,000 men, including several noble- men and other persons of distinction. But their iilans were prematurely formed, and tlieir want of unanimity in conducting the necessary operations proved fatal to the cause in which they were embarked. They were attacked and completely routed by the royal forces at Preston Pans, a.d. 1716. The Pretender and the earl of Mar effected their escape ; but most of the insurgent cliiefs and officers were doomed to suffer death as traitors. The rebellion being thus suppressed, an act was passed for making parliaments septennial, instead of triennial. We now return to the affairs of Spain and other continental states. We have seen that the death of the emperor and the accession of the archduke Charles to the imperial throne, left Philip V. undis- puted master of Spain and of its colonics. His llrst queen being dead, he married Eiiz.abeth F.arnese, heiress of Parma, Tus- cany, and Placcntia ; a woman of masculine spirit, who, having a powerful influence over the mind of her husband, and being herself directed by the daring cardinal Alberoni, his prime minister, indulged in the prospect of recovering those posse.s- sions which had been wrested from Spain, and confirmed by the peace of Dtrecht. The schemes of Alberoni, in fact, went murh farther; by the aid of Charles XII. of Sweden, and Peter I. of Russia, he de- signed to change the political condition of lOurope ; he desired to restore the Stuarts to the throne of England ; to deprive the duke of Orleans of the regency of France; and to prevent the interference of the em- peror by engaging the Turks to assail his dominions. These ambitious projects were defeated by what was termed the 'quad- ruple alliance ' (A. D. 1716) between Austj-ia, France, England, and Holland. The court of Spain for a time resisted this powerful confederacy ; but its disasters, by land and sea, compelled Philip to accede to the terms which were offered him, and Alberoni was dismissed A.i>. 1720. A private treaty was afterwards concluded between the king of Spain and the emperor; and another, for the exi)ress purpose of counteracting it, was concluded between England, France, Holland, Prussia, Denmark, and Sweden. This led to a short war between England and Spain : the English sent a fleet to the West Indies to block up the galleons lu Porto Bello, and the Spaniards made an unsuccessful attack on Gibraltar. Neither l>arty having gained by the rupture, the mediation of France was accepted, and a treaty was concluded at Seville, by which all the conditions of tlie quadruiile alliance were ratilled and conHriiicU. One of its articles providing tliat iJon Carlos, son of the queen of Spain, should succeed to Parma and Placentia, the Spanish troops now took formal possession of those terri- tories. It was also agreed that the ' prag- matic sanction,' or law by which the emperor secured the succession of the Austrian dominions to his female heirs, in failure of male issue, should be guaranteed by the contracting powers. George I., king of England, died in 1727 ; but his death made no change in the poli- tics of the cabinet, Sir Robert Walpole continuing at the head of affairs after the accession of George II. Some few years previ(ms to the death of his father, the n.ation had experienced much loss and con- fusion by the failure of the 'South-sea scheme,' a commercial speculation on so extensive a scale that it had well-nigh produced a national bankruptcy. It was a close imitation of the celebrated 'Mis- sissippi scheme,' which had a short time before involved in ruin thousands of our Gallic neighbours. The pacilic disposition of cardinal Fletiry, prime minister of France, and the no less pacific views of Walpole, for nearly twenty years secured the happiness and peace of both countries. But the pugnacious spirit of the people, and the remembrance of old grievances on both sides, led to new alter- cations with the Spaniards, which were greatly aggravated by their attacking the English employed in cutting log-wood in the bay of Campeachy. A war was the con- sequence, and France became the ally of Spain, A.D. 1739. A small force being sent to the West Indies, under admiral Vernon, the import.ant city of Porto Bello was cap- tiu-ed ; which success induced the English to send out other armaments upon a larger scale. One of these, under commodore Anson, sailed to the South Seas, and after encountering severe storms, by which his force was much diminished, he ravaged the coasts of Chili and Peru, and eventually captured the rich galleon annually bound from Acapulco to Manilla. The other ex- pedition was directed against Carthagena ; but it proved most disastrous, owing to the mismanagement and disputes of the commanders, and to the unhealthiness of the climate, not less than 15,000 troops having fallen victims to disease. 26 ©utltnc ^Sftc]^ of (Snicral ^j^t^torg. CHAPTER XIX. From the Accession of the Empress Theresa, of A ustria, to the Peace of A ix-la-Cliapclle. We now return to the state of aSairs in northern Europe. On the death of the emperor, Charles VI., his daughter, Maria Theresa, by virtue of the pragmatio sanc- tion, took possession of his hereditary do- minions ; but she found that she was not lilcely to retain peaceable possession of them. The kings of Poland, France, and Spain exhibited their respective claims to the whole Austrian succession ; and Frederic the Great, king of Prussia, who had just ascended his throne, looking only to the aggrandisement of his dominions, joined her enemies in the hope of obtaining a share of the spoil. At the head of a well- appointed army, he entered Silesia, took Breslau, its capital, and soon conrjuered the province; and in order to retain his acqui- sition, he offered to support Maria Theresa against all her enemies, a.d. 1741. This proposal was steadily and indignantly re- jected by the princess; though she was well aware that the French and Bavarians were on the point of invading her territories, for the express purpose of elevating Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, to the imperial dignity. Under the command of the prince, assisted by the marshals of Belleisle and Broglio, the united armies entered Upper Austria, took Liutz, and menaced Vienna. Maria Theresa being compelled to abandon her capital, fled to Hungary ; and having convened the states, she appeared before the assembly with her infant son in her arms, and made such an eloquent appeal, that the noldes with one accord swore to defend her cause till death. 'Moriamur pro REGE nostro Maria Theresa.' Nor were these mere idle words : her patriotic sub- jects rushed to arms ; and, to the astonish- ment of her enemies, a large Hungarian array, under the command of Prince Charles of Lorraine, marched to the relief of Vienna, and the elector was obliged to raise the siege. A subsidy was at the same time voted to her by the British parliament, and the war assumed a more favourable aspect. The Austrians took Munich, after defeating the Bavarians at Meniberg ; and the prince of Lorraine expelled the Prussians and Saxons from Moravia. The elector, how- ever, had the gratification, on retiring into Bohemia, to take the city of Prague ; and having been crowned king of Bohemia, he proceeded to Frankfort, where he was chosen emperor under the name of Charles VII., A.D. 1742. The king of Prussia having obtained a brilliant victory over the Austrians at Czarslau, took immediate advantage of his position, and signed a separate treaty with the queen of Hungary, who ceded to him Lower Silesia and Glatz, on condition of his remaining neutral during her contest with the other powers. The conduct of Frederic gave just cause of offence to the court of France ; for, thus deprived of its most powerful ally, the French army must have been inevitably ruined, but for the superior abilities of marshal Belleisle, who effected one of the most masterly retreats through an enemy's country that has been recorded in the annals of modern warfare. Louis XV. now made offers of peace on most equitable terms; but the queen, elated with success, haughtily rejected them. In consequence of a victory gained by prince Charles of Lorraine, she had also soon the gratification of recovering the im- perial dominions from her rival Charles VII., who took refuge in Frankfort, and there lived in comparative indigence and obscurity. England had now become a principal in the war ; and the united British, Hano- verian, and Austrian forces marched fi-ora Flanders towards Germany. The king of England had arrived in the allied camp; and the French commander, marshal de Koailles, having cut off all their supplies, the destruction of the British and Austrian army was anticipated either by their being cut to pieces if they attempted a retreat, or by their surrender. They commenced their retreat ; and, fortunately for them, the good generalship of NoaUles, who had taken possession of the village of Dettingen, in their front, was counteracted by the rash- ness of his nephew, the coimt de Gram- mont, who advanced into a small plain to give the allies battle ; but the impetuosity of the French troops was met by the re- solute and steady courage of the allies, which obtained for them the victory of Dettingen. The marshal retreated ; but the allies, owing to the irresolution of George II., obtained no farther advan- tage. The haughty and ambitious conduct of the empress, who avowed her intention of keeping Bavaria, gave great offence to se- veral of the German princes ; and France, Prussia, and the elector palatine united to check the growing power of Austria. The French arms were victorious in Flanders : the king of Prussia, who had invaded Bo- hemia, was defeated with great loss, and forced to make a precipitate retreat into Silesia: a.d. 1744. Not long after this the death of the elector of Bavaria removed all reasonable grounds for the continuance of hostilities, his son having renounced all claims to the imperial crown, while Maria Theresa agreed to put him in possession of his hereditary dominions.. During the campaign of 1745 the impe- rialists lost Parma, Placentia, and Milan. In Flanders a large French army, under marshal Saxe, invested Tournay ; whllo the allies, imder the duke of Cumber- land, though greatly inferior in numbers, marched to its relief. The king of France and the dauphin were in the French camp, and their troops were strongly posted be- hind the village of Fonteuoy. The British infantry displayed the most midatmted valour, carrying everything before them ; but they were ill supported by their Ger- man and Dutch allies, whose indecision or want of cotirage lost the day. The capture of Tournay, Ghent, Ostend, and Ondeuarde by the French, was the immediate conse- quence of this important victory. In England the fatal battle of Fonteuoy Outline ^lictci) of urL:li. Having proclaimed his father, he marchrd against Sir John Cope, ihr royal commander, over whom he obtained a victory at Preston Pans. After receiving some reiuf orcementi^hfi crossed the English border, took Carlisle and Lancaster, and marched boldly on to Derby. But being disappointed in his hopes of powerful as- sistance from the English Jacobites, he took the advice of the majority of his offl- cers, and retraced his steps. Ou his return to Scotland his forces were considerably augmented ; and, receiving a supply of money from Spain, he prepared to renew the contest with spirit. But though he was at first successful, by taking the town of Stirling, and defeating the troops sent against him at Falkirk, the approach of a larger army, commanded by the duke of Cumberland, soon c(jmpelled tlie prince to retreat to the north. On reaching CuUo- dcn Moor, near Inverness, he resolved to make a stand. As usual, the Highlanders made a furious onset ; hut their desperate charge was received by a close and galling Are of musketry and artilieiy, which in a very short time proved decisive. Giving np all for lost, Oiarles Edward desired his partisans to disperse, and became himself a wretched and proscribed fugitive, in the hourly dread of falling into the hands of his merciless pursuers; who, after their victory, with fiend-like barbarity, laid waste the country with fire and sword. After wandering in the Highlands for several months, and receiving numerous proofs of the fidelity of his unfortunate adherents, whom the reward of 30,0OOJ. for his capture did not tempt to betray him, he escaped to France ; a.d. 1746. In the meantime the French troops un- der marshal Saxe were overrunning the Netherlands. Brussels, Antwerp, and iN'a- mur were captured ; and the sanguinary battle of Roucoux ended the campaign. In Italy, the arms of France and her allies were not equally successful ; and after a series of battles in Germany and the Low Countries, in which the fortune of war was pretty equally balanced, conferences were opened at Aix-la-Chapelle, and prelimi- naries of peace signed : A.D. 1748. The basis of this treaty was the restitution of all places taken during the war, and a mutual release of prisoners. Frederic of Prussia was guaranteed in the possession of Silesia and Glatz ; the Hanoverian suc^ cession to the English throne was recog- nised, and the cause of the Pretender aban- doned. We brought our notice of Russia down to tho death of Peter II. in 1730. When that occurred, a council of the nobles placed on the throne Anne Iwannowa, daughter of Ivan, Peter's eldest brother, who soon broke through the restrictions imposed upon her at her accession. She restored to Persia flie provinces that had been con- quered by Peter the Great ; and terminated a glorious war against Turkey, in con- junction with Austria, by surrendering every place taken during the contest : A.D. 17.15. She is accused of being attached to male favourites, the principal of whom was a man of obscure birtli, named John iiireii, who was elected duke of Courlaud, and who governed the empire with all the despotism of an autocrat. Previously to her death, Anne had bequeathed the throne to the infant Ivan, and appointed Biren re- gent ; but the latter enjoyed his high dignity only twenty-two days, when he was arrested and sent into exile in Siberia. Russia has ever been noted for its cabals, intrigues, and revolutions. The soldiery had been induced to espouse the cause of Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great. Anne was arrested and imprisoned ; the infant emperor was confined in the fortress of Schusselburg ; and Elizabeth was Imme- diately proclaimed empress of all the Rus- sias. This princess concluded an advan- tageous peace with Sweden ; and lent her powerful assistance to Maria Theresa, in her war with the king of Prussia, for whom Elizabeth felt a violent personal enmity. CHAPTER XX. Progress of events daring the Seven Yenrs War in Europe^ America, and the East Indies. Dduinq the period we have been descril>- ing, in which the west and the north of Europe resounded with the cries of distress or the shouts of victory, the throne of Hin- dostan was filled by Mahmoud Shah, a voluptuous prince ; who, in order to avoid becoming the object of personal hatred, confided all public business to the nobles and his ministers : these officers offended or neglected the subahdarof the Deccan, who invited Nadir Shah to invade the East Indies. In 17.38 the Persian warriormarched into that country at the head of an army inured to war and greedy of plunder, and defeated with the utmost ease the innu- merable but disorderly troops of the mogul. The crown and sceptre of Mahmoud lay at the feet of his conqueror : Delhi, his capi- tal, was taken ; every Individual whose appearance rendered it probable that he was acquainted with concealed treasui-es, was subjected to the most horrid tortures ; and it is asserted that 100,000 persons were massacred in one day I He plundered the counti-y of upwards.of thirty millions sterl- ing, and extended the bounds of his em- pire to the banks of the Indus. After committing the most revolting acts of cruelty, he was assassinated by his own officers, who placed his nephew, Adil Shah, 28 <©utltnc §>iittd) af <&tntval W^tav^. on the vacant throne : A.D. 1747. "We will now take a view of European interests in that distant region. Among other stipulations in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, it was agreed that the En- glish settlement of Madras, which during the war of the succession had been taken from the English by the French, should he restored. Dupleix, the French governor of Pondicherry, had long sought an opportu- nity for adding to the dominions of his countr.vmen in India ; and the continual disputes of the native princes favoured his schemes, inasmuch as the interference of the French was generally solicited by one of the parties, who remunerated their Euro- pean allies by fresh concessions of territory on every such occasion. This naturally roused the jealousy of their English rivals ; who adopted a similar line of policy ; so that whenever there was a rupture between the native princes, they each found allies in the European settlers. A fierce conten- tion arose for the nabohship of the Car- natic. The French supported the claims of Chunda Saliib ; the English being applied to by Mohammed Ali, son of the late na- bob of Arcot, espoused his cause : a.d. 1751. It was at this time that Mr. Clive (after- wards lord Clive) appeared in the capacity of a military leader. He had been originally in the civil service of the East India Com- pany ; but he now exchanged the pen for the sword, and soon proved himself more than a match for all the talents which were brought into play against him. With a small force he took Arcot ; and he after- wards successfully defended it against Chundah Sahib, who besieged it with a numerous army. Many brilliant victories followed on the side of the English and their allies. The Rajah of Tanjore and other independent chiefs joined them. The French lost most of their acquisitions : Mohammed All's claim was acknowledged ; and a treaty was entered into between the French and English, that neither party should in future interfere with the affairs of the native princes. Time proved how useless was such a stipulation I The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was not pf long duration. France and England were Btill at war in the East Indies, and their differences in respect to the boundaries of their respective colonics in North America BtiU remained for adjustment. Another war in Europe was the inevitable conse- quence ; and from the term of its duration it obtained the name of ' the seven years' war.' England united with Prussia; and an alliance between the emperor, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony was imme- diately concluded: a.d. 1756. The com- mencement of the campaign had a discou- raging aspect for the king of Prussia ; the i Russians were advancing through Lithu- I ania, a Swedish army occupied his attention I in Pomerania, and the united forces of the French and imperialists were advancing ! through Germany. With his characteristic 1 boldness, Frederic anticipated the attack ' of his numerous foes, and invaded both I Saxony and Bohemia; making himself 1 master of Dresden, routing the Austrians ' at Lowesitz, and compelling 17,000 Saxons to lay down their arms at Parma. In the ensuing campaign the marshal d'Estrees crossed the Rhine, with 80,000 men, to invade Hanover. The Hanoverians and Hessians, under command of the duke of Cumberland, were driven out, and the French became masters of the elec- torate. TJnawed by the formidable prepa- rations of his enemies, Frederic again as- sumed the offensive, and penetrated into Bohemia ; but a victory obtained at Kolin, by the Austrian general Daun, compelled him to retreat hastily into his dominions, which were now threatened in every direc- tion. The French had rapidly advanced upon Magdeburg; the victorious Russians threatened the north of Silesia, whilst the Austrians had attacked the south, and even penetrated to Berlin, where they levied heavy contributions ; and the prince of Brunswick Bevern had delivered up Bres- lau. In this extreme emergency, Frederic could scarcely expect to acquire any fur- ther fame ; but, with his accustomed en- ergy, he hastened to Dresden, assembled an army, and with half the niunber of his French and German opponents, gave them battle at the village of Rosbach, and ob- tained over them a most brilliant victory. His loss amounted to only Ave hundred men, while that of the enemy was nine thousand, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. In fourweeks after he had obtained the far more important victory of Lissa, and reco- vered Breslau. During the campaign of 1758, the Prus- sian monarch recovered Schweidnitz, and invested Olmutz. In the meantime prince Ferdinand of Brunswick crossed the Rhine, defeated the French at Crevelt, and pene- trated to the very gates of Lou vain in Bra- bant. No commander, perhaps, ever en- dured the vicissitudes of fortune in more rapid succession than did Frederic in this campaign ; but though he was several times in the most imminent peril, he at length compelled his formidable rival, marshal Daun, to raise the sieges of Dresden and Leipsic, and to retire into Bohemia, while Frederic himself entered the former city in triumph. It is in crises like these that the destiny of states is seen to depend less upon the extent of their power, than upon the quali- fications of certain eminent Individuals, who possess the talent of employing and increasing their resources, and of animating national energies. This was in an especial degree the case of Frederic the Great. He was engaged with the powerful and well- disciplined armies of Austria , with the French, whose tactics and impetuosity were undisputed ; with the immovable perse- verance of the Russians ; with the veterans of Sweden, and with the admirably orga- nised forces of the empire. In numerical strength they far more than trebled the Prussians ; yet he not only kept them con- stantly on the alert, but frustrated their combined attacks, and often defeated them with great loss. At the opening of the next campaign (1759) the fortune of war was on the side Outline ^fef tcib of Stntval ^igtavp. 29 of tlif l'iiissi:ins. Tlic.v dostn).Vfcl tlju Itiis- si:ui iii.-if;.'izii)i's ill I'olaiiil, lovicii CLiitriliii- tidiis ill l!u]ic'iiii;i,;iiiil ki-I>t. tliL-iiiirn'1-ialists in clue k. I'liiK-c Ferdinand, In order to protcc-t. IliiiKivrr.foiinditnecessary to give tlie I''r('ii(li li.itlleatMinden, where succesg cnnviiiil liis rlTi)rts. And liad it not tieen for I ill' uiDiccumital.le (■(Hidiicf, of lord George S,■l(■k^ illr, wlio coiiiiiiaiKli'il llic ca- valry, and di><(iljc.vi'd or niisninlorsl 1 tlie order to cliargo tlie disconillted Fi-oneli, a victory as glorious and comiilete as tliat of Blenlieini would, in all probability, liavc been the result. A decided reverse soon succeeded : tiio combined Austrian and llussian array of 80,000 men attacked the Prussians at Cunersdorf, and after a most sanguinary conflict the latter «ere defeat- ed. Frederic soon retrii'ved this disaster, and the war continued to jiroceed witli dubious advantage ; but the iiuglish grew tired of I his iiiteriuinable kind of warfare, and turned ilicir attention from tlie actions of their iiilrepid ally to matters affecting their colonial interests in tlie East and West Indies, and in America. The bold and skilful operations of Clive in the East Indies attracted great notice. Having reinstated the nabob of Arcot, his next great exploit was the recapture of Ctdcutta, which had been taken by the nab.di of Beiiiral. This was followed by the niu'xaiiipli'il victory of Plassy, and tlie final rslablislmieut of the Britisli in norlh- ern India.— In America, admiral Boscawen burned the enemy's ships in the harbour of Louisburg, and compelled the town to sur- render ; the islands of St. John and Cape Breton were taken by general Amherst ; and brigadier Forbes captured fort Du Quesne; while the French settlements on the African coast were reduced. The hsland of Guadaloupe, in the West Indies, was also taken by the English. Crown Point and Ticonderago were conquered by general Amherst, and Sir William Johtison gained possession of the important fortress of Niagara. The French, thus attacked on every side, were unable to withstand the power and enthusiasm of their enemies : and general Wolfe, who was to have been assisted in his attack on Quebec by Amherst, finding that the latter general was unable to form a junction with him, resolved to attemiit the arduous and hazardous enter- prise alone. With this view he landed his troops at night imder the heights of Abra- ham, and led them up the steep and pre- cipitous ascent; so that when morning dawned, the French commander, the mar- quis de Montcalm, to his astonishment saw the English occupying a position which had before been deemed inacessible. To save the city a battle was now inevitable ; both generals prepared with ardour for the conflict. Just as the scale of victory was beginning to turn in favour of the British, the heroic WoLfe fell mortally wounded. With redoubled energy his gallant troops fought on, till at length the French fled in disorder ; and, when the intelligence was brought to the dying hero, he raised his head, and, with his last breath, faintly ut- tered, ' I die happy ; ' nor was the death of .Montcalm le.ss noble or soldier-like. He had been mortally woiuided ; and he was no Soulier a|iprised of ills danger than he exilaiinril, 'So iiiuchtlicljetter ; I shall not li\r ic, NsHiicss I lie mriT'iider of Quebec' Tlic cniiipii ir subjugation of the Cauadas HUickly tdl lowed. And, amidst the exploits id liis army .and navy, George II. expired siiddeiily at Kensington, in the 34th year of his riigii, and was succeeded by his grand- son, George III., A.D. 1760. On the European continent the last cam- paigns were carried on with less spirit than before : both sides were exhausted by their previous efforts, and the party which was desirous of peace endeavoured to avert such occurrences as might revive the hopes of tlie cnc'iiiy. A family compact was now cniii-indrd between the courts of Versailles and .Madrid ; and seeing no chance of gain- ing any colonial advantages over Britain while its navy rode triumphant on the ocean, they resolved to try their united strength in attempting the subjugation of its ancient ally, Portugal. That country was defended more by its natural advan- tages than by its military force ; the pro- gress of the Spaniards being retarded by the miserable condition of the roads, and by the neglect of all provision for their sustenance. An English force of 8000 men, with a large supply of arms and ammu- nition, was sent to assist the Portuguese; and. I liough several towns at first fell into tlir bauds of the Spaniards, the British and iiaii\c inioii-; displayed a decided supe- rioi ii.v I 111". lu.'hout the campaign, and com- pclliii iImiii to evacuate the kingdom with coii>jii( lablc loss. In Germany, prince Fer- dinand .•Hid the marquis of Granby not only iniitecfed Hanover, but recovered the greater iiart of Hesse. At the same time Frederic experienced an unexpected stroke of good fortune. The empress Elizabeth of Russia died ; and Peter III., who had long admired the heroic king, and who had never forgotten that the infiuence of Fre- deric had especially contributed to the foundation of his hopes and greatness, had no sooner ascended the throne than he made peace with him, and restored all the conquests of the Russians. From that time the king was not only enabled to concentrate his whole force against the Austrians, but was supported by Peter, who concluded an alliance with him, and despatched to his aid a corps of 20,000 men. The reign of Peter III. was, how- ever, of very brief duration ; and Catherine II., although she confirmed the peace, re- called the auxiliary Russians from the Prussian army. Meanwhile the English were extending their conquests in the West Indies. They took Havannali and Manilla from the Spaniards ; with Martinique, St. Lucie, Grenada, and St. Vincent from the French. Tired of a war which threatened the whole of their colonies with ruin, the cabinets of France and Spain were glad to find that the British minister was equally anxious to bring the war to a close. Peace, which was now the universal object of desire to all parties, was concluded at Versailles, on d2 30 ©utltnc ^iittdi of <3mtval W^tavVi' the lOtb of February, 17G3, between Great Britain, Franco, and Spain ; and five days later, at Hubertsburg In Saxony, between Austria and Prussia. This memorable con- test, which had required such an extra- ordinary expenditure of blood and treasure, — a war in which the half of Europe had been in arms against England and Prussia, — was concluded with scarcely any altera- tion in the territorial arrangements of Ger- many, and without producing any great or lasting benefit to either of the belligerents, so far, at least, as their interests in Europe were concerned. But in the East and "West Indies, as well as in America, it had added greatly to the colonial possessions of Great Britain. CHAPTER XXI. From the Conclusion of the Seven Years' War, to the final Partition of Poland. The ' seven years' war,' the principal fea- tures of which we have given, left most of the contending powers in a state of great exhaustion, but none had been more af- fected by it than France. While that country, however, was declining, Russia, under the empress Catherine II., was rapidly acquiring apreponderating influence among the nations of Europe ; and no opportunity of adding to her already extensive territo- ries was ever neglected. On the death of Augustus III., king of Poland, the diet as- sembled at Warsaw to choose a successor. Catherine espoused the cause of Stanislaus Poniatowsky ; and as the discussions were not condueted with the temper which ought to characterise deliberative assemblies, the prudent empress, as afi'iend and neighbour. Bent a body of troops thither to keep the peace. This had the desired effect, and Stanislaus ascended the throne. But Po- land had long been agitated by disputes, both religious and political ; and the new sovereign was unable to control the ele- ments of discord by which he was sur- rounded. The animosity which existed be- tween the catholics and the dissidents, as the dissenting sects were called, had risen to a height incompatible with the safety of the kingdom. The dissident s, who had been much oppressed by the catliolics, claimed an eqttality of rights, which being refused, they appealed to foreign powers for protec- tion—those of the Greek church to the empress of Russia, and the Lutherans to the kings of Prussia and Denmark. A civil waf now arose in all its horrors ; and its miseries were greatly aggravated by the insolence and brutality of the Russian troops which Catherine had sent to the aid of the dissidents. The catholic nobles formed a confederacy for the maintenance of their privileges and their religion : but it was useless to contend against the over- whelming forces brought against them. Cracow, where they for a long time held out against famine and pestilence, was at length taken by storm, and the unhappy fugitives were pursued beyond the Turkish frontiers. The protection which the confederates received In Turkey, and mutual complaints concerning the incursions of the wandering hordes of Tartars and Cossacks, had, some years before, furnished a pretence for war l5etween the Porte and the Russians. It was impossible that Mustapha III. could any longer contemplate with indifference the transactions which took place in Po- land : not only was the security of his northern provinces endangered, but he felt justly indignant at the violation of his do- minions. He, accordingly, remonstrated with the empress ; and she speciously re- plied, that having laeen requested to send a few troops to the assistance of her unhappy neighbour, in order to queU some internal commotions, she could not refuse. But a body of Russians having aftenvards burned the Turkish town of Balta, and put all its inhabitants to death, war was declared, and the European and Asiatic dominions of the Porte summoned to arms. While all the officers who were to compose the suite of the grand vizier were preparing at Constan- tinople for their departure, the multifarious hordes of militia assembled themselves out of Asia, and covered the Bosphorus and Hellespont with numerous transports. On the other hand, the different nations composing the extensive empire of the autocrat of aU the Russias, most of whom were but a few degrees removed from bar- barism, put themselves in motion; and a body of troops selected from among the corps dispersed over Poland was assembled on the side of the Ukraine. The capitation tax of the Russian empire was raised, and a war contribution of 20 percent, levied on all salaries. Large armies on both sides advanced against the Danube ; and in the spring of 1769 the Turkish standard was displayed on the frontiers of Russia, where the Ottoman troops committed frightful ravages, and drove the enemy across the Dneister: they, however, suffered a severe defeat at Choczim ; and a more decisive blow was soon after struck by the Russians, who twice defeated the Tiu-kish fleet, and at length burnt fifteen of their ships of the line in the bay of Chesmo". Meantime, the Russian land forces were equally success- ful ; the grand Ottoman army was totally overthrown near the Pruth, and the capture of Bender, Ismail, and other plates, quickly followed. Greece, long accustomed to subjection, was but ill-provided with troops, and the inliabitants pursued their own affairs un- molested : but when they received intelli- gence of tlie enterprise of the Russians — a Christian people of the Greek church — to deliver the Greeks from the yoke of the barbarians, the love of liberty was rekin- dled in many of their hearts. All Laconia, the plains of Argos, Arcadia, and a part of .\chaia, rose in insurrection, and spared none of their former rulers. The Turks, in the meantime, crossed the isthmus in order to relieve Patras ; and the pasha of Bosnia, with 30,000 men, advanced with little resistance into the ancient Messene : at Modon the Greeks were defeated with great loss, and it was evident that their hope of regaining their liberty was a delusive one. At the end of the campaign the plague ^utltn^ ^ftftcf) of (general |f?t^toig. 31 lirciki' out ntY.ipsy, and spread to Moscow, wliirc it larricd 'id' un.orid iiersous, at the nite of lu-.ivly lixiu viftiiii- daily. The Ciiiii.a was seized by the Russians, and tlie grand vizior was forced to re- treat : the janizaries rose, put then- aga til d<'ath, and set Are to tlieir canir. The I'lirte in llie meantime was delivered from AM J!ey, the l';f;yiil ian pasha, who fell in hattio ayainst his l.rotlier-in-Iaw, Mo- hammed. Knrope had taken a more lively intei'est in his adveiitui'es, liecause he ap- peared to tie elevated above national pre- judiees ; bat his lault consisted in his mani- fr-lini,' bis I I.iii|it f.ir those errors too earlv, aiiO in lo.i ,lrri,l,i| a nialinrr. Tile Iin--i:ii; ^ :ii |.i)-lh .r.. --.■.! ilio Danube, and the janizaries gave way. They were twice eomjielled to abandon the siege of Silistria, and they lost a great part of their artillery near Varna. But a reverse of fortune was niph : for not long after, Hassan Pasha, a man of great courage and intelligence, liy birth a Persian, and who was high in the favour of the sultan, swore that not a Kus- pian should pass the autumnal equinox on the Turkish side of the Danube; and he f.aithfully kept his word. Mustapha III. died in 1774, and was suc- ceeded b\ his brother, Abd-iil-Hamed. But iieitbor I lie sult.an nor his people appeared inclined to prosecute the war. About the same time, Pugatehefl the Cossack, at the head of many warlike hordes, broke into open rebellion ; and this convinced Cathe- rine that peace was not less desirable for liussia than for the Porte. A treaty was accordingly entered into, by which the lat- ter ceded acousiderableportion of territory to the empress, together with a right to the free navigation of the Black Sea. We now return to notice the melancholy fate of Poland. An attempt on the per- sonal liberty of Stanislaus having been m.ade by the turbulent and bigoted nobles, it served as a pretext for the empress of Russia first to send an army into the country, and afterwards, in conjunction with Prussia and Austria, to plan its dis- memberment. Each party to the compact had some old pretended claims to urge in liehalf of the robbery ; and as the other nations of Europe were not in a condition to wage war against the powerful trio, their mediatoriai interference would have been ineffectual. A diet was called to give a colour to the transaction, and a majority of votes behig secm'ed, the armies of the spoilers severally took possession of the dis- | tricts which liad been previously parcelled out ; and little else remained of Poland — independent Poland — but its language and its name : a.d. 1773. CHAPTER XXII. From the Commencement of the American War, to the Itccoynitlon of the Indepen- dence of the United States. To describe, with chronological order, even a limited portion of the momentous events of the period to which we are now ap- proaching, would be impossible lu an out- liiii- fil.-i ti'li of f:KNi.;i!AL HISTORY. We shall tbei'i'foie content ourselves with merely iriviiiL,- siiiiie of the leading features which lire.-ent themselves; and then enter upon our series of SKPAItATE niSTORIES. The first great event, then, which in this place demands our attention is the American war. Our notici'of it, asamatterof course, will be most biief and cursory. Amoug the earlii'st settlers in North America were many who emigrated from Great Britain on accoiuit of civil or religious persecution— men, who being of Republican lirinciples, and jealous of the smallest en- croachments of their ri'-thts, naturally in- stilled those ininiiples int.i tlie minds of I heir chilli ren ; .and thus laid 1 ho foundation of that spirit of resistance to .arbitrary acts of power, which kindled the flames of war between the mother country and the colo- nics, and ended in the establi.shment of a powerful republic. The constitution of the Ameriran colonies bore the original impress of liberty. Under the protection of Great Britain, North America stood in fear of no foreign enemy ; and the consciousness of her native strength was already too great to per- mit her to feel much apprehension even of her mother country. Religion was every- where free from restraint ; agriculture was held in honour ; and peace and order were protected against the attempts of parties, and wild and lawless men. The people, like the coimtry they inhabited, appeared to be in the full vigour of youth ; ardent, inde- pendent, and capable of astonishing exer- tions when aroused by the stimulus of the passions. In 1765 a stamp-duty on various articles was imposed by the British parliament on the colonists ; but on their rcmoustrating, the act was soon after repealed. Subse- quently a duty was laid on tea: this was resisted, and at Boston the tea was thrown into the sea. Coercive measures were then tried; and in 1775 a civil war began. In the following year the Americans issued their declaration of independence. Many battles were fought, but nothing very de- cisive took place till the year 1777, when general Burgoyne, the British commander, was surrounded at Saratoga, and compelled to sun'ender, with about 4(X)0 men. With a blind infatuation, little dreaming of the danger of espousing principles pro- fessedly reimblican, and with no other view, indeed, than that of hiunbling a powerful neighbour,— France now entered the lists as theally of the Americans ; and Spain no less blindly followed the example. But England had augmented the number of her troops, and placed them under the command of lords Cornwallis and Rawdou, who defeated the American general Washington ; while admiral Rodney displayed his superiority in a naval engagement with the Spaniards. But it was not merely the hostility of the French and Spaniards that the English had to cope with : the jealousy of the conti- nental powers displayed itself by their en- tering into an armed neutrality, the avowed object of which was to resist the right of search which England's long established naval superiority had taught her to exer-. 32 (Outline ^6etcl) of tacked the Bastile, and levelled that ancient i fortress with the ground. From that hour I may be dated the fall of the monarchy. I The terrified king tried every mode of con- I cession ; but the infuriated populace, led ! by artful and interested demagogues, and i now familiar with scenes of blood and [ tumult, were not to be appeased. The ' capital was divided into sections ; and the ' national guard was formed, and placed under the command of the marquis de La Fayette, who had earned his popularity In the American war. Meanwhile the as- sembly abolished the privileges of the nobility and clergy : confiscated the pro- perty of the church ; divided the kingdom into departments ; and subverted all the ancient forms and institutions : a.d. 1790. A very general emigration of the nobles and clergy took place; and Louis, aban- doned even by his own brothers, was virtually a prisoner, or a mere tool in the hands of his enemies. And now arose that democratical society, aftenvards famous in the blood-stained annals of the revolu- tion under the name of Jacolrins. From ^titlms Sihetti) at (General ^iitav^. hack ralihlt' Paris Til. Id I'nis.-i: this tarns of rebellion issued mmu'rous emissaries, wl... foumled similar societies, or cIuIjs, ill every part of France; and tliiis llieir rciilaiuiiialiiiR iiilUienee spread around till llicwiiole pi.liUcal atnios|ilure licivum' our nirrupl mass. SiuTnuuilccI on every side hy eiiniiies, the king and the royal family at IiulmIi ic-uived to seek re- fuse in one of I ho I rniii ur (owns ; but they were discovered .il \ aicniHS, and brought imidsl the insults of the St violent Jacobins loudly anded his death : a.d. 171)1. ar had coiiiiiieiiced on the part of ho Krencli at first iiks ; but on the advaiKT hi'i| a NmU'iit manifesto at-'ainsi rlh' I'moh iial ion, which did much iiijiirj t'i I Ih- ■■:iii-r II advcpi'ated. A decree wa- i-sncd for ,uspi inline the kingfrom all his functions, as well as for the immediate eonvocation of a national convention. He .and his family were closely confined in the tower of Hie Temple; and the comxiimc of Paris, at that time under the control cf Daiiton, llobesiiierre, and Marat, betran its tyrannical reigu. Under a pretence thai the royalists who were confined in the dif- ferent prisons were domestic enemies of France, the forms of justice were dispensed witli, and they were inhumanly butchered. Uoyalty was next formally abolished ; and it was resolved ere long to bring the king to the scaffold. Meantime two powerful parties appeared in the assembly ; the Girondists, or Brissotiues, led by Brissot, who were sincere republicans; and the Jacobins, OTmoiintain party, so called from the upper seats which they occupied, acting under llobespierre and his friends, whose sole objects were anarchy and bloodshed. Dumouriez, at the head of the French army, had found it impossible to prevent the entrance of the duke of Brunswick into Champagne; but disease and famine arrested his progress, and he was compelled to abandon all his conquests. The Aus- trians were also obliged to retreat. Savoy was cciiMiiirred by a republican force, and Gei-in:iii\ i!i\aded. The Austrians were sig- nally (h'lr.iird at Jemappe ; and this was quickly follo\ved by tlie reduction of Brus- sels, Liege, Naniur, and of the whole of the Netherlands, which were declared free and independent states. in December 1793, the royal captive was led to the bar of the Convention, where, after undergoing a long and insulting ex- amination, he was unanimously declared guilty of conspiring against the national liberty, and sentenced to die by the guillo- tine. He conducted himself with dignity, and heard the decision of his fate with flrin- ness and resignation. Thus perished, in the 39th year of his age and the 19th of his reign, Louis XVI., the amiable and unfor- tunate descendant of a long line of kings. Soon after this judicial murder, a decree of the national Convention promised assist- ance to every nation desirous of throwing . the yoke of its rulers. This was na- turally regarded as a virtual declaration of war against aU the kings of Europe ; and I 33 I England, Holland, and Spain were now i ded to the list of its enemies. The war for a time assumed a new feature ; a British army, commanded by the dukpof York, re- do. a'd Valenciennes, and attacked Dun- kirk; and the Preli.li lost tlieir colicjuests .as raiii.lly as they had acquired them. But before the close of the year 1793, the for- tune of war was again in their favour; the duke of York was obliged to raise the siego of Dunkirk, with great loss ; while the Aus- : trians were driven within their o^vn fron- tiers. 1 The horrors of civil war now raged in I Frauci' witli unmitig.ated fury. The fero- I'i.iiis lioiii -|>ierre was at the head of the Ihai iv-t .lariihins; and Paris dally witnessed llie e.\ecution of the most respectable of its i citizens. Nearly all, Indeed, who were re- markable either for rank, property, or ta^ I lents, were the victims of the reign of ter- ror ; and among the number who fell by the axe of the guillotine was the unfortti- nate queen, Marie Antoinette, who had ' lieen for some time immured within the iliiiiu-e(inof the Conciergerie. The royalists in La VendcJe dared to oppose the revolu- (iniiary decrees ; but the cities which re- ' sisted the regicide authorities, particu- [ larly Lyons and Nantes, were visited with the most horrid persecutions. Hundreds I of victims were daily shot or guillotined, and the whole country was laid waste with demoniac vengeance. In the meantime extraordinary measures were taken by the convention to increase the armies by levies en masne; and private property was arbi- trarily seized to support them. The Eng- lish took possession of Toulon, but were soon forced to abandon it to the troops of the Convention. It is worthy of remark, that on this occasion the talents of Napo- leon Buonaparte were first signally dis- tinLTuished ; this young officer having the coiiiiiiaiid of the artillery of the besiegers. The war in the Netherlands was carried on witli vigour, victory and defeat alternately changing the position of the allied armies. The progress of the French revolution was naturally watched with feelings of in- tense interest by the people of England, but with sentiments very opposite in their nature ; and it required all the talents and vigour of those who were at the helm of state to uphold our ancient institutions, and direct the natioual councils with safety. During the year 1794 the French armies were pretty generally successful. But whilst they spread terror abroad, the French na- tion groaned under the sanguinary despo- tism of Robespierre and his ruthless asso- ciates. The time had at lengtJi, however, .arrived when this monster was to pay the forfeit of his own wretched life for the outrages he had committed, and the un- paralleled misery he had caused. Being publicly accused of treason and tyranny by Tallien, he was arrested, and executed the following day, along with twenty-two of his principal accomplices, amidst the merited maledictions of the spectators. In a few days, above seventy members of the com- mune also shared a similar fate. 34 (Outline ^ftetd) of <§«nfral W^tar^. CHAPTER XXIV. From the Estdlilifhiuent of the French Di- rectory, to the Peace of Amiens. A RREAT naral victory over the French was achieved by lord Howe on the 1st of June ; and several West India islands were taken from them. The French troops were uniformly successful in Holland ; the stadt- holder was compelled to seek an asylum in England ; and the countrj', imder the new name of the Batavian republic, was incor- porated with France. Soon after this, France received a new constitution, which placed the executive power in the hands of five directors, and the legislative in a council of elders, and a council of ' five hundred.' In 1795 Prussia and Spain made peace with France, which gave the republicans an op- portunity of bearing with their whole force on the ft-ontiers of Gerraauy. The royalists in La Vendee again rose, but were speedily reduced. About the same time the Cape of Good Hope and several of the Dutch East India possessions were taken by the English, whilst admirals Bridport, Hotham, and Cornwallis defeated the French fleets. Once more let us revert to Polish affairs. Tlie late partition of Poland had opened the eyes of Europe to the probable future en- croachments of the courts of Vienna, Pe- tersburgh, and Berlin ; and the Poles, aware of their impending fate, resolved to oppose the designs of their enemies by a vigorous and unanimous effort. Under the brave Kosciusko they gave battle to the Russians, and maintained a long and sanguinary con- test, which ended in their driving the enemy out of Warsaw, with immense slaughter. But the armies of Austria, Russia, and Prussia invaded Poland on every side ; and Suwarrof, at the head of 50,000 men, anni- hilated their army, recaptured Warsaw, which they pillaged, and, sparing neither age nor sex, put to the sword nearly 30,000 Individuals. The final partition of the kingdom then took place. The campaign of 1790 opened with great vigour on the part of the allies as well as on that of the French, and numerous se- vere battles were fought in Germany, the advantage inclining rather to the side of the allies. Moreau, who had pursued his vic- torious career to the Danube, there received a check, and was forced to retrace his steps to the Rhine ; but though often nearly sur- rotmded by the Austrians, he effected one of the most masterly retreats of which we have any record in modern times. But it was in Italy that the most bril- liant success attended the French arms. The command had been given to Buona- parte. Ha-\-ing routed the Austrians and Piedraontese at Monte Xotte and Millesimo, he compelled the king of Sardinia to sue for peace. Then followed his daring exploit at the bridge of Lodi, and his seizure of Bologna, FeiTara, and Trbino ; till, at length, finding himself undisputed master of the north of Italy, he erected the Trans- padane and Cis-padane republics.— Among the other events of the year may be noticed the capttire of St. Lucia and Granada, in the West Indies, by Sir Ralph Abercrom bie, the failure of a French expedition .sent to invade Ireland, which was dispersed by ad- verse winds ; the abandonment of Corsica by the British ; some fruitless negotiations for peace between England and France ; and the demise of the Empress Catherine II. The papal states were next overrun by the French ; and the pope was under the ne- cessity of purchasing peace, not only with money and the surrender of many valuable statues, paintings, liiry nt Egypt before I'sauiiiirticlius and iIk' following period. The former he jjives as the narrative of the priests, without pro- fessing to guarantee it; the latter he evi- dently believes to be well ascertained. And we And lliat from Tsammetichus down- wards, Herodotus uud Jlauetho are in toler- able harmony, w lii'ic.is even for the sove- reigns occupying the last fifty years before I'sauunetichus, there are many and irrecon- cilable differences between them.'* For times still earlier, these contradictions become hopelessly bewildering. It is true that Baron Bmisen, in his great work on Egypt's Place in Universal History, claims to have reconstructed the history of that country for nearly ten thousand years before the Christian era: but this result has been confessedly attained with- out that coutcniporary evidence which is held to be indispensable in verifying the events of mudcru history. Baron Bunseu thinks that lie has succeeded in his ef- forts partly from the evidence of language, partly from that of architecture, taken along with the claims of the Egyptians themselves, and the further proofs fur- nished by hieroglyphical inscriptions. On all these points Sir Cornewall Lewis has joined issue with Baron Bunsen ; but for the whole controversy we can only refer the reader to Sir C. Lewis's Astronomy of the Ancients (chapter vi.). His main arguments lie In the fact that the notices given by foreign writers of the earlier Egyptian history, all profess to be derived from the same source, amd are all utterly contradictory; that the description which they give of the sacred writings of the Egyptians cannot be reconciled with the modern account of the hieroglyphical in- scriptions ; that owing to a long interrupted tradition the modern Coptic can furnish very little, if any, aid in the interpretation * ('rote, Utstoi'y ot" Greece, Pan 11. ch. xx- vol. lii. p. 435. of them ; and that, imless a building can assert its own date, an inscription found on a building is worth nothing more th.an a manuscript. If these inscriptions have been rii,'htly deciplu'red, tliey v;ould seem niily to add oiiriiiorc to ni.iiiy contradictory vir.-ions already in oxistrnce. We may take the great name ot Egyjitian antiquity, Sesostris, who is said to have extended his conquests into Thrace and beyond the Ganges. Now in Herodotus, Sesostris comes next after Moeris, 1046 B.C. In Manetho.heis the third king of the twelfth dynasty, 3404 B.o. In Diodorus, he is sepa- rated from Moeris by seven generations, and appears under the name of Sesoosis. Baron Bunsen settles the difficulty by cutting him up into three kings belong- ing to three different dynasties ; to do this, he claims, like Niebuhr, a certain faculty of historical divination ; but to the reader such a claim resolves itself into a de- mand of implicit submission to the ver- dict of an arbitrary authority. With regard to the Egyptian buildings, Sir Cornewall Lewis is of opinion that there is no sufll- cient historical ground for placing any of tliem at a date anterior to that of the building of Solomon's Temple, 1012 B.C. Whatever may be the value of this opinion, there can be no doubt that the Egyptian claim to be the source whence the Greeks derived their scientific knowledge is ut- terly unfouuded. If tradition says that Thales got his science from Egypt, another states that he taught the Egy])tians how to measure the Pyramids. The sojourn of Anaxagorus in Egypt is a mere fiction, and Democritus of Abdera affirms his own superiority, whether to Egyptians or others, in geometrical demonstrations. Pl.ato, who speaks of some of the planets as being first named by Egyptians, yet calls them by names which are distinctively Greek. Aristotle makes no mention of Egyptian astronomi- cal treatises, or indeed of anything received from them in writing. Ca3sai-, it is said, received instruction in Egypt ; but he re- ceived it not at the hand of Egyptian priests, but in the Greek school of Alexan- dria. If there is little or no evidence that Egypt exercised an influence on the art 42 Clje Crca^urg of l^iStnrB, ^f« and science of the Greeks, the fact of Egyptian colonisation in Greece is at once set aside. The legends of Cecrops and his colony from Sais were invented to account for this influence; but, as Grote has urged,* ' if we examine the character and aptitude of the Greeks as compared either with Egyp- tians or Phoenicians, it will appear that there is not only no analogj-, but an obvious and fundamental contrast ; the Greek may occasionally be found a borrower from these ultramarine contemporaries, but he cannot be looked upon as their ofispring or deiiTatire.' It would seem, then, that we are unable to determuiefrom whence cr how Egyptian institutions first took their rise ; but we can accept at once, on the testimony of Herodo- tus, the description which he gives of Egyp- tian society in his timeas beingsubstantially true. The population was classified into certain castes or hereditary professions, of which the lower were kept in a state of abject submission to those of the priests and warriors.t and were employed in exe- cuting those enormous works which still remain as the special monuments of Egyp- tian power. From the time when the Greeks first knew anything about the country, Memphis was the first city in Egypt. In earlier times, as the architec- tural erldence would go far to prove, Thebes had been the chief seat of Egyp- tian power, and Upper (or Southern) Egypt the place ' to which the land tax from the productive Delta was paid, and where the kings and priests who employed it resided.' Long before the establishment of the Greeks at Xaucratis, Egypt had had a cara- van trade with Phoenicia, Palestine, Arabia, and Assyria. Towards the close of the eighth century B.C., the aggressions of Salmaneser and Sennacherib, kings of Assyria, changed the relations which previously subsisted between these countries. Sennacherib is related by Herodotus to have been miracu- lously reptilsed in Egjpt. About the middle of the 7th century B.C., Psammetichus became king of Egypt, (iiich is generally known by the name of Greece, but large districts in foreign and sometimes distant lands. Wherever the Greek went he carried his cotmtry with him ; If he settled in the coasts of Asia Minor, of Sicily, Italy, or Africa, the place in which he chose to dwell became at once a part of Hellas ; and hence arose the two- fold division which spoke of continental Greece, as distinguished from the scattered Greece which comprised the islands of the iEg;pau and all the colonies which were from time to time sent out from the mother country or state. Continental Greece, or Greece Proper, lay between the 36th and 40th parallels of north latitude and between the 21st and 29th degrees of east longitude. Its length from the north of Thessaly to the southern- most point of the Peloponnesus was about 250 miles ; its breadth from the coast of the Adriatic to that of the ^Egjean, between the 39th and 40th degrees of north lati- tude, was about 120 miles ; thus giving an area somewhat less than that of Por- tugal.* Pull of mountains and marshes, it presented scanty means for internal communication ; and in many parts of it the chief intercourse between one city and another arose from the transference of the cattle from summer to winter pastures. But the means of transit by sea were so abundant as to determine the general char- acter of the people. Attica had a coast on two sides, indented with many inlets ; the Corinthian gulf doubled the coast line between northern and southern Greece ; and Corinth itself lay open to a commerce which flowed In at once from Italy and Asia Minor. Almost every part of the country then was within reach from the sea; and in addition to this, intercourse was to be kept up with the islands and colonies whose inhabitants prided them- selves on their Hellenic blood, language, and religion. The geographical character of Attica eifectually determined the mari- time supremacy of Athens. But the physical features of continental Greece, which pre- vented any constant intercourse by land, fostered that love of local independence which especially characterised the Greek mind. Each town was a unit, which stood aloof from every other, while to each in- habitant his city was his country ; and thus while the Greek looked on all who were sprung from the common Hellenic stock as his kinsmen, and drew a broad line of de- marcation between them and the barbarian ■world without, he never rose to that idea of national life which it was reserved for Home to develope. Still, although they « Grote'8 HiBtory of Greece, Fart II. ch. i. could not be said to have a national as dis- tinguished from a civil existence, the Hel- lenic character was no empty abstraction. It stood out in marked contrast from that of every other people. We can only de- scribe it by its features, but these are very easily discovered. We do not find in any city or state of historical Greece such habits or practices as those of human sacrifices, or the mutilation of criminals, selling of children into slavery, polygamy, and still less the feeling of absolute obedience to- wards one man. All these customs might be pointed out amongst Eg>'ptians, Persians, Thracians, &c., but, on the other hand, the latter regarded as unseemly the habit of running, wrestling, &c., with the body naked, as was customary especially at the great religious festivals which furnished a powerful bond of union among the Greeks. Thus then, at the beginning of authentic history, we find a people whose character we can describe with the greatest exactness; but of whose previous condition we can say little positively. We have many names of peoples who are said to have preceded them : Pelasgians, Curetes, Leleges, Cau- cones, &c. ; but they belong rather to le- gendary than to historical Greece : and we know nothing of the events which imme- diately brought about that condition of things which we find when Greek history really begins. Undoubtedly the Homeric poems exhibit a real society which had a historical existence, and these nowhere speak of Hellenes, but of a people who are called Argives, or dweUers in Argos, a name which seems to have been a'most coextensive with the later Hellas. Of these Argives the ruling order had the name of Acha^ans, while in reference to their common military service they bore the name of Danai. But somehow or other the society of the Homeric poems passed away before the commencement of Greek history, leaving, however, enough of evi- dence to prove the identity of the people. Still they do not carry us further back, and still less do they furnish us any gi-ounds for believing in the existence of Phceuician or Egyptian colonies in Bceotia, Attica, or elsewhere. The tale of Cecrops and his Saitic origin is entirely legendary: Cecrops himself is a superhuman being, with a monstrous form, half man, half serpent.t Deucalion, Cadmus, and Phoroneus are to us mere names : Hellen, Dorus, Ion and ^ilolus are mere abstractions expressive of blood rela- tion between one tribe and another. Some of these belong strictly to the mythical speech which they brought with them from their original Ary.au home, and from which was developed their wonderful system of my- thology. Cadmus and Europa belong to t Grote, History of Greece, toL L p. 266, E^t ^itf(«it W^toryi of ^rttte. 49 tlic same class of names witli riioel)Us and Diil'liM"', Keplialus, and Prui'ris. In tlic laii'-,'uai.'i' of tlio Vedic hymns llicse names oxiu'css simply the Dawn or the Uew, the Sun, the Morning or the Evening:. In their western liome, the Greelis retained the names, but cither wholly or in part they had forgotten their meanings ; and so Daphne, or the Dawn, became a maiden who was loved by Phoebus, who once had been only the Sun. Ho af.'ain tlie beautiful myth of Dimeter and I'er.-eiilioiie iCeres and I'roseriiinel expresses simply the inter- change of summer and winter; and its localisation at Eleusis or elsewhere wa.s the inevitable result when that meaning was only in part remembered.* We may come down to names and events which seem to have something more of an historical character; to the tale of Troy, and the legends of Theseus, Heracles, or Minos. But on examination these beeonie as unsubstantial as the rest. In the opinion of Herodotus, Minos was a superhuman being ; and Theseus and Heracles are asso- ciated in legends which belong as clearly to the mythical worldas those of Zeus, Apollo, or Demeter. So again what is called the Dorian migration may be the account of some real event, greatly coloured or dis- torted by the variations of oral tradition. All that we can safely say of it is that it professes to account for the fact that a people called Dorians came at a later time to occupy that country which in the Homeric poems Is spoken as being held by the Acha>ans. It is the same with such names as those of Temenus, Cresphontes, or Lycurgus. That there was at Sparta a body of legislation which was inscribed to tlie last-named lawgiver, cannot of course be doubted ; but this tells us nothing of the man, and the address of the Pythian priestess on his approaching to consult the god at Delphi t pointedly gives him a divine rather than a human character. So also the Trojan war may have been some real event, or course of events, out of which sprung the Greek colonies of Asia Minor. We can neither affirm nor deny this. The tale of the war is essentially a legend from which we cannot strip away what is fabulous or incredible and then believe the rest as history ; and its many contradictions and impossibilities did not escape the discernment of Herodotus himself. In short. We know nothing of Achilles or Philoctetes, or Hector, — although we may believe in the real existence of the state of society described in the poems which have made tlieir names familiar to us. Here and there in times long subsequent to the age of the Homeric poems some Isolated event may stand out as possessing a historical character, in greater or less degree, — as for example, the Messenlan wars ; but the continuous history of Greece dates, as Mr. Grote has remarked, from a period much * Max MiiUcr, Essay on Comparative My- tliology, in Oslorii Essays for 1856 ; Cox's Tales of the Gods and HiToes, Introduction. t Herodotus, i. 65. later than even that of the flrst recorded Olympiad, 770 u. o. When at length we arrive at a fairly his- torical time, we see a collection of states some of which are monarchical and aristo- cratical, but most of which liave adopted a republican constitution. Sometimes these republics were overthrown by usurpers who received the special name of tyrants to distinguisli them from all lawful and here- ditary kings and rulers : but although their condition was in some degree fluctuating, this period marks a time of great and rapid progress. If the population of any state became too numerous, colonies were sent out ; for ex- ample, in the seventh and eighth centuries, the powerful colonies of Khegium, Syra^ cuse, Sybaris, Croton, Tareutum, Gela, Locris, and Messana were planted In Sicily and the southern parts of Italy. The small independent states of Greece needed a com- mon bond of union. This bond was foinid in the temple of Delphi, tlie Araphictyonic council, and the solemn games, among wliich the Olympic were the most distin- guished ; the institution, or rather revival of which, 776 B.C., furnishes the Greeks with a chronological era. From this time, Athens and Sparta began to surpass the other states of Greece in power and importance. At the time of the Persian war, Greece had already made important advances in civilisation. Besides the art of poetry, we And that philosophy began to be cultivated 600 B.C., and even earlier in Ionia and Lower Italy than in Greece Proper. Sta- tuary and painting -^ere in a flourishing condition. The important colonies of Mas- silia (Marseilles), in Gaul, and Agrigentura, In Sicily, were founded. Athens was con- tinually extending lier commerce, and es- tablished important commercial posts in Thrace. In Asia Minor, the Grecian colo- nies were brought under the dominion of the Dydian Croesus, and soon after under that of Cyrus. Greece itself was threat- ened with a similar fate by the Persian kings, Darius and Xerxes. Then the heroic spirit of the free Greeks showed itself In its greatest brilliancy. Athens and Sparta almost alone withstood the vast armies of the Persian ; and the battles of Marathon, Thermopylaj, and Plataea, as well as the sea fights at Artemisium, Salamis, and Mycale, taught the Persians that the Greeks were not to be subdued by them. Athens now exceeded all the other states In splendour and in power. The supremacy which Sparta had hitherto maintained, devolved on this city, whose commander, Cimon, compelled the Persians to acknowledge the independ- ence of Asia Minor. Athens was also the centre of the arts and sciences. The Pelo- ponneslan war now broke out, Sparta being no longer able to endure the overbear- ing pride of Athens. The war devastated Greece, and enslaved Athens, until Thra- sybulus again restored its freedom ; and, for a short time, Sparta was compelled, in her turn, to bend before the Theban heroes, Epaminondas and Pelopldas. In spite of these disturbances, poets, philosophers, artists, and statesmen, continued to arise, F 50 tJT^^ STrea^urg of W^iow^ ^c commerce flourished, and manners and cus- toms were carried to the highest degree of refinement. But that unhappy period had now arrived, when the Greelss, ceasing to be free, ceased to advance in civilisation. A kingdom, formed by conquest, had grown up on the north ol Greece, the ruler of which, Philip, united courage with cun- ning. The dissensions which prevailed among the different states, afforded him an opportunity to execute his ambitious plans, and the battle of Chsronea, 338 b. c, gave Macedonia the command of all Greece. In vain did the subjugated states hope to become free after his death. The destruc- tion of Thebes was sufficient to subject all Greece to the young Alexander. This prince, as generalissimo of the Greeks, gained the most splendid victories over the Persians. An attempt to liberate Greece, occasioned by a false report of his death, was frustrated by Antipater. The Lamian war, after the death of Alexander, was equally unsuccessful. Greece was now little better than a Macedonian province. Luxury had enervated the ancient courage and energy of the nation. At length, most of the states of southern Greece, Sparta and iEtolia excepted, extended the Achsan league, for the maintenance of their free- dom against the Macedonians. A dispute having arisen between this league and Sparta, the former applied to Macedonia for help, and was victorious. But this friend- ship was soon fatal, for it involved Greece in the contest between Pliilip and the Ro- mans, who, at first, indeed, restored freedom to the Grecian states^ while they changed .^tolia, and soon after Macedonia, into Ro- man provinces ; but they afterwards began to excite dissensions in the Achsan league, interfered in the quarrels of the Greeks, and finally compelled them to take up arms to maintain their freedom. So unequal a contest could not long remain undecided ; the capture of Corinth, 146 B.C., placed the Greeks in the power of the Romans. During the whole period which elapsed between the battle of Chferonea and the destruction of Corinth by the Romans, the arts and sciences flourished among the Greeks ; indeed, the golden age of the arts was in the time of Alexander. The Grecian colonies were yet in a more flourishing condition than the mother country ; espe- cially Alexandria, in Egypt, which became the seat of learning. As they, also, in pro- cess of time, fell under the dominion of the Romans, they became, like their mother country, the instructors of their con- querors. In the time of Augustus, the Greeks lost even the shadow of their former freedom, and ceased to be an independent people, although their language, manners, customs, learning, arts, and taste spread over the whole Roman empire. The character of the nation was now sunk so low, that the Ro- mans esteemed a Greek as the most worth- less of creatures. Asiatic luxury had wholly corrupted them ; their ancient love of free- dom and independence was extinguished ; and a mean servility was substituted in its place. At the beginning of the fourth cen- tury, the nation scarcely showed a trace of the noble characteristics of their fathers. The barbarians soon after began their ruinous inctirsions into Greece, THE HISTORY OF EOME. Tf (says Dr. Arnold, In his admirable his- tory) it Is hard to carry hack our ideas of Rome from Its actual state to the period of its highest splendour, it is yet harder to go back in fancy to a time still more distant, a time earlier than the beginning of its authentic history, before man's art had completely rescued the very soil of the future city from the dominion of nature. Here also it is vain to attempt accuracy in the details, or to be certain that the seve- ral features in our description all existed at the same period. It is enough if we can image to ourselves some likeness of the original state of Home, before the under- taking of those great works which are as- cribed to the late kings. The Pomoerium of the original city on the Palatine, as described by Tacitus, in- cluded not only the hill itself, but some portion of the ground immediately below it; it did not, however, reach as far as any of the other hills. The valley be- tween the Palatine and the A ventine, after- wards the site of the Circus Maximus, was in the earliest times covered with water ; so also was the greater part of the valley between the Palatine and the Capitoline, the ground afterwards occupied by the Roman forum. But the city of the Palatine hill grew in process of time, so as to become a city of seven hills. Not the seven famous hills of imperial or republican Rome, but seven spots more or less elevated, and all belong- ing to three only of the later seven hills, that is, to the Pahatine, the Cieliaii, and the Esquiline. At this time Rome, already a city on seven hills, was distinct from the Sabine city on the Capitoline, Quirinal, and Viminal hills. The two cities, although united under one government, had still a separate existence : they were not com- pletely blended into one till the reigns of the later kings. The territory of the ori- ginal Rome during its first period, the true Ager Romanus, could be gone round in a single day. It did not extend beyond the Tiherat all, nor probably beyond the Anio ; and on the east and south, where it had most room to spread, its limit was between five and six miles from the city. This Ager Romanus was the exclusive property of the Roman people, that is, of the houses ; it did not include the lands conquered from the Latins, and given back to them again when the Latins became the plebs, or commons of Rome. ■Well indeed may the enquiring historian exclaim — And now what was Rome, and what was the country around it, which have both acquired an interest such as can cease only when earth itself shall perish ? The hills of Rome (he continues) are such as we rarely see in England ; low in height, but with steep and rocky sides. In early times the wood remained in natural patches amidst the buildings, as at this day it grows here and there on the green sides of the Monte Testaceo. Across the Tiber the ground rises to a greater height than that of the Roman hills, but its summit is a level unbroken line, while the heights, which opposite to Rome rise immediately from the river, under the names of Jani- culus and Vaticauus, then sweep away to some distance from it, and return in their highest and boldest form at the Mons Ma^ rius, just above the Milvian bridge and the Flaminiau road. Thus to the west the view- is immediately bounded ; but to the north and north-east the eye ranges over the low ground of the Campagna to the nearest line of the Apennines, which closes up, as with a gigantic wall, all the Sabine, Latin, and Volscian lowlands, while over it are still distinctly to be seen the high summits of the central Apeninnes, covered with snow, even at this day, for more than six months in the year. South and south-west lies the wide plain of the Campagna; its level line succeeded by the equally level line of the sea, which can only be dis- tinguished from it by the brighter light reflected from its waters. Eastward, after ten miles of plain, the view is bounded by the Alban hills, a cluster of high bold points rising out of the Campagna, on the highest of which (about 3,000 feet) stood the temple of Jupiter Latiaris, the scene of the common worship of all the people of the Latin name. Immediately under this highest point lies the crater-like basin of the Alban lake ; and on its nearer rim might be seen the trees of the grove of Ferentia, where the Latins held the great civil assemblies of their nation. Further to the north, on the edge of the Alban hills, looking towards Rome, was the town and citadel of Tusculum ; and beyond this, a lower summit cro^vned with the walls and towers of Labicum seems to connect the Alban hills with the line of the Apen- nines, just at the spot where the citadel of Prfeneste, high up on the mountain side marks the opening into the country of the Hernicians, and into the valleys of the streams that feed the Lyris. Returning nearer to Rome, the lowland country of the Campagna is broken by long green swelling ridges. The streams are dull and sluggish, but the hill sides above them constantly break away into little rock cliSs, where on every ledge the wild flg now strikes out its branches, and tufts of i5room are clustering, but which in old times form- ed the natural strength of the citadels of the numerous cities of Latium. Except in these narrow dells, the present aspect of the country is all bare and desolate, with no trees nor any human habitation. But anciently, in the early times of Rome, it 52 aa^t CreajSurg at f^Wtorg, &c. was full of independent cities, and in its population and the careful cultivation of its little garden-like farms, must have re- sembled the most flourishing parts of Lom- bardy. Such was Kome, and such its neigh- bourhood. ■When it can be shown tjiat the accounts of almost every event in Roman history, down to the time of the Punic wars, in- volve contradictions more or less impor- tant, nothing is gained by any attempt to draw up a connected narrative of the first four centuries after the alleged date for the founding of the city. The examination of the accounts handed down to us may yield here and there some historical results ; but we.must content ourselves with what is so obtained, without seeking for a knowledge of details which is unattainable. Thus, the traditions of the regal period tell us of an Etruscan dynasty which ruled at Rome, and ordered the erection of large public works. This rule of Etruscan kings may or may not be true ; but of these works some, as for example the Cloaca llaxima, still exist, and by their magnitude attest conclusively the fact that a very strong government of some kind existed at Rome long before the period of which we have any authen- tic history. Again, the analogy of Greek history would go far towards showing that Rome was first regal and then republican. So again, it seems not unreasonable to con- clude that the traditionary struggles of pa- tricians and plebeians point to some real distinction of orders, although we may not be able to define exactly the dis- tinction between plebeians and clients, or to account for the origin of the Ramnes, Titienses, and Luceres, who are called some- times the three patrician tribes, sometimes the three centuries of horsemen. Still more when we find certain phrases, expres- sive of old judicial or civil usages, employed by later writers, like LivT, who had a very vague notion of their meaning, we seem to be justified In believing that such phrases were really handed down from a time to which they historically applied. Thus when Livy says that certain laws were passed or acts done by the Plebs with the consent of the Populus, this may be taken as prov- ing that the distinction between the two was not fictitious but strictly historical. Some light, again, is thrown on the early history of Rome by its relations with foreign countries. Thus a treaty was pre- served which was made between Rome and Carthage by the consul Spurius Cassius, who is also said to have formed the confed- eracy of Romans, Latins, and Hernicians. But this treaty proves also that the Romans had at this time a foreign trade of which their traditionary history says little or nothing. Hence to take the traditions of such a time, as Xiebuhr did, and in one place to speak of Romulus or Numa as un- doubtedly fictitious, and in another to treat them as if they were historical, is most unsafe and deceptive. And, therefore, in- stead of attempting to determine how much history lies tinder these traditional tales, it may be of more use to point out some of the contradictions which run through them. The whole narrative ha- been minutely examined by Sir Cornewall Lewis in his work on the Credibility of Early Roman History ; and to tliat work we must refer the reader who may wish to master thoroughly a question which in- volves the most momentous consequences. The history of Romulus is ' with few ex- ceptions a mosaic or patchwork of explana- tory legends pieced together and thrown into a narrative form. These legends are partly political and institutional ; partly, monumental and local ; partly religious and ritual. In spite of his youth (for he is only eighteen when he founds Rome) and his early life passed among herdsmen and in rustic pursuits, Romulus appears from the very commencement of his reign, as a wise legislator versed in all the arcana of political science.'* Hence Cicero attri- butes the choice of Rome as the site of the future capital, to the wise foresight of the founder ; but this runs counter to the legend which alBrms it to have been built on the spot where the infants, when exposed, were suckled by the wolf. Thus again, ' the story of the asylum was some local legend : that of the rape of the Sabines illustrated the origin of a festival ; that of the intervention of the Sabine women was probably a separate story ; but in the narrative as we read it, the asylum is the cause of the rape of the Sabine women, and the rape of the Sabine women is the cause of their interposition between the hostile armies. The three events, once independent of each other, have become continuous links in the same historical chain.' This rape of the Sabine women has been taken, by some modem historical critics, as point- ing to a time when there was no reciprocal right of marriage between the Romans and the Sabines, even after they had formed a federation ; but Sir G. Lewis remarks that 'those who consider Romulus and Tat ins as fabulous and not real personages, as mere names of actors in a fictitious drama, cannot with propriety regard their joint sovereignty as implying the separate exist- ence of a Roman and a .Sabine community on the site of Ptome, and the rape of the .Sabine women as typical of the absence of a right of intermarriage between them.' The reign of Romulus is said to have been followed by an interregnum in which seventy-three senators filled in turn the regal office during a year of 363 days ; but ' that so many transfers of the supreme power should, at a time when all constitu- tional and legal checks were in a very rude and inefficient state, have been quietly made, is wholly incredible.' Sir G. Lewis adds, however, that ' the existence of the name and institution of the interregnum in the historical age of Rome may be consi- dered as a proof of its derivation from the regal period,' but as Implying at the same time 'an elective royalty ; for hereditary suc- cession such an institution is not needed.' Nuraa is throughout the embodiment of a religious and political idea. He is the • Sir G. C. Lewis on the Credibility of Early Roman History, cli. xi. sect 9. t!rt)e W^tary! of dSiamt, 53 fduiiclcr of tlic in-lnrlpnl rellprlous institu- tions, as well as oi-clcrs of i>rlfsts ; lie la tlie favoiii-itf of Ilic nyiiipli iOKciin, wlio Im- |iarts to him a siiiiciliiiiMaii wisdom; lio- lovoil liy Koilsniiil men, liosipciuis life witli- (Uit troiililc or dlnasior, and passes away from it wUlioutpaiM. t)tln-r legends In tlie ii-o of KK'orIa name Tytliaf^oras as liia teaclicr : Imt wlicii ' Poljl)lus and other careful lilstorians came to compare tlie tlmi' a^sis'ned to Numa with the date of PjtlL-m'oras, ilioy perceived that the disci- ple mii>t have lived above a century and a lialC liefure llir master, and therefore that theslory was false.' The relKM of liis successor was signalised by the combat of the Horatii and Curiatii, which was to determine the relations of the Komans and the Albans. DIonyslus says that a certain Alb.-in had twin daugh- ters, who were married the one to the Roman Iloratius, tlie other to the Alban Curiatius, and that each of these twins pro- duced three sons at the first birth ; but Livy itnows nothing of tiieir affinity ; and he adds that it is even uncertain to which nation each set of brolhers beloiiKid.' Throughout the story llie accounts of Livy and Dionysius are c'lually contradic- tory ; and the combat itself is not said to have produced any result. The death of Uostiiius is said by one account to have been caused by liglitning which smote him for his impiity, but another version states tliiit he was nuinlered l>y Ancus Marcius, who set the place on lire, and invented the story of the ligiitning lo screen himself. The next king, Ancus JIarcius, makes war on the Latins, and, according to Livy, drew up for this purpose the ceremonial of de- claring war: but Ilionysius and Plutarch attribute these ceremonies to Numa, and ' Cicero represents Tullus Hostiiius as the author of the forms of demanding redress which Livy ascribes to Ancus.' His successor Is said to have heen Tar- quinius Priscus, whose w.ars are described with great minuteness of detail by Diony- sius, while other writers seem to know little or nothing about them ; 'even if the nar- rative of his reign were better attested, many circumstances in it would raise a doubt of Its credibility ; the story of the eagle flying away with his cap, and the cutting of the whetstone by Attus Navius, are purely marvellous : the manner of his introduction into Rome, and of his election to the royal dignity, is improbable ; and his triumphant wars against the Latins, without a single important reverse, lie beyond the limits of credibility.' With Servius Tullius commences a mar- vellous stor>-, which in thebelief of Niebuhr formed part of a great epic poem lost before the time of contemporarj' historians. Of such loss there isnoevidence whatever ; but the tale is remarkable as displaying not merely a strong poetical element of great force and beauty, not merely the contra- dictions which may be looked for in a story full of the marvellous, but a large amount of plausible fiction, in the shape of legislative enactments which are not more romantic than an Kuglish act of Parlia- ment. In one version, Servius Is the son of a God, born of a slave named Ocresia. Roon after his birth his mother saw his head enveloped In flames ; when she awoke him, the Are was extinguished. Another account makes him the postliumous child of a chieftain who was slain in defending Conilculum against Tarquln : a third ver- sion represents him as being by birth an Etruscan. On the murder of Tarquln, Tana- qull secures the accession of Servius with- out an interregnum. The legend in Livy represents liim as suc<'er(ling lotlie thniiii! in early manhood ; but almost iiiiinediatcly he has children old enough to be married to the children of Tarquin. So again, Ser- vius is said to have been murdered by Tar- quln the Proud, when the latter was a young man ; but if he w.-us the son of Tanaqull, as Livy believes, he must have been 70 years old when he became king, 95 when he was expelled, and 110 at his death. llaving secured his election, Servius enters on the work of legislathm, and in- consistencies in the legislative details lake the place of contradictions arising out of rrndigies and wonders. The general tradition represents him as a popular re- furtner, and as consulting chielly the good of the lower class from a remembrance of his own servile origin. But Dionysius and Li\'y both distinctly say that before his time the vote of each citizen had an equal vrdue, and the poor were on a perfectly ('(liuil footing with the rich. This condi- tion of things he is stated to have altered ' by throwing the chief part of the burden of military service and of war taxes upon the rich, at the same time that he secures to them a decisive preponderance in the suffrage.' For individual voting he sub.sti- tuted voting by centuries, the vote of each century being determined by the majority and reckoning only as one. By making the centuries of the richer classes much more numerous than those of the lower, the votes of the latter (th.at is, of the great majority'), coidd be neutralised and their Influence irretrievably lost. ' In the Servian constitution, this principle was caiTied to a very great length ; for according to Livy and Dionysius, the centuries of the knights and the first class amounted to ninety- eight, being more than a majority of the 193 centuries ; and the sixth class, comprehend- ing all the citizens of the lowest assessment, which was doubtless the most numerous of all, formed only one century.' But It fol- lows irresistibly, that 'if the classes of Servius were introduced in the place of a system under which a perfectly equal suf- frage existed for all ranks of citizens, he could not be justly regarded as a popular reformer.' Moreover, ' that a full contem- poraiT account of the constitution of Servius, with statistical details of the as- sessment and obligations of the several classes, should have been preserved, and that all accurate memory of the other events of the reign should have perished, Is in the highest degree improbable.' * » Sir G. C. Lewis, Credibility of tarly tiimoo History, ch, xi. sect. 31. g 2 54 E^z EvtK&MVQ at ^titara, &c. In the IccPiid of the Tarciuinii other ele- ments of fiction enter. The stratagem by which Sextus Tarquinius betrays the men of Gahii into the hands of his father is a repetition of the story in which Zopyrus deceives the Babylonians during the* siege by Darius. The previous stratagem, by which Sextus secured his predominance at Gabii, is the same as that which is sug- gested to Periander of Corinth by Thrasy- bulus, the tyrant of Miletus.* In the tale of Lncretia there is much which might be received as true if it were supported by fair contemporary evidence. Outrages on women frequently caused the fall of Greek tyrannies ; and that of Tarquin may have turned on the same cause : but when we come to examine the details of the story, we find little in its internal contextui-e to supply the defect of external attestation. The narratives of Livy and Dionysius, though agreeing in substance, differ in many material circumstances. The dispute of the young men about their wives, and their nocturnal ride to Rome and CoUatia, which is the foundation of the attempt of Sextus in Livy, is altogether wanting in Dionysius. In the latter, Rome is the place of Lucretia's suicide ; in the former it is CoUatia. Most of the accounts repre- sent Tarquinius Superbus as having three sons, Sextus, Titus, and Aruns ; but Li\T and Ovid make Sextus, the ravisher of Lu- cretia, the youngest ; while Dionysius says that he was the eldest of the three. Other writers, again, speak of Aruns as having ravished Lncretia. There are further dis- crepancies in the events which intervene between the death of Lucretia and the ex- pulsion of the Tarquins. Livy, moreover, represents the king and his family as es- caping to Cjere, with the exception of Sextus, who repairs to his kingdom of Gabii, where he is put to death. Dionysius, on the other hand, says that Tarquin first took refuge In Gabii, and afterwards re- moved to C iiresuli-iicy ot the India Hoard, and III,. aii|..>iiiliMrnt of Uio llr^^t president iiiKle.- the iHliiiiiilstration of Mr. I'ltt. He knows, not only the causes which led to the ereatiun of the ufflce, hnt also the various stages of the proceeding's, the dehates in the senate, tlie speedies of the senators, the motives ot tlielr policy, the mutual feelinijs of delicacy on tlic part of the con- suls, and all the otiier material cireuni- stauces of the transaction. We are, there- fore, soniewliat surprised, on comparlns the account of Livy, to find the transaction represented in a totally dilferent liurht. I.ivy places the creation of tlio dictator- ship three years earlier than Dionysius :' and ' so far "is Livy from sharing the great coiilUlence of Dionysius In narrating this event, that ho dcscrlhes It as uncertain in what year and under what consuls tlie dictatorship was created, or who first niled the olHcc." Tlie battle of the Lake Rcgillus closes tlie eventful episode of the Taniulnian dy- nasty. I.ivy spealisof the expelled kings as lighting and being wounded in the battle. Dionysius will not believe tli.at a man of the age of ninety conld take an active share in the flglit, and in i>l:ice of Taniuiu puts his sons Sextus and Titus: but I, ivy says nothing of Titus, and speaks of Scxtns as having been killed at Gabil. lint the battle is cliielly memorable for the visible intervention of tlic Dioscuri, Castor and I'oiinx, wlio light rm behalf of the Koinans, and with uiir.aculous speed carry the news of their victory to Home.* These wonilers form an essential part of the slorv of the battle; and the latter must fall with the former. Thus ends the his- tory of a period, wliicli is involved in such a mass of contradictions that hardly any evut throughout it can be received as worthy of credit. The distrust displayed tow.ards Coliatinus, the husband of Lu- crctia, is grounded on his kindred with the Tarquins, and is explained by the existence of a Taniuinian party at Home. But the outrage which made him their bitter enemy was a sufflcieut pledge of his lldelity, and the existence of such a party goes against the popular tradition which represents the rule of Tar.iuin as equally detested by all classes. The facts of the war with Porsenna cjumot be ascertained : but all accounts agree that it was under- taken in order to bring about the restora- tion of the Tarquiuii. According to some versions, I'orsenna retreats after making a treaty favourable to the Romans : while the expressions of Tacitus and Pliny speak of a conquest and surrender of the city, and a disarming of the population so com- plete that iron was used for agriculture only. Yet Porsenna, thus successful, makes no effort to restore the Tarquins, for whom he is said to have undertaken the war; nor is it possible to explain the remissness of tlie Latins and other tribes in not taking advantage of the weakness to which Fiome * See the Battle of the Lake Regillus, iu Macau- lay'a Lays of Ancient Rome. liad been reduced, to crush her alto- gether.t A few years later, the struggles between the patricians and plebeians, greatly pui- blltered Ijy the deadly severity of the law of debt, led, we are told, to the celebrated secession of tlie latter to the .s.icred .Mount. Tlie consuls cannot succeed In raising levies to help the Latins against the Volscl and ^qul;at lengtli they appoint as dic- tator, Manlus Valerius, who prevails on the Iieoplo to come forward, on the promise tliat plebeians serving on the legions shall be jirotected against the creditors. The campaign Is brouglit to a successful con- clusion ; but the senate refuses to carry out the promises of Valerius, and the le- gions secede to Mons Sacer ; and from this point the narrative in Livy becomes ex- ceedingly simple. The senate sends Mene- nlus Agripp.a, who addresses to them the well-known apologue of tlie Belly and Limbs; the people arc pacified by the in- stitution of the tribunes, but notliing la said about the subject of debt which Is said to have caused the secession. Iu Dionysius, on the other hand, we have a narrative as complete and minute as ' the accounts given by Lord Clarendon of nego- tiations in the civil war, between tlie king and the parliament, of which lie was per- sonally cognisant," and Menenius Agrippa makes a very long speech in which the apo- logue of the Belly and Limbs is not found. The fable is reserved till the question has been satisfactorily settled ; it is used to illustrate the relation of the orders, not as an argument to bring about their re- conciliation. And this singularly minute narrative belongs to a time which is older than the battle of Sfarathon, and only six- teen years after the expulsion of the Pisis- tratida;, ' concerning whicli event the Athe- nians had, according to Thucydides, most imperfect ideas in his time.'! In this nar- rative, a certain Lucius Junius Brutus plays a very conspicuous part. Niebuhr believes him to be an imaginary person, and he is not mentioned by any Roman writer. 'What are we to think of a historical narrative, in which a personage of this Importance, alleged to have occupied a conspicuous public office, is considered fictitious?' 'If, therefore, it is admitted that a large part of the narrative of Dionysius is false, what good ground have we for believing the rest?' The doubt is increased by the fact that Dionysius represents the relief of the plebeians from debt as having been the result of this secession. Cicero agrees with Livy in limiting the result to the institu- tion of the tribunate, and he further attri- butes it to the eloquence, not of Menenius, but of the dictator ilanius Valerius, while he seems to know nothing of the celebrated apologue on which the story ttrms in Livy. The settlement of this quarrel is followed by successful foreign wars ; after which, although nothing is said about debt, the struggle between patricians and plebeians + Sir G. C. Lewis, Credibility of Early Roman History, ch. xii. sect. 15. i Ibid. sect. 17. 66 C^c CrcsiSura of W^tatD, Iff. goes on as vehemently as before. It is un- nccessarj' to examine a lonp series of events in all of which may be found a greater or less amount of contradiction ; a few of tlie more important may 1)C tiiken as illu^tratinB the ecnoralcharai-tpruf tliis allcsoii history. A funlier result of tlie secession was the banishment of Corio- lanus. This young patrician, by proposing to recover the concession of the tribunate by starving the people, roused the hatred of the plebeians, and brought about his o'mi condemnation. His impulse is to join the Volscians ; but the I.'itter are sluggish, and with difficulty induced to enter into his views. When, however, he succeeds in prevailing on them, he converts them into a nation of conquerors, before whom the Roman power is immediately prostrated. ' It would seem as if Coriolanus was the only warrior in Rome, and as if the transfer of his weight from one scale to the other, absolutely determined the Inclination of the balance :'* and yet the plebeians would, of course, be only too glad to act vig- orously against an enemy whom they BO thoroughly detested, and the senate are disinclined to malve any concession. The incident of the embassy of the Ro- man matrons, headed by the mother of Coriolanus, is even more perplexing. •Coriolanus, thirsting for vengeance on account of his condemnation, leaves home with the deliberate intention of joining the enemies of his country, but takes no steps for withdrawing his mother and wife and children. They therefore remain as hos- tages in the hands of the Romans. The senate allow them to go as supplicants to the haughty general, at the head of his Volscian army, though they were warned in the debate on the subject that they are parting with their best securities for his forbearance. Coriolanus hates the plebeian body, both as an eager patrician partisan, and as the object of their hostile, and as he thinks unjust, vote : he bears nodove to the patricians, whom he charges with selfish cowardice in betraying him to his accusers. The embassy of the women une-xpectedly places his mother, and his wife, and chil- dren In his power. They are in his camp, alone, unprotected, surrounded by his Volscian legions. The one remaining tie which bound him to Rome is now, by the infatuation of his countrymen and ene- mies, fortunately severed. Would not his first impulse be to send them to a place of safety in the Volscian territory, and to order the battering rams to be applied to the w.alls of Rome? 'Wljat conceivable motive has he for any other course ?'+ In- stead of this completion of a design to which there remained no hindrance, he instantly yields to an appeal to his dome.stic feelings, which had now lost its force ; and withdraws the Volscians from Rome, ap- parently without a murmur, while they were in the full tide of victory, and had their prize almost within their grasp. As * Sir G. C. Lewis, Credibility, &c. ch. xii. icct. 23. t Ibid, sect, 30. might be expected, the sequel of this strange tale is reported with many varia^ tions. By one account he was murdered ; according to a second he killed himself ; in a third he is represented as living unmo- lested to a good old age. Tlie name of Spurius Cassius is historical as tliat of the consul who ratified the treaty with Carthage. Many years afterwards he is said to have proposed an agrarian law, to divide among the citizens all land which, as being public after conquest, was wrong- fully occupied by patricians. In the follow- ing year, a charge of aiming at regal power was brought against him. Hereupon one version says that he was condemned to death, and thrown from the Tarpeian rock ; another maintains that he was privately executed by his father, who confiscated his goods, levelled his house, and raised a statue on the spot. Later writers spoke of a statue erected by Cassius himself , as being melted down by the censors in the year 158 B.C. : but then it is not easy to understand why this statue should not have been re- moved when his house was rased to the ground, if the story of the confiscation be a true one. These agrarian disputes, a few years later, are followed by what is called* the secession of the Fabian gens or clan. Niebuhr asserts that it was caused by the failure of the effort made by the consul Kebso Fabius to bring about an equitalile division of lands. The traditionary ac- counts repi'esent it as arising out of a vo- luntary offer to hold a fort near the banks of the Cremera as an outpost against the hostile incursions of the Veientines. Here in the following year, they were cut off to a man, only one child surviving out of the number of 306 who had left Rome : but the incidents of this catastrophe are reported variously. One story said that they were surprised while on their way to perform a religious sacrifice in Rome : another main- tained that they were drawn into an ambus- cade by a series of stratagems on the part of the Volscians, and so slain. It is, of course, quite possible that a powerful house should volunteer to hold a frontier post ; but the different versions of the catastro- phe prove that no contemporary record of the events had been preserved ; and the further fact that its anniversary was kept on the same day with that of the battle of the Allia shows that there was no unin- terrupted traditional observance of the t'veut.J We come now to the Law, assigned to the year 470 B.C., proposed by Publilius Vo- lero, that the plebeian magistrates should be elected in the committee of the tribes. It is a mere piece of constitutional reform ; but the narrative does not therefore be- come more historical. 'Livy on the au- thority of Piso states the number of tri- bunes to have been increased by the law of Volero from two, as they had been since their institution, to five : and the names of the five tribunes then elected ai-e given by the same historian. Dionysius, however, I Ibid, aecu Uo. Eiit l^iitorB of aaomr. 57 conceives their number to have been five before this time : and Cicero says that It had been ten sinco the second year of their existence.'* At thi.H point a change comes over the political !Li,'itatlon of the time. Hitherto It has had reference to the strugsles between the patricians and the plebeians, to the demands for plebeian offlccs, or for a re- distribution of lands. All this now dis- appears ; and in its place we have an absorb- iiif? desire for the compilation of a code of written laws for circumseribinier the con- sular power. Kaiso Quinctius vehemently resisted the demand ; but withdraws into exile on being accused by Volscius Fictor of a murder committed two years before. Two years afterwards, the consuls under- take to prove that Kaeso was absent from Home when the murder is said to have been committed ; the defence was success- ful, but it came too late. Ka;so had already died in exile : but it is hard to understand why, instead of shrinking from a trial, he did not court it, if he could prove his ovni absence from Rome as well as that the supposed victim had died a natural death. Two years later, 458 B.C., it is said that Turnus Herdonius, a Sabine, surprised and took the Roman Capitol. Without any authority, it has by some been supposed that Kajso Quinctius was his accomplice ; but in the surprise itself there is nothing incredible : nor is it likely that a narrative, not tending to the credit of the Rom.tn people, should be a pure Invention. But although the plebeians aid in rescuing the Capitol, their hope of having the Teren- tillian rogation passed is again disap- pointed. The dictatorship of Cinciunatus rescues the commonwealth from serious danger ; but the postponement of the Te- rentillian law again provokes the discontent of the people. Once more we hear of the agrarian law, which had been in abeyance for thirty years,t and a veteran named L. Siccius Dentatus is brought forward to fan the flame of plebeian animosity. In a military service of 40 years, he had fought in 120 battles, and received 45 wounds. His harangue roused the fears of the senate ; and when it was announced that the iEqui- ans threatened Tusculum, Siccius was sent to its aid, and narrowly escaped falling into the trap which the consuls had laid for destroying him with all his forces. He takes another road, surprises the ^quian camp, slays all his prisoners at night, and marches suddenly to nome to accuse the consuls and prevent their triitmph. But no motive is given to explain this treacher- ous design of the consuls, to whom Siccius had in no way rendered himself formidable : and that a man, 58 years old, should have taken part in 120 battles, and gained nearly 200 honours, is a fact which has perhaps never been equalled. And again, the troops who, being aware of the ambush lying in wait for them, march unresistingly to their doom, hurry by night, after killing their * Sir (i. C. Lewis, Credibility, &c. ch. xii- t Ibid. sect. 43. prisoners, in a state of mutiny to Rome. Tlierr is noihint,' but contradiction through- out. The narrative of Dioiiysius is given with a circumstantial minuteness which, if true, could only be acquired from con- temporary ivritings, while the history of Livy gives a very short narrative, alto- gether, as it would seem, ignoring the other. ' Under these circumstances, what certain conclusion can we arrive at, or how can we give credence either to tlie copious details of the Greek, or to the brief sketch of the Roman historian? What reason have we for preferring one story to the other, or for supposing that either historian derived his information from authentic contemporary testimony?'! At length the tribunes, it is said, feeling that the passing of the Terentillian roga- tion was hopeless, proposed a law that, ' instead of a measure for diminishing the power of the consuls, a body of legislators, composed of both patricians and plebeians, should be formed, for equalising the rights of the citizens :' and thus was inaugurated the famous legislation of the Decemvirs, by the appointment of a commission of three persons to go to various cities in Greece for the purpose of copying their laws. The commissioners return in the following year, and then on the proposal of Appius Claudius, the committee of ten is appointed to consider the laws and draw up the new code. This body of ten super- seded all other magistrates, and carried on the whole government of the state. Still within the year they had framed a code which they inscribed upon ten tables ; and at the end of the year, they held an assem- bly for the election of ordinary magistrates. But it seems that the plebeians had im- bibed as great a hatred of consuls as they had entertained of kings, and would not hear of their election. According to ano- ther account, the patricians wished to prolong the decemvirate from the desire of suppressing the tribunician power. Throughout the first year the conduct of Ajipius Claudius had been popular and con- ciliatory, and he now only consented with reluctance to become a candidate. Another version says that he resorted to all mean and unworthy arts to secure his ovm elec- tion. In Diouysius three of the second set of decemvirs are plebeians : in Livy they are aU patricians. Both these writers agree, however, in what they say of the general conduct of the body so elected. They displayed at once the fasces and secu- res, the badges of absolute power, and the people soon found that it was useless to appeal, as they had done in the former year, from one decemvir to another. All security was at an end, and the people were ready for rebellion. The enemies of the city took advantage of this moment of weakness, and the Sabines encamped within twenty miles of Rome. Ten legions were after much dlBlcnlty levied, but the condiict of tlie decemviri in the field only led the more rapidly to their own overthrow. The story of Siccius, a plebeian centurion, although J Ibid. eect. 44. 68 Ciie CrcaiSurg of W^tat^, $ec. coming to us In no more than one version, shows that Applus resorted to mnrder In order to get rid of his opponents.* But the measure of his iniquity was filled u]) liy Ills conduct In the case of Virginia. The beauty of this maiden made him resolve to gain possession of her; and while her father was serving in the camp, he orders one of his own clients to claim her as his slave by birth. She is broucht before the tribun.ai of Appius, who .adjudges her to be guarded by this client till the day of trial comes on. But a popular tumult induces him to alter this decision, and he accepts bail for her reappearance. No time is lost by his friends in making Yirginius acquainted with the schemes of Appius, and the wretched father hastens to Rome, only to hear the sentence which condemns his daughter to slavery. Having gained permission to bid her fare- well, he stabs her to the heart, exclaiming that thus alone cixn he keep her pure and set her free. The sight of Virginius, with his bloody dagger, rouses the army to ve- hement indignation, and tearing up their standards, they march directly up to Rome, and occupy the Aventine. The city is in uproar, and Appius is glad to hide himself from the popular fury, while the army from Algidus depose their five decemvira! gene- rals, and set up ten military tribunes in their place. Tlie troops from Fidenae make the same change, and thus the de- cemviri are displaced by twenty tribunes. The death of Appius follows soon after the election of Valerius and Horatius as con- suls, and whether by the latter or by the sediles, the twelve tables of laws were en- graved on brass, and exposed in public. Such are the outlines of a story which is placed half way between the expulsion of the kings and the burning of the city by the Gauls — a period in all of 120 years, and of which the credibility is not called in ques- tion by a single miracle, marvel, portent, or prodigy. But on comparing the arrange- ment of this period of 120 years with the regal time of precisely 240 years, one cle- ment of weakness is laid open to view in an artificial chronology; and the story it- self, when examined, shows no lack of internal difficulties. The Tereutillian law, which initiated the decem\nral movement, aimed at circumscribing the power of the consuls ; and the purpose for which (when this was found to be hopeless) the decem- viri were appointed, was to provide in part a code of written laws, and still more to equalise the rights of patricians and ple- beians. Accordingly the first deceravirate is described as popular, both in its conduct and its legislation. The laws of the ten tables were sanctioned by the popular as- sembly of the centuries ; and Cicero, speak- ing of these laws as being uniformly wise and just, withholds this praise only from the two last tables of the second dec«m- virate, which abolished the right of inter- marriage between the two classes. Thus the conclusion remains that the ten tallies were in favour of the plebeians, and that they served the purpose for which the decemvlrate was instituted. Unfortunately the laws of these t.ables have only come down to us in fragments; yet 'we know enough concerning them to authorise us in saying, that they had not the character of a constitutional code, and that they con- tained nothing which placed the plebeians on a footing of political equality with thepa- tricians. The political inequality between the two orders remained not less after the deceravinal legislation than it had been before. All the great constitutional changes by which the plebeians achieved this equality, are mentioned as separate and successive measures, after the fall of the decemviri.'t The legend which speaks of the journey of the three commissioners into Greece, is, to say the least, full of improbability. The decemviral code exhibited no resemblance to Greek law, and Cicero held it to be alto- gether Etiperior to any Greek legislation. We can hardly suppose that the Romans had heard of the laws of Solon, and stillless of the reforms of Cleistheues ; while they might more naturally have availed them- selves of the legislation of Charondas in Sicily, and still more of Zaleucus, the law- giver of the Epizephyrian Locriansin Italy. But of these we hear nothing : and Greek writers are equally silent about the arrival of these emissaries in Greece. If they came at all, they arrived during the early cam- paigns of Pericles, when Thucydides was alive ; and it is almost incredible that such an event, if historical, should have remained unnoticed by them. The colouring thrown on the history of Appius Claudius is not less suspicious. Like his father, he dies by his owu hand in prison. An extant fragment of the Capi- toline Fasti speaks of the consulship which he resigned In order to become decemvir as his second consulship, and so identify him with his father, to whom the historians at- tribute that which the Fasti describe a? the first consulship of the son. According to both Livy and Dionysius, the decemvir is never heard of till the year before he is appointed to that oftlce. In his political career, he first deserts the patricians, and ingratiates himself with the plebeians ; and after his reelection he comes forward as an undisguised despot, h.avlng secured the co- operation of a set of oligarchs as unscrupu- lous as himself. Livy explains these changes by saying that his moderation was only assumed for political purposes : but Sir G. C. Lewis remarks that this will not ex- plain 'why he laid down his office at the end of the year, and why, being already vir- tual dictator and holding the chief power in his hands, he voluntarily resigned It, and trusted to the chances of a personal can- vass." In Diodorus, moreover, the Claudius of the second decemvlrate is a different person from the Claudius of the first. For the contradictions involved in the very position of the decemviral government, we must refer the reader to the work of Sir G. C. Lewis (Credibility, &c. eh. xll. sect. 54); t Ibid, sect 54. C]&e W^ioxn of 3R0mp. 59 It Is enough to remark about these incon- sistencioa in general, that 'they caunot, without violence to the laws of historical eviilence, he removed hy arbitrarily select- ing some parts of the narrative and reject- ing others, or tiy gratuitously fabricating other facts and interweaving them with the traditionary narrative." The story of Virginia is as Improbable as any other part of the narrative. We are toldth.-it Ihe p,-utis;iii.-; of the decemvirs had with impunity coniiiiUted iiiiniberless gross outni^'cs (lu woiiicn ; why shovdd their chief resort to stratagem? why did he not mur- der Virglnlus as he had murdered Siccius ? why did he not imprison or get rid of the friends of Virginia ? The despot Claudius is here suddenly represented as restrained bv lei,'iil forms, which are elsewhere trnm- pied underfoot. AKaiii, tlie tale is given with great minuteness by I'ivy and Uiony- sius : but In the latter Applus gives both sides a hearing at a formal trial, while the former s.ays that he would hear neither. Livy says that he caunot give the grounds on which Appius based his judgement ; Diiinysius affirms that he spoke from his own "personal knowledge of the case. Fi- nally, the twelve tables, as a whole, received the sanction of the people after the fall of the decemvirs : why were not the two last tables, which Cicero describes as thoroughly unjust, rejected by the plebeians? If they aliolisiicd the right of intermarriage, why did not the latter, when holding Mount Aventine, with arms in their hands. Insist on the withdrawal of this statute ? Instead of this, the popular consuls, Valerius and Horatius, engrave these tables and procure for these the same public sanction with the rest. Sir G. C. Lewis may well conclude by saying that ' the entire subject of the en- actment of thedeceniviral code is in a state of hopeless confusion.' The subsequent history Is full of the same strange accounts which speak of laws pass- ed in favour of the plebeians, yet not put in action ; of the plebeians as possessed of power to enforce these laws, yet not using it ; of concessions made and again with- drawn ; of disputes settled and again re- newed. To the year 437 are assigned the intrigues and death of Spurius Masiius. In a time of famine he distributed corn to the people at his owm expense ; and the jealousy of the patricians saw in his acts a design for making himself king. Like Spunus Cassius, he is said to have been put to death : but one account says that he was killed by Servi- lius, master of the horse to Cincinnatus, who had been appointed dictator for the purpose of quelling the sedition ; another maintains that Scrvilius acted on the orders of the senate, and that no dictator was appointed at all. To the year 4.S1 B.C. is assigned an inci- dent which exceeds the severity of Brutus in the execution of his sons for conspiracy. The son of the consul Postumius left his ranks to fight with an enemy : on returning victorious to his father he was put to death by his order. Livy distrusts the story be- « Credibility, Kc. ch. xii. sect. 54. cause the proverb which expressed the exe- cution of a son by a father, bore the name not of Postumius, but of Manllus : but his arguments. are only indirect. He docs not toucli on the te.stin]ony which might be ad- duced for any version of the tale. In the same year Livy mentions an expedition of the Carthaginians to Sicily. He can scarcely refer to that of Hamllcar in 480 B.C., and he must therefore mean the great expedition of Hannibal in 409 B.C. As he antedates this event by more than twenty years, his version could not have been formed till after the accurate memory of the expedition had been lost. The next memorable incident in the Ro- man traditions before the burning of the city by the Gauls is the siege and fall of Veil. The causes of the war are very ob- scurely given. The alleged injury for which the Romans demand reparation had taken place more than thirty years before; and since that time there had been two periods of truce : one lasting eighteen years. In this war Livy says that the Roman soldiers flrst received pay, and that this caused greater satisfaction than even the esta- blishment of the tribunate ; but it is at the least strange that the senate should make a concession which Is never demanded, while they refuse others which are extorted from them at a later time, and that this concession should have been suggested by the tribunes wishing to secure their own popularity. But if the Romans were elated, the people of Veil were not less depressed at their failure to proctire aid from the otiiir Etruscan states. Livy attributestliis to tlieir having adopted a regal form of go- vernment ; but this Is inconsistent with the legend that they had lost a king in war more than thirty years before, and as there were kings in other cities also, it can hardly be said tliat the Etruscans disliked the in- stitution. If, however, the story of the decemvirs is wholly free from miracles and prodigies, we have them abundantly in the legends of the war with Veil. The Alban lake rose above its level, although no rain had fallen. The Romans sent to consult the oracle at Delphi : and an old Veientine was heard to declare that the Romans would never take Veil till the Alban lake was drained of its waters. The response of the god from Delphi agreed with the words of the Veientine soothsayer. The lake was drained, and the doom of Veil sealed. By order of the dictator Camilius, the Romans carried a mine into the heart of the city; and the Veientine king, on offering sacrifice in the temple of Juno, the soothsayer told him that the victory would be with those who should cut the entrails of the victim. The Romans in the mine heard the words, and breaking into the temple seized the entrails, and carried them to Camilius. The city was given over to he plundered ; but the dictator had vowed a tenth part of the spoils to Apollo at Delphi. Still he dreaded the jealousy of the gods, and prayed that the retribution for this great success might be as light as possible. As he uttered the prayer hefell ; and the warning was fulfilled in the sack of Rome by the Gauls. A sol- 60 5CI)e (Trca^ttrg of ^Star^, Sec. dior arprnncliliip the statue of .Tunn, asked If she would cro to liciuie : the piddess sis?- nifled her assout, and the statue seemed marvellously lii-'lit to ilioscwho moved it. The ^.'lor.v of Caiuillus was at its heieht ; but the sliadow of coming evil was heplmiing to be felt. The mapniflcence of Veii sug- gested to the people the design of migi'ating thitlKT in a body; Caraillus vehemently resisted it. and Incurred no little unpopu- larity. His enemies charged him with em- bezzling some of the booty, and Camillus was driven into exile. The tale of the siege will not bear much criticism. It is said to have lasted ten years ; yet the town falls not by famine, but by a surprise, wliich might as easily liave been executed in the first year as in the tenth. ' In all ancient history there is scarcely an authentic instance of a town taken in the manner related of Veii. Still the facts that A'eii was besieged and taken, and its independence forfeited, can- not reasonably be doubted : of the details we can say little or nothing. Niebuhr supposed that the incidents of the last two years are drawn from a lost epic poem. The great question here would be to determine when this poem was composed (if we had good reasons for believing that it ever existed, which in this case we have not). A poem composed at the time would be much more trustworthy than a written prose narrative dating from a later period. The prayer of Camillus on his departure into exile was soon fulfilled. His country- men felt the need of him, when the Gaul- ish hordes were hastening to the city. On the banks of the AUia the Roman army was cut to pieces, on the aniversary of the destruction of the Fabii at the Cremcra. Two, three, or four days afterwards tlie Gauls were in possession of Rome. The plebeians escajied, as they could, to Veii or elsewhere, the aged of both orders awaited their fate in their own houses. At the vestibules of their homes, according to Uvy, on curule chairs in the forum, according to Plutarch, they excited the admiring astonishment of the Gauls, till one of them stroked the beard of a senator named Paplrius, and was by him smitten with an Ivory sceptre. The blow was the signal for massacre, and the town was immediately sacked and burnt. According to Livy the Are spared nothing ; Diodorus admits that a few houses remained stand- ing on the Palatine. The Capitol, however, held out, and Camillus, summoned to the aid of his country, Tvas appointed dictator for the second time. The measure had well-nigh proved useless. The guard of the Capitol had failed to perceive that the Gauls were scaling the rampart, when the sacred geese of Juno gave the alarm by their cackling, and the first assailant was hurled down by Manlius, who had been consul two years before. The gift of half a pound of flour and a quarter of a pint of wine, from each of the garrison, was the reward of his good deed. Meanwhile the Gauls suffered from disease, and hinted that they might be bribed into leaving the city. The bargain was struck for 1,000 pounds of gold. Sulpicius compl.aincd that the Gauls used f.alse weights ; their king Brennus threw his sword into the scale, saying with scorn, ' Woe to the comiuered.' But at this juncture Camillus appeared not less suddenly than the Roman soldiers in the temple of Juno at Veii. He ordered the gold to be removed, and told the Gauls to prepare for a battle : two defeats sufficed for the destruction of the whole horde. Such is the story of Livy and some other writers. In Diodorus, Camillus does not reappear till the Gauls have left the city, and thenhe defeats the Volscians and other enemies of Rome, and attacking the Gauls recovers the 1,000 pounds of gold with the standards which had been lost. In his triumph he was drawn in a chariot by four white horses ; his presumption roused the anger of the people, and two years after- wards he was in consequence sentenced to a heavy fine.* The contradictions of the story admit of no reconcilement. If the versions already given speak of the extermination of the invaders, Polybius says that they returned to their own land, where they were after- wards embroOed in intestine wars. In another version, the gold was recovered, not by Camillus, but by the men of Cfere. By another story, the Romans made the Gauls drunk with wine, and falling on them while intoxicated, cut them to pieces. But, further, the Allia cannot be identified with any existing river, nor can the spot where the battle was fought be determined : and although the Gauls are said to have fol- lowed up their victory quickly, still there was enough time to put the Capitol into a state of defence, and to allow the people to escape. Hence the story of the senators seated on their chairs in the forum be- comes very improbable : nor is it more easy to understand why the Gauls should bum a city which they would have to oc- cupy in order to reduce the Capitol, and which they are said to have occupied for six, eight, or nine months. The story of Livy reads like a romance : that of Polybius carries with it a great air of probability : but we cannot tell whence he got his in- formation, or determine the value of his authorities. He wrote his history about 240 years after the capture of the city, and oral tradition could not be depended on for so long a time. It was, however, the first event in Roman history which seems to have attracted the notice of contemporary Greeks. Still Heraclides of Pontus learnt no more than that a city called Rome, which he supposed to be Hellenic, had been taken by an army from the land of the Hy- perboreans ; and Aristotle says that Rome was delivered by a certain Lucius, whereas Plutarch says that hisnamewasnot Lucius, but Marcus. With regard to the date of this event, there is a tolerably close agree- ment : the dates assigned vary from 38" to 390 B.C. Livy believed that in entering on the period subsequent to the Gaulish conquest, he had arrived at a time of f.ar greater • Sir G. C. Levris, Credibilitj, &c ch. jtiL sect 82. Cfje W^tavx! of Mamt. 61 cloariioss ami I'crtaiiity. We cannot imlci'd ti'U what, wci'i' tlic fuller records wliii-Ii lie Kays ivere keiit fniiii this time; but tliey luiist at, liest liavc been fragmentary, and certainly did not form a continuous liistory. Stiil it may be fairly held ' that tlie iiistory for tlie period from the cap- ture of tiie cily to tlie canipai.ijn against I'yniiii-i, ciiiu|iared Willi tile period from the exjiulsion of the kings to the capture of tlie city, contains a greater proportion ar, more bold and more active than their competitors, divided the government lietween them. This coalition was termed the nrst trium- virate. Cajsar, however, would have no equal : Pompey disdained to have a supe- rior ; and the rivalry of these two powerful men soon occasioned the ruin of the state. C;csar obtained the consulate, and with It the government of Gaul for Ave years. I'ompey and Crassus remained at Rome, while Cajsar was busied in extending his conquests, and laying the foundation of his future greatness. He attached Pompey to his interests, by giving him his daugh- ter in marriage ; and, joining valour with policy, he signalised himself by the great- est military enterprises. He defeated the Helvetians ; subdued Ariovistus, king of the Germans; conquered the Belgians ; and reduced, with wonderful facility, the whole of Uaul. He invaded Britain, and imposed a tribute upon the inhabitants. All these achievements were performed in the space of eight years. Crassus having been killed in a battle with the Parthians, and the daughter of Ciwsar, the wife of Pompey, being dead, Pompey beheld with a jealous eye the bril- liant actions of his father-in-law, and sought, by every means in his power, to render him obnoxious to the people : he even endeavoured to deprive him of his government. CiBsar, assured of the fidelity of his troops, inarched directly to Rome, when Pompey and his partisans imme- diately abandoned it. Caisar had now become perpetual dicta- tor ; he gained the people t)y his bounties, by his valour, and his wisdom, and intimi- dated his enemies. He pursued Pompey to Greece. After several events, those great rivals met on the plains of Phar- salia ; and victory declared in favour of Ciusar, who was as remarkable for his cle- mency after the battle, as he had been for his bravery during the engagement. The vanquished Pompey retired into Egypt. Ptolemy, king of that country, thinking thereby to make his court to Cajsar, had him assassinated, and sent his head to that conqueror, who could not refrain shed- ding tears to the memory of so great a man. It was at this period that Cassar be- came acquainted with Cleopatra, whom he caused to be proclaimed queen of Egypt ; her brother Ptolemy having been drowned in the Nile. He now marched against Phar- naces, the son of Mithridates, whom he conquered with so mucli ease, that he thought three words were suCBcient to announce his victory, — Ten!, vidi, vici.' The two sons of Pompey endeavoured to revenge the death of their father ; but for- tune was unpropitious to their designs : after an obstinate battle, their army was defeated. The elder son w.as killed ; and it was with extreme difBculty that the younger escaped the hands of the conqueror. It was In this war that Cato, disdaining to survive Oie liberty of his country, put au end to his existence at Utica. Cassar returned to Italy ; but, inflated with his extraordinary success, displayed more ostentation and pride than he had hitherto done. Rome groaned under the intolerable yoke he had imposed ; and a conspiracy having been formed against him, he was assassinated by Brutus in the senate. Lepidus and Antony, lieutenants of Ca)- sar, breathed extreme vengeance. Antony examined the will of the dictator ; by which it was found that he had adopted Octavius, the son of his sister Julia. He bequeathed his gardens to the people, and a sum of money to each particular citizen. There were likewise legacies to several of the con- spirators, particularly to Brutus, with re- version to Octavius. The funeral oration delivered on this oc- casion, the appearance of the veteran sol- diers, who threw their arms and crowns upon the funeral pile of their illustrious general, and the cries of the Roman ladies, transported the people with rage against tlie conspirators, wliose houses and I>r(iperty they burnt. It was thus that the people laid the foundation of their future misery and slavery. Octavius, who was In Greece at the time of his uncle's murder, did not, on his re- turn to Rome, find Antony disposed to relinquish the power he had assumed in his absence. Brutus possessed the govern- ment of Gaul, which Antony now obtained of the people, contrary to the will of the senate, and he marched, aided by Octavius, against Brutus, in order to dispossess him thereof by force. This conduct offended the senators. Antony being defeated, went to I.epidus, then in Gaul ; and the senate conflimed Brutus in his office. Octavius, liiglily otf ended at this action of the senate, formed au alliance with Antony and Lepi- dus ; and this union formed the second triumvirate. It was agreed between them, that Italy, and the coast, should be in com- mon ; that Antony should command in Gaul, Lepidus in Spain, and Octavius in Africa and Sicily. Lepidus remained at Rome to defend Italy ; while Antony and Octavius were employed in combating Cas- sius and Brutus. Thus all their common enemies were immolated in the cause of the triumvirate, and their particular friends were sacrificed to the resentment of each triumvir. Octavius destroyed Cicero. His head and hands being severed from his l>ody, were fastened to the tribune, where the great orator had so often astonished Rome by his eloquence. Antony abandoned his uncle, Lepidus his brother. Three hundred senators, and 4,000 knights, were proscribed. Thus Rome became the theatre of horror and infamy ; and the cruelties were renewed that had been heretofore practised in the contest between Marius and Syila. In the meantime, Cassius and Brutus were defeated at Philippi, and each of them put an end to his existence, in order 64 CTlbc EvtaiwYVi of %igtorg, $et. to avoid falling into the hands of the con- queror. Octavius returned to Rome ; An- tony went into Asia, He there cited Cleo- patra to appear before his tribunal, for having taken part with the assassins of Cajsar: but becoming enamoured of her beauty, he sacrificed thereto his glory and his interest. He did not return to Italy for upwards of a year, when he married Octavia, sister of Octavius, and widow of Marcellus. A new division of power now took place; all the eastern parts were ceded to Antony, the western to Octavius, and Africa to Lepidus, who contested toicily with Octavius. Lepidus, deserted by his fi-iends,was exiled to a small town in Latium. Antony, fascinated by the charms of Cleopatra, employed his time in giving superb entertainments, instead of attend- ing to the concerns of his array. He en- deavoured to justify his conduct to the senate ; but they were incensed at nis ne- glect, and declared war against him. The armies met at Actium, where Octavius gained that celebrated victory, which niade him sole master of the Roman republic. Cleopatra, alarmed, set sail for the Pelo- ponnesus ; and Antony abandoned his fleet, and the empire of half the world, to ac- company his mistress to Egypt. Being pur- sued by his conqueror, he fell upon his sword, and thereby put an end to his life. Cleopatra shut herself within the temple of Antony, where she applied an asp to her bosom, and expired at the base of the statue of her infatuated admirer. Octavius now returned to Rome, and had a public triumph during three days. Hav- ing become sole master, he feigned a desire to resign his authority, and demanded the advice of Agrippa and Mecajnas. The former advised him to reestablish the re- public; but the opinion of the latter being eontrai-y, and Octavius abiding t>y it, tlie slavery of Rome was decided. He lett some appearance of authority yet m the hands of the senate, in dividing with them the provinces of the empire ; but reserved to himself all those in which the troops were stationed, that he might at all times be master of the army. Thus commenced the mightiest monarchy that any age has produced. The Roman Empire. ■We have seen CiEsar, the conqueror of Ponipey in the fields of Pharsalia, return triumphant to Rome, and assassinated by Brutus and Cassius in the senate. Antony, under the pretence of avenging his death, united himself with Lepidus, and Octavius, the nephew of Cassar. Octavius, disdaining a division of the empire, found means to quarrel with them both, defeated them in succession, returned crowned with victory to Rome, and assumed the name of Au- gustus. From the time of Julius Caesar, the re- public took the name of the Roman empire ; and those who were at the head of its go- vernment were denominated emperors. The flr^t twelve assumed the name of Cajsar, that is to say, from Julius Caesar to Domitian. Augustus, the first emperor, was a most fortunate warrior, and a profound polm- cian His liberality to the people, his Hd.-- lity to his friends, and his love of the art-^ and sciences, obliterated from the mni'l- of the people the proscriptions which lial taken place during the wars which ha.l distracted the empire at the commence- ment of his career. During his reign, Biscay, Dalmatia, Egypt, Pannonia, Aqui- taine, Illyricura, Rhajtia, the country of the Vindelicians, and aU the maritime towns in Pontus, became subject to the Roman state. He defeated the Germans, the Parthians, and the Dacians, and died with the reputation of ahappy monarch. The reign of Augustus was remarkable for literary characters, amongst whom were Tirgil, the author of the iEneid ; Horace, of Odes, Satires, and Epistles; and Ovid, of the Metamorphoses, and other poems. It has since become a proverbial expressMn to caU any period, when the literature of a nation is particularly cultivated, its Au- gustan age. The reign of Augustus wiis also distinguished by the birth of Je.-us Christ, which took place in the seven hun- dred and fifty-fourth year from the founda- tion of Rome, and in the thirtieth year of the reign of Augustus. Tiberius, who had married the daughter of Augustus, and by whom he had been adopted, abandoned himself to voluptuous- ness, and governed by his ministers. His cruelty and avarice rendered him an object of general detestation. Incapable of dis- tinguishing himself in the field, he left the conduct of his wars to his generals. Ger- manicus defeated the Germans, and Tiberius rewarded his services by ordering him to be poisoned. This monster of perfidy, in- gratitude, and cruelty died at Caprea;, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. In the eighteenth year of his reign Jesus Christ was put to death at Jerusalem. Tlie Prastorian guards were a body of 10 000 men, under the especial orders of the prjetor of Rome, who was usually also one of the consuls, or subsequently the emperor They were quartered by Augustus, m small detachments, in different parts of Italy ; but Tiberius brought them all to Rome, ?nd fixed them in its neighbourhood in a fortified camp. They soon found the un- armed and timid populace of Rome too feeble to oppose them, and took upon themselves the nomination or disposal of the emperors. „ ,. , ., „ Caius Cssar, caUed also Caligula, was the son of Germ.anicus, grandson of Drusus, and great nephew of Tiberius ; and suc- ceeded to the imperial dignity in the twenty- fifth year of his age. His life was a con- tinued scene of debauchery, much worse even than that of his predecessor. He made war against the Suabian Germans, without displ.aying the least promise of military talents. He was killed in his palace, in the twenty-ninth year of his Claudius, uncle and successor to Caligula, gave, by turns, symptoms of good sense and moderation, foliy and cruelty. He I made war upon Britain, which he reduced : Cnte l^iiitars of Wiomt. G5 at his return, he had a triumph, and took the name of Britanniciis. He died at the age of sevfiity-Xour. He waa the husband of Jli'ssalina, so dishonoured by her licen- tious life. Nero, the son of Domitius iEnobarbus and Afe'ripiJina, daughter of Germanlcus and sister to Caligula, began his reign by aspiring to A-irtues which he did not possei^s. This seeming goodness was, however, of short duration ; he threw (.If the mask, and appeared to llie pcoi^le in bis true character. He tarni.-iird tlie niiiuation, and dinii- nislied tlu' ]>iiwer, of tlu- Koniau empire. He never undertook any military expedi- tion ; but suffered the Parthians to make themselves masters of Armenia, and oblige tlie Koman legions to jiass under the yoke. He had Rome set iiu Are ; and i)Ut bis own mother, his preceptor, and several other persons, to death In tlie most wanton and cruel manner. At leugtli the senate de- clared him an enemy to his country ; and he was condennied to be conducted, quite naked, with liis bead between the proiigsof apilcbfnrk, thnnif-'b tlie strei'ts of Home; then to be wbiiipcciiDUcMlli, and afterwards to be thrown from a liiuli rock into the Tiber. Nero .«aveil himself from this sen- teuce by self-murder, at the house of one of his freedmen in the country, at the age of tliirty-two years, and the fourteenth of his reign. lu his person thefamily of Augustus became e.\tinct. Sergius Galba, a senator, of an ancient and noble family, wa.s, at tbe age of si.\ty- three, proclaimed emperor by the Spaniards and tbe Gauls ; and his election was ap- proved by the whole army. He possessed some virtue, but it was eclipsed by his cruelty and his avarice. He fell into the snare which he had laid for Otho, and was killed at Home in the seventh mouth from his elevation. Otho succeeded as emperor. He united in his iierson the extremes of valour and effeminacy. Having been overcome in bat- tle by Vitcllius, his competitor, he stabbed himself, in the thirty-eiglith year of his age, and tbe uinety-nfth day of his reign. Vitellius mounted the imperial throne after the death of Otho. He reigned with- out honour, and was cruel in his govern- ment. He killed Sabiuus, the brother of Vespasiau, and burnt him with the capitol. He was an extreme glutton, and was killed by an officer in the service of Vespasiau, in the flfty-seventh year of his age, having reigned eight months and one day. His body, after having been dragged through Home, was thrown into the Tiber. Vespasian succeeded to the purple. He brought under the Roman yoke many pow- erful nations : he took Jerusalem, and en- tered it in triumph with his sou Titus. His death was much regretted by the senate and the people. He was good tempered, moderate, humane, witty, capable of friend- ship, and, on the whole, the greatest em- peror since Augustus. Titus succeeded his father : he was per- fectly a master of his passions, and go- verned the empire so admirably as to gain the name of the ' Love and Delight of the Human Race.' His eloquence, his valour, and his moderation were the charms by which he gained the hearts of his subjects. He died in the forty-llrst year of his age, liaviiig reigned two years, eight months, and twenty days. Domitlan, the younger brother of Titus, ascended the throne. He abandoned him- self to every vice, and was capable of every crime. He raised many considerable edi- fices in Rome ; and was killed In his palace, by bis domestics, In the llfteenth year of his reign. Nerva, already advanced in age, was next elected emperor. He governed with justice, and chose Trajan for his successor. He died at Rome, at the age of seventy, having reiirned four months and eight days, re- gretted by a people whom he had rendered haj'py. Trajan, by birth a Spaniard, succeeded Nerva. He was a successful soldier, and extended the bounds of the Roman empire. He was just, and an enemy to fiattcry and envy ; he was friendly, and loved his sub- jects; and it has been said that bis only defects were a love of war and wine. He died in Asia in the sixty-third year of his age. Adrian was raised to the throne by the means of Plotina, the wife of Trajan. He had a happy disposition ; was a protector of tbe arts, and of artists ; and his greatest ambition was to have the reputation of being learned. He was a perfect master of the Greek language, and jealous of those who spoke or wrote better than himself. He abandoned many provinces conquered by Trajan, and built a temple in honour of Venus on Mount Calvary. He died at the age of sixty-two years, and was succeeded by Antoninus I'ius, who treated his subjects as his children. Liberality, clemency, and affability formed only a part of the good qualities of this prince: his wit was polished, his sentiments noble. He defeated the Britons by his generals. He repulsed the Moors, and took part of Egypt. His death took place at a coiuitry-se.at called Lorium, four leagues from Rome, iu the sixty-third year of his age. Marcus Aurelius, the successor of Anto- ninus, took Lucius Verus as his colleague in the empire : they made war upon the Parthians. Lucius Verus intended to com- mand iu person, but stopped at Antioch, and gave his orders to his lieutenants, who defeated the Parthians, and took Seleucia, one of the finest cities in Syria. Lucius Verus returned to Rome, and had a triiunph. He died at Venice, of apoplexy, or poison, having reigned nine years. After the death of Verus, Marcus Aurelius governed alone, -with all the wisdom which characterises a good prince. He overcame several northern nations, and sold the most precious part of his property to compensate his soldiers, rather than oppress the people. This crowned philosopher would serve as a perfect model for princes, if his extreme kindness had not sometimes degenerated into weakness. He died at the age of sixty- one years. Commodus, son of Aurelius, but unworthy 02 G6 Cl^c CrcaSura of l^istorg, ^c. of such a parent, succeeded liis father on the throne. He made himself detestable by liis debaucheries ; but carried on a success- ful war against the Germans. After having practised the cruelties of a Neni, and the wickedness of a Calisula, by sacrificing the wisest among the Komans, and murdering his wife and his sister, he died, as is sup- posed, by poison. Pertinax, prefect of Rome, succeeded Commodus at the age of seventy. He was originally a schoolmaster in Ligiiria, which he quitted for a military life. In endea- vouring to establish discipline in the army, he was killed by the soldiers of his own guard, after a reign of twenty-four days. Didius Julianus bought the empire after the death of Pertinax ; but he was defeated by his rival, Septimus Sevenis, and was slain in his palace iu the seventh month of his reign. Severus, who had already taken the title of emperor in Illyria, succeeded Julian. He defeated and killed Pescennius Xiger, who had been proclaimed emperor in the east. He also defeated Clodius Albinus, who had assumed the title of Ca;sar in Gaul. He subjugated the Parthians and the Arabs, and joined to his military skill the reputa- tion of learning. In England he built the famous wall iu the north, which extended from sea to sea— and which is in jiart re- maining at this hour— in order to prevent the inroads of the Picts and .Scots. He died at York, after having reigned gloriously eighteen years and four months. CaracaUa and Geta, the sons of Severus, ■were elected emperors. Caracalla having killed Geta, w^hom the senate had declared an enemy to the republic, reigned alone. He governed tyi'annically, and abandoned himself to the most infamous and degrad- ing vices. He carried on a war with some success ag.ainst the Germans ; and was pre- paring to march against the Parthians, ■when'he was killed at Edessa, at the age of forty-three years ; after having reigned six years and two months, the detestation of the Roman people. Here we date the de- cline of the Roman empire. Macrinus and Diadumenianus, father and son, were placed on the imperial throne. They were killed by the soldiers, after having reigned fourteen months. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, surnamed Heliogabalus, priest of the Temple of the Sim, was proclaimed emperor by the army. He was a monster of lasciviousuess : and was, with his mother, Sooemias, killed by the soldiers, after hawug reigned two years and eight months. Alexander Severus, cousin to the last emperor, mounted the throne at the age of fifteen years. The army gave him the name of Coesar, and the senate that of Augustus. He gained a signal victor}- over the Persians; and was noted as a patron of the arts and sciences. He was killed in Gaul, by a soldier ■whom he had raised from the ranks, after a reign of thirteen years ; during which he consoled the empire, by his virtues and his kindness, for the tyranny of the preceding reigns. JIaximinus, of the Gothic race, elected emperor by the soldiers, was the son of a poor peasant, and, from the station of a common soldier, arose, step by step, to the first dignities In the empire. He was eight feet high, and a most voracious glutton. He commenced his reign by the murder of his best friends, and was himself murdered by his soldiers. Gordian was placed upon the imperial throne by the soldiers. He appointed his son as his colleague, whom he sent into Africa against Capellian, governor of Ku- midia and Mauritania. The younger Gor- dian ■n-as vanquished and killed by the Numidians, at the age of forty-five years. Gordian the elder died with despair, at the age of eighty, in the third year of his reign. Maxiraus and Balhinus, the first the sou of a smith, and the latter of noble origin, had been during the lifetime of Maximinus elected emperors by the senate, and now assumed the throne. But the soldiers, dis- satisfied with their election, entered their palaces, and massacred them. They then set up the graudson of Gordian, whom the senate had also declared Csesar after the death of his grandfather. Gordian II., invested with the purple, opened the temple of Janus, and carried on a successful war against the Parthians and Persians. He piu-sued Sapor to the confines of Persia, where he was killed thro.ugh the treachery of Philip, whom he had constituted his lieutenant. The Ro- mans, for his virtues, ranked him among the gods. The two Philips, father and son, were proclaimed emperors. The father was the son of an Arab chief of robbers. Before he came into Italy, he had made his peace with Sapor. He abandoned some of the provinces of the empire: visited Arabia; and built, at the pl.ace of his birth, a city, which he called Philippopolis. During the reign of the Philips, was celebrated at Rome, with great magnificence, the year one thousand ft-om the foundation of the city. Philip, the father, was killed at Ve- rona, and the son at Rome, after having reigned about six years. Decius and his son, who had been sent against the Scythians, being successful, re- ceived from the soldiers the imperi.al crown. Decius possessed the qualities of a good soldier and an honest man. He, however, persecuted the Christians ■with rigour, on account of what he considered their fana- ticism. After having reigned two years, he, together with his son, perished by an ambuscade prepared for them by Trebo- nianus GalIus,who succeeded Decius in the empire, and divided his power with his son Volusianus. They marched against Erailianus, who had revolted in Sloesia, and were killed at Terano, after having reigned about two years. Emilianus, an African, was proclaimed emperor by the legions v.hich had revolted against Gallus; but the soldiers having learned tliat Valerian had taken the purple in Gaul, they killed Emilianus, after a reign of three months. Valerian, and Gallienus.hisson, governed the empire jointly. They were unfortunate e;i)c ^iiStovu of liame. 67 lu tlioir wars, particularly in tliat carried on against Sapnr, kiuK of Persia, who de- feated Valerian in Mesopotamia, tool; liira prisoner, and treated hliii Willi every indig- nity, llallieniisdcrcaled and killed lii«enu- us, wlio liad I a ken (lie luriJie. 'I'ln- weakness of tlie Konian Koveninieiit lia'icoraedia, Constantine II., Constans, and Con- stantius, divided the empire between them, agreeable to the will of Constantine their father. Constantine had .Spain, Gaul, and the Alps : Constans, Asia, Egypt, and the East : Constantius, Italy, Sicily, and Africa. This division was the ruin of the empire. Constantine was killed by the sol- diers of his brother Constans, who pe- rished by treason a little time after. Con- stantius, sole master of the empire, reigned twenty-four years. Destitute of glory, weak. and inconsistent, he was neither loved nor feared. .Julian, railed by the Christians the .Apos- tate, by others the Philosopher, was pro- claimed emperor by the troops in the life- time of Cimstans. This prince w.as just, frug.al, an enemy to vain-glory and (lattery, and aitected to hate the name of Chris- tian. He died a hero fighting against the Persians. Jovian, elected by the ■principal officers of the army, governed with wisdom, and encouraged Christianity. He reigned about eight months. Valentinian succeeded Jovian; he join- ed in the government his brother Valens. They divided the empire of the East and the empire of the West. Valentinian had the "West, and Valens the East. Gratian ascended the imperial throne after the death of his father Valentinian. Valens, defeated by the Goths, and other barbarians, who established themselves in Thrace and menaced Constantinople, died leaving few subjects to regret his loss. Gratian appointed Theodosius governor of the East, where, by his zeal for the Christian religion, his abhorrence of its opponents, and by his courage, he rendered himself popular. Gratian being dead, and Valentinian, emperor of the West, being assassinated in the year 393, Theodosius having vanquishedMaximus andEugenius, who had declared themselves emperors, re-united the whole empire, which he di^nded between his sons. After the death of Theodosius, all dege- nerated, and from this epoch may be dated the fall of the Roman empire. The decline of the Roman empire, in fact, followed the age of the Antouines. The effeminate and luxurious manners of the nobles and people of Rome : the vices of the emperors ; the means by which they rose to power; the disposal of sovereignty by the military ; the recruiting of the army by natives of Ger- many and other barbarous countries ; and the increasing numbers and audacity of the ' barbarians,' precipitated Rome from that eminence which she had attained dur- ing the consulate and the first years of the empire. THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER I. T!ie British and liomun Period— to the Sub- jugation of the Island by the Saxo7is. The authentic history of England begins with tlie invasion of the island bj- Julius Ca'sar, 55 B.C. ; but its continnity has been broken more than once between that time and t he perind from which we possess a con- tiiiuiiMs series of contemporary narratives. For the iierlods thus left uncertain or un- known, it is of some importance to mark tliat we have to deal with lictiuns of two or three kinds. There were llrst, the scanty traditions of the tribes which iuhal.iled I!ri- tain, and which, if we caMimt delenniiie tlje amount of history contiiiiied in them, are not without value as throwing lifiht on tlie social or mental condition of the people. But when, after the introduction of the monastic system, monkish authors under- took the task of arranging early British histors', these real traditions of the con- quered or conquering races were embedded in a mass of gratuitous Action which had absolutely no value whatever. This mix- ture, with the last clement greatly pre- ponderating, is presented to lis in its most extravagant form in the pages of Jeffrey of Monmouth, a writer of the 12th century. His chronicles are a mere tissue of romance, to such an extent that it is hard to say what amount of Hie real traditions of the country he worked into his narrative ; but in every portion of it ive have all the marks by which a fictitious story may be distin- guished from a true one. We have all the minute particulars which could be given by contemporary witnesses for periods re- moved by centuries from the dawn of any contemporary history, together with a mass of contradictions whose absurdity renders their exposure a superfluous work. Accord- ing to such writers as Jeffrey, the history of Britain begins with the adventures of Brutus the Great, grandson of ..Eneas, the legendary ancestor of the Romans, and is carried through a series of dynasties, all of which are a fabrication, whose impudence Is heightened by the s^ichronisms which I make such events as the building of New Troy in Britain contemporaneous with the life of Eli the priest, in Juda;a. Hence we have to confine ourselves to those narra- tives which we know to be contemporary, together with the evidence which is fur- nished by language, and the present position of those races which are known to us as having once occupied the whole island. With the invasion of Ciesar, then, begins a time of which our knowledge, so far as it goes, may thoroughly be depended on. We have the narration of Ca'sar himself, and his description of the island and the people, so far as it was known to him. But after the withdrawal of Ciesar, we have only un- 1 connected notices for nearly ninety years, wlien the British chieftain Caradoc or Car- actacus carried on a struggle of several years against the emperor Claiulins. From this time we have a coutiiiuuus knowledge of events until llie cdiniMeiiceuient of the fifth century, when the Roman legions were finally withdrawn by the order of Honorius. From this time, nearly 2oo years passed away before Augustin landed and found Englishmen where the Itomans had left Britons. It was yet anollur century before Bede, theearliest Engli.sli liistori.an, dri'W upa history which, with all its imper- fcctiiins,hasa value which itwill never lose. In the interval, therefore, between the deimrlureof the Romans, and the arrival of Augustin, an entirely new state of things had been brought about in the eastern part of the island. The Gallic or Celtic tribes luad been driven to the west; the German tribes had pom-ed into the country and established kingdoms. For the latter half of this time, oral tradition itself might be expected to preserve a tolerably faitliful narrative of events : and if JEiht in J7r a.d., founded the kingdom of the .South ."^axciiis, and Cerdic landed in 495,then the time wliich intervened between these events and the coming of Augustin scarcely extends over three generations. But the sort of history for which we may look under such circum- stances, by no means implies minute chro- nological accuracy. On the contrary, we find on examination that much of the chronology is artificial, and that we must content ourselves with a general know- ledge of the order of events, rather than of the precise dates at which they occurred. Thus the reigns of the chieftains are said to have lasted in many instances for forty or fifty years, these numbers being taken to express completeness ; and their exploits and conquests recur at fixed intervals, these being generally periods of eight years. ' The events in the Saga of tlie iEscings, or founders of the kingdom of Kent, take place in an eight times repeated cycle of eight years." Thus twice eight years after Cerdic's landing, he gains pos- session of the Isle of Wight by a great vic- tory : after another eight years he assumes the kingly title, and so again, like Hengist and JElla, he reigns forty years. We see here the same process by which the clirono- logy of Roman history before the burning of the city by the Gauls, was divided into two halves of 240 years each, and each of these divided again into periods of 120 years. But in the case of English history, we arrive at the time of contemporary writers very much sooner ; and hence the artificial chronology need not be regarded as upsetting the general credibility of tlie narrative, luiless there are other reasons to render such a conclusion necessary. 70 Ci^e iTrfajSuij) at i^iiStary, &t. If, however, we cannot be said to liave a liistorj- for the time preceding the in- vasion of CiEsar, there are some im- portant facts which cannot be called into question. Thus it is certain that the race which still survives in Cornwall, Devon, and Cumberland, and in a still greater de- gree in AVales, the highlands of Scotland, and forms the large majority of the inhabi- tants of Ireland, once held the whole of that island and of Great Britain also. It is further certain that the race which in the tin]e of Ca?sar preponderated in Korthem Europe west of the Rhine was tlie same as tliat which occupied Britain, and that in times far more ancient, the area of its pos- sessions was spread over the greater part, perhaps over almost the whole, of Europe. Hence we see that the invasion of new races was constantly driving the older race westwards, until we And the remnants which represent it in the westernmost part of the countries of which they were once the masters. The race which still lives in the western coast of England, in Wales, in the highlands of Scotland, and in Ireland, is found again in Brittany. But further, we find from the evidence of language that in England at least, three several races sprang originally from the same stock, and that, however different may have been their physical and social developeraent, these differences overlie a real connection, which seem to prove that their ultimate union is not an impossibility. In any case, it is of no slight importance to learn that Celts and Teutons and North- men, are part of the same great Arjan family, with the Roman and the Greek ; that this afflnity is apparent in their lan- guage, and in those political character- istics which separate them from the races of the Semitic and Turanian family. Thus the Greeks, the Romans, and the Germans, when tliey became separated in the stream of western migration, performed each their part in that great work which has issued in the society of Christian Europe; and, al- though appearing to each other as aliens, contributed to a common result, which a divergence of race equivalent to that which separates the Englishman from the Syrian or Phcenician would have rendered im- possible. Thus then our first authentic knowledge of this country- ccjraes from its Roman in- vaders ; it is interrupted whenever these are withdrawn, and it begins again with a more complete continuity from the con- version of England by Angustin in the early part of the 7th century. The narra- tive of Cassar gives not only a trustworthy account of events, but also a description of the inhabitants, and the physical features of the country by one who has been rarely equalled in his powers of observation. The works of other writers also enable us to draw the picture in greater fullness ; and bring before us a people who retained un- ! softened at the time of CEesar's landing all i those national characteristics which in the j inhabitants of continental Gaul had been weakened by contact with their Roman conquerors. The British people were divided into many kingdoms or tribes ; and though each tribe had a monarch, each monarchy was principally founded upon physical force, and of course greatly tempered by it. For despotism, indeed, there was but little op- portunity, whatever the inclination of the king. War was the principal occupation of tribe against tribe, and hunting at once the chief amusement, and, next to the feeding of flocks and herds, the most important means of subsistence. Wandering hither and thither in search of pasture for their cattle, these wild tribes were perpetually coming into collision with each other; and so frequent and fierce were their wars, that but for the interference of the Druids— in this respect, a body of men as useful as in many respects they were mischievous — their mutual rancour would have proceeded well-nigh to mutual anniliilation. Though we have stated the Britons to have been free from kingly despotism — though, in fact, the king was only the first freeman of a tribe of freemen, there yet was a despotism, and a terrible one, for both king and people — the despotism of the Druids. The Druids were the priests of the Britons ; and they were also their teachers, their lawgivers, and their magistrates : and the peculiar tenets which were inculcatsd upon the British from their earliest child- hood were such as to render the Druid priests omnipotent, as far as that term can be applied to men and man's attributes. Julius CtBsar, the renowned Roman, hav- ing overrun Gaul at the head of his irresis- tible legions, had his attention attracted to Britain B.C. 55. He determined to conquer it, and it is to his invasion that we primarily owe our present splendour and importance. From his own history of his Gallic wars it is that we chiefly derive our knowledge of the state of Britain ; and it is on his au- thority that we describe its rude and poor condition. The conquest of such a country ; could have nothing but the love of conquest for its motive ; but to a Roman, and, above all, to a Caesar, that motive was sufficient to incite to the utmost enterprise, and to reconcile to the utmost danger and the ut- most suffering. I Not far from the present site of the town 1 of Deal, in Kent, Cssar made a descent upon Britain.* The savage appearance of the natives, and the fierce reception they at first gave to their invaders, struck a tem- porary terror even into the hearts of the veteran soldiers of Rome. But the check was only momentary. A standard-bearer leaped upon the inhospitable shore, and the legiimaries followed their eagle. Caesar advanced some distance into the country ; but every mile of progress was made imder harassing attacks of the natives, whose de- sultory mode of warfare, and their intimate acquaintance with the wild country, made them formidable in spite of their want of discipline and the rude nature of their arms. But the steady perseverance and serried ranks of the Romans enabled them * Lappeoberg's History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, i. 17, (SttQUiitJ—^iritiift antt Xtamatt |9ertotr. 71 still to advance ; and tlii'y Kained so nuicli advantage, tliat wlioii C'lOHar doomed it ne- cessary to return to Ills winter iiuarters in Gaul, lie was atile to extort I'roniiscs of a peaci'ful recopIiiiM when he should think jiroper to return, and rec lived hostajres for tlieir lldelity. He wilhdrew aecordhlKly, and the liritons, ignorant and, like all bar- barous iioople, incapable of looking forward to distant eun.sequences, flagrantly failed to perform lU<-ir engagements. Disobedience was what the Roman power would not at that time have brooked from a i)eople far more civilised and powerful than the Britons, and Ctesar early In the ensuing summer again made his appearance on tin' coast of Kent. On this occasion he found a more regular and organised force await- ing him ; several powerful tribes having laid aside their domestic and petty differ- ences, and united themselves under Cassl- belaunus, a brave man, and so superior to the majority of the British kings, that he was possessed of tlieir general respect and conlldence. Hut mere valour could avail little against the soldiery of Home, inured to hardships, rather enjoying than fearing danger, thoroughly disciplined, and led by so consummate a soldier as Julius Ca'sar. The Britons, accordingly, harassed him in his march, and disturbed his eamii willi frequent night alarms ; but whenever they came to actual battle they were ever de- feated, and with dreadful loss. This time Cajsar made his way far into the country, crossed Ihe Thames In face of the enemy, and, in despite of the precaution they had taken to stake the bed of the river, de- stroyed the capital of Cassibelauuus, and established as king of the Trinobantes a Chieftain, or petty king, named Mandu- bratius, who, chiefly in disgust at some ill- treatment, real or iniagiiied, wliieli lie had suffered at tlie hands of liis fellow-country- men, had allied liiiiiself with the llomans. But though Ca'sar was thus far success- ful, the wild nature of the country and the nomadic habits of the people prevented him from achieving anything more than a nominal conquest of the island. He was obliged to content himself, once more, with the promises which the islanders the more readily made him because they never In- tended to fulflU them, and he again left the island, never to return to it ; for the do- mestic troubles of Rome, gi'eatly caused by his own ambition and daring genius, left neither him nor the Roman people any leisure to attend to a poor and remote island. His successor, the great Augustus, "was wisely of opinion that it rather behoved Rome to preserve order in her already vast empire, than to extend its bounds. Tiberius was of the same opinion ; and Caligula, flighty and fickle, if not absolutely mad, though he made a demonstration of com- pleting the work which Cfesar had begun, seized no spoils more valuable than cockle- shells, inflicted only a fright upon the Britons, and gave Rome nothing for the v.ast expense of his eccentric expedition, save materials for many amerry pasquinade and hearty laugh. For nearly a century after the first de- scent of Ciesar, the Britons enjoyed peace unbroken, save by their own petty disputes. But in the reign of the emperor Claudius, A. II. 4.'?. the design of conquering the island of Britain was againrevived ; and Wautius, a veicr.'in general, landed and fairly estab- lislied himself and his legionaries in the country. As soon as he received tidings of the success and position of his general, Claudius himself came over; and the Cantii, the Trinobantes, and other tribes of the south-eastern part of the Island, made their formal submisslou to him, and tills time, probably, with something like sincerity, as they had experienced the power of the Uoiiian arms and the supe- riority of the Itipinaii dlscijiline. Tlie more inland Britons, however, were still fiercely determined to maintain their liberty and preserve their territory ; and several tribes of them, united under the couiinand of C.aractacus, a man of courage and of comluct sujierlor to what could be aiitieiiiated in a mere barbarian, made a stout resistance to all attempts of the Itomans to extend their progress and power : a.d. 50. Indignant that mere bar- barians should even in a slight degree limit the (light of Ihe destroying eagle, the lioiiiaus now sent over reinforcements under the command of Ostorius Scapula, whose vigorous conduct soon changed the face of affairs. He beat the Britons farther and farther back at every encounter, and penetrated into the country of the Silures (now forming part of South Wales), and here in a general engagement he com- pletely routed them and took a vast num- ber of prisoners, among whom was the brave Caractacus. Irritated at the comparatively slow pro- gress of their arras against so poor and rude a people, the Romans now gave the chief command of their troops in Britain to Suetonius Paulinus, a man of equal courage and conduct, and noted even among that warlike race for unwavering sternness. This general perceived the true cause of the British pertinacity of resistance in the face of so many decisive defeats and severe chastisements. That cause, the only one, probably, which could so long have kept such rude people united and firm under misfortune, was the religious influence of the Druids, whose terrible anger had more terror for their deluded followers than even the warlike prowess and strange arms of the Romans. Suetonius, then, determined to strike at the very root of British obsti- nacy ; and as the little isle of Anglesey, then called Mona, was the chief resort of the Druids, he proceeded to attack it, rightly judging that by making a terrible example of the chief seat of theirreligion and their priests, he should strike more terror into the refractory Britons than by defeating them in a hundred desultory hatt'.es. His landing was not effected without consider- able diflQculty ; for here the naturally brave Britons fought under the very eyes of their powerful and dreaded priests, and with the double motive of desire to win their praise, and terror of incurring an anger which they believed to he potent in the future world ! 72 tS^fft CreajSurg at W^tavu, ifc. as in tills. Urged by such considerations, the Britons fought with unoxami>led furj' and determination, and the priests and priestesses mingled in the raniis, shrieliing strange curses upon the invaders, waving flaming torches, and presenting so un- eartlily and startling an appearance, that many of the Roman soldiers, wlio would have looked coolly upon certain death, were struck with a superstitious awe, and hall imagined that they were actually engaged in personal warfare with the tutelar de- mons of their mortal foes. But Suetonius was as disdainful of superstitious terrors as of actual danger, and his exhortations and example inspired his men to exertions that speedily put the ill-armed and tmdisciplined Britons to flight. The worst crime of which the Druids were guilty was that of offering to their gods human sacrlflces. It was especially in war time that these truly horritile sacri- fices were frequent. Coufldent in their hope of defeating the Romans by force, and the terrors of their superstition, the Druids of Mona on this occasion had promised their cruel deities a plenteous sacrifice. The fires were prepared ; but they who were to have been the ministering priests became the victims ; for Suetonius, as cruel as those against whom he fought, burned the captive Druids at their own altars. Having wreaked this cmel vengeance, and cut down or burned the dense groves in which the Druids had for ages performed the dark rites of their mysterious religion, he left Anglesey and returned into Britain, confident that the blow he had thus struck at the most venerated seat of the British faith would so shake the courage and con- fidence of its votaries, that he would have for the future oniy a series of easy triumphs. But his absence from the main island might have been of more disparagement to his cause than his feats at Mona had been to its advantage. Profiting by their brief freedom from his presence, the scattered triljes of the Britons had reunited them- selves, under a leader who, though a woman, was formidable both by natural character and shameful provocation. Boadicea, widow of the king of the Iceni, liaving oifended a Roman tribune by the spirit with which she upheld her own and lier subjects' rights, was treated with a shameful brutality, amply sufflcient to have maddened a far feebler spirit. She herself was scourged in the presence of the Roman soldiers and amidst their insulting jeers ; and her three daughters, scarcely arrived at the age of womanhood, were sub- jected to still more brutal outrage. Haughty and fierce of spirit even beyond the wont of her race, Boadicea vowed that the outrages to which she had been sub- jected should be amply avenged in Roman blood ; and the temporary absence of Sue- tonius from Britain was so well employed by her, that he found on his airivaf from Jlona that she was at the head of an im- mense army, which liad already reduced to utter ruin several of the Roman settle- ments. The safety of Loudon, which was already a place of considerable Importaiicc, was his first care ; but though he marched tliither with all possible rapidity, he was not able to save it ft-om the flames to whicli Boadicea had doomed it and all those of its inhabitants who were not fortunate enough to make a timely escape. Nor was the Roman discomfiture confined to London or its neighbourhood. Successful in various directions, the Britons were as unsparing as successful. But the return of Suetonius inspired his countrymen with new spirit ; and the tide of fortune soon left the native islanders. Flushed with numerous suc- cesses, and worked up to a frenzy of enthu- siasm even by the cruel use which they had made of their success, they collected all their forces for one final and mighty effort. Suetonius and Boadicea in person com- manded their respective forces. The latter harangued her troops with great spirit ; the former contented himself with making his an-angements with consummate art. The battle was obstinate and terrible ; but once again the raarvellous superiority of disci- pline over mere numbers and courage was strikingly displayed. The dense masses of the Britons were pierced and broken by the Roman phalanx ; the defeat became a rout ; the rout a massacre. Boadicea escaped from the field by the swiftness of the horses of her own chariot ; but despairing of ever again being able to make head against the detested invaders of her coun- tr)', she swallowed a potent poison, and when overtaken by the pursuing soldiers was in the agonies of death. Though Suetonius had achieved great successes in Britain, he had done so only at the expense of such extraordinary losses and cruelty on both sides, that Nero re- called him from his government, apparently under the impression that his excessive sternness and severity unfitted him for a post in which it was not merely necessary to know how to combat the resisting, but also how to conciliate the conquered. Two or three other generals were briefiy in- trusted with this difficult and delicate post, which they filled with credit to themselves and the Roman name ; but it was the good fortune of Vespasian, through the prowess and judgement of his famous general, Julius Agricola, completely to subdue Britain to the Roman dominion. A consummate soldier, Julius Agricola* was no less consummate as a civil governor ; and while he led his victorious legions against the Briton?, driving farther and farther backwards to the bleak rocks and forests of Caledonia those who did not perish in the field, or were too proud to do homage to their conqueror, he showed himself admirably fitted for the peculiar duties to w'hich he had been appointed, by the skill with which he made kindness and liberality to the submissive go hand in hand with stem severity to those who still dared to resist the Roman arm.s. Having followed the more obstinate of the Britons from post to post, and defeated their col- lected force under Galgacus in a pitched » LApiieubcrg^s History of England, i. 29b (!Bn(rI«nlf — JJrfttjS]^ ants «0man ^criotr. 73 liiiUli'; he erected a cluilii (if forta Ix'tweeu ilio Frith of Forth aiui that of Clytle, and ihus divided tlie uortlieni rctri'iit of the lio.-^Mle liritoiis from the soiitherii parts, that now formed agreat aiidsettled Roman province. In tills province the British Inhabitants were by this time but little Inclined to give any farther trouble to tlieir all-powerful conquerors, of whoso warlike jiriiwesis they had .^ecii too many jiroul': i,, i-jv.- them even a faint lioiic of sun'. r il i. Maii.-e. Mnreover,.\i,'rlrolask-illnlU n,.i i ..iMoii^ly availi'd lilTDscIf of tiicii- pr m . ,; :. .li-iK.si- tlon to instruct tliem in i lir i:(iii::iii l.nn-'ii.', as well as in I lie Roman lialiil > ,11111 ;ii1 s. Hi, efforts in tliis direction w.rc :i^ -ucrr, iiil as his tormerexcrtions to put duun rc>i>t- ance had Iktii ; and botli I^ondon and the smaller places soon bcKan to wear a busy and civilised aspect. The skill with which the Romans incorporated witii themselves even the rudest and most intractable people, when they had once by their conquering prowess fairly got footing among them, was to the full as astonishing and admlr.alilr as that provfess itself. The Romans from time to time strengthened the nortiiern f ortitlcatlons of Britain, .and thus prevented any inroad from the still untamed liordi's native to Scotland or sheltered there; and the southern Britons were so fully con- tented with their situation, and became so perfectly incorporated with their con- ((uerors, and initiated into their habits and feelings, that the only disturbances we read of in llritain during a long series of years arose, not from insurgent attempts on the part of the Britons, but from the turbulence of the Roman soldiers, or from the ambition of some Roman governor who, made pre- suming by holding high state and authority in so distant a pnivince, was induced to assume the purple ami cliiira the empire. The wondirl'ul improvement made in the conditiim of Britain by the residence of the Romans was at length brought to a period. The barbaric hosts of the north were now l)ressing so fiercely and so terribly upon Rome herself, that the old and long sacred rule of the Roman senate, never to contract the limits of the empire by abandoning a colony once planted, was obliged to be disregarded. The outlying legions were wanted for the defence of the very heart of the empire ; and the insular situation of Britain, and its very slight consequence with respect to wealth, naturally pointed it out as a colony to be earliest and with the least regret abandoned. Scarcely had the Roman legions departed when the Britons were assailed by the Picts and Scots. The chain of northern forts was strong and admirably planned ; but hardy and warlike defenders were no less necessary ; and the Britons had so long been accustomed to look for all military service solely to the veterans who had dwelled among them, that they had lost much of their ancient valour, and were no match for the fierce barbarians whose bodies were as little enervated by luxury as their minds were untamed by any approach to letters or po- liteness. An appeal to Home, where an Interest iu Britain was not yet wholly lost In the more pressing instincts of self-preservation, was answered by the immediate despatch of a lci-,'ioM, ^^hi^ll drove; away the barbarians. Tie' drp.iiiiu-e of the Romans was inime- dlalciy followed by a new incursion; aid was tigain sent from Rome, and the enemy again was driven back. But the situation of the Roman empire was now so critical, tliat even a single legloti could no longer bo spaicil from limnr (h-f,-iice ; and the Ro- 111:111- having piitthciHirthcnif.irtitlcations int. I ri|iair, exhorted the Britons to defend I li> in-rlves witli perseverance and valour; iiini hi.ik their final leave of them in the ,\iir 1 IX, after having been masters of the i,-i,iiid, and exerted their civilising infiu- eiiies upon its Inhabitants, for very nearly four centuries. It had been well for the Britons if th^y had not been in the habit of relying so im- plicitly upon the Romans for defence. Now tli.it Rome left them thus suddenly and ciimpletely to their own mastery, they were 111 precisely the worst possible stage of tiMii-.ition to fit them for a struggle with their more barbarous northern neighbours; they had lost much of the fierce and head- long valour of barbarians, without acquiring the art and discipline of civilised warriors, .and they had just so much of wealth and luxury as sufficed to tempt cupidity. Many of their boldest and most vigorous youth I had either been incorporated in the Roman soldiery, or had fallen in support of Gratian and Constautine in their ill-fated preten- sions to the Imperial throne. The northern barbarians, ever on the watch, soon became aware thai the Roman legions, before which their untrained hosts had been compelled to give way, had departed ; and they forthwith assembled in vast numbers and again as- sailed the northern fortifications. To men not so long unaccustomed as the Britons were to self-defence, the very consciousness of having to rely wholly upon their own valour and prudence had an appalling and bewildering effect. They made but a feeble and disorderly resistance, were speedily beaten from their forts, and then fled on- ward in panic, leaving the country as they passed through it to the mercy of the savage invaders. The behaviour of these was precisely what might have been ex- pected : the sword and the torch marked their footsteps, hamlet and town were razed and ruined, and the blackness of desolation was seen in the fields which had lately been covered with the wealth of harvest. Beaten at every point at which they attempted to make head against their enemies, and seeing in the terrible rage with which they were pursued and harassed, no prospect but that of utter and irredeemable ruin, the unfor- tunate Britons sent an embassy to Rome to implore aid once more. Their missive, which was entitled The Groans of the Britons, graphically paints their situation and their feelings. 'The barbarians ,' said this mis- sive, ' on the one hand, chase us into the sea, the sea on the other hand throws us back upon the barbarians ; and we have H 74 aHift CrraSurg at W^toru, &t. only the hard choice left us of perishing by tlio sword or by the waves.' J5ut Attila, that terrible Scourge of God, as ho profanely boasted himself, was now pushing Rome herself to mortal extremity; and had Britain been even rich and import- ant, not a legion could have been prudently spared at this crisis for its defence. Being poor and insignificant, it of coin-se could not for an instant claim the attention of those who were combating for the safety of the empire, and who had already begun to despair of it. 'When the Britons found that they were indeed finally abandoned by Rome, they lost all heart, deserted even their strongest points of defence, and fled to the concealment of their hills and forests, leaving their houses and property to the mercy of their enemies. These, in their profusion and in the wantonness of their destruction, soon drew upon themselves tlie pangs of actual want, and then aban- doned the country which they had thus converted into a desert, and carried aU that was movable of use or ornament to their northern homes. When the enemy had completely retired from the country the Britons ventured forth from their retreats ; and their in- dustry, exerted under the influence of the most instant and important wants, soon removed the worst features of ruin and de- vastation from their country. But as they remained as unwarlike as ever, and were divided into numerous petty communities, whose chiefs were at perpetual discord, their returning prosperity was merely an in'i itation to their barbarous neighbours to make a new inroad upon people ingenious enough to create wealth, but not hardy enough to defend it. To Rome it was now quite clearly of no use to apply ; and Vortigcm,* one of the most powerful of the petty kings of Britain, who was very influential on account of his talents and possessions, though of an exceedingly odious character, proposed to send to Ger- many and invite over a force of Saxons to serve as the hired defenders of Britain. As a general rule, calling in a foreign force is to be deprecated; but situated as the Britons were, we do not see what alter- native they had between doing so andbeing either exterminated by the barbarians or reduced to their own wretched and rude condition. It must, indeed, have been ob- vious to Vortigem, and all other men 'of ability, that there was some danger that they who were sent for to defend, might remain to oppress. But this was a distant ^ and a merely problematical danger; that ' with which they were threatened by the barbarians was certain, instant, and utterly ruinous ; and even had both dangers been on a par as to certainty, the Saxons, as less rude and barbarous, were preferable as tyrants to the Picts and Scots. The Saxons had long been famous for their prowess. Daring in the fight and j skilful in seamanship, they had made de- ! scents upon the sea-hoard of most conn- ! tries, and had never landed without giving * Lappenberp'8 History of England, i. G7. the inhabitants ample reason to tremble at their name for the time to come. Even the Romans had so often and so severely felt their mischievous powir, that they had a special officer called the C'liintn/tlieSamm Shore, whose peculiar duty it was to oppose these marauders upon their own proper element. "When the Britons determined to apply to the Saxons for aid, two brothers, by name Hengist and Horsa, were the most famous and respected warriors among that warlike people. They were reputed de- scendants of the god "Woden ; and this fabu- lous ancestry, joined to their real personal qualities and the great success which had attended them in their piratical expeditions, had given them great infiuence over the most daringandadventurousof the Saxons. Perceiving that the Romans had abandoned Britain, they were actually contemplating a descent upon that island when the British envoys waited upon them to crave their aid as mercenaries. To a request which har- haonised so well with their own views and wishes the brothers of course gave a ready assent, and speedily arrived at the Isle of Thanet with sixteen hundred followers, inured to hardship and in love with danger even for its own sake. They marched against the Picts and Scots, who speedily fled before men whose valour was as im- petuous as their own, and seconded by superior arms and military conduct. 'Wlien the Britons were thus once more delivered from the rage and cupidity of their fierce neighbours, they became anx- ious to part ■with their deliverers on such friendly terms as would insure their future aid should it be required. But the Saxon leaders had seen too much of the beauty and fertility of the country, and of the weakness and divisions of its owners, to feel any inclination to take their departure ; and Hengist and Horsa, so far from making any preparations to return home, sent thither for reinforcements, which arrived to the number of five thousand men, in seventeen war-ships. The Britons, who had been unable to resist the Picts and Scots, saw the hopelessness of attempting to use force for the expulsion of people as brave and far better organised ; and therefore, though not without serious fears that those who had been called in as mercenary sol- diers would prove a more dangerous enemy than the one they had so fiercely and ef- fectually combated, the Britons affected the most unsuspecting friendship, and yielded to every encroachment and to every insolence 'with the best grace that they could command. But it is no easy matter to conciliate men who are anxiously watch- ing for a plausible excuse for quarrel and outrage. Some disputes which arose about the allowances of provisions for which the Saxon mercenaries had stipulated, fur- nished this excuse, and, siding with the Picts and Scots, the Saxons openly de- clared war against the people whom they had been liberally subsidised to defend. Desperation and the indignation so natu- rally excited by the treacherous conduct of their quondam allies, roused the Britons to (iPnsIautJ.— 3Br(ttiit ^nts 3^amm l^evlats. 75 Boimtlilii Lf like t lie vifrcmr and Hjilrit of llu'ir wnilikr :iiici'sti.i-s. Tin ir tlrsl tlr|. \v:i-< to dl'posr \'oi-li^-ci-ii, wliu Mas licfolf Miiiioim- lar on ai'co\iMl of liis vicious lifi', ami who was HOW nniviT.-ally hated on arcoiinl of the had i-onscqucnccs of the mcaRure he had reconiMiinclrd, tliougli, as we have already observed, wlun he suffsested the subsidis- lnK(d llio Saxons, the Britons were In such a position that it would not have been easy to sUKKosl a better measure. His son Vor- tlmer, who had a good reiuitation for l)otli courage and military conduct, was raised to the supreine coniiuaud, and the Hritons fought several battles with great courage and perseveranre, though with almost in- variable ill fortune. The Saxons kept ad- vancing; and thoui'h ITorsa was slain at the battle of Aj ieslmry, Tleiiglst, who then had the sole command of I lie S.ixons, show- ed himself fidly equal to all the exigencies of his post. Steadily advancing upon the Britons, he at the same time sent over to Germany for reinforcements. These con- tinued to arrive in immense numbers; atid the unfortunate Hritons, worsted in every encounter, were sni-cessively chased to and from evi-rypart of their country. Whether with a desire to make terror do the work of the sword among the survivors, or with a real aud savage Intent to exterminate the Britons, the Saxons made it nn invariable rule to give no quarter. Wherever they conquered, man, woman, and child were put to deatli ; the towns and liandets were again razed or burned, and again the black- ened and arid fields bore testimony to the presence and the unsparing humour of a conqueror. Dreadfully reduced in mimber.?, and suf- fering every description of privation, the imfortuiiato Britons now lost all hope of combating successfully. Some submitted and accepted life on the hard condition of tilling as slaves the land they had owned as freemen ; others took refuge in the mountain fastnesses of Wales, and a still more considerable number sought refuge in the province of Armorica in .Gaul — a district still known by the name of Brit- tany. Hengist founded the kingdom of Kent, ■which at first comprised not only the county now known by that name, but also those of Essex and Middlesex, and a portion of Surrey. Being stUl occasionally disturbed by revolts of the Britons, he settled a tribe of Saxons in Northumberland. Other north- ern tribes, learning the success of Hengist and his followers, came over. The earliest of these was a tribe of Saxons, who came over in the year 477, and, after much fight- ing with some of the Britons who had par- tially recovered their spirit, founded the kingdom of Sussex. This kingdom, of which the Sajcon ^5Ella was the founder and king, included the present county of Sussex and also that of Surrey.* Though from many causes there is consi- derable difflculty in ascertaining the exact * For the artiticiat chronolo?yiii tlie traditions rclatinfj to the foundation of these kinedoms see Lappcnberg's History of England* i. 67, &c. dates of the events of the very earliest Haxon adventures In Britain, It Is pretty certain that the victorious and successful Hengist enjoyed the possession of his ill- acquired kingdom until the year 488, when he died at Canterbury, which city he had selected as his cajjital. In the year 495 a tribe of Saxons landed under the command of Cerdic and his son Kenrlc. He was warmly resisted by the Britons, who still remained attached to their country and in arms for their free- dom, and he was obliged to seek the assist- ance of the Saxons of Kent and Sussex to en.abic him to maintain his ground until re- inforcements could arrive from Germany, These at length came under the command of his sons Meyla and Bledda, and having consolidated their forces with his own hi brought the Britons to a general action in the year 508. The Britons, who musterid in numbers far greater than could have been expected after so many and such gre.at losses, were commanded by Natan Lcod. At the beginning of the day the courage and skill of this leader gave him greatly the advantagc.and had actually broken the main army of the Saxons, which was led by t'erdic in person, when Kenric, who had been more successful against another divi- sion of the Britons, hastened to his father's aid. Thefortune of warnow turned wholly against the Britons, who were completely routed, with the loss of upwards of five thousand men, among whom was the brave Natan Leod himself. The Saxons under Cerdic now established the West Saxon kingdom, or Wessex, which included the counties of Hants, Wilts, Dorset, and Berks, and the fertile and picturesque Isle of Wight. The discomfited Britons next ap- plied for aid to their fellow-countrymen of Wales, who (it is said under the prince Arthur, whose real heroism has been so strangely exaggerated by romance), hasten- ed to their aid, and inflicted a very severe defeat upon Cerdic, in the neighbourhood of Bath. But this defeat, though it pre- vented him from extending the kingdom he had founded, did not disable him from maintaining himself in it. He did so until his death in 534, when he was succeeded by his son Kenric, who reigned there until his death in 560. In other parts of the island other tribes of adventurers had been equally successful with the two of which we have more parti- cularly spoken ; but as a mere repetition of fierce "invasion on the one hand, and of resistance, often heroic but always unsuc- cessful, would neither amuse nor Instruct the reader, we at once pass to the event, which was that the whole island, save Corn- wall and Wales, was conquered by bands of Siixons, Jutes, and Angles, and divided into seven petty kingdoms, and called by the name of Angles-land, subsequently cor- rupted into England. Of each of these kingdoms we shaU give a very concise ac- count up to that period when the whole island was united under one sole sovereign, aud at which the history becomes at once clearer in its details and more interesting. 76 SCIje Crcasfurij at i^t^tora, &^c CHAl'TEU II. I The Ueplarrhi/, or the Seven Kingdoms of' the Saxorui in Britain. It lias already been seen that Hongist, the earliest Saxon Invader of Britain, founded the kint'dom of Kent, and died in estab- lished and secure possession of it. He w.is succeeded by his son, Escus. This prince, thouifh he possessed neither the military prowess nor the love of adventure which had distinguished his father, maintained his place in peace, and not without dignity, to his death, which occurred in 512, when he was succeeded by his son Octa, Octa, lilie his father, was a man of me- diocre talent, and unfortunately for him he lived in a time when his neighbourhood was anvthing but tranquil. The kingdom of the Ea.st Saxons, newly established, greatly extended its limits at his expense, and at his death. In sai, he left his kingdom less extensive than he had received it by the whole of Essex and Middlesex. To Octa succeeded his son Ymricic, who reigned in tolerable tranquillity during the long period of thirty-two years. Towards the close of his reign he associated with him iu the government his son Ethelbert, who in 566 succeeded him. While the kings of the Heptarchy were as yet in any danger of disturbance and reprisals on the part of the outraged liritons, the mere instinct of self- preservation had prevented them from hav- ing any considerable domestic feuds : but this danger at an end, the Saxon kings speedilv found cause of quarrel among themselves. Sometimes, as we have seen in the case of Kent, under Octa, one state was encroached upon by another ; at another time the spirit of jealousy, which is inse- parable from petty kings of territories having no natural and efficient boundaries, caused struggles to take place, not so much for territory as for empty supremacy ; mere titular chiefdom. When Ethelbert, himself of a very adven- turous and ambitious turn, succeeded to his kingdom of Kent, Ceaulin, king of Wessex, was the most potent prince of the Heptarchy, and used his power with no niggard or moderate hand. Ethelbert, in the endeavour to aggrandise iis own do- minions, twice gave battle to this formi- able rival, and twice suffered decisive de- feat. But the cupidity and tyrannous tem- per of Ceaulin, having Induced him to annex the kinsdom of Sussex to his own already considerable possessions, a confe- deracy of the other princes was formed against him, and the command of the allied force was unanimously voted to Ethelbert, who even in defeat had displayed equal cou- rage and ability. Ethelbert, thus strength- I ened, once more met his rival in arms, and this time with better success. Ceaulin was put to the rout with great loss, and, dying shortly after the battle, was succeeded both in his ambition and in his position among the kings of the Heptarchy by Ethelbert, who very speedily gave his late allies abun- dant reason to regret the confidence and the support they had given to him. He by turns reduced each of them to a complete dependence upon him as their chief; and having overrun the kingd'Hii of Mrn-i:i, tlie most extensive of all tlie kin^'donis ot tlic isLand, he for a time seated himself upon the tlirone, in utter contimiit of the right and the reclamations of Webba, the son of Crida, the origin.al founder of that king- dom. But whether from a sense of the in- justice of his conduct, or from fear that a continued possession of so extensive a ter- ritory, in addition to that which of right belonged to him, should ariu agairst him- self a league as compact and determined as that by the aid of which he had tri- umphed over his formidable rival Ceaulin, he subsequently resigned Mercia to Webba, but not without imposing conditions as in- sulting as they were wholly unfounded in any right savethat of the strongest. From the injustice which marked this portion of Ethelbert's conduct, it is pleasing to have to turn to an important event which shed a lustre upon his reign— the introduc- tion of Christianity to the Saxon popula- tion of England. Though the Britons had long been Chris- tians, the terms upon which they lived with the Saxons were especially unfavourable to any religious proselytism between the two people; and, indeed, the early historians do not scruple to confess that the Britons con- sidered their conquerors to be unworthy to participate in the blessings of Christian knowledge and faith. Ethelbert, fortunately, was married to a Christian lady. Bertha, daughter of Cari- bert, king of Paris, who, ere he would con- sent to his daughter's marriage with a pagan, stipulated that the princess should fully and freely enjoy her own religion. On leaving her native land for England she was attended by a bishop, and both the princess and the prelate e.xerted their utmost credit and ability to propagate the Christian faith in the country of their adoption, and as Bertha was much beloved at the court of her husband, she made so much progress towards this good end, that the pope, Gre- gory the Great, flattered himself with the hope of converting the Saxons of England altogether, a jfi-oject which even before he became pope he had conceived from having accidentally seen some Saxon slaves at Rome, and been much struck with their singular personal beauty and the intelli- gence with which they replied to his ques- tions. Encouraged by the success which had attended the efforts of Bertha, Gregory des- patched Augustin and forty other monks to Britain. They found Ethelbert, by the influence of his queen, well disposed to re- ceive them hospitably and listen to them patiently. Having provided thera with a re- sidence in the Isle of Tbanet, he gave them time to recover from the fatigues of travel, and then appointed a day for a public inter- view ; but friendly as the brave pagan was towards the co-religionists of his wife, he could not wholly divest himself of supersti- tious terrors ; and lest the stranger preach- ers should have some evil speUs of power, he appointed the meeting to take place in the open air, where, he thought, such spells «£PnjiIantf.— Ctje i^pptarri)s. 77 would be less effective than withiu the walls of a buildlug. Augustlu set before the klug the Inspi- ring and consoling truths of Christianity. Doctrines so mild, so gentle, so free from earthly taint, and from all leaven of ambi- tion and violence, struck strangely, but no less forcibly upon the sijiril of I he bold Ethelljcrt. But tliouwh much ni.ivcil, he was not wliolly con vi mod; he could :iiliiiire, but lie could not instantly embrace tenets so new and so differentfrom those to which from infancy he had been accustomed. But if he could not on the instant abandon the faith of his ancestors for the new faith that was now preached to him, he was entirely convinced that the latter faith was, at the least, incapable of injuring his people. His reply, therefore, to the addresses of Augus- tin was at once marked by tolerance and by caution ; by an imwiUingncss to abandon the faith of his youth, yet by a perfect will- iui^ness to allow his people a fair oppor- tiuiity of judging between that faith and Christianity. ' Your words and your promises,' said be, 'sound fairly; but inasmuch as they are new and unproven, I cannot entirely yield my confidence to them and abandon tlie principles so long maintained by my ancestors. Nevertheless, you may remain here in peace and safety ; and as you have travelled so far in order to benefit us, at least as you suppose, I will provide you with everything necessary for your support, and you shall have full liberty to preach your doctrines to my subjects.' The degree of toleration that was thus accorded to Augustiu was all that he re- quired ; his own faithful zeal and well cul- tivated talents assured him of success ; and so well and diligently did be avail himself of the opportunities that were afforded to him by the king's toleration and the queen's favour, that he speedily made numbers of converts Every new success inspired him witli new zeal and nerved him to new ex- ertions. His abstinence, his painful vigils, and the severe penances to which he sub- jected himself, struck these rude people witli awe and admiration, and not merely fl.xed their attention more strongly than any other means could have done upon his preachings, but also predisposed them to believe equally in the sincerity of the preacher and in the truth of his doctrine. Numbers, not only of the poorer and more ignorant, but also of the wealthier and better informed, became at first attentive auditors and then converts. They crowded to be baptised, and after a great majority of his subjects had thus been admitted Into the pale of Christianity, the king him- self became a convert and was baptised, to the great joy of Rome. But Gregory the Great was zealous In the extreme in the cause of proselytism, and by no means backward in availing himself of temporal power for the fulfil- ment of spiritual ends. And as soon as he Ic.-irned that Ethelbert and a considerable portion of his subjects had embraced Chris- tianity, he sent to the former at once to congratulate him upon his wise and happy conversion, and to urge him, by his duty as a monarch and by his sympathies and f.aith as aChrlstiau, not any longer to allow even a part of his subjects to wander on In the daikness and error of paganism. Gregory at the same time sent his in- structions to Augustln, and very particular answers to some singular questions put by the missionary as to points of morality which he thought it necessary to enforce upon the understandings and practice of his new and numerous flock; but these questions and .answers would be out of place here, ns thev only tend to illustrate either the. >.> , , ,;;,i^ l n :.■ -- of the flock, or the i\i ; : ;uid minute anxiety of M'.i ;: ■! ' i ■ i ••!'. Well plc:i-> .1 Willi 111-' 7. Ill nt Augustin, and with the success with wliich it h.ad thus far been crowned, Gregory made him archbii5hop of Canterbury, sent him a pall from Rome, and gave him plenary autho- rity over all the British churches that should be erected. But though Augustin was thus highly approved and honoured, Gregory, who was shrewdly acquainted with human nature, saw, or suspected, that the good missionary was very proud of a success which was, indeed, little less than miraculous, whether its extent or its ra- pidity be considered. At the same time, therefore, that he both praised and exalted him, he emphatically warned him against allowing himself to be seduced Into a too great elation on account of his good work ; and, as Augustiu manifested some desire to exert his authority over the spiritual concerns of Gaul, the pope cautioned him against any such interference, and ex- pressly informed him that he was to con- sider the bishops of that country wholly beyond his jurisdiction. Strange contradic- tions in human reasoning and conduct ! "We have the humble missionary dehorting a newly converted pagan from persecution ; a pope, the visible head of the whole Chris- tian world, and the presumed infaUil)le e.x- pounder of Christian doctrines, strongly and expressly exhorting him to it ; and soon we have the ambitious and despotic patron of forcible proselytism wisely and reasonably interposing his autliority and advice to prevent the recently so humble missionary from making shipwreck of his characterandusefulness, by animbecoming and imjustifiaWe indulgence in the soaring ambition so suddenly and strongly awaken- ed by the gift of a little brief authority 1 It was not only in the influence that Bertha had in the conversion of the Saxon subjects of her husband to Christianity that she was serviceable to them, thougli compared to that service all others were of comparatively small value. But even in a worldly point of view her marriage to Ethelbert was of real and very important benefit to his subjects. For her intimate connection with France led to an inter- course between that nation and England, which not mei"ely tended to increase the wealth, ingenuity, and commercial enter- prise of the latter, but also to soften and polish their as yet rude and semi-barbarous manners. The conversion of the Saxons to Eift CrwjSurg of iSt^tarp, &c. Cliristiauity had even a more extensive in- fluence in these respects, by bringing the people acquainted with the arts aud the luxuries of Italy. Stormy at its commencement, the reign of Etbelbert was subsequently peaceable and prosperous, and it left traces and seed of good, of which the English are even to this day reaping the benefit. Besides the share he had in converting his subjects to Christianity, and in encouraging them to devote themselves to commerce and the useful arts, he was the first Saxon monarch who gave his people written laws ; and these laws, making due allowance for the age and for the condition of the people for whose government they were promulged, show hlra to have been, even if regarded ouly in his civil capacity, an extremely wise man and a lover of peacefulness and jus- tice. After a long aud useful reign of fifty years, Ethelbert died in the year 616, and was succeeded by his son Eadbald. During the lifetime of his father, Eadbald had professed the Christian religion ; but when he became king he abandoned it and returned to paganism, because the latter allowed the indulgence of an incestuous passion, which he had conceived, and which Christianity denounced as horrible and sinful, and the great body of his subjects, outwardly at least, returned with him. So completely were the Christian altars aban- doned, and so openly and generally was the Christian faith derided, that Justus, bishop of Rochester, aud Mellitus,- bishop of Lon- don, abandoned their sees in despair, and departed the kingdom. Laurentius, who had succeeded Augustin in the archiepis- copal dignity of Canterbui-y, had prepared to foUow their example ; but on the eve of his departure he deternrtned to make one striking and final effort to bring back the king into the fold of the church. Seeking an interview with the king, he threw ofi: Ills upper garments, and exhibited his body covered with wounds and bruises to such an extent as denoted the most savage ill-treatment. The king, though evil passion had led him formally to abjure Christianity, was not prepared to see, un- moved, such proof of brutality and Irreve- rance having been shown to the chief teacher of his abandoned creed ; and he in- dignantly demanded who had dared thus to iU-treat a personage so eminent. Lauren- tius, in reply, assured him that his wounds had been inflicted not by living hands, but by those of St. Peter himself, who had ap- peared to him in a vision, and had thus chastised him for his intended desertion of a flock upon which his departure would in- evitably draw down eternal perdition. The result of this bold and gross Invention showed how much more powerful over gross and ignorant minds are the coarsest fables of superstition, than the sublimest truths or the most affectionate urgings of genuine religion. To the latter, Eadbald had been contemptuously deaf ; to the fonner, he on the instant sacrificed his incestuous pas- sion and the object of it. Divorcing him- self from her, he returned to the Christian pale ; and his people, obedient in good as in evil, returned with him. The reign of Eadbald, apart from this apostasy and re-conversion, was not remarkable. The power which his father had established, and the prestige of his father's remembered ability and greatness, enabled him to reign peaceably without the exertion, probably without the possession, of any veo' remark- able ability of his own. After a reign of twenty-flve years, he died in 640, leaving two sons, Erminfrid and Ercombert. Ercombert, though the younger brother, succeeded his father. He reigned for twenty-four years. This reign, too, was on the whole peaceable, though he showed great zeal in rooting out the remains of idolatry from among his people. He was sincerely and zealously attached to the church, and he it was who first of the Saxon monarchs enforced upon his subjects the observance of the fast of Lent. Ercombert died in 664, and was suc- ceeded by his son Egbert. This prince, sensible that his father had wrongfully ob- tained the throne, and fearing that factions might be found in favour of the heirs of his father's elder brother, put those two princes to death— an act of barbarous policy which would probably have caused his cha- racter to descend to us in much darker and more hateful colours, but that his zeal in enabling Dunnina, his sister, to found a monastery in the Isle of Ely, caused him to find favour in the eyes of the monkish his- torians, who were ever far too ready to allow apparent friendliness to the temporal prosperity of the church to outweigh even the most flagrant and hateful sins against the doctrines taught by the church. It is nevertheless true that, apart from his horrible and merciless treatment of his cousins, this prince displayed a character so mild and thoughtful as makes his commis- sion of that crime doubly remarkable and la- mentable. His rule was moderate, though firm, and during his short reign of only nine years he seems to have embraced every opportunity of encouraging and advancing learning. He died in 673, and was suc- ceeded by his brother Lothaire ; so that his cruel murder of his nephews did not even prove successful in securing the throne to his son. Lothaire associated with himself in the government his sou Richard, and every- thing seemed to promise the usurpers a long and prosperous reign. But Edric, the son of Egbert, unappalled by the double power and ability which thus barred him from the throne, took shelter at the court of EdilwaJch, king of Sussex. That prince heartily espoused his cause, and furnished him with troops ; and after a reign of eleven years, Lothaire was slain in battle, A.D. 684, and his son Richard escaped to Italy, where he died in comparative ob- scurity. Edric did not long enjoy the throne. His reign, which presents nothing worthy of record, was barely two years. He died in 686, and was succeeded by his son Widred. The violence and usurpation which had recently taken place in the kingdom pro- (i^iifllanlf.— Ctjc l^rjptarcljs. iluced tlie usual effect, disunion among the nobility ; anil tlnit Uisunion, as ie also usually tlio case. Invited the attack of ex- ternal I'lieiiiies. Accurdiiigly, Widn.d liad Imidlv ascended llje lliiciie Hlicn lii> kiii^'- doni was Invaded l.y Cedv\alla, khr^ (if "Wi-.ssex, and Ills brutlier Mollo. liut tluuigli the invaders did vast damage to the king- dom of Kent, their ajiiiearance had the good elFect of putting an end to domestic disunion, and Widred was able to assem- bli^ a powtrful force for the defence of his throne. In a severe battle which was fouwlit against the invaders, Wollo was slain ; and Widred so ably availed himsell of the opportunity afforded to him by this event, that his reign extended to the long terui of Ihiity-lwo ycai-s. At his death, in 718, he lell ilic kingdom to his family ; but at Ihedralli of his third successor. Aide, who died in 701, all jjretence, even, to a legit iniate order of succession to the throne was abandoned. To wish was to strive, to conquer was to have riglit ; and whether it w<'re a powerful ncdile or an illegitimate conneciiim of the royal family, every pre- tender who coidil maintain his claim by force of arms seemed to consider himself fully entitled to strike for the vacant thriuip. This anarcliical condition of the kingdom, and the weakness and disorder which were necessarily ]>roduced tiy such fn'ijuent civil war, paved the way to the utter annihilation of Kent as a separate kingdom, which annihilation was accom- jilished by Egbert, king of Wessex, about the year 820. CnAPTEU III. The Heptarchy {ccmtimtcd). The kingdom of Northumberland first made a considerable figure and exercised a great share of Influence in the Heptarchy under Adelfrid, a brave and able hut ambi- tious and unprincipled ruler. Originally king of Bernicia, lie married Acca, daughter of Alia, king of the Deiri, and at the death of that monarch dispossessed and expelled his youthful heir, and united all the country north of the Hmnber into one kingdom, the limits of which he still further extended by his victories over tlie Picts and Scots, and the P.ritims in Wales. An anecdote Is related of this prince which seems to indi- cate that he held the clergy in no very great respect. Having found or made occasion to lay siege to Chester, he was opposed by the Britons, who marclied in great force to compel him to raise the siege, and they were accompanied to the field of battle by up- wards of a thousand monks from the mo- nastery of Bangor. On being informed that this numercms body of religious men had come to the tleld of battle, not actually to flght against him, but only to exhort their countrymen to flght stoutly and to pray for their success ; the stem warrior, who could not understand the nice distinction between those who fought against him with their arms and those who prayed that those arms might be victorious, immediately detached some of his troops with orders to charge upou the monks as heartily as though they had been armed and genuine soldiers ; and BO faithfully was this ruthless order obeyed, that only tlfty of the monks are said to have escaped from the sanguinary scene with tbrir lives. In the battle which immedi- ately billowed this wanton butcherj- tlie lintoiis were coniiiletely defeated, and Adel- frid having entered Chester m triumph, and strongly garrisoned it, pursued his march ■to the monastery of Bangor; res(dved that it shcmid not soon again send out an army of monks to jiray for his defeat. The early years of the sway of Catho- licism in every country were marked both by the numbers of the monasteries and the vast expense that was lavished upon them. This was especially the case in both Kng- land and— a.s we shall hereafter have to remark -Ireland ; but In neitlier of these countries was there another monastery which cimld, for extent at least, bear com- jiarLson with that of Bangor. From gate to gate it covered a mile of ground, and it sheltered the enormous number of two thousand monks : the whole of this vast building was now sacrificed to the resent- ment of Adelfrid, who completely battered it down. But the warlike prowess of Adelfrid wa.s fated to prove insuHicieiit to preserve him in the power which he had so unrighte- ously obtained by depriving a young and hel|iless orphan of his lieritage. That or- jiliaiMiow grown to man's estate, had found shelter in the court of Kedwald, king of the East Angles. This monarch's protec- tion of the young Edwin, and that young prince's reputed .ability and courage, alarm- ed Adelfrid for the stability of his ill-ac- quired greatness ; and he had the ineffable baseness to make offers of large preseuts to induce Kedwald to deprive the young prince of life, or to deliver him, living, into the power of the usurper of his throne. For some time Kedwald returned positive and indignant refusals to all propositions of this kind; Imt the pertinacity of Adelfrid, who still increased in the magnitude of his offers, began to shake the constancy of Kedwald, when, fortunately for that monarch's cha- racter, his queen interposed to save him from the horrid baseness to which he was w ell nigh ready to consent. Strongly sympa- thising with Edwin, she felt the more inte- rest for him on account of the magnani- mous confidence in her husband's honour which the young prince displayed by tran- quilly continuing his residence in East Anglia even after he was aware how strong- ly his protector was sued and tempted to baseness by the usurper Adelfrid. Not contented with having successfully dis- suaded her husband from the treachery of yielding up the unfortunate and dispos- sessed prince, she farther endeavoured to induce him to exert himself actively on his behalf, and to march against the usurper while he was still in hope of having an affirmative answer to his disgraceful and insulting proposals. The king of the Bast Angles consented to do this, and suddenly marched a powerful army into Northumber- land. In the sanguinary and decisive bat- tle which ensued, Adelfrid was slain, but 80 on tlieir master, and took an opportunity to w,aru them of their danger. Tlieir timely escape, however, did not in the le.ast affect the treacherous am- bition of Offa, who seized upon East Anglia. As he grew old, Offa became tortured with remorse for his crimes, and, with the superstition common to his age, sought to •atone for them by ostentatious and prodigal liberality to the church. He gave the tithe of all his property to the church; lavished donations upon the cathedral of Hereford ; and made a pilgrimage to Home, where his wealth .and conseiiucnre readily procured him the absolution of the pope, whose es- pecial favour he gained by undertaking to support an Englisli college at Rome. In order to fulfil thispromise, he, on hisreturn to England, imposed a yearly tax of thirty pence upon each house in his kingdom ; the like t,ax for the same purpose being subse- quently levied upon the whole of England, was eventu.ally claimed by Rome as a tri- bute, under the name of Peter's pence, in despite of the notoriety of the fact that it was originally a free gift, and levied only upon one kingdom. Under the impression or the pretence that he had been favoured with an especial command rcve.aled to him ina vision, this man, once so cruel and now so superstitious, founded and endowed a magnificent abbey at St. Albans, in Hert- fordshire, to the honour of the relics of St. Alban the Martyr, which he asserted that he had found at that place. Ill as Offa had acquired his great weight in the Heptarchy, his reputation for cou- rage and wisdom was so great, that he attracted the notice and was honoured both with the political alliance and persona! friendship of Charlemagne. After a long reign of very nearly forty years, he died In the year 794. Offa was succeeded by his son, Egfrith, who, however, survived only the short space of five mouths. He was succeeded by Ke- nulph, who invaded the kingdom of Kent, barbarously mutilated the king, whom he took prisoner and dethroned, and crowned his own brother Cuthred in his stead. Kc- 82 HLfft CCrfaiura at l^tstorg, &^c. nulpli, as If by a retributive justice, was killfd in a revult cf the E:ist Aiigliaiis, of wliose liingdoiii lie lioUl pussession through the treachery and tyrannous cruelty of Olfa. After the death of Kcnulph the throne was usually earned and vacated liy murder ; and in this anarchical condition the king- dom remained until the time of Egbert. And here we may remark, en passant, that neither in its political nor civil organisa- tion did the Aiiglo-Saxon state of society exhibit higher examples of social order than are usually to be found in communities entering on the early stages of civilisation. Essex and Sussex were the smallest and the most insigniflcant of all the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, and deserve no particular mention, even in the most voluminous and detailed history until the union of the whole Heptarchy, to which event we shall now hasten. We have already spoken of the stout re- sistance which the Britons made to Cerdic and his son Kenric, the founders of the kingdom of Wessex. A succession of am- bitious and warlike kings greatly extended the territory and increased the importance of this kingdom, which was extremely powerful, though in much internal dis- order, when its throne was ascended by Egbert, in the year 800. This monarch came into possession of it under some pe- culiar advantages. A great portion of his life had been spent at the court of Cliarle- magne, and he had thus acquired greater polish and knowledge than usually fell to the lot of the Saxon kings. Moreover, war and the merit attached to unmarried life had so completely extinguished the original royal families, that Egbert was at this time the sole male royal descendant of the ori- ginal conquerors of Britain, who claimed to be the descendants of Woden, the chief deity of their idolatrous ancestors. Immediately on ascending the throne, Egbert invaded the Britons in Cornwall, and inflicted some severe defeats upon them. But before he could completely sub- due their country, he was called away from that enterprise by the necessity of defend- ing his own country, which had been in- vaded in his absence by Bernulf, king of Mercia. Mercia and Wessex were at this time the only two kingdoms of the Heptarchy which had any considerable power ; and a struggle between Egbert and Bernulf was, as each felt and confessed it to be, a struggle for the sole dominion of the whole island. Ap- parently, at the outset, Mercia was the most advantageously circumstanced for carrying on this struggle : for that kingdom had placed its tributary princes in the kingdoms of Kent and Essex, and had reduced East Anglia to an almost equal state of subjection. Egbert, on learning the attempt that Bernulf was making upon his kingdom, hastened by forced marches to arrest his progress, and speedily came to close quar- ters with him at Elandum in Wilts. A sanguinary and obstinate battle ensued. Both armies fought with spirit, and both were very numerous ; but the fortune of the day was with Egbert, who completely routed the Mercians. Nor was he, after the battle, remiss in following up the great blow he had thus struck at the only Eu- glish power that could for an instant pre- tend to rivalry with him. He detached a force into Kent under his son Ethelwolf, who easily and speedily expelled Baldred, the tributary king, who was supported there by Mercia; Egbert himself at the same time entering Mercia on the Oxfordshire side. Essex was conquered almost with- out an effort ; and the East Anglians, with- out waiting for the approach of Egbert, rose against the power of Bcniulf, who lost his life in the attempt to reduce them again to the servitude which bis t.vranny had ren- dered intolerable. Ludican, the successor of Bernulf, met with the same fate after two years of constant struggle and ft-equent defeat ; and Egbert now found no difficulty in penetrating to the very heart of the Mercian territory, and subduing to his will a people whose spirit was thoroughly broken by a long and constant succession of calamities. In order to reconcile them to their subjection to him, he skilfully flattered them with an empty show of in- dependence, by allowing their native king Wiglaf to hold that title as his tributary, though with the firmest determination that the title should not carry with it an iota of real and independent power. He was now, by the disturbed and turbu- lent condition of Korthumberland, invited to turn his arms against that kingdom. But the Northumbrians, deeply impressed with his high reputation for valour and success, and probably sincerely desirous of being under the strong stern government of one who had both the power and the will to put an end to the anarchy and con- fusion to which they were a prey, no sooner heard of his near approach than they ren- dered all attack on his part wholly unne- cessary, by sending deputies to meet him with an ofEer of their submission, and with power to take, vicariously, oaths of allegi- ance to him. Sincerely weU pleased at being thus met even more than half way in his wishes, Egbert not only gave their en- voys a very gracious reception, but also voluntarily allowed them the power to elect a tributary king of their own choice. To East Auglia he also granted this flattering but hollow and valueless privilege ; and thus secured to himself the goodwill of the people whom he had subjected, and the interested fidelity of titular kings, whose royalty, such as it was, depended upon his breath for its existence, and who, being on the spot, and having only a comparatively limited charge, could detect and for their own sakes would apprise him of the slight- est symptoms of rebellion. The whole of the Heptarchy was now in reality subjected to Egbert, whoin, dating from the year 827, we consider as the first king of England. CHAPTER V. The Anglo-Saxons after the Dissolution of the Ucjitarchv. — Beigns of Egbert, Ethelwolf, and Etlii'lbald. The vigorous character of Egbert was well calculated to make the Saxons proud of CfnalanG.— Ct)c Iftcptarcby. 83 liiiviiiBlilni fora monarch ; and the fact of thi^ rujiil families of the Heptarchy Ijeint;, fmni various causes, extinct, still farther aidetl 111 nmklnt' his rule welcome, and the uiiiuiiof the various st-ites into one afrree- alile. As the Saxons <.!' Hit- various king- doms had originally cnnie not from dltler- ent couutries so much as from different pro- vinccs ; and as, during their long residence in so circumscribed a territory as England, necessary and frequent intercourse had, in despite of their being under different kings, made them to a very great extent one people, their habits and pursuits were si- milar; and in their language, that most important bond of union to mankind, they scarcely ditt'ered more considerably than the iidiabitants of Cornwall and those of Cumberland do at the present day. l^rltaln, which both by condition and si- tuation seemed so nearly allied to Gaul, and so Iltted by nature to be subject to it, was now, in a great measure, to owe to that situation the attacks of an enemy that scarcely knew fear, and did not know either moderation or mercy. We mean the Danes. To tliese bold and sanguinary mar rauders, wlio were as skilful on the ocean as they were unsparing on the land, the very name of Christianity was absolutely liati'ful. We have seeu how easily in Eng- land the wild and unlettered Saxons were led into that faith ; but, in Germany, tlie emperor Cliarlemagne, instead of trying to lead the pagans out of error Into truth, de- parted so far from botli the dictates of sound policy and the true spirit of Chris- tianity, as to endeavour to make converts to the religion of peace and goodwill at the point of the sword ; and, when resisted, as it was quite natural that he should be l)y a people unacquainted w-ith the faith he wished to teach them, aud strongly preju- diced against it by the style in which his teachings were conducted, his persecution —generous and liumane tliough he natu- rally was — assumed a character which would not be accurately characterised by any eiiithet less severe than the word brutal. Decimated wlieu goaded into re- volt, deprived of their property by fire, and of their dearest relatives by the sword, many thousands of the pagan Saxons of Germany sought refuge iu Jutland and Denmark; and naturally, though incor- rectly, judging of the Christian faith by the conduct of the Christian champion, Cliarlemagne, they made the former hate- ful by their mere relations of the cruelties of the latter. When the feeble and divided posterity of Charlemagne made the French provinces a fair mark for bold invaders, the mingled races of Jutes, Danes, and Saxons, known in France under the general name of Northmen or Normans, made descents upon the maritime countries of France, and tlience pushed their devastating enter- prises far inland. England, as we have said, from its mere proximity to France, was viewed by these nortliem marauders as being iu some sort the same country ; and its inh.abitauts, as being equally Christian witli the French, were equally hated, aud equally considered fit objects of spoliation and violence. As early as tho reign of Brithric In the kingdom of Wessex, in 787, a body of these bold and uuscrupuliuis pirates landed in that kingdom. That their intention was hostile tlinc (-.■iii be little doubt ; for, when merely qiirsiionod about it, they slew tho magisti:ilc, and hastily made off. In the year 7'.il tliiy l;inded In Northumberland, and comphtely sacked a monastery; but a storm jireventing them from making their escape, they were sur- rounded by the Northumbrian people, aud completely cut to pieces. During the tirst Ave years of Egbert's supreme reign in England, neither domes- tic disturbances nor the invasion of foreign foes occurred to obstruct his measures for promoting the prosperity of his people, liut about the end of that time, aud while he was still profoundly engaged in promot- ing the peaceable pursuits which were so necessary to the wealth and comfort of tho kingdom, a horde of Danes made a sudden descent upon the Isle of Sheppey, plundered the inhabitants to a great amoimt, aud made their debarkation in safety, and al- most without any opposition. Warned by this event of his liability to future visits of the same unwolcome nature, Egbert held himself aud a comiutciu force in readiness to receive them ; and win ii in the following year (A.d. 832), they landed from thirty-five ships upon the coast of Dorset, they were suddenly encountered by Egbert, near Charmouth, in that county. An obstinate and severe contest ensued, in which tho Danes lost a great number of their force, aud were, at length, totally defeated ; but, as they were skilfully posted, and had taken care to preserve a line of communication with the sea, the survivors contrived to escape to their ships. Two years elapsed from the battle of Charmouth before the pirates again made their appearance; and, as in that battle they had suffered very severely, the English began to hope that they would not agaiu return to molest them. But the Danes, knowing the ancient and abiding enmity that existed between the Saxons and the British remnant in Cornwall, entered into an alliance with the latter, and, landiug in their country, had an easy and open road to Devonshire and the other fertile pro- vinces of the West. But here again the activity and unslumbering watchfulness of Egbert enabled him to limit their ravages merely to their first furious onset. He came up with them at Heugesdown, and again they were defeated with a great diminution of their numbers. This was the last service of brilliant im- portance that Egbert performed for Eng- land ; and just as there was every appear- ence that his valour and sagacity would be more than ever necessary to the safety of the country, he died, in the year 838, and was succeeded by his son Ethelwolf. The very first act of Ethelwolf s reign was the division of the country which the wisdom and ability of his father, aided by singular good fortune, had so happily united. Threatened as the kingdom so fre- quently was from without, its best and 84 Wi)t Crragtirtj of ?^t^torji, SfC. cliiefost lioiie obviously rested upon Its union, and the consequent facility of con- centrating: Its wlinle Upliting force upon any threatened point. Hut, unable to see this, or too iiulolent to Ijear the whole go- vernment of the couutry, Ethelwolf made over the whole of Kent, Sussex, and Essex to his son Athelstan. It was fortunate that, under such a prince, who at the very outset of his reigu could commit an error so capital, England had, in most of her principal places, magistrates or governors of bravery and ability. Thus Wolfliere, governor of Hampshire, put to the rout a strong party of the ma- rauders who had landed at Southampton, from no fewer than three-and-thirty sail ; and, in the same year, Athelhelm, governor of Dorsetshire, encountered and defeated another powerful body of them who had landed at Portsmouth ; though, in this case, unfortunately, the gallant governor died of his wounds. Aware of the certain disadvantages to which they would be ex- posed in tighting pitched battles in an enemy's country, the Danes, in their sub- sequent landing, took all possible care to avoid the necessity of doing so. Their plan was to swoop suddenly do^vn upon a retired part of the coast, pkinder the cotuitry as far inland as they could prudently advance, and reembart with their booty before any cxjnsiderable force could be got together fo oppose them. In this manner they plun- dered East Anglla and Kent, and their de- predations were the more distressing, be- cause they, by no means, limited them- selves to booty in the usual sense of that t erm , but carried off men, women, and even children into slavery. The frequency and the desultoriness of these attacks at length kept the whole covmtrj' coastward in a perpetual state of anxiety and alarm ; the inhabitants of each place fearing to hasten to assist the inhabi- tants of another place, lest some other party of the pirates, in the meantime, shcrald ravage and burn their own homes. There was another peculiarity in this kind of warfare, which, to one order of men at least, made it more terrible than even civil war itself : making their descents not merely in the love of gain, but also in a burning and intense hatred of Christianity, the Danes made no distinction between laymen and clerks, unless, indeed, that they I often showed themselves, if possible, more Inexorably cruel to the latter. Having their cupidity excited by large and frequent booty, and being, moreover, flushed with their successes on the coast of France, the Danes or Xorthmen at length made their appearance almost annually in England. In each succeeding year they appeared in greaternumbers, and conducted themselves with greater audacity ; and they now visited the English shores in such swarms that it was apparent they contem- plated nothing less than the actual con- quest and settlement of the whole country. Dividing themselves into distinct bodies, they directed their attacks upon different Voints ; but the Saxons were naturally war- like ; thegoverne.rsof most of the important places seaward wore, as we have already remarked, well flttcd for their important trust ; and the very frequency of the attacks of the Danes had induced a vigilance and organisation among the people themselves which rendered it far less easy than it had formerly been to surprise them. At Wigau- burgh the Danes were defeated with very groat loss by Ceorle, governor of Devon- shire ; while another body of the ma- rauders was attacked and defeated by Athelstan, in person, ofl Sandwich. In this case, in addition to a considerable loss in men, the Danes had nine of their vessels sunk, and only saved the rest by a pre- cipitate flight. But in this year the Danes sliowed a sign of audacious coufldence in their strength and resources which pro- mised but ill for the future repose of Eng- land ; for though they had been severely chastised in more than one quarter, and liad sustained the loss of some of their bravest men, the main body of them, instead of retreating wholly from the island, as they usually had done towards the close of the autumn, fortified themselves in the Isle of Sheppey and made it their winter quar- ters. The promise of early recommence- ment of hostilities that was thus tacitly held out was fully and promptly f ulfllled. Early in the spring of 852, the Danes who had wintered in the Isle of Thanet were reinforced by the arrival of a fresh horde, in 350 vessels ; and the whole marched from the Isle of Thanet inland, burning and destroying whatever was not suffi- ciently portable for plunder. Brichtric, who— so far had Ethelbert allowed the dis- junction of the kingdom to proceed— was now governor and titular king of Mercia, made a vain attempt to resist them, and was utterly routed. Canterbury and London were sacked and burned, and the disorderly bands oif the victorious enemy spread into the very heart of Sun-ey. Ethel- wolf, though an indolent king, was by no means destitute of a certain princely pride and daring. Enraged beyond measure at tlie audacity of the marauders, and deeply grieved at the suffleriugs which they in- flicted upon his subjects, he assembled the West Saxons, whom, accompanied by his second son Ethelbald as his lieutenant, he led against the most considerable body of the Danes. He encountered them at Okely, and, although they fought with their usu;il reckless and pertinacious courage, the Saxons discomfited and put them to flight. This victory gave the counti-y at least a temporary respite ; for the Danes had suf- fered so much by it, that they were glad to postpone further operations, and seek shelter and rest within their entrenchment in the Isle of Thanet. Thither they were followed by Huda and Ealher, the governors of Surrey and Kent, who bravely attacked them. At the commencement of the action the advantage was very considerably on the side of the Saxons ; but the fortune of war suddenly changed, the Danes recovered their lost grotmd, and the Saxons were totally routed, both their gallant leaders remaining dead upon the fleld of battle : A.D. 853. encflaxxis.—^mXa'^aran ^im^- P5 Desperate as tlie situation of the coun- try was, ami tlireatciiing as was tlie a-pect of the Danes, who, after defeatins liuila anil Eallier, removed from the Ifleof Thanet to that of Sheppi^y, which llicy diH'med more ecinvenient for winter fniar- ter-, Ktlielwiilf, who was extremely super- stitious and bljjoted, and who, in spite of the (u-easioiial Hashes of chivalric spirit which he exhibited, was far more lit for a nioiik than f.ir eillier a monarch or a military i-Mniiiaudcr, this year resolved ui.on niakiiii,' a pIlKriiuafre to Rome. Ho went, and carried with him his fourth son, tlio snbseuuently 'Great' Alfred, but who was then a child of only six years old. At Home Ethelwolf remained for a year, passim,' his time in prayer ; earning the naileries and the favour of the monks by lil>eralitiC3 to the church, on which he lavished sums which were but too really and terribly needed by his own im- poverished and suffering country. As a specimen of his profusion in this pious siiuandering, he gave to the papal see, in perpetuity, the yearly sum of three hundred mancuses — each mancus weighing, says Hume, about the same as the English half- (.,.,, „.n_to be applied in three equal por- tions : 1st, the providing and maintaining lamps for St. Peter's ; 2nd, for the same to St I'aul's, and Srdhj, for the use of the pope himself. At the end of the year's residence whicli hehad promised himself, he returned home ; happily for his subjects, -whom his prolonged stay at Rome could not fail to imiioverish ; his foolish facility in giving being not a whit more remarkable than the unscrupulous alacrity of the papal court in taking. On reaching England, he was far more astonished than gratiSed at the state of afEairs there. Athelstan, his eldest son, to whom, as we have before mentioned, he had given Kent, Susse.^, and Essex, had been some time dead ; and Ethelbald, the second son, having in consequence as- sumed the regency of the kingdom during his father's absence, had allowed filial af- fection and the loyalty due to a sovereign to be conquered by ambition. Many of the warlike nobility held Ethelwolf in con- tempt, and did not scruple to affirm that he was far more Ut for cowl and cloister than for the warrior's weapon and the monarch's throne. The young and aiu- I bitious prince lent too facile an ear to these 1 disloyal deriders, and suflered himself to be persuaded to join and head a party to dethrone his father and set himself up in i his place. But Ethelwolf, though despised by the ruder and fiercer nobles, was not without numerous and sincere friends ; i his party, long as he had been absent, was i as strong and as zealous as that of the I prince ; both parties were of impetuous ■ temper and well inclined to decide the con- troversy by blows ; and the country seemed to be upon the very brink of a civil war, of which the Danes would no doubt have availed themselves to subject the island altogether. But this extremity was pre- vented by Ethelwolf himself, who volunta- rily proffered to remove all occasion of strife by sharing his kingdom with Ethel- bald. The division was accordingly made ; the king contenting himsehC with tho eastern moiety of the kingdom, which, be- sides other poinlsof inferiority, was far the most exposed. It were scarcely reasonable to expect that he who had n shameful desertion of Alfred's brother on (ifitalanlf.— ^ngl0»^aron WnsS. 87 II foriiRT oecasIdTi, tliat Alfred •wmild now (eel Ini-liiieil to assist liiiii, iiuulo a trciity \Mtli the Danes, liy wliicli, in consldeialion ofa considerable sum of money, tliey agreed to eea>e from ravaging lil.s dominions, and remove tliemsoivi's into Lineoinsliire. Tliey so far fulfliled tlielr part of tlic agreement as to niarrli into [ilncolnslilro ; liut tliey liad on former necaslons laid tliat county waste, and llndini,' lliat it liad not yet so far recovered as to promise them any liooty worth having, they suddenly marched l)ack again upon Mercia; then establisliing them- selves at Kopton, In Derhysliirc, they com- menced their usual career of slaughter and rapine in that neighhourliood, Tlils new instance of Danlsli lu'rlUly tilled Burthrcd with despair; and seeing no probaljiiity of his being able citlier to chase the Danes away, or to render them poaccably disposed either by force or bribe, he abandoned his territory altogetlier, proceeded to Home, and thi-ro took up his aliode in a monas- tery, wliere be conlintied until his death. liurlhred,who%vasbrotlier-in-law to Alfred, was the last titular and tributary king of JIerci:u Tiio utter abandonment of tlic English cause l)y Burlhred left no other leading defender but Alfred: A.d. 875. Urave and able as that in-inco was, his situation was now truly terrible. New swarms of Danes came over, under the leadersliip of Guth- rum, Osltal, and Amuud. One band of the host thus formed took up their quar- ters in Northumberland, and another in Cambridge, wlience the latter marched for W.-ireiiam in Dorsetshire, and thus settled themselves In the very midst of Alfred's territory. This circumstance, from Alfred's superior knowledge of the country and his facility of obtaining supplies, gave him ad- vantages of which he so ably and promptly availed himself, that the Danes were glad to engage themselves to depart. They had now, however, become so notorious for breaking their treaties, that Alfred, in con- cluding this one with them, resorted to an expedient very characteristic of that rude and superstitious age. He made them con- firm their pledges by oatlis upon holy re- liques. He thought it unlikely that even Danes would venture to depart from an agreement made with a ceremony which was then thought so tremendous : and even should they be impious enough to do so, he felt quite certain that their a^vful pequry would not fail to draw down utter destruc- tion upon them. But the Danes, who hated Christianity, and held its forms in utter contempt, no sooner found themselves freed from the disadvantageous position in which Alfred had placed them, than they fell with- out warning upon his astounded army, put it completely to flight, and then hastened to take possession of Exeter. Undismayed by even this new proof of the faithless and indomitable nature of the enemy, Alfred exerted himself so diligently, that he got together new forces, and fought no fewer than eight considerable battles within twelve months. This vigour was more ef- fectual against such a foe than any treaty however solemn ; and they once more found thr'inselves reduced to an extremity which e pelled liiem to sue for peace. As Alfred's sole wisli was to free his subjects from tiie int(]Ieral)!e evils incident to hav- ing their country perpetually made the theatre ot war, he cheerfully agreed to grant them peace and permission to settle on the coast, on the sole condition that they should live peaceably with his sub- jects, and not allow .any new invaders to rav.age the countrj'. While they were dis- tressed, and in danger, the Danes were well pleased with these terms, but just as the treaty was concluded a reinforcement arrived to them from abroad. All thought of iicace and treaty was at once laid aside by them ; they liasteiied in all directions to join tlie new comers, seized upon the Important town of Chippenham, and re- commenced their old system of plundering, murdering, and destroying, in every direc- tion, foriuilcs around their quarters. The Saxons, not even excepting the heroicAlf red liimself, now gave t.p all hope of success In the struggle in which they had so lonj; and so bravely been engaged. Many fled to Wales and the continent, while the gene- r.alily su))mltted to tlie invaders, contented to s.ave life and land at the expense of na- tional honour and individual freedom, was in vain th.at Alfred reminded the chief men among the Saxons of the sanguin.ary successes they had achieved in the time past, and endeavoured to persuade them that new successes would attend new ef- forts. Men's spirits were now so utterly subdued that the Danes were looked upon as irresistible; and the heroic and unfor- tunate Alfred, unable to raise sufficient force to warrant him in again endeavour- ing to save his couutiT from the yoke of tlie foreign foeman, was fain to seek safety in concealment, and to console himself in his temporary inactivity, with the hope that the oppressions of the Danes would be so unmeasured and intolerable, that even the most peace-loving and indolent of the Saxons would, at no distant day, be goaded into revolt. Unattended even by a servant, Alfred, disguised in the coarse habit of a peasant, wandered from one obscure hiding- place to another. One of these was the lowly hut of a neatherd, who had, in happier days, been in his service. The man faith- fully obeyed the charge given to him by the king not to reveal his rank even to the good woman of the house. She, unsus- picious of the quality of her guest, was at no pains to conceal her opinion that so able a man, in full health, and with an ex- tremely vigorous appetite, might ilnd some better employment, had though the times were, than moping about and muttering to himself. On one occasion she still more strongly gave her opinion of the idleness of her guest. He was seated before the ample wood fire, putting his bow and arrows in order as she put some wheaten cakes down to bake ; and being called away by some other domestic business, she desired Alfred to mind the cakes, giving him especial charge to turn them frequently, lest they should be burued. The king promised due obedience, hut scarcely had his imperious 88 Hiift OLvtHSurs af f^t^torg, &^c. hostess Irft him when he fell iulu a pro- found rCTeric, ou liis ovm forlorn and aban- doned condition, and the manifold miseries of his countiy. It is probable that, during that long sad day-dream, more than one thought suggested itself to Alfred, by which England, at a future day, was to be greatly benefited. But, assuredly, his thoughts were, for that time at least, of little benefit to his hostess, who, on her return to the cottage, fotmd the king deep buried in his gloomy thoughts, and her calces done, in- deed, but done — to a cinder. The good woman's anger now knew no bounds ; oaf, lubber, and lazy loon, were the mildest names which she bestowed upon him, as, with mingled anger and vexation, she con- trasted his indolence in the matter of baking, with his alacrity in eating what he found ready baked for his use.* So successful had Alfred been in de- stroying all traces of his wanderings, that Hubba and other leading Danes, who bad at first made search after him with all the activity and eagerness of extreme hate, not immingled with fear, at length became persuaded that he had either quilted the country altogether, or perished miserably ere he could find means and opportunity to do so. Finding that his enemies had dis- continued their search after him, Alfred now began to conceive hopes of being able once more to call some friends to his side. For this purpose he betook himself to Somersetshire, to a spot with which he had accidentally become acquainted, which singularly united obscurity and capability of being defended. A morass formed by the overflowing of the rivers Parret and Thame had nearly in its centre about a couple of acres of firm land. The morass itself was not safely practicable by anyone not well acquainted with the concealed paths that led through it to the little terra ;!rma, and it was further secured from hostile visitors by numerous other morasses no less diffi- cult and dangerous, while by a dense growth of forest trees It was on every side envi- roned and sheltered. Here he built him- self a rude hut, and, ha\ing f oiuid means to communicate with some of the most faith- ful of his personal friends, it was not long before he was placed at the head of a small but valiant band. Sallying from this re- treat under the cover of the night, and al- ways, when practicable, returning again before the morning, he harassed and spoiled the Danes to a very great e.xtent ; and his attacks were so sudden and so desultory, that his enemies were unable either effect- ually to guard against them, or to conjee ture from what quarter they proceeded. Even by this warfare, petty and desultory as it was, Alfred was doing good service to his country. For with the spoil which he thus obtained he was enabled to subsist and from time to time to increase his fol- lowers ; and while his attacks, which could not be wholly unknown to the Saxon popu- lation, gave them vague hopes that armed * On the source and value of this anecdote, see Lappenberg*s History of England under the Anglo- Saxon Kings, ToL ii. p. 53, note 2. friends were not wholly loft to them, they moderated the cruelty and imiieriou-ne-s of the Danes by constantly reminding them of the possibility of a successful and geuer il revolt of the Saxons. For upwards of a year Alfred remaint 1 in this secure retreat, in which time he had gathered together a considerable number of followers ; and now at length his perse- verance had its reward in an opportunity of once more meeting his foes in the formal array of battle. Hubba, the most warlike of all the Danish chiefs, led a large army of his countiTmen to besiege the castle of Kinwith, in Devon- shire. The earl of that county, a brave and resolute man, deeming death in the battle field far preferable to starving within his fortified walls, or life preserved by sub- mission to the hated Danes, collected the whole of his gai'rison, and, hartng inspired them with his own brave determination, made a sudden saUy upon the Danish camp in the darkness of night, killed Hubba, and routed the Danish force vrith immense slaughter. He at the same time captured the enchanted liea/en, the woven raven which adorned the chief standard of the Danes, and the loss of which their super- stitious feelings made more terrible to them than that of their chief and their comrades who had perished. The Meafen had been woven into Hubba's standard by his three sisters, who accompanied their work with certain magical formula; which the Danes firmly believed to have given the represent- ed bird the power of predicting the good or eril success of any enterprise by the motion of its wings. And, considering the great power of superstition over rude and untutored minds, it is very probable that the loss of this highly valued standard, co- inciding with not only the defeat, but also the death, of its hitherto victorious owner, struck such a general fear and doubt into the minds of the Danes, as very- greatly tended to dispose them, shortly after, to make peace with Alfred. As soon as Alfred heard of the spirit and success with which the earl of Devonshire had defended himself and routed the most dreaded division of the Danish army, he re- solved to quit his obscure retreat and once more endeavour to arouse the Saxon popu- lation to arms. It is said that, leaving his followers to conceal themselves in the retreat of which we have spoken, he dis- guised himself as a harper, a very popular character in that day, and one which his great skill as a musician enabled him suc- cessfully to maintain.t In this character he was able to travel alike among Danes and Saxons without suspicious recognition; and his music at once obtained him ad- mission to every rank and the opportunity of conversing with eveiy description of people. Emboldened by finding himself unsuspected by even his own subjects, he now formed the bold project of penetrating the very camp of the enemy to note their t Lingard, History of England, voL i. ch. it. p. 172, considers the story improbable. It seems to Ije admitted by Lappenberg and Thierr}'. (SnuUnts.—'^nQla'^ayan WnQ&. 89 forces and dlsposltlnn. To soldiers in- camp amusement Is ever ^veleolll(^ and tlie sliilful nmsic of Alfred not merely gratified the common soldii-r.t and iiifrrinr olllcers, l)Ut even procnred him, from thrir recMmmen- datiiiiis, admittance to the ti'iit of Gntlirum, tlu'ir iiriiii-e and leader. Jlere he remained Ion'-' enoUK'h to discover every weak i)Olnt of llie enemy, whether as to the position of tlu'ir cam|i, which was situated at Eddliic- lon, or as to the carelessness of discipline into which tlii-ir niter contempt of the 'Saxon swine' caused them tofall. llaviiiK made all necessary observations, he took the earliest opportunity to depart, and sent messages to all the principal Saxons upon whom he could deiiend, requiring them to meet him on a specified day, at Brixton, in the forest of .Selwood. The Saxons, who had long mourned their king as dead, and were groaning henealh thelirutal tyrannies of thellanes, joyfully obeyed his summcms, and at the appointed time hcfound himself surrounded by a force so numerous and so enllmsiastic as to give him just hopes of being able toattack the Danes with success. Knowing the importance of not allowing this enthtisiasm to cool, he wasted no time in useless delay or vain form, but led them at once to Guthnim's camp, of which his recent visit had made him acquainted with the most practicable points. Sunk in apa- thetic indolence, and thinking of nothing less than of seeing a numerous band of linglish assembled to attack them, the Danes were so panic-struck and surprised that they fought with none of their accus- tomed vigour or obstinacy, and the battle was speedily converted into a mere rout. Great numbers of the Danes perished in this affair; and though the rest, under the orders of Guthrum, fortified themselves in a camp and made preparations for con- tinuing the struggle, they were so closely hemmed in by Alfred, that absolute hunger proved too strong for their resolution, and once more they offered to treat for peace with the man whose mercy they had so often abused, and whose valour and ability they had long since believed, and exultingly believed, to be buried in an obscure and premature grave. The enduring and persevering inclination to clemency which he constantly displayed is by no means one of the least remarkable and admirable traits in the character of Alfred. Though lie now had the very lives of his fell and malignant foes in his power, and though they were so conscious of their powerlessness that they offered to submit on any terms however humiliating, he gave them their lives without attempting to im- pose even moderately severe terms. Peace for his subjects was still the great lode-star of all his wishes and of all his polity ; and often as he had been deceived by the Danes, his real magnanimity led him to helieve that even their faithlessness could not al- ways be proof against mercy and indul- gence ; he, therefore, not only gave them their lives, but also full permission to settle in his country, upon the easy condi- tion of living in peace with his other sub- jects, and holding themselves bound to aid in the defence of the country in whose safety they would have a stake, should any new invasion render theirasslstanco neces- sary. Delighled to obtain terms so much more fav'uir.ible than tbuy had any right to hope for, Guthrum and his followers readily agreed to this; but Alfred's mercy had no taint of weakness. He, with his usual sa- gacity, perceived th.at one great cause of the persevering hostility of the Danes to his subjects -was their difference of religion. Reflecting that such a cause would be per- petually liable to cause the Danes to break their peaceable Intentions, he demanded that Guthrum and his people should give evidence of their sincerity by embracing the Christian religion. This, also, was consented to by the Danes, who were all baptised, Alfred himself becoming the god- father of Guthrum, to whom he gave the honourable Christian name of Athelstan. The success of this measure fully justi- fled the sagacity which had suggested it to Alfred. The Danes settled in Stam- ford, Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, and Derby, were called the Five Burghers, and they lived as peaceably as any other of Alfred's subjects, and gave him as little trouble. For some years after this signal triumph of Alfred's prowess and policy, England was unmolested by foreign in- vaders, excepting on one occasion when a numerous fleet of Danes sailed up tlie Thames, beyond I..ondon. They committed considerable havoc on their route, but on arrivingatFaniham they found the conn try so well jirepared by Alfred to resist them, that they made a iianlc retreat to their ships, and departed with such spoil as in their haste they were able to secure. Freed from the warlike bustle in which so large a portion of his life had been spent, Alfred now devoted himself to the task of regulating the civil affairs of the kingdom. He committed the former kingdom of Mercia to the government of his brother- in-law, Ethelbert, with the rank and title of earl or duke ; and in order to render the incorporation of the Danes with the Saxons the more complete, he put them upon the same legal footing in every respect. In each division of the kingdom he established a militia force, and made arrangements for its concentration upon any given point in the event of any new invasion. He also repaired the various towns that had suf- fered in tlie long disorders of the kingdom, and erected fortresses in commanding situations, to serve both as depots for armed men, and as rallying points for the militia and levy, eii masse, of the country around, in case of need. But though the admirable militaiT dispositions thus made by Alfred, made it certain that any invaders would find themselves hotly opposed in whatever quarter they miglit make their attack, Alfred was more anxious to have the in- ternal peace of the country wholly un- broken, than to be obliged, however trium- phantly and surely, to chastise the dis- turbers of it : he therefore now turned his attention to the organisatiim of such a naval force as should be suflicieut to keep the piratical enemy from landing upon his Tc 90 Clje CrcaSure of ^istavyi, &c. sliores. He greatly increased the uumber aud strength of his shipping, and practised a large portion of his people in naval tactics, to which, considering their insular situation, the kings and peoj>le of England had hitherto been strangely indifferent. The good effects of this wise precaution were soon manifest : squadrons of his armed vessels lay at so many and at such well- chosen positions, that the Danes, though they often came in great numbers, were either wholly prevented from landing, or intercepted when retiring from before the land forces, and deprived of their ill-gotten booty, and their ships either captured or sunk. In this manner Alfred at length got together a hundred and twenty vessels, a very powerful fleet for that time ; and as his own subjects were at the outset but indifferent sailors, he supplied that defect Viy sparingly distributing among them I skilful foreign seamen, from whom they soon learned all that was known of naval tactics in that rude age. For soBie years Alfred reaped the reward of his admirable policy and untiring in- dustry in the unbroken tranquillity of the country, which gave his subjects the oppor- tunity of advancing in all the useful arts, and of gradually repairing those evils which tlic long-continued internal wars had done to both their trade and their agriculture. But a new trial was still in store for both Alfred and his subjects. A.D. 893. Hastings, a Danish chieftain, ■who some years before had made a short predatory incursion into England, but who recently had confined his ravages to France, finding that he had reduced that country, so far as lie could gain access to it, to a con- dition which rendered it unproductive of farther booty, suddenly appeared this year off the coast of Kent, with an immense horde of his pirates, in upwards of three hundred vessels. Disembarking the main body in the Rother, and leaving it to guard the fort of Apuldore, which he surprised and seized, he, with a detachment of nearly a hundred vessels, sailed up the Thames as far as Milton, where he established his lieadquarters, whence he sent out his ma- rauding parties in every direction. As soon as tidings of this new incursion reached Alfred, that gallant monarch concentrated an immense force from the armed militia in various parts of the cotmtry, and marched against tlie enemy. Sitting down before Milton and Apuldore, Alfred, l^y his supe- riority of force, completely hemmed in the main bodies of the pirates, and their de- tached parties were encountered as they returned with their booty, and cut off to a man. Finding that, so far from having any prospect of enriching themselves, they were, in fact, compelled to live in England upon the plunder that they had seized in France, the pirate garrison of Apuldore made a sudden sally with the design of crossing the Thames into Essex. But the vigilant eye of Alfred was too constantly upon them to allow cither secrecy or sud- denness to give them success in this at- tempt. He arrested their march at Farn- liara, utterly routed them, and spoiled them of all their property, including number? i valuable horses. The slaughter was vn. great, and those Danes who were so fur' natc as to survive the battle, made U:- way in panic haste to their piratical ves.-^rl and sailed over to Essex, where t)r , entrenched themselves at Mersey; Ha-^- jngs, with the division under his comniai, , at the same time, going also Into the couni ,. of Essex, and entrenching himself at Cuu- vey. Guthrum, who from the time of his bap- tism had been constantly faithful to the engagement into which he had entered with Alfred, was now dead, as also was Guthred, another Dane of rank, who was very faithful to Alfred, by whom he had been made governor of Northumberland. Ko longer restrained by the example and authority of these two eminent chiefs, the East Anglian and Northumbrian Danes now suddenly exhibited their old propen- sity to strife and rapine, got together a fleet of nearly two hundred and fifty vessels, and made their appearance in hostile array before Exeter. Leaving a sufficient force under competent command to make head against the Danes in Essex, Alfred imme- diately hastened to Exeter, and fell so sud denly upon them, that, with little loss on his side, they were driven, in complete dis- order and with immense loss, to their fleet. They made attempts to land in other parts of the country ; but the preparations which Alfred had everywhere made of militia and armed freemen, whom the recent alarms had kept more than usually on the alert, caused the pirates to be so warmly received, that they at length sailed from the island altogether, in utter despair of making any further booty. The Danes in Essex, united under the command of the formidable Hastings, did immense mischief in that county. But the force left behind by Alfred, increased by a large number of Londoners, marched to Banflete, forced the pirates' entrenchments, put the greater number of the garrison to the sword, and captured the wife and chil- dren of the pirate chief. This capture was the most importantly useful result of this well-conducted enterprise. Alfred had now ui his hands hostages through whom he could command any terms ; but so generous was his nature, that he restored the women and chUdren to Hastings, upon the sole and easy condition that he should quit the king- dom immediately, under a solemn engage- ment to return to it no more as a foeman. But though the worst hand of the Danes was thus forced to depart the kingdom, the plague of the Danes was by no means wholly at an end. There were veiy nume- rous scattered hordes of them, who neither owned the leadership of Hastings, nor were willing to quit the country empty-handed. These tmited into one large force, and forti- fied themselves at Shobury, at the mouth of the Thames, whence they marched into Gloucestershire, and being reinforced by a numerous body of Welshmen, fortified themselves very strongly at Boddington. Having now only this body to deal with, Alfred gathered together the whole forc§ englautr.— ^ngl0*5^aron mtufliS. 91 lio coiiUl coiuiiiaml, ami, ilrauinL' lines of circumvallation anmiid the I'lriir^, drlilte- ratPly sat duwn with the .Irlenniieitinn of starving them into Biibiuissiini. Tlicy lielil out for soino time, slayluf? their horses to subsist unon ; but, at li'iiKth, even this miserable resdurcefailliif; them, they ballieil out ill iiltri- ile-i"i-:ilioii. Tile luost consi- dei-aiile |..rrii.iu of iheiufell in the tleree content lli:il ensued; but a still torniiduble body escaped, and, ravagiub' the country as they passed along, were pursued by Alfred to Watford, in Hertfordshire. Here another severe action ensued, and the IJancs were aKain defeated with great loss. The remnant found shelter on board the neet of Sigefort, a Northumbrian Dane, who possessed sliips of a construction very superior to those of the generality of his countrymen. The king pursued this Heel to the coast of Ifainpshire, slew a great number of the pirates, captured twenty of their ships, and— even his enduring mercy being now wearied— hanged, at Winches- ter, the whole of his prisoners. The cflicient and organised resistance which had of late been experienced by the pirates, and the plain ludicjitions given by the Winchester executions that the king was determined to show no more lenity to pirates, but to consign them to an ignomi- nious death, as common disturbi'rs and enemies of the whole human raee, fairly struck terror even in the liiilierlo incor- rigible Danes. Those of Kortliumberland and East Auglia, against whom Alfred now mai-ched, deprecated his resentment by the humblest submission, and the nu)st solemn assurances of their future peaceable beh:v- viour ; and their example was imitated by the Welsh. The same admirable arrangements which had enabled him to free his country from i the Danes, were now of infinite service to Alfred in restoring and enforcing order among his own subjects. It was almost I inevitable that great disorders should pre- j vail among the people who so frequently, and during so many years, had been sub- 1 jected to all the horrors and tumults iuci- ; dent to a country which is so unhappy as to be the theatre of war. In addition to mak- ing very extensive and wise provisions for ] the true and efticient administration of iustice in the superior courts, and frainiin-' a code for their guidance, so excellent tliat Its/substance and spirit subsist to this day in the common law of England, he most effectually provided for the repression of petty offences, as well as more serious ones, whether against persons or property ; and the manner in which he did so, like the manner in which he, as it were, made his whole kingdom a series of garrisons to re- strain the Danes, shows that, with adrair- j able genius, he perceived the immense im- portance of an attention to details, and the ease witli which many graduated efforts ! and arrangements will produce a result, \ which would be but in vain aimed at by any one effort however vast. Of what may be called the national police I established by Alfred, we take the following ' brief and condensed, but extremely lucid I and graphic, account from Hume : — ' The Kngllsli,' says Hume, ' reduced to the most extreme Indigence by the ctmtinued depre- datbuis of the Danes, had shaken off all bands of govennnent ; and those who had been plundered to-d:iy, betook themselves on the nion-ow to the like disorderly life, and, from despair, joined the robbers In pillaging and ruining their fellow-citizens. These were the evils for which it was ne- cessary that the vigilance and activity of Alfred should provide a remedy. 'That he miglit render the execution of justice strict and regular, he divided all England into counties ; these counties he subdivided into hundreds, and the hun- dreds again into tithlngs. Every house- holder was .answerable for the behaviour ..( liis family and his slaves, and even of Ills guests if they lived above three days in bis liouse. Ten neighbouring householders were formed Into one corporation, who, un- der the name of a tithing, decennary, or fribourg, were answerable for each other's conduct, and over whom one man, called a tithing-man, beadbourg, or bondholder, was iippointed to jireside. Every man was imuished as an outlaw who did not register iiimself In some tithing ; and no man could change his habitation without awarrant or ccrtillcate from the bondholder of the tith- ing to wliich he formerly belonged. ' When any i.ersoti, in any tithing or de- cennary, was t-'uiUy of a crime, the bond- bolder "was sumunined to answer for him ; and if he were not willing to be surety for his appearance and his clearing himself, the prisoner was committed to prison, and there detained till his trial. If he (led, either before or after finding surety, the bondholder and decennai? became liable to enquiry, and were exposed to the penal- tics of the law. Thirty-one days were al- lowed them for producing the criminal ; and if the time elapsed without their be- ing able to find him, the bondliolder.with two otlier members of the decennary, was obliged to appear, and, together with three chief members of the three neighbourmg decennaries, making twelve in all, to swear that his decennary was fi-ee from all pri- vity, both of the crime committed and of the escape of the criminal. If the bond- holder could not find such a number to answer fof their innocence, the decennary was compelled, by fine, to make satisfaction to the king, according to the degree of the offence. By this institution every man was obliged, by his own interest, to keep a watchful eye over the conduct of hisneigh- hour; and "was in a manner surety for the i behaviour of those who were placed under the division to which he belonged; whence Ihcse decennaries received the name of frank pledges. ' Such a regular distribution of the people, with such a strict confinement in their habitation, may not be necessary in times when men are more inured to obedience and justice ; and it might perhaps be re- garded as destructive of liberty and eom- fuerce in a polished state ; but it was well calculated to reduce that fierce and licen- tious people under the salutary restraint 92 ^t Creniury of W^taxs, ^t. of law mid povemment. But Alfred took rare to temper these ripours by other iii- Btltutioiis inore favourable to the freedom of tlie citizens ; and iiothiiiK could he more poi'iilar or lilieral than Ills plan for thead- iiinils(rati.)ii of justice. Tlie bondholder branch of duty, he resolved to obviate the inconvenience by correcting the Imiorance or tlie corruption of the inferior magis- trates, from which it arose. He took care to liave all his nobility Instructed in letters <:n,„M„„w 1 .„.,„fr„-. • 1. ,-, I jnd the law: he chose the earls and sheriffs pmiii..iUMito^'otlier his whole decennary to from among the men most celebrated for assist him in deciding any le-sscr difference probity and knowledge ; he punished se- which occurred among the members of this .... - • »' -'"'" =^'=- small community. In affairs of greater moment, in appeals from the decennary or In coiitrovirsies arising between members of difTcrciit decennaries, the cause was brouglit before the hundred, which con- sisted of ten decennaries, or a hundred fa- milies of freemen, and which was regularly assembled once in four weeks for the de- ciding of causes. Their method of decision deserves to be noted, as being the origin of juries ; an Institution admirable in itself, and the best calculated for the preserv-ation of liberty and the administration of justice that ever was devised by the wit of man. Twelve freeholders were chosen, who hav- ing sworn, together with the hundreder, or presiding magistrate of that division, to administer impartial justice, proceeded to the examination of that cause which was submitted to their jurisdiction. And beside these monthly meetings of the hundred, puni: __ verely all malversation in office, and he re- moved all the earlswhom hefound uneaual to their trust, allowing only some of the more elderly to serve by deputy, till their death should make room for more worthy successors.' CHAPTER VIII. Uistori/ of the Ang!o-SaTons, from the Death of Alfred the Great to the Reign of Edward the Martyr. Alfred the Great, who died in the year 901, had three sons and three daughters by his wife Ethelswitha, the daughter of an earl of Mercia. His eldest son, Edmund, died before him, and he was succeeded by his second son, Edward, who, being the first English king of that name, was sur- named the Elder. Though Edward was scarcely, if at all, », - ., - — --- — , inferior to his truly great father in noint there was an annual meeting appointed for of military talents, hil reign w^s i poS the ?H"5-'.f;';r?i"itP'^"„'°°.°* "^5 P°".'^«' °f ^l^°le. ^ turbulent one, and one that by no the district, for the enquiry into crimes, the correction of abuses in magistrates, and the obliging of every person to show the decennary in which he was registered. The people, in imitation of their German an- cestors, assembled there In arras, whence a hundred was sometimes called a wapen- take, and its courts served both for the support of military discipline, and for the administration of civil justice. ' The next superior court to that of the Jiundred was the countv court, which met twice a year, after Michaelmas and Easter, and consisted of the freeholders of the county, who possessed an equal vote in the decision of causes. The bishop presided in this court, together with the alderman; and the proper object of the court was the receiving of appeals from the hundreds and decennaries, and the deciding of such con- troversies as arose between m en of different hundreds. Formerly the alderman possess- means favoured the growth in the kingdom of that civilised pro-sperity, of which Alfred had laid the foundations both deep and broad. But the fault was not with Edward : he had to contend against many very great difficulties, and he contended against them with both courage and prudence. He had scarcely paid the last sad offices to his royal father when his title to the throne was disputed by his cousin Ethelwold, son of Ethelbert, the elder brother of Alfred. Had the hereditary and lineal descent of the crown been as yet strictly settled with a regard to primogeniture, the calm of Ethelwold would have, undoubtedly, been a just one. But such was far from being the case ; many circumstances, the charac- ter, or even the infancy of the actual heir, in the order of primogeniture, very often inducing the magnates and people, as in the case of Alfred himself, to pass over him who in this point of view was the rightful but'Alfre^d'fen"■=J7^">.•'I^'^,^'^'^"^^?»'°^"'•; heir, rnfevo^rorone better quallflTd, and of^oowprtrenfwL^fv. Vv"/ S^^Jiiction giving higher promise of safety and pros- of powers rendered the nobility dangerously perity to the nation. each co°nn?v 'whn^n'^!f'l/''° ^ l'^"'^ '" Ethelwold had a considerable number of thoritv wUh th» S '^^'^ a coordinate au- partisans, by whose aid hecoUected a large functinr, w^.^ffi. ''^"'''' '" the judicial and imposingforce, and fortified himself It ^^^^T^^^l??^%i^^°'''^^°7"'''^^ ''™ *° I ^iml'ome,in Dorsetshire, with the avowed IJfrt tnie^,f^»fl.»*?*'"°'!f 'V.'"^™'^'^^' ' determination of referring his claim to the age fo™7d no ront^nrf'^i- '''''''? 'V^^^ [ ''^"^'°° "^ ^^'•- ^ut the military condi- n§blf?^vpnne <=°°teniPtible part of the tion in which Alfred had left the kingdom •TbPrP^»v^^\„r,„„i ■ At ,. .- now rendered his son good service. At the from all thJsfcorf?!''^,?^^ intimation that he received of his com en • i^f ,?thp' ° '?" l^'"S.hiraself in cousin's opposition, he, on the instant, col- pon K-Vn^ i-p!t » ^'"'?P'^^''?^"''^ °* 'he lectedanumerousand weU-appointedarmv, their-chf/f ^nflHPni?- ' l^- ^f^"^' P'="^'^<1 """^ marched towards him, determined n6t overwhelmed w1fhinn'^''^'''^r"'''^^ '" ''^^'^ ^^^ '°te™=" P^aie of the whole prjllnd Kp^,^-r.^/f''l-*^£!"''?"P'''^^°* ■^'■"S'i"™ disturbed by a series of petty natrho?'th^=P^^?,ip'''^?'''''f"'i'""V"^'5^^- struggles, but to hazard life and crowi time mns? hi pnt'"',' ^'"' finding that his upon the decision of a single great battle. time must be entirely engrossed by this , As the king approached, however, the in- ©iigXanlr.— anfl:lo»^ar0n l&tttQ^. 93 foi-matloii of Ills ovorwlicliiiiiiK I'urco that was i''orthumberland. Though Edred, as his conduct thus early in his reiijn demonstrated, was both a brave and an active prince, he was extremely su- perstitious. He delighted to be surrounded by priests ; and to his especial favourite Dunstan,* abbot of Canterbury, he not only committed some of the most influential and important offices of the state, but also, to a very ridiculous extent, surrendered the puidauce of his own common sense. Of a haughty temper, and extremely ambitious, this mouk, in order to have tools for the accomplishment of his wide-spreading pur- poses of self-aggrandisement, introduced into England a great number of a new order of monks, the Benedictines, who, laying a stress upon celibacy beyond that laid by any former order, aud professing generally a more rigid way of life and a greater purity of heart, were, in truth, the mere tools of the vast and still increasing ambition of Rome, to which the practice of celibacy among the priesthood was especi- ally favourable, as they who thus debarred themselves from conjugal and paternal ties could not fail to he more willing and pas- sive servants. To Introduce this new and entirely sul> servient order of monks into England was greatly desired by the pope ; and the am- oitious policy of Dunstan, and his almost despotic power over the superstitious mind of Edred, aiforded full opportunity for doing so. The influence of Dunstan, indeed, was very great over the people as well as over the king ; though he commenced life under circumstances which would have ruined a man of less determined ambicion, and of less pliant and accomplished hypo- crisy than his. Of noble birth, and enjoying the great advantage of having been edu- cated by his uncle, the accomplished Ad- helm, archbishop of Canterbury, he entered the church early in life, but with so little of real vocation to the sacred profession, that his way of life procured him a most unenviable character ; and king Edmund, in whose reign this famous saint of the Romish calendar commenced his career, looked coldly upon a priest whose de- baucheiT was represented to be such as would disgrace even a layman. Enraged at finding his ambition thus suddenly checked, he was not the less determined that the check should be but temporaiT- Affecting to be suddenly stricken with penitence and shame, he secluded himself, at first from the court, and then altogether from society. He had a cell made for his residence, of such scant dimensions, that he could nei- ther stand fully upright In it, nor stretch himself out at full length when sleeping ; and in this miserable dwelling, if dwelling It can be called, he perpetually turned from prayer to manual labour, and from manual * Compare the life of Dunstan as giren by Lappenberg, History of England uuder the Anglo- f'UKoa Kinga, toI. IL p. 120, &c. labour to prayer, during all his hours, ex- cept the very few which he allowed himself for sleep. The austerity of his life imposed upon the imaginations of the superstitious people, who considered austerity the surest of all jiroofs of sanctity ; and when, whe- ther in mere and unmiugled hyijocrisy, or in part hypocrisy and part self-delusion, he pretended to be frequently visited and tempted by Satan in person, his tale found greedy listeners and ready believers. From one degree of absurdity to another is but an easy step for vulgar credulity. It being once atlmitted that Satan, provoked or grieved by the immaculate life aud fervent piety of the recluse, visited him to tempt him into sin, wh.at difficulty could there be in supposing that the recluse resisted a loug time only with prayer, but at length resorted to physical force, and held the fiend by the nose with a red-hot pair of tongs, until he shrieked aloud with agony, and promised to abstain for the future from his unholy importunity? Such was the tale which Dunstan, the recluse, had the auda- city to offer to public belief, and such was the tale to which the public listened with attentive ears, and gave 'faith and full credence.' When a long seclusion, and carefully circulated rumours of his piety and self-mortiflcation, had done away with the ill impressions which had been excited by wilder, but, in reality, far less censur- able conduct of his earlier days, Dunstan once more made his appearance at court; and, as Edred was deeply tinged with su- perstitious feeling, the priest was kindly received at first, and very soon favoured and promoted above all the other courtiers. Raised to the direction of the treasiuy, and lieing, moreover, the king's private adviser in all important concerns, Dunstan hafl immense power and influence, which he used to advance the great object of Rome In substituting the devoted monks for the comparatively independent secular clergy, who, having family ties and affections, were not suiBciently prostrate or blindly obedient to suit the papal purpose. During nine years— the length of Edred's reign— the monks made immense progress in Eng- land. They enlisted the feelings of the people on their side by their severe and passionatedec!amationsag.aiust the worldly lives, and especially against the marriage, of the secular clergy, whose wives they per- sisted in calling by the opprobrious name of concubines. And though the secular clergj', who possessed both talent and wealth, exerted themselves manfully, not only to defend their own lives, but also to expose the hypocrisy, pretended purity, and actual and even shameful worldliness and sensuality of their opponents, the power and credit of Dunstan weighed fearfully against them. The death of Edred, which occurred in 955, revived their hopes, and threatened to stop the progress of the monks, and to lower the credit of their patron, Dunstan. The children of Edred were still in their infancy when he died ; and his nephew, Edmimd's son Edwy, who had himself been passed over in favour of Edred on the same dSitglaulf.— ^nslo'^aron itCjig^. 97 account, now succeeded to tlic throne. He was at the time of his accession only ahout peventeen years of age, and lilessed with a fine person and a powerful and w<'ll-trnined mind, lint all his natural and acquired good ii\iiilities were rendered of l>ut little use to liim by the enmity of tin- monlis, with whom he had a serious quarrel at the very commencement of his career. Opposed to the marriage of clerks alto- gether, the monks were scarcely less hostile to theuKirriaure of laics williiu the drgrecs of alllnity furbidilen liy the can(Ui law. Edwy, passiduntcly in love witl] tlie prin- cess Elgiva, to whom he was related within those degrees, was too inexperienced to perceive all the ^vils that might result to hoth himself and the fair Elgivafrom his provoking the tierce, Iiii'oted, andnowvery powerful lunnks ; and in dcsi.ite of all the advice .and warnings of the ecclesiastics he espoused her. The coarse and violent cen- sure which the monks took occasion to pass upon the marriage aggravated the dis- like which, on account of their gloom and severity, Kdwy had always felt to the monks, whom he took every occasion to dis- appoint in their endeavours to possess them- selves of the convents belonging to the seciil.ar clergy. If the king had disliked the monks, the monks now hated the king with a most hitter hatred. By his marriage he had of- fended thair rigid bigotry, by his favour to the seculars he disappointed their avarice ; and, favoured and advised as they were by a personage at once so able, crafty, audacious, and powerful as Dunstan, it needed not the spirit of prophecy to foresee that Edwj- would Infallibly be their victim. As if to show that they were determined to carry their hatred to the utmost extent, they chose the very day of the coronation for their first manifestation of it. The Saxons, like their ancestors the ancient Germans, drank deep, and were wont to he but riotous and uncouth companions in their cups. Both from his youth and liis natural temper, Edwy was averse to this rude and riotous wassail ; and as his nobles, at his coronation feast, began to pass the bounds of temperance, he took an oppor- tunity to quit the banqueting apartment and go to that of his young and lovely queen. He was instantly followed thither hy the haughty and insolent Dunstan, and hy Odo, archbishop of Canterbury. These presumptuous churchmen upbraided him In 'the most severe terms for his alleged uxoriousness, applied the coarsest epithets to the alarmed queen, and finished by thrusting him back into the scene of riot and drunkenness from which he had so lately escaped. Edwy had not sufficient power and in- fluence in his court to take immediate and direct revenge for this most flagrant and disgraceful insult ; but he felt it too deeply to pass it over without visiting it, at the least, with indirect punishment. Aware that Dunstan was by no means tlie imma- culate and unworldly person he was sup- posed to he by the ignorant multitude, and strongly suspecting that he had taken ad- vantage of the ;veakness and superstition of Edred greatly to enrich himself, he de- sired him to give an.accoimt of his receipts and expenditure during that prince's reign. Dnn^trin, with characteristic Insolence, re- fusiil to give any account of monies which I he afllnned to have been expended by order I of Edred, and which he, on that account, pretended that Edwy had no right to en- I quire nlinut. I EnrfiLrol at the insolence of Dunstan, | nnil yt ;i it iiliugether displeased at being , fnrni^hiil ^\lili so good a pretext for rid- ding- till' cdiiri of the powerful and hauglity ecclesiastic, Edwy urged this refusal against ] him as a certain proof of conscious malver- sation, and ordered him to leave the king- dom. Powerful as Dunstan was, he was not yet in a condition to dispute such an order ; he could brutally insult the king, but he did not as yet dare openly to rebel I against the kingly authority. He went - abroad, therefore, hut he left behind, in ' the person of Odo, the archbishop of Can- ! tcrbury, one who was both qualified and willing to supply his place in brutality to the king personalis', and in traitorous intrigue against his royal authority. Odo and the monks seized upon the banish- ment of Dunstan, richly as his conduct had merited a severer punishment, as a theme upon which to sound anew the praises of that accomplished hypocrite, and to blacken the character of the king and queen in the eyes of the people. In so bigoted and ignorant an age such tactics as these were sure to succeed ; and having made the king hateful, as well as the queen, whom they represented as the wicked and artful se- ducer of her husband into evil conduct, both as a man and sovereign, Odo and his base tools at length ventured from whis- pered calumny and falsehood to violence the most undisguised, and to cruelty the most inhuman and detestable. Considering their opposition to Edwy's marriage with his cousin to be the chief cau.se of his opposition to their interests, Ode and the monkish pirty hated the queen even more bitterly than they did the king himself. Proceeding to the palace with a strong guard, Odo seized upon the lovely queen, branded her face with hot irons to efface those charms which had wrought so much evil to the ambitlovis churchmen, and carried her Into Ireland, where it was intended that she should be kept under strict surveillance for the remainder of her life. Ed^vy was naturally both brave and passionate, hut he was powerless in the hands of the wily monks as a lion in the toils of the Iiunters ; he tenderly loved his unhappy queen, but he could neither save her from this horrible outrage, nor even punish her brutal and unmanly persecutors. Nay m.ore, when Odo, after having tor- tured and exiled the queen, demanded that she should be formally divorced, so much more powerful was the crozler than the sceptre, that the uidiappy Edwy was obliged to yield. Brutally asElgivahad been treated, the brut.'dity of her enemies failed of Us main object: though she suffered much fi'om her K 98 Ci)C CTrraiSuvi) of l^fstary, $e(. wounds.tlioy, Blneularlyenouccli.Uft srircc- lya scar loiliniiiiisli lii'rrniTlioauly. Aw;iro iif the tyranny wliirli hail lirin iiractiscil to cause Eihvy (d divorce )ii-r, and cnnsldcrins licrself still liis law-ful wife in tlie sight of Heaven, she eluded the visilauce of those who were appointed to watch her niovo- ments, and made her escape back to Kns- land. Hut before she could reach her hus- band her escape was made known to Odo, and she was intercepted on the road by a party of his emissaries, by whom she was hamstringed ; and all surgical aid being de- nied her, she in a few days died, in the most fearful agonies, in the city of Gloucester. So completely monk-ridden were the igno- rant people, that even this most detests able and unnatural cruelty, which ought to have caused one universal outcry against the miscreants who instigated it, was looked upon by the people merely as a punishment due to the sinful opposition of king and queen to the canon law and the holy monks. Having gone as far as we have related, in treason, it cannot be wondered at that the monks now proceeded to arm for the de- thronement of their unhappy king. They set up as his competitor his younger bro- ther Edgar, who was at this time a youth of only thirteen or fourteen years of age ; and they soon took possession, in his name, of East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumber- land. Edwy was now confined to the south- ern counties of his kingdom ; and to add to his danger and distress, his haughty and im- placable enemy, Dunstan, openly returned to England to lend his powerful influence to Edgar in this luinatural civil strife. He was made bisliop, first of Worcester and then of London, and, Odo dying, Dunstan was then promoted to the archbishopric of Canterbury ; Brithelm, who had been first appointed to succeed Odo, being forcibly expelled for that purpose. The consummate craft of Dunstan fear- fully aggravated the evils of Edwy's con- dition, for the wily churchman caused him to be excommunicated, a sentence which in that rude and ignorant age would have sufficed to crush a far more powerful mo- narch than lie had been, even before rebel- lion had divided his kingdom. If we may judge from the unrelenting purpose shown by Dunstan, the utter de- thronement of Edwy, and his exile, or vio- lent death, would have been the sole termi- nation of this disgraceful affair ; but from the sin of his murder his enemies were spared by his untimely and rather sudden death, hastened no doubt by the miseries of which he had constantly heen the victim. Edgar, for whom for their own purposes Dunstan and the monks had usurped a part of the kingdom, now became the undis- puted sovereign of the whole. Though very youngat this time, beingonlyin the seven- teenth year of his age, this prince showed a profound, wily, and politic genius. De- sirous of consolidating and improving his kingdom, and of procuring it a high degree of credit among foreign nations, he seems to have clearly perceived that he could only preserve the internal peace which was iudispensahie to his purposes, by keeping the favour of Dunstan and the monks, of wliose power he had seen so many proofs in the case of his unfortunate brother. Well knowing their eager desire to wrest all the religious property of the kingdom from the hands of the secular clergy, he be- stowed church preferment on the partisans (if llir monks exclusively. To Oswald and I'll licl wold, two of the creatures of Dunstan, he gave the valuable sees of Worcester and Winchester; and he consulted them, and especially Dunstan, not merely upon those affairs which more especially concerned the church, but even in many cases upon those of a purely civil nature. By this general subserviency to the ecclesiastics, Edgar se- cured so strong an interest with them, that even when he occasionally differed from them, and preferred the dictates of his own strong sense to their bigoted or interested advice, he was allowed to proceed without any angry feeling, or at least, without any open opposition. There was a most startling difference in the treatment bestowed by the monks upon this prince, and that which they inflicted upon his unhappy brother. As the monks founded their claim to the veneration of mankind upon their superior piety, and more especially upon their in- violable observance of their vow of chastity, so they had made the alleged lewdness of Edwy the excuse for their abominable treat- ment of that prince and queen Elgiva. Yet if lewdness had indeed been so hateful to them as to impel them to barbarity towards a lovely and defenceless woman, and to re- bellion and treason towards their sovereign, Edgar was tenfold more deserving their violent opposition than even their own statements showed Edwy to be. The lewd- ness of Edgar, after his pliant and politic subserviencyto the monks, was the most dis- tinguishing trait in his character. On one occasion.he .actually broke into a convent, seized a nun, by name Editha, and forcibly violated her. For this twofold outrage against chastity and religion, the hypocrite Dunstan, who had mutilated Elgiva, and persecuted Edwy even to his untimely grave, merely for a marriage which was at worst irregular, and which a bull from the pope would have made regular, sentenced Edgar to the absurdly puerile punishment of abstaining for seven years from wearing his crown I As if to make the favour shown to him by the monks quite'conclusive, as to the hypocrisy of the pretences upon which they had persecuted his unfortunate brother, this prince not merely indulged in disgrace- ful amours, he actually obtained his second wife by murder I The story is sufBciently striking in itself to deserve to be related at some length, but it demands to be so re- lated as a final and conclusive proof of the utter hypocrisy of the mimks in their gross and barbarous treatment of king Edwy. Elfrida, daughter and heiress of the earl of Devonshire, was so extremely beautiful that it was no wonder the renown of her charms reached the court, and the inflam- mable Edgar resolved that if report had not exaggerated the beauty of the lady, he would make her his wife ; the wealth, pow- englait^.— ^ngla--^arait minz^. 99 cr, ana ohiiracter of her father forhidtling even the unscrupulous and lewd Edgar from lioping to olitahi her ouauy lesshonourahlo terms. Being anxious not to commit him- self hy any advances to the parents of the lady until quite sure that she was really as surpassingly lieautitul as she was reported to be, he sent his favourite and confidant, the earl Athelwood, to visit the earl of Devon as if hy mere accident, that he might judge whether the charms of Elf rida really were such as would adorn the throne. Earl Atlielwold tullllled his mission very faith- fully, as regarded the visit, hut, unhappily for himself, h(^ found the charms of Elfrida so much to his own taste, tliat he forgot the curiosity of his master, and sued the lady on his own account. Well knowing that with the Icing for an avowed rival his suit would have little chance of success, his first care was to lull the eager anxiety of Edgar hy assuring him that in this case, as in most cases, rumour with her thousand tongues had been guilty of the grossest ex- aggeration, and that the wealth and rank of Elfrida had caused her to be renowned for charms so moderate, that in a woman of lower degree they would never he noticed, lint though tlie charms of Elfrida, earl Athelwold added, by no means lltted her for the throne, her fortune wonlil neikeher a very acceptable countess for hiiriself, should the consent and recommendation of his gracious master accompany his suit to her parent.?. Fully believing that his favourite really was airitiial authority, hacked and cheered as that union w;is by the people, whom the hypocritical pretences of the monks had made sincerely favourable to those alTected purists; and the monkish discipline shortly prevailed in nearly every religious house in the land. Much as all honounible minds must blame the means by which Edgar preserved the favour of the formidable monks, all candid minds must award him the praise of having made good use of the power he thus preserved in his own hands. He not only kept up a strong and well-disciplined land force, in constant readiness to defend any part of his kingdom that might be at- tacked, but he also built and kept up an excellent navy, the vigilance and strength of which greatly diminished the chance of any such attack being made. Awed by his navy, the Danes abroad dared not attempt j I to invade his country ; and constantly watched and kept in check by his arrcy, the domestic Danes perceived that turbu- lence on their part could produce no effect but their own speedy and utter ruin. His neighbours of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the adjacent isles, held him in equal re- spect ; and, upon the whole, no king of Kngland ever showed himself either more desirous or more able to preserve to his kingdom the invaluable beueflts of peace at home and respect abroad. In proof of the extent to which he carried his ascend- ' ancy over the neighbouring and tributary princes, it is afflrmed that being at Chester, and desiring to visit the abbey of St. John the Baptist, in the neighbourhood of that city, he actually caused his barge to be rowed thither by eight of those princes, in- cluding Kenneth'the Third, king of Scot- land. The useful arts received a great impulse during this reign by the encouragement given by Edgar to ingenious and iu- , dustrious foreigners to settle among his ! subjects. Another benefit which lie con- ferred upon his kingdom was that of the extirpation of wolves, which at the com- mencement of his reign were very nume- I rous and mischievous. By giving rewards to those who put these animals to death, they were at lengtli hunted into the moun- tainous and woody country of "Wnles, and in order that even there so mischievous a race might find no peace, he commuted the money tribute due from Wales to England to a tribute of three hundred wolves' heads to be sent to liim annually, which policy speedily caused their utter destruction. After a busy reign of sixteen years this prince, still in the flower of his age, being only thirty-three, died, and was succeeded by his son Edward In the year 975. CH.^PTER IX. Prom the Accession of Edward the Martyr to the Death of Canute. Edwaed II., subsequently surnamed the Martyr, though his death had nothing to do with religion, was the son of ICdg.ir by that iirince's first wife, and was only flf tot u years of age when he succeeded to the throne. His youth encouraged his stei>- raother, Elfrida, to endeavour to set aside his succession in favour of her own son and his half-brother, Ethelred, who at this time was only seven years old. This ex- tremely bad woman pretended that the marriage of her husband to his first wife was on several accounts invalid, and as her beauty and art had been very successfully exerted in securing favour during the life of Edgar, she would probably have suc- ceeded in her iniquitous design had the circumstances been less favourable to Ed- ward. But though that prince was very young, he was at least much nearer to the age for reigning than his half-biother ; the will of his father expressly gave him the succession ; many of the principal men of the kingdom imagined that the regency of Elfrida would be an extremely tyran- nical one ; and Duustan, who was in the plenitude of his power, and who reckoned upon the favour and docility of young Edward, powerfully supported hira, and crowned him at Kingston, before Elfrida could bring her ambitious plans to ma- turity. The prompt and energetic support thus given by Dunstanto the rightful heir wou'd entitle him to our unqualified applause, were there not good and obvious reason to believe that it originated less in a sense of justice than in anxiety for the Interests of his own order. In spite of the heavy blows and great discouragement of Edgar, the secular clergy had still many and powerful friends. Among these was the duke oi Mercia, who no sooner ascertained the death of king Edgar, than he expelled all the monks from the religious houses in Mercia, and though they were received and pro- tected by the dukes of the East Saxons and [ the East Anglians, it was cle.ar to both Dunstan and the monks that there was u sufl[lcient dislike to tlie new order of eccle- siastics, to render it very important that they should have a king entirely favourable to them. And as Dimstau had watched and trained Edward's mind from his early I childhood, they well knew that he would prove their fittest instrument. But though they had thus secured the throne to a king as favourable and docile as they could 1 desire, they left no means untried to gain I the voices of the multitude. At the occa- ' sional synods that were held for the settle- ment of ecclesiastical disputes, they pre- tended that miracles were worked in their favour ; and, in the ignorant state of the people, that party who could work or in- I voke the most miracles w-as sure to be the ] most popular. On one of these occasions ■ a voice that seemed to issue from the great j crucifix which adorned the place of meeting, 1 proclaimed that he who opposed the esta- blishment of the monks opposed the will of I Heaven ; on another occasion the floor of I the hall fell in, killing and maiming a great I number of persons, but that portion which I supported the chair of Dunstan remained , flrm ; and on another occasion, when the ~(!gnfllautt^augln--^ayan l^mflg. 101 votes of the sniod were so unexpectedly I conduct they repeated In 987, with simUar Iglfnst him that he was unprovided with a I success, on the western coast. r;icle for tlie occasion, Duustau rose, and, with an Inlniitalily prave impudence, as- surrd the meeting tljat he had just Ijecn favoured witli a direct revelation from Heaven In favour of the monljs. So utterly stultified was the general mind, tlint the populace received this impudent falseliood with so much fervent favour, that tin' party hostile to the monks actually dared not "siiiM'ort anv fartlier the view of the (Hirslioii n|inn which they had a clear and ackiiowk'ilged majnrity I Edward's reign deserves little further mention. No great event, good or evil, marked it ; he was, in fact, merely in a state of pupilage during the four years that it lasted. Having an excellent disposition, it is prohable that had he lived to mature years he would have shaken off the benumb- ing and deluding influence of the monkish party. But in the fourth year of his reign, and while he was yet barely nineteen years of age, he fell a victim to his atrocious step- mother's cruelty and ambition. Notwith- standing the hostility she had evinced to- wards him at the death of his father, young Edwai-d's mild temper had caused him to show her the respect and attention which she was very far indeed from deserving. She resided at Corfe castle, in Dorsetshire ; and as tlie young iirince was one day hunt- ing in that neighbourhood, he rode away from his company, and, wholly unattended, paid her a visit. She received him with a treacherous appearance of kindness, but just as he had mounted his horse to depart, a ruffian in her employment stabbed him in the back. The wound did not prove in- stantly mortal, but as he fainted from loss of blood ere he could disengage his feet from the stirrups, his frightened horse galloped onward with him, and he was bruised to death. His servants having traced him, recovered his body, which they priv.ately interred at Wareham. By this surpassing crime of his vile step- mother, who vainly, even in that supersti- tious age, endeavoured to recover the public favour, and expiate her crime in public opinion, by ostentatious penances and by lavishing money upon monasteries, Ethelred, sou of Edgar and Elfrida, suc- ceeded to the throne. The Danes, who had been kept in awe by the vigour of Edgar, and who, moreover, had found ample employment in conquer- ing and planting settlements on the north- ern coast of France, a resource which their numbers had exhausted, were encouraged by the minority of Ethelred to turn their attention once more towards England, where they felt secure of receiving encou- ragement and aid from the men of their own race, who, though long settled among the English, were by no means fully incor The success of these two experiments convinced the marauders that the vigour of an Edgar was no longer to be dreaded in England, and they therefore prepared to make a descent upon a larger scale and with m.ire extensive views. They landed in griat numbers on the coast of Essex, and (li'fiatcd and slew, at Maldon, Brithric, the duke of that county, who bravely attempted to resist them with his local force ; and after their victory they devastated and pimidered all the neighbouring country. So soon and so easily does a people degene- rate when neglected by its rulers, that Ethelred and his nobles could see no better means of ridding themselves of these fierce pirates than that of bribing them to depart.. They demanded and received, as the price of their departure, an enonnous sum. They departed accordingly, but, as might have been anticipated, so large a sum so easily earned tempted them very speedily to re- peat their visit. By this time a fleet had been prepared at London fully capable of resisting and beating oft the invaders, but it was prevented from doing the service that was expected from it by the treachery of Alfric, duke of Mercia. He had formerly been banished and deprived of his posses- sions and dignity ; and though he had now for some time been fully restored, the af- front rankled in his mind, and he conceived the unnatural desire of insuring his own safety and importance by aiding the foreign enemy to keep his country in a state of disorder and alarm. He was intrusted with one squadron of a fleet with which it was intended to surromid and destroy the enemy in the harbour in which they had ventured to anchor ; and he basely gave the enemy information in time to enable them to avoid the danger by putting out to sea again, and then completed his infamous treachery by joining them with his whole squadron. The beharionr of the king on this occasion was equally marked by bar- barity and weakness. On hearing of Alfric's traitorous conduct, he had that nobleman's son Alfgar seized, and caused his eyes to be put out ; yet, afterinflicting this horrible ci-uelty upon the innocent son, he so far succumbed to the power and influence of the guilty father, as actually to reinstate him in his ollice and possessions. A.D. 993. — The experience the Danes had acquired of the weakness of Ethelred and the defenceless condition of his kingdom, encouraged them to make new and still more formidable descents. Sweyn, king of Denmark, and Olave, king of Norway, sailed up the Humber with an immense fleet, laving waste and plundering in every di- rection. Those of the Danes, and they were but few, who refused to join the in- vaders, were plundered equaUy with the porated with them. In the year 9S1 the English. An army advanced to give battle ; Danes accordingly made an experimental and so fierce was the contest, that the descent upon Southampton, in seven ves- Danes were already beginning to give way, sels • and as they took the people com- when the tide of fortune was suddenly pletely bv surprise, they secured consider- tunied against the English by the treachery able plunder, with which they escaped I of Frena, Frithegist, and Godwin, three uninjured and almost unopposed. This | leaders, who, though of Danish descent, 102 Clje Crraiurj) of W^tars, Sft. Vicrc liitrustiil with l:ir;je niid iiiiport.iiil roiiim.iiuls. These moii withdrew tlnir tniiip^. aii'I tlie English were in conse- quence defeated. The Invaders now entered the Thame? with a fleet of upwards of ninety ships, and laid slece to London. Alarmed for their larife wealth, the citizens defended them- selves with a stoutness . Ifl4.— Swoyn, under all tlio rirrum- staiiccs, would have fnund little ditnculty in causInK himself to be crowned kinc of F.nirland : nay, It may even he doubted if either nobles or people would have been fireatlv displeased at rereivins a warlike sovereign instiad of the fusitive Ethelred, to whom they had loner been areustoiued to apply the sroniful epithet of thr. Utitrnflii. But "whilst Sweyn was prejiariup to take advantasoof the mapniflrent opportunity that offered itself to him, he was suddenly seized with a mortal Illness, and expireil at Gain^borouch, in Lincolnshire, about six week's after the llight of Ethelred from the kincrdom. ^, , „„ , This circumstance pave the weal? Ethel- red yet one more chance of redeeming his kinply character. The prcat men of his kinpdom. when they informed him of the event which, so auspiciously for him, had occurred, invited him to return. They at the same time plainly, thouph in a friendly and respectful tone, intimated their hope that he would profit by his experience, to avoid for the future those errors which had produced so much evil to both himself and his people. Ethelred pladlv availed himself of the in- vitation to re.sume his throne, but the ad- vice that had accompanied that invitation he wholly disrepardcd. Amonp the most gl.arinp proofs which he pave of his conti- nued incapacity to rule wisely, he reinstated his treacherous son-in-law, Edric, in all his former influence. This power Edric most shamefullv abused : in proof of this we need pive'but a sinple instance of his mis- conduct. Two Mercian nobles, by name Morcar and Sipefert, had unfortunately piven some offence to Edric, who forthwith endeavoured to persuade thekinp that they were hostile to his rule; and the equally cruel and weak monarch not only con- nived at their murder by Edric, but pave to that crime a quasi lepal sanction by confls- oatinp the property of the victims as thouph they had been convicted of treason, and he confined Sipebert's widow in a convent. Here she was accidentally seen by the kinp's son, Edmund, who not only contrived her escape from the convent, but immediately married her. ^ „ j » A.D. 1014.— Ethelred was not allowed to enjoy his recovered throne in peace. Ca- nute', the son of Sweyn, was to the full as •warlike as his famous father, and set up his claim to the throne with as much prave earnestness as thouph his father had filled it in ripht of a lonp ancestral possession. He committed dreadful havoc in Kent, Dorset, Wilts, and Somerset ; and, not con- tented with slauehter in and plunder after the battle, he shockinply mutilated his pri- soners, and then pavethem theirliberty, in order that their wretched plight might strike terror into their fellow-countrymen. So much progress did Canute make, that Ethelred would, in all probability, have been a second time driven from his throne and kinpdom, but for the courapc and energy- of his son Edmund. The treacherous Edric deserted to the Danes with forty ships, after having dispersed a great part of the English army, and even made an attempt at seizing ujion the person of tlie brave prince. Undismayed by so many difflculties, which were much increased by the general contempt and distrust felt for the king, Ed- mund, by great exertions, got together a large force, and prepared to give battle to the enemy. But the English had been ac- customed to see their kings in the vanguard of the battle; and, though Edmund was universally puiiular, the soldiers loudly de- manded that hi'^ father should head them in person. Ethelred, however, wlio suspected his own subjects fully as much as he feared the enemy, not merely refused to do this, on the plea of illness, but so completely left his heroic son without supplies, that the prince was obliged to allow the whole northern part of the kingdom to fall into sutijection to the Danes. Still determined not to submit, Edmund marched his dis- couraged and weakened army to London, to make a final stand against the in- vaders ; hut on his arrival he found the metropolis in a state of the greatest alarm and confusion, on account of the death of the king. A.D. 1015.— Ethelred the Unready had reigned thirty-live years, and his incapacity had reduced the country to a state which would have been sufllciently pitiable and difficult, even had not the fierce and war- like Danes been swarming in its northern provinces. The people were dispirited and disaffected, and the nobles were far less in- tent upon repelling the common enemy than upon pursuing their own mischievous and petty quarrels ; and Edmund had only too much reason to fear that the example of his treacherous brother-in-law would be followed by other nobles. Rightly judging that occupation was the most effectual re- medy for the discouragement of the people, and the best safeguard against the treach- ery of the nobles, Edmund lost no time in attacking the enemy. At Gillingham he defeated a detachment of them, and then marched against Canute in person. The hostile armies met near Scoerton, in Glou- cestershire ; and in the early part of the battle the English prince had so much success, that it seemed probable he would have a decisive and crowning victory. But Edric, having slain Osmar, who verj- much resembled the king in countenance, had his head fixed upon the head of a spear and dis- played to the English. A panic immediately spread through the hithcrtovictorious army. It was in vain that Edmund, heedless of the arrows that flew around him, rode bare- headed among his troops to assure them of his safety. ' Save himself who can,' was the universal cry ; and though Edmund at length contrived to lead his troops from the field in comparatively good order, the golden moment for securing triumph had passed. Edmund was subsequently defeated, with great loss, at Assington, in Essex, but with exemplary activity again raised an army and prepared to make one more des- perate effort to expel the enemy. But the leading men on both sides were by this time wearied with strife and carnage, and a negotiation ensued which led to a division dPitglauir.— ^ugla--^aj:an aiitf JBaniiSl) fltiifl^. 105 (aUi ; ilic uorllicru i.t' tlic Uiiit,'J'>iii,i';uiiil ixirtiiii] and Eiluuinil I he sniillicrn. It niiglil liaVL- Ix'i'H f,vi|iiMisc'd tliat tlie Infamous Eilric wmilil liave ln'cn satistied with having tluis mainly aided ir. desi«>ilin.!,' his laravebut unfortunate brother-in-law of a moiety of his kingdom. liut as thuiigli the very existence of a man so contrary and so sniieriiu' to himself in character were intolerable to him, tliis arrangement had scarcely been made a month when he suborned two of the liing's chamberlains, who murdered their unfortunate master at Oxford. A.u. 1017.— It docs not clearly appear that Canute was actually privy to tliis crime ; though his previous conduct and the fact that he was the person to be bene- flted by the death of Kdmund may justify us in suspect iu',' him. .\nd this suspicion is still further justilled by his immediately seizing upon Edmund's share of the king- dom, though that prince left two sons, Edwin and Edward. It is true that those princes were very young, but the most that Canute ought to have assumed on that ac- count was the guardianship of the children and the protectorate of their heritage. In- deed, some writers represent that it was in the character of guardian that Canute af- fected to act ; liut a suBlcient answ-er to that pretence is to be found in the fact that Canute reigned as sole king, aud left the kingdom to his son. Sanguinary aud grasping as his -whole former course had been, this able, though unprincipled prince, was too anxious for the prosperity of the kingdom of which he had possessed himself, not to take all pos- sible precaution to avert opposition. He called a council, at which he caused wit- nesses to atHrm that it had been agreed, at the treaty of Gloucester, that he should succeed Edmund in the southern portion of the kingdom ; or, as the writers to whom we have referred affirm, that he should have the guardianship and protectorate. This evidence, and, perhaps, terror lest the well-known fierceness of Canute should again desolate the kingdom, determined the council in his favour ; and the usurper peaceably mounted the throne, while the despoiled princes were sent to Sweden. Not content with thus seizing their domi- nion and exiling them, Canute charged the king of Sweden to put them to death ; but that king, more generous than his ally, sent them in safety to the court of Hungary, where they were educated. Edwin, the elder of the princes, married the daughter of the king of Hungary ; and Edward, the yoiuiger, married Agatha, sister-in-law of the same monarch, and had by her Edgar the Atheting, Margaret, suhsequeutly queen of Scotland, aud Christina, who took the veil. The experience which Canute had of the treachery of the English nobility of this period made him, as a matter of policy, show the most uubounded liberality to them at the commencement of his undi- vided reign. To Thurkill he g.ave up the dukedom of East Anglia, to Trie that of Northumberland, and to Edric that of Xlereia, conliniug his own direct and i)er- sonal rule to Wessex. But this seeming favour was only the crouching of the tiger ere ho springs. When he found himself tlrinly fixed uimn his throne, and from his judicious as well as firm conduct becoming every day nu)re i.opularamong his subjects, he found a pretext to deprive Thurkill and Trie of their dukedoms, and to send them into exile. It would seem that even while he had profited by the treason of the Eng- lish nobility, he had manliness enough to detest the traitors ; for, besides expelling the dukes of East Anglia and Northumber- j land, he put several other noble traitors to death, and. among them that worst of all traitors, Edric, whose body he had cast into the Thames. Though Canute showed much disposition to conciliate the favour of his subjects, he was at the commeucenient of his reign obliged, by the state of the kingdom, to tax them -very heavily. From the nation at large he at one demand obtained the vast sum of seventy-two thousand pounds, and from the city of London a separate further sum of eleven thousand. But though it was evident that much of this money was devoted to the reward of his own country- men, aud though in the heavj- sum levied upon London there clearly appeared some- thing of angry recollection of the courage the Londoners had shown in opposing him, the people were by this time so wearied with war, that they imputed his demands to necessity, and probably thought money better paid for the support of a Danish king than for the tempoi-ary absence of an ever-returning Danish enemy. To say the truth, usurper though Canute was, he had no sooner made his rule secure than he made great efforts to render it not merely tolerable but valuable. He dis- banded and sent home a great number of his Danish mercenaries ; he made not the slightest difference between Danish and English subjects in the execution of the laws guarding property aud life ; and, still farther to engage the affections of the English, he formally, in an assembly of the states, restored the Saxon customs. In order also to ingratiate himself with the English, as well as to propitiate the powerful duke of Normandy, who had shown a strong disposition to disturb him in his usurped power, he married that prince's sister, Emma, widow of Ethelred. By dint of this conciliatory policy, he so far succeeded in gaining the affections of the English, that he at length ventured to sail to Denmark, which was attacked by his late ally, the king of Sweden, against whom he felt additional auger on account of his contumacy in refusing to put the exiled English princes to death. He was completely victorious in this expedition, chiefly owing to the energy and valour of the afterwards famous, and more tlian re- gally powerful, earl Godwin, to whom, in reward for his conduct on this occasion, he gave his daughter in marriage. In 1028 he made anotP.er voyage, and expelled Olaus, king of Norway. Powerful aliroad, and at peace at home, he now de- 106 E\)e CrcaiSurj) at W^tats, &c. voti-d liis attention to religion ; but he did 80 after the grossly superstitioijs fashion of the age. He did not recall the exiled princes, or make restitution of any of the property which he had unjustly acquired cither in Norway or in England ; but he built churches and showered gifts upui churchmen ; showed his sorrow for the slau'-'hter of which he still retained the profit, by causing masses to be said for the souls of the slaughtered ; and compounded for continuing his usurped rule of England by obtaining certain privileges for English- men at Rome, to which city he made an ostentatious pilgrimage. It is scarcely necessarj' to repeat the well- known but questionable anecdote accord- ing to which Canute, by having his chair placed on the sea-beach, rebuked the ser- vility of his courtiers, who had spoken of him as omnipotent. The Scots in the reign of Ethelred had been taxed one shilling a hide on their flef of Cumberland, for Danegelt, or money to be applied to the protection of the king- dom against the Danes. The Scots refused to pay it, and though Ethelred attempted force, he, as usual, had no success. Mal- colm, the thane of Scotland who had thus failed in his vassalage to Ethelred, on the ground that he could defend himself against the Danes, now refused to do homage for Cumberland to Canute, on the ground that that king had not succeeded to the throne by inheritance. But Canute speedi- ly brought him to his senses; at the fii-st appearance of the English army Malcolm submitted. This was Canute's last expedi- tion ; he died about four years after, in the year 1035. CHAPTER X. The Reigns of Harold and Hardlcanute. Canpte left three sons, Sweyn and Harold by his first wife, Alfwen, daughter of the earl of Hampshire ; and Hardlcanute by his second wife, Emma, the widow of Ethelred. On the marriage of Canute and Emma the former had formally agreed that his children by her should inherit the throne. But as her brother, the duke of Normandy, died before Canute, the latter thought fit to depart from this agreement, and to leave the English throne to Harold, his second son by the first wife, rather than intrust it, with its abounding difficulties, to the weak hands of so young a prince as Hardicanute, his son by Emma, By his last will, there- fore, Canute left Norway to Sweyn, his eldest son, and England to Harold, his younger son by the first marriage ; and to Hardicanute, his son by Emma, he left his native Denmark. The difference between the arrangement made by the king's will and that which was agreed upon by his treaty of marriage with Emma, placed the kingdom In no small danger of a long and sanguinary civil war. Harold, It is true, had the express last will of his father in his favour, and being upon the spot at the moment of his father's death, he seized upon the royal treasures, and thus had the means of supjiorting his claim either by open force or corrui)tion. But Il.ardicanute, though in Denm.ark, was the general favourite of the people, and of not a few of the nobility; being looked upon, on account of his mother, in the light of a native English prince. To his fatlier's last will, upon which it would have been easy to throw suspicion, as though weak- ness of mind had been superinduced by bodily suffering, he could oppose the terms of the grave treaty signed by his father while in full possession of his vigorous mind, and in full possession, too, of power to resist any article contrary to his wish. And, above all, Hardicanute had the favour and influence of the potent earl Godwin. With such. elements of strife in existence, it was extremely fortunate that the most powerful men on both sides were wisely and really anxious to avert from the nation the sad consequences inseparable from civil strife. Conferences were held at which the jarring claims of the two princes were dis- cussed with unusual candour and calmness, and it was at length agreed, that, as each had a plea too powerful to be wholly done away with by his competitor's counter-plea, the kingdom should once more be divided. London and the country norUi of the Thames fell to the lot of Harold ; the coun- try south of the Thames to Hardicanute, In whose name Emma took possession, and fixed her residence at Winchester till he should reach England to govern for him- self. The two young princes, Alfred and Ed- ward, the sons of Emma by Ethelred, had hitherto remained at Normandy ; but find- ing themselves, from the circumstances of that court, less welcome than they had been, they resolved to visit their mother, whose high state at Winchester promised them all possible protection and comfort, and they accordingly landed in England with a numerous and splendid suite. But the appearances by which they had been allured to take this step were exceedingly deceitful. Godwin, whose ambition was restless and utterly Insatiable, had been skilfuUy tampered with by the crafty Ha- rold, who promised to marry the earl's daughter. The idea of being father-in-law to the sole king of England put an end to all Godwin's moderate notions, and to all the favour with which he had previously looked upon the expedient of partitioning the kingdom; and he now very readily and zealously promised his stipport to Harold in his design to add his brother's posses- sions to his own, and to cut off the two English princes, whose coming into Eng- land seemed to indicate a determination to claim as heirs of Ethelred. Alfred was, with many hypocritical compliments, in- vited to court, and had reached as far as Guildford, in Surrey, on his way thither, when an assemblage of Godwin's peoiilo suddenly fell upon the retinue of the un- suspecting prince, and put upwards of six hundred of them to the sword. Alfred was himself taken prisoner ; but far happier had been his fate had he died in the battle. His inhuman enemies caused his eyes to be VSnsltints.—'^nvHa'^Hvan aiiQ Bnnii\) Sttng)*. 107 jiut out, and he was then thrust iuto the monastery of Ely.where he perished in agony and miser)'- His brotlier and queen Emma readily judijed, from this horrilile affair, that they would be the next victims, and they immediately fled from the country ; while Harohi forthwith added the soutliern to the northern division of the kingdom. Connnenring his sole reign over England l>y an act of such hypocrisy and sanguinary cruelty, Harold wotild probably have left fearful traces of his reign if it had been a lengthened one. Happily, however, it was but short ; he died unregretted, about four years after his accession, leaving no trace to posterity of his having ever lived, save the one dark deed of which we have spoken. He was remarkable for only one personal quality, his exceeding agility, jvhich, ac- cording to the almost invariable practice at that time adopted of designating persons by some trait of character or physical qua- lity for which they were rem.arkable, pro- cured him the appellation of Harold Hare- foot. A. D. 1039.— Although Hardicanute had been deemed by his father too young to sway the English sceptre, he himself held a different opinion, and he had occupied himself in his kingdom of Xorway iu pre- paring a force with which to invade Eng- land and expel his brother. Having com- pleted his preparations, he collected a fleet underthe pretence of visiting queen Emma, who had taken refuge in Flanders, and was upon the point of sailing when he received intelligence of Harold's death, upon which he immediately sailed for London, where he was received with the warmest welcome. He commenced his reign, however, very iuauspiciously, by the mean and violent act of having Harold's body disinterred and thrown into the Thames. Being found by some fishermen, the royal body was carried to London and again connnitted to the earth ; hut Hardicanute obtaining informa- tion of what had occurred, ordered it to be again disinterred and thrown into the river. It was once more found; but this time it was buried so secretly, that the king had no opportunity to repeat his unnatural brutality. The part ■which Godwin had, as it was alleged, taken in the murder of the unfor- tunate .A.lfi"ed led prince Edward, who was invited over to the English court by Har- dicanute, to accuse him of that crime, and to demand justice at the hands of the king. But Godwin, who had already exerted all the irts of servility to conciliate the king, made him a present of a magnificent galley, manned with sixteen handsome and gor- geously appointed rowers : and the king was so well pleased with the present, that he merely required that Godwin should swear to his own innocence, which that personage made no scruple of doing. The reign of Hardicanute was short, yet his violent temper and cupidity caused it to be marked by a revolt. He had the injus- tice and imprudence to renew the tax known by the name of Daiicgelt, and charged a very heavy sura for the fleet which had conveyed him from Denmark. Complaints and resistance arose in mAny parts ; and in Worcester the peojile not only refused to pay the tax, but actually put two of the collectors to death. Godwin, with Siward, duke of Northumberland, and Leofric, duke of Mercia, were immediately sent to Worcester with a powerful force, and with orders to destroy the city. They actually did set flre to it and gave it up to the pillage of the soldiery, but they saved the lives of the inhabitants until the king's anger was cooled and he gave them a for- mal pardon. Though possessed of uncommon bodily strength, Hardicanute was an ultra North- man in the habit of drinking to excess; and he had scarcely reigned two years when, being at the wedding feast of a Danish no- bleman, he indulged to such an extent that he died on the spot. CHAPTER XL Tlie Beign of Edward the Confessor. A D. 1012.— SwEvx, the remaining son of Canute, was in Norway when Hardicanute thus suddenly died ; and as there was no one whom the Danes could set up in his place, or as his representative, the English had a most favourable opportunity to place upon the throne a prince of their own race. The real English heir was undoubtedly the elder son of Edmund Ironside ; but that prince and his brother were in Hungary, and Ed- ward, the son of Ethelred, was at the Eng- lish court ; and the necessity of instant ac- tion to prevent the Danes from recovering from their surprise was too obvious to allow the English to affect upon this occasion a punctiliousness upon direct succession which they had not yet learned to feel. There was but one apparent obstacle of any magnitude to the peaceable succession of Edward, and that was the feud existing between him and the powerful earl Godwin relative to the death of prince Alfred. So powerful was Godwin at this time, that his opposition would have been far too great for Edward's means to surmount. But Godwin's power lay principally in Wessex, which was almost exclusively Inhabited by English, among whom Edward's claim was very popular; and as Edward's friends in- duced him to disa\ow all rancour against Godwin, and even to consent to marry his daughter Editha, the powerful and crafty earl easily consented to insure his daughter a throne. He forthwith summoned a coun- cil, at which he so well managed matters, that while the majority were English and iu favour of Edward, the few Danes were fairly silenced, and the more easily because whatever warmth might be in their indivi- dual feelings towards the absent Sweyn, they had no leader of influence to unite them, or of eloquence to impress and sup- port their wishes. The joy of the English on finding the go- vernment once more in the hands of a native prince was excessive, and would have been attended with extensive Ill-consequences to the Danes, had not the king very equit- ably interposed on their behalf. As it was, they suffered not a little in property, for one 108 C!)e CwaiSurp of Igts'tarv, &t. of the first acts of tlie king's reign was to revoke all the grants of his Danish prede- cesgors, who h;iAl h'r.iuii Lir-- poisessions upon their felkr. In very many cases it n. '. that the grants hid t'>»<»r ■ r t-ut the Encr'-'- "■• ' • Da: mo' wi:_ able - better trcaitni uy Canute tiian by Eciielrcvi, she had always ^ven the preference to Hardlcanute, a.r. ' I..'! t^r children by Ethelred Li^ ::^pt or in- difference. ■ zi her the great rich.- .^;dnp, but also comiu^r ..^ ^-j .. ..,:._ -^itodyin a nmmery at WuiCtcsccr- Sorue writers have gone so far as to say that he accused her of the abstrrdiy improbable crime of having conniTed at the mnrder of the prince Alfred, and that Emma pursed herself of this gmlt by the mam^U^ms oriieal of walking- barefooted over nine red-hot ploughshares ; bat tie monts, to whom Emma was pro- fusely liberal, needed not to have added fable to the unfortunate truth of the king's annaioral treatment of his twice-widowed mother. Apart from mere feelings of nationality, the desire of the English to see their throne filled by a man of their own race was, no doubt, greatly eicitei by their unwilling- ness z: -rre 1-.-."-= -in"- lucrative places be- sti,~ " ■ ' -3 upon stranger CO". t, however, the ac.. - by no means so ad-^ ; . _; .- --- rush as they had anticijac^J. EdTrir j. Uid tired so much In Xormaudy that he had become almost a Frenchman in his tastes and habits, and it was almost excltisively among Frenchmen that he had formed his friendships and now chose his favonrites and confl.lants. In the disposal of civH and military employ- ments the king acted with great fairness towards the English, but as the Normans who thronged ilis coort were both more pol;-'': ' " . ; -.re learned, it was among t'o-;:. 'hat he disposed of the ecc'. ."ies, and from them that he';:, .. ^ : ilis advisers and intimate companijES. TLe favour thus shown to the Sormans gave great disgru=t to the EnglL-h, and especially to the powerful Godwin, who was too greedy of power and patronage to look with complacency upon any rivals in the king's good graces. He was the n: .re offended that the ei- clu.--ire favour of the kmg did not fall upon him and his family, because, independent of the king having marrial the earl's daugh- ter Editha, the mere power of Godwin's own family was so princely as to give him High claims, which he was by no means inclined to underrate. He himself was earl of Wessei, to which extensive government the counties of Kent and Sussex were add- ed; Sweyn, his eldest son, had like autho- rity over the counties of Hereford, Glouces- ter, Oxford, and Bf^rks ; while Harold, his second son, was duke of East Anglia, with Essex added to his government. Possessed of such extensive power, stni secretly hating Edward on account of their op'^n fend ab;idwin to his having transferred to the daughter a part 'of the hatred he entertain- ed for the father ; though the monks, with their usual ingenuity in finding piety where no one else would think of looking for it. attribute this conduct to his religious feel- ing ; and to this conduct it is that he chiefly owed the being honoured by the monks with the respectable surname of Ihe Con- fessor. A.D. 1048.— Entertaining strong feelings of both disappointment and discontent, it was not likely that a nobleman of Godwin's great power, and great ill-temper too, would fail to find some pretext upon wtich to break out into open quarreL Politic as he was ill-tempered, Godwin seized upon the favouritism of the king towards the Sor- mans as a catise of quarrel upon which he was sure to liave the sympathy of the En- glish, who were to the ftiU as mnch preju- diced as himself against the foreigners. ■While Godwin was thus anxious to quarrel with the king whom he had done so much to put upon the throne, and only waiting for the occurrence of an occasion suffi- ciently plausible to hide his meaner and more entirely personal motives, it chanced that Eustace, count of Boulogne, passed through Dover on his way back to his own country after a visit paid to the English coart. An attendant upon the count got into a dispute with a man at whose house he was quartered, and wounded him ; the neighbours interfered, and the count's at- tendant was slain : a general battle took place between the count's suite and the townspeople, and the former got so mnch the worst of the affray, that the count him- self had some difficulty in saving his life by flight. The king was not merely angry, but felt scandalised that foreigners who had just partaken of his hospitality should be thus roughly used by his subjects ; and he ordered Godwin— to whom, as we have said, the government of Kent, belonged— to make enquiry into the affair, and to punish the gtiilty. But Godwin, who was delighted at an occurrence which ftimished him with a pretext at once plausible and popular for qtiarrelling with his sovereign and son-in-law, promptly reftised to punish the Dover men, whom he alleged to have been extremely ill-treated by thef oreigners. Edward had long been aware of the hostile ©nglantt.— 3[ng;l0'^ar0« SiitgS. 109 feelings of Gudwiu, but as he was aUo ' aware of the very preat and widely spread power of that noble, be ha«l prudently endeavoured to avoid all occasion of open [ di^grecment. But this blank refusal of the earl to obey his orders provoked the king so much, that he threatened Godwin i with the full weight of his displeasure if he dared U> persevere in his disobedience. Aware, and probably not sorry, that an ] open rupture was now almost utterly un- avoidable, Godwin assembled a force and I inarched towards Gloucester, where the I king was then residing with no other guard than his ordinnry retinue. Edward, on hearing of the approach and hostile bear- ing of his too potent father-in-law, applied for aid to Siward and Leofric, the powerful dukes of Northumberland and Mercia ; and to give them time to add to the forces with which they on the instant proceeded to aid liini, he opened a negotiation with Godwin. Wily as the earl was, he on this occasion forgot the rebel maiim — that he who draws the sword against his sovereign should throw away the scabbard. He allowed the king to amuse him with messages and pro- posals, while the king's friends were raising a force sufficiently powerful to assure him success should the quarrel proceed to blows. .\s the descendant of a long line of English kings, and himself a king remarkable for humane and just conduct, Edward had a popularity which not even his somewhat overweening partiality to foreigners could abate ; and when his subjects learned that he was in danger from the anger and am- bition of Godwin, they hastened to his de- fence in such numbers that he was able to summon him to answer for his treason- able conduct. Both Godwin and his sons, who had joined in his rebellion, professed perfect willingness to proceed to London to answer for their conduct, on condition that they should receive hostages for their personal safety and fair trial. But the king was now far too powerful to grant any such terms, and Godwin and his sons perceiving that, in negotiating with the king while he was but slenderly attended, they had lost the golden opportunity of wresting the j sovereignty from him, hastily disbanded their troops and went abroad ; Godwin and | three of his sons taking refuge with Bald- win, earl of Flanders, and his other two sons taking shelter in Ireland. Having thus for the time got rid of ene- r-iies so powerful, the king bestowed their estates and governments upon some of his favourites ; and as he no longer thought himself obliged to keep any metisures with I his imperious father-in-law, he thrust queen . Editha, whom he had never loved, into a ! convent at WherweU. I But the ruin of the powerful Godwin was more apparent than real ; he had numerous friends in England, nor was he without such foreign alliances as would still enable him to give those friends an opporttmity of : serving him. His ally, the e-arlof Flanders, I who was the more interested in his be- ] h:Uf because Godwin's son Tosti had mar- , ried the earl's daughter, gave him the use of his harbours in which to assemble a ! fleet, and assisted him to hire and j.urchase vessels : and Godwin, having completed hl3 preiLiralions, made an attempt to surprise ■Sandwich But Edward bad constantly be«n informed of the earl's movements, and had a far surieriorforceready tomeet hiui. God- win, who depended fuUy as much ui>ou policy as upon force, returned to Flanders, trust- ing that his seeming relinquishment of his design would throw Edward off his guard. It turned out precisely as Godwin bad anticipated. Edward neglected his fleet and allowed his seamen to disi>erse; and Godwin, informe^l of this, suddenly sailed for the Isle of Wight, where he was joined by an Irish force under Harold. Seizing the ves- sels in the southern ports, and summoning all his friends in those [.arts to aid him iu obtaining justice, he was able to enter the Thames and appear before London with an overwhelming force. Edward was undis- mayed by the power of the rebel earl ; and as he was determined to defend himself to the utmost, a civil war of the worst de- scription would most probably have ensued but for the interference of the nobles. Many of these were secretly friends of Godwin, and all of them were very desirous to accommodate matters ; and the result of their timely mediation was a treaty, by which it was stipulated on the one hand that the obnoxious foreigners should be sent from the country, and on the other, that Godwin should give hostages for his future good I)ehavlotir. This he did, and Edward sent the hostages over to Xor- mandy, being conscious that he cotild not safely keep them at his own court. Though a civil war was undoubtedly for the present averted by tils treaty between the king and Godwin, yet the ill example thus given of the necessities of the king compelling him to treat as uj>on equal terms with his vassal, would probably have produced farther and more mischievous acts of presumption on the i^art of Godwin, i but for his death, which suddenly occurred as he was dining withtheklng shortly after this hollowreconcUiationhadbeenpatched I up between them. : ! Godwin was succeeded both In his govern- 1 raents and in the very important office of steward of the king's household by his son Harold. Although unavoidably prejudiced against him on account of his ijarentage, Edward was won by his seeming htunility and anxiety to please. But though Edward j could not refuse him his personal esteem, his jealousy was awakened by the anxiety and success with which Harold endeavoured to mate partisans; and, in order to curb his ambition, he played ofi a rival against him in the person of Algar, son of Leofric duke of ilercia, upon whom was conferred Harold's old government of East Anglia. But this notable expedient of the king whoUy failed. Instead of the power of Algar bal.ancing that of Harold, the dis- putes between the two rivals proceeded to aotual warfare, in whici, as usual, the un- i offendlngpeoplewerethegreatestsufierers. i The death of both Algar and his father put an end to this rivalry, or probably the very means whidi the king had taken to pre- 110 tS^fft Crra^ury nf ?§istori). Set, scrvr his authority would have wholly and fatally pubvortort it. A.n. 1055.— There was now hut one rival from wlioni Uarokl could fear any effectual conipetition,— Siward, dukeof Xorthumber- land ; and his death speedily left Harold without peer and without competitor. Si- ward had greatly distininiishcd himself in the only foreit-'n expedition of this reign, which was undertaken to restore Malcolm, kins of Scot land, who had been chased from that kinpdom after the murder of his father, kins Duncan, by a traitorous noble, named Macbeth. In this expedition Siward wa-s fully successful ; but unfortunately, though lie defeated and slew the usurper Macbeth, he in the s.ame action lost his eldest son Osborne, who had given high promise of both will and power to uphold the glory of his family. Siward's character had much of the Spartan resolution. He was consoled for the death of his gallant son when he learned that his wounds were aU in front ; and when he felt the hand of death upon him- self he had his armour cleaned and a spear placed in his hand, that, as he said, he might meet death in a guise worthy of a noble and a warrior. The health of the king was fast de- clining, and as he had no children, he grew anxious about the succession ; and seeing that Harold was sufficiently am- bitions to seize tipon the crown, he sent to Hungary for his elder brother's son Edward. The prince died almost imme- diately after his arrival in England ; and though the title of his son Edgar Atheling would have been fully as good and indis- putable as his ovm, Edgar did not, to the anxious eyes of the king, seem either by years or character a competent authority -to curb the soaring ambition of Harold. Willing to see anyone rather than Harold secure in the succession, the king turned his attention to William, duke of Nor- mandy. This prince was the natural son of William, duke of Xormandy, by Harlotta, •the daughter of a tanner of the tovra of Falaise; but illegitimacy in that age was little regarded. He had shown great vigour and capacity in putting down the opposi- tion made to his succession to the dukedom, and though he was of very tender age when his father died, his conduct, both at that dicacnlt crisis and in his subsequent go- vernment, fully justified the high opinion of him which had induced his father to be- queath him the dukedom, to the prejudice of other branches of the ducal family. He had paid a visit to England and gained much upon the good opinion of Edward, who had actually made known to him his intention of making him his heir even be- fore he sent to Hungary for prince Edward and his family. Harold, though by no means ignorant of the king's desire to exclude him from all chance of succeeding to the throne, stead- fastly pursued his plan of conciliating the ,iowcrful, and making himself noted as the friend and protector of the weak. In tljis respect he was eminently successful, but there was an obstacle in the way of his final triumph from which he anticipated very great difficulty. Among the hostages given by his father, carl Godwin, were a son and a grandson of that nobleman ; .and when Harold perceived that duke William, to whose custody the hostages were com- mitted, had hopes of being left heir to the English crown, he naturally became anx- ious about the consequences of his in- tended rivalry to relatives so near. To get them out of the duke's power previous to the death of the king was of the utmost impor- tance ; and he applied to the king for their release, dwelling much upon the constant obedience .and dutifulness of his conduct, upon which he argued it was in some sort an injurious reflection longer to keep the hostages. As his conduct really had been to all appearances of unbroken faith ai\d undeviating loyalty, the king was tmable to make any solid reply to his arguments, and at length yielded the point and empowered Harold to go to Xorniandy and release them. He hastened to fulfil this very agreeable commission, but a violent tem- pest arose while he was at sea, and drove h im ashore upon the territory of Guy, count of Ponthieu, who made him prisoner in the hope of extorting a very large sum from him byway of ransom. Harold sent to the duke of Normandy for aid in this dilemma, representing that the duke's honour as well as his liberty was infringed by this impri- sonment of a nobleman bound to the court of Normandy. Nothing could have hap- pened more agreeable to the wishes of William, who, if of a more hasty tempera- ment than Harold, was no less politic : and he at once clearly perceived that this unexpected Incident would give him the means of practising upon his only formid- able competitorfor the English throne. He immediately despatched a messenger to demand the liberty of Harold ; and the count of Ponthieu complied on the instant, not daring to irritate so warlike and power- ful a prince as duke William. Harold then proceeded to William's court at Rouen, where he was received with every demon- stration of the wannest good will. William professed the greatest willingness to give uj) the hostages, and at the same time took the opportunity— as if ignorant of Harold's own secret intentions— to beg his aid in his pretensicms to the crown of England, as- suring him in return of an increase to the grandeur and power already enjoyed by his own family, and offering him a daughter of his own in marriage. Though Harold had the least possible desire to aid in his own defeat, he clearly enough saw that if he were to refuse to promise it he would be made a prisoner in Normandy for the re- mainder of his life. He agreed, therefore, to give William his support. But a mere promise would not serve William's turn ; he required an oath ; and as oaths sworn upon reliques were in that age deemed of more than usual sanctity, he had some reliques of the most venerated martyrs pri- vately hidden beneath the altar on which Harold was sworn ; and, to awe him from brea.king his oath, showed them to him at the conclusion of tlie ceremony. Harold CfngTanlf.— Qnfll0=^av0K Ht'uflS. Ill was both sunn'isL-d ;iiid amidjed at the slirf\vil|'i-cH"iutiuii (if tlicdukc, but was too politic to allow his foiicrrn In apiioar. ImaKiiiliiK that he liad now fully seciiri'd the suiipoi-t of JIai-old inslrad nl having t(i fear his opposition, William allowe.l limi to depart with many cxprcssioiis of favour and fricndslii|i. lUit Harold had no sooner obtained his own libirty and that of his relatives, than he bcKan to exert himself to sngKc'st reasons for breaking the natli which actual durance had extorted from him, and the accoiniianlmcnt of which had been brmu'ht aliout by an actual fraud. IJc- terinined to have the crown if possible, he now redoubled his efforts at gaining public favour, hoping that his superior popularity wiiuld deter the king from making any further advances to duke William, and re- iving, in the last resort, upon the armed defence of the nation. In pursuance of this plan lie headed an expedition against the Welsh, and pressed them to such straits that they beheaded their prince, Griffith, and consented to be governed by two uoblc- nieii appointed by Edward. The p.ipiilarity he gained by this expedi- tion was greatly enhanced by his rigid im- partiality in a case in which his own brother, Tosti, duke of Northumberland, was a prin- ciiial party. Tosti had conducted liimself with such tyrainiical violence that the Nnr- thumbriansexpcUedhiin ; and the deceased duke Leofric's grandsons, Jlorcar and E.l- ward, having sided with the people, the former was by them elected to be tlieir duke. The Icing commissioned Harold to put down this insurrection, which it was naturally supposed tliat he would be all the more zealous iu doing, as the interests of his own brother were concerned. But Morcar, having demanded a conference M ith Harold, gave him such proofs of the misconduct of Tosti, and appealed so flat- teringly to his own very opposite conduct, that Ha'-old not merely withdrew the army with which he was about to chastise the Korthumbrians, but made such a represen- tation of the case, as induced the king not only to pardon the Northumbrians but also to confirm Morcar in Tosti's government. Tosti fled to the court of Flanders, but subsequently took an opportunity to show the extent of his dissatisfaction with his brother's decision. Shortly after this affair Harold married the sister of Morcar, a step which plainly intimated how little he felt himself bound to perform his engagements to William of Normandy. In fact, he was now so very popular, that he made no secret of his pretension to tlie throne, but openly urged that as Edgar Atheling was by all acknowledged to be unflt to wear the En- glish crown, he was the fittest man in the nation to succeed Edward ; and though the king was too much opposed to Harold's suc- cession directly and positively to sanction his pretension, he was too weak in both mind and body to take any energetic steps for securing the succession of William. The king had long been visibly sinking ; and vet, though conscious of his approach- ing end. and really anxious to preveut the accessi(jn of Harold, he could not muster resolution to invite duke William, but left chance, policy, or arms to decide the suc- cession at his ileath, wliich occurnd in the sixty llflh ve.-ir of his age an. 1 tin- twenty- llfth of liis reign. TlHiuu'li bnlli tJodwin and Harold e.xcited his dislike by (he influ- ence they acquired over him by superior talent and energy, the peaceablene.ss of hi.s reign was, in fact, mainly attributable to their power ami iidluence. Edward was nalunilly weak and superstitious; and if it had eli.-i'iiced thill he had fallen into other hands, it is probable that: his reign would have been both troubled and shortened. The superstitions custom of touching for the king's evil originated witli this in-ince. CHAPTER XII. The Reigti of Harold the Second. A.D. 1066.— The death of Edward the Con- fessor had so long been probable, that Harold had ample time to make his pre- parations, and in the mere fact of his being on the spot he had a great and m.anifest advantage over his Norman rival. Not only were his partisans numerous and powerful by their wealth and station, they were also compactly organised. Neither duke William nor Edgar Atheling was for- mally proposed, but it was taken for granted that "the unanimous voice of the people xvas reiiresented by that of the lay and clerical nobles who surrounded Harold ; and, with- out even waiting for the formal sanction of the states of the kingdom, he was crowned by the archbishop of York on the very day after the decease of Edward. Nor, in fact, was the consent of the nation so mere au assumption as it sometimes has been; for Harold was tuiiversally popular, and the Normans were all universally hated as foreigners, and feared on accoiuit of their fierce and warlike character. But popular as Harold was in England, he was not long allowed to enjoy his elevation in peace. His brother Tosti, who had remained in voluntary banishment at the court of Flan- ders ever since Harold's memorable decision against him, deemed that his time was now arrived to take revenge. He exerted his utmost iufiuence with the earl of Flanders, and sent messengers into Norway to raise forces, and journeyed personally to Nor- mandy to engage duke William to join him in avenging both their grievances. This last step Tosti had not the slightest occasion to take, for duke William was far too much enraged at Harold's breach of faith to require any urging. He had al- ready determined that Harold should at tlie least have to fight for his throne ; but as it was obviously important to stand as well as possible with the English people, he sent ambassadors summoning Harold to perform the promise he had made under the most solemn form of oath. Harold re- plied at some length and with considerable show of reason to the duke's message. As related to his oath, he said, that had been extorted from him under circumstances of durance and well-grounded bodily terror, 112 Cf)e Crca^urg at ^titarp, Set. and was cnii>e- server, or one unacquainted with the king's wily as well as resolute nature, would for a long time have imagined Stigand to have been one of his prime favourites — for a Saxon. But when William had sub- dued the rest of the nation so completely that he had no fear of his attempt upon Stigand eliciting any powerful or perilous opposition, the ruin of the primate was at once determined upon and wrought. And circumstances furnished him with an in- sti-ument by whose means he was able to accomplish his unjust work with at least some appearance of judicial regu- larity. Pope Alexander II., whose countenance and encouragement had rendered William good service in his invasion, anxious to leave no means untried of increasing the papal influence in England, had only await- ed William's seemingly perfect establish- ment upon the throne, and he now sent over Ermenfroy, a favourite bishop, as Ills legate. This prelate, who was the first le- gate ever sent into England, and the king served each other's ends to admiration. William, by receiving the legate at once, confirmed the friendly feeling of the papal court, and secured the services of an au- thority competent to deal with the primate .and other prelates in ecclesiastical form, and nominally upon ecclesiastical grounds, while in reality merely wreaking the ven- geance of the temporal monarch ; and the legate, while serving as the instrument of the king's indi>'idual purposes, e.xal ted both his own power and that of the pope in the eyes of the people. Having formed a court of bishops and abbots, with the assistance of the cardinals John and Peter, he cited Stigand to answer to three charges; viz. of holding the bishopric of Winchester to- gether with the primacy of Canterbury ; of having officiated in the pall of his prede- cessor ; and of having received his own pall from Benedict IX., who was alleged to have intruded himself into the papacy. The substance of this last charge the reader will doubtless recognise as the pretext upon which William refused to be crowned by Stigand ; and all the charges are so trivial that the mere mention of them must suf- ficiently show the animus with which they were made. Even the most serious charge, that of being a pluralist, was then com- paratively trivial ; the practice being fre- quent, rarely noticed at all, and never visit- ed by any more severe condemnation than that of being compelled to resign one of the sees. But when so powerful and wilful a mou.irch as William had determined upon the ruin of a subject, it matters but little how trivial may be the charge or how in- (iPnalanir.— ;^0rma!i %int,— 'mittiam 3E. 121 coiiplusive the evidence ; Stigaud was de- j,'raded from lii3 dignity by tlie obsequious li'fe-ale, and tluis tlirown lielpless into tlie lianda of tlie liing, wlio not nierely confls- I'lilcd all Ills possessions, Imt also coni- niittcd liini to prison, wliere he linsered in most undeserved sulleriug and neglect for the rest of his life. Having thus easily crushed the chief and by tar the most Important Saxon person- age of the hierarchy, William pmceeded to bestow the same hard ircvitment upon bishops Agelric and Agriwarc, who, being formally deposed by the obsr^iiiions legate, were imprisoned by the king. Egulwin, bishop of Durham, was mariied out for the same fate, but he had timely warning and escaped from the kingdom. Aldred, arch- bishop of York, w.as so grieved that, in having performed the ceremony of Wil- liam's coronation, he had even incidentally aided in raising up so unsparing an enemy of his brethren of the hierarchy, that his mental sufferings produced a mortal dis- order, and It is said that with his dying breath he called down heaven's vengeance niKin William for his general tyranny, and for his especial misconduct towards the church in direct violation of his coronation oath. Apparently regardless of the curses of the archbishop or of the deep hatred of the Saxons in general, William steadily pur- sued his course. He took care to fill all erclesiastical vacancies with foreigners, [ who, while doing their utmost to promote 1 the p.apal authority and interests in Eng- j laiul, were at the same time zealous sup- ] porters of the authority of the king; whom I h'y especially aided in tliat surest of all liMiinsof destroying a conquered people's nationality, the introduction of the lan- guage of the conquerors into general, but more especially into legal use. In the recent general and signally un- successful revolt, the e.arls Jlorcar and Ed- win had taken no part, or, at the least, no fipen part. But now that the Conqueror had no longer any temptation to hypo- critical and politic mildness, the situation of the^e noblemen was a truly perilous and dilticult ime. Their very lineage and the popularity they enjoyed among the men of their own race made them hateful to the king, who felt that they were constantly looked up to as leaders likely at some period to aid tlie Saxons in throwing olf his yoke. Their wealth, on the other hand, j exposed them to the envy of the needy and grasping among the Xurman nobles, who c::'-'erly longed to see them engaged in some enterprise which would lead to their at- I tainder and forfeiture. Being too certainly convinced that their ruin was only de- ! ferred, and would be completed upon the ! Ilrst plausible occasion that might present . itself, they determined openly to brave the I worst, and to fall, it fall they must, in the attempt to deliver both themselves and tlieir country. Edwin, therefore, went to I his possessions in the north to prepare his I followers for one more struggle against the I Kormau power; and Morcar, with SuCh fol- luwci'3 as he could immediately command, joined the brave Hereward, who still main- tained his position among the almost in- accessible swamps of the Isle of Ely. But William was now at leisure to bring his gigantic power to bear upon this chief shelter of the comparatively few Saxons who still dared to strive against his tyranny. He caused a large number of flat-bottomed punts to be constructed, by which he could land upon the Island, and by dint of vast labour he made a practicalile causeway through the morasses, and surnuiiub-d the revolted with such an overwheliuim,' force, that a surrender at discretion was the only course that could be taken. Hereward, however, made his way through the enemy, and, having gained the sea, continued, upon that element, to be so daring and effective an enemy to the Normans, tliat William, who had enougli generosity remaining to value even in an enemy a spirit so con- genial to his owe, voluntarily forgave him all his acts of opposition, and restored him to his estate and to his standing in the country. Earl Morcar, and Egelwin, the bishop of Durham, were taken among the revolted, and thrown into prison, where I be latter speedily perished, either of grief or from the severities inflicted upon him. Edwin, on the new success of the king in capturing the garrison of the Isle of Ely, set out for Scotland, where he was certain of a warm welcome. But some miscreant who was in the secret of his route divulged it to a party of the Normans, who overtook him ere he could reach the border, and in the conflict that ensued he was slain. His gallantry had made him admired even by his enemies, and both Normans and Saxons joined in lamenting his untimely end. The king of Scotland, who had lent his aid to the revolted, was compelled to submit to the victorious William; and Edgar Athe- liiig, no longer able to depend upon safety even in Scotland, threw himself upon Wil- liam's mercy. The Conqueror, who seems to have held the character of that prince in the most entire contempt, not only gave him life and liberty, but even allowed him a pension to enable him to live in comfort as a subject in that land of which he ought to liave been the sovereign. Upon this occasion, as upon all others, William's policy made clemency and seve- rity go hand in hand. While to the lead- ing men of the revolted he showed either comparative or positive lenity, he visited \ the common herd with the most frightful rigour, putting out tiie eyes and cutting off the hands of very many of them, and sending them for^h in this horrible con- dition as a w-arning to their fellow-coiuiti-y- men. A.D. 1073.— From England William was now obliged to turn his attention to France. The province of Maine in that country had been willed to him, before he became king of England, by count Herbert. Recently the people, encouraged by William's residence in England, and rendered discontented by the vexatious oppression oX the Normans, to whom he had intrusted the government, I'ose and expelled them ; to whicli decisive course they were encouraged by Fulke, M 122 €\)e dTrcajSuru nf l^isltDry, ^c. count of Aiijou, who, but for count Hor- bort'a will, would have succooilod to tlie Iiroviiico. The coiiiiili'tc subject iciii of Kng- laiui furnished the kiiit' with leisure to chastise the pcojile of Maine, and hi- ac- cordingly went over with a large force, chiolly composed of English from the dis- tricts most prone to revolt. With these troops, who exerted themselves greatly in the hope of winning the favour of a mo- narch whose power they had no longer any means of shaking off, and with a sufficient number of natives of Normandy to Insure him against any treacliery on the part of the English, he entered Maine, and com- pelled the submission of that province, and the relinquishment by the earl of Anjou of all pretensions to it, A.D. 1074.— Wliile William was thus suc- cessful ill France, England was disturbed, not by the English, but by the most pow- erful of the king's own favourite Normans. Obedient to their leader in the field, the Norman barons were accustomed in civil life to deem themselves perfectly inde- pendent ; and these feudal chiefs having in their own territory absolute power, even to the infliction of death upon oilenders, were too sovereign to brook without reluctance the arbitrary way in which William was ac- customed to issue and enforce his orders. The consequence was a very general, though hitherto a secret, discontent among the Norman barons of England. The long- smouldering discontent was brought to light by the arbitrary interference of the king in the domestic affairs of Roger, son of his favourite Fitzosborne. Roger, who had been created earl of Hereford, wished to give his sister in marriage to Ralph de Guader, earl of Norfolk, and, rather as a respectful formality than in the expectation that the king would interpose any obsta- cle, had requested his sanction, which William arbitrarily, and without assigning a reason, refused. Surprised, and still more indignant, at the king's refusal, both the earls determined that the marriage should proceed notwithstanding. They accord- ingly assembled the friends of their re- spective houses, and at the banquet which followed the ceremony, they openly and warmly inveighed against the caprice of the king, and especially against the rigour of the authority which he seemed so much determined to exercise over those very nobles to whose gallantry he owed the richest of his territories and the proudest of his distinctions. The company, after the Norman fashion, had drunk deeply ; and to men warmed with wine any arguments will seem cogent. And certainly many of the arguments which were now used to induce some of the most powerful of the Norman nobility to rebel against the king, required all the aid of wine and wassail to enable them to pass muster before even the most superficial judges. Though every Norman present owed all that he had of English wealth or English rank to the ruin of the rightful Saxon owners, the cruelty of the king tow.ards the Saxons was inveighed against with a most hypocritical and loathsome cant : merely because Wal- theof, earl of NorthuTnberland, who was present, was a Saxon liy birth, and well known to be still Saxon in heart, tlmugh he w.'is a prime favourite of llii' king, wlm li.Md given iiiin his niece Juiliih in niarri.-ige. .\gain, the illegitimacy of William's birth was dwelt upon as a reason for revolting against his authority ; though it liad frcm his very childhood been not the slightest bar to his succession to his father's duke- dom; though it was considered no dis- honour in any conntry in Europe; and though Williara himself made so little secret of his irregular birth, that he very commonly, as duke of Normandy, signed himself Gulielmus Bastardus. It would have been far better, as it turned out, if the discontented Normans had left Waltheof out of their calculation. The enthusiasm of a festive meeting, act- ing upon his strong though deeply con- cealed sympathy with his unfortunate fellow-countrymen, caused him to enter very readily into the conspiracy that was now formed against the authority of Wil- liam. But with cooler moments came other feelings. Tyrant though William was to others, to him he had been a most gra- ciousmonarch and liberal friend; there was danger, too, that any conspiracy against a king so watchful and so powerful would be ruinous only to the conspirators them- selves ; and, finally, setting aside both per- sonal gratitude and personal fears, was it not probable that in aiding to overthrow William, he would, in fact, be aiding to overthrow a single and not Invariably cruel despot, only to set up a multitude of des- pots to spoil and trample the unhappy peo- ple ? Whichever way his reflections turned, he was periJlexed and alarmed ; and having confldence equally in the affection and in the judgement of his wife, he intrusted her with the secret of the conspiracy, and con- sulted her as to the course that it would best beflt him to take. But Judith, whose marriage had been lirought about with less reference to her inclination than to the king's will, had suffered her affections to be seduced from her husband, and in the abominable hope of ridding herself of him by exposing him to the fatal anger of the king, she sent Williara all the particulars which she had thus confidentially acquired of the conspiracy. Waltheof, in the mean- time, growing daily more and more per- plexed and alarmed, confided his secret and his consequent perplexities to Lanfranc,. whom, from being an Italian monk, the Conqueror had raised to the archbishoiiric of Canterbury, on the degradation and im- prisonment of the unfortunate Stigand. Lanfranc advised him faithfully and well, pointing out to him hi>w paramount his duty to the king and his own family was to any consideration he could have for the conspirators, and how likely it was that even by some one of them the conspiracy would be revealed to the king, if he did not by speedy information at once secure him- self from punishment, and obtain whatever merit William might attach to the earliest information upon so important a subject. These arguments coincided so exactly with ettQlanlf.— iSorman Him.— WSSHTliam 3E. 123 Waltheof s own feelings, that he no longer hesitated bow to act, but at once went over to Normandy and oonfcsscd every- thing ti> tlie king. "Witli liis usii.lI politic tact, 'William gave tlie rciifiitunt Cdii^iiira- tor a,gnicious recertion, and pioic^siil to feel greatly obliged by bis care in giving him the information; but knowing it all already by means of Waltheofs treacherous wife, William inwardly determined that Wallbi'iif, I'sjiecially as ho was an Englisb- niaii, sliniild eventually proflt but little by his tiinly niicutance. Meanwhile, "Waltheofs sudden journey to the king in Normandy alarmed the con- spirators ; not doubting that they were be- trayed, yet unwilling to fall unresisting vic- tims to the king's rage, they broke into open revolt far more premMtur<'ly th;in otherwise they would. From the tlistilawii- ing of the conspiracy it had been a leading point of their airreement that they should make no open demonstration of hostility to the king until the arrival of a large fleet of the Danes, with whom they had secretly allied themselves, and whose aid was quite indispensable to their combating, with any reasonable chance of success, the great majority of tho nobility, who, from real at- tachment to the king or from more selfish motives, would be sure to defend their ab- sent sovereign. But now that they were, as they rightly conjectured, betrayed by Waltheof, they could no longer regulate their conduct by the strict maxims of pru- dence. The earl of Hereford, as be was the first of the conspirators, was also the first openly to raise his standard against the king. He was, however, hemmed in, and prevented from passing the Severn, to carry rebellion into the heart of the king- dom, by the bishop of Worcester and the mitred abbot of Evesham in that county, aided by Walter de Lacy, a powerful Nor- man baron. The earl of Norfolk was de- feated at Tragadus in Cambridgeshire, by Odo, the king's half-brother, who was left as regent of the kingdom, and Richard de Bienfaite and William de Warenne, the lords-justiciaries. The earl of Norfolk was fortunate enough to escape to Norfolk, but those of his routed followers who were so unfortunate as to be made prisoners and not slain immediately after the action were barbarously condemned to lose their right feet. Wben news of this rigour reached the earl in his Danish retreat, he gave up all hope of being able, as it would seem he bad still intended, to raise any further dis- turbance in England ; he, therefore, pro- ceeded to his large possessions in Brittany. A.D. 1075.— "When the news reached Wil- liam of the conspiracy h.aving actually bro- ken out into open revolt, he hastened over to England, where, however, (so speedily was the premature and ill-managed outbreak put an end to,) he only arrived in time to signalise his severity once more by the punishments which he inflicted upon the common herd of the rebels. Many of these unhappy wretches had their eyes put out : and still more were deprived of their right; liands or feet, and thus made a perpe. tuai and terrific warning against arousing the terrible anger of the king. The earl of Hereford, who was taken prisoner, and upon whom, as the primary cause of the revolt and the coiiseiiueiit misery and suf- fiiiiit.', it might have lieiii aiiliciiiated that llie king's wrath would have fallen with deadly severity, escai)ed far belter than the wretched peasants whom his imprudence had led into ruin. He was deprived of his estate and condemned to imprisonment during the king's pleasure. But the king gave evident signs i 2 126 (!ri)C diraSura of l^isTtflrs, &c. Vcstowed upon hlni. IIi' then pent liiiii to Knimandy, and tlicrc kept liim In coiiflnc- juciit, Willlnm's end, however, now ap- proached. Some incursions made upon Normandy liy Frencli knights, and a oarse joke passed upon his corimlcnce by the French king, so much provoked liim, that he proceeded to lay waste the town of Mantes, with the avowed Intention of car- rying his rage stiil further. But while he watched the burnlns of the town his horse startled, and the king was so severely bruised that he died a few days afterwards at the monastery of St. Gervas. During his mortal illness he made great grants to churches and monasteries, by way of atone- ment for the hideous cruelties of which he bad been guilty; but, with the usual inconsistency of superstition, he could scarcely be persuaded to accompany this ostentatious penitence by the forgiveness and release of his half-brother Odo. He at length, however, though with a reluctance that did him no credit, consented to re- lease and forgive Odo, and he at the same time gave orders for the release of Morcar and other eminent English prisoners. He had scarcely given these orders when he died, on the 9th of September, 108", in the twenty-first year of his usurped reign over England. Xow that we are arrived at the close of ■William the Conqueror's reign, it may be as well, before we proceed farther with our narrative, to make a short digression rela- tive to the genealogical right by which the future monarchs of England successively claimed the throne. The Norman conquest, as we have seen, introduced an entire change in law, language, manners, and cus- toms. England began to m.ake a more considerable figure among the nations of Europe than it had assumed previous to this important event ; and it received a new race of sovereigns, which, either by the male or female line, has continued doira to the pre- sent day. These monarchs were of several 'houses' or families, according to the persons who espoused the princesses of England, and from such marriages gave to i the nations its kings or queens ; or accord- j ing to the different branches into which the royal family was divided. Thus the Non- i JIA5.S began with William the Conqueror, I the head of the whole race, and ended with 1 Henry I., in whom the male line failed. j Steiihen (generally included in the Jior- I man line) was the only one of the house of j Bi.ois, from the marriage of Adela, the Conqueror's fourth daughter, with Stephen, earl of Blois. The Plaktagexets, or I House of Ayjou, began with Henry II. ! from the marriage of Matilda or Maud, ! daughter of Heniy I., with Geoffrey Plan- ] tageuet, earl of Anjou ; and continued un- I divided to Richard II. inclusive. These ' were afterwards divided into the houses of Lancaster and Yokk ; the former begin- I ning with Henry IV. son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward I III. and ending with Henry VI. The latter I began with Edward IV. son of Richard, I duke of York, who on the father's side was grandson to Edmund dc Langley, fifth son of Edward III., and by his mother descend- ed from Lionel, third son of the said king ; and ended In Richard III. The family of the TUDons began with Henry A'll. from the m.arriage of Margaret, great gr.ind- daughter of John of Gaunt, with Kdnnind Tudor, earl of Richmond ; and ended with queen Elizabeth. The house; of Stuart began with James I., son of Henry Stuart lord Damley, and Mary queen of Scots, whose grandmother was Margaret, daugh- ter to Henry VII.: and ended with queen Anne. Willi.am III. was the only one of the house of Orange, whose mother was Marj-, daughter of Charles I. And the house of BRUSSWicK.now reigning, began with George I., whose grandmother was the princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I. CHAPTER SV. The Hcign of William IL a.d. 1087.— Richard, one of the Conqueror's sous, died before his father. To Robert, his eldest son, he left Normandy and Maine; to Henry he left only his mother's posses- sions, but consoled him for this by pro- phesying that lie would in the end be both richer and more powerful than either of bis brothers ; and to William was left the most splendid of all his father's possessions, the crowm of England, which the Conqueror, in a letter written on his death-bed, enjoined Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, to place upon his head. The young prince William, who, from the colour of his hair, was surnamed Jlu/iin, was so anxious to avail himself of this letter, that he did not even wait at the monastery of St. Gervas long enfmgh to receive his father's last breath, but hastened to England before the danger of the Conqueror was generally known, and obtained possession of the royal treasure at Winchester, amounting to 60,000i. — a large sum at that time. He also possessed himself of the important for- tresses of Pevensey, Hastings, and Dover, which from their situation could not fail to be of great service to him in the event of his right to the crown being disputed. Such dispute he, in fact, had all possible reason to expect. The manner in which Robert's right of primogeniture was com- pletely set aside by an informal letter written upon a death-bed, when even the strongest minds may reasonably be sui>- posed to be unsettled, was in itself sufllcient to lead to some discontent, even had that prince been of a less fiery and fierce temper than his disputes with his father and brothers had already proved him to be. Lanfranc, who had educated the new king and was much attached to him, took the best means to render opposition of no effect. He called together some of the chief nobles and prelates, and performed the ceremony of thec^jronation in the most implicit obedience to the deceased Ooi;- queror's letter. This promptitude had the desired effect. The partisans of Robert, if absence from England had left him any, made not the slightest attempt to urge his hereditary right ; and he seemed to give his own sanction to the will of his fathei. (iPnfllantf.— ia0rman %ittt.—Wii\\iam M. 127 by iii"ici'al>ly, ami as a matter of course, assuming till' ^'iiverniiieiit of Maine and Nrirnianily wlik-li it conferred upon liira. But though no opposition was made to the accession of William Rufus at the time ■wlicn, if ever, such opposition could reason- ably have been made, namely, previous to his coronation, he was not long seated upon bis throne before he experienced tlic oppo- sition of same of the most powerful Norman nobles. Hatred of Lanfranc, and envy of his groat power, actuated some of them ; and many of tlicm, possessing property both in Untrlaiiil and Normandy, were anxious that IimIIi i-iuiiitrics should be united under Kol.ri I, rMrr for open sale, as he would any other kind of property, or he delayed the appointment of a new bishop or abbot, and so kept the temporalities in hand for his own use. Such conduct produced much discontent and murmuring ; but the power of the king was too great, and his cruel and violent temper was too well known, to allow the general discontent to assume a more tan- gible and dangerous form. So confident, indeed, did the king feel of his power in England, that he even thought it not unsafe to disturb the peace of his brother Robert in Normandy, where the licentious barons were already in a most disorderly state, owing to the imprudent indulgence and lenity of their generous and facile duke. Availing himself of this state of things, Williiim bribed the governors of Albemarle and St. Valori, and thus obtained posses- sion of those important fortresses. He was also near obtaining possession of Rouen, but was defeated in that object by the singular fidelity of his brother Henry to Robert, under circumstances of no small provocation to very dificreut conduct. Henry, though he had inherited only some money out of all the vast possessions of his father, had lent duke Robert three thousand marks to aid him in his attempt to wrest the crown of England from Wil- liam. Byway of security for this money, Henry was put in possession of consider- able territory in Normandy : yet upon some real or pretended suspicion, Robert not only deprived him of this, but also threw him into priscm. Though he was well aware that Robert only at last liberated him in consenuence of reauiring his aid on the threatened invasion of England, Henry behaved most loyally. Havinglearnt that Ccnan, a very powerful and influen- tial citizen of Rouen, had traitorously bar- gained to give up the city to king William, the prince took him to the top of a lofty tower, and with his own hand threw him o\er the battlements. The king at length landed a numerous army in Normandy, and the state of things became serious and threatening indeed as regarded the duke. But the intimate con- nection and mutual interests of the leading men on both sides favoured him ; and a 128 C^e Crraiiur}) al ^t^torji, ^c. treaty was mnde, by whicii tlu- Kiicrlisli king, on tlie one hand, obtained the tcn-i- tory of Eu and some other territorial ad- vantasos, wbllo, nil tlio other liand, lie cii- gairi'd to ri'store tlinsc barons who wvrv banished from Eni-'Iniul for espDiisiim' tlie cause of Kohert in tlie late revolt, and to assist his brother against the people of Maine ivho had revolted. It was further agreed, under the witness and guarantee of twelve of the chief barons on eitlier side, that whoever of the two brothers should survive should inherit the possessions of the othef. In all this treaty not a word was inserted in favour of prince Henry, who naturally felt indignant at being so much neglected by his brother Robert, from whom he cer- tainly had merited better tnatniciit. Witli- drawing from Rouen, he fnrtilied himself at St. Michael's Mount, on the Norman coast, and sent out plundering parties, who greatly annoyed the whole neighbourhood. Robert and William besieged him here, and during the siege an incident occurred whicli goes to show that Robert's neglect of his brother was owing rather to carelessness than to any real want of generous feeling. Henry and his garrison were so much distressed for water that they must have speedily submitted. When this was told to Robert, he not only allowed his brother to supply himself with water, but also sent him a considerable quantity of wine. "Wil- liam, who could not sympathise with this chivalrous feeling, reproached Robert with being imprudent. 'What!' replied the generous duke, 'should I sutler our bro- ther to die of thirst ? Where shall we And another when he is gone ? ' But this tem- porary kindness of Robert did not prevent the unfortunate Henry from being pressed so severely that he was obliged to capitu- late, and was driven forth, with his handful of attendants, almost destitute of money and resources. A. D. 1091. — Robert, who was now in strict alliance with the king and brother who had so lately invaded his duchy with the most hostile intentions, was intrusted with the chief command of an English army, which was sent over the border to compel Malcolm to do homage to the cro^vn of England. In this enterprise Robert was completely suc- cessful. A. D. 1093.— But both peace and war were easily and quickly terminated in this age. Scarcely two years had elapsed from Mal- colm's submission and withdrawal of the English troojjs, when he invaded England. Having plundered and wasted a great por- tion of Northumberland, he laid siege to Alnwick castle, where he was surprised by a party of English under the earl de Mou- bray, and in the action which followed Mal- colm perished. A. D. 1091.— William constantly kept his attention fixed upon Normandy. The care- less and generous temper of his brother Robert, and the licentious nature of the Norman barons, kept that duchy in con- stant uneasiness ; and William took up his temporarj' abode there, to encourage his own partisans and be ready to avail himself i of any til ill L' that 111 igb I seem to favour bis de- signs iipmi his hnither's inheritance. While in Noriii.'iiidy the kiiiis' raised the large sum nf ten thousand pounds by a roguisli turn of InL'ciiuity. Being, from the nature nf the circumstances in which he was jilnci'il, far miire in want of money tliaii in want nf men, he sent orders to his minister, Ralph Flambard, to raise an army of twenty thousand men, and march it to the coast, as if for instant embarkation. It is to be supposed that not a few of the men thus suddenly levied for foreign service were far more desirous of staying at home ; and when the army readied the coast, these were gratifled by the information that on payment of ten shillings to the king, each man was at liberty to return to his lioiiia. With the money thus obtained, William bribed the king of France and some nf tlmse harnns who had hitherto sided witli Robert. But before he could gain any decisive ad- vantage from his Machiavellau policy, he was obliged to hasten over to England t« repel the Welsh, who had made an incur- sion in his absence. A. D. 1095.— While William had been so discreditably busy in promoting discord in the duchy of his brother, his own kingdom had not been free from intrigues. Robert de Moubi-ay, earl of Northumberland, the count D'Eu, Roger de Lacey, and many other powerful barons,who had been deeply offended by the king's haughty and despotic temper, were this year detected in a conspi- racy which had for its object the dethrone- ment of the king in favour of Stephen, count of Aumale, and nephew of William the Conqueror. With his usual promptitude, William, on gaining intelligence of the con- spiracy, took measures to defeat it. De Moubray was surprised before he had com- pleted his preparations, and though he re- sisted gallantly he was overpowered and thrown into prison. Attainder and forfei- ture followed as a matter of course, and for the long period of thirty years the un- fortunate noble lingered in prison, where he died. The count D'Eu, who also was surprised, firmly denied his participation in the conspiracy, and challenged Geoffrey Baynard, by whom he had been accused, to mortal combat. The count was defeated, aud the brutal sentence upon him was cas- tration and deprivation of sight. The his- torians speak of William de-4.1deri, another of the conspirators, who was hanged, as having been more severely dealt with ; but we think most people would consider that death was among the most merciful of the sentences of this cruel and semi-barbarous age. A war, or rather a series of wars, now commenced, to which all the skirmishes of ScotLand, and Wales, aud Normandy, were to prove as mere child's play in comparison. We mean the first crusade, or holy war, tlie most prominent events of which we have given in our brief ' Outline of General History.' Priest and layman, soldier and' trader, noble aud peasant, all were sud- denly seized with an enthusiasm little short of madne.S!3. Men of all ranks aud almost of all ages took to arms. A holy war, a cru- CPttglanlr.— Uormnn Hfup.— WKiUiam M, 129 Bade o( tbe Christians agaiust the iiifldels ; » warfare at once righteous and perilous, where valour fought under the sacred symbol of the cross, so dear to the Christian and so hateful to the inHdel I Nothing could liave more iireciscly and completely suited the spirit of an age iu which it was dillh'ult to say whether courage or super- stition was the master-passion of all orders of men. The temper of Robert, dulco of Nor- mandy, was not such as to allow him to remain unmoved by the flerce enthusiasm of all around him. Brave even to rashness, and easily led by his energetic but ill-dis- ciplined icclinKs to fall into the general de- lusion, wliich combined all the attractions of chivalry with all the urgmgs of a mis- taken and almost savage piety, he very early added his name to that of the Christian leaders who were to go forth to the rescue of tlie holy sepulchre and the cliastisenjeut of heatlicnisni. lUit when, in the lan^-ii:it,'e of that book which laymen of his jieriod but little read, he 'sat down to count tlie cost," he speedily discovered that his life- long carelessness and profusion had left him destitute of journeying to the East in the style or with the force which would become his rank. It was now that the cooler and more sordid temper of William of England gave that monarch the fullest advantage over his improvident and head- strong brother, who recklessly mortgaged his duchy to William for the comparatively insifrniOcant sum of ten thousand marks. Williaiu raised the money by means of the most unlihisliing and tyrannous imposts upon his subjects, and was forthwith put in possession of Normandy and Maine ; while Robert, expending his money in a noljle outfit, proceeded to the East, full of dreams of temporal glory to be obtained by that slaughter of pagans which was to insure his eternal salvatilish facility had induced him to maki', he reliirned to England, taking his unl'oiicuKite hrolher with him asaprisoner, and coiiiniittiUK young William to the cus- tody .il llrlie lU- St. L:ien,wh(] had married It.il'icrt'snalural dimgliter, and whii treated the captive |iniire willi a tenderness and resiiect wliich du him tlie liighest honour, lluliert himself was committed to the cus- tody of the governor of OardiflE castle in AVali'S, where for twenty-eight years, the whole remainder of his life, ho became a melancholy si)ectacle of f.illen greatness, and a striking example oC the utter useless- ness of courage without conduct, and of the danger of generosity if unregulated by prudence. At the battle of Tinchebray, so fatal to duke Robert, his friend Edgar Atheling was taken prisoner. Though on more than one occasion this prince gave .signal i proofs of bravery, both his friends and his enemies seem to have held his intellect in considerable contempt. The two Williams . and Henry I., princes of such different qua- \ lilies, vet so perfectly agreeing in despotic and jealous temp-rs, e(|ually held his powei-s of exciting tlir Kn^'lisll to revolt in the iil- mcJSt scorn. Though his Saxon descent could not hut endear him to the English people, and though both at home and in the Holy Land he had proved himself to possess very high courage, there was so general and apparontly so well-founded an opiuicni of his dcthieucy in the higher in- tellectual (lualities, that neither did the Saxons look up to him, as otherwise they gladly would have done, as a rallying point, nor did the Normans honour him with tlieir suspicious fears. Even now when Henry, whose treatment of hisown brother sulHciently proves how inexorable he could be where he saw cause to fear injury to his interests, had so fair an excuse for com- mitting Edgar to safe custody, he showed his entire disbelief of that prince's capa- city, by allowing him to enjoy his full li- lierty in England, and even granting him a pension. A D. 1107.— Henry's politic character and I his judgement were both eminently dis- played in managing his very delicate dispute with the pope on the subject of ecclesias- tical investitures. While showing the most profouLid cxlenial respect, and even affec- tion to both the pope and archbishop An- selm, Ueiiry proceeded to fill the vacant sees conceruing which there was dispute. But Anselm, though he had been on many important occasions a staunch and useful friend to the king, was far too good a churchman to brook disobedience to the papal authority, even when that disobedi- ence was veiled by smiles and couched in gentle and holiday terms. He refused to communicate, far less to consecrate, the bishops invested by the king ; and those prelates saw themselves exposed to so much obloquy by their opposition to so revered a personage as Anselm, that they resigned their dignities into the king's hands. The complete defeat of a scheme which he had prosecuted with such dex- terous and painful art deprived the king of his usual command of temper ; and he let fall such significant threats towards all opponents of his authority, that Anselm became alarmed for his personal safety, and dcmandod permission to travel to Rome to i-oiisuli, the po|«c. Well knowing the popu- laritv of Anselm, Henry was very well pleased ti) be thus peaceably rid of his pre- sence. Anselm departed, and was attended to the ship by hosts both of clergy and laity, who, by the cordial respect with which they took their leave of him, tacitly, but no less plainly, testified their sense of the justice of his quarrfcl with their sove- As soon as Anselm had left England the king seized upon all the temporalities of his see ; and, fearful lest the presence of Anselm at Rome should prejudice him and his kingdom, he sent William de Warel- wast as ambassador extraordinary to Pas- cal, the pope. In the course of the argu- ment between the pope and the king of England's envoy, the latter warmly ex- claimed that his sovereign would rather part with his crown than with the right of invrstitiire ; to which Pascal as warmly rcpliiMl that he wouUl rather ijart with his head th.an allow the king to retain that right. Anselm retired to Lyons, and thence j to his old monastery of Bee. The king re- ' stored him the revenues of his sees, and great anxiety was expressed by all ranks of men for his" return to England, where his absi'ine was alliruied to be the cause of all iniagiuahle impiety, and of the most gross and disgusting immorality. The disputes, meantime, between Henry and the pope grew warmer and warmer. The emperor Henry V. and the pope were at feud on the same subject, and the pope being made an actual prisoner was compelled by a formal treaty to grant the emperor fie right of investiture. The king of England was less advantageously situated than the emperor. He could not, by getting the pope into his power, cut the Gordian kuot of the contro- versy between them. The earl of Mellent and other ministers of Henry were already suffering under the pains of excommunica- tion ; Henry was in daily expectation of hearing the like dreadful sentence pro- nounced on himself, and he well knew that he had numerous and powerful enemies among his nobles v/ho would both gladly and promptly avail themselves of it to throw off their uneasy allegiance. He and the pope were niuliially afraid, and a com- proinisL- was at Iciic'tli entered into, by which the pope had tin- right of ecclesias- tical investiture, while Henry had the right of demanding homage from the prelates for their temporalities. The main difference being tlius settled, minor points presented no difficulties, and Henry now had leisure to turn his attention to Normandy. Ill committing the natural son of his brother Robert to the care of Helie, Henry 136 Elft m^reaiurn at ^iitar^t ^c. was probably desirous to sbow tlio world, by tlie uiibleinishod character of the man to wliom he intrusted the infant prince, then only six years old, that he meant fairly by him. But as the young prince prew up, and became remarkable for talent and gracefulness of person, he acquired a popularity which gave so much uneasiness to Henry, that he ordered his guardian to give up his young ward. Ilelie, probal)ly doubtful of the king's intentions, yet feel- ing himself unable to shelter Imn should the king resort to force, immediately placed young William under the protection of Fulke, count of Anjou. The protection of this gallant and eminent noble and his own singular graces enabled William to create great interest on his behalf, and at every court which he visited he was able to ex- cite the greatest indignation against the Injustice with which his uncle had treated him. Louis le Gros, king of France, joined with Fulke, count of Anjou, and the count of Flanders, in disturbing Henry iu his unjust possession of Xormandy, and many Bkirraishes took place upon the frontiers. But before the war could produce any deci- sive results, Henry, with his customary artful policy, detached Fulke from the league by marrying his sou William to that prince's daugliter. The peace consequent upon this withdrawal of Fulke did not, however, last long. Henry's nephew was again taken in hand by the gallant Baldwin of Flanders, who induced the king of France to join him in renewing the attack upon Jformandy. In an action near Eu Baldwin was slain ; and the king of France, despairing, after the loss of so capital an ally, of liberating Xormandy from the power of Henry by force of arms, resolved to try another method, of which, probably, he did not perceive all the remote and possible consequences. The papal court had always manifested a more than sufficient inclination to inter- fere in the temporal concerns of thenations of Christendom ; and Louis now most un- wisely gave sanction and force to that am- bitious and insidious assumption, by ap- 1-caling to Rome on behalf of young Wil- liam. A general council having been as- sembled by the pope at Rhelms, Louis took his protege there, represented the tyranny of Henry's conduct towards both the young prince and his father, and strongly and eloquently dwelt upon the impropriety of the church and the Christian powers allow- ing so trusty and gallant a champion of the cross to linger on in his melancholy im- prisonment. Wliatever might be the per- sonal feelings of Calixtus II., the then pope, he showed himself strongly inclined to in- terfere on behalf both of William and his father. But Henry was now, as ever, alert .and skilful in the defence of his own in- terest. The English bishops were allowed by him to attend tliis council ; but he gave them fair notice at their departure, that, whatever might be the demands or the decisions of the council, he was fully deter- mined to maintain the laws and customs of England, and his own prerogative. ' Go,' said he, as they took leave of him, "salute the pope in ray name, and listen to his .apostolical precepts; but be mindful that ye bring back none of his new Inventions into my kingdom." But while he thus out- wardly manifested his determination to support himself even against the hostility of the church, he took the most effectual means to jirevent that hostility from being exhiliited. The most lib'-rai jiresents and promises were distributed ; and so effec- tually did he conciliate the pope, Ih.at hav- ing shortly afterwards had an interview with Henry, he pronounced him to be be- yond comparison the most eloquent and persuasive man he had ever spoken wiili. Upon this high eulogy of the sovcrtiL-n pontiff, Hume, with dry causticity, r- - marks that Henry at this interview 'bml probably renewed his presents.' Louis, finding that he was out-maniBUvri 1 1 by Henry in the way of intrigue, renewed his attempts upon Normandy in the way of arms. He made an attempt to surprise Noyen ; but Henry's profuse liberality caused him to be well served by his spies, and he suddenly fell upon the French troops. A severe action ensued, and prince William, who was present, behaved with great distinction. Henry also was present, and, penetrating with his customary gal- lantry into the very thickest of the flglit, was severely wounded by Crispin, a Nor- man officer in the French array. Henry, who possessed great personal strength, struck Crispin to the earth, and led his troops onward In a charge so fierce and heavy that the French were utterly routed, and Louis himself only escaped with great difficulty from being made prisoner. The result of this action so discouraged Louis that he shortly afterwards entered into a treaty with Henry, in which the interests of William and the liberty of Robert were wholly left out of question. Thus far the career of king Henry had been one unbroken series of prosperity ; he was now, under circumstances the least to have been feared, doomed to suffer a very terrible misfortune. Judging from the facility with which he had usurped the I crown of England and the duchy of Nor- I maiidy, that similar wrong— as he chose to : call it, though wrong it would surely not have been— might easily be done to his own son, unless proper precaution were 1 taken, he accompanied his son William to Normandy, and caused him to be recog- nised as bis successor to the states, and to receive in that character the homage of the b.irons. This important step being taken, the king and the princeembarked at Bar- fleur on their return to England. The weather was fair, and the vessel which 1 conveyed the king and his immediate at- j tendants left the coast in safety. Some- I thing caused the prince to remain on i shore after his father had departed ; and the cajitain and sailors of his ship, being greatly intoxicated, sailed, in their anxiety to overtake the king, with so mnch more haste than skill, that they struck the ship upon a rock, and she immediately began to sink. William was safely got into the long boat, and had even been towed some dis- CPnglanlf.— i50iman Hiite.— I^curp 3E. 137 tanrefrom the Blilp when thcsi-rcainsof his natural sister, the countess of Perche, who in the hurry had been left behind, coni- pelled his boat's erew to return and endea- vour to save her. The instant that the boat apiiroachcd the ship's side, so many persons leaped in, that the boat also foun- dered, and William and all his attendants perished ; a fearful loss, there being on board the ill-fated ship no fewer than a hundred and forty English and Norman gentlemen of the best families. I'itzste- phen, the captain, to whose intemperance this sad calamity was mainly attributable, and a butcher of Rouen clung to tlie jiast, but the former voluntarily loosed his hold and sank on hearing that the prnice had perished. The butcher, free from cause of remorse, resolutely kept his grasp, and was fortunate enough to be picked up by some fishermen the t'ollowing morning. When news reached Henry of the loss of the vessel, he for a few days buoyed himself ni> with the hope that his son had been saved : but when the full extent of the cnlamity was ascertained he fainted; and so violent was his grief, that he was never afterwards known to smile. So deeply could he suffer under his own calamity, though so stern and unblenching in the infliction of calamity upon others. The death of prince William, the only male legitimale issue of Henry, was, as will be perceived in the history of the next reign, not merely an individual calamity, but also a \'ery serious national one, in so far as it gave rise to much civil strife. But it was probable that William would have been a very severe king, for he was known to threaten that whenever he came to the throne he would work the English like mere beasts of burthen. The early Norman rulers in fact, however policy might occasionally induce them to disguise it, detested and scorned their English subjects. Prince William, son of the wronged and imprisoned duke of Normandy, still enjoyed the friendship and protection of the French i king, though circumstances had induced that monarch apparently to abandon the prince's interest in making a treaty with Henry. The death of Henry's son, too, broke off the connection between Henry and the count of Anjou, who now ag.ain took up the cause of prince William, and gave him his daughter in marriage. Even this connection, how-ever, between Fnlke and William did not prevent the artful policy of Henry from again securing the friendship of the former. Matilda, Henry's daughter, who was married to the emperor Henry V., was left a widow ; and the king now gave her in marriage to Geoffrey Plan- tagenet, earl of Anjou, and he at the same time caused her to receive, as his successor, the homage of the nobles and clergy of both Normandy and England. In the meantime prince William of Nor- mandy was greatly strengthened. Charles, earl of Flanders, was assassinated, and his dignity and possessions were immediately liestowed by the king of France upon prince AViUiam ; but this piece of seeming good fortune, though it undoubtedly gave greater strength to William's party and rendered his recovery of Normandy more probable, led, in the result, to his destruc- tion ; so blind are we in all that relates to our future I The landgrave of Alsace, deeming his own claim upon Flanders superior to that of William, who claimed only from the wife of the conqueror, and who moreover was illegitimate, attempted to possess himself of It by force of arms, and almost in the first skirmish that took place William was killed. Many disputes during all this time had taken place between Henry and the pope ; chiefly upon the right to which the latter pretended of having a legate resident in England. As legates possessed in their respective provinces the full powers of the pope, and, in their anxiety to please that great giver and source of their power, were even disposed to push the papal authority to the utmost, the king constantly showed a great and a wise anxiety to prevent this manifestly dangerous encroachmsnt of Rome. After much manoeuvring on both sides, an arrangement was made by which the les'atine power was conferred upon the archbi.-hoii of Canterbury ; and thuswhile Rome kept, nominally at least, a control over that i)ower, Henry prevented it being committed to any use disagreeable to him, and had, moreover, a security for the le- gate's moderation in the kingly power over the archbishop's temporalities. A perfect peace reigning in all parts of England, Henry spent part of 1131 and 1132 in Normandy with his daughter Matilda, of whom he was passionately fond. While he was there Matilda was delivered of a son, who was christened by the name of Henry. In the midst of the rejoicing this event caused to the king, he was summoned to England by an incursion made by the Welsh ; and he was just about to return when he was seized, at St. Dennis le For- mcnt, by a fatal illness, attributed to his having eaten lampreys to excess; and he expired Dec. 1, 1135, in the thirty-fifth year of his reign and the sixty-seventh of his age. Though a usurper, and though somewhat prone to a tyrannous exertion of his usurp- ed authority, Henry at least deserves the praise of having been an able monarch. He preserved the peace of his dominions under circumstances of great difficulty, and pro- tected its interests against attempts under which a less firm and politic prince would have been crushed. He had no fewer than thirteen illegitimate children. Other vices he was tolerably free from in his private capacity ; but in protecting his resources for the chase, of which, like all the Norman princes, he was passionately enamoured, he was guilty of very unjustifiable cruelty. In the general administration of justice he was very severe. Coining was punished by him with death or the most terrible mutilation ; and on one occasion fifty persons charged with that offence were subjected to this horrible mode of torture. It was in this reign that wardmotes, common-halls, a court of hustings, the liberty of hunting in Middlesex and Surrey— a great and honour- 138 UIjc Crcaiurj? nf W^tavij, &c. able privilege at that time— the right to elect- its own shcritt and justiciary, and to Iiold i>lpas o( the cro^ni, trials by combat, and lodging of the king's retinue, were granted to the city of London. CHAPTEU XVII. Tlie Jti'ign of Stephen. A.D. 1135.— The will of Henry I. left the kingdom of England and the duchy of Nor- mandy tohis daughter Matilda. Bythepre- caulions which he had taken, it was very evident that he fe.ared lest .anyone should imitate the irregularity by which he him- self had mounted to power. Strangely enough, however, the attempt he antici- pated, and so carefully provided against, was made by one who to Henry's own patronage and liberality owed his chief power to oppose Heury's daughter. A new- proof. If such were wanting, of the blind- ness on particular points of even the most politic and prudent men. Adela, daughter of William the Con- queror, was married to Stephen, count of Blois. Two of her sons, Henry and Ste- phen, were invited to England by Henry I., who behaved to thera with the profuse li- berality which he was ever prone to show to those whom he took into his favour. Henry was made abbot of Glastonbury and bishop of Winchester; and Stephen wa,s even more highly favoured by the king, who married him to Matilda, daughter and heiress of Eustace, count of Boulogne ; by which marriage he acquired both the feudal j eo vereigutyof Boulogne as well as enormous I lauded property in England. Subsequently I the king still farther enriched Stephen by I coufeiTlng upon him the forfeited posses- ! Elous of the earl of Mortaigne, in Normandy, ! and of Robert de Mallet, in England. The \ king fondly imagined that by thus honour- \ ing and aggrandising Stephen he was rais- I lug up a fast and powerful friend for his I daughter whenever she should come to the th.rone ; and the conduct of Stephen was so wily and skilful, that to the very hour of Henry's death he contrived to confirm him in this delusion. Brave, active, generous, and affable, he was a very general favourite ; but while he exerted himself to the utmost I to retain and increase his popularity, espe- j cially among the Londoners, of whom he I anticipated making great use in the ulti- mate scheme he had in view, he took good care to keep those efforts from the king's knowledge. He professed himself the fast I friend and ready champion of the princess I Matilda; and when the barons were re- I quired by the king to do homage to her, as the successor to the crown, Stephen ac- tually had a violent dispute with Robert, earl of Gloucester, who was a natural son of the king, as to which of them should Drst take the oath ! But with all this lip-loyalty to the king and seeming devotion to the princess, Ste- phen seems all along to have harboured the most ungrateful and faithless inten- tions. The moment the king had ceased t'l live, he hurried over to England to seize upou the c^o^Tn. His designs having been made known at Dover and Canterbury, the citizens of both those places honourably refused to admit him. Nothing damned by this honest rebuke of his ungrateful de- sign, he hurried on to London, where he had emissaries in his pay, who caused him to be hailed as kiug by a multitude of the common sort. The first step being thus made, he next busied himselJf in obtaining the sanction and suffrage of the clergy. So much weight was in that age attached to the ceremony of unction in the coronation, that he con- sidered it but little likely that Matilda would ever be able to dethrone him, if he could so far secure the clergy as to have his coronation performed in due order and with the usual formalities. In this impnr- tant part of his daring scheme good srr- vice was done to him by his brother Hem y. bishop of Winchester, who caused the l)i- shop of Salisbury to join him inpersuadiii-r William, archbishop of Canterbury, to give Stephen the royal unction. The primate having, in common with all the nobility, taken the oath of allegiance to Matilda, was unwilling to comply with so startling a step ; but his reluctance, whether real or assumed, gave way when Roger Bigod, who held the important office of steward of the household, made oath that Henry on his death-bed had evinced his displeasure with Matilda, and expressed his deliberate pre- ference of Stephen as his successor. It is not easy to believe that so shrewd a per- sonage as tlie .archbishop really gave any credence to this shallow tale: but he af- fected to do so, and upon its authority crowned Stephen. The coronation was but meagrely attended by the nobles : yet as none of them made any open opposition, Stephen proceeded to exercise the royal au- thority as coolly as though he had ascended the throne by the double right of consent of the people and heirship. Having seized upon the royal treasure, which amounted to upwards of a hundred thousand pounds, Stephen was able to sur- round his usurped throne with an immense number of foreign mercenaries. While he thus provided against open force, he also took the precaution to endeavour, by the apparent justice of his Intentions, to ob- literate from the general memory, and es- pecially from the memory of the clergy, all thought of the shameful irregularity and ingratitude by which he had obtained the throne. He published a charter calculated to interest all ranks of men ; promising to abolish Danegelt, generally to restore the laws of king Edward, to correct all abuses of the forest laws, and— with an especial view to conciliating the clergy— to fill all benefices as they should become vacant, and to le\T no rents upon them while va- cant. He at the same time applied for the sanction of the pope, who, well knowing what advantage possession must give Ste- phen over the absent Matilda, and being, besides, well pleased to be called upon to interfere in the temporal affairs of England, very readily gave It in a bull, which Stephen took great care to make public throughout England. enslanti.— IJDrman !ltixg. — ^tgptjcn. 139 In Normandy the same success attended Stephen, who had his eldest son, Eustace, put in possession of the duchy on doing lumiaKC to tlie liing of France; and Geof- frey, Matilda's husband, found himself re- diued to such straits, that he was fain to Ciller into a truce with Stephen, the latter consenting to pay, during the two years for wliich it was made, a pension of live thou- sand marlis. Though Stephen was thus far «o -successful, there were several circum- stances wliich were calculated to cause him considerable apprehension and per- plexity Robert, a natural son of the late king, by whom he had been created earl of Gloucester, possessed considerable ability and influence, and was very much attached to Matilda, in whose wrongs he could not fail to taUe great interest. This noble- man wlio was In Normandy when Stephen usurped the throne of England, was looked upon, both by the ft-iends and the enemies of Stephen, as the most likely person to liead any open opposition to the usurper. In truth, the earl was placed in a very de- lic-ate .ind trying situation. On the one hand, he was exceedingly zealous in the cause of Matilda ; on the other hand, to refuse when required to take the oath of aliesiiauce to Stephen, was inevitably to briirg utter ruin upon his fortunes, as far as England was concerned. lu this per- plexing dilemma he resolved to take a mid- dle course, and, by avoiding an open rup- ture with Stephen, secure to himself the liberty and means of acting according to the dictates of his conscience, should cir- ciuustances become more favourable to Aintilda. He, therefore, consented to take the oath of allegiance to Stephen, on con- dition that the king should duly jierform all that he had promised, and that he sliould in no wise curtail or infringe the richts or dignities of the earl. This sin- gular and verv unusual reservation clearly enough proved to Stephen, that he was to look upon the earl as his good and loyal subject just so long as there seemed to be no chance of a successful revolt, and no longer; but the earl was so powerful and 1 popular, that he did not think it safe to re- fuse his oath of fealty, even on these un- usual terras. 1 Though we correctly call these terms un- i usual, we do so only with reference to for- 1 mer reigns ; Stephen was obliged to con- : sent to them in still more important cases ! than. that of the earl of Gloucester. The clergy, finding the king willing to sacrifice to expediency, and well knowing how in- expedient he would find it to quarrel with their powerful body, T/ould only give him their oath of allegiance with the reservar 1 tion that their allegiance should endure so ' long as the king should stipport the disci- ' pline of the church, and defend the ecclesi- astical liberties. To how much dispute, quibble, and assumption were not those undefined terms capable of leading, under the management of the possessors of nearly all tlie learning of the age ; men, too, espe- cially addicted to and skilled in that subt^le warfare which renders the crafty and -nell- schooled logician absolutely invulnerable by any other weapon than a precise de- finition of terms? To the reservations of the earl of Glou- cester and the clergy, succeeded the stiU more ominous demands of the barons. In the anxiety of Stephen to procure their submission and sanction to his usurpation, tlie barons saw an admirable opportunity for tlieir aggrandising their already great power, at the expense of the security of both the people and the crown. They de- manded that each baron should have the right to fortify his castle and put himself in a state of defence ; in other words, that each baron should turn his possessions into an impcriam in imperio, dangerous to the authority of the crown on occasions of especial dispute, and injurious to the peace and welfare upon all occasions, as making the chances of wrong and oppressions moio numerous, and making redress, already difficult, for the future wholly hopeless. A legitimate king, confident in his right and conscientiously mindful of his high trust, would have perilled both crown and life ere he would have consented to such terms ; but in the case of Stephen, the high heart of the valiant soldier was quelled and spell- bound by the conscience of tlie usurper ; and to uphold his tottering throne in pre- sent circumstances of difficulty, he was fain to consent to terras which would both inevitably and speedily increase those dif- ficulties tenfold. The barons were not slow to avail them- selves of the consent thus extorted from the king. In every direction castles sprang newly up, or were newly and more strongly fortified. Even those barons who had at the outset no care for any such privilege, were soon in their self-defouce obliged to follow the example of their neighbours. Jealous of each other, the barons now carried their feuds to the extent of abso- lute petty wars ; and the inferior gentry and peasantry could only hope to escape from being p"lundered and ill used by one party, at the expense of siding with the other, in quarrels for neither side of which tliey had the slightest real care. Tlie barons having thus far proceeded in establishing their qvaai sovereignty and independence of the crown, it is not to be wondered at that they soon proceeded still farther and arrogated to themselves within their mimic royalties all the privileges of actual sovereignty, even including that of coining money. Though Stephen, as a matter of policy, had granted the privilege of fortification, out of which he must, as a shrewd and sensil)le man, have anticipated that these abuses would issue, he was by no means inclined to submit to the abuses themselves, witliout a trial how far it was practicable to take back by his present force what had been extorted from his former weakness, And thus, as the nobles abused the privi- leges he had granted, he now by his mer- cenary force set himself not merely to an- nihilate those extorted privileges, but also to make very serious encroachments upon the more ancient and legitimate rights of tlie subject. The perpetual contests that 140 Ci)e Crra^ur}) at ^t^torji, ^c. thus existed between the king and tlie barons, and among the barons themselves, and tlie perpetual insult and despoiling to which the groat body of the people were in couseQuence subjected, caused so general a discontent, that the carl of Gloucester, deeming that the favourable and long- wished-for time had at length arrived for the open advocacy (.f the claims of Matilda, suddenly departed from England. As soon as lie arrived safely abroad, he forwarded to Stephen a solemn defiance and renun- ciation of fealty, and reproached him in detail, and in the strongest language, with his breaches of the promises and conditions upon which that fealty had been sworn. A.D. 1138. — Just as Stephen was thus doubly perplexed a new enemy arose to threaten him, in the person of David, king of Scotland, who, being uncle to Matilda, now crossed the borders with a large army to assert and defend her title. So little was Stephen beloved by the turbulent barons, with not a few of whom he was even then at personal feud, that had David now added a wise policy to his sincere zeal in the cause of his niece, there seems little reason to doubt that Matilda would have ousted Stephen almost without difficulty or blood- shed ; for he had by this time so nearly e.xpended his once large treasure, that the foreign mercenaries, on whom he chiefly depended for defence, actually, for the most part, subsisted by plunder. But David, unable or unwilling to enter into points of policy and expediency, marked his path from the border to the fertile plains of Yorkshire by such cruel bloodshed and destruction, that all sjTnpathy with his intention was forgotten in disgust and indignation at his conduct. The northern nobles, whom he might easily have won to Ills support, were thus aroused and united against him. William Albemarle, Robert de Ferres, William Percy, Robert de Bruce, Roger de "Mowbray, Ilbert Lacy, Walter I'Epee, and numerous other nobles in the north of England, joined their large forces into one great array and encountered the Scots at Northallerton. A battle, called the battle of the Standard, from an immense crucifix which was carried on a car In front of the English army, was fought on Au- gust 22, 1138, and ended in so total a defeat of the Scottish army, that David himself, together with his son Henry, very nearly fell into the hands of the English. This defeat of the king of Scotland greatly tended to daunt the enemies of Stephen, and to give a hope of stability to his rule; but he had scarcely escaped the ruin that this one enemy intended for him, when he was engaged in a bitter controversy with an enemy still more zealous and more powerful— the clergy. A.D. 1139.— The bishops, as they had been rated for military service in common with the barons, so they added all the state and privileges of lay barons to those proper to tlieir own character and rank. And when the custom of erecting fortresses and keep- ing strong garrisons in pay became general .•iinoug the lay barons, several of the bishops followed their example. The bishops of Salisbury and Lincoln had done so ; the former had completed one at Sherborne and another at Devizes, and had even com- menced a third at Malinesbury ; and the latter, who was his nephew, had erected an exceedingly strong and stately one at Newark. Unwisely deeming it safer to be- gin by attacking thefortresses of the clergy than those of the lay barons, Stephen, availing himself of some disturbances at court between the armed followers of the bishop of Salisbury and those of the ear) of Brittany, threw both the bishop of Salis- bury and his nephew of Lincoln into prison, and compelled them, by threats of still worse treatment, to surrender their for tresses into his hands. This actof power call ed up an opponent to Stephen, in a person from whom, of the whole of the clergy, he had the least reason to fear any opposition. The king's brother, Henrj', bishop of Winchester, to whom he owed so much in accomplishing his usurpation of the crown, was at this time armed with the legatine commission in England ; and deeming his duty to the church paramount to the ties of blood, he assembled a synod at West- minster, which he opened with a formal complaint of, what he termed, the impiety of the king. The sjTiod was well inclined to acquiesce in Henry's view of the case, and a formal summons was sent to the king to account to the synod for the conduct of which it complamed. With a strange ne- glect of what would have been his true po- licy— a peremptory denial of the right of the synod to sit in judgement upon the sove- reign on a question which really related, and related only, to the police of his king- dom — Stephen virtually i)ut the judgement of his case into the hands of a court that, by the very charge made against him by its head, avowed Itself inimical, partial, and prejudiced, by sending Aubrey de Vere to plead his cause. De Vere set out by charg- ing the two bishops with seditious conduct and treasonable designs ; but the synod rc- fu.sed to entertain that charge until the fortresses, of which, be it observed, the bishops had been dejrived upon that charge, should be restored by the king. The clergy did not fail to make this quarrel the occasion of exasperating the minds of the always credulous multitude against the king. So general was the discontent, that the earl of Gloucester, constantly on the watch for an opportunity of advocating the cause of Matilda, brought that princess to England, with a retinue of a hundred and forty knights and their followers. She fixed her residence first at Bristol, but thence re- moved to Gloucester, where she was joined by several of the most powerful barons, who openly declared in her favour and ex- erted every energy to increase her already considerable force. A civil war speedily raged in every part of the kingdom ; both parties were guilty of the most atrocious excesses, and, as is usual or, rather, uni- versal in such cases, whichever party was temporarily triumphant, t'ne unhappy pea- santry were massacred and plundered, to the sound of watchwords which they scarcely comprehended. ffinjrTaiitf.— je0rmatt %int.—^ttp^tn. 141 A.D. 1140.— While the kingdom was thus ■ nil and the iieople thus tormented, the . 1 lying successes of tlie equally selflsh op- iHi.-intr parties led tn frequent discussions, wliicli led to no agreement, and frequent treaties, made only lv rffiisliii; to allow tlio attciul- aiico of llvo bisluips.wlio liaJ been Sfk'ctod by the iiontlff to attoud a council at Ulieiius, the usual practice being for the English church to elect its own deputies. In revenge for this atfroiit.ashe deemed it, tlie pope laid all Stephen's parly under his Interdict ; a measure which he well knew could not fail to tell with fearful effect apiinst the Interests of a prince who was seated not only upon a usurped, but also a disputed thi-one. A. D. 1153.— Prince Henry, son of Matilda, who had already given signal proofs of talent and bravery, was now encouraged, by the divided state of the public mind, to invade England. He defeated Stephen at Malmes- bury, and they again met before Walling- ford, when a negotiation was entered into, by which Henry ceded his claim during the life of Stephen on condition of being secured of the succession, Boulogne and the other patrimonial possessions of Stephen being equally secured to his son ■William— his eldest son Eustace being dead. This treaty having been executed in due form, prince Henry returned to >"ormaudy : whence he was recalled by the death of Stephen on the 23th of October, 1154. CH.\PTER XA-III. The lieifpi of Hexrt II. : preceded by Obser- rutionson the Jiight of the £nglishto Terri- tory in France. Methodical reading, always desirable, is especially so in reading History ; and be- fore we commence the narrative of the eventful and, in many respects, important reign of Henry II., we deem that we shall be doing the reader good service in direct- ing his attention to the origin of the earlier wars Ijetween England and France ; a point upon which all our historians have rather too confidently assumed the intuitive know- ledge of their readers, whom they have thus left to read of results without acquaintance with processes, and to indulge their ima- ginations in the details of warlike enter- prises, without any data upon which to judge of the justice or injustice with which those enterprises were undertaken. Even with the invasion of William the Conqueror, England, by its new sovereign, became intere.sted in no small or insignifl- cant portion of France. Vp to that period England's connection with foreigners arose only from the invasions of the Xorthinen, but with William's invasion quite a new relation sprang up between England and the continent. From this moment the connections of Normandy, and its feuds, whether with the French king or with .any of his powerful vassals, entered largely into the concerns of England. With Henry II. this connection of Engl.and with the iifl'.airs of the continent was vastly increased. In right of his father that monarch possessed Touraine and Anjou ; in right of his mother he possessed Maine and Normandy ; and in right of his wife, Guienne, Poictou, Xaintonge, Auvergne, Perigord, Angour- Dois, and the Limousin ; and he subse- iiuently became really, as he was already nominally, possessed of the sovereignty of Brittany. If the reader now cast his eyes over the map of that vast and populous territory which Is called France, he will perceive that Henry thus possessed a third of it, .and the third of gitatest fertility and v.'iluc. Left uiiexplaiiifd as this usually is by our historians, the iiiipressioii upon the iniiKis of even readers not wholly deserving of the censure implied in the term super- ficial, must almost necessarily be, that the wars of which by and by we shall have to speak between France and England, origi- nited in the mere greed and ambition of kings of the latter country, who, diss.ilis- tied with their insular possessions, desind to usurp territory in France; whereas the direct contrary is the case; and they in these wars made use of their English con- quests to retain possession of, or to e.\tend liy way of reprisal, their earlier conquered or fairly inherited French territory. The kings of France, in point of fact, at this early period of French history, were not kings of France in the present acceptation of that title. They had a nominal rather th;in a real feudal superiority over the whole country ; there were six great eccle- siastical j>eeiages, besides the six lay peer- ages of Burgundy, Normandy, Guienne, Flanders, Toulouse, and Champagne. Each of these peerages,though nominally subject to the French crown, was, in reality, .an independent sovereignty. If it chanced that the warlike designs of the king coin- cided with the views and interest of his great vassals, he could lead an immense and splendid force into the field ; but if, as far more frequently happened, any or all of his great vassals chanced to be opposed to him, it at once became evident, that he was only nominally their master. Tliat in be- coming masters of our insular land, the Norman race should sooner or later see their French territory merging itself into that of the French king and adding to his power was inevitable, as we can now per- ceive : but in the time of our second Henry, the king of France feared — and the .aspect of things then warranted his fear — the pre- cisely opposite process. But bearing this brief explanation carefully in mind, the reader will find himself greatly assisted in understanding the feelings and views of the sovereigns of England and France, in those wars which cost each country rivers of its best blood. Previous to the death of Stephen, Henry married Eleanor, the divorced wife of Louis VII. of France. She had accompanied that monarch to the Holy Land, and her conduct there partook so much of the levity and immorality which marked that of too many of her sex in the same scene, that Louis felt bound in honour to divorce her, and he at the same time restored to her those rich provinces to which we have al- read.v alluded as her dower. Undeterred by her reported iraiuorality, Henry, after six weeks' courtship, made her his wife, in defi.-uiee of the disparity in their years; having an eye, probably, to the advantage which her wealth could not fail to give eiiglaniJ.— laiHntagtnpW.— !§fnrB3EI. 143 liini, should he have to make a struggle to ohtain the English crown. A. I). 1155. — So secure, however, was Henry in the succession to England at Ste- phen's death, that not the slightest attempt was made to set up any counter claim on the part of Stephen's surviving son William, and Ilenrv himself, being perfectly acquainted with the state of the public mind, did not even hasten to England immediately on re- ceiving news of Stephen's death, but de- ferred doing so until he had completed the subjection of a castle that he was besieging on the fi-ontier of Normandy. This done, he jiroceeded to England, and he was received with the greatest cordiality by all ranks and conditions of men. The popularity that he already enjoyed was greatly increased by the first act of his reign, which was the eyually wise and just dismissal of the hordes of foreign mercenaries whom Ste- phen had introduced into England, and who, however serviceable to the usurper in UUc■^tion, had been both iu peace and In war a burthen and a curse to the English people. Sensible that his popularity was such as to enable him to dispense with these fierce praitorians, who, while mis- chievous and offensive to the subject under all circumstances, might by peculiar cir- cumstances be rendered mischievous and even fatal to the sovereign, he sent them all out of the country, and with them he sent William of Tpres, their commander, who was extremely unpopular from having been the friend and adviser of Stephen, many of whose worst measures, (perliaps untruly, for Stephen was not of a temper reiiuiring to be prompted to arbitrary courses), were attributed to his counsels. In the necessities caused by civil war, both Stephen and Matilda had made many and large grants, which — however politic or even inevitable at the time — were ex- tremely injurious to the interests of the crown ; and Henry's great object was to resume these grants, not even excepting those of Matilda herself. His next measure was one as dangerous as it was necessary. The country was iu a perfectly dreadful state of demoralisation ; the highways and byways alike were traversed by troops of daring and violent robbers, and these obtained encourage- ment and opportunity from the wars car- ried on by the nobles against each other. The troop of soldiers following the baron's pennon, or keeping watch and ward upon the battlements of his strong castle, be- came, whenever his need for their services ceased, the banditti of the roads and forests. In such a state of things it would have been hopeless to have attempted to reduce the country warder, without first dismant- ling those fortresses to which the disorder was mainly owing. A weak or unpopular sovereign would most probably have been ruined had he made any attempt upon this valued and most mischievous privilege of the nobles ; and even Henrj-, young, firm, and popular, did it at no inconsiderable risk. The earl of Albemarle and one or two other proud and powerful nobles pre- pared to resist the king ; but his force was so compact, and Ills object was so popular with the great body of the people, that the factious nobles submitted at the approach of their sovereign. A. V. 11.5C.— Having by an admirable mix- ture of prudence and firmness reduced all parts of England to complete peace and se- curity, Henry went to France to oppose in person the attempts his brother Geoffrey was making upon the valuable provinces of Maine and Anjou, of some portions of which that prince had already possessed himselt The mere appearance of Henry had the effect of causing the instant sub- mission of the disaffected, and Geoffrey consented to resign his claim in consider- ation of a yearly pension of a thousand pounds. A.D. 1157.— Just as Henry had completed his prudent regulations for preventing fu- turedisturbances in his French possessions, he was called over to England by the turbu- lent conduct of the Welsh, who had ven- tured to make incursions upon his territory. They were beaten back before his arrival ; but he was resolved to chastise them still farther, and for that purpose he followed them into their mountain fastnesses. The difficult nature of the coimtry was so unfa- vourable to his operations, that he was more than once in great danger. On one occasion his van guard was so beset in a rocky pass, that its discipline and valour could not pre- vent it from being put to complete rout ; Henrj- de Essex, who held the high office of hereditary standard-bearer, actually threw down his standard and joined the flying soldiery, whose panic he increased by loudly exclaiming that the king was killed. The king, who fortunately was on the spot, gal- loped from post to post, re-assured his main body, and led it on so gallantly, that he saved it from the utter ruin with which it was for a time threatened by this foolish and disgraceful panic. Henry de Essex, whose behaviour had been so remarkably unknightly on this oc- casion, was on its account charged with felony by Robert de Montford, and lists were appointed for the trial by battle. De Essex was vanquished, and condemned to pass the remainder of his life in a convent and to forfeit all his property. " A.D.1158.— The war with the Welsh ended in the submission of that people, and Henry's attention was again called to the continent. When his brother Geoffrey gave up his pretensions to Anjou and Maine, that prince took possession of the coimty of Kantes,with the consent of its inhabitants, who had chased away their legitimate prince. Geoffrey died soon after he had assumed his new dignity ; and Henry now claimed to succeed as heir to the command and possession which Geoffrey had himself owed only to the voluntary submission of the people. His claim was disputed by Conan, earl of Brittany, who asserted that Nantes properly belonged to his dominions, whence it had, as he alleged, only been se- parated by rebellion ; and he accordingly took possession of it. Henry secured him- self against any interference on the part of Louis of France by betrothing his son and 144 Cfje CrcaiSurjj of ?E}Wt0rB, &c. heir Henry, then only five years old, to I Louis's daugliter Marfiarct, who was nearly four years younger. Having by this politic stroke rendered it hopeless for Conau to seek any aid fronj Louis, Henry now march- ed into Brittany, and Coiian, seeing the im- possibility of successful resistance, at once agreed to give up Nantes. Soon after, Co- n.-m, an.\ious to secure the powerful support of Henry, gave his only daughter and heiress to that prince's son Geolfrey. Oo- nan died in a few years after this betrothal, and Henry immediately took possession of Brittany iu right of his son and daughter- in-law. A.D. 1159.— Henry, through his wife, had a claim upon the country of Toulouse, and he now urged that claim against Raymond, the reigning count, who solicited the pro- tection of the king of France ; and the latter, both as Raymond's feudal superior, and as the prince more than all other princes in- terested in putting a check on the vast ag- grandisement of Henry, immediately grant- ed Raymond his protection, in spite of the startling fact, that Louis himself had for- merly, while Eleanor was his wife, claimed Toulouse in her right, as Henry now did. So little, alas I are the plainest principles of honesty and consistency regarded iu the strife of politics. Henry advanced upon Toulouse with a very considerable army, chiefly of merce- naries. Assisted by Trincaral, count of Nismes, and Berenger, count of Barce- lona, he was at the outset very success- ful, taking Verdun and several other places of lesser note. He then laid siege to the capital of the county, and Louis threw himself into it with a reinforcement. Henry was now strongly urged by his friends to take the place by assault, as he prob.ibly might have done, and by thus making the French king prisoner, obtain whatever terms he pleased fi-om that prince. But Henry's prudence never forsook him, even amid the excitement of war and the flush of success. Louis was his feudal lord ; to make him prisoner would be to hold out encouragement to his own great and turbu- lent vassals to break through their feudal bonds ; and instead of prosecuting the siege more vigorously, in order to make Louis prisoner, Henry immediately raised it, say- ing that he could not think of flghting against a place that was defended by his superior lord in person, and departed to de- fend Normandy against the count de Dreux, brother to Louis. The chivalrous delicacy which had led Henry to depart from before Toulouse did not immediately terminate the war be- tween him and Louis; but the operations were feebly conducted on both sides, and ended first in a cessation of arms, and then in a formal peace. A new cause of bitter feeling now sprang up between them. When prince Henry, the king's eldest son, was affianced to Mar- garet of France, it was stipulated that part of the princess's dowry should be the im- portant fortress of Gisors, which was to be delivered into the hands of the king on the celebration of the marriage, and In the meantime to remain in the custody of the knights templars. Henry, as was suspected, bribed the grand master of the templars to deliver the fortress to him, furnishing him with a pretext for so doing by ordering the immediate celebration of the marriage, though the aflianced prince and princess were mere children. Louis was naturally much offended at this sh.arp practice on the p.art of Henry, and was on the point of commencing war again, when pope Alex- ander IIL, whom the triumph of the auti- pope, Victor IV., conipi'lled to reside iu France, successfully interposed his media- tion. A.D. 1162.— Friendship being, at the least nominally and externally, established be- tween Louis and Henry, the latter monarch returned to England, and devoted his atten- tion to the delicate and difficult task of re- straining the authority of the clergy withni reasonable limits. That he might the more safely and readily do this, he took the oppor- tunity now afforded him by the death of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, to place that dignity in the hands of a ninn whom he deemed entirely devoted to him- self, but who, in the result , proved the greai - est enemy to the authority of the crown, and the stoutest and haughtiest champinn of the church, and taught Henry the danger of trusting to appearances, by embitterintr and perplexing whole years of his lift>. This man, in whose ch.ararter and temper the king made so grievous a mistake, was the celebrated Thomas a Becket. Bom of respectable parentage in London, and having a good education, he was fortu- nate enough to attract the attention and obtain the favour of archbishop Theobald,^ who bestowed some offices upon him, the' emoluments of which enabled him to go to Italy, where he studied the civil and canon law with so much success, that on his re- turn archbishop Theobald gave him the lu- crative and important appointment of arch- deacon of Canterbury, and subsequently intrusted him with a mission to Rome, in which he acquitted himself with his usual ability. On the accession of Henry, the archbishop strongly recommended Bec- ket to his notice ; and Henry, finding him remarkably rich in the lighter accomplish- ments of the courtier, as well as in the graver qualities of the statesman, gave him the high office of chancellor, which in th.at age included, besides its peculiar duties, nearly all those of a modern prime minis- ter. Kings oft«n take a delight in over- w-helming with wealth and honours those whom they have once raised above the struggling herd. It was so even with the jinident Henry, who proceeded to confer uiion his favourite chancellor the provost- ship of Beverley, the deanery of Hastings, and the constableship of the Tower ; made him tutor to prince Henry, and gave him the hiiuoursof Eye and Berkhamstead, valuable new baronies which had escheated to the crown. Becket's style of living was pro- portioned to the vast wealth thus heaped upim him ; his sumptuousness of style and the numerous attendance paid to his levees exceeded all that had ever been seen in the (Snglanir.— ^lantaflmeW.— i^pttrti M. 146 case of a mere subject ; the proudest no- bles were his guests, and gladly placed their sons in liis liouse as that in Avhieh they >\ould best become acconiplisbed gentle- men; he bad a great number of knights actually retained In liis service, and he at- tended the king in the war of Toulouse with seven lauidred knights at bis own charge ; on anotlier (iccasiou be maintained twelve bundred knights and twelve hundred of their folhiwers during the forty days .if their Btipulalril ^ervice ; ami when sent to Kraucr on an embassy, he Cdiiipletely astdui^lied that court by bis nuigniliceut attendance. With ail this splendour Becket was a gay companion. Having taken only deacon's orders, he did not hesitate to join in the sports of laymen, or even to take bis share of warlike adventure. He was consequently the favourite companion of the king in his leisure hours. It is said that Henry, riding one day with Becket, and meeting a poor wretch whose rags shook in the wind, seized the chancellor's scarlet and ermine-lined coat, and gave it to the poor man, who, it may well be supposed, was much surprised at such a gift. Living thus in both the official and pri- vate intimacy of the king, Becket was well ucquainted with all his views and designs towards the church ; and as he had always professed to agree with them, and was ma- nifestly possessed of all the talent and reso- lution which would make him valualile iu the struggle, the king made him archbishop at the death of his old patron Theobald. Having thus obtained the second place in the kingdom, Thomas k Becket at once cast off all the gay habits and light humour wliich he had made the instruments of ob- taining and fl.'iing the personal favour of the king. His first step on being conse- crated archbishop of Canterbury was to re- sign his chaucellorship into the hands of the king, on the significant plea that his spiritual function would henceforth de- mand all his energies and attention, to the utter exclusion of all secular affairs. In his household and equipages he retained all his old magnificence, but in his own person he now assumed a rigid austerity befitting an anchorite. He wore a hair cloth next Ins skin, whicli was toru and raw with the merciless discipUne that he inflicted upon himself; bread w.as almost his only diet, and his only beverage was water, which he rendered unpalatable by an infusion of dis- agreeable herbs. He daily had thirteen beggars into his palace and washed their j feet ; after which ceremony they were sup- plied with refreshments, and dismissed ! w ith a pecuniary present. 'Vinule thus ex- i citing the wonder and admiration of the 1 laity, he was no less assiduous in aiming at I thefavour of the clergy, to whom he was stu- diously accessible and affable, aud whom he still further gratified by his liberal gifts to hospitals and convents : and all who were admitted to his presence were at once edified i and surprised by the grave and devotional aspect and rigid life of one who had but recently been foremost among the gayest :i.id giddiest of the courtiers. Far less ; enetratiou than was possessed by Henry might have enabled him to see in all this sudden and sanctimonious austerity, a sure indication that he would find a powerful foe in Becket whenever he should attempt to infringe ui>on the real or assumed rights of llie church, liiil.in truth, Becket was too eager to show bis ecclesiastical zeal, even to wait until the measures of the king should afl:ord him oijportuuily, and bimself commenced the strife between the mitre a)id the cruwn liy i.illiiig tipuu the earl of Clai-i' in siu-i-eniler llir liarnny iif Tuiibridiie I., tlie see cif Caiitii luiry, tii which it bad lunnerly beK.nged, and from which Beclcet alllrmedthat the canons prevented his pre- decessors from legally separating it. The earl of Clare was a noble of great wealth and power, and allied to some of the first families, and his sister was supposed to have gained tlie affections of the king; and as the barony of Tunbridge had been In his family from the conquest, it seems probable that Becket was induced to select him for this demand of restitution of church property, in order the more em- pbafically to show bis deteriuination to lu-efer the inlere^ts of the church to all persoiuil considerations, whether of fear or favour. William D'Eynsford, one of the military- tenants of the crown, was the patron of a living in a manor held of the archbishop of Canterbury. To this living Becket pre- sented an incumbent named Laurence, thereby infringing the right of D'Eynsford, who instantly ejected Laurence vi et armis. Becket forthwith cited D'Eynsford, and, acting at once as accuser aud judge, passed sentence of exconmiunicatiou upon him. D'Eynsford applied for the interference of the king, on the ground that it was illegal that such a sentence should be passed ou one who held in ciijiite from the crown, without the royal assent first obtained. Henry accordingly, acting upon the prac- tice established from the conquest, wrote to Becket, with whom he no longer bad any personal intercourse, aud desired him to absolve D'Eynsford. It was only re- luctantly, and after some delay, that Becket complied at all ; and even when he did so he coupled his compliance w ith a message, to the effect that it was not for the king to instruct him as to whom he sboiUd excom- muuicate aud whom absolve ! Though this conduct abundantly showed Henry the sort of opposition he had to expect from the man whom his kindness had furnished with the means of beiug imgrateful, there were many considerations, apart from the boldness and decision of the king's temper, which made Henry resolute in not losing any time in endeavouringto put something like a curb upon the licentious insolence to which long impunity and the gross super- stition of the great body of the people had encouraged the clergy. The papacy was just now considerably weakened by its own schismaticaldivision, while Henry, wealthy in territory, was fortunate in having the kingdom of England thoroughly in sub- mission, with the sole exception of the cle- rical disorders and assumptions to whlcli 1 he had now determined to put a stop. On o 146 Clb^ CreaiSurp of ^itarp, &t. the other hand, those disoi-ilcis were so scaiulnlous.aiul those assutnptioiis in many cases were so startlingly unjust, that Henry could scarcely fail to have the hest wishes of his subjects in general for the success of his project. The practice of ordaining the sons of villains had not merely caused an inordinate increase in the number of the clergy, but had also caused an even more than corresponding deterioration of the clerical character in England. The incon- tinence, gluttony, and roystering habits, attributed to the lower order of clergy liy the writers of a much later day, were light and comparatively venial offences com- pared to those which seem but too truly to lie attributed to that order in the reign of Henry II. Robbery, adulterous seduction, and even rape and murder, were attributed to them ; and the returns made to an in- quiry which Henry ordered, showed that, only counting from the commencement of Ills reign^i.e. a period of somewhat less than two years, a hundred murders had been committed by men in holy orders who had never been called to account. Henry resolved to take steps for putting a stop to this impunity of criminals whose sacred profession only made their crimi- nality the greater and more detestable. An opportunity of bringing the point of the clerical impunity to issue was afforded by a horrible crime that was just now committed in Worcestershire, where a priest, on being discovered iu carrying on an illicit inter- course with a gentleman's daughter, put her father to death. The king demanded that the offender should be delivered over to the civil power, but Becket confined the clerkly culprit in the bishop's prison to prevent his being apprehended by the king's officers, and maintained that the highest punishment that could be infticted upon the priest was degradation. The king acutely caua-ht at this, and dem.anded that after degradation, when he would have become a mere layman again, the culprit should be delivered to the civil power to be further dealt with as it might deem fit; but Becket demurred even to this, on the plea that it would he unjust to try an ac- cused man a second time upon tlie same charge. Angered by the arrogance of Becket, and yet not wholly sorry to have such a really sound pretext for putting some order into the pretensions of the church, Henry sum- moned an assembly of the prelates of Eng- land, for the avowed purpose of putting a termination to the frequent and increasing controversies between the ecclesiastical and the civil jurisdiction. Henry himself commenced the business of the assembly by asking the bishops, plainly and categorically, whether they were willing or unwilling to submit to the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom. To this plain question the bishops, in a more Jesuitical spirit, replied, that they were willing so to submit, ' saving their own order ;' a mental reservation by which they clearly meant that they would so sub- mit—until resistance should be safe and easy I So shallow and palpable an artifice could not Impose upon so shrewd a prince .as Henry, whom It greatly provoked. He departed from the assemtily in an evident rage, and immediately sent to require from Becket the surrender of the castles and honours of Eye and Berkh.imstead. This de- mand, and the anger which it indicated, greatly alarmed the bishops; but Becket was undismayed; and it was not without more difficulty that Philip, the pope's legate and almoner, prevailed upon him to consent to the retr.actation of the offensive saving clause, and give an absolute and unquali- fied promise of submission to the ancient laws. But Henry was now determined to have a more precise understanding ; a for- mal and definite decision of the limits of the ecclesiastical and the civil authority ; and thus in some measure to destroy the undue ascendancy which, as effectually as insidiously, the former had for a long time past been obtaming. He therefore collated and reduced to writing those ancient cus- toms of the realm which had been the most egregiously contravened by the clergy, and having called a great council of the barons and prelates at Clarendon, in Berkshire, he submitted this digest to them iu the form of a series of articles, which are known in history under the title of the ' Constitu- tions of Clarendon ; ' which are thus briefly summed up. 'It was enacted by these constitutions that all suits concerning the .advowson and presentation of churches should be determined in the civil courts ; that in future the churches belonging to the king's see should not be granted in per- petuity without his consent ; that clerks accused of any crime should be tried in the civil courts ; that no one, particularly no clergyman, of any rank should depart the kingdom without the king's licence ; that excommunicated persons should not be bound to give security for their continuing in their present place of abode ; that laics should not be accused in spiritual courts, except by legal and reputable promoters and witnesses ; that no chief-tenant of the crown should be excommunicated, nor his lands be put under an interdict,except with the king's consent ; that all appeals in spi- ritual causes should be carried from the archdeacon to the bishop, from the bishop to the primate, and from the primate to the king, and should proceed no farther but with the king's consent ; that should any lawsuit arise between a layman and a cler- gyman concerning a tenant, and it be dis- puted whether the land be a lay or an ec- clesiastical fee, it should be first determined by the verdict of twelve lawful men to what class it belonged, and if the land be found to be a lay fee, then the cause should finally be determined in the civil courts ; that no inhabitant in a lay demesne should be ex- communicated for non-appearance in a spi- ritual court until the chief officer of the place where he resides be consulted, that he may compel him by the civil authority to give satisfaction to the church ; that the archbishops, bishops, and other spiritual dignitaries should be regarded as barons f)f the realm, should possess the privileges and be subjected to the burthens belonging to CPnjrlantf.— ^9rantas«t0W.— Urnrg M. 147 that rank, and sbould l)e bound to attend tlie king in liis groat councils, and assist at all trials, till the sentence cither of death or of loss of members l)e given against the criminal ; that the revenue of vacant sees ehouid belong to the king, the chapter, or such of them as he chooses to summon, should sit in the king's chapel till they made the new election with liis consent, and that the bishop elect should do homage to the crown ; that if any baron or tenant in capite sliould refuse to submit to the spiritual courts, tlic king should employ his authority in obliging him to make such submissions ; that if any one threw off his allegiance to the king, the prelates should assist the king with tlicir censures in re- ducing him ; that goods forfeited to the king should not be protected in churches or churchyards ; that the clergy shtrald no longer pretend to the right of enfoi-cuig payment of debts contracted by oatli or promise ; but should leave these lawsuits, etiually with others, to the determination of the civil courts ; and tliat the sous of vil- lains should not be ordained clerks without the consent of their lord.' The barons present at this great council were all on the king's side, either from ac- tual participation of his sentiments towards the clergy or from awe of his power and temper ; and the prelates, perceiving ihat tliey had both the king and the lay peerage against them, were fain to consent to tiiese articlcs,which accordingly were voted %vith- out opposition. But Henry, misdoubting that the bishops, though they now found it useless to oppose the united will of the crown and the peerage, would, whenever circumstances shouldbe favourable to them, deny the authority of the constitutions, as being enacted by an authority in itself in- complete, would not be contented with the mere verbal assent of the prelates, but de- manded that each of them should set his hand and seal to the constitutions, and to their solemn promise to observe them. To this demand, though the rest of the prelates complied with it, Becket gave a bold and flat refusal. The earls of Cornwall and Leicester, the most powerful men in the lay peerage, strongly urged him, as a matter of policy as well as of obedience, to comply with the king's demand. He was so well aware of Henry's drift, and so far from being desirous of securing the permanent observance of the constitutions of Claren- don, that no intreaties could induce him to yield assent, until Kichard de Hastings, English grand prior of the knights tem- plars, knelt to him, and in tears implored him, if not for his own sake, at least for the Bake of the church, not to continue an op- l)osition which must be unsuccessful, and would only excite the ruinous opposition of a monarch equally resolute and powerful. Stem and resolved as Becket had sliown himself as regarded the importunity of laymen, this evident proof that upon this Iioint, at least, he no longer had the sym- pathy of even churchmen, caused Becket to give way ; and he therefore, though with evident reluctance, took an oath ' legally, with good faith, and without fraud or reserve, to observe the constitutions of Cla- reiidon.' But the king, though he had thus far triumphed even over the firm and haughty temper of the primate, was by no means so near to complete success as he deemed himself. Pope Alexander, who still re- mained in France, and to whom in his contests with the anti-pope Henry had done no unimportant services, no sooner had the constitutions presented to him for ratification, than he perceived how com- pletely they were calculated to make the king of England independent of his clergj-, and the kingdom itself of the lapacy; and he was so far from ratifying, that he con- demned and annulled them. When Becket found his own former opposition thus sanc- tioned by the present feelings and conduct of the pope, he regretted that he had al- lowed any considerations to induce him to give his signature and assent. He imme- diately increased his already gi-eat and painful austerities of life and severity of discipline, and would not even exercise any of the functions of his dignity until he re- ceived the absolution of the pope for what he deemed his offence against the eccle- siastical privileges. Nor did he confine himself to mere verb.al repentance or his own personal disciijline, but usedall his elo- quence to induce the English prelates to engage with him in a fixed and firm con- federacy to regain and maintain thi!ir con- nion right. Henrj-, hoping to beat Becket at his own weapons, now applied to Alex- ander to grant the legatine commission to the archbishop of York, whom he obviously only wished to arm with that inordinate and dangerous authority, in order that he might make him the instrument of Becket's ruin. But the design was too obvious to escape so keen an observer as Alexander, who granted the commission of legate, as desired, but carefully added a clause inhi- biting the legate from executing any act to tlie prejudice of the archbishop of Can- terbury. On finding himself thus baffled upon the verj' point on M'hich alone he was solicitous, Henry so completely lost his temper, that he sent back the document by the very messenger who lirought it over: — thus giving to Alexander the compliment of discerument, and the satisfaction of having completely baflled his plan. The auger which the king now exhibited threatening extreme measures, Becket twice endeavoured to leave the kingdom, but was detained on both occasions ))y contrary winds ; and Henry was thus ena- bled to cause him much expense and an- noyance, by inciting John, maresclial of the exchequer, to sue the archbishop in his own court for some lands belonging to the manor of Pageham, and thence to appeal to the king's court. When the day ar- rived for trying the cause on the appeal, the archbisliop did not personally appear, but sent four knights to apologise for his absence on the score of illness, and to make certain technical objections to the form of John's appeal. The king treated the ab- sence of Becket as a wilful and offensive contempt, and the knights who bore Lis 148 C^e Crrai£ur|i of %ti$tarst ^c« apology naiTowlj- est-apt-d being ccviuniittcJ to prison fur tts allowed falseluxxi. Being resolvcvl that neither absence nortechnira- I litj- should save Becket from suaterinc, the ' king now sumnioneil a great council of 1 barons and pr<'Iites at Xorthanipton. Be- I fore this court Becket. with an air of er>.^eys whi.;, h.ad been under his management duiing liis chancellorship. To this demand Becket replied, that it was so suddenly and unex- pectedly made that he must require some delay ere he could answer to it. The king then demanded sureties, and Becket de- sired leave to consult his suffragans upon that point. They agreed with him that it would be utterly impossible for him to pro- cure satisfactory security for the enormous amount of 44,iXX) marks, at which the king chose to estimate a demand which must in its very nature be uncertain: ;md Henry, bishop of Winchester, advised him at once to make the king an offer of two thousand marks, by way of payment in full of all demands, certain or uncertain. This he accordingly offered, but the king refused it, as he might have been expected to do : for in the first place he desired money far less than the torment and ruin of Becket, and in the next place, the sum of two thousand marks, though large in itself, was small indeed in comparison of the sum demanded by the king, and could hardly be expected to satisfy him if money really were his object. Some of Becket's suffragans, now plainly perceiving that his ruin was the king's object, advised him to resign his see by way of terminating all the king's charges and demands ; while others advised that he should plainly submit himself to the king's mercy. But Bec'sct seemed to gather courage from the very circumstances which would have plunged men of a more timid spirit Into utter despair, and resolved to brave the utmost that the kin^ could inflict. CHAPTER XIS. The Beiffnof Hesrt II. (continued). Havisg spent a few days in retirement, and meditation upon the trying and diffi- cult circumstances in which he was placed, Becket at length went to church and per- formed mass: having the communion ser- vice commenced with the words ' Princes sat and spake against me," by the selection of which passage he. appeared to desire to liken himself to the persecuted and mar- tyred St. Stephen. From church Becker pr'icceded to the royal ju-dace. On arri v:- r at the gate he took the cross from ■ hands of the bearer, and, holding it be: him, marched to the royal apartment - though in some danger, which made ;. enfllanir.— ^BlantafleneW.— I^enrg H. 149 presence of the eacred symbol necessary fur his protection. The king, who from an inner apartment perceived the extraordi- nary demeanour of Becket, sent some of the bisliops to reason with him upon its impniiairty. Tliey reminded him that he, by subscribing the constitutions of Cia- rcndon, liad agreed with them that it was necessary to do so ; and they comjilained that he appeared to wish to induce them now, by his example, to revolt against the civil power, when it vpas too late for cither of them to do so without the guilt of (jifend- ing against laws to which they had con- sented and sworn to support. To this Becket replied, that if he and they had done wrong in swearing to support laws destructive of the ecclesiastical privileges, the best atonement they now could make would be to submit themselves to the au- thority of the pope, who had solemnly nul- lifled the constitutions of Clarendon, and liad absolved them from the oath taken to secure those constitutions ; that, for his own part, the heavy penalty to which he liad been condemned for an offence which would be but slight even had he been guilty of it, which he was not, and the preposter- ous demands subsequently made upon him l)y the king, very clearly showed that it was intended utterly to ruin him, and thus jirepare a way for the destruction of all spiritual immunities; that to the pope he should appeal against whatever iniquitous sentence mif,'ht be passed upon him ; and that, terrible as the vengeance of so power- ful a king as Henry most undoubtedly was, it had power only to slay the body, while tlie sword of the church could slay the soul. In thus speaking of appealing to the pope, Becket not only opposed the express provision of the constitutions of Claren- dcm, by which appeals were done away with even in ecclesiastical cases, but op- posed even common custom, such appeals never having lain in civil cases. Whatever excuse Henry's violence might furnish for appealing to Rome, in the eye of reason, to do so was an offence both by the letter and the spirit of the law ; Becket, however, waited not for any further proof of the king's vindictiveness.but departed secretly for Northampton, and after wandering about for some time in disguise, and under- going much difflculty, at length procured a ship and arrived in safety at Gravelines. In France the persecuted churchman was sure to find warm friends, if not actually from their conviction of his having the right in the quarrel between himself and the king, at least because it was their in- terest to uphold all who were likely in any degree to check the proud prosperity of Henry. In this both the king of France and his powerful vassal the esrl of Flan- ders had an interest ; and in that particular interest they forgot their infinitely greater concern in the obedience of sulijects to their sovereign, and gave the self-exiled prelateawarm reception, the king of France even going so far as to pay him a personal visit at Soissons, where he had fixed the )irelate's residence. Eeno' sent a mag- niHccnt embassy to Lyons to justify his ccjiiduct to the pope, who, deeply inter- ested in the success of Becket, gave the envoys of Henry a very cool receptiou, while upon Becket, who also attended to justify his conduct, he lavished his kind- ness and distinction. The king, doubly annoyed that Becket's person was beyond his power and that he had obtained so marked a welcome abroad, not only put all the revenues of Canterbury under seques- tration, but even proceeded to the meanly malignant length of banishing the whole of the archbishop's family and dependants) to the number of four hundred. In order that there might be no doubt that his in- tent in this measure was to embarrass Becket, by throwing upon him the support of this host of helpless people, a burthen then the more ruinous from the simulta- neous sequestration of his revenue, he compelled them before their departure to swear that they would immediately join the archbishop. In this iiart of his vin- dictive design, however, Henry was de- feated by the pope ; for as soon as these exiles arrived in France, Alexander ab- solved them from their involuntary oath, and distributed them among the convents of Flanders and France; and to Becket him- self the convent of Pontigny was given for a residence, his income being furnished by the revenues of th.at convent and a very liberal pension allowed to him by the king of France ; and here Becket remained in great esteem and magnificence for some years. A.D. 1165.— Though far removed from Henry's presence, Thomas k Becket had lost neither the will nor the power to annoy him. Both with that end and for the pur- pose of confirming the favourable opinion of the pope himself, he now resigned into Alexander's hands his see of Canterbuiy on the alleged ground that he had been un- canonically presented to it by the king ; apparently quite unaware or careless of the fact, that that plea made the whole of his conduct illegal and gratuitous by his own showing. Alexander, well pleased at the deference thus shown to him, accepted his resignation, but immediately reinvested him and granted him a bull by which he pretended to free Becket from the sentence passed on him at Northampton by the great council. Another glaring inconsistency ; this sentence being fully authorised as to jurisdiction, tyrannical as it was, in fact, by the constitutions of Clarendon, which Becket himself had signed and sanctioned. But, in truth, this whole quarrel was a 'sorites' of inconsistencie.s, absurdity, and wilfulness, both on the one side and on the other. Being unable to obtain an interview with Alexander, the favourable state of whose affairs enabled him to return to Rome, Henry now made earnest and wise preparations for preserving his kingdom and himself from the worst consequences of the open quarrel with the pope which now seemed to be inevitable. Heissued the strictest orders to his justiciaries neither t<] forward nor to allow of any appeals from their courts either to Becket or the pope, or in anywise to appeal to or obey their 160 HC^t HBvtaiutQ at i^u^torg, ^c. nutlmrity. He at the same time made it a treasonable offence to bring any InterJIrt into the liinpdom from eitlior of those (litrnitaries, and denoinicinp upon ail suili offences tlie iiuni.-linient, in tlie case of clerlcs.of castration and deprivation of fisrht, and In the case of laics, of death ; while sequestration and banishment were to be the punishment not only of all persons who should obey such interdict, but also of all their relations : and to give the more solemn effect to these stem orders, he obliged all his subjects to swear obedience to them. Some notion may be formed of the tremen- dcms power that Henry possessed, when it is considered that orders so sweeping as these, which in some sort severed theliing- dnin from its dei'endence on the papal court, were made not by the great council of the nation, hut by the king's will alone. ,As Becket still possessed vast influence over the clergy, who in that age had an almost absolute power over the minds of the great mass of tlie people, Henry did not deem himself sutJicieutly armed by these orders, hut entered into a close engagement with the celebrated emperor Frederic Bar- barossa, who was at open war with pope Alexander ; and still fiirther to alarm the pope, Henry showed some inclination to acknowledge the anti-pope, Pascal III. A.D. 1166.— Nothing daunted by the pru- dent arrangements of Henrj-, or by the effect which they undoubtedly had npon the mind of Alexander, Becket now issued a censure in wliich he excommunicated the king's chief advisers by name and gene- rally all persons who should favour or even obey the constitutions of Clarendon. Thus placed in the dilemma of being unable to release his friends from the terrible effects of excommunication, without undoing all that he had done, and making a formal and complete acknowledgement of the pope's power to absolve and therefore to excom- municate, Henry listened to the advice of John of Oxford, his agent with tlie pope, and consented to admit the mediation of the legates Otho and William of Pavia. When these personages proceeded to ex- amine into the affair, the king required that all the constitutions of Clarendon should be fully ratified ; Becket, on the other hand, insisted that before any such agree- ment were made, both himself and his adherents should be restored to their pos- sessions and position. The legate William, who was greatly interested forHenrj', took care to protract the negotiation as far as possible, and to represent Henry's disposi- tion in the most favourable light to the pope. But the pretensions and demands of the opponent parties were far too much opposed at the very outset to admit of any good result, and the negotiation soon fell to the ground ; Henry, however, profited by its duration and the partial restoration of the pope's good opinion, to procure a dis- pensation for the marriage of his third son Geoffrey to the heiress of Brittany, a favour to which he attached all the more importance because it very deeply mortified both Becket and the king of France. A.D. 1167.— The count of Auvergne, a vas- sal of the Duchy of (iuienne, having offended Henry, that monarch entered his vassal's domain ; and the count appealing to the king of France .as superior lord, a w.ar en- sued between the two kings ; but it was con- ducted with no vigour on either side, and peace was then made, on terms sulficienily unfavourable to Henry to show that his quarrel with Rome had lost him not a little of that superiority which he had previ- ously enjoyed over the king of France. Both the pope and Henrj' began to tii>^ of their pursuits, which they at length pi :- ceived to be mutually injurious, and stiil more dangerous as to the future than i>r. - sently injurious. This consideration in- clined both parties to a reconciliation, but was not suflicient to put an end to tin r jealousies and suspicions. Several attcni pi ; at coming to an understanding were frus- trated by petty doubts or petty pimcti!; ■ on either side ; but at length the nunci- - Gratian and Vivian were commissioned I y the pope to bring about an accommodation, and for that purpose they had a meetini.' with Henry in Normandy. After nmr i tedious discussions, all difficulties seem. 1 happily brought to an end. Henry oSen- 1 to sign a treaty in the terms proposed 1-: the pope, only with a salvo to his rovi dignity. But Becket, who, however murh wronged at one time, seems at length i have learned to love strife for its own sak. . took fire at this limitation, and the excoir:- mnnication of the king's ministers w:i- immcdiately renewed. No fewer than four more treaties were broken off by a siniil.ii- pettiness of temper on either side ; and ir is quite clear from all accounts, that the fault lay chiefly with Becket, who certainly, whatever other qualities of a Cliristiaii prelate he was endowed with, was sadly deficient in meekness. A.D. 1169.— Henry, who perceived this fault of Becket, did not fail to point it out to the attention of king Louis. ' There have been,' said Henry, with great force and shrewdness, ' many kings of England, some of greater, some of less authority th:v,i myself ; there have also been many arch- bishops of Canterbury, holy and good men, and entitled to every kind of respect : let Becket but act towards me with the s.ame submission which the greatest of his pre- decessors have paid to the least of mine, and there shall be no more controversy between us.' This view of the case was sn reasonable that It induced Louis for a time to withdraw his friendship and support ; but bigotry and interest proved an over- match for reason, and the prelate soon re- gained the French king's favour. A.D. 1170. — At length, to the great joy of all sensible men and well-wishers to Eng- land, all difficulties were done away with, and Becket returned to England. By thi- treaty he was not required to yield any of the original points in dispute ; he and his adherents were restored to their posses- sions, and in cases where vacancies in tlu see of Canterbury had been filled up by the king, the incumbents he had appointed were now expelled, and their places filled by men of Becfcet's own choice. On the «5nsTantJ.— 19 lantaggngt^.— l^cnrg M. 161 king's side tlic only advantages derived from tliis reconciliation were the removal of the terrible sentence of excommniilca- tion from his friends and ministers, and tlic termination of the dread in wlmli he had so long lived of seeing au interdict laid npon his whole dominions. But that was all ad- vantage the preciousness of wliich It is scarcely possible for our generation, so happily free from terrors which Roiiio could then strike into the hearts of tlje mightiest nations, adequately to aiipreciale. That Henry set no ordinary value upon the pvace thus procured may be judged from the fact, that this proud and powerful king, among the many servile flatteries with which he wooed the good-humour of the man wliose greatness was his own creation, actually on one occasion stooped so low as to hold the stirrup of Becket while the haughty diurchman mounted I In a king this excessive and unseemly condescension passes for policy and astuteness; in a meaner man it would scarcely escape being called by the plainer and less complimen- tary names of hypocrisy and servility. But the peace procured by so much sacriflce of dignity did not last long. Henry during Becket's absence had asso- ciated his heir, prince Henry, with liim in the sovereignty, and had caused the unction to be bestowed upon him by Roger, archbishop of York. This had not been done so secretly but that the exiled prelate had been informed .if it, and both he and the king of France demanded that the archbishop of Canterbury, who alone could regularly bestow the unction, should renew the ceremony both upon prince Henry and his youthful bride, Margaret of France. To this reasonable demand, which indeed was of the utmost importance to the prince and princess, the king readily and frankly acceded ; but not contented with this tacit confession, that in a case of ur- gency the king trenched upon his privilege and was now ready to make the best repa- ration in his power, Becket had scarcely landed in England ere he suspended the archbishop of York and excomnmnicated the bishops of London and Salisbury, by authority with which the pope had armed him. De Wareune and Gervase, two of the king's ministers, astonished and disgusted at this wanton and gratuitous breach of the peace so lately made up, indignantly demanded whether the archbishop really desired to return to his native land only to bring Are and sword with him. Utterly unmindful of the construction which sensible and just men might put upon his litigious and vain-glorious airs and conduct, he proceeded to make a tri- umphal entry into his see ; and he was re- ■ ceived by the multitude with a rapturous joy and applause well fitted to confirm him in his uncompromising humour. Stimu- lated by his evident popularity, he now published sentence of excoramimication ■ against Nigel de Sackville, Robert de Broc, ! and others, on the ground of their having assisted either at the coronation of prince Henry, or joined in the king's persecution of the exiled clergy. When the archbishop of York and the | bishops of liondon and Salisbury arrived | at BaycHix, where Henry then was, and in- \ f.innrd liim of Becket's new violence, the i king's iiidh-'iiaiioii tliat all his careful po- j y, ainl tin' coiidiscenslon which could t'but have Ik'cii niostpainfnl to so proud a" prince, were tlius completely thrown j away, was tremendous. He broke out into the most violent invectives upon the arro- gancc! and ingratitude of Becket, and un- lortniiMtrly allowed himself, in reply to the archbishop of York, who remarked that pence was hopeless while Becket lived, to say that it was the want of zeal on the part of his friends and servants that had caused him so long to be exposed to so much inso- lence and annoyance. Such words could not in that age fall innocuously from the lips of a monarcli far less powerful and far less beloved by his courtiers than Henry was. Reginald Fitzurse, William de Tracey, Hugh de Moreville, and Richard Brito, four gentlemen of the king's household, taking a mere expression of very natural peevish- ness for an actual wish for the death of Becket, immediately agreed to cross over to England and put their master's enemy to death. They were missed by Henry, who, fearing tlieir desperate purpose, des- patched a message charging them on their allegiance to do no personal injury to Bi'cket. Unhappily they were not over- taken in time to arrest them in their ruth- less design. Becket, proud of the power he had displayed, was residing at Canterbury in all the haughty secm-ity of one who felt the peace and safety of the whole nation to be in some sort hostages for his safety ; of one, in fact, whose person the most daring of his enemies must look upon as sometning sacred and inviolable. This high opinion of his value in the eyes of mankind was fatal to him. When the four resolved as- sassins reached Canterbury the archbishop was but slenderly guarded, and they saw him go without fear or suspicion to hear vespers in his cathedral, whither they fol- lowed and brutally butchered him ; unop- posed equally in the commission of their foul and cowardly crime and in their sub- sequent departure. To Henry the news of this detestable and no less impolitic crime came like a thunder- bolt. Confident that even the pope would see the impropriety of Becket's conduct, he had already contemplated the arrest and re- gular punishment of the proud prelate, not doubting that by dexterous management he could induce the pope not merely to ap- prove, but even to aid his measures. But now his position was completely altered ; instead of proceeding as an injured and insulted king, he would have to defend himself against the odious charge of as- sassination. He could not but see that, even in the judgement of the most disinter- ested and unprejudiced men, there would be but too many circumstances of shrewd suspicion at the least ; while the pope, whose policy it was to seize upon every cir- cumstance that could tend to increase the subjection of so powerful a king to Rome, [would not fail publicly to attribute this 162 fi)« HCven&uv^ at W^tavD, &t. crime to him, whatever mislit lii> liis jirl- vate judgement; and for lunisclf ami his devoted kingdom lie could now anticipate nothing but excommunication and inter- dict 1 So completely was the king unmanned by his fears, that he shut himself up in his own ap;irtmcnts for three days, allowing no litrlit to enter them, wholly .abstaining from food, and not permitting even the most fa- voured of his subjects to approach him. Alarmed lest this conduct should actually be carried to the extent of self-destruction, his friends at length forced their way to him, and prevailed upon him to emerge from his solitude, and resume the cjires of government, which now more than ever de- manded the fullest possible exertion of his fine talents.* A.D. 1171.— It must be evident that the main difficulty of Henry's situation origi- nated in the unwillingness which the pope would feel to admit even the most cogent reasonings against the Icing's participation of the guilt of Becket's murderers. Men do not easily yield credence to arguments — and Henry could only offer arguments, not proofs — that militate against their own dear and cherished interests. But this calamity both to king and kingdom was too terrible and too instant to allow of anything being left unattempted which promised even the probability of success; and Henry immediately sent the archbishop of lloueu, together with the bishops of Worcester and Evreux, and Ave other men of talent and station, to make, in the king's name, the most humble suhraission to the pope. There was some difficulty in gain- ing admission to his holiness, who was .at the very time that his forbearance was thus abjectly sought by the potent and proud Henry, almost a prisoner in his own palace ; so surrounded and pressed was he by his enemies. It was now nearly Easter, and it was expected that the name of Henry would be included in the list of those who at that season received the so- lemn and terrible curses of the church. Happily, however, Richard Barre, one of Henry's envoys, and others, contrived so far to mollify the auger of the pope, th.at his fearful anathema was bestowed only in general terms upon Becket's murderers and their instigators or abettors. Two legates were appointed to enquire into the affair; and thus, after all his fears, Heni-y escaped the worst consequences of a crime of which he seems really to have been innocent, but of which the circumstances would as certainly have enabled the pope to seem to think him guilty — if, indeed, it had not been, just then, rather more to the papal interest to obtain a strong hold upon England, by accepting the king's submission and allowing his assertions to pass for proof, than harshly to drive both king and nation to despair. Thus happily delivered from a peril so imminent, Henry directed his attention to Ireland. A.D. 1173.— All men's eyes had of late ♦ See tlip account of Becket in MLlman's Latin Christianiiy, Book VII. ch. viii. been anxiously turned upon the king's heir, the young prince Henry. lie had given m.any proofs that he possessed in no ordinary ^egree the princely qualities of courage, liberality, and a kindly dispo- sition ; but those who looked beneath the surface perceived that his very kindness, unless ruled by a severe and uncommon discretion, was likely to give him a fatal facility in listening to the advice of any friends who should unduly minister to his other chief characteristic— an exces- sive ambition. At the time when, during Becket's absence, he irregularly received the royal unction, he made a remark which was much commented upon, and which many did not fail to interpret into proof of a haughty and aspiring turn. His father waited upon him at table, and good-humour- edly observed that never was king more royally attended ; upon which the prince remarked to one of his favourites, that it surely was nothing so very rem.arkable that the son of a count should wait upon the son of a king. Agreeable to the promise made by the king at the period of the return of Becket, young Henry and the princess Margaret were now crowned and anointed by the archbishop of Rouen ; and in the subsequent visit which the prince paid to his father- in-law, it is thought that the latter per- suaded him that the fact of his being crowned during the lifetime of his father, instead of being a mere ceremony to secure his future succession, gave him an instant claim upon a part, if not upon the whole, of his father's dominions ; and the prince was, unfortunately, but too well inclined to give credit to the arguments by which this view of the case was supported. Eager to enjoy the power, of which he probably but little understood the pains, he formally demanded that his father should resign either Eng- land or Kormandy to him. The king very j properly refused to comply with so extra- vagant a request ; and after upbraiding his father In undutiful terms, he hastened to Paris and put himself under the protection of the king of France. Nor was this the only domestic vexation that assailed the king just as his public affairs looked S3 hopeful. Queen Eleanor, who as queen of France had been remark- able for her levity, was in her second marriage no less remarkable for her jea- lousy. As she was just now labouring under a new access of that feeling, her anger witli her husband led her to the most unjustifi- able length of exciting their children against him. Acting upon the hint afforded by the demand of prince Henry, she per- suaded the princes Geoffrey and Richard that they too were unkindly and unjustly used by their father, who, she affirmed, ought no longer to withhold from them possession of the portions he had for- mally assigned to them. Offering them aid in the undutiful course which she re- commended to them, she actually dis- guised herself in male attire, and was on the point of departing for the French court, there to carry on intrigues contrary to her duty alike as wife, mother, and englantt.-^IautasenrW.— I^pitrg M. 153 Mihject, when the king obtained Infor- [ Illation of her designs, and placed her in (•(iiiflnenient. Tiiis, however, did not pnt an end to the iiiiscondiict slie liad mainly I oriprinated ; and there wire iiriiices wlio were sullli-ieiitlv envinu- ii£ llie power and prosperity of lieiny, tn lend tlieiraidand countenance to this uiiiiatnral coalition of sons against their father, and of suiijects against tlieir sovereign. Judging hy his ownexporienrr nt the terror in which even till- priiiiili-i iiiiil boldest nu-n held the ceiisiin' ami iiiurdict of Koine-, Henry in tills nio-i (ii-tirssliig situation did not he- sitate to apply to the pojie. But he had to learn, that to arm the papal interdict with all its terrors, it was necessary that the clergy should have some strong interest in the iiuestion. The pope issued his hulls, excommuni- cating the enemies of Henry; but as the interests of the church were in no wise com-enu'd, the clergy cared not to exert themselves, and the bulls fell to the ground a mere tinitKin fulinen. Disappointed and dist-'Usti'i! at fliiding that weapon so power- less for him which was so formidable against him, Henry now liad re<-onrse to the sword ; and, as he had prudently amassed great treasiu-es, he was able to take into his pay large bodies of the banditti-like soldiery with whom the continent swarmed, and who were always ready to tight zealously and bravely, too, in any cause that afforded regular pay and promised large plunder. His sons, on the other hand, were not without the means or the inclination to imitate this part of their father's conduct; and most of the barons of Normandy, Gas- cony, and Brittany willingly took part with theyoung princes, who they knew must in the course of nature become their rightful sovereigns, their several territories being already'irrevocably settled upon them in the usual forms. K.ir, to the disgrace of the English chivalry, did the disaffection to the injured king and parent stop even here ; several powerful English barons, and among them the earls of Chester and Lei- cester, openly declared against the king. That no sane man could have been led into this opposition to the king by any doubt as to the justice of his cause is morally certain ; and to all the other foulness of treasim, these at the least laid themselves open to the low and disgraceful charge of basely deserting from what they knew to be the more just side, but deemed to be also the weaker one. And the weaker one, to all human judgement, it doubtless appeared to be. But few, comparatively, of his ba- rons brought their retainers to the aid of the king, whose chief disposable force was an army of about twenty thousand of those foreign mercenaries of whom we just now- made mention, and some well-disciplined English whom he withdrew from Trel.and. I On the other hand, the combination was potent and threatening indeed. In addi- tion to the numerous wealthy and warlike barons already alluded to as having given in their adhesion to the young princes, the fiiur counts of Eu, Blois, Flanders, and Boulogne, followed their example ; luA William, king of Scotland, the natuial enemy of England, gladly joined this un- holy alliance. Louis of France summoned the chief vassals of the crown to I'aris, and solemnly bound them by oath to adhere with him to the cause; and prince Henry on his part swore to be faithful to his allies, among whom he distributed large gifts of territory —to be conquered from his king and pa- rent—under the seal of state which he treasonably caused to be made for that pur- pose. The counts of Boulogne and Flanders began the unnatural war by laying siege to Aumale, on the frontier of Normandy. The count d'Aumale, who seems to have been only withheld by some prudential and merely selflsh motive from openly and in form allying himself with his master's ene- mies, made a mere show of defence and then surrendered the place. Being thus apparently a prisoner in the hands of those whose confederate he seems really to have been, he had a specious ground for commit- ting still farther treason, without exposing himself to any very deadly peril in the event of the king being ultimately triumphant over this fonuidablc and unscrupulous con- federacy. The king of France, in the meantime, was not idle ; with seven thousand knights and their followers and a proportionate force of infantry, he, accompanied by the young prince Henry, laid siege to Vcrneuil. The place was bravely defended by Hugh do Beauchanip, but the garrison at the end of a month became so short of provisions, tli.at de Beauchamp was obliged to consent to a surrender should he not be relieved in the course of three days. Ere the expira- tion of this time king Henry and his army appeared on the neighbouring heights, and the French monarch then demanded a con- ference, for the purpose, as he alleged, of putting an end to the differences between Henry and his sons— differences, it should never be forgotten, which Louis had him- self done his utmost to fan into a flame. Henry, not for a moment suspecting Louis of any treacherous intention, agreed to this proposal ; and Louis having thus beguiled him into abstaining from forcible interfer- ence on behalf of the brave garrison until the term agreed upon for the truce had completely expired, called upon Beauchamp to make good his promise of surrender, on pain of being held man sworn ; and then, having set fire to Verneuil, set his army on the retreat from before it, and Henry fell upon the rear, which lost many both in killed and prisoners. Tl e barons of Brittany, headed by Ralph de Fougeres and the earl of Chester, were encountered by the king's troops near Do!, and defeated with the loss of fifteen hun- dred in killed, besides an immense number of wounded and prisoners. The leaders with their diminished forces took shelter in Dol, but Henry besieged the place so vi- gorously, that they were speedily compelled to surrender. Instead of being seduced by his successes into any inveteracy of purpose against his 154 Wift CrtaSurs of Ht^torg, Ipc. enemies, Henry once more agreed to treat with the chief of them, Louis of France. A meeting accordingly took place between the two monarch?, the three young princes, to their infinite discredit, prominently ap- pearing in the retinue of their father's ene- my. As their outrageous demands were in fact the main cause of dispute between the two monarchs, Henry addressed himself to those demands, and made his sons offers far more liberal than became him to offer or them to accept ; but the peaceable pur- pose of this memorable meeting was wholly frustrated by the earl of Leicester, who, probably at the secret instigation of Louis, behaved with such open insolence to Henry, that the meeting was broken up without any conclusion being arrived at. Though Henry had been so successful on the continent in repressing his enemies and in upholding his authority, it was in no small danger in England ; for, prince Henry having agreed to resign Dover and the other strongholds of Kent into the hands of the earl of Flanders, there was so little of pure public spirit among the English, that a most extensive confederacy was formed to aid in this scheme, which would have deserved no milder name than that of a national suicide. But fortunately for both Henry and his kingdom, while the lay no- bles and their dependants were thus hostile or indifferent, he was in good odour with the clergy just at this period, to which, pro- bably, he mainly owed t that he was not utterly ruined. Richard de Lacy, whom Henry had in- trusted with the high and important office of guardian of the realm, greatly distin- guished himself at this period, both by his loyalty and his conduct. He repelled and obtained the submission of the king of Scotland, who had led his ravaging troops iuto Northumberland ; and immediately af- ter having done this good service, led his victorious troops southward to oppose afar superior force of Flemings, who had landed on the coast of Suffolk, and thence marched 1 into the very heart of the kingdom. In the j action which ensued, the Flemish force, con- I Eisting for the most part of hastily-raised and ill-disciplined artisans, were routed almost at the first charge of De Lacy's disciplined followers, and nearly ten thou- sand were slain or made prisoners, the earl of Leicester him self beingamong the latter. This defeat of the Flemings delivered the kingdom from that particular danger, in- deed, but in no wise abated the evil deter- mination of the king's heartless sons and their allies. The earl of Ferrers and seve- ral powerful friends of the earls of Leices- ter and Chester were openly in arms against their king ; the earls of Clare and Glouces- ter were strongly suspected of being pre- pared to take the same course ; and the king of Scotland scarcely allowed the term to expire during which he had engaged to keep the peace, ere he invaded the northern counties of England with a force of eighty thousand men, who committed the most wanton and extensive spoliation. In this state of things, Henry, having put his con- tinental terrltorieB into a state of compara- tive security, hastened over to England to try upon his enemies the effect of his per- sonal presence. Well knowing the effect of all supersti- tious observances upon the principal part of his subjects, he had no sooner landed at Southampton than he hastened to the city of Canterbury, distant as it was, and, ar- riving there, quitted his horse and walked barefooted to the shrine of that now-sainted Thomas a Becket, who in life had caused him so much annoyance and danger. Hav- ing prostrated himself before the shrine, he next caused the monks of the place to be assembled, and, stripping off his garments, submitted his bare shoulders to the scourge. How humiliating an idea does it not give us of that age to reflect that this degrading conduct was, perhaps, the most politic that Henry could have chosen, to forward the great object he just then had in view, the conciliation of the zealous good-will of all ranks of his subjects, — for amongst aU ranks, not excepting the very highest, su- perstition then had a mysterious and a mighty power. Having completed all the degrading ceremonials that the monks chose to consider essential to the final and complete reconciliation of the king to the saint, absolution was solemnly given to Henry, and he departed for London. News shortly after arrived of a great victory that Henry's troops had obtained over the Scots ; and the monks, ever inclined to the post hoc, propter hoc, principle, did not fail to attribute that victory to the pious means by which Henn' had appeased Saint Thomas a Becket, who had thus signalised his for- giveness. William of Scotland, though repulsed by Henry's generals, still showed himself un- willing to deprive his troops of the agree- able employment of wasting the northern provinces of England ; and, like a half- gorged vulture disturbed in its ravening feast, he still lingered near. Having formed a camp at Alnwick, in Northumberland, he sent out numerous detachments in quest of spoil. However favourable this course might be to his cupidity, it greatly weak- ened him in a military point of view ; and Glanville, the celebrated lawyer, who at this time was a very principal leader and support of the English army, having ob- tained exact information of William's situa- tion, resolved to make a bold attempt to surprise him. After a fatiguing march to Newcastle, he barely allowed his troops time for hasty refreshment, of which both man and horse stood in dire need, and then set out on a forced night march to Alnwick, a distance of upwards of thirty miles, where he arrived very early in the morning of the 13lh of July, and, fortu- nately, under cover of a genuine Scotch mist, so dense as to prevent his approach from being observed. Though, after making all allowance for the detachments which William had sent out, Glanville felt that he was far inferior in force to the Scots, he gallantly gave his troops the order to charge. So completely secure had William felt from any such attack, that it was not until English banners flew and English ejiQlanlf.— ^lantageiKtt.— ?|ciiry M. 15;"} bliidcs flasbed In his very ciimp, that he dreamed i>f any EiiKllsh force lieing within many miles of lilm. In the furious secnc- that ensued lie hcliiivcd willi gn-nt per- sonal gallantry, lioUlly cli.irtrinc,' upon thi- serried ranks of tin' lOnKlisli with only :> hundred of his linnjediale followers. Uiil his nct^liKeneu as a commander had pro- duced a state of disadvantage which was not to he remedied by any valour, however great. This little band was speedily dis- persed, and he being fairly ridden down was made prisoner. The news of his c.-ip- ture speedily sjiread among his troops, whoso confusion was thus rendered too ciMuplete to allow of tlieir leaders rallying them ; and they hastily retreated over the borders, lluliling among themselves so furiously (hiring tlieir retreat, tlird they an- said to liMve aetu.-illy lost iiior.' in kilh'ii and wounded by Scottish than by Knglisli swords. This utter defeat of the Scotch, and the capture of WIIILim, upon whom the English rebels bad so mainly dcp(>nded for diversion of their king's strength, as well as for more direct assistance, left tliese latter no s.ofe course but submission ; and that course, accordingly, was speedily followed by all ranks among them. The clergy, with their usual self-complacency, attributed all this success to the submission which they had induced the king to make to Hecket ; ami Henry, well knowing how much more power superstition had over the minds of his sub- jects than any political or even moral con- siderations, however clear or Important, :istutely affected to believe all that thoy af- Hrnied, and by every means endeavoured to propagate the like belief among his subjects. Meantime the serpent of revolt was on the continent, ' scotched not killed;' the young prince Henry, with a perseverance worthy of a better cause, having in spite of all his father's triumph persisted in carry- ing on his rebellious designs. He and the earl of Flanders had assembled a large army, with which they were preparing to embark at Gravellnes ; but when they heard of the signal defeat which king Henry's troops had inflicted upon the Flemings, they laid aside their intention of invading England, and proceeded to join their force to that of the king of France, who was be- sieging Knuen, in Normandy. The people of Rouen, who were much attached to king Henry, .and proportionally fearftU of falling under the rule of Louis, defended the place with so much courage and success, that Louis deemed it neces- sary to have recourse to a stratagem that did far more credit to his ingenuity than to his honour. The festival of St. Laurence occurring just at that time, he proclaimed, under pretence of a pious desire to keep It with due solemnity, a cessation of arms. This was agreed to on the part of the un- suspecting citizens ; and Louis, hoping to surprise them, immediately made prepara- tions for the attack. It chanced that while all in the French camp were in motion, some priests of Rouen had mounted to a steeple to overlook it, merely for curio- sity. Struck with a degree of bustle that seemed so Inappropriate to the solemn truce that liad been procl.aimed, they caused the alarm-bell of the city to be rung, and the soldiers and citizens immediately has- li'iied to their apjiointed stations, and were hut just In time to repulse the enemy, many of whom had already succeeded ill mounting the walls. The French lost many men in this attack; and on the following day, before they could renew it, king Henry marched into the iilace In full view of the enemy, and, ordering the gates to be thrown open, dared tliein to the renewal of tlieir attack. Louis, who now saw Rouen comiiletely safe at the very moment wheu he fanciecl it completely within his grasp, had no thought left hut how he should best release hi 111 self from the danger of a decisive ilrfcat. Tnisling to the desire which Henry hail all along manifested to come to peace- able terms, liouis propo.sed a conference. Henry readily fell into the snare,and Loula proHted by the interval which he thus gained, and marched his army into France. Having thus secured his army, however, Louis, who by this time was nearly as anxious as Henry for a termination of their disputes, agreed to a meeting, which accordingly took place near the ancient city of Tours, and peace was concluded on terms far more favourable to Henry than those he had offered at the memorable con- ference which was abruptly terminated by the Insolent misconduct of the earl of Leicester, CHAPTER XX. The Reign of Henky IL (.concluded). A. D. 1175.— Firm in adversity, Henry had the still farther and more uncommon merit of being moderate in prosperity. He had in v.arious actions taken nearly a, thousand knights prisoners, and these he now liber- ated without ransom, though the customs of the age would have warranted contrary con- duct without the slightest impeachment of either his honour or his generosity. To Wil- liam of Scotland, as the repeated enmity of that monarch fiUly warranted, he behaved with more rigour. As the price of his release William was obliged to agree to do homage for his territories to Henry, to engage that the prelates and barons of his kingdom should also do homage, and that they should swear to side with the king of Eng- land even against their native prince ; and that, as security for the performance of this agreement, the Ave principal Scottish for- tresses, namely, Edinburgh, Stirling, Ber- wick, Roxburgh, and Jedburgh, should be placed in the hands of king Henry. Even when the terms of the agreement had been duly complied with by the Scotch, Henry showed no inclin.ation to relax from his se- verity upon a people who had caused him so much annoyance by their inveterate en- mity. Contrariwise, he now required that Berwick and Roxburgh should be given up to him altogether, and that he should for a given time retain the castle of Edinburgh. ■Thus the eagerness with which William lent his aid ni the endeavour to crush Henry ended in the latter prince obtaining the 156 t^1)t Crea^urs of l^u^tar^, ^t. first triunipb over tUat kingdom wliich was cviT iit)t:iiiu;d by an English monarch. A. u. lire.— Honi-}' wisely employed the peace which hisvictories had procured him, ill remedying those disorders which had sprung up among his own subjects. He made or restored laws against those crimes which had most Hagrantly increa.-ed, sucli as counterfeiting coin, arson, robbery, and murder. If when we read of his enact- ing such severe punishments for those of- fences as amiiutation of the right hand and foot, we feel inclined to censure the king, we must bear in mind that he had to deal with an age little better than semi-barbar- ous, and was probably obliged against his will to legislate doicn to the public intelli- gence. VTe are the more inclined to make this allowance for him in some cases, be- cause in others he gave very plain proofs that he possessed both understanding and good feeling far in advance of his age. In the case, for instance, of the absurd trial by battle, which disgraced the statute- book even so lately as the reign of George III., Henry, though the time was not ripe for its utter abolition, enacted that either of the parties might challenge in its stead a trial by a jury of twelve freeholders. To make the administration of justice more certain, with a view both to repress- ing crime and to protecting the commu- nity against the oppressions of the nobles, Henry divided England into four great cir- cuits, to be traversed by itinerant justices .selected from among those prelates and lay nobles who were most remarkable for learning and their love of justice. He also made some very useful regulations with a view to the defence of the kingdom, each man being obliged to arm himself according to his rank. While the king was thus wisely employ- ing his leisure, his sons were meditating farther annoyance to him. Prince Henry renewed his demand for the complete re- signation of Normandy, and on receiving a refusal proceeded to the court of France with his queen ■with the evident design of renewing his hostilities against his too in- dulgent father. But Philip, who had just succeeded to Louis on the throne of France, was not just now prepared for war against so powerful a king as Henry, and the young prince was therefore once more obliged to make his submission to his much enduring sovereign and parent. Prince Henry and Geoffrey now became engaged in a feudal strife with their brother, prince Richard. The king, ivith the usual anxiety for the welfare of these most turbulent and undu- tiful princes, interfered to restore peace among them, but had scarcely succeeded in doing so when he once more found prince Henry arrayed against him. A. D. 1183.— To what end the shameful conspiracies of this incorrigible and un- grateful prince would at length have ar- rived it is difficult to judge, though we may but too reasonal)ly presume that his real aim was the actual deposition of his father. But the career of the prince now drew to (Ui end. He had retired to the castle of Jlartel, near Turenne, to mature his schemes, and was there seized with a fever. Finding himself in danger, he sent to in- treat tliat his father would visit liini and personally assure him of forgiveness. But the king, though not less affectionate than of yore, had received so many proofs of his son's jierfldy, that he feared to trust him- self in his hands. The prince died on June 11 ; and the king, who fainted on hearing the news, bitterly, but surely most un- justly, reproached himself with hardheart- edness in having refused to visit him. Prince Henry, who died in the twenty- eighth year of his age, though married left no children. The prince Richard therefore now filled the important situation of heir to the English throne ; and the king pro- posed that in this altered state of things, prince John, who was his favourite son, should inherit Guienne. But Richard, un- miudf u! of the grief which his father was already enduring, not only refused to con- sent to this arrangement, but proceeded to put that duchy into a condition to make war against his brother Geoffrey, who was in possession of Brittany, and to resist, if needful, the king himself. Well knowing how much more influence Eleanor had over their sons than he had, the king sent for her, and as she was the actual heiress of Guienne, Richard, so undutiful towards his father, at once delivered the duchy up to her. A. D. 1185.— Scarcely had Richard become reconciled to his father, when Geoffrey, be- ing refused Anjou, of which he had de- manded the anne-xation to his duchy of Brittany, levied troops and declared war against" his father: but before this unna- tural prince could do any considerable por- tion of the mischief which he obviously in- tended, he was slain accidentally by one of his opponents at a tournament. His post- humous sou, who was christened Arthur, was invested with the duchy of Brittany by king Henry, who also constituted himself the guardian of the youthful prince. The attention of both Henry and his rival, Philip of France, was soon called from thoir personal differences to a new crusade, which Rome was now anxious that the European sovereigns should engage in. Saladin, a gallant and generous-spirited prince, but no less a determined opponent of the cross, having seated himsell on the throne of Egypt, boldly undertook the task of expelling "the Christians from the Holy Land. His object was greatly favoured by the folly of the Christian leaders, who, in- stead of uniting to oppose the infldels.were perpetually at enmity among themselves. To this general folly treason was added, and the count of Tripoli, who had the command of the Christian forces on the frontier, perfidiously allowed Saladin to advance, and deserted to him at Tiberiad, where the soldan was completely vlctori- ' ous, the long tottering kingdom of Jerusa- lem being completely overturned, and the holy city itself captured. The kingdom of Antioch was also subdued ; and of all that the Christians had possessed in the Holy Land nothing now remained to them but a 1 few petty towns upon the coast. So soon (Snr[lHtiiS,—\Blnntasentti.—^tnrt} M, 157 and so easily was that territory lost which it had cost the warrior-hosts of Clirlsteii- doni so inucli blood, treasure, and tune to comiuor Iroiu the iulldels of au earlier generation. A. D. 1188.— The Intelligence of this tri- umph of tlie crescent iiroduced a general and profound grief in Europe. Pope Urban in. actually .sickened and died from sorrow at the calamity, and his successor, Gregory A'lll., bestowed nearly all his attention during his sluut reign upon the necessary preiiaralions for alleiiipting, at the least, the reconquest of the holy city. Henry of Kngland and Philip of France, as by far the most powerful monarchs in Europe, were naturally appealed to by Rome, and William, Archbishop of Tyre, caused them to have a meeting at Gisors. His description of the sufferings of the Christians in the East, and his eloquent appeal to the love of military glory, which, after superstition, was the most powerful passion of both monarchs and private men in that age, so wrought upon both princes, tliat they at once assumed the cross and commenced the necessary preparations. A.u. 1189.— As the clergy, notwithstand- ing tlie zeal of the papal court, did not show the usual alacrity in aiding the new enterprise either with money or eloquence, some delay and difficulty were experienced by both kings iu obtaining the necessary supplies, and in the meantime new ciuarrels sprang up between them. Pliilip, always jealous of Henry's superiority, luuud that king's sou, prince Riihard, fully as credu- lous and as prone to disloyal and uiidutifiil conduct as his deceased brother Henry had been ; and he had no difficulty in persuad- ing him th.at he was more interested in the welfare of France than in that of the king- dom over which he was one day to rule. In a few words, Richard was the credulous and hot-headed dupe, and Philip the resolved and wily deceiver. Pliilip, desirous of a cause for quarrel with Henry, and yet un- willing to iucur the disgrace which could not but attach to one crusader who should without strong provocation miike war upon another while Palestine yet groaned be- neath the yoke of the proud and bigoted pagan, persuaded Richard to furnish him with a pretext for war by making an Inroad upon "Toulouse. As Philip had foreseen, Raymond, count of Toulouse, appealed to him for support as superior lord ; and with as much gravity as though he had then first heard of Richard's achievement, Phi p complained to the king of England of his sou's infringement upon the rights and property of a vassal of the crown of Prance. But Richard, if wicked or thought- less enough to undertake the evil measures against his own sovereign and father, was not prudent enough to keep his own counsel; and Henry was able to reply to the hypocri- tical complaint of Philip.that princeRichai-d had confessed to the archbishop of Dublin that it was at the express desire and per- sonal suggestion of Pliilip himself that he had made his unprovoked attack ujion the county of Toulouse. Far from being either abashed or dismayed by this discovery of his treacherous designs, Philip, on receiv- ing Henry's reply, immediately invaded Herri and Anvergne, and did so under the pretence of rclaiiating the injury to the count of Touliiuse, which it was so well known that he h.icl him.-elf caused to be done. Henry, now thurouBlily provoked as Philip himself could have desired him to be, crossed tlie French frontier, and, be- sides doing much other damage, burned the town and fortress of Ureux. After much iinitual injury and a vain attempt at treaty, the twokings wereal,leugthiuducod once more, but iu vain, to attempt to come to terms ; chiefly, however, as far as Pliilip was concerued, by the refusal of some of his most powerful vassals to serve any longer against Henry, whom, as well as their own sovereign, they desired to see combating for the redemption of Palestine. On Henry's side the feeling was as mucli more sincere as it was less corapulsoi-y ; but the terms proposed by Philip were so insidiously calculated to work future evil to England, that Henry had no choice but to refuse them. Well aware as he was of the mischief which had accrued to Henry in conseciuence of his having consented to the coronation of his former heir, he de- manded that the same honour should now be bestowed upon Richard, and with this aggravation, that whereas Ricliard iu the very act which had produced this war had shown how ready he was to do aught that would injure and annoy his father, Phiiip demanded that all Henry's French posses- sions should be handed over to Richard, whose nuptials should forthwith be cele- lirated with Alice, Philip's sister. In full expectation, as it should seem, that Henry's good sense would dictate this i refusal, Philip had caused Richard to agree that on receiving such a refusal he would ininiediately disclaim farther alle- giance, and do homage to Philip for all the Anglo-French possessions, as though he had already and lawfully been invested with them. The war accordingly recommenced as furiously as ever between the two kings ; and cardinal Albano, the pope's legate, de- spairing of ever seeing the two powerful monarchs arrayed side by side against the infidels while these quarrels existed be- tween them, and looking upon the unna- tural conduct of Richard as a chief cause of them, pronounced sentence of excom- munication against him. The sentence fell innocuously on his head, owing to the lukewarmness of the clergy ; and liichard having formally received fi'om Philip the investitui'e of Guienne, Kormandy, and Anjou, the nobles of those provinces sided with him iu spite of the declared will of Rome, and overran the territories of all who still maintained the cause of the king of England. At Henry's request, cardinal Adagni, who had succeeded Albano as legate, threatened Philip with an interdict upon his domi- nions; but Pliilip scornfully replied, tliatit was no part of the papal duty to interfere in tlie temporal quarrels of princes ; and luchaid, who was present at the interview, 158 (!DI)e Crra^urs of l^ti^tarp, Sit, weut so far as to draw his sword u|ion the cardiii;il, and was not without ilifllLUlty withheld from proceeding to stiU more out- rageous and criminal lengths. Mans, Anihoise, Chateau de Loire, and several other places were successively taken by Philip and Richard, or treaoheiously delivered to them by their governors. In this state of the war, when everything seemed to threaten Henry with utter ruin, the archbishop of Rheims, the dulteof Bur- gundy, and the earl of Flanders stepped forward as mediators. Intelligence at the same time reached Henry that Tours, long menaced, was at length taken; and hard as the terras were that were proposed, he now saw nothing left for him but to agree to them. And hard those terras indeed were to a prince who hitherto had been so much accustomed to dictate terms to others. He consented to the immediate marriage of Richard and Alice— though some historians relate that he was him- self enamoured of that princess — that the king of France should receive twenty thousand marks to defray his expenses in this war ; that the barons of England sliould bo security for Henry's due per- formance of liis part in this treaty, and should undertake to join their forces with those of Richard and the king of France in the event of his breaking his engagement ; and that all and smidry his vassals who had sided with his sou should be held harmless. If the last-mentioned clause was in itself calculated to wound the feelings of so proud a prince as Henrj', it led to his being wounded in a feeling far deeper than pride ; tor, on his demanding a list of those whom he was thus engaged to pardon, the very first name that met his eye was that of his favourite son, prince John, on whom he had conferred kindness even to the extent of arousing the anger and jealousy of the passionate Richard. Though proud and bold, Henry was a singularly affectionate parent ; he had al- ready suffered much sorrow from the unna- tural conduct of his sons, and this new proof of the utter callousness of heart of the best beloved and most trusted of them was a blow too severe for his declining strength. He sickened on the instant, and bestowed upon his ingrate and heartless children a solemn curse, which no entreaties of the friends who were about him could induce him to recall. As he reflected upon the barbarity of his children his chagrin in- creased instead of diminishing, and a low nervous fever soon after deprived him of his life, which happened on the sixth of July, in the fifty-eighth year of his age and thirty-fifth of his reign. His corpse was conveyed to Fontevraud by his natural son Geoffrey, who had ever behaved to him with the tenderness and duty so fearfully wanting in the conduct of his legitimate children. While the royal corpse lay in state at Fontevraud, prince Richard visited the sad scene, and exhibited a sorrow sincere and passionate as it was tardy and useless. Taken altogether, the reign of Henry II. was both a prosperous and a brilliant one ; and It seems probable that had not the cruel misconduct of his sons engaged him in war when he fain would have been at pe.ace, he would have done still more than he did tow.ards providing for the lutern.ai welfare of his kiiigdonj. What he did to- wards tliat end, if it api)ear of too stern and cruel a nature to us who live in times so much milder and more civilised, seems to be but too completely justified by what the historians tell us of the gross and evil daring of the populace of those early days. In the cities especially, where the congre- gating of numbers had given increased daring to offenders, but had not as yet led to any sound and safe arrangements of police, the insolent violence of the popu- lace attained to a height of which we can form but a very faint notion. Street brawls and street robberies, attended with violence always and not imfrequently with actual murder, were every-day occurrences. Bur- glary was not then as now confined to the darkness and security of the night hours, but even the wealthiest traders, though their shops were situated in the most pub- lic streets, had constant reason to fear assault and robbery even at noon-day, so bold and so strong were the gangs of thieves. A single specimeu of the doings of the street robbers of those times may not be unacceptable. The house of a citizen of known and large wealth was attixcked by a band of robbers who actually plied their wedges and axes so effectually as to make a breach in a substantial stone wall. Just as, sword in hand, they were making good their entrance, the citizen led on his servants to resist them, and so stoutly de- fended his premises that his neighbours had time to arm and assist him. In the course of the fight which, though short seems to have been severe, one of tlie robbers had his right hand cut of. This man was subsequently taken prisoner, and as the loss he had sustained rendered all denial of his identity perfectly idle, he agreed, in order to save his own life, to give full information of all who were con- cerned with him. Among the accomplices thus named was a verj' wealthy citizen who up to that time had been looked upon as a person of the greatest probity. Denying the charge, he was tried by the ordeal and convicted. He then offered the large sum of five hundred marks in commutation of hisofl'ence; but the king, rightly judging that the rank and wealth of the offender only made the offence the more shameful and unpardonable, sternly refused the money and ordered the citizen felon to be hanged. Unlike the other Xorman princes, Henrj- II. was not so attached to his game as to hold the lives of his subjects in utter contempt on its account. He greatly moderated the forest laws, which under his predecessors had been so fruitful a source of misery to the people ; and pun- ished infringements upon them, not by death or mutilation, but by fine or impri- sonment. Though generally of a grave and dignified (SPufllanlr.— piantaseneW.— »{r^arlf S. 159 habit, this king was not destitute of a cer- tain dry tiuinour. TliusGiraldusCambren- sis relates, tliat the prior and monies of tlie monastery of St. Switiiin made grievous complaint to Henry of tiie rigour with wliicli, as tlicyaiicged, tliey Ijadbeen treat- ed liy tlie bishop of Winchester in the oi'- dering of their diet. ' We have but ten dislics allowed us now I' they exclaimed. 'Hut ten I ' said the king, 'I have but tlu-eel 'Tis the fitter number, rely upon it ; and I desire that you be confined to it henceforth.' Henry was survived by two legitimate sons, Iliehard and John, and tliree legiti- mate daughters, Maud, Elea:ior, and Joan. He also left two illegitimate sons, Richard, Eurnamed Longsvvord, and Geoffrey, who became archbishop of York. These sons were borne to him by Rosamond, daughter of lord Clifford. Of all that romance, whether in its own guise or in that of his- tory, has said of tliis lady, nothing seems to be true save tliat sho was both fair and frail. Her bower at Woodstock, and the pleasant choice offered to her, by the jea- lous queen Eleanor, between the dagger and the poisoned chalice, are mere inven- tions. CHAPTER XXI. T!ie Beign of Richakd I. A.D. 1189.— The partiality with which, even down to the present time, tlie character of Richard I. h.as been looked upon, is a striking proof how far men can go in dis- spensing with other good quaiities.infavour of him who is abundantly endowed with the mere animal quality ol courage. The sliame- f ul ingratitude, amounting to actual bruta- lity, with which this prince treated his only too indulgent father; and even the hot- headed selfishness with which he preferred warring abroad to beneficently and usefully ruling at home, and made his realm a mere depot for the men and munitions requisite to the prosecution of his schemes of mili- tary ambition, are overlooked in considera- tion of his reckless d.aring and great ex- ploits in the battle-field. "Until men are much better taught than they have ever yet been as to the real value of courage and the precise limits within which its exercise is deserving of the homage now so indiscrimi- nately paid to it, grave and thoughtful writers will, we fear, labour but vainly to- wards causing the reality of Richard's cha- racter to become visible through the false, but gorgeous halo with which the error of long centuries has surrounded it. With this brief caution against too implicit a faith in the coexistence of virtue and cou- rage, we proceed to the reign of the most warlike of all even of England's kings.whose equally impetuous and enduring bravery obtained for him from the most warlike men of a warlike age the title of ' Coaur de Lion,' ' the lion-hearted.' The first act of Richard's reign gave some promise of a wise and just one. Instead of taking into favour and employment those who had so shamefully aided him in his un- dutiful and disloyal conduct, be treated them with marked disfavour, and contrari- wise retained in their employments those ministers who had been the faithful and zealous advisers of his father. He released his mother, queen Eleanor, from the con- finement in which she remained at the death of Henry, and committed the regency of England to her till he should arrive to govern it in person. To his brother John, too, he showed the beginning of that favour which he continued to him throughout his reign, and of which John continually and flagrantly proved his unworthiness. The day of Richard's coronation was marked by an event which showed the intolerance ol the age to be fully equal to and every way worthy of its superstition. The Jews, every- where a proscribed people, were, however, everywhere an industrious and of course a prosperous and wealthy people. Being th e largest possessors of ready money, they na- turally engrossed the invidious, though of- ten important, trade of money-lending; and when we consider the usage which the Jews too commonly received at the hands of Christians, and add to that the frequent losses they sustained, we need scarcely be surprised that they sometimes charged enormous iuterest, and treated their insol- vent debtors with a rigour that almost frees Shakspeare from the charge of carica- turing in his terribly graphic character of Shylock. The necessities that ever wait upon unthrift made too many of the high- born and the powerful personally acquaint- ed with the usurious propensities of the Is- raelites ; and thus added person.al feelings of animosity to the hate borne by the zeal- ous Christians— &\a.s\ what a Christianity was theirs I — against the Jews. During the reign of Henry II. the "animosities that were nourished against the Jews were not openly expressed ; but Richard, who combined In his own person much of the evil as well as of the good that dis- tinguished his stirring and bigoted time, had an especial hatred to Jews, and he gave orders that on the day of his corona- tion they should on no account make their appearance at the scene of that ceremony. Some of them, judging that their gold, at least, would obtain tliem exception from this rule, ventured to wait upon him with presents of great value. Having approached the banqueting haU of the king, they were soon discovered by the crowd, and of course insulted. From words the rabble proceeded to blows ; the Jews became ter- rified, fled, and were pursued ; and, either in error or in malignity, a report was spread that the king had ordered the general de- struction of the Jews. Orders so agreeable at once to the bigotry and the licentious- ness of such a populace as that of London, were believed without much scruple and executed without any remorse. Not con- tented with murdering all the Jews who were to be found in the streets, the rabble broke into and first plundered and then burned the houses of the wealthy indivi- duals of that persecuted sect, who, driven to desperation,def ended themselves bravely i but Ineffectually. From London the fierce I 160 C^c Er^aSurg of l^i^torg, $it. cry against the Jews, and tbe false cry that the king had autliorised their destruction, spread to the other great towns, where the unhappy people were eciually plundered and slaughtered as in London. At York, in addition to the murders committed by the populace, a truly horrible tragedy took place. Upwards of Ave hundred of the Jews shut tliemselvcs up in the castle with their f.amilies. Finding that tbcy could not much longer defend themselves against the infuriated and hlood-stained rabble without, the men of this unhappy and pers-ecnted band actually killed their own wives and children and threw their corpses over the walls ; and then, setting fire to the place, chose rather to perish in the tortures of the flames than in those ■which they knew would be adjudged to them hy their enraged and bigoted enemies. As though this horrible tragedy had not sufficiently disgraced the nation, the gentry of York, most of whom were deeply indelited to the unhappy Jews, added a characteristic trait of sordid dishonesty to the general horror, by making before the altar of the cathedral a solemn burnt sacrifice of the bonds in which they were confessed debtors. The detestation with which one is Inspired by this whole affair almost makes one add without regret or pity, that long after the Jews were all either massacred or escaped, the plundering of the rabble went on with equal zeal in the houses of men who were I not Jews, and who indignantly impressed tliat fact upon the minds of the plunderers. Though the kno^vn hatred which the king bore to the Jews was doubtless influential in encouraging the rabble to excess on this I occasion, it is certain that he gave no direct orders or encouragement to them. On the contrary, as soon as actual force had re- stored comparative order in the country, Richard commissioned his chief justiciary, the .-elebrated Glauville, to make the ne- cessary enquiries and to punish as many as could be discovered of the original instiga- tors of these detestable enormities. But even partial enquh'y showed that the rabble were, with all their violence and grossuess, by no means the most blameworthy party upon this occasion ; and so many powerful and wealthy men were foimd to be deeply implicated, that after the punishment of a vei-y few persons, to vindicate the law fi-om the reproach of utter inefficiency, the cn- i;uiry was wholly laid aside. Scarcely had Richard finished the cere- mony of his coronation ere he commenced i his preparations for an expedition to P.a- lestiue. The distance of that country made it impossible for him to rely upon Engl.ind to furnish him from time to time with the requisite supplies ; his first care, therefore, was to provide himself with such an amount of money as would place him above any danger from want of means to provision his followers. His father had left him above a hundred thousand marks— a very large sum in that age— and, to add to that im- portant treasure, the king resorted to the sale not only of the manors and revenues of the crown, but even of many offices, the nature of which rendered it especially im- 1 ' portant that they should be held by pure hands. The office of sheriff, which con- cerned both the administration of justice and the crown revenue, was thus sold, as \ was the scarce less Important office of [ forester ; and at length, as if to show that all considerations were trivial, in his judg- ment, when compared to that of forwarding his favourite scheme, Richard openly and j shamefully sold the high office of chief jus- ticiary—that office upon which the liberties and properties of the whole nation were to 1 a very considerable extent dependent, to ' Hugh de Puzas, bishop of Durham, for a thousand marks ; this prelate being also, 'for a consideration, invested for his own life with the earldom of Northumberland.' Utterly reckless how he obtained money, and really seeming to haveno single thought to bestow upon his country, except as a source of money, he next sold back to the king of Scotland the Scottish fortresses which his wiser father had so carefully guarded, and released William from all sign of vassalage beyond the ordinary homage for lands held by him in England ; the price of all this advantage on the one side and disgraceful sacrifice on the other being ten thou.sand marks. Besides selling, in this reckless way, ranclt in which he justly and legally held only a mere life interest, he wearied all ranks of his subjects for loans or gifts ; the distinction in words being, it will easily be believed, the only distinction between the two ways of parting witli their money ! The utmost having been done to raise money in these discreditable ways, Richard next applied himself to selling permission to remain at home to those who, after having taken the cross had, from whatever cause, become less enamoured of the task of combating the infidels. To dwell no longer upon this most disgraceful passage in our history, Ricliard, in his anxiety to raise money to aid him in his merely selfish pursuit of fame, showed himself so reckless a salesman, that his ministers ventured to remonstrate with him ; and he, shamelessly exulting in his own want of principle and true pride, replied, that he would gladly sell his good city of London, could he but find a purchaser. While Richard was thus making such great sacrifices, nominally for the sake of the Christian cause in Palestine, but really for the sake of his own fierce vanity, of that peculiar quality to which men have slavishly agreed to give the more sounding name of love of glory.his lifeand conversation were by no means of the most Christian pattern, and gave great offence to those crusaders whose piety was sincere and practical, though occasionally earned to the extreme of bigotry in feeling and of grimace in manifestation. Fulke of Xeuilly, a zealous and eloquent preacher of the crusade, preaching before Richard, boldly assured him that he had three favourite but most dangerous daughters of whom it behoved him speedily to rid himself, n.amely, pride, avarice, and voluptuousness, ' You are quite right,' replied Richard, ' and I hereby give the first of them to the Templars, the se- CF«5lanir.— ^lant«3cnr«.— Jair^arlr 5, 161 cond to the Beuedictiucs, and the third tu my prclati's.' riiviou3l(>departiiiBfortln'East,Rlchard C(iiiiiiiiitt-d the administration of the gu- voriiim.'Mt 111 England to HuKh, bishoi> of Durham, and Longchainii, hi>li(iiM>f Kly ; but though he at llrst t-worf both his brolhcr prince John and liiMiatural brolhir Geod'ivy, arclibislioii of York, not even to enter the kingdom during his absence, lie Buliseiiuently withdrew that iiolltic jirohl- t)ltion. Loiigchaniii, the bislioi) of Ely, though of mean birth, was a man of consi- derable talent and energy ; and the boiler toenablehim to govern with etrect,l(icliard, who had already made him cliancelhir of the kingdom, also procured him to be in- vested with the authority of paiial legate. While Kichard and Philip had been en- pagi'd in preparing for their Eastern expe- dilion, tlie emperor Ere. 1190.— And indeed when the forces of Richard and Philip met on the plains of Ve- zelay, on tlie frontiers of Burgundy, men the least sanguine in trusting to human prowess might have been pardoned for deeming that tiiat miv'hty host must be invincible by any power tliat the infidels could muster against it. After all the necessary and cautious weeding by wliich the minor lead- ers had taken care, as far as possible, to have none enrolled among their troops save those who were strong of body and masters of their weapons, this force amounted to more than a hundred thousand men, well armed, abundantly provided for, and ani- mated to the highest possible pitch of enthu- siasm by the double feeling of religious zeal and military ambition. Richard and Philip pledged both themselves and the other leaders of this mighty host to mututil faith and fi"iendship in the field; and the two monarchs engaged their barons and pre- lates who remained at home, on oath, to refrain from any infringement of the re- spective kingdoms, and called down inter- dict and excommunication upon whosoever should break this solemn engagement. Tills done, I'lilllp marched towards Genoa, and llicliard towards Marseilles, where, respectively, they had rendezvoused their Heels, 'I'hough they sailed from different jiorts, they were both, and nearly at the same lime, tempest-driven into the har- bour of Messina, iu which port they were detained during the whole remainder of the year. The adage which represents a long con- llnenient on board sliii> as a jicculiar test of temper and touchstone of friendship, applies equally to all cases of very close companionship. Brought thus long Into daily contact, these young princes, who were so well fitted to have been friends under almost any other circumstances, were the more certain to disagree, from their nintual possession, in a very high de- gree, of a haughty determination, ambi- tion, courage, and obstinacy; and as Philip was as cool and reserved as Richard was passionate to the verge of frenzy, and can- did to the verge of absolute folly, their dis- agreements were pretty sure to tend chiefly to the advantage of Philip. While residing at Messina, and settling some difTerence which both kings, in some sort, had with Tancred, the reigning usur- per of Sicily, Richard, extremely jealous of the intentions of both prince and people, established himself in a fort which com- manded the harbour. A quarrel was the consequence, and Richard's troops having chastised the Messinese for an attack which he rather guessed than had any proof that they meditated, Richard had tho English flag displayed in triumph on the walls of the city. Philip, who had pre- viously done all that he could to accommo- date matters, justly enough considered this display as being insulting to him, and gave orders to some of his people to piill the i standard down. Rich.ard, on the other i hand, chose to treat this order as a per- | sonal insult to him, and immediately sent word to Philip that he bad no objection to removing the standard himself, but that no one else should touch it, save at mortal risk. Philip, who was too anxious for the aid of Kichard when they should arrive in the Holy Laud to be willing to drive him to e.xtremity, accepted the proposal with seeming cordiality ; but the quarrel, petty as it was, left the seeds of dislike iu the hearts of both princes. A.D. 1191. — Tancred, the Sicilian usurper, deeming that his own safety would be pro- moted by whatever sowed discord between these two powerful princes, was guilty of a deception which in their mutual temper of suspicion might have led to even fatal consequences. He showed to Richard a letter which he stated that he had received from the hands of the duke of Burgundy. This letter, which purported to be written by Philip, required Tancred to cause his troops suddenly to fall upon the English forces, and promised that the French should aid him in the destruction of the common enemy. Richard, with his usual liery and unreflecting temper, believed this 162 Cl^^ Crra^urg of W^tarxf, Sit, cliiinsy Action without examination, and hoing wliolly unable to dlssfuible Ills feel- ings, he at once told Pliiliii wlmt he w;i.s charged withal, rhlllp flatly denied tlic clmrse, branded the Sicilian u-ihiht with his falsehood, and challen^iod liltn to s>ii>- porc the atrocious charge he had made; and as Tancred was, of course, wholly unable to do so, Richard professed to be completely satisfied. As this attempt of Tancred and its near approach to success had warned both Pliilip and lUchard of the danger to wliich their friendship, so im- portant to both their Ijlngdoms and to the great cause in which they were both en- gaged, was perpetually liable from the arts of the enemies of either, they agreed to have a solemn treaty, in which every pos- sible point of difference between them should be so arranged that no future difll- culty could arise. But this very attempt at foi-malising friendship was itself the cause of a dispute, which at the outset threatened to be a fatal one, inasmuch as the family honour of Philip was very much concerued in the matter. It will be remembered that, in his shame- ful opposition to his father, Richard had constantly expressed the utmost possible anxiety for pennission to espouse Alice, daughter of Louis, the late king of France, and sister of that Philip who was now P.ichard's feilow-crusader. Alice, who long resided in England, was confidently, though perhaps only scandalously, reported to have been engaged in a criminal amour with Richard's own father ; and Richard, well knowing the current report on that head, was far indeed from desiring the alliance which, as a sure means of annoying his father, he was thus perpetually demanding. Now that he was king, he not only had no longer any intention of marrjing Alice, but had, in fact, made proposals for the band of Berengaria, daughter of the king of Xavarre, and was expecting that princess to follow him under the protection of his mother, queen Eleanor. Philip, probably suspecting or knowing this new passion, formally required that Richard should espouse Alice, now that there v.as no longer any hostile father to oppose him. But Richard on this occasion gave proof that he was not actuated merely by his constitutional levity, by bringing forward proof so clear that it carried conviction even to the unwilling mind of Philip, that Alice had actually borne a child to Rich- ard's father, the' late king of England. To such a reason for bre.nking off the engage- ment no valid reply could be made ; and Philip depiirted for the Holy Land, while Richard remained at Messina to await the arrival of his mother and the princess Be- rengaria. They soon after arrived, and Richard, attended by his bride and his sister, the dowager queen of Sicily, departed for the Holy Land ; queen Eleanor return- ing to England. Richard's fleet w.is met by a heavy storm, which drove part of it upon the isle of Cy- prus, the prince of which, Isaac, a despot whose limited means and power did no' prevent him from assuming all the state and tyrannous bearing of an emperor, threw the wrecked crews into prison, instead of hospitably administering to their wants, and even carried his barbarity so far a- to prevent the princesses, on their peril, from being sheltered In his port of Limisso. But the triumph of the ill-conditioned tyrant was only brief. Richard, who soon after arrived, landed his troops, be.at the tyrant before Limisso, took that place by storm, threw Isaac himself into prison, and es- tablished new governors in all the principal places of the Lsland. A siugular f.avour was in the midst of this severity conferred by Richard upon the defeated and im- prisoned tyrant. Isaac complained bitterly of the degradation of being loaded, like a vulgar malefactor, with chains of iron ; his sense of degradation being apparently li- mited lo the material of his fetters, and not extending to the fact of his being fet- tered at all. With an indescribably droll courtesy, Richard not only admitted the justice of the complaint, but actually had a set of very substantial silver fetters made for Isaac's especial use! The nuptials of Richard and Berengaria were celebrated with great pomp at Cyprus, and they again set sail towards Palestine, taking with them Isaac's daughter, a beau- tiful woman, who w.as reported to have made conquest of Richard's heart. Richard and his troops arrived in time to take a distinguished part in the siege of the long- beleaguered Acre. At first the English and French troops and their kingly leaders acted most amica- bly together, alternately taking the duty of guarding the trendies and mounting to the assault of the place. But this good feeling between the two princes would probably not have endured very long, even had there been no other cause for their disagreements but the warlike superiority of Ricliard, whose headlong courage and huge personal strength made him conspicuous in every attack. But to this latent and ever-rank- ling cause of quarrel others were speedily added. The first dispute that arose between the two kings to call into open light the real feelings which policy or courtesy had pre- viously enabled them to veil, originated in the claims of Guy de Lusignan, and Con- rad, marquis of Montferrat, to the more showy than profitable title of king of Jeru- salem. De Lusignan sought and obtained the advocacy of Richard, and Philip ip^o facto was induced to give the most strenuous support to Conrad. Nor did the evil rest with giving the two monarchs a cause of open and zealous opposition to each other. Their example was naturally followed by the other Christian leader.s. The knights of the hospital of St. John, the Pisans, and the Flemings, gave their voices and support to the side embraced by Richard, while the Templars, the Germans, and the Genoese, gave theirs to Philip; and thus, while every circumstance of interest and duty demand- ed the most cordial and unwavering unani- mity among the Christian princes and leaders, their camp was divided into two fierce parties, who were almost as ready to dPnglauir.— piaitta5«^?t^.— ^Itri^arir 5. 1G3 turn their arms upon each other as upon the infidels. The distressed condition to which the in- fidels were already reduced, however, did not allow of their prodting, as they other- wise might have done, by the Christian dissensions; and they surrendered the long- contested city, stipulating for the sparing of their lives, and agreeing, in return, to give up all Cliristian prisdiiers, :iiiii tlie trueCross. The joy of theCliristi.-iii imwcrs of Europe at this long-desired triumph ^\-as so rapturous as to maice them utterly un- mindful of the fact, that, setting almost in- calculable treasure wholly out of considera- tion, this result had in the course of a few years cost Christendom at least three hun- dred thousand of her bravest lives. After the surrender of Acre, Philip, dis- gusted probably at finding himself cast so much into the shade in a scene in which, and In which only, Richard was so well calculated to outshine him, departed for Europe, on the ground that the safety of his dominions would not allow of his re- maining to talie a part in what promised to be the very slow and difflcult recapture of Jerusalem, which it was only reasonable to suppose would be still more obstinately de- fended and more dearlypurchased than Acre had been. But though he urged the plea that the weal of his kingdom and the state of his own health would not allow of his own longer presence, he guarded himself against the imputation of being wholly in- diiferent to the Christian cause, by leaving ten thousand of his best troops to Richard, under the command of the duke of Bur- gundy. And in order to allay the very natural suspicions of Richard, lest he should make use of his presence in Europe to do any wrong to the English power, he so- lemnly made oath that he would, on no pretence, make any attempt on the English dominions during Richard's absence. But, solightly were oaths held even bythehighly born and the enlightened of that day, that scarcely had Philip landed in Italy ere he had the mingled hardihood and meanness to apply to Pope Celestine V. to absolve liim from his oath. The pope, more just, refused to grant it ; but though Philip was tlius prevented from the open hostility which he had most dishonourably planned, he did not hesitate to avail himself to the utmost of every opportunity to work evil to Richard ; and opportunity was abundantly afforded him by the conduct of the ungrate- ful and disloyal John, and the discord that reigned among the English nobility, almost without an exception of any note. It has already been mentioned that Rich- ard on his departure for the Holy Land had delegated the chief authority in England to Hugh, bishop of Durham and earl of North- umberland, and Longchamp, bishop of Ely. The latter was not only far superior to his colleague in point of capacity and expe- rience in the arts of intrigue, but was also liosses.sed of an audacious and violent spirit little becoming the churchman. The king had not long left England ere the domi- neering spirit of Longchamp began to ma- nifest itself, not only towards the nobility in general, but also towards his milder C(ill(':ii,'iii' in tlie government. Having, in adililidii In his equality of civil authority, the l( gilt ill!' power, tlien so very tremen- dous ;is not easily to be resisted even by a powerful and wise king in his own projier person, Longchamp could not endure to treat the meeker bishop of Durham as any- thing more than liis Ilrst subject. At first he manifested his feeling of superiority by pelly means, whirh were rather annoying tliau positively hostile or injurious; hut finding himself unresisted, he grew more and more violent, and at length went to the glaringly inconsistent length of throwing his colleague in the government into con- finement, and demanding of him the sur- render of the earldom of Northumberland which he had paid for in solid cash. This took place before the king had departed from Marseilles on his way to the East ; and though as soon as Ricliard heard of the dissension betweni the lun prelates up- on whose wisrtcim ami ixrliil accord he so mainly depended fm- iljc inHi-eand safety of his dominions, be sent peremptory orders for the earl-bishop's release, Longchamp had the consummate assurance to refuse to obey the king's command, assuring the as- tounded nobles that he knew that the king's secret wishes were directly opposed to his public orders I This misconduct was followed up by so much insolence towards the nobility in general, and so many complaints were in consequence made to Richard, that he ap- pointed anumerous council of nobles with- out whose concurrence Longchamp for the future was strictly forbidden to transact any important public business. But his vast authority as legate, added to his daring and peremptory temper, deterred even those named as his councillors from venturing to produce their commission to him, and he continued to display the magnificence and to exercise the power of an absolute sove- reign of the realm. The great abbots of the wealthy monas- teries complained that when he made a progress in their neighbourhood, liis train in a single day's residence devoured their revenue for years tci come ; the high-born and martial barons compl.ained of the more than kingly hauteur of this low-born man ; the whole nation, in short, was discontent- ed, but the first open and efficient opposi- tion was made by one whose personal cha- racteristic was certainly not too great courage— the prince John. That the bishop and legate misused his authority to the insulting of the nobility and the impoverishment of the nation, would not a Jot have moved John ; bxit he could not endure that he, too, should be thrown into shade and contempt by this overbearing prelate. The latter, with a want of policy strangely at variance with his undoubted ability, imprudently allowed himself to be guilty of personally disoblig- ing John, who, upon that affront, conceived an indignation which all the disobedience shown to his brother, and all the injury infiictedupon his brother's best and most faithful subjects, had been insufficient to 164 C^e CrcaiJura at ^iitavt}, ^c. arouse. Tie summoned a council of prelat c< anil nobles to meet bim at Kernlinu', in Berkshire, anil cited Longclianip lo .■i]>|>car there to account for liis conihu-t. Aware ■when it was too late of the Janwrous ene- mies he had provnked by the wanton abuse of his authority, the prelate, instead of ap- pearing before t lie council, entrenched him- self in the Tower of London. But tl.e m.an- ner in which he had wielded his authority had left him so few .and such lukewarm friends, th.at he soon found that he w.as not safe even in that strong fortress, and, dis- guising himself in female apparel, he con- trived to escape to France, where he was sure to And a cordial recei)tion at the hands of Philip. He was now in form deprived of the liigh civil offices which by his flight lie had virtually surrendered, and the arch- bishop of llouen, who had ahigh reputation for both talent and prudence, was made chancellor and justiciary in his stead. As Longchamp, however, held the iegatine power, of which no civil authorities could deprive him, he still had abundant means, which he lost no opportunity of using, to aid the insidious endeavours of Philip to disturb the peaj:e of England and injure the absent Richard. A.D. 1192.— Philip's neighbourhood to Richard's French dominions held out an o)iportunity, far too tempting to be resisted, for invading them, which he was on the point of openly doing when lie found him- self prevented in his treacherous schemes by the almost general refusal of his nobles to aid him in so inglorious an enterprise against the territories of a prince who was gloriously— though anything but prudently —perilling life and limb in the distant wars of the cross. Philip was discouraged, more- over, in this part of his dishonourable plan by the pope, who, especially constituting himself the guardian of the rights of all princes engaged in the crusade, threatened Philip with the terrors of an interdict, should he venture to persist in attacking the territory of his far worthier brother-so- Tereign and fellow-crusader. But though obstacles so formidable ren- dered it impossible for him to persist in i Ills open course of injustice, save at the i hazard of utter ruin to himself, he resolved ] to work secretly to the same end. Tho- ] roughly understanding the dishonourable i character of John, he made overtures to I that base and weak prince ; offered him in marriage that princess Alice whose blotted I character had caused her to be refused by 1 the usually imprudent and facile Richard, j and gave him assurance of investiture in I all the French possessions of Richard, upon condition of his taking the risk of invading them. John, whose whole conduct through life showed him to be utterly destitute of all feelings of faith or gratitude, was in no wise startled by the atrocity that was pro- posed to him, and was in the act of com- mencing preparations for putting it into exe- cution, when queen Eleanor, more jealous of the kingly rights of her absent son than she had formerly showed herself of those of her husb.and, interposed her own au- thority, and caused the council and nobles of Enuland to interpose tlieirs, so effec- tually, [hat John's frars overcame even hi.s cui'idity, and he abamlnned a project which none but an utterly debased mind would ever have entertained. While these things were p.asslng In Eu- rope, the high-spirited but unwise Richard was gathering laurels In Asia, and, uncon- sciously, accumul.ating upon his head a huge and terrible load of future suffering ; and an occurrence which just now took place In that distant scene was, with an execrable ingenuity, seized upon by Philip to calumniate in Europe the absent rival, each new exploit of whom added to the pangs of his ever-aching envy. There was In Asia a mountain prince, known to Europeans by the title of the ' old man of the mountain,' who had ob- tained so absolute a power over the exces- sively superstitious minds of his subjects that, at a word or a sign from him, any one of them would put himself to death with the unmurmuring and even cheerful com- pliance of a man in the performance of some high and Indefeasible religious duty. To die at the order of their despotic prince was, in the belief of these unlettered and credulous beings, to secure a certain and instant introduction to the ineffable de- lights of Paradise ; and to die thus was consequently not shunned or dreaded as an evil, but courted as the supremcst possible good fortune. It will readily be understood that a race of men educated to commit suicide at the word of command, would be found no less docile to their despot's oi-ders In the matter of murder. The care with whicli they were instructed in the art of disguising their designs, and the utter contempt In which they held the mortal consequences of their being discovered, rendered It certain death to give sucli offence to this terrible potentate of a petty territory as might induce him to despatch his emissaries upon tlieir sanguinary er- rand. Conrad, marquis of Montferrat, who seems to have possessed a considerable genius for quarrelling, was unfortunate enough to give deep offence to the old man of the mountain, who immediately issued against him his informal but most decisive sentence of death. Two of the old man's devoted subjects, known by the name of as- sassins— which name their practices have caused to be applied to murderers— rushed upon Conrad, while suiTounded by his guards, and mortally wounded him. About tlie author of this crime there was not, and there could not be, the slightest difference of opinion. The practice of the old man of the mountain was only too well known ; It was equally notorious that the marquis of Montferrat had given him deep offence by the contemptuous style In which he refused to mal;e any satisfaction for the death of certain of the old man's subjects : who had been put to death by the citizens I of Tyre ; and to put the cause of Conrad's i death beyond all seeming possibility of mis- take, the two assassins, who were seized and put to death with the most cruel tortures, i boasted during their dying agonies that they died In the performance of their duty | (l^tTfltaulf.— ^lantaBeutW.— aatcljarJj 5. 166 to tlielr iirince. But the king of France pretonJod wholly to disregard all the cir- c'lnnstaiices which thus spoke trumpet- tongiud to the truth, and loudly protested his l)i'liri' in the foul murder of Conrad having' li.i'ii coniinilted by order of Richard, the luiiiiiT opiKiuent of the marquis; and affect iijj; to iuiafe'inc that his person was in dauKer of attack by assassins, this accom- plished hypocrite ostentatiously surrounded himself with a body-guard. This calumny was far too gross to be believed by anyone ; but it was easy to seem to believe it, and to convert it into an excuse for violating both the rights and the liberties of the most valiant of all the crusaders. The valour and conduct of Itiehard and the other Christian leaders, vast and bril- liant as they were, could not counterbal- ance the dissensions which sprang up among them. An immense host of intl- dels under Saladiu was vanquished, nearly forty thousand of them remaining dead upon the field of battle ; Ascalon was speedily afterwards taken ; and Richard had led the victorious Christians within sight of Jerusalem, when tin- impiilitic dis- .sensions to which we have alluilcil cum- pelled him to make a truce with Saladiu, just as the perfect triumph of the cross seemed inevitable. The duke of Burgundy, •whom Philip liad left in command of the French, openly and obstinately declared his intention of immediately returning to Eu- rope ; the German and Italian companies followed the evil example thus set ; and Richard, compelled to treat, by this unwor- thy defection, could but exert himself to obtain from the chivalrous Saladin terms as favotn-able as possible to the Christians. By the terms of this treaty, which was con- cluded for the fanciful terra of three years, three mouths, three weeks, three days, and three hours, Acre, Joppa, and other parts of Palestine were to be held by the Chris- tians, and Christian pilgrims were to pro- ceed to Jerusalem without let or molesta- tion. The concludiug of this treaty was nearly the last important public act of Saladin, who shortly afterwards expired at Damascus. On his deathbed he ordered legacies to a large amount to be distributed among the poor of Damascus, without dis- tinction of religion, and he ordered his wiuding-sheet to be exposed in the public streets, a crier the while making procla- mation, ' This is all that remains of the mighty Saladin, the conqueror of the East.' Taking advantage of the truce, Richard now determined to return to England, to oppose his own power aud authority to the intrigues of his ungrateful brother John and the unprincipled king of France. Being aware that he would lie exposed to great danger should he venture through France, he sailed for the Adriatic, and being shipwrecked near Aquileia, he took the disguise of a pilgrim, in the hope that it would enable him undiscovered to pass through Germany. Driven out of his di- rect road by some suspicions of the go- vernor at Istria, he was so imprudently la- vish of his money during his short stay at Vienna, that his real rank was discovered. and he was thrown into prison by Leopold, duke of Austria, who had served under and been grievou.sly affronted by him at the siege of ,\cre. The emperor Henry VI., whom Riiliard by his friendship with Tan- cred of .Sicily had also made his enemy, not only .■ipimivcd of Richard's arrest, but re- quired the charge of his person, and offered the duke of Austria a considerable sum of money as a reward for it. A. D. 1195.— The grief of Richard's friends and the triumph of his enemies were alike excited whrarily sjiared that he miglithave the cruel distinction of a slower and more painful death, llichard was so much man- gled bv the awkwardness with which tlio barbed" arrow was drawn from his wound, that mortiflcation rapidly set in, and the monarch felt that his last hour approached. Caiisiug de Gourdon to be brought into his iireseiice, he demanded how he had ever injured him. ' With your own hand,' flrmly replied tlie prisoner, ' you slew my father and my two brothers. You also threatened to hang me in common with my fellow- soldiers. I am now in your power, but I sliall be consoled under the worst tortures that you can cause to be iutlicted upon me while I ecu reflect that I have been able to rid the earth of such a nuisance.' Richard, softened by pain and the near aspect of death, ordered that the brave archer should be set at liberty and presented with a con- siderable sum of money; but Marcadee, the leader of the Brabancons in whose com- pany Richard was wouiidcd, brutally had de Goui-don flayed alive and then hanged. Richard's wound defied the rude science of his surgeons, and after considerable suffer- ing he died on the Cth of April, 1199, in the fortv-secoud year of his age and the tenth of liis reign— a reign very brilliant as re- .gards his warlike feats, but in all the high .and really admirable qualities of a monarch very sadly deficient. His conduct was in some particular cases not raerelyoppressive, as regarded his ways of raising mon.ey, but absolutely dishonest. As, for instance, he twice In his reign gave orders that all charters should be resealed, the parties in each case having, of course, to pay the fees ; and in many cases taxes were in- flicted upon particular parties without any other authority than the king's mere will. Hut it was chiefly in the re-enactment of all the worst p.arts of the forest laws, those parts which inflicted the most cruel and disgusting mutilations upon the offenders. But while this particular branch of law was shamefully severe, the police of London and other great towns was in an equally \ax state. Robbery and violence in the streets were very common ; and at one time, in 1196, a lawyer named Fitzosbert, sui- named Longbeard, bad acquired a vast and dangerous power over the worst rabble of London, numbering nearly fifty thousand, who under his orders for some time set the ill-consolidated authorities at defiance. When called upon by the chief ju-^ticiary to give an account of his conduct, he attended with so numerous a rabble, that the justi- ciary deemed it unsafe to do more with him fit that time than merely call upon him to .!?ive hostages for his future good behaviour. But the justiciary took measiues for keep tng a watchful eye upon Fitzosbert, and .at length attempted to take liiiii into custody, on which he, with his concubine and some attendants, took refuge in Bow church, wheri^ he defended himself very resolutely, but was at length taken and hanged. So infatuated were the pojiulace, however, that the very wiblict up. in which this man was executed was stoliMi, and it was pretended that pieces "f it could work miracles iu curing the diseased. Though so fiery in temper, and so excessively addicted to bloodshed, Richard was by no means des- titute of a certain vein of tenderness and romance. He prided himself pretty nearly as much upon his skill as a troubador as upon his feats as a warrior, and there are even some of his compositions extant. On the whole, however, we fear that the popu- larity of Richard does little credit either to his contemporaries or his posterity as far as good judgement is concerned. Brilliant qualities he undoubtedly had ; but his cruelty and his dogged self-will threw a blemish over them all. CHAPTER XXII. The Reign of John. A.D. 1199.— When Richard went to Pales- tine he by a formal will set aside the claim of John to be his successor, in favour of Arthur, of Brittany, the son of their brother Geoffrey. But during Richard's absence John caused the prelates and no- bles to swear fealty to him in despite of that deed ; and Richard, on his return to England, so far from showing any desire to disturb that arrangement, actually in his last will constituted John his successor, in direct contradiction to his own former and formal deed. But though John was thus authoritatively named as his brother's suc- cessor, many of the barons of Normandy thought the right of young Arthur wholly indefeasible by even the will of his nncle ; and Philip, who was glad of any opportu- nity to injure the peace of the English ter- ritories in France, cheerfully agreed to aid them iu the support of the young prince, whom he sent to Paris to be educated with his own son. John acted with unusual alertness and good judgement on this occa- sion. Sending his mother Eleanor to secure the provinces of Guienne and Poictou, where she was greatly beloved, he himself proceeded to Rouen, and having made all the arrangements necessary to keep peace in Normandy, he proceeded thence to Eng- land. Here he found little or no difficulty in causing his claim to be preferred to that of a mere boy ; and having received the homage of all the most powerful barons, he hastened to France to prepare the ne- cessary opposition to whatever exertions I'hilip might make on behalf of young Arthur. ^ , A. D. 1200.— The actions between John and Philip were of but little importance ; and the latter having inspired young Ar- thur's mother with the notion that he sought to benefit himself r.ather than her son, seized upon an opportunity to with- draw Arthur from the French court, and CPnglanJi.— ^STantaflrnc W. — Soljn. 169 placed him uiitier the in-otcction of John. Findliiff tlieir mutual w:int of power to ob- tain siiyifreat and iierinanent advantage by war, the two kings now made a treaty, in which Uio limits of their several territories were laid down with great exactitude ; nine barons of each nation swore respectively to maintain the treaty in good faith, even shiiuld it be necessary to make war ui"in their own soverciLrii, and si ill fartlier to in- sure its due and faithful observance John gave his niece, Blanche of Castile, with certain flefs as her dower, to prince Louis, eldest sl lord ; and John, who could n(]t disavow I'liiliji's au- thority without at the same time striking at his own, promised that by granting his barons an equitable judgement iu his own court he would deprive them both of the right and the necessity of appealing to the superior court of Philip. Again and again his promises were renewed, but only to be broken. Philip, finding that his sense of honour alone was no security, demanded that the castles of Boutavant and Tilleries should be placed in his hands as security for justice being done to the barons. John was too weak to resist this demand ; but he was also too faithless to keep his promise, which was broken just as it would have been had he given no security what- ever. A.D. 120.3.— Young Arthur of Brittany, who was now springing into manhood and who had a very decided taste for warfare, had liy this time seen enimgh of the cruel and tyrannous character of his uncle to feel that he was not in safety while living with him ; he therefore made his escape to Phi- lip, who received him with the utmost distinction, knighted him, gave him his daughter Mar^■ in marriage, and invested him not only with his hereditary Brittany, but also with Anjou and Maine. The French army was for a time successful iu every attempt; Tilleries and Boutavant, Mortimar and Lyons, were taken almost without difficulty ; and Gouruay, complete- ly flooded by a stratagem of Philip, was abandoned to him by the astonished garri- son. At each new loss, John, timid iu ad- versity as he was despotic and unsparing in prosperity, made new endeavours to obtain peace ; but the sole condition upon wliii h Philip would now consent to even listen to his proposals, was his full resignation of all his territory on the continent to prince Ar- thur. An accidentat length occurred which changed the prospects of that young prince, with fearful rapidity, from the utmost suc- cess to the most complete ruin. "Well knowing how much his grandmother, queen Eleanor, had ever been opposed to his wel- fare, and hearing that she was iu the for- tress of Mirabeau, iu Poictiers, and but slenderly attended, it occurred to him that if he could obtain possession of her person hewould obtain the means of exercising con- siderable influence upon his uncle's mind, and he a<:cordingly sat down to besiege the place, the fortiflcations of which promised no very long resistance. John, though at some distance when he was informed of his mother's danger, hastened to her as- sistance with a speed very unusual to him, surprised young Arthur's camp, dispersed his forces, and took Arthur, together with the couut de la Marche and other distin- guished leaders of the revolted barons, Q 170 d^e Creaiurg of ?^t')Storg, $et. prisoners. Most of the prisoners were for greater pprurity shipped off to Eiipland ; but Artliur was routined in the castle of Kalaise, where he was speedily admitted to the dangerous honour of an interview with his t>Tanuiral uncle. John reproached Ar- thur less with the injustice of his canse in general, than with the folly of liis expecting to derive any permanent advantage from the French all lance, which would keep him at variance with his own family, merely to make him a tool ; a view of the case which was none the less correct because taken by a prince of whose general character a just mat! finds it impossible to approve. Ar- thur, brave and sanguine, asserted that his claim was superior to that of his uncle, and that not only as regarded the French territories, but as regarded England also ; and he called upon John to listen to the voice of justice and restore him to his rights. Historians differ as to the way in which John freed himself from a competitor whose early boldness promised at no distant day to give him much trouble. We have always doubted the exact accuracy of all these accounts, for the timidity and dis- trust which formed so principal a part of John's unamiable character would surely never have deserted him so far on so ter- ribly serious an occasion, as would be im- plied by his proceeding being known with circumstantial accuracy. All that seems to us to be certain upon the very painful subject is, that after a stormy interview with his uncle young Ar- thur was seen no more for some time. A report got into very general circulation that he had been unfairly dealt with. Such, it seems, was not the cjise as yet. The king, it is affirmed, had applied to William de la Bray to put the young prince to death, but he nobly replied that he was a gentleman, not an assassin or a hangman. A less EcruFulous person was at length found and sent to the castle of Falaise ; but he was sent away by Hubert de Burgh, the go- vernor of the fortress, with the assurance that he would himself do what was neces- sary ; — which humane deception he follow- ed up by spreading a report of the prince's death, and even going through the form of his funeral. But when the death of the young prince was thus authoritatively as- serted, the general ill character of John caused him to be universally pointed at as the murderer ; and Hubert de Burgh, fear- ing that all Brittany would break out into revolt, confessed the innocent deception he had practised. John no sooner learned that his unfortunate nephew still lived, than he ordered his removal from the custody of the faithful and humane De Burgh, and had him taken to the castle of Rouen. Here John visited Arthur in the dead of night, and, though the young prince is said to have knelt to him and prayed for his life, stabbed him \vith his own hand. That John was capable of even this ex- treme atrocity we have unfortunately too much reason to gather from the universal detestation in which he was held by his cuutemporaries. But though there is little reason to doubt that Arthur perished by the order, at least, if not by the very hand, of his uncle, we would again direct the at- tention of the reader to the too great parti- cularity of this account, in the llnet place, and to a discrepancy between the natural character of Arthur and that part of the story which represents hiiu as kneeling in terror to his uncle. The story savours somewhat more than it should of a scene from Shakspeare,whiise dramatic genius it would be idle to question, but whose his- toric authority we should be loth to pin our faith upon. But though it is scarcely probable that so wily a person as John would allow the details of his tyrannous cruelty to be thus brought before the world, and though his personal timidity rendered him as unlikely to l.ave undertaken with his own hand the murder of Arthur, as it was that this high- hearted young prince would show any ter- ror, even in the death hour, the ttniversril belief of John's contemporaries was that he, whether with his own hand or not, caused Arthui-'s death ; and loud and ter- rible was the outcry of the people of Brit- tany, to whom Arthur was as dear as his wily and cruel uncle was hateful. Eleanor, Arthur's sister, was in the power of John, who kept her closely confined in England ; but the Bretons, resolved to do anything rather than willingly acknowledge the sway of John, chose for their sovereign young Alice the daughter of Constance by her second husband, Guy de Thonars, to whom they connnitted the affairs of the duchy as guardian of his daughter, and they at the same time appealed to Philip as superior lord to do justice upon John for his violence to Arthur, who was feudatory to France. Philip summoned John to appear before him, and, in default of his doing so, he was declared a felon and sentenced to forfeit all seignory and fief in France to his superior lord, Philip. No one who has accurately read what has already been related of the shrewd, grasp- ing, and somewhat cunning character of Philip, can doubt that, from the first, he took up the cause of young Arthur less with a view to the benefit of that young prince, than in the hope that the chapter of accidents would enable him, sooner or later, to deprive the English crown of some portion, if not all, of its French appanages. And the appeal of his Bretons to his jus- tice, the unwise advantage afforded to him by John's default of appearance, and the unanimous sentence of the French peers, now seemed to give him something like a substantial and judicial right as against John. The exertions and sagacious policy of Henry would have evoked French opposi- tion to any such attempt; that skilful poli- tician would have found but little diffi- culty in leading the French barons to ab- stain from ende!»vouring to add to the authority of their superior lord, lest in so doing they should insure their own ruin. Neither would it have been safe to try such a plan while the lion-hearted Richard lived to shout his fierce battle-cry in that popu- ©iiflTantr.— piantasfiicW.— SInijn. 171 lar voico which would have been heard In liall and tnwer, and which would nowhere iKivi' been unlieedcd where chivalry still aliiiile. But John, destitute alike of cou- r.-iwc, popularity, and of true policy, was lillle likely to unravel or nnllx a dexterous Inilicy or long to withstand actual force, liatedas he was even by his own barinis. The opportunity was the more tempting to Philip, because those of his great vassals whu would have been tlie most likely to oppose his agpraudisenient were either ab- sent, or so much enraged against John that their desire to annoy him and abridge the piiwcrhe had so shamefully abused, over- came in their minds all tendency to a cooler and more selfish style of reascming. Philip took several of the fortresses situated beyond the Loire, some of which lie ,u'arris(med for himself, while others he wholly destroyed; and his early successes were followed up by the surrender to him, by the count d'AIeiiQon, of all the places which he had been intrusted to hold for John. Elated by this success, and desirous to rest liis troops, Philip disembodied tliem for the season. John, enraged by all that had passed in this brief campaign, took advantage of this too-confldent movement of Philip, and sat down before Aleu^on with a strong army. But if Philip was ca- pable of committing a military error, he was equally capable of seizing upon the readiest means of repairing it. To delay while he was re-collecting his scattered troops would be to expose the count to the whole force, and, in the case of de- feat, to the whole vengeance, too, of John. But it fortunately happened that the most eminent nobles, not only of France but also of Italy and Germany, were at this very time assembled at a splendid tournament atMoret. Hither Philip directed his course, gave a vivid description of the evil charac- ter of John, of hisowii disinterested desire to punish the craven felony of that prince, and of the danger in which the count d'Alen^on was placed by his devotion to truth and chivalry, whicli had led him to dare the vengeance of one who was well known to be unsparing after the stricken field, as craven while the tide of battle still rolled ; .and he called upon the assembled chivalry, as they valued their noble and ancient names, to follow him to the worthy task of aiding a gallant and honourable noble against a dastardly and adjudged felon. Such an appeal, made to such hearts, cou'd receive but one answer. Like one man, the assembled knights followed Philip to the plains of Alen^ou, resolved, at what- ever cost, to raise the siege. But John saved them all trouble on that score. His conscience told him that there were men in that brave host who, if he should chance to be made prisoner, would be likely to take fearful vengeance for the imtimely death of young Arthur ; and he would not even await their approach, but raised the siege in such haste that he actually left all his tents and baggage of every description behind to be captured by the enemy. For some time John kept his court at Uouen, showing no other feeling than a most ludicrous confidence in his own re- sources whenever he should determine to make use of them. When information was brought to him of some new success on the part of the French, he would reply, 'Ah I let them go on; by and by 1 will just retake in a single day what they have spent years in taking.' Such conduct naturally disgusted the brave barons of England and the English provinces, and weakened their desire to combat for a prince who seemed so obsti- nately bent upon their disgrace and his own ruin. But thougli he had neglected those means of defence of which his brother would have been even too eager to avail himself, there was one resource of which John had not neglected to avail himself ; he had humbly and pressingly appealed to Home. Such appeals were always gladly received at that ambitious court, and Philip received a peremptory comniaud to make peace with John, and abstainfrom trench- ing any further upon his territory. But Pliilip had inspired liis barons with a hatred fqual to that which he himself felt for John ; and, regardless of any possible injury which their own authority might sufi'er from the undue aggrandisement of their king, they loudly assured him that he should have their cordial support against all foes whosoever, and as loudly denied the right of the pope to the temporal authority which he thus took upon himself to exercise. Encouraged by this disposition of his ba- rons, Philip, instead of complying with the orders of the pope, proceeded to lay siege to the chateau Gaillard, which was the most important fortress that was now left to de- feud the Norman frontier. A.D. 1204. — This place was admirably strong both by nature and by art. Built partly upon an islet of the Seine and partly upon an opposite crag, neither labour nor expense had been spared upon it ; and at this very time it was held by a numerous garrison commanded liy Roger de Lacy, const.able of CJhester, a leader of deter- mined courage as well as of great skill. Philip, thinking it easier to take such a place, so garrisoned, by famine than by main force, threw a bridge across the Seine, where he posted a part of his force, and he nimself at the head of the remain- der undertook its blockade by land. The earl of Pembroke, by far the ablest person whom John then had aliout him, assembled a force of four thousand foot and three thousand liorse, with which he purposed to attack Philip's camp, while a fleet of seventy flat-bottomed craft, numerously manned, was simultaneously to sail up the Seine and attack the bridge, and thus throw relief into the fortress. The earl was exact in performing his part of the attack, and even at the outset obtained some consider- able advantage over Philip; but the weather chancing to retard the fleet on its passage, its assistance arrived too late for the sup- port of the earl, who was already defeated. Had the attack been made simultaneou.sly anil by night, according to the earl's plan, it had most probably been successful ; as it was, Philip was enabled to deal with hia i . J C^ CtuuSutv of Utiftorn, jrt. 1 ieudl. and bent : ~ conaideraltle Inaa. - .. u- ..- . J iepresned by defeal, wx- - du»cijur-*ifrr»l fcy the Ul snccese ■:■€ tiie -■ ttux He euaJd q<-'!; be m<±a>-ed Cu iraie £»n;iier Mtemic t.. r -■-- ■:- - -: ' " f rrtrraa, titf,aiclx ir do-'emenM were " ^fortkis prete. JQ to tb£ r.- fc - r. :mg was so diaraclc n^.^ axjl tuft Cit/ ira.? j.el'leil Aji th.; ^ srite-.-i.veiiorer «2iich tte very nit are uf Cfnglamlr.— ^lantajcnctiS.— 3o|)ii. the feudal tenure pave in reality, and the ptill greater power which it gave in idea, to the X.irnian sovereigns. It is to be consi- dered, however, that this great power, ■nielded as It had been by the art of some of John's predecessors and -the martial energj- of others, was not to be either easily or early shaken, even by the personal mis- conduct of a John, in whom the king, the great feudal lord paramount, would still be feared and obeyed by the most powerful of his vassals, after the man John had over- whelmed himself with the contempt and the disgust of the meanest horseboy in his train. But even the vast prestige of the feudal monarchy was at length worn out by the personal misconduct of the weak raonarci ; and the church, ever ready to seize upon opportunity of extending and consolidating its immense temporal power, was the first to encroach upon the autho- rity which John had so often proved him- self unworthy to hold, and unable to wield w ith either credit to himself or advantage to his people. A.D. 1207.— The then pope. Innocent III., having arrived at the papal power at the unusually early age of thirty-seven, had never been unmindful of the opportunities that presented themselves to him. Taking advantage of the plausible pretext afforded to him by the state of the Holy Land, he had so far stretched his authority over the clergy of Christendom, as to send among them collectors with authority to levy a fortieth part of all ecclesiastical revenues for the relief of Palestine; and to make this levy the more obviously and emphati- cally an act of authority and power of the popedom over the ecclesiastics, the same collectors were authorised to receive a like proportion of laymen's revenues, iwt as a. tax, but as voluntary contribution. A pope thus resolved and astute in riveting his chains upon a body so numerous and so powerful as the cJergy, was not likely to be slow in exercising his power against so contemptible a prince as John ; nor was an oirportuaity long wanting. Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, dying In 1205, the monks of Christchnrch, Can- terbury, had the right of election, subject to the consent of the king ; but a minority of them, consisting, too, almost without exception, of the juniors, assembled on the very night of Hubert's death, and elected as his successor their sub-prior, Reginald, who, having been hastily and covertly in- stalled in the archiepis copal throne, imme- diately set ont for Rome to procure the pope's confirmation. The vanity of Regi- nald, or thewantof prudence of his friends, caused the affair to reach the king's ears almost as soon as the new archbishop had commenced his journey. John was so far favourably situated, that his anger at this presumptuous and irregular proceeding of the junior monks of C^tterbtiry was fully shared by the senior monks, and also by the j suffragans of Canterbury, bt)th of whom had aright to influencethe election of their pri- ! mate. In thehands of the monks John left ' the new election, only recommending that they shotild elect the bishop of Sorwich, , 173 John de Gray. He was accordingly elected, but as the suffragans had not even in this ' new election been considered, they now sent an agent toRonieto protest againstit,while the king and the monks of Christchurch sent twelve of that order to support it. I Here the great advantage was clearly thrown ' into the hands of the pope, for while each of the three disputing parties opposed the pretensions of the other two, all three agreed in acknowledging the pope's au- thority to decide the question ; and Inno- j cent III. was not the man to allow that advantage to escape his notice. That the election uf Reginald had been irregular and furtive, none but himself and his imme- ' diaie friends could well deny ; and the an- I ihority of the papal court e.isily overruled the pretensions of the stiffragan bishops, which, to say the truth, were strongly op- posed to the papal maxims and usages. These two points being decided, it would lit first sight have seemed clear that the decision must be in favour of the bishop of Norwich : but the pope decided that the first election being disputed as irregular, the decision of the pope upon that election should have preceded any attempt at a new one; that as it hadnot duneso, sucb second election was un canonical and null, and that, as a corollary, henceforth the appointment to the primacy must remain in the hands of the pope. Following up this decision by action, he commanded the monks who had been deputed to defend the election of the bishop of Xorwich immediately to elfct the cardinal Langton, a man of great talent, English by birth, but infinitely more at- tached to the Interests of Rome than to those of his native land. All the monks objected to this course, that they should, even looking only to the iKipe's own recent decision, be committing a new IrregnlariTy, having neither the king's writ nor lie au- thority of their convent to warrant them ; but, with the single exception of Elias de Brantefield, they succumbed to the pope's authority, and the election was made ac- cordingly. Innocent now followed np his arbitraix proceedings by wh.at our historians call a mollifying letter and present to John ; but what would certainly be called an addition of mockery to injury in the case of any clearer-minded and higher-hearted prince. For, by way of consoling John for lie pre- cedent thus set of transferring to the papal court one of the most valued and, in many respect s. important prerogatives of the Eng- lish crown. Innocent sent him four gold rings set with precious stones, and an ex- planatory letter of no less precious conceits. ' He begged him," says Hume, in his con- densed account of iliis admirably grave papal jest, ' to consider seriously, the form of the rings, their number, their matter, and their colour. Their form, being roimd, shadowed out eternity, whici iad neitier beginning nor ending; and he ought thence to learn his duty of aspiring fTt'm earthly objects to heavenly, from things temporal to things eternal. The number, four, being a square, denoted steadiness of mind, not to be subverted eitier by adversity or by 174 m^e CTrrapurij of ^{gtor n, ^c. 1 prosperity. Ilxcd for ever on tlie IJrm Ijasis i I of the four cardinal virtues. Gold, which | ' Is the matter, beiiis the most rrccKms of ) motals.slpnined wisdom, wlilch istliemost . valuable of all acromi.lishnicnts, and justl> i nrcfeired by Solomon to riches, power, and kll exterior attainments. The blue colour ' If the sapphire represented faith; the green of the emerald, hope; the redness o£ t e ruby, charity; and the splendour of the top.az, prood works." Never, surely, were mystical conceits vended at a higher price! Even John, weak and tame as was his spirit, did not consider four rings and a bundle of couceils quite an adequate consideration for the nioro precious and substantial jewel of which the pope had so unceremoniously de- prived him, and his wrath was tremendous. As the raonk-s of Canterbury showed them- selves willing to abide by the election which their fellows at Rome had made m obedi- ence to the pope, the first effects of his anger fell upon them. He despatched Henrj de Cornhule and Fulke de Cantelupe, two resolute knights of hisretinue, to expel the prior and monks of Christchurch not only from their convent, but also from the king- dom a duty which the knights perforniod quite literally at the point of the sword ; a piece of violence at once partial and child- ish, which Innocent noticed only by anew letter, in which he earnestly advised the kill!-' no longer to oppose himseU to God and the church, nor longer to uphold that ^ unrighteous cause which had cost the mar- , tyr St. Thomas of Canterbury his life, biit at the same time exalted him to an equality 1 with the highest saints in.J;?,?^*'";-^ Y.!,?, plain aUusion to the possibility of Beckets 1 being easilv found to maintain the cause of Rome against a prince so niuch meaner than he to whom the ' martyr* Becket had done so much evil ! \= this significant hint had not as much effect as the pope had anticipated in re- ducing John to submission, Innocent now commissioned the bishops of London. Wor- cester, and Ely to assure him that, should he persevere in his disobedience to the Holy See, an interdict should be laid upon his kinedom ; and both these and their brother^'prelates actually k-nelt to him, and with tears besought him to avert a result so fearful, by consenting to receive arch- bishop Langton and restoring the monks ot Christchurch to their convent and revenue. But John, though well aware how little he could depend ui'on the love of his states, whom he did not even dare to assemble to support him in an open struggle, was en- couraged by the very humility of the pos- ture assumed by the prelates not merely to refuse compliance with tKeir advice, but to couch his refusal in tenns fully as disgrace- ful to him as they could be offensive to those to whom they were addressed. Aot contented with personally irsultmg the prelates, he declared his defiance of the pope himself ; swearing by ' God's teeth that should the pope lay an interdict upon his kingdom, he would send the whole of the English clergy to Rome for support ar.d ! take their estates and revenues to his own use • and that if thenceforth any Romans ventured into his dominions they should lose their eyes and noses, th.at all who looked upon them might know them from other and better men. Innocent was not to be deceived by this vague and vulgar abuse : he well knew the real weakness of John's position, and finding that half mea- sures and management would not suffice to , reduce him to obedience, he at length , issued the terrible sentence of intcrdi. t. 1 As this sentence frequently occurs in our ^ history, and as it is essential that readers should clearly and in detail understand the nature of the decree by which Rome couM i for ages send terror into the hearts of the | mightiest nations inChrlstendom-atcrpr from which neither rank, sex, nor scarci-ly any stage of life was exempted-'sve pau-e here in the regular march of our histor\ . to quote the brief but clear description of it which we find succinctly given m Hume, from the accounts scattered in many pa-'ijs of more prolix writers. , .v, . 'The sentence of interdict was at that time the ereat instrument of vengeance and I policy einploved by the court of Rome; I was denounced against sovereigns for the , slightestoffences;andmadetheguiltof one ' person involve the ruin of millions, even in their spiritual and eternal welfare. The ' execution of it was calculated to strike the ! 1 senses in the highest degree, and to oiierate \ with irresistible force on the superstitious ! minds of the people. The nation was snd- ' denly deprived of all exterior exercise of its 1 religion ; the .altars were despoiled of their ornaments ; the crosses, the reliques, the ' images, the statues of the saints, were laid on the ground ; and, as if the air itself were profaned and might pollute them by its contact, the priests carefully covered them up, even from their own approach and veneration. The use of the bells entirely ceased in all the churches ; the bells them- selves were removed from the steeples, and laid on the ground with the other sacred utensils; mass was celebrated with closed doors, and none but the priests were ad- mitted to that holy institution ; the laity partook of no religious rite, except baptism to newly bom infants and the communir)n to the dying ; the dead were not interred m consecrated groiuid : they were thrown mto ditches, or buried in common fields, and their obsequies were not attended with pravers, or any hallowed ceremony. Mar- riage was celebi-ated in the churchyards ; and that every action of life might bear the marks of this dreadful situation, the people were prohibited the use of meat as in Lent ; and, as in times of the highest penance, were debarred from all pleasures and entertainments, and wer« forbidden even to salute each other, or so much as to shave their beards and give any decent at- tention to their person and apparel. Every circumstance carried symptoms ot the deepest distress, and of the most imme- diate apprehension of divine indication I and vengeance.' , Unwafned by even the commencement ' of this state of things in his kingdom and ) obstinately closing his eyes against the dfiiglanU.— piantHsenetS.— 3af)n. 175 C(Milciiiiif 111 whlrh li' lay h:U-('lls \\\nill whnll wiialcvrr suppuit he infc-i.h ill.\ 1-1. npL; was lii-ld by tliDso lie iiiusi di'iiciid for IlliKllt IR'fd UN'iunst )liii iHiiv turiu'il Ilia -.liii-l thijse or tlie li:i\ 111 Irlltioil to tllO .-I lliu adlie- Tlie iin-late3 sent into exile, and tl: nioiiK- hi' , iiiHiii'd to tlieir convent with tlif liiin -t ii"--il'le allowance foi- tlieir temporal necessities ; and in both cases he made himself the reciijient of their reve- nues. Concubinage being a common vice of the clergy, he seized upon that point to annoy tlmui by throwing their concubines Into ia-isoii, \\ hence lie would only release them upon payment of high (lues ; conduct which wasthenioi-ee'.'rr-iously t\ raniiical, because he wi'll knew llml, in iie.-l ea.-,es, those who were eallrd liie eoneuliiiie.- of the clergy lived with all the decency and lidelity of wives, and only were not wives in consequence of the cruel, unnatural, and odious exercise of the power of Uome to compel tlie celibacy of the clergy. Meantime I lie quarrel between John and the pope continued its inveteracy on both sides, and lasted for some years ; the people, who had no part in the quarrel, being thus exposed to all the evils and ve.vations wh ich we have described, excepting in the com- paratively few cases where the threats or persuasions of John were powerful enough to induce the clergy to disregard the inter- dict. With these exceptions, upon which even the laity, much as they were injured by the interdict, looked with dislike and contempt, all the clergy remaining in Eng- land were the enemies of John. r>ut he, affecting tlie utmost contempt for public opinion, clerical as lay, loaded all classes of his people with heavy imposts to defray the expenses of Scotch, "Welsh, and Irish expe- ditions, in which success itself produced him no glory, as it proceeded rather from the weakness of those to whom he was op- posed than from his own valour or con- duct. As if desirous to irritate his subjects to the utmost, he made the very diversions of his leisure houi-s either insulting or in- jurious to them. His licentiousness in- sulted their families wherever he made his appearance ; and he added to the odious character of the forest laws by prohibiting his subjects from pursuing feathered game, and by the purely spiteful act of causing the forest fences to be removed, so that the cultivated fields in the neighbourhood were trampled and fed upon by the vast herds of deer which the injured husbandmen dared not destroy. A.D. 1208. — A constant continuance in a course like this could not fail to excite against the king the hatred even of those among his subjects who had taken little or no interest in his original quarrel with Uome ; and a consciousness of this hatred, so far from causing him to retrace his steps, only aroused him to grosser and more determined tyranny, and he demanded from all of his nobility whom he honoured with his suspicions that they should place their nearest relatives in his hands as hos- tages. Among those of whom this in.sult- ing demand was made was William de Bra- vuse, whose wife, a woman of determined spirit and plain sjieech, told the king',-^ messenger, that for her part she would never consent to intrust her son in the hands of the man who had notoriously mur- dered bis own nephew. The baron, though both wealthy and powerful, was sensible that I here w.-is no safety for him after such a reply had been retiu'iied to the king ; and he sought shelter, with his wife and child, in a remote situation in Ireland. But John, like most tyrants, was only too faithfully served by his spies ; the unfortunate baron was discovered ; and although he contrived to escape to France, both his wife and their child were seized and actually starved to death in prison. Never was that line of the lieathen poet which says that ' the gods first madden those whom they wish to destroy ' more vividly illustrated than by the constant addition which, by tyrannies of this kind, John was constantly making to the general hatred of his people, at the very time when he was aware that such hatred could at any moment have been allowed by Rome to break out into open rebellion. For though the papal interdict, with all its severity upon the unoffending people, did not release them from their allegiance to the king who had called down that se- verity upon their heads, the next step was excommunication, which, as John well knew, put an end to allegiance, and would arm many a hand against him that now was bound by 'that divinity which doth hedge a king.' And yet this inexplicable man, usually so cowardly, still held out against the pope, though excommunication was certain to fall with such peculiar severity upon him, should he provoke the pope to pronounce it ; and he exerted himself, alike in his rule and in his pastime, to in- crease that very hate from which much of its peculiar severity would spring. The patience of the pope was at length exhausted ; or, perhaps, to speak more cor- rectly, his policy no longer required delay, and the terrible sentence of excommunica- tion was issued. But even now there was no formal absolution of tlie people from their oath of allegiance. That most terri- ble step of all the pope still held in reserve, as a last resource, being well aware how powerful an effect the ordinary results of excommunication were calculated to have upon a king of far stronger nerve than John could boast. For how could he claim to be served with zeal and fidelity who was thus disclaimed and cut off by the church ? Scarcely had the pope's orders been obeyed by the bishops of London, Ely, and Worcester— those very prelates upon svhoni John had formerly heaped insult, as coarse as undeserved, and as unbecoming as im- politic—when a specimen was exhibited of its paralysing effect by Geoffrey, archdeacon of Norwich. Like most of the great church- men of that day, he held a judicial situa- tion, and he was engaged in its duties when he received the news ; upon which he im- mediately rose and quitted the court, o)>- 176 tS^t €vtMiws at Vii^tats, ^t. serving that It was too perilous to continue to serve an excommunlcaled kinpr. This prompt abandonment of the archdeacon, liowever, cost him his life ; forJohn threw him into prison, had a large leaden cope fitted tiu'litly to his head, and Intlicted Other severities upon him until he literally sank under tliem. Warned, perhaps, by this severe example, other clerical dignita- ries, though quite as ready to abandon their detested and dangerous king, took rare to place themselves beyond his reach In the very act of abandonment. Among these was Hugh of 'Wells, the chancellor. Being .appointed bishop of 'Winchester, he requested leave from the kinir to go to Normandy to obtain consecration from the archbishop of Rouen ; but leave being granted, he went not thither, but to Pon- tigny, the residence of the archbishop Langton, to whom he paid the formal sub- mission due from a suffragan to his pri- mate. The frequency of these desertions among both the prelates and the lay no- bility at length gave the king very serious alarm, the more especially as he received but too probable hints of a widelj'-spread conspiracy against him, in which he knew not who among those who still remained apparently faithful to him might be en- gaged. Now that nioderate concession could no longer avail him ; now that his nakedness and his weakness were so evi- dent to his foes that they would richly de- serve his contempt if they did not provide his violence with an effectual bridle for the future, even should they choose to show some moderation in dealing with him as to the past ; now. In a word, when he no longer had It in his power to negotiate to advantage, John commenced a negotiation with the hitherto exiled and despised Lang- ton. A meeting accordingly took place be- tween them at Dover, and John offered to submit himself to the pope, to receive Langton as primate, to reinstate the whole of the exiled clergy, and to pay a certain sum in compensation of the rents which he h.ad confiscated. But these terms, which John might have commanded at the outset of the dispute, and at which, in fact, he had then manifested such childish and unbe- coming rage, were far too favourable to be allowed him now that Rome had at once his terror and his helplessness to urge her to severity. Langton demanded that, in- stead of a certain limited sum in the way of compensation for the ■wrong done to the clergy, John should pay all that he had un- justly received, and, still further, that he should make full and complete satisfaction for all injuries sttflered by the clergy in con- sequence of their exile and the confiscation of their revenues. It was less, now, from unwillingness to make peace with Rome, on even the hardest terms, than from sheer terror at the thought of having to collect again all the vast sums he had wantonly dissipated, and of having still further to find money for damages which those who had suffered them were, of all men, the I least likely to undervalue, that John pro- I pounced it impossible for him to comply vnth Langton's demand. A.D. 1212.— The pope, who most probably did not fully appreciate the extent of the pecuniary ditHculty which caused John to shrink from LaiigtoiiV proposal, now so- lemnly absolved Jolm's sulijo.ts from their I alietriance to him, and denounced excom- munication upon all who slioulil venture to have any commerce with him, at the council board or in the festive hall, in private or in public, as a monarch or even as an indi- vidual. As even this terrible severity, by which the most powerful man could be in an hour deprived of all support and of all demonstration of affection, did not in- stantly force John to submission. Innocent followed it up by a solemn sentence of de- position. The pontiffs in that superstitious ago were wiser in their generation than the lay princes with whom they had to deal, and they well knew how to make those princes each the instrument of the other's subjec- tion. Accordingly, on this occasion, the pope, who well understood the ambitious character of the king of France, and the animosity that mutually existed between John and Philip, promised the latter not only remission of sins, but also the sove- reignty, as a vassal of the popedom, of John's kingdom of England, as the reward of his invading it and subduing John. Philip readily consented to comply with the pope's wishes, and having levied a vast force and summoned all his military vassals to attend and aid him, he assembled a fleet of seventeen hundred sail on the coasts of Normandy and Picardy, and prepared for the immediate and effectual invasion of England. But the papal court, as usual, was play- ing a double and an interested game, and was by no means sincere in desiring to replace on the throne of England a despised and incapable monarch, like John, by a popular, warlike, and politic one, like Philip, unless indeed the terror of the latter should, as was by no means probable, fail to reduce the former to obedience. In this decidedly the most serious of all his perils from without, John displayed something like a flash of the high and daring spirit of his Norman race. Issuing orders not only for the assembling of all his military vassals at Dover, but also for the arming and preparation of every man able to bear arms throughout the kingdom, he seemed determined either to preserve his crown or to die in defence of it. But this temporary gleam of martial feeling came too lats, and was too strongly opposed by his craven conduct on former occasions to obtain him any general sympathy among his people. His excommunication and his general unpopularity threw a damp on the spirits of even the bravest of his subjects, and the most zealous among the verj' few friends whom his vices had left him trem- bled for the issue. Nevertheless, patriotic feeling in some and habits of feudal obe- dience in others caused his orders to be obeyed by an immense number, from whom he selected for immediate service the large force of sixty thousand. Philip, in the meantime, though anxious 'Mtinf? the papal a\itlicirity, ol)lii,'('d tolir .ilisi'i-v;iiit cif Iho directions of randuir, the i.,i|.:il li'^alc ro whom the wliole condnci ol ilu' exiu'dition was com- mitted. Tandolf, well ac^iuainted with the real views of Innocent, rc(|nired no more of Philip's aid after that piince had prepared ami displayed his force. That done, Pandolf snininoiied John to a coiue- reiu'e at Dover. Pointing, on the one hand, to the iniinense iiowerand interested zeal of Philip, and, on the other, to those peculiar drawbacks upon the ellli-icnt :ii - tion of the ICitglish force, of which .lolui was already but too sensible, the legale, Mith wily and emphatic eloquence, urged John, by a speedy and complete submission to the pope, to embrace the only means of safety that now remained open to liim ; excommunicated by thepope, on the eve of ticing attacked by his mighty and vindic- tive rival of France, and secretly hated Ijy his own vassals, who were not at all un- likely openly to desert him even upon the day of battle. The statements of the legate were true, and J(din, who knew them to be so, passed in an instant from tlie extreme of hrav.ado and otistiitacy to an eqn.ally ex- treme and far more disgusting htnnility and obedience. John now promised the most entire submission to the pope ; the ac- knowledgement of Langtoii as archbishop of Canterbury; the restoration of all, whether clerks or layiuen, whom he had banished on account of this long and unfortunate dispute : restitution of all goods and re- venues th.at had been confiscated, and full payment of all damages done by the confis- cation; and an immediate payment of eight thousand pounds on account, together with an immediate acceptance to his grace and favour of all who had suffered in them for adhering to the pope. To all these terms the king swore agreement, and four of his great barons also swore to cause his faithful compliance. From the instant that Pandolf got the king to agree to these degrading conditions, the whole right atid merit of the quarrel was substantially and unalterably assigned to Rome by the king's own solemn confession ; and this point Pandolf was, for obvious reasons, anxious to secure prior torunning the risk of sting- ing and startling even John's dastard spirit into desperation. But having thus made the king virtually confess that his share in the qu.arrel was such as to disentitle him to the support of his friends and subjects, Pandolf wholly threw off the mask, and showed John how much more of the bitter draught of degradation he still had to swallow. John had sworn humble and complete obedience to the pope; he was now re- quired, as the first convincing proof of that obedience, to resign his cl•o^vn to the church; an act of obedience which he was assured was his most effectual mode of protecting his kingdom against Philip, who would not dare to attack it when piaced under the immediate guardianship and custody of Home. John had now gone ty the evident dislike of his haroits, and their determina- tion never to assist him when they could make any valid excuse, John now pro- ceeded to Poictou, and his authority being still held in respect there, he was enabled to carrj- the war into Philip's territory. But before John had well commenced his depredations he was routed by PliUip's son, yoitng prince Louis, and fled in terror to England, to engage once more in his con- genial task of oiipressing his subjects. For this amiable pursuit he deemed that his submissions to Rome had furnished him ■with full Immunity ; b^ut mortifications of the most severe description were still in store for him. The barons, shocked out of even their feudal notions of submission, became clamorous for the practical and formal establishment of the liberties and privileges which had Ijeeii pmrriised to them by both Henry Land Henry II. In their demands they were much l):i- portunily to return to their allesiance and join Pembroke, who at length laid siege to Lincoln city, which was garrisoned by the French under count Perche, who in their tnrn beuinu'd in and l>esieged the English garrison of Lincoln castle. A sally from the castle was made at the same moment tbit Pembroke and his troops mounted to the ass.ault of the to^Ti : and so complete was the success of the English on this oc- casion, that the fate of the kingdom may be said to have depended on the issue. When Pembroke obtained this great ad- vantage Louis was besieging Dower castle, •which was as ably as obstinately defended by Hubert de Burgh ; and on hearing the tidings from Lincoln he hastened to Lon- don, where the f.arther ill news awaited him of the defeat anddispersion of a French fleet which was bringing bim over rein- forcements. These two events caused new desertions of the English barons to Pembroke ; and. Instead of entertaining farther hope of win- ning the English crown, Louis now thought only of securing a safe and speedy departure from a kingdom in which he had met with so many misfortunes ; heaccordinglyagreed to evacuate the kingdom forthwith, upon the sole condition that neither in property nor in liberties should those barons who had adhered to his cause be made to suffer for that adherence. The protector readily agreed to so easy a condition ; and the civil war being thus happily tern)inated, Pembroke, as regarded the lay barons who supported Louis, fully performed his part of the agreement, not only restoring them to their possessions, but also taking every opportunity to show that their former conduct was not allowed to have the slightest weight in preventing tavouror preferment fi-om reaching them. For the clerical rebels a far severer fate was in store. As far as regarded the merely civil portion of their offence Pembroke molested none of them ; but Gualo, the pojie's legate, dealt sotnewhat more sternly with them for the contempt and disobedience with which, in spite of the interdict and excom- munication, they had dared to continue to support Louis. In so numerous a body of men it was obviously impossible but that there should be degrees of guilt ; and ac- cordingly, where some were deposed, others were only suspended ; some were banished, but all, whatever their degree of guilt, had to pay a fine to the legate, to whom this wholesale chastisement of the erring clerks : produced an immense sum. The earl of Pemljroke, to whom the peace was so greatly owing, died soon after its conclusion, and the protectorate passed into the hands of Hubert de Burgh, the jus- ticiary, and Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, Though the former, who took . the chief part in the government, was a great and able man, he h.ad not that per- sonal reputation among the b.arons which bad been enjoyed by the earl of Pembroke, and which bad chiefly enabled that nolile- maii to curb the evil dispositions which now broke forth into full activity, in- sulting the royal authority, and every- where pillaging and coercing the people. Among the most disorderly of these was the earl of Albemarle. He had served under Louis, but had quickly returned to his duty and distinguished himself in fighting against the French. His disorderly conduct in the north of England now became so no- torious and mischievous, that Hubert de Burgh, though greatly averse to harsh mea- sures against those powerful nobles whose future favour might be of such important consequencetohisyoungking, seized on the castle of Rockingham, which the earl had filled with his licentious soldiery. The earl, supported by Fulke de Breaute and other warlike and turbulent barons, fortified the castle of Bilham, put himself upon his open defence, and seized upon the castle of Fo- theringay; and it seemed not unlikely that the daring and injustice of this one man wouldagainklndle the so lately extinguish- ed flames of civil war. Fortunately, Pandolf, who wasnow restored to the legatine power in England, was present to take a part on behalf of the constituted authorities. He issued a sentence of excommunication not only agaiust -Albemarle, but also in general terms against all who should adhere to that nobleman's cause ; and an army, with means of paying it, was provided. The promjiti- tude aud vigour of these measures so alarm- ed Albemarle's adherents, that he was on the instant deserted by the most powerful of them, and saw nothing left but to sue for the king's pardon, which was not only granted to him as regarded his person, Ijut he was at the same time restored to his whole estate. It was probably the confidence of being, in the last resort, able to insure bim~eli a like impolitic degree of lenity, that en- couraged Fulke de Breaute to treat the government with a most unheard-of inso- lence and contempt. Having been raised from a low origin by king John, whom he followed in the discreditable capacity of a military bully, this man carried the conduct and manners of his original station into the higher fortune to which he had attained, and was among the most turbulent and un- manageable of all the barons. To desire a freehold, and forcibly to expel the rightful owner and take possession, were with him but one and the same thing; and for literal robberies of this summary and wholesale description no fewer than thirty-five verdicts were recorded against him at one time. Far from being abashed or alarmed by such a plurality of crime, he marched a body of his staunchest dis- orderlies to the court of justice which was then sitting, seized upon his bench the judge who had ventured to decide against so potent an offender, and actually impri- soned that judicial dignitary in Bedford castle. Having gone to this extent, he englanif.-iaiantaseitct?.— I^enrj) EJEJE. could hnvo but littlo rnmpunerioii about (;oiiig still farthiT, ;iu(l lio npenly nmi in form Icvii'd will- upon the kiiipr. But lie bail now goiu; to the full lenulli of bis tether ; lie was opposed so vigorously, tliat liis followers were soon put to the rout, and lie, being talien prisoner, was punished by coiiflseation and banishment. A.D. 1--2.— In this year a riot broke out in the meiroiiolis. Commencing in some petty dispute Hint occurred duringawrest- ling match between a portion of the raliblo of London and Westminster, it at length rose to a desperate and dangerous tumult, in the course of which several persons were much hurt and some liou-. s w, i-,- plundered anddemolislied, Astl).- Ihni-. , belonged to so important a person a^ Iho abbot of ■Westminster, that circniiistaiice alone would probably have caused the riot to be looked upon in a serious light at court. But it farther appeared, that in the course of the contlictthe combatants on either or both sides had been heard to use tho French war-cry ' .'Mouiif joy St. Denis!' and the recent attempt by Louis upon the Knglish crown caused the use of this wai--cry to give to an ordinary riot something of the aspect of a political and treasonable at- tempt ; and Hubert, the justiciary, person- ally took cognisance of the matter. The ringleader, Constantine Fitz-Arnulf, be- haved with much self-possession and au- dacity when before the justiciary, and was forthwith led out from his presence and hanged ; while several of those whose guilt was confessedly less heinous had their feet amputated ; an awful severity under any possible circumstances— how much more go when contrasted with the lenity shown to so desperate an offender as Fulke de Bre.iute! . . , , Shortly after this affair, which was much complained of as being contrary to the (ireat Charter, Hubert procured a bull from the pope, pronouncing the king of full age to govern. He then resigned Into the young king's hands the Tower of London and Dover castle, which had been intrusted to him ; .and having by this example acquired the greater right to demand at the hands of | other nobles a similar strengthening of the luuch-impaired power of the crown, he for- mally did so. But the barons of that day were like t'le rake of a later dramatist; they • could admire virtue, but could not imitate if All murmured, most refused to comply, and manv, among whom were the earls of Chester and Albemarle, John, constable of Chester, John de Lacy, and William de Courtel, absolutely met in arms at Wal- thara and prepared to march in hostile array upon London. But before they had time" to commence this actual levying of civil war, they had tidings that the king was prepared to outnumber and defeat t'liem. Thev, therefore, abandoned their design, andapneared at court, whither they were summoned to answer for their con- duct. But though, as a matter of prudence, they had laid aside the design of levying absolute war upon their sovereign, they made no profession of repentance. On the contrary^ while they eagerly disavowed any 181 personal hostility to the king himself, they eiiually admltU'd that they were hostile to Hubert, and that they were still as deter- mined as ever to insist upon his removal from his power and authority. They were too numerous and potc>iit to be subjected to the punishiiii'iit which llieir insolent se- dition merited; and probably it was their jierception of that as the real cause of their being suffered to retire unscathed from court after so open a declaration of their hostility to Hubert, that encouraged them very shortly anerwards to hold another armed meeting at l.eic. sti-r. Here again thev determined that the king, then resi- den"t at Northampton, was too strong and too well prepared to allow of their seizing upon his person, which, despite their former disclaimer, it was all along their desire to do. But, as if watching for some relax- •ation of the vigilance of the justiciary, or some diminution of the royal forces, they kept together under the pretence of cele- brating Christmas. As it was evident that mischief would speedily occur to both king and people, unless these bold b.ad men were stopped before they had encouraged each other too far, the archbishop and the pre- lates sternly remonstrated with them, and threatened them witli immediate excommu- nication as the penalty of their longcrdeiay- ing their submission to the king and their disbanding of their hostile array. Most of the castles were, upon this threat, given up to the king, and we may judge how neces- sary a step Hubert had taken on behalf of his young sovereign when we read that there were in England at that time no fewer than 1115 of these castles. When Hubert's just and wise design was fulfllied, the king restored to that faithful subject and servant the fortresses he had surrendered, and this restoration was bitterly complained of by the factious barons, who chose not to per- ceive the immense difference between for- tresses held for the king and fortresses held again -t him. Parliament having granted the king a fifteenth, he was obliged to employ it in carrying on war against France, in spite of the disaffected state of so many of his most powerful subjects. For Henry having de- manded the restitution of his ancestral Normandy, Louis VIII. was so far from making that restitution, that he made a sudden attack upon Poictou, besieged and took Rochelle, and showed an evident de- termination to deprive the English of their very small remaining continental territory. The king sent over, as his lieutenants, his brother the earl of Cornwall, and his uncle the earl of Salisbury, who succeeded in preventing any farther progress on the part of Louis, and in keeping the vassals of Gascony and Poictou in obedience; and, after two years' stay in France, during which the military operations .amounted to nothing higher than what modern generals would term a skirmish, the earl of Cornwall returned to England. A.D. 1227. — Though Richard, earl of Cornwall, seems to have cared little enough for the ordin.ary ends of ambition, he had a I greediness of gain which answered all the R (!r!)C EvetiSutn of lUf^tori?, &c. 182 purposes of ambition in arraying liim ncainst his lirotlior and kinjf ; and a petty aisi.ute wlii.-li arose ont ci£ tlie carl's trreed and his nnjnst course of frratifyini; it, not onlv produced feud tietwecn tlie lirolliers, Inil'liad weil-nicrli involved the whole nat ion in a civil war, and certainly would have done so Imt for the weak and yieliling ch.i- ractcr of Henry, whose irresolution even thus early became manifest to both his friends and his enemies. Taking advantage of a dispute wliich had occurred between Richard and one of the barons, relative to the possession of a certain manor, a powerful confederacy of discontented nobles was formed against the king, who at length yielded the. point throngh fear, and made concessions as im- politic as they were inglorious to him as a sovereign. So weak and pliant, in fact, was the character of Henry, that it may be doubted whether he would ever have reigned at all had the care of his minority fallen into the hands of a less able and upright man than Hubert de Burgh. And it was no small proof of his weakness tliat after all the important and steadfast services which he had received from De Burgh, that minister ■was dismissed his office, deprived of his property, driven to take sanctuary, dr.awn thence and committed to close custody in the castle of Devizes, for no other reason than that he Tind been faithful to the king. Other real charge than this there was none ; though sevcr.al pretences were urged against him, such as the frivolous ones of his having gained the king's favour and affection by arts of enchantment, and of purloining from the royal treasure a gem which had the virtue of rendering its wearer invulnerable I Hubert was at length driven into exile ; but recalled and taken into favour with just as little apparent reason as there had been for his persecution. He seems in his adversity to have at least learned the valuable lesson of the danger of counselling wisely a weak king; for, though he was now personally as much a favourite as ever, he never afterwards showed any desire to resume his perilous authority, which was bestowed at his overthrow upon Peter, bishop of Wincliester, a native of Poictou, arbitrary and violent, but without any of Hubert de Burgh's talent or courage, and so little fitted for the almost sovereign authority that was intrusted to him, that it was mainly owing to his misconduct and tyranny, as a justiciary and a regent of the kingdom during an absence of king John in France, that the barons had been stung into that memorable combination which re- sulted in the Great Charter, the foundation of constitutional liberty in England. A.D. 1231.— Like all weak persons, Henry, while he felt his own incapacity for govern- ing, was unwilling to abide by the advice of those who were worthy of his confidence ; and feeling that his true nature was shrewd- ly understood by his own subjects, he in- vited over a great number of Poictevins, in whom he rightly supposed that he would find more pliancy and less restraint. ITpon these foreign sycophants he conferred va- rious offices of trust and power which he fe.ared to bestow upon liisEnglish subjects, ronttdent of the protection of tlic kiuL', iu- 1latedden check, and that from a quarter whence, he might reason- ably have least anticipated it. The church became alarmed for its own interests ; several of the prelates, well knowing the ge- neral discontent that was spreading among the people in consequence of the insolent and tyrannical conduct of the justiciary, attended the archbishop of Canterbury to court, where he strongly represented to Henry the impolicy as well as injustice of the course he had pursued himself and allowed the justiciary to pursue in his name ; and, attributing all the evil to the justici-ary, demanded his dismissal on pain of an instant sentence of excommunication against the king himself. Timid by nature, though well enough inclined towards des- potism while it could be practised safely, Henry was struck with alarm at the threat of excommunication, which he rightly judged would be satisfactory to the op- J CFnslanlf.— ?9IantagcncW.— 1l?0iirp 555. 183 pressed people. is well aa to tlie haroiiri, and be consented to the dismissal of I'eter des Roches. Tlic primate succeeded him in the task o£ ordering state affairs; and beiiiK a man of promptitude as well as of good sense, lie spceilily rost(jred content by hanisliinh' the delesiril foreigners and re- instating the lOrm'lisli magnates in the otnces from which they had, as insultingly as unjustly, been banislied. A.D. 12.16.— The Inclinations of a weak prince, however, are usually too stroni,' for the advice of the most pnulent muiister, and tlie comi'lalnts ol' the liiuK's prcf.ience rlo\iderll! r, diuuhtiT of the rounded him- 1 and with tliosc l)i>liop of Va- it Savoy. The low tasted of iiity as largely ■y s of foreiKiiers soon lieca navins married ICleai count of Provence, llei self with her countryu of her maternal uncle, tl lence, who was of the liou> Proveni;als and Savoyard the kiuR's indiscri'iiinate 1 as the Poictevins had done. The bishop of Valence became as potent a personage as Peter des Roches had been ; another meni- Iier of the family of Peter was presented with the manor of Richmond and the great wardship of the earl of Warcnne, and Boni- face, also of Savoy, was made archbishop of Canterbury. Ner were men alone thus fortunate ; to the ladies of Savoy the king gave in niarriage the young and wealthy nobles who were his wards. Profu.sion like this soon exhausted even the monarch's ample means, and an attempt was made to put the king in possession of funds for far- ther liberalities, by obtaining an alisolulion for him from Rome from the oath which he had taken to support his toriiua- grants to his English subjects. In truth, it soon lie- camc necessary eitlier that the king should obtain new funds, or that he should aban- don liis system of profusion ; for a new cl.iim, which had some show of reason, was now made upon him. It will bo remem- bered that Henry's mother, Isabella, had been by the violence of king John taken from her lawful husband, the count de la Marche ; and to him, as soon after John's death as decency would allow, she had given her hand in second marriage. By this second marriage she had four sons, Guy, William, Geoffrey, and Ayhner, whom she sent over to visit Henry. Their being fo- reigners would perhaps have been quite suf- ficient to procure for them a cordial recep- tion ; buthaving theadditionalrecommen- d.-ition of lieiiiR his half-brothers, they were rapturously received by him, and he heaped wealth and dignities upon them, with a most entire unconcern as to his own means and as to the feelings and claims of his subjects. In church as in state, foreigners were constantly preferred to natives, and while Henry was lavishing wealth and civil honours upon the Poictevins, Savoyards, and Gascons, tlie overw-helining iiillucnce of Rome filled the richest church bonetlces of England with nameless. Italian monks, and it was at one time proved to demon- stration that the Italian intruders into the church were in the yearly receipt of a reve- nue considerably larger than that of the king himself! Under such circumstances It was natural that the parliament should show some un- willingnesa to grant supplies to a king who so ill knew how to use his funds, or that men of all ranks should murmur ag.ainst a king so utterly destitute of patriotic feel- ing; and the more especially, as he was thus lavish to foreigners while utterly care- less to flatter the English with that martial enterprise which then, as long after, was viewed by them as ample covering for many defects, personal and political. Whenever he demanded supplies he was obliged to listen to the complaints of the violence done to his faithful subjects, of the mean marriages forced upon those of the highest ranks, of the actual violence by which his table was supplied, liis person decorated, and his religious solemnities adorned. A.D. 1253.— To all complaints of this na- ture Henry listened with impatience, and replied with vague and general promises of amendment ; at length, in 1253, having ex- hausted the paticnroof his long-enduring subjects, he hit upon a new mode of ob- taining funds from them, by soliciting a supply to aid him in the pious design of a crusade against the infidels. But he had now so often been tried and found wanting, that the parliament could not put faith In this specious profession. The clergy, too, who rightly deemed their interest perilled by the infatuated conduct of the king, were as much opposed to him as the laity; and they scut the archbishop of Canter- bury, and the bishops of Winchester, Salis- bury, and Carlisle, to remonstrate with him upon liis general extravagance, as well as upon the irregular manner in which lie disposed of cliurcli dignities. Upon this occasion Henry displayed more than his usual spirit. Availing himself of the fact that he had greatly favoured these very personages, he replied, ' It is true, I have been in error on this point of improper promotions ; I obtruded you, my lord of Canterbury, upon your see ; I was obliged to employ both tlireats and persuasions, my lord of Winchester, to have you elected ; and irregular, indeed, was my conduct, my lords of Salisbury and Carlisle, when from your lowly stations I raised you to your present dignities.' There was much truth in this, but there was no apology ; and the prelates shrewdly replied, tliat the question was not of errors past, but of the avoidance of future errors. Notwithstanding the sarcasm with which the king met the complaints of the prelates, he promised so fairly for the reformation of both ecclesiastical and civil ainises, that tlie parliament at length consented to grant him a tenth of the ecclesiastical benefices, and a scutage of three marks upon each knight's fee, on condition of his solemnly ratifying the Great Charter, while, with the ceremony of ' bell, book, and candle,' they cursed whoever should henceforth violate It. Tlie king joined in the ceremony, audibly and emphatically agreed in the awful curse invoked upon any violation of his oa,th— and immediately afterwards re- turned to his old practices as though uo- thiug extraordinary had occurred ! 184 crt)P CrcajSuru of IgtiStarp, &c. A.n. 12S8.— ri>niluct so infutiiatod on the part of tho klii:^ iilmiist sccinoU to Invite rebellion, niiil at IcnwrHi teniiiti'il one ambi- tious ami (larinw nohio so far, that ho dc- tfrr.iiiieil to nuU'av.piir to win the thmne from a kinv who iM-nveii himself so un- worlliy of HilinB it with dignity or honour. Simon of Montfort, a sou of the great warrior of that name, has'ing, though born abroad, inherited lar>,T property in England, was created earl of Leicester, and in tho year 1238 married the dowager countess of Pembroke, sister to the king. The carl had been sometimes greatly favoured, and some- times as signally disgraced by the king, but being a man of great talent he had con- trived always to recover his footing at court, and, whether in or out of favour with the king, to be a general favourite with the people, who at his flrst marrying the king's sister had hated and railed against him for his foreign birth. Perceiving how inveterately the king was addicted to his tyrannies and follies, this artful and able nobleman determined to put himself at the head of the popular— or, more properly speaking, the baronial and church— party, thinking that Henry might so far provoke his enemies as to lose his throne, in which case Leicester trusted to his own talents and influence to enable him to succeed to it. Accordingly he took up the cry, now become as general as it was just, against the king's oppression of the people, and his preference of foreigners,— Leicester conveniently overlooking his own foreign birth ! —and sought eveii' occasion of putting himself forward as the advocate of the native barons and the prelates. ■When by persevering efforts in this way he had, as he considered, snfBcieutly strength- ened his own hands and inflamed the gene- ral resentments against the king, he took occasion of a quarrel with Henr.r's half- brother and favourite, "William de Valence, to bring matters to a crisis. Calling a meeting of the most incensed and powerful of the barons, he represented to them all those violations of the charter of which we have already spoken, and demanded whe- ther they had so far degenerated from the high feelings of the barons who had wTCSt- ed the charter from John, that they were prepared, without even a struggle, to see it a mere dead letter in the hand of Henry, whose most solemn promises of reformation they had as often experienced to be unwor- thy of heUef. There was so much of truth in Leices- ter's harangue, that the position which he occupied as a favoured foreigner was over- looked, his. recommendations were made the rule of the barons' conduct, and they agreed forthwith totakethegovernraent of public affairs into their own hands. They were just then summoned to meet the king for the old purpose, namely, to grant him supplies, and to his astonishment he found them all in complete armour. Alarmed at so unusual a sight and at the solemn silence with which he was received, he demanded whether he was to look upon them as his enemies and himself as their prisoner; to which Robert Bigod, as spokesman, replied, th.at tliey looked upon hitn not as their pri- soner, but as their sovereign ; that they had met him there in the most dutiful desire to aid him with supplies that he might, as he wishid, II X his son upon the throne of Sicily; but that they at the same time desired cer- tain reforms which the experience of the past plainly showed that he could not make in his own person, and that they therefore were under the necessity of requiring him to confer authority upon those who would strenuously use it for the national benefit. The evident determination of the barons, and the great and instant need which he had of supplies, left the king no choice ; lie therefore assured them that he would shortly summon another parliament for the election of persons to wield the authority spoken of, and also to settle anddeflue thai authority within precise limits. A parliament was accordingly called, at which the barons made their appearaiio' with so formidable an armed attendance, that it was quite clear that, wh.atever they might propose, the king had no power Id resist them. Twelve liarons were selected by the king and twelve by the parliament, and to the body thus formed an unlimited reforraini.' power was given, the king himself swearing to agi-ee to and maintain whatever they should deem fit to order. Their instant orders were most reasonable; that three times in each year the parliament should meet ; that on the next meeting of parlia- ment each shire or county should send four knights to that parliament, that so the especial wants and grievances of every part of the kingdom might be known ; that the sheriffs, officers of great power and intlu- ence, should thenceforth be annually elect- ed by the counties, and should no longer have the power to fine barons for not at- tending their courts or the justiciaries' cir- cuits ; that no castles should be committed to the custody, and no heirs to the ward- ships, of foreigners ; that no new forests or warrens should be made; and that the revenues of counties or hundreds should no longer be farmed out. Thus far the barons proceeded most equitably. But bare equity and the good of the people did not include all that the barons wanted. As the shameful profusion of the king had heaped wealth upon fo- reigners, so the destruction of these fo- reigners would yield an abundant harvest to the native barons. Accordingly when the king, having acquiesced in the regula- tions above mentioned, looked for the pro- mised and much-needed supplies, he was met by loud outcries against foreigners in general, and against his half-brothers in particular. So loud was theclamour against these latter, that even the king's presence seemed insufficient to secure their lives, and they took to flight. Being hotly pur- sued by some of the more violent of the barons, they took refuge in the palace of Winchester, to which see Aylmer had been promoted. Even here they were surround- ed and threatened, and the king, as the sole mode of saving them from destruction, agreed to banish them. Having thvis'nearly (iFiial anlf . —^lantagene W — ^mvn IM, 185 attacked tlic king In the iiersons of tho,-o who h;u\ sonu! i-casonal)le and natural claim upon his favour, the barons next liroceoded to dismiss the justiciary, trea- surer, ami other clilef ministers ; and hav- ing tilled liiese important posts with per- sons upon whom they could Implicitly rely, they ni'Xt proceeded to the virtual usurpa- tion of the throne, liy administering an oatli to all the lieges to obey and execute all the regulations of the twenty-four ba- rons, under pain of being declared public enemies; and such was the power which, under the iireli-nce of the purest patriot- ism, these liarons had usurped, that even tlu^ l)0werful earl Warenne, and prince Ed- ward, the heir to the throne, were not exempt from the obligation to take this oath. A.D. 1261. — So arrogantly did the barons use their extensive and usurped authority, that the earl of Gloucester, from being a chief in tlieir confederacy, separated from It to side with tlie king ; and prince Ed- ward, encouraged by the general murmurs of the people that the barons were becom- ing more tyrannous than even a king could be, threatened the barons that lie would peril his life in opposing them if they did not speedily bring their reforms to a close. The spirit of the prince Edward rallied so much favour to the side of the crown, that Henry tliought be might safely ven- ture to endeavour to put a curb upon the exorbitant power of the twenty-four barons; but as he knew how prejudicial to his in- terests it would be to leave it in the power of his enemies to accuse him of perjury, he in tlie flrst place applied to Rome for abso- lution from the oath he had made to sup- port the barons in their authority — an absolution which lie readily received, both because of the misconduct of the barons, and because the pope w.as seriously offended with the English clergy for having shown a greater tendency towards independence than squared with cither the papal interests or the papal maxims. Prince Edward re- fused to avail himself even of this absolu- tion until the outrageous misconduct of the barons compelled him to do so ; and the scrupulous fldelity with which he thus kept to an engagement which he had been forced into, procured him a general admiration which subsequently was very importantly beneficial to him. A.D. 1262. — As soon as Henry received the absolution he had solicited from Rome, he issued a proclamation, in which he bit- terly and, for the most part, truly painted the personal and selfish views with which the twentyJour barons had both sought and used their authority, and declared that in duty to himself and his people he should from that time forth use his royal autho- rity without its diminution or participation by anyone ; he changed all the chief of- ficers of state and of his own household, as also most of the sheriffs of counties and governors of castles. Having thus far se- cured himself, he summoned a parliament, which met on the 23rd of April in this year, and which, with but five dissenting votes, confirmed his resumption of his authority. liut the snake of disaffection was only 'scdtclied, ncit killed ;' many of the barons still corresponilcd with Leicester, and that haiiKhly noble, ih.jio-rh resident in France, was busily eiriployed in fomenting evil for Eiigliiiiil, which he now the more confidently hoiied to reign over, because his powerful rival (lloucesler was dead, and Gilbert, that nobleman's son and successor, had giveji his adhesion to Leicester. While Leicester and his adherents were busily preparing to attack the powerof the king, the WeLsh suddenly made an irrup- tion over the border, prob;iMy]iroiii|ited by Leicester. The prince Edward, however, repulsed Llewellyn and his ill-disciplined troops, and then returned to aid his father, against whom Leicester was now openly and in great force arrayed. Leicester directed his attacks chiefly against the king's demesnes, and excited the zeal of his followers to perfect fury by encouraging them to spoil and plunder to their utmost. Thebishopsof Herefordand Norwich were seized and imprisoned, and in spite of the determined and able conduct of prince Edward, the king's cause began to wear an unpromising aspect. The rab- lile of the great towns were the zealous adherents of Leicester ; and in London, especially, the very dregs of the population were up in arms, headed and encouraged by the mayor, a violent and ill-principled man named Fitz-Richard, by whom largo gangs were encouraged to pillage the wealthy and assail the peaceable. The season of Easter was especially marked by these outrages in the metropolis. A cry was at flrst raised against the Jews ; from attacking them tlie mob proceeded to at- tack the Lombards, then the chief bankers and money-lenders; and, as usual in such cases, the violence speedily proceeded to be directed indiscriminately against ail who had or were suspected of having any- thing to be plundered of; To such a height did the fury of the mob proceed, that the queen, wlio was then lodging in the Tower, became so seriously alarmed, that she left it by water with the intention of seeking safety at Windsor. But as her barge ap- l)roached London Bridge, the rabble assailed her, not only with the coarsest abuse, but also with filth and stones, so that she was obliged to return to the Tower. Prince Edward was unfortunately made prisoner during a parley at Oxford, and that event so much weakened the king's party, that Henry, flu'ding Leicester's party triumT j>hant and insolent all over the kingdom, was fain to treat for peace. Aware that they had the upper hand, the rebels would allow of no terms short of the full power formerly given to the twentj--four barons being ag.ain intrusted to a like number, of whom a list was given to the king ; and as prince Edward had showed great talentand daring, Leicester stipulated that the treaty now made should remain in force during the life of the prince as well as that of the king. Henry had no choice but to sub- mit ; the barons restored their own crea- tures to office in the fortresses, the coun- ties, the state, and the king's household, 186 Cf)? CreaSurg of Hjt'iStorg, &t. nni\ thou ^iUlnnlOIu■d a iiiirlhinu'iit to meet thoiii ;it Wfstiiiiiiftci-, ami aeieriniiie upon lutiire measures for the govcrumeiit of the Country. Prince Edward being restored to liberty by this treaty, lost no time lu exerting him- self to prepare for a new strup^le against the insolent pretensions of Leicester ; but thoUKh many powerful barons gave him their adhesions, ineluaiu^' the lords of the Scotch and Welsh marches, Leicester's party was still too stront,' to give the young prince hopes of success ; and the people clamouring loudly for peace, the prince and king proposed that the dispute between them and the barons should be referred to the arbitration of the king of France. That upright prince, on examination of the af- fair, decided that the king should be fully restored to his power and prerogatives on the one hand ; and that, on the other hand, the people were entitled to all the benefits of the Great Charter. Uuf < jrtunately, though this decision was just, it only left the con- tending parties precisely where they were at the commencement of the quarrel, and stated in form that which was perfectly notorious before, namely, that the king had overstretched the power to which he was entitled, and that the barons had assumed a power to which they were not entitled. Leicester, to whose personal views peace was utterly destructive, represented to his party, that the award of the French king was wholly and unjustly on the side of Henry ; he caused seventeen other barons to join him in a compa<-.t with the discon- tented Londoners, by which they mutually bound themselves never to make peace with the king but with the full and open concurrence of both these contracting par- ties ; and while some of Leicester's friends rekindled the civil war in the provinces, he and Fitz-Richard did the like in London ; so that the whole country once more bristled with arms and resounded with cries of war. Finding civil war inevitable, the king and his brave sou promptly made their preparations. In addition to their military vassals, whom they summoned from all quarters, they were joined by forces under Baliol, lord of Galloway, Brus, lord of Au- naudale, John Comyn, and other northern leaders of power. With this array they commenced their proceedings by laying siege to Northampton, In which was a strong garrison commanded by some of the principal barons. This place beingspeedily taken by assault, th.c royal army marched against Leicester and Xottingham, which opened their gates. Prince Edward now led a detachment against the property of the earl of Derby, whose lands were laid waste as a punishment of his disloyalty. Leicester, in the meanwhile, taking care to keep up a communication with London, upon the support of which he greatly de- pended, laid siege to Rochester castle, which was the only strong hold in Kent that still held out for the king, and which was ably defended by earl Warenne, its go- vernor. The royal army, flushed with its success elsewhere, now marched in all haste to relieve this important fortress; and I^eicester hearing of tlieir appro.ach, and fearing to be outnumbered in a disadvan- tageous position, hastily rsiscd the siege and fell back upon London. From Lon- don Leicester sent proposals to Henry, but of so arrogant and exorbitant a character, that he must have been aware they would not be listened to ; and, on a stern answer being returned by the king, Leicester pub- licly renounced his allegiance and marched the whole force he could collect towards Lewes, in Sussex, where the royal army lay ; the bishop of Chichester giving the rebels a formal and general absolution, and assuring them that all who should fall in fighting against the king would undoubted- ly go to heaven. Leicester wasa skilful general, and on this occasion he so ably conducted his march, that he almost surprised the royalists in their quarters; but the short time tli;it elapsed between the alarm and the arriv:il of the rebels sufficed to enable the active prince Edward to march the army to tli ■ Held in good order ; one division being Id by himself, the earl Warenne, and Williaui de Valence, a second by the king of the Romans and his son Henry, and the third forming a reserve under the personal com- mand of the king himself. The prince led his division against the enemy's vanguard, which was composed of the Londoners, who fled at the "veo' first charge. Forgetting that his assistance might be required else- where, prince Edward allowed himself to be governed entirely by his headlong rage against these inveterately disloyal men, and pursued them, with great slaughter, fur nearly five miles from the field of battle. This impetuosityof the prince lost his father the day; for Leicester, promptly availing himself of the prince's absence, charged s< ■ hotly upon the remaining two divisions if the royalists, that they were defeated with terrible loss, and both the king and lii brother, the king of the Romans, wci- taken prisoners ; as were Brus, Comyn, and all the most cousideralile leaders on ili>' king's side. Earl Warenne, Hugh BigoJ, and William de Valence escaped beyond sea ; but prince Edward, unappalled by the consequences of his own imprudence, kept his force together, added to it as many as could be rallied of the defeated divisions, and presented so bold a front, that Lei- cester thought it more prudent to amu-e him with a pretended desire to treat, than ti urge him to a desperate attack. The ear! accordingly proposed terms ; and thousli they were severe, and such as under otlur circumstances the prince would have lautcli ed to scorn, allttle examination of thcroy.U resources showed so hopeless a state of things, that Edward, despite his pride, was obliged to agree. These terms were, that prince Edward and Heni"y d'Allmaine, son of the king of the Romans, should surrender themselves prisoners in exchange for their fathers : that six arbiters should be named by the king of France, that these six should choose two others, also French, and that one Englishman should be named by these last; the council thus named to have power enetatitf.—piautascncW.— Injurs Mi. 187 defluitlvely to deckle upou all matters in dispute between Uciiry and his barons. In compliance with these terms, Edward and his cousin yielded themselves, and were sent prisoners to Dover castle ; but Lei- cester, though ho nominally gave the king his lilierty, took care to keep him com- pletely in Ills power, and made use of the royal name to forward his own designs. Thus the most loyal governors readily yield- ed up their important fortresses in the king's name ; and when comniauilnl by the king to di sarin ami disband, no Inyal -ildier could longer venture to keep the Held. Lei- cester made, in fact, precisely wliat alter- ations and regulations he pleased, taking care to make them all in the king's name; and so evidently considered himself virtu- ally in possession ol the throne at which he had sodariuglyainied.tliat he even ventured to treat with insolent injustice the very barons to whose participation of his dis- loyal labour he owed so much of its success. Having confiscated the large possessions of some eighteen of the royalist barons, and received the ransoms of a host of prisoners, he applied the whole spoil to his own use, and when his confederates demanded to share with them, he coolly told them that they ali'eady had a sufficiency in being safe from tho attainders and forfeitures to which they would have been exposed but for his victory. As for the reference to parties to be named by the king of Frauce and his nomi- nees, though the earl, in order to hoodwink prince Edward, laid so much stress upon it during their negotiation, he took not the slightest notice of it, but summoned a parliament, so selected that he well knew that his wishes would be law to them. And, accordingly, this servile senate enacted that all acts of sovereignty should reauire the sanction of a council of nine, which council could be wholly or in part changed at the will of the earls of Leicester and Gloucester and the bishop of Chichester, or a 7mijority of these three. Now, the bishop of Chi- chester, being the mere convenient tool of Leicester, the earl was in reality in full power over the council— in other words, he was a despotic monarch in everything but name. The queen, secret ly assisted by Louis of France, collected a force together, with an intention of invading England on behalf of her husband, in whose name the coast of England was lined with forces to oppose her; but the queen's expedition was first delayed and then broken up altogether by contrary winds. The papal court issued a bull against Leicester, but he threatened to put the legate to death if he appeared with it ; and even when that legate himself Viecame pope under the title of Urban rv., I,eicester still ventured to brave him, so confidently did he rely upon the dislike to Rome that was entertained, not only by the people in general, but also by the great body of the English clergy. A.D. 1205.— Still desiring to govern with a show of legality, Leicester summoned a new parliament, which more nearly resem- bled the existing form of that assembly than any which had preceded it. Before this parliament the carl of Derby- in the king's name— was accused and committed ; and the earl of Gloucester was intended for the .same or a worse fate by his powerful and unscrupulous colleague, but avoided all pre- sent collision with him by retiring from parliament and the council. This obvious quarrel between the earls gave great en- couragement to the king's friends, and the general voice now began loudly to demand the release of the brave prince Edward, who had remained a close prisoner ever since the battle of Lewes. Leicester consented on conditions to release the prince, but he took care to keep both him and the king within his reach ; and they were obliged to accompany him on his march against the earl of Gloucester, who had retired to his estates on tho borders of Wales. Whilo Leicester lay at Hereford, threatening the earl of Gloucester, the latter nobleman con- trived to communicate with prince Edward, and so to arrange matters that the young prince escaped from the ' attendance,' as it was called, but really the confinement, in which he had been kept, and was speedily at the head of a gallant army, which daily received accession, when the glad news of his real liberty became generally known. Simon de Montfort, Leicester's son, hasten- ed from Loudon with an army to the assist- ance of his father. Prince Edward, having broken down the bridges of the Severn, tin-ned away from the earl's position, and fell suddeidy upon Simon de Montfort, who was carelessly encamped at Kenilworth, put his force utterly to the rout, and took the earl of Oxford and several other barons pr:- simers. Leicester, ignorant of this, had in the meantime managed to get his army across the Severn in boats, and halted at Evesham in Worcestershire, in daily ex- pectation of the arrival of that force whicJi had already been put to the rout. Prince Edward, vigilant himself and well served by his scouts, dexterously availed himself of the earl's misapprehension of the stateof afl:airs, and having sent part of his army on its march towards the earl, bearing De | Montfort's banners and otherwise provided for representing his routed force, he with the main body of his army took another route, so as to fall upon the earl in a dif- ferent quarter ; and so completely was the deception successful, that when Leicester at length discovered the real state of the case, he exclaimed, ' Now have I taught them to war to some purpose ! May the Lord have mercy on our souls, for our bodies belong to prince Edward.' But there was not much time for reflection ; Edward led his troops to the attack vi- gorously and in excellent order ; Leicester's troops, on the other hand, were dispirited by their bad position and suffering much from sickness; and victory speedily declar- ed for the prince. In the heat of the battle Leicester was struck down and immediately dispatched though he demanded quarter, and his whole force was routed, upwards of a hmidred of the principal leaders and knights being taken prisoners. The king himself was on the point of Icsing his life. The earl had cruelly placed him in the 188 (Oje CrraiSure of ?{}tjStory, $cc. rery front of the bnttlo, and a kriit-'lit who had already wmindinl him was alinnt to repeat his IjIow, wlieii Henry saved liiin^elf by exclaiming ' I am Ueury of Wiuche:-ter, your l'CE Edward was already as far as Sicily on his way home when he received tidings of the death of his f.ather. He at the same time heard of the death of Ills own infant son John ; and when it was observed to him that the former loss seemed to affect him the most painfully, he replied that the loss of his son might be supplied, but that of his father was final and irreparable. Hearing that all was peaceable in Eng- land, he did not hasten home, but passed nearly twelve months in France. Being at Chalons, in Burgundy, he and some of his kniglits engaged in a tournament with the liurgundian chivalry, and so fierce was the Biiirit of rivalry that the sport became changed into earnest ; blood was spilt on both sides, and so much damage was done before the fray could be tprniinated, that the engagement of this day, thnuu-h com- menced merely in sport and good faith, was seriously termed the little battle of Chalons. A.D. 1274.— After visiting Paris, where he did homage to Philip the Hardy, then king of France, for the territory which he held in that kingdom, he went toGuienne to put an end to some disorders that existed there, and at length arrived in London, where he was joyfully received by his people. He was crowned at Westminster, and immediately t\irued his attention to the regulating of his kingdom, with an especial view to avoiding those disputes which had caused so much evil during the life of his father, and to putting an end to the bold practices of malefactors, by whom the country was at once much injured and disgraced. Making the Great Charter the standard of his own duty towards the barons, he in- sisted upon their observing the same stan- dard of conduct towards their vassals and inferiors, a course to which they were by no means inclined. A.D. 1273. — H.aving summoned a parlia- ment to meet him in February, 1273, he caused several valuable laws to be passed, weeded the magistrac.v of those who lay under the imputation of either negligence or corruption, and took measures for put- ting a check alike upon the robberies com- mitted by the great, under the colour of justice and authority, and upon thn^e which, in the loose state into which tli'_- kingdom had fallen during the close of tl:c late reign, were so openly and darin'-'iy C(mimitted on the highways, that men of substance could only safely travel under escort or in great companies. For the sup- pression of this latter class of crimes the king showed aflerce and determined spirit, which might almost be judged to have been over-severe if we did not take into conside- ration the desperate extent to which the evil had arrived. The ordinary judges were intimidated, the ordinary police was weak and iU-orgauised, and the king therefore established a commission which was ap- pointed to traverse the country, taking cognisance of every description of evil doing, from the pettiest to the most hein- ous, and inflicting condign and pronijit punishment upon the offenders. The dd Saxon mode of commuting other punish- ments for a pecuniary fine was applied by this commission to minor offences, and a large sum was thus raised, of which the king's trca-sury stood much in need. But the zeal of the commission — and perhr.jis some consideration of the state of the roynl treasury — caused the fines to be terribly severe in proportion to the offences. There was, also, too great a readiness to commit upon slight testimony ; the prisons w i r.- filled, and not with the guilty alone; tli" rufflan bands, who had so long and so mis- chievously infested the kingdom, were broken up, indeed, but peaceable subjecrs and honest men were much hara.ssed and wronged at the same time. The king him- sell was so satisfied of the danger of in- ^igTaiitf.— piantagcnft^.— CPtilMarlf 5. 189 trusting such extensive puweru to suljjects, tliat wlien this coiuniissiuu liacl fliiished its liilxuirs it was annulleJ, aud never after- wards called into activity. Tliougli Edward siiowed a real and crc- ditaiilc desire to preserve liis ml.jeels iili all ranks from heiuK preyed upiiii by each otlier, trutli compels us to confess tliat Ije laid no similar restraint upon himself. Having made what profit he could by put- ting down the thieves and other ofleindcrs in general, Edward now turiiedjor afresh supply to tli.it lliiilly liut persecuted peo- ple, the Jews. The couiilerleiting of coin had recently been carried on to a most in- jurious extent, and the Jews being chiefly engaged ill tr;illleking in money, this mis- chievous adulteration was very positively, thoui-'h rather hastily, laid to their charge. A general perseeution of the itnliaiipy people Cdiiiiiieneed, of the llereeness and e.xtent of which some judgeiiient may be formed from the fact, that two hundred and eighty of them were hanged in Loudon alone. Wliile death was inflicted upon many in all parts of the kingdom, the houses and lands of still more were seized upon and sold. The king, indeed, with a delicacy which did not always characterise him in money matters, seized in the flrst instance oidy upon one half of the proceeds of these confiscations, the other being set apart as a fund for those Jews who might choose to embrace Christianity; but so few of the Jew's availed themselves of the temptation thus held out to thein, that the fund was in reality as much in the king's possession as though no such pi-o- vision had been made. It had been well for Edward's character if this severity had been exercised ai^ainst the Jews only for the crime with which they were charged; but urged iirobably still more by his want of money than by the bigoted hatred to this race which he had felt from his earliest youth, Edward shortly afterwards com- menced a persecution agaiust the whole of the Jews in England ; not as coiners or as men being concerned in any other crimes, but simply as being Jews. The constant taxes paid by these people, and the frequent arbitrary levies of large sums upon them, made them in reality one of the most valu- able classes of Edward's subjects ; for whe- ther their superior wealth was obtained by greater industry and frugality than others possessed, or by greater ingenuity and heartlessuess in extortion, certain it is that it was very largely shared with their sovereign. But the slow process of tail- lages aud forced loans did not suit Ed- ward's purposes or wants; and he suddenly issued an order for the simultaneous banishment of the whole of the obnoxious race, and for their deprivation of the whole of their property, with the excep- tion of so much as was requisite to carry them abroad. Upwards of fifteen thousand Jews w^ei'e at once seized and plundered, under this most inexcusably tyrannous decree ; and as the plundered victims left the country, many of them were robbed at the sea-ports of the miserable pittance which the king's cupidity had spared lliem, aud some were murdered and thrown into the sea. While taking this cruel and dishonest means of replenishing his treasury, Ed- ward had at least the negative merit o£ frugallv expending what he had unfairly aciuiied. Aided by parliament with a grant of the fifteenth of all moveables, by the pope with a tenth of the church revenues for threo years, and by the merchants with an export tax of half a mark on each sack of wool and a whole mark on every three hundred skins, he still was cramped in means ; and as he was conscious that dun'ng the lato long and weak reign many encroachments had been unfairly made upon the royal de- mesnes, he issued a commission to enquire into all such encroachments, and also to devise aud seek the best and most speedy ways of improving the various branches of the revenue. The commissum, not always able to draw the Hue between doubtful ac- quisitions and hereditary possessions of undoubted rightfulness, pushed their en- quiries so far that they gave great offence to some of the nobility. Among others they applied to the earl Warenne, who had so bravely supported the crown against tho ambition of Leicester during the late reign, for the title-deeds of his possessions ; but the indignant earl drew his sword and saitl, that as his ancestors had acquired it by the sword so he would keep It and that ho held it by the same right that Edward held his crown. This incident aud the general discimtent of the nobles determined the king to limit the commission for the future to cases of undoubted trespass aud en- croachment. A.D. 1276. — Not even pecuniary necessi- ties and the exertion necessary to supply them could prevent Edwai-d's active and warlike spirit from seeking employment in the field. Against Llewellyn, prince of Wales, Edward had great cause of anger. He had been a zealous partisan of Leices- ter ; and though he had been pardoned, in common with the other barons, yet there had always been something of jealousy to- wards hiiu in the mind of Edward, which jealousy was now fanned into a flame by Llewellyn refusing to trust himself in Eng- land to do homage to Edward, unless the king's eldest son and some English nobles were put into the hands of the Welsh as hostages, and unless Llewellyn's bride, a daughter of the earl of Leicester, who had been captured on her way to Wales and was now detained at Edward's court, were released. A.D. 1277. — Edward was not sorry to hear demands, his refusal to comply with which would give him the excuse he wished for, to march into Wales. He accordingly gave Llewellyn no other answer than a renewal of his order to him to come and do homage, and an offer of a personal safe conduct. Edward was both aided aud urged In his invasion of Wales by David and Roderick, brothers of Llewellyn, wlio,_ having beet; despoiled of their iuheritauce by that prince, had now sought shelter and taken service with his most formidable enemy. 190 (ITfje CrcaSurM of ^i^tavn, &c. ■When tlie English approarhofl Wales, Llowellyn and his rO'^P'o rrlirod to flie mounlain fastnesses of Suowilciwii, judciMc,' tbat tliore lie could maintain airaiiist Ed- ward that desultory warfare, wliieli luid harassed and tired out the Saxon and the Norman invaders of an earlier day. But Instead of exposincr his forces to being ha- rassed and hcaten in detail, Edward guard- ed every pass wliidi led to the inaccessible retreats of the enemy, and then coolly waited until sheer hunger should dispose them either to treat or to flfjht. Nor was it long in occurring; brave as Llewellyn was, he saw himself so completely hemmed in that he was unable to strike a single blow, and he was compelled to submit to the terms dictated to him by Edward. And severe these terms v,-ere : Llewellyn was to pay 50,000?. by way of expenses of the war ; to do homage to the king ; to allow all the barons of Wales, save four of those nearest to Snowdown, to swear fealty to Edward ; to yield to the English crown the whole of the country between the river Conway and the county of Cheshire ; to settle a thousand marks per year on his brother Roderick and half that sum upon David ; and to give ten hostagesfor his future good and peace- able behaviour. All the articles having been duly performed with the e.\ception of the payment of the large sum of 50,000?., Edward forgave that ; and considering his great love of money, or rather his great need of it, we may suppose that he gave up BO large a sum only because the payment of It was rendered utterly impossible by the excessive poverty of the country. But the imperfect subjection of a country like Wales could not coexist with peace. The Welsh, impetuous, proud, and cou- rageous, remembered the noble and obsti- nate defences their land had formerly made ; the English, on the other hand, re- ferred in tones of insolence and taunting to the bloodless and undisputed conquest they had now made. The lords of the marches, too, connived at or encouraged many in- Eults and depredations ; a general spirit prevailed among the Welsh that preferred destruction itself to the insults they had to endure, and tliis spirit caused David to forget his personal wrongs, and to join hand and heart with his brother in oppos- ing the English. The Welsh flew to arms, and Edward entered their country with an army that seemed to leave them but little hope. Luke de Tenay, commanding a de- tachment of Edward's troops, was attacked as he passed the Menai, and his defeat in- spired the Welsh with themost extravagant hopes ; but Llewellyn was shortly after- ■wards surprised by Jlortimer, defeated, and hilled in the action, together with upwards of two thousand of his men. David.whonow succeeded to the Welsh sovereignty, exert- ed himself, but in vain, to collect another army sufficiently numerous to allow of his facing Edward in the open fleld. Terror had been struck Into the inmost heart of the people by the defeat and death of Lle- wellyn. David, with a few followers, was obliged to seek shelter among the most dif- ficult fastnesses of his native hills, and he was at length betrayed to Edward and sent In chains to Shrewsbury, where he was tried by the English peers, and ccmdemned to be hanged, drawn, and rjuartered, as a traitor — a sentence so disgraceful to Edward, that not even his deeds of a brighter and nobler character can.wash off the stain of it. The death of Llewellyn and David put an end to all hope of a successful opposition on the part of the Welsh, who fully submit- ted ; English laws and English officers were permanently established, and Edward con- ferred the principality upon his eldest sur- viving son, the prince Edward, who was born at Caernarvon. A.D. 1286.— Though, as was Inevitable, some national rancours still existed be- tween the two people, the Welsh were now so completely subdued, that Edward found himself at liberty to go abroad to interfere in the differences which had arisen between Alphonso, king of Arragon, and Philip the Fair of France, who disputed the kingdom of Sicily. While Edward was engaged in settling this dispute, which occupied him for nearly three years, his absence from England had given rise to numerous disor- ders and mischiefs. The administration of justice was openly defied by lawless bauds ; and robberies had become nearly as com- mon as they were before the severe exam- ples made at the beginning of his reign. The disputes which existed in Scotland about the crown of that kingdom gave Ed- ward an opportunity, of which he was not slow to avail himself, to interfere in the af- fairs of that nation ; and at every interfer- ence he made larger and more obviouj claims, not to the mere fealty of its kini.', but to its actual sovereignty. A.D. 1292.— The two principal competitors were Baliol and Bruce. It was agreed thrit Edward should arbitratebetween them, ami the castles of Scotland were put into his hands. This demand, alone, would go fnr to show Edward's real intentions ; yet, while he was fully bent upon subduing Scotland to his own rule, he put the dis- pute upon the true footing, as though he meant to act justly, in the following ques- tion to the commissioners appointed to re- port to him on the case, and to the princi- pal legists of Europe. Has a person de- scended from an elder sister, but farther removed by one degree, the preference as to succession to a kingdom, to one descended from the younger sister, but one degree nearer to the common stock 1 This ques- tion was answered him in the affirmative ; and Baliol, being in the first category, was pronounced by Edward to be the rightful sovereign; a decision which so much en- raged Bruce th.at he joined himself to lord Hastings, who was another claimant, but only for a portion of the kingdom, which he maintained to be divisible. A.D. 1293.— John Baliol having taken the oath of fealty to Edward as his feudal su- perior, was put into possession both of his throne and the fortresses of the kingdom. But having thus f,ar acted with apparent good faith, Edward now began to exer- cise his feudal authority in so vexatious a manner, that it was quite evident ho eiiQlanlf.— tBIantrtQCtif ti. -(iPWDart E. 191 desired ritlipr to ca\iso linliol to tlirow up Ills siiVfi-t-ii-Milv in distru-t, or to hurst out I Into 'some sn'dilcii Hood of inutiuy,' surli as would liv the feudiU usages cause the foi-foiture or his fief. Ho gave every en- couragement to appeals to his autliority from that of the Scottish liing, liarassed liallol hy repealed summonses to I.ondmi U|ion malli-is e, mparalively trhial.and in- stead (dallowini,' liim to answer hy l]isi)ro- cnrator, eompelkd liim lo appeal- personally at the bar of the ICnulish parliament. Such treatment eimld nol fail to nrf-'i- even the quiet temrier of D.aliol into anger, and he at length returned into Scotland with the full determination to ahiile the chances of a war rather llian continue to endure sucli insults. In this determination lie wa.s en- couraged liya ilisimle in which lOdwardwas now involved in anolher quarter. It will re.adilybe understood that in an ago in which robbery and violence were co;nmon on laud, piracy and violence were no less common upon the sea ; and both French and English sailors were but too ready to engage in contests, without care as to the possitjle consequences to their respective countries. It chanced tliat a Norman and an English vessel met off liayonne, and Ijoth sending a boat ashore for water the parties quarrelled at the spring. From words they proceeded to blows, and one of the Normans having diawii a knife, an Englishman closed witii liiiii ; both fell and the Norman died on tlie .--piil; the English alleging that he acci- dentally fell upon his own knife, the Nor- mans loudly affirining that he was stabbed. ' Normans complained to king Philip, . . ,1 bade them avenge themselves without troubling him. The words, if lightly spoken, were taken in all seriousness; the Normans seized upon an English ship, hanged some if tlie crew side by side with an equal number of dogs, and dismissed the rest of the ship's company, tauntingly assuring ihem that they had now satisfactorily avenged the Norman sailor who was killed at B.iyonne. When this intelligence reached the ma- riners of the Cinque ports they retaliated upon French vessels, and thus an actual war was soon raging between the two na- tions without a formal declaration of hos- tility having been made or sanctioned by either sovereign. As the quarrel proceeded it grew more and more savage ; seamen of other nations took part in it, tlie Irish and Dutch joining the English, the Genoese and Flemish joining the French. At length an incident in this singular war rendered it impossible for Edward and Philip any longer to remain mere spectators of it. A Norman fleet, nuinliering two hundred vessels, sailed southward for a cargo of wine, and to convey a considerable military force; and this powerful fleet seized on every English ship it met with, plundered the goods, and hanged the seamen. This ' news more than ever enraged the Engli.-h sailors, who got together a well-manned sels ; and tlie.se being closely stowed with military, and the English giving no quar- ter, it was asserted that the Norman loss was not less than Hfteeii thousand men ; an enormous loss at any time, but especially in an age when battles which altered the destinies of empires were frequently de- cided at a far less e.-ipcnsc of life. Philip now demanded redress from Ed- ward, who coldly replied that the English courts were open to any Frenchman who had complaints to m.akc; and then he offered to refer the whole quarrel to the pope, or to any cardinals whom himself and Philip might agree upon. But the parties most concerned in the quarrel were by this time too much enraged to hold their hands on account of negotiations ; and Philip, finding that tlic violence was in no wise discountcn.anced by Edward, sum- moned him, as duke of Guienue and vassal of France, to appear in his liege lord's court at Paris and answer for the oflfencca his subjects had committed. A. D. 1294.— The king instructed John St. John to put Guienne into a state of de- fence, and at the same time endeavoured toward off attack from it by sending his brother the earl of I-ancester to Paris to mediate with Philip. The earl of Lancaster having married the queen of Navarre, mother of Jane, the queen of France, the latter offered him her aid in accommo- dating the dispute ; and thoqueen dowager of France joined her, in all apparent good faith. But the two princesses were acting most insidiously. They assured the earl that if Edward would give Philip seizin or possession of Guienne, to heal the wound his honour had received from his sub-vas- sals of that province, Philip would at once be satisfied and immediately restore it. To tills Edward agreed, and gave up the province as soon as his citation to Paris was withdrawn ; but the moment he had done so, he was again cited, and on his non-appearance, condemned to forfeit Guienne. The trick thus played by Philip was so precisely similar to that which Edw.ard had himself planned for Scotland, that it is ti-uly wonderful how so astute a prince could ever have fallen blindfold into such an uncovered pit. A. D. 1295. — Edward sent an army to Guienne, under the command of his ne- phew, John de Brctagne, earl of Richmond, together with John St. John, and other ofiicers of known cour.age and ability ; and as his projects on Scotland did not enable him to spare so many regular soldiers as were needed, he on this occasion opened all the gaols of England and added the most desperate of their tenants to the force he sent over to France. Willie a variety of petty actions were carried on in France, Philip endeavoured to cause a diversion in his favour by enter- ing into an alliance with John Baliol, king of Scotland: and he, smarting under the insults of Edward and longing for re- nge, eagerly entered into this alliance. fleet of sixty sail, and went in quest of and strengthened it by stipulating a mar- the Norm.ans, whom thev met with and de- riage between his own son and the daughter fcated, taking or sinking most of the ves- j of Charles de Valois. 192 (Itljc CrraiStirp of W^iotvi, Set. A.D. 1296.— Conscious liow deep was tlic nffoiice lie had given to Haliol, Edward liad loo cnrcfiilly watiliod him to he unaware of hi? alliance with Krance ; and having now ohtained con^^ideralilo supjilies from his Iiarlianicut, which was lunre jiopularly com- posed than heretofore, he prepared to chas- tise Scotland on the slightest occasion. In the hope, therefore, of creating one, he sent a hauplity message desiring Haliol, as his vassal, to send him forces to aid him in his war with France. He next demanded that the castles of Berwick, Koxhurgh, and Jedburgh should be placed In his hands during the French war, as security for the Scottish fidelity ; and then sum- moned Baliol to appear before the English parliaraent at Newcastle. Baliol, faithful to his owu purpose and to the treaty that he had made with Philip, complied with none of these demands ; and Edward having thus received the ostensible offence which he desired, advanced upon ScotLand with an army of thirty thousand foot and four thousand horse. The military skill of Baliol being held in no very high esteem in Scotland, a council of twelve of the most eminent nobles was appointed to advise and assist him— in other words to act, for the tlme.at least, as ' viceroys over him.' Tnder the management of this council vigorous preparations were made to oppose Edward. An army of forty thousand foot and about five hundred horse marched, after a vain and not very wisely planned attempt upon Carlisle, to defend the south- eastern provinces threatened with Edward's first attacks. Already, however, divisions began to appear in the Scottish councils ; and the Bruces, the earl of March and Angus, and other eminent Scots, saw so much danger to their country from such a divided host attempting to defend it against so powerful a monarch, that they took the opportunity to make an e.arly sul> mission to him. Edward had crossed the Tweed at Coldstream without experiencing any opposition of either word or deed ; but here he received a magniloquent letter from Baliol, who having obtained from pope Celestine an absolution of both him- self and his nation from the oath they liad taken, now solemnly renounced the homage he had done, and solemnly defied Edward. Little regardingmere words, Edward had from the first moment of commencing his enterprise been intent upon deeds. Ber- wick had been taken by assault, seven thousand of the garrison put to the sword, and Sir William Douglas, the governor, made prisoner; and now twelve thousand men, under the commandof the veteran earl "Warenne.were despatched against Dunbar, ■which was garrisoned by the vei-j' best of Scotland's nobility and gentry. Alarmed lest Dunbar should be taken, and their whole country thus be laid open to the English, the Scots marched an immense army to the relief of that place; but the earl TTarenne, though his numbers were 80 inferior, attacked them so vigorously that they fled with a loss of twenty thousand men ; and Edward with his main army com in gup on thefollowingd.ay.theg.irrison perceived that further assistance was hope- less, and surrendered at discretion. The castles of Koxhurgh, Edinburgh, and Stir- ling now surrendered to Edward In rapid succession ; and all the southern parts of Scotland being subdued, Edward sent de- tachments of Irish and Welsh, skilled in mountain warfare, to follow thefuiiitives to their recesses anndst the mountains and islets of the north. But the raiiid successes which already attended the arms of Edward had com- pletely astounded the Scots, and put them into a state of depression proportioned to the confidence they had formerly felt of seeing the invader beaten back. Their heavy losses and the dissensions amo)it' their leaders rendered it impossiljle f^r them to get together anytliing like an i)ii- posing force; and Baliol himself put the crowning stroke to his country's calamity by hastening, ere the resources of his pi_i>- ple could be fully ascertained, to make Lis submission once more to that invader in whom he had but lately sent so loud and so gratuitous a defiance. He not merely apu- logised in the most humble terms for iii- breach of fealty to his liege lord, but made a solemn and final surrenderof his crown ; and Edward, havingreceived the homagenf the king, marched northward only to be rr- ceived with like humility by the people, in t a man of whom approached him but to p.-iy him homage or tender him service. Having thus, to all outward appearance, at least, reduced Scotland to the most perfect obe- dience, Edward marched his army south and returned to England, carrying with him the celebrated inauguration stone of the .Scots, to which there was a superstition attached, that wherever this stone should be, there should be the government of Scotland. Considering the great power which such legends had at that time, Ed- ward was not to blame, perhaps, for this capture; hut the same cannot be said of his wanton order for the destruction of the national records. Baliol, though his weak character must have very effectually placed him beyond the fear or suspicion of Edward, was confined in the Tower of London for two years, at the end of which time he was allowed to retire to France, where he remained dur- ing the rest of his life in that private station for which his limited talents and his timid temper fitted him. The govern- ment,of Scotland was intrusted to earl Wareune, who, both from policy and pre- dilection, took care that Englishmen were prefeiTed to all offices of profit and of in- fluence. In Guienne Edward's arms had been less successful ; his brother the earl of Lancas- ter had at first obtained some advantages ; but, he dying, the earl of Lincoln, who succeeded to the command, was not able to make any progress. Edward's success in Wales and .Scotland had, however, made him more than ever impatient of failure; and he now projected such a confederacy against the king of France as he Imagined (!Ftigtanif.-|9Iauta£jatr«.— eplftoartf 3E, 193 rnukl not fail to wrest Guieime from him. Ill i.iirsn.iiice of lliis plan, lie gave his dautrliUM- the princess Elizabeth to John, enrl of Holland ; and at the p.imo time sti- pulated to pay to Guy, earl of Flanders, the sum of 75,000?. as his subsidy for joining him ill the Invasion of the territory of their cnninion enemy, Philip of France. Ed- ward's plan, a very feasible one, was to a:-si'inlile all his. allies and march against riiilip's own capital, when Philip would most probably be glad to remove the threat- ened danger from himself by giving up Guieiine. As a large sum of money was requisite to carry out the king's designs, lie applied to paiiiament, who granted him- the b.-irons and knights a twelfth of all moveables, and the boroughs an eighth. But if the king laid an unfair pr.pportion of his cliary-es upini tlie ImiiiiiisjIis, he pro- posed slid more unfairly to tax I he clergy, from whom he demanded a tilth of their moveables. Pope Boniface VII I. on mount- ing the papal throne had issued a hull for- bidding the princes of all Christian nations to tax the clergy without the express con- sent of Rome, and eyually forbidding the clergy to pay any tax unless so sanctioned ; and the English clergy gladly sheftered themselves under th.at bull, now that the king proposed to burthen them so shame- fully out of all proportion to his charges upon other orders of his subjects. Though Edward was much enraged at the tacit op- position of the clergy, he did not instantly proceed to any violence, but caused all the barns of the clergy to be locked up and prohibited all payment of rent to them. Having given thus much intimation of his determination to persist in his demand, he appointed a new synod to confer with him upon its reasonableness ; but Robert de Winchelsea, archbisliop of Canterbury, who had suggested to Boniface that bull of which the clergy were now availing them- selves, plainly told the king that the clergy owed obedience to botli a temporal and a spiritual sovereign, and that the obedience due to the former would bear no compari- son as to importance with that which was due to the latter; and that consequently it was Impossible that they could pay a tax demanded by the king when they were expressly forbidden to pay it by the pope. A.D. 1297.— Really in need of money, and at the same time equally desirous of avoid- ing an open quarrel with the pope on the one hand, and of making any concessions to obtain a relaxation of his bull on the other, Edward grimly replied that they who would not support the civil power could not fairly expect to be protected by it. He accordingly gave orders to all his judges to consider the clergy as wholly imt of his protection. He, of course, was obeyed to the letter. If anycme had a suit against a clerk the plaintiff was sure of success, wli:it- ever the merits of his case, for neither i lie defendant nor his witness could \»- le :u.l ; on the other hand, no matter how gius.-ij a clerk might have been wronged in matters not cognizable by the ecclesiastical courts, all redress was refused him at the very threshold of those courts whose doors were thrown open to the meanest layman in the land. Of such a state of things the people, al- ready sulHcieutly prone to plunder, were not slow to avail themselves ; and to be a clerk and to be plundered and insulted were pretty nearly one and the same thing. The rents both in money and kind were cutoff from the convents ; and if the monks, in peril of being starved at home, rode forth in search of subsistence, robbers, embol- dened by the king's rule, if not actually prompted by his secret orders, rohlied them pitilessly of money, apparel, and horses, and sent them back to their convents still poorer and in more pitiable plight than they had left them. The archbishop of Canterbury issued a general excoiiimniiica- tion against all who took part in these shameful proceedings; but it was little at- tended to, and had no effect in checking the spoliation of the clergy, uiion which the king looked with the utmost indifference, or, rather, with the double satisfaction arisiiy? from feeling that the losses of the clergy would at length induce them to sub- mit, even in despite of their veneration for the papal commands, and that the people were thus gradually accustoming them- selves to look with less awe upon the papal power. Whether, in wishing the latter con summation Edward wished wisely for his successors we need not now stay to discuss ; in anticipating the former consummation he most assuredly was quite correct ; for the clergy soon began to grow weary of a passive struggle in which they were being tortured imperceptibly and incessantly, without either the dignity of m.artyrdom or the hope of its reward. The northern province of York had from the first paid tlie fifth demanded by the king, not in any preference of hisorders to those of thepope, nor, certainly, with any peculiar and per- sonal pi-edilection for being taxed beyond their ability, but because their proximity to Scotland gave them a fearful personal interest in the ability of the king to have siifflcieut force at his command. The bishops of Salisbury and Ely, and some others, next came in and offered not indeed literally to disobey the pope by paying the fifth directly to Edward, but to deposit equivalent sums in certain appointed places whence they could be taken by the king's collectors. Those who could not command ready money for this sort of commutation of the king's demand privily entered into recognizances for the payment at a future time, and thus either directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately, the whole of the clergy paid the king's exorbitant de- mand, though reason warranted them in a resistance which had the formal sanction, nay the express command, of their spiritual sovereign. In this we see a memorable in- stance of the same power' applied to dif- frreiit men; the power that would have crushed the weak John, however just his cause, was now, with a grim and triumph- ; ant contempt, setat nought by the intrepid ' and politic Edward, though it opposed him I in a demand which was both sliameful in 194 dr^e Crra^uru of W^iarr}, &c. Its extent and illegal even in the ninnner of its iniiiosition. But with all tliis a?=istance the suiMiIles whirli Edward ol)t:iinoii still foil far sliort of his neressitic.-, and tlir inaiiiHi- in wliic-li he contrived to niakt- up tlic diltiTrnci' was rliaractorised by the iiijusticc which was the one f-Tiat hint upiiii what WDiild other- wiso havf I'een a truly tiurious reign. Thonph the merchants had ever shown great willincmcss to assist hiui, he now ar- bitrarily fixed a limit to the eximrtation of wool, and as arbitrarily levied a duty of forty shillings on each sack, being some- thing more than a third of its full value ! Nor did his injustice stop here; this, in- deed, was the least of it; for he immediate- ly afterwards seized all the wool that re- mained in the kingdom, audall the leather, and sold them for his own benefit. The sheriffs of each county were empow ercd to seize for him two thousand quarters of wheat and two thousand of oats. Cattle and other requisites were seized in the same wholesale and unceremonious fashion ; and tliouch these seizures were made under promise to pay, the sufferers naturally placed little reliance upon such promise made under such circumstances. In re- cruiting his army Edward acted quite as arbitrarily as in provisioning it ; compe'- ling every proprietor of land to pay the yearly value of twenty pounds, either to serve in person or find a proxy, even though his land were not held by military tenure. Notwithstanding the great popularity of Edward, and the terror of his power, he could not under such circumstances of pro- vocation prevent the people from murmur- ing ; nor were the murmurs confined to the poorer sort or to those who were personally sufferers from the king's arbitrary conduct, but the highest nobles also felt the outrage that was committed upon the general prin- ciple of liberty. Of this feeling Edward ■was made aware as soon as he had com- pleted his preparations. He divided his forces into two armies, intending to assail France on the side of Flanders with one of them, and to send the other to assail it on the side of Gascony. But when everything was ready and the troops actually assem- bled on the sea-coast, Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk and marshal of England, and Bo- hun, earl of Hereford and constable of England, to whom he intended to intrust the Gascon portion of his expedition, re- fused to take charge of it, on the plea that by their offices they were only bound to attend upon his person during his wars. Little used to be thwarted, the king was greatly enraged at this refusal, and in the high words that passed upon the occasion he exclaimed to the earl of Hereford, 'By God, sir earl, you shall either go or hang ;' to which Hereford coolly replied, ' By God, sir king, I will neither go nor hang ;' and he immediately left the expedition, taking with him above thirty other powerful ba- rons and their numerous followers. Finding himself thus considerably weak- ened in actual numbers, and still more so by the moral effect this dispute had upon men's minds, Edward now gave up the Gascon portion of his expedition ; but the opposition was yet not at an end ; for the two earls now refused to perform their dulv (in the ground that their ancestors had" never servid 111 Klnnders. Not know- ini,- huw far the same spirit might have spread, Edward feared to pmc-eed to extre- mities, aggravated and annoying as this disobedience was, but contented himself with appointing Geoffrey de Geynevilleand Thomas de Berkeley to act for the recusant officers on the present occasion ; for as the oftlccrsof marshal and constable were he- reditary, he could only have deprived the offenders of them by the extreme measure of attainder. He farther followed up this conciliatory policy by taking the primate into favour again, in hope of thus securing the interest ot the church ; and he assem- bled a great meeting of the nobles in Westminster Hall, to whom he addressed a speech in apology for what they might deem exceptionable in his conduct. He pointed out how strongly thehonourof the crown and the nation demanded the war- like measures he proposed to take, and how impossible it was to take those measures without money ; he at the same time pro- tested, that sh(mld he ever return he would take care that every man should be reim- bursed, and that wherever there was a wrong in his kingdom that wrong should be redressed. At the same time that he made these promises and assured his hearers that theymightrely upon hisfulfilmentof them, he strongly urged them to lay aside all ani- mosities among themselves, and only strive with each other who should do most to- wards preserving the peace and upholding the credit of the nation, to be faithful to him during his absence, and, in the event of his falling in battle, to be faithf lU to his son. Though there was something extremely touching in the politic pleading of the king, coming as it did fnmi a man usually so fierce and resolute, his arbitrai-y conduct had injured too widely, and stung too deep- ly, to admit of words, however pathetic, winning him back the friendship of his people; and just as he was embarking at Winchelsea, a remonstrance which Here- ford and Norfolk had framed was presented to him in their names and in those of other considerable barons. In this remonstrance, strongly though courteously worded, com- plaint was generally made of his recent systemof government, and especially of his perpetual and fiagrant violation of the Great Charter and of the Charter of the Forests, and his arbitrary taxation and seizures, and they demanded redress of these great and manifest grievances. The circum- stances under which this memorial was de- livered to the king furnished him with an excuse of which he was by no means sorry to avail himself, seeing that he could nei- ther deny the grievances nor find the means of redressing them ; and he briefiy replied, that he could not decide upon matters itrii;iiulei].-..iini'.'fdliiiii in it. Wlii'llii'i-Cuiiiiiiiii ii-diii I 111' llr>( lislcnc d tiily In iH'tray, (jr wlicliuT lie id llist. cii- trrrd siiiciTi'ly Into (lie views? cii liiiu'f, mid oidy liclniyod tliciii fruiii liorrorat tlRMiiiiL;- iiiliiiU' of tlie diiiit'i'i', docs not ciciiiiy np- IH'.ir. Hilt curtain it is tliat, from wliatevor motives, liLMlid ri'vcril ilic sentiments and inteiiliiiiisotl3ruce lo the king-. Kdward, tliouLrli lillle jiroiie to sparine:, knew liow to disseiiiliiu ; and beinK desir- ous of KOttint; into his powi'r the three imi- thors of Bruce, wiio were still at liherty in Scotland, and fearing to alarm ihem ere he could do so, slioidd he take any decisirp measures against liobert, he for the present contented liimselJ wiili imtting his every act and wordundir llieninst severe surveil- lance of persons iirarii-cil in tliatmostcou- tempt I ble species i.r iiniiluj ment. This po- licy. Intended to niaki ilie ruin of Robert nruee more certain and complete, proved his safety; for an English noliUinan wlio was privy to Edward's design ]ait Brnie on Ills guard In time. The friendly nolilemaii in tiueslion, being aware how closely Bruce was watched, coidd not venture to warn him person.ally and in plain terms of the danger which beset him, but sent him by a sure hand ai'air of spurs and a purse of money. The sagaiily of Bruce rightly interpreted the meaning of this double present, .and he instantly set off for Annandale, and arrived there snjely ; having taken the precaution to liave his horse shod backward, so tliat even had a pursuit been commenced, the pursuers would speedily liave been tlirown out. High as Bruce ranked in the Scottish nobility, he had liitherto been looked upon as wholly lost to Scotland ; as the mere minion of the English king; less anxious about the land to which he owed his birth, than to that in which he lived a life of splendid slavery. It was, therefore, with no little surprise, and perhaps in some cases even with suspicion, that the Scottish nobility then assembled at Dumfries saw liim suddenly appear before them, with the avowed determination of following up the efforts of Wallace, and of liberating his trampled country, or nobly perisliing in the attempt. The eloquence and spirit with which Bruce declared his intentions and exhorted the assembled nobles to join him in his efforts, roused their spirits to the highest enthusiasm, and they at once declared their intention to follow the noble Bruce even to the death. To this entliu- siasra and assent there was but one excep- tion : — Cummin, who had already betrayed the design of Bruce to the king, now en- deavoured to introduce discord into the cotincil, by dwelling with great earnestness upon the little probaljility that. c-\isted of their being successful against tlie treiiirn- dous power of England, .and upon the still smaller probability of Edward showing any mercy to them, should they fall into his hands after insulting him by a new breach of their oath of fealty. The discourse of Cummin had the greater wei.ght because he was held to be a true itriol ; and Bruce clearly perceived that lis man, v.lio h.ad so iir'arly betrayed h ■ ceiiaiu iiiiiirisoiiiiieiii, and verv prolial ■ 11, liad il' I he 111 likely folh tliat tl n till ey wi.uld mos I tlie arrival of iu'|.i'«erwonld irau-eil at such I the tl-earhery t (Jiiiiiniiii had n the meet- reiiiler e\eilii.ii ii-i'li-s. an iippositioii being aildi of which he was aware abvaily lieeii gtiilly, Brii iiig of nobles was tidjouriied to followed Cummin as far as the miiii.astery of the Grey Friars, in tlie cloisti rs of v. hicii he went up to him and ran liim throiigli the body. Bruce imagined Ihtit he had killed the traitor, but on being asked by a friend and contlilante, named Eilzpafrick, whether he had done so, he replied, ' I be- lieve so.' 'Believe!' exclaimed Fitzpa- trick, 'and is that a thing to leave to chance? I will secure him!' So saying, the fierce knight went back to the spot where Cummin lay, and stablied hrm thri.iiuh the heart. The brutal violence, wliich in our more enlightened day we can- not even read of without horror and dis- gust, was then deemed a matter not of shame but of triumph and boasting, and the murderer Fitzpatrick actually took for liis crest a hand and bloody dagger, and the words ' 1 will secure him ! ' for his motto. The murder of Edward's spy— and mur- der it assuredly was, however base the cha- racter of the victim— left the assembled nobles, and Bruce especially, no choice as to their future course ; they must either shake off the power of Edward, or perish beneath Edward's aroused vengeance. Bruccin this emergency proved himself well ad.apted for the lofty and perilous mission to which he had devoted himself. He tlew from one part of the country to another, everywhere raising armed partisans, and sending them against the most important towns and castles that ventured to hold out for Edward ; and by this activity he not only obtained strong holds in every di- rection, but organised and concentrated a force so considerable, tliat he was able to declare Scotland independent, and to have himself crowned as her king in the abbey of Scone, the archbishop of St. Andrew's offlciating. Bruce, though both policy and ambition led him to he crowned, did not puffer mere ceremonial to occupy much of the time for which he had so much more important a use, but busiiy pursued the English until tliey were all driven from the kingdom, save those who found shelter in the comparatively few fortresses that still held out for Edward. A.D. 1, so?.— Edward, who seemed as en- thusiastic in his desire to conijuer Scotland as the Sriitswere in their desire to live free fviiiii his yiike, received the tidings of this new defeat of his purpose only as a sum- mons to advance to the conquests yet once more ; and, while making his own arrange- ments, he sent forward a large advance force under Sir Aylmer de Valence, who fell suddenly upon Bruce, in Perthshire, and put him completely tothe rout. Bruce 200 Cf)e CrcaSury al l^tiStorg, &-f. lilmself, with a mere liaudful of peisDiial frieiiil:*, tiiiik slu'lter in the wcstcru isles; sir Simon Fra^er, sir t'liristopher Seton, anil the earl of Alhol were less fortunate ; being taken prisoners, Edward ordered their Immediate execution, as rebels and traitors. Similar severity was shown in the treatment of other I'risnuers, and Edward In person now commenci d his mareh against Scotland, vowinK veni-'eaiice upon the whole of the nation for the trouble ami disappointment to which it had exposed him. But a mightier than Edward nowwas at hand to render farther cruelty or injus- tice impracticable. He was already arrived as far on his journey of vengeance as Cum- berland, when he was suddenly seized with Illness, and dieil or. the 7th of July, 130", In the thirty-Ufth year of his reign and the slxty-niuth of his age. CHAPTER XXT. The Rei'jn of Edward II. A.D. 1307. — The dying commands of Ed- ward I. to his son and successor were, that he should follow up the enterprise against Scotland, and never desist until that nation should be completely subdued. An abun- dantly sufficient force was ready for the young king Edward II. ; and as Bruce had by this time rallied forces round him, and inflicted a ratlier important defeat upon sir Aylraer de Valence, the English people, too fond of glory to pay any scrupulous attention to the justice of the cause in which it was to be acquired, hoped to see Edward II. at the very commencement of his reign imitating the vigorous conduct of his martial father ; and they were not a little disgusted when Edward, after marching some short distance over the border, gave up the enterprise, not from any conside- rations of its injustice, but in sheer in- dolence, and returned into England and disbanded that army upon the formation of which his father had bestowed so much ex- ertion and care. Hitherto the character of this prince had been held in esteem by the Engli.sh people, who, with their accustomed generosity, took the absence of any positive vice as an indication of virtue and talent, which only needed opportunity to mani- fest themselves. But this first act of his reign, while It disgusted the people in general, at the game time convinced the turbulent and bold nobles that they might now with safety put forward even unjust claims upon a king who bade fair to sacri- fice all other considerations to a low and contemptible love of his personal ease. The barons, who had not been wholly kept from showing their pride even to the stern and determined hand of Edward I., were not likely to remain quiet under a weaker rule; and the preposterous folly of the new king was not long ere it furnished them with sufficiently reasonable cause of complaint. The weak intellect of Edward II. caused him to lean with a child-like dependency up:>n fa.-ourites : but ^vith this difference, that the dependency which is touching and beautiful iu a child, is cuutemptible in a ' man, and must to the rough and w.arllko barons liave been especially disgusting. The llrst f.avourite upon whom Edward be- stowed his unmeasured confidence and fa- vour was Piers Gaveston, a Gascon, whose father's knightly service in the wars of the ; hite king h;ul Introduced the son to the establishment of the present king while prince of Wales. The elegant though fri- volous accomplishments of which Gaveston was master, and the pains which he took to display and employ them in the amu.-e- [ ment of the weak-minded young prince whom he served, obtained for Gaveston, ' even during the lifetime of Edward I., so alarming an influence over the mind of the heir-apparent, that the stern monarch, who had little taste for childish pursuits, b.a- ni.shed Gaveston not only from the couit, but from the realm altogether, and exact ctl the most positive promise from the prince never on any account to recall him. His own interests and his promise to his deceased father were utterly forgotten by young Edward in his anxiety again to enjoy the company of his accomplished favourite, and having .astounded his rugged barons by disbanding his army, he completed their wondering indignation by hastily sendinu' for Gaveston. IJefore the favourite could even reach England, the young king con- ferred upon bim the rich earldom of Corn- wall, which h.ad lately escheated to the crown by the death of Edmond, son of the king of the Romans. In thus bestowing upon an obscure favourite the rich posses- sions .and liege title that had so recently sufficed a prince of the blood royal, Edward had only commenced his career of libera- lity ; wealth and honours flow-ed in upon the fortunate young man, whom Edward at length allied to the throne itself by giving him for his wife his own niece, the sister of the earl of Gloucester. The folly of the king was In nowise ex- cused or kept in the back ground by the favourite. Instead of endeavouring to dis- arm the anger and envy of the barons by, at least, an affectation of humility, Gaveston received each new favour as though it were merely the guerdon and the due of his eminent merit ; in equipage he surpassed the highest men in the realm, and he took delight in showing the wisest and most powerful men, that he, relying only upon the king's personal favour, had in reality a power and influence superior to all that could be won by wisdom in the council or valour in the fleld. "Witty, he made the nobles his butt in the court conversations ; accomplished, he took every opportunity to mortify them by some dexterous manoeuvre in thetilt-yard or at the tourney; and the insolence of the favourite thus completed the hatred which the folly of the king had first aroused. Soon after his accession to the throne Edward had to visit France, In order to do homage to Philip for Guienne, and also to espouse that monarch's daughter Isabella, to whom he had a long time been betrothed ; and on his departure he gave a new proof of his infatuated affection for Gaveston, by not only preferring him to all the English CPttSlantr.— piantagcneW.— e&inarif M. 201 nobles for the lioiiouralilo and impurt.-uit ofllcf of t'liardian of tlio realm, but also giviiiLc liiMi in tli;it capacity more than usu- ally I'xtonsivc iiiiwors. Wlieu lidwai-d brought his youns queen to Kuifland he introduced i;:iv( shm to her, and showed so anxious an inini -i in the favourite's welfare, that l-ai.. lla, \\li.. was both shrewd In observation and iinperious in temper, instantly conceived a mortal hatred for the man who evidently possessed so much power over a mind which she deemed that she alone had a right to be- guile or to rule. Gaveston, though too quick of perception to bo unaware of the queen's feeling, was not wise enough to aim at conciliaiiug Iier, but aggravated her already deadly enmity by attronts, which were duulily injurious as being offered to a (lueeii by the mere creature and minion of her husbaud ; a prosperous and inllated adventurer, whom a breath liad made and whom a breath could just as easily destroy. A.D. 130S. —Enraged that such a person should both share her husband's confldence and openly deride or defy her own influence, Isabella gave every encouragement to the nobles whom she perceived to be inimical to Gaveston ; and it was with her sanction, if not actually at her suggestion, that a confederacy was formed for the express purpose of expelling the insolent favourite from the court. At the head of this con- federacy was the king's own cousin, Tho- mas, earl of Lancaster. First prince of the blood, he was also possessed of both greater wealth and greater power than any other subject in the realm ; and it was probably less from any patriotic feeling than from vexation, at seeing his private influence with the king surpassed by that of an up- start favourite, that he now so strenuously opposed him. This powerful noble assem- bled arround him all those barons who were inimical to Gaveston, and they en- tered into an .agreement, which they so- ■ lemnised by an oath, never to break up their confederacy until Gaveston should be expelled the kingdom. I'roni this under current of opposition many open disturb- ances arose in the kingdom, and there were evident symptoms of a near approach to actual civil war. At length a parliament was summoned to meet at "Westminster, which Lancaster and his associates attended with so great a force, that they were able to dictate their own terms to the king. Gave- ston was accordingly banished, being at tlie same time sworn never to return, and the prelates threatening him with excom- munication, should he venture to do so. Though Edward could not prevent this sentence being passed upon his minion, he contrived to deprive it of its sting. In- stead of .sending Gaveston home to his own country, he conferred upon him the oiTice of lord-lieutenant of Ireland, went with him on his way thither as far as Bristol, and made him a parting gift of some v;Uu- able lands. During his residence in Ireland, Gave- ston displayed both courage and conduct in putting down rebellion, and probably was far happier in his new post than while niinglnig in the inane gaieties of the Eng- lish court. But Kdward was absolutely wretched at the loss of his favourite. Coin- pai-ative peace was restored by that per- son's absence, but peace itself to the weak king seemed valueless until Gaveston should return to grace it. In order to pave the way for the restoration for wliich he was so anxious, the king endeavoured to gratify the most powerful of the barons. The oQlce of hereditary high steward was given to Lancaster, and gifts and grants were profusely lavished upon the earls Wareiine and Lincoln. When by these means Ed- ward had, as he thought, sufficiently molli- fled Gaveston's enemies, he ai)plied to the pope for a dispensation fur the favourite recalled him from Ireland, and hastened to Chester to meet him at his landing. As the absence of Gaveston had in a great measure caused his insolence to be for- go considen-d and trojitc.l jia a inib- lic enpiny. To all other alterations Edward was ut- terly indifferent : Imt the tiaiiishniont of Gaveston tilled him with rni^e and Brief. He therefore retired to York, and, iratlierint? forces about lilni, openly Invited Gavestou baek from Flanders, while he declared that he had been tyranmtusly and illegally ba- nished, and reestablished linn in all his former pomp and power. The insolent and haughty nature of tiavcston was now so well known to the barons, that they felt they must either wholly cru.l such mi ciiierfe'euey. Tlio jinnitr earl liiTiiself was slain at the very outset, the f-'reater iiUMi- lier iif his nieu were utterly disordered and heliiless, and liefore they eould reoovc r and form in line of battle, they were so fiercely charged by the Scottish cavalry, under sir James Douglas, that they were fairly driven off tlie field. As the hopes of Edward and the anxiety of Bruce had chielly referred to the English superiority In cavalry, this event had a proportionate effect upon the spirits of both armies; and the alarm of the English was now clianged Into a perfect panic by the success of the following simple stratagem. Just as the English cavalry were in full retreat from the Held, the heights on the left were tliionyed with what seemed to be a second Sr.itch army, but what really was a mere niob of peasants whom Bruce had caused to appear there with music playing and banners flying. At sight of this new ene- my—as this mere rabble was deemed — the English on the instant lost all heart, threw down their arms, and betook themselves from the Held in the utmost disorder. The Scots pursued them, and the road all the way to Berwick, upwards of ninety miles, was covered with the dead and dying. Be- sides an immense booty which was taken on the field and during the pursuit, the victors were enriched with the ransonjs of upwards of four hundred '-'entUinenof note, who were taken, in addition to a perfect host of meaner prisoners, to all of whom Bruce behaved with the humanity and courtesy of a true hero. Determined to follow up his success, Robert Bruce, as soon as he conUl recall his troops from the pursuit ami slaughter, led them over the border and plundered the north of England without opposition ; and still further to anmiy the English govern- ment, he sent his brother Edward to Ire- land with four thousand troops. Lancaster and the other malcontent ba- rons who had declined to accompany Ed- ward upon his Scottish expedition, no sooner beheld him return beaten and de- jected, than they took advantage of his situation to renew their old demand for the establishment of their ordinances. The king was in no situation to resist such for- midable domestic enemies ; a perfectly new ministry was formed with Lancaster at its liead, and great preparations were made to resist the threatened hostilities of the now once more independent Scotland. But though Lancaster showed much apparent zeal against the Scots, and was actually at the head of the army destined to oppose them, it was strongly suspected that he was secretly favi}urable to them, and actually held a secret correspondence with Bruce, judging that while the kingdom was thus threatened from without he could the more easily govern the king. In the meantime Edward, utterly inca- pable of self-reliance, had selected a suc- cessor to Gaveston in the splendid but dangerous honour of his favour and confi- dence. This jierson was Hugh le Despenscr, more commonly called Rjienser, who to all the elegant accomplishimnts and prrso- iKil gr.-u-es of Gaveston, added no small por- tion of the presumplii>n and insolence wlihii had consigned that adventurer to :in iMii iniely grave. The elder Spenser was :il-ii \r]\ liigh in the king's favour, and as he lHJs.-l■s^ed great moderation as well as great e.\perience a)i(l ability, he might pro- bably have saved Imih iii~ sou and the king from m.any misfortunes, had they not been self-doomed beyond the reach of advice or warning. A.D. 1321.— Any favourite of the king would, ipso facto, have been disliked by the barons; but the insolence of young Spenser speedily made him the object of as deadly a hate as that which had ruined Gaveston. To Insolence Spenser added cupidity. He had married a niece of the king, who was also a coheiress of the young earl of Glou- cester who fell at Bannockburn, and had thus acquired considerable property on the Welsh borders, which he was so anxious to extend that he became involved in hot dis- pute with two neigh bourlng barons, Aubrey and Ammori, towards whom common re- port made him guilty of great dishonesty and oppression. In the same neighbourhood he got into a still more serious dispute respecting the barony of Gower. This barony came, by inheritance, into the possession of John de Mo« bray, who imprudently entered upon imssession without complying with the feudal duty of taking seizin and livery from tlie crown. Spenser, being very desirous to possess this property, persuaded the king to take advantage of De Mowbray's merely technical laches, declare the barony es- cheated, and then bestow it upon him. This wasdone, and the flagrant injustice of • the case excited such general and lively in- dignation, that the chief nobility, including the carls of Lancaster and Hereford, Aud- ley, Ammori, Roger de Mortimer, Roger de Clifford, and other barons, flew to arms and declared open war both against the favourite and the king himself. As the barons had long been nursing a sullen and deep discontent, they had already made preparations ; they, accordingly, ap- peared at the head of a powerful force, and sent a message to Edward, demanding the Instant dismissal of Spenser, and threaten- ing, should that be refused, to take his pu- nishment into their own hands. Both the Spensers were absent on the king's busi- ness, and Edward replied to the message of his b.arons, that he could not, without gross and manifest breach of his corona- tion oath, condemn the absent, against whom, moreover, there was no formal charge made. The barons probably expected some such answer ; and they scarcely waited to receive it ere they marched their forces, devastated and plundered the estates of both the Spensers, ami then ])roceeded to London and tendered to the parliament, which was then sitting, a complicated charge against both father and son. The parliament. 204 Elje Crraiurg of Hiitovi), &c. without obtaining or doinaudiiig a sliifflo one of tlu' many iii'licU's of tliis cliarge, soiitcnci'd li.itli I lie Six'nsors to conllsca- tion of ijoods and In prriictual i-xilo. This done, tlu'y wont Ihronirli tho mork- cry of soliciting and olitaiiiini,' fi-cmi tlio king an indoniuily fm- llu'ir iiroi-irilinL.'s, which tlioy lluis plaiidv i-onfr>scd lo liavc been dolihoratcly ill'-j--.il, ami tiicn dis- banded tlu'irtroops and retirfii.in liauiriity confldoncc of security from any attempt at vengeance on the part of tlie weals liing, each to his own estate. So wealc and indolent was the nature of Edward, that it is probable that ho would have left the barons to tlie nmlisturbed en- joyment of their triumph, but for an insult wliich h.ad been offered to his queen. Her majesty being belated in theneighbourhood of Leeds castle, was denied anight's shelter there by the lord Badlesmere, to whom it lielonged, and on her attendants remon- strating, a fray arose, iu which several of them were wounded and two or three killed. In addition to the fact thiit the refusal of a night's lodging was churlish, and in the case of a lady doubly so, the queen had ever conducted herself so as to win the re- spect of tlie baronage, especially in her sympathy with their hatred of both Gave- ston and the younger Spenser ; and every one, therefore, agreed in blaming the un- civil conduct of the lord Badlesmere. Tak- ing advantage of this temper, which pro- mised him an easy victory, Edward as- sembled an army and took vengeance on Badlesmere, without any one interfering to save the offender. Thus far successful, the king now com- municated with his friends in all parts of the country, and instead of disbanding his force on the accomplishment of the oltject ■for which alone he had ostensibly assem- bled it, he issued a manifesto recalling the two Spensers, and declaring their sen- tence unjust and contrary to the laws of the land. A.D. 1322.— This open declaration he In- stantly followed up by marching his troops to the Welsh marches, where the posses- sions of his most considerable enemies were situated. As his approach was sud- den and unexpected, he met with no resist- ance ; and several of the barons were seiz- ed and their castles taken possession of by the king. But Lancaster, the very life and soul of the king's opponents, was still at liberty ; and, assembling an army, he threw off the mask he had so long worn, and avowed his long-suspected connection with Scotland. Being joined by the earl of Here- ford, and having the promise of a rein- forcement from Scotland under the com- m.and of sir James Douglas and the earl of Murray, Lancaster marclied against the king, who had so well employed his time that he was now at the head of an army of thirty thousand men. The hostile forces met at Burton on the Trent ; and Lancaster, who had no great military genius, and who was even suspected of being but indiffer- ently endowed with personal courage, fall- ing in his attempts at defending the pas- sages of the river, retreated northward. In the hope of being jnined and supported by the promised reinforcements from Scot- land. Though hotly imrsued by the royal forces, he retreated in safety and in perfect order as far as lioroughbrldge, where he found his farther jirogress opposed by a division of the royal army, under sir An- drew Harclay. Lancaster attempted to cut his way through this force, but was so stoutly oi)posr(l tli;it bis troops weretlirown into the ulninst disoniir ; tlie earl of Here- ford was slain, and L.iiMi^iiT himself was taken prisoner and ii to the presence of his ottended sovereign. The weak- minded are usually vindictive ; and even had Edward not been so, the temper of the times would have made it unlikely that a king so offended should show any mercy. But there was a petty malignity in Ed- ward's treatment of Lancaster highly dis- graceful to his own character. The re- cently powerful noble was mounted upon a sorry hack, without saddle or bridle, his head was covered with a hood, and in this plight he w;is carried to his own castle of Pontefract and there behe.aded. Badlesmere and upwards of twenty more of the leaders of this revolt were legally tried and executed ; a great number were condemned to tlie minor penalties of for- feiture and iinprijoument ; and a still great- er number were fortunate enough to make their escape beyond seas. Sir Andrew Har- clay, to whom the king's success was main- ly owing, was raised to the earldom of Car- lisle, and received a goodly share of the numerous forfeited estates which the king had to distribute among his friends. If this distribution had been made with anything like judgement, it would have afforded the king a splendid opportunity of Increasing the number of his friends and of quickening and confirming their zeal. But the king and his favourite were untaught by the past ; and to the younger Spenser fell the lion's share of these rich forfeitures ; a partiality which naturally disgusted the true friends of the crown. To the enemies whom Spenser's cupidity thus made even among his own party, other and scarcely less formidable enemies were added in the persons of the relations of the attainted owners of the property he thus grasped at ; and his insolence of demean- our, which fully kept pace with his in- crease in wealth, formed a widely-spread, though as yet concealed, party that was passionately and determinedly bent upon his destruction. A fruitless attempt which Edward now made to recover his lost power in Scotland convinced even him that, in the existing temper of his people, success in that quarter would be unattainable ; and after making an inglorious retreat, he signed a truce for thirteen years. A.D. 1324.— If this truce was seasonable to king Robert Bruce— for king he was, though not formally acknowledged as such by England — it was no less so to Edward ; for, in addition to the discontent that ex- isted among his own subjects, he was just now engaged in a dispute of no small Im- ensIanU.— piantaffptTPtiS. -eirtnarif M. 205 portancp with the kiiiR ot >'rain-e. Charles Ihc l^'aii- foiiiii] in- feipiKil sonic reason to i-oiHplain of llie conam-t of Kilward's nii- iiislers ill (iulcniie, and shoivcd a determi- nation to avenge himself liytlie confiscation of all Edward's foreign territory ; and an crahassy sent by Edward, with his brother the earl of Kent at its head, had failed to pacify the king of France. Edward's (inccn, Isabella, had long learn- ed to hold him in utter contempt ; but on the present occasion she seemed to sym- pathise with his vexation and perplexity, and offered to go personally to the cfiurt of France and endeavour to arrange all mat- ters in dispute. In this voluntary office of mediation Isabella made some progress ; but when all the main points in dispute were disposed of, Charles, unite in accordance with feudal law, demanded that Edward in person should appear in Paris and do homage for his French possessions. Had he alone been concerned, this requisition could not have caused him an hour's delay or a minute's perplexity ; not so, bound up as his inter- ests were with those of Spenser. That in- solent minion well knew that he had given the deepest offence to the pride of Isabel- a ; he well knew her to be both bold and malignant, and he feared that if he ven- tured to attend the king to Paris, Isabella would exert her power there to his destruc- tion ; while, on the other hand, should he remain behind he would be scarcely able to defend himself in the king's absence, while his influence over that weak prince would most probably be won away by some new favcniritc. Isabella, who probably pene- trated the cause that delayed her hus- band's journey, now proposed that, instead of Edward proceeding to France in person, he should send his son young Edward, at that time thirteen years of age, to do ho- mage for Guienne, and resign that domi- nion to him. Both Spenser and the king gladly embraced this expedient ; the young prince was sent over to France ; and Isa- bella, having now obtained the custody of the heir to the crowTi, threw aside all dis- guise, declaring her detestation of Spenser and her determination to have him banish- ed from the presence and influence he had so perniciously abused ; a decKaration which made Isabella very popular in England, where the hatred to Spenser grew deeper and more virulent every day. A great num- lier of the adherents of the unfortunate Lancaster, who had escaped from England when their leader was defeated and put to death, were at this time in France; and as they, equally with the queen, detested Spenser, their services were naturally ten- dered to her. Foremost among them was Roger Mortimer. This young man had been a powerful and wealthy baron in the Welsh marches, but having been condemned for high treason, his life w.as spared on condi- tion of his remaining a prisoner for life in the Tower of London. Aided by friends, he liad been fortunate enough to escape to France, and having in the first instance been introduced to Isabella only in the character of a political partisan, his hand- some person, accomplishments, and wit speedily obtained him a more tender and more criminal favour. Having thus fallen away from her duty to her husband, she was easily induced to include him in the enmity she had hitherto professed to con- fine to his minion. As Isabella henceforth lived in the most unconcealed intimacy with Mortimer, and as their mutual cor- respondence with the most disaflfected barons in England was made known to the king, he became alarmed, and sent a pe- remptory message requiring her not only to return to England, but also to bring the young prince home with her. To this message Isabella as peremptorily replied, that neither she nor her son would ever again set foot in England until Spenser should be deflnitively removed. Edward's situation was now truly terri- ble. At home, secret conspiracies were formed against him ; abroad, a force was rapidly preparing to invade him ; the mi- nion for whom he had encountered so many enmities could do but little to aid him ; and his own wife and child, those near and precious connections upon which he ought to have been able to rely in the worst of circumstances, were at the very head of the aiTay that threatened his crown, if not his person. The king of France entered warmly into the cause of the queen ; and Edward's own brother, the earl of Kent, being induced to believe that the sole intention of Isabella was to procure the banishment of Spenser, joined the queen, as did the earls of Leicester and Norfolk. Nor was the enmity of the cle- rical order wanting to the formidable array against Edward. A.D. 1326.— "With all these elements pre- pared for the destruction of the unhappy Edward, it was clear that nothing was wanted towards the commencement of a civil war but the appearance of the queen at the head of an invading force. This ap- pearance Isabella was very willing to make; but some delay was caused by the decent unwillingness of the king of France to have an expedition, headed by the wife and son, sail from any of his ports against the hus- band and father. Determined in her pur^ pose, Isabella removed this obstacle to its accomplishment, by betrothing young Ed- ward to Philippa, daughter of the count of Holland and Hainault. Having thus allied herself with this prince, Isabella was speedily enabled to collect a force of up- wards of three thousand men; and with this force she sailed from Dort, and landed safely and unopposed upon the coast of Suf- folk. Here she was joined by the earls of Norfolk and Leicester, and the bishops of Ely, Hereford, and Lincoln, w'ho brought to'her aid all their vassals : and Eobert de Watteville, who was sent down to Suffolk at the head of a force to oppose her, actu- ally deserted to her with the whole of his troops. As she progressed her forces were still more increased. The men of substance thought that they ran no risk in siding with the heir to the crown, while the com- mon sort were allured by the general pro- fessions of justice and love of liberty, of T 206 Ci)« CrcaSwrs n£ l^iitors, &c. which Isabella took care to he ahuiidaiitly llhonil 111 lier prorlaniiilloiis. On hcariiiK that his qiifcii had landed and wa.s advancing aKainst hlni In foico, Kdward"* llrst eiidoaviniv wa.s to rai?c Hit- Londoners in his defence ; ri^rhlly judging that If he could do that, he would still have a chance of obtaining reasonable terms. But his attempt met with no success ; his entreaties and menaces alike were listened to In a sullen silence, and he departed to make a similar attempt in the west. The king's departure was the signal for a general insurrection in London. Wealth, it may be easily supposed, was the chief rrime against which the insurgent popu- lace levelled Its rage ; the next heinous crime was that of being passively Iryal to the fugitive monarch. Robbery a«d mur- der were committed wholesale and in the broad light of day ; and among the victims was the" bishop of Exeter. This prelate, who was as remarkable for kindly disposi- tion as for talent and loyalty, was seized as he passed along the street, beheaded, and his body thro^vii into the Thames. The rioters, or rather the rebels, now by a stra- tagem obtained possession of the Tower, and then entered into a formal association and covenant, by which they bound them- selves to put to death all who should dare to oppose the designs and desires of the queen. The advance guard of the treacherous and vindictive Isabella passed through London in pursuit of the king, and con- sisted of a body of mixed English and Hol- landers, the latter commanded by John de Hainault, and the former by the king's own brother the earl of Kent. Arrived at Bristol, the unfortunate king was utterly disappointed of the aid and support he ex- pected to find there; and his furious pur- suers being but a short distance in his rear, he hastily departed for Wales, leaving the elder Spenser, who had been some time before created earl of Winchester, to de- fend Bristol castle, of which he was go- vernor. The faithless garrison mutinied against the earl, who was then nearly ninety years of age, and delivered him into the hands of the queen's partisans, by whom, without even the mockerj- of a trial, he was hanged. Nor did the brutality of his enemies end even here ; he was scarcely dead ere he was taken from the gibbet, and his body cut up and thrown to the dogs ; his head being stuck upon a pole and ex- hibited to the populace. After equally ineffectual attempts to es- cape and to raise sufficient force for his defence in field or fortress, the unfortunate king was discovered among the mountains of Wales, and imprisoned in Keuilworth castle, in the custody of the earl of Leices- ter. The younger Spenser about the same time was taken, and he speedily met with the fearful fate of his father ; a fate which, even in the case of this arrogant minion, whatever his faults or crimes, was illegal and brutally inflicted. The earl of Arundel was also put to death by the dominant party, though the utmost malice could al- lege nothing against him, save that he had maintained his loyalty unshaken and uncorrupled. BaUl'xk, the chancellor, who, as being the mo.--t active as well as the ablest of the king's adviser.s, was especially hated by the populace, and who, moreover, was detested by Isabella, could not so eafely be put to death by the direct tyranny of the barons; for, he being a priest, his death would have been offensive to Rome. But the barons, well knowing the power and temper of the London mob, sent the unhappy man to the bishop of Hereford's palace in London. As had been foreseen, his slender guard was overpowered, and, after he had been bru- tally maltreated by the mob, he was thrown into Kewgate, where he shortly afterwards died of his wounds or of poison. A.D. 1.327.— Having, by this long series of illegal and cruel deeds, given abundant in- timation of the fate that would await those who should dare to oppose her measures, Isabella now summoned a parliament to meet her at Westminster, and a long and formal charge was presented to it against the king. Though the charge was laboured with tl»e utmost ingenuity, and obviously inspired by the utmost malignity, it did not, from beginning to end, contain a single accusation upon which the meanest of his subjects could justly have been pu- nished, however slightly, either in purse or person. The worst that was alleged against him was a most pitiable want of talent ; unless, indeed, we may condescend to no- tice that most strange charge against a sovereign, that he had imprisoned sundry barons and prelates who had been con- victed of treason. A more absurd charge it would have been scarcely possible to frame ; but if such a charge had been pre- sented to that scandalous parliament, the unhappy king would still have been pro- nounced guilty, for they who sat in judg- ment upon him could only confess his in- nocence by confessing their own treason and injustice. At the very commencement of these dis- graceful proceedings, the young prince of Wales had been named as regent ; he was now pronounced to be king iu the room of his father, whose deposition was declared in the same breath. But, as if to show more fully how conscious they were of the injustice and illegality of their conduct, these malignant and servile nobles sent a deputation to Edward, in his dungeon, to demand his resignation after they had pro- nounced him justly deposed. Utterly helpless in the hands of his ene- mies, whose past conduct sufficiently warn- ed him against trusting to their justice or compassion, the unhappy king gave the resignation required ; and Isabella, now wholly triumphant, lived in the most open and shameless adultery with her accom- plice Mortimer. The part which Leicester had taken In this most disgusting revolution had pro- cured him the earldom of Lancaster ; but not even this valued and coveted title could reconcile him, conspirator and traitor though he was, to the odious task of adding personal ill usage to the many miseries 'englaulr.— piatitajiatrW.— eii&jarir M$. 207 iiiulcr whlcli Ills royal captive was already bull'eriiib'. The huiiourablc and gentle treat- ment which Lancaster bestowed upon the king filled the guilty Isabella and her pa- ranimir with fears, lest the earl sliould at | lenwih be moved to some more decisive manifestation of his good feeling ; and the royal prisoner was now taken from Kenll- worth, and committed to the custody of the lords Berkeley, Maltravers, and Gournay, each of whom guarded him an alternate month. The lord Berkeley, like the earl of Lancaster, had too much of true nobility to add to the miseries of his prisoner, but when he passed to the hands of the other two state gaolers, they added personal ill- treatment to his other woes. Kvery thing that could irritate first and then utterly prostrate the spirit of the unhappy king was put in practice ; and when at length they despaired of breaking down his con- stitution with sufQcient rapidity by these indirect means, they broke through all re- straints and put him to death. We shall not describe with the minuteness of some of our historians the barbarous and disgust- ing process by which the ruflian keepers perpetrated their diabolical act. SuHice it to say, that a red-hot iron had been forci- bly introduced into the bowels of the un- happy sufferer ; and though the body exhi- bited no outward marks of violence, the horrid deed was discovered to all the guards and attendants by the screams with which the agonised king filled the castle. It is as well to state here what became of these most detestable and ferocious wretches. The public indignation was so strong against them, that, even before the impudent guilt of Isabella caused her down- fall, their lives were in danger, and when that event at length took place they were obliged to fly the country. Gournay was seized at Guienne and sent to England, but was beheaded on the way,probabIy at the in- stigation of some who feared lest he should divulge their concern in his crime. Mal- travers lived for some years on the con- tinent, and at length, on the strength of some services to his victim's son and suc- cessor, ventured to approach him and sue for pardon, which, to the eternal disgrace of Edward III., was granted. CHAPTER XXVI. The Eeign of Edwaed III. A.D. 1327.— When Isabella and her para- mour had consummated their hideous guilt by the murder of Edward II., the earl of Lancaster was appointed guardian of the person of the young king, and the general governmentof the kingdom was committed to a council of regency, consisting of the primate and the archliishop of Turk, tlie bishops of Worcester. Winchester, and Hereford, the earls of Norfolk, Kent, and Surrey, and the lords Wake, Ingham, Picrcy, and Ross. The first care of the dominant party was to procure a formal parliamentary indem- nity for their violent proceedings ; their next, to remove all stigma from the leaders and head of the Lancastrian party, and to hca])all possible odium and disqualification upon the adherents of Ihe Spensei-s. Disgusted as tlii' peopli- were by the gross misconduct of lsabcU;i, lirr power was as vet too formidable to be opposed, and the first disturbance of the young king's reign came from the Scots. Thrted his judges and other groat otllcers to execute justice, and to put a stop to the open dei'vedations and armed bands of robbers by which tli'- country was now more than ever infested and disgraced, but he personally exerted liimself in that good work, and showed lioth courage and conduct in that important task. A.D. 1.332. — Soon after the completion of the treaty between England and Scotland, as related under the head of the year 1328, the great Robert Bruce died, worn out even more by infirmities and toil than by years ; and his son and lieir, David Bruce, I being as yet a minor, th-e regency was j left to Randolph, earl of Sluri-ay, the con- ! staut sharer of Robert's perils. In this treaty it was agreed, that all Scots who inherited property in England, and all Eng- lishmen who inherited property in Scot- land, should be restored to possession as free and secure as though no war had j taken place between the two countries. ] This part of the treaty had been faithfully j performed by England ; but Robert Bruce and, subsequently, the regent Murray had contrived to refuse the restoration of con- siderable properties in Scotland, either from I actual diflicuUy of wresting them from the I Scottish holders, or from a politic doubt of I the expediency of so far strengthening an ' enemy — which they judged England must always In re.ality be— by admitting so many j Englishmen to wealth and consequent I power in the very heart of the kingdom. Whatever the motive by which Bruce and j MuiTay were actuated in this matter, their I denial or delay of the stipulated restoration I gave great offence to the iium^'rous Eng- 1 lish of high rank who had a personal in- i terest in it. Many who were thus situated : were men of great wealth and influence; and their power became more than ever ' formidable when they were able to com- I mand the alliance of Edward Baliol. He I was the son of that John Baliol who had briefly worn the Scottish crown ; and he, I like his father, settled in France, with the \ determination of leading a private life ra- j tber than risk all comfort for the mere : chanceof grasping a precarious and anxious j power. This resolution, though consonant with the soundest philosophy, was not cal- 1 culated to procure him much worldly csti- I mation ; and his really strong claim to the Scottish royalty procured him so little con- sider.ation in France, that for some in- fraction of the law he was thrown into gaol, as though he liad been the meanest private per.son. In this discovered by lord Beaur li.-iron, who laid claim tU(i-essful. He greatly dis- tressed Toiiniay, indeed, and he suffered no very great advantage even in the way of maiKEUvre to be gained by the French ; but every day brought some new proof that his very allies were at heart hostile to his pur- pose, and only supported him iu their own greediness of gain ; while, on the other hand, supplies arrived so slowly from Eng- land, that he was utterly unable to meet the clamorous demands of his creditors. A long truce, therefore, was very gladly agreed to by him, and he hastily and by absolute stealth returned to England. An- noyed at his want of success, and attribut- ing it chiefly to the slowness with which supplies had reached him, Edward no sooner arrived in England than he began to vent his anger upon his principal officers ; and ho with great impolicy showed especial rage in the case of Stratford, archbishop of Canterbury, upon whom liad devolved the diflicult and not very pleasant task of real- ising the taxes granted by the parliament. It was in vain to urge that the ninth sheaf. Iamb, and fleece, being unusual taxes, were necessarily collected with miusual slowness ; the king was enraged at his own ill-success, and was determined to vent it upon his olBcers ; sir John St. Paul, keep- er of the privy seal, sir John Btouer, chief justice, the mayor of London, and the bi- shops of Chichester and Lichfield, were imprisoned ; and the archbishop of Canter- bury only escaped the like indignity by chancing to be absent from Loudon on Ed- ward's arrival. A.D. 1341.— Archbishop Stratford, who really seems only to have failed in his duty from the novel and difficult nature of it, was not of a temper to quail before the un- just anger even of so powerful and passion- ate a prince as Edward ; and on learning to what lengths the king had gone with the other great officers of state, the archbishop issued a general sentence of excommuni- cation against all who should assail the clergy either in person or property, in- fringe the privileges secured to them by the ecclesiastical canons and by the Great Charter, or accuse a prelate of treason or any other crime to bring him under the king's displeasure. Nor did the bold and somewhat arrogant archbishop stop even here. After having thus generally aimed at the king's conduct, and after having taken care to employ the clergy in painting that conduct in the darkest colours to the people, Stratford personally addressed a letter to the king, in which he asserted the superiority of the clerical to the civil power, reminded him that the priesthood were answerable at the divine tribunal as well for kings as for subjects, and were the spiritual fathers of the former as of the latter, and were therefore manifestly and fully entitled both to direct them to right conduct and to censure them for trans- gressions. This bold and unlimited asser- tion of superiority was in no wise calcu- lated to soothe Edward's irritation, and he marked his sense of Stratford's conduct by sending him no summons to attend the parliament. But the archbishop, attended by a numerous and imposing train of peers spiritual and temporal, presented himself, crosier in hand aud in full pontificals, and demanded admission. For two days the king refused to admit him ; but at length, fearing the conserjueuces of too complete a breach with the ecclesiastical power, he not only permitted him to take his seat in parliament, but also restored him to his fortner high otflce. The maxim of the English parliament seems at that time to have been, that the necessity of the king should be made the advantage of the subject. The close re- •strictioiis which had been laid upon Henry III. and Edward II. were now, as far as was deemed safe, made the basis of the parliament's demands upon Edward III. for concessions to be granted by hini in re- turn for a grant of twenty thousand sacks of wool. Edward was so pressed by his creditors, that he was obliged to comply with the terms, hard as they were ; but as soon as his necessities became somewhat mitigated he revoked all that he deemed offensive, alleging that he was advised to do so by some of his barons, and that in originally making such concessions he had dissembled and had made them with a secret protest. A most dishonest plea in itseif; and one which, it is obvious, would, Lf al- lowed, render all the most solemn public engagements mere deceptions and mock- eries. A.D. 1342.— Dissensions in Brittany led to a state of affairswhich revived Edward's expiring hope of conquering France. Ho accordingly sent a strong fleet and army thither to the aid of the countess of Mount- fort, who was besieged by Charles of Blois. Robert d' Artois, who commanded this force, fought a successful action with the French, and lauded his troops in Brittany. He laid siege to A'aunes and took it, but shortly afterwards died of a wound received at the retaking of that place by a party of Breton nobles of the faction of Charles. Deprived of the services of Ilobert, upou whose ability and valour Edward had great reliance, he now determined to proceed in person to the aid of the countess. Tho truce between England and France had ex- pired, and the war was openly and avowedly to be carried on between these two powers, which for some time had really been break- ing their truce in the character of parti- sans to the respective competitors for the duchy of Brittany. Having lauded near Vaunes with an army of twelve thousand men, Edward, anxious to make some im- portant impression, and greatly over-rating his means of doing so, simultaneously com- ment ed three sieges; of Vannes, of Rennes, and of Mantes. iVs might have been ex- 214 C^e tTrrnjrttri) of ?[?f^tory, &^c. peotcd, but little progress was made by a sniiiUforpo tbus ilivldcd. Even tlio cliicf siege, of Valines, rnndueted by Edward In person, was a failure ; and Edward was at lencth ., Mitred to eonc-eiitrate all liis tmois In that neiLrhhourliood. on arcnunt of llie approach of I'liilip's eldest son, the duke of Normandy, with an army of thirty tlunt- saud foot and four thousand horse. Ed- ward strongly entrenehcd himself ; Imt he soon became so distrcs:sed for provisions, while his antagonists, both of the fortress and the army, were well and fully suppli- ed, that he was glad to enter into a truce for three years, and consent to Vannes n> mainingin the hands of the pope's legates, ■who negotiated the trucc,while all the otiier strongholds of Drittany should remain in the hands of those who then held them. Edward returned to England, and though he had made a truce for the longterm of three years, it is quite clear from his conduct that he merely did so to extricate himself and his followers from actual capture. Ho made complaints of a virtual breach of the treaty by-the puni.shinent of certain Breton nobles who were partisans of England ; and tiie parliament, adoptinghis views, granted him a fifteenth from the counties, and a tenth from the boroughs for two years, to which the clergy added a tenth for three years. Henry, earl of Derby, son of the earl of Lancaster, and cousin of the king, was now sent with a force int o Guienne; and hav- ing beaten off all assailants from that pro- vince, he followed the count of Lisle, the French general, to Bergerac, beat him from his entrenchments, and took the place. lie afterwards subjected a great part of Peri- gord ; and the count of Lisle, having again collected and reinforced his troops, at- tempted to recapture Auberoche, when the earl, at the head of 1,000 horse, surprised him, completely routed his force, and took him prisoner. A.D. 1345.— After this the earl made a most rapid series of conquests on the side of Guienne, partly owing to the general discontent of the French at some new taxes, especially one on salt, which Philip's necessities had compelled him to lay upon his people. A.D. 1346.— As soon as Philip's finances became in better order, vast preparations were made by tlie French to change the aspect of affairs. A very splendid army was led towards Guienne by the dukes of Normandy and Burgundy, and other of the chief nobles of France; and the earl of Derby found his force so inadequate, that he was compelled strictly to confine his movements to the defensive. The French army, therefore, was left full opportunity to lay siege to Angouieme, and they in- vested it so closely, that lord Norwich, the gallant English governor, was reduced to the most painful extremities. Despairing of relief, and unwilling to surrender himself and troops as prisoners, he had recourse to a not very creditable stratagem, which, moreover, was only successful in conse- quence of the rigid honour of the duke of Normandy. Desiring a conference with that noble leader, lord Norwich proposed a cessation of arms for the following day, which, as being the feast of the Virgin, he professed a dislike to desecrating. The cessation of arms being agreed to, lord Norwich marched his troops through the beleaguered city, and, as he wished to pass thront.'li the French lines, sent amessenger to remind the duke of the existing truce. ' T see the governor liaA outwittfd me,' was the noble reply of the duke, who allowed the English to pass without annoyance, and contented himself witli obtaining pos- session of the place. While these and minor transactions were passing in France, Edward had been eu- gaged in England in jirepariiig a splendid expedition with whicli he and his son the prince of Wales, now about fifteen years of age, at length set sail from Southampton. ■The original destination of this expedition, which amounted to nearly a thousand sail, was Guienne : but contrary winds prevail- ing for some time, Edward listened to the advice of Geoffrey d'Harcourt, and resolved to make a descent upon Normandy, the rich fields of which would supply his army, while the very proximity to the capital would render any impression made there of proportionate importance. This determi- nation made Edward speedily disembark at La Hogue, withfourthousand English men- at-arms and ten thousand archers, together with ten thousand Welsh and six thousand Irish infantry, who, if not very important in actual line of battle, were admirably adapted, in quality of foragers and scouts, to be serviceable to their own force and most luischievous to the enemy. Having destroyed the shipping in La Hogue, Cherbourg, and Barfleur, Edward, who on landing liad knighted his son Ed- ward and some of the young nobility, dis- persed his lighter and more disorderly troops all over the country, with orders to plunder and destroy, without other restric- tion than that they should return to their camp by night. The effect of this order was to spread the utmost consternation not only all over the province, but even to Paris itself ; and as Caen seemed most likely to be the next object of Edward's enterprise, the count d'Eu, constable of Frauce, and the count of Taucarville, were despatched with an army to its defence. As had been foreseen, Edward could not resist the temptation to attack so rich a place; and the iidiabitants, encouraged by the presence of regular troops, joined tiiem in advancing against the English. But the zeal of these civilians gave way at the very first shock of battle ; the troops were swept away along with them, both the coiuits were taken prisoners, and the conquering troops entered and plundered tlie city with every circumstance of rage and violence. The unhappy people sought to procrastinate their doom by barricading their houses and assailing the English with missiles from the windows and house-tops, and the soldiers, enraged at this more in- sulting than injurious opposition, set fire to two or three houses in various parts of the town. But Edward, alarmed lest the spoil should thus be lost, stopped the vio- e^nslanir.— PantijBcnrtJi.— ClFifiDarlf 3HE3E. 215 Ifiice iif l[is troops, ami, having made tlie inhabitants give up tlioir vain resistance, allowed Ins soldiers to plunder the place in an orderly and deliherate way for tliree days, reserving to himself all jewels, plate, silk, and line linen and woollen cloths. These, together with three hundred of the most considerable citizens of Caen, he sent over to England. Edward now marched towards Rouen, where he expected to have a similar pro- fitable triumph ; but finding the bridge over the Seine broken down, and the king of France in person awaiting him with an army, he marched towards Faris, plunder- ing and committing the most wanton de- struction on the road. He had intejided to pass the Seine at Poissy, but found the opposite bank of the river lined with the French troops, and that and all the neighbouring bridges broken down. By a skilful manoeuvre he drew the French from Poissy.returncd thither,rcpaired the bridge with wonderful rapidity, passed over with his whole anny, and having thus disen- gaged himself from danger, set out by hasty marches for Flanders. His van- guard cut to pieces the citizens of Amiens, wlio attempted to arrest their march ; but when the English reached the Somme they found themselves as ill situated as ever, all the bridges being either broken down or closely guarded. Guided by a peasant, ' Edward found a ford at Abbeville, led liis army over sword in hand, and put to flight the opposing French under Godeniar de Faye ; the main body of the French, under their king, being only prevented from fol- lowing Edward across the ford by the rising of the tide. After this narrow escape, Edward, un- willing to expo.se himself to the enemy's superior cavalry force in the open plains of Picartly, halted upon a gentle ascent near the village of Crescy, in a position very fa- vourable for his awaiting the approach of the French. Having disposed his army in three lines, he entrenched his flanks, and there being a wood in his rear, in that he lilaced his baggage. His flrst and second lines he committed to the young prince of Wales, with the earls of Warwick, Oxford, Arundel, and Northampton, and the lords Chandiis, Holland, Willoughby, Roos, and other eminent leaders ; while the third line, under his own immediate command, he kept back as a corps de reserve, either to support the former two if beaten back, or to improve any impression that they might make upon the enemy. In addition to the care with which Ed- ward had secured his flanks and rear, he placed in his front some cannon, then only newly invented and never before used to any extent in actual battle. His opponent, thipugh he also possessed cannon, had, it should seem, left them behind in his hasty and furious march from Abbeville. Philip's army amounted to upwards of a liundred and twenty thousand men ; but the superiority of tlie English archers, and the inefflciency of the Ijow-strings of the arcliers on the French side, from their not having been secured against rain. caused the very first charge to be Injuri- ous to this vast and tumultuous host. Young Edward no sooner perceived the confusion that took place in the crowded ranks of his enemy, than ho led his line steadily into the melee, and so furious was the combat, that the earl of Warwick, alarmed lest the gallant young prince should be overpowered, sent to the king, who surveyed the battle from a neighbour- ing hill, and ctitreated him to send a rein- forcement. Leai-ning that the prince was not wounded, the king said in reply to Warwick's message, ' llcturn to my son, and tell him thatlreservethchonour of the dny to him ; I am confident that he will show himself worthy of the honour of knighthood which I so lately conferred upon him. He will be able to repel the enemy without my assistance.' The king of France, far from inactive, did his utmost to sustain, the flrst line by that which was under his own command. But the first disadvantage could not be remedied, and the slaughter momentarily became greater. Pliilip had already had one horse killed under him, and, being re- mounted, was again rushing into the tliick- est of the fight, wlieu John of Hainault seized the bridle and literally dragged him from the field. Thebattlewas now changed into a complete rout, and the vanquished French were pursued and slaughtered until nightfall. When the king received his gallant son, he rushed into his arms, ex- cl.'iiniing, ' My brave son, persevere in your honourable course. You are my son indeed, for valiantly liave you acquitted yourself to-day. You have shown yourself worthy of empire.' The loss to the French on this most fatal occasion amounted to 1,200 knights, 1,400 gentlemen, 4,000 men-at-arms, and about 30,000 men of inferior rank. Among the slain, of superior rank, were the dukes of Lorraine and Bourbon, the earls of Flan- ders, Blois, and Vandeniont, and the kings of Majorca and Bohcmi.a. The latter king, though very old and quite blind, would not be dissuaded from -taking a personal part in the battle, but had his bridle fastened to those of two attendants, and was thus, by his own order, or at least by his own act, led to perish in the thickest of the fight. His crest and motto were a triple ostrich plume and the words Ich dien, I serve, which were adojited by the prince of Wales, in memory of this most decisive battle. Of this battle we may remark as of a former one, that it seems to have been rather a chase murderously followed up : for while the French lost so awful a number of all ranks, the English lost only three knights, one esquire, and a few common soldiers. Great as Edward's victory was, he clearly perceived that for the present many cir- cumstances warned him to limit his ambi- tion to capturing some place that would at all times aitord him a ready entrance into France; and accordingly, after employing a few days in burying the dead and restingfiis army, he presented himself before Calais. 216 HHJfit JarreaSttrjj of W^tat^, Sit. John de Vienne, kniiirht of Burgundy, comniandcd this Important garrison ; an h.mour which he owed to his very higli reputation and experience. He was well supplied with means of defence ; and Ed- ward at the verj- outset determined not to attempt assault, but to starve this import- ant garrison into submission. lie accord- ingly entrenched the whole city and formed his camp, causing bis soldiers to raise thatched huts for their protection from the severity of the weather during the winter. De Vienne, judging what was Ed- ward's design, sent all the superfluous hands out of the city, and, to the hf ihe pioudist and most envied rewards of nniiMiit uiriit. A.D. 1349. —This j.:ir lU-nvcs especial remark from the awiul pcsUlence which, arising in the East, swept with fierce and destroying power through England, as through all the rest of Europe, carrying off on an average a full third of. the popu- lati(m of every country in which it made its terril)le appearance. A.D. 1350. — The miseries Inflicted by the pestilence upon both France and England tended to prolong the cessation of arms between them ; but Charles king of Na- varre, surnamed, very appropriately, the Bad, caused much bloodshed and disturb- ance in France ; and Edward, at length wearied with peace, allied himself with the French malcontents, and sent an army un- der the heroic prince of Wales— who was now generally known by the title of the Black Prince,irom the colour of his armour — to make an incursion on the side of Guienne, while he himself broke in on the side of Calais. Each of these incursions was productive of great loss to .the French, and of nume- rous prisoners and much spoil to the Eng- lish, hut led to no general or decisive en- gagement ; and before any such could be brought on, Edward was called over to England to prepare for a threatened inva- sion by the Scots, who had surprised Ber- wick, and had gathered an army there ready to fall upon the north of England. But at Edward's approach they retired to the mountains, and he marched without en- countering an enemy from Berwick to Edinburgh, plundering and burning at e\ery step. Baliol attended Edward on this occasion, and was either so disgusted with the ruin which he saw inflicted, or so utterly hopeless of ever establishing him- self upon the Scottish throne, that he made a flnal and formal resignation of his pre- tensions, in exchange for a pension of two thousand pounds. A.D. 1356.— The prince of "Wales in the meantime had penetrated into the very heart of France and committed incredible havoc. Having only an army of 12,000 men, most of whom were foreign mercena- ries, he was anxious to march into Nor- mandy, and form a junction with the king of Navarre and the English force that was assisting that monarch, under the com- mand of the earl of Lancaster; but evciy bridge being broken down and every pass guarded, he next directed his march to- wards Guieniie. John, king of France, who had succeeded Philip of Valois, though a mild and just prince, was a very brave man ; and, being enraged at the destruction . wrought by the young prince, he got toge- ther an army of nearly 60,000 men, with which he overtook the Black Prince at Maupertuis, near Poictiers; and the prince having done all that could he done to pre- vent himself from being compelled toflght at a disadvantage, now exerted himself no less to avoid defeat even while so fight- ing. With so great a superiority of force, the French king, by merely surrounding the English, iiiiglit without any risk hav6 starved tliriii into submission ; but both JoliTi and his iii'inci|i.'il nobles were so eager to close with and utterly destroy so daring and mischievous an enemy, that they over- looked all the cooler suggestions of pru- dence. Even this hot haste would perhaps have proved fatal to the English ; but, fortunately for them, though John had not patience to surround his enemy aud starve him into submission, he did allow his imiietuosity to be just sufficiently check- ed to afford that enemy time to make the very best of his situation, bad as it really wag. The French had already drawn up in or- der of battle, and were preparing for that furious aud instant onset which, next to patient hemming in of the English, would have been their most certain means of suc- cess, wheu king John suffered himself to be delayed to enable the cardinal of Peri- gord to endeavour to bring the English to terms without farther bloodshed. The hu- mane endeavour of the cardinal was not ill received by the Black Prince, who was fully sensible of the disadvantageous position which he occupied, and who frankly con- fessed his willingness to make any terras not inconsistent with honour ; and offered to purchase an unassailed retreat by, 1st, the cession of all the conquests he had made during this and the preceding cam- paigns ; and 2ndly, pledging himself not to serve against France for seven years from that date. Happy would it have been for John had he been contented with these proffered advantages. But he imagined that the fate of the English was now abso- lutely at his disposal, and he demanded the surrender of Calais, together witli prince Edward and a hundred of his knights as prisoners ; terms which Edward indignant- ly refused. By the time that the negotiation was thus terminated the day was too far spent to allow of the commencement of action, and Edward thus gained the inestimable advantage of having the whole night at his disposal to strengthen his post and alter the dispositionof hisforces. Besides great- ly adding to the extent and strength of his entrenchments, he caused the captal de Buche, with three hundred archers and the like number of men-at-arms, to make a cer- cuit and lie in ambusli ready to seize the fli-st favourable opportunity of falling sud- denly on the flank or rear of the enemy. The main body of his troops the prince had under his own command ; the van he in- trusted to the earl of Warwick : the rear U 218 Wf)t €vttii\xrp of ^ttftorji, &-c. to the carls of Salislniry aiid Suffolk; and even the chief suhdivislons were headed, for the most imrt, hy warriors of scarcely Inferior fame and experience. The klnK of France also drew out his army in tlirce divisions ; the )lr.-t uf which was conmmnded by hisbrotlur llic duko of Orleans, the second liy tlie daniviiiii and two of jolin's younger sons, and the third by John himself, who was accompanied by his fourth son, Philip, then only fourteen years old. The comparativcwealmess of the English arm.v was cnmiiensated by its position, which only allowed of the enemy approach- ing it along a narrow lane Hanked by thick hedges. A strong advanced guard of the French, led by the marshals Clermont and Andreheu, commenced the engagement by marching along this lane to open a passage for the main army. This detachment was dreadfully galled and thinned by the En- glish archers, who from behind the hedges poured in their deadly arrows without be- ing exposed to the risk of retaliation. But, in spite of the terrible slaughter, this gal- lant advance guard pushed steadily for- ward, and the survivors arrived at the end of the lane and bravely charged upon a strong body of the English which awaited them under the command of the prince in person. But the contest was short as it was furious ; the head of this brave and devoted column was crushed even before its rear could fairly emerge from the lane. Of the two marshals, one was taken prisoner and the other slain on the spot, and the rear of the beaten column retreated in disorder upon its own army, galled at every step by the ambushed archers. At the very instant thfit the hurried return of their beaten friends threw the French army into confu- sion, the captal de Buche and his detach- ment made a well-timed and desperate charge upon the French flank, so close to the dauphin, that the nobles who had the charge of that young prince became alarmed for his safety, and hurried him from the field. The flight of the dauphin and his imme- diate attendants was the signal for that of the whole division ; the duke of Orleans and his division followed the example ; and the vigilant and gallant lord Chandos, seizing upon the important instant, called to prince Edward to charge with all his chivalrj' upon the only remaining divi- sion of the French, that which was under the immediate command of John himself. Feeling that all depended upon this one effort, John fought nobly. The three ge- nerals who comfnanded the German aux- iliaries of his army fell within sight of him ; young Philip, whose sword was wielded with ahero's spirit in defence of his father, was wounded ; and the king himself was several times only saved from death by the desire of his immediate assailants to make him prisoner ; still lie shouted the war- cry and brandished his Wade as bravely as though his cause had been surely triumph- ant. Even when he was sinking with fa- tigue he demanded that the prince in person should receive his sword ; but at length, oversvhelmed by numbers, and be- ing informed that the prince was too far off to be brought to the spot, hs threw down his gauntlet, and he and his gallant boy were taken prisoners by Sir Dennis de Morbec, a knight of Arras, who had fled from his country on being charged with murder. The gallant spirit which John had dis- played ought to have protected him from further ill treatment; but some English sol- diers rescued him from de Slorbec, in hope of getting rewarded as his actual captors ; and some Gascons, actuated by the same mo- tives, endeavoured to wrest him from the English. So high, indeed, ran the dispute, that some on both sides loudly threatened rather to slay him than to part with him living to their opponents, when, fortunate- ly, the earl of Warwick, despatched by the prince of Wales, arrived upon the spot and conducted him in safety to the royal tent. Prince Edward's courage and conduct in the field were not more creditable to him than the striking yet perfectly unaffected humanity with which he now treated his- vanquished enemy. He received him at his tent, and conducted him as an inferior waiting upon a superior ; earnestly and truly ascribed his victory less to skill than the fortune of war, and waited behind the royal prisoner's chair during the banquet with which he was served. The example of the prince was followed by his army ; all the prisoners were released, and at such moderate ransoms as did not press upon them individually, though their great num- ber made the English soldiers wealthy. Edward now made a truce with the French for two years, and conducted John to London, treating him not as a captive but as a monarch ; taking care to appear, alike as to horse and attire, as a person of inferior station. King Edward showed his approval of his son's modest and delicate conduct by close- ly imitating it ; advancing to Southwark to meet John on his landing there, and in every sense treating him not as a captive, hut as a monarch and a voluntary visitor. Edward had now two kings his prisoners in London. But the continued captivity of David Bruce had proved less injurious to Scotland than Edward had anticipated, the powers of that country being ably and indefatigably directed by David's heir and nephew, Robert Stuart. Edward there- fore restored David to liberty at a ransom of 100,000 marks, for the payment of which the sons of his principal nobles became hostages. A.D. 1.358.— Though the very virtues of John, king of Prance, were calculated to encourage disobedience to him in so tur- hulent and ill-regulated an age, and in a country so often brutalised as France was by being made the theatre of war, yet his absence was early and visibly productive of injury and disturbance to his kingdom. If his goodness had Ijeen sometimes im- posed upon and his kindness still more fre- quently presumed upon, yet, as it was well known that he had both wisdom and cou- rage, his presence had kept the ill-disposed within certain bounds. The dauphin, upon ©ngTantr.— piantascncW.— CFlitBarir 3HE5. 219 wlioui the difficult taslc now lay of ruling during tlie imiirisoninent of his father, was brave and of good capacity ; but he had one fatal defei-t, in itself sufflcieut to incapaci- tate him for fully supplying his father's place : he was only eighteen years of age. How far that circumstance weakened his authority appeared on the very first occa- sion of his assembling the states. Though his father was now made captive in dil'cud- ing the kingdom, the youns drni|iliiii no sooner demanded the supplies wliii-li his father's captivity and the situation of the kingdom rendered so necessary, than he was met not by a generous vote of sympa- thy, confidence, and assistance, but by a harsh and eager demand for limitation of the royal authority, for redress of certain alleged grievances, and for the liberation of the king of Navarre, who had been so mis- chievous to France even while John was at liberty to oppose him, and whose liberation now might rationally be expected to be productive of the very worst consequences. This ungenerous conduct of the states did not lack imitators. Marcel, provost of the merchants, the first and most influential magistrate of Paris, instead of using the weight of his authority to aid the dauphin, actually constituted himself the ringleader of the rabble, and encouraged them in the most insolent and unla\vful conduct. The dauphin, thus situated, found that he was less the ruler than the prisoner of these ungrateful men, who carried their brutal disrespect so far as to murder in his pre- sence the marshals de Clermont and de Conflans. As usual, the indulgence of ill dispositions increased their strength; all the other friends and ministers of the dau- phin were threatened with the fate of the murdered marshals, and he at length seized an opportimity to escape. The frantic de- magogues of Paris now openly levied war against the dauphin, and it is scarcely ne- cessary to add that their example was speedily followed by every large town in the kingdom. Those of the nobles who deemed it time to exert themselves In sup- port of the royal authority were taunted with their flight from the battle of Mauper- tuis, or, as it is more generally termed, of Poictiers ; the king of Navarre was liberated from prison by aid of the disaffected, and the whole kingdom was the prey of the most horrible disoi-ders. The dauphin, rather by his judgement than by his military talents, reduced the country at length to something like order. Edward, in the meantime, had practised so Buccessfully, and, we may add, so ungene- rously, upon the captive John, as to Induce him to sign a treaty which was so mani- festly and unfairly injurious to France, that the dauphin refused to be bound by It. CA.D. 1359-60.] — "War consequently was re- commenced by Edward ; but though the English armies traversed Prance from end to end, and committed the most disgraceful ravages, Edward's success was so dispro- portionate, and his advantages constantly proved so fleeting, that even the duke of Lancaster, his own near relative and zea- lous as well as able general, remonstrated with him upon his absm-d oljstiuacy in in- sisting upon terms so extreme, that they were calculated rather to induce despera- tion than to incline to submission. These remonstrances, backed as they were by the whole circumstances of the case, at length led Edward to incline to more reasonable terms. By way of salvo to his dignity, or pride, he professed to have made a vow during an awful tempest which threatened the destruction of his army, and in obedience to this his alleged vow, he now concluded peace on the follow- ing footing ; viz. that king John should be restored to liberty at a ransom of three millions of golden crowns ; that Edward should for himself and his successors re- nounce all claim to the crown of France, and to his ancestral provinces Anjou, Tou- raine, Maine and Normandy; and should, in exchange, receive other specified dis- tricts In that direction.with Calais, Guienne, Montreuil and Ponthleu, on the other side of France, in full and independent sove- reignty ; together with sundry other stipu- . latlons. John was accordingly restored to liberty ; and as he had been personally well treated In England, and, besides, was at all times greatly inclined to sincerity, he seems to have exerted himself to the utmost to cause the treaty to be duly fulfilled. But the people In the neighbourhood of Guienne were obstinately bent against living under the English dominion ; and some other dif- ficulties arose which Induced John to re- turn to England in the hope of adjusting matters, when he sickened and died, A.D. 1363. A.D. 1364.— Charles the dauphin, who suc- ceeded to the throne of France, devoted his fli-st efforts to settling all disturbances in his own realm, and ridding it of the nume- rous /j-ee companions, who, soldiers in time of war and robbers in time of peace, were a very principal cause of all the disorder that reigned ; and he was prudent enough to cause them to flock to that Spanish war lu which the Black Prince most impru- dently took part: Having got rid of this dangerous set of men, and having with secret gladness be- held the Black Prince ruining himself alike in health and fortune in the same war which drafted so many desperate ruflians from France, Charles, in the very face of his father's treaty, assumed a feudal power to which he had no just claim. Edward recommenced war; but though France once more was extensively ravaged, a truce was at length agreed upon, when the varied events of war, consisting rather of the skirmishes of freebooters than of the great strife of armies, had left Edward scarce a foot of ground in France, save Calais, Bour- deaux, and Bayonne. A.D. 1376. — Edward the Blatk Prince, feeble lu health, had for some time past been visibly hastening to the grave. His warlike prowess and his unsullied virtue — unsullied save by that warlike fury which all mankind are prone to rate as virtue — made his condition the source of a very deep and universal Interest in England, which was greatly heightened by the un- 220 (!rt)e CreaSuru of HiiStorp, &c. IHipiilarity of tho duke of Laiicastui', wlm, il was feared, would take advantage of the minority of Uirhard, son and heir of the Black I'rinee, to usurp the throne. This general interest grew daily more deep and painful; and the Black Prince, amid the sorrow of the wliole nation, expired on the SIh of June, in the very prime of man- hood, aged only forty-six. The king, who was visiljly affected by the loss of his son, lived only a twelvemonth longer, dying on the 2Ut of June, 1.377, in the 51st year of his reign, and in the 65th of his age. The sense of power is usually more in- Suential on men's judgement than the sense of right ; and though his wars both with .Scotland and France chiefly originated in tyrannous self-will, the splendour of his warlike talents and the vigour of his cha- racter made him beloved and admired by his people during his life, and still make the English historian love to linger over his reign. His very injustice to foreign people, kept sedition and its fearful evils afar from his own subjects ; and if he was himself too burthensome in the way of ta.xation, he at least kept a firm hand over his nobles, and did much towards advanc- ing and establishing the right of tlie peo- ple at large to be unmolested in their pri- vate life, and to have their interests con- sidered, and their reasonable demands at- tended to. It has, indeed, been generally admitted that he was one of the best aud most illustrious kings that ever sat on the English throne, and that his faults were greatly outweighed by his heroic vir- tues and amiable qualities. On the whole, the reign of Edward III., as it was one of the longest, so was It also one of the brightest in our history. CHAPTER XXVII. Tlie Reign of Richard II. A.D. 1377. — Edward III. was succeeded by Richard II., son of the Black Prince. The new king was but little more than eleven years old ; but he had three uncles, the dukes of Lancaster, York, and Glouces- ter, whose authority, aided by the habits of obedience which the firm rule of the late king had established, seemed to promise at the least an undisturbed minority. The very commencement of this reign proved how much Edward III. had raised the views and added to the importance of the commons in parliament, the deliberative business of which had now so much increas- ed, that they found it necessary to choose a speaker, both to be their organ of commu- nication, and to keep due order and gravity in their debates. The choice, however, showed but little gratitude to the late king, for it fell upon Peter de la Mare, a man who had distinguished himself by opposition to the late king's ministers, and had been imprisoned for a violent attack on Alice Pierce [or Ferrers], who, as the king's mis- tress, had become so unpopular In con- sequence of the influence she was sup- posed to have upon his measures, that he was obliged to part with her to appease the popular clamour. I Though the choice of this person for I speaker did not indicate any intention on j the part of the commoiis towards too sub- missive a conduct, they did not imme- diately show any desire unduly to interfere ! ill the government, but coudned themselves I to i>etilioning the lords that a couiiimI of nine.coTuposed of trustworthy and virtuous men, should be apiiointed to conduct tlie public business and to superintend the life and education of the young king during his minority. The former part of the peti- tion was answered by the appointuient of the bishops of London, Carlisle, and Salis- bury, the earls of JIarch and Stafford, and sirs Richard de Stafford, Henry le Scrope, John Devereux, aud Hugh Segrave, who were empowered to conduct the public business for one year. With respect to the latter portion of the petition, the lords declined interfering with it ; reasonably thinking that to interfere in the young prince's private life and education, unless his royal uncles proved careless or inimi- cal, would be neither delicate nor just. Of the three tmcles, the duke of Lancas- ter was certainly by far the ablest, and probably not the least ambitions'; and though there was no one to whom any authority was ostensibly or formally given to control the council, Lancaster seems to have been the actual regent, who for some years not only controlled, but, by his irre- sistible though secret influence, even ap- pointed the council. As is usual with popular and large as- semblies, the commons, on finding their interference complied with instead of its being resented, became anxious and some- what impatient to push it still farther. Scarcely had the major part aud the most important part of their flrst petition been acted upon, when they presented another, in which they prayed the king and his coun- cil to take measures to prevent the barons from confederating together to uphold each other and their followers in violent and unlawful deeds. A civil answer was given to this petition ; but though the an- swer was couched In those general terms which really bind the parties using them to uo particular course, it speedily called forth another petition of a far more ambitious nature, and calculated to add at one step most prodigiously to the Influence of the commons, who now prayed that.during the minority of the kiug all the great officers should be appointed by parliament— clearly meaning that the mere appointment by the lords should thenceforth be of no validity, unless it were confirmed by the commons. This petition did not meet with so favour- able a reception ; the lords still retained to themselves the power of appointing to the great olBces of state, and the commons took part in the appointments only by tacit acquiescence. Previous to this parliament being dis- solved the commons gave another proof of their consciousness of their own growing importance, by representing the necessity as well as propriety of their being annually assembled, and by appointing two of their number to receive and disburse two flf- enfllanif.-^rautaQpncW.— asitljarlf M. 221 teeutlis and two tentlis which had lieeii voted to the king. A.D. 1381— Though the war with Franca hrolce forth from time to time, in spite of the prudent conduct of Charles, who most justly was called the Wise, the military operations were not such as to demand detail. But if unproductive of glory or territory, the war was not the less destruc- tive of treasure ; and on the parliament meeting in 1380, it was found requisite, in order to provide for the pressing and in- dispensable necessities of the government, to impose a poll-tax of three groats upon every person, male and female, who was more than fifteen years of age. There was no foreign country with which England had so close and continuous an in- tercourse as with Flanders, which greatly depended on England for its supply of the wool necessary for its manufactures. The spirit of independence that had arisen among the Flemish peasants, as exempli- fied in the brutalities which they had com- mitted upon their natural and lawful rulers, and the servility with which they had sub- mitted to the utmost tyranny at the hands of a brewer, now began to communicate Itself to the lower order in England. Then, as in far more modern times, there were demagogues who sought to recommend themselves to the credulous people, and to prey upon them by the loud inculcation of an equality among mankind, which no man not decidedly inferior to all the rest of his race in the quality of intelligence, can fail to see is but partially true in the abstract, and wholly false by force of circumstances which are at once inevitable and perfectly indepenilent of the form of government and even of the good or bad administration of the laws. Among the demagogues who just at this period raised their voices to deceive and plunder the multitude, was one John Ball, a degraded priest, but a man by no means destitute of ability. To such a man the imposition of a tax wliieh was both excessive and cruel in the then state of labour and its wages, was a perfect god- send ; and the opportunity it afforded him of giving vent to exciting and plausible de- clamation, was not diminished by the bitter and impolitic mockery of a recommenda- tion from the council, that when this new poll-tax should be foimd to press too se- verely on the poor, the wealthy should re- lieve them by increasing their own con- tribution. It is not easy to imagine any circum- stanoes under which so excessive a demand upon a suffering population coidd have failed to cause discontent and sedition ; but when to the excess of the tax the excited temper of the people and the activity of their deluders, the demagogues, was added an insolent brutality on the part of the collectors, there could be little doubt of the occurrence of great and extended mis- chief. The tax in question was farmed out to the tax-gatherers of the various districts, who thus had a personal interest in the performance of their invidious duty, which was certainly not likely to make them less urgent or less insolent. Everywhere thu' tax raised complaints both loud and deep, and every poor man was anxious to avail himself of any possible misrepresentation as to the age of the children for whom he was charged. The blacksmith of a village in Essex having paid for the rest of his fa- mily, refused to do so for a daughter whom, wliether truly or falsely does not appear, he stoutly averred to be under the pre- scribed age; and the tax-gatherer, a low brutal fellow, offered a violent indecency to the girl in proof of his right to the demand. The father, poor, irritated at the loss of the money he had already paid, and doubly in- dignant at the outrage tlius offered to his cliild, raised the ponderous hammer he had just been using in his business, and dashed the ruffian's brains out on the spot. Un- der a state of less violent excitement the by- standers would probably have been shocked at the smith's fatal violence; but, as it was, the murder acted like a talisman upon the hitherto suppressed rage of the people, and in a few hours a vast multitude, armed with every description of rude weapon, was gathered together, with the avowed in- tention of taking vengeance on their ty- rants and of putting an end to their ty- ranny. Prom Essex the flame spread to all the adjoining counties ; and so sudden and so rapid was the gathering, that before the astounded government could even de- termine on what course to follow, upwards of a hundred thousand desperate men had assembled on Blackheath, under the com- mand of Wat Tyler, the blacksmith, and several other ringleaders who bore the as- sumed names of Hob Carter, Jack Straw, and the like. The king's mother, the widow of the heroic Black Prince, in returning from a pilgrimage to Canterbury, had to pass through this desperate and dissolute multitude ; and such was their indiscrimi- nate rage, that she, to whom tlicy owed so much respect, wns taken from her vehicle, insulted with tlic familiar salutes of drunk- en clowns, and her attendants were ti'eated with equal insult and still greater vio- lence. At length, probably at the inter- cession of some of the least debased of the leaders, she was allowed to proceed on her journey. The king in the meantime had been con- ducted for safety to the Tower of London, and the rebels now sent to demand a con- ference with him. He sailed down the river in a barge to comply with their re- quest, but as he approached the shore the mob showed such evident inclination to brute violence, that he was compelled to return to the fortress. In London the disorder was by this time at its height. The low rabble of the city, always in that age ripe for mischief, had joined the rioters from the country ; ware- houses and private houses were broken open, and not merely pillaged, but the con- tents burned or otherwise destroyed whtn they could not be carried away ; and the Savoy palace, the property of the duke of Lancaster, which had so long been the abode of the king of France, was in wanton mischief completely reduced to ashes. As- u2 222 E^e CvfajsJiiru of f^tiStDru, &c. criliiiig tlieir sufferings to tlio richer and biMtiT instnu-leil i-lassos, llic mob not moroly maltrontod, Imt in very many cases even nninliTcil.sucli.c-ontloinen as weroun- fortunnie iiioiis'li to fall Into their hands; and lawyers, esiiccially, were treated with- out mercy. The kiiiK at Icnprlh left the Tower and proceeded to a field near Jfile End, where one of the main bodies of the rioters had assembled. They surrounded liim with pe- remptory demands for a Keueral pardon for all concerned in the insurrection, the in- stant abolition of all villcinaprc, and of tolls and imposts in all markets, topether with a fixed money rent of Innd-holdlngs instead of personal service. The t'overnment was as yet in no condition to proceed to forcible measures ; and, consequently, charters to the above were hastily drawn out and de- livered, and this body of rioters was thus sent peaceably away. But the danger was as yet only partially past. A larger body of the rebels, headed by Wat Tyler and other leading insur- rectionists, had in the meantime broken into the Tower and put to death Simon Sud- bury, chancellor and archbishop of Canter- bury, and sir Robert Hales the treasurer, with some othe-r persons of high rank, though of less note ; and were passing through Smithfleld just as the king and his attendants entered that place. The king, with a spirit and temper far beyond his years, for he was now only sixteen, entered into conference with Wat Tyler, who had previously left his band with an order to rush forward at a given signal, murder the whole of the royal retinue, and make the young monarch their prisoner. Flushed with his brutal and hitherto un- checlced triumph, Wat Tyler njade such menacing gestures as he spoke to the king, that William Walworth, the then mayor of London, was so provoked ojit of all sense of the danger, that he struck the ruffian to the ground, and he was speedily despatched. A fierce yell from the rebels proclaimed their rage at the loss of their leader ; but before they could rush upon the royal party, young Richard rode steadily up to them, and in that calm tone of high confi- dence and command which has so great an influence over even the most violent men, exclaimed, ' My good people I What means this disorder? Are ye angry that ye have lost your leader? lam your king 1 Follow me 1 I myself will be my people's leader I ' Without giving them time to recover from the surprise his coolness and the majesty of his air and appearance had caused them, the king led the way into the neighbouring fields, where he was joined by an armed force under sir Robert Knolles. Caution- ing sir Robert and his other friends to allow nothing short of the most vital necessity to urge them into violence, the king, after a short conference, dismissed this band as peaceably and as well satisfied as he had the former one at Mile End, and by means of giving them similar charters. While the king had thus skilftilly been temporising, the nobility and gentry in all parts of the country had been actively assembling and arming their retainers : in a few days liichard was able to take the Held at the head of -10,000 men ; the rioters dared no longer to appear openly and in force ; and the charters, which, reasonable as they now seem, were not merely unlit for the state of the country at that time, but actually impracticable of execution, were fornjally rev(pkcil, nut only upon that ground, but also as having been extorted while the king was under constraint of men who had banded together to murder all the higher ranks and bring about a sanguinary and sweeping revolution. It is scarcely possible to imagine a sovereign so young giving more clear proof of courage and ability than Richard did on this sad oc- casion ; but his later years by no means ful- filled the bright promise thus given by his boyhood. A.D. 1385.— Scarcely was peace restored after this alarming revolt, when the atti- tude of the Scots rendered it absolutely necessary to chastise and check them. Ac- cordingly the king with a numerous array entered Scotland by Berwick. But the Scots, who had a strong auxiliary body of French cavalrj-, had already secured all their movable property in the mountains, and, leaving their houses to be burned, they entered England, dispersed them- selves in huge marauding parties through- out Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lan- cashire, and returned laden with booty, without having met any show of resist- ance. The English army under Richard had in the meantime raarclied unopposed to Edin- burgh, burning all the to\vns and villages on their way. Perth, Dundee, and a vast number of other places in the Lowlands, were treated in thesanie manner. Bittwheu news reached the army of the successful inroad of the Scots upon the northern counties of England, tlie true nature of Richard, his frivolity, and his determined preference of pleasttre to action, only too clearly appeared ; for he positively refused to make any attempt at cutting oft the re- treat of the spoil-laden enemy, and imme- diately led his army home. A.D. 1386.— The French had aided the Scots chiefly, if not solely, with a view to annoy the English. And Flanders being now at peace with France, a large fleet and army assembled in the Flemish port of Sluys for the invasion of England. The fleet actually sailed, but was scarcely out of port when it encountered a terrible storm, which dispersed it and destroyed many of the largest ships. The English men-of-war attacked and took the re- mainder, and thus, for the present at least, this new danger was averted. But though this expedition had thus completely failed, it turned the attention of the nation, as well as the king and coun- cil, towards those circumstances which made it only too certain that a similar at- tempt would be made at no great distance of time. The disturbances which had so recently agitated England from one end to the other could not fail to act as an invita- tion to foreign enemies; and, to make the e^ustantr.— iBIantag^ncW.— aairijarif M. 223 matter still worse, the best of the Eiiy lish soldiery, to a very great number, wore at this lime in Spain, supporting the duke of L:incaster in the claim he had long laid to the ci'own of Oastile. Perhaps the alarm which called attention to these circum- stances mainly served to avert the danger; at all events, it speedily appeared that the peace of England was in greater peril from Englishmen than from foreigners. We have already had occasion, under the reign of Edward II., to point out the pi'o- pensity of weak-minded princes to the adop- tion of favourites, to whose interests they delight in sacrificing all other considera- tions, including their own dignity and even their own personal safety. Richard, wlio had shown so much frivolity in his Scotch expedition, now gave a new proof of his weakness of mind by adopting a suc- cessor to the Spensers and the Gavestons of an earlier day. Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, of noble birth, agreeable manners, and great accom- plishments, but extremely dissolute and no less vain and ambitious, made his company so agreeable to Ricliard, that the young monarch seemed scarcely able to exist but in his presence. In proof of his attach- ment to him, the king made him m.arquis of Dublin— the title being then first used in England— created him by patent vice- king of Ireland for life, and evinced his pre- ference for him by various other marks of royal favour. As is uniformly the case with such fa- vouritism, the favourite's rapacity and in- solence kept full pace with the king's folly ; the marquis of Dublin became the virtual king; all favours were obtainable through his interest, justice itself scarcely obtain- able without it ; and the marquis and his satellites became at once the plague and the detestation of the whole nobilit.v, but more especially of the king's uncles, who saw the influence which they ought to have possessed, and much that ought to have been refused even to them, transferred to a man of comparative obscurity. The minis- ter.?, though they, it is quite clear, could have little power to correct their master's peculiar folly, shared the sovereign's dis- grace, and the whole kingdom soon rang with complaints and threatenings. The first rush of the long-brewing tem- pest showed itself in a fierce attack upon Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, the chancellor. Though he was originally only the son of a merchant, he had won a high and well-deserved celebrity by his valour and conduct during the wars of the late king, and had since shown very splendid civil ability. He was supposed to be the chief confidential friend of the king and of De Vere, who was now, from the marquis- ate of Dublin raised to the dukedom of Ire- land ; and the duke of Gloucester conse- quently singled him out for persecution. Gloucester, who was both able and ambi- tious, had secured a most potent sway over hoth the lords and commons, and he now Induced the latter to impeach the earl of Suffolk before the former : a power and mode of proceeding which the commons had jio-sessrcl tlieuiselves of towards the chisc of ilir i-ciL-ii of Edward III. Tlie iriiiii:i{iiiii(iit III the most eminent of his nuuisters naturally alarmed the king for himself and his favourite ; and he re- tired to the royal palace at Eltham, to be out of iuimediate danger, and to deliberate upon his future course. Rightly judging th.-il while tlie king was thus comparatively removed fnm danger and annoyance they would have little chance of bringing him to compliance with their wishes, the par- liament sent to Inform him that unless he immediately returned they would dissolve without making an attempt at preparation for the French invasion with which the na- tion was at that time threatened. And lest this threat should fail to compel the king to compliance, they called for the produc- tion of the parliamentary record of the de- position of Edward II. This hint was too intelligible to be disregarded, and the king at once consented to return, on the sole condition that, beyond the impeachment already commenced against the earl of Suf- folk, no attack should be made upon his ministers; a stipulation which, most pro- bably, he chiefly made with a view to the safety of the duke of Ireland. The charges against Suffolk were directed almost wholly against his pecuniary trans- actions. He was accused, for instance, of having exchanged a perpetual annuity, tchich he had fairly inherited, for lands of equal value, with the king ; of having purchased a forfeited cro\vii annuity of 50(. and induced the king to recognise it as being valid ; and of having obtained a grant of 500?. per annum to support his dignity on his being created earl of Suf- folk. The first of these charges. It is clear, could only have been made by men who were sadly at a loss for some we.apon with which to assail their enemy ; the second was ill- supported; and the third proceeded with a very ill-grace from Gloucester, who, though as wealthy as Suffolk was poor, was himself in receipt of just double the amoinit by way of pension 1 Wlien to this we add that, as to the first charge, it was positively proved that Suffolk had made no sort of pm-ehase, honest or dishonest, from the crown during his enjoyment of office, the reader would be greatly surprised at learning that he was convicted and sen- tenced to lose his ofllce— if it were possible for the reader to have noticed the events of history even thus far without learning that when powerful men hate deeply, they do not require either very important charges or very clear evidence to induce them to convict the party hated. This triumph of the anti-favourite party emboldened them to fiy at a higher quarry. They kept the letter of their agreement with the "king, and made no farther attack upon his ministers; but at once proceeded to strike at his own authority by appointing a council of fourteen, to which the sovereign authority was to be transferred for a year, the council in question consisting, with the single exception of the archbishop of York, of the personal friends and partisans of the duke of Gloucester ; and thus Richard II., 224 €lit CrcajSurg of W^tav}), ^t. whose boyhood had i>roinisod so vigorous and splendid a roitrn, was at the early age of tweiity-flve virtually deposed, and a mere puppet and prisoner in the hands of his enemies. No chance of present resist- ance offered itself, and the unfortunate and weak kingsigned the commission which in reality uncrowned him. Increasing rather than diminishing the pleasure and triumph of his enemies by an imi»-tent protest which he made at the end of the session of par- liament, to the effect that nothing in the commission he had signed was to be held to Impair the prerogatives of the crown. A.D. 1387.— The pampered favourite and his supporters, as they had so greatly pro- fited by the king's weak misuse of his power, did not fail to do their utmost to stimulate his anger and to induce him to make some effort to recover his lost autho- rity, in which, in truth, they were far more interested than he was. Utterly estranged as the lords seemed, he resolved to endeavour to influence the sheriffs to return a commons' house calcu- lated for his purpose : but here he found himself completely anticipated by the fact that most of the sheriffs and magistrates were the partisans of Gloucester, and ac- tually owed their appointments to his fa- vour. Baffled in this quarter, he now tried what use he could make of the authority of the judges. Having met, at Xottingham, Tre- Bilian, chief justice of the King's Bench, and several of the other most eminent judges, he proposed to them certain queries, to which, in substance, they replied, that the commission was derogatory to the pre- rogative and royalty of the king, and that those who urged it or advised the roy.al compliance with it were punishable with death ; that those who compelled him were guilty of treason ; that all who persevered in maintaining it were no less guilty ; that the king had the right to dissolve parlia- ment at liis pleasure ; that the parliament while sitting must give its first attention to the business of the king ; and that with- out the king's consent the parliament had no right to impeach his ministers or judges." Richard did not consider when he took this step that opinions, even the favourable opinions of judges, are cmly opinions, and of little weight when opposed to usurped power, armed force, and an iron energy. Moreover, he could scarcely hope to keep his conference and the opinions of the ! judges a secret ; and if he could do so, of what avail could be the latter? and would not this step sharpen the activity of his enemies by leading them to fear that it was but the prelude and foundation of a far more decided step ? It actually had that effect ; for as soon as the king returned to London, Gloucester's party appeared with an overwhelming force at Highgate, whence they sent a deputation to demand that those who had given him false and perilous coun- sel should be delivered np to them as trai- tors alike to king and kingdom ; and they speedily followed up this message by ap- pearing armed and attended ni his luvoence, and accusing of having given such counsel the archbishop of York, the duke of Ire- land, the earl of Suffolk, sir Robert Tresi- llan, and sir Nicholas Brembre, as public enemies. This accusaticm the lords offered to maintain by duel, and in token of their willingness to do so they actually threw down their gauntlets. The duke of Ireland, at the flrst appear- ance of this new and urgent danger, retired Into Cheshire to levy troops to aid the king ; but he was met by Gloucester, as he has- tened to join Richard, and utterly defeated. This defeat deprived him of all chance of being of use to his friend and master, and he escaped to the Low Countries, where he remained In exile and comparative obscu- rity until his death, which occurred not many years afterwards. A.D. 1388.— Rendered bolder and more eager than ever by this defeat of the du'^e of Ireland, the lords now entered London at the head of an army of 40,000 men ; and the king, being entirely in their power, I was obliged to summon a parliament which he weU knew would be a mere passive iu- ■ strument in the hands of his rebellious ] lords. Before this packed and slavish par- i liament an accusation was now made against j the five personages who had already been denounced ; and this accusation was sup- ! ported by five of the most powerful men in i England, viz. the duke of Gloucester, uncle to the king whom he was endeavouring to ruin, the earl of Derby, son of the duke of Lancaster, the earl of Arundel, the earl of Warwick, and the earl of Nottingham, mar- shal of England. As if the combined and formidable pow- er of these great nobles had been insuffl- cient to crush the accused, the servile parliament, though judges in the case, actually pledged themselves at the out- set of the proceedings ' to live and die with the lords appellant, and to defend them against all opposition with their lives and fortunes!' Sir Nicholas Brembre was the only one of the five accused persons who was present to hear the thirty-nine charges made against him and the other four persons accused. He had the mockery, and but the mockery, of a trial ; the others being absent were not even noticed in the way of evidence ; but that did not prevent them from being found guilty of high trea- son. Sir Nicholas and also sir Robert Tre- silian, who was apprehended after the trial, were executed ; and here it might have been supposed that even these rancorous lords and their parliamentary tools would have halted in their career of chicane and vio- lence ; but far other was their actual con- duct. All. the other judges who had agreed to the opinioQS given at Nottingham were condemned to death, but afterwards ba- nished to Ireland ; and lord Beaucharap of Holt, sir James Beruers, sir Simon Burley, and sir John Salisbury were condemned, and, with the exception of the last-named, executed. The execution, or to speak more truly, the murder, of sir Simon Burley, made a very greatand painful sensation even among ePiiglauir.— |9IantajjcncW.— Siicl^arlr 3EJE. 225 the eiiemica of the king ; for he was highly aufl almost universally popular, hoth ou accoinit of his personal character and from his liaviiiK fi'om the earliest infancy of the laiiioiited Black Prince been the constant and attached attendant of that hero, who as well as Edward III. had concurred in appointinghi in governor of the present king duringhis youth. But the gallantry which had procured him the honour of the Garter and the imperishable honour of a laudatory mention in the glowing pages of Froissart, the beggarly nature of the charges against him, and the very insufficient evidence by which even those charges were supported, and the singularity of his case from the cir- cumstances which would have excused afar more implicit devotion to the king whose Infancy he had watched, were all as nothing when opposed to the fierce determination of his and his sovereign's implacable ene- mies. Nay more, the king's wife, whose virtues had obtained her from the people the affectionate ti tie of the good queen Anne, actually fell upon her knees before Glou- cester, and in that humble posture for three hours besought, and vainly besought, the life of the unfortunate Burley. The stern enemies of his master had doomed the faithful knight to die, and he was executed accordingly. As if conscious of their enormous vil- lany, and already beginning to dread retri- bution, the parliament concluded this me- morably evil session by an act, providing for a general oath to uphold and maintain all the acts of forfeiture and attainder which had previously been j^assed during the session. A.D. 1389.— The violence with which the king had been treated, and the degrada- tion to which he had been reduced, seemed to threaten not only his never recovering his authority, but even his actual destruc- tion. But, whether from sheer weariness of their struggle, from disagreements among themselves, or from some fear of the interference of the commons, now daily be- coming more powerful and more ready to use their power, the chiefs of the mal- contents were so little able or inclined to oppose Richard, that he, being now in his twenty-third year, ventured to say in open council that he had fully arrived at an age to govern for himself, and that henceforth he would govern both the kingdom and his own household ; and no one of all his lately fierce and overbearing opponents ventured to gainsay him. The ease with which the king regained his authority can only be accounted for, as it seems to us, by supposing th.at circumstances, no account of which has come down to us, rendered the king's enemies afraid of opposing him. From whatever cause, however, it is cer- tain that the king suddenly regained his lost power. His first act was to remove Fitzallan, archbi.- peal, i>artly from i^ersonal affect i.m to him, but chiefly from general and intense detes- tation of the absent king, was so eagerly and speedily answered, that, in a very few days, he who had so lately left N'aiites with a slender retinue of only sixty persons was at the head of an army of as many thou- sands, zealous in his cause, and beyond ex- pression anxious to take signal vengeance for the numerous tyrannies of Ridiard. Ou leaving England for the purpose of chastising the Irish rebels, Hichard gave the important office of guardi:in of the realm to the duke of York. This prince did not possess the talents reviuisite in the dangerous crisis which had now arisen : moreover, he was too closely connected with the duke of Lancaster to allow of his exerting the extreme rigour by which alone the advances of that injured but no less ambitions noble could be kept in check : and those friends of the king whose power and zeal might have kept York to his fidelity, and supplied his want of ab uty, had accompanied Richard to Irelar.d. Everything, therefore, seemed to favour the duke of Lancaster, should am- bition lead him to attempt something be- yond the mere recovery of his duchy. The duke of York, however, did not at the outset show any w;mt of will to defend the ting's rights. He ordered all the forces that coald be collected to meet him at St. Albans : but after all exertion had been made, he found himself at the head of no more than 40,000 men ; and these far from zealous in the royal cause. Just as he made this discovery of his two- fold weakness, he received a message in which ihedukeof Lancaster begged him not to oppose his recovery of his inheritance, to which he stiU with consummate hypocrisy affected to limit his demands and wishes. York confessed that be could not think of opposing his nephew in so reasonable and just a design, and York's declaration was received with a joy and applause which au^rured but ill for the interests of the absent king. Lancaster, stiU pretending to desire only the recovery of his right, now hastened to Bristol, where some of the ministers had taken refuge, and. having speedily made himself master of the plic?, gave the lie to all his professions of mode- ration by sending to instant execution the earl of "Wiltshire, sir John Bussy, and sir Henry Gretn. Intelligence of Lancaster's proceedings had by this time reached Richard, who hastened from Ireland with an army of 20,000 men, and l:inded at MUford Haven. Against the force by which Lancaster had by this time surrounded himself, the whole ' of Richard's army would ha\e availed but little: but before he could attempt any- thing, alKive twivthirvis of even that smiUl army had deserted him ; and he found him- self comjielled to steal away from the faith- ful remnant of his force .uid take shelter in the isle of Anglesey, whence he probably intended to emKark for France, there to await some change of affairs which might enable him to exert himself with at least | I some hop*- of success. i Lancaster, as ptilitic as he was ambitious. saw at a glance how much mischief and disturbance might possibly accrue to hi in if Richard obtained the support and shel- ; j ter of France or even of Irsland, and he determined to possess himself of the un- happy king's person previous to wholly I throwing off the thin masl; he still wure of j moderation and loyalty. He, therefore, sent the earl of XorthumberLand to Richan.1, | ostensibly for the purpose of assuring him of Lancaster's loyal feeling and niiMlenno .lira : and Xorthumberland, as instrncted, took the opportunity to seize upon Richard, whom he conveyed to Flint castle, where Lancaster anxiously awaited his precious prize The unfortunate Richard w.as now conve.ved to London, nominally under the protection, but really as the prisoner, i f Lancaster, who throughout the jouriuy was everywhere received with the submis- sion and acclamations that of right be- longed to his sovereign. The Londoners, especially, showed unbounded affection to the duke ; and some writers even affirm that they, by their recorder, advised L.iu- caster to put Richard to death. Howevor atrocious this advice, the spirit of that age w-as such as by no means to make it im- probable that it was given. But Lancsister had deeper thoughts, and had no intention of letting his whole designs be visible, or ' at least declared, until he could do so with i perfect safety from having the chief anth.v I rities of the nation compromised by his i acts. Instead, therefore, of violently put- ting an end to the captive king, he made use of the royal name to sanction his own measures. Richard, helpless and a pri- soner, was compelled to summon a pariia- ' ment : and before this parliament thirty- ' three articles of accusation were laidagains: the king. Most of the nobles who were friendly to Richard had secured their o^Tn ! safety by flight ; and as Lancaster was at ■ once powerful and popular, we may fairly believe that Richard wasas ill provided with friends in the commons as in the lords. But the bishop of Carlisle, in the latter house, nobly redeemed the national cha- racter, by the ability and firmness with which he showed, at once, the insufficiency of the charges made against Richard, and the unconstitutional and irregular nature of the treatment bestowed upon him. He argued, that even those of the charges i against Richard which might fairly be ad- mitted to be true, were rather evidence of yonth and want of judgement than of ty- ranny : and that the deposition of Edward II., besides that it was no otherwise a pre- cedent than as it was a successful act of , violence, was still farther no precedent in «Pn0lantt.— ^lantasencW.— »fcl&arir M. tlils c'aHP, l)(;c;ui8(! on tlie depoHltion of ICchvard tlic »iu-ci:H«ii)ii w;ih kept Invlolatn, liin HOI] hi'liiK placed upon llif throne ; wlille the iliiko oC l/iiH-astcr, wliotii It was now Iir.iprjscd to hiitiHUtulit for Itichard, couhJ only nioujit the tlironi', cvonaftcr KIcliard'H dciiosliion, hv violal.lni,' the ri»jht8 of tlic children of IjI'h falher'H elder brother, Lio- nel, duke of Clarence, upon whom the crown had been HOlemuly entailed by the piirllainent. The si>lrlted and just conduct of the able Iirc'al e, liowever honourable to himself, and Ijowever preriooH an, pro tanto, resculn« the ii:ii iMM:il . liiMiirtrr from the: I'harge of belli).- iiNr I I , |., I I., all heiiKoof rlt'lil, was of no M I \ h , I, the iinhaii|jy Itiehard. The blsho|) V..1,-. In ;ird by the parliament as tlinuKh ho had Kivcn utterance to sonie- lliin« of Incredible folly and InjUBtlce : the charges were voted to be proven against Itlcliard; and the d\ike of T.aiieaFter, now wholly trluru|.hant, ImmeiliMlily ba.l Die bishop of Carllsh' arn-sted and sent, pri- Boner to St. Alliann' abbey, there to aeles(]f conslltntlonal law. Itlchard beiijvf in due form deposed, the duke (if Lancaster, who liad Ko recently made oath that he Kont-ht only therecuvery of hU duchy, -of which It Is beyond all question that he had been most wrojiKfully dejirlved— now came forward, croBsed him- self In the forehead and breast with mucli 6(reniin(5 devotion, and said, 'In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy (ihost, I, Ilenry of Lancaster, clialleii(,'e this realm of J'JnKland, and the crown, and all the members and appurtenances also, that I am descended by right line of the blood, comlnff from the good king Henry the Third, and through that right that (jod of his grace bath sent me, with help of kin and of my friends, to recover it; the which realm was on jiolnt of being umlrjiie by de- fault of governance and undoing c: the good laws.' The right to which the duke of Lancas- ter here pretends reijuireB a few, and but a few, words of explanation. 'There was,' says Hume, ' a silly story received among the lowest of the vulgar, that Edinond, carl of Lancaster, son of Henry the Third, was really the elder brother of Edward ; but that by reason of some deformity in his person he had been po.<(tiioned in the suc- cession, and his younger brother imposed upon the nation in his stead. As the pre- sent duke of Lancaster inlicrited from Kdmond, by his mother, this genealogy made him the true heir of the monarchy, and it Is therefore insinuated in his speech, but the absurdity was too gro.s9 to be openly avowed either by him or the parliar inent.' But if too gross for formal parliamentary use. It could scarcely lie too gross for im- jioslng upon the changeful, ignorant, and turbulent rabble; and Henry of I,aiica»ter was far too accomjilished a demagogue to overlook the usefulness of a falsehood on account of its grossness. Tlie deposition of Richard rendered it necessary that the parliament should be dis- 229 solved ; but In six days after that event took place, a new parliament was called by Ills usurping successor. This parliament gave a new proof of the absurdity of swearing the parliament and people to the perpe- tuity of laws; all the laws of Jtlcbard's former iiarl lament, which had not only been sworn to but alsoi'onllrmed by a )iapal bull, being now abrogali'd at one fell swooji I And to make the lesson still more striking and still more disgusting, ail the acts of <.!louceKter'si>arliamcnt which had been so solemnly abrogated, were now as solemnly condrmed I I'Vir aci'iising (Jloucester, War- wick, and Arundel, many jhmts had been proniolicl ; they were now on liiat account degraded 1 The rei'eni. iiraci Ice had made ajipealH In parliament the rlgbljul and so- lemn way of bringing high oll'enders to jus- tice; such apiieals were now abolished in favour of common-law Indictments. IJow cnlil i.c-ai-c-able and slr^ady conrliict lie ex- l.i-.ied fp.m aiienj.li^ wliose laws were thus IMrpeiiirilly siibjei-ieri to cbaiiie anil change, to the rise of this or to the fall of that party 7 Henry of Lancaster, by due course of vio- lence and fraud, of hypocrisy and of per- JLiry, having usiirjied the crown, the dispo- sal of the person of lln- late king naturally became a (luestion of some Interest; and the earl of jNorlhumberlaiid, who had acted so treacherous a part, was deputed to ask the advice of the peers upon that point, and to Inform them that the king had re- solved to stare liichard's life. The peers were' iiiianiinously of iijjlnion that Richard should be ci.iillnc-d in some secure fortress, and jirevented from having any communi- cation with his friends. I'ontefract castle was accordingly fixed upon as the deposed king's prison, and here he speedily died at the early age of thirty-four. That he was murdered no liistorian denies; but whilo some say that he was openly attacked by assassins who were admitted to his apart- ments, .and that before he was dispatched he killed one of his assailants and nearly overpowered the rest, others say that he was starved to death, and that his strong constitutkm inllicted upon him the un- siieakable misery of living for a fortnight after his inhuman gaolers had ceased to supply liim with any food; and this latter account Is the more likely to be thecojrect one, as his body, when exposed to public view, exhibited no marks of violence upon it. Whatever his fault, it is Impossible to deny that he was most unjustly treated by the ustirper Henry, and very basely aban- doned by both houses of parliament ; and his fate furnishes a new proof that the smallest tyrannies of a weak sovereign. In a rude and unlettered age, will provoke the most sanguinary vengeance at the hands of the very same men who will patiently and basely ]iut up with the greatest and most insulting tyrannies at the liands of a kinff who has either wisdom or courage. Ariart from the sedilion and violence of which we have already given a detailed ac- count, the relgu of the deposed and mur- dered Richard had but one circumstance worthy of especial remark ; the commence- 230 Q^c CtPajSiitTj of l^t'^tarp, &f. nicut in Kntrlnnd of the reform of the clHirch. John Wickliffe, a secular priest of Oxforii, ami sul)spaiiciitly rector of Lutter- worth, in Lclcestersliirc, heinp a man of creat learning and piety, and heinp unable, l)v the most careful study of the scriptures, to find any justiflcaiiou of the doctrine of the real presence, the supremacy of Ry the dyinij injunctions of Henry IV., who had warned his son. If he could at all plausilily enpatre the English iH-ople in war, never to allow tlieni to remain at peace, which would infallibly turn their in- clinations towards domestic dissensions. The kin^doMi of France liad now for a long time been iplunped in the utmost confusiim and discord, and the various parties had been guilty of cmclties and outrages, dis- graceful not merely to themselves but even to our common nature. The state of that kingdom was consequently at this time such as to hold out advantages to Henry, which were well calculated to give force to the advice of Chichely and the dying re- quest of Henry IV. But just as Henry, who did not want for either ambition or a warlike spirit, was preparing and medi- tating an attack upon the neighbouring and rival kingdom, his attention was for the moment arrested by the discovery of a dan- gerous and extensivfi conspiracy at home. As we have already said, the young earl of Mai-che was so sensible of the kindness shown to him by the present king at the commencement of his reign, that beseemed to have no desire ever to give any disturb- ance to his government. But the earl's sister was married to the earl of Cam- bridge, second son of the deceased duke of York, and he thus, not unnaturally, became anxiously concerned for the rights and Interests of a family with which he had himself become so intimately connected. Deeming it possible to recover the crown for that family, he took pains to acquire partisans, and addressed himself, among others, to lord Scrope of Jlashara, and to sir Thomas Grey of Heaton. Whether from treachery or from want of sufficient caution on the part of the earl of Cam- bridge, the conspiracy became known to the king before it had gone beyond the mere preliminaries ; but the conspirators upon being seized made such ample disclo- sures of their ultimate designs, as both en- abled the king to order their trial, and fully warranted him in so doing. They were In the first instance tried by a jurj- of com- moners, and condemned upon the testimony of the constable of Southampton castle, who swore that the prisoners had confessed their guilt to him ; but they afterwards pleaded, and were allowed, their privilege as peers. But though Henry had hitherto shown so much inclination to moderation, he on this occasion evinced no desire to depart from the arbitrary practices of the kings of that age. A court of eighteen barons was summoned and presided over by the duke of Clarence; before this cpurt the single testimony that had been given before the common jury was read, and without further evidence or nearer ap- proach to even the form of a trial, these two prisoners, one of them a prince of the blood, were condemned to death without being heard in their own defence, or even being produced In court, and were executed accordingly I The ill-digested and unsuccessful attempt of his brother-in-law put the young c.irl of Marcho in considerable peril. As it was, noiuinally, on his account that war was to have been levied against the king, he was accused of having at the least consented to the conspiracy ; but the constant attach- ment he had shown to Henry had probably gained him a strong personal interest with that monarch, who freed him from all far- ther peril on account of this afCairby giving him a general pardon for all offences. As soon as the excitement consequent upon this conspiracy had somewhat passed away, Henry again turned his attention to- wards France. The duke of Burgundy, who had been expelled from France by a combination of the usually jarring powers of that coiuitry, had been in such correspondence with Henry, that the latter prince felt quite secure of the duke's aid whenever an Eng- lish army should appear to claim it; and therefore, without making any precise ar- rangements with the duke, and indeed without even comingto any positive agree- ment with him, Henry on the 14th of Au- gust in this year put to sea and landed safely In Normandy, with about twent}--four thousand infantrj', chiefly consisting of archers, and six thousand men-at-arms. Harfieur had for its governor D'Estoute- ville, under whose command were De Guitri, Dc Gaucourt, and other eminent French soldiers. Henry laid immediace siege to the place, but was so stoutly and successfully resisted, that, between the excessive fatigue and the more than usual heat of the weather, his men suffered dread- fully, and were alarmingly thinned by fever and other sicknesses. But, in spite of all losses and discouragements, Henry gal- lantly persevered ; and the French were so much straitened, that they were obliged to promise that if no relief were afforded them by the 18th of September they would eva- cuate the place. No signs of relief appear- ing by that day, the English were admitted; but so much was the army thinned, and in so sickly a condition were the m.ijority of the survivors, that Henry, far from having any encouragement to followup this success by some new enterprise, was advised by all about him to turn his attention to getting the skeleton of his array in safety back to England. Even this was no easy or safe matter. On his first landing he had so little anticipated the havoc which fatigue and sickness had made in his army, that he had Incautiously dismissed his transports; and he now lay under the necessity of marching by land to Calais, before he could place his troops out of danger, and that, too, in the face of an army of fourteen thousand men-at-arms and forty thousand foot, assembled in Normandyunder the com- mand of the constable D' Albret. TheFrench force so tremendously out-numbered that of Henry, that the latter very prudently offered to sacrifice his recent conquest of Harfieur, at the price of being allowed to pass unmolested to Calais ; but the French, confident in their superiority, rejected his proposal. Henry, therefore, in order equally dSnslmls.—^auSt nf itanca^ter.— ^^enrg W. 239 to avoid discouragement to liis own troops and encouragement to tlie Frcncb.retreated by easy marches to the Somme, where he hoped to pass the ford at Blanquetagne, as Edward had escaped from Philip de Valois under very similar circumstances ; but he fiiund that the French had talicn the pre- caution to render the ford impassable, be- sides lining the opposite bank with a strong body of troops, and he was obliged to seek a safe passage higher up the river. Scarcely anything could exceed the distress of Hen- ry's present situation. His troops were fast perishing with continual fatigue and the prevalent sickness ; he could procure no provisions, owing to the activity of the French ; and everywhere he found himself confronted by numerous enemies, ready to fall upon him the instant he should cross the river. But under all these circumstan- ces Henry preserved his courage and pre- sence of mind ; and a ford near St. Quentin being but slenderly guarded, he surprised the enemy there, and led his army over in safety. Henry now hastened towards Calais, but on passing the little river of Ternois, at Blangi, he had the mortiflcaticm to per- ceive the main body of the French drawai up and awaiting him in the extensive plains of Agincourt. To reach Calais without an action was now evidently impossible ; the French were to the English as four to one, besides being free from sickness, and abundantly supplied with provisions ; in a word, Henry was now in fully as dangerous a position as that of Edward at Cressy, or the heroic Black Prince at Poictiers. Situ- ated as they had been, he resolved to imi- tate their plan of battle, and he awaited the attack of the enemy on anarrow land closely flnnked by a wood on either side. With their advantage in numbers and in facility of obtaining provisions, the French ought clearly to have remained obstinately on the defensive, until the English should by abso- lute famine be obliged to advance from their favourable position ; a position which to a very great extent, gave advantage to the side having the smaller number of men to manoeuvre. But their very superiority in numbers deprived the French of all pru- dence, and they pressed forward as If to crush the English by their mere weight. The mounted archers and men-at-arms rushed in crowded ranks upon the English, wnu, defended by palisadoes, and free from the crowding which embaiTassed the ac- tions and distracted the attention of the enemy, plied them with a deadly and inces- sant shower of shafts and bolts. The heavy land, rendered still more heavy and tena- cious by recent rain, was highly disadvan- tageous to the French cavalry, who were soon still further incommoded in their movements by the innumerable dead and dy- ing men and horses with which the Enelish archers strewed the narrow ground. When the disorder of the enemy was at its height, Henry gave orders to the English to ad- vance with their pikes and battle-axes ; and the men-at-arms following them, the con- fused and pent-up multitude fell in crowds, without even the possibility of resistance. The panic of the enemy speedily led to a general rout, with the sole exception of the French rear-guard, which still maintained itself in line of battle upon the open plain. This also was speedily cut to pieces; and just as the action closed completely in fa- vour of the English, an Incident occurred which caused the loss of the French to be far more numerous in killed than it other- wise would have been. A mob of a few peasants, led on by some gentlemen in Pi- cardy, had fallen upon the unarmed follow- ers of the English camp with the design of seizing upon the baggage ; and the alarm and outcry, thus caused, leading Henry to imagine that his numerous prisoners were dangerous, he hastily gave orders for them to be put to the sword ; upon which a ter- rible slaughter of these unhappy men took place before he discovered his mistake, and revoked an order so sanguinary and so con- trary to the laws of war. In this short but most decisive action the French lost ten thousand killed, of whom eight thousand were cavalry, and fourteen thousand prisoners ; the former included the constable d'Albret, the count of Nevers, the duke of Brabant, the duke of Alen(;on, the duke of Barre, the count of Vaudemont, and the count of Marie ; while among the prisoners were the duke of Bourbon, the duke of Orleans, the mareschal Boucicaut, and the counts d'Eu,Vendome, and Riche- mont. The English loss, though consider- able, was small compared to that of tho enemy, and the chief Englishman of note that was slain was the duke of York. As if fully satisfied with his victory, and intent only on regaining his native land, Henry immediately continued his march to Calais, whence he embarked with his prisoners for England ; and he even granted the French a truce for two years,without insisting upon any corresponding concession on their part. A.D. 1418. — The intestine disputes of France still continued to rage most furi- ously ; not only were the duke of Bur- gundy and the French court fiercely war- ring upon each other, but continual feuds, scarcely less violent, and no less bitter, raged among the various members of the royal family. This state of things encou- raged Henry to make a new and stronger attempt upon France ; and he landed in Kormandy at the head of an army of twen- ty-flve thousand men, without encountering the slightest opposition. He took Falaise ; Evreux and Caen immediately surrendered to him, and Pont de I'Arche quickly after- wards opened its gates. Having subdued all Lower Normandy, Henry, having re- ceived from England a reinforcement of fifteen thousand men,proceeded to lay siege to Rouen. While thus engaged he was vi- sited by the cardinal des TJrsins, who tried to persuade him to afford a chance of peace to France by moderating his pretensions. But Henry, bent upon obtaining the sove- reignty of that kingdom, and well aware of the advantages he derived, not only from his own strength, but also from the dissen- sions of the French, calmly replied, 'Do you not perceive that God has led me as by the hand 1 France has no sovereign ; I 240 %\)t CreaSurj) at ?^t)Stori», $ct. have just pretensions to tliat kinKdom : evrr.vtliing licro Is In tlic utmost confusion, and no one thinks of rosistlnir me. Can I have a more sensil)le proof tliat tlie ReiriK who disposes of empires lias determined to put the crown of France upon my head?' But while Henry expressed this con- fldencc, and made every effort and prepara- tion to carry his deslirns into execution by force, he at the same time carried on ne^o- tialions for a peaceful settlement, on the one hand, with the rjueen and duke of Bur- gundy — who had the semhlance, at least, of the only legal authority in the kingdom, inasmuch as they had the custody of the king's person — and with tlie dauphin on the other hand, who had all the popular favour on his side, and was, besides, the undoubted heir to the monarchy. It is unnecessary here, indeed it would be nut of place, to do more than merely to allude to the distractions of wliich Fi-ance was now and for a long time iiad been the prey. Suffice it to say, that the disputes of the rival parties were so wliolly and in- tensely selfish, that either of them, but especially tlie queen's party, seems to have considered the interests of the nation as nothing in comparison with even tempo- rary personal advantages. Taking advan- tage of this temper of the antagonist par- ties, Henry offered to make peace with them on tlie condition of their giving him the princess Catherine in marriage, and \v1th her, in full sovereignty, Xonnandy and all the provinces which were ceded to Ed- ward III. by the treaty of Bretigni ; and these terms, so obviously injurious to the power of France, were agreed to. A.D. 1419.— "Willie Henrj- was attending to some minor circumstances, the adjust- ment of which alone was waited for ere tlie treaty above described should be carried into effect, the duke of Burgundy, who had been carrying on a secret negotiation with the dauphin, formed a treaty with that prince, by wliich it was agreed between them that they should divide the royal authority as long as king Charles should survive, and that they should join their efforts to expel all intruders from the kingdom. An inter- view was appointed to take place Iietween them ; but as the duke of Burgundy had, by his own avowal, been the assassin of the late duke of Orleans, and had thus by his own act sanctioned any treacherous at- tempt that might be made upon his life, and had .at the same time given every one reason to refuse to put any confidence in his honour, the most minute precautions were taken to guard against treachery on either side. But all these precautions were taken in vain. Several of the retainers of the dauphin, who had also been attached to the late duke of Orleans, suddenly at- tacked Burgundy with their drawn swords, and dispatched him before any of his friends could interfere to save him. This murder created so much rage and confusion In France, and all parties, though from widely different motives, were so much excited by it, that all thousrht or care for preserring the nation fnmi foreign domination was lost sight of ; the views of Henry were thus most-lmportantly for- warded, through an accident arising out of that very interview by which it was in- tended wholly to destroy his chances of success. Besides the advantage which Henry de- rived from the new state of confusion and turmoil into which France was tlirown by this event, he gained from it an extremely powerful ally in the person of tlie new duke of Burgundy, who, stipulating only for ven- geance upon the murderers of his father, and the marriage of his sister with the duke of Bedford, agreed to lend Henry whatever aid he might require, without in- quiry or care as to the evil that aid might eventually entail upon the nation. Henry had already made immense progress in arms. Rouen, though most gallantly de- fended by a garrison of four thousand men, who were zealously aided by fifteen thou- sand of the citizens, had at length been taken ; as had Pontoise and Gisors with lessdifiiculty; and so closely did he threaten Paris itself, that the court had removed in alarm to Troyes. A.D. 1420.— When the negotiations be- tween the duke of Burgundy and Henry had arrived at this point, Henry, accompanied by his brothers the duke of Clarence and Gloucester.proceeded to Troyes to finish the treaty, nominally with Charles, but in rea- lity with the duke of Burgundy ; for the un- happy Charles was in so completely imbe- cile a condition, that he was at best but a mere puppet in the hands of whoever had for the time the charge of his person. The chief provisions of this treaty, in which the honour and interests of the na- tion were accounted as nothing, were as follows. Henry was to marry the princess Catherine; Charles was to enjoy the title and dignity of king during his life, but Henry was to be his heir, and was also to be intrusted with the immediate administra- tion of the affairs of the kingdom, which was to pass to his heirs in common with England, with which kingdom it was to be united under him, tliough each kingdom should internally retain its own customs, privileges, and usages ; all the French princes, peers, communities, and vassals were to swear to obey Henry as regent, and in due time to adhere to his succession as king ; Henry was to unite with Charles and the duke of Burgundy in chasing the dauphin from the kingdom; and no one of the members of this tripartite league was to make peace with him, except with the consent of the other two. A treaty more scandalous to all parties it would be difficult to imagine. Even as regarded England, Henry was king only by succession to a usurper; and his claim to France, even on tliat ground alone, would have been scouted by the duke of Burgundy, had patriotism not been entirely banished from his breast by passion and personal interest. But interest, and intere.st alone, was at- tended to by the parties concerned in this vers* singular treaty, which was drawn, signed, and ratified with as little scruple on the side of Burgundy, as though there «!Fii0lanti — ^axiit at Jtancajitcr.— Hcnrg W. 241 bad been no otlier oljjoct in view than tlio mere m'atilli':iti(in and aggrandisement of Heniy. A IVu days after the signing of tlie tre;it.v, tliis prince espoused the princess C'al liaririf, and witli lier and her fatlier pro- ceeded to I'aris. !'(jssrssed of the capital, lieliad 1)111 little dilllculty in procuring from tlie parliament and tlie tliree estates a full and formal ratiflcation of tliat treaty, in every line of wliich their degradation was visibly written. The dauphin now assumed the style of regent ol ibe kingdom, appealed to God to witness the justice of his cause, and pre- pared to defend it in arms ; and Henry pro- ceeded to oppose him. He first laid siege to Sens, which, after a very slight resist- ance, surrendered to him, and Montereau ■was sul)dued with no less ease. Henry now proceeded to Melun, but here he met with a stouter resistance, the governor, Barbasan, repelling every effort he could m.ike for above four months; and even at the end of that time the brave governor was only induced to treat for surrender by the absolute state of famine to which the gar- rison was reduced. Uenrj' was nowobliged to visit Englanil fer tin' purpose of obtain- ing both men and money, and during his absence he left his uncle the duke of Ex- eter in the post of governor of Paris. By this time tlie English, however much they were dazzled and flattered by the talents and success of their king, seem to have begun to take something like a cor- rect view of the possible ultimate conse- quence to them, and to their posterity, of the proposed union of the two crowns ; and the parliament voted him a subsidy of only a fifteenth, which would have been quite inadequate to his necessities, but that the French territory he had conquered served for the maintenance of his troops. Having got together, with the subsidy thus voted to him, a new army of twenty-four thousand archers, and four thousand cavalry, he em- barked at Dover and safely reached Paris, where everything had remained in perfect tranquillity under the government of his uncle. But during the absence of Henry the English had received a very severe check in Anjou. A Scotch brigade of seven thou- sand men had long been in the dauphin's service, sent thitlier by the regent of Scot- land. Henry had taken the young king of Scots, who had so long been in captivity, to France, and caused him to issue orders for all Scots to leave the dauphin's service. But the earl of Buchan, who commanded the Scots, replied, that his king while in •captivity could not issue orders, at all events could not expect him to obey them. This gallant and well-disciplined body of troops now ericountcrcd the English de- tachment under the i-nmmand of the duke of Clarence. Tli.-it juiiicewas slain in the action by a Scottisli knight named Allan Swinton ; the carls of Somerset, Hunting- don, and Dorset were taken prisoners ; and the English were completely routed ; to the great ]oy of the dauphin, who rewarded the earl of Buchan with the office of constable. Henry's return, however, soon damped the new-born joy of the dauphin, who was liesieging Charlres, whither Henry march- ed, and compelled him to raise the siege without a struggle. Prom Chartres Henry marclied to Dreu.i, which also surrendered without resistance, and then proceeded to lay siege to Meaux, the garrison of which had greatly annoyed the Parisians. Here the English were resisted with great skill and courage for eight months, by the go- vernor Vaurus. At the end of that time the place was taken ; and it was probably in reality on account of the obstinate re- sistance that he had met with, but pro- fessedly for the cruelty which Vaurus had undoubtedly shown to his prisoners, Eng- lish as well as Burgundian, that Henry ordered him to be hanged upon the same gibbet u]"iii which he had caused so many brave lurii to lie executed. Tlie I'.ipliiic of Meaux led to the sur- render of oilier places in the neighbourhood that until then had obstinately held out; and the dauphin, unable to resist the united power of the English and Burgundians, was driven beyond the Loire, and compelled to abandon nearly all the northern pro- vinces; while the son of whom Henry's queen was just now delivered was as enthu- siastically hailed at Paris as at London, as the future king of both nations. Singularly handsome and vigorous in per- son, and having not yet nearly reached middle age, Henry might have been ex- pected to have very many years of glory and triumph yet before him. But he was af- flicted with a fistula, a disease with which the rude surgery of that age knew not how to deal ; and he the powerful and am- bitious, the envied and the successful king, found himself hurrying to the grave by the rapid progress of a disease, from w-hich in our own time the poorest person would he relieved. Conscious of his approaching end, he gave a new proof of ' the ruling passion strong in death.' Sending for his brother the duke of Bedford, the earl of Warwick, and some other noblemen who stood high in his esteem, he with great calmness de- livered to them his last will as It affected both the kingdom and his family. Pro- fessing to view his approaching death with- out any other regret than that which arose from his leaving his great project incom- plete, he assured them that they could not fail of success by the exertion of their kno^vn prudence and valour. He appoint- ed Bedford regent of France, his younger brother the diike of Gloucester regent of England, and to the earl of "Warwick he committed the government and protection of his infant son. He at the same time most urgently enjoined these friends, on no consideration to give freedom to the French princes taken at Agincourt, until his sou should be of an age to govern for himself ; carefully to preserve the friendship of the duke of Burgundy ; to exert every means to secure the throne of France to their infant king; and failing success in th'at particular, never to make peace with France unless on condition of the permanent annexation of Normandy to the crown of England. 2+2 fE^e draiunj at SjfStarp, ^c. Apart from hts nnitiition mid tlio violent injustice wliii-li iioei'ssarily resulted from it, tlilj! prince was in very many respects deserving; of tlie lii^li pojuilnrity whicli tlinnm-liout his life lie enjoyed in Kngland, and wiiich he enjoyed no less in France sub- seiinent to his marriage with the princess Catharine. His civil rule was firm and productive of excellent order without hc- Ing harshly severe ; and the uniform kind- ness and coiitldeiice which he bestowed upon the earl of Marcbe, who beyond all question had the preferable title to the crown, betokened no coniniou magruaiii- mity. ITenry, who died in 1422, aged only thirty-fmir, left but one child, young Henry, then only nine months old ; and the queen Catharine, rather sooner after the death of her husband than was strictly becoming, gave her hand in second marriage to sir Owen Tudor, a private gentleman, who, however, claimed to be descended from the ancient Welsh princes : to him she bore two sons, the elder of whom was created earl of Richmond, the younger earl of Pem- broke ; and the earl of Richmond subse- quently became king of England, as we shall hereafter have to relate. CHAPTER XXX. Tlie Reign of Hexet VI. A.D. 1422.— We had occasion to remark, under the head of Henry IV., that the usurpation of that prince gave a great and manifest impetus to the power of the par- liament. A new proof was now afforded of the extent to which that power had in- creased. Scarcely any attention was paid to the important instructions given by Henry V. on his death-bed ; and the parlia- ment proceeded to make arrangements in accordance rather with its own views than ■with those of the deceased monarch, with respect to both the kingdom and the young king. They altogether set aside, as to the for- mer, the title of regent, and appointed the duke of Bedford, and during any absence of his, the duke of Gloucester, to act as prfitector or guardian of the kingdom ; evidently placing a peculiar value on this distinction of terms, though to all practical purposes it necessarily was a mere dis- tinction without a difference. They show- ed, however, a more practical judgement In preventing, or, at the least, in antici- pating, any undue stretch of authority on the part of either of the royal personages, by appointing a council whose advice and approbation were necessary to the legalising of all important measures. They next proceeded to show an equal disregard to the wishes of the deceased monarch, as related to the custody and go- vernment of his infant son, when they com- mitted him to the care of Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, a natural son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster ; an arrangement which at least had this re- commend.ation, that the prelate in ques- tion could set up no family preteusion to the crown, and had, therefore, no induce- ment to act unfairly by his infant charge. The duke of Bedford, l«ng renowned for equal prudence and valour, Inimoiliately turned his attention to France, without making the slightest alterniit to alter tho di'termiiiMtioii of imrliiniicnr, which a less disinlfiestc'd and nohli'-siuiited man would very probably have interpreted asapersonal affront. Charles, the late dauphin, had now as- sumed, as he was justly entitled to .assume, the title of king of France ; and being shut out by the English from Rheinis, the an- cient and especi.-il place of coronation of the kings of France, lie caused himself to be crowned at Poictiers. This prince, though only twenty years of age, was very popu- lar with multitudes of the French, as well for the inany virtues of his private charac- ter, as for the great and precocious abilities he had shown in most diSlcuIt phases of his public affairs. No one knew better than the duke of Bedford that, excluded though the dauphin was from his rightful succession, by the un- natural and unpatriotic act of his imbecile father, his own abilities would be strongly aided by a natural and inevitable revulsion of feeling on the part of those Frenchmen who had hitherto shown themselves fast friends to England. He therefore strictly obeyed the dying injunctions of Henry as to a sedulous cultivation of the friendship of the duke of Burgundy, whose personal quarrel with Charles had so mainly aided the success of the English cause thus f.ar, and whose support would henceforth be so vitally important to their maintaining their ground in France. Bedford, therefore, has- tened to fulfil his part in the treaty of Troyes, by espousing Philip's sister, the princess of Arras ; and he even offered his new brother-in-law the regency of France, which Philip, for not very obviotis reasons, declined ; though, as he was far from being unambitious, he could scarcely have over- looked that the regency, during the mi- nority of young Henry and the continued success of the English, would be nearly equivalent to the actual sovereignty, and might, by some very slight circumstance, actually lead to it. The duke of Bedford next turned his attention to securing the friendship of tlie duke of Brittany, who, whether as friend or foe, was next in importance, as regarded the English power, to Burgundy himself. The duke of Brittany had already given in his adhesion to the treaty of Troyes ; but as Bedford knew how much that prince was governed by his brother, the count of Riche- mont, he skilfully laid himself out to fix the fi-iendship of that haughty and not very' strictly honourable person. Richemontwas among the high personages who were made prisoners at Agincourt, but had been treat- ed with great kindness in England, and even allowed by Henry V. to visit Brittany, on his parole of honour, to return at a given time. Before the time arrived the death of Henry occurred ; and Richemont, contrary to all the usages and maxims of chivalry, affected to believe that as his parole had been given personally to Henry V., his ho- nour was in nowise engaged ta maintain it CPnBlantf.— ||0u^e of EancaiSter.— i^cnrg 243 towards that prince's successor. His plea was as irregular as it was meanly false ; but as Bedford had obviously no means of compelling Richcmont to a more honour- able course of conduct, without involving himself in a very mischievous disagreement with the duke of Brittany, he very wisely made a virtue of necessity, and not only overlooked the count's misconduct, but even obtained for him the hand of the widow of the deceased dauphin Louis, the sister of Philip of liurgundy. Having thus both politically and person- ally allied himself with the potent dukes of Burgundy and Brittany, Bedford now di- rected his attention to Scotland. The duke of Albany, who, as regent of Scotland, had so considerably aided the dauphin, now king Charles, by sending him large bodies ni veteran Scotch troops, was now dead, and his office and power had been assumed by his sou Murdac. This nobleman had neither the talents nor the energy of his father, and he was totally unable to limit, as the duke of Albany had done, any enter- jirises to which the turbulent nobles of Scutland might think proper to turn their attention. This instantly became evident from the sudden and vast increase of the number of Scottish nobles who hastened to offer their swords to Charles of France ; and the piercing glance of Bedford discerned the strong probability of the Scots, at no distant day, doing Charles the still more effectual service of distracting the attention and dividing the force of his English ene- mies, by making formidable and frequent incursions upon the northern counties of Kngland. As the readiest and surest way of meet- ing this portion of his difficulties, Bedford Induced the English government to restore to liberty the Scottish king, young James, on the payment of a ransom of forty thou- sand pounds. This young prince, who had resided in England from his early boyhood, and had there received the very best edu- cation which the scholastic state of that age could ailord even to princes, had im- bibed much of the English feelings and tastes ; and during the whole of his short reign — (he was murdered in 1437 by the carl of Athol)— whatever might be the ex- tent of the leaning he was alleged to have towards France, he never once gave the English cause to regret their generosity or to throw blame on the policy of Bedford, to which the young king owed his freedom and the enjoyment of his throne. Even while engaged in these wise poli- tical precautions, the duke of Bedford strenuously exerted himself in those mili- tary movements and operations which were indispensable to the ultimate measures he contemplated. King Charles in person, and all the forces tinder his own immediate leading, had long since been driven into the southern pro- vinces beyond the Loire. But there were many of his attached partisans still pos- sessed of fortresses in the northern pro- vinces, and even in the neighbourhood of Paris. Against these fortresses, therefore, the duke of Bedford deemed it necessary to exert himself, before proceeding to deal with the main strength of Charles. Dor- say, Noyelle, and Rue in Picardy, were be- sieged and taken ; and Pont sur Seine, Vertus, and Montaigne soon after fell into the English power. These successes were followed up by still more lirilliant and im- portant ones ; till at length the constable of France, with many of the French nobles, were taken prisoners, and Bedford's army occupied La Charite and other towns upon the Loire. Every new success of the English by which they were brought nearer to his southern provinces, made Charles the more painfully anxious for the preservation of the few strongholds which he still held in those of the north, where they could so greatly annoy and impede their inimical neighbours. One of these, Tvri In Nor- mandy, had for three months held out against the utmost efforts of its besiegers, under the personal command of Bedford himself ; but the gallant governor at length found himseU reduced to such straits, that he agreed to surrender unless relief should reach him by a certain day. Information of this threatened state of Yvri no sooner reached Charles than he sent a detachment of fourteen thousand men to its relief, one half of the detachment being Scots and the other half French. The chief command of this detachment was given to the earl of Buchan, the titular constable of France, who made the utmost efforts to perform his mission successfully, but had the mortifica- tion to find that the place had already been surrendered ere he could arrive. Resolved not to return from so long a march without having at least attempted some Important enterprise, he turned to the left, and marching rapidly to Venieuil, prepared to besiege that place, which was delivered up to him by the citizens, in spite of all the opposition that could be made by the gar- rison. It had been well had Buchan content- ed himself with his success. But en- couraged by it, he called a council of war to consult whether he should now make good his retreat, with the glory he had so easily and cheaply acquired, or await the coming up of the duke of Bedford. Though the former plan was strongly and well urged by the graver and more politic of his officers, the latter was so agreeable to Buchan's own desire to engage the enemy at any risk, that he finally adopted it, and it was not long ere his army was confronted with that of Bedford. The numbers were tolerably equal ; and Buchan, drawing up his men in excellent order under the walls of Verneuil, determined in that advantage- ous position to await the charge of the enemy. This prudent precaution, in a si- tuation from which greater prudence would wholly have preserved him, was de- feated by the impetuous rashness of the viscount of Narbonne, who led his men so furiously to the charge, that for an instant the English archers were beaten from the lino of palisadoes, behind which, according to their usual custom, they had stationed themselves. Quickly recovering themselves. 244 tS^t Crtaitirg of B^fstori), &c. however, and fcrmlMp beliind and among tlieir l).'ii.-,i.'a,Lrc, Iliey p. Hired Mioir arrows so thickly and Willi such deadly precision, that Narhiinne's men fell fast around him and were soon thrown into confusiim. The main body ot the constalile's army, ani- mated out of all sense of steady discipline by the dashing but most iiiipriulent cliartje of this division, rushed to Narl)oiiiie's sup- port, and necessarily partook Willi his men the slaui-'lilcr and the panic caused bv the Englijli ar.-luTs; while the duke of "Heil- ford, perceivin'-' till' cciiitu-ion of I lieenemy, seized upon the favourable luoiiieut, and charged them at the head of the main body of his men-at-arms. The French ranks quickly broke under this vigorous attack, and the rout in a few minutes became ge- neral. Though Bedford's victory was com- plete, it was, as he considered, so dearly purchased by the loss of sixteen liundred of the English to about two thousand of the French, that he would not allow any rejoicings for a victory whicli had cost the English a loss so nearly proportioned to that of the enemy. But the loss of the French could not fairly be estimated by a mere statement of numbers. It was un- usually great among the leadei's ; Buchan liimself, the earl of Douglas and his son, the counts D'Aumale, De Tonnere, and De Ventadour, with many other noldes, were among the slain ; and the duke D'Alen(;on, the marshal de la Fayette, and the lords Gaucourt and Mortemar among the pri- soners. On the following day Verneuil, having now no hope of relief, surrendered to Bedford. Nothing could appear more desperate than the case of the French king. He had in this fatal battle lost tlie bravest of his leaders; his partisans had no longer even a chance of making any head against the English ;n the provinces north of the Loire ; and he was so far from possessing the necessary means of recruiting his army and enticing other gall.ant men to embrace his desperate cause, that he actually had not even the means of paying for the sup- port of his retinue, though he carefully abstained from indulging many of the fri- volous and expensive shadows of royalty, while he was still uncertain of the issue of his contest for its substance. But just as he himself, as well as both his friends and his foes, began to deem his cause utterly lost, a most unexpected Incident occurred to save him. Jacqueline, countess of Holland and Hainault, had, from the politic motives ■which so generally determined princely marriages, espoused the duke of Burgundy's cousin-german, John, duke of Brabant. The bridegroom was a mere boy of fifteen ; the lady was much older, and of a mascu- line and ardent temper. The sickly and weak-minded boy-husband soon became i the utter detestation of his vigorous and high-spirited wife, and she applied to Rome to annul the unequal and unsuitable mar- riage. Being well aware that, venal as Kome ivas, much difflculty would ensue, from the powerful opposition which would be made to her design by the duke of Bur- gundy, and being fearful that he would even go to thi' extreme of put ting her under per.sonal restraint, sIk^ niaile her escape to England, .and solicited the aid ami lu-otec- tion of the duke of Clone. -trr. Tlie per- sonal beauty of the count. -ss .biciui'line, t.)getlier witli the temptation of her inhe- rited wealth and sovereignty, stimulated the love and ambition of Gloucester so far, that, without even waiting the result of an application to R.une, he made a contract of marriage with her, and commenced an at- tempt to wrest her temtories from the duke of Brabant. The duke of Burgundy was doubly an- noyed and disgusted by this proceeding of Gloucester ; for while it very seriously trenched uponhis family power and wealth, it gave but an unpromising earnest of the conduct to be expected from the English, when, having fully established themselves in France, they should no longer, from not needing the duke's alliance and support, have any interested motive for putting any limits to their personal ambition or cupi- dity. Actuated l)y these feelings, he not only counselled his cousin to resistance, but exerted himself to induce the more powerful of Jacqueline's subjects to op- pose her, and marched himself with a con- siderable body of his troops to support them in doing so. Too exclusively engaged with his per- sonal designs to give their due weight to political consideratious, Gloucester would not be diverted from bis purpose ; and a quarrel at once political and personal thus engaged him and the duke of Burgundy m war in the Low Countries. Gloucester, in the course of the anary correspondence which accompanied the warlike contest between him and the duke of Burgundy, imputed falsehood to Philip, in terms so insultingly direct, that Philip iusisted upon a retractation, and personal challenges now passed between them. The grave and politic Bedford was vexed to the soul at the consequences of Glouces- ter's imprudence; consequences as disas- trous and threatening to the English power in France, as they were fortunate and hope- ful to the cause of the rightful king of France. For, in the first place, Gloucester employed in his own quarrel the troojis which Bedford had been so anxiously ex- pecting from England, and, in the next place, tills occurrence could not butweaken, if it did not wholly alienate, the friendship of the duke of Burgundy, to which the English cause was so much indebted. Having endeavoured, but in vain, to me- diate between the angry dukes, Bedford now saw himself obliged to abstain from following up his signal victory at Verneuil, and to hasten to England, to endeavour by his presence there to repair the already very mischievous consequences of his brother's headstrong temper and personal ambition. Nor was it on account of Gloucester's folly alone that the presence of Bedfonl was at this juncture much needed in Em- land. The bishop of Winchester, as v.u (iFiiQlanlf.— |^0xt^e of Jlsitcaiter.— I^citrg 245 nientioncd before, had been selected by parliament as custos of the young king's person, not only on account of his great abilities, but also because his family had no claim to the throne that could induce him to behave unfairly to his young charge. But this prelate had great personal ambi- tion. He was of an arbitrary and peremp- tory temper, and required from the council a far greater share of authority in the state than his office of custos of the king's person could warrant him In demanding, or the council In granting. Between the prelate, thus peremptory and ambitious, and the equally ambitious and flery Gloucester, it was inevitable that an oiieu iiU'ii'ii'I should t.ake place under such i-ircuiiisiauces ; and as each of them had his partisans in the ministry, it was not without some difiiculty that even the great authority of Bedford composed the existing differences ; nor did he wholly succeed in so doing until he had invoked the authority of parliament, before which assembly the two disputants were com- pelled to come to an apparent reconci- liation, and to promise that thenceforth all their differences should be buried in oblivion. While Bedford had been busy in adjust- ing this untoward and unseemly quarrel, the duke of Burgundy had so well em- ployed liis credit at Rome, as to have pro- cured a bull which not only annulled the marriage contract between the countess Jacqueline and the duke of Gloucester, but also forbade their marriage even in the event of the duke of Brabant being re- moved by death. The duke of Gloucester, who had all along been actuated in his ad- venturous suit far more by ambition and cupidity than by love, finding so insuper- able an obstacle interposed between him and even his future success, very soon con- soled himself for his disappointment by giving his hand to a lady who had for a considerable time been known as his mis- tress. Soon after, the duke of Brabant died ; and Iiis widow, in order to recover her territory, was obliged to declare the duke of Burgundy her heir should she die with- out issue, and to engage not to take a second husband unless with the duke's consent. This termination of the affair prevented the immediate hostility upon the part of Burgundy, of which Bedford at first had been very justly apprehensive ; but all the circumstances of the quarrel were calcu- lated greatly to weaken the duke of Bur- gundy in his attachment to the English, from whom he could no longer expect, in the event of their complete success, to receive much better treatment than that which on the part of king Charles had aroused the duke to such fierce enmity ; and ultimately this quarrel did alienate the duke from his unnatural and, on the whole, very impolitic alliance with the English. TJie duke of Brittany, whose alliance Bedford valued only second to that of Bur- gundy, was very effectually detached from the English side by the gift to his brother, the count of Richemont, of the office of constalile of France, vacant by the death of Buclian ; and this loss must have been the more mortifying to Bedford, because he could not be unaware that it was mainly owing to the Impolitic pertinacity with which he had refused to gratify the passion of tlie count of Richemont for military com- mand. Tlie cooled zeal of one ally and the total loss of another, and the favourable moral effect which these things and eight months of comparative quiet had produced upon the partisans of king Charles, were suf- ficient to cause an.xiety to the sagacious duke of Bedford when he returned to Prance. The French garrison of Montargis was besieged by the earl of Warwick and an army of three thousand men, and was so reduced as to be on the very point of sur- rendering, when the Bastard of Orleans, afterwards so famous under his title of duke of Dimois, marched with only sixteen hundred men to Montargis, and compelled Warwick, in spite of his superior numbers, to raise the siege. The first aim of the duke of Bedford was to bring back to his alliance the duke of Brittany. Sensible that that prince had chiefly been guided in his change of alli- ance by the count of Richemont, and would, therefore, most probably allow his own ob- vious interest to induce him to change sides once more, Bedford secretly concentrated several detachments of English upon the frontiers of Brittany, and invaded that pro- vince so suddenly, that the duke had no chance of resistance, but saw himself oblig- ed to consent to give up the French alli- ance and adhere to the treaty of Troyes, to acknowledge the duke of Bedford as regent of France, and to pledge himself to do homage to the young king Henry for his duchy. Having thus freed himself from a danger- ous enemy in his rear, Bedford prepared for an enterprise, the success of which would pretty completely insure the entire success of the English cause— the siege of the city of Orleans, which was so situated between the northern and southern provinces as to open a way to the entrance of either by its possessor. As Bedford, having been so suc- cessful in expelling Charles from the nor- thern provinces, was about to attack him in the south, the possession of Orleans was evidently of the greatest importance to him. The conduct of the attack upon Orleans was intrusted to the earl of Salisbury, a distinguished soldier, who had just brought a reinforcement of six thousand men from England. The earl, quite rightly, no doubt, confined himself to the task of taking several places in the vicinity of Orleans, which, though they were but small, might prove of very serious inconvenience to him when engaged in the contemplated siege. These preliminary measures of the earl, however conformable to the rules of war, and however indispensable imder the par- ticular circmnstances, were at the least 246 E]^e Crrajrttrij at I^Wtorj?, &^c. thus far uiifurtuiinte, that they at once dis- cl.isorl III kill',' Cliiirlt's Ihc main ilesfKii cif tlio Kiiirlisli, .'iiid ij.-ivc liiiii time ami npiicir- tuiilty lu throw in fUcli .. l-f29.— While Suffolk was thus en- gaged in starving the enemy within the wails, he was himself in no small danger of being placed in the same predicament. There were, it is true, neither entrench- ments nor redoubts behind him, but there were numerous and indefatigaljle parties of French ravaeers.who completely denuded of provisions all the neighbouring districts from wliich he might otherwise have pro- cured supplies; and from his small force ho could not, without great danger to his main design, detach any considerable number to keep the French ravagers in check. Just as Suffolk's men beg.an to ba seriously dis- tressed for provisions, a very great convoy of stores of every description arrived to their relief imder the command of sir.John Fastolffe, with an escort of two thotisand five hunarea men, but before it could reach Suffolk's camp, it was suddenly attacked by nearly double that number of French and Scotch, under the command of Dunois and tf.e count of Clermont. Fastolffe endea- voured to counterbalance his inferiority iu men, by drawing them up behind the wag- gons, but the enemy brought a small bat- tery of cannon to bear upon him, which very effectually dislodged and disordered the English. The affair now seemed to be secure on the French side, as a steady jier- severance but for a few minutes in their first proceeding would have made it. But the fierce and undisciplined impetuosity of a part of the Scotch troops caused them to break their line and rush in upon the En- glish; a general action ensued, and ended in the retreat of the French, who lost five hundred in killed, besides a great numlicr of wounded, and among the latter was Dunois himself. The convoy that was thus saved to the English was of immense im- portance, and owing to a part of it being herrings for the food of the soldiers during Lent, the affair commonly went by the name of the ' battle of the herrings.' The relief thus afforded to the English enabled them daily to press more closely upon the important city; and Charles, now wholly despairing of rescuing it by force of arms, caused the duke of Orleans, who was still a prisoner in England, to propose to Gloucester and the council, that this city and all his territory should be allowed to remain neutral during the whole remainder of the war, and, as the best security for neutrality, be placed in the keeping of the duke of Burgundy. That prince readily grasped at the proposal, and went to Paris to urge it upon the duke of Bedford, who, however, replied th.at he had no notion of beating the bushes that others might secure the game; and Burgundy, deeply offended both at the refusal and the man- ner in which it was made, immediately de- parted and withdrew all those of his men CPnglanlf.— I^nti^e af HantHSttr.—Wnvs WJt. 247 Mliowere ouiiTiieil in the iuvcstmeiit of Orleans. PoHeil as well in negotiation as iu arms, Charles now wholly despaired of savinpr Orleans, when an incident occurred to save it, and to Kive new hopes to his cause, Ml iii:ir\(il(ius, thatitreads more like the invi'iitlnii ,it' a romancer's fancy than the sobir rehuiuu of the matter-of-fact his- torian. Long as Orleans had heen invested, and Intimately connected as its fate seemed with th.at of the whole nation, it is not to he wondered at that the siege was talked of in all parts of France, and speculated upon even by minds usually but little cog- nizant of public affairs. Among the thou- sands whose minds were strongly agitated by the frequent and various news from Orleans was Joan of Arc, the maid servant of a country inn at Domremi, near Vau- cy her nuisl needs be suceess- ful. With these fond prepossessions in her favour she set out for Ulois to head the escort of a convoy about to be sent to the relief of Orleans. The escort In question consisted of an army of ten thousand men under the com- mand of St. Severe, who now liad orders to consider himself second in command to Joan of Arc; — though probably with a se- cret reservation not to allow her supcrn.i- tural fancies to militate against any of the precautions commanded by the laws of mortal warfare. Joan ordered every man in the army to confess himself before marching, and all wom^n of bad life and character to he prohibited from following the army, which last order had at least the recommendation of removing a nuisance which sadly militated against good disci- pline. At tjie head of the troops, carrying in her right hand a consecrated banner, upon which was embroidered a representar tion of the Supreme Being grasping the earth, Joan led the w.ay to Orleans, and on approaching it she demanded that Orleans should be entered on the side of the Beausse; but Dunols, who well knew that the Eng- lish were strongest there, so far interfered with her prophetic power as to cause the other side of the river to be taken where the English were weaker. The garrison made a sally on the side of the Beausse, and the convoy was safely taken across the river in boats, and was accompanied by the Maid of Orleans, whose appearance, under such circumstances, arrayed in knightly garb and solemnly waving her consecrated banner, caused the soldiers and citizens to welcome her as being indeed an inspired and glorious prophetess, under whose or- ders they could not fail of success ; and as another convoy shortly afterwards arrived, even Dunois was so far converted to the general belief, as to allow it, in obedience to Joan's orders, to approacli it by the side of the Beausse. This convoy, too, entered safely, together with its escort, not even an attempt being made on the part of the besiegers to cut it off. Yet a few days before Joan's first arrival at Orleans, when she had sent a letter to Bedford, threatening him with the Divine anger should he venture to resist the cause which she was sent to aid, the veteran duke treated the matter as the ravings of a maniac, or as a most shallow trick, the mere resorting to which was sufficient to show the utter desperation to which Charles ■was driven. But the age was supersti- tious, and the natural success which had followed the pretensions of Joan was by the ignorant soldiers and by their (as to superstition) scarcely less ignorant officers, taken to have been caused by it, and to be, therefore, a sure proof of her supernatural mission and an infallible augury of its suc- cess. Gloom and terror were in the hearts and upon the countenances of the English soldiery, and Suflolk most unwisely allowed these feelings full leisure to exert them- Belvos by leaving his men imemployed in any military attempt ; their Inactivity thus serving at once to increase their despond- ency, while It increased the coufldcnce and exultation of the garrison. Whether merely obeying the promptings of a naturally brave and active spirit, worked into a state of high enthusiasm by the events in which she had taken so con- spicuous a part, or from the politic prompt- ings of Dunois and the other P'rench com- manders, Joan now exclaimed that the gar- rison ought no longer to be kept merely on the defensive ; that the brave men who had so long been compulsorily idle and pent up within their beleaguered walls should be led forth to attack the redoubts of the enemy, and that she was commissioned by Heaven to promise them certain success. An attack was accordingly made u])on a redoubt and was completely successful, the defenders being killed or taken prisoners to a man. This success gave new animation to the French, and the forts on the other side of the river were next attacked. On one occasion the French were repulsed, and Joan received an arrow in her neck ; but she led back the French to the charge, and they overcame the fort from which for a moment they had fled, and the heroine— for such she was, apart from her superna- tural pretensions— plucked the arrow from the wound with her own hands, and scarcely staid to have the wound dressed ere she returned to the self-imposed duty into which she so zealously entered. Such was the effect of Joan's deeds and pretensions, that the English lost redoubt after redoubt, besides having upwards of six thousand men either killed or wounded in these most desperate though only par- tial contests. It was in vain that the En- glish commanders, finding it utterly useless to endeavour to convince their men that Joan's deeds were natural, laboured to per- suade them that she was aided nnt by Heaven, but by the powers of darkness ; for it was impossible to persuade the meu that those powers were not, for the time at least, too strong to be combated with any possibility of success. Fearing, there- fore, that the most extensive disaster, even a total destruction of his army, might result from his keeping men so thoroughly and incurably disheartened, before a place de- fended by men whose natural courage was indescribably heightened by their belief that they were supernaturally assisted, the earl of Suffolk prudently, but most reluc- tantly, resolved to raise the siege, and he commenced his retreat from before Orleans with all the deliberate calmness which the deep-seated terror of his men would allow him to exhibit. He himself with a prin- cipal part of his army retired to Jergeau, whither Joan followed him at the head of an army six thousand strong. For ten days the place was gallantly attacked and as gallantly defended. At the end of that time orders for the assault were given, and Joan herself descended into the fosse and led the attack. Here she was struck to the ground by a stone, but almost immedi- ately recovered herself, and fought with her accustomed courage until the assault (Snzlmts.—^auSe al ILaucaStcr.— ?§enrs 5H3E. 249 was cnmpletely siicccssful. Suffolk was hiniselC takfu iirisoiicr by a Freucli ofBcer named Rfiiaud, and on tliis occasion a sin- Kiilar siJC'ciuieu was given of the nice punc- tilios of cliivalry. Wlieu Suffolli, coin- Iilc'tely overpowered, was about to give up his sword, he demanded whether his suc- ces,-ful opponent wcn' a I;nit,'lit. IJenaud \vasiililiKedtocon(( sstliHtlieliadnotyetaf- taincd to that di.-tiiniion, thoii«lilic could boast of bcins: a gentleiiiau. 'J'hm I kii'tiM jjiiii, said Suffolk; and he bestowed upon 'kenaud thekniglitly accolade with the very sword wliich an instant afterwards was de- livered to him as the captor of the man to wliom he owed his knighthood. While these things were passing at Jer- geau, the remainder of the English army, under FastoUEe, Talbot, and Scales, was making a somewhat disorderly retreat be- fore a strong body of French ; and the van- guard of the latter overtook the rear of the former near the village of Patay. So ut- terly dismayed were the English, and so conlident the French, that the battle had no sooner commenced than it became con- verted into a mere rout, in which upwards of two thousand of the English were killed, and a vast number, including both Scales and Talbot, taken prisoners. So great and so universal was the panic of the English at this period, that Fastolffe, who had often been present In the most disastrous scenes of war, actually set the example of flight to his astounded troops, and was subsequently puuished for it by being degraded from the order of the Garter, ^vhich had been be- stowed upon him as the appropriate reward of a long life and gallant conduct. So blighting a power has superstition even upon minds accustomed to treat mortal and tangible dangers with even an exces- sive indifference I During this period king Charles had kept remote from the actual theatre of war, though he had actively and eHlciently busied himself in furnishing supplies and sending directions to the actual command- ers of his troops in the field. But now that Joan had so completely redeemed her pledge as to the raising of the siege of Orleans, and now that the prestige of her supernatural mission had so completely gained the ascendency over the minds of all conditions of men, he felt neither sur- Iirise nor reluctance when she urgently solicited him to set out for Rheims, and confidently repeated her assurances that he should without delay be crowned in that city. True it was that Rheiras could only be reached by a very long march through a country in which the enemy was in great force, and in which, of course, every advan- tageous position was carefully occupied by them. But the army was confident of suc- cess so long as Joan marched at its head ; and Charles could not refuse to accompany the heroine, without tacitly confessing that he had less faith in her mission, or was himself possessed of less personal courage, than the lowest pikeman in his army. Either of these suppositions would neces- sarily be fatal to his cause ; and he accord- ingly set out for Rheims, accolupajuied by Joan and an army of twelve thousand men. Instead of meeting with the opposition he had anticipated, Charles marched as peacefully along as though no enemy had been in the neighbourhood. Troyes and Chalons successively opened their gates to him ; and before he reached Rheims, where lie might reasonably have expected that the English would master their utmost force to prevent a conniation of which they could not but judge the probable infiuence on the minds of the French, he was met by a peaceable and humble deputation which presented him with the keys. And in Rheims, the especial and ancient coronation place of his fathers, Charles was crowned, as the Maid of Orleans had prophesied that he would be ; and he was anointed with the holy oil which was said to have been brought from Heaven by a pigeon at the coronation of Clovis ; and the lately obscure menial of the village inn waved over his head the consecrated banner before which his foes had so often fled ; and while the glad multitude shouted in tri- umphant joy, she to whom so much of this triumph was owingf ell at hisf eet and bathed them with tears of joy. CHAPTER XXXI. The Reign of Henky VI. (fiontinuecC). The coronation of Charles in the city of Piheims was doubly calculated to raise the spirits and to quicken the loyal attachment of his subjects. For while, as the esta- blished coronation place of the kings of France, Rheiras alone seemed to them to be capable of giving full sanctity and effect to the solemnity, the truly surprising dilDcul- ties that had been surmounted by him in obtaining possession of that city, under the auspices of the Maid of Orleans, seemed to all ranks of men in that superstitious age to be so many clear and undeniable evi- dences that the cause of Charles was in- deed miraculously espoused by Heaven. On turning his attention to obtaining posses- sion of the neighbouring garrisous, Charles reaped the full benefit of this popular judge- ment ; Laon, Soissons, Chateau-Thiery, Provins, and numerous other towns opening their gates to him at the first smnmons. This feeling spread far and wide ; and Charles, who so lately sawhimself upon the very point of being wholly expelled from his country, had now the satisfaction of seeing the favour of the whole nation ra- pidly and warmly inclining to his cause. Bedford in this diflicult crisis showed himself calm, provident, and resolute as ever he had been during the greatest pros- perity of the English arras. Perceiving that the French, and especially the fickle and turbulent population of Paris, were wavering, he judiciously mixed curbing and indulgence ; at once impressing them with a painful sense of the danger of insurrec- tion, and diminishing, as far as kindness could diminish, their evidently strong de- sire for one. Conscious, too, that Bur- gundy Was deeply offended, and that his open enmitj would just at this juncture be 250 Clje Crraj^ur}) of ^iitaru, ^t. absolutely fatal to the English Ciiiiso, Bed- ford skilfully laid hinisolf nut to wiu him linck til Rood humour aud to conllrm him in ills riUiaiire. lUit there.' was In Bedford's situation an- other element of difflculty, at'iiinst which he found it i^tillmoredifflculttoconten'L The counuest of Franco had lost mucli of its popularity in the judKemcnt of the ICnglish. As regarded the mere umititude, this pro- bably arose simply from its having lost ils novelty; but thinking men both in and out of i>ariiament had begun to count the cost against the profit ; and not a few of them liad even begun to anticipate not profit but actual injury to England from the conquest of France. These feelings were so general aud so strong, that while the parliament steadily refused supplies of money to Bed- ford, a corresponding disincliuatiou was shown by men to enlist in the reinforce- ments which he so much needed. Brave as they were, the English soldiers of that day desired gold as well as glory ; and they got a notion that neither the one nor the other was to be obtained by warring against the king of France, who, even by the state- ments of the English commanders them- selves, owed far more of his recent and marvellous successes to the hellish arts of the Maid of Orleaus than to mortal skill and prowess. Just as the duke of Bedford was in the utmost want of reinforcements, it most op- portunely chanced that the bishop (now cardinal) of Winchester landed at Calais on his way to Bohemia, whither he was lead- ing an army of five thousand men to com- bat against the Hussites. This force the cardinal was induced to yield to the more pressing need of Bedford, who was thus en- abled to follow the footsteps aud thwart the designs of Charles, though not to ha- zard a general action. But in spite of this aid to Bedford, and in spite of all the skill and firmness of that general, Charles made himself master of Compeigne, Beauvais, Senlis, Sens, Laval, St. Denis, and nume- rous places in the neighbourhood of Paris. To this amount of success, however, the Fabian policy of Bedford confined the king of France, whose forces being chiefly vo- lunteers, fighting at their own expense, were now obliged to be disbanded, and Charles himself retired to Bourges. A.D. 1430. — Attributing the advantage which Charles had evidently derived from his coronation rather to the splendour of the ceremony than to the real cause of its locality, Bedford now determined that his own young prince should be crowned king of France ; and he was accordingly brought to Paris, and crowned aud anointed there with all the pomp and splendour that could be commanded. The splendid ceremony was much admired by the Parisian popu- lace, and all the crown vassals who lived in the territory that was actually In the hands of the English duly appeared and did homage to the young king ; but to an ob- servant eye it was very evident that this ceremony created none of the passionate enthusiasm which had marked that of Charles at Rheims, Hitherto we have seen the Maid ot Or- le.ius only in one long brilliant .and un- broken career of prosperity ; but the time now approached for that sad and total re- verse wliich must, from the very llrst, have been antieipated by all men who hail sense enouL'h to discredit alike the representa- tion of her miraculous support tliat was given by her friends, and of her diabolical commerce that was given by her enemies. It would seem that she herself began to have misgivings as to the nature of her inspiration, as the novelties of military splendour grew stale to her eye, and her judgement became more and more alive to the re;d dilllculties of the military achieve- ments which must be performed by her roy.al master, before he could become king of France in deed as well as by right. From such misgivings it probably arose th.-it, having now performed her two great and at first discredited promises, of raising the siege of Orleaus and of causing Charles to be crowned at Rheims, she now urgently desired to be allowed to return to her ori- ginal obscurity, and to the occupations aud apparel of her sex. But Dunois was too well aware of the influence of her supposed sanctity upon the soldiers, not to be very anxious to keep her among them ; and he so strongly urged her to remain, and aid in the crowning of her prophetic and great career by the total expulsion of the ene- mies of her sovereign, that she, in a most evil hour for herself, was worked upon to consent. As the best service that it w.as at the instant in her power to do, she threw herself into Compeigne, which the duke of Burgundy and the earls of Arundel and Suffolk were at that time hotly besieging. Her appearance was hailed by the besieged with a perfect rapture of joy ; she had proved her miraculous power by such splendid and unbroken success, that every man among them now believed himself in- vincible and the victory secure; aud the news of her arrival undoubtedly imbued with very opposite feelings not a few of the brave hearts in the English camp. But tlie joy of the one party and the gloom of the other were alike short-lived and unfounded. On the very day after that on which she arrived in the garrison she led forth a sally, and twice drove the Burgundians, under John of Luxembourg, from their entrench- ments. But the Burgundians were so quickly and so numerously reinforced, that Joan reluctantly ordered a retreat, and in the disorder she was separated from her party and taken prisoner, after having de- fended herself with a valour and address which would have done no discredit to the bravest knight among her Burgundian captors. This event was so unexpected, that the popular humour of the times attributed it to the treachery of the French officers, who, said the rumour, were so weary of hearing themselves depreciated by the attributing of every success to Joan, that they pur- posely abandoned her to the enemy. But besides that there is not a shadow of proof of this charge of treachery, which several historians have somewhat too hastily adopt- Citglantr.— |1^0ti^c of %mxtnstcr.—'^mv^ 251 ed, the fair presumption is entirely against it. On tlie one hand, we cannot imagine that the private envy of the French officers would thus outweigh alike their ardour for tlie cause in which they foutrht and their sense of their own safety, whiih depended so mainly u])on that triumpti which the in- spiring elfect of Joan's presence among their men was more than anything else likely to insure. On the other hand, what more likely than that a woman, in spite of the best efforts of her friends, should be taken prisoner in such a scene of confusion? How many thousands of men had been, lu that very war, taken prisoners la similar scenes, without any surmise of treachery 1 A.D. 1431. — It is always painful to have to speak of some one enormous and indeli- ble stain u|i(>u a character otherwise fair and adniiiahle. The historian irresistibly and alniiist unconsciously finds his sympa- thies awakened on behalf of the great cha- racters whose deeds he describes. It is impossible to write about the wise and valorous course of the great duke of Bed- ford without a feeling of intense admira- tion ; proportionally painful it needs must be to have to describe him as being guilty of most sottish and brutal cruelty. Aware how much the success of Joan had tended to throw disaster and discredit upon his arms, Bedford imagined that to have her in his power was to secure his future suc- cess, and he paid a considerable sum for her to John of Luxembourg. Joan, being delivered into the power of Bedford, was loaded with chains and thrown into a dungeon ; and the bishop of Beauvais, on the plea that she was captured within his diocese, petitioned Bedford that she might be delivered over to the ecclesiastical power, to be tried on the charges of im- piety, sorcery, idolatry, and magic ; and his petition was seconded by the university of Paris. To the eternal infamy of Bedford, this petition was complied with ; and, loaded with irons, the high-hearted and admirable, however deluded, woman was taken before her judges at Rouen, only one of them, the cardinal of Winchester, being an English- man. She defended herself with courage and with a cogency of reply eijual to what might be expected from a man who, to good early training, should add the practice and experience of a long life. She boldly avow- ed tliat the great aim and end of all her public acts had been to rid her country of its enemies, the English. "When taunted with having endeavoured to escape by throwing herself from a tower, she frankly confessed tliat she would repeat that at- tempt if she had the opportmiity ; and when asked why she put trust in a standard which had been consecrated by magical incantations, and why she carried it at the coronation of Charles, she replied that she trusted not in the standard but in the Supreme Being whose image it bore, and that the person who had shared the danger of Charles's enterprise had a just right also to share its glory. The horrors of solitary coufmemcnt, and repeated exposure to the taunts and iusiUts of her persecutors, at length broke down even the fine proud spirit of Joan ; and in order to put an end to so much torture, she at length confessed that what she had been in the haiiit of mis- taking for visions from heaven, must needs be mere illusions, as they were condemned by the ilairch ; and she promised that she wuuUl no longer aUow them to influence her mind. This confession temporarily saved her just as she was about to be de- livered over to theseculararra ; and, instead of being forthwith sentenced to the stake, she was sentenced to the comparatively mild, though still shamefully unjust, punish- ment of perpetual imprisonment, with no other diet than bread and water. Here, at all events, one miglit have sup- posed that the cruel rage of Joan's enemies would have stopped. But even now that she was a captive, and wholly powerless to Injure them, her enemies were not satiated. Judging, with a malignant ingenuity, that the ordinary habiliments of her sex, to which since her capture she had constantly been confined, were less agreeable to her than the male and martial attire in which she had acliieved so many wonders and ex- torted so much homage, they caused a suit of male attire and appropriate armour to be placed within her reach. As had been anticipated, so many associations were awakened in her mind by this dress, that the temptation to put it on was quite irre- sistible. As soon as she had donned the dress her enemies rushed lu upon her ; this mere and very harmless vanity was inter- preted Into a relapse into heresy, and she was delivered over to the flames in the market-place of Rouen, though the sole crime she had committed was that she iad loved her country, and served it. A. D. 1432. — The brutal injustice Inflicted upon a woman whom the nobler delusions of Greece and Kome would have deified and worshipped, by no means produced the striking benefit to the English cause that had been anticipated. The cause of Charles was from rational reflection daily becoming more popular, and the cruelty of the Eng- lish served rather to confirm than to di- minish that tendency ; while a series of successes on the part of the French followed as a matter of course. The death of the duchess of Bedford very much weakened the attachment of her brother, the duke of Burgundy, both, to Bedford personally and in general to the English cause ; and the coolness which fol- lowed this event was still farther increased when Bedford very shortly afterwards es- poused Jacqueline of Luxembourg. Philip, not without reason, complained that there was a want of decent regard to his sister's memory exhibited in so hasty a contract of a new marriage, and that a personal affront was offered to himself by this matrimonial alliance without any intimation of it being given to him. Sensible how serious an injury the con- tinued coolness between these princes must inflict upon the English cause, the cardinal of Winchester offered himself as a mediator between them, and a meeting was ajipoint- ed at St. Omer's. Both Bedford and Bur- gundy went to that town, which was in the 252 Cibf CrraSurg of ^iitarn, ict. doiniiiioiis of the latter, ami Bedford cx- jnHti'd that, as he had thus far waved eti- q\iette, the duke of Burgundy woulil pay him the flr.-t visit. Philip declimd doing so; and upon this idle piece of mere cere- mony they both, without a single Interview, left a town to w hich they both professed to have gone with the sole intent of meeting and becoming reconciled. So great is the effect of idle custom upon even the wise and the powerful ! This new cause of discontent to the duke of Burgundy happened the more untoward- ly, because it gieatly tended to couHrm him in his inclination to a reconciliation with king Charles. That prince and his friends had made all possible apology to the duke ou account of the murder of the late duke his father; and as a desire for the revenge of that murder had been Philip's chief rea- son for allying himself with England, the more thSt reason became diminished, the more Burgundy inclined to reflect upon the impolicy of his aiding to place foes and fo- reigners upon the throne which, failing in the elder French branches, might descend to his own posterity. A.D. 1435.— These reflections, and the con- stant urging of the most eminent men in Europe, including his brothers-in-law, the duke of Bourbon and the count of Richemont, bo far prevailed with Burgundy, that he consented to attend a congress ap- pointed to meet at Arras, at which it was proposed that deputies from the pope and the council of Basle should mediate be- tween king Charles and the English. The duke of Burgundy, the duke of Bourbon.the count of Hichemont, the cardinal bishop of ■Winchester, the bisliops of Norwich and St. David's, and the earls of Suffolk and Hun- tingdon, with several other eminent per- sons, met accordingly at Arras and had conferences in the abbey of St. Vaast. On the part of France the ambassadors offered the cession of Guienne and Normandy, not In free sovereignty, hut only as feudal fiefs ; on the part of England, whose prior claim ■was upon the whole of France as rightful possession and free sovereignty, this offer seemed so small as to be utterly unworthy of any detailed counter-offer ; and though the mediators declared the original claim of England preposterously unjust, the bishop of Winchester and the other English au- thorities departed without any detailed explanation of their wishes, but obviously dissatisfied and inclined to persevere in their original design. The negotiation as between France and England being thus abruptly brought to an end, the reconcilia- tion of Charles and the duke of Burgundy alone remained to be attempted by the me- diators. As the provocation originally given to Burgundy was very great, and as the present importance of his friendship to Charles was confessedly of vast importance, so were his demands numerous and weighty. Besides several other considerable territo- ries, Charles ceded all the towns of Picardy situated between the Low Countries and the Somme ; all of which, as well as the proper dominions of the duke, were to be held by him during his life, without his cither doing homage or swearing fealty to Charles, who, in pledge of his sincerity in the making of this treaty, solemnly released his subjects from all allegiance to him should he ever violate it. Willing to break with England with all due regard to the externals of civility, the duke of Burgundy sent a herald to England to notify and apologise for this treaty, which w.as directly opposed to that of Troyes, of which he had so long been the zealous and powerful defender. His mes- senger was very coldly listened to by the English council, and pointedly insulted by having lodgings assigned to him in the house of a mean tradesman. The populace, too, were encouraged to insult the subjects of Philip who chanced to be visiting or resident in London ; and, with the usual brutal willingness of the mob to show their hatred of foreigners, they in some cases carried their violence to the extent of luurder. This conduct was as impolitic as it was disgraceful, for it not only sharpened Phi- lip's new zeal for France, but also furnish- ed him with that plea which he needed, not only for the world but also for his own conscience, for his sudden and complete abandonment of his alliance with the Eng- lish. Almost at the same time that Eng- land was deprived of the powerful support of Burgundy, she experienced two other very heavy losses,! he duke of Bedford dying of disease a few days after he had tidings of the treaty of Arras, and the earl of Arun- del dying of wounds received in a battle where he, with three thousand men, was utterly defeated by Xaintraillesat the head of only six hundred. A.D. 1436.— As in private so in public af- fairs, misfortunes ever come in shoals. Just as England required the most active and disinterested exertions on the part of those to whom Bedford's death had left the di- rection of affairs, the dissensions which had long existed between the bishop of Winchester and the duke of Gloucester grew so violent, that in their personal quar- rels the foreign interests of the king and kingdom seemed to be for the time, at least, entirely lost sight of. A regent of France was appointed, indeed, as successor to Bedford, in the person of the duke of York, son of that earl of Cambridge who was executed early in the preceding reign ; but owing to the dissensions above men- tioned, his commission was left unsealed for seven months after his appointment, and the English in France were, of course, during that long and critical period virtu- ally left without a governor. The conse- quence, as might have been anticipated, was, that when he at length was enabled to proceed to his post, Paris was lost ; the in- habitants, who had all along, even by Bed- ford, been only with difliculty prevented from rising in favour of Charles, having seized this favourable opportunity to do so ; and lord Willoughby, with fifteen hundred men, after a brave attempt first to preserve the city and then to maintain themselves in the Bastille, was at length reduced to such distress, that he was glad to capitulate CiFnglanlf.— |^0U)Jc of aantafiter.— Hcnrjj 253 on permis8lou to withdraw his troops into Normandy. Itt'solved that his enmity to England should not long he without outward de- monstrations, the duke of Burgundy raised an immense hut heterogeneous and ill-dis- ciplined army in the Low Countries, and proceeded to invest Calais, which was now the most important territory the English had in Prance. The duke of Gloucester, as soon as the tidings reached England, rais- ed an army and sent a personal defiance to the duke of Burgundy, whom he challenged to remain before Calais until the weather would permit the English to face him there. Partly from the evident terror which Gloucester's high tone struck into the Fle- mings, and partly from the decided ill-suc- cess which attended two or three partial attempts which Burgundy had already made upon Calais, that prince, instead of waiting for Gloucester's arrival, raised the siege and retreated. A.D. L440.— For Ave years the war was eonflned to petty enterprises of surprising convoys and taking and re-taking towns. But though these enterprises had none of the brilliancy of more regular and sustain- ed war, they were to the utmost degree mischievous to both the contending parties and the unfortunate inhabitants. More blood was shed in these nameless and inde- cisive rencontres than would have sufficed for a Cressy or an Agincourt ; and the con- tinual presence of numerous and ruthless spoilers rendered the husbandman both un- able and unwilling to sow for that harvest which it was so improbable that he would ever be permitted to reap. To such a war- fare both the contending parties at length showed themselves willing to put an end, and a treaty was commenced for that pur- pose. France, as before, offered to cede Normandy, Guienne, and Calais to England as feudal tlefs ; England, on the other hand, demanded the cession of all the provinces which had once been annexed to England, including the final cession of Calais, with- out any feudal burthen or observances whatever. The treaty was consequently broken off, and the war was still carried on in the same petty but destructive manner ; though a truce was made as between Eng- land and the duke of Burgundy. For a long time after the battle of Agin- court, England had possessed a great ad- vantage in all affairs with France, from the captivity of the royal princes, five in num- ber, who were made prisoners at that bat- tle. Death had now very materially dimi- nished this advantage, only the duke of Orleans surviving out of the whole five. This prince now oJCered the large ransom of flfty-f(jur thousand nobles, and his pro- posal — like all public questions at this pe- riod—was made matter of factious dispute between the. partisans of the cardinal of Winchester and those of the duke of Glou- cester. The latter urged the rejection of the proposal of Orleans, on the ground that the late king had on his death-bed advised that no one of the French princes should on any account be released, until his son should be of age to govern the kingdom in his own person. The cardinal, on the other hand, expatiated on the largeness of the offered ransom, and drew the attention of the council to the remarkable and unques- tionable fact, that the sum offered was, in truth, very nearly equal to two-thirds of all the extraordinary supplies which the par- liament had granted for the public service during the current seven years. To this solid argument of pecuniary matter-of-fact he added the plausible argument of specu- lation, that the liberation of Orleans, far from being advantageous to the French cause, would be of direct and signal injury to it, by giving to the French malcontents, whom Charles already had much difficulty in keeping down, an ambitious and promi- nent as well as capable leader. The arguments of the cardinal certainly seem to deserve more weight than the wishes of a deceased king, who, however politic, could when giving his advice have formed no notion of the numerous changes of circumstances which had since taken place, and which, most probably, would have caused him very considerably to mo- dify his opinion. It was, however, less to the superiority of his advice than to his superiority of influence, that the cardinal gained his point, and that the duke of Or- leans was released after a captivity of flve- and-twenty years, the duke of Burgundy generously assisting him in the payment of his very heavy ransom. A.D. 1444.— However acquired, the influ- ence of the cardinal was unquestionably well and wisely exerted in the affair above described ; and he now, thoughwith less per- fect success, exerted it to a still more impor- tant end. He had long encouraged every at- tempt at peace-making between France and England, and he now urged upon the coun- cil the utter impossibility of a complete coi'quest of Prance, and the great difficulty of even maintaining the existing English power there while Normandy was in disor- der, the French king daily gaining some ad- vantage, and the English parliament so in- curably reluct.ant to grant supplies. He urged that it would be far better to make peace now than when some new advantage should make the French king still more un- yielding and exacting in his humour ; and his arguments, based alike upon humane motives and facts which lay upon the very surface, prevailed with the council. The duke of Gloucester, indeed, accustomed to consider France the natural battle-ground and certain conquest of England, opposed the pacific views of the cardinal with all the violence arising from such haughty prepossessions increased by his fixed ha- tred of witnessing the triumph of any pro- posal made by the cardinal. The latter, however, was too completely in the ascend- ant to allow Gloucester's opposition to be of any avail, and the earl of Suffolk was sent to Tours with proposals for peace. The pretensions of the two parties were still too wide asunder to admit of a perma- nent peace being concluded ; but as the earl of Suffolk was in earnest, and as the dreadful state to which most of Charles's territories 2o4 Elit CTrwiSury at W^tarp, &c. wore reduced by the long continued war made some respite of great importance to his subjects, as well as to his more perso- nal interests, it was easily agreed that a truce should take place for twenty-two months, each party as to territory remain- ing as it then was. As Henry of England had now reached the mature age of twenty-three, this truce afforded the English ministers opportunity and leisure to look around among the neigh houringprincesses for a suitable queen for him. To all the usual diffleulties of such cases a serious one was added by the extremely simple, weak, and passive natun' of Henry. Without talent and without energy, it was clear to everyone that this prince would reign well or ill, exactly as he fell under the influence of a princess of good or bad disposition. Easily attached, he was as easily governed through his attachments ; and each faction was conse- j quently possessed with the double anxiety of mari-ying him well, as to itself in the first place and as to the nation in the next. The first princess proposed was a daughter of the count of Arraagnac ; but as she was proposed by the duke of Glou- cester, the predominant faction of the car- dinal at once rejected her, and proposed Margaret of Anjou, daughter of Regnier, the titular king of Sicily, Naples, and Jeru- salem, whose real wordly possessions, how- ever, were in exactly inverse ratio to his raagniflcent and sounding titles. Margaret of Anjou, notwithstanding her poverty, had personal qualities independent of her beauty, which made her indeed a pro- mising queen for a prince who, like the weak and almost childish Henry, required not a burthen but a support in the person of his wife. She had great and, for that age, very highly cultivated talents, and her courage, sagacity, and love of enterprise were such as are seldom found even in the other sex. Her own high qualities and the strong advocacy of the cardinal caused Mar- garet to be selected, in spite of all opposi- tion on the part of the duke of Gloucester ; and Suffolk was entrusted with the busin ess of negotiating the marriage. In this im- portant negotiation Suffolk proved that his party had by no means overrated either his tact or his zeal. Notwithstanding the high personal qualities of Blargarct, it could not be concealed that she was the daughter of a house far too poor to offer any dowry to such a monarch as the king of England ; and yet Suffolk, desirous to-prepossess the future queen to the utmost in favour of himself and his party, overlooking alto- gether the poverty from which the princess was to be raised by her marriage, consented to the insertion of a secret article in the treaty, by which the province of Maine was ceded to her uncle, Charles of Anjou, prime minister and favourite of the king of France, who had previously made Charles the grant of that province— only the grant was conditional upon the wresting of the province from the English who at present possessed it. Had any member of the Gloucester fac- tion been guilty of this impudently politic and dexterous sacrifice of his country's in- terest, he would undoubtedly have been im- peached and ruined for his pains ; but it is most probable that Suffolk had in secret the concurrence of the cardinal, for the treaty was received in fingland and ratifled as though it had secured some vast terri- torial advantage ; and Suffolk was not only created first a marquis and then a duke, but also honoured with the formal thanks of parliament for the ability he had displayed. As the cardinal and his party had calcu- lated, Margaret as soon as she came to England fell into close and cordial connec- tion with them, and gave so much increase and solid support to the already overgrown, tluiugh hitherto well exerted, authority of Winchester him.self, that he now deemed it safe to attempt what he had long desired, the utter ruin of the duke of. Gloucester. A.D. 1447. — The malignity with which the cardinal's party hated the duke of Gloucester abundantly shows itself in the treatment which, to wound him in his ten- derest affections, they had already bestowed upon his duchess. She was accused of the impossible, but at that time universally credited, crime of witchcraft, and of hav- ing, in conjunction with sir Roger Boling- broke and Margery Jordan, melted a figure of the king before a slow fire, with magical incantations intended to cause his natural body to consumeaway simultaneously with his waxen efllgy. Upon tjils preposterous charge the duchess and her alleged con- federates were found guilty ; and she was condemned publicly to do penance, her less Illustrious fellow-suflerers being executed. The duke of Gloucester, though noted for his hasty temper and pride, was yet very po- pular on account of his candour and general humanity ; and this shameful treatment of his duchess, though committed upon what we may term the popular charge of witch- craft, was very ill taken by the people, who T'lainly avowed their sympathy with the sufferer and their indignation against her persecutors. The popular feeling for once was well founded as well as humane ; but as the cardinal's party feared that this sym- pathy might soon shape itself into deeds, it was now resolved to put the unfor- tunate duke beyond the power of doing or causing mischief. A parliament was accordingly summoned to meet ; and, lest the popularity of the duke in London should cause any obstruction to the de- signs of his enemies, the place of meeting was St. Edmund's Bury. The duke arrived there without any suspicion of the mis- chief that was in store for him, and was immediately accused before the parliament of high treason. Upon this charge he was committed to prison, and shortly after- wards was found there dead in his bed. It is true that his body was publicly exposed, and that no marks of violence could be de- tected; but the same thing had occurred in the cases of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, Richard the Second, and Edward the Second, yet docs any reader of sane mind doubt^that they were mur- dered ? Or can any such reader doubt that «PitsTantr,— ?S0U)Se of EanrajStcr.— Igcnru WI. 255 this unfortunate prince was murdered, too, his enemies fearing tliat liia putillc execution, tliougli the servility of tlie par- liament would li;ive furely sanctioned It, niiwht he(l;iim'cnius to their own interests? Tlie de.illi of tlio duki' did not prevent cer- tain of his suite, who were accused of heing accomplices of his alleged treasons, from being tried, condemned, and partially executed. We say partially executed, be- cause these unhappy men, who were or- derrd to he h.inj-'ed and (juartered, were actually liMULird, iirep.iralory to the UKuv brutal partof tile sentence being executed ; but just as they were cut down and the executioners preparing to perform their more revolting task, orders arrived for that part of the sentence to he remitted, and surgical means to be taken for the resusci- tation of the victims. And this was actually done. The unhappy prince who thus fell a vic- tim to the raging ambition of the cardinal's party was a scholar and a man of intellect, far superior to the rude age in which he lived. Sir Thomas More gives a striking though wliimsical instance of his acute- ness of judgment. The duko while riding out one day chanced upon a crowd which had giitliereil round an impostor, who al- leged that hi', hnviiig been blind from his birth, had just then obtained his sight by touching the then famous shrine of St. Alban's. The duke, whose learning en- abled him to see through and to despise the monkish impostures which found such ready acceptance with the multitude, high as well as low, condescended to ask this vagrant several questions, and, by way of testing his story, desired him to name the colours of the cloaks of the bystanders. Not perceiving the trap that was laid for him, the fellow answered with all the glib accuracy of a clothier commending his wares, when the duke replied, ' You are a very knave, man, had you been born blind, though a miracle had given you sight, it could uot thus early have taught you accu- rately to distinguish between colours,' and, riding away, he gave orders that the fla- grant impostor should be set in the nearest stocks as an example. It was generally considered that the queen, whose masculine nature had already given her great weight in the dominant party, had at least tacitly consented to the murder of the unfortunate Gloucester. This probable supposition had caused her consi- derable unpopularity, and a circumstance now occurred by which the ill opinion of the people was ravich aggravated. It would seem that that article of Margaret's marriage settlement which ceded Maine to her uncle was kept secret during the life of the duke of Gloucester, to whose opposition to the cardinal's party it would of necessity have given additional weight. But the court of France now became so urgent for its im- mediate performance, that king Henry was induced by Margaret and the ministers to despatch an autograph orderto thegovernor of Mans, the capital of that province, to give up that place to Charles of Anjou. The governor, Sir Francis Surienne, strong- ly interested in keeping his post, and pro- bably forming a shrewd judgement of the manner in wliicli the king had been induced to make such an order, (latly refused to obey it, and a French army was forthwith led to the siege of tlie iilace by the celebrated Dunois. Kven then Surienne ventured to hold out, butbcing wholly left without suc- cour from Normandy, where the duke of Somerset had forces, he was at length obliged to capitulate, and to give up not only JIans but the whole province, which thus iiiKloiiously was transferred from Kiiglaiid to Charles of Anjou. A.I). H'I8. — The ill effects of the dis- graceful secret article did not stop here. Surienne, on being suffered to depart from Mans, had two thousand five hundred men witli liini, whom he led into Normandy, na- turally expecting to be attached to the force of the duke of Somerset. But the duke, straitened in means, and therefore uiiwilliMLT to have so large an addition to the uiultitude that already depended upon him, anil being, besides, of the cardinal's faction, and therefore angry at the disobe- dience of Surienne to the orders of the king, would not receive him. Thus sud- denly and entirely thrown on his own re- sources, Surienne, acting on the maxims common to the soldiery of his time, re- solved to make war upon his own account ; and as either the king of England or the king of Frtnce would be too potent and dangerous a foe, he resolved to attack the duke of Brittany. He accordingly marched his daring and destitute band into that country, ravaged it in every direction, pos- sessed himself of the town of Fougeres, and repaired, for his defence, the dilapida- ted fortresses of Poutorson and St. Jacques de Beavron. The duke of Brittany natu- rally appealed for redress to his liege lord, the king of France ; and Charles, glad of an opportunity to fasten a plausible quarrel upon England, paid no attention to Somer- set's disavowal alike of connection witli the adventurer Sourienne and controul over his actions, but demanded compensation tor the dukeof Brittany, and put the grant- ing of that compensation wholly out of the question by fixing it .at the preposterously large amount of one million sii hundred crowns. A.D. 1449.— Payment of this sum was, in truth, the very last thing that Charles would have desired. He had most ably employed himself during the truce for a re- newal of war at its expiration, as soon as ffirtune should favour him with an advan- tageous opening. While lie had been thus employed, England had been daily growing weaker ; faction dividing the court and government, and poverty and suffering re)i- dering the people moreand more indifferent to foreign wars and conquests, however brilliant, tinder such circumstances Charles gladly seized upon the wrong done to the duke of Brittany by a private adventurer as an excuse for invading Normandy, which he suddenly entered on four different points with as many well-appointed armies, under the command, respectively, of Charles in person, the duke of Brittany, the duke o| 256 €^c (TrcaSttriJ of Igtsftorg, ^c Alcnron, niirt tlio rmmt of Dunols. So HuiliU'ii was tlip irruptiim of Charles, and so (•ompli'tely unprcparod wero the Norman garrisons toreslst hlni.thal the French hart only to appear before a phice to pause its purrenrter ; and tlioy at once, and at the mere expense of marchinK, obtained pos- session of Verneull, Noyont, Chateau Gail- Inrd, Pontcau rte Mer, (iisors, Nantes, Vernon, Arpenlau, liisieux, Fecamp, Cou- tances, Belesine, and Pont de L'Arclic, an eitent of territory which had cost the En- glish incalculableexpcnseof both blood and treasure. Thus suddenly and formidably beset, the duke of Somerset, governor of Normandy, found it utterly useless to endeavour to check the enemy in the field ; so far from being able to raise even one numerous army for that purpose, his force was too scanty even to supply sufficient garrisons ; and yet, scanty as it was, far too numerous for his still more limited means of subsist- ing it. He consequently threw himself with such force as he could immediately command into Rouen, hoping that he might maintain himself there until assistance could be sent to him from England. But Charles allowed no time for the arrival of such aid, but presented himself with an army of fifty thousand men at the very gates of Rouen. The inhabitants, already disaffected to the English, now became driven to desperation by their dread of the severities of the French, and tumultuously demanded that Somerset should instantly capitulate in order to save them. Thus as- sailed within as well as from without, So- merset led his troops into the castle, but finding it untenable he was at length obliged to yield it, and to purchase permis- sion to retire to Harfleur by surrendering Arques, Tancarville, Honfleur, and several other places in higher Normandy ; agreeing to pay the sum of fifty-six thousand crowns, and deliveringhostagesforhis faithful per- formance of the articles. Among the host- ages was the earl of Shrewsbury, the ablest English general in France ; and lie was now condemned to detention, and to in- activity at the very moment when his ser- vices were the most needed, by the positive refusal of the governor of Honfleur to give up that place at the order of Somerset. Honfleur also gave a refusal, but, after a smart defence by sir Thomas Curson, was at length compelled to open its gates to the French luider Dunois. Succour at length arrived from England, but only to the very insulBcient number of four thousand men, who soon after they landed were completely defeated at Four- migni by the count of Clermont. Somer- set, who had retired to Caen in hope of aid, had now no choice but to surrender; Falaise was given up in exchange for the liberty of the earl of Shrewsbury ; and just one year after Charles's first irruption into Normandy the very last possession of the English in that province, the important town of Cherbourg, was surrendered. In Guieune the like rapid progress was made by the French under Dunols, who encMJUutered bnt little difficulty even from the strongest towns, lilsartllleo' being of a very superior descrlpticm. Bordeaux and Rayonni' made a brave attemi>t at holding out, but no assistance being 8<'nt to them from England, they also were compelled to submit; and the whole province of Guicnne was thus reunited to France after it had been held ami hauled fur by the English for three huiidrcil yo.-irs. A faint effort w.as subsequently made, indeed, to recover Guienne, but it was so faint that it utterly failed, and war between England and France ceased as if by their mutual con- sent, and without amy formal treaty of peace or even truce. CHAPTER XXXII. The Reign of Henry VI. (concluded). K.T>. 1450.— The affairs of England were as threatening at home as they were dis- astrous abroad. The court and the minis- terial factions gave rise to a thousand dis- orders among the people, besides habitu- ating them to the complacent anticipation of disorders still more extreme and general ; and it was now only too well known that the king, by whom both factions might otherwise have been kept in awe, was the mere and unresisting tool of those by whom he chanced to be surrounded. To add to the general distress, the cessation of the war in France, or, to speak more plainly, the ignominious expulsion of the English from that country, had filled Eng- land with hordes of able and needy men, accustomed to war, and ready, for Che mere sake of plunder, to follow any banner and support any cause. And a cause for the civil war which these needy desperadoes so ar- dently desired soon appeared in the preten- sions to the crown put forward by Richard, duke of York. Descended by his mother from the only daughter of the duke of Cla- rence,sefonrf son of Edward III., the duke claimed to stand before king Henry, who was descended from the duke of Lancaster, the third son of Edward III. ; and his claim being thus cogent, and he being a brave and capable m.an, immensely rich and con- nected with numerous noble families, in- cluding the most potent of them all, thit of the earl of Westmoreland, whose daughter he had married, he could not fail to be a most formidable opponent to so weak and incapable a king as Henry ; and the daily increasing disorders, sufferings, and dis- contents of the nation, promised ere long to afford him all the opportunity he could re- quire of pressing his claim with advantage- Though parliament and the people at large were unwilling to make any sacrifices for the defence of the foreign interests of the nation, and could not or would not un- derstand that much more exertion and ex- pense are often necessary to preserve than to make conquests, they were not a jot the less enraged at the losses in France, which, though they mainly origin.ated in the ces- sion of Maine to Charles of Anjou, were consummated through the rigid parsimony which withheld supplies and reinforce- ments when they were actually indispen- sable. The cession of Maine to Charles of CPitfllanU.— ?^ouSe of %mcniter,—mtnr^ ?FI. 257 AnjuLi, Udurlcd with Ills fast friendship witli tlu> king of France and his active ex- ertions in that prince's interest, persuaded tlie BnBlish people that their queen wns their enemy at heart, and that her influence in the English council was a chief cause of the English disgrace and loss. Already tlie jiartisans of the dul^e of York busied them- selves in preparing to kindle a civil war ; and already the murder of Gloucester hegan to be avenged upon its authors, not merely in the bitterness which it gave to the ha- tred of the people, but by the loss of the courageous authority of the murdered duke, now so much needed successfully to op- pose York and his seditious partisans. The clamour against the ministers and the queen daily grew louder, and the name that was pronounced with the extremest and most intense hate was that of Suffolk. However the people may, by the dema- gogues of their time and country, be mis- led to clamour against the great, it is a certain and an important truth that the feelings and affections of the people are decidedly aristocratic. As the favourite minister of the unpopular Margaret, as the dexterously unpatriotic ambassador who to oblige her had robbed England of Maine, and as the man most strongly suspected of having brought about the murder of Gloucester, Suffolk would under any circumstances have been detested; but this detestation was lashed into some- thing very like insanity by the considera- tiim which was constantly recurring, that this noble, so powerful that he could aid in murdering the nation's favourite ruler, and rob the nation to conciliate the favour of a princess who so lately was a stranger to it, was a mere noble of yesterday, the great grandson, merely, of a veritable trader! This consideration it was that added bitterness to every charge that was truly made against him, and this it was that caused not a few things to be charged against him of which he was wholly inno- cent. Suffolk's wealth, continually increasing, as well managed wealth needs must be, was contrasted with the daily increasing penury of the crown, which caused the people to he subjected to a thousand extortions. While he was continually growing more and more dazzling in his prosperity, the crown, indebted to the enormous extent of 372,000?., was virtually bankrupt ; and the very provisions for the royal household were obtained by arbitrary purveyance— so arbi- trary, that it fell little short of open robbery with violence. Aware of the general detestation in which he was held, Suffolk, who, apart from all the mere exaggerations of the mob, was a ' bold bad man,' endeavoured to f orestal any formal attack by the commons' house of parliament, by rising in his place in the lords and loudly complaining of the calum- nies that were permitted to be uttered against him, after he had lost his father and tliree brothers in the public service, and had himself lived seventeen years wholly in service abroad, served the crown in just double that number of campaigns, teen made prisoner, and paid his own heavy ransom to the enemy. It was scandalous, he contended, that any one should dare to charge him with treachery and collusion with foreign enemies after he had thus long and faithfully served the crown, and been rewarded by high honours and important offices. Though Suffolk's apology for his conduct was professedly a reply only to the ru- mours that were current against him among the vulgar, the house of commons well un- derstood his real object in making it to be a desire to prevent them from originating a formal charge against him ; and feeling themselves now in some sort challenged and bound to do so, they sent up to-the psers a charge of high treason against Suf- folk. Of this charge, which was very long and divided into a great number of clauses, Hume thus gives a summary : — 'They in- sisted that he had persuaded the French king to invade England with an armed force, in order to depose the king Henry, and to place on the throne his own son, whom he intended to marry to Margaret, the only daughter of the late duke of Somerset, and for whom he imagined he would by that means acquire a title to the crown ; that he had contributed to the re- lease of the duke of Orleans, in the hope that that prince would assist king Charles in expelling the English from France and recovering full possession of his kingdom ; that he had afterwards encouraged that monarch to make open war on Normandy and Guienne, and h.ad promoted his con- quests by betraying the secrets of Eng- land, and olistructing the succours in- tended to be sent to those provinces ; and that he had, without any powers or permission, promised by treaty to cede the province of Maine to Charles of Anjou, and had ceded it accordingly, which proved in the issue the chief cause of the loss of Nor- mandy.' These charges were easily refuted by a re- solute and self-possessed man like Suffolk. As regards the cession of Maine, he justly enough said, that lie had the concurrence of others of the council ; but he took care not to add, that though that was an excel- lent reason why he should not be alone in bearing the punishment, it was no reason why he should escape punishment alto- gether. With respect to his alleged inten- tions as to his sou and Margaret of Somer- set, he more completely answered that charge by pointing out that no title to the throne could possibly be derived from Margaret, who was l;erself not included in the parliamentary act of succession, and by confidently appealing to many peers pre sent to bear witness that he had intended to raari-y his son to one of the earl of War- wick's co-heiresses, and had only lieen pre- vented from doing so by the death of that lady. As if they were themselves conscious that the particulars of their first charge were too vague and wild to be successful, the commons sent up to the lords a second accusation, in which, among many other evil doings, Suffolk was charged with im- properly obtaining excessive grants fron^ z2 Ci)e Crcajfurg of Witavyi, ict. 268 the crown, with cmbo/.zllng the public ' moiiej', and with confcrrliiK ollices upon improper persons, and improperly using his intluence to defeat the due executiou of the laws. The court now became alarmed at the evident deternilnntiot. of the roiinnons to follow up the pniciTiliii'-,'-; :i-'.-iiiist Sulfolk with rii^our, ;mu1 ,'in e\tr;iordin;iry expedient was hit upon for Ilie purpos^c of s^ivinw hini from the W(U-st. The peers, Ixilli spiritual and temporal, weresuuuuoned to the king's presence, and Sulli>lk beiiif? then produceil denied the diaries made against him, but submitted to the king's mercy ; when the king pronounced that the first charge was untrue, and that as to the second, Sutfolk, liaving submitted to mercy, should be ba- nished for five years. This expedient was far too transparent to deceive the enemies of Suffolk, who clearly saw that it was merely intended to send him out of the way until the danger was past, and then to re- call him and restore him to authority. But their hatred was too intense to allow of their being thus easily baffled in their purpose ; and they hired the captain of a vessel and Bome of his fellows, who surprised Suffolk near Dover, as he was making for France, beheaded him, and threw his body into the sea. Greatly as SufEolk had been favoured by queen Margaret, it was not deemed ex- pedient to take any steps to bring his murderers to justice, lest in the enquiry more should be discovered than would con- sist with the possibility of the queen and the house of commons keeping up any longer even the simulation of civility and good feeling. Though the duke of York was In Ireland during the whole of the proceedings against Suffolk, and therefore could not directly be connected with them, Margaret and her friends did not the less suspect him of evil designs agaiust them, and were by no means blind to his aspiring views to the crown ; nor did they fail to connect him with an in- surrection which just now broke out under the direction of one Cade. This man, who was a native of Ireland, but whose crimes had obliged him for a considerable time to find shelter in France, possessed great re- solution and no small share of a rude but showy ability, well calculated to impose upon the multitude. Returniugto England just as the popular discontent was at its highest, he took the name of John Morti- mer, wishing himself to be taken for a son of sir John Mortimer, who very early in the present reign had been sentenced to death by the parliament, upon an indictment of high treason, wholly unsupported by par- liament, and most iniquitously, on the part of Gloucester and Bedford, allowed to be executed. Taking up the popular outcry against the queen and minister, this Cade set himself up as aredresserof grievances; and partly from his own plausible talents, but chiefly from the charm of the very popu- lar name he had assumed, he speedily found himself at the head of upwards of twenty; thousandmen. Imagining that avery small, force would suffice to put dovni what was considered but a vulgar riot, the court sent sir Humphrey Stafford with a mere handful of nieii upon that errand ; but sir Humphrey was attacked by Cade near Sevenoaks, his little force cut up or scattered, and himself slain. Emboldened by this success, Cade now marched his disorderly band towards I.oiuion and encamped upon Blackheath, whence he sent a list of obvious grievances of which he demanded the correction ; but solemnly protested that he and his followers would lay down their arms and disperse, tlio moment these grievances should be remedied, and lord Say, the treasurer, and Cromer, the sheriff of Kent, against both of whom he had a malignant feeling, should be condignly punished for sundry malver- sations with which he strongly charged them. Confining his demands within these bounds, and taking care to prevent his fel- lows from plundering London.whence he re- gularly withdrew them at nightfall, he was looked upon with no animosity, at least, by the generality of men, who knew that many of the grievances he spoke of really existed. But when the council, seeing that there was at least a passive feeling in favour of Cade, withdrew with the king to Kenil- worth, in Warwickshire, Cade so far lost sight of his professed moderation as to put lord Say and Cromer to death without even the form of a trial. As soon as he had thus set the example of illegal violence he lost all his previous controul over the mob, who now conducted themselves so infamously towards the citizens of London, that they, aided by a party of soldiers sent by lord Scales, governor of the Tower, resisted them, and the rebels were completely de- feated with very great slaughter. This se- vere repulse so far lowered the spirits of the Kentish mob, that they gladly retired to their homes on receiving a pardon from the archbishop of Canterbury, who also filled the office of chancellor. As soon as it could safely be done, this pardon was pronounced to be null and void, upon the ground that it bad been extorted by vio- lence ; many of the rebels were seized and executed, and Cade himself, upon whose head a reward was set, was killed by a gen- tlenjan named Ardcn, while endeavouring to conceal himself in Sussex. Many circumstances concurred to lead the court to suspect that this revolt had been privately set on foot by the duke of York, to facilitate his own designs upon the crown ; and as he was now returning from Ireland, they imagined that he was about to follow up the experiment, and accord- ingly issued an order, in the name of the imbecile Henry, to oppose his return to England. But the duke, who was far too wary to hasten his measures in the way his enemies anticipated, converted all their fears and precautions into ridicule, by cool- ly landing with no other attendants than his ordinary retinue. But as the fears of his enemies had caused tliem to betray their real feelings towards him, he now resolved to proceed at least one step towards his ultimate designs. Hitherto his title had been spoken of by his friends only in whispers among themselves, but he now ffinQlanlf.— l^oujJe of %antniUr.—^snrs Wi. 259 autlKirised them opeuly to urge It at all times and in (ill places. The rarlisans of the relprning king and of the as|iirlnpr duke of York, respectively, had each very plausihle arguments; and though men's minds were pretty equally divided as to their respective claims, the Buperiorlty which York had as to the fa- vour of powerful nohlemen seemed to be more than counterbalanced by the posses- sion, by the royal party, not only of all au- thority of the laws, but also of that ' tower of strength," ' the king's name.' On the side of the crown, besides the advantages to which we have already alluded, there were ranged the earl of Northumberland and the earl of Westmoreland, and these two nobles carried with them all tlie power and influence of the northern counties of England ; and besides these two great men, the crown could reckon upon the duke of Somerset and his brother the duke of Exeter, the duke of Buckingham, the earl of Shrewsbury, the lords Clifford, Scales, governor of the Tower, Audley, and a long list of nobles of less note. A.D. 1451.— The party of the duke of York was scarcely less strong ; but so far had arts and literature begun to show their civilising effects, that instead of instantly and fiercely flying to arms, the hostile par- ties seemed inclined to struggle rather by art than force. The duke of York was the more inclined to this plan, because he ima- gined he had power enough in the parlia- ment to deprive the weak Henry of the presence and support of his friends ; in which case he would have but little dilll- culty in causing the succession to be al- tered by law, or even in inducing Henry to abdicate a throne which he was obviously and lamentably unfit to fill. Nor did the parliament which now met fail to confirm York's hopes ; the first step taken by the house of commons was to pe- tition the king to dismiss from about his person the duke of Somerset, the duchess of Suffolk, the bishop of Chester, lord Dud- ley, and sir John Sutton, and to forbid them on any pretence to approach within twelve miles" of the court. The king agreed to banish all named, save the lords, for a whole year, unless, as the answer written for him very significantly said, he should need their services iu the sujipression of rebellion. Still farther to show his sense of the tem- per of the lower house, the king— or rather his friends— refused to consent to a bill of attainder against the late duke of Suffolk, though it had passed through all the par- liamentary stages. A.D. 1452— The mere demonstration thus made by the house of commons,even though It had proved but partially successful, was sufficient to encourage the duke to more open advances, and he issued a proclama- tion demaudmg a thorough reform of the government, and especially the removal of the duke of Somerset from all office and authority ; and he then marched upon Lon- don with an army of ten thousand men. Greatly popular as he knew himself to be in London, where he counted upon an af- fectionate welcome and a considerable addition to his force, he was astounded to find tlie gates fast closed against him. Scarcely knowing how to act under such unexpected and untoward circumstances, he retreated into Kent, whither he was closely pursued by the king at the head'of a far superior army. In the king's suite were Salisbury, Warwick, and many more fast friends of the duke of York, who pro- bably thus attended the king in hope of serving York as mediators, or even, should an action take place, turning the fortune of the day by suddenly leading their forces to his side. A parley ensued, and Somer- set was ordered into arrest to await a par- liamentary trial, and York, whom the court did not as yet dare to assail, was ordered to confine himself to his secluded house at Wigmore in Herefordshire. Cool and circumspect as he was resolute, the duke of York lived quietly in this re- tirement for some time, but was at length called from it by the torrent of popular in- dignation against the ministers, which fol- lowed a new and utterly abortive attempt to reconquer Gascony; in \\liiili attempt, besides a vast number u( imjii, the English lost their deservedly bi'loviil gem ral, the earl of Shrewsbury, who fell in li.ittle at the age of more than eighty years. This event, and the queen giving birth to a son, which did away with the hope great numbers had entertained that York might wait and suc- ceed to Henry quietly and as next heir, urged the Yorkists beyond all farther power of their chief to control them; and Henry being, by an illness, now rendered too com- pletely imbecile even to appear to rule, the queen and her council were obliged to yield to the torrent of popular feeling, and they consented to send Somerset to the Tower —he being now hated even more than Suf- folk had formerly been— and to appoint the duke of Y'ork lieutenant of the kingdom. The friends of the duke of York might, naturally enough, desire to see him in a situation so favourable to his and their ultimate views ; but the duke's conduct wholly disappointed any expectations they might have formed of decisive measures on i his part, as he fairly and moderately exerted the proper authority of his office, and no more. A.D. 1455.— Margaret and her friends, however well pleased to profit by the duke's moderation, showed no intention of imi- tating it. On the contrary, the king reco- vering sufficiently to be again put forward in public as if acting from his own free will, was made to annul the appointment of York, to release Somerset from the Tower, and give him back all his fonner power. Even the moderation of York was no longer able to avoid open extremities, as it was clear, from the hasty annulling of his commission, that he was not safe from being, by some artful device, brought into difficulty for having ever consented to ac- cept it. But even now, though he called his forces about him and placed himself at their head, he made no claim to the crown, but Umited his demands to a reformation of the government and dismissal of the ob- noxious ministry. 260 t!rt)C CrcajSurp of ftWtorp, &c. The hnslilf forci's met near St. Alban'f, and In the Kittle wlilch ensued the York- ists pained the victory, their enemies losinqr 5,000 men,tnc-ludln!rthe detested Somerset, the earl of Nnrlbuiiilierland, the cnrl of Stafford, eldest son of the duke of Bnckinp- hani, the lord Clifford, and many other le.idiuK men of the party. The prisoners, too, were numerous, and, chief of all, the king was among them. His own utter im- becility and the mild temper of the duke of York saved the unfortunate Henry from all annoyance. The duke showed him every possilile respect and tenderness; and thouch he availed himself of his good fortune to exert all the kingly authority, while still leaving unclaimed the empty title of king, Henry was little inclined to quarrel with an arrangement which saved him from ■what he most of all detested, exertion and trouble. The moderate or timid policy of the duke of York, and the spirit and ability with which Margaret kept together her weak- ened party, prevented farther bloodshed for a time, even after this battle had com- menced the dread war of ' the roses ; ' in ■which, besides innumerable skirmishes, twelve pitched battles were fought upon English ground, and which for thirty long years divided families, desolated the land, and caused a loss of life of which some notion may be formed from the simple fact that among the slain were no fewer than eighty princes of the blood I The parlia- ment, seeing the disinclination of the duke of York to grasp the sceptre which seemed so nearly within his reach, shaped its pro- ceedings accordingly; and while, by grant- ing an indemnity to the Yorkists and re- storing the duke to his office of lieutenant or protector of the kingdom, they renewed their oath of allegiance to the unconscious and imbecile king, they limited York's ap- pointment to the time when the king's son, who was now made prince of Wales, should attain his majority. This parliament also did good service by revoking all the im- politic and extensive grants which had been made since the death of the late king, and which were so extensive that they had mainly caused the excessive poverty into which the crown had fallen. A.D. 1456.— Margaret was of too stern and eager a nature to neglect any of the opportunities of strengthening her party which were afforded by the singular mode- ration or indecision of York, The king having a temporary lucid interval — for his real disease was a sort of idiotcy— she took advantage of the duke's absence to parade her unfortunate and passive husband be- fore the parliament, and to make him de- clare his intention of resuming his autho- rity. Unexpected as this proposal was, York's friends were wholly unprepared with any reasonable argument against it ; and, indeed, many of them, being sufierersfrom the recent resumption of the crown grants, were greatly disgusted with their leader on that account. The king was accordingly pronoimced in possession of his proper authority ; and York, constant to his mode- rate or temporising polity, laid down bis oHlce without a struggle or even a com- plaint. A.D. l^";?.— The king, or rather Margaret, being thus again in full possession of power, the court went to pass a season at Coventry, where York and the earls of Warwick and Salisbury were invited to visit the king. They were so unsuspicious of the real mo- tive of this invitation that they readily accejited it, and were actually on the road when they were informed of Marg.aret's intention certainly to seize upon their per- sons and, not improbably, to put them to death. On receiving this startling intelli- gence the friends separated, to prepare for .an open defence against the open violence which, it seemed probable, Margaret would resort to on finding her treachery dis- covered and disappointed ; York retiring to Wigmove, Salisbury to his noble place at Middlcham in Yorkshire, and Warwick to Calais, of which he had been made go- vernor after the battle of St. Alban's, and which was especially valuable to the York- ist cause, inasmuch as it contained the only regular militarj- body which England then supported. Even now York was not in- clined to proceed to extremities ; and as Margaret on her part was doubtful as to the sufficiency of herrailitary strength, and wellawareof thevery great extent to which the popular sympathies were enlisted on the side or York, a pause ensued, of which Bourchier, archbishop of York and some other sincere lovers of their country, avail- ed themselves, to attempt a mediation by which the people might be spared the ruin- ous and revolting horrors of civil war. j A.D. 1453. — The humane endeavour of I these personages so far succeeded, that the ; leaders of both parties agreed to meet in ' London for a solemn and public reconcilia- i tiou : but the very manner of their meet- [ Ing, notwithstanding the avowed purpose of it, was sufficient to have convinced all accurate observers of thelittle reliance that could be placed upon the friendly feelings of either party. Both came numerously attended, and both kept their attendants I near them, and in the same close watch and serried distribution as would be ob- served in hostile armies encamped upon the same ground at evening, preparatory for the bloodshed and the struggle of the I morrow. Though this mutual jealousy and dread augured but ill for the permanence of a friendship declaimed under such circura- t stances, the terms between the opposing I i),arties were arranged without much diffl- ' culty and wholly without strife ; and the hollow peace having been fully arranged, I the parties went in solemn procession to I St. Paul's, that theirunion might be evident to the people ; York gallantly leading by the hand his truculent and implacable ene- my Margaret, and each of the couples who followed them in the procession being composed of a leading man of the opposing I parties respectively. I A.D. 14S9.— The peace thus patched up j was of exactly the frail tenure that might j have been anticipated. The trivial accident of a retainer of the earl of Warwick being aSnslants.—^auSt of ItancaStcr.— Ilcnrs ©5. 261 insulted led to a general hrawl, swords were drawn, the Hght hecaine serious, and the rojid party being the niorenumurous, War- wick only saved his own life Ijy Hying to Calais. Tliia originally petty affair put an cud to peace ; both parties took off their masks ; everywhere the din of preparation was heard, and it became evident even to those who most desired peace for their country, tliat a civil war was now wholly inevitable. The earl of Salisbury having raised a con- siderable force, was making hasty marches to form a junction with the duke of York, ivhen he was overtaken at Blore heath, in Staflordsiiire, by a much larger party of the royalists under the lord Audley. Salis- bury's numerical inferiority was fully com- pensated by his superiority of judgement. To reach him the royalists had to descend a steep bank and cross a stream. Salisbury caused liis men to retreat as if alarmed at their enemies' numbers ; and Audley, fall- ing into the snare, gave his vanguard the word to chargeand led them in full pursuit. As the vanguard reached the side of tlie rivulet, Salisbury suddenly faced about, and having only to deal with a body inferior to his own, put it completely to the rout, the remaining body of the royalists, in- stead of hastening over to support their comrades, betaking themselves to flight in good earnest. York's post was at Ludlow, In Shropshire, and thither Salisbury now marched liis troops, whose spirits were heightened and confirmed by their victory. Soon after his arrival York received a new accession to his numbers, the earl of Warwick joining him with a body of veterans from the garrison at Calais. York was naturally delighted with this accession of disciplined men, who, under ordinary circumstances, must necessarily have been of immense import- ance; but their commander, sir Andrew Trollope, turned their presence into a ca- lamity instead of an advantage to the duke's cause. The royal army arrived in sight of the Yorkists, and a general action was to take place on the morrow, when sir An- drew, under cover of the night, basely led his veterans over to the king. The mere loss of a large and disciplined Ijody of men was the least mischief this treachery did to York. It spread a perfect panic of suspi- cion and dismay through the camp ; the very leaders could no longer rely upon each other's good faith ; hope and confidence fled, and the Yorkists determined to sepa- rate and await some more favourable state of things before putting their cause to the hazard of a pitched battle. The duke of York retired to Ireland, where he was universally lieloved, and Warwick returned to Calais, where he was from time to time joined by large reinforcements ; York's friends who remained in England continuing to recruit for him as zealously as though his cause had sustained no check from the recent treason. A.D. 1460.— Having completed hia own preparations, and being satisfied fi-om the advices of his friends in England that he might rely upon a considerable rising of the people fn liia favour, Warwick now sailed from Calais witli a large and well- eiiuipped army, and, after capturing some of the royal vessels at sea, landed in safety on the coast of Kent, accomiianied Ijy the earl of Marcli, the eldest son of the duke of York, and tlie earl of Salisbury ; and on his road to Loudon he was joined by the archbishop of Canterbury, lord Cobham, and other powerful nobles and gentlemen. The city of London eagerly opened its gates to Warwick, wliose numbers daily in- creased so much, that he was able with confidence to advance to Northampton to meet tlie royal army. The battle com- menced furiously on both sides, but was speedily decided. The royalists who had lately been benefited by treason were now suffercrsfrom it ; the lord Grey of lluthin, wlio had tlie command of its vanguard, leading the whole of his troops over to tlio Yorkists. A universal panicspread through the royalists by this base treachery, and the battle became a rout. The slaughter among the nobility was tremendous, and included the duke of Buckingham, the earl of Shrewsbury, lord Egremont, sir William Lucie, and many other gallant offlcei's. The loss of the common soldiery on the royal side was comparatively trifling ; the earl of Warwick and his colleagues directing the Yorkists, both in the battle and in the cha.se, to sp.are the soldiery, but to give no quarter among the leaders. The unhappy Henry, who was far more fit for the quiet seclusion of some well-or- dered country abode, was by the compul- sion of his imperious wife a spectator of this battle, and was taken prisoner ; but both policy and good feeling led the Yorkist leaders to show every respect and kindness to one whose greatest misfortune was his being a king, and whose greatest fault was a disease of the brain ; whose patient and simple bearing, moreover, had won him the tender pity of his people. Warwick marched with his royal captive to London, where the duke of York shortly afterwards arrived from Ireland, and a par- liament was summoned in the king's name to meet at Westminster on the 7th of Oc- tober. The real or affected scruples of York were now wholly at an end, and he had determined to bring forward for the first time an open and positive claim to the throne. But even now he would only do so through the medium of a farce which one cannot read of without feeling some- thing like contempt for him, in spite of the remarkable ability of liis general conduct. Though the archbishop of Canterljuryknew the intentions of York fully as well as the duke himself knew them, that prelate on seeing him enter the house of lords and advance towards the tlirone, asked him in a low tone, whether he had as yet paid his respects to the king ; and York an- swered—as the prelate well knew that lie w.as to answer— that he knew of no one to whom he owed the respect due to that title. How two grave men could unblushingly perform this scene of needless mockery, or how they could perform it unchecked by the indignant and contemptuous laughter 2fi2 UTiyt CrcaiSurj) nf W^iovQ, $ct. of their fellow peers, it really is not easy to imagine. Having by this ridiculous scene made all the preparation that he could desire, the duke placed himself close to the throne, and addressed a long speech to the peers in advocacy of his own riKhtto the throne, and in comment upon the treason and cruelty by which the house of Lancaster had usurp- ed and kept possession of it. So unneces- sary was the farce with which the duke had thought tit to preface this statement, so well prepared were at least the majority of the peers present to hear it, that they pro- ceeded to take the subject into considera- tion as coolly as their descendants of the present day would resolve themselves into a committee for the consideration of a turnpike hill. The duke probably was not very well pleased with the excess of this coolness ; for the spot upon which he had placed himself and his bearing through- out the scene go to show, that he expected that the peers would by acclamation place liira upon the throne against which he leaned. The lords having invited the leading members of the lower house to aid them in the investigation of the claim of the duke of York, objections were made to. it, grounded on former parliamentao' settle- ments of the succession, and upon the fact that the duke, who had always borue the arms of York, now claimed through the house of Clarence ; but to both these ob- jections the duke's friends replied by al- leging the prevailing power and great ty- ranny of the Lancastrians ; and the peers, whom this reply satisfied— as, no doubt, had been duly agreed upon long before they met in the house — proceeded to de- termine that the title of the duke of York was beyond doubt just and indefeasible, but that in consideration of Henry having ■worn the crown during thirty-eight years, he should continue to do so during the re- mainder of his life, the duke acting during that time as regent. The lords further de- termined that the duke should succeed to the throne at Henry's decease ; that any attempts upon his life should be equally treason with attempts on the life of the king; and that this new settlement of the crown should he final, and utterly abrogate and annul the settlement made previously. The duke was well contented with this moderate settlement of the question ; the ■weak-minded and captive king had of course no power to oppose it ; and this transfer of the settlement was agreed to by the whole parliament with less excite- ment than a trivial party question has often caused since. Invested with the regency, and also hav- ing the king's person in his power, York was now king in all but name : but he too well understood the audacious and able spirit of queen Margaret, to deem himself permanently in possession as long as she remained in the kingdom and at liberty. Anxious to get her into his power, that he might either imprison or banish her, he sent her, in the name of her husband, a summons to join him in London. But Margaret, who was busy raising forces in Scotland and the north of England, by pro- mising to the bravest and most turbulent men in those parts the spoiling of all the country north of the Trent, instead of com- plying with this summons, unfurled the royal standard, and, showing herself at the head of twenty thousand men, prepared to fight yet anotlier battle against York in despite of disadvantageous fortune. Whe- ther from some unaccountable ■want of judgement on the iiartof the duke, or from the exceeding popularity of Margaret among the inhabitants of the north, causing him to be wantonly misled as to her resources, the duke witli only Hve thousand men march- ed against Margaret's anny, as though he had merely to put down an ordinary revolt of an undisciplined handful of men. A fatal error, from whatever cause it arose 1 The duke had already led his little army as far as Wakefield, in Yorkshire, before he discovered his error just in time to throw himself into Sandal castle, in that neigh- bourhood ; and even now he might have been safe had he not been guilty of a se- cond error, for which no one but himself could possibly be blamed. He was urged by the earl of Salisbury and the rest of the friends who accompanied htm, to keep close within the castle until his son, the earl of March, could arrive from the borders of Wales, where he was levying troops, and thus, when he had something like an equa- lity as to numbers, to descend into the plain and give the queen battle. This pru- dent council the duke -nith inconceivable folly rejected, upon the ridiculous plea that he should be for ever disgraced as a soldier were he to remain shut up within a for- tress because threatened by a woman. Now the duke must full well have kno^wn, that, spirited and sanguinary as Margaret most undoubtedly was, she was in merely the nominal command of her army ; that she was aided by commanders of whose talents it would be no disgrace to him to show his respect; and that, finally, her force outnumbered his in the overwhelming pro- portion of four to one. But the truth wai?, that the duke had more courage as a knight than judgement as a commander ; and, in spite of all that could be said by his real and judicious friends, he obstinately per- sisted in descending to the neighbouring plain and giving battle to the queen. As might have been anticipated, the royalists availed themselves of their vast numerical superiority, and at the commenceiuent of the action detached a considerable body to fall upon the rear of the duke's force. 'This mancEuvre hastened the event, which was not doubtful even from the commence- ment ; the Duke's army was totally routed, and he himself was among the number of the slain. That Margaret should choose to resist the duke was natural, even apart from any doubt she might have felt as to the supe- riority of his claim to that of her husband ; but her conduct after the battle showed a depraved and virulent feeling, which was at once unwomanly and of evil augury to the people in the event of her ever being eiiBlanlf.— ?[?0iiiSe of Eanraitfr— Hcnrg WI. 263 lliMily flxeU In power. The body of her II- liistrinus opponent, whose triumph would iiavc lieeii secure some years before had lin clii'siMi (o push his power to extremity, was found !iinip|i« the slain; and this disKUst- li]i-'lv uiifi'TiiininiMiiicrn had tlir luad slrin-li i.ir aiid alt1\cd to Ilii- wato of York rastle, a jiapor crown beiofe' first placed upon the ghastly head, In bitter and brutal mockery of the duke's unsuccessful endeavours. Margaret's brutal temper seems to have inllucnccd her friends. The youiiK earl of Kutland, son of the duke of York, and then only sfvcntcen years old, belnp taken pri- soner and led into the presence of lord riiifoid, was by that nobleman's own hand I'Ut In death. This dastardly butchery of a nnic iniy is accounted for by thehistorians im the Kround of ClifTord's own father hav- iiii; iHri.-hcd in the battle of St. AJban's I .\s tinum'ii that could have been anyjusti- ilc.uion of his present butchery of a young prince who at the time of that battle was liarely twelve years old I Another illustri- ous victim was the earl of Salisbury, who I iring severely wounded was taken prisoner, c:inied to I'ontefract, and there beheaded. Tliis hatlle was a terrible loss to the Yorkists, ujiwards of three thousand of whom perished, besides the duke. That I lince was only fifty years of age when he fell, and was reasonably looked upon by his jiarty as being likely to be their support and ornament for many years. He was suc- ceeded in his title and pretensions by his eldest son, Edward ; besides whom he left two other sons, George and Richard, and three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, and Mar- garet. I A.D. 1461.— Immediately after this action the able and active, though cruel, Mar- 1 garet marched with the main body of her I army against the earl of Warwick, who ■was left in command of the main body of the Yorkists at London ; while she sent a detachment under Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke, and half brother to her unfortunate husband, against Edward the new duke of York, who was still on the Welsh border. The earl of Pembroke and the duke of York met at Mortimer's cross, in Herefordshire, when the earl was com- pletely routed with the loss of nearly four thousand men ; the remainder of his force being scattered in all directions, and he himself having no small difficulty In making good his retreat. His father, sir Owen Tudor, who accompanied him to this disas- trous battle, was still less fortunate. He was taken prisoner and led into the pre- sence of the duke of York, who Instantly ordered him to be beheaded. Margaret was more fortunate than Pem- broke. She encountered Warwick at St. Alban's, whither he had marched from London to meet her. Warwick's owii fore* was large, and he was strongly reinforced by volunteers, the Londoners being for the most part staunch Yorkists. At the cora- mencementof the battle Warwick even had the advantage, but he was suddenly de- serted by Lovelace, wlio commanded under him, and who led the whole of his men over to the enemy. The consequence was the complete rout of the Yorkists, two thou- sand three hundred of whom perished on the field. Many Yorkists also were taken prisoiiers, as was the unhajipy king, who had been taken t<. the battle by Warwick, and who, in falling atcaiii into the power of his ijiieeii, could scarcilyso prnperlybe said to be rescued as to be taken prisoner. Un- happy prince I Into whose hands soever he might pa.ss, the weaknoes of his mind rendered him but the mere tool and pre- text of his i>ossessor8, who hurried him liither and thither, now vexing his dull in- tellect with the subtle schemes of party, and now startling his tame and timorous spirit with the bloody scenes ajid rude alarms of war. Margaret here gave a new proof of her sanguinary temper. Lord Bonville, who had been entrusted with the care of the king's person during the battle, was rather agreeable to the weak prince, who, on the defeat of the Yorkists, begged this noble- man to remain, and assured him of pardon and protection. But Margaret, as soon as the confusion of battleallojved her to inter- fere, ordered him to be beheaded ; and a similar doom was inflicted upon sir Thomas Kyriel, who had greatly distinguished him- self during the wars in France. Before Margaret could turn the victory she thus abused to any practical advantage, the young duke of Y'ork rapidly approached her ; and as she was sensible of her disad- vantages in being between his army and London, where he was so popular, she has- tily retreated northward; while Edward, whom she but narrowly avoided, and whose army was far more numerous than hers, entered Londcm in triumph, to the great delight of his party. Finding his cause so numerously supported by the Lon- doners, and greatly elated by the cordial gratulations which they bestowed upon him, which he doubtless owed fully asmuch to his youth, the elegance of his person, and his kindly though courtly address, he determined to cast aside all the hesita- tion and delay which had proved so fatal to his father, to assume the throne in de- spite of Henry's existence, and to maintain his assumption by treating as traitors and rebels all who should venture to oppose it. As, however, he was desirous of having at least the appearance of the national con- sent to his claims, and as the appealing to parliament would be infinitely too tedious for his impatience, and might even give time for some fatal bar to arise to his suc- cess, he assembled his army and a great multitude of the Londoners in St. John's Fields, where an artful and yet passionate harangue was pronounced in vituperation of the other faction, and in support of the claims and in praise of the high qualities of Edward himself. Such an harangue as this, delivered before a meeting composed exclusively of the friends and partisans of Edward, could not but elicit applause ; and when it was followed up by the question 'which king they would have, Henry of Lancaster or Edward of York,' who can be in doubt as to the reply with which the mul- titude made the very welkin ring? Edward 264 Clb^ CrraSurg nf ^tStoru, &c. duke of Yort having thus been li.iiled hy 'the people' as their kins under the style of Edward IV., certain peers, prelates, and other Influential personages were next as- sembled at Baynard'9 castle, who confirmed what they obstinately affected to call ' the people's decision;' and Edward TV. was duly proclaimed king on the 5th of March, thus putting a formal end to the reign of the unfortunate Henry, whose Infancy was graced with two crowns, and hailed by the loyal shonts of two nations, and whose manhood had been only one long series of servitude in the hands of avowed enemies, or of friends whose yoke was quite as heavy, and perhaps even more painful. CHAPTER XXXTII. The Eeign of Edward IV. Though Edward was now only in his twentieth year, he had already given proofs of activity, courage, and a very determined purpose; to which we must add, that al- most the very first act of his reign showed that if he were more prompt and resolute than his father, he was also by far more violent and sanguinary. A citizen of Lon- don had the sign of the crown above his shop, and jocularly said that his son should be ' heir to the crown.* Anything more harmless than this jocular speech, or more obvious than the tradesman's real meaning, it would not be easy to imagine. But Ed- ward, jealous of his title and feeling him- self insecure upon the throne, gave a trea- sonable interpretation to a merry joke, in- sisted that it had a derisive allusion tohim- BeLf, and actually had the unfortunate man condemned for treason — and executed ! This brutal murder was a fitting prelude to the scenes of slaughter with which the kingdom was soon tilled ; and plainly pro- claimed that Margaret had now to deal with an opponent to the full as truculent and unsparing as herself. The nation was di^-lded into Lancastrians and Yorkists, the former hearing the symbol of the red, the latter of the white rose ; and as though the blood shed in actual tight were insufficient to allay the tiger-like desire of the princi- 1 pal opponents, the scaffolds were dyed deeply with the blood of the prisoners i taken by either party. Margaret's prjpularity in the northern counties had enabled her to get together an array of sixty thousand men, with which she took post in Yorkshire, whither Ed- ward and the earl of Warwick hastened to meet her. On arriving at Pontefract, Ed" ward dispatched Lord Fitzwalter with a de- tachment to secure the passage over the river Ayre, at Ferrybridge. Fitzwalter ob- tained possession of the important post in question, but was speedily attacked there by very superior numbers of the Lancas- trians under lord Clifford, who drove the Yorkists from their position with great slaughter, Fitzwalter himself being among the slain. When the remains of the beaten detachment carried these disastrous tidings to theearlof Wanvick, that nobleman, fear- ing that the misfortune would destroy the spirits of his troops, had his horse brought to him, stabbed It to the heart in jiresence of the wholearmy, and solemnly swore that he would share the fatigues and the fate of the meanest of his soldiers. He at the same time caused i ublic proclamation to be made, giving permission to any soldier who feared the ajjproaching struggle imme- diately to depart from the army ; and in a si- milar spirit denounced the most severe pun- ishment upon any who on the actual day of battle should show any symptoms of cow- ardice while before the enemy. As the post which had been so disastrously lost by Fitz- walter was of great importance, lord Falcon- berg was sent with a new detachment to recover it ; and, crossing the river at .some miles above Ferrybridge, he fell suddenly upon lord Clifford's detachment and routed it, Clifford himself being among the very considerable number of the killed. The opposing armies at length met at Towton. i'he Yorkists charged under faveur of a severe snow storm which the wind drove into the faces of the enemy, whose half blinded condition was still further turned to advantage by lord Falconberg, who caused a party of his archers, while yet at more than ordinary arrow-shot from the opposite army, to discharge a volley of the light, far flying, but nearly harmless arrows called flight arrows, and immediately to shift their position. The Lancastrians, quite unsuspicious of the stratagem, and prevented by the snow from noticing their opponents' change of position, sent volley after volley of their arrows in that direction whence they had been assailed, and .when they had thus bootlessly emptied their quivers the main body of the Yorkists, led on by Edward himself, made a grand and terribly destructive charge ; the bow was laid aside on both sides for the sword and battle-axe, and the Lancastrians were rout- ed and pursued all the way to Tadcaster by their enemy. The Lancastrian loss, in the battle and the scarcely less murderous pur- suit, was calculated at six and thirty thou- sand men ; among whom were the earl of Westmoreland and his brother sir John Xevil.theeariof Northumberland, the lords Dacres and Welles, and sir Andrew Trol- lope, whose treachery had formerly been so disastrous to the cause of the Yorkists. The earl of Devonshire, who was among the prisoners, was carried before Edward, who sternly ordered him to be beheaded and his head to be stuck upon the gate of York castle ; whence the heads of the late duke of York and the earl of Salisbury were now taken down. Margaret and her unhappy husband were fortunate enough to escape to Scotland, whither they were accom- panied by the duke of Somerset and by the duke of Exeter, who had sided against Ed- ward, although he had married his sister. Scotland was so much torn by faction that the Scottish council afforded but little encouragement to Margaret to hope for a.ssistance, until she promised to give up Berwick and to contract for a marriage of her son and the sister of king James. Ev en then the friendship of the Scots did not as- sume an aspect very threatening to Ed- ^nQXmts.—^au^t of gorit.— (IRitoartr 265 ward, who traiiQUilly returned to London and suiiiiniined a parliament. Edward's snccesa rendered this parllar nieiit viry ready to recognise lils title to the throne hy descent from the family of Wnrtinier ; it expresKed the utmost detes- tation of what It now called the Intrusion of Henry IV., annulled all grants made hy the Lancastrians, and declared Edward's fatlier rightly seized of the crown, and himself the rightful kingfrom the very day th.it ill' was hailed so hy .acclamation of the soliliiry and rahhle, which it complacently termed • the people.' A.n. M()2. — Though Edward found his parliament thus accommodating, he soon perceived that heh.ad very great dilBcuities to contend against hefore he could consider himself secure in his possession of the crown. Not only were there numerous disorders at home, the necessary result of civil war, lint there were enemies abroad. France, especially, seemed to threaten Ed- ward wit li annoyance and injury. The throne ot tliat country wasnow filled by Louis XI., a wily, resolute and unsparing despot. For- tunately for Edward, however, the tortuous policy of Louis had placed him In circum- stances which rendered his power to injure tlie reigning, king of England very unequal indeed to his'will to do so. He at first sent only a very small body to the assistance of Margaret, and even when that queen subse- quently paid him a personal visit to solicit a more decided and elllcient aid, his own quarrels with the independent vassals of Prance only allowed him to spare her two thousand men-at-arms, a considerable force, no doubt, but very unequal to the task of opposing such a prince as Edward. With this force, augmented by numerous Scottish adventurers, Margaret made an ir- ruption into the northern counties of Eng- land, hut she was defeated by lord Monta- gue, warder of the eastern marches between England and Scotland, first at Hedgeley Moor, and then at Hexham. In the Latter action Margaret's force was completely destroyed. Among the prisoners were sir Humplirey Neville, the duke of .Somerset, and the lords Hungerford and De Roos, all of whom, with many gentlemen of less note, were summarily executed as traitors. Henry, who had been, as usual, forced to the battle-field, was for a time concealed by some of his friends in Lancashire, but at the end of about a year was given up to Edward, who held him in too much con- tempt to injure him beyond committing liim to close custody In the Tower of Lou- don. Margaret after her escape from the fatal field of Hexham went through adventures which read almost like the Inventions of romance. Slie was passing through a forest with her son when she was attacked by robbers, who, treating with contempt her royal rank, robbed her of her valuable jewels and also personally 111 treated her. The division of their rich booty caused a general quarrel, which so much engaged their attention that Margaret and her son were enabled to escape. She was again stopi ed in the forest by a single robber, to whom— deriving fearlessness from the very desperation of her circumstances— she cou- rageously said, ' Here, my friend. Is tho son of your king; to your honour I en- trust Ills safety.' The hold demeanour of th(^ (jiieen chanced to chime in with tho robber's humour; he vowed himself to her service, and protected her through the forest to the sea coast, whence she escaped to her father's court, where for se- veral years she lived In a state of ease and quietude strangely in contrast with the stormy life which she had so long been ac- customed to lead. Margaret powerless, Henry Imprisoned, and Louis of France fully engaged with quarrels nearer at home, Edward now thought himself snfBcIently secured upon his thnme to be warranted In indulging in the gaieties and amours which were so well suited to his youth and temperament. But though his gallantries were by no means ill taken by his good citizens of London, and perhaps even made him more popular than a prince of graver life would have been at th.at time, his susceptibility to the charms of the fair at length Involved him in a serious quarrel. The earl of Warwick and other powerful friends of Edward advised him to marry, and thus, hy his matrimonial alliance, still farther strengthen his throne. Tho advico tallied well with Edward's own judgement, and the earl of Warwick was despatched to Paris to treat for the hand of Bona of Sa- voy, Bister of the queen of France ; and Warwick succeeded so well that he return- ed to England with the whole affair ready for formal ratification. But during War- wick's absence his fickle and amorous mas- ter had been engaged in rendering the earl's mission not merely useless, but as mischievous as anything could be that was calculated to excite the hatred and rage of such a prince as Louis XI. The lady Elizabeth, widow of sir John Grey of Groby, who was killed at the se- cond battle of St. Alban's, was by the con- fiscation of her husband's estates, for his siding with the Lancastrians, so reduced in her worldly circumstances, that she and her children were dependant on her father, in whose house, at Grafton in Northamp- tonshire, they all resided. She was still young, and her remarkable beauty was lit- tle impaired by the sorrows she had en- dured ; and the king, while hunting, chanc- ing to visit Grafton, the lady Elizabeth took the opportunity to throw herself at his feet and entreat the restoration of her husb.and's estates, for the sake of her un- fortunate children. At sight of her beauty, heightened by her suppliant attitude, tho inflammable king fell suddenly and deeply in love with her. He in his turn became a suitor, and as her prudence or her virtuo would not allow her to listen to dishonour- able proposals, the infatuated monarch pri- vately married her. When Warwick returned from France with the consent of Louis to the marriage with Bona of Savoy, the imprudent mar- riage of the king, hitherto kept quite secret, was of necessity divulged; and Warwick, ' A A 266 Clje Crearfttrjj of ©titarg, 9tt. Indignant and disgusted witb the ridiciiloua part he had been made to play In wooing a bride for a prince who was already married, left the court with no amicable feelings to- wards his wayward master. A.U. U65. — The mischief of Edward's hasty and inconsiderate alliance did not end here. Like all persons who are raised much above their original rank, the queen was exceedingly presuming, and th(^ chief business of her lifewas to use herinfluence over her still enamoured husband to heap titles and wealth upon her family and friends, and to ruin those who were, or were suspected to be, hostile to her grasp- ing and ambitious views. Her father, a private gentleman, was created earl of Kivers, made treasurer in the room of the lord Mountjoy, and constable for life with succession to his son, who, marrying the daughter of lord Scales, had the title as well as the vast estates of that noble- man conferred upon him. The queen's sisters were provided with proportionally splendid marriages, and the queen's son by her first marriage, young sir Thomas Grey, was contracted to the heiress of the duke of Exeter, a niece of the king, whose hand had been promised to lord Montague, who, with the whole powerful Neville family, was consequently very deeply offended. The exorbitant and insatiable craving of the queen's family disgusted every one ; but to no one did it give such bitter feel- ings as to the earl of Warwick, who, though from his favour with the crown he had made up his fortune to the enormous amount of eighty thousand crowns per annum, as we learn from Philip de Co- mines, was himself of so grasping a nature, that he was still greedy for more gain, and perhaps still more disinclined to see others in possession of the favour and influence which formerly he had almost exclusively enjoyed. This powerful noble, having vex- ations of this Idnd to embitter his anger at the way in which he had been treated as regarded the marriage, was urged to wishes and projects most hostile to Edward's throne ; and as many of the nobility were much disgusted with Edward on account of his resumption of grants, Warwick had no difficulty in finding sympathy in his anger and association in his designs. Among all the high personages of the kingdom to whom Edward's imprudent marriage and uxorious folly gave offence, none felt m.ire deeply, perhaps none more reasonably, offended than Edward's second brother, the duke of Cl.irence. From Lis near relationship to the king he had every right to expect the most liberal treatment at his hands; but so far was he from re- ceiving it, that while the queen and her re- cently obscure relations were overwhelmed with favours of the most costly kind, his fortunes were still left precarious and scanty. Warwick, a shrewd judge of men's tempers, easily descried the wounded and Indignant feelings of Clarence, and offered him the hand of his eldest daughter, who, being Warwick's co-heiress, could bring the duke a much larger fortune than the king could bestow upon him, even had the king been better Inclined than he had hitherto appeared, to mend the slender fortunes of his brother, llaving thus united the influ- ence of the duke of Clarence to his own, and engaged him inextricably in his projects, Warwick had no difficulty in forming an extensive and very powerful confederacy against the king. A.D. 14fi9.— The unsettled and turbulent temper of the kingdom, and the preparatory measures of such a confederacy so headed, could not fail to produce a state of things in which the merest accidental occurrence might lead to the most extensive and dan- gerous public disorders, especially as, in spite of all Edward's success and the stern severity with which he had used it, there was still existing throughout the country a strong though a concealed attachment to the ruined house of Lancaster. A griev- ance which at first sight appeared little connected with state quarrels, and of a nature to be easily settled by so arbitrary a monarch as Edward, caused the brood- ing discontents to burst forth into open violence. St. Leonard's hospital. In Yorkshire, like many similar establishments, had from a very early age possessed the right of re- ceiving a thrave of corn from every plough- land in the district ; and the poor com- plained, most likely with great reason, that this tax, which was instituted for their re- lief, was alt igether, or nearly so, perverted to the personal emolument of the managers of the charity. From complaints, wholly treated with contempt or neglect, the pea- santry in the neighbourhood proceeded to refuse to pay the tax ; and when their goods and persons were molested for their contumacy, they fairly took up arras, and i having put to death the whole of the hos- pital officials, they marched, full fifteen ] thousand strong, to the gates of the city of York. Here they were opposed by some j troops under the lord Montague, and he I having taken prisoner their leader, by name Robert Hulderne, instantly caused him to be executed, after the common and dis- graceful practice of those violent times. The loss of their leader did not in the least intimidate the rebels; they still kept in arms, and were now joined and headed by friends of the earl of Warwick, who saw in this revolt of the peasantry a favourable opportunity for aiding their own more ex- tensive and ambitious views. Sir Henry Neville and sir John Conyers having placed themselves at the head of the rebels, drew them off from their merely local and loosely contrived plans, and marched them southward; their numbers increasing so greatly during their progress as to cause great and by no means ill- founded alarm to the government. Her- bert, who had obtained the earldom of Pembroke on the forfeiture of Jasper Tu- dor, was ordered to march against the re- bels at the head of a body of Welshmen, reinforced by five thousand well-appointed archers commanded by Stafford, earl of Devonshire, who had obtained that title on the forfeiture of the great Courtney family. Scarcely had these two noblemen, however. enfllaulf.— I^ati^c at ^orlt eiiiDarU W. 267 joined tliclr fnrn>s, when a quarrel broke out botwcfu tlii'iii iipon some trivial ques- tion almut piinrity (if rii^lit to quarters.arid so utterly fcirKetf\il did tlio anger of Devon- shire render lilm of the great and Impor- tant object of his command, that he sul- lenly drew off his valuable force of archers, aiul left the earl of Pembroke to stand the brunt of the approaching encounter with the rebels with his own unaided and infe- rior force Undismayed by this defection of his col- leajjue, Pembroke continued to approach the rebels ; and the hostile forces met near Banbury. At the first encounter Pembroke gained the advantage, and sir Henry Ne- ville being among his prisoners, he had that popular gentleman immediately exe- cuted. If this severity was intended to strike terror into therebels, it wholly failed of its purpose. The rebels, so far from be- ing intimidated, were incited by their rage to a carnage more desperate than, proba- bly, any other means could have Inspired them with, and they attacked the Welsh so furiously that the latter were utterly routed and vast numbers perished in the pursuit, the Welsh sternly refusing quarter, Pem- broke being unfortunately taken prisoner by the rebels, was by them consigned to the same fate which he had inflicted upon their leader. The king was very naturally excited to the utmost indignation by the fatal results of the obstinacy and insubor- dination of the earl of Devonshire, whom he caused to be executed. Even here the cold butcheries which ei- ther party dignified with the name of exe- cutions did not terminate. Some of the rebels, despatched to Grafton by sir John Conyers, succeeded in capturing the queen's mother, the earl of Rivers, and his son, sir John Grey ; and, their sole crime being that they were related to the queen and that they were not philosophers enough to refuse to profit by that relationship, they too were ' executed ' by the rebels. Though there is no reasonable ground for doubting that the earl of Warwick and his son-in-law the duke of Clarence were the real directors of the revolt, they deem- ed it politic to leave its public managemert to Neville and Conyers,— doubtless to be tolerably sure of the result ere they would too far commit their personal safety. And accordingly all the while that so much bloodshed had been going on in England, Warwick and Clarence lived in great appa- rent unconcern at Calais, of which the for- mer was governor ; and, still farther to con- ceal their ultimate intentions from the king, Warwick's brother, the lord Monta- gue, was among the bravest and the most active of the opponents of the rebels. So confident was Warwick that the suspicions of the king could not light upon him (though the murder of the earl Rivers was surely a circumstance to have pointed to the guilt of that nobleman's bitterest rival), that he and Clarence, when the languid rate at which the rebellion progressed seemed to promise a disastrous issue to it, came over to England, and were entrusted by Edward with very considerable com- mands, whicli, probably from want of op- portunity, they made no ill use of. The rebellion having been already very con- siderably quelled, W.arwick, probably an- xious to save as many malcontents as pos- sible for a future and more favourable opportunity, persuaded Edward to grant a general pardon, which had the effect of completely dispersing the already wearied and discouraged rebels. Though W.arwick and Montague gave so much outward show of loyalty, and though the king heaped fa v(mrs and honours upon the family, he yet seems to have been by no means unaware of the secret feelings of both these restless noblemen ; for on one occasion when he accompanied them to .1 banquet given by their brother, the arch- blshfip of York, he was so impressed with the feeling that they intended to take that opportunity of despatching him by poison orotherwise, that he suddenly rushed from the banqueting room and hastily returned to his palace. A.D. 1470.— A new rebellion now broke out. At the outset there were no signs to connect either Clarence or the earl of War- wick with it ; yet we know how invete- rately disloyal both the duke and the earl were from the moment that Edward mar- ried, and also that as soon as they had an opportunity, and had reason to believe that the rebellion would be successful, they pre- pared, as will be seen, to add open revolt to the foulest treachery. This rebellion commenced in Lincolnshire, and in a very short time the leader of it, sir Robert Welles, was at the head of not fewer than thirty thousand men. Sir Robert's father, the lord Welles, not only took no part in the proceedings of his son, but showed his sense of l)oth their danger and their Impropriety by taking shelter in a sanctuary. But this prudent conduct did not save him from the vengeance of the king. Tlie unfortunate nobleman was by plausible arguments al- lured from sanctuary, and, in company of sir Thomas Dymoke, beheaded by the king's orders. Edward so(m after gave battle to the rebels and defeated them, and sir Ro- bert Welles and sir Thomas Launde being t;iken prisoners, were immediately behead- ed. So little did the king suspect Clarence and Warwick of any concealed Influence in these disturbances, that he gave them com- missions of array to raise troops to oppose the rebels. The opportunity thus afforded them of forwarding their treasonable views was too tempting to be resisted, and they at once removed all doubts as to their real feelings by levying forces against the king, and issuing remcmstrances against the public measures and the king's ministers. The defeat of sir Robert Welles was a sad discouragement to them, but they had now proceeded too far to be able to withdraw, and they marched their array into Lanca- shire. Here they fully expected the coun- tenance and aid of sir Thomas Stanley, who was the earl of Warwick's brother-in-law, but finding that neither that nobleman nor the lord Montague would join them, they dismissed their army and hastened to Ca- lais (the government of Warwick) where 263 (Hjr Crpaiurg of W^tarn, $et. tlioy coiifldcntly calculated upon Oiuling a sure and safe refuge. Here again, however, they were doomed to be disappointed. On leaving Calais the last time, Warwick had left there, as his deputy governor, a Gascon named VaucUr. This Kcntleman, who was no strangerto Warwick's disloyalty, readily judged hy the forlorn and ill-attended stylo In which that nohleman and the duke of Clarence now made their appearance be- fore Calais, that they had been unsuccess- fully engaged in some illegal proceeding; he therefore refused them admittance, and ■would not even allow the duchess of Cla- rence to land, though she had been deliver- ed of a child while at sea, and was in a most pitiable state of ill health. As, however, he by no means wished to break irreme- diably with men whom some chance might speedily render as powerful as ever, Vaucler sent wine and other stores for the use of the duchess, and secretly assured Warwick that he only seemed to side against hlra, in order that he might, by gaining the cunfl- deuce of the king, be able to give the for- tress up to the earl at the first favourable opportunity; and he dilated upon those circumstances of the place which rendered it very improbable that the gan-ison and inhabitants would just at that time suffer it to be held by Warwick against the estab- lished government of England. Whatever might be Warwick's real opinion of the sincerity of Vaucler, he feigned to be quite satisfied with his conduct, and having seized some Flemish vessels which lay off the coast, he forthwith departed to try his for- tune at the court of France. Here he was well received, for the French king had formerly held a close correspondence with the earl, and was just now exceedingly hostile to Edward on account of the friendship which existed between that monarch and the most turbulent as well as the most power- ful vassal of France, the duke of Bur- gundy. Though the earl of Warwick had so much reason to hate the house of Lan- caster, the king so urgently pressed him to a reconciliation, and to the attempt to re- store that house to the throne of England, that at an interview with queen Margaret the earl consented to a reconciliation, and to doing his utmost to restore Henry to his throne on certain conditions. The chief of these conditions were, that the earl of Warwick and the duke of Clarence should administer in England during the whole minority of prince Edward, son and heir of Henry ; that that young prince should marry the lady Anne, Warwick's second daughter, and that, failing issue to them, the crown should be entailed on the duke of Clarence, to the absolute exclusion of the issue of the reigning king. By %vay of showing the sincerity of this unnatural confederacy, prince Edward and the lady Anne were i married immediately. I Edward, who well knew the Innate and I Ineradicable hostility of Warwick's real feelings towards the house of Lancaster, ' caused a lady of great talent to avail herself j of her situation about the person of the duke of Clarence, to influence the duke's mind, especially with a view to making him I doulitlul of the sincerity of Warwick, and of the probability of his long continuing faithful to this new alliance; and so well did the fair envoy exert her powers, that the duke, on a solemn assurance of Edw.ard'.s forgiveness and future favour, consented to lake the earliest favourable opportunity to desert his father-in-law. But while Ed- ward was intent upon detaching the dukeof Clarence from Warwick, this latter noble- man was no less successful in gaining over to his side his brother the marquis of Mon- tague, whose adhesion to Warwick was the more dangerous to Edward because Monta- gue was entirely in his confidence. AVhen Warwick had completed his pre- paratiims, Louis supplied him with men, money, and a fleet ; while the duke of Bur- gundy, on the other had, closely united with Edward, and having a personal quar- rel with Warwick, cruised in the chan- nel in the hope of intercepting that noble- man on his way to England. The duke of Burgundy, while thus actively exerting himself for Edward's safety, also sent him the most urgent and wise advice ; but Ed- ward was BO over confident in his own strength, that he professed to wish that Warwick might make good his landing. In this respect his wish was soon grant- ed. A violent storm dispersed the dukeof Burgundy's fleet, and Warwick was thus enabled to land without opposition on the coast of Devon, accompanied by the duke of Clarence and the earls of Oxford and Pembroke. The king was at this time in the north of England, engaged In putting down a revolt caused by Warwick's brother- in-law, the lord Fitzhugh ; and Warwick's popularity being thus left unopposed, he, who had landed with a force far too small for his designs, saw himself in a very few days at the head of upwards of sixty thou- sand men. The king on hearing of Warwick's land- ing hastened southward to meet him, and the two armies came in sight of each other at Nottingham. An action was almost hourly expected, and Edward was still con- fident In his good fortune; but he was now to feel the ill efliects of the overween- ing trust he had put In the marquis of Montague. That nobleman suddenly got his adherents under arms during the dark- ness of the night hours, and made their way to the quarter occupied by the king, shouting the war-cry of the hostile army. Edward, who was awakened by this sudden tumult, was informed by lord Hastings of the real cause of it, and urged to save him- self by fiight while there was still time for him to do so. So well had the marquis of Montague timed his treacherous measure, th.at Edward had barely time to make his escape on horseback to Lynn, in Norfolk, where he got on board ship and sailed from England, leaving Warwick so suddenlyand rapidly master of the kingdom, that the fickle and hesitating Clarence had not had time for the change of sides he had con- templated, and which would now have been fatal to him. So sudden had been Edward's forced de- parture from his kingdom, that he had not HSnqXmiiS.—^axiSe nf f orit — CBlrbjart 269 time t'l take niuiiey, jewels, or any valu- ables witli him ; and when, after narrowly escaping from the Hanse towns, then at war with hoth England and France, he landed at Alcraaer, in Holland, he had no- thing with which to recompense the mas- ter of the ship save a robe richly lined with sable fur, which he accompanied with as- surances of a more substantial recompense should more prosperous times return. The duke of Burgundy was greatly an- noyed at the misfortune of Edward. Per- sonally and in sincerity the duke really preferred the Lancastrian to the Yorkist house; he had allied himself with the lat- ter solely from the politic motive of being allied to the reigning house of England ; and now that the Lancastrians were so triumphant that even the cautious Vaucler, who hail licen confirmed by Edward in his governincnt of Calais, did not scruple to give that important place up to Warwick— a pretty certain proof that the Lancastri- ans were secure for some time at least — the duke was greatly perplexed by the ne- cessity he was under of invidiously giving .a cold reception to a near connection who w.as suffering from misfortune, or of being at the expense.and discredit of .supporting a penniless fugitive whose verymi.sfortunes were in no slight degree attributable to his own want of judgement. The flight of Edward from the kingdom was the signal for Warwick to give liberty to the unhappy Henry, whose confinement in the Tower had been chiefly the earl's own work. Henry was once more pro- claimed king with all due solemnity, and a parliament was summoned to meet him at Westminster, whose votes were, of course, the mere echoes of the instructions of the now dominant faction of Warwick. As had formerly been agreed between War- wick and queen Margaret, it was now en- acted by the parliament that Henry was the rightful and only king of England, but that his imbecility of mind rendered it re- quisite to have a regency, the powers of which were placed in the hands of the duke of Clarence and the earl of Warwick dur- ing the minority of prince Edward, and the iluke of Clarence was declared heir to the throne failing the issue of that young prince. As usual, very much of the time of the parliament was occupied in reversing the attainders which had been passed against Lancastrians during the jirosperity of the house of York. In one respect, how- ever, this parliament and its dictator War- wick deserve considerable praise — their power was used without that wholesale and unsparing resort to bloodshed by which such triumphs are but too generally dis- graced. Many of the leading Yorkists, it is true, fled beyond sea, but still more of them were allowed to remain undisturbed in the sanctuaries in which they took re- fuge ; and among these was even Edward's queen, who was delivered of a son whom she had christened by the name of his ab- sent father. A.D. 1471.~Queen Margaret, who was, perhaps, somewhat less active than she had been ii\ earlier life, was just preparing to return to England with prince Edward and the duke of Somerset, sou to the duke of that title who was beheaded after the battle of Hexham, when their journey was rendered useless by a new turn in the af- fairs of England ; a turn most lamentable to those Lancastrians who, as Philip do Coraines tells us of the dukes of Somerset and Exeter, were reduced to absolute beg- gary. The turn of affairs to which we allude was mainly caused by the imprudence of the carl of Warwick, who acted towards the duke of Burgundy in such wise as to compel that prince in sheer self-defence to aid the e.x- iled Edward. The duke's personal predi- lections being really on the side of the Lancastrians, it required only a timely and prudent policy on the part of the earl of Warwick to have secured, at the least, the duke's neutrality. But the earl, laying too much stress upon the relationship between Edward and Burgundy, took it for granted that the latter must be a determined ene- my to the Lancastrians, and caused him to become so by sending a body of four thou- sand men to Calais, whence they made very mischievous irruptions into the Low Countries. Burgundy, fearing the conse- quences of being attacked at once by France and by England, determined to di- vert the attention and power of the latter by assisting his brother-in-law. But while determined so to aid Edward as to enable hira to give Warwick's party abundant anxiety and trouble, the duke was not the less careful to do so with the utmost at- tention to the preservation of friendly ap- pearances towards the English government. With this view he furnished Edward with eighteen vessels, large and small, together with a sum of money ; but he hired the vessels in the name of some merchants, and still farther to mislead Warwick, or to give him a plausible reason for pretending to be misled, no sooner had Edward sailed than the duke publicly forbade his subjects from affording any aid or countenance to that prince either by laud or w.ater. Edward in the meantime, with a force of two thousand men, attempted to land upon the coast of Norfolk, but was driven off, and he then lauded at Ravenspur, in York- shire. Perceiving that here too, from the care which Warwick had taken to fill the magistracy with his own partisans, the Lancastrian party was far the most popular and powerful, Edward adopted the policy which had formerly so well served the duke of Lancaster, and issued a proclama- tion in which he solemnly averred that he had landed without any intention of chal- lenging the crown or of disturbing the na- tional peace, but had come solely for the purpose of demanding the family posses- sions of the house of York, to which he was incontestably entitled. This affected mo- deration caused great numbers to join his standard who would not have done so had he openly avowed his Intention of endea- vouring to recover the crown ; and he speed- ily found himself possessed of the city of York, and at the head of an army suffi- ciently numerous to promise him success in all his designs ; while his chance of 270 Ct)( HS^veaiuvQ at ^iitavQ, $fc. n success was still farther Increased by the un- accountable aiiathy of the niiiniuis of Mon- tague, who, though he had the romniaiid of all the forces In the north, took no steps to check the movements of Kdward, though he surely could not have been unaware how Important and dangerous they were. "Warwick was more alert, and liaving as- sembled a force at Leicester, he prepared to give battle to Edward, who, however, con- trived to pass him and to make his way to London. Had Edward been refused ad- mittance here, nothing could have saved his cause from utter ruin ; but he had not taken so bold a step without carefully and, as it proved, rcjrrectly calculating all his chances. In the first place, the sanctuaries of London were filled with his friends, who he well knew would join him ; in the next place, he was extremely popular with the ladies of London, and indebted to their husbands for sums of money which they could never hope to receive unless he should succeed in recovering the crown ; and in the third place, Warwick's brother, the archbi- shop of York, to whom the government of the city was entrusted, gave a new instance of the facile and shameless treachery which disgraced that time by entering into a cor- respondence with Edward, and agreeing to betray and ruin his own brother. Being admitted into the city of London, Edward made himself master of the person of the unfortunate Henry, who thus once more passed from the throne to the dun- geon. Though many circumstances g.ave ad- vantage to Edward, the earl of Warwick was by no means inclined to yield without a fairly stricken field, and having collected all the force he could raise he stationed himself at Barnet. Here he was doomed to the deep mortification of fully expe- riencing the ingratitude and treachery of Clarence, who suddenly broke from his quarters during the night, and made his way over to Edward with twelve thousand of Warwick's best troops. Had Warwick listened to the dictates of prudence he would now have closed with the offers of a peaceful settlement which were made to him by both Edward and Clarence : but he was thoroughly aroused and enraged, and he resolved to put all consequences upon the issue of a general action. It commenced accordingly, and both leaders and soldiers on each side displayed extraordinary valour. A mere accident gave a decisive turn to the long uncertain fortune of the day. The cognizance of the king was a sun, that of Warwick a star with rays diverging from it ; and in the dense mist which prevailed during the battle the earl of Oxford was mistaken for a Yorklsh leader, and he and his troops were beaten from the field with very great slaughter by their own friends. This disaster was followed by the death of Warwick, who was slain while fighting on foot, as was his brother Montague. The Lancastrians were now completely routed, and Edward giving orders to deny quarter, a vast number were slain in the pursuit as well as in the battle. Nor was the victory wholly without cost to the conquerors, who j lost upwards of fifteen hundred men of all ranks. j As Warivlck had determined not to make terms with Edward, his best policy would have been to await the arrival of queen Margaret, who was daily expected from France, and whoso influence would havo united all Lancastrians and probably have ensured victory. But Warwick, unsuspi- cious of Clarence's treachery, felt so confi- dent of victory, that he was above all things anxious that Margaret should not arrive in time to share his anticipated glory ; but though he had on that account hurried on the action, Margaret and her son, attended by a small body of French, landed in Dor- setshire on the very day after the fatal fight of Barnet. Here as soon as she landed she learned Warwick's defeat and death, and the new captivity of her inveterately unfor- tunate husband ; and she was* so much de- pressed by the information that she took sanctuary at Beaulieu abbey She was here visited and encouraged by Tudor, earl of Pembroke, Courtenay, earl of Devon- shire, and other men of rank and influence, and induced to make a progress through Devon, Somerset, and Gloucestershire. In this neighbourhood her causeappeared to be exceedingly popular, for every day's march made a considerable addition to her force. She was at length overtaken at Tewkes- bury, in Gloucestershire, by Edward's army ; and in the battle which ensued she was completely defeated, with the loss of about three thousand men, among whom were the earl of Devonshire and lord Wenlock, who were killed in the field, and the duke of Somerset and about a score more persons of distinction, who, having taken sanctuary in a church, were dragged out and beheaded. Among the prisoners were queen Margaret and her son. They were taken into the pre- sence of Edward, who sternly demanded of the young prince on what ground he bad ventured to invade England. The high, spirited boy, regarding rather the fortune to which he was bom than the powerless and perilous situation in which the adverse fortune of war had placed him, boldly and imprudently replied that he had come to England for the rightful purpose of claim- ing his just inheritance. This answer so much enraged Edward, that he, forgetful alike of decency and mercy, struck the youth in the face with his gauntletted hand. As though this violent act had been a pre- concerted signal, the dukes of Gloucester and Clarence, with lord Hastings and sir Thomas Gray, dragged the young prince into an adjoining room and there despatched him with their daggers. The imhappy Margaret was committed to close confine- ment in the Tower, in which sad prison Henry had expired a few days after the battle of Tewkesbuiy. As Henry's health had long been infirm, it seems quite likely that his death was natural, but as the temper of the times made violence at the least pro- bable, Edward caused the body to be exposed to public view, and it certainly showed no signs of unfair means. The cause of the Lancastrians was now extinguished. The princes of that house i ©nglanlf.— ?l|0utfe of ©0rft.— eiitoarlr 271 were dead, the best and most devoted of Its friends were eltlier fugitive or dead, and Tudor, carl of Pembroke, who had been raisiuK forces in Wales, now disbanded them in utter despair, and sought safety, ■with his nephew, the earl of Richmond, in Brittany. The last effort was made by the bastard of Falcouberp, who levied forces and advanced to London ; but he was de- serted by his troops, taken prisoner, and executed. Edward, now wlioUy triumphant, sum- moned a parliament, wliich compliantly sanctioned his deeds ; and all dangers being now at an end, he resumed the jovial and dissipated life to which he owed no small portion of that popularity which would, most probably, have been refused to a prince of a higher cast of character and of more manly and dignified bearing. Edward, however, was soon recalled from his Indulgence in pleasure, by the necessity lor attending to his foreign Interests. He was by no means unconscious of the cold and constrained reception that had been given to him in his adversity by the duke of Burgundy ; but considerations of interest now led Edward to make a league with the duke against the king of France. By this leagne it was provided that Edward should cross the sea with not fewer than ten thousand men for the invasion of France, in which he was to be joined by the duke of Burgundy with all the force he could command. Tlie objects proposed by the allies were to acquire for England the Iirovinces of Normandy and Guienne, at least, and if passible the crown of France, to which Edward was formally to challenge the right, while the duke of Burgundy was to obtain Champagne, with some farther territory, and the freedom for his hereditary territories from all feudal superiority on the part of France. Their league seemed tlie more likely to be successful, because they had good reason to hope for the coopera- tion of the duke of Brittany, and they had the secret assurance of the count of St. Pol, who was constable of France, and held St. Quentin and other important places on the Somme, that he would join them when they should enter France. A French war was always sure to excite the pecuniary liberality of the English par- liament, which now granted the king two shillings in the pound on all rents, and a fifteenth and three quarters of a fifteenth ; hut this money was to be kept in religious houses, and returned to the contributors in the event of the expedition against France not taking place. From this stringent care of the money we may perceive how much the commons of England had increased, both in power and in the knowledge how to make etiicient and prudent use of it. A.D. 1475.— So popular was the king's pro- ject against France, that all the powerful nobles of England offered him their aid and attendance ; and iustead of the stipu- lated ten thousand men, he was enabled to land at Calais with fifteen thousand archers and fifteen hundred men-at-arms. But to Edward's great annoyance, when he en- tered France he was disappointed by the ^ ! count of St. Pol, who refused to open hia I gates to him, and by the duke of Burgundy, who. Instead of joining Edward with all his forces, had employed them against the duke of Lorraine and on the frontiers of Germany. This circumstance, so fatal to Edward's views, arose out of the flery tem- per of Burgundy, who personally apologis- ed, but at the same time confessed that It would be impossible for him to make his troops available to Edward for that cam- paign. Louis XL, that profound politician who thought nothing mean or degrading which could aid him in his views, no sooner learned the disappointment which had be- fallen Edward, tljan he sent him proposals of peace ; and a truce was easily concluded between tlieiii, Louis paying seventy-five thousand crowns down, and agreeing to pay two-thirds of that sura annually for their joint lives, and to marry the dauphin, when of age, to Edward's daughter. The two monarchs met at Pecquigin to ratify this treaty ; and the precautions which were taken to prevent the possibility of assassi- nation on either side give us but a low notion of the honour by which either prince was actuated himself or supposed the other to be. There was one clause of this treaty — otherwise so disgraceful to Louis,— which was highly creditable to the French king. By it he stipulated for the safe release of the unfortunate Margaret, for whose ran- som Louis consented to pay fifty thousand crowns. She was released accordingly, and until her death, which occurred in 1481.', she lived in complete seclusion from that world in which she had formerly played so conspicuous and so unfortunate a part. There was in the character of Edward a certain cold and stubborn severity which made it no easy matter to recover his fa- vour after he had once been offended. His brother Clarence, much as he had done In the way of treachery towards his unfortu- nate father-in-law, was far enough from be- ing really restored to Edward's confidence and favour. The brooding dislike of the king was the more fatal to Clarence from that unfortunate prince having imprudent- ly given deep offence to the queen and to his brother the duke of Gloster, a prince who knew not much of truth or of remorse when he had any scheme of ambition or violence to carry. Well knowing the rash and open temper of Clarence, his formidable ene- mies determined to act upon it by at- tacking his friends, which they rightly- judged would be sure to sting him Into language that would ruin him with his already suspicious aud offended king and brother. It chanced that as the king was hunting at Arrow, in Warwickshire, he killed a white buck which was a great favourite of the owner, a wealthy gentleman named Bur- dett. Provoked by the loss of his favourite, the gentleman passionately exclaimed that he wished the buck's horns were stuck iu the tjelly of whoever advised the king to kill it. In our settled aud reasonable times it really is no easy matter to understand how —even had the speech related, as It did not. 272 Cbc Ercatfurg of ^^tiitnrg, S(t. to llieklnghimsclf— such a speech could by the utmost torturing of language be called treason. But so It was. Burdett had the niisfiirtnne to be on terms of familiar friendship with the duke of t'larence ; and he was tried, condemned, and beheaded at Tyburn for no alli'ired offence beyond these few idle and Intemperate words. That Clarence might liave no sliadow of doubt that he was himself aimed at in the persons of his friends, this infamous murder was followed by that of another friend of the duke, a clergyman named .Stacey. He was a learned man, and far more proficient than was common in that half barbarous age in .astronomy and mathematical studies in ge- neral. The rabble got a notion that such learning must needs imply sorcery ; the po- pular rumour was adopted by Clarence's enemies, and the unfortunate Stacey w.as tried, tortured, and executed, some of the most eminent peers not scrupling to sanc- tion these atrocious proceedings by their presence. As the enemies of Clareuce had anticipated, the persecution of his friends aroused him to an imprudent though gener- ous indignation. Instead of endeavouring to secure himself by a close reserve, he loudly and boldly inveighed agaiust the in- justice of which his friends had been the victims, and bore testimony to their inno- cence and honour. This was precisely what the enemies of the duke desired; the king was insidiously urged to deem the com- plaints of Clarence insulting and injurious to him, as implying his participation in the alleged injustice dous to tlie duke's friends. A.D. 1478.— The unfortunate duke was now fairly in the toils which had been set for him by his enemies. He was committed to the Tower, and a parliament was speci- ally summoned to try him for treason. Tlie treasons alleged against him, even had they been proved by the most trustworthy evi- dence, were less treasons than mere petu- lant speeches. Not a single overt act was even alleged, far less proved against him. But the king in person prosecuted him, and the slavish parliament shamelessly pro- nounced him guilty ; the commons adding to their vileness by both petitioning forthe duke's execution, and passing a bill of at- tainder against him. The dreadfully severe temper of Edward required no such vile prompting. There was little danger of his showing mercy even to a brother whom he had once fairly learned to hate I The sole favour that he would grant the imhappy duke was that of being allowed to choose the mode of his death ; and he made cliolce of the strange and unheard-of one of be- ing drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, which whimsically tragic deatli w.as accord- ingly inflicted upon him in the Tower of Loudon. A.D. 1482.— Louis XI. of France having broken his agreement to marry the dauphin to the daughter of Edward, this king con- templated the invasion of France for the purpose of avenging the affront. But while he was busily engaged with the necessary preparations he was suddenly seized with a mortal sickness, of which he expired in the 1 twenty-third year of his reign and the forty-second of his age. Though undoubtedly possessed of both abilities and courage, Edward was disgrace- fully sensual and h,atefully cruel. His vi- gour and courage might earn him admira- tion in times of difficulty, but his love of effeminate pleasures must always preclude him from receiving the approbation of the wise, as his unsparing cruelty must always ensure him the abhorrence of the good. CHAPTER XXXir. The Feign of Edwaed V. A.D. 148.3.— From the time of the mar- riage of Edward IV'. with the lady Eliza- beth Gray the court had been divided into two fierce factions, which were none the less dangerous now because during the lifi^ of Edward the stem character of that king had compelled the concealment of their enmities from him. The queen herself, with her brother the earl of Rivers and her son the marquis of Dorset, were at the head of the one faction, while the other in- cluded nearly the whole of the ancient and powerful nobility of the kingdom, who na- turally were indignant at the sudden riso and exceeding ambition of the queen's fa- mily. The duke of Buckingham, though he had married the queen's sister, was at the head of the party opposed to her family influence, and he was zealously and strongly supported by the lords Hastings, Stanley, and Howard. When Edward IV. felt that his end was aiiproaching, he sent for these noblemen and entreated them to support the authority of his youthful son; but no sooner was Edward dead than the leaders of both factions en- deavoured to secure the chief interest with the heartless and ambitious duke of Glos- ter, whom Edward IV. most fatally had named regent during the minority of Ed- ward the Fifth. Though Gloster was entrusted with the regency of the kingdom, the care of the young prince was confided to his uncle the earl of Rivers, a nobleman remarkable in that rude age for his literary taste and talents. The queen, who was very anxious to preserve over her son the same great in- fluence she had exerted over his father, ad- vised Rivers to levy troops to escort the king to London to be crowned, and to pro- tect him from any undue coercion on the part of the enemies of his family. To this step, however, lord Hastings and his friends made the strongest and most open opposi- tion ; Hastings even going so far as to de- clare that if such a force were levied he should think it high time to depart for his government of Calais, and his friends adding that the levying such a force would be the actual recommencement of a civil war. Gloster, who had deeper motives than any of the other parties concerned, affected to think such force needless at least, and liis artful professions of deter- mination to afford the young king all need- ful protection so completely deceived the queen, that she altered her opinion and re- enQlmts.—^aiiit at ^orS.— CPUiaarlr 273 questpd her brother to accompany his ne- jihew to London with only such equipage as was bedttlng his high rank. Wlipn the young king was understood to lie on his road, Gloster set out with a nu- merous retinue, under pretence of desiring to escort him honourably to London, and was joined at Northampton by lord Hast- ings, who also had a numerous retinue. Rivers, fancying that his own retinue added to the numerous company already assemhiod at Ncirtliamptnn would cause a •want of acconinioil.itioii, sent young Ed- ward on to Stony Stratl'ord, and went him- self to pay his respects to the regent Glcs- ter at Northampton. Rivers was cordially received by the duke of Gloster, with whom and Buckingham he spent the whole even- ing. Not a word passed whence he could inferenmltyordanger, yet on the following morning as he was entering Stony Stratford to join his royal ward, ho was arrested by order of the duke of Gloster. Sir Richard Gray, a son of the queen by her first mar- riage, and sir Thomas Vaughan, were at the same time arrested, and all three were immediately sent under a strong escort to Pontetract castle. Having thus deprived the young king of his wisest and most zealous protector, Gloster waited upon him with every out- ward ahmv of kindness and respect, but could not with all his art quiet the regrets and fears excited in the prince's mind by the sudden and ominous arrest of his kind and good relative. The queen was still more alarmed. In the arrest of her brother she saw but the first step made towards the ruin of herself and her whole family ; and she immediately retired to the sanc- tuary of Westminster, together with the young duke of York and the five princesses, trusting that Gloster would scarcely dare to violate the sanctuary which liad proved her elDcient defence against theworst fury of the Lancastrian faction during the worst times of her husband's misfortunes. Her confidence in the shelter she had chosen •was naturally increased by the considera- tion, that whereas formerly even a family opposed to hers by the most deadly and immitigable hostility was not tempted to violate the sanctuary, she had now to dread only her own brother-in-law, while her son, fast approaching the years which would en- able him to terminate his uncle's protecto- rate, was the king. But in reasoning thus the queen wholly overlooked the deep and dangerous nature of her brother-in-law,whose dark mind was daring enough for the most desperate deeds, and subtle enough to suggest excuses fit to impose even upon the slirewdest and most cautious. Gloster saw that the continuance of his nephew in sanctuary would oppose an Insurmountable obstacle to his abomin- able designs ; and he at once devoted his powers of subtlety to the task of getting the young prince from that secure shelter without allowing the true motive to appear. Making full allowance for the power of the church, he represented to the archbishops of Canterbury and York, that the queen in some sort insulted the church by abusing, to the protection of herself and children against the dangers which existed only in lier imagination, a privilege which was in- tended only for persons of mature years having reason to fear grievous Injury on account of either crime or debt. Now, he argued, could a mere child like the Ijrother of their young king be in anywise obnoxious to tlie king, from any cause for which tlie right of sanctuary was Instituted 1 Was not the church as well as the government concerned in putting a stop, even by force If necessary, to a course of conduct on the part of the queen which was calculated to possess mankind with the most horrible suspicions of those persons who were the most concerned in the king's happiness and safety 1 The prelates. Ignorant of the dark designs of Gloster, and even of his real nature, which hitherto he liad carefully and most dexterously disguised, could scarcely fall to agree with him as to the folly of the queen's conduct, and its utter needlessness for securing her son's safety. But, careful of the privileges of the church, they would not hear of the sanc- tuary being forcibly assailed, but readily agreed to use tlieir personal influence with the queen to Induce her voluntarily to abandon alike her retreat and her fears. The prelates had much difBculty in in- ducing the queen to allow the young duke of York to leave her and the protection of the sanctuary. His continuance there she again and again affirmed to be important, not only to his own safety, but to that of the young king, against whose life it would appear to be bcJ^i useless and unsafe to strike while his brother and successor re- mained in safety. In reply to this the pre- lates, sincerely though most mistakenly, assured her that she did but deceive herself in lier fears for ei ther of the royal brothers. But perhaps their strongest argument was their frank declaration that the seclusion of the young prince was so offensive both to the duke of York and the council, that it was more than possible that even force might be resorted to, should the queen re- fuse to yield the point. Dreading lest fur- ther opposition should but accelerate the evil that she wished to avert, the unhappy queen at length, with abundance of tears and with lamentations which were but too prophetic, delivered the young prince up, bidding him, as she did so, farewell for ever. Possessed of the protectorate, which the council, on account of his near relation to the throne, had at once conferred upon him without waiting for the consent of par- liament, and now possessed of the persons of the young princes, Gloster seems to have deemed all obstacles removed to his bloody and treacherous purpose ; though to any less uncompromising and daring schemer there might have seemed to be a formid- able one in the existence of numerous other children of Edward, and two of the duke of Clarence. The first step of Gloster In his infamous course was to cause sir Richard Ratcliffe, a tool well worthy of so heartless and un- sparing an employer, to put to death the 274 UTift CTrfaiSuri) af ^iStars, &t. earl o£ Rivers and the otlier prisoners whom he had sent to Pontefract castle, as before named ; and to this measure the tyrant Iiail the art to obtain the saurtiim of the dulie of liuckinKliam and lord Hastings ; whom subsequently he most fittingly re- paid for their participation in this mon- strous guilt. Gloster now quite literally imitated the great enemy of mankind — be made this first crime of Buckinerham's, this participa- tion in one murder, the cause and the justi- fication of farther crime. He pointed out to Buckingham that the death— however justifiably inflicted, as he affected to con- sider it— at their suggestion and command, of the queen's brother and son was an of- fence which a woman of her temper would by no means forget ; and that, however im- potent she might be during the minority of her son, the years would soon pass by which would bring his majority ; she would then have access to him and influence over him ; and would not that influence be most surely used to their destruction ? Would it not be safer for Buckingham, aye, and better for all the real and ancient nobility of the kingdom, that the offspring of the comparatively plebeian Elizabeth Gray should be excluded from the throne ; and that the sceptre should pass into the hands of Gloster himself — Gloster, who was so indissolubly the friend of Buckingham, and so well affected to the true nobility of the kingdom? Safety from the consequences of a crime already committed and irrevo- cable, with great and glowing prospect of rich beneflts to arise from being the per- sonal friend, the very right hand of the king, albeit a usurping king, were argu- ments precisely adapted to the comprehen- sion and favour of Buckingham, who with but small hesitation agreed to lend his aid and sanction to the measures necessarj- to convert the duke of Gloster into king Richard III. Having thus secured Buckingham,GIoster now turned his attention to lord Hastings whose influence was so exteusive as to be of vast importance. Through the me- dium of Catesby, a lawyer much employed by Gloster when chicane seemed the pre- ferable weapon to actual violence, Gloster sounded Hastings ; but that nobleman,wcak and wicked as he had proved himself, was far too sincerely attached to the children of his late sovereign and friend to consent to their injury. He not only refused to aid in the transfer of the crown from them, but BO refused as to leave but little room for doubt that he would be active in his oppo- sition. The mere suspicion was sufficient to produce his ruin, which Gloster set about Instantly and almost without the trouble of disguise. A council was summoned to meet Glos- ter at the Tower ; and Hastings attended with as little fear or suspicion as any other member. Gloster, whose mood seems ever to have been the most dangerous when hi.s beaj-ing was the most jocund, chatted fa- miliarly with the members of the council as they assembled. Not a frown darkened, his terrible brow, not a word fell from his lips that could excite doubt or fear: who could have supposed that he was about to commit a foul murder w)io was suHlciently at ease to compliment bishop Morton upon the size and earliness of the strawberries in his garden at Holboru, and to beg that a dish of thsm might be sent to him 1 Yet it was in the midst of such light talk that he left the council-board to ascertain that all hisvillauous arrangements were exactly made. This done, he entered the room again with a disturbed and angry counte- nance, and startled all present by sternly and abruptly demanding what punishment was deserved by those who should dare to plot against the life of the uncle of the king and the appointed protector of the realm. Hastings, really attached to Glos- ter, though still more so to the royal chil- dren, warmly replied that whoever should do so would merit the punishment of trai- tors. 'Traitors, aye traitors!' said the duke, ' and those traitors are the sorceress my brother's widow, and his mistress Jane Shore, and others who are associated with them.' And then l.a.ving bare his arm, which all present knew to have been shri- velled and deformed from his earliest years, he continued, ' See to what a condition they have reduced me by their abominable witchcraft and incantations ! ' The mention of Jane Shore excited the first suspicion or fear in the mind of Has- tings, who, subsequent to the death of the late king, had been intimate with the beau- tiful though guilty woman of that name. ' If,' said Hastings, doubtfully, ' they have done this, my lord, they deserve the severest punishment.' ' m ' shouted Gloster ; ' and do you prate to me of your ifs and n?id,< ? You are the chief abettor of the sorceress Shore ; you are a traitor, and by St. Paul I swear that I will not dine until your head shall be brought to me.' Thus speaking, he stntck the table with his hand, and in an instant the room was filled with armed men who had already re- ceived his orders how to act : Hastings was dragged from the room, and beheaded on a log of wood which chanced to be lying in tlie court-yard of the Tower. In two hours after this .savage murder, a proclamation was made to the citizens of London, apolo- gising for the sudden execution of Hastings on the score of the equally sudden discovery of numerous offences which the proclama- tion charged upon him. Though Gloster had but little reason to fear any actual out- break in the city, the lord Hastings was very popular there ; and not a few of the citizens, even including those who were the most favourable to Gloster, seemed to agree with a merchant who, noticing the elabo- rate composition of the fairly written pro- clamation, and contrasting it with the shortness of the time which had elapsed from Hastings's murder, shrewdly remarked that ' the proclamation might safely be re- lied on, for it was quite plabi that it had been drawn by the spirit of prophecy.' Though the extreme violence of Gloster was for the present confined to Hastings, (iFnglanlr.— 5?ott^c a( gorS — CWnarir W, 275 iiB If 111 retributive justice upou his crime towards tlie victims of Pontef ract, the other couuciliors were by no means allowed to escape scot free. Lord Stanley was actually woundtii by the poll-axe of one of the sol- diers sUMiiiuinea by tlie Ircaihriuus pnj- teotor, and only, perhaps, escaped beiiig murdered in the very presence ot tliat ty- rant by the more dexterous than diguilled expedient of falling under the table, and re- maining there till the confusion attendant upon the arrest of Hastings had subsided. He wiisthen, toKolher wilh the archbishop of Vnrk, I lie bislK.p .if lOly, and soTne other councillors, whom lilnster liafed fur tlieir sincere attachment to the family of the late king, conveyed from the council room of the Tower to its too ominous dungeons. A new and a meaner victim was now es- Bential to the dark and unsparing jiurposes of the protector. His connectien of the murdered Hastings with the alleged sorce- ries of the late king's mistress, Jane Shore, rendered it necessary that he should ap- pear to be fully convinced that she was guilty of the crimes whicli he had laid to her charge. The charge of witchcraft, that upon which he laid the most stress, was so utterly unsupported by evidence, that even the ignorance of the age and the power of Gloster could not get her convicted upon it ; but as it was notorious that she, a mar- ried woman, had lived in a doubly adulte- rous intercourse with the late king, the spiritual court was easily induced to sen- tence her to do penance publicly, and at- tired ill a white sheet, at St. Paul's. Her subsequent fate was just what might he ex- pected from her former life. Tliough in her guilty prosperity she showed many signs of a liuiuane and kindly temper, liberally suc- couring the distressed and disinterestedly using her influence with the king for the beneflt of deserving but friendly court suitors, she passed unheeded and unaided from her public degradation to a privacy of miserable indigence. Gloster's Impunity thus far very natu- rally increased both his propension to crime and his audacity in its commission, and he now no longer made a secret of his desire to exclude tlie present king and his brother from the throne. Reckless of wo- man's fame as of man's life, Gloster took advantage of the known luxuriousness of tho late king's life to aflBrm that, previous to that prince marrying the lady Elizabeth Gray he had been married to the lady Elea- nor, Talbot, the daughter of the earl of Shrewsbury ; that this marriage, though se- cret, was legal and binding, and had been solemnized by Millington, bishop of Bath; and that, consequently and necessarily, Ed- ^vard's children by the lady Elizabeth Gray ^vere illegitimate. The children of Edward being thus pronounced illegitimate, Glos- ter, liy his partisans, maintained that the attainder of the duke of Clarence necessa- rily dispossessed his children of all right. But as assertion in the former case could hardly pass for proof, and as attaint had never been ruled to exclude from the crown as from mere private succession, Gloster soared to a higher and more damning pitch of infamy : hitherto he had impugned the chastity of his sister-in-law— now he passed beyond all the ordinary villany of the world, and imputed frequent and familiar harlotry to his own mother 1 To make his right to the I hnriie wholly independent either of the allei,'i-d si'cret marriage of the lale king to the lady Eleanor, or of the eflecl upon Cla- rence's children of the attainder of their father, Gloster now taught his numerous and zealous tools to maintain that his mo- ther, the duciiess of York, who was still alive, hail Ijcen n'ln atedly false to her mar- riage vows, that both Edward IV. and the duke of Clarence had been illegitimate and the sons of different fathers, and that the duke of Gloster was alone the legitimate son of the duke and duchess of York. As if this horrible charge of a son against his mother, who had lived and was still living in the highest credit of the most ir- reproachable virtue, were not sufllciently revolting to all good and manly feeling, tho horriblB charge was first brought forward in church; on the occasiun of Or. Shaw preaching a sermon before the protector. The preacher, well worthy of the patron, took the significant text, ' Bastard slips shall not thrive ; ' upon which the preacher enlarged with great zeal in the endeavour to throw tlie stain of bastardy upon Edward IV. and his brother Clarence. Though Gloster was far too free from shamefaced- ness, as well as from every thing in the shape of ' compunctious visitiug," to have any objection to being present during the delivery of the whole of the tirade against his own mothei''s chastity, yet from a poli- tic motive it was an-anged that he should not enter the church until the preacher should finish pronouncing the following passage. Contrasting the duke of Gloster with the alleged illegitimate sous of his mother, the preacher exclaimed, ' Behold this excellent prince, the express image of his noble father, the genuine descendant of the house of York ; bearing, no less in the virtues of his mind than in tlie features of his countenance, the character of the gallant Richard, once your hero and fa- vourite. He alone Is entitled to your alle- giance ; he must deliver you from the do- minion of all intruders; he aloue can re- store the lost glory and honour of the nation." It was intended that this glowing pane- gyric on the duke of Gloster should be pronounced at the very moment of the ob- ject of it making his appearance in the church, in the hope that, taken by surprise and urged into enthusiastic feeling, the congregation might be induced to hail the wily and heartless tyrant with the cry of 'God save king Richard r But by one of those mistakes which very often occur to throw ridicule upon the deepest schemes, the duke did not make his appearance until tlie whole of this precious passage had al- ready been delivered. Rather than his elo- quence and the chance of its success should be lost by this accident, the preacher ac- tually repeated it ; but the audience, either from the repetition seeming ridiculous, or its impressing them the mote strongly 276 G^e CrcaSurj) of ?gWtorj), Set. with the falsehood and vlUaiiy of the charges Insinuated against the duchess of York, witnessed the performance of the disgusting farce with an indifference which probably was more severely felt hy Gloster than any other punishment would have been. The preaching of Dr. Shaw having thus failed to effect the purpose of Gloster, re- course was now had to the management of Dr. Shaw's brother, who at this time was mayor of London. He called a meeting of the citizens, to whom he Introduced the duke of Buckingham, who exerted to the utmost his powers of eloquence upon the subject of Gloster's great and numerous virtues, and upon the superiority of his un- questionable claim to the throne. Though Buckingham was as earnest as he was elo- quent, he could by no means communicate his own feelings to the bosoms of the good citizens, who with most unmoved counte- nances and lack-lustre eyes heard him in all gravity, and heard the very conclusion of his address with all silence. At once annoyed by this repulsive silence, and as much abashed liy it as so experienced a courtier well could be by any thing, the duke angrily demanded of the mayor what the silence of the citizens might mean. The mayor replied, that probably the citi- zens had not fully understood the duke, who then repeated the former speech, but still failed to elicit any reply from his au- ditors. The mayor, in his desire to gratify the duke, pretended that the citizens, who were always accustomed to be harangued by their own recorder, could only compre- hend the duke's speech if delivered to them through the medium of that officer. The recorder, FitzwiUiam, was accord- ingly desired to repeat the duke's speech, which, being no friend to Gloster's projects, he took care to do in such wise that the people could by no means take the words, though delivered by him, as in any way ex- pressing his wishes ; and he, like the duke, was heard to the very last word without anyone giving him a word of reply. The duke now became too much enraged to refrain from speaking out, and he said, ' This is wonderful obstinacy ; express your meaning, my friends, in one way or the other. When we apply to you on this oc- casion, it is merely from the regard which we bear to you. 'The lords and commons have sufficient authority without your con- sent to appoint a king ; but I require you here to declare, in plain terms, whether or not you will have the duke of Gloster for your sovereign?' The earnestness and anger of the duke, and the example set by some of his and the duke of Gloster's ser- vants, caused this address, more fortunate than the former ones, to be received with a cry of God save king Richard I The cry was feeble, and raised by people few in number and of the humblest rank ; but it served the purpose of Buckingham, who now, as had been concerted, hurried off to Baynard's castle to inform Gloster that the voice of ' the people ' called him to the throne I Buckingham was attended to Baynard's castle by the mayor and a considerable number of citizens; and though the wily protector was most anxiously cxjiecting this visit, he affected to be surprised and even alarmed at so many persons in com- pany demanding to sjieak to him ; which pretended surprise and alarm of the pro- tector, Buckingham took care to point out to the esi>eclal notice of the thick-witted citizens. When the protector at length suffered himself to be persuaded to speak to the duke of Buckingham and the citi- zens, he affected astonishment on hearing that he was desired to be king, and round- ly declared his own intention of remaining loyal to Edward V., a course of conduct which he also recommended to Buckingham and his other auditors. Buckingham now affected to take a higher tone with the pro- tector. That prince, argued Buckingham, could undoubtedly refuse to accept the crown, but he could not compel the people to endure their present sovereign. A new one they would have ; and if the duke of Gloster would not comply with their loving wishes on his behalf, it would only behove them to offer the crown elsewhere. Hav- ing now sufficiently kept up the disgusting farce of refusing that crown for the sake of which he had already waded through so much innocent blood, and was so perfectly prepared and determined to commit even more startling crimes still, Gloster now gave a seemingly reluctant consent to ac- cept it; and without waiting for farther repetition of this offer from ' the people,' he thenceforth threw aside even the affec- tation of acting on behalf of any other so- vereign than his own will and pleasure. The farcical portion of the usurpation, however, was but too soon afterward fol- lowed by a most tragical completion of Richard's vile crime. Tortured by the true bane of tyrants, suspicion and fear, Richard felt that so long as his young nephews sur- vived, his usurped crown would ever be in- secure ; as an opponent would always be at hand to be set up against him by any noble to whom he might chance to give offence. This consideration was quite enough to ensure the death of the unfortunate young princes, and Richard sent orders for their murder to the constable of the Tower, sir Robert Brackenbury. But this gentleman was a man of honour, and he refxised to ha ve anything to do with a design so atrocious. ] The tyrant was, however, not to be baffled ^ by the refusal of one good man to bend to ! his infamous designs, and having found a 1 more compliant tool in the person of sir James Tyrrcl, it was ordered that for one I night Brackenbury should surrender to that person the keys of the Tower. On that fatal night three wretches, named Slater, Digh- ton, and Forrest, were introduced to the chamber in which the two young princes were buried in sinless and peaceful sleep. , In that sleep the yoiuig victims were smo- thered by the three assassins just named, Tyrrel waiting outside the door while the horrid deed was being perpetrated, and, on I its completion, ordering the burial of the bodies at the foot of the staircase leading to the chamber. I It may not be quite unnecessary to men- eiifllantf.— l^ouiSc of^orft.— Otoartt W. 277 ttou here that doulits, from which iiiaii'a Ingenuity allows few truths, however iilalii, wholly to escape, have been thrown upon this portion of Richard's guilt ; but the most Ingenious reasoning and the utmost felicity at guessing are but Idle when op- posed to plain fact, as in the present case ; something more is requisite In opposition to the actual confession made by the mur- derers themselves In the following reign. CnAPTEK XXXV. The Beign of Ricuaud III. A.D. 1483.— Having not only grasped the crown, but also put to death the two claim- ants from whom he had the most reason to fear future annoyance, Richard now turned his attention to securing as strong a body of supporters as he could, by the distribu- tion of favours. And so anxious was he upon this point, so ready to forget all other considerations In the present usefulness of those of whose services he stood in need, that he cast his shrewd eye upon powerful enemies to be conciliated as well as devoted friends to be rewarded for the past and re- tained for the future. Among those whom Richard the most carefully sought to keep firm to his inte- rests was the duke of Buckingham. De- scended from Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, and uncle of Richard II., this nobleman was allied to the royal fa- mily, and from the same cause he had a claim upon a moiety of the vast property of Bohun,e.arl of Hereford, which moiety had long been held by the crown underescheat. Buckingham, though his wealth and ho- nours were already enormous, deemed that the services he had recently rendered to Richard gave him good ground to claim this property, and also the office of con- stable of England, which had long been hereditary in the Hereford family. In the first exultation caused by his own success, so much of which was owing to Bucking- ham, Richard granted all that nobleman asked. But on cooler reflection Richard seems to have imagined that Buckingham was already as wealthy and powerful as a subject could be consistently with the safety of the crown, and though he virtually made a formal grant of the Hereford property, he took care to oppose Insuperable difficul- ties to its actual fulfilment. Buckingham was far too shrewd to fail to perceive the real cause of the property being withheld from him ; and he who had so unscrupu- lously exerted himself to set up the usurper, now felt fully as anxious and resolute to aid In pulling him down. The flagrancy of Richard's usurpation was such as to pro- mise everyfacility to an attempt to dethrone him, if that attempt were but headed by a man of adequate power and consequence. In truth, the very success of his usurpation was scarcely more attributable to his own daring and unprincipled wickedness than to the absence of any powerful opponent. Even the lowest and meanest citizens of London had rather been coerced Into a pas- sive admission of his right to the crown than Into an active support of it ; and now that the duke of Buckingham was convert- ed into an enemy of the usurper, the long dormant claims of the Lancastrians were premised upon his attention, and not unfa- vourably looked upon by him. Morton, bi- shop of Ely, whom Richard committed to the Tower on the day of lord Hastings's murder, had recently been committed to the less rigorous custody of the duke of Buckingham, and, perceiving the duke's discontent, turned his attention toa fitting rival to oppose to the tyrant, in the person of Henry, the young earl of Richmond. Through his mother the young earl was heir of the elder branch of the house of So- merset ; and though that claim to the crown would formerly have been looked upon as very slight, the failure of the legitimate branches of the bouse of Lancaster now gave it considerable importance in the eyes of the adherents of that house. Even Edward IV. had been so jealous of the earl of Richmond's claim upon the throne, that after vainly endeavouring to get him into his power, he had agreed to pay a consider- able yearly sum to the duke of Brittany to keep the dangerous young noble at his court, nominally as a guest, but really as a prisoner. The very jealousy thus shown to- wards the young earl naturally increased the attention and favour of the Lancas- trians ; and it now occurred to the bishop Morton, and, from his reasonings, to the duke of Buckingham, that Richard might be dethroned in favour of young Henry. But as the long depression of the house of Lancaster had diminished both thezcal and the number of its adherents, Morton with profound policy suggested the wisdom of strengthening the bonds of Henry, and at the same time weakening those of Richard, by the marriage of the former to king Ed- ward's eldest daughter, the prlucess Eliza- beth, and thus uniting the party claims of both families against the mere personal usurpation of Richard, who was deeply de- tested by the nation for his cruelty, and would consequently meet with no hearty support, U he should be openly opposed with even a probability of success. Young Henry's mother, the countess of RichmxperienciDg opposition, at Milford Haven, in Wales. Here, as he ex- pected, the zealous though unfortunate ex- ertions of the duke of Buckingham had greatly prcpo.ssessed the people in his fa- vour, and his little army was increased by volunteers at every mile he marched. Among those who joined him was sir Rice ap Thomas with a force with which he had been entrusted by Richard; and even the other commander of the tyrant, sir Walter Herbert, made but a faint and inefflclent show of defence for Richard. Thus strength- ened by actual volunteers, and encouraged by the evident lukewarmness of Richard's partisans, Richmond marched to Shrews- bury, where he was joined by the whole strength of the great Shrewsbury family under sir Gilbert Talbot, and by another numerous reinforcement under sir Thomas Bourchier and sir Walter Hungerford. Richard, who had taken post at Notting- ham, as being so central as to admit of his hastening to whichever part of the kingdom might earliest need his aid, was not nearly so much annoyed by theutmost force of his known enemies as he was perplexed about the real extent to which he could depend upon the good faith of ills seeming friends. The duke of Norfolk Richard had reason to believe that he could securely rely upon ; but lord Stanley and sir William Stanley, who had vast power and influence in the north, were closely connected with Rich- mond's family. Yet while the usurper felt the danger of trusting to their professions of friendsliip, he dared not break with them. Compelled by his situation to au- thorise them to raise forces on his behalf in Cheshire and Lancashire, he endea- voured to deter them from arraying tljose forces against him, by ili-laiiiing as a host- age lord Stanley's son, lord Strange. TbouKh ill his luarl lord Stanley was de- voted to the c;mse of Uicliiiiond, the peril In which Ills son lord Strange was placed induced him to forbear from declaring him- self, and he posted his numerous levies at Atherstoiie, so situated that he could at win join either party. Richard In this con- duct of lord Stanley saw a convincing proof that the hostility of that nobleman was only kept In check by the situation of his son ; and judging that the destruction of the young man would be a spell of very different effect from his continued peril, the politic tyrant for once refused to sheil blood when advised to do so by those of his friends who discerned the me.aning of lord Stanley's delay. Trusting that lord Stan- ley's hesitation would last long enough to allow of the royal troops dealing only with the earl of Richmond, Richard approached the army of the latter nobleman at Bos- wortli, in Leicestershire. The army of Richmond was only six thousand, that of Richard double the number. Both Richard and the earl fought in the main guards of their respective armies, which had scarcely charged each other when lord Stanley led up his forces to the aid of Richmond. The effect of this demonstration was tremen- dous, botli In encouraging the soldiers of the earl and in striking dismay into the already dispirited troops of Richard. Mur- derous and tyrannous usurper as he was, Richard was brave as a lion in the field. Perceiving that, since such powerful aid had declared for his rival, nothing but the death of that rival could give him any hope of safety for either life or throne, Richard intrepidly rushed toward the spot where Richmond was ordering liis troops, and en- deavoured to engage with him in personal combat ; but while fighting with murderous vigour he was slain, after having dismount- ed sir John Cheyne, and killed sir William Brandon, Richmond's standard bearer. The battle ended with the life of Richard, of whom it may with the utmost truth be said, that 'nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it.' Even while under his dreaded eye his soldiers had fought with no good will ; and when he fell they imme- diately took to flight. On the side of Richard, besides the tyrant himself, there fell about four thousand, including the duke of Norfolk, the lord Ferrars of Chart- ley, sir Richard Ratcllffe, sir Robert Piercy, and sir Robert Brackenbury ; and Catesby, the chief confidant and most willing tool of Richard's crimes, being taken prisoner, was, with some minor accomplices, beheaded at Leicester. The body of Richard being found upon the field, was thrown across a miserable horse, and carried, amid the hooting and jeers of the people who so lately trembled at him, to the Grey Friar's church at Lei- cester, where it was interred. The courage and ability of this prince were unquestionable ; but all his courage and abil ity, misdirected as they were, sei^ved only to render him a new proof, if such were needed, of the inferiority of the most 280 C^e CreaiSurs af J^tStorp, ^c. lirllllant gifts of Intellect u-ithout honour and religion, to comparatively inferior talents with them. Low in stature, de- formed, and of a harsh countenance, Rirh- »rd might jet have commanded admiration 1)y his talents, but for his excessive and in- eradicable propension to the wicked as re- gards projects, and the bloody as regards action. CHAPTER XXXVL The Reign 0/ Henet VII. A.D. 1485.— The joy of Richmond's troops at the defeat of Richard was proportioned to the hatred with which that tyrant had contrived to inspire every bosom. Lo7ig live king Henry the Seventh 1 was the exult- ing cry which now eveiywhere s.aluted the lately exiled and distressed earl of Rich- mond ; and his victorious brow was bound with a plain gold coronal which had been worn by Richard, and had been torn from the tyrant's forehead by sir William Stanley In personal combat with him when he fell. Though Henry, late earl of Richmond, and now, by possession, king Henry VII., had more than one ground upon which to rest his claim, there was not one of those grounds which was not open to objection. The Lancastrian claim had never been clearly established by Henry IV., and if the parliament had often supported the house of Lancaster, so the parliament had not less frequently — and with just as much ap- parent sincerity — paid alike compliment to the house of York. Then, again, .allow- ing the Lancastrian claim to be good ex fonte, yet Richmond claimed only from the illegitimate branch of Somerset ; and again, allowing that claim to be ever so good, it in reality was now vested not in him but in his still living mother, the countess of Richmond. On the other h.— WAnnECK, on perceiving the treatment that w.as bestowed by the Kent- ish people upon those of his adherents who had been so unfortun.ate .as to hand, sin- cerely congratulated himself upon the sus- picion which had arisen in his mind at the regular and disciplined appearance of the men who had pretended to be newly levied, and with an especial view to his .service. He had, however, gone too far to recede, and was, besides, without the funds necessary to support his numerous followers in idle- ness. Irel.and had ever been ready to war ag.ainst the king of England on any or on no pretext, and to Ireland he accordingly steered his course. But, as we have more particularly mentioned under the history of tliat country, Poyning's law and other good measures had so far strengtliened the royal authority,thateven in the usually turbulent Ireland theadventurer could obtain no sup- port. Certain hospitalities, indeed, he ex- perienced at the hands of some of the chief- tains, but their coarse fare and rude habits were but little to his taste, and he left them to try his fortune in Scotland. The king of France,in revenge for thejunction of Henrj- with the other opponents of the ambitious schemes of Fr.ince, and tlie king of the Ro- mans, in revenge for Honrj's prohibition of all commerce with tlie Low Countries, se- cretly furnished "W.arbeck with strong re- commendations to the then king of Scot- land, James IV. That chivalric prince seems at first to have suspected the truth of W.ar- beck's story; for while he received him otherwise kindly, he somewhat pointedly told him th.at be he whoever orwliateverhe might he should never repent having trust- ed to a king of .Scotland, a remark which he would scarcely h.ave made had he felt any confidence that he was really the duke of York. But the king's suspicions did not long hold out against the fascinating man- ners and numerous accomplishments of the young adventurer. So completely did James become the dupe, and so far was that kind- hearted monarch interested in the welfare of the young impostor who practised upon his credulity, that he actually gave him in man-iage the lady Catherine Gordon, daugh- ter of the earl of Huntley, .and not very dis- tantly related to the king himself. A.T). 1496.— That James of Scotland really did give credence to the elaborate false- hoods which were told to him hy young Warbeck seems certain, orhe would scarce- ly have given him, in marriage, ayoungand beautiful lady of a noble family and even rel.ated to the cro^vn. But policy had, pro- bably, still more to do in producing J.ames'3 kindness to the adventurer, than any con- siderations of a merely humane and per- sonal nature. Injury to England, at any r,ate and under any circumstances, seems to h.aveheen the invariable maxim of the Scot- tish kings .and of the Scottish people; and James, deeming it prob.able that the peo- ple of the northern counties of England would rise in favour of "Warbeck, led him thither at the head of a strong and well-ap- ens\^\\S.—^auSe of gTu^fly.— ^cnvji WM. 201 IiniiiUid array. As soon as they had crnr-sed i\n\ honk'i-, Warbeck Issued a iiroi-laiimtioii ill which lie formally stated biinsrlf tn )»■ that, duke of York who had so Iouk 1"'cii supposed dead, claimed to be the rightful sovereign of England, and called upuu all his good and loyal subjects to rise and aid him in oxiii'Iling the usurper who laid heavy burl Ih lis 111.011 them, and whose oppressions of 111. 1! ,.| :ill ranks, and especially his stu- died ilr^'r.ulation of the nobility, had, said tlie proclamation, justly caused him to be odious to all men. But besides that the men of the north of England were but little likely to look upon a Scottish army as a recommendation of the new comer, there were two circumstances which prevented this proclamation from being much at- tended to ; every day taught men to look with increased dread upon the unsparing and unfaltering temper of the king; and Warbeck's Scottish friends, by their taste for plunder, made it somewhat more than dilllcult for the English borderers to look upon them in any other light than that of plundering foemen. Warbeck was conscious how greatly this practice of the Scotch tend- ed to injure his cause among the English, and he remonstrated with James upon the subject. But James, who now clearly saw the little chance there was of any rising in favour of Warbeck, plainly told him that all his sympathy was thrown away upon ene- mies, and all his anxiety for the preserva- tion of the country equally wasted, inas- much as it seemed but too certain that th.at country would never own his sway. In fact, but for their plundering, the Scots would literally have crossed the border to no earthly purpose, scarcely an Englishman bciiu,' iiuluced by their coming to join the standard of Warbeck. Henry was so con- fident that the marauding propensities of the Scots would make Warbeck's cause un- popular in the northern comities rather than the contrary, that he was by no means sorry for the Scottish Irruption. Neverthe- less, true to his constant maxim of making a profit of every thing, he affected to be very indignant at this violation of his ter- ritory, and he summoned a parliament to listen to his complaints on this head, and to aid him in obtaining redress for so great and affronting an Injury. The pathetic style in which Henry so well knew how to couch his complaints, so far prevailed with the parliament as to induce them to vote him a subsidy of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds, and they were then dismissed. A.D. 1497. — The people, always shrewd judges of character, had by this time learned to understand that of Henry. Comparing the frequency and the largeness of the grants made to him by the parliament with his own regal economy and personal stingi- ness, they easily calculated that he had by him a treasure of sufiflcient extent to enable him to spare his sulijects this new imposi- tion. It followed that, though the parlia^ ment had so willingly granted the subsidy in the mass, the people were by no means so willing to pay it to the tax collectors in detail. This was more especially the case in Cornwall. Far removed from any in- roads of the Scots, the pcnple of that part CI. II 1(1 not or would not uml. r>i and why they sliiJiild be taxed to rein! an ni. my whom Ihcvliad never seen. Th.- |..i|.iilai- discnn- ti'iit ill Cnriiwall was still fai llirr imreased bv twiMlriiiaf;Mj,'iics, .h.s.-pli and Klaiiimock. The latter especially, wlin was a lawyer, was much trusted by the populace, whom he assured that the tax that was laid upon them on this occasion was wholly illegal inasmuch as the nobility of the northern counties lield their lands on the express condilii.n (if ilerending them against all in- ro.ads of I In- .Scots; and that it behoved the peoiile lu-omptly and flrnily, but peaceably, to petition against the system underwhich their burthens bade fair to become quite intolerable. It is scarcely worth while to enquire how far the demagogues were sin- cere in their exhortations to peaceable agi- tation ; the event showed how much easier it is to set a multitude in motion than to control it afterwards. The country people, having their own opinions of the illegality and injustice of the tax confirmed by men of whose talents and information they had a very high opinion, gathered together in great numbers, most of them being armed with the implements of their rural labour. This numerous and tumultuous gathering chose Plammock and Joseph for their lead- ers, and passing from Cornwall through Devonshire, reached T.aunton, in Somerset- shire, where they killed one of the col- lectors of the .subsidy, whose activity and, perhaps, severity h.ad given them much of- fence. From Taunton they marched to Wells in the same county, where they got a distinguished leader in the person of the lord Audley, a nobleman of ancient family, but very prone to popularity hunt- jng. 'Headed by this silly nobleman, the rebels marched towards London, breathing vengeance against the principal ministers of tlie king, though upon the whole tolera- bly innocent of actual wrong or violence during the latter part of their march. Though the Kentish-men had so lately shown by the course they had adopted to- wards Warbeck how little they were in- clined to involve themselves in a quarrel with the king, Flammock had persuaded the rebels that they were sure to be joined by the Kentish people, iecanse these latter had ever maintained their liberty even against the Norman invaders. The lion se- guitur was either not perceived by the mul- titude or not considered of much Import- ance, for into Kent they marched in pursu- ance of Fiammock's advice, and took up their position on a hill at Eltham,avery few miles from London. So far was the advice of Flammock from being well found- ed, that there probably was not at that moment a single spot In the whole kingdom where the rebels were less likely to meet with support than they were in Kent. Everywhere throughout the kingdom there was considerable discontent arising out of the extortionate measures of the king, but everywhere there was also a great respect for the king's power, to "which was added in Kent considerable kindly feeling spring- ing out of the favour and consideration 292 Ct)e Creaijurj) of i^iitory, ict. with which he h;ul apkiKuvledijoil the ser- vice iloiio to liim when Warhcck appeared nff the coast. Of this I'eoiiuj,' tlie earl of Kent, lord Abergavenny, and lnrd Col)liam 811 well availed themselves, lli-it, Hhuii-'h tlie rebels made every peaceful cndcavnui- to recruit their ranks, none of the Kentish men would join them. On this, as indeed on all other emergen- cies, Henry showed himself eiiual tu the occasion. He delarhed the earl of Surrey to hold in check or heat back tlie Scots; and having posted himself in St. George's llelds at the head of one body of troops, he despatched the carls of Oxford, Suffolk, and Esse.t, at the head of another, to take the rebels in the rear ; while a third under lord Daubeny charged them in front. The more completely to take the rebels by sur- prise, Henry had carefully spread a report that he should not attack them for several days ; nor did he give the word to Daubeny's division to advance imtil so late an hour in the day that the rebels could have no idea of being attacked. They had a small ad- vance at Deptford bridge, which Daubeuy easily put to flight, and pursued them so closely that he charged upon their main body "at the same time that they re- joined it. Daubeny charged the rebels gal- lantly, but his contempt of their want of discipline led him to undervalue their number, in which respect they were far from despicable, being above sixteen thou- sand. The rash gallantry of Daubeny actu- ally caused him to be for a few moments taken prisoner, but he was speedily rescued by his troops, whose discipline soon pre- vailed over the raw numbers of the rebels, and the latter were put to flight with the loss of two thousand killed, and many thou- sands prisoners; the first division of the king's troops having aided Daubeny so that' the rebels were completely surrounded, and but a comparatively small number of them succeeded in cutting their way through. Among the numerous prisoners were the lord Audley, Flammock, and Joseph, all of whom the king sent to immediate execution, Joseph actually exulting in his fate, which, he said, would ensure him a place in the history of his countiy. To the other pri- soners the king gave their liberty ; partly, perhaps, because he deemed them to have been mere dupes in the hands of their lea- ders, and partly because, however much they had exclaimed against the oppressions of his ministers, they had in nowise through- out the whole revolt called in question his title, or showed any disposition to mix up with their own causes of complaint the pre- tensions of the pseudo duke of York. Lord Surrey and the king of Scotland, mean- while, had made some few and inefficient demonstrations which led to no important result, .and Henry took an early opportunity to get Hialas, the Spanish ambassador, to propose himself— as if without the know- ledge of Henry — to mediate between the two kings. When Hialas was agreed to as a mediator, the first .and most important de- maud of Henry was that Warbeck should be delivered up to him, ademand to which, to his eternal h nour, James IV. replied that he could not pretend to doi-ido upon the young man's pretensions; but that liaving received him and promised him his protection, no imauinalile consideration should ever induci- him to betray him. Suh- seiuently, a truce of a few mouths having hrvu agreed to between Huglaud and Scot- land, James privately begged Warbeck to seek some safe asylum, as it was very evi- dent that while he remained in Scotland Henry would never allow that country to have any pernianent peace. The measures of Henry, meantime, as regarded the Flem- ings had produced exactly the result which he expected from them ; the Flemish mer- chants and artificers had suffered so much from his system of non-intercourse, that they had in a manner forced their archduke to make a treaty by which all English rebels were excluded from the Low Countries, and the demesnes of the dowager duchess of Burgundy were especially and pointedly in- cluded in this treaty. Warbeck, therefore, on being requested to quit Scotland, found himself by this treaty completely shut out of the Low Countries too, and he was fain once more to take refuge among the bogs and mountains of Ireland. Even here, such were the known vigi- lance, art, and power of Henry, the unfor- tunate impostor did not feel himself .secure. His fear on th.at head, and his dislike of the rude ways and scanty fare of his entertain- ers, induced him to follow the advice of three needy and desperate adherents, Ast- ley. Heme, and Skelton ; and he landed in Cornwall, where he endeavoured to profit by the still prevalent disposition to dis- content and riot in that neighbourhood of hardy, turbulent, and ignorant men. On his landing, at Bodmin, Warbeck was joined by upwards of three thousand men ; and so much w.as he encouraged by even this equivocal appearance of popularity, that he now, for the first time, assumed the title of king of England by the name of Rich.ard IV. He next marched his coura- geous but utterly undisciplined men to Exeter, where the inhabitants wisely, as well as loyally, shut their gates against him, despatched messengers to the king, and made all preparation for sustaining such a siege as Warbeck, destitute of artil- lery and even of ammunition, might be ex- piicted to carry on against them. Henry rejoiced to hear that the pretender who had so long eluded and perplexed him, had, at length, resolved to take the field. The lords Daubeny and Broke, with the earl of Devonshire, the duke of Bucking- ham, and many other considerable nobles, hastily raised troops and marched against the rebels ; the king, at the same time, ac- tively preparing to follow with a numerous ariiiy. Warbeck bad shown himself unfit for rule, by the mere elation of spirit into which he was betrayed by the adhesion of three thousanJ ill-armed and undisciplined men ; he now showed himself still further unfit by utter want of that desperate cour- age which, if it often betrays its possessor into situations of peril, no less frequently enables him, as if bv miracle, to extricate (SnqttinXs.—WxiSt of Cutfor.— iJ^enry. WM. 293 liiiiiscif Willi ;uh"mt af,'e even wlicre bis ruiu iiliiiciirs iiii'vitubic. Tlii^ v.riil iif the liiiif's frit'iiils \v:is so larfi-oin (Ic.^tiM>in^? thcliut)es lit' W.-iiliOck's surporteis, tii.it in avery few days llieir miiulicr iiiereased from tliroc to aljuiit seven tliinisiiiiii. Jiiu tlie encouraKe- meiit afl'nriii'd liy tliis eiitiiusiasm of his friends eoiild not eiiunterbalanre in tlie mind of this unwortliy I'l rtendrr to enipire the terror exeiieil l.y tliu niuiiher and rapid aiJproaeliof Ins foes. He hastily raised tlie sieye of Exeter and retired to Tauntou ; and thence, while nutnljers were joining him from the surrounding neighbourhood, he made a stealthy and solitary flight to the sanctuary of 15eaulieu, in Hampshire. De- serted by their leader the Cornish men sulimittcd to the king, who used his tri- umph nobly. A lew leading and particu- larly obnoxious offenders were executed, but the majority were dismissed uninjured. ]n the case of Warlieck's wife, Catherine tiordon, Henry Ijrh.ived admirably. That lady being aiiioiig his prisoners, he not only received and pardoned her, as being far mure worthy of pity than of blame, but even gave her a highly reputable post at court. A.D. 1498.— The long annoyance caused liy Warbeck induced Henry's advisers to urge him to seize tliat impostor even in de- fiance of the church. But Henry, wlio ever loved the tortuous and the subtle bet- ter than the openly violent, caused his emissaries to persuade Warbeck voluntarily to leave his shelter and throw himself upon the king's mercy. This be accordingly did, and after having been led in a mockery of regal state to London, he was compelled to make a formal and detailed confession of the whole of his strange and hypocritical life, and was then committed to close custody. A.D. 1499.— He might now have lived se- curely, if irksomely ; but he had so long been accustomed to intrigue and the acti- vity of imposture, that ho speedily took an opportunity to elude the vigilance of bis keepers and escape to sanctuary. Here the prior of the monastery mediated for him, and the king consented once more to spare his life ; but set him in the stocks at West- minster and at Cheapside; compelled him in that disgraceful situation, to read aloud his confession, and then committed him, to close custody in the Tower of London. Even now, this restless person could not submit to his fate. He coutrived to seduce some of the servants of the governor, and to associate with himself in the project of escape the unfortunate young earl of War- wick, whose long imprisonment had so weakened his mind, that no artiflce was too gross to impose upon him. It would almost seem that this hopeless scheme must, in- directly, have been suggested to the adven- turers by the king himself, that he might have a sufllcieutly plausible reason for put- ting Warbeck to death. Nor is it any an- swer to this opinion to say, that two of the conniving servants of the governor were put to death for their share in the project ; for Henry was not of a character to allow his scheme to fail for want of even such a eacriflce as that. Both Warbeck and War- wick were executed ; the latter ciU tin! ground of his intention, wliich he did not deny, to disturb the king's guvernment. The fate of the unfortunate Warwick e.v cited universal indignation against Henry, who certainly sinned no less against policy than against humanity in this gratuitous violence u]ion mi inoifensive a character. A.n. 1501.— lliiiry had always been anxi- ous for a friendly and close connection with Ferdinand of Arragon, whose profound and successful policy, in many respects, resem- bled his own. He now, accordingly, ex- .ertcd himself, and with success, to unite Ferdinand's daughter, the princess Cathe- rine, to his own eldest son, Arthur, prince of Wales, the former being eighteen, the latter sixteen years of age. A.D. 1502.— Scarcely, however, had the king and people ceased their rejoicings at this marriage when it was fatally dissolved by the death of the young prince. The siu- did monarch was much affected by the loss of his sou, for it seemed to place him tuider the necessity of returning the large sum of two hundred thousand ducats which had been received as the dowry of the princess. Rather than part with so large a sum, Henry exerted himself to bring about a marriage between the princess and his second son, Henry, who was only twelve years of age, and \\hom he now created prince of Wales. The young prince was as averse to this match as so young a prince could be; but his father was reso- lute in the cause of his beloved ducats, and that marriage was celebrated which was afterwards the prime cause of so much crime and suffering. The latter years of the king were chiefly spent in the indulgence of that detestable vice, avarice, which seems not only to in- crease by enjoyment, but also to grow more and more craving in exact proportion to the approach of that hour in which the wealth of the world is vain. His excellent but far from well-treated queen having died in child-bed in 1303, Henry, from that time, seems to have been haunted with a notion that no treasure could be too immense to guard him against the rivalship of his son, the prince of Wales. Conscious that tho late queen's title was better than his own, Henry probably thought that if the prince were to aim at tho crown in right of his mother he would not be without support, and that, in such case, the successful side would be that side which had the best suii- ply of money. Upon no other principle can we accoimt for the shameless and unceas- ing rapacity with which, by means of be- nevolences extorted from parliament, and oppressive flues wrung from individuals through the arts of the infamous Dudley and Empson, the now enormously wealthy monarch continued to add to his stores, which, in ready money alone, are said to have approached the large sum of two mil- lions. Kvenwheu he was rapidly sinking under a consumption, he still upheld and employed his merciless satellites in their vile attacks upon the property of innocent men. The heaping up of gold, however, c c 2 29t Clb? CvcasSuru nf ^tiStniy, &t. (■ouM n^t stay the raraijcs of his fearful disease, and ho expired at, lils palace at Rirhmotul, at the ciiniparatively early aue of Urty-two years, and after a pmspirnus reiiin of twenty-tlirco years .-uid eiclit months, ou the twenty-seeond of April, 1 309. Cold, cautious, resolnte, and stern, Henry was an arbitrary and unjust monarch ; y<'t for the mass of tlie p('opl(! lils reipn was a Kond one. To the we.iltliy his avarice was a seour^'e; to the ImuKhty ami to the higli- liorn his firm and vigilant rule must have lieen terrible. But he allowed no one to plunder but for him ; no one to tyrannise but in obedience to his orders. The barba- rous tyranny of the feudal nobles was for ever stricken down : the middle classes were raised to an importance and influence pre- viously unheard of in England ; .and, apart from his arliitrary and really impolitic, be- cause needless, extortions of money, the general strain of his laws tended to tlie making of a despotic monarch, but also of a regulated nobility and of an enterprising prosperous people, whose enterprise and whose prosperity, having no check except the despotic power of the monarch, could not fall sooner or later to curb that one des- potism which had so far been useful that it iiad freed them from the many-headed des- potism of the nobility. CHAPTER XXXTX. The Eeign of Henry Vllf. A.D. 1509.— It is a Sfid but a certain truth that the mass of mankind have but a loose and deceptive morality ; they look rather to themanner than to the ex tent of crime when forming their judgements. The splendid tyrapal cause in England, where the par- liament imposed a poll-tax to assist the king in his designs against France. 'WTiile Henry was eagerly making his preparations, he did not neglect his dangerous enemy, James of Scotland. That prince was much attached to the Frencli cause, and sent a squadron of vessels to aid it ; and, though to Henry's envoy he now professed the most peaceable inclinations, the earl of Surrey was ordered to watch the borders with a strong force, lest England should be assailed in that direction during the king's absence in France. While Henry was busied in preparing a large land force for the invasion of France, his fleet, under sir Edward Howard, cruised in the channel, and at length drew up in order of battle off Brest and challenged the French force which lay there ; but the French commander being in daily expecta- tion of a reinforcement of galleys under the command of Prejeant de Bidoux, would not allow any taunts to draw him from his se- curity. The galleys at length arrived at Conijuet, near Brest, and Bidoux placed himself beneath a battery. There he was attacked by sir Edward, who, with a Span- ish cavalier and seventeen English, boldly boarded Bidoux's own vessel, but was killed and thrust into the sea. The loss of their admiral so discouraged the English, that they raised their blockade of Brest harbour, and the French fleet soon after made a de- scent upon the coast of Susses, but was healen off. Eight thousand men under the command of the earl of Shrewsbury, aud six thou- sand under that of lord Herbert of Cher- bury, having embarked for France, the king now preiiared to follow with the main army. He had already made the queen regent during his absence; and that she might be in the less danger of being dis turbed by any revolt, he now caused Ed niund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, who had been attainted diu-ing the last reign, to be beheaded in the Tower of Loudon. On arriving at Calais Henry found that the aid afforded him fell very far short of what he had been promised. Maximilian, who was to have brought a reinforcement of eight thousand men in return for a hun- dred and twenty thousand crowns which Henry had advanced him, was unable to fulfil "his engagement. He, however, made the best amends in his power by joining with such scanty force as he could com- mand ; and he enlisted himself under Henry as his oflic'er, with a salary of one hundred crowns per day. The earl of Shrewsbury and the lord Her bert immediately on theirarrival in France had laid siege to Torouentie, a town on the borders of Picardy, which was gallantly lefended by two tlmusaTid nun uniU-r the command of (in i|Hi and TeliL-iu. The trength of the iil.-ice and the gallantry nf the garrison badedeflance to the besiegers ; but a dreadful want of both provision and ammunition was soon felt in the )ilace. Fcjutrailles was detached by Louis from the avmy at .A.miens to carry some relief to this place. He took eight hundred horse- men, each of whom carried behind him a sack of gunpowder and two quarters of bacon, aud, though thus encumbered, this gallant cavalry cut their way through the English, deixj.sited their burthens in the fosse of the town, and returned to their quarters with scarcely any loss. The same gallant Fontrailles was shortly afterwards again about to throw some relief into Terouenne ; and as it was judged that the English would now be on the alert, a strong body of French cavalry was ordered up to protect him. Henry sent out a body of his cavalry to hold them in check, and, strange to relate, though the French were picked troops, consisting chiefly of gentle- men who had fought gallantly and often, they were seized with a sudden panic at the approach of the English, and fled in spite of the attempts to rally them which were made by such men as the chevalier Bayard, the duke of Longueville, and other distin- guished oflicers who were among the num- ber taken prisoners. This battle, from the panic flight of the French, is known as the Battle of Spurs. Had Henry immediately after this pushed his advantages, he might easily have marched to Paris, where both friends and foes fully expected to see him ; but he allowed Maximilian to persuade him into the besieging of Tournay, which, after much delay, was taken. Henry then re- turned to England, having gained some re- putation as a chivalrous soldier, but cer- tainly with no increase of his reputation as a politician or a generaL During Henry's absence the Scots acted precisely as had been anticipated. James, with an army of flfty thousand men, had crossed the border and taken several castles, ravaging aud plundering the country in every direction around them. Having taken the lady Forde prisoner in her castle, James was so much charmed with her society that he lost much precious time, and his dis- orderly troops took advantage of his negli- gence and retreated to their homes, in great numbers, with the plunder they had ob- tained from the Southrons. The earl of Surrey, after much difliculty, came up with the Scots, who by these desertions were re- duced to somewhat nearer his own force of twenty-six thousand men. James in per- son commanded the centre division of the Scots, the earl of Huntley and Lord Hume the right, the earls of Lennox and Argyle the left, while the earl of BothweU had the charge of the reserve. The English centre was commanded by lord Howard in the flr^t line, and by the gallant earl of Surrey him- self in the second ; the wings by sir Ed- mund Howard, sir Marmaduke Constable, englanlf.— ?i?0ti^e of ExxHav — l^enru ©Hi. 297 l.ird Diiciv, aii.l t^il■ Edwanl .Staiik-y- Tli<- ri.nlit vvliia; of the So.ts CDiiiiiioiiccd tlic :li-^ tliiii. and fairlv drove llie lOiiKlisli left- wiii^' olE till' field ; but tlie Seettish left, in tlie mcaiitinie, broke fniiii ad disriplliie, and atlaeked so iiii|ietiiiiusl,v, but in .■^iicli dis- order, that sir Edward Howard and llic lord Dacre, who i^roltted l>y tlieir emifiisioii and received tlieni coolly, cut llieiii to pieces be- fore tliey conhi be rescued liy James's own division anil tin' reserve under Bothwell. Tlions-di tlie Sent-; .-ustained this great loss, tlie presence el' I he so\riri';ii SO mucU ani- mated llieir cinii .I'^'c, I Icit 1 hey kept up tlie eimawi'iiienl iiiiiil iii^lit imt an end to it. Even then it was uncertain which side liad, in realily. suslaiiieil tlie ,i,'re:iter loss. But, on the l'MMoi\iiiL- d;iy, it wasdiscovcred that tlie Enylish, as well as the Scots, had lost about live thousand men ; the former had suffered almost exclusively in the ranks, while the latter had lost many of their bravest nobles. The king of Scotland was hiinself among the missing from this fatal ' Klodden Field.' A body, indeed, was found among the slain, which, from the royal attire, was supposed to be the Icing's, and it was even royally interred, Henry ge- ni'ronsly pretending that James, while dy- inu'. expressed his coiitrilinn for that mis- conduct toward tie- pojie which had placed him under the teriilile scnieiice of excom- luuiiication. lUit lliougli Henry was evi- dently convinced that he was thus doing honour to the body of Ids brother-in-law, tlie Scots were equally convinced that he was not, and that James did not fall in the battle. B.V some it was asserted that the monarch, escaping from the field, wa.s put to death by order of lord Hume; while others no less firmly believed that he es- caped to the Holy Land, whence they long subsequently continued to expect him to return. The event of the battle of Flodden hav- ing released Henry from all fear of his nor- thern border, at least for that time, he made no difliculty about granting peace to his sister Margaret, who was now made regent of Scotland during the minority of her son. A.D. 1514.— Henry rewarded the chief in- struments in obtaining him this splendid victory, by conferring on the earl of Surrey the title of duke of Norfolk, whicli had been forfeited by tliat nobleman's father, who sided with Rich.ard III. at Bosworth Field ; upon lord Howard the title of the e.arl of Surrey ; on lord Herbert that of earl of Worcester ; upon sir Edward Stanley that of lord Monteagle ; and upon Charles Brandon, eai'l of Lisle, that of duke of Suffolk. At the same time the bishopric of Lin- coln was bestowed upon the king's chief favourite and prime minister, Thomas Wol- sey, whose part in this reign was so im- portant as to demand that we should pre- sently speak of him at some lengtli. The war with Scotland being fortunately terminated, Henry again turned his whole attention to France. There, however, he found little cause of gratulation. His father-in-law, Ferdinand of Arragon, hav- ing obtained possession of the petty fron- tier kiii.i;(loui of jN'avarre, had eaijerly made peace with France, and induced tlie eni- jieror Jla.xiniiiiaii to do the same; and tlio polie, in whose cause Henry had sacrificed so much, had also accepted of the submis- sion of Louis. The truth was now more than ever appa- rent, that, however great iiii^dit beHenrv's other (|iialities, lie was by no means skilled in Ihe wiles ol p.>Iiiics ; ;ind his lae.sent e.\- perience of that trulli was the more embit- tered, because he found that Maxiuiiliau had been induced to abandon him by an offer of the daughter of France to the son of that prince; though that son Charles liad already been afflanced to Henry"s own younger sister, the princess Maryi who was now fast approaching the age for the com- pletion of the contract. Thus doubly duped and injured, Henry would, most likely, have reinvaded France, no matter at what sacrifice, but that the duke of Longueville, who had remained a prisoner ever since the memorable 'battle of spurs,' suggested a match between the deserted princess Mary andLcuisof France himself. It is true that that monarcli was upwards of fifty years of age, and the prin- cess not quite sixteen ; but so many advan- tages were offered to Henry, that the mar- riage was concluded at Abbeville, whither Louis proceeded to meet his young bride. Their happiness and the rejoicings of the French people were of but short duration, the king surviving the marriage only about three months. Tlie young queen dowager of France had, before her marriage, shown some partiality for the duke of Suffolk, the most accom- plished cavalier of the age, and an especial favourite of Henry ; and he now easily per- suaded her to shorten the period of her widowhood. Henry was, or feigned to be, angry at their precipitate union ; but his anger, if real, was only of short duration, and the accomplished duke and Ids lovely bride were soon invited to return to the English court, CHAPTER XL. Tlie Reign o/ Henry VIII. (contivved). As Henry VIII. was, in many respects, the most extraordinary of our monarchs, his favourite and minister.the cardinal Wolsey, was at the very head of the extraordinary men, even in that age of strange men and strange deeds. He was the son of a butcher in the town of Ipswich, and displaying, while young, great quickness and intelli- gence, he had a learned education, with a view to his entering the church. Having, at the conclusion of his own education, been employed in teaching the children of the marquis of Dorset, he gave so much satisfaction, that that nobleman recom- mended him to Henry VIII. as his chaplain. As the private and public servant of that monarch, Wolsey gave equal satisfaction ; and when Henry VIIL, a gay, young, and extravagant monarch, showed a very evi- dent preference of the earl of Surrey to the somewhat severe and economic Fox, bishop 298 Cn^^ ^rsaSur^ of l^iitnry, Set, of Winchester, this prelate intnxliircd Wol- sey til the kln^, hopliiK llmt, while his ac- coiiii>llshmeiits and pllaliUity would enahle him to rclipso the earl of Surrey, he wmild, from his own love of jileasure, if not from motlvi's of gratUnde, tie subordinate In all matters of politics to the prelate to whom he owed his Introduction. Wolsey fully warranted Fox's expectations in making himself even more agreeable to the gay humour of the king than the earl of Surrey. But Wolsey took advantage of his position to persuade the king that both the earl and the prelate, tried couu:-ellor3 of the late king, felt themselves appointed by him rather than by their present royal master, to whom they considered themselves less servants than authoritative guardians and tutors. He so well, at the same time, showed his o^vn capacity equally for pleasure and for business, and his own readiness to re- lieve the king from the weight of all irk- some details, and yet to be his docile creature, that Henry soon found it im- possible to do without him, in either his gaieties or in his more serious pursuits ; and Wolsey equally supplanted alike the courtier and the graver man of business, who, in endeavouring to make him his tool, enabled him to become his superior. Con- fident in his own talents, and in the favour of Henry, this son of a very bumble trades- man carried himself with an all but regal pomp and haughtiness; and left men in some difficulty to pronounce whether he were more grasping in obtaining wealth, or more magnificent in expending it. Super- cilious to those who affected equality w^ith him, he was liberal to the utmost towards those beneath him ; and, with a singular in- consistency, though he could be ungrateful, as we have seen in the case of the unsuspect- ing bishop of Winchester, no man was more prone to an exceeding generosity towards those who were not his patrons but his tools. A,D. 1515.— A favourite and minister of this temper could not fail to make many enemies ; but Wolsey relaxed neither in haughtiness nor in ambition. WeU know- ing the temper of Henry, the poUtic minis- ter ever affected to be the mere tool of his master, though the exact contrary really was the case ; and by thus making all his acts seem to emanate from Henry's will, he piqued his vanity and wilfulness into supporting them and him against all sha- dow of opposition or complaint. Made bishop of Lincoln, and then archbishop of York, Wolsey held in conimendam the bishopric of Winchester, the abbey of St. Alban's, and had the revenues at very easy leases of the bishoprics of Bath, Worcester, and Hereford. His influence over the king made the pope anxious to acquire a hold upon him ; Wolsey, accordingly, was made a cardinal, and thenceforth his whole ener- gies and ambition were devoted to the en- deavour to win the papal throne itself. Contrary to the custom of priests, the pre- cious metals ornamented not only his own attire, but even the saddles and furniture of his horses ; his cardinal's hat was car- ried before him by a man of rank, and laid upon the altar when he entered chapel, one priest, of noble stature and handsome countenance, carried before him a massive silver cross, and another the cross of York. Warhara, arclibi>liuii of Tanterbury, also held the ollloe of cliancellor, and was but ill fitted to contend with so resolute a per- son as Wolsey, who speedily worried him into a resignation of the chancellorship, which dignity he himself grasped. His emoluments were va.st, so was his expendi- ture magnificent ; and, if he grasped at many offices, it is but fair to add that he fulfilled his various duties with rare energy, judgement, and justice. Wolsey might now be said to be Henry's only minister : Fox, bishop of Winchester, the duke of Norfolk, and the duke of Suffolk being, like the archbishop of Canterbury, unable to make head against his arbitrary temper, and driven from the court by a desire to avoid a useless and irritating conflict. Fox, bishop of Winchester, who seems to have been greatly attached to Henry, warned him against Wolsey's ambition, and besought him to beware lest the servant should be- come the master. But Henry had no fear of the kind ; he was far too despotic and passionate a person to fear that any minis- ter could govern him. The success which Francis of France met with in Italy tended to excite the jea- lousy and fears of England, as every new acquisition made by France encroached upon the balauce of power, upon which the safety of English interests so greatly de- pended. Francis, moreover, had given of- fence, not only to Henry, but also to Wol- sey, who took care not to allow his m.aster's anger to subside for want of a prompter. But though Henry spent a large sum of money in stirring up eramlties against France, he did so to little practical effect, and was easily induced to peace. A.D. 1516.— Ferdinand the Catholic, the father-in-law of Henry, died in the midst of a profound peace in Europe, and was suc- ceeded by his grandson Charles. This event caused Francis to see the necessity of be- stirring himself to ensure thefriendship of England, as a support against the extensive power of Spain. As the best means of doing so, he courted his ambassador to ma^e his peace with Wolsey, and affected to ask that haughty minister's advice on the most con- fidential and important subjects. One of the advantages obtained by Francis from this servile flattei-y of the powerful minis- ter, was the restoration of the important town of Toumay, a frontier fortress of France and the Netherlands ; Francis agreeing to pay six himdred thousand crowns, at twelve equal annual instalments, to reimburse Henry for his expenditure on the citadel of Toumay. At the same time that Francis gave eight men of rank as hos- tages for the payment of the above large sum to Henry, he agreed to pay twelve thousand livres per annum to Wolsey as an equivalent for the bishopric of Tournay, to which he had a claim. Pleased with this success, Francis now became bolder in his flatteries, terming Wolsey governor, tutor, and even father, and so winning upon the Cfngtanif.— ?^0iiiSe nf JTuODr.— ?^rmi) WMi. 299 miml of Wolsoy liy fiilsoiiK' .iffiTtatlona of humility and adniiratioii, tliat Polydore Virgil, wlio was Wolsey's contemporary, speaks of it as lieing quite certain tliat Wolsey was willinirto liavesold liim Calais, and was only inciriitnl from doini? so by tliegoneril sm-.' he ininnl to Ijc entertained of its value lo KHLrlaml, and by Ins forming closer connection witli Spain, wliicli some- what cooled his attacliment to France. Tlie pope's legate, Corapeggio, being re- called on liis failure to procure a tithe demanded by the pope from the English clergy, on the old and worn-out pretext of war with the infidels, Henry procured tlie Icgatine power to be conferred on Wolsey. With this new dignity, Wolsey increased the loftiness of his pretensions, and the magnificence of his habits; like the pope, lie had bishops and mitred abbots to serve him when he said mass, and he farther had nobles of the best families to hand him the water and towel. So hauglity liad he now become, that ho even complained of Warham, archbishop of Canterbui-y, as being guilty of undue familiarity in signing himself ' 2/0!jr iof/npr brother;' which caused even the meek-spi- rltcd Warham to make the hitter remark, ' this man is drunk with too mucli prospe- rity.' But Wolsey did not treat his legatine appointment as being a mere matter of dig- nity and pomp, but forthwith opened what he called the legatine court ; a court as op- pressive and as expensive in its authority as the Inquisition itself. It was to enquire into all matters of morality and conscience, and, as it was supplementary to tlie law of the land, its authority was, in reality, only limited by the conscience of the judge. The first judge appointed to this anomalous anddangerous court was John Allen, a man whose life was but ill spoken of, and who was even said to have been convicted by Wolsey himself of perjury. lu the hands of such a man as this, the extensive powers of tlie legatine court were but too likely to be made mere instruments of extortion ; and it was publicly reported that Allen was in the habit of convicting or acquitting as he was unbribed or bribed. Wolsey was thought to receive no small portion of the sums thus obtained by Allen from the wickedness or the fears of the suitors of his court. Much clamour was raised against Wolsey, too, by the almost papal extent of power he claimed for himself in all matters concerning wills and benefices, the latter of which he conferred upon his creatures without the slightest regard to the monks' right of election, or the lay gentry and no- bility's right of patronage. The iniquity of Allen at length caused hiiu to be prosecuted and convicted : and the king, on that occa- sion, expressed so much indignation, that Wolsey was ever after more cautious and guarded in the use of his authority. A. D. 1519. — Immer.sed in pleasures, Henry contrived to expend all the huge treasures which accrued to him on the death of his father ; and he was now poor, just when a circumstance occurred to render his pos- session of treasure more than usually im- portant. Maximilian, the emperor, who had long been declining, died ; and Henry, and the kings of Krance and Spain were candi- dates for that chief place among the princes of Christendom. JNIoney was profusely la- vished upon the electors by both Charles and Francis ; but Henry's minister, Pace, havingscarcely any command of cash, found liisefforts everywhere useless, and Charles gained the day. A.D. 1.520.— In reality Henry was formid- able to either France or the emperor, and he could, at a moment's warning, throw his weight into the one or the other scale.^ Aware of this fact, Francis was anxious for an opportunity of personally practising upon the generosity and want of cool judgement, which he quite correctly im- puted to Henry. He, therefore, proposed that they should meet in a field within the English pale, near Calais ; the proposal was warmly seconded by Wolsey, who was as eager as a court beauty of the other sex for every occasion of personal splendour and costliness. Each of the monarchs was young, gay, tasteful, and magnificent ; and so well did their courtiers enter into their feeling of gorgeous rivali-y, that some nobles of both nations expended on the ceremony and show of a few brief days, sums which involved theirfamilies in straitened circum- stances for the rest of their lives. The emperor Charles no sooner heard of the proposed interview between the kings, than he, being on his way from Spain to the Netherlands, paid Henry the compli- ment of landing at Dover, whither Henry at once proceeded to meet him. Charles not only laid himself out in every possible way to please and flatter Henry, but he also paid assiduous court to Wolsey, and bound that aspiring personage to his interests by promising to aid him in reaching the papa- cy ; a promise which Charles felt the less difficulty about making, because the reign- ing pope Leo X. was junior to Wolsey by some years, and very likely to outlive him. Henry was perfectly well aware of the pains Charles took to conciliate Wolsey, but, strange to say, felt rather flattered than hurt, as though the compliment were ulti- mately paid to his own person and will. When the emperor had taken his depar- ture Henry proceeded to France, where the meeting took place between him and Fran- cis. Wolsey, who had the regulation of the ceremonial, so well indulged his own and his master's love of magnificence, that the place of meeting was by the common consent of the delighted spectators hailed hy the gorgeous title of Tlie field of tlie cloth of gold. Gold and jewels abounded ; and both the monarchs and their numerous courts were apparelled in the most gorgeous and picturesque style. The duke of Buck- ingham, who, though very wealthy, wasnot very fond of parting with his money, found the expenses to which he was put on this occasion so intolerable, that he expressed himself so angrily towards Wolsey as led to his execution some time after, though nominally at least for a different offence. The meetings between the monarchs were for some time regulated with the most jea- lous and wearisome attention to strict 300 Bri)e Crca^urn 0I ^gtstorij, Set. etiquette. At leiipth Francis, attended liy only two of Ills gentlemen and a rnire, rode Into Henry's quarters. Henry was delighted at this proof of his brother mo- narch's confldeiice, and threw upon his neck a i>earl collar worth five or six thou- sand pounds, whicli Francis repaid hy the present of an armlet worth twice as much. 60 profuse and gorgeous were these young While Henry remained at Calais he re- ceived another visit from the emperor Charles. That artful monarch had now conipleted the good impression he had al- ready made upon both Henry and cardinal Wolscy ; bv offering to leave all dispute lietween himself and France to the arbitra- tion of Henry, as well as by assuring Wol- sey of the papacy at some future day, and putting him into instant possession of the revenues of the bishoprics of Badajos and riacencia. The result was that the empe- ror made demands of the most extravagant nature, well knowing that France would not comply with them' : and when thenego- tia*ions were thus broken off, a treaty was made between the emperor and Henry, by ■which the daughter of the latter, the prin- cess Marv, was betrothed to the former, and England was bound to invade France with an army of forty thousand men. This treatv alone, by the very exorbitancy of its injuriousness to England, would sufficiently show at once the power of Wolsey over his king and the extent to which he was ready to exert that power. The duke of Buckingham, who had im- prudently eiven offence to the all-powerful cardinal, was a man of turbulent temper, and verv imprudent in exi.ressing himself, bv which means he afforded abundant evi- dence for his own ruin. It was proved that he had provided arms with the intent to disturb the government, and that he had even threatened the life of the king, to whom he thouirht himself, as being de- scended in the female line from the young- est son of Edward the Third, to be the right- ful successor, should the king die without issue. Far less real guilt than this, aided by the enmitv of such a man as AVolsey, would have sufficed to ruin Buckingham, who was condemned, and, to the great discontent of the people, executed. A.D. 1521. — We have already mentioned that Henry In his youth had been jealously secluded from all share in public business. He derived from this circumstance the advantage of far more scholastic learn- ing than commonly fell to the lot of princes, and circumstances now occurred to set his literary attainments in a striking light. Leo X having published a general induleence, circumstances of a merely personal interest caused Arcemboldi, a Genoese, then a bishop, but originally a merchant, who farmed the collection of the money in Saxony and the countries on the Baltic, to cause the preaching for the in- dulgences to be given to the Dominicans, instead of to the Augnstines who had usually enjoyed that privilege. Martin Luther, aji Ausnstine friar, feeling him- self and his wh -le order affironted by this change, preached against it, and inveighed against cert.iin vices of life of which, pro- bably, the Dominicans really were guilty, though not more so than the Augnstines. His spirited and coarse censures provoked the censured order to reply, and as they dwelt much upon the papal authority, as an all- suBlclent answer to Luther, he was induced to question tljat authority; and as he ex- ten led his reading he found cause for more and more extended complaint ; so that he who at first had merely complained of a wrong done to a particular order of church- men, speedily declared himself against much of the doctrine and discipline of the church itself, as being corrupt and of merely hu- mani nvention for evil human purposes. From Germany the new doctrines of Luther quickly spread to the rest of Europe, and found many proselytes in England. Henry, however, was the last man in his dominions who was likely to assent to Luther's argu- ments; as a scholar, and as an extremely despotic monarch, he was alike shocked by them. He not only exerted himself to pre- vent the Lutheran heresies, as he termed and no doubt thought them, from taking root In England, but also wrote a book in Latin against them. This book, which would have been by no means discreditable to an older and more professional polemic, Henry sent to the pope, who, charmed with the ability displayed by so Illustrious an advocate of the papal cause, conferred upon him the proud title of Defender of the Faith, which has ever since been borne by our monarchs. Luther, who was not of a tem- per to quail before rank, replied to Henrj with great force and with but little decency, and Henry was thus made personally as well as schola'stically an opponeut of the new doctrines. But those doctrines in volved so many consequences favourable to human liberty and flattering to human pride, that neither scholastical nor kingly power could , prevent their spread, which was much faci- litated by the recent invention of printing. The progress of the new opinions was still farther favotu-ed by the death of the vigor- ous and gifted Leo X., and by the succes- sion to the papal throne of Adrian, who was so far from being inclined to go too far in the support of the establishment, that he candidly admitted the necessity for much reformation. A.D. 1522.— The emperor fearing lest Wol- sey's disappointment of the papal throne should injure the Imperial interests in Eng- land, again came hither, professedly only on a visit of compliment, but really to for- ward his political interests. He paid assi- duous court, not only to Henry, but also to Wolsey, to whom he pointed out that the aee and infirmities of Adrian rendered , another vacancy likely soon to occur in the 1 papal throne : and Wolsey .saw it to be his ' interest to dissemblethelndignant vexation I his disappointment had really caused him. The emi)eror in consequence succeeded in 1 his wishes of retaining Henry's alliance, and of causing him to declare war against France. Lord Surrey entered France with an army which, with reinforcements from i the Low Countries, numbered eighteen (tPufllantJ.— !^0uSc at Ctilior. -I^cniji WMS. 301 tlidusaml nifii. But the operations by no means corn'sponilod in imjiortance to tlie fori'i' assonil>led ; and, after losing a great numhei- iif men liy sicliness, Surrey went into winter iinarli'rs in the month of Octo- lier wiiliiuit haviii',' made himself master of asini,'le place in l^'ram-e. "VVlien l''ranee was at, war with England, there was l)Ut little inobubility of Scotland remaining quiet. All)any, who bad arrived from France, especially with a view to vex- ing the northern frojilier of Enttland, sum- moned all the Scotli^h force thalcould be raised, marched inio Annandalo, and jire- pared to cross into England at Sohvay Frith, lint I he storm was averted from England by the tliscon tests of the Scottish nobles, who complained that the interests of Scotland should be i'-\iK)sed to all the danger of a contest with so superior a power as Eng- land, merely for the advantage of a foreign power. So strongly, indeed, did the Gor- dons and other powerful clansmen express their discontents on this head, that Albany made a truce with the English warden, the lord Dacre, and returned to France, taking the precaution of sending thither before him the earl of Angus, husband of the queen dowager. A.D. 1523. — With only an infant king, and with their regent absent from the kingdom, the St^ots laboured under the additional disadvantage of being divided into almost as many factions as they numbered jnitent and nohle families. Taking advajitagc of this melancholy state of things in Scotland, Henry .■^ent to that country a powerfulforce under the eail of .Surrey, who inarched with- out opiiosition into the Merse and Teviot- dale, burned the town of Jedburgh, and ravaged the whole country round. Henry endeavoured to improve his present supe- riority over tlie Scots, by bringing about a marriage between bis only daughter, the young princess Mary, and the infant king of Scotland; a measure which would at once have put an end to all contrariety of interests as to the two countries, by uniting them, as nature evidently intended them to be, into one state. But the friends of France opposed ibis measure so warmly, that the queen dowa,i,'er, who had every possible motive for wisliing to comply with it, both as favouring lier broUier, and promising an otherwise unattainable prosperity to the future reign of her son, was unable to bring it about. The partisans of England and France were nearly equal in power, if not in number; and while they still debated the question, it was decided against Eng- land by the arrival of Albany. He raised troops and made some sluiw of liattle, but there was little actual fighting. Disgusted with the factions into which the people were divided, Albany at length retired again to France ; and Hein-y having enougli uJ do in his war with that country, was well inntent to give up his notion of a Scotch alliauce, and to rely upon the Scots being busy with their own feuds, as his best se- cnrity against their henceforth attempting any serious diversion in favour of France. In truth, Henry, wealthy as he had been at the commencement of his reign, had been so profuse in his pursuit of pleasure, that he had now no means of prosecuting war with any considerable vigour even against France alone. Though, in many resiiects, possessed of actually despotic power, Henry had to sutler the iisital in- convenience of poverty. At one time ho issued privy seals demanding loans of certain sums from wealthy men ; at another he demanded a loan of five shillings in the pound from the clergy, and of two shillings in the pound from the laity. Though no- minally loans, these sums were really to be considered as gifts ; and impositions at once BO large, so arbitrary, and so liable to be re- peated at any period, necessarily caused much discontent. Soon after this last ex- pedient for raising money without the con- sent of parliament, he summoned a convo- cation and a iiarliaujent. From the former, Wolsey, relyiUL; upon his high power and infltience as cardinal and archbishop, de- manded ten shillings in the pound on the ecclesiastical revenue, to be levied in flvo years. The clergy murmured, but, as Wol- sey had anticipated, a few sharp words from him silenced all objections, and what he demanded was granted. Having thus far succeeded, Wolsey now, attended by several lords spiritual and temporal, addressed the house of commons ; dilating upon the wants of the king, and upon the disadvan- ta.geous position in whicli those wants placed him with respect to both Frau<'e and Scotland, and demanded a grant of two luiudred thousand pounds per annum for four years. After much hesitation and murmuring, the commons granted only one half the required sum ; and here occurred a striking proof of the spirit of Independence, which, though it was very long in growing to its present height, had already been pro- duced in the house of commons by its pos- session of the power of the purse. Wolsey, on learning how little the commons had voted towards what he had demanded, re- quired to be allowed to ' reason ' with the house, but was gravely, and with real dig- nity, informed, that the house of commons could reason only among its own members. But Henry sent for Edward Montague, an inlluential member.and coarsely threatened him, tliatif the commons did not vote bet- ter on tlie following day, Montague should lose his head. This threat caused the com- mons to advance somewhat on their former offers, though they still fell far short of the sum originally asked. It may be presumed that Henry -was partly goaded to his violent and brutal threat to Montague by very urgent neces- sity ; among the items of the amount granted, was a levy of three shillings in the pound on all who possessed fifty pounds per annum, and though this was to be le- vied in four years, Henry levied the whole of it in I he voiy year ill which it was granted. While Wol -oy — for to him the people at- tributed every act of the king— was thus powerful in England, either very great treachery on the part of the emperor, or a most invincible misfortune, rendered him constantly unfortunate as to the great ol)- ject of his ambition, the papal throne. It DD 302 C:f)e CreaiSurg of ^iStaxD, &c. now again became vacant by the denlli of Adrian, but tliis now awakening of liis hope w:is merely tlie jirelude to a new and bitter disappointment. He was strain passed over, and one of the Re Medicis ascended the papal throne under the title of Clement VII. Wolsey was well aware that this elec- tion took place with tlie concurrence of the imperial party, and he, therefore, deter- mined to turn Henry from the alliance of the emiieror to that of France. Disappointed in the great object of his ambition, Wolsey affected the utmost ap- proval of the election which had so much mortifled him, and he applied to Clement for a continuation of that legatine power which had now been intrusted to him by two popes, and Clement granted it to him for life, a great and most unusual compli- ment. A.D. 1523. — Though Henrj-"s war with France was productive of much expense of both blood and treasure, the English share in it was so little brilliant, that there is no necessity for our entering here into details, which must of necessity be given in an- other place. We need only remark that the defeat and captivity of Francis at the great battle of Pavia, in the previous year, would have been improved by Wolsey to the probable utter conquest of France, but for the deep offence he had received from the emperor, which caused him to represent to Henry the importance to him of France as a counterbalancing power to the em- peror. He carefully and successfully ap- pealed to the powerful passions of Henry, by pointing out proofs of coldness and of increasing assumption in the st.vle of the emperor's letter subsequent to the battle of Pavia ; and Henry was still more deter- mined by this merely personal argument than he had been by even the cogent poli- tical one. The result was, that Henry made a ti'eaty with the mother of Francis, who had been left by him as regent, in which he undertont to procure the liberty of Francis on reasonable terms ; while she acknow- ledged Henrj' creditor of France to the amount of nearly two millions of crowns, which she undertook to pay at the rate of fifty thousand in every six months. Wol- sey, besides gratifying his spleen against the emperor in bringing about this treaty with France, procured the more solid grati- fication of a hundred thousand pounds paid to him under the name of arrears of a pen- sion granted to him on the giving up of Toumay, as mentioned in its proper place in this history. As it was verj' probable that this treaty with France would lead to a war with the emperor, Henry issued a commission for levying a tax of four shillings in the pound upon the clergy, and three-and-fourpence upon the laity. As this hea^^y demand caused great murmuring, he took care to have it made known that he desired this money onl.v in the way of benevolence. But people, by this time, understood that loan, benevo- lence, and tux were only different names for the one solid matter of ready mmiey, and the murmuring did not cease. In some parts of the country, the people, indeed, broke out into open revolt ; but as they h.id no wealthy or influential leader, the king's of- ficers and friends put them down, and Henry pardoned the ringleaders on the pn- lltic pretence that poV' i ty and not wilful disloyalty had led them astray. A.D. 152".— Though Henry had now so many years lived with his queen in all ap- parent cordiality and contentment, several circumstances had occurred to give him doubts as to the legality of their marriage. When the emperor Charles had proposed to espouse Henry's daughter, the young princess Mar.v, the states of Castile ob- jected to her as being illegitimate ; and the same objection was subsequently made by France, when it was proposed to ally her to the prince of that crivacy of his comparatively mean country house at Esher, in Surrey, he was unvisited and unnoticed by those cour- tiers who had so eagerly crowded around him while he was yet distinguished by the king's favour. But if the Ingratitude of his friends left him undisturbed in his soli- tude, the activity of his foes did not leave him undisturbed even there. The king had not as yet deprived him of his sees, and had, moreover, sent him a ring and a kind message. His enemies, therefore, fearful lest he should even yet recover his lost fa- vour, and so acquire the power to repay their ill services, took every method to pre- judice him in the eyes of the king, who at length abandoned him to the power of par- liament. The lords passed forty-four arti- cles against him, of which it is not too much to say that there was not one which might not liave been explained away, had anything like legal form or proof been called for or considered. Amidst the gene- ral and shameful abandonments of Wolsey by those who' liad so lately fawned upon him, it is delightful to have to record that when these articles were sent down to the house of commons, the oppressed and abandoned cardinal was warmly and ably defended by Thomas Cromwell, whom his patronage had raised from a very low ori- gin. All defence, however, was vain ; the parliament pronounced ' That he was out of the king's protection ; that his lands and goods were forfeited ; and that his per- son might be committed to custody.' From Esher, Wolsey removed to Rich- mond, but his enemies had him ordered to Yorkshire, where he lived in great modesty at Cawood. The king's differences with Rome were now every day growing greater, and he easily listened to those who assured him that in utterly shaking off all connec- tion with the holy see, he would encounter* powerful opposition from the cardinal. An order was issued for his arrest on a charge of high treason, and it is very probable that his death on the scaffold would have been added to the stains upon Henry's memory, but that the harassed frame of the cardinal sunk under the alarm and fatigue of his ar- rest and forced journey. He was conveyed by sir William Kingston, constable of the Tower, as far as Leicester abbey. Here his illness became so extreme that he could be got no farther, and here he yielded up his breath soon after he had spoken to sir William Kingston, this memorable and touching caution against an undue worldly ambition :^ ' I pray you have me heartily recom- mended uuto his royal majesty, and be- seech him, on my behalf, to call to his re- membrance all matters that have passed between us from the beginning, especially with regard to his business with the queen, and then he will know in his conscience whether I have offended him. He is a prince of a most royal caiTiage, and hath a princely heart ; and rather tljau he will miss or want any part of his will, he will endanger the one half of his kingdom. I do assure you that I have often kneeled be- fore him, sometimes three hours together. 304 Cf)C Crcn^uii.) of W^taryi, &-c. to iH'isuade liiin from his will and appetite, Imt cuiilil not prevail. JIad I but served (iou iin dilujintly as I have served the king, Hk would not have given me over in my grey hairs. But this is the just reward that 1 must receive for my indulgent pains and study, not regarding my duty to Uod, but only to my prince. Therefore, let me advise you, if yi.u he one of the privy coun- cil a.s by your wisdom you are lit, take care what you put into the kind's head, for you can never put it out again." CHAPTER XLI. Tlie Reign of Hekry VIII. ((:ontimi£cD. NATunAi.LY too fond of authority to feel without Impatience the hea^•y yoke of Korae, the opposition he had so signally experienced in the matter of his divorce had enraged Henry so much, that lie gave every encouragement to the parliament to abridge the exorbitant privileges of the clergy ; in doing which, he equally pleased himself in mortifying Rome, and in paving the way for that entire independence of the papal power, of which every day made him more desirous. The parliament was equally ready to depress the clergy, and se- veral bills were passed which tended to make the laity more independent of them. The parliament, about this time, passed another bill to acquit the king of all claims on account of those exactions which he had speciously called loans. While Henry was agitated between the wish to break with Rome, and the oppos- ing unwillingness to give so plain a contra- diction to all that he had advanced in the book which had procured him the flatter- ing title of Defender of the Faith, he was informed that Dr. Cranmer, a fellow of Jesus' College, Cambridge, and a man of good repute, both as to life and learning, had suggested that all the universities of Europe should be consulted as to the lega- lity of Henry's marriage; if the decision were in favour of it, the king's qualms of conscience must needs disappear before such a host of learning and judgment ; if the opinion were against it, equally must the hesitation of Rome as to granting the divorce be shamed away. On hearing this opinion Henry, in his bluff way, exclaimed that Cranmer had taken the right sow by the ear, sent for him to court, and was so well pleased with him as to employ him to write in favour of the divorce, and to super- intend the course he had himself suggested. A. D. 1532.— The measures taken by par- liament, with the evident good-will of the king, were so obviously tending towards a total separation from Rome, that sir Thomas More, the chancellor, resigned the great seal ; that able man being devotedly at- tached to the papal authority, and clearly seeing that he could no longer retain oiHce but at the risk of being called upon to act against the pope. At Rome the measures of Henry were not witnessed without anxiety ; and while the emperor's agents did all in their power to determine the pope against Henry, the more cautious members of the conclave aU- . vised that a favour, often granted to n.eaner princes, should not be denied to liim who liad heretofore been so good a son of the church, and who, if driven to despcr.ition, might wholly alienate from the papacy the most precious of all the states over which it held sway. But the time for conciliating Henry was now gone by. He had an Interview with the king of France, in which they renewed their personal friendship, and agreed upon measures of mutual defence, and Henry pri- vately married Anne Boleyn, whom he had previously created countess of Pembroke. A. D. 1533.— The new wife of Henry prov- ing pregnant, Cranmer, now archbishop of Canterbury, was directed to hold a court at Dunstable, to decide on the invalidity of the marriage of Catherine, who lived at Ampt- hill in that neighbourhood. If this court were anything but a mere mockery, rea- sonable men argued, its decision should surely have preceded and not followed the second marriage. But the king's will was absolute, and the opinions of the universi- ties and the judgement of the convocations having been formally read, and both opi- nions and judgement being against Cathe- rine's marriage, it was now solemnly an- nulled. Soon after the new queen was de livered of a daughter, the afterwards wise and powerful queen Elizabeth. Notwithstanding all the formalities that had been brought to bear against her rights, queen Catherine, who was as resolute as she was otherwise amiable, refused to be styled ought but queen of England, and to the day of her death compelled her ser- vants, and all who had the privilege of ap- proaching her, to address and treat her as their queen. The enemies of Henry at Rome urged the pope anew to pronounce sentence of excommunication against him. But Cle- ment's niece was now married to the second son of the king of France, who spoke to the pope in Henry's favour. Clement, there- fore, for the present, confined his severity to issuing a sentence nulUfj'ing Cranmer's sentence, and the marriage of Henry to Anne BoleiTi, and threatening to excom- municate hira should he not restore his af- fairs to their former footing by a certain day. A.D. 1535.— As Henry had still some strong leanings to the church, and as it was obviously much to the interest of Piome not wholly to lose its influence over so wealthy a nation as England, there even yet seemed to be some chance of an ami- cable termination of this quarrel By the good offices of the king of France, the pope was induced to promise to pronounce in favour of the divorce, on the receipt of a certain promise of the king to submit his cause to Rome. The king agreed to make this promise and actually despatched a courier with it. Some delays of the road prevented the arrival of the important document at Rome until two days after the proper time. In the interim it was re- ported at Rome, probably by some of the imperial agents, that the pope and car- dinals had been ridiculed in a farce that had been performed before Henry and his (SnQUnO.—^au^e of CuXror.— iJ^forji WMi. 305 court. Enraged at tliis intelligence, the popo and cardinals viewed It as sure proof tbat Honry's promise was not intended to lie kept, and a scntrncc was innncdlately pronounced in favour of C.-il licrinc's iiiar- riauc, wljile H.-nry was tliroah nod witli cxi-oininunication in tlio i-viiit of tliat sentence not being submitted to. It is customary to spealc of the final 1>reaeh of Henry with Rome as having be«n solely caused by this dispute with Home about the divorce ; all fact, however, is against that view of the case. The opinions of Luther had spread far and wide, and had sunk deep into men's hearts ; and the bitterest things said against Rome by the reforn; ^rs were gentle when com- pared to the testimony borne against Rome by her own venality and her general cor- ruption. In this very case how could the validity of Catherine's marriage be af- fected by the real or only alleged perform- ance of a ribald farce before the English court above a score of years after it '/ The very readiness with which the nation joined the king in seceding from Rome, shows very clearly that under any possible circum- stances that secession must have shortly taken place. "V\'e merely glance at this fact, because it will be put beyond all doulit when we come to speak of tlie ac- cession of aueen Elizabeth ; for notwith- standing all that Mary had done, by the zealous support she gave to the church of Rome and by her furious persecution of the Reformers, to ronder the subserviency of KnpliiiHl (m luiiiii' liiiili iicniianent and per- fecl, tin people ,,[ tills cnuiitry were re- joicrd ;it tin' (ippiirl unity it .-itforded them of throwing off the papal authority. The houses of convocation — with only four opposing votes and one doubtf id voter — declared that ' the bishop of Rome had by the law of God no more jurisdiction in England than any other foreign bishop ; aiul the authority which he and his prede- cessors have here exercised was only by usurpation and by the sufferance of the English princes.' The convocation also ordered that the act now passed by the parliament against all appeals to Rome, and the appeal of the king from the pope to a general council, should be alH.xed to all church doors throughout the kingdom. Tliat nothing might be left undone to con- vince Rome of Henry's resolve upon an entire separation from the church of which he had been so extolled a defender, the parliament passed an act confirming the invalidity of Henry's marriage with Cathe- rine and the validity of that with Anne Boleyn. All persons were required to take tlie oath to support the succession thus fixed, and the only persons of consequence who refused were sir Thomas IMore and bishop Fisher, who were both indicted and committed to the Tower. The parliament having thus completely, and we may add servilely, complied with all the wishes of the king, was for a short time pro- rogued. The parliament had already given to Henry the reality, and it now proceeded to give him the title of supreme head of the church ; and that Rome might have no doubt that the very exorbitancy with which she had pressed her pretensions to autho- rity in Enplandhad wholly transferred that aullii>rify to tlie crown, tlie parliament ac- coiiipaiiiid this new and significant title Willi a grant of all the annates and tithes of benefices which had hitherto been paid to Rome. Both in Ireland and Scotland the king's af- fairs were just at tliis moment, when he was carrying matters with so high a hand with Rome, such as to cause him some anxiety, but his main care was wisely bestowed upon his own kingdom. The mere secession of that kingdom from an authority so time- honoured and hitherto so dreaded and so arbitrary as Rome was, even to so powerful and resolute a monarch as Henry, an expe- riment of some nicety and danger. Might not they who had been taught to rebel against the church of Rome be induced to rebel against the crown itself 1 Tlie con- duct of the anabaptists of Germany added an affirmative of experience to the atBrina- tive which reason could not fail to suggest to this question. But besides th.at tliere were many circumstances which rendered it iiiilikoly that the frantic republican prin- ciples wliicli a few reforming zealots had proai'liod in Germany, would take a hold upon the hardy and practical intellect of Englishmen long and deeply attached to monarchy, there was little fear of the pub- lic mind, while Henry reigned, having too much speculative liberty of any sort. He had shaken off the pope, indeed, but lie had, as far as the nation was concerned, only done so to substitute himself; and though the right of private judgement was one of the most important principles of the Reformation, it very soon became evident that the private judgement of the English subject would be an extremely dangerous thing except when it very accurately tallied with that of his prince. Opposed to the discipline of Rome, as a king, he was no less opposed to the leading doctrines of Lu- ther, as a theologian. His conduct and language perpetually betrayed the struggle between these antagonistic feelings, and among the ministers and frequenters of the court, as a natural consequence, ' motley was the only wear.' Thus the queen, Crom- well, now secretary of state, and Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, were attached to the reformation, and availed themselves of every opportunity to forward it, but they ever found it safer to impugn the papacy than to criticise any of the doctrines of Ca- tholicism. On the other side the duke of Norfolk, and Gardiner bishop of "Winches- ter, both of whom were high in authority and favour, were strongly attached to the ancient faith. The king, flattered by each of these parties upon a portion of his principles, was able to play the pope over both his callii.lic .-aui liis Protestant sub- ject s, .-md his ^iffii aiidhcailstr.om' style of both siiccch ,■111,1 tirtiMii-ruall.vaiKlcdtothe advaiil.-iye given him by the anxiety of eacli party to have him lor its ally against the other. In the meantime it was no longer in the 306 Clje iZTrcaiSurn at 5?t£ltarti, &c. rower of eitlier king or mtnistor to pre- vent tlio purer principles at the Refiiniia- tliiM from in;ikins their way to the lienrts .•inii iniiiil^ of tlie people. Timlal, Joyce, and oilier learned men who had smiiflit in the I,ow rounlrie?for?afely tromlhckiiiK's arbitrary temper, fonnd means to smngsle over vast nnnihers of tracts and a transla- tion ol the scriptnres. These got exten- sively circulated and were urecdily perused, alllio'nirh thr catholic imrtion of the minis- try aided — however sinirular the phrase may sound— by the catholic jiortion of the king's will, made great endeavours to keep them, butespeciaJly the bible, from the eyes f)f the people. A singular anecdote is related of one of the attempts made to suppress the bible. Tonstal, bishop of London, a zealous catho- lic but humane man, was very anxious to prevent the circulation of Tindal's bible, and Tindal was himself but little less anxi- ous for a new and more accurate edition. Tonstal, preferring the prevention of what he deemed crime to the punishment of of- fenders, devoted a large sum of money to purchasing all tlie copies that could be met with of Tindal's bible, and all the copies thus obtained were solemnly burned at the cross of Cheap. Both the bishop and Tin- dal were gratified on this occasion ; the former, it is true, destroyed the first and incorrect edition of the bible by Tindal, but he at the same time supplied that zealous scholar with the pecuniary means, of which he was otherwise destitute, of bringing out a second and n;ore perfect as well as more extensive edition. Others were less humane in their desire to repress what they deemed heresy, and few were more severe than sir Thomas More, who succeeded Wolsey as chancellor, and of whose own imprisonment we have already had to speak, as presently we shall have to speak of his death. To speak, in detail, of the errors of a great man is at all times unpleasant ; we merely mention, therefore, his treatment of James Bain- ham. This gentleman, a student of the Temple, was during More's chancellor- ship accused of being concerned with others in aiding in the propagation of the reformed doctrines. It appears that the unfortunate gentleman did not deny his own part in the cruel act attributed to him, but honourably refused to give any testimony against others. His first exa- mination took place in the chancellor's own house, and there, to his great disgrace, he actually had the high-minded gentleman stripped and brutally whipped, the chan- cellor in person witnessing and superin- tending the disgusting exhibition. But the mistaken and maddening zeal of Jlore did not stop even here. Enraged at the constancy of his victim, he had him con- veyed to the Tower, and there saw him put to the torture. Under this new and most terrible trial the firmness of the unhappy gentleman for a time gave way and he ab- jured his principles ; but in a very short time afterwards he openly returned to them, and was burned to death in Sraithfleld as a relapsed and conflrmed heretic. It will easily be supposed that while so intellectual a character as More was thus furious on behalf of Rome, tho mean herd of persecutors was not idle. To teach children the Lord's prayer in English, to read the scripture, or at leajt the New Testament in that language, to speak against pilgrimages, to neglect the fasts of the church, to attribute vice to the old clergy, or to give shelter or encouragement to the new, all these were offences punish- able in the bishop's courts, some of them even capitally. Thus, Thomas Bilney, a priest, who )iad embraced and, under threats, renounced the new doctrines, em- braced them once again, and went through Norfolk zealously preaching against the absurdity of relying for salvation upon pil- grimages and images. He was seized, tried, and burned. Thus far the royal severity had chiefly fallen upon the reformed ; but the monks and friars of the old faith, inti- mately dependent upon Rome, detested Henry's separation and his assumption of supremacy far too much to be otherwise than inimical to hira. In their public preachings they more than once gave way to libellous scurrility, which Henry bore with a moderation by no means usual with hira, but at length the tiger of his temper was thoroughly aroused by an extensive and impudent conspiracy. At Aldington, in Kent, there was a woman named Elizabeth Barton, com- m.—' The king's warrant would not save you from the penalties enacted by the statute.' MOEE.— ' In that case I will trust to his majesty's honour; but yet it thinketh me, that if I cannot declare the causes without peril, then to leave them undeclared is no obstinacy.' Cromwell. — ' You say that yon do not blame any man for taking the oath, it is then evident that you are not convinced that it is blameable to take it ; but you must be convinced that it is your duty to obey the king. In refusing, therefore, to take it, you prefer I hat which is uncertain to that which is certain.' More.—' I do not blame men for taking the oath, because I know not their reasons and motives ; but I should blame myself, because I know that I should act against my conscience. And truly such reasoning would ease us of all perplexity. Whenever doctors disagree we have only to obtain the king's commandment for either side of the question and we must be right.' Abbot of Westminster. •—' But you ought to think your own conscience erro- neous when you have the whole council of the nation against you.' More. — 'And so I should, had I not for me a still greater council, the whole coun- cil of Christendom,' More's talents and character made him too potent an opponent of the king's arbi- trary will to allow of his being spared. To condemn him was not difficult ; the king willed his condemnation, and he was con- demned accordingly. If in his day of power More, unfortunately, showed that he knew how to inflict evil, so now in his fall he showed the far nobler power of bearing it. In his happier days he had been noted for a certain jocular phraseology, and this did not desert him even in the last dreadful scene of all. Being somewhat infirm, he craved the assistance of a bystander as he mounted the scaffold; saying, ' Friend, help me up, when I come down again you may e'en let me shift for myself.' When the ceremo- nies were at an end the executioner in the customary terms begged his forgiveness; 308 CC\)e CrraSurti nf ^Stfitnry, &r. ' I forpivo you,' he replied, 'but you will surely gel no credit liy the job of beliead- Inp me, my neck is so short." Even ns he laid his head upon the block he said, pultiuii aside his long beard he wore, 'Do not hurt my beard, that at least has com- niilled MO treason." Tliese words uttered, the executioner proceeded witli his revolt- ing' t.a-k, and sir Tliomas Jb.ro perished in the lU'ty-third year of his .aye. A.D. 1536.— While the court of Rome was exerting itself to the utmost to show its deep sense of the indignation it felt at the execution of two such men as Fisher and More, an event took place in England which, in Christian charity, we are bound to believe gave a severe shock even to the h.ard heart of Henry. Though the divorced Catherine had resolutely persisted in being treated as a queen by all who approached her, she had borne her deep wrongs with so dignifled a patience that she was the more deeply sympathised with. Rut the stern effort with which she bore her wrongs was too much for her already broken constitu- tion. Perceiving that her days on earth were numbered, she besought Henry that she might once more look upon her child, the princess Mary ; to the disgrace of our common nature, even this request was sternly denied. She then wrote him a let- ter, so affecting, that even he shed tears over it, in which she, gentle and submis- sive to the last in all save the one great point of her wrongs, called him her 'most dear lord, king, and husbaud," besought his affection for their child, and recommended her servants to his goodness. Her letter so moved him that he sent her a kind mes- sage, but ere the bearer of it could arrive she was released from her suffering and wronged life. Henry caused his servants to go into deep mourning on the day of her funeral, which was celebrated with great pomp at Peterborough cathedral. Whatever pity we may feel for the sub- sequent sufferings of queen Anne Boleyn, it is impossible to withhold our disgust from her conduct on this occasion. Though the very menials of her husband wore at least the outward show of sorrow for the departed Catherine, Anne Boleyn on that day dressed herself more showily than usual, and expressed a perfectly savage ex- ultation that now she might consider herself a queen indeed, as her rival was dead. Her exultation was as short-lived as It was unwomanly. In the very midst of her joy she saw Henry paying very unequivocal court to one of her ladies, by name Jane Seymour, and she was so much enraged and astonished that being far advanced in pregnancy, she was prematurely delivered of a stm-born prince. Henry, notoriously anxious for legitimate male issue, was brutal enough to reproach her with this occurrence, when she spiritedly replied, tliat he had only himself to blame, the mis- chief being entirely caused by his conduct with her m.iid. This answer completed the king's anger, and that feeling, with his new passion for Jane Seymour, caused ruin to Anne Boleyn even ere she had ceased to exult over the dejiarted Catherine. Her levity of manner had already en.ibled her foes to poison the ready ear of the king, and his open anger necessarily caused those foes to be still more busy and precise in tlieir wliisi)erings. Being present at a tilt- ing' matcli, she, whetlirr hv ;iccidciil or de- sign, let f:ill her handkerchief exactly al tliefeet of sir Henry >'orris and her iiro- ther lord Rochford, who at tliat moment were the combatants. At any other time it is likely that Henry would have let so trivial an accident pass unnoticed. But his jea- lousy was already aroused, his love, such as it was, had already burnt out, and abc ve all, he had already cast his eyes on Jane Seymour, and was glad of any excuse, good or bad, upon which to rid himself of Anne. Sir Henry Norris, who was a reputed favour- ite of the queen, not only raised the hand- kerchief from the ground, but used it to wipe his face, being heated with the sport. The king's dark looks lowered upon all pre- sent, and he instantly withdrew in one of those moods in which few cared to meet him and none dared to oppose his will. On the next morning lord Rochford and sir Henry Norris were arrested and thrown into the Tower, and Anne herself, while on her way from Greenwich to London, was met by Cromwell and the duke of Norfolk, and by them informed that she was accused of infldellty to the king ; and she, too, was taken to the Tower, as, charged with being her accomplices, were Brereton, Weston, and Smeaton, three gentlemen of the court. Well knowing the danger she was in when once charged with such an offence against such a husband, she instantly be- came hysterical ; now declaring her inno- cence with the bitterest tears, and .anon relying upon the impossibility of any one proving her guilty. ' If any man accuse me,' said she to the lieutenant of the Tower, ' I can but say nay, and they can bring no witnesses.' Anne now had to experience some of that heartless indifference which she had so needlessly and disgracefully exhibited in the case of the unfortunate and blameless Catherine. At the head of the commission of twenty-six peers who were appointed to try her, on the revolting charge of gross infidelity with no fewer than five men, in- cluding her own half-brother, this unfor- tunate lady had the misery to see her own uncle, the duke of Norfolk, and to see, too, that in him she had a judge who was far enough from being prejudiced in her favour. She was, as a matter of course, found guilty and sentenced to death, the mode of Are or by the axe being left to the king's plea- sure. We have seen that Anne had in her pros- perity been favourable to the reformed ; and as Cranmer, archliisliop of Canterbury, was well known to have great influence over Henry, the unhapjiy Aime probably hoped that he would now exert it, at the least, to save her life. If she entertained such hope, she was most bitterly disap- pointed. Henry, who seems to have feared some such humanity on the part of Crau- aSncilm'O.—'^axiSe: ai SCuHnr.— I^Eurii WMI. 309 iiior, sent to liim to prououncu sentence iigainst — as formerly he had pronounced it foi — the orifti)ial validity of Anne's mar- riage with Henry. Craiimer, learned and pious, wanted only moral courage to have been a tlioroughly great and good man ; but of moral courage he seems, saving the clos- ing act of his life, to have been thoroughly destitute. Upon wh.atcver proofs the king chose to furnish for his guidance, he, after a mere mockery of tri.al, and with a mockery of solemnity and sincerity which was actually impious, pronounced the de- sired sentence; and thus declared against the legitimacy of the princess Elixabeth, as he had already done in the case of the princess IMary. Anne was not allowed to suffer long sus- pense after her iniquitous condemnation ; inii'iuitous even if she really was guilty, in- asmuch as her trial was a mere mockery. She was kept for two days in the Tower, where, with a better spirit than she had formerly shown, she besought the forgive- ness of the princess Mary for the numer- ous injuries she had done her through her deceased mother ; and was then publicly beheaded on the Tower Green, the execu- tioner severing her head at one stroke. Of Henry's feelings on the occasion it is unnecessary to say more than that he put on no mourning for the deceased Anne, but on the very morning after her execu- tion was married to Jane Seymour. A new parliament was now called to pass a new act of succession, by which the crown was settled on such children as he might have by his present queen, Jane Seymour ; and failing such, the disposal of the crown was left to Henry's last will signed by his own hand. It w.as thought from this last- named clause that Henry, fearing to leave no legitimate male successor, wished in that case to have the power of leaving the crown to his illegitimate son young Fitz- roy, who, however, to Henry's great sorrow, died shortly afterwards. Henry seems to have been much grieved by the deatli of Fitzroy, but he was pre- vented from longindulgingin that grief by a very formidable insurrection which broke out in the October of this year. The apathy with which the people had witnessed the dissolution and forfeiture of three monas- teries on occasion of the detection of the fraud of Elizabeth Barton, had naturally encouraged Henry to look forward to that sort of summary justice as a sure and abun- dant source of revenue. So extended was his influence that he had even found mem- bers of convocation to propose the surren- der of the les!:er monasteries into his hands. It was probably one of the chieJ causes of his determined enmity to his old tutor and counselior.Fisher, bishop of Rochester, that that excellent prelate made a very pithy, though quaint opposition to this proposal, on the ground that it would infallibly throw the greater monasteries also into the king's hands. Subsequently to the affair of the maid of Kent, the king and his minister Cromwell had proceeded to great lengths in dissolving the lesser monasteries, and conflscating their property. The residents. the poor who had been accustomed to re- ceive doles of food at the gates of these houses, and the nobility and gentry by whom the monasteries had been founded and endowed, were all greatly offended by the sweepingandarbitrary measures of the blacksmith's son, as they termed Cromwell ; and the retrenchment of several holidays, with the abolition of several superstitious practices which had been very gainful to the clergy, at length caused an open mani- festation of discontent in Lincolnshire. Twenty thousand men, headed by prior Mackrel, of Barlings, rose in arras to de- mand the putting down of ' persons meanly born and raised to dignity,' evidently aim- ing at Cromwell, and the redress of divers griev.ances under which they stated the church to be labouring. Henry sent the duke of Suffolk against this tumultuous multitude, and by a judicious mixture of force and fair words the leaders were taken, and forthwith executed, and ^ihe multitude, of course, dispersed. But in the counties farther north than Lincolnshire the discontents were equally great, and were the more dangerous because greater distance from the chief seat of the king's power rendered the revolted bolder. Under a gentleman named Aske, aided by some of the better sort of those who had been fortunate enough to escape the break- ing up of the Lincolnshire confederacy, upwards of forty thousand men assembled from the counties of York, Durham, and Lancaster, for what thoy called ths pil- grimage of grace. For their banner they had an embroidery of a crucifix, a chalice, and the Ave wounds of the Saviour, and each man who ranged himself under this banner was required to swear that he had ' entered into the pilgrimage of grace from no other motive than his love to God, care of the king's person and issue, desire of purifying the nobility, of driving base per- sons from about the king, of restoring the church, and of suppressing heresy." But the absence of all other motive may, in the case of not a few of these revolters, be very reasonably doubted, ^^ hen with the oath taken by each recruit who joined the disorderly ranks we take into comparison the style of circular by which recruits were invited, which ran thus :— ' We command you and every of you to be at (here the particular place was named) on Saturday next by eleven of the clock, in your best array, as you will answer before the high judge at the great day of doovi, and in the pain of pulling down your houses and the losing of your goods, and your bodies to be at the captain's will.' Confident in their numbers, the con- cealed, but real leaders of the enterprise caused Aske to send delegates to the king to lay their demands before him. The king's wi'itten answer bears several marks of the annoyance he felt that a body of low pea- sants should venture to trench upon sub- jects upon which he flattered himself that he was not unequal to the most learned clerks. He told them that he greatly mar- velled how such ig^yyrant churls should speak of theological subjects to him who 310 HHift Crcatfura of ^f^torp, &c. somethmo had been noted to he learned, or \ oppdse tin' siirprc'Sflon of innnnstorie?, as if it wore not ticttor to ri'lii'vo tlio lioail of the dniri-li in liisnecc.-^sity.tliaii to support the slotli and wickedness of mnnl;s.' As it was very requisite, however, to lirealc up, as peaceably as possible, an asseniblago which its mere numbers would rcinlor it somewhat difficult as well as dangerous to disperse bv main force, Henry at the same time prom"iscd that he would remedy such of their grievances as might seem to need remedy. This promise Ijeing unfulfilled, tlie same counties in the following year (1537) attain assembled their armed masses. The diike of Norfolk, as commander-in- chief of the king's forces, posted himself so advantageously thatwhen the insurgents endeavoured to surprise Hull and, subse- quently, Carlisle, he was able to beat them easily. Nearly ail the leading men were taken prisoners and sent to London, where they were shortly afterwards executed as traitors. 'With the common sort, of whom vast numbers were taken prisoners, there was less ceremony used ; they were hang- ed up 'by scores,' says Lingard, in all the principal towns of the chief scene of revolt. When by this wholesale shedding of human blood the king had at length ap- peased his wrath and that appetite for cruelty which every year grew more and more fierce, the proclamation of a general pardon restored peace to the nation. The chief plea for the late insurrection had been the suppression of the lesser monasteries. That Henry had from the very first, according to the shrewd pro- phecy of I'isher, bishop of Rochester, in- tended to go from the lesser up to the greater, there is no doubt ; and tlie part which the monasteries had taken in en- couraging the pilgrimage of grace, only made him the more determined in that course. The ever-obsequious parliament showed the same willingness to pass an act for the suppression of the remaining and greater monasteries that had so often been shown in far less creditable affairs ; and of twenty-eight mitred abbots,— e.xclu- sive of the priors of St. John of Jerusalem and Coventry— who had seats in the house of lords, not one dared to raise his voice against a measure which must have been so distasteful to them all. Commissioners were appointed to visit the monasteries. That there were great disorders in many of them, that the bur- then the.v inflicted upon the capital and the Industry of the country far outweighed the good done to the poor of the country— a class, be it remembered, which the mo- nastic doles had a most evil tendency to increase— and that they ought to have been suppressed, no reasonable man, in the present state of political science, will ven- ture to deny. It may be, nay it is, but too certain, that the innocent and the guilty in some cases were confounded ; that num- bers of people were thrown out of em- ployment, and that with a vast amount of good some evil was done ; that Henry even in doing good could not refrain from a tyrannous strain of conduct ; and that much of the properly thus wrested from superstition was lavished upon needy or upon profligate courtiers, instead of be- ing, as it ought to have been, made a per- manent national property in aid of the religious and civil e.vpenscs of the nation. But after admitting all this. It is quite cer- tain that, however prompted or Ijowever enacted, this suppression of the monas- teries by Henry VIII. was the most im- portant measure since the Norman con- quest, and was the measure which gave the flrst impulse to England in that march of resolute industry which has long since left her without a rival upon the earth, whether in wealth or in power. While, however, we for the sake of argu- ment admit that Henry was arbitrary in his conduct towards the monasteries, and that his commissioners were infinitely less anxious for truth than for finding out or inventing causes of conflscation, we are not the less bound to assert that, even for the single sin of imposture, the monasteries required the full weight of the iron hand of Henry. Of the gross frauds which were committed for the purpose of attracting tlie attention and the money of the credu- lous to particular monasteries, our space will only allow of our mentioning two, which, indeed, will sutflciently speak for the rest. At Boxley, near Maidstone, in Kent, there was kept a crucifix called the rood of grace, the lips, eyes, and head of which were seen to move when the pilgrim ap- proached it with such gifts as were satis- factory ; at the desire of Hilsey, bishop of Rochester, this miraculous crucifix was taken to London and publicly pulled to pieces at Paul's Cross, when it was made clear that the image was filled with wheels and springs by which the so-called miraciir lous motions were regulated by the olBci- ating priests, literally as the temper of their customers required. How serious a tax the pretended miracu- lous images and genuine relics levied upon the people of the whole kingdom, we may judge from the fact, that of upwards of six hundred monasteries and two thousand chantries and chapels which Henry at various times demolished, comparatively few were wholly free from this worst of im- postures, while the sums received by some of them individually may be called enor- mous. For instance, the pilgrims to the tomb of St. Thomas a Becket paid upwards of nine hundred pounds in one year— or something very like three thousand pounds of our present money I The knowledge of such a disgraceful fact as this would of itself have justified Henry in adopting mo- derately strong measures to put an end to the ' Pilgrimage to Canterbury.' But mo- deration w-as not Henry's cliaracteristic, and Becket was a saint especially hateful to him as having fought the battle of the triple crown of Rome against the king of England. Not content, therefore, with taking the proper measures of mere policy that were required to put an end to a sort of plunder so disgraceful, Henry ordered the saint who had rsposed for centuries in eiislanlf.— l^otiSe nf Cuifor .— I^cnry WMI. 3ii tlio tomb to be formally cited to appear in court to answer to an information laid HN'ainst him by the king's attorney I ' It iKul Ijccn suggested,' says Dr. Lingard, ' Mint as long as the name of St. Thomas ot Caiitcrlmry slimild I'emaiu in the calen- dar iiic'iL would lie .stimulated by his exam- ple to l>)-av<' llie ercK'siastical authority of their ^^;ov^n■igll. 'I'lie king's attorney was IhereroM' inslructi'.l to I'xhilHt an iiiforina- tioii a-ainst linn, and 'I'lioiiias i^i Becket, soinetiine archliisliop of Canterbury, was formally cited to appear in court and an- swer to the cliarge. The interval of thirty days allowed by the canon law was suffered to elapse, and still the saint neglected to quit tile tinnb in which he had reposed for two centuries and a half, and judgement would have been given against him by de- fault, had not the king of his special grace assigned him counsel. The court sat at Westminster, the attorney-general and the advocate of the accused were heard, and sentence was finally pronounced that Tlinmas, sometime archbishop of Canter- bury, h.ad been guilty of rebellion, contu- macy, and treason, that his bones should be publicly burned to admonish the living of their duty by the punishment of the dead, and that the offerings which had been made at iiis shrine, the personal property of the reputed saint, should be forfeited to the crown. A commission was accordingly issued, the sentence was executed in due form, and the gold, silver and jewels, the spoils obtained by the demolition of the shrine, were conveyed in two ponderous cof- fers, to the royal treasury. The people were soon afterwards informed by a royal proclamatiim that Thomas a Becket was no saint, but rather a rebel and a traitor, and it was ordered to erase his name out of all books, vmder pain of his majesty's in- dignation, and imprisonment at his grace's pleasure.' We have selected Lingard's account of this matter because that historian has a very evident leaning to the catholic side of every question of English history, and yet he, unconsciously perhaps, in the words of the above passage which we have printed in italics, goes far towards justifying Henry's measures against the monkish su- perstitions and impostures, no matterwhat his inoiives may have been. Cardinal Pole, a near kinsman of Henry, and eminent alike for talents and virtue, had long resided on the continent, and to his powerful and elegant pen Henry attri- buted many of the forcible, eloquent — and sometimes, we may add, scurrilous— decla- mations which the papists of Italy con- tinually sent fru'tli auainst him whom the popedom hail once hailed and flattered as the defender of the faitli, but whom it now denounced as another Julian alike in talents and in apostacy. Henry, unable to decoy the astute cardinal into his power, arrested and put to death first the brothers and then the mother of that eminent person, the venerable countess of Salisbury. Keal charge against this lady, then upwards of seventy years of age, there was none ; but the ever-obsequious parliament passed an act attainting her in the absence of any trial or confession. After two years of ri- gorous confinement in the Tower of Lon- don the countess was brought out for exe- cution ; and as she refused to lay her head upon the block, the executioner's assistant had to place her and keep her there by main force, and even as the axe descended on her neck she cried out, ' Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness sake.' At the dictation of Henry the parliament now passed a bill which declared ' That in the eucharlst is really present the natural body of Christ under the forms and without the substance of bread and wine; that communion in both kinds is not necessary to the soul's health ; that priests may not marry by the laws of God ; that vows of chastity are to be observed; that private masses ought to be retained ; and that the use of auricular confession is expedient and necessary.' Heavy penalties were de- nounrril on any who should act contrary to the above articles; and Cranmer, who had for many years been married, could only save himself from the effects of this act — to the passing of which he had made a stout but ineffectual opposition — by send- ing his wife, with their numerous children, to Germany, of which country she was a native. The frequent changes which had, during a quarter of a century, taken place in the theological opinions of the king himself, did not by any means inspire him with any mercif ulfeeling towards those who chanced to dift'er from his temporary opinion ; he had throwm off the clerical pope of Rome only to setup quite as 'infallible' a pope in the person of the king of England. A London schoolmaster, named Lambert, was unfortunate enough to contradict a sermott of Dr. Taylor, afterw.ards bishop of Lincoln, in which sermon the doctor had defended the prevalent catholic doctrine of the 'real presence.' Lambert had already been im- prisoned for his imsound opinions, but having learned nothing by the peril he had so narrowly escaped, he now drew up for- mal objections under ten heads. These objections he made known to Dr. Barnes, who was a Lutheran, and who consequently was as obnoxious to the existing law as Lamliert, whom he caused to be cited be- fore Cranmer and Latimer. They, how- ever much they might agree with him in their hearts, did not dare publicly to oppose themselves to the standard of opinion which the arbitrary Henry had set up under the protection of shocking penalties, but they took a middle course, and endeavoured to prevail upon Lambert to save his life by a timely recantation; but he appealed from their judgement to that of the king himself. Henry, ever well pleased to exercise his controversial powers, caused it to be made as public as possible that he would in per- son try the soundness of master Lambert's opinions. Westminster hall was fitted up for the occasion with scaffoldings and seats for such as chose to be present, and the king took his seat upon the throne, clad in white Bilk robes, and surrounded by the 312 C^c Crrajjur}) of ^istars, Set. bishops, the judges, and the chief officers of state. Lamliort's articles being read, the liing In a set speccli replied to the llrst ; Cranmer, Gardiner, and others following lu refutation of otlier articles, and at the conclusion of arguments which lasted live liours, and in which the king was as grossly flattered as the poor vaiu sclioolmaster was unfairly brow-heaten, Henry asked the poor man whether the arguments had cleared his mind of doubts, to which (|ue?tion headded the no less interesling oni', ' Will ymi live or die?' Lambert, niiconviiired by all that he had heard, noticed only the last part of the king's speech, and replied, that for his life he would hold it at his majesty's gra- cious mercy; to which Henry ungraciously, not to say brutally, assured him, that he was not minded to show himself the patron of heretics, and Cromwell was ordered to pass sentence of death on the prisoner, whose chief offence seems to have been his folly in craving the notice of the king by a most gratuitous and utterly useless display of opinions which no earthly power could have prevented him from enjoying in safety, had he consented to do so in secrecy. The unfortunate man was burned to death, and as he was supposed to be personally ob- noxious to Henry from having ventured publicly to dispute with him, the brutal e.xecutioners purposely made the fire so slow that his legs and thighs were gra- dually consumed before the flames even ap- proached any vital part. The long tortures to which this poor man was subjected at length so greatly disgusted some of the guards, that with their halbcrts they threw him farther into the flames, and he there perished, exclaiming with his last breath, ' None but Christ, none but Christ ! ' Wany other cruel executions took place about this time. In August, 1537, Henrj's third queen, the lady Jane Seymour, gave birtlx to a prince, to the great delight of the king, whose joy, however, was much diminished, when, in a few days, this best beloved and most amiable of all his wives died. He soon after commenced negotiations for a new marriage, but being disappointed in his views on the duchess dowager of Longue- ville, and being then refused by Francis permission to choose between the two sis- ters of that lady precisely as he would have chosen sheep or oxen, he was persuaded by Cromwell to demand the hand of Anne of Cleves, sister of the reigning duke. Her portrait, of course a flattering one, from the pencil of the celebrated Hans Holbein, caused Henry to fancy himself very much enamoured of her, and when he learned that she had landed at Dover, he actually rode as far as Rochester in disguise, that he might, unseen, or at least unknown, have a glance at her to, in his own phrase, ' nourish his love.' This glance, however, ' nursed' a very different feeling. The difference between the delicate limning of Hans Holbein, and the especially vast per- son and coarse complexion of the lady, so disgusted and surprised Henrj', that he passionately swore that they had chosen him n('t a woman and a princess, but a Flanders mare ; and he would have fain sent her back without a word said to her, but that he was afraid of offending the tiennan princes connected with her brother, and thus raising .against himself a too power- ful coalition. Detesting the very sight of Anne, and yet feeling obliged to marry her, the king was not long ere he made the full weight of his indignation fall ujion the head of Cromwell. That too servilely obeaient minister now had to feel in person the very same injustice which, at his instigation, the detestably .sycoi.hantic parliament had so recently inflicted upon the venerable coun- tess of Salisbury. He was accused of high treason, denied a public trial, and a bill of attainder passed through both houses, without even one of the many whom hehad befriended having the generous courage to show that gratitude to him which he, under similar circumstances, had shown to cardinal Wolsey. Having got judgement passed against Cromwell, Henry now turned his attention to obtaining a divorce from Anne of Cleves. Even he could scarcely make it a capital offence to have coarse fea- tures and an awkward figure ; moreover, the influence of Anue's brother was such as to make it unsafe for Henry to proceed to anything like violent steps against her. Fortunately, however, for the comfort of both parties, if he viewed her with disgust, she view'ed him with the most entire in- difference ; and she readily consented to be divorced on Henry giving her three thou- sand pounds per annum, the royal palace of Richmond for a residence, and such prece- dence at court as she would have enjoyed had she been his sister instead of being his divorced wife. Six days after the passing of the bill of attainder against Cromwell, that minister was executed, no one seeming to feel sor- row for him ; the poor hating him for the share he had taken in the suppression of the monasteries, and the rich detesting him for having risen from a mere peasant birth to rank so high and power so great. As if to show that he really cared less for either protestantism or popery than he did for his own will and pleasure, the king or- dered just now the execution of Powel, Abel, and Featherstone, catholics who ven- tured to deny the king's supremacy, and of Barnes, Garret, and Jerome, for the oppo- site offence of being more protestant than it pleased the king that they should be ! And to render this impartiality in despotism the more awfully impressive, the protestant and catholic offenders w-ere drawn to the stake in Smithfleld on the same hurdle! A. D. 1541. — Though the king had now been married four times, and, certainly, with no such happiness as would have made marriage seem so very desirable, the di- vorce from Anne of Cleves was scarcely ac- complished ere his council memorialised him to take another wife, and he complied by espousing the niece of the duke of Nor- folk. This lady, by name Catherine How- ard, was said to have won the heart of the king ' by her notable appearance of honour, cleanliness, and maidenly behaviour,' and ' so well was the king at first satisfied with dPnsIanir.— l^ouSe of HCutsar.-^nv^ WM$. 3i3 tliis liis flftli wife, that he not only behaved to Ih'I- with rriiKirkiil.le tciiiU-nicss and re- S|MCI, bill rvni caiisc'd tlu' bishop of Lou- don lo (■.iHi|io-i- a I'liiiii of thanksgiving for thr liliciiy Ills niajrsty ciijoyi'd. But the new quei'ii, behii,' a i-alijolu-, liail many cuo- niir'samoiii,' tlic ri'lomu I's; and iiitrlliKi'Oi'e was soon brouglit to Craunicr of such con- duct on the part of Catherine before mar- riage as he dared not conceal from the icing, though it was by no means a safe thing to speali npon so delicate a matter. In fact, so mncli did Ciaiiiiier dread the vioient temper of rlie kiii^', tliat he com- mitted the painful intelligence to writing. Henry was at first perfectly incredulous as to the guilt of a woman whose manners and appearance had so greatly Imposed upon him. ITo ordered her arrest, and while in durance she was visited by a de- putatiiin from Henry, and exhorted to speak the truth, in tiie assurance that her hus- band would rejoice at lier innocence, aud that the laws were both just and strong enough to protect her. As she hesitated to answer, a bill of attainder was passed against her, aud then she confessed that her past life had been debauched, to an ex- tent which cannot with decency be parti- cularised. It must suffice to say, that the revolting and gross shamelessness of her conduct before marriage as deposed by others, and in general terms confessed by herself, renders it scarcely possible for any one acquainted with human nature, and the laws of evidence, to pl.ace the slightest reliance upon her assertions of llie inno- cence of lier post-nuptial conduct : tlinni^h, as she belonged to the catliolic party, the historians of that party have taken some pains to justify her. A. D. 1542.— Having put the shameless wanton to death, by the tyrannous mode of attainder, toi^ether with her paramours and her coiiliilante, tliat uiipi'imipk'd lady riochfoi-t, wlio h.ad taken so principal apart in the death of Anne Bnleyii, Henry caused a law to be passed, that any woman who should marry him, or any of his succes- sors, should, if incontinent before mar- riage, reveal that disgrace on pain of death ; on the passing of which law the people jocosely remarked that the king's best iilan would be to take a widow for his next wife. Henry now employed some time in miti- gating the severe six articles so far as re- garded the marriage of priests ; but he made, at the same time, considerable in- roads upon the property of both the regu- lar and secular clergy. Still bent on up- holding and exerting his supremacy, he also encouraged appeals from the spiritual to the civil courts, of which Hume as pi- thily as justly says that it wag 'a happy innovation ; though at first invented for arbitrary purposes.' He now also issued a small volume entitled ' The Institution of a Christian Man,' in which, in bis usual arbitrary style, and without the least appa- rent consciousness of the inconsistent veer- iug he had displayed on theological sub- jects, he prescribed to his people how they should think and believe upon the delicate matters of justification, free-will, good works, and grace, with as much coolness as though his ordinances had concerned mere- ly the fashion of a jerkin, or the length of a crossdiow b(dt. Having made some v(>ry iiiefflcient alterations in the mass-bnuk, Henry presently sent forth another little volume, called the 'Erudition of a Chris- tian Man.' In this he flatly contradicted the ' Institution of a Christian Man,' and that, too, upon matters of by no means se- cond.ary importance ; but he just as peremp- torily aud self-coni]ilaceiitly called ii|inii his subjects to follow him now as he had when just before he pointed a directly opposite path ! The successful rivalship of his nephew, James of Scotland, in the affections of Marie, dowager duchess of Lougueville, gave deep ofltence to Henry, which was still farther irritated into hatred by James's ad- hesion to the ancient faith, and his cIosb correspondence with the pope, the emperor Charles, and Francis, of which Henry was perfectly well informed by the assiduity of his ambassador, sir Ralph Sadler. These personal feelings, fully as much as any political considerations, caused Henry to commence a war which almost at the out- set caused James to die of over-excited anxiety ; but of this war we shall hereafter have to speak. The king in his sixth marriage made good the jesting prophecy of the people by taking to wife Catherine Parr, widow of Neville, lord Latimer. She was a friend to the re- formed, but a woman of too much prudence to peril her-elf injudicionsl.v. He treated her with ijrr.at ropect, and in 1544, when lie led a large and expensive expedition, with considerably more Sclat than advan- tage, he left her regent during his absence from England. Subsequently, however, the queen, in spite of her prudence, was more thau once in tmraiuent danger. Anne Askew, a lady whom she had openly and greatly favoured, imfirudently provoked the king by opposition upon the capital point of the real presence, and chancellor Wri- otteslcy, who had to interrogate the un- happy lady, being a bigoted catholic, it was greatly feared that his extreme severity might induce her to confess how far Cathe- rine .and the chief court ladies were impli- cated in her obnoxious opinions. Young, lovely, and delicate, the poor girl was laid upon the rack and questioned, but torture itself failed to extort an answer to the questions by which the chancellor endea- voured to come at the queen. So enraged was that most brutal oiBcer, that he ordered the lieutenant of the Tower to stretch the rack still farther, and on his refusing to do so, ' laid his own hand to the rack and drew it so violent!!/ thnt lie almost tore her body asunder.' This diabolical cruelty served no other purpose than to make his own name infamous while the annals of England shall remain. The heroic girl bore her horrible torture with unflinching fortitude, aud was carried to the stake in a chair, her body being so maimed and dislocated tliat she could not walk. She suffered at the same time with John Lascelles, of the king's EE dlbc CirniSuri) of ^^t^tnri), ^c. 314 lunisilioM, John Adams, a tailcir, aiid Ni- cliiilns likium, a priest. Siil)s<-iiin-iitly the iiueen was nsain nuich oiKlangered. Thoiiiih she had never iiro- tendod to interfere wiih his eoiidiict, slie wonld orcaslonally armie ttUli hiiii in pri- vnte. He had l\v tliis lime hoeonic fear- fnlly hhiated, and an uU-er in his Itg caused liim so much au'ony ihat ' lie was as furious as a chained tiger.' His natural vehemence and intolerance of opposition were conse- quently much increased inider such cir- cum.stances ; and Catherine's arguments at length so offended him, that ho complained of her conduct to (Jardiner and Wriottes- ley. They, bigoted friends to the catholic party, were proportionally inimical to Ca- therine as a friend of the reformed ; and they encouraged his ill temper, and so de.K- terously argued upon the peculiar neces- sity of putting down heresy in the high places, that he actually g.are orders for her being sent to the Tower on the following day. She was fcirtunate enough to get in- formation of what was in store for her, and her cool temper and shrewd woman's wit sufficed to save her from her enemies. She well knew that as lust had been the crime of Henrj's manhood, so vanity— that vanity which cannot endure even the pettiest op- position—was the great spring of all his actions now that his eye w.as growing dim and his n.atural force abated. She paid him her usual visit that day, and when he tried to draw her into their common course of argument, she said that arguments in divi- nity were not proper for women ; that women should follow the principles of their husbands, a.s she made a point of foUowing his : and that though, in the belief that it 'something alleviated his physical sufferings, she sometimes pretended to oppose him, she never did so until she had exhausted all her poor means of otherwise amusing him. The bait to his inordinate vanity was easily taken. ' Is it so, sweetheart?' he exclaimed, 'then we are perfect friends again,' and he embraced her affectionately. On the foUowing day the chancellor and his far more respectable myrmidons the pursuivants went to apprehend the queen, when the sanguinary man was sent away with a volley of downright abuse, such as Henry could bestow as well as the meanest of his subjects when once his temper was fairly aroused. A.D. 1547. — In almost all Henry's perse- cutions of persons of any eminence, care- ful observation will generally serve to dis- cover something of tliat personal ill-feeling which in a man of lower rank would be called personal spite. Thus the duke of Norfolk and his son, the earl of Surrey, were now arrested and charged with various overt acts which caused them— as the charges ran— to be suspected of high trea- son. Their real, their only real crime was theirrelationship to Catherine Howard, his fifth queen. The very frivolous nature of the charges proves that this was the case, but the despicably servile parliament, as usual, attended only to the king's wishes, and both Norfolk and his son were con- demned. The proceedings in the case of the latter, from his bcingacomnioner, were more speedy tlian that of his father, and the gallant young Surrey was executed. Orders were also given for the execution of Nor- folk on the morning of January 20, 1.V17 ; but on Ihi^ night of tlie 28th the furious king himself died, in tlie thirty-seventh year of his arbitrary reign and in the fifty- sixth of his age ; and the council of the infant prince Edward VI. wisely respited the duke's sentence, from which he was re- leased at the aci'(>ssiiin of queen Mary. That the clriracter of Henry was perse, bad, few can doubt who have read his reign attentively, but neither will any just man deny, that he, so gay and generous, so frank and so great a lover of literaturg in youth, owed not a little of his subsequent wicked- ness to the horribly servile adtilation of the great, and to the dastardly submission of the parliament. What could be expected from a man, naturally vain, to whom the able Cromwell could say that ' he was unable, and he believed all men were un- able, to describe the unutterable qualities of the royal mind, the sublime virtues of the royal heart ; ' to whom Rich could say, that ' in wisdom he was equal to Solomon, in strength and courage to Samson, in beauty and address to Absalom ; ' and what could be expected from a man, naturally violent and contemptuous of human life, who found both houses of parliament vile enough to slay whomsoever he pleased to denounce? An arbitrary reign was that of Henry, but it wrought as much for the per- manent, religious, and moral good of the nation, as the storms and tempests, be- neath which we cower while they last, work for the physical atmosphere. CHAPTEH XLII. Tlte Reign of Edwabd TI. A.D. 154". — Hexrt's will fixed the majority of his son and successor, Edward VI., at the age of eighteen. The young prince at the time of his father's death was but a few months more than nine, and the go- vernment was during his minority vested in sixteen executors, viz. Cranmer, arch- bishop of Canterbury; lord 'Wriottesley, chancellor; lord St. John, great master; lord Russell, privT seal ; the earl of Hert- ford, chamberlain ; viscount Lisle, admiral ; Tonstal, bishop of Durham ; sir Anthony Browne, master of the horse ; sir William Paget, secretary of state; sir Edward North, chancellor of the court of augmentations ; sir Edward Jlontague, chief justice of the common pleas : judge Bromley, sir Anthony Denny, and sir William Herbert, chief gen- tlemen of the privy chamber ; sir Edward Wotton, treasurer of Calais ; and Dr. Wot- ton, dean of Canterbury. Not only did Henry VIII. name these councillors, some of whom were in station at least, far below so important a trust, but he laid down a course of conduct for them with a degree of minuteness, which shows that to the very close of his career bis un- bounded vanity maintained its old ascend- ancy over his naturally shrewd judgement, and that he expected that his political and ([EiTQlantf.— ?^0tj;S0 at CuiJor.— efiiuarli 315 rc'ligiims suprcmary would he rt'spocted nveii when tlio earth-wonus aiul tljo darnps (if till' i-liarnul slmuld lie busy with liis iu- aiilinate budy. The very tlrst meeliuf,' of the cuuhcillurs showed the fallacy of the Jate king's anticipations. He evidently in- tended that the co-ordinate distribution of the state authority should render it im- liraeticable for the ambition of any one great subject to trouble or endanger the succession of ihe young Edward; and this very precaution was done away with by the tlrst act of the councillors, who agreed that it was necessary that some one minister should have prominent and separate autho- rity, under the title of protector, to sign all orders and proclamations, and to communi- cate with f(a-eign powers. In a word, they determined to place one of their number in precisely that tempting propinquity to the throne, to guard against which had been a main object of Henry's care and study. The carl of Hertford, maternal uncle to the king, seemed best entitled to this high olUce, and he was accordingly chosen, in spite of the opposition of chancellor Wriot- tesley, who from his talents and experience had anticipated that he himself, in reality though not formally, would occupy this very position. Having made this most important and plainly unauthorised alteration in Henry's arrangement, the council now gave orders for the interment of the deceased monarch. The body lay in state in the chapel of Whitehall, which was hung with fine black cloth. Eighty large black tapers were kept constantly burning ; twelve lords sat round within a rail as mourners; and every day masses and dirges were performed. At the commencement of each service Norroy, king at arms, cried in a loud voice, ' Of your charity pray for the soul of the high and mighty prince our late sovereign lord Henry the Eighth.' On the 14th of February the body was removed to Sion house, and thence to Windsor on the following day, and on the ir.th it was interred near that of lady Jane Seymour in a vault near the centre of the clii lir. Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, performed the service and preached a ser- mon. As he scattered earth upon the coffin and pronounced, in Latin, the solemn words, ' Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust,' certain of the principal attendants broke their wands of office into three parts, above their heads, and threw the pieces upon the cofBn. The solemn psalm de jirofundis was then recited, and garter king at arms, attended by the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of Durham, proclaimed the style and titles of Edward VI. The coronation next followed, but was much abridged of the usual ceremony and sjilendour, chiefly on account of tlie deli- cate state of the king's health. The exe- cutors o-f the late king, though they had so importantly departed from the express di- rections of the will upon some points, were very exact in following it upon others. Thus, Henry had charged them to make certain creations or promotions in the peerage ; and Hertford was now made duke of Somerset, marshal and lord treasurer ; his opponent the chancellor Wriottesley, earl of South- ampton ; the earl of Essex, niaryuis of Northarripton ; viscount Lisle, earl of War- wick ; sir Thomas Seymour, lord Seymour of Kudley and admiral of England ; and sirs Richard Hich, William Willoughby, and Edmund Sheffield, barons. Somerset and some of the other peers were, at the same time, to enable them to support their dig- nity, gratified i^ith deaneries, prebends, and other spiritual benefices ; a most pernicious precedent, and one which has caused and enabled so much church, property and in- fluence to be placed in the hands of laymen, many of whom are avowedly and flagrantly dissenters from the doctrine of the church, and foes to her establishment. Wriottesley, earl of Southampton, was greatly disappointed that he, instead of Somerset, had not been chosen protector ; and this feeling tended greatly to exaspe- rate the political opposition which had ever subsisted between them. Wriottesley, with a want of judgement strangely in contrast with his usual conduct, gave to Somerset an opportunity to distress and mortifyhim, of which that proud noble was not slow to avail himself. Desiring to give the utmost possible amount of time to public business, and as far as possible to share and check the authority of the protector, Southamp- ton, merely upon his own authority, put the great seal into commission, empowering four lawj-crs to execute the office of chan- cellor for him ; and two of the four lawyers thus named were canonists, which gave some appearance to his conduct of a desire to show disrespect to the common law. Somerset and his party eagerly caught at this indiscretion of their noble and resolute opponent, and easily obtained from the judges an opinion to the effect that South- ampton's course was utterly illegal and imjustiflahle, and that he had forfeited his office and even laid himself open to still farther punishment. Southampton was ac- cordingly summoned before the council ; and, though he defended himself acutely, he was condemned to lose the great seal, to pay a pecuniary fine, and to be confined to his owTi house during pleasure. Having thus opportunely removed his most powerful and persevering opponent, Somerset immediately set about enlarging his own power and altering its foundation. Professing to feel a delicacy in exercising the extensive powers of protector while holding that office only under the authority of the executors of the late king's will, he obtained from the young king Edward a patent which gave him the protectorate with full regal powers, and which, though it reappointed all the councillors and exe- cutors named in Henry's will, with the sole exception of Southampton, exempted the protector from his former obligations to consult them or to be bound by their opinion. Aided hy Cranmer, tho protector, in spite of the strong and able opposition of Gardiner, made considerable advances in religious reformation ; yet made them with a most prudent and praiseworthy tender- ness to the existing prejudices of the mass f! 316 Cf)e CreaiJurs of J^t^torg, &c. of that generation. Tlius, he appointed visitors, lay and clerical, to repress, as far as might be olivious, impostures and fla- grant inimoralitips on the part of the catholic clcriry ; but he at the same time instructed those visitors to deal rt'spcct- fully with such ceremonials as were yet unabolished, and with such images and shrines as were unabused to the purpose of idolatry. While thus prudent, in tender- ness to the Inveterate and ineradicable pre- judices of the ignorant, he, with a veiy sound policy, took measures for weakening the mischievous effects of the preaching of the monks. Many of these men were placed in vacant churches, that so the ex- chequer might be relieved, pro tanto, of the payment of the annuities settled upon them at the suppression of religious houses. As it was found that they took advantage of their position to Instil into the minds of tlie ignorant the worst of the old super- stitions, and a fierce hatred of the reforma- tion, Somerset now compelled them to avoid that conduct, by enjoining upon them the reading of certain homilies having pre- cisely the opposite tendency and by strictly forbidding them to preach, unless by spe- cial indulgence, anywhere save in their own parish churches. The monks were thus strictly confined to their own parish churches, and limited in their liberty of preaching even there, while the protestant clergyman could always ensure a special licence for peripatetic preaching. The sys- tem was too obviously favourable to the re- formation to pass uncensured by the prin- cipal catholic champions. Bonner at the outset gave the protector's measures open and strong opposition, but subsequently agreed to them. Gardiner, a less violent but far firmer and more consistent man, because, probably, a far more sincere man, was staunch in his opposition. He was of opinion that the reformation could not be carried any farther hut with real and great danger. 'It is,' said he, 'a dangerous thing to use too much freedom in researches of this kind. If you cut the old canal, the water is apt to run farther than you have a mind to ; if you indulge the humour of novelty, you cannot put a stop to people's demands, nor govern their indiscretions at pleasure. For my part, my sole concern is to manage the third and last act of my life with decency, and to make a handsome exit off the stage. Provided this point is secured, I am not solicitous about the rest. I .am already by nature condemned to death: no man can give me a pardon from this sentence, nor so much as procure me a re- prieve. To speak my mind, and to act as my conscience directs, are two branches of liberty which I can never part with. Sin- cerity in speech and integrity in action are enduring qualities; they will stick by a roan when everything else takes its leave, and I must not resign them upon any con- sideration. The best of it is, if I do not throw these away myself, no man can force them from me ; but if I give them up, then am I ruined by myself, and deserve to lose all my preferments.' Besides the obvious danger of going too far and making the people mischievously familiar with change, Gardiner charged his opponents with an unnecessarj- and presumptuous assumption of metaphysical exactitude .upon the doc- trines of gr.ace and justification by faith, points not vitally necessary to any man, and utterly beyond the real comprehension of the multitude. The ability and the firmness with which he pressed these and other grounds of opposition so highly en- raged the protector, that Gardiner was committed to the Fleet, and there treated with a severity which, his age and his ta- lents being considered, refiected no little discredit upon the protestant party. Ton- stal, bishop of Durham, who sided with Gardiner, was expelled the council, but allowed to livewithoutfarthermolestation. The active measures of Somerset for pro- moting the reformation in England gave force and liveliness to the antagonist parties in Scotland also. The cardinal Bea- ton, or Bethune, was resolute to put down even the preaching of the reformers ; while these latter, on the other hand, were daily becoming more and more inflamed with "a zeal for which martyrdom itself had no ter- rors. Among the most zealous and active of the reformed preachers was a well-born gentleman named Wishart, a man of great learning, high moral character, and a rich store of that passionate and forcible, though rude, eloquence which is so power- ful over the minds of enthusiastic but un- educated men. The principal scene of his preaching was Dundee, where his eloquence had so visible and stirring an effect upon the multitude, that the magistrates, as a simple matter of civil police, felt bound to forbid him to preach within their jurisdiction. Unable to avoid retiring, Wishart, how- ever, in doing so, solemnly invoked and prophesied a heavy and speedy calamity upon the town in which his preaching hail thus been stopped. Singularly enough, he had not long been banished from Dun- dee when the plague burst out with great violence. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, is ever the popular maxim; men loudly declared that the plague was evidently the conse- quence of Wishart's banishment, and that the hand of the destroying angel would never be stayed until the preacher should be recalled. Wishart was recalled ac- cordingly ; and taking advantage of the popular feelings of dismay, he so boldly and passionately advocated innov.ations, that cardinal Beaton caused him to be arrested and condemned to the stake as a heretic. Arran, ths governor, showing some fear and unwillingness to proceed to the ex- tremity of burning, the cardinal carried the sentence into execution on his own autho- rity, and even stationedhimselfata window from which he could behold the dismal spectacle. This incident and cruel triumph was noted by the sufferer, who solemnly warned Beaton that ere many days he should be laid upon that very spot where then he triumphed. Agitated as the mul- titude were by the exhortations of their numerous preachers of the reformed doc- trine, such a prophecy was not Itkely to fall Mii]i out, proceeded to the cardinal'^ dpartnieut. For ii short time the fastenings defied their power, but a cry arising to bring fire to their aid, the unfortunate old man opened the door to (hem, eiilrealiiig to spare Ills life and remindinu' llirni..r his priolliood. TheXori'most of his a-sailajits, .lames .Mel- ville, called to the olliers fo execute witli becoming gravity and deliberation a work which was oidy to be looked upon as the judgement of Clod. 'Itepent thee,' said this snncruiiiary en- thusiast,' repent thee, thon wirkcd caiilinal, of all lliv sins and iniipiilies.esp.'Cially of the miu-ihr ot Wisliarl, that nisfrument of (iu^l I'. If til.. Mil version of these lands. It is his deaili wliich now cries vengeance upon thee ; \\e oe sent by God to inflict the de- served puuisliment. For here, before the .'MiniL'hty, 1 iirotest Ih.at it is neither h.atred id' thy [lerson, n..r love of tliy liches, nor fe.ar o£ thy I'ower, wliich moves me to seek thy death, but only because th(m hast been and still remainest an obstinate enemy to riirist .lesus and his holy go.spel.' ■With these words Melville stabbed the cardinal, who fell dead at liis feet. This murder ti"ik place the year before the death of Henry Vlll., to whom the assassins, who fortified themselves and friends th the num- ber of a hundred and forty, in tlie castle, desiiatched a messenger for aid. Henry, always jealous of Scotland and ghui to cripple its turbulent nobility, promised his su|>port, and Somerset now, in obedience to the dying injunctions of tlie king, pre- pared to marcli an army into Scotland for the purpose of compelling a union of tlie two countries by marrying the minor queen of Scotland -to the minor king of England. With a fleet of sixty sail and a force of eighteen thousand men, he set out witli the avowed purpose of not listening to any ne- gotiation, unless based upon the condition of the marriage of the young queen of Scotland to Edwai-d of England ; a measure which he argued and justilicd at great leuirth in a pamphlet published by him before opening the campaign. Except as a means of justifying his OTvn conduct in commencing the war, it would seem that so well-informed a statesman as Somerset could surely have expected little effect from this manifesto. The queen dowager of Scotland was wholly influenced by France, which could not but be to the utmost degree opposed to the union of Scotland and England; and she was also far too much attached to the catholic re- ligion to look with any complacent feeling upon a transfer of Scotland into the hand; of the known and persevering enemy of tliat religion. From Berwick to Edinburgh Somerset experienced but little resistance, Arran, however, had taken up his position on the banks of the Eske at about four miles from Edinburgh, with an army double in number to that of the English. In a cavalry affair of outposts the Scots were worsted and lord Hume severely'wounded, but Somerset and the earl of Warwick having reconnoitred the Scottish camp, found that it was too well posted to be assailed with any reasonable chance of success. Somerset jnow tried negotiation, offering to evacuate the country and even to make compensation for such mischief as had already been done, on condition th.at the Scots should engage to keep their yoimg queen at home and uncontracted in marriage until she should reach an ae'i'lo choose for herself. This offer, so much in contrast with the determination with which the protector had set out, caused the Scots to suppose that, intimidated by their num- bers or moved by some secret and dis- tressing information, he was anxious to get away upon tiny terms, and the very mode- ration of tlie terms offered by him was the cause of their being rejected. "Whoever will carefully and in detail study the great campaigns and battles, whether of ancient or of modern times, will find tliat at once the rarest and the most precious gift of a general-in-chief is to knoio Imo to refrain from action. The Fabian policy is suitable only to the very loftiest and most admirable military genius ; not because of tlie phy- sical difKculty of remaining tranquil, but simply because to do so, in spite alike of the entreaties of friends and the taunts of foes, requires that self-conquest which is to be achieved only by a Fabius or a Welling- ton. On the present occasion the Scots leaders had to contend not only against their own utter mistake as to Somerset's circumsttmcesand motives, I)ut also against the frantic eagerness of their men, who were wound up to the most intense rage by the preaching of certain priests in their camp, who assured them that the detestable heresy of the English made victory to their arms altogether out of the question. Finding his moderate and peaceable pro- posal rejected, Somerset saw that it was necessary to draw the enemy from their sheltered and strong position, to a more open one in which he could advantageously avail himseU of his superiority in cavalry. He accordingly moved towards the sea ; and as his ships at the same moment stood in shore, as if to receive him, the Scots fell into the suarc and moved from their strong position to intercept him. They entered the plain in three bodies, the van- guard commanded by Angus, the main body comm.anded by Arran, and some light horse and Irish archers ou the left flank under Argyle. As the Scots advanced into the plain, they were severely galled by the artillery of the English ships, and among the killed was the eldest son of lord Graham. The Irish auxiliaries were thrown into the ut- most disorder, and the whole main body began to fall back upon the rear-guard, which was under the command of Huntley. Lord Grey, who had the command of the English cavalry, had orders not to attack the Scottish van till it should be closely en- gaged with the English van, when he was 318 C!jc CrwSury of f^Wtori?, &r. to take it in flanlc. Tempted by the disor- der of the enemy, lie nepleetcd this order, mid led the Eiiirli.-h chivalry oil .-It full -^-nl- lop. A heavy sloii-h niul broad diti-li Ibr.-w tlieiii into conriisinii. and llieywcri' easily repiilscil by the long spears of the Si-oicli ; lord Grey liiniself was severely wounded, the protector's son, lord Edward Seymour, liad his horse kdled under him, and the cavalry was only rallied by the ntiiiost ex- ertion and pre.-tnee of mind im llie part nf sir Ualph Sadler, sir Kalpli Vaiic, and the protector in person. The En^'lish archers and the Enslisli ships palled the van of the Scots so severely that it at leiiKth gave way, and the English van being, at that critical moment, led on in good order, the Scots and their Irisli auxiliaries took to flight. How short and unequal the tlglit was, and how persevering and murderous the pur- suit, may be judged from the fact, that the English loss was short of two hundred, and that of the Scots above ten tliousand I Full fifteen hundred were also made prisoners at this disastrous battle of Pinkey. Somerset now took several castles, re- ceived the submission of the counties on the border, destroyed the shipping on the coast, and was in a situation to have im- posed the most onerous terms on the Scots, could lie have followed up his advantages ; but information reached him of intrigues going on in England, which obliged liim to return, after having appointed Berwick for the place of conference of the commission- ers, whom the Scots, in order to gain time and procure aid from France, affected to wish to send in order to treat for peace. On Somerset's return to England he as- sumed more state than ever, being elated with his success in Scotland. He caused his nephew to dispense with the statute of precedency passed in the late reign, and to grant to him, the protector, a patent allow- ing him to sit on the throne, upon a stool or bench at the right hand of the king, and to enjoy all honours and privileges usually enjoyed by any uncle of a king of England. White thus intent upon his own aggran- disement, Somerset was, nevertheless, at- tentive also to the improvement of the law. The statute of the six articles was repealed, as were all laws against Lollardy and heresy — though the latter was still an undefined crime at common law — all laws extending the crime of treason beyond the twenty- fifth of Edward 111., and all the laws of Henry VIII. extending the crime of fe- lony ; and no accusation founded upon words spoken was to he made after the ex- piration of a mouth from the alleged speak- ing. A.D. 1548.— The extensive repeals of which we have made mention are well described by Hume as having been the cause of ' some dawn of both civil and religious li- berty' to the people. For them great jiraise was due to Somerset, who, however, was now guilty of a singular inconsistency ; one which shows how ditticult it is for un- qualifled respect to the rights of the multi- tude to coexist with such extensive power as that of tlie protector. What Hume, with terse and significant emphasis, calls ' tliat law, the destruction of all laws, by which the king's proclamation was made of e.|ual force with a slafutc,' was repeal- ed : and yet the ]irc,tecl.jr cniitinurd In use and iipli.ilcl llie pin.laniaUoii wliciisncver till! oci-asion seemrd to lii'ii to ilcniainl it ; as, for inst.'Uice, fcpibiOiliiiLr ilir iiarinlcss and time-halloFod supersiii ions m- absur- dities of carrying about cmilIIo.- .m Caiidle- nias-dny, ashes on Ash Wednesday, and palm branches on Palm Sunday. .Aided by the French, the Scots made many :d(empts to recover the towns and castles which had been taken from tlieni by Somerset, and with very general siieciss. The English were at length reduced to so much distress, and so closely kept within Haddington by the number and vii-'iiaiire of their enemies, that Somerset sent over a reinforcement of eighteen thousand Eng- lish troops and three thousand German auxiliaries. This large force was com- manded by the earl of Shrewsbury, who relieved Haddington, indeed, but could not get up with the enemy's troops until they were so advantageously posted near Edin- burgh, that he thought it imprudent to attack them, and marched back into Eng- land. We must now refer to those intrigues of the English court to which the Scots owed not a little of their comparative security. Between the protector and his brother, the lord Seymour, a man of great talent and still greater arrogance and ambition, there was a feeling of rivalry, which was greatly increased aud embittered by the feminine rivalry and spite of their wives. Tlie queen dowager, the widow of Henry VIII., mar- ried lord Seymour at a scarcely decent in- terval after her royal husband's death ; the queen dowager,though married to a younger brother of the duke, took precedence of the duchess of Somerset, and the latter used all her great power and influence over her husband toirritate him against his brother. When Somerset led the English army into Scotland, lord Seymour took the opportu- nity to endeavfmr to strengthen his own cabal, by distributing his liberalities among the king's councillors and servants, and by impi'oper indulgence to the young king himself. Secretary Paget, who well knew the bitter and restless rivalry of the two brothers, warned lord Seymour to beware, that, by encouraging cabals, he did not bring down ruin upon that lofty state to which both himself and the protector had risen, and which had made them not a few powerful foe.s, who would but little hesitate to side with either for a time for the sake of crushing both in the end. Lord Seymour treated the remonstrances of Paget with neglect ; and the secretary, perceiving the evil and the danger daily to grow more imminent, sent the protector sue h informa- tion as caused him to give up all probable advantage, and hastened to protect his au- thority and interests at home. The subse- quent departure of the young queen of Scotland for France, where she arrived in safety and was betrothed to the dauphin, made Somerset's Scottish projects compa- ratively hopeless and of little consequence, (iPuglanir.— ?i?fluSc of Euifar.— fi^titdaiir 319 and he suhscquently gave his undivided attention to tlie maintenance of his autho- rity in Engiand. Not contented with the degree of wealth and :uitliority lie possessed as admiral of England and husband of the queen dow- ager, lord Siyniour, whose artful coinplai- sauce seems to have imposed upon his ue- pliew, caused the yotnig monarch to write a letter to parliament to request that lord Seymour might be made the governor of the liing's person, which otflce his lordship argued ought to be kept distinct from that of protector of the realm. Before he could bring the affair before parliament, and will li- 1 II' w:is busily engaged in endeavouring to slr(iii,'tli.ii his party, lord Seymour was warned liy liis ln'other to desist. The coun- cil, too, threatened that it would use the letter he had obtained from the affection or the weakness of the young king, not as a justillcation of his factious opposition to the jirotcctor's legal authority, but as a proof of a criminal tampering with a minor and a mere child, with intent to disturb the legal and seated government of the realm. It was further pointed out to him, that the council now knew quite enough to justify it in sending him to the Tower; and the admiral, however unwillingly, abandoned his designs at least for the time. Somerset easily forgave his brother, but the ambition and aching envy of that tur- bulent and restless man was speedily called into evil activity again, by a circumstance ;\'hich to an ordinary man would have seem- ed a sufficient reason for lowering its tone. His wife, the queen dowager, died in giving birth to a child, and lord Seymour then paid his addresses to the lady Elizabeth, as yet only sixteen years of age. As Mary was the elder daughter, and as Henry had very dis- tinctly excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from tlie tlirone in the event of their marry- ing without tlie Cdnsi'iit of his executors, wliicli consent lord Royninur could have no clianceof getting, it was clear that Seymour could only hope to derive benefit from such an alliance by I'esorting to absolute usurpa- tion and violence. That such was his in- tention is further rendered probable by the fact, that besides redoubling his efforts to obtain influence over all who had access to the king or power in the state, he had so distributed hisfavours even among persons of comparatively low rank, that he calcu- l.ited on being able, if it were necessary, to muster an army of ten thousand men. For tills number, it seems, he had actually pro- vided arms ; he had further strengthened himself by protecting pirates, whom, as ad- miral of England, it was his especial duty to suppress; and he had corrupted sir John Spurington, the master of the mint at Bristol, who was to supply him with money. Well informed as to his brother's crimi- nal projects, the protector, both by entrea- ties and by favours conferred, endeavoured to Induce him to abandon his mad ambi- tion. But the natural wrong-headedness of lord Seymour, and the ill advice of Dudley, earl of Warwick, a man of great talent and courage, but of just such principles as might be expected from the son of that Dudley, the extortioner, who was the colleague of Empson in the reign of Henry VII., ren- dered the humane efforts of the protector vain. Hating both the brothers, Warwick dreaded tlie lord Seymour the more for his aspiring temper and superior talents ; and seeing him only too well inclined to sedi- tious practices, the treacherous Warwick urged him on in his guilty and foolish ca- reer, and at the same time secretly advised the protector to take stern means of putting a stop to the practices of a brother upon whom kindness and good counsel were completely thrown awtiy. By Warwick's advice the protector first deprived his brother of the otttce of admiral, and then committed him, with some of his alleged accomplices, to the Tower. Three privy councillors, who were sent to examine the prisoners, reported that there was important evidence against them ; and even now the protector offered liberty and pardon to his brother, ou condition of his retiring to his country houses, and confining himself strictly to private life. Undaunted by all the appearances against him, lord Seymour replied only by threats and sarcasms ; and, urged by his personal and political friends, real and pretended, the protector consented not only that his brother should be pro- ceeded against, but also that he should be refused a free and open trial which he indignantly demanded, and be proceeded against before that ready instrument of sovereign vengeance, the parliament. A.D. 1549.— On the meeting of parliament a bill of attainder was originated in the upper house. By way of evidence, several peers rose and stated what they knew or professed to know of the criminal designs and practices of the admiral ; and upon this evidence given, be it observed, hy judges in the case, that house of peers in which the deluded man had supposed himself to have so many fast friends, passed the biU with scarcely a dissenting voice, and, as Hume observes, ' without anyone having either the courage or the equity to move that he miglit be heard in his de- fence ; that the testimony against liim should be delivered in a legal manner, and that he should be confronted with the wit- nesses.' Contrai-y to what might have been anticipated, a better spirit was exhibited in the lower house, where it was moved that the proceeding by bill of attainder was bad, and that evei-y man should be present and formally tried previous to condemnation. A message, nominally from the king, bul; really from the council, however, terminat- ed this show of spirit and equity, and the bill was passed by a majority of four hun- dred to some nine or ten. Shortly after- wards the admiral was beheaded on Tower- hill, the warrant of his execution being signed by his brother Somerset ! or rather the condemnation. After the trial of lord Seymour the most important business of this session was ecclesiastical. One act; allowed priests to many, but said in the preamble that ' it were better for priests and the ministers of the church to live clinstely and without marriage, and it were 320 Wi)t Crrnpttry of l^t^torp, ^c. niiicli to be wished that they would of themselves abstain ;' another imihiliited the use of Hesh meat in Lent, while a third Iieniiittrd and jirovided for a union of cures in the city of York. Many of these euies, it was stated in the rrcanible, were too much Impoverished singly to support an ineumbent; an impoverishment which no doubt arose from the transfer of the ecclesiastical revenues into the liands of lay- men and absentees. There was now a very f-'eneral outward conformity, at least, with the doctrine and liturpy of the reforma- tion. But both Bonner and Gardiner were imprisoned for maintaining the catholic doctrine of the real presence, the princess Mary was threatened by the council for persistiuf; to hear mass, and obtaining an indulgence through the iufluence of the emperor. A still farther and worse proof was given that the duty of toleration was as yet but very imperfectly understood by the reformers, by the prosecution of a wo- man named Joan Bocher, or Joan of Kent, for heresy. The council condemned the poor creature to the flames. For some time the young king would not sign the war- rant for her execution. Craumer drove him into a compliance accompanied by tears and by the remark that upon Cranmer's bead would the deed lie for good or evil. The execution of this woman was followed by that of a Dutch alien, named Von Paris, w"ho suffered his horrible death with ap- parent delight — so ill-adapted is persecu- tion to make converts ! CHAPTER XLIII. Tlic lleign, 0/ Edward TI. fsontinued). To deny that a great reformation was much needed in the church at the time when it was commenced by Henry VIII. would be utterly and obstinately to close one's eyes to the most unquestionable evi- dence. Nevertheless it is no less certain that the wealth which was justly taken from the monks was quite as unjustly be- stowed upon laymen. It was not because corrupt men had insinuated or forced them- Eelves into the church, that therefore the church should be plundered; it was not because the monks had diverted a part of the large revenues of the church from the proper purpose, that therefore the king should wrongfully bestow a stiU larger part. The laymen upon whom Henrj' be- stowed the spoils of the greater and lesser houses had in few cases, if any, a single claim upon those spoils save favouritism, not always too honourable to themselves or to the king ; yet to them was given, without the charge of the poor, that property upon which the poor had been bountifully fed. The baron or the knight, the mere courtier or the still worse character upon whom this property was bestowed, might live a hundred or even a thousand miles from the land producing his revenue— from that land upon which its former possessors, its resi- dent landlords the monks, employed the tailing man, and fed the inflrm, the help- less, and the sitfEering. Nor was it merely by the hind who laboured, or by the needy rnan who was fed in charity, that the monks were now missed ; the monks were not only resident Landlords, they were also liher.al and indulgent landlords. They for a great portion of tlieir low rents took pro- duce; the lay landlords demanded higher rents and would be paid in money ; the monks lived among their tenants and were their best customers; the lay landlord drew his money rents from Lincoln or De- von, to spend them in the court revels at London or in the wars of France or Scot- land. Many other differences might be pointed out which were very injurious to the middle and lower class of men ; but enough has been said to show that how- ever necessary the change, it was not made with due precautions against the impo- verlshmeuf .and suffering of great bodies of men, and great consequent danger of state disturbances. Even the iron hand of Henry VIII. would not have been able to prevent both suffering and murmuring; and when under the milder rule of the protector Somerset the people were still farther distressed by the rage for grazing, which caused tlie peasantry to be driven in herds not only from the estates upon which they had laboured, but even from their cot- tages and from the commons upon which they had fed their cows or sheep, the cry of distress became loud, general, and appall- ing. The protector issued a commission to enquire into the state of the rural people, and to And out and remedy all evils con- nected with enclosures. But the poor in various parts of the country rose in arms before the commission had time even to make enquiries; Wiltshire, Oxford, Glou- cester, Hants, Sussex, and Kent rose simul- taneously, but were speedily put down, chiefly by sir William Herbert, and lord Gray of Wilton. But the most formidable rioters made their appearance in Korfolk and Devonshire. In Norfolk above twenty thousand assem- bled, and from their original demand for doing away with the enclosures, they pass- ed to demanding the restoration of the old religion, the placing of new councillors about the king, and the utter abolition of all gentry ! A bold and ruffianly fellow, one Ket, a tanner, took the command of this assemblage, and exercised his autho- rity over such of the gentrj- as were un- lucky enough to be within his reach, in the arbitrary and insolent style that might be anticipated, holding his court beneath a great oak on Monsehold HiU, which over- looks the city of Norwich. Against this demagogue and his deluded followers the marquis of Northampton was at first sent, but he was completely repulsed, and lord Sheffield, one of his officers, was killed. I The earl of Warwick was then sent against [ Ket with an army of six thousand, which had been levied to go to Scotland. War- ■ wick, with his usual courage and conduct, beat the rebels ; killed two thousand of them, hanged up Ket at the castle of Nor- ! wich, and nine of the other ringleaders on ' the boughs of the oak tree on Mousehold i Hill. (fnclautr.— l^ouiSe nf Cuiiar.— etftoarir 5F3E. 321 In Devonshire as In Norfolk, though the complaints made by the people originated lu the injustice of the enclosures and In very real and vcidely-spread misery, dema- gogues, among whom were some priests of Sampford Courtenay, artfully caused them to malie a return to the old religion a chief article of tlieir ilomaud ; and the in- surrection here was the more formidable, because many of the gentry, on account of the religious demands, joined the rebels. Among the gentlemen who did so was Humphrey Arundel, governor of St. Mi- chael's .Mount, liy whose means chiefly it was ilKit llie rt'l)els, Ihougii ten thousand in nuiulier, were brought into somathing of the regular order of disciplined troops. Lord Russell, who had been sent against them with but a weak force, Duding them so numcrou? and determined, and In such gooil ordiT, eudoavoured to get them to dispi'rseliy:ilTictIngtonegotiate with them. He forwarded their extravagant demands to the council, who returned for answer that they should be pardoned on their im- mediate submission. This answer so niuch enraged the rebels that they endeavoured to storm E.xeter, but were repulsed by the citizens. They then sat doivn before Exe- ter and endeavoured to mine it. By this time lord Russell was reinforced by some German horse under sir William Herbert .and lord Gray, and some Italian infantry under Balisia Spinola, and lie now marched from his quarrers at Honiton to the relief of Exttc-r. The rebels suirered dreadfully both ill the li-ittle and subseiiueut to the re- treat. Humphrey Arundel and other lead- ing men were seized, carried to London, and there executed ; many of the rabble were executed on the spot by martial law, and the vicar of St. Thomas was hanged on the top of his owTi steeple iu the garb of a popish priest. The stern and successful severity with which the more formidable rebellions of Norfolk and Devonshire had been put down, caused weaker parties in Yorkshire and else- where to take the alarm and disperse ; and the protector both wisely and humanely fostered this spirit of returning obedience by proclaiming a general amnesty. But besides the terrible loss of life which these insurrections cost on the spot, they caused great losses to us both in Scotland and in France. In the former country the want of the force of six thousand men, which Warwick led to put down the Norfolk men, enabled the French and Scotch to capture the fortress of Broughty and put the garri- son to the sword, and so to waste the coun- try for miles round Haddington, that it was found necessary to dismantle and abandon that important fortress and carry the stores to Berwick. The king of France was at the same time tempted by the deplorable domestic dis- turbances in England to make an effort to recover Boulogne, which we had taken during the reign of Henry VIII. He took several fortresses in the neighbourhood, but while preparing to attack Boulogne itself, a pestilential distemper broke out in his camp. The autumnal rains falling with great violence, Henry of France lost all instant hope of taking Boulogne, and re- turned to Parts, leaving Caspar de Coligny, so well known as the admiral Coligny, to command the troops and to form the siege as early as possible in the following spring. Coligny even went beyond these orders by making some dashing attempts during the winter, but they were all unsuccessful. The protector in vain having attempted to pro- cure the alliance of the emperor, turned his thoughts to making peace with both France and Scotland. The young queen of Scotland, for wlio.^e hand he had chiefly gone to war, could not now be married to Edward of England, however much even the Scots might desire it ; and as regards the French quarrel, Henry VIII. having agreed to give up Boulogne in 15S4, it was little worth while to keep up an expensive warfare for retaining the place for so few years as had to elapse to that date. But Somerset, though a man of unques- tionable ability, seems to have been singu larly ignorant or unobservant as to thereat light in which he was regarded by the council, and still more so of the real cha- racter and views of Warwick. He gave his reasons, as we have given them above ; and sound reasons they were, and as humane as sound ; but he did not sufficiently take into calculation the pleasure which his enemies derived fTom the embarras,sment caused to him, and the discontent likely to arise in the public mind on account of the state of our ailairs, at once inglorious and expensive, in France and Scotland. Besides having the personal enmity of Warwick, Southampton, whom the pro- tector had restored to liis place in the council, and other councillors, Somerset was detested by great part of the nobility and gentry, who accused him, perhaps not altogether unjustly, of purchasing popu- larity at the expense of their safety, by showing such an excessive and unfair pre- ference of the poor as encouraged them in riot and robbery. As an instance of this, it was objected, that he had erected a court of requests in his own house for the pro- fessed relief of the poor, and even inter- fered with the judges on their behalf. The principles of constitutional liberty such as we now enjoy were at that time so little understood, that it was not the mere inter- ference with the judges, which we should now very justly consider so indecent and detestable, that caused any disgust ; but Somerset had interfered against the very persons, the nobles and gentry, upon whom alone he could rely for support, and he was now to endure the consequences of so im- politic a course. His execution of his own brother, however guilty that brother ; his enormous acquisitions of church property; and above all, the m;igniflcence of the palace he was building in the Strand, for which a parish church and the houses of three bishops were pulled down, and the materials of which he chiefly got by pull- ing down a chapel, with cloister and char- nel-house, in St. Paul's church-yard, after his labourers had been by force of arms driven from an attempt to pull dowm St. 322 B^e Crrniurjj at W^tatit, Stt. Margaret's, "Wost minster, for that purpose ! — these things, and the overweeninc; pride which was generally allributed to him, were skilfully taken advantage of liy his enemies, and he was eveiywhere described as the main cause of all the recent, public calamities at home and abroad. Warwick, with Southampton, Arundel, andflveof the councillors, headed by lord .St. John, presi- dent of the council, formed themselves into a sort of independent council. Taking upon themselves the style and authority of the whole council, they wrote letters to all the chief nobility and gentry, asking for their support and aid in remedying the public evils, which they affected to charge entirely upon Somerset's maladministivation. Hav- ing determined ou their own scheme of re- medial measures, they sent for the mayor and aldermen of London and the lieutenant of the Tower, and informing them of the plans wiiich they proposed to adopt, strictly enjoined them to aid and obey them, in despite of aught that Somerset might think at to order to the contrary. Somerset was now so unpopular, that obedience was readily promised to this command, in the face at once of the king's patent and of the fact that these very councillors, who now complained of the protector's acts as iUeg.al, had aided and encouraged him in whatever had been illegally done — his original de- parture from the will of the late king I Ko farther argument can be requisite to show, that personal and selfish feeling, and not loyalty to the young king or tenderness to his suffering people, actuated these factious councillors. But faction has an eagle eye wherewith to gaze unhlinkingly upon tlie proudest and most brilliant light of truth ; and the self-appointed junto was on the foliowingday joined by the lord chancellor Klch, by the marquis of Northampton, the carl of" Shrewsbury, sir Thomas Cheney, sir John Gace, sir Kalph Sadler, and the chief justice llontague. And when the protector, seeing the imminent peril in which he was placed, sent secretary Petre to treat with the councillors at Ely-house, tliat cr,aven personage, instead of perform- ing his duty, took his seat and sided with the junto. Consulting with Cranmer and Paget, who were the only men of mark and power that still stood by his fortimes, the protector removed the young king to Windsor castle, and gathered his friends and retainers in arras around him. But the adhesion of the lieutenant of the Tower to the junto, and the unanimity with which the common- council of London joined the mayor in promising support to the new measures, caused the speaker of the house of commons and the two or three other councillors who had hitherto remained neuter to join the ascendant party of Warwick ; and Somerset so completely lost all hope and confidence, that he now began to apply to his foes for pardon. This manifestation of his despair, which would have been inexcusable had it not, unhappily, been tmavoidable, was de- cisive. Warwick and hisfriends addressed the king, and with many protestations of their exceeding loyalty and the mischiev- ousness of the protector's measures, solicit ted that they might be admitted to his ma- jesty's iireseuce and conlldence, and that Somerset be dismissed from his high otflce. The fallen statesman was accordingly, with several of his friends. Including Cecil, the afterw.ards renowned and adiuiraljle lord Burleigh, sent to the Tower. But thoughihe junto thus pronounced all that Somerset had done to be illegal, they appointed as coun- cil of regency, not the persons named in the late king's will, but, for the most part, the same men who had been appointed by Somerset, and whose acts under his .appoint- ment, sujjposiug it to be illegal, ought clearly to have disqualified them now. Such is faction I When the government had thus been, virtually, vested in the ambitious and un- principled Warwick ; when hehadsn:itiiird the otBce of earl marshal, lord St. John tint of treasurer, the marquis of Northampton that of great chamberlain, lord Wentworth that of chamberlain of the household, be- sides the manors of Stepney and Hackney, which were plundered from the bishopric of London, and lord Russell the earldom of Bedford, the hot patriotism of Warwick was satisfied. The humbled Somerset having thus made way for his enemies, and having stooped to the degradation of making to them apologies and submissions which his admirers must ever lament, was restored to liberty and forgiven a fine of 2,000!. a year in land which had been inflicted upon him. As though even this humiliation were ni't enough, Warwick not only re-admitted him to the council, but gave his son, lord Dud- ley, in marriage to Somerset's daughter, the lady Jane Seymour. A.D. 1550.— The new governors of Eng- land, though they had insidiously refused to aid Scjmerset in his wise and reasonable proposals for making peace with France and Scotland when he was desirous to do so, now eagerly laid themselves out for the same end. Having, to colour over their factious opposition to Somerset, made pro- posals for the warlike aid of the emperor, which aid they well knew would he refused, they agreed to restore Boulogne for four tliousand crowns, to restore Lauder and Douglas to Scotland, and to demolish the fortressesof Roxburgh and Eymouth. This done, they contracted the king to Elizabeth, a daughter of the king of France, the most violent persecutor of the protestants ; l>ut though all the articles were settled, this most shameful marriage treaty came to no- thing. We have seen that Warwick and his friends had agreed to marry the protestant Edward, their sovereign, to the daughter of Henry of Fr.ance. But even while they were thus proclaiming their finendship with the chief upholder of the right of Catho- licism to persecute, they visited several of the most eminent of their own catholics with severe punishment, not for persecut- ing protestants, hut merely for a natural unwillingness to be more speedy than was unavoidable in forwarding the protestant measures. Gardiner, as the most eminent, was the first to he attacked. For two long (!FngI«ntf.— ?§otiJ{p of ExiHar — (iPlttoartr years he Wiis clptaiiicil in prison, and tlion Somerset conJoscemlfil to join liinisrlf Willi secretary Petre, lij'wlioin lie had him- self formerly heeii so sliametiilly deseited, as a deimtatlon to endeavour to persuade or eajole tlie hiKli-iiiinded and learned, liowever mistaken prelate, Intoaoonipliant mood. More than one attempt was made; but thouKli (iardiiier sliowi'd liimsclf very ready lo eomplv to a, certain and l)ecomiiiff extent, he w. add not Confers tliat Ijis <'mii- duet had been wrong ; a cunl'ession of ivlnch he rlaarly saw that his unemies would make use to ruin him in character as well as for- tune ; and acoramission, consisting of Cran- mer, the bishops of London, Ely, and Lin- coln, secretary Tetre, and some lawyers, sentenced him to be deprived of his bishop- ric and committed to close custody ; and to make this Iniquitous sentence the more severe, he was deprived of all books and papers, and was not only denied the com- fcn-t of the visits of two friends, but even of their letters or messages. A.n. l.').5l.— Several other prelates were now m.arkcd out for persecution; some be- cause they were actually disobedient, others because they were suspected to be not cor- di.'d in their obedience. Large sums of money were thus wrung from thorn ; and, under the pretence of purging the libraries of Westminster and Oxford of superstitious books, the dominant political party— for religion really had nothing to do with the motives of Warwick aud his lay friends- destroyed inestimable literary treasures for the mere sake of the comparatively small sums to be obtained by the gold and silver with which, unfortunately, the books and manuscripts were adorned. Jluch as we shall have occasion to blame the iiueeii Mary for her merciless abuse of power, it is not oasy to help admiring the cold, stern, unhlenching mien with which the princess Mary at this time of peril de- lied all attempts at making her bow to the dominant party. Deprived of her chaplains, and ordered to read protestant books, she calmly professed her readiness to endure martyrdom rather than prove false to her faith ; and this conduct she steadfastly ntaintained, althougli it was only from fear fif the warlike interference of the emperor that her persecutors were withheld from ottering her personal violence. Even in themidst of these giMsi religious vexations, some very useful measures were taken for promoting industry, especially by revoking sundry most impolitic patents, by which the trade in cloth, wool, and many other commodities had been almost entirely thrown into the hands of foreigners. The merchants of the Hanse Towns loudly ex- claimed against this 'new measure;' but Warwick and his friends — this at least is to their credit— were firm, and a very sen- sible improvement in the English spirit of industry was the imraediate^con sequence. Is it to look too curiously into public cause and effect to ask whether our jireseitt hiu-li commercial fortune may not be greatly owing to this very measure, though nearly three centuries have since elapsed? But Warwick could not long confine his 323 lurbuletit and eager sjiirit to the noble and liiaceabU' t riimiphs of the patriot. Self was his call Illy diity. The title and the vast estate of the earldom of Northumberlancl were at this time in alii'y.'ince, owing to tlie last carl dying with. inl i -iir, nihI his brother, sir Thomas Percy, li;i\ inn |jriva"tinn arl.ilra- rily pronounced upon Tonslal, and two bi- shoprics were created out of that of Dur- liam— the rich regalities of that see be- ing conferred upon Northumberland liim- sclf. Utterly insatiable, Northumberland now pot the king to bestow the duke- dom of Suffolk upon the marquis of Dor- set ; and having persuaded the new duke to give his daughter, the lady Jane Grey, in marriage to Northumberland's fourth son, the lord Guildford Dudley, next pro- ceeded to persuade Edward, who was iit an inflrra condition, to pass by his sisters Mary and Elizabeth, both of whom had been pro- nounced illegitimate, and the former of whom as well as the young Queen of Scots was a papist, and to settle the crown on the marchioness of Dorset (duchess of Suflolk), whose heiress was the lady Jane Grey. By a variety of arguments, some of which were both specious and solidj but all of which, as proceeding from so' ambitious a man, ought to have been looked upon with sus- picion, Northumberland prevailed upon the young king. It was in vain that the judges and the most eminent law officers protested against being compelled to draw out a pa- tent; it was in vain they urged that they would subject themselves to the pains and penalties of treason should they do so ; Northumberland gave Montague, chief jus- tice of common pleas, the lie ; swore lie would flghtany man in his shirt who should deny the justice of lady Jane's succession ; and was so successful that the crown was accordingly settled upon lady Jane ; her mother, the duchess of Suffolk, very will- ingly allowing herself to be passed by. This patent was by many looked upon as the death-warrant of Edward VI. signed by himself. His health daily grew worse, and his physicians being dismissed in favour of some ignorant woman, her quack medicines brought on symptoms which left no hope of his recovery, and pointed strongly to poison ; and he died in the sixteenth year of his age and the seventh of his reign. The whole life and reign of this prince was spent literally ™ statu pupillari; but BO far as he could in such a state mani- fest his disposition, he seems fully to have deserved the affection with which even to this day he is spoken of. CH.^^PTER XLIY. Tlic Beign of Maey. A.D. 1553.— The artful precautions taken by Northumberland to secure the throne to his young and accomplished daughter- in-law, by no means rendered the success of the project— for which he had certainly toiled and dared much, and for which, we fear, be had sinned no little — so secure as at first sight it might seem. In the first place, young Edward's reign had been so short and so completely a reign of tutelage, that his will had none of that force with the multitude which was possessed by the will of his bluflC and iron-handed father. Henry VIII. had, it is true, bastardised both his d.iughtirs, but he had subsequently restored thciii to the '■ucccssion : and the people were too much accustomed to regarding Jbny as the rightful successor to Edward in the event of his dying without issue to allow of the almost dying act of the young king speedily changing their opinion and directing their loyalty to the lady Jano. Again, the catholics, far more numerous secretly than might be imagined, were to a man partisans of Mary ; and if the Pro- testants had some misgivings, founded on her own bigotry in favour of her own faith, they yet feared even the bigot far less than the lady Jane, who, as they well knew, could be and would be a mere puppet in the hands of Northumlierland, who by this timehad contrived to render himself at once the most powerful, the most dreaded, and the most detested man in' the whole nation. And it is worthy of observation also, that so nearly balanced were the partisans of the respective religions, that each stood In dread of the other. But Northumberland was far too wily a personage to be ignorant of the weight which, with the majority of the people, detestation of himself and respect for the memorj- of Henry VIII. would have in de- ciding between the princess Mary and tlie lady Jane. TVhen, therefore, he perceived that the speedy death of Edward was in- evitable, Northumberland caused the prin- cesses Mary and Elizabeth to be sent for, as though the young king had been desirous of seeing them. Mary had reached Hod- desdou In Hertfordshire, only about seven- teen miles from London, when the king died. Northumberland, anxious to get her into his power, gave orders that the melancholy event should be kept a secret, but the earl of Arundel sent her warning of Northumberland's deceit and probable de- signs, and she hastily retreated to the re- tired flshing-town of Framlingham, in Suf- folk, whence she sent letters to the coun- cil and to the principal nobility. Informing them of her knowledge of her brother's death, promising indemnity to all who had thus far aided in concealing It, but calling upon them forthwith to proclaim her as queen. While thus active In asserting her right, she carefully provided, also, for her flight into Flanders, in the event of her efforts proving unsuccessful. Wben Northumberland found that Ed- ward's death was known to the rightful queen, he at once threw off all disguise. Lord and the lady Jane Dudley were at this time residing at Sion House ; and Nor- thumberland, with Jane's father, the earl of Pembroke, and other noblemen, ap- proached her with all the form and re- spect due from subjects to their sovereign Young, and gifted with singular talents for literature, Jane viewed the throne in its true light as a dangerous and an tmeasy eminence. Even now when her father, her dBiiQlmts.—^auSe of €ulsov,—Mnr^' 326 still more powerful and dreaded father-in- law, and the very chiefest men of the kingdom, with all the emblems of state, iwessed her to assume the authority of queen, she recoiled from It as from an evil of the first magnitude. Her husband, though, lilie herself, but little more than sixteen years of age, had been but too skilfully tutored by his wily father; and he seconded that ambitious man's entreaties so well that, overcome though not con- vinced, the unfortunate Jane consented. She was immediately escorted to tlie Tower, the usual residence of the English sove- reigns on tlieir first accession ; and Nor- tUuniliirlaiul tiiok care that she should be accompanied lliithcr, not only by his known and fast friends, but also by the whole of the councillors, whom he thus, in effect, made prisoners and hostages for the adhe- sion of their absent friends. Orders were now issued to proclaim queen Jane througli- out the kingdom, but it was only in Lon- don, where Nortliuniberland's authority was as yet too flrni to be openly resisted, that the orders were obeyed. And even in London the majority listened to the pro- clamation in a sullen and ominous silence. .Some openly scoffed at Jane's pretensions, and one unfortunate boy, who was a vint- ner's servant, was severely punished, (or even this verbal, and perhaps unreasoning, opposition to the will of the haughty Nor- thumberland. While the people of London were thus cool towards their nominal queen, and even the Protestants listened without conviction to the preaching of Ridley and other emi- . 1 en t Protestant churchmen in her favour, .^[ary in her retreat in Suffolk was actively :ind ably exerting herself for the protection lit her birthright. She was surrounded liy eminent and influential men with their le- \ies of tenants or hired adherents ; and as .-he strongly and repeatedly professed her determination not to infringe the laws of her brother with respect to religion, even the Protestants throughout Suffolk, equally with the catholics, were enthusiastic in her cause. Nor was the feeling in favour of M,ary exhibited merely in her own neigh- bourhood, or among those who might be called her personal friends. Northumber- land commissioned sir Edward Hastings, lirother of the earl of Huntingdon, to levy men in Buckinghamshire on behalf of Jane. Sir William executed the commis- sion with great readiness and success as far as related to levying the men, but he no sooner found himself at the head of a force of nearly four thousand strong than he marched it to the aid of Mary. With the marine the duke was not more fortunate than with the land forces ; a fleet was sent bj him to cruise off the Suffolk coast, to cut Mary off from her retreat to Flanders, should she attempt it, and was driven by stress of weather into Yarmouth, where it immediately declared in favour of Mary. Perplexed and alarmed, Northumberland yet determined not to give up the grand prize without a stout effort for its preser- vation. He determined to remain with Jane at the Tower, and to commit the com- mand of the troops he had levied to her father. But the Imprisoned councillors, clearly understanding Ijoth their own posi- tion and his, astutely persuaded him that he alone was fit to head the forces upon which so much depended, and they, at the same time, successfully worked upon the fears of Jane on behalf of her f.athcr. The councillors were ilie more successful in persuading Northuiulirrhuiil to the almost suicidal act of taking tlie command of the troops because, while he naturally felt great confidence In his own well-tried valour and ability, he was wellaware of the Inferi jrity of Suffolk in the latter respect at least. Norlhumberland, accordingly, set out to combat the forces of the enemy, and was taken leave of by the councillors with every expression of attachment and of confidence of his success; and Arundel, his bitterest enemy, was by no means the least profuse of these expressions. Scarcely, however, had Northumberland marched out of Lon- don ere he perceived a boding and chilling sullenuess among all ranks of men ; and he remarked to lord Grey, who accompanied him, ' Many come out to look at our array, indeed, but I find not one who cries "God speed your enterprise." ' Arrived at Bury St. Edmund's, the duke found that his army did not greatly exceed six thousand men, while the lowest reports of the opposite force gave double that number. Aware of the Immense import- ance of the event of the first encounter, Northumberland resolved to delay his pro- posed attack, and sent an express to the councillors to send him a large and instant reinforcement. But the councillors had no sooner received the duke's express than they left the Tower, on the pretext of obeying Ills order ; and assembled at Baynard's cas- tle, the house of Pembroke, to deliberate, not upon the means of aiding Northumber- land, but upon the best means of throwing off his yoke, and of dethroning the puppet queen he had set over them. Arundel, whom Northumberland had with a most unaccountable weakness left behind, expa- tiated warmly and eloquently upon all Nor- thumberland's vices and evil deeds, and exhorted the others, as the only just or even prudent course, to join him in at once throwing their weight into the scale of Mary, and thus ensuring not merely her pardon for their past involuntary offences, but also her favour for their present and prompt loyalty. Pembroke warmly ap- plauded the advice of Arundel, and, laying his hand upon his sword, he expressed his readiness to flght on the instant any man who should pretend to oppose it. The mayor and aldermen of London being sent for to attend this conference, showed the utmost alacrity to proclaim Mary, and the proclamation was accordingly made amidst the most rapturous applauses of the popu- lace. The reign of Jane, if a lonely and anxious confinement in the Tower fur ten days could lie called a reign, was now at an end ; and she retired to her private re- sidence and private station with a readi- ness as great as the reluctance she Lad shown to quit them. LF 326 Cl^e CrwSury ti( ^iitarn, &f. The rouiicillnrs having thus coinplotply lieatcn Xnnlnimberland In his chief or only stronghold, srnt messengers to denianii tliat he should lay down his arms, disband his troors.and sul.mii liimscif tothc mercy of his rightful sovcreiL-n quei'ii Mary. The mcss.age was needless; Northumberland, receiving no reinforcement from London, saw the utter impossibility of resisting the liourly increasing force of Mary, and find- ing himself fast deserted by his handful of foreigners, had already himself pro- claimed iiueen JIary with as much apparent heartiness and zeal as though he had not aimed at her crown— and probably her life. Marv, on receiving the submission and hypocritical adhesion of Northumberland, set out for London. Her progress was one loud and unbroken triumph. Everywhere she was met by multitudes of the people invoking blessings upon her ; her sister, the ladv Elizabeth, met her at the head of a thousand well-appointed horse, and when she reached the Tower, she found that even Suffolk had thrown open its gates and de- clared himself in her favour. All circum- stances considered, there is scarcely an in- stance in history to equal this in the faci- lity with -which a rightful princess of no amiable character, and opposed to a large portion of her subjects in religion, van- quished the opposition of so wily, so dar- ing, and so accomplished a schemer as Northumberland. Jlercy was assuredly not the character- istic of Mary, but the utmost infatuation of mercy could not have allowed offences so gi'oss as those of Northumberland to pass un- punished. Mary gave orders for his arrest, and, whether from being utterly broken- spirited by his ill success, or from sheer wiliness and a lingering hope of saving at least his life, he fell on his knees to his bitter enemv Arundel, who arrested him, and implored mercy. His sons, the earl of "Warwick and the lords Ambrose and Henry Dudley, and his brother sir Andrew Dudley, were at the same time committed to cus- tody; as were the marquis of Northamp- ton the carl of Huntingdon, sir Thomas Palmer, and sir John Gates. On farther enquiry and consideration, the queen's ad- visers found it necessary to confine the duke of Suffolk, lord Guildford Dudley, and his innocent and unfortunate wife, the lady Jane. At this early period of her reign policy overcame Marj-'s natural propensity to cruelty and sternness. The councillors, pleading their constraint by Northumber- land, were speedily liberated, and even Suf- folk himself was not excluded from this act of mingled justice and mercy. Northum- berland, sir Thomas Palmer, and sir John Gates were brought to trial. The duke's offence was too clear and flagrant to admit of any elaborate defence ; but he asked the peers whether they could possibly pro- nounce a man guilty of treason who had obeyed orders under the great seal, and whether persons who had been involved in his alleged guilt could be allowed to sit in judgement upon him? The answer to each question was obvious. In reply to the first, he was told that the great seal of an usurper could have no authority ; to the second, that persons not having any sen- tence of attaint against them were clearly qualified to sit on any jury. Northumber- land then pleaded guilty, and he, with sir Thomas Palmer and sir John Gates, was executed. At the scaffold Northumocrland professed to die in the catholic faith, and assured the bystanders that they would never prosper until the catholic religion should be restored to all its authority among them. Considering the whole character of Northumberland and the indifference he had always shown to disputes of faith, it is but too probable that even in these his dying words he was insincere, acd used them to engage the mercy of the queen, whose bigotry they might flatter, towards his unfortunate family. Upon the people his advice wrought no effect. Many looked upon the preparations for his death merely with a cold unpitying sternness, still more- shouted to him to remember Somerset, and some even held up to him handkerchiefs incrusted with the blood of that nobleman, and exulted, rather like fiends than men, that his hour of a like bloody doom was at length arrived. Lord Guildford Dudley and the lady Jane were also condemned to death, but their youth, and perhaps, Mary's feeling of the Impolicy of extreme severity to criminals who had so evidently offended under the constraint and tutelage of Northumberland, saved them for the present — alas ! only for the present. The reign of Mary contains so little upon which the historian can bestow even nega- tive praise, that it is pleasing to be able to remark that the very earliest portion of her reign, if stained with the bloodshed of a necessary justice, was also marked by some acts of justice and gratitude. When she arrived at the Tower of London and made her triumphant entry into that fortress, the duke of Norfolk, who had been in prison from the close of the reign of Henry VIII., Courtney, son of the marquis of Exeter, who ever since his father's attainder had been in the same confinement, though when he entered it he was a mere child and there was no shadow of acharge against him, with bishops Gardiner, Bonner, and Tonstal, were allowed to meet her on the Tower green, where they fell upon their knees be- fore her, and implored her grace and pro- tection. They were restored to liberty im- mediately ; Norfolk's attainder was removed as having been ab origine null and invalid, and Courtney was made earl of Devonshire. Gardiner, Bonner, and Tonstal were reap- pointed to their sees by a commission which was appointed to review their trial and con- demnation ; and Day, Heath, and Vesy re- covered their sees by the same means. The queen's zeal for the catholic religion now began to show itself. Holgate, arch- bishop of York, Coverdale, to whom the reformation owed so much, Ridley, Hooper, aud Latimer, were speedily thrown into prison ; and the bishops and priests were exhorted and encouraged to revive the mass, though the laws against it were still in unrepealed force. Judge Hales, who had (SnzTantt.—^axxit of CTwtior.— iMarji. 327 BO well and zealously defended tlie riglit nf tlie princess Mary when her brotlier desired liim to draw the patent which was to ex- clude her from the throne, opposed the ille- pal practices which queen Mary now sanc- tioned. All his former merits were forgotten In thisnewproof of his genuine and uncom- promising honesty ; ho was thrown into pri- son, and there treated with such merciless cruelty and insult, that he lost his senses and committed suicide. It will be remembered that the zeal of the men of SuBolk, during Mary's retreat at Franiliugham, was stimulated by her point- ed and repeated assurances that she would in no wise alter the laws of her brother Ed- ward as to religion. These simple and ho- nest men, seeing the gross paitiality and tyranny by which the queen now sought to depress the protestants, ventured to re- mind her of her former promises. Their remonstrance was received as though it had been some monstrous and seditious matter, and one of them continuing his ad- dress witli a somewhat uncourtly pertina- city was placed in the pillory for his pains. Cranmer, ai-chbisliop of Canterbury, was by the change of sovereigns placed in a most perilous position. It is true that du- ring the life of Henry VIII. Cranmer had often and zealously e.xerted himself to i)re- vent that monarch's rage from being felt by the princess Mary. But Mary's gratitude as a woman was but little security against her bigotry as a religionist ; and any ser- vices that Cranmer had rendered her were likely enough to be forgotten, in considera- tion of the discouragements he had dealt to her religion in his character of chamiiion as well as child of the reformation. No- thing, probably, could have saved Cranmer but utter silence and resignation of his see, or immediate emigration. But Cranmer ■was too hearty and sincere in his love of the reformed religion, and, perhaps, was also too confident of his success, even now that Kome was backed by the power and zeal of the queen, to be in any wise minded for craven silence or retreat. His enemies per- ceiving that as yet he had met with no sig- nal affront or injury from the queen, spread a report that he owed his safety and proba- ble favour to his having promised to say mass before Mary. Situated as Cranmer was, it would have been his wisest plan to have listened to this insulting report with contemptuous silence, and to have relied upon his well-earned character to refute the calumny to all whose judgement was of any real consequence. But the archbishop thought otherwise, and he hastened to pub- lish a manifesto in which he gave the most nnqualifled contradiction to the report. Nay, he did not stop even here ; not content with vindicating himself, he entered more generally into the matter, and thus gave his enemies that very handle against him which they so eagerly wished for. He said, after contradicting the charge, that 'as the devil was a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies, he had at this time stir- red up his servants to persecute Christ and his true religion ; that this infernal spirit ■was now endeavomiag to restore the Latin sati>tactory masses, a thing of his own in- vention and device ; and in order to effect his purpose, had falsely made use of his, Cranmer's name and authority ;' and Cran- mer added, that ' the mass is not only without foundation in either the scriptures or the practice of the primitive church, but likewise discovers a ijlain contradiction to antiquity and the inspired writings, and is, besides, replete with many horrid blas- phemies.' However much we may admire the general character of Cranmer— though it was by no means without its blemishes — It la impossi- ble for the most zealous and sincere protes- tants to deny, that under the circumstances of the nation many of the passages we have quoted were grossly offensive ; and equally impossible is it to deny that underCranmer's now personal circumstances they were as grossly and gratuitously impolitic. His enemies eagerly availed themselves of his want of temper or of policy, and used this really coarse and inflammatory paper as a means by which to induce the queen to throw him into prison for the share he had had in the usurpation of the lady Jane, about which he otherwise would probably have remained unquestioned. Merely as the Protestant archbishop, Cranmer had more than enough of enemies in the house of peers to ensure his being found guilty, and he was sentenced to death on the charge of high treason. He was not, however, as miglit have been expected, immediately and upon this sentence put to death, but com- mitted back to close custody, where he was kept, as will soon be seen, for a still more cruel doom. Every day made it more and more evi- dent that the protestants had nothing to expect but the utmost severity of persecu- tion, and many even of the most eminent of their preachers began to look abroad and to exile for safety. Peter Martyr, who in the late prosperity of the reformers had been formally and with much pressing invited to England, now applied to the council for permission to return to his own country. At first the council seemed much inclined to refuse compliance with this reasonable request. But Gardiner, with a spirit which makes us the more regret that bigotry ever induced him to act less gene- rously, represented that as Peter had been invited to England by the government, his departure could not be opposed without the utmost national disgrace. Nor did Gardiner's generosity end here ; having obtained Peter's permission to leave the realm, he supplied him with money to travel ■with. The bones of Peter Martyr's wife were shortly afterwards torn from the grave at Oxford, and buried in a dunghill; and the university of Cambridge about the same time disgraced itself by exhuming the bones of Bucer and Fagius, two emin en t foreign reformers who had been buried there in the late reign. John k Lasco and his congregation were now ordered to de- part the kingdom, and most of the foreign protestants took so significant a hint and followed them ; by which the country was deprived of its most skilful and indnstriotis 328 Ct)C CrtaSurg of l^tfitorg, &c. artlsnna just as tlicy woro grivlnt; a useful ' ami extcu.-ivc impulsr tn its in.'uuifnrturcs. Tlie toni|.pr iii.iuifi-sti-d by tlio onurt and the sudilcu cU'narturo of the foreiu-u iiro- testants, greatly alarmed the protestaiits in Renoral ; and many of the EnKlish of that communion followed the example set them hy their foreign brethren, and fled from a land which everything seemed to threaten with the most terrible and speedy troubles. The meeting of parliament by no means improved the prospects of the prot^stants. It has already been remarked that, however completely the reformation might have seemed to be triumphant, there was some- thing like a moiety, at least, of the nation that was still in heart attached to the old faith. To these the court could add as practical friends that large body which in all times and in all countries is ready to side with the dominant party; there was consequently no diltlculty e.Tperienced in getting such men returned to parliament as would be pliant tools in the hands of Mary and her ministers. To the dismay of the Protestants, thouch it would be to im- peach their sagacity should we say that it was to their surpri.ain, Sicily, Milan, and all other the dominions of Philip. Every dav, however, increased the general dlsUke'of the people to the Spanish mati-h. The more prudent among even those who in principle were the most deeply and sin- cerely opposed to the contemplated mar- riage did not, indeed, see that the mere anticipation of evil to come, and an antici- pation, too, which was quite opposetl to the avowed purposes of the emperor and Philip, could warnuit an open resistance. But the reasonable .aud the just are seldom the majoritv where either the feelings or the interests of mankind are very much aroused and appealed to : and a few men of some note were soon found to place thera- selvc« at the head of the discontented, with the avowed intention of apiH\iling to arms rather than allomng themselves to heomie I the bond-slaves of the Spaniard. Had France 1 at this critical juncture taken advant;ige of ' Mary's difnculties and w.ant of popularity, it I i< verv probable that her reign would have I ended" here, aud that her memory would ' have been s;»ved fioiu the indelible stains of much and loartisoine cruelt.v. But the kin" of France, though at war with Philip, would lend no aid to an English insurrec- tion Perhaps he felt that Mary, aided as ' she was certain to be by Spain, would surely I put down any attempts at insurrection, m which case, she, of course, would aid the emperor against France : and to this motive he raav not unreasonably be supixised to have added that feeling for the rights of sovereigntv over subjects, which even the hostility of sovereigns can rarely banish from their hearts. From whatever motives, however, the ting of France did refuse to aid the English in their proposed resist.ance to their sovereign's alliance with Philip of Spain But this did not damp the enthu- siasm of the leading opponents of the Spanish alliance. Sir Thomas Wyatt offered to raise and head the malcontents of Kent, and sir Peter Carew those of Devonshire: and thov i>ersuaded the duke of Suffolk to raise the midland counties, by assuring him that their chief object w.as to reinvest the ladv Jane with the crown. A tune was nxed 1 for'the simultaneous action of these leaders: ■ and had the compact been punctually kept, M it is more than probable that the enterprise ' ' would hare been fully successful. But sir Peter Carew, in his exceeding eagerness, rose before the appointed time, and being ' in conse^^ucnce, unsupported by Wyatt and ' the duke of Suffolk, was beaten at the first ' onset by the e.arl of Bedford, and with diOl- ' cnltv made his escape to France. Suttolk, on hearing of O.arew's failure .and tlight, left tovni accompanied by his brothers, lord ' Thomas and sir Leonard Gray, and pn-v- ceeded to the counties of W.arwick and Leicester, where his chief Influence lay. But he was h.Hly pursued by a party of ' horse under the earl of Huntingdon, and t>eing ovenaken before he could raise suffl- ' cient force for resistance, was obliged to disperse his few followers and conceal him- ' self. Accident or treachery soon discovered his hiding place, .and he was sent under an escort to' London. "Wyatt, in the mean- i time, raised the standard of revolt at Maul- I stone.in Kent, wherehcissued a passionate I proclamation, inviting the ixniple to aid lii::i in removing evil counsellors from about tl;c ' queen, and to prevent the utter ruin of ilu- 'nation which must needs follow the com- I plction of the Spanish matcb. Great nuni- i bers of persons joinedhim, and among thrr.i I some catholics, as he h.ad dexterously oiuit- ' te^i from his proclamation all mention . f ' religion. Tiie duke of Xorfolk, at the head of tiiequeen's guardsand some othertroo]-. reiuforcedby Ave hundred Londoners ur.a. r the command of Brett, m.arched against t!:i rebels and came up with them at Koch. -- ter. Here sirGeorge Harper, who had be. a with Wvatt, pretended to desert to il;.- duke, but quickly returned to Wyatt ca-ry- inswith him Brett and his Londoners, upo:i whom sir George's eloquence so ^vroui:h•, that thev professed their preference of deat h to aiding in the enslavement of their cuu- trv. Norfolk, fearing that this desertion mlfflit mislead the rest of his force, now retreated, aud Wyatt marched to Soulli- wark, whence he sent to demand that the Tower should be placed in his h.ands, that the queen should free the nation from all terror of Spanish tyranny by marrying .an Englishmen, aud that four councillors should forthwith be placed in his hands as hostages for the performance of these con- ditions. While Wy.att was wasting his time in sending this demand and .awaiting a reply, Norfolk had secured London bridge, and had taken effectual steps to overawe the Lond.->ners and prevent them from joining Wyatt. Perceiving hiserror when too late, Wyatt now marched to Kingston, where he cr.-issed the river, and made his way unre- sisted into Westminster. Here, h.-iwever, his followers nmidly deserted him, and he was encountered and seized in the Strand, i near Temple-bar, by sir Morris Berkeley. Vast numbers of the deluded countrymen were at the same time seized, and .as the queen's ra^-e was proportioned to the fear and peril to which she had been subjected, the eiecuti.Mis that f.MIowed were horribly numerous. It is said, that not less ihiui four hundreil of the captiu-ed wTCtches were put to di\ath in cold blood ; four hundred more were condemned, but being led before the .lueen with halters on their necks, they kne't ro her and implored her grace, which was granted. Wyatt, the prime mover of (ifufllantf.— ?gou£fc of Culf0r.— iMarp. 331 this revolt, was executed, as a matter of course. On the scaffold lie took care to exonerate. In the most unequivocal tcrttiB, from all participation or even knowledgeof his proceedings, the lady Klizabeth and the earl of Devon, whom Mary's jealous hatred had endeavoured to connect with this iil- Ftarred and ill-managed revolt. They were botli siized and strictly examined by tlic council, hut Wyatt's manly and precise de- claration defeated whatever Intent there might have been to employ false witnesses to convict them with his rash proceedings. But though Mary was thus prevented from proceeding to the last extrciuity ag.-iinst them, she sent Klizabeth under strict sur- veillance to Woodstock, and the earl of Devon to Fotheringay castle. To Kliza- beth, Indeed, Immediate release was offered on condition of her accepting the hand of the duke of Savoy, and thus relieving her Bister from her presence In the kinirdom : but Klizabeth knew how to ' bide her time,' and she quietly', but positively, re- fused the proffered alliance. All this time lord Guildford Dudley and the lady Jane had remained imprisoned, but unmolested and unnoticed. The time which had elapsed without any proceedings being taken against them, beyond their mere confinement, led everyone to sup- pose that their youth, and the obvious re- straint under which they had acted, had determined Mary not to punish them be- yond imprisonment, and that she would terminate even that when she safely could do so. But the imprudent, nay, the situa- tion of his daughterandher husband being considered, the wicked connection of the dukeof Suffolk with Wyatt's revolt, aroused in Mary that su.spicion which was no less fatal to its objects than her bigotry. Jane now anew appeared to her in the character of a competitor for the throne. That she was not wilfully so, that she was so closely confined that she could not by any possi- bility correspond with the disaffected, were arguments to which Mary attached no im- portance. To her it was enough that this innocent creature, even now a mere girl and wishing for nothing so much as the quiet and studious moral life in which her earlier girlhood had been passed, might possibly be made the pretext for future re- volt. The lord Guildford Dudley and lady Jane were, consequently, warned that the day was fixed for their execution. Subse- quently the queen bestowed the cruel mercy of a reprieve for three days, on the plea that she did not wish, while inflicting bodily death on Jane, to peril her eternal salvation. The unhappy lady was, there- fore, during the short remnant of her life Importuned andannoyed by catholic priests, who were sent by the queen to endeavour to convert her to their faith. But she skil- fully and coolly used all the arguments then In use to defeud the reformed faith, and even wrote a Greek letter to her sister, ad- juring her to persevere in the true faith whatever perils mightenviron her. It was at first intended to behead both the prisoners at the same time and on the eame scaffold. On reflection, motives of policy caused the queen to alter this de- terTuination ; and it was ordered that the lord Guildford should Qrst be executed on Tower-hill, and the lady Jane shortly after- wards within the preciucts of the Tower, where she was confined. On the morning appointed for the ex- ecution, lord Guildford sent to his young and unfortunate wife, and requested an interview to take an earthly farewell ; but Jane, with a more masculine and seif-jios- sessed prudence, declined it, on the ground that tlieir approaching fate required the full attention of each, and that their brief and blcjody separation on earth would bo followed by an eternal union. From her prison window the lady Jane saw her youth- ful husband led out to execution, and shortly afterwards saw his headless body brought back In a common cart. Even this sad spectacle. Instead of shaking her firmness, did but the more confirm and strengthen a constancy which was founded not upon mere constitution, but upoulong, serious, and healthy study. Her own dread hour had at length ar- rived, and sir John Sage, the constable of the Tower, on summoning her to the scaffold, begged her to bestow some gift uiion him which he might keep as a per- petual memorial of her. She gave him her tables in which, on seeing the dead body of her husband, she had written a sentence in Greek, Latin, and Knglish, to the effect that though human justice was against her husband's body, the divine mercy would be favourable to his soul ; that, for herself, if her fault deserved punishment, her youth, at least, and her Imprudence, were worthy of excuse, and that she trusted for favour to God and to posterity. On the scaffold she blamed herself not for ever having wished for the crown, but for not having firmly refused to act upon tho wishes of others in reaching at it. She confessed herself worthy of death, and, being disrobed by her female attendants, calmly and unshriukingly submitted her- self to her fatal doom. The duke of Suffolk and lord Thomas Gray were shortly afterwards executed for their share in Wyatt's revolt. Sir Nicholas Throgmorton was tried in Guildhall for the same offence, but there being little or no evidence against him, his eloquent and acute defence led the jury to acquit him. With an arbitrary and insolent stretch of prerogative that now seems almost Incre- dible, Mary, enraged at the acquittal, not only recommitted sir Nicholas to the Tower, where she kept him for a considerable time, but she even had the jury sent to prison, and fined from one to two thousand pounds each I The end she had in view in this abominably tyrannous conduct, however, was fully achieved. Thenceforth jurors were little prone to acquit the unhappy gen- | tlemen, who, no matter how loosely, were charged with participation in the affair of Wyatt. Many were condemned merely in conseqtience of the terrors of their jurors, and among them was sir John Throgmor- ton, brother to sir Nicholas. Arrests took place every day, the Tower and other places 332 CIjc CTrcaiuri) of ?[j(;Story, &^r. of confliicment were flllod witli nobles and geiitlemon, whose offiiirc was tliat tlioy chanced to be popular ; the aflfcction of the people bcins a deadly offenre to the ratillcation of the articles of marriage, which, indeed, were drawn so favourably to England, that no rea-onable objection could have been made tu them. As nothing more could be extorted or bribed from parliament with respect to the queen's marriage, its attention was now directed to matters connected with religion. The bishopric of Durham, which had been divided in the reign of Edw.ard, and which by an arbitrary edict of tlie queen had al- ready been re-conferred upon Tonstal, was now re-erected by act of parliament. Some bills were also introduced for revising the laws against Lollardy, erroneous preaching, and heresy in general, and for the suppres- sion of books containing heterodox opi- nions. But here again, to its credit, the parliament was both discriminating and firm ; the bills were thrown out : and the queen perceiving that neither Philip's gold nor the terrors of her more sanguinary con- i duct could make this parliament, at least, 1 sufflciently pliant and slavish for her pur- poses, she suddenly and suUeuly dis- solved it. CHAPTEU XLV. The Eelgn o/Maey {continued). Mary's age, and some consciousness per- haps of the addition made by her tem- per to the natural homeliness of her fea- tures, had tended to make the acquisition of a young and illustrious husband all the more eagerly desired, for its very improba- bility ; and though she had see"n only the portrait of her future husband, she had con- trived to become so enamoured of him, that when thepreliminariesof themarriage were all arranged, and the arrival of the prince was hourly expected, every delay and every obstacle irritated her almost to jihrenzy. Though as a matter of ambition Philip was very desirous of the match, as a simple mat- ter of love he was, at the very least, indif- ferent ; and even the proverbial hauteurand solemnity of the Spanish character could not sufHcientlyaccount for thecold neglect which caused him to forbear from even fa- vouring his future -wife and queen with a letter, to account for delays which, in spite of her doating fondness, Mary could not but believe that the prince might easily have put an end to had his imp.atience been at all equal tohero-mi. From blaming Philip, the imp.atlent fondness so rare as well as so unbecoming at her advanced period of life, caused her to turn her resentment ai^ainst her subjects, to whose opposition she chose to impute that indifference on the part of the prince, which really arose from dislike of her repulsive and prematurely aged per- son. A circumstance now occurred which greatly increased the queen's anger .against her subjects, and which probably, in so sul- len and resentful a nature as hers, did much to fan into a name that fierce bigotry which subsequently lit the fires of persecution in every county in England, and left scarcely CFngl.wtf.— |§0UjSe n( Eutsav — iMarg. 333 a villHge without its martyr and Ita mourn- ing'. A squadron had been fitted out, and the coinmaud was given to Lord Efflnghani, to convoy the prince to England ; but so unpopular was the service, and such strong Bvniptnms appeared of a determined spirit of iiuiilny aniDiig the sailors, that lord Kf- flngliani "frniikly Intornied the queen that he did not fliink the prince would be safe In their hands, and the squadron was at once disbanded. But this measure, though indispensably necessary under the circum- stances, brought no peace to the mind of the queen, for she now dreaded not merely the inevitable dangers of the sea, but .also that her husband should be Intercepted by the French fleet. The slightest rumour so heightened her self-torturing, that she was frequently thrown into convulsions ; and not merely was her bodily health aflected in the most injurious degree, but even her mind began to be affected to a very perceptible ex- tent. Hypochondriac and pitiably nervous, she became painfully conscious of her want of beauty ; though, with the usual self-flat- tery, she ascribed the repulsive aspect pre- sented to her by her unflattering mirror wholly to her recent sufferings. From being fraulically impatient for the arrival of Phi- 1 lip, the unhappy queen now became des- ponding, and dreaded lest on his arrival he should find her displeasing. At length the object of so many hopes and fears arrived ; the marriage was pub- licly and with great pomp performed at Winchester ; and when I'hilip had made a public entry into London, and dazzled the j eyes of the gazers with the immense riches he had brought over, Mary hurried him •away to the comparative seclusion of Wind- sor. This seclusion admiralily suited the | prince, whose behaviour, from the day of l his arrival, was as well calculated as though it had been purposely intended, to confirm all the unfavourable opinions that had been formed of him. In his manner he was dis- tant, not with shyness but with overween- ing disdain ; and the bravest and wisest of the oldest nobility of England had the mortification to see him pass them without manifesting by glance, word, or gesture, that he was conscious of their respect, salu- tations, or even their presence. The un- avoidably wearisome etiquette of court was now so much increased by Spanish formali- ties, that both Philip and Mary may almost be said to have been inacessible. This cir- cumstance, however disgusting to her sub- jects, was in the highest degree pleasing to the queen ; having at length possessed her- self of her husband, she was unwilling that any one should sh.are his company with her for a moment. More like a love-sick girl than a hard-featureci and hard-hearted wo- man of forty, she could not bear the prince to lie out of her sight ; his shortest absence annoyed her, and if he showed the com- monest courtesy to any of the court ladies, her jealousy was instantly sho\vu to him, and her resentment to the fair who had been so unfortunate as to be honoured with his bare civility. The womanly observation of Mary soon convinced her that the only way to Philip's heart was to gratify his ambition : and she was abundantly ready to purchase his love, or the semblance of it, even at the price of the total sacriflce of the liberties and inte- rests of the whole English people. By means of Gardiner she used both fear and hope, both power and gold, to get members returned in her entire interests to a new Iiarliament which she now summoned ; and the returns were such as to promise that, in the existing temper of the nation, which had not yet forgotten the sanguinary pu- nishment of the revolt under Wyatt, she might safely make her next great onward movement towards the entire restoration of Catholicism and the establishment of her own absolute power. Cardinal Pole, who was now In Flanders, invested with the office of legate, only awaited the removal of the attainder passed against him in the reign of Henrj' VIII. The parliament readily passed an act for that purpose, and the legate immediately came to England, when, after waiting on Philip and Mary, he presented himself to parliament, and formally invited the Eng- lish nation to reconcile Itself to the holy see from which, said the legate, it had been so long and so unhappily separated. The well-trained parliament readily ac- knowledged and professed to deplore the defection of England, and presented an ad- dress to Philip and Mary, entreating them, as being uninfected by the general guilt, to intercede with the holy father for their for- giveness, and at the same time declared their intention to repeal all laws that were prejudicial to the church of Rome. Tlie le- gate readily gave absolution to the parlia- ment and people of England, and received them Into the communion of Rome ; and pope Julius III., with grave and bitter mockery, observed, when the formal thanks of the nation were conveyed to him, that the English had a strange notion of things thus to thank him for doing what he ought in fact to thank them for letting him do. It must not be supposed that though the nobility and gentry in parliament assembled thus readily and crouchingly laid England once again at the feet of the Roman pontiff, that they were prepared fully to undo all that Henry had done. Indifferent as to the mode of faith prescribed to the multitude, they had not an objection to make this sud- den and sweeping retransferof the spiritual authority over England. But before they would consent to that transfer of spiritual authority, they obtained from Rome, as well as from the queen, the most positive assur- ances that the church property, snatched from the church and divided among laymen by Henry, should not be Interfered with, but should remain undisturbed in the hands of its lay possessors. The parli.ament, also, in the very act by which it restored the pope's spiritual authority, enacted that all marriages contracted during the English separation from Rome should remain valid, and also inserted a clause which secured all holders of church lands in their possession ; and the convocation presented a petition to the pope to the same effect, to which peti- tion the legate gave an affirmative answer. 334 Ctjc dTrraiuri) af ^i^tav^, ^t. Bigoted and arbitrary as Mary cdnfessedly was, It appeared that she could not fully restore, even temporarily, the power of Home. The sentcnre hnd irrevnrably frnnc forth auainst that i-'r:i>i'IiiK' ami ^.'rreiiy - pealed to cardinal Pole ; but his appeal was wholly unattended to, and the unfortunate bishop was burned in his own diocese. There yet remained two still more illus- trious victims to be immolated. Ridley, formerly bishop of London, and Latimer, formerly bishop of Worcester, had long been celebrated for both the zeal and the efll- ciency of their support of the cause of the reformation. In the preaching of both there was a certain nervous homeliness, which niade their eloquence especially effective upon the minds and hearts of the lower orders, and on that very account these two prelates were more formidable to the Ro- manists than they would have been had they affected a more learned and chastened style. That two such capital enemies of i Romanism— one of whom, moreover, had [ even for some time been possessed of Bonner's own see— should escape, could not be expected. They were tried and con- demned, and both burned at the same stake at Oxford. Both died with courage and a calm constancy not to be surpassed. Even when they were already tied to the stake, aud the revolting tragedy commenced, Lati- mer cheerfully called out, ' Be of good courage, brother Ridley, we shall this day kindle such a torch in England, as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished.' Lati- mer, wlio was very aged, suffered but little, being very early killed by the explosion of some gunpowder which theexecutioner had mercifully provided for that purpose ; but Ridley was seen to be alive some time after be was surrounded by flames. As neither age nor youth, neither learn- ing nor courage, could make any impres- sion upon the flinty heart of Bonner, so neither could even the most heroic proof of filial piety. A young lad, named Hunter, who was only in his nineteenth year, suf- fered himself, with the imprudence com- mon to youth, to be drawn into a religious argument with a priest, in the course of which argument he had the farther impru- dence to deny the real presence. Subse- (juently he began to apprehend the danger of what he had done, and absconded lest any treachery on the part of the priest should involve him in punishment. Tho priest, as the young man had feared, did give information, and Bonner, learning that the youth had absconded, caused his father to be seized, and not only treated him with great immediate severity, but threatened him with still worse future treatment. The youth no sooner heard of the danger and trouble to which he had unintentionally exposed his father, than he delivered him- self up. To a generous man this conduct would have been decisive as to the pro- priety of overlooking the lad's speculative error or boldness ; but Bonner knew no remorse, and the youth was mercilessly committed to the flames. As though the national dread and detes- tation of the Spanish alliance had not al- ready been but too abundantly justified by the event, spies were sent out in every di- rection, and a commission was appointed for enquiring into and punishing all spiri- tual and even some civil crimes ; and two very brief extracts from the commission and instructions will show that in object, powers, and process, the commissioners were, only under another name, inquisi- tors, and their spies and informers oCHciala of the inquisition. The commission said, that ' since many false rumours were published among the subjects, and many heretical opinions were also spread among them, the commissioners were to enquire into those either by presentments, by wit- nesses, or any other political way they could devise, and to search after all heresies, the bringers in, the sellers, the readers of all heretical books; to examine and punish all misbehaviours ornegligences in any church or chapel ; to try all priests that did not preach the sacrament of the altar ; all per- i sons that did not hear mass or go to their ' parish church to service ; that would not go in processions or did not take holy bread or holy water ; and if they found any that did obstinately persist in such here- sies, they were to put them into the hands of tlieir ordinaries, to be punished accord- ing to the spiritual laws ; giving the com- missioners full power to proceed as their discretion and consciences should direct them, and to use all such means as they would ini-eni for the searching of the pre- mises, empowering them, also, to caU be- fore them such witnesses as they pleased, aud to force them to make oath of such things as might discover what they sought after.' This new commission was, in fact, an English inquisition ! and the fol- lowing extract from Hume abundantly shows the determination that that imiui- sition should not want for offlcials and familiars. 'To bring the method of proceeding in England still nearer to the practice of the inquisition, letters were written to lord North and others, enjoining them " to put to the tortm'e" such obstinate persons as dPnsTantf.-fl^oujSe of Cttlror.— ^irrij. 337 would not confess, aud there to order them at their discretion.' While Philip aud Mary were thus exhibit- ing an evil industry and zeal to bring about the reconcilement of the kingdom to Rome, Paul IV., who now filled the papal throne, took advantiig-e of Mary's bigotry to assume the right of cmiferring upon Mary the king- dom of Ireland, which she already possess- ed dc facto et ciejure as part and parcel of the English sovereignty, and to insist upon the restoration to Rome of certain lands and money I Several of the counsel, pro- balily fearing that by degrees Rome would dfinaiid hack all the church property, pointed out the great danger of Impover- ishing the kingdom, and hut that death had deprived Mary of the shrewd judgement of Gardiner, such concessions would pro- bably not have been made to the grasping spirit of Rome. But Mary replied to all objections by saying that she preferred the salvation of her own soul to ten such kinediims as England. A bill was ac- ciinlinKly prrsiiited to parliament for restoring to tlie church the tenths, first fruits, and all impropriations which re- mained in the hands of the queen. At first sight it might seem that parliament had little cause or right to interfere in a matter which, as far as the terms of the bill went, concerned only the queen herself. But the lay possessors of church lands naturally enough considered that subjects would scarcely be spared after the sovereign had been mulcted. Moreover, while some, pro- bably a great number, of the members were chielly moved by this consideration, all be- gan to be both terrified and disgusted by the brutal executions which had disgraced the whole nation. A steady opposition consequently arose : and when the govern- ment applied for a subsidy for two years and for two fifteenths, the latter were re- fused, and the opposition, with equal bit- terness and justice, gave as the reason of this refusal, that while the crown was wil- fully divesting itself of revenue in behalf of Rome, it was quite useless to bestow wealth upon it. The dissatisfaction of the parlia- ment was still farther evidenced by the rejection of two bills, enacting penalties against such exiles as should fail to return within a certain time, and for incapacitat- ing for the office of justice of the peace such magistrates as were remiss in the pro- secution of heretics. This fresh aud pointed priiof of tlie displeasure of the parliament determined the queen to dissolve it. But the dissolution of the parliament did not diminish the pecuniary embarrassment of the queen. Her husband had now been several months with his father in Flanders ; and the very little of his correspondence with which he favoured her chiefly con- sisted of demands for money. Stern and unfeeling as she was to everyone else, the infatuated queen was passionately attached to the husband who certainly took uo pains to conceal his dislike of her ; and as the parliament, previous to its dissolution, had granted her but a scanty supply, she was led, by her anxiety to meet her husband's demands, to extort money from her sub- jects in a manner the most unjustifiable. From each of one thousand persons, of whose personal attachment she affected to be quite certain, she demanded a loayi of 60(. ; and even this large sum being inade- quate to her wants, she demanded a farther general loan from all persons possessing twenty pounds a year and upwards ; a mea- sure which greatly distressed the smaller gentry. Many of them were obliged by her inroads upon tlieir purses to discharge some of their servants, and as these men sud- denly thrown upon the world became trou- blesome, the queen Issued a proclamation to compel their former employers to take them back again I Upon seven thousand yeomen who had not as yet contributed, she levied sixty thousand marks, and from the merchants she obtained the sum of six and thirty thousand pounds. She also ex- torted money by the most tyrannous inter- ference with trade, as regarded both the foreign and native merchants ; yet after all this shameless extortion she was so poor, that she offered, and In vain, so bad was her credit, fourteen per cent, for a loan of 30,000(. Not even that high rate of inte- rest could induce the merchants of Ant- werp, to whom she offered It, to lend her the money, until by menaces she had In- duced her good city of London to be secu- rity for her I Who would imagine that we are writing of the self-same nation that so shortly afterwards warred even to the death with Charles I. for the comparatively tri- fling matter of the ship money 1 Th» poverty which alone had induced Philip to correspond with her was now ter- minated, tlie emperor Charles the Fifth, that prince's father, resigning to htm all tuB wealth and dominion, aud retiring to a monastery in Spain. A.D. 1556.— Cranmer, though during the whole of this reign he had been left unno- ticed in confinement, was not forgotten by the vindictive queen. She was daily more and more exacerbated in her naturally wretched temper by the grief caused by tlie contemptuous neglect of her husband. Her private liours were spent in tears and complaints ; and that misery which usually softens even the most rugged nature had in her case only the effect of making her still more ruthless and unsparing. Cranmer, though he had during part of Henry's reign warded off that monarch's rage from Mary, was very much hated by her for the part he had taken in bringing about the divorce of her mother, and she was not only resolved to punish him, but also to make his death as agonising as pos- sible. For the part he had taken in the op- position to her ascending the throne she could easily have had him beheaded, but nothing short of the flames seemed to her to be a sufflciently dreadful punishment for him. She caused the pope to cite him to Rome, there to take his trial for heresy. Being a close prisoner in the Tower, the unfortunate prelate perforce neglected the citation, and he was condemned par contu- mace, and sentenced to the stake. The next step was to degrade him from his sacred oflice: and Bonner, who with Thirle- GU 338 Ci)c CrcaiSurji of W^tav}), ^t. liy. blsluip of Ely, was intrust rrt Willi this task, iiertiinned It with all the Insolcnl and trliimpliaiit brutality consonant Willi liis naturi'. Firmly believing lliat ('raniner'« elenial as will as eartlily pnnielinient was assured, llie ciueen was not yet eo'itentcd ; slio would fain deprive liim in liis last liours even of linnian symiialliy, and the credit attached to consistency and fidelity to the cause he had embraced. Persons were employed to persuade him that the door of mercy was still open to him, and that he, who was so well qualified to be of wide and permanent service to mankind, was in duty bound to save himself by a seeming com- pliance with the opinions of the queen. The fear of death, and the strong urgings of higher motives, induced Crannier to comply, and he agreed to subscribe to the doctrines of the real presence and the papal supremacy. Having induced Cranmer privately to sign his recantation, the queen now demanded that he should complete the wretched price of his safety by publicly making his recan- tation at St. Paul's before the whole people. Even this would not have saved Cranmer. But, cither from his own judgement, orfrom the warning of some secret friend, Cranmer perceived th.at it was intended to send him to execution the moment that he should thus have completed and published his de- gradation. All his former high and cou- rageous spirit was now again aroused within him ; and he not only refused to comply with this new demand, but openly and boldly said that the only passage in his life of which he deeply and painfully re- pented was that recantation which, in a moment of natural weakness, he already had been induced to make. He now, he said, most sincerely repented and disavowed that recantation, and inasmuch as his hand had offended in signing it, so should his hand first suffer the doom which only that single weakness and insincerity had made him deserving. The rage of the court and its sycophants at hearing a public avowal BO different from that which they expected scarcely left them as much decency of pa- tience as would allow them to hear him to the end of his discourse ; and the instant that he ceased to speak he was led away to the stake. True to his promise, Cranmer when the faggots were lighted held out his hand into the rising flames until it was consumed, repeatedly exclaiming as he did so ' Tliis unworthy hand! ' ' This hand has offended I' The fierce flames, as they reached his body, were not able to subdue the sublime sere- nity to which he had wrought his Christian courage and endurance, and as long as his countenance was visible to the appalled by- standers, it wore the character not of agony but of a holy sacriflce, not of despair but of an assured and eternal hope. It is said by some protestant writers of the time, that when the sad scene was at an end, his heart was found entire and uninjured ; tint probably this assertion took its rise in the singular constancy and calmness with which the martyr died. Cardinal Pole, on the death of Cranmer, was made archbishop of Canterbury. But though this ecclesias- tic was a man of great humanity as well as of great aljility, and thmigh he was sin- cerely anxious to serve the great Interests of religion, not by ensii.'iring and destroy- ing the unliai)py and ignorant laity, but by elevaliiig the clergy in the moral and intel- lectual scale, to render tliem more efllcient iu their awfully Important service, there were circumstances which made his power far inferior to his will. He was personally disliked at Rome, where his tolerance, his learning, and his addiction to studious retirement, had caused him to be sus- pected of, at least, a leaning to the new doctrine. A.D. 1557.— In the midst of Mary's fierce persecutions of her protestant subjects, she was self-tortured beyond all that she had it in her power to inflict on others, and might have asked, in the words of the dy- ing inca to his complaining soldier, 'Think you that /, then, am on a bed of roses?' War raged between France and Spain, and next to her desire firmly to re-establish Ca- tholicism iu England, was her desire to lavish the blood and treasure of her people on the side of Spain. Some opposition being made, Philip visited London, and the queen's zeal in his cause was increased, instead of being, as, in the case of a nobler spirit, it would have been, utterly destroyed, by his sullen declaration, that if England did not join him against France, he would see England no more. Even this, however much it affected the queen, did not bear down the opposition to a war which, as the clear-headed members discerned, would be intolerably expensive in any case, and, if successful, would tend to make England a mere dependency of Spain. Under the circumstances a true English patriot, in- deed, must have wished to see Spain hum- bled not exalted ; crippled in its finances, not enriched. It unfortunately happened, however, that an attempt was made to seize Scarborough, and Stafford and his fellows in this attempt confessed that they were incited to it by Henry of France. This de- claration called up all the dominant na- tional antipathy to France ; the prudence of the opposition was at once laid asleep ; war was declared, and every preparation that the wretched flnancial state of England would permit, was made for carrying it on with vigour. By dint of a renewal of the most shameless and excessive extortion, the queen contrived to raise and equip an army of ten thousand men, who were sent to Flanders under the earl of Pembroke. To prevent disturbances at home, Mary, in obedience probably to the advice of her cold and cruel husband, caused many of the first men in England, from whom she had any reason to fear any opposition, to be seized and imprisoned in places where even their nearest friends could not find them. The details of the military affairs be- tween France and Spain with her English auxiliaries belong to the history of France. In this place it may suffice to say, that the talents of Guise rendered all our attempts useless ; and that, so far from benefiting Philip, we lost Calais, that key to France, CFnsIautf.— ?^0ui0 of tS^utiat.—miiaitti), 339 of which England was so chary and so proud. Even the cold and unpatriotic heart of Mary was touched by this capital misfortune; and she was often heard to say, in the awonies of her grief, that after her death ' Calais ' would be found visibly graven upon her broken heart. But regrets were vain, and wisdom came too late. France improved her success by stirring up the Scotch ; and, with such a danger tln-eatcning her very frontier, England was ol>liged sullenly and silently to withdraw from an onerous warfare, which she had most unwisely entered upon. rhllip continued the war for some time after England had virtually withdrawn from It ; and he was negotiating a peace and in- sisting upon the restoration of Calais as one of its conditions, when Mary, long la- bouring under a dropsy, was seized with mortal illness and died, in the year 1558, after a most wretched and mischievous reign of Ave years aud four months. This miserable woman has been allowed the vir- tue of sincerity as the sole good, the one oasis, in the dark desert of her character. But even this virtueniust, on careful exami- nation, be denied to her by the impartial historian. As a whole, indeed, her course is rwt marked by insincerity. But why ? Her ferocity and despotism were too completely unresisted to leave any room for the exer- cise of falsehood, after the very first days of her disgraceful reign. But in those first days, while it was yet uncertain whether she could resist the power and ability of the ambitious and unprincipled Northum- berland, she proved that she could use guile where force was wanting. Her promises to the Protestants were in many cases voluntary, and in all profuse and positive ; yet she no sooner grasped the sceptre firmly in her hand, than she scattered her promises to the winds, and commenced that course of bigotry and cruelty which has covered her memory with disgrace. CHAPTER XLTI. The Reign 0/ Elizabeth. A.D. 1558. — So completely had the arbi- trary aud cruel reign of Mary disgusted her subjects, almost without distinction of rank or religious opinions, that the accession of Elizabeth was hailed as a blessing unalloy- ed and almost too great to have been hoped for. The parliament had been called to- gether a few days before the death of Mary, and when Heath, archbishop of York, as chancellor, announced that event, he was hardly allowed to conclude ere both houses burst into the joyful cry of ' God save queen Elizabeth 1 Long and happily may Bhe reign I ' Elizabeth when she received the news of her sister's deatli was at Hatfield, where she had for some time resided in studied retirement : for, even to the last, Mary had shown that her malignity against her younger sister had suflEered no abate- ment, and required only the slightest oc- casion to burst out in even fatal violence. When she had devoted a few days to the appearance of mourning, she proceeded to London and took up her abode in the Tower. The remembrance of the very dif- ferent circumstances under which she liad formerly visited that blood-stained fortress, when she was a prisoner, and her life in danger from the malignity of her then all- powerful sister, affected her so much, that she fell upon her knees and returned thanks anew to the Almighty for her safe deliver- ance from danger, which, she truly said, was scarcely inferior to that of Daniel in the den of lions. Her immediately subse- quent conduct showed that her heart was properly Jiifected by the emotions which called forth this act of piety. She had been much injured and much insulted during the life of her sister ; for such was the hateful and petty cast of Mary's mind, that there were few readier ways to win her favour than by insult or injury to the then friend- less daughter of Anne Boleyn. But Eliza- beth now seemed determined only to re- member the past in her thankfulness for her complete and almost miraculous deli- verance from danger. She allowed neither word nor glance to express resentment, even to those who had most injured her. Sir H. Bedingfleld, who had for a consider- able time been her host, and who had both harshly and disrespectfully caused her to feel that though nominally his guest and ward, she was in reality his jealously watch- ed prisoner, might very reasonably have ex- pected a cold if not a stern reception ; but even this man she received with affability when he first presented himself, and never afterwards inflicted any severer pimishment upon him than a good-humoured sarcasm. The sole case in which she manifested a feel- ing of dislike was that of the brutal and blood-stained Bonner, from whom, while she addressed all the other bishops with almost affectionate cordiality, she turned away with an e.i!pression of horror and disgust. As soon as the necessary attention to her private affairs would allow her, the new queen sent off messengers to foreign courts to announce her sister's death and her own accession. The envoy to Philip, who at this time was in Flanders, was the lord Cobliam, who was ordered to return the warmest thanks of his royal mistress for the protec- tion he had afforded her when she so much needed it, and to express her sincere and earnest desire that their friendship might continue unbroken. The friendly earnest- ness of Elizabeth's message strengthened Philip in a determination he had made even during the illness of Mary, of whose early death he could not but have been expect- ant, and he immediately instructed his am- bassador to the court of London to offer the hand of Philip to Elizabeth. Blinded by his eager desire to obtain that dominion over England which his marriage with Mary had failed to secure, Philip forgot that there were many objections to tliis measure ; ob- jections which he, indeed, would easily have overlooked, but which the sagacious Eliza- beth could not fail to notice. As a catho- lic, Philip was necessarily disliked by the Protestants who had so lately tasted of catholic persecution in its worst form ; as a Spaniard, he was cordially detested by 310 dCfje CrraiSurp of f^iStors, &c. KngHslimon of either creed. But apart from and bej-ond these weighty objections, which of themselves would have been fatal to his iiretensions, he stood in precisely the same relationship to Elizabeth that licr fa- ther liad stood in to Catherine of Arracon, and in marrying I'hilip, Elizabetli would virtually, and in a manner wliich the world would surely not overlook, pronounce her mother's marriage illegal and her own birth illegitimate. This last consideration alone would have decided Elizaljeth against Philip; but wliile In her heart she was fully and irrevocally determined never to many liim, she even thus early brought Into use that duplicity for which she was afterwards as remarkable as for her higher and nobler qualities, and sent him so equivocal and undecided an answer, that so far from de- spairing of success, Philip actually sent to Home to solicit the dispensation that would be necessary. ■With her characteristic prudence, Eliza- beth, through her ambassador at Rome, announced her accession to the pope. That exalted personage was grieved at the early death of Mary, not only as it deprived Rome of the benefit of lier bigotry, but as it made way for a princess who was already looked up to with pride and confidence by the Protestants ; and he suifered his double vexation to manifest itself with a very in- discreet energy. He treated Elizabeth's assumption of the crown without his per- mission as being doubly wrong ; wrong, as treating with disrespect the holy see, to which he still deemed England subject, and wrong, as the holy see had pronounced her birth illegitimate. This sort of con- duct was by no means calculated to suc- ceed with Elizabeth : she immediately re- called her ambassador from Rome, and only pursued her course with the more re- solved and open vigour. She recalled home all who had been exiled, and set at liberty all who had been imprisoned for their religi- ous opinions during the reign of her sister ; Bhe caused the greater part of the service to be performed in English, and she forbade the elevation of the host in her own chapel, which she set up as the standard for all other places of worship. But, always cool and cautious, Elizabeth, while she did thus much and thus judiciously to favour the re- formers, did not neglect to discourage those who not only would have fain outstripped her in advancing reform, but even have in- flicted upon the Romanists some of the persecutions of which they themselves had complained. On occasion of a petition being presented to her, it was said, in that partly quaint and partly arguraentativestyle which in that age was so greatly aflected, j that having graciously released so many other prisoners, it was to be hoped that she would receive a petition for the release of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Being as yet undetermined as to the extent to which it would be desirable to permit or encourage the reading of the scriptures, she readily replied, that previous to doing so she must consult those prisoners, and learn whether they desired their liberty. To preaching she was never a great friend ; one or two preachers, she was wont to say, were enough for a whole county. And, at this early period of her reign, she deemed that the indiscreet zeal of many of the most noted of theprotestant preachers was calculated to promote that very persecu- tion of the Romanists which she was especi- ally anxious to avoid ; and she, consequent- ly, forbade all preaching save by special li- cence, and took care to grant licences only to men of discretion and moderation, from whose preaching no evil was to be appre- hended. The parliament was very early employed in passing laws for the suppression of the recently erected monasteries, and restor- ing the alienated tenths and first fruits to the crown. Sundry other laws were passed chiefly relating to religion ; but those laws will be sufficiently understood by those who have attentively accompanied us thus far, when we say, that they, substantially, abo- lished all that Mary had done, and restored all that she had abolished of tho laws of Edward. The then bishops, owing everything to her sister and to Catholicism, were so great- ly offended by these clear indications of her intended course, that they refused to ofliciate at her coronation, and it was not without some difficulty that the bishop of Carlisle was at length prevailed upon to perform the ceremony. The most prudent and effectual steps having thus been taken to secure the pro- testant Interests without in any degree awakening or encouraging whatever there might be of protestant bigotry, and to de- spoil the Romanists of what they had vio- lently acquired without driving them to desperation, the queen caused a solemn disputation to be held before Bacon, whom she had made lord keeper, between the pro- testant and theromanist divines. The latter were vanquished In argument, but were too obstinate to confess it ; and some of them were so refractory that it was deemed ne- cessary to imprison them. Having been thus far triumphant, the protestauts pro- ceeded to their ultimate and most Impor- tant step ; and a bill was passed by which the mass was abolished, and the liturgj- of king Edward reestablished ; and penalties were enacted against all who should either absent themselves from worship or depart from the order here laid do^vn. Before the Conclusion of the session, the parliament gave a still farther proof of its attachment to the queen, and of its desire to aid her In her designs, by voting her a subsidy of four shillings in the pound on land, and two and elghtpence on goods, with two flf- tenths. Well knowing all the dangers of a disputed succession, the parliament at the same time petitioned her to choose a husband. But the queen, though she ac- knowledged that the petition was couched In terms so general and so respectful that she could not take any offence at It, pro- tested tha^ always undeslrous of changing her condition, she was now more than ever so ; she was anxious only to be the wife of England and the mother of the English, and had no higher ambition than to have for enijlantf.— |^0tt^e at ULutiav.—eUiKbet^. 341 licr epitaph, ' Here lies Elizabeth, who lived aiid ilieil a niaidni quecii.' A.D. 1559. — Tlie parliament just proro- gued liad, as we have shown, got tlirough a vast deal of Important business In the ses- sion ; but though that was the first session of a now reign, and of a reign, too, immedi- ately following one In which such horrors of tyrannous cruelty had been enacted. It Is to lie remarked, to the praise of the mo- deration of both queen and parliament, that not a single bill of attainder was passed, though some attaints by former parliaments were mercifully or justly removed. While the queen had been thus wisely busy at home, she had been no less active abroad. Sensible that her kingdom re- quired a long season of rapose to enable It to regain Its power, she ordered her ambas- sadors, lord Efflngham and the bishop of Ely, to conclude peace with France on any terms ; and peace was accordingly con- cluded. But as the marriage of Henry and Anne Roleyn had been concluded in open opposition to Rome, France chose to deem Klizalirtli wrongfully seated upon the tlirnne; .-11111 1 lie duke of Guise and his bro- thers, seeing that Mary, queen of Scots, the wife of r.hc dauphin, would— supposing Eli- zabeth out of the question— be the rightful heir, persuaded the king of France to order liis son and his daughter-in-law to assume biitli the title and the arms of England. The ilenlli of Henry of France at a tourna- ment not being followed by any abandon- ment on the part of Mary and her husband, then Francis II. of France, of this most un- warrantable and insulting assumption, Eli- zabeth was stung into the commencement of that deadly hatred which subsequently pro red so fatal to the fairer but less pru- dent Mary of Scotland. A.D. 1561.— The situation of Scotland and the circumstances which occurred there at this period will bo found in all necessary detail under the proper head. It will suf- fice to say, here, that the theological and civil disputes that raged fiercely among the turbulent and warlike nobility of Scotland and their respective followers, plunged that country into a state of confusion, which encouraged Elizabeth in her hope of ex- torting from Mary, now a widow, a clear and satisfactory abandonment of her as- sumption ; an abandonment which, indeed, had been made for her by a treaty at Edin- burgh, which treaty Elizabeth now, through Throgmorton, her ambassador, demanded that Mary should ratify. But wilfulness and a certain petty womanly pique deter- mined Mary to refuse this, although imme- diately on the death of her husband she had laid aside both the title and the arms of queen of England. Mary's residence in France, meanwhile, had become very disagreeable to her from the ill offices of the queen mother, and she resolved to comply with the invitation of the states of Scotland to return to that kingdom. She accordingly ordered her ambass.ndor, B'Oisel, to apply to Elizabeth for a snfe conduct through England ; but Elizntieth, through Throgmorton, refused compliance with that request, except on condition of Mai-y's ratification of the treaty of Edinburgh. Mary remonstrated In .severe though chastened terms, and im- mediately determined upon proceeding to Scotland by sea, for which purpose she em- barked at Calais. Elizabeth at the same time sent out cruisers, ostensibly to pursue pirates, but, as It .should seem, with the In- tention of seizing upon the person of Mary, who, however, passed through ihe English squadron in a fog, and arrived safely at Leith. But though safe, Mary was far from happy. She had loved France with even more than a native's love, and only ceased to g.aze upon its receding shores when they were hidden by the darkness of night. The manners of the French were agreeable to her; she had become, as it were, 'native and to the manner born,' in that land of gaiety and frivolity; and all that she heard of the stern harsh bigotry of the predomi- nant party in Scotland, led her to anticipate nothing but the most wearisome and me- lancholy feelings. Her youtli, her beauty, her many accomplishments, and, above all, the novelty of seeing their sovereign once more among them, caused the Scots to give her a most joyous and affectionate recep- tion. Her first measures were well calcu- lated to confirm the favourable opinion which her people appeared to entertain. She gave, at least ostensibly, all her confi- dence and nearly all her attention to the leaders of the reformed party, who, indeed, had now complete power over the great mass of the Scottish people. Secretary Lidlngton and her brother, lord James, whom she created earl of Murray, ably se- conded her endeavours to introduce some- thing like order into that land so long and so grievously torn by faction and strife, and as the measures taken were at once firm and conciliatory, everything seemed to promise success. But there was, amidst all this seeming promise of better times, one fatal element which rendered her success nearly impos- sible. Bigotry in England was personified mildness and toleration, compared to the intense and envenomed bigotry which at that time existed in .Scotland. Mary on her very first entrance Into Scotland had Issued an order that every one should submit to the reformed religion. But she herself was still a papist ; and scarcely was the first joy of her arrival subsided when the reformed pi-cachers began to denounce her on that account. The celebration of catholic rites in her own chapel would have been sternly refused her by the zealous preachers and their zealous followers, had not the mul- titude been induced to side by her in that matter, from fear of her returning to France In disgust. But even that consi- deration did not prevent the preachers and some of their followers from proceeding to the most outrageous lengths ; and this single circumstance sufficed to throw the whole Scottish people into confusion and uneasiness. Wisely chary of expense, and profoundly politic, Elizabeth saw that the bigotry of Mary's subjects would find that princess other employment than that of making 312 Ct)e Ctensturs at ^iitavpt iec. ftiiy attempt to distml) tlic iicace of Eng- land. Slie therefore turned lier attention to linpro\ing the arts, commerce, navy, and artillery of England ; and with so much judgement, and with such great as well as rapid success, that she well merited the title that was hestowed upon her, of ' the restorer of naval glory and queeu of the northern seas.' Her spirit and prudence had naturally enough encouraged foreign princes to believe, that though she had in Bome sort pledged herself to a maiden life, It was not impossible to dissuade her from persevering in that resolution. The arch- duke Charles, second son of the emperor ; Casimir, son of the elector palatine ; Eric, king of Sweden ; Adolph, duke of Holstein ; and the earl of Arran, presumptive heir to the crown of Scotland, were among the suitors for her hand. Nor were there wanting aspirants to that high and envied honour even among her own subjects. The earl of Arundel, though old enough to be her father, and sir William Pickering ■were among those who flattered themselves ■with hope ; as was lord Robert Dudley, 'a son of the ambitious duke of Northumber- land beheaded in the reign of Mary ;• and as the flue person and showy accomplish- ments of this last caused the queen to treat him with more favour and confldence than his actual talents seemed to warrant from so acute a judge of men's merits as Elizabeth, it was for some time very gene- rally imagined that he was a favoured lover. But the queen answered all ad- dresses with a refusal, and yet not such a refusal as to utterly destroy that feeling of attachment which was so useful to her as a queen, and— cau we doubt it? — so agree- able as well as flattering to her as a woman. But though Elizabeth appeared to be de- cidedly disinclined to marriage, nothing appeared to offend her more than the mar- riage of any who had pretensions to suc- ceed her. A remarkable instance of this occurred in the case of the lady Catherine Grey, youngest sister of the hapless lady Jane. This lady married, in second nup- tials, the earl of Hertford, son of the pro- tector Somerset, and, the lady proving pregnant, Elizabeth confined both husband and wife in the Tower, where they remained for nine years. At the end of that time the countess died, and then the queen at length gave the persecuted earl his liberty. A.D. 1562. — Besides all considerations of his personal and ineradicable bigotry, Phi- lip of Spain had yet another motive for fulfilling the vow which, on escaping from a violent tempest he had made, to do all that in him lay for the extirpation of heresy. Of that 'heresy' Elizabeth, by the com- mon consent not only of her own subjects hut of the Protestants of all Europe, was looked upon as the child and champion; and her rejection of Philip's hand, and her consequent baffling of all his hopes of ob- taining sway over England, bad excited his gloomy and vindictive nature to a fierce and personal hatred. In every negotiation, under every circumstance, he made this hatred to the queen appear in his virulent and obstlr.ate opposition to the interests of England. Not content with the most vio- lent persecution of the protestants wher- ever his own authority could be stretched to reach them, he lent his aid to the qucea mother of France. Tliat aid so fearfully turned the scale against the French Hugue- nots, that their chivalrous leader, the prince of Conde, was fain to apply for aid to the Protestant queen of England. He ap- pealed to her interest as well as to her re- ligious sjnnpathies. The Huguenots pos- sessed nearly the whole of Normandy ; and Conde offered to give Elizabeth possession of Havre-de-Grace, on condition that she should put a garrison of three thousand men into that place, send three thousand men to garrison Dieppe and Rouen, and supply money to the amount of a hundred thousand crowns. The offer was tempt- ing. True it was that the French were by treaty bound to restore Calais, but there were many reasons for doubting whether that agreement would be fulfilled. Pos- sessed of Havre, and thus commanding the mouth of the Seine, England would be the more likely to be able to command the restitution of Calais ; the offer of Conde was accordingly accepted. Havre and Dieppe were immediately garrisoned, but the latter place was speedily found to be untenable, and evacuated accordingly. To Rouen the catholics were laying siege, and it was with great difficulty that Poynings threw in a small reinforcement of English to aid the Huguenot garrison. Thus aided, the Huguenots fought bravely and well, but were at length overpowered and put to the sword. About the same time three thou- sand more English arrived to the support of Havre, under the command of the earl of Warwick, eldest brother of the lord Ro- bert Dudley. With this aid and a second sum of a hundred thousand crowns, the Huguenots, though severely beaten near Dreux, where Conde and Montmorency were taken prisoners by the catholics, still kept well together, and even took some considerable towns in Normandy. A.D. 1563.— How sincerely desirous Eliza- beth was of effectually aiding the Hugue- nots will appear from the fact that, while she had thus assisted them with a nume- rous body of admirable troops and witii two hundred thousand crowns, as well a-? proffered her bond for another 'hundred thousand if merchants could be found to lend the amount, she was now so poor that she was obliged to summon a parliament j and demand assistance. This demand led 1 to a renewal of the parliament's request 1 that she would marry. She had been dan- j gerously ill of the small-pox, and her peril j had reawakened all the national terrors of I the evils inseparable from a disputed suc- cession. The parliament, consequently, now added to its petition, that she would I marry, the alternative, that she would at I least cause her successor to be clearly and finally- save in the event of her marrjing and having issue— named by an act of par- i liament. \ Nothing could have been less agreeable to the queen than this petition. She well J knew the claim of Mary of Scotland, and (Snslmti.—'^aM^t of €\xiiav.—- viously not in Elizabeth's power ; but as she, at least, had the power of getting her formally excluded from the English suc- ces.sioii, she thought It not so impossi- ble in the first instance to delay Mary's choice, and then to cause it to fall on the least likely person to aid and encourage her in any attempts prejudicial to England. With this view she raised objections, now of one and now of another sort, against the aspirants to Mary's hand, and at length named lord Robert Dudley, her ovm sub- ject, and, as some thought, her own not unfavoured suitor, as the person upon whom it would be most agreeable to her that M.ary's choice should fall. The lord Robert Dudley— as the reader has hitherto known bim, but who had now been created earl of Leicester— was hand- some, greatly and generally accomplished, and possessed the art of flattery in its utmost perfection ; an art to which, far more than to his solid merits, he owed his power of concealing from Elizabeth his am- bition, rapacity, and Intolerable haughti- ness, or of reconciling her to them. The great and continued favour shown to him by 344 H^t (Ereajfury of Jjfs'torg, ^c. the queen had made liinisolf as well as the multitude Imagine, tliat he might, rcason- ahly hope to lie honoured with hor hand ; and It was even believed that the early death of his yonnp and lovely wife, the daughter of a wealthy pentlrnian iianicd Kohsart, had been iilanncd and orclcred by the earl. In order to remove what he deemed the solo obstacle to the success of his loftier views. To so ambitious a man, whatever the personal superiority of Mary over Elizabeth, the crown matrimonial of Scotland must have seemed a poor substi- tute indeed to that of England ; .and Leices- ter not only objected to the proposal, but attributed its conception to a deep scheme of his able and l)ltter enemy, Cecil, to de- prive him of his inHuencc by weaning Eli- zabeth from all personal feeling for him, and causing her to identify hira with her riv.al Mary. The queen of Scotland, on the other hand, wearied with the long and vexatious delays and vacillations of Elizabeth, and influenced, perhaps, by the personal beauty and ac- complishments of the earl, as well as anx- ious by her marriage with him to remove Elizabeth's evident reluctance to naming her to the English succession. Intimated her willingness to accept the powerful favourite. But Elizabeth had named hira only in the hope that he would be rejected ; he was too great a favourite to be parted ■with ; and though she had herself distinctly named the earl as the only man whom she should choose to see the husband of Mary, she now coldly and suddenly withdrew her approbation. The high, and never too prudent, spirit of Mary naturally revolted from tliis new proof of duplicity and unfriendly feeling ; the correspondence between the rival queens grew less frequent and more curt and formal, and at length for a time wholly ceased. But Mary, probably under the ad- vice of her friends in France, resolved to make yet another effort to avoid a flnal and irremediable breach with Elizabeth, and for that purpose sent sir James MelvU on a mission to London. Englishmen are greatly and justly proud of queen Elizabeth ; taken as a whole her reign was one of the greatest in our his- tory. But even making all allowance for the prejudice Melvil may be supposed to have felt against Elizabeth, the account he gives of what he saw of her conduct on this occasion places her in so weak, so vain, so utterly puerile a light, that, would rigid impartiality allow it, one would gladly over- look this portion of her reign altogether. Every day she appeared in some new style of dress ; every interview was marked by some question as to the difference in feature, person, or manner between herself and her far lovelier, far more accomplished, but far less worthy and less estimable rival, which is infinitely more characteristic of the petty but aching envy of some ill-nurtured school- girl, with vanity made only the more rest- less and craving of flattery from the occa- sional suggestions of shrewder sense on the score of personal inferiority, than of that high-souled and calm-browed queen who knew how to endure a dungeon and to dare an armada. An accomplished courtier, Melvll was also a shrewd and practised man of tho world; and it Is quite clear, from his me- moirs, that he saw tbrniich Elizabeth alike in the weakness of her vanity, and in tho strength of herdecpand iron determination. His report, and probably both her friends' advice and her own inclination, determined Mary no longer to hesitate about choosing a husband for herself. Lord Darnley, son of the earl of Lenox, cousin-german to Mary by the lady Margaret Douglas, niece of Henry VIII., was by all parties in Scot- land ccmsidered a very suitable person. He was of the same family as Mary ; was, after her, next heir to the crown cf England, and would preserve the crown of Scotland in the house of Stuart. Wliile these consi- derations made him eligible in the eyes of Mary's family and of all Scotsmen, he had been born and educated in England, and it was therefore not to be supposed that Eli- zabeth could have any of that jealousy to- wards him which she might have felt in the case of a foreign prince and a papist. And, in truth, perceiving that it was not to he hoped that Mary would remain single, Elizabeth was not ill pleased that Mary's choice should fall upon Darnley. He could add nothing in theway of power or alliance to the Scottish queen, whose marriage with hira would at once release Elizabeth from the half-defined jealousy she felt as to Lei- cester's real sentiments, and would, at the same time, do away with all dread of the queen of Scots forming any one of the nu- merous foreign alliances which were open to her, and any one of which would be dan- gerous to England. Lenox had been long In exile. Elizabeth now secretly advised Mary to recall him, reverse his attainder, and restore his for- feited possessions ; but no sooner was this done than she openly blamed the proceed- ings, with the view at once of embarrassing Mary and of keeping up her own interest with the opposite faction in Scotland. Her duplicity did not stop here. When the ne- gotiations for the marriage were far ad- vanced, Darnley asked Elizabeth's permis- sion to go into Scotland ; and that per- I mission was, to all appearance, cheerfully granted. But when she learned that his h.andsome person was admired by Mary and that the marriage was fully determined on, she sent to order Darnley on no account to go on with the marriage, but, on his alle- giance, to return to England forthwith. Compliance with such caprice and tyranny was out of the question ; and Elizabeth threw the countess of Lenox aud her second son into prison, and seized all Lenox's Eng- lish property without the shadow of a plea beyond the conduct of young Darnley, to which she had deliberately given her sanc- tion ! The insulting vacillation of Eliza- beth's conduct in a matter of such delicate interest to Mary, can only be reconciled with her usual shrewdness by supposing that independent of any small feminine spitefulness, of which, we fear, that even the utmost partiality can hardly acquit her. (IFnsTaiHr.— ?^0tt)Sc nf Ctttfor.— (!flf|a6rrtj. she deliberately and as a matter of deep, though merciless, policy, sought thus to obtain a plea upon which to repudiate Mary as her successor in England, and a ready means of stirring up discontents among Mary's o\vti subjects, and thus preventing them fronj being troublesome to England. A.D. 1565.— Mary's relationship to the house of Guise, whose detestation of the reformed religion was so widely known and BO terribly attested, was very unfortunate for her ; inasmuch as it converted her w.irm attachment to her own religion into some- thing like bigotry and intolerance. She not only refused to ratify the acts establish- ing the reformed religion, and endeavoured to restore civil power and jurisdiction to the catholic bishops, but was even impru- dent enough to write letters to the council of Trent, in which she professed her hope not merely of one day succeeding to the crown of England, but also of so using her power and influence as to bring about the reconciliation of the whole of her domi- nions to the holy see. Considering her knowledge of Elizabeth's temper and feel- ings towards her, and considering, too, how much advantage Elizabeth would obviously obtain from every circumstance which could cause the Scotch zealots to sympa- thise with Elizabeth against their own queen, nothing could well have been more imprudent than this missive. Under any circumstances, probably, Mary, a zealous catholic, would have had but an uneasy reign among the fiercely bigoted Scottish Protestants ; but there is little reason to doubt that this very communication to the council of Trent was a main first cause of all her subsequent misfortunes. The Protestants of Scotland were at that time no whit behind the catholics of any part of the world, either in self-righteouf uess, or in bitter and bigoted detestation of all who chanced to differ from them. Alarmed as well as indignant at the qiieen's ostenta- 1 tious attachment to herown creed, thepro- testants not only murmured at here.^ercise | of its rites, even in her own private resi- 1 dence and chapel, but abused her faith in ' the grossest terms while importuning her ' to abjure it. The queen answered these | rude advisers with a temper which, had she always displayed it, might have spared her many a sorrowful day ; assured them that besides that her apostacy would de- prive Scotland of her most powerful friends on the continent, she was sincerely at- tached to her own faith and convinced of its truth. With the self-complacency pe- culiar to narrow-minded bigotry, the re- monstrants assured her that they alone had truth on their side, and bade her prefer that truth to all earthly support and alliances. The rude zeal of the reformed was still far- ther Increased by the belief, carefully en- couraged by the agents of Elizabeth, that the Lenox family were also papists. It was in vain that Darnley, now king Henry, en- deavoured to show that he was no papist by frequently making his appearance at the established church ; this conduct was attri- buted to a Jesuitical and profound wiliness, and the preachers often publicly insulted 345 him ; Knox, especially, not scrupling to tell him from the pulpit that boys and women were only put to rule over nations for the punishment of their sins. While the violence of the clergy and the arts of Elizabeth's emissaries were thus irritating the common people of Scotland against their queen, the discontents of her nobility began to threaten her with a yet nearer and more runious opposition. The duke of Chatelrault and the earls of Murray and Argyle, with other malcontent nobles, actually raised forces, and soon appeared in arms against the kitig and queen, insti- gated to this treasonable conduct merely by (heir paltry fears of being losers of in- fluence and power by the rise of the Le- no.\ family consequent upon Darnley's mar- riage to the queen. The reformed preach- ers openly, and English emissaries secretly, aided the malcontent lords in endeavouring to seduce or urge the whole Scots popula- tion from its allegiance. But the people were, for once, in no humour to follow the seditious or the fanatical ; and after but very trifling show of success, the rebels, being pursued by the king and queen at tlie head of an army of eighteen thousand, were fain to seek safety in England. We dwell more upon the affairs of Scot- land just at this period than we generally do, because thus mucli of Scottish history is necessary here to the understanding of that portion of English history with which Mary, queen of Scots, is so lamentably, and to England so disgracefully, connected. The event of the Scottish revolt having thus completely disappointed all the hopes of Elizabeth, she now strenuously dis- avowed all concern in it ; and having in- duced Murray and Chatelrault's agent, the abbot of Kilwinning, to make a similar de- claration before the Spanish and French ambassadors, she, with a bittei- practical satire, added to the force of their declara- tion, by instantly ordering them from her presence as detestable and unworthy trai- tors I Hitherto the conduct of Mary had been morally irreproachable; for the coarse abuse of Knox is itself evidence of the strongest kind, that, save her papacy and her sex— of which he seems to have felt an equal detestation — even he had not wherewithal to reproach her. Having for her second husband a handsome and youth- ful man of her own choice, it might have been hoped that at least her domestic feli- city was secured. But Darnley was a vain weak-minded man ; alike fickle and violent; ambitious of distinction, yet weary of the slightest necessary care ; easily offended at the most trivial opposition, and as easily governed by the most obvious and fulsome flattery. Utterly incapable of aiding the queen in the government, he was not the less anxious to have the crown-matrimo- nial added to the courtesy-title of king which Mary had already bestowed upon him. In this temper he was inclined to detest all who seemed able and willing to afford the queen counsel ; and among these was an Italian musician, by name David Rizzlo. He bad attended an embassy sent 846 C^c CrrapMru of ^iitar^, &(. to Srotland hy the diikp ot Savoy, and was rctaiiu'il at tlu- Scdtcli court, In tlic lli^t iii- Ftaiiri', nuTi'Iy on acronnt of Ills niiwioal tali'iits. Hut he was both aspiring ami cli'vor, and ho soon tostHlcd so mucli Bhrowdncss and inclination to lie useful, that he was made French secretary to tlie queen, nroiight thus Intimately into contact with the queen, he so rapidly improved on his advantages, that In a short time he was universally looked upon not only as the queen's chief confidant and counsellor, hut also as the chief and most po.verful dispenser of her favours. As is usually the rase with favourites, the ability which had enabled Rlzzlo to conquer court favour did not teach him to use it with moderation ; and he had scarcely secured the favour of the queen, before he incurred the deadly hate of nearly every one at court. The re- formed hated hira as a papist and the re- puted spy and pensionary of the pope ; the needy hated him for his wealth, the high- born for his upstart insolence; the aspir- ing detested his ambition, and many men — probably not too pure in their own mo- rals—could find no other supposition on which to account for Mary's protection of him, save a criminal connection between them. It is true that Rizzio was ugly and by no means very young even when he 9rst came to court, and some years had now passed since that event; and, moreover, Kizzio, whose ability had done much to clear away the obstacles to the marriage of Mary and Damley, had at one time, at least, been as much in the favour of the king as of the queen. But Darnley, soured by the queen's coldness, which he was will- ing to attribute to any cause rather than to his own misconduct, easily fell into the snare set by the enemies alike of himself, hisqueen,and Rizzio.and became furiously jealous of an ugly and almost deformed se- cretary. Yet Darnley was one of the hand- somest men of the age and a vain man tool Among the extravagant reports to which the e.xcessive favour already enjoyed by Eizzio had given rise, was one, that it was the intention of Mary to make him chan- cellor in the room of the earl of Morton ! It was true that Rizzio knew nothing of the language or of the laws of Scotland ; but the report was credited even by the as- tute Morton himself, who forthwith exerted himself to persuade Darnley that nothing but the death of Rizzio could ever restore peace and safety to either king or kingdom. The earl of Lenox, the king's father, George Douglas, natural brother to the countess of Lenox, and the lords Lindesay and Ruthven, readily joined in the conspi- racy against the unfortunateforeigner, and, to guard themselves against the known fickleness of the king, they got him to sign a paper authorising and making himself responsible for the assassination of Rizzio, as being 'an undertaking tending to the glory of God and the advancement of re- ligion 1' The banished lords who were ever hovering on the borders in hope of some event productive of disturbance, were invited by the king to return, and every preparation being made, a night was at length appointed for the murder of Rlzzlo. Mary, now in the sl.xth month of her pregnancy, was at supper in her private apartments, attended by Rizzio, the coun- tess of Argyle, her natural sister, and others of her personal attendants, when the king suddenly entered the room and placed him- self beliind the queen's chair. Immediately afterw.'irds lord Huthven, cased in armour and ghastly from long illness and anxiety, George Douglas, and others, rushed in and seized upon the unfortun.ate Rizzio as he sprang up to the queen and clung to her g.armcnts, shrieking the while for pro- tection. The queen, with tears, intrcaties, and even threats, endeavoured to save her secretary, but the resolved conspirators forced him into the antechamber, where he died beneath no fewer than fifty-six woitnds I The condition of the queen being con- sidered, the presence of her husband while she was thus horribly outraged by being made witness of the atrocious murder of her servant, must necessarily have turned her former coldness towards Darnley into actual loathing. On learning that Rizzio was indeed dead, she immediately dried her tears, saying ' I ^vill weep no more ; hence- forth I will only think of revenge.' On the assumption that Mary was guilty oftheparticipation in themurder of her hus- band with which she was afterwards so dis- astrously charged, though even this outrage upon her both as queen and woman would be no excuse for her misconduct as queen, woman, and wife, yet it ought not wholly to be left out of sight while we judge of the character of Marj'. In a court such as the court of Scotland clearly was at that time, nothing short of the purity of angels could have escaped the general pollution of cru- elty, deceit, and sensuality. All resentments felt by Mary were now, it would seem, merged into detestation of the cruelly and insolently savage conduct of her husband. She showed him every mark of contempt in public, and avoided him in private as though in mingled hate and terror. At length, however, she was confined at Edinburgh castle of a son ; and as Darnley had apartments there, they were at least apparently reconciled and living together. A messenger was instantly sent to Eliza- beth, who received the news while at a ball at Greenwich. She was much cast down at first, and even complained to some of her attendants that she was but a barren stock, while Mary was the glad mother of a fair boy. But she soon recovered her wonted self-possession, and on the follow- ing day she publicly congratulated Melvil, Mary's envoy, and sent the earl of Bedford and George Cary, son of her kinsman the earl ot Hunsdon, to attend the christening of the young prince, and to carry some rich presents to his mother. But whatever cordiality Elizabeth might affect upon this occasion, the birth of a son to the queen of Scots, as it increased the zeal of her partisans in England, so it made even the best friends of Elizabeth de- (&ixQlantS.—'^mgc af Cutfor.— CFFjaftcti^. 347 Blrous that she should take some effectual steps for the settlement of the succession. It was proposed hy simie leading nicni- hers of parliament that the question of tlie succession and that of the supply should go together. Sir Ralph Sadler, in order to elude this hringing of the question to a point, afflrmed that he had heard the queen say tliat for the good of her people she had come to the resolution to marry. Others of the court afflrmed the same, and then the house hegan to consider about joining the question of the queen's marriage to that of the settlement in general, when a mes- sage was brought from the queen ordering the house to proceed no farther In the mat- ter. She pledged her queenly word as to her sincere Intention to marry ; and she said that to name any successor previously would be to increase her already great per- sonal dangers. This message by no means satisfied the house, and Peter Wentworth, a popular member, bluntly said that such a prohibition was a breach of the privileges of the house ; while some of the members on the same side added, that unless the queen would pay some regard to their future security by flxing a successor, she would show herself rather as the step- mother than as the natural parent of her people. The debates still continuing in this strain, the queen sent for the speaker, and her remonstrances with him having failed to produce the desired effect upon the liouso, she shortly afterwards dissolved the p.-nliamcnt, sharply reflecting, at the same time, upon the pertinacity with which they had pressed her to marry or flx the succession. A.D. 1.567.— The debates in parliament had more than ever awakened the zeal of the partisans of the queen of Scots. The catholics of England were to a man ready to rise on her behalf, should Elizabeth's death or any national calamity afford an inviting opportunity; and, moreover, the court of Elizabeth was itself full of Mary's partisans. But while Elizabeth and her sagacious friend and counsellor Cecil — to wliom it is not too much to say that Eliza- licth owed more than half the glory she acquired, and owed still more the freedom from the obloquy which her temper would but for him have caused her to incur— were using every expedient to avoid the neces- sity of declaring so dangerous a successor as the queen of Scots, that ill-fated prin- cess was in the very act of plunging her- self into a tissue of horrors and infamies, which were to render her the prisoner and the victim of the princess whom she had dared to rival and hoped to succeed. After the death of Rizzio, Mary's perilous and perplexed situation had made some confidant and assistant indispensably ne- cessary to her, especially situated as she was with her frivolous and sullen husband. The person who at this time stood highest in her confldcnce was the earl of Both- well, a man of debauched character and great daring, whose fortune was much in- volved, and who was more noted for his opposition to Murray and the rigid reform- ers, than lor any great civil or military ta- lents. This nobleman. It Is believed, susf- gested to her the expedient of being di- vi>n'cd from Daniley, but from some dlfll- iiiliii's wliicli arose to Its execution that project was laid aside. The intimate friendship of Mary with Bothweli.and her aversion to her husband, made observant persons much astonished when it was announced that a sudden re- turn of the queen's affection to her husband had taken place ; that she had even jour- neyed to Glasgow to attend his sick bed ; that she tended him with the utmost kind- ness ; and that, as soon as he could safely travel, she had brought him with her to Holyrood-house In Edinburgh. On their arrival there it was found, or pretended, that the low situation of the palace, and the noise of the persons continually going and coming, denied the king the repose necessary to his Infirm state. A solitary house, called the Kirk o' Field, at some dis- tance from the palace, but near eoough to admit of Mary's frequent attendance, was accordingly taken, and here she continued her attentions to him, and even slept for several niyMs in a room immediately beloio his. On tiie ninth of February she excused herself to him for not sleeping at the palace, as one of her attendants was going to be married, and she had promised to grace the ceremony with her presence. About two o'clock in the morning an awful ex- plosion was heard, and it was soon after- wards discovered that the Kirk o' Field was blown up, and the body of the unfortunate HeniT Darnley was found in a field at some distance, but with no marks of violence upon it. That Darnley had been most foully mur- dered no sane man could doubt, and the pre- vious Intimacy of Mary and Bothwell caused the public suspicion at once to be turned upon them, while the conduct of Mary was exactly calculated to confirm, instead of refuting, the horrible suspicion which attached to her. A proclamation was in- deed made, offering a reward for the disco- very of the king's murder ; but the people observed that far more anxiety was dis- played to discover those who attributed that terrible deed to Bothwell and the queen. With a perfectly Infatuated folly, the queen neglected even the external decencies which would have been expected from her, even had she been less closely connected In the public eye with the supposed murderer, Bothwell. For the earl of Lenox, lather of the murdered king, wrote a letter to the queen, in which, avoiding all accusation ol the queen, he Implored her justice upon those whom he plainly charged with the murder, namely, Bothwell, sir James Bal- four and his brother Gilbert Balfour, Da- vid Chalmers, and four other persons ol the queen's household ; but Mary, though she cited Lenox to appear at court and siipport his charge, and so far seemed to entertain It, left the Important fortress ol Edinburgh In the hands of Bothwell as governor, and of his creature Balfour as his deputy. A day for the trial ol the charge made by Lenox was appointed ; and that nobleman, S48 WtfS 1l[re&iuxs at )|t^tarn, Stc. with a very small atteudauce, had alrcadj- reached Stirling; on Ills way to EdiuburKli when his inforinatioii of tlio extraordiuary couiiteiiaiice shown to Bothwell, and the vast power intrusted to him, inspired Le- nox with fears as to even his personal safety, should he appear in Kdiuburgh ; he therefore sent CunninBhani.one of his suite, to protest against so hurried an investiga- tion of this important affair, and to iutreat Mary, for her own salce as well as for the sake of justice, to talie time, and to make arrangements for a full and impartial trial, which obviously could not be had while Bothwell was not only at liberty, but in possession of exorbitant and overwhelming power. Not the sliglitest attention was paid to the manifestly just demand of Le- nox: a jury was sworn, and as no prosecutor or witness was present, that jury could only acquit the accused — the verdict being accompanied by a protest, in which they stated the situation in which the very nature of the proceedings had placed them. But even had witnesses been present, their evidence could have availed little towards furthering the ends of justice, for, by a very evident wilfulness, those who drew the indictment had charged the crime as having been committed on the tenth day of the month, while the evidence must have proved it to have been the ninth, and this signitlcaut circumstance increased the odium of both Mary and Bothwell. Two days after this shameful trial, a parliament was held, and Bothwell, whose acquittal was such as must have convinced every im- partial man of his gui!t,was actually chosen to carry the royal sceptre I Such indecent but unequivocal evidence of the lengths to which Mary was prepared to go in securing impunity to Botliwell, awed even those who most detested the proceedings ; and a bond of association was signed, by which all the subscribers, con- sisting of all the chief nobility present at this parliament, referred to the acquittal of Bothwell as a legal and complete one, en- gaged to defend him against all future im- putation of the murder of the late king, and recommended Mary to marry Bothwell ! Degraded, indeed, by long and shameless faction must the nation have been, when the chief of its nobles could insult public justice and public decency by the publica- ti(ra of such a document as this ! Having thus paved the way towards his ultimate designs, Bothwell assembled a troop of eight hundred cavalry on pretence of pursuing some armed robbers who in- fested the borders, and waylaid Mary on her return from Stirling, where she had been paying a visit to her infant son. Mary was seized near Edinburgh ; but sir James Melvil, her attached and faithful servant, who was with her at the time, not only confessed that he saw no surprise or un- willingness on her part, but adds, that some of Bothwell's officers openly laughed at the notion of seizure of Mary's person, and stated the whole matter to have been arranged between the parties themselves. Bothwell carried his prisoner to Dunbar, ai;d there made himself master of her per- son, even if he had not been so before. Some of the nobility, either still doulitful of her guilty consent, or desirous, at the least, of forcing her into a more explicit de- claration of it, now sent to offer their ser- vices to rescue her; but she, with inBnlte coolness, replied, that though Bothwell had originally obtained possession of her per- son by violence, he had since treated her so well that she was now quite willing to remain with him. That no circumstance of infamy and effrontery might be wanting to this dis- gusting business, Bothwell, when he had himself proposed as the queen's husband and seized upon her person, was already a married man ! But a divorce wi.s now sued for, and obtained in four days from the commencement of the suit ; the queen was then taken to Edinburgh, and the b.TUn3 of marriage put up between her and the duke of Orkney, which title Bothwell now bore. In the midst of the awful degradation exhibited by the Scottish nation at this time, it is ple.asing to notice that Craig, a clergyman, being desired to solemnise tlie marriage thus abominably brought about, not only refused to perform the ceremony, but openly reprobated it, with a courage which so put the council to shame that it dared not punish him. The bishop of Ork- ney, a Protestant, was more compliant, and was subsequently very deservedly deposed by his church. Unwarned by the disgust of her own people and by the remonstrances of her relations, the Guises of France, the infatuated Mary thus pursued her designs, and it became known that Bothwell, with her consent, was taking measures to get the young prince James into his power. This at length fairly aroused public indig- ] nation ; the chief nobility, including most of those who had signed the ever infamous 1 bond in favour of Bothwell, now formed an association for the protection of the young prince and for the punishment of the mur- derers of the king. The array of the asso- ciated lords and the royal troops under Botliwell met at Carbery-hlll ; but it was so clear both that Bothwell had no c^ipa- city equal to the occasion, and that her own troops looked upon their cause with dis- gust, that Mary, after making certain stipu- lations, put herself into the hands of the confederates and was taken to Edinburgh, the populace reproaching her in the coarsest terms, and holding up banners representing the murder of her husband and the distress of her infant son. Bothwell, In the mean- time, escaped to the Orkneys, and for some time lived by actual piracy ; he at length went to Denmark, where he was thrown into prison, and, maddened under the severity of his confinement and the horror of his re- flections, died about ten yeais afterwards, so miserably, that even his wickedness can- not deprive him of our pity. Though treated with scorn and humbled by the Indignities to which she was now daily exposed, Mary was still so infatuated In her affection for the unworthy Bothwell, that she is reported to have said in a letter to hun, that she would surrender her crov.u CFngTantr.— ?§ou^e of Ctilfar.— ©UjaBetl). 349 and dignity rather than his affections ; and as she appeared to be thus determined, tlie confederates, to decrease the chance of her once more getting power into her hands, sent her to a sort of honourable imprison- ment in the castie of Loeliloven l;iki'. 'i'lir owner of this place was niotbrr i>l ili<' r.ui of Murray, and as she preliniliil lo li.nc been lawfully married to tlie latu Iviiitr, slie bore Mary a hatred which fully insured her vigilance. Elizabeth was accurately Informed of ail tliat had passed in ScM it laud, and sliL- could not fail til jierceive llie advantai-'cs In licr own security to lie obtained by hi-r iuleifiTciice between Mary and lier enrat'cd subjects. Slie accordingly, through Throgmortou, Bent a remonstrance to the confederated lords, aud advice, mingled witli some seve- rity, to Mary, to whom she offered assist- ance, and protection at the English court for her infant son, but on condition that she should lay aside all thoughts of revenge or punishment, except as far as related to the murder of her late husband. As both queeu and woman, Elizabeth acted well in her remonstrance to the lords and in her advice to Mary; but, judging from her whole course of policy at other times, it is no breach of charity to suppose that even her womanly pity for Mary's present distressed aud perilous situation, did not prevent her from determining to make it available towards her own security aud peace for the time to come. In the meantime the confederated lords proceeded to arrange matters with verj' lit- tle deference either to tlie rights of their own queen or to the remonstrances of the queen of England. After much intrigue aud dispute, it was agreed that the regency of tlie kingdom should be placed in the hands of Murray, and that Mary should resign the crown in favour of her son ; nay, so desperate were lier circumstances, that, though ' with abundance of tears,' slie actually signed the deeds that made these e.xtensive alterations, without mak- iug herself accurately mistress of their con- tents. The prince James was immediately pro- claimed king and crowned at Stirling, and in tlie oatli which the earl of Morton took in his behalf at that ceremony, an o.ath to I extirpate heresy was included. Elizabeth was so much annoyed at the disregard with which her remonstrance had been treated, that sheforbade Throgmorton to attend the young king's coronation. I As soon as Murray had resumed the re- I gency, a parliament was assembled, in which I it was solemnly voted that she was an un- \ doubted accomplice in the murder of her husband, but ought not to be imprisoned. ] Her abdication and her son's succession I were at the same time ratified. I Murray proved himself equal to his high i post. He obtained possession of the for- tresses which held out for Mary or Both- well, and everywhere compelled at least ex- ternal obedience to his authority. But he had many enemies even among his seeming friends ; many of those who had been most enraged against Mary, while she had open- ' ly lived in what was no better than adultery with Bothwell, were softened by the con- templation of her sorrijws now that he was a fugitive upon the face of the earth, with- out the possibility of ever regaining his Kiiilly power. To all tliese persons were adiliil ilio eminent catholics aud the great hiiily cif the people, who pitied her sorrows now with the same merely Instinctive and unreasoning impulse with which re- cently they had heaped the coarsest con- tempt upon her misconduct. Even yet, then, it was quite within the bounds of pos- sibility that she might recover her power, and so exert it as to cause the past to be forgiven. A.D. 1568. — But Mary's own conduct, even when least blameworthy, was ever to be inimical to her. The constant insults and vexations that she endured from the lady of Lochleven determined her to attempt her escape from that melancholy conflne- nient; and by those artful and winning blandishments which no beautiful woman ever better knew how to employ, she in- duced George Douglas, brother of the laird of Lochleven, to aid in her escape. After many vain endeavours the enamoured youth at length got her from the house in dis- guise, aud rowed her across the lake in a small boat. As soon as her escape was kno^vn many of the nobility hastened to offer her their aid, and to sign a bond to defend her against all comers. Among those who thus signed were the earls of Argyle, Huntley, Eglin- toun, Cassilis, Crauford, Rothes, Montrose, Sunderland, and Errol, besides numerous barons and nine bishops, and in a very few days she found her standard surrounded by upwards of six thousand men. Elizabeth, too, offered to assist her, on condition that she would refer the quarrel to her arbitra- tion and allow no French troops to enter the kingdom, but the offer came too late ; Murray hastily drew together an army, and attacked her forces at Langside, near Glas- gow ; and though the regent was somewhat inferior in force, his superior ability in- flicted a complete defeat upon Mary, who hastily fled in a flshing-boat to Galloway, and landed the same day at Wokington, in Cumberland, wlience she immediately sent a messenger to crave the protection and hospitality of Elizabeth. The reality and extent of the generous sympathy of that princess were now to be developed ; interest was now directly opposed to real or pretend- ed generosity. Mary had evidently relied upon the power of her insinuation and eloquence to be of service to her in a personal interview, which she immediately solicited. But the able and tried ministers of Elizabeth were not slower than Mary herself in perceiving the probable consequence of such an inter- view, and Elizabeth was advised by them that she as a maiden queen could not, con- sistently even with mere decency, admit to her presence a woman who was charged with murder and adultery, and that, too, under circumstances which made even thesehorrible crimes more than usually hor- rible. The queen of Scots was very indignant 850 HTfit Wttaguvn of W^tavi}, $ec. at holng, and on suoh a I'lea, deprived nf tlip intervirw upon wlilrli hIu- liad po very niiicli reckoned. Slie replii'd to tlie mi- nisters witli Kreat spirit, and so evidently sliowed lior determination to consider ber- self as a sister sovereign seckinK Eliza- betli's friendship, and not as an accused criminal whom Kli/.nhetli could liave any eartlilv rif.-l]t to sit in judcemeiit iiiion, tiril Cecil di'lermined to force her, indirectly at least, upon an invesllBatioii, by allowiuR Jlurrnyand his iiarty to charge her before the queen in council with having been ' of fore-knowledge, counsel, and device, per- suader and commander of the murder of her husband, and had intended to cause the Innocent prince to follow his father and so to transfer the crown from the right line to a bloody murderer and godless tj-raut.' To this point of this intricate and most painful affair the attention of general read- ers has never been sufUciently directed. The usual narrative of the historians leaves the careless or superScinl reader to fancy that the conduct of Elizabeth must through- out have been unjustifiable, as to even the i detention of Mary, the whole question being j Mary's guilt and Elizabeth's right to punish. We have already sufficiently showai that j we are not inclined to sacrifice truth to I our admiration of the many admirable qua- lities of Elizabeth. For much of her treat- ment to Mary she is deserving of the highest blame, and as regards her execution every : one must feel the utmost indignation ; but the mere detention of her, and enquiry into her guilt as to her husband, and her inten- tions as to her infant son, were justified i alike by the laws of nations and by every feeling of humanity and of morality. That Mary was ' an independent sovereign ' can only be affirmed by a mere play upon words. I Stained with the deep charges of mur- der and adultery, beaten on the battle-field, and afugitive from her enraged and horrified subjects, Mary was in no condition to ex- ercise her sovereignty until sheshouldhave reestablished it by arms or treaty. By arms she could not proceed without great peril to England, for she must have relied upon aid from France ; by treaty she could not ' proceed but by the aid of Elizabeth, whose I territory might be perilled by some clause j of such treaty. Situated as England was, , both as to France and as to Spain, it is quite clear to all who pay due attention to the whole of the circumstances, that in an honourable detention of Mary, and a full, I fair, and impartial enquiry into her con- duct, Elizabeth would have been fully jus- tified. ! The subsequent conduct shown to Mary, her close imprisonment and unkind treat- ment, reflect no credit upon either Eliza- beth or her ministers ; but it must be re- membered that Mary, besides those verbal I Insults which wound women more painfully j than the sword itself, greatly provoked the harsh feeling of Elizabeth by her perpetual ! readiness to lend her name and influence j to plots involving the life as well as the crown of Elizabeth. It seems quite certain that, at the outset of the business, the main desire of both l''.li7..il)etli anil her ministers was to place M.-iry In such a posilion that she would be unable jiractically to revoke her settlement of the crown upon her Infiuit son, whose regency, being protestant, would have a common interest with England, instead of atemptatiim to aid Fi-ance or Spain to her anni'ynnce. One scheme for this purpose was to give her in marriage to an English nobleman, and Elizabeth i)roposed the alli- ance to the duke of Norfolk, who bluntly replied, 'That woman, madam, shall never be my wife who has been your competitor, and whose husband cannot sleep in secu- rity upon his pillow.' Unfortunately for the duke, his practice was by no means governed by the sound sense of his theory, and he very soon afterwards consented to offer himself to Mary, in a letter, which was also signed by Arundel, Pembroke, and Leicester. Mary pleaded that 'woeful ex- perience had taught her to prefer a single life,' but she hinted pretty plainly that Elizabeth's consent might remove such re- luctance as she felt. Norfolk, through the bishop of Ross, kept up the correspondence with Mary. Eliaabeth was from the very first aware of it, and she at length signifi- cantly quoted Norfolk's own words to him, warning him to ' beware on what pillow he should rest his head.' Shortly after- wards the duke, continuing the corre- spondence, was committed to the Tower. Leicester was pardoned for the share he had had in the original correspondence; but there seemed so much danger that both Norfolk and the queen of Scots would be severely dealt with, that all the great catholic families of the north joined in a formidable insurrection. Mary, on the breaking out of thfs affair, was removed to Coventry ; but the contest was short ; the earl of Northumberland, who headed the revolt, fled to Scotland, was taken prisoner, and thrown into Lochleven castle. His countess, with the earl of Westmoreland and some other fugitives, were safe among the Scotch borderers, who were able to protect them equally against the regent Murray and the. emissaries of Elizabeth. Upon theEnglishof the northern counties who. had been beguiled into this hopeless revolt, the vengeance of Elizabeth was ter- rible and extensive. The poor were handed over to the rigours of martial law, and it is affirmed that from Newcastle to Netherby, in adistrict sixty miles long andfortymiles wide, there was not a town or even a village which was not the scene of execution ! The wealthier offenders were reserved for the ordinary course of condemnation by law, it being anticipated that their forfeitures would reimburse the queen the large sums which it had cost her to put down the revolt. A.D. 1570. — The vigour of the regent Mur- ray h.ad kept the greater part of Scotland perfectly quiet, even while the north of England was in arms for Mary : and as among the numerous projects suggested to Elizabeth for safely ridding herself of Mary was that of delivering her up to Murray, it is most probable that the Scottish queen en^Unts.—'^auSt of CttUnr.— erfjaScti^. 351 would haveheen restored to her country and —though partially and under strong restric- tions— to her authority, but for the death of the regent. While amusing Mary with a va- riety of proposals which came to nothing, varied by sudden objections which had been contrived from the very first, Elizabeth's ministers were sedulously strengthening the hands and establishing the interests of their mistress in Scotland ; they, however, seem really to have intended the eventual restoration of Mary under the most favour- able circumstances to England, when the enmity and suspicion of the English cabi- net against her, as a zealous papist, were made stronger than ever by the publication of a bull by Pius V., in which he insult- ingly spoke of Elizabeth's as a merely ' pre- tended' right to tho crown, and absolved all lier subjects from their allegiance. Of this bull, insolent In itself and cruel towards Mary, several copies were published both in Scotland and in England ; and a catholic gentleman, named Felton, whose zeal bade defiance alike to prudence and decency, was capitally punished for affixing a copy of this document to the gates of the bishop of London's palace. It must be clear that no sovereign could overlook such an invitation to rebellion and assassination. It would in any state of society be likely to urge some gloomy and lialf-insane fanatic to the crime of murder ; though as to any national effect, even while the catholics w-ere still so numerous, the papal bull had now become a mere hrutmn fulmcn. Lingard, the ablest catholic his- torian, says, upon this very transaction, ' If the pontiff promised himself any par- ticular benefit from this measure, the result must have disappointed his expectations. The time was gone by when the thunders of the Vatican could shake the thrones of princes. By foreign powers the bull was suffered to sleep in silence ; among the English catholics it served only to breed doubts, dissensions, and dismay. Many contended that it had been issued by in- competent authority ; others, that it could not bind the natives until it should be carried into actual execution by some fo- reign power : all agreed that it was, in their regard, an imprudent and cruel ex- pedient, which rendered them liable to the suspicion of disloyalty, and afforded their enemies a pretence to brand them with the name of traitors. To Elizabeth, however, though she affected to ridicule the sentence, it proved a source of considerable uneasiness and alarm.'* The parliament, at once alarmed and in- dignant at the bull of Pius T.,very naturally laid some heai-y restrictions upon the catho- lics, who were supposed to be ready at any moment to rise in favour of the queen of Scots and for the deposition of Elizabeth, Bhould Philip of Spain or his general Alva, governor of the Netherlands, land a suffi- ciently numerous army of foreign papists in England. And these fears of the par- liament and the ministry had but too solid foundation. The duke of Norfolk from his * History of England, vol. viii. ch. 1. confinement was constantly intriguing with Mary ; and that unhappy princess, wearied and goaded todesperationby her continued imprisonment, and the constant failure of all attempts at g.aining her liberty, even when she the most frankly and completely agreed to all that was demanded of her, sent Eudolphi, an Italian, who had her confidence, to solicit the co-operation of the pope, Philip of Spain, and Alva. Some letters from Norfolk to the latter person- age were intercepted by the English minis- try, and Norfolk was tried for treasonable leaguing with the queen's enemies to the danger of her crown and dignity. Norfolk protested that his aim was solely to restore Mary to her own crown of Scotland, and that detriment to the authority of Elizabeth he had never contemplated and would never have abetted. A.D. 1572.— His defence availed him no- thing; he was found guilty by his peers and condemned to death. Even then the queen hesitated to carry the sentence into effect against the premier duke of England, who was, also, her own relative. Twice she was induced by the ministers to sign the warrant, and twice she revoked it. This state of hesitation lasted for four months. At the end of that time the parliament pre- sented an address strongly calling upon her to make an example of the duke, to which she at length consented, and Norfolk was beheaded, dying with great courage and constancy, and still protesting that be had no ill design towards his own queen in his desire to aid the unhappy queen of Scots. We are inclined to believe that the duke was sincere on this head ; but certainly his judgement did not equal his sincerity ; for how could he expect to overturn the vast power of Elizabeth, so far as to reestablish Mary on the throne, but by such a contest as must have perilled Elizabeth's throne, and, most probably, would have led to the sacrifice of her life ? Burleigh, devoted to the glory of his royal mistress and to the welfare of her people, and plainly perceiving that the ca- tholics, both at home and abroad, would either find or feign a motive to mischief in the detention of the queen of Scots, reso- lutely advised that that unhappy queen should be violently dealt with, as being at the bottom of all schemes and attempts against the peace of England. But Eli- zabeth was not even yet so far irritated or alarmed as to consent to anything more than the detention of Mary; and to all the suggestions of Burleigh she contented her- self with replying, with a touch of that poeticfeelingwhich even Intrigues of state never wholly banished from her raind, that 'she could not put to death the bird that, to escape the lure of the hawk, had flown to her feet for protection.' Burleigh was aided in his endeavours against Mary by the parliament ; but Eli- zabeth, though both her anxiety and her anger daily grew stronger, personally inter- fered to prevent a bill of attainder against Mary, and even another bill which merely went to exclude her from the succession. Towards the friends of Mary Elizabeth 362 tS^t CTrwiury of 5g(!St0ry, ^f. was less mprclfiil. Tlio fail of Xnrtliiim- I horland wns dolivoreil by Jl..i't.in-\vlii> li;ul succocded Lpimx in tliu Sc'tcli irKcncy— into tlio hands of the En^lisli niiiiistfrs; find that chivalrous and unlurtuuate uoble- 1 man was helu-adcd at York. Tht state of France at this time was such, i from the fierce enmity of Iho catholics to the Huguenots or proiestaiits, as to sive serious uneasiness to Elizalx'lh. The deep : enmity of Charles IX. of France towards the leaders of his protestant subjects was , digulscd, indeed, by the most artful ca- j resses bestowed upon Coligni, the king of ( Navarre, and other leading Huguenots : but i circumstances occurred to show that the king of France not only detested those per- [ sonages and their French followers, but j that he would gladly seize any good oppor- tunity to aid Philip of Spain in the destruc- [ tion, If possible, oi the protestant power of i England. The perfidious Ciiarles.in order to plunge i the Huguenots into the more profoundly j fatal security, offered to give his sister Mar- garet in marriage to the prince of Navarre ; ' and Coligni, with other leaders of the Hu- guenot party, arrived in Paris, to celel)rate a marriage which promised so much towards ! the reconciliation of the two parties. But ' so far was peace from being the real mean- 1 ing of the court of France, that the queen of Navarre was poisoned. This suspici- ously sudden death, however, of so eminent a person did not arouse the doomed Coligni [ and tlie otlier protestants to a sense of their real situation. The aiarriage was con- cluded : and but a few days after, on the eve of St. Bartholomew, the designs of Charles IX., or, more strictly speaking, of his execrable mother, burst forth. The venerable Coligni was murdered almost by the king's side ; men, women, and children alike were butchered by the king's troops, so that in Paris alone above five hundred I persons of rank and above ten thousand of I the lower order are known to have perished ' in this most sanguinary and cowardly affair. Orders were at the same time sent to Rouen, Lyons, and other great towns of France, where the same detestable butcheries were committed on a proportionably large scale. The king of Navarre and the prince of Conde narrowly escaped. The duke of Guise advised their destruction, but the king had contracted as much personal affection for them as he could feel for any one but the she-wolf his mother, and he caused their lives to be spared on condition of their seeming conversion to popery. The frightful massacre of St. Bartholo- mew could not but be greatly alarming as well as disgusting to Elizabeth. She could not but perceive, from. a butchery so fright- ful and extensive, that there was among the catholic princes of the continent a deter- mination to exterminate protestantism ; nor could she but feel that she, as the champion of that faith, was henceforth more conspicuously than ever marked out for destruction, could it be accomplished either by warfare or in the more dastardly way of private assassination. Cliarles IX. was himself conscious of the offeiii'e this atrocious massacre of his pro- irstant subjects must necessarily give to Elizabeth, and ho sent a strong apology to her through Fenelon, his aral)assador. To us it has ever appeared that this apology did. In reality, only make the ofl'cnce the blacker; Charles now calumniated the un- fortunate persons whom he had murdered. He pretended that he had discovered, just as it was about to be carried nito execution, a Huguenot conspiracy to seize his person, and that it was as a necessary matter of self-defence that his catholic soldiery had acted. The single fact that orders for %vholesale massacre were acted upon at distant provincial cities, as well as at Paris, would at once and for ever give the lie to this statement. Even Charles's own am- bassador confessed that he was ashamed alike of his country and of the apology which he was, by his office, compelled to make for so outrageous a crime. His office, however, left him no choice, and he went to court. Here he found every one, male and female, attired in the deepest mourning, and bearing in their features the marks of profound grief and .alarm. No one spoke to him until he arrived at the throne, where the queen, who respected his per- sonal character, heard his apology with all the calmness that she could muster. Eli- zabeth very plainly, in her reply, showed tliat she utterly disbelieved Charles's ca- lumny upon his protestant subjects, but she concluded that she should defer making up her mind upon the real feelings of Charles until she should see how he would act in future, and that in the meantime, as requested by his own ambassador, she would rather pity than blame him. The massacres in France, joined to the Spanish iHassacres and persecutions in the Low Countries, and the favour into which Charles IX. now visibly took the Guises, made it evident to Elizabeth that nothing but opportunity was wanting to induce the French and Spaniards to unite for her de- struction, and she took all possible precau- tions. She fortified Portsmouth, paid all requisite attention to her militia and fleet, and, while she renewed her open alliances with the German princes, she lent all the aid that she secretly could to the people of the Low Countries to assist them against their Spanish tyrants. A. D. 1579.— Beyond what we have just now said of the foreign policy of Elizabeth we need not here say anything ; the events that took place, whether in Spain, the Ne- therlands, or France, falling properly under those heads. The attention of Elizabeth, as to foreigners, was addressed chiefly to aiding the protestants with secresy and with as rigid economy and stringent condi- tions as were consistent with effectual aid ; and to keeping up such a constant demon- stration of vigour and a prepared position, as might intimidate catholic princes from any such direct hostility to her as would be likely to provoke her into openly encou- raging and assisting their malcontent sub- jects. This policy enabled Elizabeth to enjoy a profound peace during years which saw ePitgrairt.— ^ott^c 0f CtiiJor.— (iFKjafijff). 353 liearly all the rest of Europe plunged In war and misery. A.D. 1580.— The affairs of Scotland just at tins time gave Elizalieth some uneasiness. During several years the regent Morton had liept that kingdom in tlie strictest amity. But the regent had of late wholly lost the favour of the turbulent nobles, and he found himself under the necessity of giving In his resignation ; and the govern- ment was formally assumed by king James himself, though he was now only eleven years of age. The count D'Aubigny, of ^he house of Lenox, was employed by the duke of Guise to detach James from the inter- ests of Elizabeth, and lo cause him to espouse those of his mother. Elizabeth endeavoured to support and reinstate Mor- ton, but D'Aubigny had now obtained so much influence with the king, that he was able to have Morton imprisoned and sub- sequently beheaded, as an accomplice iu the murder of the late king. With Spain, too, Elizabeth's relations were at this period uneasy and threatening. In revenge for the aid which he knew Eliza- beth to have given to his revolted subjects of the Netherlands, Philip of Spain sent a body of troops to aid her revolted subjects of Ireland ; and her complaints of this in- terference were answered by a reference to the piracies committed by the celebrated admiral Drake, who was the first English- man who sailed round the world, and who obtained enormous booty from the Spa- niards in the. New World. A. D. 1581.— The Jesuits, and the scholars generally of the continental seminaries which the king of Spain had established to compensate to the catholics the loss of the universities of England, were so ob- viously and so intrusively hostile to the queen and the protestant faith, that some stringent laws against them and the ca- tholics generally were now passed. Campion, a Jesuit who had been sent over to explain to the catholics of England that they were not bound, in obedience to the hull of Pius V., to rebel until the pope should give them a second and explicit order to that effect— i. e. not until the state of England should. by accident, or by Je- suitical practices, be placed in convenient confusion, was first racked and then ex- ecuted.* Elizabeth had formerly been addressed wilh offers of marriage by Alengon, now duke of Anjou, brother to the late tyrant Charles IX. of France, and he now renewed his addresses through his agent Siniier, a nian of great talent and most insinuating manners. The agent so well played his I'art in the negotiation that he excited the jialousy of the powerful and unprincipled l/i'icester, who offered him every possible iiipositiou and insult. The queen, whom .Simier informed of Leicester's marriage to • Hallam professes himself unable to find ' the sliffhtcst pro. f of Campion's concern in treason- able practices, tliough his connections and pro- fession as a Jesuit render it by no means un- liltflv.* — Constitutional History of /Cnijlan{i,yol. 1. cli. iii. the widow of the earl of Es.sex, formally took Simier under her especial protection, and ordered Leicester to confine himself to Greenwich. Simier so well advocated the cause of Anjou, that Elizabeth went so far as to in- vite tliat prince to England ; and after making stipulations for the aid of France, should the interests of Anjou in the Nether- lands involve her in a quarrel with Philip of Spain, Elizabeth, in presence of her whole court and the foreign amb.assiidors, placed a ring on Anjou's finger, and dis- tinctly said that she did so In token of her intention to become his wife. As she was now nine-and-forty years of age, and might he supposed to have outlived all the youth- ful fickleness Imputed to her sex, and as she gave orders to the bishops to regulate the forms of the marriage, every one sup- posed that it was certain. Despatches were sent to notify the approaching event abroad, and in many parts of England it was anti- cipatively celebrated by public holiday and rejoicing. But the marriage of Elizabeth to Anjou was looked upon with great dislike by the leading men of the English court. The duke, as a catholic and a member of a most persecuting family, could not but be viewed with fear andsuspicion l)y sound statesmen like Walsingham and Hatton ; while Lei- cester, conscious that with the queen's marriage his own vast power and infiuence would end, heartily wished her not to marry at all. These courtiers employed her favour- ite ladies to stimulate her pride by hinting the probability of her husband, instead of herself, becoming the first personage in her dominions ; and to appeal to her fears by suggesting the dangers to which she would be exposed should she have children ; the latter, surely, a danger not very probable at her time of life. However, the courtiers' artifices were fully successful. Even while the state messengers were on their way to foreign courts with the news of the queen's approaching marriage, she sent for Anjou, and told him, with tears and protestations of regret, that her people were so much prejudiced against herunion with him, th.it though her own happiness must needs be sacrificed she had resolved to con.sult the happiness of her people, and therefore could not marry him. The duke on leaving her presence threw away the costly ring she had given him, and declared that English women were as capricious as the waves that surround their island. He soon after de- parted, and being driven from Belgium to France, died there, deeply and sincerely regretted by Elizabeth. A.D. 1584.— Several attempts having been made to raise new troubles in England in favour of the queen of Scots, the ministers of Elizabeth made every exertion to detect the conspirators. Henry Piercy, earl of Northumberland, brother to that earl who w.as some time before beheaded for his connection with Mary's cause ; Howard, earl of Arundel, son of the duke of Norfolk, tliat princess's late suitor ; lord Paget and Charles Arundel; and Fr.incis Throgmor- ton, a private gentleman, were implicated. 8S4 Ci)f CTrraiimu of l^tstarn, ^c. JU>#t of thciu escaiHHl. Imt ThroKmorton was exoouti'tl. Meiuli>/;», the Spamsli iiui- hass.Hi\or, who li;ul l>ivii llu' piiiuf iiiovor of this plot, WHS soiit homo in discr.uo. Somo farther proofs of n wklely spivad iiiul daiiirorous oonsplracy hHviiig luvii dis- covor»>l in some ivipors st'iztHi npoiu'roitrh- ton, II Scotch jcsnit, chc Knclish ministers, who founil Mary coMiu'ittM with all tliese attempts, reiuoviM lur from the custody of the earl of tsiirewsl'ury, who seemed not to have been snttlciently watchful of her Conduct, !uul committed her to that of sir Amias I'aulet and sir Urue Prnry, men of chanicter and Immaniiy, hut too much do- votitl to Klimibeth to allow any uure.Hsoi!- able freedom to their prisoner. Karther laws were at the same time pass«Hl !iK;iinst Jesuits and popish priests, and a council was named by act of parlia- ment with I'ower to govern the kiiigdoui, settle the succession, and avenge the queen's death, should that occur by vio- lence. A subsidy and two flfteeuths were likewise gnmtotl to the queen. liuring this session of parli.'jment a new conspiracy was discovered, which jrreatly increjised the general animosity to the catholics, and provHirtionally increaseil the attachment of the parliament to thequtvu, aud their anxiety to -shield her from the daujrers by which she seemed to be periit?- tually surroundeil. A catholic jrentleinau uameenite opposition to a bill for re- stntining the seditious practices of Romish priests, that he was committed to the cus- twlj' of the serje.inr-at-arms and only libe- rated by the clemency of the >i«een, was now, in but little less than six weeks, charsred with hisrh tn-ason. This man had lieen employed as a secret atrent by lord Bur- leigh, but not deeniinsr himself sullicieutly well treatei.1 he went to Italy, where he seems to have deeply iutriirued with both the iMiivil p;irty at Kome and the ministers of his own S"vereii;u at home. Having pro- curtHl fivm the Romish authorities a warm sanction of his professeti design of killiufr quei'n Kliz;il>eth with his own hand, this sauciiou he hasienetl to communicate to lili- Kil>eth, and bein,? refused a pension he re- turneil to his old vocation of a spy, ami was employed to watch the pernicious Jesuit Persons, in coiij unction with Nevil. Thousrh actually iu the service of the government, both Ke\ il and Parry were men of despe- rate fortune, and theirdiscontent at U iijrth grew so desperate that they agreed to shoot the queen when she should be out riiliug. The earl of Westiuorei;md, under sentaniards immense mischief this year, taking St, Jago, near Ope Verd, where they got good store of provision, but little money ; .St. Oomtngo, where they made the Inhabitants s.ive their houses by the payment of a large sum of money ; lUid Carthagena, which they similarly held to ransom. On the cojist of Fli>rida they burned the towns of St, Anthony and St. Helen's; and thence they went to the coast iif Virginijj, where they found the miserable remnant of the colony so long before planted there by sir Walter Raleigh. The poor colonists were at this time reduced to utter misery and desi>air by long-continued ill success, and gl.ully al>andoned their settlements luid re- turneil lioiue on lioard Drake's lleet. The enormous wealth that was brought home by that g;illant commander, and the ac- counts given by his men of both the riches and the weakness of the Sixauiards, made ilie notion of piracy upon the Spanish main extremely popular, and caused much evil energy t.> be employed in that direc- tion, which would otherwise liavi been of serious auuoyauce to the goverumeui ac home. Meanwhile the carl of Leicester, who had been sent to Holland iu commaud of the English auxiliary forces to aid the states against Siviin, proved himself to lie unlit for any extensive military iHiwer. His retinue was princely in splendour, and Ills courtly manners and Intriguing spirit caii>ed him to be named captain-general of the I'liiteil Provinces, aud to have the guards and honours of a sovereign prince. Rut here his achievements, which gave deep otfence to Elizabeth, began to diminish iu brllllaucy. Though nobly aided by his ne- phew, sir Philip Sidney, one of the most gallant aud accomplished gentlemen who have ever done honour to Englaud, he was decidedly Inferior to the t.isk of opposing so accomplished a general as the prince of P.arma. He succeeded in the tirst instance in repulsing the Sp;iuiaiils .-uid throwing succours into Grave : but the cow;u"dlce or treachery of Van Hemert— who was after- wards put to death pursuant to the sen- tence of a court inani.al — lietrayed the place to the Sivinlanls. Venio w.is taken by the prince of P-.irina, as was Xuys, and the prince then sat down befoiv Rhimberg. To draw the prince from before this last- named place, which was garrisoned by twelve hundred men and well provided with stores, and uihju which, consequently, Lei- cester should have allowed the prluce to have wasted his strength .■uid then have brought him to Jiclion, Leicester laid siege to Ziitphen. The prince thought this pliue f.ir too Important to be allowed to fall Into the hands of the English, and he hastened to its aid, sending an advanced guard under the marviuis of Cue^to to throw re- lief into the fortress. A body of Ei>glish cavalry fell iu with this adv.ance, and a gal- lant actiou coiumeuced, in which the Sp :- iilanls were completely routed, with the (£nQ\mti.—^auge at Ctitron— (!5ltjal)ct!). 3.55 lops of the marquis nf Oonzrit'a, an Itali.iii iidble of grcHt military reputation and al.llity. In this action, however, the Kiiif llsh were so unfortunate as to lose the iiohle sir Philip Sidney, whose acroin pi ish- inentH, humanity, and love of literature made hlni the idol of the preat writers of the ape. The humanity which had marked his whole life was conspicuous even in the last sad scene of his death. Dreadfully wounded, and tortured with aragingthirst, lie was ahout to have a bottle of water ap- plied to his parched lips, when he caught the eyes of a prxir private soldier who lay near him In the like fevered state, and was looking at the bottle with the eager envy which only a wounded soldier can know. •Give him the water,' said the dying hero, 'his necessity Is greater than mine.' While Leicester was barely keeping ground against Spain in the Netherlands, and IJrake was astounding and ruining the Spaniards In various parts of the Kew World, Elizabeth was cautiously securing herself on the side of Scotland. Having obtained James's alliance by a dexterous admixture of espionage and more open conduct, Elizabeth felt that she had but little to fear from foreign invasions ; it be- ing stipulated in their league ' that if Eliza- beth were invaded, James should aid her with a body of two thousand horse and five thousand foot; that Elizabeth, In the like case, should send to his assistance three thousand horse and six thousand foot ; that the charge of these armies should be defrayed by the prince wlio demanded as- sistance ; that if the invasion should be made upon England, within sixty miles of the frontiers of Scotland, this latter king- dom should march its whole force to the assistance of the former; and that the present league should supersede all former alliances of either state with any foreign kingdom so far as religion was concerned.' And, in truth, it was requisite that Eli- zabeth should be well prepared at home, for her enemies abroad grew more and more furious against her, as every new occur- rence more strongly displayed the sagacity of her ministers and her o^vn prudence and flminess in supporting them. Partly on account of the imprisonment of the queen of Scots, but chiefly on account of those rigoroUB laws which their own desperate and sliameful conduct daily made more ne- cessary, the foreign papists, and still more the English seminar>- at Rheims, had be come wrought up to so violent a fury, that nothing short of the assassination of Eli- zabeth was now deemed worthy their con- templat ion. John Ballard, a priest of the seminary at Rheims, having been engaged in noticing and stirring up the fanatical zeal of the catholics in England and Scotland, pro- jmsed.on his return to Rheims, the attempt to dethrone Elizatieth and to reestablish papa<'y in England, an enterprise which he pretended to think practicable, and that, too, without any extraordinary ditllculty. At nearly the same time a desperate and gloomy fanatic, John Savage, who had served for several years under the iirince of Partiia in the J,c^w Couiitrii-s, and wli.. \v:is celebrated for a most indomitable resolu- tion, offered to assassinate Elizabeth with his own hands. As that deed would greatly facilitate the proposed revolution in Eng- land, the priests of Rheims, who had long preached up the virtuous and lawful cha- racter of the assassination of heretical sovereigns. Savage was encouraged In his design, whidi he vowed to pursue, and the more fanatical catholics of England were Instructed to lend him all possible aid. Sa- vage was speedily followed to England by i Ballard, who took the name of captain For- lescue, and busied himself night and day in preparing means to avail himself of the awe and confusion in which the nation could not fail to be plunged by the success of the attempt which he doubted not that Savage would speedily make. Anthony Babington, a Derbyshire gen- tleman, had long been known to the initi- ated abroad as a bigoted catholic and as a romautic lover of the imprisoned queen of Scots. To this gentleman, who had the property and station requisite to render him useful to the conspirators, Ballard ad- dressed himself. To restore the catholic, religion and place Mary on the throne of England, Babington considered an enter- prise that fully warranted the murder of Elizabeth; but he objected to intrusting the execution of so important a preliminary to the proposed revolution to one hand. The slightest nervousness or error of that one man, Babington truly remarked, would probably involve the lives or fortunes of all the chief catholics in England. He pro- posed, therefore, that five others should be joined to Savage in the charge of the assas- sination. So desperate was the villany of Savage, thatit was only with somedifflculty that his priestly colleague induced him to share what the wretch impiously termed the 'glory' of the deed, with Barnwell, Chamock, Tilney, and Tichborne; all of them gentlemen of station, character, and wealth. It was determined that at the very same hour at which Savage and his colleagues should assassinate Elizabeth, the queen of Scots should be out riding, when Babing- ton, with Edward, brother of Lord Windsor, and several other gentlemen, at the heatl of a hundred horse, should attack her guards and escort her to London, where she would be proclaimed amid the accla- mations of the conspirators and, doubtless, all catholics who should see her. That this horrible plot would have suc/- ceeded there can be little doubt, butfor the watchful eye of Walsingham, which had from the first been upon Ballard ; and while that person was busily plotting arevolntion which, commencing with the assassination of the queen, would almost infallibly have ended with a general mas.sacreof the pro- testants, he was unconsciously telling all his principal proceedings to Walsingham, that able and resolute minister having placed spies about him who reported every thing of importance to the secretary. Gif- ford, another seminary priest, also entered the pay of the minister, and enabled him 356 Clje Creaiuru of W^tavu, &^c. to obtain copipsof coiTesiiniuloiicc between BHblngton and the queen of Scots, in which he spolie of the nmrde/ of Kli/.alieth as a fnifihal I'j-fnition which he would willinply mulortake for JIary's f alee and service, and she replied that she highly approved of the ■whole plan, including the assassination of the queen, a general insurrection aided by foreign Invasion, and Mary's own deliver- ance. Kay, the queen of Scots went still farther : she said that the gentlemen en- gaged in this enterprise might expect all the reward it should ever l)e in her power to bestow ; and reminded them that it would be but lost labour to attempt an in- surrection, or even her own release from her cruel imprisonment, until Elizabeth were dead. We have not scrupled to declare our dis- like of the original conduct of Elizabeth, so far as we deem it criminal or mean. But we cannot therefore shut our eyes to the fact, that though party writers have made many and zealous attempts to show that the whole plot was of Walsingham's contrivance, the evidence against Mary was as complete and satisfactory as human evi- dence could be. That Walsingham em- ployed spies, that these were chieBy priests who were false to their own party, and that some of them were men of bad cha- acter — what do these things prove? Cir- cumstanced as "Walsingham was, knowing his queen's life to be in perpetual danger from restless and desperate plotters, we really cannot see how he was to avoid that resort to spies, which under any other cir- cumstances we should be among the first to denounce. But with whom, then, did these spies act ? "With catholics of station and wealth, whom no spies could possil)ly have engaged in perilous and wicked proceed- ing, but for their own fierce fanaticism. And how and from whom did these spies procure Walsingham the important letters which divulged all the pai-ticularsof the in- tended viUany? By letter-carrying from Mary to the enamoured Babington.andfrom Babington to Marj-. What film Ijigotry may throw across the eyes of fierce political par- tisans we know not, but assuredly we can imagine nothing to be clearer than the guilt of Mary, as far as she could be guilty of conspiring against the life of Elizabeth — who had so long embittered her life and deprived her of all enjoyment of her crf>wn and kingdom, who had mocked her with re- peated promises which she never intended to fulfil, and who had carried the arts of policy so far as to outrage nature by making the utter neglect of the imprisoned mother a tacit condttion, at the least, of friendship and alliance with the reigning son. The commissitmers on their return from Fothe- ringay castle, pronounced sentence of death upon Mary, queen of Scots, but accompa- nied the sentence with what — considering that from the moment of her abdication in his favour, his right to reign became wholly independent of his mother— seemed a some- what unnecessary clause of exception in favour of James ; which said that ' the sen- tence did in no wise derogate from the title and honour of James, king of Scotland ; but that he was In the same place, degree, and right, as if the sentence had never been pronounced.' It is an extraordinary fact, and one which Is unnoticed not only by the partial writers who have endeavoured to throw the de- served degree of blame upon Elizabeth, and also to represent Mary as altogether free from blame even where her criminality was the most glaringly evident, but even by the impartial Hume, that when the sentence on Mary was published in London, the people received it with the ringing of bells, lighting of bonfires, and all the ordi- nary tokens of public rejoicing. Does not this single fact go to prove that it was notorious that Mary, during her confine- ment, was perpetually plotting against the life of the queen, and endeavouring to de- liver England and Scotland over to the worst horrors that could befall them - the restoration of papacy and the arbitrary rule of Philip of Spain ? That this was the true state of the case was made evident not merely by the rejoicings of the multitude out of doors, but by the solemn applica- tion of the parliament to EUzabeth to aUow the sentence to be executed. The king of France, chiefly by the compulsion of the house of Guise and the league, interceded for Mary ; and James of Scotland, who had hitherto been a most cold and neglectful son, whatever might be the errors of his mother, now sent the master of Gray and sir Robert Melvil to try both argument and menace upon Elizabeth. Most historians seem to be of opinion that the reluctance which Elizabeth for some time exhibited to comply with what was undoubtedly the wish of her people, was wholly feigned. We greatly doubt it. That Elizabeth both hated and feared Mary was inevitable. Mary's position, her bigotry, the personal ill-feeling she had often shown towards Elizabeth, and her obvious willing- ness to sacrifice her life, were surely not ad- ditions to the character of a woman who had connived at her husband's death and then married his murderer, which could have engendered any kindly feelings on the part of a princess so harassed and threatened as Elizabeth was by that faction of which Mary, in England at least, was the recog- nised head. But apart from all womanly and humane relenting, Elizabeth could not but be conscious that the death of Mary would cause a great accession to the rage of the catholic powers : and apathetic as James had shown himself hitherto, it was but reasonable to suppose that the violent death of his mother would rouse him into active enmity to England. However, the queen's hesitation, real or assumed, was at length overcome, and she signed the fatal warrant which Davison, her secretary, act- ing under the orders and advice of lord Burleigh, Leicester, and others of the coun- cil, forthwith despatched to Fotheringay by the earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, who were charged with seeing it executed. A.D. 1587. — Immediately on the arrival of the two earls, they read the warrant and warned Mary to be prepared for execution at eight on the following morning. She re- dBiiQXHnts.—VkanSt at Culf0r.— ©Ii'jaljct^. 3o ceived the news with apparent resignation ; professed that she could not have helieved that Elizabeth would have enforced such a sentence upon a person not subject to the laws and jurisdiction of England, but added, ' As such is her will, death, which puts an end to all my miseries, shall be to me most welcome ; nor can I esteem that soul worthy the felicities of heaven which cannot sup- port the body under the horrors of the last passage to those blissful mansions.' She then asked for the admission of her own chaplain, but the earl of Kent said that the attendance of a papist priest was unnecessary, as Fletcher dean of Peter- borough, a most learned and pious divine, would afford her all necessary consolation and instruction. She refused to see him, which so much angered the earl of Kent, that he coarsely told her that her death would be the life of the protestant religion, as her life would have been the death of it. Having taken a sparing and early sup- per, the unhappy Mary passed the night In making a distribution of her effects and in religious offices, until her usual hour for retiring, when she went to bed and slept for some hours. She rose very early, and resumed her religions exercises, using a consecrated host which had been sent to her by pope Pius. As the fatal hour approached she dressed herself in a rich habit of velvet and silk. Scarcely had she done so when Andrews, sheriff of the county, entered the room and summoned her to the last dread scene, to which she was supported by two of sir Amias Paulet's guards, an infirmity in her legs preventing her from walking without aid. As she entered the hall adjoining her room she was met by the earls of Shrews- bury and Kent, sir Amias Paulet, sir Drue Drury, and other gentlemen ; and here sir Andrew Melvil, her attached steward, threw himself upon his knees before her, lament- ing her fate and wringing his hands in an agony of real and deep grief. She com- forted him by assurances of her own perfect resignation, bade him report in Scotland that she died a true woman to her religion, and said, as she resumed her way to the scaffold, ' Recommend rae, Melvil, to my son, and tell him that, notwithstanding all my distresses, I have done nothing preju- dicial to the st.ite and kingdom of Scotland. And now, my good Melvil, farewell ; once again, farewell, good Melvil, and grant the assistance of thy prayers to thy cjueen and mistress.' She now turned to the earls, and begged that her servants might freely enjoy the presents she had given them and be sent safely to their own country ; all which was readily promised. But the earls objected to the admission of her attendants to the execution, and some difficulty was even made about any of them being present in her last moments. This really harsh re- fusal roused her to a degree of anger she had not previously shown, and she indig- nantly said to the earls, ' I know that your mi.stress, being a maiden aueen, would vouchsafe, in regard of womanhood, that I should have some of ray own people about me at my death. I know that her m.ajesty hath not given you any such strict com- mand but that you might grant me a re- quest of far greater courtesy, even though I were a woman of inferior rank to that which I bear. I am cousin to your queen, and descended from the blood royal of Heury Vin., and a married queen of France, and an anointed queen of Scotland.' This remonstrance had due effect, and she was allowed to select four of her male and two of her female servants to attend her to the scaffold ; her steward, physician, apothecary, and surgeon, with her maids Curie and Kennedy. Tiius attended, she was led into an ad- joining hall in wliich was a crowd of spec- tators, and the scaffold, covered with black cloth. The warrant having been re.ad, the dean of Peterborough stepped forward and addressed her in exhortation to repentance of her sins, acknowledgement of the justice of her sentence, and reliance for mercy and salvation only upon the mediation and merits of Christ. During the dean's ad- dress Mary several times endeavoured to interrupt him, and at the concIu.sion she said, ' Trouble not yourself any more about the matter, for I was born in this religion, I have lived in this religion, and I will die in this religion.' She now ascended the scaffold, saying to Paulet, who lent her his arm, ' I thankyou, sir ; it is the last trouble I shall give you, and tlie most acceptable service that you have ever rendered me." The queen of Scots now, in a firm voice, told the persons as- sembled that 'She would have them recol- lect that she was a sovereign princess, not subject to the parliament of England, but brought there to suffer by violence and in- justice. She thanked God for having given her this opportunity to make public pro- fession of her faith, and to declare, as she often before had declared, that she had never imagined, nor compassed, nor con- sented to the death of the Engli.sh queen, nor even sought the least harm to her per- son. After her death many things, which were then buried in darkness, would come to light. But she pardoned, from her heart, all her enemies, nor should her tongue utter that which might chance to prejudice them.' At a sign from the earls the weeping maid servants now advanced to disrobe their mistress. The executioners, in their sordid fear lest they should thus lose their perquisites, the rich attire of the queen, hastily interfered. Mary blushed .and drew back, observing that she had not been ac- customed to undress before such an audi- ence, or to be served by such valets. But as no interference was made by the earls, she submitted ; her neck was bared ; her maid Kennedy pinned a handkerchief edged with gold over her eyes ; and an executioner, taking hold of each of her arms, led her to the block, upon which she laid her head, saying audibly, and in firm tones, ' Into thy hands, O God, I commend ray spirit.' The executioner now .advanced, but was so completely unnerved that his first blow missed the neck, deeply wounding the skull; 358 €i)C Crca^uui of ^^tsJtarg, &t. !\ soooml WHS likewise tiioiroctiml : iit tlio tliir>l the lif.iil WHS soviivil from tlio tunly. The uiili:ip|\v l:iil5' ovIiU-iitly dictl in iiitiMisc nsony, (.ir wlion he xxliilutcil tin' licaii ti> the spectators, tliomusiiosof Iho faco woro 80 distorted that the features could scarcely be recojiiilseil. VThHii the executioner, on exhibiting the head, cried ' t^od save queen Elizabeth,' the dean of retorboivujjh replied, • And so perish all her enemies ;' to which the earl of Kent added, ' So perish all the enemies of the gospel.' The body was on the following day em- balmed and burled In Peterborough cathe- dral, whence, in the next reign, it was re- moved to Westminster abbey. CH.\PTER XLTII. The Jieign 0/ Elizabeth {continued). A.D. 1587. — The trasical scene we have just described must have convinced even the most devoted of Elizabeth's subjects that their 'virciu queen' was not over abundantly blessed with the ' godlike qua- lity of mercy,' whatever opinion they might entertain of Mary's p.articipation in the crime for which she suffsred. But there are many circumstances connected with the history of this period which may be pleaded in extenuation of conduct that in less criti- cal times could only be viewed with unal- loyed abhorrence and disgust. The m.as- sacre of St. Bartholomew was still fresh in the recollection of everyone, and the bigot- ed zeal which the queen of Scots ever dis- played in favour of the catholics, whose as- cendancy in England she ardently desired, gave a mournful presage of what was to be expected hy the protestant iiopulation should their opponents succeed in their desperate macliiiiatinus. But whatever may have been the secret wishes, or re.il inten- tions of Elizabeth, her subsequent behaviour had the semblance of unfeigned sorrow. Eli- zabeth, iu fact, did what she could to throw off the odium that this sanguinary transac- tion had cast upon her. She wrote to the king of Scotland In terms of the deepest regret, declared that the warrant she had been induced to sign was to have lain dor- mant, and imprisoned Davison, fining him In the sum of 10,000;., which reduced him to a state not f.ir removed from actual beg- gary. Oue of the most memonible events in English history was now near at hand ; oue which called for all the energy and patri- otic devotion that a brave and independent people were cap.ible of making: and con- se^iuently, every minor consideration van- ished at its approach. This was the pro- jected Invasion of our island by Philip of Spain. This mon.arch, disappointed in his hopes of marrying Elizabeth, returned the queen her collar of the garter, and from th.1t time the most irreconcilable jealousy appears to have existed between them. In all the ports throughout his extensive do- minions the note of preparation was heard, and the most powerful navy that ever had been collected was now at his disposal. An army of 50,000 mea was also assem- I bled under experienced generals, and the coMimaiul of the wlmle was given to the : celohrated duke of Parma. The catholics \ on the Ciiullucnt wiTc iu an ecstasy of de- light ; the pope bestowed his benediction on an expedition that seemed destined onco more to restore the supremacy of the holy see, and It was unanimously hailed by all who wished It success .as the inriiicible ar- 7iinrfody.' A.i>. liKHX — Sliortly after liis disgrace, Essex wrote to .laiiios of Scotland, Inform- ing liiin that the faction wlio ruled tlio court wero in league to deprive liini of his right to the throne of England, in favour of tlie infanta of Spain ; and he offered his services to extort from EIizal)eth an ac- knowledgment of his claims. It appears, indeed, from concurrent testimony, that the conduct of Essex had now become highly traitorous, and that he was secretly collect- ing together a party to aid him in some enterprise dangerous to the ruling power. But his plans were frustrated by the acti- vity of ministers, who had received infor- mation that the grand object of the conspi- rators was to seize the queen's person and take possession of the Tower. A council was called, and Essex was commanded to attend ; but he refused, assembled his friends, and fortifled Essex-house, in which he had jireviousiy secreted hired soldiers. Four of the privy council being sent thither to enquire into the reason of his conduct, he imprisoned them, and sallied out into the city; but he failed in his attempt to excite the people in his favour, and on re- turning to his house, he and his friend tlie earl of Southampton were with some dilll- culty made prisoners, and after having been first taken to Lambeth palace, were com- mitted to the Tower. A.D. 1601.— The rash and aspiring Essex now only begged that he might have a fair trial, still calculating on the influence of the Queeu to protect him in tlie hour of his ut- most need. Proceedings were commenced against him instanter ; his errors during his administration in Ireland were repre- sented in the most odious colours ; the un- dutiful expressions he had used in some of his letters were greatly exaggerated; and his recent treasonable attempt was dwelt on as calling for the exercise of the utmost severity of the law. His condemnation fol- lowed ; judgement was pronounced against him, and against his friend, the earl of Southampton. This nobleman was, how- ever, spared ; but Essex was conducted to the fatal block, where he met his death with great fortitude, being at the time only in the thirty-fourth year of his age. His most active accomplices were CulT, his secretary, Merrick, his steward, sir Chris- topher Blount, his father-in-law, and sir Robert Davers, who were executed some few days after. The parliamentary proceedings of this year were more elaborate than before, par- ticularly as regarded the financial state of the country. It was stated that the whole of the last subsidies amounted to no more than 160,000?., while the expense of the Irish war alone was 300,0002. On this occa^ sion it was observed by sir Walter Raleigh that the estates of the nobility and gentry, which were charged at thirty or forty pounds in the queen's books, were not charged at a hundredth part of their real value. He also moved, that as scarcely any justices of the peace were ratud aljoveeight ur ten pounds a-year, they might be ad- vanced to twenty pounds at least, wiiich was the qualillcation required by the sta- tute for a justice of peace : but the com- mons declined to alter the rate of taxation and leave themselves liable to bo taxed at the rack-rent. Monopolies upcm various branches of trade were next brought undar consideration; and as tliey were gemrally oppressive and unjust (some obtained by purcliaso and others given to favouriti'si, many animated discussions followed, wliich ended in a motion, that the mouuiiolics should be revoked, and the patentees pu- nished for their extortions. Of course there were members present who were venal enough to defend this iniquitous mode of enriching certain individuals at the expense of the public. A long list of tlie monopo- lising patentsbeing, however, read — among which was one on salt, an article that had been thus raised from fourteen pence to fourteen shillings a bushel— a member in- dignantly demanded whether there was not a patent also for making bread; at which question some courtiers expressing their resentment, he replied that if bread were not already among the patented luxuries, it would soon become one unless a stop was put to such enormities. That the argu- ments of the speakers were not lost upon tlie queen seems certain ; for although she took no notice of the debates, she sent a mes- sage to the house, acquainting them that several petitions had been presented to her against monopolies, and declared ' she was sensibly touched with the people's griev- ances, expressing the utmost indignation against those who had abused her grants, and appealed to God how careful she had ever been to defend them against oppres- sion, and promised they should be revoked.' Secretary Cecil added, ' her majesty was not apprised of the ill tendency of these grants when she made them, .and hoped there would never be any more ;' to which gracious declaration the majority of the house responded ' Amen.' In this memorable session was passed the celebrated act, to which allusion is so often made in the present day, for the re- lief and employment of the poor. Since the breaking up of the religious establish- ments, the country had been overrun with idle mendicants and thieves. It was a na- tural consequence that those who sought in vain for work, and as vainly implored charitable aid, should be induced by the cravings of hunger to lay violent hands upon the proi>erty of others. As the dis- tresses of the lower orders increased, so did crime ; till at length the wide-spreading evil forced itself on the attention of parlia- ment, and provision was made for the bet- tering of their condition, by levying a tax upon the middle and upper classes for the support of the aged and infirm poor, and for affording temporary relief to the desti- tute, according to their several necessities, luider the direction of parochial officers. "We must now briefly revert to what was going on in Ireland. Though the power of the Spaniards was considered as at too CEiigTanTr.— ?g0ti^c of Culf0r.— CBIijatietlj. 363 low an ebb to give the English goverhiiieiil any great uneasiness for the safety of its possessions, it was thought sulHciently for- midable to be the means of annoyance as regarded the assistance it might afford Ty- rone, who was still at the head of the In- surgents in Ireland. And the occurrence we are about to mention shows that a rea- sonable apprehension on that head might well be entertained. On September 23, the Spaniards landed 4,000 men near Kinsale, and having taken possession of the town, were speedily followed by 2,000 more. They effected a junction with Tyrone ; but Mountjoy, who was now lord- deputy, surprised their array in the night, and entirely defeated them. This led to I lie surrender of Kinsale and all other places in their possession ; and It was not long before Tyrone, as a captive, graced the 1 riumphal return of Mountjoy to Dublin. A.D. 1603.— The most remarkable among I III' domestic occurrences of this year was :\ violent qu.arrel between the Jesuits and I he secular priests of England. The latter a reused the former, and not without reason (if having been the occasion, by their assas- sinations, plots, and conspiracies against the queen and government, of all the severe enactments under which the English catho- lics had groaned since the fulmination of the papal bull against her majesty In the height of this dispute intelligence was con- veyed to the privy council of some fresh plots on the part of the Jesuits and their adherents; on which a proclamation was immediately issued, banishing this order from the kingdom on pain of death ; and the same penalty was declared against all secular priests who should refuse to take the oath of allegiance. Tliat queen Eliz.abeth deeply regretted the precipitancy with which .she signed the warrant for the execution of her favourite Essex there is every reason to believe. She soon became a victim to hypochondria, as may be seen from a letter written by her godson, sir John H.arringtou ; and as it ex- IjI bits a curious example of her behaviour, and may be regarded as a specimen of the epistolary style of the age, we are induced to quote some of the sentences: — 'She is much disfavoured and uuattired, and these troubles waste her much. She disregardeth everie costlie cover that cometh to her table, and taketh little but manchet and succory jiottage. Every new message from the city doth disturb her, and she frowns on all the ladies.' He farther on remarks, that ' The many evil plots and designs hath overcome her highness's sweet temper. She walks much in her privy chamber, and stamps much at ill news ; and thrusts her rusty Bword, at times, into the arras in great rage." And in his postscript he says, ' So disordered is all order, that her highness has worn but one change of raiment for many dales, and swears much at those who cause her griefs in such wise, to the no small discomfiture of those that arc about her ; more especially our sweet lady Arun- del.' Her days and nights were spent In tears, and she never spoke but to mention some irritating subject. N.ay, it is recorded, that having experienced some hours of alarming stupor, she persisted, after her re- covery from it, to remain seated on cushions, from which she could not be prevailed upon to remove during ten days, but sat with her linger generally ou her mouth, and her eyes open and fixed upon the ground, for she ap- prehended that if she lay down in bed she should not rise from it again. Having at length been put into bed. she lay on her side motionless, and apparently insensible. The lords of the council being summoned, Nottingham reminded her of a former speech i-especting her successor: she an- swered, ' I told you my seat had been the scat of kings, and I will have no rascal to succeed me. Who should succeed me but a king?' Cecil, wishing a more explicit declaration, requesting her to explain what she meant by 'no rascal,' she replied that ' a king should succeed, and who could that be but her cousin of Scotland 1 ' Early the following morning the queen tranquilly breathed her last : she was in the 70th year of her age and the 45th of her reign. Elizabeth was tall and portlj , but never handsome, though from the fulsome com- pliments which she tolerated in those who had access to her person, she appears to have entertained no mean opiniim of her beauty. Her extravagant love of finery was well known, and the presents of jewellery, &c. she received from such of her loving subjects as hoped to gain the royal favour were both numerous and costly. Like her father, she was irritable and passionate, often venting her rage in blows and oaths Her literary acquirements were very con- siderable ; .and in those accomplishments which are in our own day termed ' fashion- .able,' namely, music, singing, and dancing, she also greatly excelled. The charges which have been made against the ' virgin queen ' for indulging in amatory intrigues are not sufficiently sustained to render it the duty of an historian to repeat them ; and when it - is considered that though she possessed a host of sturdy friends, yet she had many bitter enemies, we need not to be sur|)rised that in the most vulnerable point her cha- racter as a female has often been unjustly assailed. CHAPTER XLVIII. The Beign of Jajies I. A. D. 1603.— Thb advanced age to which the late queen lived, and the constant at- tention which her remaining unmarried had caused men to pay to the subject of the succession, had made the succession of James become a thing as fully settled in public opinion as though it had been set- tled by her will or an act of parliament. All the arguments for and against him had been canvassed and dismissed, and he as- cended the throne of England with as little opposition as though he had been Eliza- beth's eldest son. As the kingjourneyed from Edinburgh to London all ranks of men hailed him with the thronging and applause which had seemed so acceptable to his predecessor. But if James liked flattery, he detested 364 djc STrea^urjj of |^tSt0rg» &c. noise and bii.itle ; nnd a pri)c1aninrliii\ was Issurd forliidcliiic so iinuii rnm.-rr:ral iiitr of the Uegcs, on Ilio L-round tliat it Iciulod to make provisicms scarce and exorbi- tantly dear. It w as only shyness, however, and not any insensibility to the hearty kindness of his new subjects, that dictated the kincr's iiroclamation. So pleased, in- deed, was he with the zealous knuiness fihown to hini by the English, that he had not been two months before them when he had honoured with the order of knighthood nearly two hundred and forty persons 1 reeragcs were bestowed pretty nearly in the same proportion ; and a good-humoured pasquinade was posted at St. Paul's, pro- ! mising to supply weak memories with the now very necessary art of remembering the titles of the new nobility. It was not merely the king's facility in ! granting titles that was blamed, though | that was in remarkable, and, as regarded j his judgement at least. In by no means fa- 1 vourable contrast to the practice of his pre- j decessor: but the English, already jealous of their new fellow-subjects, the Scots, were of opinion that he was more than fairly libe- ral to the latter. But if James made the duke of Lenox, the earl of Mar, lord Hume, lord Kinross, sir George Hume, and secre- tary Elphinstone members of the English privy council, and gave titles and wealth to sir George Hume, Hay, and Ramsay, he at least had thehonourand good sense to leave nearly the whole of the ministerial honours and political power in the hands of the able English who had so well served his predecessor. Secretary Cecil, especially, who had kept up a secret correspondence with James towards the close of the late reign, had now the chief power, and was created, in succession, lord Effingham, vis- count Cranbourne, and earl of Salisbury. It is not a little surprising that while James was so well received by the nation at large, and had the instant support of the mi- nisters and friends of the late queen, he had scarcely finished renewing treaties of peace and friendship -with all the great foreign powers, when a conspiracy was discovered forplacing his cousin, Arabella Stuart, upon the throne. Such a conspiracy was so ab- surd, and its success so completely a physical Impossibility, that it is difficult not to sus- pect that it originated in the king's own excessive and unnecessary jealousy of the title of Arabella Stuart, who, equally with himself, was descended from Henry Til., but who in no other respect could have the faintest chance of competing with him. But, however it originated, such a conspi- racy existed; and the lords Grey and Cob- hatn, and sir Walter Raleigh, lord Cob- ham's brother Mr. Broke, sir Griffin Mark- ham, sir Edward Parham, and Mr. Copley, together with two catholic priests named Watson and Clarke, were apprehended for heing concerned in it. The catholic priests were executed, Cobham, Grey, and Markham were pardoned while their heads ■were upon the block, and Raleigh was also reprieved, but not pardoned ; a fact which was fatal to him many years after, as will be perceived. Even at present it was mis- chievous to him, for, though spared from death, he w.as confined in the Tower, where he wrote his noble work the History of the World. A.D. 1C04.— A conference wa-s now called at Hampton Court to decide upon certain differences between the church .and the puritans, and generally to arrange that uo injurious religious disputes might arise. As James had a great turn for theological dis- putation, he was here quite in his element; but instead of showing the puritans all the favour the.T expected from him in conse- quence of his Scotch education, that very circumstance induced the king to side against them, at least as far as he pru- dently could ; as he had had abundant proof of the aptness of puritanical doctrine to produce seditious ptjlitics. He was impor- tuned, for instance, by the puritans to re- peal an act passed in the reign of Elizabeth to suppress certain puritanical societies called prophesying^, at which there was usually more zeal than sense, and more elo- quence than rehgion. The reply of James was at once so coarsely practical, and so indicative of his general way of thinking upon such points, that we transcribe it literally. 'If what you aim at is Scottish presbytery, as I think it is, I tell you that it agrees as well with monarchy as the devil with God. There Jack, and Tom, and Will, and Dick, shall meet and censure me and my council. Therefore I reiterate my former speech; le roi s'avisera. Stay, I pray you, for seven years before you de- maud, and then if I be grown pursy and fat, I may perchance hearken to you, for that sort of government would keep me in breath and give me work enough ! ' Passing over the business of parliament at the commencement of this reign, as con- cerning matters of interest rather to the statesman and scholar than to the general reader, we have now to advert to one of the most striking and remarkable events in our historj— the gunpowder plot. A.I). 1604.— 'The affection that the catho- lics had ever shown his mother, and their interpretation of some obligingexpressions that he had either artfully or in mere care- lessness made use of, had led them to hope that he would p-eatiy relax. If not wholly repeal, the severe laws passed against then; during the reign of his predecessor. But James had clearly and unequivocally shown that he had no intention of doing aught that could diminish the authority and se- curity of the crown ; and the more enthusi- astic" catholics were in consequence very greatly excited against him. Catesby, a gentleman of good birth and excellent character, first looked upon the subject as one demanding the absolute pun- ishment of the king, and he communi- cated his feelings to his friend Piercy, a descendant of the time-honoured house of Northumberland. Piercy proposed simply to assassinate the king, but in the course of the discussion of the iilan Catesby sug- gested a wider and more effectual plan, by which they would rid Catholicism not mere- ly of the king, but of the whole protestant strength of the kingdom. He pointed out eiifltaulr.— House of ^txmtU—BumtS 5. 365 that the nirrc death of the king, and even of his children, would be of little avail while the jirotestant nobles and gentry could raise another king to the throne who. In addition to all the existing causes of the Protestant severity, would be urged to new rigour liy the very circumstance to which he would owe his power to indulge it. To make the di'ed effectual, Catesby continued, it would be necessary to take the opportunity of the first day of the parliament, when king, lords, and commons would be all as- sembled, and, by means of a mine below the house, blow the whole of their enemies up at once with gunpowder. Nothing but a fierce and mistaken fana- ticism Could [illow one man to suggest so dreadrni a sclinne, or another man to ap- prove of it; liut Piercy at once entered int(5 Catesliy's jilan, and they took means for preparing for its execution. Thomas Winter was sent over to Flanders in search of Guido Vaux, an officer in the Spanish service, and well kno^vn alike as a bigoted catholic and a cool and daring soldier. Ca- tesby and Piercy in the meantime, aided by Desmond and Garnet, Jesuits, and the lat- ter the superior of the order in England, were busily engaged in communicating their awful design to other catholics; and every newly enlisted confederate had the oath of secresy and faithfulness adminis- tered to him, in conjunction with the com- munion, a rite peculiarly awful as under- stood by the catholics. Tlie destruction of protestants all the confederates seem to have considered to be a quite unexceptionable act ; but some of the more thoughtful and humane among them suggested the certainty that, besides several catholic peers who would attend, there might be many other catholics pre- sent, either as mere spectators or as oflBcial attendants. Even this suggestion, which one might suppose effectual as to forbid- ding the execution of Catesby's wholesale scheme, was silenced by the truly Jesuitical remark of the two Jesuits, that the sacrifice of a few innocent among the guilty many, was la\vful and highly meritorious, because it was required by the interests of religion ! A.D. 1605.— Towards the end of summer Piercy hired a house adjoining to that in which parliament used to assemble ; and having instruments, arms, and provisions with them, they laboured hard in it for many hours each day, and had already mined three feet through the solid wall when they were stopped and,alarmed by plainly hearing on the other side a noise for which they could give no account. On enquiry it seemed that the noise arose from the sale of the stock of a coal dealer who had occupied a vault, next to their own, and immediately below the house of lords. This opportunity was seized ; Piercy hired the vault, and six-and-thirty barrels of gunpowder were clandestinely conveyed thither and concealed beneath the loads of wood, for the reception of which alone Piercy had seemed to need the place. Having thus surmounted all the great and apparent obstacles to the success of their design, the conspirators distributed , among themselves the several parts they were to act on the eventful day. Guido Vaux was to fire the fatal train ; Piercy was to seize or slay the infant duke of York ; and the princess Elizabeth, also a mere in- fant, who would be a powerless instrument in the hands of the catholics, was to be seized and proclaimed queen by Grant, Rookwood, and sir Everard Digby, three of the leading conspirators, who were to have a large armed party in readiness on pre- tence of a hunting match. The dreadful scheme had now been on foot for above a year and a half, and was known to more than twenty persons, but neither fear of punishment, the hope of re- ward, or any of the motives which ordina- rily make conspirators untrue to each other, had caused any one of the desperate band to falter. A personal feeling of gratitude now did what no other feeling, perhaps, could have done, and caused one of the con- spirators to take a step which saved the nation from horrors of which even at this distance of time one cannot contemplate the mere possibility but with a shudder. Some one of the conspirators lying under obligations to lord Monteagle, a catholic and a son of lord Morley, sent him the fol- lowing letter, which evidently was intended to act upon his personal prudence and secure his safety, without enabling him in anywise to oppose the ruthless butchery that was designed :— ' My Lord,— Out of the love I bear to some of your friends I have a care of your pre- servation, therefore I would advise you as you tender your life to devise some excuse to shift oif your attendance upon this par- liament. For God and man have concurred to punish the wickedness of the time. Think not lightly of this advertisement, but retire yourself into your country, where you may expect the event in safety. For though there be no appearance of any stir, yet, I say, they will receive a terrible blow this parliament, and yet they shaU not see who hurts them. This counsel is not to be con- temned, because it may do you good, and can do you no harm, for the danger is past as soon as you burn this letter. And I hope God will give you the grace to make good use of it, unto whose holy protection I com- mit you.' Cecil, now earl of Salisbury, was the principal and most active of the king's mi- nisters, and to that nobleman Monteagle fortunately determined to carry the letter, though he was himself strongly inclined to think it nothing but some silly attempt to frighten him from his attendance in parlia- ment. Salisbury professed to have the same opinion of the letter, but laid it before the king some days before the meeting of par- liament. James, who, amidst many absur- dities, was in the main a shrewd man, saw the key to the enigma in the very style of the letter itself ; and lord Suffolk, the lord chamberlain, was charged to examine the vaults beneath the houses of parliament on the day before that appointed for opening the session. He did so in open day, and, as if as a simple matter of form, went through the cellars and came out without 866 CTFje CrcaSurg o{ Itjifftarji, i(C. affecting to pee anjthiim' amlj?:. But lie had been struck liy tlie pln(riilnrity of Plcrcy, a private ponllcinan who lived but little in town, having amassed surh an Inor- dinate store ol fuel : and he read the con- spirator in the desperate countenance of Guide Vaux, who was lurking ahout the jilare in the garb and character of a servant to Pierry. Acting on these susiiicions, the ministers caused a second search to be made at midnight by a well-armed party under sir Thomas Knivet, a justice of peace. At the very door of the vault they seized Vaui, who had made all his preparations and even had his tinder-box and matches ready to fire the train ; the faggots of wood were turned over, and the i^owder found. Vaux was sent under an escort to the Tower, but was so far from seeming appalled by his danger, that he sneeringly told his captors that if he had known a little earlier that they intended to pay him a second visit he would have fired the train, and sweet- ened his own death by killing them with him. He behaved in the same daring style when examined by the council on the following day; but two or three days' resi- dence in the Tower and a threat of putting him on the rack subdued him, and he made a full discovery of his confederates. C'a- tesby, Piercy, and their other friends who were to act in London, heard not only of a letter being sent to lord Monteagle, but also of the first search made in the vaults ; yet were they so infatuated and so resolute to persevere to the last, that it was only when Vaux was actually arrested that they left London and hurried down to "War- wickshire, where Digby and his friends were already in arms to seize the princess Elizabeth. But the sheriff rai-sed the county in time to convey the young princess to Co- ventry ; and the baflfled.^'onspirators, never more than eighty in number, had now only to think of defending themselves until they could make their escaiie from the country. But the activity of the sheriH and other gen- try surrounded them by such numbers that escape in any way was out of the question, and having confessed themselves to each other, they pre)>ared to die with a desperate gallantry worthy of a nobler cause. They fought Tith stem determination, but some of their powder took fire and disabled them ; Catesby and Piercy were killed by a single shot; Digby, Rookwood, and Winter, with Garnet, the Jesuit, were taken prisoners, and soon after perished by the hands of the executioner. It is a terrible proof of the power of superstition to close men's eyes to evil, that though Garnet's crime was of the most ruffianly description, though he had used his priestly influence to delude his confederates and tools when their bet- ter nature prompted them to shrink from such wholesale and unsparing atrocity, the catholics imagined miracles to be wrought with this miserable miscreant's blood, and in Spain he was even treated as a martyr ! Throughout this whole aitair, indeed, the evil nature of superstition was to blame for all the guilt and all the suffering. The conspirators in this case were not low ruf- fians of desperate fortune ; they were for the most part men of both property and character ; and Catesby was a man who possessed an especially and enviably high character. Digby also was a man fif excel- lent reputation, so much so that his being a known and rigid papist had not prevented him from being highly esteemed and ho- noured by queen Elizabeth. ■When the punishment of the wretches who had mainly been concerned in this plot left the court leisure for reflection, some minor but severe punishments were inflicted upon those who were thought by connivance or negligence tn have been in any degree aiding the chief offenders. Thus the earl of Northumberland was fined the then enormous sum of thirty thousand pounds, and imprisoned for seven years af- terwards, because he had not exacted the usual oaths from Piercy on admitting liim to the office of gentleman pensioner. The catholic lords Stourton and Mordaunt, too, were fined, the former four and the latter ten thousand pounds by that ever-arbitrary court, the star-chamber, for no other offence than their absence from parliament on this occasion. This absence was taken as a proof of their knowledge of the plot, though surely, if these two noblemen had kno^vn of it, they would have warned many other cathoUcs ; while a hundred more in- nocent reasons might cause their o-rni ab- sence. Of the conduct of James, in regard to the duty he owed to justice in punishing the guilty, and confining punishment strictly to those of whose guilt there is the most unequivocal proof, it is not easy to speak too warmly. The prejudice shown against catholics in the case of the lords Stourton and Mordaunt, and the infinite brutalities inflicted upon the wretched con- spirators, were the crimes of the age ; but the severe and dignifled attention to a just and large charity of judgement as a general principle, which is displayed in the king's speech to this parliament, is a merit all his own. He observed, says Hume, ' that though religion had engaged the conspirators in so criminal an attempt, yet ought we not to involve all the Roman catholics in the same guilt, or suppose them equally disposed to commit such enormous barbarities. Many holy men, and our ancestors among the rest, had been seduced to concur with that church in her scholastic doctrines, who yet had never admitted her seditious princi- ples, concerning the pope's power of de- throning kings or sanctifj-ing assassination. The wrath of heaven is denounced against crimes, but innocent error may obtain its favour ; and nothing can be more hateful than the uncharitahleness of the puritans who condemn alike to eternal torments even the most inoffensive partisans of po- pery. For his own part, that conspiracy, howeveratrocious, should never alter, in the least, his plan of government ; while with one hand he would punish guilt, with the other he would still support and protect innocence.' A.D. 1606. — The Protestants, and espe- cially the puritans, were inclined to plunge (SnsUnts.—'^auSt of ^ttiart.— SlamfS 5. 367 to a very grent extent into that injustice of wlilc.li the king's speech so alily warned them. But the king, even at some hazard to himself and at some actual loss of popu- larity, persisted in looking at men's secular conduct as a thing quite apart from their ghostly opinions. He bestowed employ- ment and favour, oth.er things being equal, alike on catholic and protestant ; and tlie only h.ardship caused to the great body of the papists by the horrible gunpowder plot was the enactment of a bill obliging every- one wilhcuit exception to take oath of alle- giance. No great hardship upon any good subject or honest and humane man, since it only abjured the power of the pope to dethrone tlio king I AbiKist as s 1 as James arrived in Eng- land he slioH'cil himself in one respect, at the least, far more advanced in true states- manship than most of his subjects. They for a long time displayed a small and spite- ful jealousy of the Scots; he almost as soonas he mounted the English throne, en- deavoured to merge England and S.-oiland, two separate nations, always sullen and sometimes sanguinary enemies, into a (Treat Britain that might indeed bid defiance to the world, and that should be united in laws and liberties, in prosperity and in interests, as it already was by the hand of nature. There was nothing, however, in the earlier part of his reign, by which so much heart-burning was caused between the king and his parliament, as by the wisdom of the former and the ignorance and narrow prejudice of the latter on this very point. All the exercise of the king's earnestness and Intiuence, aided by the eloquence of, perhaps, all things con- sidered, tlie greatest man England has ever had, sir Francis Bacon, could not succeed over the petty nationalities of the Scotch and English parliaments any farther for the present, than to procure an tuigracious and reluctant repeal of the di- rectly hostile laws existing in the two king- doms respectively. Nay, so hostile, at the onset, was the English p.arliament to a measure the grand necessity and value of which no one could now dispute without being suspected of the sheerest idiocy, that the bishop of Bristol, for writing a book in favour of the measure which lay ignorance thus condemned, was so fiercely clamoured .against, that he was obliged to save himself from still harder measures by making a humlile submission to these ig- norant and bigoted legislators. A.D. 1007.— The practical tolerance of the king as opposed to his arbitrary maxims of government, and the parliament's lust of persecution as contrasted with its perpe- tual struggles to obtain more power and liberty for itself, were strongly illustrated this year. A bill was originated in the lower house for a more strict observance of the laws against popish recusants, and for an abatement towards such protestant clergymen as should scruple at the still exist- ing church ceremonials. This measure was doubly distasteful to the king; as a highly liberal protestant he disliked the attempt to recur to the old severities against the catholics; and as a high prerogative mo- narch he was still more hostile to the in- sidious endeavour of the puritans, by weakening the church of England, to ac- quire the power to themselves of bearding and coercing the civil government. In this same year, however, the very par- liament which, on the remonstrance of the king, obediently stopped the progress of that doubly disag:reeable measure, gave a striking proof of its growing sense of self- importance by commencing a regular jour- nal of its proceedings. A.D. IBIO. — James was so careful to pre- serve peace abroad that much of his reign might ho passed over without remark, but for the freiiuent Iiickcrings which occurred between him and liis parliament on the siiliji rt of Tiioiicy. Even in the usually ar- bitrary rciLTU of Elizabeth the parliament had already learned the power of the purse. The puritan party was now gradually ac- quiring that feeling, at once tyrannical and republican, which was to be so fatal to the ' nioiianiiy and so disgraceful to thenation, and altliouu'li J.ames was allowed a theore- tical despotism, a mere tyranny of maxims and sentences, some merely silly, and others — could he have acted upon them— to the last degree dangerous, the true tyranny was that of the parliament, which exerted their power with the merciless and fitful malig- nity of a dwarf which has suddenly become possessed of a giants strength. The earl of Salisbury, who was now the treasurer, laid before both houses, this session, tlie very peculiar situation In which the king was placed. Queen Elizabeth, though she had received large supplies during the latter part of her reign, had made very consider- able alienations of the crown bands ; the cro-wn was now burdened with debt to the amount of 300,00o;., and the king was obliged, instead of a single court, as in the late reign, to keep three courts, his own, that of the queen, and that of the prince of Wales. But though these really strong and most reasonable arguments were also urged by the king himself in his speech to parlia- ment, they granted him only one hundred tliousand pounds — his debts alone being thrice that sum ! It cannot, after this statement of the situation of the king and the temper in which parliament used the power we have spoken of, he astonishing that henceforth there was one perpetual struggle between them, he striving for the means of supporting the national dignity, and indulgingagenerosity of temper which, imprudent in any king, was doubly so in one who had to deal with so close-fisted a parliament ; and they striving at once to abridge the king's prerogative, and to escape from supplying even his most reasonable demands. An incident occurred this year which, taken in contrast with the extreme horror of foreign disputes which James usually displayed, affords a rather amusing illustra- tion of the extent to which even so petty a ' ruling passion ' as pedantry may domineer over all others. Vorstius, a divinity professor of a German university, was ai^pointed to the chair of a 368 IS^t Crcaiurg of Witarp, Sec. Dutdi university, lie was a dlscljile of Ar- ininiiis, and moreover lind llic iircsumiitioii to lie opposed in arguineiit to king James, wlio did not think it beneath liis royal dig- nity, or too manifest and dangerous a de- parture from his pacillc foreign policy, se- riously to demand of the states that they should deprive and hanlsh the obnoxious professor. The procedure was at once go absurd and so severe, that the Dutch at first refused to remove Vorstius ; but the king returned to the charge with such an earnest fierceness, that the states deemed it politic to yield, and tlie poor professor, who was luckless enough to differ from king James, was deprived of both his home and employment. In the course of this dis- pute, James, who had so creditably argued lor charity in the case of the attempt of his puritans to oppress their catholic fellow- subjects, made use of this revolting obser- vation : - ' He would leave it to the states themselves as to the. burning of Torstiiis for blasphemies and atheism, but surely 7iever heretic better deserved the flames!* Of James's conduct in and towards Ire- land we have given a full account, which is very creditable to him, under the head of that country. We now, therefore, pass for- ward to the domestic incidents of England, commencing with the death of Henry, prince of Wales, an event which was deeply and with good reason deplored. A.D. 1612.— This young prince, who was only in his eighteenth year, was exceedingly beloved by the nation, having given every promise of a truly royal manhood. Ge- nerous, high-spirited, brave, and anxious for men's esteem, perhaps, in the turbulent days that awaited England, even his chief fault — a too great propensity to things mili- tary — would have proved of service to the nation, by bringingthe dispute between the crown and the puritans to an issue before the sour ambition of the latter could have sulBciently matured its views. Dignified and of a high turn of mind, he seems to have held the finessing and the somewhat vulgar familiarity of his father in some- thing too nearly approaching contempt. To Raleigh, who bad so long been kept a prisoner, be openly and enthusiastically avowed his attachment, and was heard to say, ' Sure no king except my father would keep such a bird in a cage.' So sudden was the young prince's death that evil tongues attributed it to poison, and some even hinted that the prince's popularity and free speech had become intolerable to his father. But the surgical examination of the body clearly proved that there was no poison in the case ; and moreover, if James failed at all in the parental character, it was by an excessive and indiscriminate fondness and indulgence. A.D. 1613.— The marriage of the princess Elizabeth to Frederic, the elector palatine, took place this year, and the entertain- ments in honour of that event served to dispel the deep gloom which had been caused by the death of prince Henry. But this event, so much rejoiced at, was one of the most unfortunate that occurred during the generally fortunate reign of James, I whom it plunged into expenses on account of his son-in-law which nothing could have Induced him to incur for any warlike enter prise of his own. But before we speak of the consequence of this unfortun.ate connection, we must, to preserve due order of time, refer to an event which created a strong feeling of horror and disgust throughout the nation— the murder of sir Thonnis Overbury at the instance of the earl and countess of So- merset. Kobert Carre, a youth of respectable but not wealthy family in Scotland, arrived in London in the year 1609, bringing with him letters of recommendation to lord Hay. Carre, then quite a youth, was singularly handsome and possessed in perfection all the merely external accomplishments; though his education was so imperfect, that it is stated that long after his introduction to the king's notice he was so ignorant i>f even the rudiments of the then almost in- dispensable Latin, that James was wont to exchange the sceptre for the birch, and personally to play the pedagogue to the boy- favourite. Noting the comely aspect and graceful bearing of young Carre, lord Hay took an opportunity to place him in the king's sight at a tilting match, and it chanced that on that very occasion James's attention was the more strongly drawn to him by an accident occurring by which young Carre's leg was broken. The sight of this so affected the king, that in the course of the day he went to the young patient's chamber, consoled him with many kind words, and became so pleased with his spirit and general behaviour, that he instantly adopted him as an especial and favoured personal attendant. Attentive to the lessons of the kingly pedagogue, and skilful in discovering and managing his weaknesses, young Carre also possessed the art for lack of which so many favourites have perished ; he was a courtier not only to the king but to all who approached the king. By thus prudently aiding the predilection of the king, Carre rapidly rose. He was knighted, then created earl of Rochester and K.G., and Introduced into the privy council. Wealth and power accompanied this rapid rise in rank, and in a short time this new favourite, without any definite office in the ministry, actually had more real influence in the management of affairs than the wise Salisbury himself. Much of his success Carre owed to the wise counsels of sir Thomas Overbury, whose friendship he claimed, and who be- came at once his adviser andhis client, and counselled him none the less earnestly and well because he felt that his own chief hope of rising at court rested upon the success of Carre. Thus guided, the naturally saga- cious and flexible youth soon ripened into the powerful, admired, and singularly pros- perous man. Unfortunately he became passionately attached to the young coun- tess of Essex, who as unfortunately re- turned his passion. This lady when only thirteen years of age, as lady Frances How- ard, daughter of the earl of Suffolk, was, by the king's request, married to the yoimg ([PnaIauii.HJ^0U)Se of ^tiinrt.— ^ame^ i. 369 earl of Essex, then only fourteen. In con- Bideration of their extreme youth the cere- mony was no sooner completed than the youthful brirtegroom departed to the conti- nent, and did not return from his travels until four years after. In the meantime the young countess of Essex and viscount Rochester had met, loved, and sinned ; and ■when the young earl, with the impatient ardour of eighteen, flew to his fair coun- tess, he was thunder-struck at being re- ceived not with mere coolness, but with something approaching to actual loathing and horror. The countess's passion for and guilty connection with Rochester were not even suspected, and every imaginable means were resorted to for the purpose of over- coming what was deemed to be a mere ex- cess of maidenly coyness. All means, how- ever, were alike vain, nothing could induce lier to live with her husband, and she and Rochester now determined to make way for their marriage by a divorce of the lady from the earl of Essex. Rochester consulted sir Thomas Over- bury ; but that prudent courtier, though he had been privy to and had even encouraged their criminal connection, was too sin- cerely anxious for the character and hap- piness of his friend not to dissuade him from the ignominy of procuring this di- vorce, and the folly of committing liis own peace and honour to the keeping of a woman of whose inconstancy he had personal know- ledge. Connected as Rochester and the countess were, the latter was not long igno- rant of this advice given by Overbury, and, with the rage of an Insulted woman and the artful blandishments of a be.auty, she easily persuaded the enamoured Rochester that he too was injured by that very con- duct in which Overbury had undoubtedly most proved the sincerity and the wisdom of his friendship. Having brought Ro- chester to this point, the countess found little difficulty in determining him to the ruin of that friend to whom he owed so much, and by artfully getting Overbury a mission from the king and then pri- vately counselling Overbury to reject it, he managed so to dupe and enrage James that the unfortunate Overbury was com- mitted to the Tower, where, however, it does not appear tliat James meant him long to remain. But the instant he entered there, sir Thomas was fully in the power of liis arch enemies. The lieutenant of the Tower, a mere creature and dependant of Rochester, confined Overbury with such strictness, that for six months the unfor- tunate man did not see even one of his nearest relatives. Having got rid of the grave and trouble- some opposition of Overbury, the guilty lovers now pushed forward matters; and the earl of Essex, completely cured of his love for the lady by what appeared to him the unaccountable capriciousnei5s of her con- duct, very gladly consented to a ridiculously Indecent plea, which induced the proper authorities to pronounce a divorce between the earl and countess of Essex. The latter was immediately married to her paramour Rochester, upon whom, that the lady might not lose a step in rank by her new mar- riage, the king now conferred the title of earl of Somerset. Though the imprisonment of Overbuiy h.ad thus completely served her purpose as to her divorce and re-marriage, it had by no means satiated the revenge of the countess. The forcible and bitter contempt with which Overhury had spoken of her was still far- ther envenomed by her own consciousness of its justice, and she now exerted all the power of her beauty and her blandish- ments, until she persuaded the uxorious Somerset that their secret was too much in danger while Overbury still lived, and that their safety demanded his death. Poison was resorted to ; both Somerset and his wife's uncle, the earl of Northampton, join- ing in the cowardly crime with some ac- complices of lower rank. Slight doses, only, were given to the doomed victim in the first place, but these failing of the desired effect, the foul conspirators gave him a dose so violent that he died, and with such evident marks of the foul treatment that he had met with, that an instant discovery was only avoided by burying the body with an indecent haste. From the moment that the unfortunate Overbury was destroyed, the whole feeling and aspect of the once ga.v and brilliant Somerset were changed. He became sad, silent, inattentive to the hmnours of the king, indifferent to the fatal charms of the countess, morose to all, shy of strangers, weary of himself. He had a doomed aspect ; the wild eye and hasty yet uncertain gait of one who sees himself surrounded by the avengers of blood and is every instant ex- pecting to feel their grasp. As what was at first attributed to tem- porary illness of body or vexation of mind became a settled and seemingly incurable habit, the king, almost boyish in his love of mirth in his hours of recreation, gradually grew wearied of the presence of his favourite. All the skill and polity of Somerset, all the artful moderation with which he had worn his truly extraor- dinary fortunes, had not prevented him from maknig many enemies ; and these no sooner perceived, with the quick eyes of courtiers, that the old favourite was falling, than they helped to precipitate his fall by the introduction of a young and gay can- didate for the vacant place in the royal favour. Just at this critical moment in the for- tunes of Somerset, George Villiers, the cadet of a good English family, returned from his travels. He was barely twenty- one years of age, handsome, well educated, gay, possessed of an audacious spirit, and with precisely that love and aptitude for personal adornment which became his youth. This attractive person was placed full in the king's view during the perform- ance of a comedy. James, as had been anticipated, no sooner saw him than he be- came anxious for his personal atteudance. After some very ludicrous coquetting be- tween his desire for a new favourite and his unwillingness to cast oft the old one, James had the young man introduced at court. 370 art^t CvcaSury of l^t^tni}?, ^r. and very goon appotnted him hiscup-beartr. Tliougli the roiiscicnce of Somei'set had long made him unlit Tir his former gaiety, he was by no means prepared to see him- self supplanted in the royal favour; but before lie could make auy effort to ruin or otherwise dispose of young Villiers, a dis- covery was made which very effectually ruined himself. Among the many persons whom Somer- set and his guilty countess had found it necessary to employ in the execution of their atrocious design, was an apothecary's apprentice who had been employed in mixing up the poisons. This man, now living at Flushing, made no scruple of openly stating that Overbury had died of poison, and that he had himself been era- ployed in preparing it. The report reached the ears of the English envoy in the Low Countries, and was by him transmitted to the secretary of state, Winwoud, who at once communicated it to the king. How- ever weary of his favourite, James was- struck with horror and surprise on receiv- ing this report, but with a rigid impar- tiality which does honour to his memory, he at; once sent for sir Edward Coke, the chief justice, and commanded him to ex- amine into the matter as carefully and as unsparingly as if the accused persons were the lowest and the least cared for in the land. The stern nature of Coke scarcely needed this injunction ; the enquiry was steadily and searchingly carried on, and it resulted in the complete proof of the guilt of the earl and countess of Somerset, sir Jervis Elvin, lieutenant of the Tower, Franklin, Weston, and Mrs. Turner. Of the temper of Coke this very trial affords a remarkable and not very creditable in- stance. Addressing Mrs. Turner, he told her that she was 'guilty of the seven deadly sins ; being a h.arlot, a bawd, a sorceress, a witch, a papist, a felon, and a murderer ! ' The honourable impartiality with which the king had ordered an enquiry into the murder of sir Thomas Overbury was not equally observed afterwards. All the accused were very properly condemned to death ; but the sentence was executed only on the ac- complices ; by far the worst criminals, the earl and countess, were pardoned 1 A very brief imprisonment and the forfeiture of their estates were allowed to e.xpiate their enormous crimes, and they were then as- signed a pension sufficient for their support, and allowed to retire to the country. But the pardon of man could not secure them the peace of heart which their crime had justly forfeited. They lived in the same house, but they lived only in an alternation of suUenness and chiding, and thus they dragged on many wretched years, a mutual torment in their old age as they had been a mutual snare in their youth, until they at length sank unregretted and uuhonoured into the grave. A.D. 1616.— The faU of Somerset neces- sarily facilitated and hastened the rise of young George Villiers, who in a wonder- fully short time obtained promotions— which, that the regularity of narrative may be preserved, we Insert here--as viscount Villiers, earl, marquis, and finally duke, of Uuckingham, knight of tlie garter, master of the horse, chief justice iu eyre, warden of the cinque ports, master of tlie King's Bench office, steward of Westminster, con- stable of Windsor, and lord high admiral of England. His mother was made coun- tess of Buckingham, his brother viscount Purbeck, and a whole host of his previ- ously obscure and needy friends obtained honours, places, patents, or wealth. The profusion of the king— to which jus- tice demands that we add the parsimony of the parliament— made him throughout his whole reign an embarrassed man ; and he now incurred great, though undeserved, odium by the course he took to supply his pressing aud immediate wants. When Eli- zabeth aided the infant states of Holland against the gigantic power of Spain, she had the important towns of Flushing, the Brille, and Uamraekins placed in her hands as pledges for the repayment of the money to England. Various payments had been m.ade which had reduced the debt to 600,000?., which sum the Dutch were under agreement to pay to James at the rate of 40,000i. per annum. This annual sum would doubtless have been of vast service to the king— but 26,0002. per annum were spent in maintaining his garrisons in the cautionary or mortgaged towus. Only 14,000;. remained clear to England, and even that would cease in the event of new warfare between Holland and Spain. Considering these things, and being pressed on all sides for money to satisfy just de- mands and the incessant cravings of his favourite and the court, the king gladly agreed to surrender the cautionary towns on the instaut payment by the Dutch of 250,000;. ; and, under all the circumstances of the case, James appears to have acted with sound policy in making the bargain. A.D. 1617.— In the course of this year James paid avisit to Scotland with the view to a favourite scheme which he had long pondered,— probably even before he as- cended the English throne, and while he still was personally annoyed by the rude and intrusive presumption of the puritans. His scheme was ' to enlarge the episcopal authority, to establish a few ceremonies in public worship, and to settle and fix the superiority of the civU to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction.' But though the king's personal influence was now very high, as well from the peace he had preserved throughouthis dominions and the pride the Scotch, themselves a pe- dantic people, f elt iu hearing the king whom they had given to England cited as ' the British Solomon,' as from the great, not to say unjust, preference which the king took every opportunity to show to Scottish suitors for promotion, even his influence, after much opposition on the part of the clergy, could only procure him a sullen adoption of but a small portion of his plan. ' Episcopacy ' was so much the detestation of the Scotch, that it is surprising that so shrewd a king as James should have made a point of endeavouring to force it upon (Sntilnn'iJ.—^axi^e of ^hiart.— Slampi I. 371 tlieni. But as if he had not done sufflcleut In the way of affronting the religious pre- judices of tlie Scotch, James no sooner returned home than he equally affronted those of tliat large party of his English svilijects, the imiitans. That dark, sullen, joyk'ss, and joy-hating set of men had, hy degrees, brought the original decorous Sun- day of England to be a day of the most silent and intense gloom. This was noticed by the king In his return from Scotland, and he immediately issued a proclamation by which all kinds of lawful games and ex- ercises were allowed after divine service. However Imprudent this proclamation on the part of the king, we are inclined to be- luvethat in spirit his extreme was wiser thiin that of the puritans. But whatever iii.-iy be the good or the bad policy of the practice, it is certain that the king chose a wrong time for recommending it. Even his authority was as nothing against super- stitious fanaticism. But while he failed to check or persuade the puritans, did he not irritate them ? Might not the sharpening of many a sword that was bared against Cliarles I. be traced to the vexation caused in puritan bosoms by this very proclama- tion of his father 1 CHAPTER XLIX. The Reign of James I. {continues), A.D. 1618.— Sir Walter Raleigh, the fa- vourite of Elizabeth, the opponent and ene- my of Essex, to whom he had shown an implacable and savage spirit which makes us doubt whether the world had not been greatly mistaken in deeming him a good as well as great man, had now been for thir- teen years lingering in his prison. Though advanced in years and broken in fortune, even imprisonment could not break his un- questionably daring and resolved spirit. Soldier, seaman, courtier, and man of in- trigue during so much of his life, instead of resigning himself to despair when led to the Tower of London, he there commenced his elaborate and really learned History of the World 1 Thirteen years of confinement could not quell that enduring and daring spirit ; and as the report of his friends in- formed him that public opinion was very favourably and greatly changed on his be- half, he now began to scheme for obtaining liis enlargement. He caused it tobenoised riiiroad that during cme of his voyages he liid discovered a gold mine in Guiana, so lie li, that it would afford enormous wealth II ir only to any gallant adventurers who, uM'ler proper guidance, should seek It, but also to the nation at large. The.se reports, as Kaleigh from the first intended, reached the ears of the king; but James doubted the existence of the mine, and the more so because it was clear that a man in the sad situation of Raleigh might be expected to say almost anything to obtain freedom. But the report was so far serviceable to Raleigh, that it reminded the king of the long dreary years the once gallant soldier and gay courtier of Elizabeth had passed in the gloom of a dungeon, and he liberated him from the Tower, but refused to release him from the original sentence of death which, he said, he considered a necessary check upon a man of Raleigh's character, which assuredly had more of talent and audacity than of either probity or mercy. Though James was by no means inclined to give credit to the tale of Raleigh, he gave full leave to all private adventurers who might choose to join him ; and Ra- leigh's intrepid assertions, backed by hia great repute for both talent and courage, soon placed him at the he.ad of twelve ships, well armed and manned, and provided with everything necessai-y for piracy and plun- der, but with nothing calculated for digging the pretended treasure. On the river Oronoko, in Guiana, the Spaniards had built a town called St. Thomas, which, at this time, was exceed- ingly wealthy. Raleigh had taken posses- sion of the whole district above twenty years before in the name of queen Eliza- beth ; but, as he had immediately left the coast, his claim on behalf of England was totally unknown to the Spaniards. It was to this wealthy Spanish settlement that Raleigh now steered, and on arriving there he staid at the mouth of the Oronoko with five of his largest ships, sending the remainder of the expedition up to St. Thomas's under the command of his son and his fellow-adventurer, captain Kemyss. The Spaniards, seeing the English adven- turers approach St. Thomas in such hos- tile guise, flred at them, hut were spee- dily repulsed and driven into the town. As young Raleigh headed his men in the at- tack on the town, he exclaimed. This is the true mine, and they are but fools who look for any other ! He had scarcely spoken the words when he received a shot and im- mediately fell dead ; Kemyss, however, still continued the attack and took the town, which they burned to ashes in their rage at finding no considerable booty in it. Raleigh had all along said not that he had himself ever seen the wonderfully rich mine of which he gave so glowing an ac- count, but that it had been found by Kemyss on one of their former expeditions together, and that Kemyss had brought him a lump of ore which proved the value as well as the existence of the mine. Yet now that Kemyss, by his own account, was within two hours' march of the mine, he made the most absurd excuses to his men for leading them no farther, and immedi- ately returned to Raleigh, at the mouth of the Oronoko, with the melancholj' news of the death of the younger Raleigh, and the utter failure of all their hopes as far as St. Thomas's was concerned. The scene be- tween Raleigh and Kemyss was probably a very violent one; at all events it had such an effect upon Kemyss that he immediately retired to his own cabin and put an end to his existence. The other adventurers now perceived that they had entered into both a danger- ous and unprofitable speculation, and they inferred from all that had passed, that Raleigh from the outset had relied upon piracy and plundering towns — a kind ot speculation for which their ill success at 372 C^e ErcnSurn at SJi^torj), &r. St Tliimins's pave tliem no Inrliii.itioii, whutfViT llifir moral fcoliiifis iipou tho sub- ji'i't in It-lit iKiVf hfi'ii. On 11 full luinsidiT- iitiuii of ail tin- cin-iniii^taiHis, tlie ailvi'ii- tmvrsilrtcrniiiird to rrnini I<> KiiKhiiid ami take llaloU'li with tlKiii, Iravirm' it lo liiiii to justify liimself to lli.' kiiitf ui tlu- best inaiuior lu' coiilil. On the passage he rc- pealedlv endeavoured to escape, but was l)roiii,'lit safely ti> Englaiidaiid delivered up to liie kliif.'. The court of Spain iu the lueantime loudly and justly complained of the destruction of St. Tlioiins's ; and, after a long examination before the privy coun- cil, Italeigh was pronounced Ruilty of wil- ful deceit from the Drst as to the mine,and of having from the first intended to make booty by piracy and land plunder. The lawyers held, however, as a universal rule, that a man who already lay under attaint of treason could in no form Ije tried anew for another crime; the kint.', therefore, signed a warrant for Raleigh's execution for that participation in the setting up of the lady Arabella Stuart, for which he had already suffered imprisonment during the dreary period of thirteen years 1 He died ■with courage, with gaiety almost, but quite without bravado or indecency. Whilethere was yet a faint hope of his escape he feign- ed a variety of illnesses, even including madness, to protract his doom ; but when all hope was at length at an end, he threw off all disguise, and prepared to die with that courage on the scaffold with which he had so often dared death on the fleld. Taking up the axe with which lie was about to be beheaded, he felt the edge of it and i said, "Tis a sharp, but it is also a sure, remedy for all ills." He then calmly laid j )iis head upon tlie block, and was dead at i the first stroke of the axe. Few men had , been more unpopular a few years earlier tlian sir Walter Raleigh ; but the courage he displayed, the long imprisonment he liad suffered, and his execution on a sen- , tence pronounced so long before, merely | to give satisfaction to Spain, rendered this execution one of the most unpopular acts j ever performed by the king. | It will be remembered that we spoke of the marriage of the princess Elizabeth to the elector palatine as an event which in tlie end proved mischievous both to Eng- land and to the king. A.D. 1619.— The states of Bohemia being iu arms to maintain their revolt from the hated authority of the catholic house of Austria, the mighty preparations made by Ferdinand II. and the extensive alliances he had succeeded in forming to the same end made the states very anxious to obtain a counterbalancing aid to their cause. Frederick, elector palatine, being son-in-law to the king of England and nephew to prince Maurice, who at this time was pos- sessed of almost unlimited power over the United Provinces, the states of Bohemia considered that were he elected to their crown which they deemed elective — their safety would l>e insured by his potent con- nections. They, therefore, offered to make Frederick their sovereign ; and he, looking only at the honour, accepted the offer without consulting either his uncle or father-in-law, prob.alily because he well knew that they would dissuade liim from an luuiour so costly and onerous as this was c<'rtain to prove. Having accepted till' sovcreif-'iity of Bohemia, Frederick im- iiiedialcly iij.-uclioil all the troops he could roiiniiand to the defence of his new sub- jects. On the news of this event arriving iu England the people of all ranks were stnmgly excited. As we have elsewhere .said, the iH'oiiIe of ICngland are essenti.ally aireitioiiate towards their sovereigns; and l<'reilurirk, imrely as the son-in-law of the king, would have had their warmest wishes. But they were still further interested on his behalf, because he was a protestant prince opposing the ambition and the per- secution of the detested Spaniard and Aus- trian, and there was a general cry for an English army to be sent forthwith to Bo- lieinia. Almost the only man in the king- dom who was clear-sighted and unmoved amid all this passionate feeliug was James. He was far too deeply impressed with the opinion that it was dangerous for a king's prerogative and for his subjects' passive obedience, to look with a favourable eyo upon revolted states conferring a crown even upon his own son-in-law. He would not acknowledge Frederick as king of Bo- hemia, and forbade his being prayed for in our churches under that title. A.D. 1620.— However wise the reasonings of James, it would, in the end, have been profitable to him to have sent an English army, even upon a vast scale, to the assist- ance of Frederick in the first instance. Ferdiuaud, with the duke of Bavaria and the count of Bucquoy, and Spinola with thirty thousand veteran troops from the Low Countries, not only defeated Frede- rick at the great battle of Prague, and sent him and his family fugitives into Holland, but also took possession of the palatinate. This latter disaster might surely have been prevented, had James at the very outset so far departed from his pacific polity as to send a considerable army to occupy the palatinate, in doing which he would by no means have stepped beyond the most strictly legitimate support of the legitimate right of his son-in-law. Now that Frederick was expelled even from his palatinate, James still depended upon his tact in negotiations to spare liim the necessity for an actual recourse to arms; liut he at the same time, with the turn for dissimulation ■"hieh was natural to him, determined to use the warlike enthusiasm of his subjects as a means of obtaining money, of which, as usual, he was pain- fully in want. Urging the necessity of in- stant recourse to that forcible interference, which, in truth, he intended never to make, ! he tried to gain a benevolence ; but even the present concern for the palatine would not blind the people to the arbitrary na- ture of that way of levying heavy taxes upon them, aud James was reluctantly ob- liged to call a parliament. A.D. 1621.— The unwise inclination of the people to plunge into war on behalf of the palatine was so far serviceable to James, CBiigTanXf.— ^oui^c nf ^tuart.— SJamc^ S. 373 that It caused this parliament to meet liim with more than usually dutiful and liberal dispositions. Some few membei-s, indeed, wereiuclined to make complaintand the re- dress of certain gross grievances their first subject of attention. But the gener.al feel- ing was against then., and itwas with some- thing like acclamation that the parliament proceeded at ouce to vote the king two sul)sidies. This done, they proceeded to enquire into some enormous abuses of the essentially pernicious practice of granting patent mo- nopolies of particular branches of trade. It was proved that sir Giles Mompesson and sir Francis Michel had outrageously abused their patent for licensing inns and ale-houses ; the former was severely pu- nished, and the latter only escaped the same by breaking from prison and going abroad. Still more atrocious was the conduct of Bir Edward VillierS, brother of the favour- ite, Buckingham. Sir Edward had a pa- tent, in conjunction with Mompesson and Michel, f< ir the sole nKikiug of gold and silver lace. This patent had not only been abused to the great oppression of the persons en- gaged in that, then, very extensive trade, but also to the downright robbery of all who used the articles, in which the paten- tees sold a vast deal more of copper than of gold or silver. Villiers, instead of being dealt with as severely as his accomplices, was sent abroad on a mission, intrusted with £he care of the national interests and honour, as a means of screening him from the punishment due to his shameless ex- tortion and robbery at home. Hume, some- what too tenderly, suggests that the guilt of Villiers was less enormous or less ap- parent than that of his accomplices. But the true cause of his impunity was the power of his insolent and upstart brother. The king having expressed himself to be well pleased that the parliament had en- abled him to discover and punish this enormous system of cruelty and fraud, the commons now ventured to carry their en- quiries into the practices of a higlier ottender. That offender, was the illustri- ous Bacon ; The wisest, greatest, meanest of mankind. Kind-hearted, learned, wise, witty, elo- quent, and beyond all his contemporaries deep-thoughted and sagacious, the viscount St. Albans, chancellor of England, was greedy almost to insanity ; greedy not with the miser's wretched love of hoarding, but with the reckless desire of lavishing. His emoluments were vast, his honours and appointments many, and no one could be more eloquent in behalf of justice and moderation than tliis great man, who may be justly styled the apostle of common- sense in reasoning. Yet his profusion was so vast and so utterly reckless, and his practice so little in accordance with his preaching, that he took the most enormous bribes in his office of judge in equity. Hume suggests the odd apology that though he took bribes he still did justice, and even gave hostile judgements where he i bad been paid for giving favourable ones I To us it appears that this, if true, was merely adding the offence of robbing indi- viduals to that of abusing his office. He was very justly sentenced to imprisonment during the royal pleasure, or line of ten thousand pounds, and incapacity for again holding any office. The flue was remitted, and he was soon released from imprison- ment and allowed a pension for his sup- port ; a lenity of which we think he was un- deserving in precise proportion to the vastness of his ability which ought to havo taught him to keep his conscience clear. Many disputes now occurred from time to time between the king and his parlia- ment; and at length the king dissolved them ; imprisoned Coke, Philips, Selden, and Pym ; and, in his whimsical way of punishing refractory people, sent sir Dud- ley Digges, sir Thomas Crew, sir Nathaniel Rick, and sir James Perrot on a commis- sion to Ireland, a country to which a scho- lar and a fine gentleman of that time would about as readily go as a club-lounger of our day would to Siberia, or the salt mines of Poland. We do not deem it necessary to dwell at all minutely upon this parliamentary oppo- sition to the king, because it is less impor- tant in itself than in its consequences, which we shall have to developein the suc- ceeding reign. The seed of the civil war was now being sowed. The commons were daily gaining power and the consciousness of power; but without the large and gene- rous as well as wise spirit which knows how to rcforrti gradually. Even the king himself, with all his high opinion of prerogative and his only too great readiness to exert it, perceived that the day was past for governing with tho high hand alone. A curious instance of this occurs in his buying off of sir John Saville, from the gathering opposition. While others were sent to prison, or, which was but little better, to Ireland, sir John, whose opposition had been eager and spi- rited, made his talent so much feared, that the king made him comptroller of the household, a privy councillor, and a baron. A.D. 1622.— Whatever intention James might have professed of going to war on behalf of his son-in-law, his real intention was to obtain the friendship of Spain, and thus secure the accomplisliment of his own and the nation's wishes by marrying his son, prince Charles, to the Spaniard's sister. Upon this marriage, besides his regard- ing it as a master-stroke of polity, he was passionately bent as a matter of personal feeling ; as he deemed no one below a prin- cess of Spain or France a flttiug match for his son. The war between the emperor and the jialatine was still vigorously kept up, the latter prince, in spite of all his misfortunes, making the most heroic exertions. The details of this war will be found in their proper place. Here it suffices to say, that though James greatly aided his gallant son- in-law with money, he did him almost equal injury by his negotiations, which everyone saw through, and of course treated with KK 374 C^e Crrwfurjj of l&Wtoru, fft. ilisresiH>ot pniiMirtlmiiHl to tlu-lr knowUMyo tliat thoy orljjIimliM In tlio nu>st liitcnso IMlltiritl pnnlinioo, oarrliM to tlu-vory vorgo of actual cowarvlii-o. This oxoosslvo cant ion of the klii.c, aiul Ills (\iu:illy oxoo!r>>fuse in his efforts to •negotiate" the duke of Bavaria Into re- storing the ivilatinate.he really was resting his main hope upon the Spanish match. DIgby, afterwards earl of Bristol, was sent to Madrid to endeavour to hasten tJie negotiation which, with more or less ear- nestness, had now been carried on for Ave years. The princess being a catholic, a dls- pensiitton from the pope w^>s necessary for the marriage : and as various motives of policy in.ide Spain anxious to avoid a total and Instant breach with James, this cir- cumstance was dexterously turned to .ad- vantage. Spain undertook to prvH-ure the disiH-Hisation, and thus possesstHl the power of retariiing the marriage iudeflnitely or of concluding It at any uion\ent. should cir- cumst.ances render that course advisable. Susi>octlug at least a part of the deception that was practisiM upon him, J.'imcs, while he sent DIgby publicly to Siviln, secretly sent Siigc to Home to watch and reiK>rt the state of affairs and tixMIng there. Learning froiK that agent that the chief ditnculty..as far as Kome was concerned, was the differ- ence of religion, he immediately dischtvrged all popish recusiuits who were In custody. By this measure he hoped to pnipitiate Uome ; to his own subjects he stated his reason for resorting to it to be — his desire to urge It as an argument in support of the applications he was continually making to foreign princes for a more indulgent treat- ment of their protestant subjects. DIgby, now earl of Bristol, w,-»s Incessant in his exertions, and seems to have been minutely informed of the real intentions and feelings of Spain : and the result of his anxious and welUlirected enquiries was his informing James that there was no doubt that the princess would shortly bestow her hand uihui his sou, and that her portion would be the then enormous sum of eight hundreii thous;>nd poundssterling. Pleased as James was with the news as regjinled the anticlpattHl marriage, he was enraptureil when he considered It in conjunction witli the restoration of the palatniate, which uudoubtetlly would instantly follow. No- thing now rem.iined but to procure the disi>onsatiou fmni Rome; and that sujv posing, as seems to have been the case, that Spain was sincere, was not likely to be long delayed when earnestly solicited by Spain - when all James's hopes were shipwrecked and his flnely drawn webs of polity scat- tertHl to the winds by Hucklngham. Ve<>n compara- tively a small mischief had the king made Buckingham merely an opulent duke, It he had not also made hlu\, practically, bis chief minister. Accomplishtnl. sli"wy, and plau- sible, he was, however. tiUally desiitute of the solid talents iu-coss.iry tothestatesuiau, and was of so vindictive as well as Impetu- ous a naluro, tlKit lie would willin^•ly have plungiM the nation into the most destruc- tive war for the sake of a\englng a i>nt, and in- sulting to all others; and he had even in- sulted the prince of Wales. But .is the king givw old, and evidently was fast sink- ing, Bucklngln\m became anxious to repair Ills ivist error, and to connect himself in such wise with Charles, while sTllI only prince of WsUes, as to continue to be the chief niinlou of court when the prince should have exi>andetl into the king. Perceiving that the prince of Wales wis irreatly annoyed by the long and scemiiis'iy Interminable delays that had taken pla.o In bringing about the Spanish maiiii, Buckingham resolveii to make that circiiiu- stance serviceable to his views. Accord- ingly, though the prince had recently shown a decideJ coolness towards the over.crown favourite, Buckingham approacheti hisroyal higliness, and in his most Insinuating man- ner—and no one could be more Insinuating or supple than Buckingham when he had an object in view— prof esseri a great desire to be serviceable. He descanted long aiul well upon the unhappy lot of princes in general in the importaut articleotniarriage, in which both husband and wife were usu- ally the victims of mere state policy, and strangers even to each other's persons until they met at the altar. From these uiuU-- uiable premises he passeiito the conclusion, so well caiculatei.i to Inflame a young and enthusiastic ni.an. that for the sjike both of making the aciiuaint.inceof hisfuturewife, and of h.istening the settlement of the affair by interesting her feelings in iH-half alike of his gallantry and of his personal accom- plishments, Charles would act wisely by going iiicrt/iiifo to the Sivmish covirt. .\ step so unusual and so trustlug could not fail to Matter the Sivauish pride of Phili|i and his court, while, as si-emiug to proceed from his passionate eagerness to set" her, the infanta herself must inevitably be de- lighted. Charles, afterwjirds so grave and so me- liuiclioly, was then yoimg, ingenuous, .and romantic. He fell at once into Bucking- ham's views, and, taking advantage of an hour of uuusu.al giwd humour, they so earnestly iinportuniHl the king tliat he gave his consent to the scheme. Subse- quently ho ch.iiiged his mind; cool rtf- (ffitfflanlr.— %ou)Sc of Stuart— SlameiS 2. 375 flection enabled lilni to see noiue guoU reasons agalnat llie iiroposed expedition, and Ilia natural timidity and Buaplclou no doubt suKgested still more than had any such solid foundation. But he was again Importuned by the iirince with earnestness, and liy the duke wllli that tyrannous Inso- lence which he well knew when to use and when to abstain from ; and again the king consented. Kndymlon Porter, gentleman of the prince's chamber, and sir Francis Cottlng- ton were to be the only attendants of the prince and duke, except their mere grooms and valets. To sir Francis Cottington the king communicated the scheme. In tlie duke's presence, and asked his opinion of it. The scene that followed Is so graphi- cally characteristic of the terms upon which the duke lived with his benefactor and sove- reign, that we transcribe It in full from the pages of ilume. 'James told Cottington that he had al- ways been an honest man, and, therefore, he was now about to trust him with an affair of the highest Importance, which he was not, upon his life, to disclose to any man whatever. " Cottington," added be, " here Is baby Charles, dog Steenie (these ridiculous appellations he usually gave to the prince and Buckingham), who have a great mind to go post into Spain and fetch home the infanta. They will have but two more In their company, and they have chosen you for one. What think you of the jouniey ? " Sir Francis, who was a prudent man, and had resided some years in Spain as the king's agent, was struck with all the obvious objections to such an enterpri.se, and scrupled not to declare them. The king threw himself upon his bed and cried " I told you all this before," and fell into a new passion and new lamentations, com- plaining that he was undone and should lose baby Charles. 'The ijrlnce showed hy his countenance that lie was extremely dissatisfied with Cottington's discourse, but Buckingh.am broke into an open passion against him. The king, he told him, had a.sked him only of the journey, and of the manner of tra- velling, particulars of which he might he a competent judge, having gone the road so often by post ; hut that he, without being called to it, had the presumption to give his advice upon matters of state and|against the prince, which he should repent as long as he lived.' 'A thousand other reproaches he added which iiut the poor king into a new agony on behalf of a servant who, he foresaw, would suffer for answering him honestly. Upon which he said, with some emotion, "Nay, by God, Steenie, you are much to blame for using him so. He answered me directly to the question which I asked him, and very honestly and wisely ; and yet you know he said no more than I told you be- fore he was called In." However, after all this passion on both sides, James renewed his consent, and iiroper directions were given for the journey. Nor was he at any loss to discover that the whole intrigue was originally contrived by Buckingham, as well as pursued violently by his spirit and impetuosity.' Tlio prince and Buckingham, with their attendants, passed tlirough France ; and so well were they disguised that they even ventured to look In at a court ball at Paris, where the prince saw the princess Hen- rietta, his afterwards unfortunate and he- roically attached queen. In eleven days they arrived at Madrid, where they threw off their disguises and were received with the utmost cordiality. Tlie highest honours were iiald to Charles. The king paid him a visit of welcome, cor- dially thanked nim for a step which, un- usual as it was among princes, only the more forcibly proved the confidence he had in Spanish honour, gave him a gold passport key that he might visit at all hours, and ordered the council to obey him even as the king himself. An Incident which In Eng- land wcmld he trivial, but which In Spain, so haughty and so pertinacious of etiquette, was of the utmost importance, will at once sliow the temper in which tho Spaniards responded to the youthful and gallant confidence of Charles. Olivarez, a grandee of Spain — a haughtier race far than any king, out of Spain — though he had the right to remain covered in the presence of his own sovereign, invariably took off his hat in presence of the prince of Wales I Thus far. In point of fact, wh.atever ob- vious objections there might be to Buck- ingham's scheme. It had been really suc- cessful ; the pride and the fine sjurit of honour of the Spaniard had been touched precisely as he anticipated. But if he had done good by accident, he was speedily to undo it by his selfish wilfulness. Instead of taking any advantage of the generous confidence of the prince, the Spaniards gave way upon some points which otherwise they most probably would have insisted upon. The pope, indeed, took some advantage of the prince's position, by adding some more stringent religious con- ditions to the dispensation ; but, on the whole, the visit of the prince had done good, and the dispensation was actually granted and prepared for delivery when Gregory XV. died. Urban VIII., who suc- ceeded him, anxious once more to see a catholic king in England, and judging from Charles's romantic expedition that love and impatience- would probably work his conversion, found some pretexts for delay- ing the delivery of the dispensation, and the natural impatience of Charles was goaded into downright anger by the artful insi- nuations of Buckingham, who affected to feel certain that Spain liad been insincere from the very first. Charles at length grew so dissatisfied that he asked permission to return home, and asked it In such evident lU-humour, that Philip at once granted it without even the affectation of a desire for any prolongation of the visit. But the princes jiarted with all external friendship, and Phllij) had a monument erected on the spot at which they bade each other adieu. That the craft of Urban would speedily have given way before the vmited influences r. 76 EI)r Crra^iiry of ?{?tStflrj), *Vr. of .lames and Philip tlicie ciiii be no dnuht, and as little ciin there ho of the loyal sin- cerity of the Spaniard. Why then should Buckingham, it may he asked, overset, when so near its ennipU'tinii, tlie project he hnd 80 greatly exerted him self Id .-[livance? \Vi' have seen lli;it hi^oiijcrt in suirncstiri".,' the journey to the prince was one nt purely sel- flsh policy. He then was selfish with re- spect to future benefit to himself. His sowing discord between Charles and the Spaniard was equally a selfish procedure. His dissolute and airy manners disgusted that grave court; and his propensity to de- bauchery disgusted tliat sober people. He insulted the pride of their proud nobility in the person of Oiivarez, the almost omnipo- tent prime minister of Spain ; and when by all these means he had worn out his wel- come in Spain, and perceived that even re- spect to the prince could not induce the Spaniards to endure himself, he resolved to break oflf the amity between the prince and I'hilip, and succeeded as we have seen. ■When Buckingham was taking leave of Spain he had the wanton insolence to say to the proud Oiivarez, 'With regard to you, sir, in particular, you must not consider me as your friend, but must ever expect from me all possible enmity and opposition.' To this insolent speech, the grandee, with calm greatness, merely replied that he very willingly accepted of the offer of enmity so obligingly made. On their return to England both CliarTes and Buckingham used all their influence ■with the king to get him to break off all farther negotiation of the Spanish match ; Charles being actuated by a real though er- roneous belief of the insincerity of tlie Spa- niard, and Buckingham, bv a consciousness that he could expect nothing but ruin should the infanta, aiter being stung by so much Insult shown to herself and her country, become queen of England. In want of money, and looking upon the Spanish match as a sure means by which to get the palatinate restored without going to war, James was not easilypersuaded to give up al 1 thought of an alliance he liad had so much at heart and had brought so near to a con- clusion. But the influence of Buckingham was omnipotent in parliament, and his in- solence irresistible by the king ; the Spanish match was dropped, etimity to the house of Austria was henceforth to be the principle of English polity, and a war was to be re- sorted to for the restoration of the palati- nate. It was in vain that the Spanish ambassador endeavoured to open James's eyes. The deluded monarcli was utterly in the hands of the haughty duke, and more- over, from growing physical debility, was daily growing less fit to endure scenes of violent disputation. The earl of Bristol, who throughout this strange and protracted affair liad acted the part of both an honest and an able minis ter, would most .probably have made such representations in parliament as would have overcome even Buckingham ; but he had scarcely landed In England ere,hy the favou- rite's influence, he was arrested and carried to the Tower. The king was satisfied in his heart that the minister was , an honest and .an Injured man ; but tliough he speedily released him from the Tower, Buckingham only suffered him thus fnr to undo his Invol- untary injustice on condition that Bristol sliould retire to the country and abstain from al! al tendance on parli.-inient I From Spaiu the iirince turned to Franco in search of a bride. He h.ad been much struck by the loveliness of the princess Henrietta, and he now demanded her hand ; negotiations were .accordingly Immediately entered into on the same terms previously gr.anted to Spain, though the princess could bring no dowry like that of the iuftinta. James, in the me.antime, found himseli, while fast sinking into the grave, plunged into that warlike course which during his whole life he had so sedulously, and at so many sacrifices of dignity and even of pretty certain advantage, avoided. The palatinate, lying in the very midst ot Germany, possessed by the emperor and the duke of Bavaria, and only to be ap- proached by an English army through other powerful enemies, was obviously to be re- taken by force only at great risks and sa- crifices. But the counsels of Buckingham urged James ouw.ard. Count de Mansfeldt .and his array were subsidized, and an Eng- lisii army of two hundred horse and twelve thousand foot was raised by impressment. A free passage was promised by France, but when the army .arrived at Calais it was discovered that no formal orders had been received for its admission, and after vainly waiting for such orders until they actually began to want provision, the commanders of the expedition steered forZealand. Here, again, no proper arrangements had been made for the disembt till.' villain must he near at hand, nnd would he recognised by the loss of his hat, Fcltoii deliheratelysteppedforwardand avowed his crime. When questioned he po- sitively denied that anyone had instigated him to the murder of the duke. His con- science, ho said, was his only adviser, nor could any man's advice cause him to act against his conscience ; he looked upon the duke as a public enemy, and therefore he had slain him. lie maintained the same con- stancy and srlt-Cdiiiiilacency to the last, pro- testing evm upon I lie scaffold that his cou- sciouce acnuitted liim of all blame. A.D. 1639. -Charles received the tidings of the assassination of his favourite and minister with a composure which led some persons to imagine that the duke's death was not wholly disagreeable to the too in- dulgent master over whom he had so long and so unreasonably exerted his influence. But this opinion greatly wronged Charles; he, as a man, wanted not sensibility, but he possessed to a remarkable extent the va- luable power of controlling and concealing his feelings. The first consequence of the cessation of the pernicious counsel and influence of Buckingham was the king's wise resolution to diminish his need of the aid of his un- friendly subjects, by concluding peace with the foreign foes against whom he had wan-ed under so many disadvantages and with so little glory. Having thus freed him- self from the heavy and constant drain of fo- reign warfare, tlie king selected sir Thomas Weiitworth, afterwards earl of Strafford, and Land, afterwards archbishop of Can- terbury, to aid him in the task of regulating the internal aflairs of his kingdom ; a task which the king's own love of prerogative and the oljstinate Ill-humour and disaffec- tion of the leading puritans rendered al- most impracticable. Unfortunately, Land, who had great in- fluence over the king, was by no means in- clined to moderate the king's propension to arbitrary rule. Tonnage and poundage were still levied on the king's sole autho- rity : papists were still compounded with, as a recular means of aiding the king's re- venue ; and the custom-house officers were still encouraged and protected in the most arbitrary measures for the discovery and seizure of goods alleged to be liable to charge with the obnoxious and illegal duties. These errors of the king's govern- ment were seized upon by popular de- claimers, and the violence of libellers pro- voked the king and Laud to a most arbitrary extension of the always too extensive powers of the high commission court of star-chamber, the sentences of which upon all who were accused of opposing the government were truly iniquitous, and in precisely the same degree impolitic. This court, though really .authorised by no law. Inflicted both personal and pecuniary severi- ties which to us who are accustomed to the rcgidar and equitable administration of law | cannot but be revolting. For instance, a barrister of Lincoln's inn, named Prynne.a man of considerable talent though of a factious and obstinate temper, was brought before this arbitrary court, charged with having attacked and abused the ceremonies of the church of England. Burton, a divine, and Bastwick, a physician, were at the same time charged with a similar offence ; and these three gentlemen of liberal professions, for libels which now, if punished at all, would surely not cost theirauthors more than two months' iraprl- soument, were condemned to be placed In the pillory, to have their ears cut ofl;, and to pay, each, a fine of flve thousand pounds to the king. The Impolicy of this and similar severe sentences was the greater, because there were but too many indications already of extensive and d'tcnuiiieil disaffection to the crown. Refused tlie really requisite pecuniary assistance by his parliament, the king continued to levy ship-money, and against this tax an especial and determined opposition was raised ; though it ought to be observed that it had often been levied in former reigns, not because of so reason- able a motive as the factious refusal of par- liament to provide for the necessities of the state, but in sheer despotic preference on the part of sovereigns to act on their own will rather than on that of parliament. The puritans and the popular leaders iu general, however, made no allowance for the king's really urgent and distressing situation. Among the most determined opponents of the ship-money was Mr. John Hamp- den, a gentleman of some landed pro- perty In the county of Buckingham. The moral character of this gentleman was, even by those whom his political conduct the most offended or injured, admitted to be excellent ; and his manner exercised over all who approached him a peculiar charm. His early life had been gay or care- less. Clarendon speaks of a change from a life of great pleasure to one of ' extraor- dinary sobriety and strictness ;' but this change brought with it none of the sour and melancholy austerity of the Puritan. He still retained ' his own natural cheerful- ness and vivacity, and, above all, a flowing courtesy to all men.' It is not surprising that his friends should speak of him with enthusiasm. In the words of Baxter, he h.ad' themost universal praise of any gentle- man of that age;' and the author of the 'Saint's Rest' goes on to speak of 'a mode- rate, prudent, aged gentleman, far from him, but acquainted with him, whom I have heard saying, that if he might choose what person he would be then in the world, he would be John Hampden." He had en- terrd the House of Commons at the same time with Wcntworth, afterwards Earl of StnifTord, and after the dissolution of the Parliament in 1028, he had retired to private life on his own property. There he lived high in the esteem of his neighbours, but with a name not prominent in the public history of the time, until the king's deter- 380 mjft Crrajiunj af fi^ijftorj), Set, luliiation to levy an asscsbincnt from in- j land counties in place of sliiij-moncy, con- nected John Hampden immediately «itla tbe strufe'Kle wliicli ended in tlie temporary ovcrtlirow of the ret'al iiower. Hampden's assessment was small, and the sheriff of the [ county was l)lamed for rating him at so \ low a sum. But, in the words of Lord Ma- i caulay, 'though the sum demanded was a] trifle, the principle involved was fearfully Important. Hampden, after cousultiug the most eminent constitutional lawyers of the time, refused to pay the few shillings at ■which he was assessed, and determined to incur all the certain expense and the pro- bable danger of bringing to a solemn hear- ing this great controversy between the people and the crown." Into the legal and constitutional aspects of the question Mr. Hallam* has entered with a full and minute accuracy, far more trustworthy than the highly wrought de- scriptions of rhetorical historians, whether on the one side or the other. According to Mr. Hallam, the precise question in this great cause, which, from its importance, was heard before all the judges in the exche- quer chamber, was, so far as it related to Hampden, ' Whether the king had a right, on his own allegation of public danger, to require an inland county to furnish ships, or a prescribed sum of money by way of commutation, for the defence of the king- dom.' The arguments on both sides ex- tended over six months : and the mere length of the trial ' was of influite disser- vice to the crown.' At length seven of the twelve judges gave judgement for the king. Of the minority, 'Justices Croke and Hut- ton, men of considerable reputation and experience, displayed a most praiseworthy Intrepidity in denying, without the smallest qualification, the alleged prerogative of the crown and the lawfulness of the writ for ship-money." The issue of the trial left a fatal impression on the public mind. ' Ship- money was held lawful by Finch, and several other judges, not on the authority of pre- cedents, which must in their nature have some bounds, but on principles subversive of any property or privilege in the subject. Those paramount rights of monarchy, to which they appealed to-day in justification of ship-money, might to-morrow serve to supersede other laws, and maintain new ex- ertions of despotic power. It was manifest, by the whole strain of the court lawyers, that no limitations on the king's authority could exist but by the king's sufferance. This alarming tenet, long bruited among the churchmen and courtiers, now resound- ed in the halls of justice.' For the king some excuse or palliation might be found in his necessities; a more systematic defence was based on the autho- rity of precedents justifying the course which he had taken. On this point Mr. Hal- lam remarks that ' it would be doubtless unfair to pass a severe censure on the go- vernment of Charles I. for transgressions of law, which a long course of precedents mightrender dubious, or at least extenuate. « Comtitutional History of Eoglaud, cb. viiL But this common apoiogy for his iulmlniS' tration .... must be admitted cautiously, and not until we have well considered how far such precedents could be brought to support it. This is particularly applicable to his proclamations. . . . They had not been fully acquiesced in ; the Commons had remonstrated against their abuse; and Coke, with other judges, had endeavoured to fix limits to their authority very far within that which they arrogated. . . . They serve at least to display the practical state of the coustitution, and the necessity of an entire reform in its spirit.' CHAPTER LI. The Reign of Charles I. (continued). A.D. 1640.— Though there wasa most bitter spirit existing against the church of Eng- land, though the press teemed with puritan libels as vulgar and silly as they were mali- cious, Charles, most unhappily, saw not the storm-cloud that hovered over him. Inste.id of concentrating his energies, his friends, and his pecuniary resources, to elude or smite down the gloomy and bitter puritans of England, and to awaken again the cheer- ful and loyal spirit of his English yeomanry, he most unwisely determined to introduce episcopacy into Scotland. An order was given for reading the liturgy in the principal church of Edinburgh, which so provoked the congregation, that the very women joined in an attack on the officiating mi- nister, and the place of public worship was profaned by furious and. disgusting impre- cations. Long inured to actual warfare with England, and always jealous of a na- tion so much wealthier and more powerful than themselves, the Scots gladly seized upon the attempt to introduce episcopacy among thorn as a pretext for having re- course to arms, and the whole of that dis- affected and warlike population was in- stantly in a state of insurrection. Even now, could the king have been induced to perceive the real inveteracy and determi- nation of the Scottish hatred of episco- pacy, he might have escaped from this por- tion of his embarrassments with but little worse evil than some diminution of his cherished notion of the absolute supremacy of anointed sovereigns. A negotiation was resorted to, and a treaty of peace quickly succeeded a suspension of arms ; each party agreeing to a disbandonmen t of their forces. Unhappily, neither party was quite earnest in desiring peace; the king could not give up his long-cherished ideas of absolute monarchy, and the rigid Scottish Presby- terians were not a jot more inclined to yield up any portion of their entire freedom and self-governmentin matters of religion. The negotiations and treaties were in conse- quence marked by mutual insincerity ; mu- tual charges of bad faith were made, and both Charles and his Scottish peoplespeedily resumed their hostile attitude. The dispute in wliich the king had thus needlessly and unwisely involved himself seriously increased his difficulties. Al- though he still continued to levy ship- money and other arbitrary taxes, h2 was (ifuslaulf.— |[?ou^c of Stuart.— CftarT?.^ 3E. 381 dreadfully distressed for money ; and the disaffected of England saw, with scarcely dissembled pleasure, that their cause was virtually being secured by the disaffected of Scotland. It was while the people were in this ominous temper that Charles, hav- ing exhausted all other means, even to forced loans from his nobility, was obliged to call a parliament and make one more appeal for pecuniary aid. But this parlia- ment was even less than the former one in- clined to aid the king. He had been re- fused aid for the ordinary expenses of the l»iii,trdom : he was still less likely to be fairly I reated when he, in terms, demanded aid tliat hemightiiuelland chastise theScottish rebels whose principles were so near akin to those of the English puritans, who now were numerically powerful enough to con- stitute themselves the national purse- holdiTs. Instead of the aid he asked tor, the king received nothing but remonstrance and rebuke, on the score of the means by wliich, when formally refused aid by par- liament, he had supplied himself. Finding tiie parliament impracticable, the king now dissolved it. But the mere dissolution of this assembly could not diminish the king's necessities, and he soon called another par- liament, which was destined to be his last. Tiie puritan party was preponderant in this parliament, and so systematic were the exertions of those resolute and gloomy men, that they at once felt and indicated their confidence of success at the very commencement of the session. Instead of granting the supplies which the king de- manded, they passed at once to the impeach- ment of the earl of Strafford, the faithful minister and the personal friend of the king. Strafford at a former period had to a cer- tain moderate extent acted with the puri- tans ; and they resented his opposition to their more insolent proceedings so deeply, that nothing but his blood could appease their malignity. It was well known that Charles required no one to urge him to support the preroga- tive of the crown to its fullest legal extent, at least; and it was equally well known that Laud was of a scarcely less arbitrary turn than Strafford, and had fully as much in- fluence with the king. But Strafford, as we have said, had given deep offence to the puritans, and deep and deadly was their revenge. He was solemnly impeached of high treason before the peers. His defence was a model of touching and yet manly eloquence. With a presence of mind not to be surpassed, he took up and rcfntod each accusation in the exact order In wliicli It had been made ; .and heconcliidcil liy as- suring the peers that he would nut have troubled them so long, had he not felt the defence of his life to be a sacred duty towards his children, 'pledges of a dear saint now in heaven.' But the cogent logic of his defence availed nothing against the political fury of the time. He was pro- nounced guilty by both houses of parlia- ment, and his death was clamoured for with an eagerness which shows how com- pletely the success of the royal cause was thought to depend on the genlU3 of Straf- ford. There was but one thing that could have saved him ; and it Is with pain th.at we record that that one thing was sadly absent — a just firmness of character on the part of the king. However great may have been the guilt of Strafford, he had committed no fault against the king. Contrariwise, he had given the utmost possible proof of personal and loyal feelings ; and Charles, in abandoning a minister whose chief fault was that of being too faithful to his sove- reign, acted a part sounchivalric, so totally unworthy of his general character, that we scarcely know how to speak of it in terms suBiciently severe. A truly futile apology has been attempted to be made for Charles's abandonment of his too devoted minister. That Ill-fated nobleman, while conflned in the Tower, heard of the clamour that was artfully and perseveringly kept up by his enemies, and in a moment of unwise ex- altation he wrote to the king and advised him to comply with the sanguinary demand that was made. The advice was unwise, but such as It was, it ought to have had the effect of only increasing the king's re- solution to save such a m,an and such a minister from destruction. But Charles took the advice literally an pied de la lettre, and signed the warrant for the execution of one who probably, after his queen, was the most sincerely devoted friend that he pos- sessed. 'Put not your trust in princes' was the agonised commentary of Strafford upon this most shameful compliance of the king ; and he submitted to his undeserved execution with the grave and equable dig- nity which had marked his whole course. Prom this condemnation of the king's friend and minister, the parliament passed to a very righteous and wise attack upon two of the most iniquitous of the king's courts. The high commission court and the court of star-chamber were unanimously abo- lished by act of parliament. While the protestants of England were divided into churchmen and puritans, and while the latter were busily engaged in en- deavouring to throw discredit upon the church, the church of Rome saw in theso disputes a new temptation for an attack upon protestantism as a whole. The king's finances were well known to be in such a state as must necessarily prevent him from anything like vigour in military operations ; and the papists of Ireland, aided and insti- gated by foreign emissaries, resolved upon a general massacre of their protestant fel- low-subjects. A simultaneous attack was made upon the latter; neighbour rose upon neighbcmr, all old obligations of kindness were forgotten, all old animosities, how trifling soever their origin, were terribly remembered, and upwards of forty thousand i persons were inhumanly slaughtered. The kiug made every exertion to suppress and punish this infamous massacre, and, feeling that the chief obstacle to his success lay in his crippled finances, he once more ap- pealed to his English parliament for a sup- ply. But not even the massacre of their protestant fellow-subjects could alter the factious temper of the puritans ; they not only refused the aid he asked, upon the 382 511)0 (Trcajjurs ot ^igtorg, ^t. absurd plea that England was Itself In too luucli dnnfjer to spare any aid to Ireland, hut even added insult to Injustice by Insl- nuatiuK tliat tliekliiK had himself fomented the disturbances In Ireland. A.n. l«4l.~Tlie attachment of the king to the church was well known, and both he and his opponents well knew that on the support and affection of the church rested the chlwf hope of preserviiiK the monarchy. The puritan i>arty, therefore, delerniliud to attack the monarchy throuKh the church, and thirteen bishops were accused of hmh treason, in having enacted canons for church government without the authority or consent uf the parliament. The opiiosi- tlon, or, as they are commonly called, ' the popular members," at the same time ap- plied to the peers to exclude the prelates from speaking and voting in that house ; and the bishops, with more discretion than dignity, deprecated the puritan animosity by ceasing to attend their duty in the house of lords. The king was thus, at the verv moment when he most required aid in parliament, deprived of the talents and the votes of precisely those peers of parliament upon whose assiduity and devotion he had the most dependence. i Posthumous blame is both cheap and easy. The writer, sitting calmly in his closet, can easily and safely point out the errors of the great men of a bygone age ; it is a nobler and more necessary task to as- certain aud hold up to view the circum- stances that rendered those errors excus- able, at least. If not actually inevitable. Goaded and straitened as Charles was, he would have possessed something more than human firmness If he had not at length deviated into rashness. His most devoted friend slain, the prelates of his church silenced, and himself made a mere cipher, except as to the cimtinuance of a vast and fearful responsibility, he resolved to try the effect of severity ; and he gave orders to the attorney-general, Herbert, to accuse before the house of peers, lord Kimbolton, together with the prominent commoners HoUis, Hampden, Pym, .Strode, and sir Ar- thur Haslerigs, of high treason in having endeavoured to subvert the laws and go- vernment of the kingdom, to deprive the king of his regal power, and to substitute for it an arbitrary aud tyrannical authority, injurious to the king and oppressive to his liege subjects. Thus far we are by no means unprepared to approve of the king's proceedings ; for surely the conduct of the accused persons had been marked by all the tendency attributed to it in the terms of the accusation. But, unfortunately, Charles, instead of allowing the proceed- ings to go forward with the grave and deli- berate earnestness of a great judicial mat- ter, was so wilful or so ill-advised as to take a personal step which, had it been success- ful, would have exposed him to the impu- tation of a most unconstitutional tyranny, and which, in being unsuccessful, exposed him to that ridicule and contempt which, injurious to any man, under any circum- stances, could be nothing less than fatal to a king who was In dispute with a majority of his people, and who had already seen no small portion of them In actual battle-array against his authority. On the very day after the attorney-gene- ral had commenced justinable proceedings I I...^, ♦1..1 }n,ttJnra wH,,J*i TlilTTlPC; nrc tfl VPH against the leaders whose names are given above, the king entered the hous« of com- mons without previous notice and without attendance. On his majesty's first appear- ance the members to a man respectfully stood up to receive him, and Lenthal the speaker vacated his chair. His majesty seated himself, and, after looking sternly round for some moments, said, that under- standing that the house had refused or neglected to give up five of its members whom he had ordered to be accused of high treason, he had personally come there to seize them, a proceeding to which he was sorry to be compelled. Perceiving that the accused were not present, he called upon the speaker to deliver them up ; when that offlcer, with great presence of mind and jus- tice, replied that he was the mere organ and servant of that house, and that he had neither eves to see, nor ears to hear, nor lips to utter, save what that house com- manded. Finding that he could in no other respect gain by a procedure in which he w.as so great a loser in dignity, Charles, 1 after sitting silent some moments longer, ; departed from the house. He now pro- ceeded to the common council of the city, and made his complaint of the conduct of the house of commons. On his road he was saluted by cries of ' privilege,' not un- mixed with still more insulting cries from many of the lower sort, and his complaint to the common council was listened to in a contemptuous and ominous silence. Irri- tated and alarmed at this new proof of the unpopularity of his proceedings, he de- parted from the court, and as he did so was saluted with the seditious watchword of the Jews of old— 'To your tents, O Israel I ' It is utterly inconceivable how a sove- reign possessed of Charles's good sense, and aware, as from many recent occurrences he needs must have been, of the resolved and factious nature of the men to whom he was opposed, could have compromised him- self by so rash aud in every way unadvisable a proceeding as that which we have de- scribed. In truth, he had scarcely returned to the comparative solitude of Windsor be- fore he himself saw how prejudicial this affair was likely to be to his interests, and he hastened to address a letter to parha- ment, in which he said that his own life and crown were not more precious to hira than the privileges of parliament. This virtual apology for his direct and personal interference with those privileges was ren- dered necessary by his previous precipi- tancy, but this ill-fated monarch now ran into another extreme. Having offended parliament, his apology to parliament was necessary, nay, in the truest sense of the word it was dignified ; for a persistence m error is but a false dignity, whether m mo- narch or in private man. But his offence was one against good manners, while that with which Pym and the members were charged was one of substance, not of form. (jPngTanlr.— I^atii? of Stuart.— C^arTf)* 3E. 383 Their offence was not in the slightest de- gree diminished or atoned for by the Isiug's folly ; yet, as though there had been some close logical connection between them, he now informed the house that he should not farther prosecute his proceedings against its accused members I Could in- consei]ueuce or want of dignity go farther, or be more fatally shown ! The people had now been taught that their king knew how to yield, and that If unwisely rash in a moment of Irritation, he could be no less unwisely abject in a moment of calculation or timidity. It was a fatal lesson ; and from this moment, in spite of any seeming and temporary advantages, Charles of Eng- land was virtually a dethroned monarch and a doomed man. There was a deep art, beyond what was at first apparent, in the insolent insinuation of the popular declaimers that the king had himself tmnented the recent horrors in Ireland. The awful massacre among the Protestants of that country had naturally raised a new horror and dread of papacy in the minds of the protestants in England. The popular leaders took advantage of this very natural feeling, and worked upon it as might promise best to aid their own views. The ignorant and the timid were taught to believe that the massacre of pro- testants, though the deed of bigoted pa- pists, was far enough from being disagree- able to the king and his friends, who would not improbably cause siiuilar proceedings In England unless due power and means of prevention were seasonably placed in the hands of parliament. Treated as Charles had been almost from the first day of his reign, it must be clear to the most superficial ob- server, that nothing but his fortresses and his troops remained to him of the sub- stance of monarchy. The parliament now determined to deprive him of these. They had seen that he could yield, they calcu- lated upon a passionate resistance to their first demand ; but they doubted not that the vacillation of the king's mind would begin long before the resolute obstinacy of their own would terminate. The result but too well proved the accuracy of their reason- ing. The people were skilfully worked up into an ecstasy of horror of the designs and power of the papists, and thus urged to petition that the Tower, the fortresses of Hull and Portsmouth, and the fleet, should be committed to the hands of officers in the confidence of parliament. Demands 80 indicative of a suspicion that the king would place such important trusts in hands unfit to use them, were, as the opposition had anticipated, warmly resented at first, and then, unwisely complied with. Emboldened by this new concession, the popular party affected new and increased fears of the designs of the Irish papists, and demanded that a new militia should be raised and trained, the commanders as well as the merely subaltern officers of which should be nominated by parliament. Charles now, when too late, perceived that even to concede safely requires judgement ; and being urged to give up the command of the army for a limited space of time, he promptly replied, 'No! not even for a single hour I ' Happy for himself and his kingdom had it been if he had earlier known how to say 'No,' and to abide by it not only with firmness but also with temper. A.D. 1042. — In making this demand par- liament had completely thrown off the mask ; and as the very extremity to which tlie king was driven supplied him in thi.'i one case with the firmness which in genend and by his natural temper he so sadly wanted, it at once became evident that the disputes between the king and his loyal subjects on the one side, and the puritans on the other, could only be decided by that saddest of all means, a civil war. On either side appeals to the people were printed and circulated in vast numbers, and, as usual in such cases, each side exaggerated the faults of the other, and was profoundly silent as to its own faults, whether as to past conduct or present views. The king's friends, being for the most part of the more opulent ranks, assumed the title of the cavaliers, while the puritan, or rebel party, from their affected habit of wearing their hair closely cut, were called round- heads, and in a short time the majority of the nation ranked under the one or the other appellation, and every thing por- tended that the civil strife would be long, fierce, and sanguinary. In addition to the train-bands assembled under the command of sir John Digby, the king had barely three liundred infantry and eight hundred cavalry, and he was by no means well provided with arms. But, in spite of all the exertions of the puritans, there was still an extensive feeling of loy- alty among the higher and middle orders ; and as the king with his little army marched slowly to Derby, and thence to Shrewsbury, large additions were made to his force, and some of the more opulent loyalists af- forded him liberal and most welcome aid in money, arms, and ammunition. On the side of the parliament similar preparations were made for the Impending struggle. When the important fortress of Hull was surrendered into their hands, they made it their dejiot for arms and ammuni- tion, and it was held for them by a governor of their own appointment, sir John Ho- tham. On the plea of defending England from the alleged designs of the Irish pa- pists, great numbers of troops had been raised ; and these were now openly enlisted and oQlceredfor the parliament, and placed under the command of the earl of Essex, who, however, was supposed to be anxious rather to abridge the power of the existing monarch than actually to annihilate the mo- narchy. So great was the enthusiasm of the roundheads, that they in one day enlisted above four thousand men in London alone. Tired of the occupation of watching each others' manoeuvres, the hostile troops at length met at Edge-hill, on the borders of the counties of Warwick and Stafford. A furious engagement took place.which lasted several hours ; upwards of five thousand men fell upon the field, and the contending armies separated, wearied with slaying yet 384 Clir CirniSury of ?[?()itorit, &c. luit satiated with slaufbt(.'r, nndcacli cluiiii- tiiR (lie vIcloiTi-. Tlie whole kingdom was now diftiirbeii by the Incessant niarrhiiif? and counter- niari-lilnp of the two urnilcs. Neilhcr of tlu'ni was ilisil|illind, ami the dlsonlcrs rausiil liy thiir iiiarili were coiisoiniently great and dislructlvo. The niieon, wliuse spirit was as liiKh as her afTeelioii for her husband was Kreat, landed fniiii Holland with a larpe iinantlty of aininunition and a considerahle reiiiforcciiient of men, and she Immediately left KiiLrlaiid ai.';dn to raise farllier sui'lilics. In llie niaiHeUMing and skirmishes which were cnnstantly Koingon, the kint-', from Ihe sn|'erilies. Having done this they were dismissed with tlianks, and uover again called together. Jiut any supplies which the king could procure from what may almost be called in- dividual loyalty were hut small in compa- rison to those which the factious parlia- mentarians could command by the terror which they could strike into nearly every district of the country. As if to show at once tlieir power in this way, and the ex- tent to which they were rirep:ired to abuse it, they issued an arbitrary command that all the Inhabitants of London and the sur- rounding neighbourhood should abstract one meal in every week from their accus tonied diet, and pay the full price of the provision thus saved as a contribution to the support of what they affected to call the public cause. The seditious Scots at the same time sent a large supply of men to tlie parliamentarians, who also had four- teen thousand men under the earl of Man- chester, ten tliousand under the earl of Essex, and eight thousand and upwards under sir William Waller. And though this force was numerically so much superior to tlie king's, and, by consequence, so niui-li more onerous, the parliamentary troojis were, in fact, far better supplied with both provision and ammunition than the royal- ists ; the majority of men being so deluded or so terrified by the parliamentarians that an (iriliiiinii-e of parliament was at all times sulllcient to procure provisions for the re- bel force, when the king could scarcely get provisions for money. A.D. 1644.— Though, in the ordinary style used in speaking of military affairs we have been obliged to speak of the termination of the first campaign, at the period when the contending parties went into winter quarters, hostilities, in fact, never wholly coased from the moment when they first commenced. Even when the great armies were formally lying idle, a constant partisan warfare was carried on. The village green became a battle-field, the village church a fort; uow this, now that party plundered the peasantry, who in their hearts learned to curse tlie fierceness of both, and to pray that one or other might be so effectually beaten as to put a stop at once and for ever to the scenes which had all the ghastly lior- rors of war without any of its glory, and all its present riotand spoliation without even the chance of its subsequent gain. That the system of terrorism which the parliamentarians acted upon had very much to do with prolonging this unnatural con- test seems indisputable. Counties, and lesser districts, even, as ooon as they were for a brief time freed from the presence of the parliamentary forces, almost invariably and unanimously declared for the king. Nay, in the very towns that were garrisoned by the parliamentarians, including even their stronghold and chief reliance, Louduii, there was at length a loud and general echo of the earnest cry of the good lord Falkland, 'Peace, peace! let our country have peace I ' From many places the parliament received formal petitions to this effect ; and in London which at the outset had been so furiously seditious, the very women assembled to the number of upwards of four thousand, and surrounded the house of commons, exclaiming, ' Peace I give us peace ; or those traitors who deny us peace, that we may tear them to pieces.' So furious were the women on this occa- sion, that, in the violence used by the guards, some of these wives and mothers, who wished their husbands and sons no longer to be tlie prey of a handful of am- bitious meu, were actually killed upon the spot I Before we proceed to speak of the second campaign of this sad war, we must intro- duce to the attention of the reader a man who henceforth fixed the chief attention of lioth parties, and whose character, even iu the present day, is nearly as much disputed as his singular energy and still more sin- gular and rapid success were marvelled at in his own time. Oliver Cromwell was the son of a Hunt- ingdonshire gentleman who, as a second son of a respectable but not wealthy family, was himself possessed of but a small for- tune, which he is said to have improved by <'iigaging in the trade of a brewer. At college, and even later in life, Oliver Crom- well was reniarkalile rather for dissipation than for ability, and the very small re- sources that he inherited were pretty nearly exhausted by his excesses, long before he had any inclination or opportunity to take part in public affairs. On reaching mature manhood, however, he suddenly changed his course of life, and affected the enthu- siastic speech and rigid conduct of the pu- ritans, whose daily increasing power and consequence his shrewd glance was not slow to discover. Just as the disputes between the king and the popular party grew w.arm, 01i\er Cromwell represented in parliament his native town of Huntingdon, and a sketch left of him by a keen observer who saw his earliest exertions in that capacity, repre- sents a man from whom we should but little expect the energy, talent, and success of the future ' Puotectou' Cromwell. Homely in countenance, almost to actual ugliness, hesitating in speech, ungainly in gesture, and ill clad in a s.ael-coloured suit 'which looked as if it had been made by some ill country tailor,' the future states- man and warrior addressed the house amidst the scarcely suppressed whispers of both friends and foes, who little dreamed that in that uncouth, ill-nurtured, and slovenly-looking person they saw the genius who, while wielding a usurped and lawless authority over the English nation at home, was so to direct her energies abroad as to make her name stand fully as high among the astounded nations as ever it liad been carried or maintained by the most fortu- nate and valiant of the lawful sovereigns of England. As a mere senator Cromwell would pro- LL 3S« CV trtscSttr? of HtStnTP, Set. anme. G4fti '•^"■■ily inti •!:■ T:i.-r LriiJi.>n rrl>el cirizens in glTine tbe daj •«■»§ sealed ; iicH even the paDauirj' I ■_ -v •.;,!^tr ;.r ui. ■^■■r^: . i. i ^ L l -^ - : t '.:._: ti'jt ci'TnniHTider conic lead the Ti- i±ie snj'j'on iff tbe Iteaieij aiid _ :isi i£f the rc'Talist* : soiC Uj€ kinc -t«J ii' fir frcm liie fieid, JeETiii? ..;_ ^ .; ^ i_^rr7 aiifi T^nkMe Ijaceaee. ai "we:! tU iil^mSii Hr £\r LLl-'USaijC JlTir^OlitT*,, iz, Lhr llBiidi Of T r, and jiTt- the viri--'n:'iii iiarUaoiteiiiaj'iaiis. .--^ >"--- ;:;;Li icriniaErctT'. the "nn.:iTei;C - - ■ ■ - defsL.: .f Uif tiiSiiS II.'; "^ - -^- ''^•Jluct. CTiie^ . irt.L' TiieiT ing the earlier moEiJi? of the year lf.4a, and ■ lierei rrrr:? CTbarles a-dale, and the main bcdir lij- tht t-T. -while a chtiice f^rre ■«•£? r^= s reserre, t-r ■ ■ ;------• vr.g of the p!.- ■i PT Ireivir. ..ti riirpoae. ^- ;e fM«> of ihe daj iio-w mainij- depended I KeasoninB thus, anc -; eSoTt? ci F&irf&i and St r and r ^celT teer fr:T= fall'r c -r: ._i'r?d i. Luefcirrune Cu li-.T ;------ . - - - -c --; - ^ — -; t-T the issue a: ibf - - - . : tfr; heen in the far - - - ^ . - re- is&TT-ellons coi'i ; - zrij- ; ; ie>d him : he - :. t .c - iroE trcn">r>eri : ■ • - - rr ■ ■ - «1r iianui..:- - - - • ;;ri_or 'IS so herticuj as U' U-row uje^m niei.i i:^ the ^lau vklivoimudred laiousaiid .■S5 and iiremediahle coufnaciiL , r'-"'^[^'2s- ; ^ rernmeid ^th hi? caTaiiy and , 'With this atrocaoiis act of ibe Soros. ■«ri)c> j.liied tie taig"s reserve ; tmi the faie of remmed to their coiniaT ta^fm -wiiii iL- 388 Crf)f CrraSttrn of SjWtory, &c. oariicd wenltli, bnt Indon also with tlio exo- rnitlon of all pood nx-ii ami wlili tlu' con- ti-nipt even of tlioso Imld bad nun to wli.nii tlioy liad Imsoly sold llir niifnrtnnalo iTiiin^, till" rivll war niav lii' said to liavc cnilt'd. Wholly and lirlpli'ssly In tin' pnw.Toflil< foes, Charles liail no roiir^i- left i'Ut to ah- polvc Ills still faitliful followers and subjirts from tlie duty of farther striving lu his hc- lialf. Hut If the rchelllnns parliamentarians were trliiniiiliant over their kinp, tlieyliadyet to (leal with a more formidable enemy. Tin- rarllainent had been made unanimous in itself and with the army by the obvious and pressiiip necessity for mutual rtefenrc, as long as the khiK was In the Held and at the head of an Imposing force. But now that the fortune of war and the venality of the Scotch had made Charles a powerless and almost hopeless captive, the spoilers began to quarrel about the disposition of the spoil; and they who had united to revolt from their lawful monarch were ready with equal eagerness and animosity to cabal against each other. The civilians of the parliamentarj' party were, for the most part, Presbyterians, who were eager enoucrh to throw off all allegiance to the king and all Fuliinission and respect to the church of Kngland, but who were not the less inclined to set up and exact respect both from lay and clerical authorities of their own liking. The fanaticism of the army took quite an- other turn ; they were mostly independents, who thought, with Dogberry, that ' reading and writing come by nature,' and were ready to die ujiou the truth of the most igtiorant trooper among them being quali- fied to preach with soul-saving effect to his equally ignorant fellow. The independents, armed and well skilled in arms, would, under any conceivable circumstance, have been something more than a match for the mere dreamers and declaimers of parlia- ment ; but they had a still further and de- cisive advantage in the act! ve and energetic, though wily and secret, prompting aud di- rection of Cromwell, who artfully professed himself the most staunch independent of them all, and showed himself as willing to lead them at their devotions in their quar- ters, as he iiad shown himself willing and able, too, to lead them to the charge upon the battle-field. He was, in appearance, in- deed, only second in command under Fair- fax, but, in reality, he was supreme over his nominal commander, and had the fate of both king and kingdom completely in his own hands. He artfully .and carefully fomented the jealousy with which the mili- tary looked upon the parliament, and the I discontent with which they looked upon ; their own comparative powerlessness and i obscurity after all the dangers and toils I by which they had, as they affected to be- lieve, permanently secured the peace and comfort of the country. Without appearing to make any exertion or to use any influence, the artful intriguer urged the soldiery so far, that the.v openly lost all confidence in the parliament for ■which they had but too well fought, and Bet about the consideration and redress of I their owTi grievances as a separate and Ill- used body of the community. Still, at the Instigation of Cromwell, a rude but elflclent military parliament was formed, the princi- pal olllcers acting as a house of peers, and two men or officers from each rei-'iment acting as a hoiwe of commons, under the t i t le of the ' agital ors of the army. ' Of these Cromwell took care to be one, and thus, while to all apiiearance he was only acting as he was autliorised and commanded by his duty to the whole army, he in tact en- joyed all the opportunity that he required to simgost and forw.-ird measures indispen- sable to the gratillcation of his own am- bition. While Cromwell was thus scheming, the king, forlorn and seemingly forgotten, lay in Holmby castle; strictly watched, though as yet, owing to the dissensions that existed between the army and the parliament, not subjected to any farther indignities. From this state of comparative tranquillity the unhappy Charles was aroused by a coup de main highly characteristic alike of the bold- ness and the shrewdness of Cromwell. He demonstrated to his confidants of the army that the possession of the king's person must needs give a vast preponderance to any of the existing parties. The royalists, it was obvious, would at the order of the king rally round him, even in conjunction with the parliament, which by forming such a junction could at any moment command the pardon of the king; when the army, besides other difficulties, would be placed in the disadvantageous position of fighting against all branches of the government, including even that one to whose will and authority it owed its own existence. As usual, his arguments were successful ; and cornet Joyce, who at the breaking out of the rebellion had been only a tailor, was dispatched with five hundred cavalry to seize the king's person at Holmby castle. Though strictly watched, the king was but slenderly guarded, for the parliament had no suspicion of the probability of any such attempt on the part of the army. Comet Joyce, therefore, found no difficulty in ob- taining access to the king, -to whom he made known the purport of his mission. Surprised at this sudden determination to remove him to the head-quarters of the army, the king, with some anxiety, asked Joyce to produce his commission for so extraordinary a proceeding ; and Joyce, with the petulance of a man suddenly and un- expectedly j'levated, pointed to his troops, drawn up before the window. 'A goodly commission,' replied Charles, ' and written in fair characters;' and he accompanied Joyce to the head-quarters of the army near Cambridge. Fairfax and other dis- ' cernlngand moderatemen had by thistime begun to see the danger the country was in from the utter abasement of the kingly power, and to wish for such an accommo- dation as might secure the people \yithout destroying the king. But Cromwell's bold, seizure of his majesty had enabled hiin to throw off the mask; the violent and fana- tical spirit of the soldiery was wholly sub- I jected to his use, and on his arrival at eitglanJJ.— I^DU^c of Stuart Cfjarlr^S 2. 389 Triplo-lieatli, on the day after the king was taken thither by Joyce, Cromweil was by acclamation elected to the supreme com- mand of tlie army. Tlionifh, at the outset, the parliament was wliolly opposed to the exorljitant pre- tensions of the army, the success of Crom- well's machinations rendered that opposi- tion less unanimous and compact every day, and at length tliere was a consideralilo majority of parliament, including the two speakers, in favour of the army. To en- courage this portion of the parliament the head-iiuarters of the army were fixed at Uounslow-heath; and as the debates in the house daily grew more violent and threatening, sixty-two members, with the two speakers, fled to the camp at Houns- low, and formally threw themselves, offici- ally and personally, upon the protection of the army. This accession to his moral force was so welcome to Cromwell, that he caused the members to be received with a perfect tumult of applause ; and he ordered that the troops, twenty thousand in number, should move upon London to restore these fugitives to the place which they had voluntarily ceded and the duties they had timorously fled from. Willie the one portion of the house had fled to the protection of the soldiers, the other portion had made some demonstra- tions of bringing the struggle against the pretensions of the army to an issue in the field. New speakers were chosen in the place of the fugitives, orders were given to enlist new troops, and the train-bands were ordered to the defence of the lines that en- closed the city. But when Cromwell arrived N\ith twenty thousand troops, the impossi- bility of any hastily organised defence being available against him became painfully evi- dent. The gates were thrown open, Crom- well restored the speakers and the members of parliament, several of the opposite mem- bers were arbitrarily exj^elled the house; the mayor of London, with three aldermen and the sheriffs, was committed to the Tower; other prisons were crowded with citizens and militia officers, and the city lines were levelled, the more effectually to prevent any future resistance to the sovereign will and pleasure of the army, or, rather, of its master-spirit, Cromwell. CHAPTER LII. The Reign 0/ Charles I. (conclmUd). The king on being seized by the army was sent as a prisoner to his palace at Hamp- ton-court. Here, though closely watched, he was allowed the access of his friends and all facilities for negotiating with par- liament. But, in truth, the negotiating par- ties had stood upon terms which almost necessarily caused distrust on the one hand and insincerity on the other. Completely divested of power as Charles now was, it seems probable enough that he would pro- mise more than he had any intention of pi-rforming, while the leading men on the otherside could not but feel that their very lives would depend upon his sincerity from the instant that he should be restored to liberty and the exercise of his authority. Here would have been quite sufficient dif- ficulty in the way of successful negotia- tion ; but, beside that, Cromwell's plans were perpetually traversing the efforts of the king when the latter was sincere, while his active espionage never allowed any fla- grant insincerity to escape detection. The king at length perceived the futility of ne- gotiation, and made his escape to the Isle of Wight. Here he hoped to remain un- disturbed until he could either escape to the continent or receive such succours thence as might enable him, at the least, to negotiate with the parliament upon more equal terms, if not actually to try his for- tune anew in the field. But colonel Ham- mond, the governor of the Isle of Wight, though he in some respects treated the un- fortunate king with humanity, made him prisoner, and after being for some time confined in Carisbrook castle, the king was sent in custody to his royal castle of Wind- sor, where he was wholly in the power of the army. Cromwell and those who acted with him saw very plainly that the mere anxiety of the parliament to depress the prietorian bands which the> had themselves called into evil and gigantic power, was very likely to lead to an accommodation with the king, whose own sense of his imminent danger could not fail to render him, also, anxious for an early settlement of all disputes. The artful leaders of the army faction, there- fore, now encouraged their dupes and tools of the lower sort to throw off the mask ; and rabid yells for the punishment of the king arose on all sides. Peace and security had hitherto been the cry ; it was now changed to a cry for vengeance. Prom Windsor the unhappy king was conveyed to Hurst-castle, on the coast of Hampshire, and opposite to the Isle of Wight, chiefly, it should seem, to render communication between him and the parliament leaders more dilatory and difficult. But the parlia- ment, growing more and more anxious for an accommodation in precise proportion as it was rendered more and more impracti- cable, again opened a negotiation with the ill-treated monarch, and, despite the clar mours and threats of the fanatical soldiery, seemed upon the very point of bringing it to a conclusion, when a new coup de main on the part of Cromwell extinguished all hope in the bosoms of the loyal and the just. Perceiving that the obstinacy of the parliament and the unhappy vacillation of the king could no longer be relied upon, Cromwell sent two regiments of his sol- diery, under the command of colonel Pride, to blockade the house of commons. Forty- one members who were favourable to ac- commodation were actually imprisoned in a lower room of the house, a hundred and sixty were insolently ordered to go to their homes and attend to their private affairs, and only about sixty members were allowed to enter the house, the whole of those being furious and bigoted independents, the pledged and deadly enemies of the king, and mere tools of Cromwell and the army. This parliamentary clearance was 890 Urtfc (Treasury of ?[}tiitory, &c. facotlouely rall^l 'Pride's purpc-,' and tlio mcmlicra who had the disgraceful distinc- tion of heliiK deemed lit for Croniwell's dirty work ever after rassod under the title of ' the niinp.' With a re;illy ludicrous Impudence this contemptible assembly assumed to itself the whole power and character of the parlia- ment, voted that all that had been done to wards an arromniodation with the kinc was lllepal, and that his seizure and inij'rison- nieiil by 'the Bencral' — so Cronnvell was now termed, ;>(irexf/'?/cHce — were just and praiseworthy. All moderation was thrown to the winds, and as the actual private murder of the kiim was thought likely tu disgust the better men even anmnfr the fanatical soldiery, a cnmniittee of 'tlie rump' parliament was formed to digest a charcre of hiifli treason. As there was now no longer, thanks to ' Pride's purge,' a chance of farther ncpo- tiation, it w'as determined that the king should be brought from Hurst-castlc to Windsor. Colonel Harrison, a half insane and wholly brutal fanatic, the son of a butcher, was intrusted with this cominis- 8ion ; chiefly, perhaps, because it was well understood that he would rather slay the royal cjiptive with his own hand than allow hiiu to be rescued. After a brief stay at "Windsor, the king was once again removed to London, and his altered appearance was such as would have excited commiseration in the breasts of any but the callous and inexorable creatures in whose hands he was. His features were haggard, his beard long and neglected, his hair blanched to a ghastly whiteness by sufferings that seemed to have fully doubled his age ; and the boding melan- clioly that had characterised his features, even in his happier days, was now deepened down to an utter yet resigned sadness that was painful to all humane beholders. Sir Philip Warwick, an old and broken man, but faithful and loyal to the last, was the king's chief attendant ; and he and the few subordinates who were allowed to ap- proach the royal person were now brutally ordered to serve the king without any of the accustomed forms ; and all external symbols of state and majesty were, at the same time, withdrawn with a petty yet malignant carefulness. Even these cruelties and insults could not convince the king that his enemies would be guilty of the enormous absurdity of bringing their sovereign to a formal trial. Calm, just, and clear-sighted himself, he could not comprehend how even his fanatical and boorish enemies could, in the face of day, so manifestly bid defiance not only to all law and all precedent, but also to the plainest maxims of common sense. But though almost to the very day of his trial the king refused to believe that his enemies would dare to try him, he did believe that they intended to assassinate him, and in every n.ieal of which he partook he imagined that he saw the instrument of his death. A.D. 164.''.— In the meantime the king's enemies were actively making preparations for the most extraordinary trial ever wit- nessed in this land. These preparatli'iis were so extensive that they occupied a v:ist number of persons frmn the sixth to the twentieth of .l.iinnry. As if the more fully to ctuivlnce the king of 1 heir earnestness in tlie matter, ('rmnwcll ami the rnmp, when they had named a high cmrt ..f justice, cimsist- Ing of a liundred aiHi thirty-three persons, ordered theihikeof Hamilton, whom they li;id doomed to death for his unshaken I'lyaltyto his sovereign, to be admitted to take leave of the king at Windsor. The interview was a harrowing one. The duke had ever been ready to pour out his blood like water for his sovereign ; even now he felt not for himself, but, moved to te.ars by the sad alter.-ition in the person of Charles, threw himself at the royal victim's feet, exi-lniming. ' Jly dear master!" 'Alas!' said the weeping king, as he raised up his faithful and devoted servant, 'Alas! I have, indeed, been a dear master to you ! ' Terrible, at that moment, must have been the king's self-reproach i-s for the opportu- nities he had neglected of putting domi the wretches who now had his faithful servant and himself in their power! Of the persons named to sit in the high court of justice, as this iniquitous coterie was impudently termed, only about seventy, or scarcely more than one half, could be got together at any one time during the trial. Law citizens, fanatical members of the rump, and servile offlcers of the army, composed the majority of those who did attend, and it was before this wretched assembly that the legitimate soTereign of the land, now removed from Windsor to St. Jame.s's, was placed to undergo the insult- ing mockery of a trial. The court, 'the high court of justice," thus oddly constituted, met in Westmin- ster-hall. The talents and firmness of Charles were even now too much respected by Cromwell and the shrewder members of the rump to allow of their opposing this miserable court to him without the ablest procurable aid : Bradshaw, a lawyer of con- siderable ability, was therefore appointed president, and Coke, solicitor for the people of England, with Steel, Aske,and Dorislaus for his assistants. Wlien led by a mace-bearer to a seat within the bar, the king seated himself with his hat on, and looked sternly around him at the traitors who affected to be his com- petent judges. Coke then read the charge against him, and the king's melancholy countenance was momentarily lighted up with a manly and just scorn as he lieard himself gravely accused of having been ' the cause of all the bloodshed which had fol- lowed since the commencement of the war ! ' Wlien Coke had finished making his formal charge, the president Bradshaw ad- dressed the king, and called upon him to answer to the accusation which he had heard made against him. Though the countenance of Charles fully expressed the natural and lofty Indignation that he felt at being called upon to plead as a felon before a court composed not merely of simple commoners, but, to a very ©nslantr.— ?^0uSe of ^tuart.— Cijarl^^ if. ayi great extent, of the most ignorant and least honourable men in tlieir ranks of life, he admirably preserved his temper, and ad- dressed himself to his task with earnest and grave argument. He said tliat, con- scious as he was of innocence, he should rejoice at an opportunity of justifying his conduct In every particular before a com- petent tribunal, but as he was not inclined to become the betr.-iycr instead of the defender of the ronslituti.in, he must at this, the very first st^iye of Die proceeding's, wholly and positively repudiiite the autho- rity of the court before which he had been as illegally brought, as the court itself was illegally constituted. Where was there even the shadow of the upper house ? Without it there could be no just tribunal, parlia- mentai-y or appointed by parliament. He was interrupted, too, for the purposes of this illegal trial just as he was on the point of concluding a treaty with both houses of parliament, a moment at which he surely had a right to expect anything rather than the violent and unjust treatment that he had experienced. He, it could not be de- nied, was the king and fountain of law, and could not be tried by laws to which he li.ad not given his authority ; and it would ill become him, who was intrusted with the liberties of the people, to betray them by even a foi'mal and tacit recognition of a tribunal which could not possibly possess any other than a merely usurped jjower. Bradshaw, the president, affected much sm-prise and indignation at the king's re- pudiation of the mock court of justice which, he said, received its power and au- thority from the source of all right, the people. When the king attempted to re- peat his clear and cogent objection, Brad- shaw rudely interrupted and despotically overruled him. But, if silenced by clamour, the king was not to be turned aside from his course by the mere repetition of a bold fallacy. Again and again he was brought before this mock tribunal, and again and again he baffled all attempts at making him, by pleading to it, give it some shadow of lawful authority. The conduct of the rabble without was fully worthy of the con- duct of their self-constituted governors within the court. As the king proceeded to the court, he was assailed with brutal yells for what the wicked or deluded men called 'justice.' But neither the mob nor their instigators could induce him to plead, and the iniquitous court at length called some complaisant witnesses to swear th!it the king had appeared in arms against forces commissioned by parliament; and upim this evidence, sentence of death was pronounced again.st him. After receiving his sentence Cliarles was more violently abused by the rabble outside than he had even formerly been. 'Exe- cution' was loudly demanded, and one filthy and unmanly rufHan actually spat In hisface ; a beastly indignity which the king bore with a sedate and august pity, merely ejaculating, ' Poor creatures, they would serve their generals in the same mannerfor a sixpence ! ' To the honour of the nation, be it said, these vile insults of the baser rabble were strongly contrasted by the respectful com- passion of the better informed. Many of them, including some of the military, openly expressed their regret for the sufferings of the king and their disgust at the conduct of his persecutors. One soldier loudly prayed a blessing on the royal head. The prayer was overheard by a fanatical officer, who struck the soldier to the ground. The king, more indignant at this outrage on the Inyal soldier than he had been at all the unmanly insults that had been heaped upon himself, turned to the officer and shari)ly told liim that the punishment very much exceeded the offence. On returning to Whitehall, where he had been lodged during the mock trial, Charles wrote to the so-called house of commons and requested that he might be allowed to see those of his children who were in Eng- land, and to have the assistance of Dr. Juxon, the deprived bishop of London, in preparing for tlie fate which he now clearly saw awaited him. Even his fanatical ene- mies dared not to refuse these requests, but at the same time that they were granted he %vas informed that his execution would take place in three days. The queen, the prince of Wales, and the duke of York were happily abroad ; but the princess Elizabeth and the duke of Glouces- ter, a child not much more than three year.'^ old, were brought into the presence of their unhappy parent. The interview was most affecting, for, young as the children were, they but too well comprehended the sad calamity that was about to befall them. The king, amongst the many exhortations which he endeavoured to adapt to the un- derstanding of his infant son, said, 'My child, they will cut off my head, and when they have done that they will want to make you king. But now mark well what I say, you must never consent to be king while your brothers Charles and James are alive. They will cut off their heads if they can take them, and they will afterwards cut off your head, and therefore I charge you do not be made a king by them.' The noble little fellow, having listened attentively to all that his father said to him, burst into a passion of tears and exclaimed, ' I won't b« a king ; I will be torn in pieces first.' iShort as the interval was between the conclusion of the mock trial of the king and his murder, great efforts were made to save him, and among other efforts was that of the prince of Wales, who sent a blank paper, signed and sealed by himself, accom- panied by a letter, in which he offered per- mission to the parliament to insert what- ever terras it pleased for the redemption of hisfather's life. But all intercessions were alike di-sregarded. Whatever want of resolution Charles may have shown in other passages of his life, the time he was allowed to live be- tween sentence and execution exhibited him in the not unfrequently combined cha- racters of the christian and the hero. No invectives against the iniquity of which he was the victim escaped his lips, and he slept the deep calm sleep of innocencp. 392 CTIb^ ^rtaiucy ol ^t^torj;, &t. tliiiiigli on oncli iilglit Ills onomk's nswillcil liU cars with the iinlse of the men erect- lUK the scaffold for his execution. When the fatal morning at lenRth dawned, the king at an early hour called one of his iitti'iuliiiits, whom ho desired to attiro him with iiion' th:in usuul care, as he remarked that he w.iuld fain ai>i>ear with all I'mper iireparatioii for so frreat and so joyful a solemnity. Thescilfold waserected 111 front of Whiteliall, and it was from the central windows of his own banquetini? room that the king stepped on to the scaffold. When his m.aji'sty appeared he was attend- ed hy the faithful and attached Dr. Juxon ; and WHS received by two masked execu- tioners standing beside the block and the axe. Thescatfold.entirely covered with line black cloth, was densely surrounded by soldiers under the command of colonel Toniliiison, while in the distance was a vast multitude of people. The near and violent death that awaited him seemed to pro- duce no effect on the kitifr's nerves. He gazed gravely but calmly around him, and said, to all whom the concourse of military would adtnit of his speaking, that the late war was ever deplored by him, and was commenced by the parliament. He had not taken up arms until compelled by the war- like and illegal conduct of the parliament, and had done so only to defend his people from oppression, and to preserve intact the authority which had been transmitted to him by his ancestors. But though he posi- tively denied that there was any legal au- thority in the court by which he had been tried, or any truth in the charge upon which he had been condemned and sen- tenced, he added that he felt that his fate was a just punishment for his weakly and criminally consenting to the equally unjust execution of the earl of Strafford. He em- phatically pronounced his forgiveness of all his enemies, named his son as his suc- cessor, and expressed his hope that the people would now ret urn to theirduty under that prince; and he concluded his brief and manly address by calling upon all pre- sent to bear witness that he died a sincere member of the church of England. The royal martyr now began to disrobe, and, as he did so. Dr. Juxon said to him, 'Sire! there is but one stage more which, though a turbulent and troublesome one, is still but a short one ; it will soon carry you a great way; it will carry you from earth to heaven, and there you shall find, to your great joy, the prize to which you are hastening, a crown of glory.' ' I go,' replied the king, ' where no dis- turbance can take place, from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown." 'You exchange,' rejoined the bishop, ' a temporal for an eternal crown, —a good exchange." Charles, having now completed his pre- parations, delivered his decorations of St. George to Dr. Juxon, and emphatically pro- nounced the single word 'Remember!' He then calmly laid his head upon the block, and it was severed from his body at one blow; the second eiecutioner im- imdiately held It up by the hair, and said, ' IVhuld the head of a iraltorl' Thus on the 30th of January, 1619, perished Charles I. in the forty-ninth year of his age, and the twenty-fourth of his reign. Whatever may have been his faults, there can be little ilcuiM that his execution was unjust itl.'ible, and that it cannot be attributed tn the viiigeance of the people. ' The men who hurri>'d him to the scaffold,' says Lingard, ' were a small faction of bold ambitious spirits, who had the address to guide the passions and fanaticism of their followers, and were enabled through them to control the real sentiments of the nation.' But the judgement of Hallam, the most severe and impartial of con- stitutional historians, is more valuable than the most vehement denunciation of the conduct of the king's enemies, or the most eloquent panegyric on his virtues. Without dwelling on the gene- ral question of the responsibility of kings for misgovemment, he denies that Charles I. deserved to be singled out as a warning to tyrants. 'His govemiueut had been very arbitrary, but it may well be doubted whether any, even of his ministers, would have suffered death lor their share in it, without introducing a principle of barba- rous vindictiveness. ... As for the charge of having caused the bloodshed of the war, upon which, and not on any former mis- government, his condemnation was ground- ed, it was as ill-established as it would have been insufficient. . . . "We may contend that when Hotham shut the gates of Hull against his sovereign, when the militia was called out in different counties by an ordi- nance of the two houses, both of which preceded by several weeks any levying of forces for the king, the bonds of our consti- tutional law were by them and their ser- vants snapped asunder ; and it would be the mere pedantry and chicane of political casuistry to enquire, even if the fact could be better ascertained, whether at Edgehill or in the minor skirmishes that preceded, the first carbine was discharged by a cava- lier or a roundhead. The aggressor in a war is not the first who uses force, but the first who renders force necessary.' * With that suspicion which ' ever haunts the guilty mind,' Cromwell and his friends attached much mysterious importance to the 'Remember' so emphatically pro- nounced by Charles on delivering his George to Dr. Juxon, and that learned and excellent man was authoritatively com- manded to give an account of the king's meaning, or his own understanding of the word. To the inexpressible mortification of those mean minds, the doctor informed them that the king only impressed upon hira a former and particular request to deliver the George to the prince of Wales, and at the same time to urge the command of his father to forgive his murderers I n^ Coastitutional History of England, ch. x. dFnfllantr.— Cl^e C0mmonto0alt]5» 393 CHAPTER LIII. The Commonwealth. ■Whatever might Iiave lieeii Cromwell's original views, his military successes, the vast inlluence he had obtained over the army, and perhaps, still more than either of these, the base and evident readiness of the parliament to truckle to his military power and meet him even more than half way in his most unjust and exorbitant wishes, opened up a prospect too unbound- ed and too tempting: for his ambitidel that asseinbly as to extend and Insure liberty to all ranks of men, and with having for years rontl- nued to sit without niaklncr a single ad- vanee towards the perforiiiaiu'e of these voluntary pledges. Tlielioiise:i,t.'cl on ihis oceaslon with a spiiil which would have heenadniirablcandlioiHuinhlr In a trcimiiie house of couimous, hut which saroured somewhat of the ludicrous when shown by men who, consciously and deliberately, hail year after year been the mere and sItvUc tools of t'roinwell and his sohlicrs. It was voted not oidy that this petition should not be complied witli, but alsothat any per- son who should in fntm-e present any such Iietition shonhl be dtvuied RUilty of hiph treason, and a committee was appointed Imuu'diatcly to prepare an act in confor- mity to this resolution. The oBIcers pre- sented a warm renumstrance upon this treatment of their petition : the house still more warmly replied : and it was soon very evident that both parties were animated by the utmost animosity to each other. Crom- well now saw that his hour for action had arrived. He was sitting in council with some of his ofllcers when, doubtless in obe- dience to his own secret orders, intellipence was hroucrht to him of the violent tenii)cr and desi:_'iis of the house. With w.-ll-actcd astonishmeu* and iiicoutnillaMf ra'.-f. In- started from his seat, and e.xilaimed that the misconduct of these men at length compelled him to do a thing which made the hair to stand on end upon his head. Hastily assembling three hundred soldiers, he immediately proceeded to the house of coiumons, which he entered covered, and followed by as many of the troops as could enter. Before any remonstrance could be offered, Cromwell, stampiUB upon the ground as iu an ecstasy of sudden passion, exi'laimed, ' For shame 1 Get ye gone and give place to honester men I you are no longer— a parliament, I tell ye you are no longer a parliament.' Sir Harry Vane, a bold and honest man, though a llalf-insane enthusi!«t, now rose and denounced Crom- well's conduct as indecent and tyrannical. ' Ha I' exclaimed Ci-omwell, ' sir Harry I Oh I sir Harry A'ane ! the Lord deliver me from sir Harry Vane ! ' Then, turning first to one prominent member of this lately servile parliament and then to another, he dealt out iu succession the title- i.f i,'lutton, drunkard, adulterer, and whoremonger. Having given this, probably, very jusf de- Bcription of the men by whose means he had so long and so completely misgoverned the suffering nation, he literally turned •the rump' luit of the house, locked the doors, and carried away the key in his jjocket. A servile parliament being the most con- venient of tools for the purposes of despo- tiBiu, Cromwell, when he had thus summa- rily got rid of ' the rump,' very soon pro- ceeded to call a new parliaineut, which, if possible, sur|>assed I'Veii lli.-il iu tlie h- antly away In iiuest of the Spaniards. Ar- rived at Oidi?., lie took two palleons, or trea- sure ships, of the eiKirnious value of two niillloiis of pieces of ei^ht ; and then sailed for the Canaries, where he burned and sunk an entire Spanish lieet of sixteen sail. Af- ter tlils latter action he sailed for England to relit, and sank so rapidly beneath an ill- ness whirl) had long allllctcd him, that he died just as he rearhed home. While Blake had been thus gallantly and successfully exerting himself In one quar- ter, another fleet under admirals Venables and Pcnn, carrying about four thousand land forces, left the British shores. Tlie object of this expedition was to capture the island of Hispaniola; but the Spaniards were so well prepared and superior, that this object utterly failed. Resolved not to return home without having achieved something, the admirals now directed their course to Jamaica, where they so complete- ly surprised the Spaniards, that that rich island was taken possession of by our troops without the necessity of striking a blow. So little was the value of the island from ■which so much wealth has since been drawn, at that time understood, that its capture was not deemed a compensation for the failure before Hispaniola, and both the ad- mirals were sent to the Tower for that failure. A.D. 1658.— But the splendid successes of Cromwell were now drawing to a close. His life, glorious as to the unthinking and uninformed it must have appeared, had from the moment of his accepting the pro- tectorate been one long series of secret and most harassing vexations. As we have already pointed out, both extremes, the republicans and the royalists, detested him, and were perpetually plotting against his authority and life. His own wife was thought to detest the state in which they lived : and it is certain that both his eldest daughter, Mrs. Fleetwood, and his favourite child, Mrs. Claypole, took every opportunity of maintaining the respective principles of their husbands, even in the presence of their father. Mrs. Fleetwood, indeed, went beyond her husband in zeal for republicanism ; while Mrs. Claypole, ■whom the protector loved with a tenderue.ss little to have been expected from so stem a ra.in, was so ardent in the cause of mon- archy, that even on her death-bed she up- braidedher sorrowing father^vith the death of one sovereign and the usurpation which kept the living sovereign in exile and in misery. The soldiery too, ■with whom he had so often fought, were for the most part sincere, however erring, in their religious professions, and could not but be deeply disgusted when they at length perceived that his religious as well as his republican professions had been mere baits to catch men's opinions and support withal. Fre- quent conspiracies, and his knowledge of the general detestation in which his con- duct was held, at length shook even his re- solute mind and iron frame. He became nervims and melancholy ; in whichever direction he turned his eyes he imagined that hesawan enemy. Fairfax, whose wife openly condemned the proceedings against theking in ■Westminster-hall at the time of the mock trial, had so wrought upon her husband, that he allowed himself to league with sir William Waller and other eminent men at the head of the Presbyterian party to destroy the protector. With all parties in the state thus furious against him, Cromwell now, too, for the llrst time found himself straitened for money. His successes against the Spaniards had been splendid Indeed, but such splendours were usually expensive in the end. With an e.x- hausted treasury and debts of no inconsi- derable amount, he began to fear the con- sequence of what appeared inevitable— his falling in arrears with the soldierj-, to whom he owed all his past success and upon whose good will alone rested his slender hope of future security. Just as he was tortured by these threatening circum- stances of his situation, colonel Titus, a zealous republican who had bravely, how- ever erroneously, fought against the late king, and who was now thoroughly dis- gusted and indignant to see the Protector practising more tyranny than the murdered monarch had ever been guilty of, sent forth his opinions in a most bitterly eloquent pamphlet, bearing the ominous title of ' KiLLixG, xo Murder.' Setting out ■with a brief reference to what had been done in tlje case of (what he, as a republican, calledl kivo^U tyranny, the colonel vehemently In- sisted that it was not merely a right but a positive duty to slay the plebeian usurper. '.Shall we,' said the eloquent declaimer, ' shall we, who struck do^nm the lion, cower before the wolf ? ' Cromwell doubted not that this fear- less and plausible pamphlet would fall into the hands of some enthusiast who would be nerved to frenzy by it. He wore armour beneath his clothes, and constantly car- ried pistols with him, never travelled twice by the same road, and rarely slept more than a second night in the same chamber. Though he was always strongly guarded, snch was the wretchedness of his situation that even this did not insure his safety ; for where more probably than among the fanatical soldiery could an assassin be found ? Alone, he feU into melancholy ; in company, he was uncheered ; and if strang- ers, of however high character, approached somewhat close to his person, it was in a tone less indicative of anger than of actual terror that he bade them stand off. The strong constitution of Cromwell at length gave way beneath this accumulation of horrors. He daily became thinner and more feeble, and ere long was seized ■with tertian ague,which carried him off in a week, in the ninth year of his usurpation, and in the flfty-ninth of his age, on the third of September, 1659. A.D. 1659.— Though Cromwell was deli- rious from the effects of his mortal illness, he had a sufficient lucid interval to allow of his putting the crowning stroke to his CFitfltanlr.— E6t Commattfiotalt^. 399 treason. This slayer of his lawful suve- leign, who had only made his first step from obscurity under pretence of a burning ha- tred of monarchy, now had the boldness to name his son Richard as his successor— as though his usurped power were held by hereditary right. But though named by his father to the protectorate, Richard Cromwell had none of his father's energy and but little of his ambition. Accustomed to the stern rule and sagacious activity of the deceased usurper, the army very speedily showed its unwillingness to transfer its allegiance to Richard, and a committee of the leading officers was assembled at Fleetwood's resi- dence, and called the cabal of Walllngford. The first step of this association was to present to the yoling protector a remon- strance requiring that the command of the array should be Intrusted to some person who possessed the confidence of the officers. As Richard was thus plainly Informed that he had not that confidence, he had no choice but to defend his title by force, or make a virtue of necessity and give in his resignation of an authority to the exercise of which he was signally unequal. He chose the latter course ; and having signed a for- mal abdication of an office which he ought never to have filled, he lived for some years in Prance and subsequently settled atChes- hunt, in Hertfordshire, where as a private gentleman he lived to a very advanced age. The cabal of Wallingford, having thus readily and quietly disposed of pro- tector Richard, now saw the necessity of establishing something like a formal go- vernment ; and the rump parliament, which Oliver Cromwell had so unceremoniously turned out of doors, was invited to rein- state itself in authority. But upon these thoroughly incapable men the experience of past days was wholly thrown away. Forgetting that the source of their power was the force of the army, their very first measures were aimed at lessening the power of the cabal. The latter body, per- ceiving that the parliament proceeded from less to greater proofs of extreme hostility, determined to send it back to the fitting obscurity of private life. Lambert, with a large body of troops, accordingly went to Westminister. Having completely sur- rounded the parliament house with his men, the general patiently awaited the arrival of the speaker, Lenthal, and when that personage made his appearance the general ordered the horses of the state carriage to be turned round, and Lenthal was conducted home. The like civility was extended to the various members as they successively made their appearance, and the army proceeded to keep a solemn fast by way of celebrating the annihilation of this disgraceful parliament. But the triumph of the army was short. If Fleetwood, Lambert, and the other lead- ing officers anticipated the possibility of placing one of themselves in the position occupied by the late protector, they had egregiously erred in overlooking the power and possible inclination of general Monk. This able and politic officer, it will be re- colleclud, had been intrusted by Cromwell with the task of keeping Scotland in sub- servience to the commonwealth of England. He had an army of upwards of eight thou- sand veteran troops, and the wisdom and moderation with which ho had governed Scotland gave him great moral influence and a proportionate command of pecuniary resources; and when the dismissal of the rump parliament by the army threw the inhabitants of London into alarm lest an absolute military tyranny should succeed, the eyes of all were turned upon Monk, and every one was anxious to know whether he would throw his vast power into this or into that scale. But 'honest George Monk,' as his sol- diers with affectionate familiarity were wont to term him, was as cool and silent as he was dexterous and resolute. As soon as he was made aware of the proceedings that had taken place In London he put his vete- ran army in motion. As he marched south- ward upon London he was met by mes- senger after messenger, each party being anxious to ascertain for which he intended to declare ; but he strictly, and with an admirable firmness, replied to all, that he was on his way to enquire into the state of atfairs, and to aid in remedying whatever might be wrong. Still maintaining this politic reserve, he reached St. Albans, and there fixed his head-quarters. The rump parliament in the raeantimo had reassembled without opposition from the Wallingford cabal, the members of which probably feared to act while in igno- rance of the intentions of Monk, who now pent a formal request to the parliament for the instant removal to country quarters of all troops stationed in London. This done, the parliament dissolved, after taking mea- sures for the immediate election of new members. Sagacious public men now began to judge that Monk, weary of the existing state of things, had resolved to restore the exiled king, but Monk still preserved the most profound silence until the assembling of a new parliament should enable him rapidly and effectually to accomplish his designs. The only person who seems to have been in the confidence of this able man was a Devonshire gentleman named Morrlce, who was of as taciturn and prudent a disposition as the general himself. All persons who sought the general's confidence were re- ferred to Morrlce, and among the number was Sir John Granville, who was the ser- vant and personal friend of the exiled king, who now sent him over to England to en- deavour to influence Monk. Sir John, when referred to Morrice, more than once replied that he held a commission from the king, and that he could open his business to no one but general Monk in person. This per- tinacity and caution were precisely what Monk required ; and though even now ho would not commit himself by any written document, he personally gave Gr.auville such Information as induced the king to hasten from Breda, the governor of which would fain have made liim a prisoner under 400 Cfie CipfliJuri? of ^iitavn, Sec, tlio pretence of paying liim honoiir, and settled liinisclf In Holland, where lie anx- iously awaited farther lidniKs from Monk. Tlie parliament at lenKth assDiiMecl, ami It became very generally uiuU-rslond, lliat the restoration of ilie monarcliy was tlie real intention of Monk ; but so h'real and obvious were the i>erils of the time, that for a few days the parliament occupied it- self in merely routine business, no one daring to utter a word upon that very sub- ject which every man had the most deeply at heart. Jlonk durini; all this time had lost no opportunity of uliserving the senti- ments of the new parliament, and he at last broke throuuli his politic and well- sustained reserve., ami directed Aiiuesley, the president of the council, to inform the house that sir John Granville was at its door with a letter from his Majesty. The effect of these few words was electrical : the whole of the members rose from their seats and hailed the news with a'burst of enthusiastic cheering. Sir John Gran- ville was now called in, the king's letter was read, and the proposals it made for the restoration of Charles were agreed to with a new burst of cheering. The gracious letter, offering an indemnity far more ex- tensive than could have Ijeen hoped for after all the evil that had been done, was at once entered on the journals, and ordered to be published, that the people at large might participate in the joy of the house. Nothing now remained to obstruct the re- turn of Charles, who, after a short and prosperous passage, arrived in Loudon on the twenty-ninth of May, being the day on ■which he completed his thirtieth year. Everywhere he was received with the ac- clamations of assembled multitudes ; and so numerous were the congratulatory ad- dresses that were presented to him, that lie pleasantly remarked that it must surely have been his own fault that he had not returned sooner, as it was plain there was not one of his subjects who had not been long wishing for him. CHAPTER LIT. The Beign of Charles II. A.D. 1660. — Young, accomplished, and of a singularly cheerful and affable temper, Charles II. ascended his throne with all the apparent elements of a just and uni- versal popularity, especially as the ignor- ance of some and the tyranny of others had by this time taught the people of England to understand the full value of a wise and regular government. But Charles had some faults which were none the less mischievous because they were the mere excesses of amiable qualities. His good-nature was attended by a levity and carelessness which caused him to leave the most faithful services and the most serious sacrifices unrewarded, and his gaiety de- generated Into an indolence and self- indulgence more fitted to the effeminate self-worship of a Sybarite than to the responsible situation of the king of a free and active people. One of the first cares of the parliament was to pass an act of indemnity for all that had passed, but a special exception was made of those who hail ilirecllv ami pir- soiially taken part in the iiiunier i>f llie late king. Tlirei' of the most pniinim-iit of these, Cromwell, Dradshaw, and Irelon, were dead. But as It was thought that some signal obloquy ought to be thrown upon crime so enornums as their's, their bodies were disinterred, snsiK'iided from the gallows, and sul-:-! .|iirniij lairiecl at its foot. Others oi' ihe ii -Hiilrs were proceeded against, and im in -or less severely punished ; but Charles showed no more earnestness In vengeance than in grati- tude, and there never, probably, has been so little of punishment inflicted for crime so extensive and so frightful. Charles, In fact, had but one passion— the love of pleasure ; and so long as he could command the means of gratifying that, he, at the commencement of his reign especially, seemed to care but little how his ministers arranged the public affairs. It was, in some degree, happy for the nation that Charles was thus careless ; for so excessive was the gladness of the nation's loyalty just at this period, tliat had Charles been of a sterner and more ambitious character he would have had little or no difllculty in rendering himself an absolute monarch. So evident was the inclination of the commons to go to ex- tremes in order to gratify the king, that one of the ministers, Southampton, seri- ously contemplated requiring the enormous amount of two millionsas the king's annual revenue, a revenue which would have made hira whoUy independent alike of his people and the law. Fortunately, the wise and virtuous lord Clarendon, attached as be was to the royal master whose exile and priva- tions he had faithfully shared, opposed this outrageous wish of Southampton, and the revenue of the king was fixed more mode- rately, but with a liberality which rendered it Impossible for him to feel necessity ex- cept as the consequence of the extremest profusion. But Charles was one of those persons whom it is almost impossible to preserve free from pecuniary necessity ; and he soon became so deeply involved in difficulties, while his love of expensive pleasures re- mained unabated, that he at once turned his thoughts to marriage as a means of procuring money Catherine, the infanta of Portugal, was at that time, probably, the homeliest princess in Europe. But she was wealthy, her portion amomit- ing to three hundred thousand pounds in money, together with Bombay in the East Indies, and the fortress of Tangier in Africa ; and such a portion had too many attractions for the needy and pleasure- loving Charles to allow him to lay much stress upon the infanta's want of personal attractions. The dukes of Ormond, South- ampton, and the able and clear-headed chancellor Clarendon endeavoured to dis- suade the king from this match, chiefly on the ground of the infanta being but little likely to have children ; but Charles was "dpnslanif.— l^ouiSe of ^tuart.— Cl^aiU^ M, 401 resolute, and tlie Infanta liecamc qiiecn of England, all lioiimu' wliicli it is to be fi'arecl | tliat she ilearly pureliar^ed, for tlie nuiiie- i rcnis mistresses of the king wci-erermitteil, if not actually encouraged, to Insult her by their familiar presence, and vie with her in luxury obtained at her cost. As a means of procuring large sums from his parliament, Charles declared war as-'ainst the Dutch. The hostilities were very fiercely carried on by both parties, but after the sacriflce of blood and treasure to ail immense amount, the Dutch, by a treaty signed at Breda, procured peace by ceding to England the American colony of New York. Though this colony was justly con- sidered as an important acquisition, the whole terms of the peace were not cou- sidorod suffloiently honourable to England, and the public mind became much exaspe- rated ag:iinst Clarendon, who was said to have commeucod war unnecessarily, and to have cimcluded peace disgracefully. What- ever might be the private opinion of Charles, who, probably, had far more than Claren- don to do with the commencement cf the war, he showed no desire to shield his minister, whose steadfast and high-princi- liled character had long been so distasteful at court that he had been subjected to the insults of the courtiers and the slights of the king. Under such circumstances the fate of Strafford seemed "by no means un- likely to become that of Clarendon, Mr. Seymour bringing seventeen articles of im- peachment" Against him. But Clarendon, perceiving the peril in which he was placed, and rightly judging that it was in vain to oijpese the popular clamour when that was aided by the ungrateful coldness of the court, went into voluntary exile in France, where he devoted himself to literature. Freed from the presence of Clarendon, whose rebuke he feared, and whose virtue lie admired but could not imitate, Charles now gave the chief direction of public af- fairs into the hands of certain partakers of his pleasures. Sir Thomas Clifford, lord Ashley, afterwards earl of Shaftesbury, the duke of Buckingham, lord Arlington, and the duke of Lauderdale, were the persons to whom Charles now intrusted his affairs, and fmm their initials this ministry was known by the title of the cabal. A.D. 1670.— The members of the cabal were undoubtedly men of ability ; learning, wit, and accomplishment being absolute reiiuisites to the obtaining of Charles's fa- vour. But their's was the ability of cour- tiers rather than of ministers; they were better fitted to season the pleasures of the prince, than to provide for the security of the throne or the welfare of the peo- ple. The public discontent was, conse- quently, very great ; it was but too deeply and widely felt that such a ministry was little likely to put any effectual check upon the profligate pleasures which made the English court at once the gayest and the most vicious court in all Europe. Nor was it merely from the character of the ministry and the dissipated course of t.lie king that the people felt discontented. The duke of York, the ixresuraptivc heir to the throne, though a brave and a high- minded man, was universally believed to be a very bigoted papist ; and enough of the iniritan spirit still remained to make men dread the possible accession of a papist king. The alarm and uneasiness that were felt on this point at length reached to such a height that, in August of this year, as the king was walking in St. James's park, dis- porting himself with some of the beautiful little dogs of which he was fond, a chemist, named Kirby, approached his majesty, and warned him that a plot was on foot against him. ' Keep, sire,' said this person, ' with- in your company ; your enemies design to take your life, and you may be shot even in this very walk.' News so startling, and at the same time so consonant with the vague fears and vul- gar rumours of the day, naturally led to farther enquiries ; and Kirby stated that he had his information from a doctor Tonge, a clergyman, who had assured him that two men, named Grove and Pickering, were engaged to shoot the king, and that the queen's physician, sir George 'Wakeling, had agreed, if they failed, to put an end to his majesty by poison. The matter was now referred to Danby, the lord treasurer, who sent for doctor Tonge. That person not only showed all readiness to attend, but also produced a bundle of papers re- lative to the supposed plot. Questioned as to the manner in which he became pos- sessed of these papers, he at first stated that they were thrust under his door, and subsequently that he knew the writer of them, who required his name to be con- cealed lest he should incur the deadly anger of the Jesuits. The reader will do well to remark the gross inconsistency of these two accounts ; it is chiefly by the careful no- ting of such inconsistencies that the wise see through the carefully-woven falsehoods which are so commonly believed by the credulous or the careless. If the papers had really been thrust beneath this man's door, as he at first pretended, how should he know the author? If the author was known to him, to what purpose the stealthy way of forwarding the papers? Charles him- self was far too acute a reasoner to overlook this gross inconsistency, and he flatly gave it as his opinion that the whole affair was a clumsy fiction. But Tonge was a tool in the hands of miscreants who would not so readily be disconcerted, and he was now sent again to the lord treasurer Danby, to inform him that a packet of treasonable letters was on its way to the Jesuit Bed- ingfield, the duke of York's confessor. By some chance Tonge gave this informa- tion some hours after the duke of York had himself been put in possession of these let- ters, which he had shown to the king as a vulu'ar •■iiid ridiculous forgery of which he could not discover the drift. Hitherto all attempts at producing any effect by means of these alleged treason-- able designs had failed, and the chief ma- nufacturer of them, Titus Gates, now camo forward with a well-feigned unwillingness. This man had from his youth upward been 402 ^t CrcaSure of W^tarn, $i(. an almiidiiiieil cliiirnrtor. He liad been j liidlrtoa for prrosis perjury, and Imd siit)- soiivieiitly been dismissed from the cliap- laiiioj- of a man-of-war for a yet more dls- Kraceful crime, and he then professed to be a convert to papacy, and actually was for some time maintained In the Enpllsh seminary at St. Omer's. Ueduccd to actual destitution, lie seems to have fastened upon Kirby and Tonse, as weak and credulous men, whose very weakness and credulity would make them Intrejiid In the assertion of such falsehoods as he niiirht choose to Instil Into their minds. Of his own mo- tives we may form a shrewd frucss from the fact that he was supjiorted by the actual charity of Kirby, at a moment when he af- fected to have the clue to mysteries closely touching the king's life and involving the lives of numerous persons of consequence. Though vulgar, illiterate, and ruffianly, this man Oates was cunning' and daring. Finding that his pretended information was of no avail in procuring himself court favour, he now resolved to see what effect it would have upon the already alarmed and anxious minds of tlie people. He ac- cordingly went before Sir Edmoudbury Godfrey, a gentleman In great celebrity for his activity as a magistrate, and desired to make a deposition to the effect that the pope, judging the heresy of the king and people a sufficient ground, had assumed the sovereignty of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and had condemned the king to death as a heretic; the death to be in- flicted by Grove and Pickering, who were to shoot him with silver bullets. The Jesuits and the pope having thus disposed of the king, whom, according to this de- position, they styled the black bastard, the crown was to be offered to the duke of York on the condition that he should wholly extirpate the protestant religion ; but if the duke refused to comply with that condition, then James, too, was to go to pot. The mere vulgarity of this deposition might have led the people to infer its falsehood ; for whatever might be the other faults of the Jesuits, they were not, as edu- cated men. at all likely to use the style of speech which so coarse and illiterate a ■wretch as Oates attributed to them. But popular terror not uncommonly pi-oduces, temporarily at least, a poiMilar madness ; and the at once atrocious and clumsy false- hoods of this man, whose very destitution was the consequence of revolting crimes, were accepted by the people as irrefragable evidence, and he was himself hailed and caressed as the friend and protector of protestantism and protcstants! Before the council he repeatedly and most grossly contradicted himself, but the effect his statements had upon the public mind was euch, that it was deemed necessary to order the apprehension of the principal persons named as being cognizant of this plot, among whom were several Jesuits, aud Coleman, secretary to the duke of York. A singular circumstance now occurred ■which gives but too much rea.son to fear that perjuiy was by no means the worst of the crimes to which Oates resorted to pro- cure the success of his vile scheme. Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, the magistrate who Urst gave Oates Importance by allowing him to reduce his lying statements into a formal and regular depo.sit ion, was suddenly missed from his house, and after a lapse of several days, found barbarously murdered In a ditch" at Primrose-hill, near London. No soimerwas this known than the people rushed to the conclusion that sir Edmond- l>ury had been murdered by the Jesuits, in revenge for the willingurss he had shown to receive the information of Oates. But looking at the desperate character of the latter,' does it not seem far more probable that he caused the murder of the credulous magistrate, trusting that it would have the very effect which it did produce upon the credulous people? Be that as it may, the discovery of the deceased gentleman's body frightfully Increased the public agitation ; the corpse was carried In procession by seventy clergymen, and no one who valued his personal safety ventured to hint that the murder might probably not have been the work of the detested Jesuits. From the mere vulgar, the alarm and agitation soon spread to the better-in- formed classes, and at length it was mo%'ed in parliament that a solemn fast should be appointed, that the house should have all papers that were calculated to throw a light upon the horrid plot, that all known papists should be ordered to quit London, and all unknown or suspicious persons for- bidden to present themselves at court, and that the train bands of London and West- minster should be kept in instant readiness for action 1 The miscreant whose false- hoods had raised all this alarm and anxiety was thanked by parliament and recom- mended to the favour of the king, who conferred upon him a pension of twelve hundred pounds per annum, and a resi- dence in Whitehall. Such reward besto^n-ed upon such a character and for such ' pul>- lic services' naturally produced a rival for public favour, and a fellow named William Bedloe now made his appearance in the character of informer. He was of even lower origin and more infamous note than Oates, having been repeatedly convicted of theft. Being at Bristol and in a state of destitution, he at his own request was ar- rested and sent to London. When ex- amined before the council he stated that he had seen the body of the murdered sir Edmondbury Godfrey at the then residence of the queen, Somerset-house, and that a servant of the lord Bellasis haeiiallies upon nny judgo refiisinu' .uiy jirisoner liis v/ril ot hiibiMn corpinf. Jiniiian ^^i^;lllnn eoulil scarcttly de\Mse a more eltect nal .safeis'uanl to the subject than tliis ai-t. (in tlie other hand, it can never tie perilons tot lie tlirone, because in times of sedition or violeiu'ejiar- lianient can suspend tlie I'xec-iition of tliis act for a sliori aiui drllnile time, at the end of wliii-li time tliis ^'r^■at safeguard of our lilierties returns In its full foree. Tile criminal and diss,'racetul complaisance with ivhicU the government had allowed the perjured informers to flourish un- checked, caused a new plot-discoverer to present himself in the person of a worthy, named Dangerfield, whose previous life had been diversifled by experience of the pillory, the scourge, the branding iron, and a residence, as a convict, in the plantations. This fellow, in conjunction with a midwife of bad character, named Collier, came for- ward to denounce a plot, of which he al- leged the existence, for removing the ting and the royal family and setting up a new form of government. This fellow took his information direct to the king and the duke of York, who weakly, if we must not rather say wickedly, supplied him with money, and thus patronised and encouraged him in his evil course. Determiued to make the most of his fortune, Dangerfield deposited some writings of a most seditious character in the house of a military officer named Man- sel. Having so placed the papers that they were certain to be discovered by any one searching^ the apartments, Dangerfield, without saying a word about the papers, went to the custoin-liouse and sent officers to Mansel's to search for smuggled goods. There were no such goods there, as Dan- gerfield well knew, but, exactly as he had anticipated, the officers found the concealed papers, examined them, and felt It to be their duty to lay them before the council. Either Dangerfield was already suspected, or something in the papers themselves in- dicated forgery ; for the council were so convinced that the documents were Dan- gerfleld's own production, that they Issued an order that a strict search should imme- diately be made in all places which he had been known to frequent. In the course of the search the house of the midwife Collier was visited, and there, concealed in a meal- tub, the officers found a paper which con- tained the whole scheme of the conspiracy to the most minute particulars. Upon this discovery the wretch Dangerfield was sent to Newgate, where he made a ' confession,' which probably was as false as the former statement that he had made, for he now represented that to the lying tale he had formerly told he had been instigated by the countess of I'owis, the earl of Castlemain, and others. And though it was so much more probable that the miscreant had all along lied from his own invention and in bis own greediness of gain, the earl and countess were actually sent to the Tower. AVliat lias always made iis attach deep lilamr and dist-nii e to Cliarlr.s's i-oudiu-i in allowing so many innocent lives to lir sacri- tlrrd to thc'vcniil i-riielly of iiiformi'is, is the fact, that while tin' iiiforiiirrs at trilmled plots totlir.Iosiiits.amlst.itrdtbcobiectof those |i|. Its III he till- si'ttiiigupof tiieiia- pist duke of York in the place of the king, Charles knew, must necessarily have known, that the Jesuits were :i iiierr handftil as compared to the protestants, and that the very last man wlmni either iirotcstaiit or papist througbnnt Kn eland would li.ave sub- stituted for the easy, lIuiULrh prolliKate Charles, was James, duke of York. In Scotland James had made himself jierfectly hated, and both theEnglish iiarliament and the English people every year gave new and stronger proof of the dread with which they contemplated even the iiossihilily of the accession of James. In the war with the Dutch he had shown himself a brave and skilful officer, but his gloomy temper, his stern unsparing disposition, and the bigotry which he was universally known to possess, made courage and military con- duct, however admirable in other men, in him only two terrors the more. Charles well knew this ; so well, that when James one day warned him against exposing himself too much while so many plots and rumours of plots disturbed the general mind, Charles, as gaily as truly replied ' Tilly vally, James ! There be none so silly as to shoot me in order to make you king I ' This unpopularity of James led to more than one attempt on the part of the house of commons to procure the exclusion of him fi-om the throne on the ground of his being a papist. The new parliament had scarcely sat a week before it renewed a bill, termed the exclusion bill, which the former house had voted, but which had not passed the upper house at the time of the dissolution of- parliament. The party of the duke, though influential, was numerically weak out of doors ; for besides those who hated him as a papist, and dreaded him as a stern disciplinarian, there were great numbers who hoped that the exclusion of the duke would procure the throne for the duke of Monmouth, the handsome and highly popular son of the king by one of his nuiuerous mistresses named Lucy Waters. But the influence of the king was powerful in the house, and after a long debate, not too temperately conducted upou either side, the exclusion bill was thrown out -by rather a considera- ble majority. With the informers and 'plots,' libellous pamphlets had increased in number to an extent that could scarcely be credited. Each party seemed to think that the hardest words and the most severe imputa- tions were only too mild for its opponents, and the hired libeller now vied in industry and importance with the venal and perjured informer. An idle and profligate fellow, a sort of led captain In the pay of the king's profli- «?nflIanlf.-?^DU£{e of g>tuart-Ct)arIcg 3E3E. gate mistress, the duchess ot Portsmouth, was employed to procure her the piquant libels which were occasionally published upon the kins and the duke of York. This man, not finding the existent libels suffi- ciently abusive, determined to surpass them, and he called to his aid a Scotchman named Everard. Between them they com- posed a most rancorous and scurrilous libel which Fitzharris hastened to get printed. But the Scotchman, Everard, imagined that his Irish fellow-libeller, as a hanger-on of the king's mistress, could h:ivc had no possible motive for employmg him but the wish to betray him. Indignant :a the supposed design, Everard went and laid information before sir William Waller, a justice of the peace, and Fitzharris was apprehended with a copy of the libel actually in his possession. Finding himself iilaced in considerable peril of the pillory, Fitzharris, who, be it observed, tens (m/rish mini^t turned round upon the court, and stated not without some appearance of truth, that he had been eiuployed by the court to write a libel so foul and violent, that the exclusion party, to whom It would be attributed, would be injured m the estimation of all people of sober judgement. In order to render this tale still more palatable to the exclusionists, Fitzharris added to it that a new popish plot, more terrible than any former one, was in agitation under the auspices of the duke of York, whom he also accused of being one of the contrivers of the murder of sir Edmondburv Godfrey. The king sent Fitz- harris to prison ; the commons, instead of looking with contempt upon the whole affair, voted that this hired libeller and led captain to a court harlot should be m- pciiched! It was so obvious that the real intention of the commons was to screen Fitzharris from punishment altogether, tliat the lords very properly rejected the impeachment. An angry feeling sprang up between the two houses ; and the king, to prevent the dispute ft-om proceeding to any dangerous length, went down and dissolved parliament, with the fixed deter- mination of never calling another. Charles now, in fact, ruled with all the power and with not a little of the tyranny of an absolute monarch. He encouraged spies and informers, and imprisoned those who ventured to complain of his measures in a manner not only contrary to his former temper but almost designed, as was well remarked at the time, to reconcile the people to the prospect of his brother's accession by making his own rule too grievous to be endured. To those who held high church principles, and professed his doctrine of passive obedience and non- resistance, all the royal favour was shown ; while the Presbyterians and other sturdy opposers of his arbitrary measures were m numerous cases deprived of their places and employments, and in some cases im- prisoned into the bargain. The city of London, so powerful and so factious during the reign of Charles I., was now made to feel the king's resentment, being, for its leadership of the popular party, deprived 405 of its charter, which was not restored until an abject submission had been made, and a most vexatious right conceded to the crown of interfering in the election of the city magistrates. Pitzhan-is, who had been so warmly sided with by the exclusionists, and who had been the chief cause of Charles's angry and final dissolution of | parliament, was now by the king's order brought to trial before a jury, and, being pronounced guilty, executed I An abomin- able stretch of power ; for however worth- less and debauched a fellow he might be, his crime, venal as It was, amoiuited only to libellous writing, for even the pub- lication was scarcely so much his own act as it was the act of the officers who arrested him. J, J , The popular party now found the poi- soned chalice commended to their own lips. Hitherto, while it seemed not impro- bable that the parliament and the ' patriots' would obtain power over the king, the great and degraded host of spies and informers had aimed at the ruin of papists ' and 'Jesuits.' But now that the king had as boldly as arbitrarily dispensed with even the shadow of parliamentary aid, and ruled as independently and almost as arbitrarily as an eastern prince, the spies and informers turned upon those who had formerly encouraged if not actually em- ployed them, and 'presbyterian' was now pretty nearly as dangerous a title as 'papist' had been; 'protestant preacher scarcely more safe than 'Jesuit' had been heretofore. Charles and his ministry encouraged the informers, and the system of perjury lost none of its infamy and vileness ; it merely aimed at a different class of victims. A joiner of London, by name Stephen College, had made himself especially con- spicuous during the heats and alarms of the anti-popery crisis. Loud of tongue, and somewhat weak of brain, this man, with more zeal than knowledge, had takeu upon himself to advocate protestantism, which needed none of his aid, and to oppose po- pery, which such opposition as his could not possibly affect. He had attended the city members to Oxford armed with pistols and sword, had been in the habit of railing against the king, the duke of York and papacy, and, rather, in derision than in distinction, had acquired the title of the protestant joiner. This weak man, whose flights were fitting matter for the minis- tering of the physician rather than for the interference of the law, was selected by the ministry as a fit subject of whom to make an example. He was indicted and found guilty of sedition, and, to the disgrace of both king and ministers, exe- cuted. A. D. 16S3.— The increasing power and severity of Charles and his ministry struck a panic throughout the nation. The man- ner in which the city of London had been deprived of its charter, and the humiUating terms upon which that once powerful corporation had got its charter restored, soon caused the other corporations to sun-euder their charters voluntarily ; and 406 C^e HCveniuvs at ^iitavs, ^c. not only were cousideralilo sums extorted for tliclr restoration, but the king took care to reserve in his own hands the power of appointing lo all oHlces of trust and profit. That patronage which was tluis disoreditalily ohlnlnod was so enormous, that the power of the cro^vn became over- whelmingly vast, and, with but a few excep- tions, men acrreed that resistance, even if justlflable, would now be useless and hopeless. But there was a party of malcontents, weak as to number, but vigorous, in- fluential, and bold ; and absolute as Charles was, and unassailable as to most people his power must have seemed, his life, even, was, at this time, in amost Imminent peril. The soul of the malcontents was the e.arl of Shaftesbury. That highly-gifted but turbulent and plot-loving person had en- gaged with the duke of Jlonmouth, the earl of Macclestleld, lord William Russell, and several other noblemen, to rise nomi- nally in favour of freedom, but really to dethrone Charles ; exclude, if not slay, James ; and place the crown upon the head of the duke of Monmouth, the king's natural son. The earl of Macclesfleld, lord Brandon and others, were to effect a rising in Cheshire and Lancashire ; sir Francis Drake, sir Francis Rowles, and sir William Courtney were induced by lord William Russell to head the insurrection in Devon, and generally in the west ; and Shaftesbury aided by Ferguson, a preacher of the inde- pendents, undertook to effect a general rising in the city of London, where the discontent and disloyalty, owing to the affair of the charter, were at the greatest height. Shaftesbury urged on the plot with all his energy, and it is most probable that the kingdom would have been plunged into all the confusion and horror of a civil war if the extreme eagerness of Shaftes- bury had not been counteracted by the extreme caution of lord William Russell, who, when everything was nearly ready for an outbreak, urged the duke of Monmouth to postpone the enterprise until a more favourable opportunity. The usually en- terprising and turbulent Shaftesbury now became so prostrated by a sense of the danger in which he w-as placed by this postponement, that he abandoned his house and endeavoured to induce the Londoners to rise without waiting for the tardy cooperation of the provinces ; but all his endeavours were unavailing, and in his despair he fled to Holland, where he soon afterwards died broken-hearted and in poverty. The conspirators being thus freed from the turbulent Shaftesbury, formed a com- mittee of six ; Hampden, grandson to tlie Hampden who made so much opposition to the ship-money, Algernon Sidney, How- ard, Essex, and lord William Russell : Mon- mouth being their grand leader and centre I of correspondence, his chief adviser, how- ever, being the duke of Argyle. There were numerous subordinates in this conspiracy ; and it is adlrmed, by the friends of the me- mory of lord William Russell, that he and the leaders did not encourage, and were not even perfectly cognizant of, the more atrocious part of the plan of those conspirators who had agreed to assassinate the king on his Wily to Newmarket. We confess that it appears to us to be making a large demand indeed upon our credulity to suppose any- thing of the kind, but we have not space to go into the arguments which might be adduced in favour of the supposition that, however willing the chief conspirators might be to leave the horrible crime of assassination to siibonliiiafes, they were at least quite willing that such crime should be perpetrated to the profit of their main design. The plan of the conspirators against the life of the king was lo secrete themselves on a farm belonging to one of them, the Rye-house, situated on the road to New- market, overturn a cart there to obstruct the royal carriage, .and then deliberately fire upon the king. After much consultation it was determined to carry this dastardly plot into execution on the king's return from Newmarket. About a week before the time at which his majesty was to do so, the house in which he resided at Newmarket took Are, and he was obliged to remove to London. This circumstance would merely have postponed the 'fate' of his majesty, but in the course of the time that was thus lost to the conspirators, one of their num- ber, named Keiling, found himself in danger of prosecution for having arrested the lord mayor of London, and to save himself from the consequences he waited upon the king's ministers and revealed all that he knew of the plot against the king, and colonel Rumsey and a lawyer named West joined him in becoming king's evidence. Mon- mouth and Grey escaped, lord William Rus- sell was apprehended and sent to the Tower, as, shortly afterwards, were Essex, Sidney, and Hampden, together with lord Howard, who was found in a chimney. That iguoble nobleman, though fully as guilty as the rest, immediately agreed to save his own recreant life by becoming evi- dence against his former associates, who seemed more indignant and disgusted at that treachery than affected by the peril in which it placed them. Colonel Walcot, an old republican officer, together with Stone and Rouse, were tlrst put upon trial, and condemned upon the evidence of their former associates, colonel Rumsey and the lawj'er West. Lord William Russell and Algernon Sid- ney were condemned chiefly on the evi- dence of lord Howard. In the case of Sid- ney, however, the evidence of Howard was most unconstitutionally eked out by con- struing as treasonable certain writings, merely speculative, though of republican tendency, which were seized at his house. Both Russell and Sidney w'ere condemned and executed. Hampden was more fortu- nate, and escaped with a fine of forty thou- sand pounds. HoUoway, a merchant of Bristol, who had been engaged in this das- tardly conspiracy, escaped to the West In- dies ; and sir Th(unas Armstrong, who w.as similarly situated, escaped to Holland. But eustanlf.— ?l?0ttSe ai ^tuart— SameS M. 407 so eagerly vindictive bad Cliarles and his ministry by this time bceu rendered Ijy the numerous plots, real and pretended, that liiith of those persons were brought overto England and executed. Lord Essex would also probably have been executed, but be- ing imprisoned in the Tower he there com- mitted suicide by cutting his throat. Judging from the severity with which Charles jiroceeded on this occasion, it is but reasonable to presume he would either have carried his despotism to a frightful pitch, or have fallen a victim to the equally unjustifiable violence of some malcontent. But his naturally flue constitution was now completely broken up by his long and furi- ous course of dissipation, and a fit of apo- plexy seized him, from which he was but partially recovered by bleeding : he expired in the flfty-flfth year of his age and the twenty-fltth of his reign. Much might be said in dispraise of Charles, both as man and monarch ; but impartial justice deiuauds that we should make a great allowance for the unfavour- able circumstances under which the best years of his youth and manhood were spent. Poverty for months, poverty so extreme that he and his followers were at times without a single coin and owed their very food to the kindness of their hosts, was oc- casionally followed by a temporary plenty ; and his companions were, for the most part, precisely the persons to encourage him in every extravagance to which so wretchedly precarious a life was calculated to induce him. Even the cruelty and des- potism of his latter years visibly had their chief cause in the political villany and vio- lence of considerable bodies of his people. No such excuse can be made for his ex- travagant liberality to his numerous mis- tresses ; and for the wholly cruel and mean treatment he bestowed upon his wife we know of no decorous epithet that is suffi- ciently severe. That Charles was not naturally of a cruel, or even of a sufficiently severe turn, a remarkable proof is afforded by the story of a rutlian named Blood ; a story so sin- gular, that we think it necessary to give it by way of appendix to this reign. Blood, who had served in Ireland, had, or fancied that he had, considerable claims upon the government, and being refused satisfac- tion by the duke of Ormond, he actually waylaid and seized that nobleman on his return from an evening party in Lon- don, and would have hanged him but for the occurrence of a mere accident which enabled the duke to escape. A desperado of this sort could not fail to be in frequent trouble and distress ; and he at length was reduced to such extreme straits, that v.'ith some of his associates he formed a plan for purloining the regalia from the jewel-house in the Tower. He contrived to ingratiate himself with the old couple who had charge of the valuable jewels, and took an oppor- tunity to bind both the man and woman and make off with all the most valuable articles. Though flred at by the sentry, he got clear as far as Tower-hill, where he was apprehended after a desperate struggle. So enormous an outrage, it might have been anticipated, would be expiated only by the severest punishment ; but the king not only forgave Blood, but even gave him a considerable annual pension to ena- ble him to live without farther criminality. A rare proof of the native easiness of tlie king's temper! Though it must be added that the duke of Buckingham, who detested Ormond, was on that account supposed to have used his vast influence iu favour of Blood. CHAPTER LV. The Reign of Jajies II. A.D. 1685.— The somewhat ostentatious manner in which the duke of York had been accustomed to go to mass, during the life of his brother, had been one great cause of the general dislike in which he was held. Even Charles, giddy and careless as he iu general was, saw the imprudence of James's conduct, and significantly told him ou one occasion that fee had no desire to go upon his travels again, whatever James might wish. On ascending the throne, the first, very first, act of James was one of an honest but most imprudent bigotry. Incapable of reading the signs of tlie times, or fully pre- pared to dare the worst that those signs could portend, James immediately sent his agent, Caryl, to Rome, to apologise to the pope for the long and flagrant heresy of Engl.and, and to endeavour to procure the re-admission of the English people into the communion of the catholic church. The pope was either less blind or more politic than James, and returned him a very cool answer, implying that before he ventured upon so arduous an enterprise as that of changing the professed faith of nearly his entire people, he would do well to sit down and calculate the cost. Even this grave and sensible rebuke did not deter James from exerting himself, both by fear and favour, to make proselytes of his subjects. Hated as he already was, such conduct could not fail to encourage conspiracies against him, and, accordingly, he had not been long seated upon the throne, when he found a dangerous rival in the duke of Monmouth. This illegitimate son of Charles II. had obtained, from the easy nature of his father, a pardon for his share in the Rye-house plot, which was fatal to so many better men ; but had received his pardou only on condition of perpetual residence abroad. He remained in Holland during the rest of his father's reign, but on the accession of James was dismissed by the prince of Orange. This di-smissal was said to be at the direct solicitation of James, who bore a great hatred to Monmouth ; if so, the act was as impolitic as it was mean. The duke now found refuge for a short time at Brussels, but here again the in.luence of James was brought to bear upon him ; and Monmouth, now thoroughly exasperated, and relying upon the detestation in which James was held, resolved to m.ake an attempt to oust him from the English throne. At this dis- tance of time such a project on the part of 408 C^e tS^veaiuv}} of ?l^tiStorii, $ec. Miiiniiiiiitli sorins perfoctlj- liisano ; but it will sci'in inr loss so If -no make due allow- mice for the wiilolj-spread and luteuse Imtred wliich the petiple bore toJauus.aud for tlie great popularity of MoiinKuuli, whom many people believed to be the le- gitimate sou (if Charle?, it being commonly alhrmed that t'liarles had privately married Lucy Waters, the dnku's mother. The duke of Artryle, who, as well as Monmoutli, had escaped the consequences of the Hye-house plot, now asreed to aid him; It was intended that Arpyle sliould raise Scotland, while Monmouth was to take the lead in the west of England. Argyle promptly commenced his part of the affair by landing in Scotland, where he soon found himself at the head of an array of two thousand five hundred men. He is- sued manifestoes containing the usual mix- ture of truth and falsehood, but before his eloquence could procure him any consider- able accession of force he was attacked by a powerful body of the king's troops. Ar- gyle himself fought gallantly, and was se- verely wounded ; but bis troops soon gave way in every direction, and the duke w:is shortly afterwards seized, wliile standing up to his neck in a pool of water, and car- ried to Edinburgh. Here the authorities and populace, with the small spite of mean spirits, avenged themselves, by the inflic- tion of every description of indignity, for the fright their brave though turbulent and imprudent prisoner had caused tliem. On his way to the place of execution he was jeered and insulted by the rabble ; and the magistrates suspended to his neck a hook containing an account of his former exploits. These insults, however, nothing affected the high spirit of Argyle, who con- tented himself with sarcastically telling his persecutors that he deemed it well that they had notliing worse to allege against his character. He suffered with the same composure. Monmouth, in the meantime, with scarcely more than a hundred followers, landed on the coast of Dorsetshire ; and we may judge of the greatness of his popu- larity from the fact, that though he landed with so slender a retinue, he assembled upwards of two thousand men in four days. As he proceeded to Taunton he increased his force to six thousand, and could have had double that number, only that he was obliged after the first few days to refuse all but such as could bring their own arms with them. At Bridgewater, "Wells, and Fromehe was joined by great numbers of young men, the sons, chiefly, of the Ijetter sort of farmers ; and such was the enthusiasm that was now excited on his behalf, that James ■began, and with good reason, to tremble for his throne. But Monmouth was essenti- ally unequal to the vast enterprise that he had undertaken. Though he had much of his father's personal courage, he had still more of his father's levity and love of Bhow and gaiety. At every town in which he arrived he spent precious time in the idle ceremony of beins; proclaimed king, and thus frittered away the enthusiasm and hojies of his own followers, while giving time to James to concrntrute f.irre enoui-'h to crush him at a blow. Kor did llie error of Moninoulh end here. Lord (iray was the especial favourite of the duke, and was tluir/nrc dcvmn\ the fittest man to be intrusted with the command of the iiLsurgent cavalry; though it was well known that he was deficient in judgement, and strongly suspected that he was not overburdened with either courage or zeal. Fletcher of Saltoun, a brave and direct, though passionate and free-spoken man, strongly remonstrated with the duke upon this glaringly impolitic appointment, and finding his remonstrances productive of no effect, retired from the expedition in disgust. Even the loss of this ze.alous though stern friend did not move the duke, who continued his confidence to Gray,— to repent when repentance could be of no avail. Wliile Monmouth had been wasting very precious time in these idle mockeries of royal pomp, James and his friends had been far otherwise and more usefully employed. Six British regiments were recalled from Holland, and .3,000 regulars, with a vast number of militia, were sent, under Faver- sham and Churchill, to attack the rebels. The royal force took up its position at Sedgemoor near Bridgewater. They were, or seemed to be, so carelessly posted, that Monmouth determined to give them the attack. The first onset of the rebels was so enthusiastic that the royal infantry gave way. Monmouth was rather strong in cavalry, and a single good charge of that force would now have decided the day in his favour. But Gray fully confirmed all the suspicions of his cowardice, and, while all were loudly calling upon him to charge, he actually turned his horse's head andflei from the field, followed by the greater number of his men. Whatever were the previous errors of the royal commanders, they now amply atoned for them by the prompt and able manner in which they availed themselves of Monmouth's want of generalship and Gray's want of manhood. The rebels were charged in fiank again and again, and being utterly unaided by their cavalry, were thrown into complete and irretrievable disorder, after a desperate fight of above three hours. It is due to the rebel troops to add, that the courage which they displayed was worthy of a better cause and better leaders. Rank after rank fell and died on the very spot on which they had fought; but commanded as they were, valour was thrown away and de- votion merely another term for destruc- tion. But the real horrors of this insurrection only began when the battle was ended. Hundreds were slain in the pursuit ; quar- ter, by the stem order of James, being in- variably refused. A special commission was also issued for the trial of all who were taken prisoners, and judge Jeffreys and colonel Kirk, the latter a soldier of fortune who had served much among the Moors and become thoroughly brntalised, carried that commission into effect in a tiFttglanlf.— ?^0tiiSe of ^tuart— CfjarlcS M. 409 iiiaiiuer whicli has rendered their names etunially detestable. The terror which these hrutally severe men inspired so quickened the zeal of the autliorities, and afforded so much en- couragement to informers, whether ac- tuated by hate or hire, that the prisons all over England, but especially in the western counties, were speedily filled with unfortu- nate people of both sexes and of all ages. In some towns the prisoners were so nu- merous, that even the brutal ferocity of Jeffreys was wearied of trying in detail. Intimation was therefore given to great numbers of prisoners, that their only chance of mercy rested upon their pleading guilty ; but all the unfortunate wretches who were thus beguiled into that plea were instantly and en masse sentenced to death by Jeffreys, who took care, too, that the sentence should speedily be executed. The fate of one venerable lady excited great remark and commiseration even in that terrible time of general dismay and widely-spread suffering. The lady iu ques- tion, Mrs. Gaunt, a person of some fortune, known loyalty, and excellent character, was induced by sheer humanity to give shelter to one of the fugitives from Sedgemoor. It being understood that the sheltered would be pardoned on condition of giving evidence against those who had dared to shelter them, this base and ungrateful man informed against his benefactress, who was inhumanly sentenced to death by Jeffreys, and actually executed. Monmouth, whose rash enterprise and unjustifiable ambition had caused so much confusion and bloodshed, rode from the fatal field of Sedgemoor at so rapid a pace, that at about twenty miles' distance his horse fell dead beneath him. The duke had now of all his numerous followers but one left with him, a German nobleman. Monmouth being in a desolate part of the country, and at so considerable a distance from the scene of battle and bloodshed, entertained some hope that he might escape by means of disguise, and meeting with a poo"r shepherd, he gave the man some gold to exchange clothes with him. He and his German friend now filled their pockets with field peas, and, provided only with this wretched food, proceeded, to- wards niglitfall, to conceal themselves among tlie tall fern which grew rankly and abundantly on the surrounding moors. But the pursuers and avengers of blood were not so far distant as the misguided duke supposed. A party of horse, having followed closely in his track, came up with the peasant with whom he had ex- changed clothes, and from this man's inforniatitm the duke was speedily dis- covered and dragged from his hiding-place. His miserable plight and the horrors of the fate that he but too correctly anticipated, had now so completely unmanned him, that he burst into an agony of tears, and in the most humble manner implored his captors to allow him to escape. But the reward offered for his apprehension was too tempting-, and the dread of the king's anger too great, to be overcome by the unhappy captive's solicitations, and he was hurried to prison. Kven now his clinging to life prevailed over the manifest dictates of common sense, and from his prison he sent letter after letter to the king, fllled with the most abject entreaties to be allowed to live. The natural character of James and tlie stern severity with which he had punished the rebellion of the meaner offenders, might have warned Monmouth that these degrading submissions would avail him nothing. But, in fact, his own absurdly offensive manner during his brief period of apparent prosperity would have steeled the heart of a far more placable sovereign than James. Monmouth's pro- clamations had not stopped at calling upon the people of England to rebel against their undoubtedly rightful sovereign ; they had in a manner, which would have been revolting if the very excess of its virulence had not rendered it absurd, vilified the per- sonal character of James ; and while thus offending him as a man, had at the same time offered him the still more unpardon- able offence of attacking his religion. James had none of the magnanimity which in these circumstances of personal affront would have found an argument for pardon- ing the treason, in order to avoid even the appearance of punishing the personality; and from the moment that Monmouth was captured, his fate was irrevocably sealed. Bad as Monmouth's conduct had been, it is not without contempt that we read that James, though determined not to spare him, allowed him to hope for mercy, and even granted him an interview. Admitted to the presence of the king, Monmouth was weak enough to renew in person the abject submissions and solicitations by which he had already degraded himself iu writing. As he knelt and implored his life, James sternly handed liim a paper. It contained an admission of his illegitimacy, and of the utter falsehood of the report that Lucy Waters had ever been married to Charles II. Monmouth signed the paper, and James then coldly told him that his repeated treasons rendered pardon altoge- ther out of the question. The duke now at length perceived that hope was at an end, rose from his supplicant posture, and left the apartment with an assumed firmness iu his step and an assumed scorn in his coun- tenance. When led to the scaffold Monmouth be- haved with a degree of fortitude that could scarcely have been anticipated from his previous aljjectness. Having learned that the executioner was the same who had be- headed lord William Russell, and who had put that nobleman to much agony, the duke gave the man some money, and good- humouredly warned him to be more expert in his business on the present occasion. The warning had an effect exactly opposite to what Monmouth intended. The man was so confused, that at the first blow he only wounded that sufferer's neck ; and Monmouth, bleeding and ghastly with pain and terror, raised his head from the block. His look of agony still farther unnerved N N 410 (!Ci)e CrrcnSttrn of ^iitari}, ict. tlif man, wlio iniule two more liu-ffectual slri'kis.tht'ii threw down the axe In ilosiiair and dlsKU:^t. The roproaclies and tlntuts of the sheriff, however, caused liiiu to resume his revolting task, which at two strokes more lie conijiieted, and James, duke of Monmouth, was a corpse. Mon- moutli was popular, and therefore his fate was deemed liard. Hut liis treason was wholly unjustillable, his iiretended claim to tlie crown absurdly groundless ; and pity is far less due to his memory than to that of tl'e unfortunate people wliom he deluded into treason by his rashnes>, and delivered to the gallows by liis in- capacity and obstinacy. Saying nothinfj of the vast numbers who fell in actual tight or in the subseriuent pursuit, for their fate was at the least, comparatively, enviable, upwards of twenty were hanped by the military; and Jeffreys hanged eighty at Dorchester, and two hundred and fifty at Taunton, Wells, and Exeter. At other places still farther victims were made ; and whipping, imprisonment, or ruinous fines were inflicted upon hundreds in every part of the kingdom. And all this misery, let us not forget, arose out of the rebellion and the fraudulent as well as absurd pre- tensions of the duke of Monmouth. As though the civil dissensions of the kingdom had not been sufficiently injurious, the most furious animosities existed on the score of religion. The more James dis- played his bigotry and his zeal for the re- establishment, or, at the least, the great encouragement and preference of popery, the more zealously was be opposed by the popular preachers, who lost no opportunity of impressing upon the people a deep sense of the evils which they might anticipate from a return to the papal system. The terrors and the blandishments which the king by turns employed caused many per- sons of lax conscience to affect to be con- verted to papacy. Dr. Sharpe, aprotestant clergyman of London, distinguished him- self by the just severity with which he de- nounced these time-servers. His majesty was so much annoyed and enraged at the doctor's sermons, that he issued an order to the bishop of London to suspend Sliarpe from his clerical functions until farther notice. The bishop very properly refused to comply with this arljitrary and unconsti- tutional order. The king then determined to include the bishop in his punishment, and issued an ecclesiastical commission, giving to the seven persons to whom it was directed an unlimited power in matters cle- rical. Before the commissioners thus au- thorised both the bishop and Dr. Sharpe were summoned, and sentenced to be sus- pended during the king's pleasure. Tliough a bigot, Jaines was undoubtedly a sincere one. He readily believed that all argument would end in favour of popery, and that all sincere and teachable spirits would become papists if fuU latitude were given to teaching. In this lielief he now determined on a universal indulgence of conscience, and a formal declaration informed the people that all sectaries should have full indulgence. and that nonconformity w.is no longer a crime. He ag.ain, too, sent a message to Home offering to reconcilehtB peoploto the papal iiower. Hut the carl of CasHemain, who was now employed, met with no more success than Caryl had met with at an earlier period of the king's reign. Tlie pope understood governing better than Jauics, and better understood the actual temper of the Knglish people. He knew that much might, with the aid of time, be done In the way of undermining the sup- ports of the Protestant church ; while the rash and arbitrary measures of James were calculated only to awaken the people to watchfulness and inspire them with a sin- rit of resistance. Not even Home could discourage James from prosecuting his rash measures. Ho encouraged the Jesuits to erect colleges in various parts of the country; the catholic worship was celebrated not only openly but ostentatiously; and four catholic bishops, after having been publicly consecrated in theking's chapel, were sent to exercise their functions of vicars apostolical throughout the kingdom. But the king was not unopposed. He recommended father Francis, a benedic- tine monk, to the university of Cambridge, for the degree of master of arts. The university replied by a petition, in which they prayed the king to excuse them upon the ground of the father's religion. An en- deavour was then made to terrify the uni- versity by summoning the vice-chancellor before the high commission court; but both that functionary and his university were firm, and father Francis was refused his degrees. The sister imiversity of Oxford displayed the like conscientious and determined spi- rit. The presidency of Magdalen college becoming vacant, the king recommended for that lucrative and honourable situation a Dr. Farmer, who was a new and merely time-serving convert to papacy, and who, in other respects, was by no means the sort of character who would do honour to so high a preferment. The fellows respect- fully but firmly refused to obey the king's mandate for the election of this man, and James showed his sense of the refusal by ejecting all but two of them from their fel- lowships. A.D. 1688.— Ati increasing disaffection to the king was the inevitable consequence of his perseverance in this arbitrary course. But heedless alike of the murmurs of his own subjects and of the probable effect of those murmurs upon the minds of foreign princes, James issued a second declaration of liberty of conscience. As if to add in- sult to this evident blow at the established church, James ordered that this second de- claration should be read by all clergymen at the conclusion of divine service. The dignitaries of the church of England now considered that farther endurance would argue rather lukewarmness for the church or gross personal timidity, than due re- spect to the sovereign, and they deter- mined firmly, though temperately, to resist at this point. Ctifllanir.— I^ott^e of ^tuart.— SamcS M, 411 Accordingly Sancroft, archbishop of Can- terbury, Llojd, bishop of St. Asaph, Keun, bishop of Bath and Wells, Turner, bishop of Ely, Lake, bishop of Chichester, White, bishop of Peterborough, and Trclawney, bishop of Bristol, drew up a respectful me- morial to the king, in which they stated that their conscientious respect to the pro- testant religion as by law established would not allow them and their clergy to yield obedience to his mandate. The king treated this petition as something approaching to a treasonable denial of his rights. The arch- bishops and bishops were summoned before him at the council, and he sternly asked them if they ventured to avow their peti- tion. The question remained for some time unanswered ; but at length the prelates replied in the afflrmative, and were imme- diately, on their declining to give bail, com- mitted to the Tower on the charge of having uttered a seditious libel. On the twenty-ninth of June in this year the trial of the bishops took place ; and as it was evident that in defending the church the prelates were also, and at a most im- portant crisis, boldly standing forward as the champions of the whole nation, the pro- ceedings were watched with a most intense Interest by men of every rank, and, save a few bigoted or interested papists, by men of every shade of religious opinion. The law- yers on either side exerted themselves greatly and ably ; and two of the judges, Powel and HoUoway, plainly declared their opinion to be in favour of the bishops. The jury, however, even now had grave doubts, and remained in deliberation during the entire night. On the following morn- ing Westminster-hall was literally crowded with spectators anxious to know the result, and when the jury appeared and returned a verdict of 'Not guilty,' a mighty cheer arose within the hall, was taken up by the crowds outside, and passed from street to street, from town to country, and from vil- lage to village. James was at the time dining with lord Faversham in the camp at Hounslow, ten miles from London. The cheers of the people reached even to this distance, and were re-echoed by the soldiers with a heartiness and loudness that ac- tually alarmed James, who eagerly enquired what that noise could mean. 'It is nothing, sire,' replied one of the attendants, 'but the soldiers shouting at the acquittal of the bishops.' 'And do you call that nothing!' replied James : ' but it shall be all the worse for them all.' The shouts of the soldiers at the failure of James's arbitrary attempt against the bishops was, indeed, an ominous sign of the times. His efforts for Rome had been repudiated and discouraged by Rome ; and now even his very soldiery, upon whom alone he could rely for strength, testified their sympathy with the popular cause. But the infatuated monarch did not even yet know the full extent of his peril. Many of the leading men of the kingdom were in close though cautious correspondence with a foreign potentate, and the most extensive and formidable preparations were being | made to hurl James from a throne which ho had so signally proved himself unworthy to fill. Mary, eldest daughter of James, was mar- ried to William, prince of Orange, who was at once the subtle and profound politician and the accomplished and tried soldier. To this able and protestant prince the mal- contents of England, who now, through James's incurable infatuation, included all that was best and most honourable as well as most influential of the nation, turned their eyes for deliverance. He had long been aware of the discontents that existed in England, but kept up an appearance of perfect amity with the king, and even in his correspondence with the leading men of the opposition warily avoided committing himself too far, and affected to dissuade them from proceedingtoextremitiesagainst their sovereign. But the ferment occa- sioned by the affair of the bishops encou- raged him to throw off the mask ; he had long been making preparations for such -a crisis, and he now resolved to act. He had his preparations so complete, indeed, that in a short time after the acquittal of the bishops, he dropped down the canals and rivers from Nimeguen with a well-stored fleet of Ave hundred vessels and an army of upwards of fourteen thousand men. As all William's preparations had been made on pretext of an intended invasion of France, he actually landed in England, at Torbay, without having excited the slightest alarm in the mind of James. William now marched his army to Exe- ter and issued proclamations, in which he invited the people to aid him in delivering them from the tyranny under which they groaned ; but such a deep and general terror had been struck into that neighbourhood by the awful scenes that had followed the affair of Monmouth, that even the numer- ous and well-appointed force of William en- couraged but few volunteers to join him. Ten days elapsed, and William, contrasting the apathy of the people with the enthusi- astic invitationslie had received from many of the leading men of the country, began to despair, and even to consult with his of- ficers on the propriety of reimbarking, and leaving so faithless a gentry and so apa- thetic a populace to endure the miseries which they dared not rise against. But at this critical moment he was joined by some men of great influence and note ; his arri- val and his force became generally known, and multitudes of aU ranks now declared in his favour. The movement once commenced, the re- volution was virtually accomplished. Even the most favoured and confidential servants of James now abandoned him ; and what- ever might have been the faults of the un- fortunate king, it is impossible not to feel deep disgust at the unnatural and ungrate- ful conduct of some of those who now coldly abandoned him in the moment of his deepest perplexity and need. Lord Churchill, for instance, afterwards duke of Marlborough, and undoubtedly one of the greatest generals England has ever possess- ed, acted upon this occasion with a most 412 Cf)e Creaiiuri} af ^iitarvi, ^t> scandalniis iiiprratitude. Originally only a page in tlie TDjal liouscliold, he had by the king's favour been raised to high oomniand and liirrative huiiours. lUit now wluii liis talents and his j-wnrd were most neidiMl liy the king, he not only desirted liini, but also influenced sever:il otlier loading cliararters to desert with him, including the duke of Grafton, an illegitimate son of Cliarles II. But the most shameful desertion, and that whioh the most deeply pained and dis- gusted the unfortunate king, was that of the princess Ainie, who had ever been his most favoured and, seemingly, his most attached daughter. But this illustrious lady, and her husband the prince of Den- mark, now joined the rest iu deserting the king, who in his too tardy sense of his heli>- less situation passionately exclaimed, ' God help me! Even my own children desert mc now.' Unable to rely upon his troops, seeing only enraged enemies among all ranks of his subjects, and so deserted by his court that he had scarcely the necessarj' personal attendance, he sent the queen, who had recently been confined of a son, over to Ca- lais ; and then, with only one attendant, sir Edward Hales, a new convert to popery, whose fidelity to his unhappy master can- not be too highly applauded, he secretly left London, intending to follow the queen to France. He was recognised and stop- ped by the mob, but being confined at Rochester he was so carelessly guarded that he was able— probably from secret orders given by ^"illiam, whom his deten- tion would have embarrassed— to escape with his natural sou the duke of Berwick, and they arrived safely in France. He was well received by the French court, and en- couraged to persevere in the intention he possessed of at least making an endeavour to reconquer his kingdom. But that kingdom had finally rejected him, and was even at that moment engaged in discussing the means of erecting a se- cure and free government upon the ruins of his most unwise, gratuitous, and absui-d despotism. CHAPTER LVI. The Reign of William III. A. D. 1689.— The most influential members of both houses of parliament, the privj- coimcii, with the archbishop of Canterburj-, the lord mayor, and other leading men, now debated upon the course that ought to be taken. King James was alive ; he had not formally resigned his throne; no actual hostilities had taken place between him and his people, nor had he by arms or by law been formally deposed. But he had fled from his kingdom at the mere appear- ance of an invader, and on the mere, how- ever well-founded, assumption of the hos- tility of his people and their concert with the invading power. A clearer case of cou- Btructive abdication it would not be easy to conceive, and both houses of parliament at once proceeded to vote that the king had abdicated. But another and more difficult point now remained for consideration. Taking the king's abdicati.m to be undisputed — who was to succeed him ? Could he, because weary of the throne or unable to niainl.iin himself upon it, cut off the cntml .,/ On- thruncT His queen was recently delivered of a son ; tliat son, by the well-known En- glish law of succession, had right of inherit- ance prior to the princesses ; ought he not, then, to be made king, and a regency ap- pointed? But, if so, would not the pater- nity of .larnes enable him to coutinur his desiiotism through his son when the l;itter should attain his majority ? The point was a most important one, and as difficult of solution as it was important ; but we have ever been of opinion that the leading states- men of that day decided upon it very much in the spirit of the son of Philip, who cut the Gordian knot which he found himself unable to untie. The revolution was un- doubtedly a necessary one, for James's ty- ranny was great and insensate ; and it was a glorious one, inasmuch as it was accom- plished without bloodshed. But these con- siderations, important as they are, must not prevent us from denouncing the in- justice with which the leading men of En- gland, finding themselves in great and grievous difficulty how to reconcile their own liberties and the rights of the infant son of the abdicated king, pronounced that son supposititioas \ The most ridiculous tales were told and credited ; it was even averred that the queen had never been pregnant at all, but that the child who was now pronounced supposititious had been conveyed to the apartments of the queen from those of its real mother in a warming pan I But when men have determined upon injustice any pretext will serve their turn. The young prince, then, was pronounced illegitimate, and the throne being vacant, it was then proposed to raise the princess of Orange, James's eldest daughter, to the throne as her hereditary right. But to this course there was an Insuperable and unex- pected obstacle. The high and stern ambi- tion of the prince of Orange forbade him, in his own coarse but expressive phrase, ' to accept of a kingdom which he was to hold only by his wife's apron strings.' He would either have the crown conferred upon himself, or he would return to his own country and leave the English to settle their own dilDculties as they best might ; and accordingly the crown was settled upon William and Marj- and their heirs, the ad- ministration of affairs being vested in William alone. Though the declaration of toleration is- sued by James had given such deep and general offence, it had done so only as it indicated the desire of James to deprive both the church of England and the dis- senter of security from the inroads of pa- pacy. Presuming from this fact that tolera- tion would not in itself be disagreeable to the nation, William commenced his reign by an attempt to repeal the laws that com- manded uniformity of worship. But the English, as has well been remarked, weri ' more ready to examine the commands 'it their superiors than to obey them;' and eitQlanlf.— ^0uSe at ^lUiatt—WHiXliam IM. 413] ■WiUlain, altliiiuKli looked upon as the de- livfi-ci- iif the nation, could only so far suc- ceed In tills dij^ifjn, as to procure toleration for such dissenters as should hold no pri- vat<' conventicles and should take the oaths of allegiance. The attention of William, however, was very speedily called from the regulation of his new kingdom to the measures necessary for its preservation. James, as we have said, was received in France with great friendship ; and Ireland, mainly catholic, still remained tnie to him. Having assem- bled all the force he could, therefore, James determined to make Ireland his point (Vap- piii, and, embarking at Brest, he landed at the port of Kinsale on May 22, 1689. Here everything tended to flatter his hopes. His progress to Dublin was a sort of triumph. Tyrconnel, the lord-lieutenant, received him with loyal warmth and respect ; the old army was not merely faithful but zealous, and was very easily Increased by new levies to the imposing force of forty thousand men. Some few towns in Ireland, being chiefly inhabited by protestants, had declared for king William, and among these was Derry, or Londonden-y, and to this town James at once proceeded to lay siege. Tlie mili- tary authorities would probably have been glad to have delivered the place up to their lawful sovereign ; but a clergyman, Mr. George Walker, i)laced himself at the head of the Protestant inhabitants of the town, and worked up their minds to such a pitch of enthusiasm, that they resolved to hold out the place, until it should be relieved by William, or perish in the attempt. The enthusiasm spread to the very lowest and weakest of the population ; and though famine and fever made fearful ravages, and such loathsome objects as cats and rats became coveted for food, the besieged stil 1 held out. This devotion was at length rewarded. A store-ship, heavily laden with provision, broke the boom which had been laid across the river, and the famish- ed inhabitants of Derry received at once an abundant supply of provisions and a most welcome addition to their garrison of hale and fresh men. James during this obstinate siege had lost nine thousand of his troops, and as the aid now thrown into the town rendered his success more unlikely than ever, he withdrew his army in the night, and prepared to meet William, who in person was about to attack him. A.I). 1690. — The hostile armies came in siglit of each other upon the opposite sides of the river Boyne, which might easily have been forded but for ditches and old houses which rendered the banks defensible. To this facility of ambush, in fact, the life of William very nearly became a sacrifice. As he rode out along his lines to reeon- iic;itre his opponents and determine upon his plan of battle, a cannon was secretly pointed at him, and flred with such good aim that he was wounded in the shoul- der, several of his staff being killed by his siilc. On the following morning William com- menced operations by cannonading the masking hou.ses from whichhe had suffered so much annoy.ancc, and then he led over his army in three divisions. They crossed the river without any considerable loss, formed in good order on the opposite side, and an obstinate battle ensued. The Irish, as well as their French and Swiss allies, fought well and zealously, but they were inferior in cavalry; and the furious charges of William's cavalry, led on by himself, at length caused the Irish to retreat, and the merely mercenary Swiss and French very speedily followed. Perhaps the victory thus gained by William was in no slight degree owing to the fact of his having personally led on his troops, who thus were inspired with a zeal and courage which James should have lent to his troops by a similar personal devotion and daring. But though James's personal courage was beyond all question, and had been signally shown during the Dutch war in the reign of his brother, he on this occasion allowed the prudence of the sovereign to outweigh the impulses of the soldier. Posted on the hill of Dunmore, which commanded the scene of action, he gazed upon the eventful battle without even detaching a squadron of the horse which surrounded him to aid in repulsing the terrible cavalry charges of William. The defeat of the Irish army was as complete as might have been anticipated from this very opposite conduct of the op- posing leaders. Of James's troops nearly tifteen hundred were killed and wounded, while William lost barely a third of that number. But he sustained a heavy loss indeed in the death of the brave and aide duke of Schomberg, who was shot as he crossed the river, cheering on his men. A.D. 1G91. — Disastrous as the battle of the Boyne had proved to James, it did not altogether destroy his hopes. By great exertions, he got an army again into condi- tion for service, and it was now committed to the leadership of General St. Ruth, a man of known gallantry and conduct. This army was met by that of the English at Aughrim ; and the boggy nature of the ground in which St. Ruth had taken up an admirable position enabled him to repulse the English with great loss in several charges. But the English, though galled and weakened, returned to the charge with inilexible resolution, and St. Ruth being killed by a cannon-ball, his men fell into disorder, and retre.ated to Limerick with the loss of upwards of Ave thousand of their number. William now proceeded to besiege Lime- rick, the garrison of which city, aided by the troops who had escaped from Aughrim, made a gallant and obstinate defence ; but the English gained ground so rapidly that, to avoid the horrons which must have re- sulted from the place being taken by as- sault, the Irish leaders demanded a parley. William was neither bigoted nor cruel, and he offered no objection to the terms on which the garrison proposed to surrender. These terms were, that the catholics of Ireland should have that freedom of religion •41t IHje Zveaiuryi at Witavs, ^c which they had enjoyed under Charles II., and that all IrUh persons should be nt liberty to remove with their families and property to any pnrt of ilie woiiil, ixcei'i- ing KiiKlandaiui ScoilaiKi. Almvc fourireii thousand availe!li lerritm-y by an in- accessible rock. Uiuin that side the prince of Hesse landed elglitcon luiiidred men, and proceeded to summon the garrison. The governor paid no attention to tliis suiniuons, and on tlie following day tlie fleet commencod a warm cannonading, l>y ■wliich tlie defenders of the south mole head were driven from their post. Cap- tains Hicks and Jumper now led a nu- merous party, sword in hand, into the for- tiflcatlons, but they had scarcely landed when the Spaniards sprung a mine, by which two lieutenants and a hundred men were killed and wounded. The remainder, gallantly headed by the captains named above, m.aiutained their post in spite of the horrible explosion which had so fearfully thinned their numbers, and the rest of the seamen being now landed by captain Whitaker, the mole and the town were taken by storm. When it is considered that Gibraltar has been of immense im- portance to England ever since, both in lirotecting our Mediterranean trade and serving as an outfitting and sheltering port for our navies destined to annoy an enemy, it seems incredible, but is, unfortunately, only too true, that parliament and the mi- nistry, so lavish of rewards and praise to the costly and useless services performed elsewhere, refused sir George Rooke even the formal honour of a vote of thanks, and he was shortly afterwards displaced from his command. Philip IV., grandson of Louis XrV. of France, having been nominated king of Spain by the will of the late king, was placed upon the throne ; and as he was ap- parently agreeable to the majority of his subjects, and, besides, was supported by the power of France, all opposition to him •would to ordinary minds have appeared hopeless. But Charles, son of the emperor of Germany, had formerly been nominated to the Spanish succession, and France her- self had been a party to that nomination. Charles, therefore, encouraged by the pro- mised support of the warlike inhabitants of the province of Catalonia, determined to assert his right. In this determination he was strengthened by England and Portu- gal, who supplied him with two hundred transports, thirty ships of war, and a force of nearly ten thousand men. Considerable as this force was, it yet was small when compared to the mighty resources of the Spanish king defacto ; but in the judgement of military men, as well as in the popular opinion, the comparative smallness of Charles's force was amply compensated by the genius and romantic bravery of the commander of it, the earl of Peterborough, ■who gave Charles the aid of his vast fortune as well as his personal exertions. The earl of Peterborough was one of the most extraordinary men of that age. Though very much deformed in person, he excelled in all military exercises. At fifteen he fought as a volunteer against the Moors in Afr'ica, and in every action he was dis- tinguished for daring and conduct. The ' great experience he had acquired and the Intlucnce of his character upon the sol- diery were much and justly relied on to forward the cause of Charles. His very first action justified that reliance, as ho took the strong city of Barcelona with its well-provided garrison of five thousand men. H.'id the earl of Peterliorouijh now been left to the promptings of his own high and chivalrous spirit, there is but little room to doubt that he would have achieved still more brilliant successes. But some petty intrigues, by which both Charles and the English government very weakly allowed themselves to be duped, led to the recall of the earl, whose command was transfeiTed to lord Galway. That no- bleman soon .after came to a general action with the Spanish troops, commanded by the duke of Berwick, who had taken up a position on the plains near the to^wu of Almanza. For a time Charles's troops, consisting chiefly of Dutch and English infantry, seemed greatly to have the ad- vantage. But in the very heat and crisis of the action, the Portuguese horse who protected either fiank of Charles's line "n-ere seized with a sudden and disgraceful panic, and fled in spite of all the efforts that were made to rally them. The duke of Berwick immediately closed in upon the exposed flanks, and Galway, loosing men at every step, had barely time to throw his army into a square and retire to a neigh- bouring eminence. Here they were com- paratively free from the attacks of the enemy, but they were destitute of pro- visions and ignorant of the country ; and as it was evidently the design as it was in the power of the enemy to starve them into submission, the oBlcers reluctantly agreed to capitulate. A fine army of ten thou- sand nien thus became prisoners of war ; and Philip was more firmly than ever seated upon his throne, not a voice now being raised against him except in the still malcontent province of Catalonia. Tunt we now to the more important do- mestic events of this reign. Though the accession of James I. to the English throne had to a certain extent united England and Scotland, there was still an independent Scotch parliament. In practice this was often inconvenient and always dangerous ; the votes of the Scotch parliament often ran counter to those of the English par- liament, and it required no remarkable amount of political wisdom to foresee, that, under certain circumstances, such, for in- stance, as actually occurred in the reigns of George I. and George II., this difference might be fatal by strengthening the hands of a pretender and plunging the country into a civil war. Theoretically, the separate parliament of Scotland was ridiculously indefensible. Scotland and England being already united under one crown, how ab- surd It was that the parliament at 'West- minster, held perfectly competent to enact laws for Cumberland and Northumberland, became legislatorially Incapable a few feet over the border 1 But so much more pow- erful are custom and prejudice than reason, that the first proposal to do away with this eitglaittf.— l^au^e 0{ ^tuart— gggintam Hg. 417 daiicerous distinction was received as tlKiugli it had lieen a proposal to abridge siune dear and indefeasilJle liberty of tlic Scottish people. For once, reason pre- vailed over idle or interested clamour, and lM>th parliaments simultaneously passed an act appointing and authorising comrais- siuncrs, named by the queen, to draw up articles for the parliamentary union of the two kingdoms. The commissioners, quickened m their proceedings by the queen's expressed desire for despatch, speedily presented for the con- sideration of the two parliament^ a series of articles by which full provision was made for retaining in force all the existing laws of Scotland, except where alteration would manifestly benefit that country; the courts of session and other courts of Scottish ju- dicature were also preserved, and, in fact, tlie main alteration was the abolition of the anomalous separate parliament of Scotland, and giving that country a representation in the parliament of Great Britain, of sixteen peers and f orty-nve commoners. There was, both In Scotland and on the part of the tories in England, considerable opposition made to these really wise and necessary ar- ticles, but common sense and the influence of the crown at length prevailed, and the articles were passed into law by a great majority in both parliaments. Hitherto the whig ministry, supported by the powerful influence of the duchess of Marlborough, had triumphed over all the citorts of the tories ; but the duchess had been guilty of two capital mistakes, by which'she now found her influence very greatly diminished. In the first place, for- getting that she owed her vast influence over the queen far more to her personal complaisance and agreeableness than to her really considerable political talents, she became so proud of her power, that she relaxed in those personal attentions and complaisances by which she h.ad obtained it, and disgusted the queen by an offensive and dictatorial tone. While she thus perilled her infliience, she at the same time unwit- tingly raised up a rival to herself in the person of a Jlrs. Masham, a poor relation of her own, whom she placed in a confl- dcntial situation about the queen's person, relying upon her gratitude, and expecting to find her not a dangerous rival, but a pliant and zealous tool. But Mrs. Masham speedily perceived that the queen was not only personally disgusted by the hauteur of the dnchess, but also much inchned to the tory oi)inlons ; she consequently took up the party of Mr. Harley, afterwards lord Oxford, who was personally in the queen's favour, and who was extensively and con- stantly intriguing for the ruin of the whigs. In conjunction with Mr. St. John, after- wards lord Bolingbroke, and sir Simon Har- court, a lawyer of great abilities, and aided by the personal influence of Mrs. Masham, Harley doubted not that he should triumph over the whigs ; and an event, trifling enough in itself, soon occurred to develope the queen's leaning towards the tories; and to encourage it by showing how exten- sively that party existed among the people. A clergyman named Sacheverel had much dLstinguished himself by his sermons in favour of high church principles and in con- demnation of dissent and dissenters. Ima- ginative, impassioned, and possessed of that fluency which even men of good judgement so often mistake for eloquence, he soon be- came an oracle and a favourite with a very large party. Being appointed to preach on the fifth of November at St. Paul's, ho made use of the 'gunpowder plot' as an argument from which to infer that any de- parture from the doctrine of non-resistance might lead to the most heinous and de- structive wickedness, and that the existing toleration of dissenters was very likely to be ruinous to the church of England, which he declared to be as ill flef ended by its pre- tended friends, as it was fiercely attacked by its determined enemies. The lord mayor of that year, sir Samuel Gerrard, no very accurate judge, it may be presumed, of cither theological correctness or literary elegance, allowed the printed edition of this sermon to be dedicated to him. And here, probably, the whole affair would have ended and been forgotten, but for the injudi- cious meddling of archbishop Dolben's son, who in his place in parliament made com- plaint of the sermon and read all the most violent paragraphs of it ; a manifestly un- fair proceeding, inasmuch as the same pas- sages might have a very diflferent eflfect when read with or without their context. Instead of checking Mr. Dolben's offlcious- ness bv voting the matter unfit for their consideration, the committee voted the pas- sages read to be seditious and scandalous libels ; and Sacheverel was ordered to attend at the bar of the house, where he avowed the alleged libels and plainly said that he gloried in having published them. Even tills vain and silly exultation of a weak man, whom an almost equally weak oppo- nent had thus suddenly dragged into tho notoriety he coveted and would probably never have otherwise obtained, did not in- struct the house that contempt and obscu- rity were the severest pains and penalties that could be inflicted upon such a man as Sacheverel ; and a committee was appoint- ed to draw up articles of impeachment against him, and Mr. Dolben was named manager on the behalf of the commons of England. The harmless declamation of a vain man was thus raised into a degree of factitious importance which was really disgraceful to the people, and for three weeks all the public business of both houses of parlia- ment was set aside on account of a trial which ought never to have commenced. The lords sat in Westminster-hall, which was daily besieged by the principal rank, fashion, and beauty of the capital, the queen herself setting the example by at- tending as a private auditor of the pro- ceedings. . . J, . .,„. Mr. Dolben, whose injudicious meddling had occasioned this mock-heroic farce, was assisted in his absurd prosecution by sir Joseph Jekyll, solicitor-general Eyre, tho recorder, sir I'etcr King, general Stanhope, sir Thomas I'arker, and Mr. Walpole ; all 418 (inije Crpaiurij at f^titori?, &c. geiitlcnioii wliose talents were degraded by BO silly .1 business. Dr. Siuiioverol was defended by sir Simon Harcourt, Mr. riiipps, and doctors Friend, SniallridKC, and Atterbury ; and the trial, absurd as its origin was, produced a dis- play of great talent and oloiiuenco. Un- fortunately tbe silly passion siiown by tlie house of commons comnninirated itself to the people out of doors. Most serious riots took place, in wliicli the ratible in their zeal for Dr. Sacheverel not only destroyed several di.sscnting meeting-houses, but also plundered the houses of several leading dissenters, and the disturbances at length grew so alarming that the queen published a proclamation against them. The magis- trates now exerted themselves with some vigour ; several rufflans were apprehended, and two convicted of high treason and sen- tenced to death ; which sentence, however, was commuted. While the populace was rioting without, the lords were trying Sacheverel. He was very ably defended, and he personally de- liveredanaddress, of which the composition was so immeasurably superior to that of his sermons, that it was generally supposed to have been written for him by Dr. Atter- bury, afterwards bishop of Rochester; a man of great genius, but of a turn of mind which fitted him rather for the wrangling of the bar than for the mild teaching and other important duties of the Christian ministi-y. A majority of seventeen votes condemned Sacheverel, but a protest was signed by thirty-four peers. Partly in de- ference to this protest, and partly from fear that severity would cause dangerous re- newals of the riotous conduct of Sacheve- rel's rabble friends, the sentence was ex- tremely light, merely proliibiting the doctor from preaching for three years, and order- ing his alleged libels to be burned by the common hangman, in presence of the lord mayor and the two sheriffs. The warmth which the people in general had shown on behalf of the doctor showed so extensive a prevalence of tory princi- ples, that the queen's secret advisers of that party thought that they might now safely recommend a dissolution of parlia- ment. The queen complied, and a vast majority of tories was returned to the new parliament. Thus convinced of the cor- rectness with which Harley had long as- sured her, that she might safely indulge her inclination to degrade the whig party, the queen proceeded accordingly. She began by making the duke of Shrewsbury lord chamberlain, instead of the duke of Kent. Soon afterwards the earl of Sun- derland, son-in-law to the duke of Marl- borough, was deprived of his officeof secre- tary of state, which was conferred upon the earl of Dartmouth; the lord stewardship was taken from the duke of Devonshire and given to the duke of Buckingham, and Mr. Henry St. John was made secretary in lieu of Mr. Boyle. Still more sweeping alterations followed, until at last no state office was filled by a whig, with the single 1 exception of the duke of Marlborough. The parliament soon afterwards passed I a resolution warmly approving the course pursued by I lie quern, and exhort ingln'r to discountenance and resist all such measures as those by which her royal crown and dignity had recently been threatened. From all this it was clear that the power of JIarlborongh, so long supported by the court intrigues of his duchess, was now completely destroyed by her imprudent liauteur. His avarice was well known, and it was very extensively believed that the war with France would long since have been brought to a conclusion if the pacific inclinations of the French king had not been constantly and systematically thwart- ed by the duke for the furtherance of his own ambitious schemes. And though the tiu-y ministry continued the war, and the almost entirely tory parliament recom- mended that it should be prosecuted with all possible vigour, the mortification and degradation of the lately idolised duke were aimed at by every possible means. Thus the thanks of the house of commons were refused to him for his services in Flan- ders, while they were warmly given to those of the earl of Peterborough in Spain, and the lord keeper in delivering them took occasion to contrast the generous nature of the earl with the greed and avarice of the duke. As the expenses of the war increased, BO the people grew more and more weary of their war mania. The ministry conse- quently now determined to take resolute steps for putting an end to it ; and as it was obvious that the duke would use all the influence of his command to traverse their peaceable policy, they came to the resolution of proceeding against him in some one of the many cases in which he was known to have received bribes. Clear evidence was brought forward of his having received six thousand pounds per annum from a Jew for securing him the contract to supply the army with bread ; and upon this chaigo the duke was dis- missed from all his public employments. The poet Prior was now sent on an em- bassy to France, and he soon returned with Menager, a French statesman, in vested with full powers to arrange the prelimi- naries of peace; the earl of Strafford was sent back to Holland, whence he had only lately been recalled, to communicate to the Dutch the preliminaries and the queen's approval of them, and to endeavour to induce the Dutch, also, to approve them. Holland at first objected to the inspection of the preliminaries, but after much exer- tion all parties were induced to consent to a conference at Utrecht. It was soon, however, perceived that all the deputies, save those of England and France, were averse to peace, and it was then determined by the queen's government to set on foot a private negotiation with France with a view to a separate treaty. A.D. 1712.— Early in August, 1712, vis- count Bolingbroke, formerly Mr. St. John, was sent to Versailles, accompanied by Prior and the Abbe Gaultier, to make ar- rangements for the separate treaty. He was well received by the French court, and (SixQXmxa.—^axigt of Stuart.— ^nnc. 419 very soon adjusted the terms of the treaty. The interests of all the powers of Europe were well and impartially cared for; but the noblest article of the treaty was that by which England insisted upon the liberation of the numerous French protestants who were confined in prisons and galleys for their religious opinions. A.D. 1713.- But while the ministry was thus ably and triumphantly conducting the foreign affairs of the nation, serious dissen- sions were growing up between Harley and Boliugbroke. These able statesmen had for a long time been most cordial in their agree- ment on all points of policy. But the daily increasing illness of the queen, and the probability, not to say certainty, that she would not long survive, brought forward a question upon which they widely diifered. Boliugbroke, who had always been suspect- ed of being a strong Jacobite, was for bringing in tte pretender as the queen's successor ; while Harley, now lord Oxford, was as strongly pledged to the Hanoverian succession. The whigs watched with delight and ex- ultation the growth of the ill-disguised enmity between these two great supports of the tory party. The queen in vain endeavoured to compose their differences, and it is to be feared that the sufferings of the last months of her life were much increased by her anxieties on this account. She daily grew weaker, and was not only despaired of by her physicians, but was herself conscious that her illness would have a fatal termination. A.D. 1714.— The queen atlcngth sunk into a state of extreme lethargy, hut by power- ful medicines was so far recovered that she was able to walk about her chamber. On July 30, she rose as early as eight o'clock. For some time she walked about, leaning upon the arm of one of her ladies, when she was seized wiih a fit of apoplexy, from which no medicines could relieve her, and she expired on the following morning, in the forty-ninth year of her age and the thirteenth of her reign. Though Anne possessed no very brilliant talents, her reign was in the main prosper- ous and wise, and was wholly free from all approach to tyranny or cruelty. Literature and the arts flourished exceedingly under her; Pope, Swift, Addison, Bolingbroke, and a perfect galaxy of lesser stars, very justly obtained for this reign the proud title of the Augustan age of England. CHAPTER LVIII. The Reign of George I. A.D. 1714.— Anne having left no issue, by the act of succession the English crown devolved upon George, son of the first elector of Brunswick and the princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I. The new king was now in his flfty-fourth year, and he bore the character of being a man of solid ability, though utterly desti- tute of all shining talents, and of even the appearance of any attachment to literature or th; arts. Direct, tenacious of his pur- pose, and accustomed all his life to ai>plica- ti(m to business, great hopes were enter- tained that his accession would, at the least, secure order and regularity in the conduct of public affairs. His own declaration was 'My maxim is to do justice, to fear no man, and never to abandon my friends.' As it was feared that the intriguing genius of Boliugbroke might have made some arrangements for an attempt on the throne on the part of the pretender, the friends of George I. had procured from Jiim, as soon as it was tolerably certain that Anne could not survive, an instrument by which the most zealous and influential friends to his succession were added to certain great officers, as lords justices, or a commission of regency to govern the king- dom until the king should arrive. As soon as the queen expired, the regency caused George I. to be proclaimed in all the usual places, the important garrison of Portsmouth was reinforced, and measures were taken at all the other ports and gaiTisons to defeat any attempts at invasion. The vigour and vigilance thus displayed prevented any outbreak or dis- turbance, if any such had ever been ac- tually contemplated ; and the regency felt confident enough to deprive Bolingbroke of his ofllce of secretary of state, with every circumstance of insult. His office was given to the celebrated poet and essayist Addison, of whom a curious anecdote is related, very characteristic of the immense difference between the qualities of a scholar and those of a man of business. Mr. secretary Addison, renowned as a classical and facile writer, was very naturally called upon to write the despatch that was to announce the death of queen Anne to her successor ; and so much was he embarrassed by his anxiety to find fitting terms, that his fellow-councillors grew impatient, and called upon the clerk to draw out the des- patch, which he did iu a few diT business- like lines, and ever after boasted himself a readier writer than the facile and elegant writer of the delightful papers in the Spec- tator. On landing at Greenwich George I. was received by the assembled members of the regency, attended by the life-guards under the duke of Northumberland. He immedi- ately retired to his chamber, where he gave audience to those who had been zealous for his succession. From this moment the king showed a determined partiality to the whigs, which gave great and general disgust ; a feeling that was still farther in- creased by the headlong haste with which the whig ministers and favourites confer- red all offices of trust and emolument upon their own partisans, in utter contempt of the merits and claims of those whom they ousted. ' The greediness of the whigs; and the pertinacious partiality shown to tliat party by the king, threw a great part of the nation into a very dangerous state of discontent, and there arose a general cry, accompanied by much tendency to actual rioting, of ' Sacheverel for ever, and down with the whigs!' Undeterred by the increasing number 420 Cfie CrfniSuru of ^^tStDru, &c. Biul loudness of tlienmlonntcnts, the wlil;,- liiirtv, ?ly on the part of the company, and su skiltullv threw in the additional inducement to the t-'overnment of a reduction of the Interest from five to four per celi)ngiiig to the 'charilahle curporatiiiii." This soiioty liad hccn formed under the plausible pretext of lending mo- ney at legal interest to the poor and to others, upon seeurity of goods, in order to screen tliem from the rapacity of pawn- brokers. Their capital was at flrst limited to 30,nool., but hy licenses from the crown they increased it to GOO.oooi. George Itol 'lii- son, M.P. for Marlow, the cashier, and John Thompson, the warehouse keeper, had sud- denly disappeared, and it was now dis- covered that for a capital of 300,0002. ef- fects to the amount of 30,000!. ouly could be found, the remainder having been em- bezzled. A. petition to the house of com- mons having been referred to a committee, jt clearly appeared that a most iniquitous scheme of fraud had been systematically carried on by the cashier and warehouse- man, in concert with some of the directors, for embezzling the capital and cheating the proprietors ; on which it was resolved that sir Robert Sutton, ^vith nine others, who had been proved guilty of many fraudu- lent practices in the management of the charitable corporation, thould make satis- factioc to the poor sirfferers out of their estates, and be prevented from leaving the kingdom. Ill the following year the excise scheme ■was flrst introduced into the house of com- mons ; and although it was simply a plan for converting the duties on wine and to- bacco, which had been hitherto duties of customs, into duties of excise, the ferment which this proposition excited was almost unprecedented. Tlie sheriffs of London, accompanied by many of the most eminent merchants, in two hundred carriages, came down to the house to present their petition against the bill ; other petitions were also presented ; and the minister finding that his majority was small and the opposition to the measure so universal, determined on withdrawing it. The most riotous rejoic- ings followed ; and if a correct judgment might be formed from outward appear- ances, the inhabitants of London and West- minster must have thought they had ob- tained a deliverance from some great im- pending danger. Very Uttle occurred during the succeed- ing year worthy of remark. The princess royal was married to the prince of Orange ; a biU passed for the naturalisation of his royal highness; and the 'happy pair" left St. James's for Rotterdam on the 22nd of April. Parliament was now dissolved by proclamation. The king had previously pro- rogued it, after thanking the members for the many signal proofs they had given him of their duty and attachment to his person and government; and concluded with a prayer that providence would direct his people in the choice of their representatives. A.D. 17.35.— When the new parliament met in January, it was seen that the elec- tions had made no perceptible change in the composition of the house ; the leaders of jiarties were the same ; and nearly the same motions, amendments, deh.ites, and arguments were reproduced. Indeed, if wc except some angry disputes which occurred between the ministers and the prince of Wales, relative to the income allowed out of the civil list to the latter, scircely any event worthy of remark took place for a long time. The affair to which wc refer thus originated. Motions having been made in each house of parliament to ad- dress his majesty to settle loo,oooi. per an- num on the prince, it was opposed by the ministers as an encroachment on the pre- rogative, an offlcious intermeddling witli the king's family affairs, and as an effort tcj set his majesty and the prince at variaiict . But the truth was, there had long been :i serious misunderstanding between these royal personages, arising chiefly from the prince being at the head of the opposition party; and now that there seemed no chance of his obtaining the income he r> quired, it was highly resented by him, aiiu caused an entire alienation between the two courts of St. James's and Leicester- house. Nor can it be wondered at that the prince should feel himself grossly slighted when out of a civil list of 800,000(, a revenue of 50,000!. per annum only was allowed him ; although his father when prince had 100,000?. out of a civil list of 700,000!. The breach grew wider every day ; and at length so rancorous had these family squabbles be- come, that in the last illness of the queen, who expired in November, 1737, the prince was not even permitted to see her. The growing prosperity of England durin g a long peace was duly appreciated by sir Robert Walpole, and he neglected nothing that seemed likely to ensure its continu- ance ; but the arbitrary conduct pursued by the Spaniards on the American coasts, and the interested clamours of some Eng- lish merchants engaged in a contraband trade with the Spanish colonies, led to a war between the two countries, whichlasted from the year 1739 to 1748. In order to prevent the ships of any other nation from trading with their American colonies, the Spaniards employed vessels called guarda-costas to watch and inter- cept them ; but instead of confining them- selves to this their legitimate object, the captains of the Spanish guard-ships fre- quently interfered with British merchants, who were on their way to other American colonies, and, under pretence of searching for contraband goods, boarded their ships, and sometimes treated the crews with the greatest barbarity. The accounts of these indignities created a desireamong all classes of his majesty's subjects for inflicting on the Spaniards signal and speedy retribu- j tion ; but the pacific policy of the minister was inimical to the adoption of vigorous I measures. Captain Jenkins, the master of ' a Scottish merchant-ship, who was ex- I amined at the bar of the house of commons, declared that he was boarded by a guarda- ; costa, who, after ransacking his ship and [ ill-treating his crew, tore off one ofhisears, and throwing it in his face, told him 'to I take it to his king.' Upon being asked CtttStanlf.— I^Duie of 38ritn^Im'cft.— 6eorsc M. 425 wliat lie thought when he found lilmself in the hands of such harbarians, Jenkins reiilied, ' I recommended my soul to God antl my cause to my country.' These words, and the disjihiy of his ear, which, wrapped up in cotton, he always carried ahout him, filled the house with indigna- tion ; hut it was not till more than a twelve- month afterwards that an order in council was issued for making reprisals on the Spaniards. A.D. 1740.— The war with Spain had now commenced, and the most strenuous exer- tions were made to put the navy in the hest possible condition. Admiral Vernon, with a small force, captured the important city of Porto Bello, on the American Isthmus. But it appeared at the close of the year that the Spaniards had taken upwards of 400 English vessels, mauy of them richly laden. At this period the violence of party poli- tics was displayed in all its rancour. Many changes took place in the cabinet ; and Wal- pole, descrying the coming storm, presented two of his sons with valuable sinecures. Soon alter, Mr. Sandys gave notice that he should make a motion in the house of com- mons for the dismissal of sir Robert Wal- pole from the king's councils for ever. On the appointed day the house was crowded at an early hour, and the public were in a state of breathless expectation to learn the result. The accusations against the minis- ter were by no means confined to any par- ticular misconduct, but were vague and in- definite. The very length of Mr. Walpole's power, said Mr. Sandys, was in itself dan- gerous ; to accuse him of any specific crime was unnecessary, the dissatisfaction of tho people being a sufiicient cause for his re- moval I The discussion was long and ani- mated, and the debate closed by a powerful speech from Walpole, which made a deep impression on the house ; and the motion was negatived by the large majority of 290 against 106. In the lords, a similar motion met with the like result. A.D. 1741.— The success which had at- tended Vernon's attack on Porto Bello in- duced the government to send out large armaments against the Spanish colonies. In conjunction with lord Cathcart, whoh.ad the command of a numerous army, Vernon undertook to assail Spanish America on the side of the Atlantic, while commodore An- son sailed round Cape Horn to ravage the coasts of Chili and Peru. Part of these arrangements were frustrated owing to the death of lord Cathcart ; his successor, general Wentworth, being an officer of lit- tle experience and very jealous of the admi- ral's popularity. As might be expected where such was the case, the expedition lamentably failed of its object ; incapacity and dissension characterised their opera- tions ; nothing of the slightest importance was efl'ected ; and they returned home after more than fifteen thousand of the troops and seamen had fallen victims to the dis- eases of a tropical climate. Nor was the result of the expedition under Anson cal- culated, to retrieve these disasters; for al- though he plundered the town of Paita, in Peru, and captured several prizes, among which was the Spani.sh galleon, laden with treasure, that sailed annually from Aca- pulco to Manilla, he encountered such se- vere storms, particularly in rounding Cape Horn, that his squadron was finally re- duced to only one ship. It is time that we turn to the affairs of continental Europe, so far, at least, as they involved England. In October, 1740, the emperor Charles VI., the last heir-male of the house of Hapsburg, died. Almost all the powers of Europe had, by the 'pragmatic sanction,' guaranteed the pos- sessions of Austria to the archduchess Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary ; yet no power except England was influenced by its engagements. Scarcely had the Hun- garian queen succeeded her father, when she found herself sun-oundcd by a host of enemies. But the most powerful and the most wily of them was Frederick III., king of Prussia, who, having at his command a rich treasury and a well-appointed army, en- tered Silesia, and soon conquered it. Know- ing, however, that she had not only to con- tend with the king of France, who had resolved to elevate Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, to the empire ; but also numbered among her foes the kings of Spain, Poland, and Sardinia, he offered to support her against all competitors, on the condition of being permitted to retain his acquisition. This she heroically and indi.gnantly re- fused; and although the French troops even menaced her capital, Maria Theresa convened the states of Hungary, and made a powerful appeal to the nobles, which they responded to by a solemn declaration that they were all ready to die in defence of her rights. Another large army was quickly raised; the English parliament voted her a subsidy ; and so great was the attachment of the English people to her cause, that the pacific Walpole could no longer control the desire that was manifested for becoming parties in the war. A.D. 1742. — In the new parliament, which was opened by the king in person, it was evident that the opponents of VValpole had greatly strengthened themselves ; and being shortly after able to obtain a trifling majority of votes on the Westminster election petition, Sir Robert expressed his intention of retiring from oflice. He con- sequently resigned all his employments, and was created earl of Orford, with a pension of 4,000'. a year, his majesty testify- ing for his faithful servant the most affec- tionate regard. England, accustomed to consider the equilibrium of the continental states as the guarantee of her own grandeur, would naturally espouse the cause of Maria The- resa ; while it was quite as natural that the king of England, as electorof Hanover, would be ready to enforce its propriety. But there was another motive at this time still more powerful, namely, the war which had recently broken out between England and Spain ; for it could not be expected that, in a continental war in which the latter counti-y was one of the belligerents, on2 426 m^t nrreaSura of ^iitav^, iic. ICnprland wouM omit any oppnrtuiiity tliat olttTLil of weakinliii,' thai |)o«er. S'ct as long as WaliHilu was Ilioilircctlng minister, the kincr restricted himself to iievrotlations and subsiilies. But when Walpolc was superseded hy lord t'nrteret, the cause of Maria Theresa was sustained by the arms of England, and by larger subsidies ; ivhile the king of Naples was forced by an Eng- lish fleet to the declaration of neutrality. England had at length liocomc a princi|ial in the war ; or, as Siiiollet observes, ' from being an umpire had now become a party in all continental nuarrcls, and instead of trimming the balauce of Europe, lavished away her blood and treasure In supp(jrting the interest and allies of a puny electorate in the north of Germany.' A.D. 1743.— George II. was now at the liead of the Anglo-electoral army, which on its march to Hanau met and engaged the French under the command of marshal the duke of Noallles and some of the princes of the blood. They began the battle with their accustomed impetuosity, but were received by the English infantry with the characteristic coolness and steady intrepidity for which they are so eminently distinguished. In this t>attle the king showed much passive courage, and his son, the duke of Cumberland, was wounded ; but it proved a decisive victory, 6,000 of the enemy having fallen, while the loss on the side of the Dritisli did not amount to more than oue third of that number. About this time a treaty was concluded between this country and Russia forfiltecn years, in which it was stipulated that the empress sliould furnish his Britannic ma- jesty, as soon as retiuired, with a body of 12,000 troops, to be employed according to the exigency of affairs : and that Great Britain should furnish Russia with twelve men of war, on the first notice, in case either of tliem were attacked by an enemy and demanded such succour. A.D. 17-H.— To remove the Hanoverian dynasty from the throne of these realms seemed to be the darling object of the courts of France and Spain, who were secretly planning to restore the Stuart race in the person of the son of the late pretender. Declarations of war between France and England accordingly took place; and in May the king of France arrived at Lisle, to open the campaign in Flanders, witli an army of 120,000 men, commanded by the celebrated marshal Saxe. The allied armies, consisting of English, Hanoverians, Austrians, and Dutch, amounting in the whole to about 75,000, advanced with the apparent intention of attacking the enemy; but, after performing numerous inconsis- tent and inexplicable movements, without risking either a siege or a battle, the sum- mer passed away, and they retired into winter quarters. Meantime some indeci- ;- i M 111 u:tu'c'ments liad taken place between ili. i.iiLii^h and combined fleets in the .M.><'ut'ir:uiean. Tinv:irds the close of the year lord Car- teret, now earl of Granville, resigned office, and a coalition of parties was formed, which, from including tories, whigs, and patriots, obtained the name of the ' broad- bottom' administration. Mr. Pclham was chancellor of theexchociuer andllrst lord of the treasury; lord H.irdwicke, chancellor; the duke of Dorset, president of the council; the duko of Newcastle and lord Harrington, secretaries of state ; and the duke of Bedford, flrst lord of the admiralty. Mr. Pitt, afterwards earl of Chatham, gave them his support, having been promised a place as soon as the king's aversion could be overcome. A. D. 1745.— Robert Walpole, carl of Or- ford, after a life of political activity, during which he had occujiicd the most prominent station for twenty years, died on the 18th of March, aged 71. His general i)olicy was prin- cipally ch.aracterised by zeal in favour of the Protestant succession ; by the desire of preserving peace abroad, and avoiding sul)jects of contention atihome. Under his auspices the naval superiority of England was maintained; commerce encouraged; justice impartially administered; and the rights of the people preserved inviolate. In Italy the united armies of France and Spain, owing to their vast superiority in numbers, were enabled to vanquish the Austrians ; and the Anglo-electoral troops in the Netherlands also met with serious reverses. The French army under marshal Saxe was strongly posted at Fontenoy ; to which place the duke of Cumberland ad- vanced on the 30th of April, and by nine o'clock in the morning the troops 'were en- gaged. The valour of the British infantry was never more signally displayed; for a time they bore do^vn everything before them; but the Dutch falling in their attempt on the village of Fontenoy, and the allies, coming Tvitliin the destructive fire of the semicircle of batteries erected by Saxe, were outflanked and compelled to retreat. Tlio loss on each side amounted to about 10,000 men ; but though the victory was not abso- lutely decisive, it enabled the French mar- shal to take some of the most considerable towns of the Netherlands, and the allies re- tired for safety behind the canal at Antwerp. Thirty years liad elapsed since the che- valier de St. George had stirred up that rebellion which had ended so fatally fur his own hopes, and so disastrously for his adlierents. Since that time he had lived in Italy, had married a grand-daughter of John Sobieski, king of Poland, and had one son, Charles Edward, who was afterwards kno^vn in England as the ' young pretender.' While George II. and his ministers were fully occupied in endeavouring to bring the war in Germany to a successful issue, Charles Edward received everj- encourage- ment from Louis of France to take ad- vantage of that opportunity and try his strength in Britain. And now that the national discontent was gaining ground in consequence of the loss at Fontenoy, and other events not much less disastrous, be determined to attempt the restoration of his family; and accompanied only by a small party of liis most devoted friends, he landed in the Hebrides. Here he was soon joined by the Highl.and chieftains, and speedily found himself at the head of seve- CPufflantr.— ?^ou^e of 3Sntngmcii.—<3tarsz M, 427 ral thousami liarily mcmntaincers, wlin were highly pleased with his affable manners, and with genuine enthusiasm expressed themselves ready to die in his service. Tlieir flrst movement was towards Edin- burtrh, which city surrendered without resistance, but the castle still held out. The young pretender now toolj possession of Hiilyrood palace, where he proclaimed his fatlier king of Great Britain, and himself regent, with all the idlepageantries of state. Meanwhile a proclamation was issued, offering a reward of 30,000?. for his. appre- hension. Sir John Cope, the commander of the king's troops in Scotland, having collected j some reinforcements in the north, pro- ceeded from Aberdeen to Dunbar by sea, ' and he.-iring that the insurgents were re- solved to hazard a battle, he encamped at Preston Pans. Here he was unexpectedly attacked, and with sucli vigorous onslaught, by the fierce and Undisciplined Highland- ers, that a sudden panic seized the royal troops, and in their flight they abandoned all their baggage, cannon, and camp equi- page to their enemies. Elated with success, the rebels entered England, and proceeded as far as Derby, without encountering any opposition. Here, Iiowever, they learned that the duke of Cumberland had arrived from the continent, and was making prepa- rations to oppose them with an overwhelm- ing force; and it was therefore Anally determined, that as they could neither raise recruits in England, nor force their way into Wales, they should hasten their return to Scotland. The pretender had good reason to believe that important succours would be sent to him fi'om Prance, or it is not likely he would have crossed the border. But the vigilance of admiral Vernon prevented the French fleet from venturing out ; and thus all hope of foreign assistance was cut off. Tlie forces of the pretender were greatly augmented on his return to Scotland; but finding that Edinburgh was in possession of the king's troops, he bent his course to- wards Stirling, which town he captured, and besieged the castle. Matters had now assumed a very serious aspect, and public credit was most seriously affected ; but there was no lack of energy in the govern- ment, nor any want of patriotism among the nobility, merchants, or traders of Eng- land : all ranks, in fact, united with ready zeal in meeting the exigency of the occa-, sion. Many new regiments were raised by wealthy and patriotic individuals ; and it was found that by the voluntary exer- tions of the people 60,000 troops could be added to the king's forces. A.D.1746.— In January general Hawley had suffered a coniplete defeat in endea- vouring to raise the siege of Stirling. But a day of terrible retribution was at hand. On the 16th of April, the royal army, under the command of the duke of Cumberland, encountered the troops of the pretender on Culloden-moor. The Highlanders be- gHU the attack in their wild furious way, rushing on the royal troops with their broadswords and Lochabar axes ; but tlie English being now prepared for this mode of attack, received them with fixed bayo- nets, keeping up a steady and well-sus- tained fire of musketry, while the destruc- tion of their ranks was completed by dis- charges of artillery. In thirty minutes the battle was converted into a rout ; and orders having been issued to give no quar- ter, vast numbers were slain in the pursuit. The loss of the rebels was estimated at about 4,000, while the number of killed in the royal army is said to have scarcelv exceeded fifty men! Intoxicated, as it were, with their unexampled victory, the conquerors seemed bent only on merciless ver.geance, and the whole country around became a scene of cruelty and desolation. The unfortunate prince Charles Edward escaped with dilDcuUy from the battle, and after wandering alone in the mountains for several months, in various disguises, found means to make his escape to France. One great cause of the pretender's pre- servation was the belief that he had beeu slain ; which arose from the following cir- cumstance. Among his friends, who fol- lowed as much as possible in his track, a ]>arty was surprised in a hut on the side of the Benalder mountain, by the soldiers who were in search of him. Having seized them, one named Mackenzie effected his escape, upon which his companions told the soldiers that it was the prince ; the soldiers thereupon fled in pursuit and over- took the youth, who, when he found their error, resolved to sacrifice his life, in the hope it might save his master's. He bravely contended with them, refused quarter, and died with his sword in his hand, exclaim- ing as he fell, 'Tou have killed your prince.' And this declaration was be- lieved by many. 'TVe cannot, however,' says the biographer of the events of Cul- loden, 'without pride, mention the asto- nishing fact, that though the sum of thirty thousand pounds sterling was long publicly offered for his apprehension, and though he passed through very many hands, and both the reward and his person were per- fectly well known to an intelligent and very inquisitive people, yet no man or womanwas to be found capable of degrading themselves by earning so vast a reward by betraying a fugitive whom misfortune had thrown upon their generosity.' At length, on the 19th of September, the young pre- tender embarked with twenty-five gentle- men and one hundred and seven common men, in a French vessel, sent for that pur- pose to the coast ; and after a passage of ten days he an-ived at Roseau, near Mor- laix, and immediately proceeded to Paris, where he was kindly received by Louis XV. But his hopes were for ever fled. The cou- rage and fortitude he displayed in Scotland seem to have forsaken him with a reverse of fortune, and during the renjainder of hia days no trace of noble ambition marked his actions. The duke of Cumberland had now be- come the idol of the nation ; and for his bravery at Culloden the parliaDieijt voted 25,000;. per annum in addition to Ijis for- 428 etc HCxsaiuxn of ^iitav^, 6ic. niiT inrDinc. Several acts were pasted for imitei-tiiig the guvcriinieiit of Si-dtland, and securliiK Us loyalty ; and many exe- eulioiisof tlie rebels took place in different parts of the kingdom. Bills of indictment for high treason ivere found against the earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and lord nalmcrino, who were tried in West- minster-hall. All three pleaded guilty; Kilmarnock and Balmerino were exicuted on Tower-hiil, but Cromartie's life was spared. Foremost among those who had engaged to venture their lives and fortunes in restoring the Stuart family to the throne of Kngland wa.s lord I^ovat, a man whose character was branded with many vices, and whose great age (for he was in his 90th year) had not deterred him from tak- ing an active p.art in fomenting and encou- raging the late rebellion. Being found guilty by his peers, he was remanded to the Tower, where in a few months after- wards he was beheaded. A.D. 174".— We must now briefly speak of the state of affairs on the continent. Early in the spring the duke of Cumber- land led his troops thither, to join our Aus- trian and Dutch allies. The French had a decided advantage in point of numbers, and marshal Saxe, their commander, com- menced the campaign with the invasion of Dutch Brabant. But, with the exception of the siege of Bergen-op-Zoora, by the French, the war was languidly carried on. Tills celebrated siege, however, lasted from July 16 to September 15, and presented a continued scene of horror and destruction ; but though the town was burned, the gar- rison had suffered little, while heaps of slain were formed of the besiegers. The gover- nor, calculating from these circumstances on the impregnability of the fortress, was lulled into false security ; whilst the French troops threw themselves into the fosse, mounted the breaches, and entered the garrison ; and thus became masters of the navigation of the Scheldt. In Italy, the allies, though forced to raise the siege of Genoa, were generally successful. At sea the English well maintained their superiority. In an engagement with the J'rench off Cape Finisterre, the English were victorious ; and several richly laden ships, both outward and homeward bound, fell into their hands. Admiral Hawke also defeated the French fleet off Belleisle, and took six sail of the line. In Xovember a new parliament assem- bled, and the ministers derived much popu- larity on account of the suppression of the late rebellion, as well as for their naval suc- cesses. All parties, however, were tired of the war, and preparations were made for opening a congress at Aix-la-Chapelle pre- liminary to a general peace ; but as the Issue of it was uncertain, the usual grants and subsidies were readily voted without enquiry. Though so long since began, it was not till October in the following year that this treaty of peace was concluded. The chief parties to it were Britain, Hol- land, and Austria on one side, and France and .Spain on the other. By it all the great treaties from that of Westphalia in 16-18, to that of Vienna in 17.38, were renewed and confirmed. France surrendered her ci>u- nuests in Flanders, and the English in the lOast and West Indies. But the right of BritLsh subjects to navigate the American seas without being subject to search by the Spaniards was suffered to pass unnoticed, although that was the original bone of con- tention and the basis of the attacks made on Walpole's ministry. The only advantage. Indeed, that England gained, was the re- cognition of the Hanoverian succession, and the general abandonment of the pre- tender, whose cause was from henceforth regarded as hopeless. A.D. 1749.— The war being at an end, the disbanding of the army naturally followed ; and, as must ever in some degree be the case at such a time, the idle and unem- ployed committed many depredations on the public. To remedy this, a colony was established in Nova Scotia, where lord Hali- fax went out as governor, and laid the foundation of a toivn, which, in compli- ment to its projector,the earl of Halifax, was named after hira. It was soon found that the soil of Nova Scotia was incapable of re- paying the labourer for his toil, and many who had been transported there obtained leave to go to more southern latitudes. They who remained excited the jealousy of the native Indians, who still resided on the borders of this barren spot ; and the French, who were the first European settlers there, encouraged this jealous feeling. Meantime the animosity between the English and French grew stronger, till at length the latter claimed tho whole territory between the Mississippi and New Mexico on the east, and to the Apalachian mountains on the west. From the fact of their having been the first to discover that river, they took from the English, who had settled beyond those mountains, their possessions, and erected forts to protect all the adjacent country. A.D. 1751.— The flrst event of any im- portance this year was the death of Frede- rick, prince of Wales, which happened on the lOth of March, in the forty-fifth year of his age. His death was caused by an abscess in his side, from the blow of a cricket-ball which he received while playing at that game on the lawn of Clief den-house, Bucks, a collection of matter having been pro- duced that burst in his throat and suffo- cated him. The prince had long been on bad terms with his father, whose measures he uniformly opposed ; and though the anti-ministerial party and a considerable portion of the people spoke highly of his benevolence and munificence, and loudly applauded his conduct at the time, it is clear that much of his patriotism originated in a vain desire for popularity. He left five sons and three daughters ; his eldest son, George, being only eleven years old : a regency was consequently appointed : but the king surviving till the prince attained his majority, there was never any occasion for it to act. The most memorable art passed in the course of this session was that for regu- lating the commencement of the year, and eFnslantr.— ?§DUiSe at 38ru«^&Jtcit.— (Seorflc M. 429 correcting the calendar according to the Grcgoriiiii coniyntation. Tlie Now Style, as it was termed, was introduced by pope Gregory XIII. in the 10th century, and had long been adopted by most states on the continent. By this act, therefore, it was provided that the year should begin on the first day of January, instead of, as hereto- fore, on March 25, and that eleven inter- mediate nominal days between the znd and 14th of September, 1752, should be omitted ; the Julian computation, supposing a solar revolution to be effected in the precise period of 365 days and six hours, having made no provision for the deficiency of eleven minutes, which, however, in the lapse of eighteen centuries amounted to a difference of eleven days. Bills were also passed for the better prevention of rob- beries, for the regulation of places of amuse- ment, and for punishing the keepers of disorderly houses; the necessity of this arising from the spirit of e.xtravagance which prevailed throughout the Itingdom, as dissipation and amusement occupied every class of society. Among the domestic events of this year no one created more sensation than the death of Henry St. John, viscount Boling- broke ; a nobleman who had for half a cen- tury occupied a high station in the country, whether we regard him in the character of a statesman, an orator, an author, or a polished courtier. He possessed great en- ergy and decision of character, but he was deficient in that high principle and single- ness of purpose that inspire confidence and lead to unquestioned excellence. The new parliament was opened on the 10th of May, 1753 ; and the first business of the house was to take into consideration the state of Ireland, which, in proportion as it advanced in civilisation, showed a disposi- tion to shake off its dependence on Eng- land. The kingdom was in a state of tran- quillity at the session which terminated the labours of the last parliament ; but pre- vious to the new election, the death of Mr. Pelham caused several changes in the go- vernment offices ; the late minister was suc- ceeded in the treasury by his brother, the duke of Newcastle ; and unanimity now prevailed in the cabinet. A.D. 1755.-^6 have before referred to the animosity which existed between the English and French relative to their North American possessions. Hostilities were now commenced by the colonial authorities, without the formality of a declaration of war ; the Virginian port of Log's Town was surprised by a French detachment, and all its inhabitants inhumanly murder- ed ; the North American Indians were sti- mulated to attack the British colonists, and large supplies of arms and ammunition were imported from France. The British minis- ters immediately prepared for hostilities ; all the French forts within the limits of Nova Scotia were reduced by colonel Monck- ton ; but an expedition against the French forts on the Ohio, commanded by general Braddock, met with a severe defeat ; the general, falling into an ambuscade of French and Indians, was slain, and tlie regular soldiers fled with disgraceful precipitation. Tlio provincial militia, however, led by colo- nel Washiiiiiton, displayed good courage, nolily niaiiK.iined their ground, and cover- ed the reti-i-at of the main army. The loss of the English on this occasion was very severe : upwards of 700 men, with several officers, were slain ; the artillery, stores, and provisions became the property of the victors, as well as the general's cabinet, containing his private instructions, &c., of which the enemy availed himself to great advantage. Two other expeditions, destined for the attack of Crown Point and fort Nia- gara, also failed. But the reprisals at sea more than compensated for these misfor- tunes, as upwards of three hundred mer- chant ships and eight thousand seamen were captured that year by British cruisers. A. D. 1756.— -Notwithstanding hostilities had been carried on nearly a twelvemonth, war was not formally declared till the 18th of May, the chief subject of complaint being the encroachments of the French on the Ohio and Nova Scotia. This was followed by threats of invasion upon England or Ire- land ; in consequence of which a body of Hessian and Hanoverian troops was intro- duced to defend the interior of the king- dom ; a measure which gave rise to consi- derable discontent, as most people thought that the ordinary force of either country was sufllcient to repel invasion. But whilst the government was providing for its inter- nal security, the enemy was making serious attempts to wrest from us our possessions both in the East and West Indies. The Induction of Minorca was a favourite object of the French government : a formidable force was lauded on the island, and close siege laid to Fort St. Philip, which com- mands the principal town and harbour. The governor, general Blakeney, made a long and able defence : but admiral Byng, who had deen intrusted with the charge of the English fieet in the Mediterranean, and was ordered to attempt the relief of the place, seems tohave been destitute of any decisive plan ; and, after avoiding an action with a French squadron, he returned to Gibraltar, abandoning Minorca to its fate, which, to the infhiite chagrin of the nation, fell into the hands of the enemy. The surrender of Minorca was an unex- pected blow, and the rage of the people at its loss was directed against the unfortu- nate Byng, who, being tried by a court- martial at Portsmouth, was condemned to death, for not doing his utmost to engage the enemy, but recommended to the mercy of the crown, as it did not appear to the court that it was through cowardice or dis- affection. Great exertions were made to save the admiral's life, but in vain ; he was ordered to be shot ; HH'fP'^'"^';'"' I^V"" ' ces of India, by the privilti-'cs .^^I'l'" ,\",'' emperor ol Belhi had prnnt, d to tl>e English se lers at Calcutta, had ri.en t.. an alarn - iiiR height : ma successful means nad heen ulfd to allay their fury until the accession of the ferocious Sura a Dowla, souhahdar of Benga', ^Tho was enraged at the shelter which the English siffiorded to some of h s destined victims. He advanced towards Calcutta, when the governor and most ot the local authorities, panic-stricken, made their escape iu boats, leaving about a hun- dred and ninety men, under the control of Mr Holwell, to make the best of their for- lorn situation. This mere handful of Eng- lishmen, composing the garrison, for a short time bravely defended themselves but when they fell into the power of the infu- riated Siiraja, he ordered the unhappy pri- soners, then amounting to one hundred and forty-six, to be thrust into the prison of Calcutta, called the Black Hole ; a room less than twenty feet square Here the heat and foulness of the air i-eduj^flthemtothe most pitiable state imaginable ; and when on the following moruiug an order came for their release, only twenty-three were found alive. The news of this horrid ca- tastrophe reached Madras just when colo- nel Clive and admiral Watson, flushed by fheir recent victory over the celebrated pirate Angria, had arrived at Madras to aid in the destruction of the French influ- ence in the Deccan. Calcutta was there- fore the scene of their next operations ; and no sooner did the fleet make its appear- ance before that city than it surrendered The French fort of Chandernagore was reduced : several of Suraja Dowla s own places were taken, conspiracies were formed against him, and the haughty chieftamfeU that the sovereignty of Bengal ™»st^f. de- cided by a battle. Contrary" to the opinion of all his officers, Clive resolved to engage him, although the disparity of their forces was prodigious. He accordingly took up a position in the grove of Flassey : his troops in the whole not exceeding three thou- sand two hundred men, of whom only nine hundred were Europeans ; while Suraja Dowla had with him fifty thousand foot, eighteen thousand horse, and fifty pieces of cannon. So great were the errors com- mitted by the enemy, and so skilfuuy aia the British commander use his means, that a complete victory was won, at the aston- ishingly small loss of seventy men m killed and wounded. This event laid the founda- tion of the British dominion m India , and in one campaign we became possessed of a territory which, in its wealth and extent, exceeded any kingdom m Europe. A D 1-58.— Whilst victory followed vic- tory in the eastern world, a change m the English ministry led to similar successes in the west. It was at this period that the celebrated William Pitt (afterwards earl of Chatham) was brought into office, with Mr. Legge ; but both of them being opposed to the expensive support of continental con- nection^, they would have been dismissed by the king, but tor the iiopularity which their priucipleshadacquircd. In North America the British arms had licen tariiisbcd by de- lays and disasters that might have been avoided ; and it was therefore resolved on to recall the earl of Loudon, and intrust the military operations to generals Aber- crombip, Amherst, and Forbes, the first- named being tbe commander-in-chief. Am- herst laid siege to Louisbourg, and aided by the talents of brigadier Wolfe, who was f,-i«t rising into eminence, forced that im- portant garrison to surrender. This was followed bv the entire reduction of Capo Breton, and the inferior stations which the French occupied in the Gulf of St. Law- rence. Brigadier-general Forbes was sent against Fort du Quesne, which the French at his approach abandoned. But the expe- dition against Ticonderago, which Aber- crombic himself undertook, failed of suc- cess- the number and valour of his troops being unequal to the capture of a place so strongly fortified. „„„.„,-* An expedition was now planned against Quebec ; and as the inhabitants of Canada had good reason to believe that their laws and religion would be respected, they were prepared to submit to a change of masters. Thus when general Wolfe proceeded up the St Lawrence, he encountered no very seri- ous opposition from the Canadians, who seemed to regard the approaching struggle with indifference. While Wolfe advanced towards Quebec, general Amherst con- quered Ticonderago and Crown Point, and ^ir W. Johnson gained the important for- tress of Niagara. Amherst expected to be able to form a junction with Wolfe, but in this he was disappointed ; and though the inadequacy of his force made him almost despair of success, the ardent young general resolved to persevere in this hazardous enterprise. Having effected a landing m the night, under the heights of Abraham, he led his men up this apparently inacces- sible steep, thereby securing a position which commanded the town. The marquis de Montcalm was utterly astonished when he heard that so daring and desperate an effort had been achieved by the English troops. A battle was now inevitable, and both generals prepared for the contest with equal courage. It was brief but fierce ; the scale of victory was just beginning to turn in favour of the British, when a hall pierced the breast of Wolfe, and he fell mortally wounded. The unhappy tidings flew from rank to rank ; every man seenied deter- mined to avenge the loss of his general ; "nd with such impetuosity did they charge toe euemv, that the words 'They run!' resounded-ln the ears of Wolf e as, expimig he leaned on a soldier's breast. Who run?' he eagerly enquired; and on being told it was the French, he calmly replied. ' I die happy.' The marquis de Jlontcalm fell in the same field, and met his fate with similar intrepidity. In skill and valour he was no wav inferior to his more youthful Hval When told, after the battle, that his wounds were mortal, he exclaimed. So much the better: I shaU not live to witness dPitglanlf.— ?^0ti^e of 33run^&)tcft.— (Seorge EEJE. 43i tlio surreiuier of Qupliec' In a few days after tliis battle, tlie city opened its gates to tlie British, and tlie complete subjuga- tion of the Canadas speedily followed. A.D. I7(i0.— In the Bast Indies the suc- cess of the English was scarcely less de- cisive than in America. By land and by sea several victories had been gained in that quarter ; and at length colonel Coote and the French general Lally fought a deter- mined battle at Wandewash (Jan. 21), in which the French were signally defeated, and their influence in the Carnatic de- stroyed. The war on the continent, in which the English had taken a very active part, had now raged for four years, without gaining any other advantage than the gratiflcation of defending the possessions of their sove- reign in Germany. England, indeed, was now in a state of unparalleled glory. At sea, the conduct of her admirals had des- troyed the naval power of the French ; in the Indies her empire was extended, and the English rendered masters of the com- merce of the vast peninsula of Hindostan ; •while in Canada a most important con- quest had been achieved. These important acquisitions made the English very impa- tient of the German war ; and they asserted that the French islands in the West Indies, more valuable to a commercial people than half the states of Germany, might have heen gained with less expense and risk than had been sjieut in defending one paltry electorate. In the midst of these disputes, George II. died suddenly, on the 25th of October, in the 77th year of his age, and the 34th of his reign. The immediate cause of his decease was a rupture of the right ventricle of the heart. If we impartially regard the character of this king we shall find both in his private and public conduct room for just panegyric. That during his ■whole reign he evinced a remarkable affec- tion for his Hanoverian subjects is cer- tainly true ; yet his exposing that country to the attacks of the enemy, rather than jieglect the rights of England in North America, clears liim of the imputation of partiality. In his temper he was hasty and violent, yet his general conduct was so little influenced by this, that it was gene- rally mild and humane. He was impartial in the administration of justice, sincere and open in his intentions, and temperate and regular in his manner of living. Under his reign the agriculture, commerce, and Industry of Great Britain daily increased ; and his subjects, even when at war with the most powerful nations of Europe, enjoyed peace at home, and acquired glory abroad. Great progress had been made during this reign in disseminating a taste for general literature and the arts ; and though it was not the fashion for the magnates of tlie land to be very liberal in their patron- age to such as devoted their minds to the advancement of science, still much was clone towards pioneering the way for a future age, when a solution of many of the phenomena of nature might seem to de- mand more serious attention. Among the great historians were Hume, Gibbon, and Robertson. In plillology and criticism were Warburton, Bentley.and Boyle. Mathema- tics and astronomy could boast of Halley, Bradley, and Maclaurin. Theology was distinguished by the eminent names of I'(jt- ter, Hoadley, Sherlock, Doddridge, Watts, Chandler, and many others. Painting had its Reynolds, Ramsay, and Hogarth ; music its Handel, Boyce, Greene, and Arne ; and among the votaries of the muses were Pope, Akenside, Thomson, Toung, Gray, Glovei-, and others scarcely less distinguished. CHAPTER LX. TJie Reign of Geougb III. A.D. 1760.— George II. was succeeded by his grandson, George III., eldest son of Frederic, prince of Wales, whose death has been mentioned as occurring in 1761. On his accession to the throne he was twenty- two years of age ; affable, good-tempered, upright, and religious. His education had been under the direction of lord Bute, and he had a gi"eat advantage over his prede- cessors, in being acquainted with the lan- guage, habits, and institutions of his coun- trymen : his first entrance into public life consequently made a favourable impression on Ills subjects ; and addresses, contain- ing professions of the most loyal attach- ment, poured in from aU parts of the king- dom. On his majesty's accession, the nominal head of the administration was the duke of Newcastle, but Mr. Pitt, principal secre- tary of state, was the presiding genius of the cabinet. The chief remaining members were lord Northington, afterwards lord chancellor ; lord Carteret, president of the council ; the duke of Devonshire, lord chamberlain ; Mr. Legge, chancellor of the exchequer; lord Anson, first lord of the ad- miralty ; and lord Holdernesse, secretary of state. On the 18th of November the king met his p.arliament, and in a popular speech, which he commenced with, ' Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton,' — the flourishing state of the kingdom, the brilliant successes of the war, and the extinction of internal divisions were acknowledged ; while the support of the ' Protestant interest,' and a ' safe and honourable peace,' were declared to be the objects of the war. An act was then passed for granting to his majesty an annual in- come of 800,000!. A.D. 1761.— One of the first important acts of the new monarch was a declaration of his intention to marry the princess Charlotte, daughter of the duke of Meck- lenburgh-Strelitz : the necessary prepara- tions were accordingly made ; she arrived in London on the 8th of September, the nuptials took place that evening in the royal chapel, and on the 23nd their majes- ties were crowned in Westminster-abbey. Soon after the king's accession, negotia- tions for peace were commenced by the courts of Prance and Great Britain, but there was little honesty of intention on either side ; Mr. Pitt being firmly resolved to humble the house of Bourbon, while the duke of Choiseul, on the part of France, 432 Ci)C Creajfurj) nf l^i^toru, &c. was rcIyiiiR on the promises of Spniilsli aid, to iMiHblo lilni to c.irry on hoslilitk's wiili iiicioasiil vl(,'our. Tlio war lanjjuislicd in ticTMKiny ; liut at sea the honour of the Dritish llacwas still nol)ly sustained. Peace appeared to be desirable for all parlies, and lu'KoIiations were resumed; but neithor power was williiitr lo make conocssions; and Mr. I'itt liavini,' discovered that an in- timate ronnectinn between the courts of Versailles and Madrid had been formed, he proposed in council to anticipate the hostile intentions of the latter, by seizing the Plate fleet, laden with the treasures of Spanish America. To this the king and the rest of the ministers were adverse; the consequence of which was, that Mr. Pitt and his brother-in-law, lord Temple, sent in their seals of office. His majesty, an.xi- ous to introduce his favourite, the earl of Bute, into the cabinet, accepted the pre- mier's resignation ; and in return for his great services, a pension of 300o;. per an- num was settled upon him, which was to continue to his wife, ton whom the title of baroness Chatham was conferred) and their eldest son, for their lives. A.D. 1762. — A very few months after the late changes in the cabinet had occurred, it became fully evident that the 'family compact' of the houses of Bourbon had been completed. On this occasion the new ministiT' showed no want of alacrity in maintaining their country's honour; and on the 4th of January war was declared against Spain. The first blow was struck by admiral Rodney, who captured- Marti- nico ; which was followed by the surrender of the dependent isles, Grenada, St. Lucie, and St. Vincent. The next expedition undertaken by the English was equally suc- cessful ; a fleet under admiral Pococke, as- sisted by an army under the earl of Albe- marle, was sent against Havannah, the capital of the island of Cuba, which sur- rendered after a vigorous resistance of two . months. The riches acquired by the Eng- lish on this occasion amounted to twelve ships of the line, besides money and mer- chandise to the amount of four millions sterling. While these successes attended the Bri- tish arms in the West Indies, an armament from Madras, under general Draper and general Cornish, reduced the island of Ma- nilla, and its fall involved the fate of the whole range of the Philippine islands. The capture of the Hermione, a large Spanish register ship, took place soon after, and the cargo, which was estimated at a million sterling, passed in triumph to the bank at the same hour in which the birth of the prince of Wales was announced to the pub- lic (April 12, 1762). An attempt made by Spain to subdue Portugal having proved unsuccessful, and both France and Spain being heartily tired of a war which threatened ruin to the co- lonies of both, they became desirous of peace ; this being agreeable to the British ministry, of whom the earl of Bute was then at the head, preliminaries were speedily set on foot. Indeed, so anxious was his hird- ship to avoid a continuance of hostilities. that ho not only stopped the carper of co- lonial conquest, but cunscntod to sacriflce scver.al acquisillnns that Britain had al- ready made. Thodellnitive treaty was con- cluded at Paris on the 11th of Febru.iry, 17S;). Florida was received in exchangefor Havannah ; Cape Breton, Tobago, Domi- nica, St. Vincent, Greitada, and Senegal were retained ; the conquest of Canada re- mained intact, and the British nation had also gained large possessions and a decided superiority in India, A.D. 1763.— In Germany the marquis of Granby signalised himself at the head of the allied army ; and, in union with the king of Prussia, would in all probability have succeeded in expelling the French troops, had not a general treaty of peace put an end to the contest. Britain by the colonial war obtained complete maritime supremacy ; she commanded the entire commerce of Korth America and Hindos- tan, and had a decided superiority in the West Indian trade. But during the 'se- ven years' war' a question arose which led to very important discussions : France, un- able to maintain a commercial intercourse with her colonies, opened the trade to neu- tral powers : England declared this traffic illegal, and relying on her naval superi- ority, seized neutral vessels and neutral property bound to hostile ports. The re- turn of peace put an end to the dispute for a season, but the subject has since been the fruitful source of angry discussion in every subsequent war. The earl of Bute, under whose auspices the late peace had been made, had always been beheld with jealousy by the popular party, who accused him of having formed that ' influence behind the throne greater than the throne itself,'— though it really seems to have been a mere delusion, fos- tered and encouraged for factious purposes — now suddenly resigned his office of first lord of the treasury, and was succeeded by Mr. George Grenville. The public attention was now almost wholly bent on the result of the trial of John Wilkes, member for Aylesbury, a man of good talents and classical taste, but who bore a very profligate character. Disap- ! pointed in his expectations from the minis- try, he assumed the part of a violent patriot, and inveighed vehemently against the mea- sures pursued by government. The press teemed with political pamphlets, to which the ministerial party seemed indifferent, until the aijpearance of No. 49 of the ' North Briton,' in which very strongand scurrilous abuse was published against the king's speech delivered at the close of parliament. A general warrant was thereupon issued for apprehending the author, printer, and publisher of it ; and Mr. Wilkes l>eing taken into custody he was sent to the Tower, and all his papers were seized. He was afterwards tried in the court of com- mon pleas, and acquitted, lord chief-justice Pratt declaring against the legality of general wairants ; that is, warrants not specifying the names of the accused. But Wilkes, after his release, having re- published the offensive paper, an Informa- (iFnffTantr.— |^0u^t of JSrtm^tofrlt.— (Seorge Mi. 433 tioi) was Qled against him at his majesty's suit, for a gross libel, and the 'North Briton' was burned by the hands of the common hangman ; nor did the matter end here; tlie legality of general warrants gave rise to several stormy debates in the house of commons; and at kngth Mr. Wilkes was expelled for having iirinted in his own house an infamous poem, called ' An Essay on Woman,' with notes, to which the name of bishop Warburton was affixed. As he did not appear to the indictment preferred against him, he was declared an outlaw. He then retired to France ; and we may here as well observe, though in doing so we overstep our chronological boundary, that in 17G8 he returned to England, and by submitting to the fine and imprisonment pronounced against him, procured a rever- siil {: south. For II time i-vrr.\ tlimn iinmiise a fftvoiiral>le Issue to tliis innjcrt ; sir W. Howe defeated Wasliiii>;tn,i :it llie lialtlc of nrnndywiiic, and to.ik riiiluclei- phia ; wliilc BuVK-oyne, Imviui-' reduced \i- rondoraci) was pursuiiit,' liis niarcli scutli- ward But iuuun.eral.le dimrultles lay in Ills way; and when he reaehed Sarati.Ka, he was surrounded by tlic American forces under generals Gates and Arnold, and he and his whole army, aniountinft to ..,,a. , men, were corarcHed to surrender prisoners of war Thus ended a campaign whicli at the outset seemed so promising ; but dis- astrous as it had turned out, neither the conlldence of ministers nor of the British people appeared to be at all abated. AD 1778.— Whilst England was engaged , in this unfortunate contest with her colo- nies a cessation seemed to have taken place in the contentions and animositiesof othsr n.ations, and their whole attention was ap- parently engrossed by speculating on the novel scene before them. The great dis- turbers of mankind appear to have laid a^ide their rapacity and ambition, whilst they contemplated the new events which were transpiring, and predicted the conclu- sion of so strange a warfare. The enemies of England, who had long beheld, with ap- prehension, the increase of her commerce, and many of England's old allies who en- vied her the possession of such valuahie colonies were astonished at the revolution which threatened her, and looked forward with pleasure to the time when her power and glory should be wrested from her grasp, j The Americans were received, protected, , and openly caressed by France and Spam i who, beginning to feel the influence of that commerce from which they had been so long excluded, treated the colonies with re- spect, and rejected the feeble remonstran- ces of England's ambassadors. Happy had it been for France, and happy for the world if, content with reaping the benefits of American commerce, they had remained spectators of the contest, and simply pro- fited by the dissensions of their neighbours For it is beyond all doubt, that the seed ol republicanism which was so^vnin America, snrang up and was nurtured in France, nor could its rank growth be checked till every acre of that fair land had been steeped m Crippled and pent up in situations from which thev could not stir without danger, the royal troops exhibited a most forlorn appearance, while every day was adding to the strength and resources of the insur- gents. They had established for them- selves an efficient government ; they had agents at the principal European courts ; they raised and maintained armies; and they had, in fact, been recognised as an in- dependent nation by two of the principal p,)wers of Europe. The treaty between France and America was completed ; and the discussions which arose on the noti- fication of this circumstance to the Bri- tish parliament, were stormy and violent. Though both parties were unanimous in their opinion that a war with France was unavoidable, yet the opposition, who bad fiMiii Ihe beginiiing reprobated the Anicrl- ciii war insist I'd that the acknowledge- ment of the Independence of the colonics was the only elTectiial method of termi- nating the contest. The ministerial party, on the other hand, represented the disgrace of bending beneath the power of France, and the dishonour of leaving the American loyalists exposed to the rancour of their countrymen. , ^ , . .,,i„ An invasion of England hcing at this time threatened by the French, an address was moved for recalling the fleets and ar- mies from America, and stationing them in a place where they might more effectually contribute to the defence of the kingdom. This measure was vigorously opposed liy the administration, and by some memliers : of the oppo.sition. Lord Chatham, whose inflrniities had lately prevented him froiii attanding in his place in parliament, evinced his decided disapprobation of it: he had entered the house in a rich suit of black velvet, a full wig, and wrapped in flannel to the knees; and was supported to his seat , by his son and son-in-law, Mr. William Pitt ! and viscount Mahon. It is said that he ' looked weak and emaciated ; and, resting his hands on his crutches, he at first spoke with difllculty, but as he grew warm his voice rose, and became, as usual, oratoncal and affecting 'My lords,' said he, 'I re- loice that the grave has not closed upon me, that I am still alive to lift up my voice against the dismemberment of this ancient and most noble monarchy.' He was re- plied to with great respect by the duke of ' Richmond, when on attempting to rise '• again he fell back before uttering a word, I in a convulsive fit, from which he never recovered, and died a few days after, in the 70th year of his age. May U, 1778. His merits were transcendent, and his death 1 was lamented as a national loss. Apart from the aberrations originating in an ar- dent love of power, his course was splendid I and magnanimous ; and it was truly said of ' him by lord Chesterfleld, that his private ' life was stained by no vices, and sullied by ' no meanness. Contemporary praise and ! posthumous honours were showered down upon the man of whom the nation was 1 iustiv proud. His remains were interred, with" great solemnity, in Westmlnster-ab- bev ; and the city of London erected a flat- tering tribute to his memory in Guildhall. A French squadron was sent from Toulon to the assistance of America, under the command of count d'Estaing, who reduced the island of Grenada, while a body of his forces made themselves masters of St. Vin- cent. In other parts of the West Indian seas the British arms were ably supported by the bravery and vigilance of the admirals Hyde Parker and Rowley. On the 27th oi July an indecisive action was fought off Brest, between the French fleet, under M. d'Orvillicrs, and a British squadron, under ! admiral Keppel. Sir Hugh Palliser, the second in command, accused the admiral of not having done his duty ; he was ac- ' cordingly tried by a court martial, and ho- nourably acquitted; in fact, it appeared I that he had been so badly supported by eiTBlantf.— HouiSc of nxunmitk.—<3eavst MI. 437 Palliser, tliat lie was unable to make any use of the slight advantage he obtained. Sir Oliarles Hardy, a brave and experi- enced ofllcer, whose services had been re- warded with the gnvernnrship of Greenwich hosiiilal, w.is riippoiiitcd tn succeed Keppcl in tlie cniiuiiaiid of tlie chainiel Qeet. In the iiuvuitiiiie, tlie Spanish court was pre- vailed on by the Frencli to take up arms in defence of America, and to accede to the general confederacy against Great Britain. As the danger to which the nation was now exposed was become truly alarming, it was tliought advisable to raise volunteer com- panies in addition to the militia ; and in this the spirit and magnanimity of the peo- ple reflected great credit on the national character. Strengthened by the alliance of Spain, the French began to extend their ideas of conquest ; and thinking that a blow near at hand ■^as more likely than opera- tions carried on at a distance to alarm the fears of the English, they made attempts on the Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, but ill each they were completely frustrated. But the old enemies of Britain had grown arrogant during the unnatural contest that was waged with the unruly scions of her own stock ; and preparations were now made for Britain itself. A junction was effected between the French and Spanish lleets, which made their appearance in the channel, to the number of sixty sail of the line besides frigates. This formidable ar- mament was opposed by a force, much in- ferior, under admiral Hardy, who leisurely retired up the channel, enticing them to fiilluw him. but, with all their immense su- periority, they cliose rather to decline an en- counter'; it is true they for some time con- tinued to menace and insult the British coasts with impunity, but without accom- plishing anything further than the cap- ture of the Ardent man-of-war, which by accident had fallen in with the combined fleets. In calling the reader's attention to the state of the continent at this period, we have to notice that the peace which fol- lowed the memorable 'seven years' war' was temporarily menaced by the efforts of the emperor Joseph to obtain possession of Bavaria ; but the prompt interference of the king of Prussia, who brought into the field an immense array, together with the remonstrances of Russia, and the unwill- ingness of France to second the ambitious designs of Austria, induced the emperor to abandon his aggressive intentions. A.D. 1780.— The first business of impor- tance that came before the parliament this year was the slate of Ireland, which brouLrlit from li'rd Ni>rtli a plan of amcliiiiMti(.n that met with theappnitiatiun of tiio Ikium', and, as it opened her ports for the import and export of hermanulactures, the change was hailed as a happy omen for the sister kingdom. The next subject for legislative discussion was the wasteful and extrava- gant expenditure in the diflrercnt official departments of the state ; and the elo- quence and financial knowledge of Mr. Burke were amply displayed in apian for general reform, which was seconded by petitions from various parts of the king- dom, praying for a change of men as well as mea.sures. But at this crisis the atten- tion of all parties was attracted by a sud- den alarm. Sir George Saville had in the jireceding se.ssion proposed a bill to repeal the act of William III., which imposed certain penalties and disabilities on the lloman catholics, and which passed both houses without opposition. The loyal con- duct of this body of his majesty's subjects, and their readiness to risk their lives and fortunes in defence of their king and coun- try, were generally acknowledged ; but in consequence of the population of Scotland expressing a dread of granting toleration to papists, the bill did not extend to that kingdom. This encouraged a set of fana- tics in England to form themselves into an association, whose professed object was to protect the protestaut religion, by reviving the intolerant statutes which before ex- isted against the Roman catholics. The great majority of the members of this 'protestant association' were at the time j correctly described as ' outrageously zeal- j ous and grossly ignorant'— persons who, \ had they been unassisted by anyone of ; rank or influence, would have sunk into i oblivionfrom theirown insignificance; but ! lord George Gordon, a young nobleman of j a wild and fervid imagination, or, more cor- i rectly, perhaps, one who on religious to- j pics was a monomaniac, finding this 'as- ! sociation' would be likely to afford him an excellent opportunity of standing forth as the champion of the iirotestant faith, and thereby gaining a good share of mob noto- riety, joined the club, and thus raised it into temporary importance. He became their chairman, and, free from even the apprehension of any fatal results, he pro- posed in a meeting of the society at Coach- makers'-hall, on the 29th of May, that they should assemble in St. George's Fields at 10 o'clock on the 2nd of June, when they should accompany him with a petition to the house of commons, praying a repeal of the late act of toleration granted to the Roman catholics. On the following Friday, the day ap- pointed for this dLsplay of 'moral force,' the members of the house were much sur- prised—although there was every reason, after this public notice, to expect nothing less — to perceive the approach of fifty thousand persons distinguished by blue cockades in their hats, with the inscrip- tion, ' No Popery. ' Lord George pre- sented the petition totheh(mse, and moved that it be taken into immediate considem- tiou ; but his nintion was rejected by 192 vnlrs tn n. iluriii^' the discussion his lord- ship frrquentlv .'iddrrssed the mob outside, and told them the people of Scotland had no redress till they pulled down the catho- lic chapels. Acting upon this suggestion, the populace proceeded to demolish and burn the clnpels of the foreign ambassa- dors. On till' fullnwing Monday the num- ber of the moll w.as greatly increased by the idle and the ja-ofiigate, who are ever ready for riot .aiiii iilunder. Their violence was now (lo longer confined to the catholics, 438 dLlft €vtHiuvii ai ^itarvit ^t. but was exerted wherever they could do most niisdiief. Tliey 'pnu-eeiled to New- gate, and demanded the Innuediate release of sudi of their associates as had heen ronfliied there. On receiving' a refusal they heijaii to throw flrebrands and com- liustlbles into the keeper's dwellinif-hnuse. Tlie wliole tnilldini,' was soon envi>ln|icd in tianies, and in llie inlc-rval of confii.-^iDii and dismay, all Die prisoners, ainoniitinL,' tn up- wards of lline hundred, made tlieir iscai.e and ioined llie rinters. 'I'lie New Prison, Clerlienwell, tlie KiiiLi's Heneli, the Kleet Prison, and Kew Bridewell, were also set ou lire; and many private houses shared the same fate : in short, ou that night Lon- don was beheld blazing in no less than thirty-six different places at once. At length they atteuiiited the Bank, but the soldiers there inflicted a severe chastise- ment on them. The military came in from the country, and, in obedience to an order of the king in council, directions were given to the offlcers to Are upon the riot- ers without waiting the sanction of the civil iiower. Not only had the most fear- ful apprehensions been excited, and great injury done, but the ch.aracter of the nation in the eyes of foreign powers could not fail to suffer almost indelible disgrace from such brutal aud tumultuous scenes. It was not until a week had elapsed that tranquillity was restored ; when it was found that 458 persons had been killed or wounded, exclusive of those who perished from intoxication. Under a warrant of the secretaries of state, lord George Gordon was committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason ; but when brought to trial the charge could not be sustained, and this most mischievous person was acquitted. HowcTer, though he escaped punishment for these proceedings, he was afterwards imprisoned for a libel on the queen of France, and ended his days in Newgate. Out of the rioters who were tried aud found guilty, twenty-flveof the most violent were hanged. We gladly turn from these scenes of civil tumult to a more agreeable part of an his- torian's duty. The commencement of the year was attended with some considerable naval advantages to Great Britain. The fleet under the command of sir Hyde Par- ker engaged a French squadron in the West Indies, and captured nine merchantmen. The success which attended admiral Rod- ney was more important. On the 16th of January he attacked, off Cape St. Vincent, a Spanish fleet, consisting of eleven ships of the line, captured four of them, drove two more on shore, and burned another : thence proceeding to America, he thrice encountered the French fleet, under the count de Guichen, and though he obtained no decisive success, he prevented Washing- ton from receiving naval aid in his medi- tated attack on New York. A very severe loss was soon after sustained by the Eng- lish: on the Rth of August the Spanish fleet fell in with tlie trade fleet bound for the East and West Indies, the whole of which, copsistiiii,' of tifty-four merchant- men, were C-iiitured; their convoy, the Ra- millles of 74 guus, and two frigates, alone escaping. The operations of the war, taken alto- gether, notwithstaiullng the jiuwerful alli- ance against Great Bi'it.iiii, had hitherto liccn supported with vigour and magna- nimity. Yet while we were frustrating every attempt of our open and declared enem les, a confederacy was formed through- out Europe, wliich, as it acted Indirectly, could not well be n-si.sted. This confede- racy, termed the 'armed neutrality,' was planned by the empress of Russia, who is- sued a manifesto, asserting the right of neutral vessels to trade freely to and from all ports belonging to belligerent powers, except such as were actually in a state of blockade; and that all effects belonging to the subjects of the liellU'erent jiowers should be looked upon as free on board such ships, excepting only sucli goods as were contraband : in other words, that ' free vessels were to make free merchan- dise.' Russia, Denmark, and Sweden were the flrst to bind themselves to the condi- tions of this league ; Holland quickly fol- lowed the example ; the courts of Vienna, Berlin, Naples, and lastly, Portugal, the oldest ally of England, joined the associa- tion. From the commencement of the American war the Dutch had sho^vn great partiality to the revolters ; and as proof was at length obtained of their having concluded a treaty with the Congress, the English government was determined on taking vengeance for their perfidy, and war was instantly declared against them. A. D. 1781.— At the commencement of this year the war in America was renewed with various success. The progress of the British forces under lord Cornwallis, in Virginia and the Carolinas, had raised great expectations of triumph in England, and had proportionably depressed the Ameri- cans ; but the British general had to con- tend against the united forces of France and her transatlantic ally ; and though he obtained soine fresh laurels, his successes were rendered ineffectual by his subsequent reverses. At length, after making a most vigorous resistance against overwhelming numbers, while defending York Town, where he had fortified himself, he was compelled to capitulate ; when the whole of his army became prisoners of war to Washington, and the British vessels in the harbour surrendered to the French admiral de Grasse. As no rational expectation of subjugating America now remained, the military operations in that quarter of the globe were regarded as of comparatively little consequence. Immediately after the declaration of war against Holland, admiral Rodney, in con- junction with general Vaughan, attacked theimportantsettlenientofEustatia, which surrendered to them without resistance. The immense property found there sur- passed the most sanguine expectations of the captors ; but it unfortunately happened, that as the riches acquired ou this occa- sion were on their transit to England, the ships conveying it were intercepted by the French, and twenty-one of them were «5nslanlf.— HoujSc of JJnm^totcit.— ©corge 512. 439 taken. On the 6tli of the following August admiral Hyde Parlcer fell iu with a Dutch squadron off the Doggers' Baul5, and a most desperate engagement tooli place : the contest was flercely maintained for two hours, when the Dutch bore away for the Texel with their convoy, and the English were too much disabled to pursue them. A. D. 1782.— Though the enemies of Great Britain had at this time gained decided ad- vantages by land, and in numerical force possessed a manifest superiority by sea, yet such was the courage, perseverance, and power with which she contended against thera single-handed, that notwith- standing the recent disasters iu America, and tlie enormous expenditure necessary to carry on so fierce and extensive a war- fare, the splendour of the nation suffered no diminution ; aud exploits of individual heroism and brilliant victories continued to gladden the hearts of all who cherished a love of their country's glory. At the same time popular clamour and discontent rose to a high pitch on account of the de- jiressed state of trade which the armed neutrality had caused ; while Jnvectivcs against the government for the mal-admi- nistratiou of affairs as regarded the Ame- I'ican war were loud and deep. The whig opposition, malcing an adroit use of these disasters against lord North and his tory friends, induced them to resign ; and about the end of March they were succeeded by the marquis of Rockingham, as first lord of the treasury, the earl of Shelburne and Mr. Fox, principal secretary of state, and lordThurlow, lord chancellor ; besides lord Camden, the dukes of Richmond and Grafton, Mr. Burke, admiral Keppel, gene- ral Conway, &c. to All the other most im- portant posts. The present ministry, how- ever, had not continued In office above three mouths before a material change was occasioned by the death of the mar- quis of Rockingham. The earl of Shel- burne being appointed to succeed that nobleman, his colleagues took offence ; and lord Cavendish, Mr. Pox, Mr. Burke, and several others resigned. Mr. Townshend was then made secretary of state ; and Mr. Pitt, second son of lord Chatham, suc- ceeded lord Cavendish iu the office of chan- cellor of the exchequer. Negotiations for peace were now com- menced by the new ministry, but without at all relaxing in their efforts to suiiport the war. The islands of Minorca, St. Ne- vis, and St. Christopher's were taken by the enemy ; and a descent on Jamaica was meditated with a fleet of thirty-four ships ; they were, however, fortunately met by admiral Rodney off Dominica, and a most desperate engagement ensued, of nearly twelve hours' continuance, which termi- nated in the total defeat of the French ; their admiral, count de Grasse, being taken prisoner, with the Ville de Paris, besides six other ships of the line and two frigates. In this action the bold nautical manoeuvre of breaking the line and attacking tlie enemy on both sides at once, was first tried and successfully executed. This glori- ous action was fought on the 12th of April ; and about the sauie period, the fleet under admiral Barrington captured, off Ushant, two large French men-of-war, with ten sail of vessels under their convoy. During this period the arms of Spain had been more than usually successful. In America they conquered the English fortresses on the Mississippi, as well as Pensacola and all Florida. But all their efforts, iu combination with their French allies, against Giliraltar, proved fruitless; its brave governor, general Elliott, return- ing their tremendous cannonade with a well-directed and impetuous discharge of red-hot balls from the fortress, thereby utterly destroying the floating batteries which the besiegers had vainly boasted were irresistible. Ever and anon during the last five years this memorable siege had been carried on ; but on the day after this ever-memorable bombardment and de- fence (Sept. 13), not a vestige of all their formidable preparations remained. In the East, Hjder All had succeeded in gaining the capital of Arcot, aud his suc- cess gave him strong hope that he sliould drive the British from that part of the globe ; but sir Eyre Coote was victorious in more than one decisive engagement with Hyder, whose death soon after gave the go- vernment to his son Tippoo Sahib; aud as he appeared somewhat disposed to be on terms with England, affairs in that quarter wore a better aspect. Still the war iu the East had a humiliating termination. Some serious casual disasters occurred during the course of the year. Four large ships foundered at sea on tjieir return from the "West Indies ; and the Royal George, of 100 guns, a fine ship which had been into port to reflt, was, wliile careening at Spit- head, overset by a sudden gust of wind, aud about 700 persons, with admiral Kemijcn- felt, were drowned. A.D. 1783.— The famous 'coalition mi- nistry,' of incongruous celebrity, was now formed ; the duke of Portland being first lord of the treasury ; lord North and Mr. Fox, joint secretaries of state ; lord Johu Cavendish, chancellor of the exchequer; viscotmt Keppel, first lord of the admi- ralty; viscount Stormont, president of the council ; and the earl of Carlisle, lord privy-seal. These seven constituted the new cabinet, the whigs having a majority of one over the three tories. North, Car- lisle, and Stormont. It was an ill-assorted and insincere compact, an abandonment of principle for power, which soon lost them the confidence and support of the nation. Negotiations for a general peace com- menced at Paris, under the auspices of Austria aud Russia ; and the basis of it beiug arranged, it was speedily ratified. Great Britain restored the island of St. Lucia to Prance; also the settlements ou the Senegal, and the city of Pondicherry, in the East Indies ; while Prance gave up all her West India conquests, with the ex- ception of Tobago. Spain retained Minorca and West Florida, East Florida being also ceded in exchange for the Bahamas. And between England and Holland a suspen- sion of hostilities was agreed to in the first 440 (Elje CrtaStirjj at ^Wtorg, ^«. l)lace ; but In the sc8sil>lc for liim to ser, willidut the most s great factions which divided the republic, Dumouriez entered into negotiations with the allied generals, and agreed to return to Paris, dissolve the national convention, and free his country from the gross tyranny which was there exercised under the spe- cious name of equality. But the conven- tionalists withheld his supplies, and sent commissioners to thwart his designs and sumimm him to their bar. He instantly arrested the ofBcers that brought the sum- mons, and sent them to the Austrian head- quarters. But the army did not share the anti-revolutionary feelings of the general, and he was himself obliged to seek safety in the Austrian camp, accompanied by young Egalite (as he was tlien styled), son of the execrable duke of Orleans, after- wards Louis Philippe, king of the French ! The duke of York, who was at the head of the allied armies, had laid siege to and taken Valenciennes; and he was now anxi- ous to extend their conquests along the frontier : he accordingly marched towards Dunkirk, and commenced the siege on the 27th of August. He expected a naval ar- mament from Great Britain to act in conjunction with the land forces ; but, from some unaccountable cause, the heavy artll- lerj' was so long delayed, that the enemy had time to provide for the defence of the town. The French troops, commanded by Houchard, poured upon them in such num- bers, that the duke was compelled to make a precipitate retreat, to avoid losing the whole of his men. He then came to Eng- land, and having held a conference with tlie ministers, returned to the continent. At Valenciennes it was decided, in a council of war, that the emperor of Germany should take the field, and be invested with the supreme command. The principal persons of the town and harbour of Toulon entered into an agree- ment with the British admiral, lord Hood, by which they delivered up the town and shipping to his protection, on condition of its being restored to France when the Bourbon restoration should be effected. The town, however, was not for any long time defensible against the superior force of the enemy which had come to its rescue ; it was therefore evacuated, fourteen thou- sand of the inhabitants taking refuge on board the British ships. Sir Sidney Smith set tire to the arsenals, which, together with an immense quantity of naval stores, and fifteen ships of the line, were con- sumed. On this occasion the artillery was commanded by Napoleon Buonaparte, v.'hotc skill and courage were conspicuous; (SntHKntS.—^axxSe of aSrumSintcft.— (Sforgc 3E3EJE. 445 and fnim that day hia promotion rapidly took place. The efforts made liy the French at this time were truly astonishing. Having pro- digiously increased their forces, they were resolved to conquer, whatever might be the cost of human life. Every day was a day of battle ; and as they were continually re- inforced, the veteran armies of the allies were obliged to give way. On the 22nd of December they were driven with immense slaughter from Hagenau ; this was followed up by successive defeats till the 17th, when the French army arrived at Weissemburg in triumph. During this last month the loss on both sides was immense, being estimated at between 70,000 and 80,000 men. The French concluded the campaign in triumph, and the allied powers were seriously alarmed at the dilTiculties which were necessary to be surninuiited, in order to regain the ground thut li:id been lost. In the East and West Indies the English were successful. Tobago, St. Domingo, Pondicherry, and the French settlements on the coast of Malabar and Coromandel, all surrendered to them. A.D. 1794. — From the great and im- portant events which were occurring on the continent, we turn to the internal af- fairs of Great Britain. The French repub- lic having menaced England with an in- vasion, it was proposed by ministers that associations of volunteers, both of cavalry and infantry, might be formed in every county, for the purpose of defending the country from the hostile attempts of its enemies, and for supporting the govern- ment against the efforts of the disaffected. On the 12th of May a message from the king announced to parliament the exist- ence of seditious societies in London, and that the papers of certain persons belong- ing to them had been seized, and were sub- mitted to the consideration of the house. Several members of the Society for Consti- tutional Reformation, and of the London Corresponding Society, were apprehended on a charge of high treason, and committed to the Tower. Among them were Thomas Hardy, a shoemaker in Piccadilly, and Da- niel Adams, secretaries to the before-named societies; the celebrated John Home Tooke; the rev. Jeremiah Joyce, private secretary to earl Stanhope ; John Augustus Bonney, an attorney; and Messrs. Thel wall, Richter, Lovatt, and Stone. They were brought to trial in the following October, and had the good fortune to be acquitted. Every appearance on the grand theatre of war indicated a continuance of success to the French in the ensuing campaign. The diligence and activity of their govern- ment, the vigour and bravery of their troops, the abilities and firmness of their commanders, the unwearied exertions of all men employed in the public service, asto- nished the whole world. Filled with an en- thusiastic devotion to the cause in which they had embarked, their minds were intent only on the military glory and aggrandise- ment of the republic. While the whole strength which could be collected by the allies amounted to less than four hundred tlumsand men, the armies of Prance were estimated at upwards of a million. Though the superiority by land was at present evidently in favour of the French, yet on the ocean ' Old England ' maintained its predominance. During the course of the summer the island of Corsica was sub- dued ; and the whole of the West India islands, except part of Guadaloupe, surren- dered to the troops under the command of sir Charles Grey and sir John Jervis. The channel fleet, under its veteran commander, lord Howe, sailed from port, in order to in- tercept the Brest fleet, which had ventured out to sea to protect a large convoy that was expected from America. The hostile fleets descried each other on the 28th of May, and as an engagement became inevit- able, the enemy formed in regular order of battle. On the morning of the 1st of June a close action commenced; the enemy's fleet consisting of twenty-six sail of the line, and the British of twenty-flve. Though the battle did not last long, it was very severe, and proved decisive ; seven of the French ships being compelled to strike their co- lours, oneof which, La Vengeur, went down with all her crew almost immediately on being taken possession of. In the cap- tured ships alone, the killed and wounded amounted to 1,270. The total loss of the British was 906. When intelligence of this memorable victory arrived in England, it produced the greatest exultation, and the metropolis was illuminated three successive nights. Tills naval loss of the French, though it considerably diminished the ardour of their seamen, was greatly overbalanced by the general success of their military operations. The principal theatre of the contest was the Netherlands, where generals Jourdain and Pichegru had not less than 200,000 good troops, headed by many expert and valiant ofllcers, and abundantly supplied with all the requisites of war. To oppose this formidable force, the allies assembled an army of 146,000, commanded by the em- peror in person, assisted by generals Clair- fait, Kaunitz, prince Coburg, the duke of Tork, &c. Numerous were the battles, and enormous the loss of life on each side dur- ing this campaign ; in (me of these bloody conflicts alone, the battle of Charleroi, the loss of the Austrians was estimated at 15,000 men. The armies of France were, in fact, become irresistible, and the allies retreated in all directions ; Nieuport, Os- tend, and Bruges, Tournay, Mens, Oude- narde, and Brussels, Landrecies, Valen- ciennes, Conde, and Quesnoi— all fell into their hands. During this victorious career of the French in the Netherlands, their ar- mies on the Rhine were equally successful ; and though both Austrians and Prussians well maintained their reputation for skill and bravery, yet the overwhelming masses of the French, and the fierce enthusiasm with which these republicans fought, were more than a match for the veteran bands by whom they were opposed. But the military operationsof the French were not confined to the Netherlands and the frontiers of Germany ; they had other ao UG «Ebe arvtainrn at Witatrt, &c. armies both in Simin and Italy. Tlio kiiig- di>Mi of Spain, wlilch was f.ninirly f^n pow- iTfiil US to disturb, by its ambition, tlic prarp of Kuropo, was at tins time so niiuii ruiincod bv superstition, luxury, and lii- dolonce, liiat the court of Madrid with dilllculty maintained its rank anion? the countries of Europe. It was tliert.fore no wonder that the impetuosity and uiitiniik' energy which proved so de5truitivo to the warlike Germans, slimild nviTWln-lm the Inert armies of Spain, or that tlieir strong- holds shoidd prove unavailingagainst such resolute foes. In It.aly, too, the French were not less fortunate. Though they had to combat the Austrian and S.irdinian ar- mies, a series of victories made them mas- ters of Piedmont, and the campaign ended there, as elsewhere, greatly in favour oi revolutionised France. Having in some measure overstepped our historical boundary line, by giving even this very liasty and imperfect view of transactions with which Great Britain was only indirectly concerned, though at tne time of their occurrence they were of the deepest interest to the nation— we shall now return to the operations of the com- mon enemv in the Netherlands, which, not- withstanding the approach of winter, were conducted with great perseverance. The duke of York was posted between Bois-le- Duc and Breda, but being attacked with great impetuosity by the superior numbers of Pichegru, he was overpowered, and ob- liged to retreat across the Maese, with the loss of about 1,-^00 men. On the 30th of September Crevecceur was taken by the enemy, and Bois-le-Duc surrendered imme- diately after. They then followed the duke across the Maese, when his royal highness found it necessary to cross the Rhine, and take post at Amheim. Nimeguen feU into the hands of the French on the ,th of Kovember ; and as the winter set in with uncommon severity, the whole of the rivers and lakes of Holland were bound up by the frost At the beginning of January, i:9o, the river "Waal was frozen over ; the Bri- tish troops were at the time in a most de- plorable state of ill health ; and the ene- my seizing the favourable opportunity, crossed the river with an array of TO.O'X) men, and having repulsed the force which was opposed to them, on the 16th of Janu- arv took possession of Amsterdam. The fortresses of William stadt, Breda, Bergen- op-Zoom, admitted the French ; the shat- tered remnant of the British army was obliged to retreat, under the most severe privations, and in a season unusually in- clement ; and the prince of Orange escaped in a little boat, and landed in England, where he and his family became the objects of royal liberality. The United Provinces were now revolutionised after the model of France; therightsof man were proclaimed, | representatives of the people chosen, and the countrv received the name of the Bata- vian republic. If there were any in Holland who seriously expected that this new order of things was likely to prove beneficial to the countrv, they soon had experience to the contrary ; for, on the one hand, the Encli.-h seized their colonies and destroyed their commerce, while on the other, the French despised their new confederates, and treated them with all the hauteur of insolent conquerors. A.D. 1795.— At the conclusion of the past year the aspect of affairs on the continent was most gloomy and unpromising. The French republic had suddenly become more extensive by its conquests than Prance had been since the days of Charlemagne ; they h.ad acquired an increased population, esti- mated at thirteen millions which, added to twenty-fr tiie gradual liquidation of his debts.— ggngtanlr.— Haugg of mmmitii.—i&earst ill. 447 The dentil of Louis XVII., son of tlie uii- fortimate Louis XVI. and lawful sovereign of France, in prison.— The acquittal of War- ren Hastings, after a trial which had lasted seven years.— The commencement of the societies of United Irishmen against, and of Orange clubs in favour of, the goTcrii- nicnt.— A deartli of corn in England, with conseciuont high prices, great distress, and riots which created much alarm. In seasons of scarcity and consequent high prices, the multitude are easily ex- cited to acts of insuhordin,ation. At this period their attention had Ijeen aroused to political subjects by some meetings held in the open fields, at the instance of the Corresponding Societies, where the usual invectives against government h.ad formed the staple of their discoui-se, and the people had been more than usually excited. A re- port was circulated that vast bodies of the disaffected would make tlieir appearance when the king proceeded to open parlia- ment ; and so it proved, for the amazing number of 200,000 persons assembled in the park on that occasion, on the 29th of Oct. An immense throng surrounded his Majesty's carriage, clamorously vociferating, 'Bread! Peace I No Pitt!' some voices also shout- ing out, 'No King I' while stones were thrown at the coach from all directions, and on passing through Palace-yard, one of the windows was broken by a bullet from an air-gun. On entering the house, the king, much agitated, said to the lord chan- ccllur, ' My lord, I have been shot at." On his return these scandalous outrages were repeated ; and a proclamation was issued offering a thousand pounds' reward for the apprehension of the persons concerned in these seditious proceedings. A.D. 1796.- The late unjustifiable insults to the sovereign were the subject of deep regret to all who wished well to the insti- tutions of the country and the maintenance of true freedom; while even those who were inimical to the government were greatly displeased, inasmuch as they felt a ssured that ministers would apply for addi- tional legislative powers. And so it proved ; for the business of parliament was no sooner resumed than two new penal statutes were brought forward. The first was entitled ' an act for the preservation of his majesty's per.sonand government against treasonable and seditious practices and attempts.' By the other bill it was enacted, that no meet- ing of any description of persons exceeding the number of fifty, except such as might be called by sheriffs or other magistrates, should be holden for political purposes, un- less public notice should have been given by seven housekeepers ; that if such a'body should assemble without notice, and twelve or more individuals should remain together (even quietly) for an hour after a legal order for their departure, they should be punished as felons without benefit of clergy; and that the same rigour might be exercised, if any person after due notice of the meeting should use seditious language, or propose the irregular alteration of anything by law established. The discussions which took place on these hills in both houses were | \ery animated, and they passed with great majorities. The unremitting struggle which during this campaign took place on the continent, between the allied armies and those of France, was far too important as regarded the interests of Great Britain for us to pass It lightly over, however little it may at first sight appear to belong strictly to British history. The French armies on the frontiers of Gennany were commanded by their ge- nerals Moreau and Jourdain ; the army of Italy was conducted by Napoleon Buona- parte. This extraordinary man, whose name will hereafter so frequently occur had, like Picliegru, Jourdain, Moreau, &c! attained rapid promotions in the republican armies. In 1791 he was a captain of artil- lery; and it was only at the siege of Toulon, in 1793, that his soldierly abilities began to be developed. He had now an army of 56,000 veterans under his command op- posed to whom were 80,000 Austrians and Piedmontese, commanded by General Beau- lieu, an officer of great ability, who opened the campaign on the 9th of April. Having after several engagements, suffered a defeat at Millesimo, he selected 7,000 of his best troops, and attacked and took the village of Dego, where the French were indulging themselves in security. Massena, having rallied his troops, made several fruitless at- tempts during the day to retake it; but Buonaparte arriving in the evening with some reinforcements, renewed the attack drove the allies from Dego, and made 14,000 prisoners. Count Colli, the general of the Sardinian forces, having been defeated by Buonaparte at Mondovi, requested a sus- pension of arms, which was followed by the king of Sardinia's withdrawal from the con- federacy, the surrender of his most impor- tant fortresses, and the cession of the duchy of Savoy, &c. to the French. This ignomi- nious peace was followed by similar con- duct on the part of the duke of Parma, who, like the king of Sardinia, appeared to have no alternative but that of utter extinction. The Austrian general Beaulieu, being now no longer able to maintain his situation on the Po, retreated across the Adda at Lodi Pizzighettone, and Cremona, leaving a de- tachment at Lodi to stop the progress of the enemy. These forces were attacked, on the loth of May, by the advanced guard of the republican army, who compelled them to re- treat with so much precipitation as to leave no time for breaking down the bridge of Lodi. A battery was planted on the French side, and a tremendous cannonading kept up ; but so well was the bridge protected by the Austrian artillery, that it was the opi- nion of the general ofHcers that it could not be forced ; but as Buonaparte was convinced that the reputation of the French army would suffer much If the Austrians were allowed to maintain their position, he was determined to encounter every risk in order to effect his object. Putting himself therefore, at the head of a select body of his troops, he passed the bridge in the midst of a most de.structive tire of the Austrian artillery, and then f eU with such irresistible fury on Ms opponents, that he gained a 448 ULlfS Creajjurp of ^iitaryi, Set. Ciiniiiletp vU'tiii-}. Mar^liiil Rraulicii, will) till- sli:iItiTi'il rciiniiMits nf his iinii.v, iiKulra liasty niri-.it towards .Manlua, piirsurd by a ):irKO luHly "f tlif Krciuli. I'.ivia, .Milan, and Verona wore now soon In tlicir hands; and on tlic ■1th of June they Invested JiHiitua, the only place of importance which the emperor held lu Italy. Not lonf? after, Buonaparte made himself master of Feriara, Bologna, and rrbino ; and next menaced the city of I'lOine. As the pope was incapable of resist- ing this unprovoked invasion of his terri- tories, he was reduced to the necessity of soliciting an armistice, which was granted on very humiliating terms. He agreed to give up the cities of Bologna and Ferrara, with the citadel of Ancona, and to deliver up a great number of paintings and statues, and to enrich the conqueror with some hundreds of the most curious manuscripts froiu the Vatican library. The court of Vienna now recalled Beau- lieu, and gave the command to marshal Wurmser ; but the tide of success ran more strong against him, if possible, than it had done against his predecessor. As Buona- paite was at this time employed in form- ing a republic of the states of Regglo, Mo- dena, Bologna, and Ferrara, the Austrians had leisure to make new military arrange- ments. They reinforced marshal Wurmser, and formed a new array, the command of which was given to general Alvinzi. At the beginning of Kovember, several partial en- gagements took place between Alvinzi and Buonaparte, till the 15th, when a most des- perate engagement at the village of Areola ended in the defeat and retreat of the Aus- trians, who lost about 13,000 men. Mantua, however, was still obstinately defended, but the garrison ceased to entertain hopes of ultimate success. While the French army under Buona- I)arte was overrunning Italy, the armies on the Rhine, under Jourdaiu and lloreau, were unable to make any impression on the Austrians. The armistice which had been concluded at the termination of the last campaign, expired on the Slst of May, when both armies took the Held ; and the arch- duke Charles, who commanded the Aus- trians, gained several advantages over both Jourdain and Moreau, till, at the end of the year, the hostile armies having been ha- rassed by the Incessant fatigues they had undergone, discontinued their military operations during the winter. The successes of Buonaparte in Italy, and the general aversion with which the people beheld the war, induced the British ministry to make overtures for peace with the French republic. Lord Malmesbury was accordingly despatched to Paris on this important mission, and proposed as the basis, the mutual restitution of conquests ; but there was no disposition for peace on the part of the French directory, and the attempt at pacification ended by a sudden order for his lordship to quit Paris in forty- eight hours. While these negotiations were pending, an armament was prepared at Brest for the invasion of Ireland, which had long been meditated by the French rulers. The fleet, consisting of twenty-flve shliis of the line and fifteen frigates, was iiilnislrdtoa.iniiralllouvil alielan.l forces, aiiioiiiitijig 1.1 i.'.-,,iioii null, wcrr c maiided liy geniral Uoche. Tlicy set sail ou tliu 18th of December, but a violent tempest arose, and the frigate on board of which the general was conveyed being separated from the fleet, they returned to harbour, after losing one ship of the line and two frigates. A few incidental notices will serve to wind up the domestic events of the year :— Sir Sidney Smith was taken prisoner on the French coast, and sent, under a strong es- cort, to Paris.— The princess of Wales gave birth to a daughter— the princess Char- lotte ; immediately after which, at the in- stance of the prince ou the groimd of ' in- congeniality,' a separation took place be- tween the royal parents.— A government loan of 18,000,000!. was subscribed in fif- teen hours, between the 1st and 5th instant. One million was subscribed by the bank of England in their corporate capacity, and 400,000!. by the directors individually. A.D. 1797.— The garrison of Mantua, which had held out with astonishing bra- very, surrendered on the 2nd of February, but obtained very honourable terms. After this, Buonaparte received very considerable reinforcements, and having cut to pieces the army under Alvinzi, lie resolved on penetrating into the centre of the Austrian dominions. Wlieu the court of Vienna re- ceived information of this design, they raised a new army, the command of which was given to the archduke Charles. The French defeated the Austrians in almost every engagement ; and Buonaparte, alter making 20,000 prisoners, effected a passage across the Alps, and drove the emperor to the necessity of requesting an armistice. In April a preliminary treaty was entered into, by which it was stipulated that France should retain the Austrian Netherlands, and that a new republic should be formed from the states of Milan, Mantua, Modeua, Fer- rara, and Bologna, which should receive the name of the Cisalpine Republic. He then returned to Italy, leaving minor de- tails of the treaty to be adjusted afterwards, and which was accordingly done at Campo Formio, in the following October. England was now the only power at war with France; and great as had been the ex- ertions of the people, still greater were of course required of them. The large sums of money which had been sent abroad, as subsidies to foreign princes, had dimi- nished the quantity of gold and silver in Great Britain : this cause, added to the dread of an invasion, occasioned a run upon the country banks, and a demand for specie soon communicated itself to the metro- polis. An order was issued to prohibit the directors of the bank from payments in cash. On the meeting of parliament, a committee was appointed to enquire into the state of the currency ; and though the affairs of the bank were deemed to be in a prosperous state, an act was passed for con- firming the restriction, and notes for one and two pounds were circulated. The con- sternation occasioned by these measures was at first very general, but the alarm d^uBlanU.— ?g0uiSe of 3itmxSbiick.—mitted, giving U]! Parker and Ills fellow- delegates : some of whom, with theirlcader, expiated their offences by an ignominious death, but the great body of the revolters were conciliated by an act of amnesty. Notwithstanding the late dangerous mu- tiny, the idea was very prevalent in the country, that if a hostile fleet were to make its appearance, the men would show them- selves as eager as ever to flght for the honour of Old England. In a few months afterwards an opportunity occurred of test- ing their devotion to the service. The Ba- tavlan republic having fitted out a fleet of fifteen ships, under the command of their adminil De "Winter, with an intention of joining I lie French, admiral Duncan, who coinijiaiiili .1 (iir British fieet, watched them so narrow ly, tiiat they found it impractica- ble to venture out of the Texel without risking an engagement. The British ad- miral being obliged by tempestuousweatlier to leave his station, the Dutch availed them- selves of the opportunity, and put to sea ; but were descried by the British fleet, which immediately set sail In pursuit of them. On the 11th of October the English came up with, and attacked them off Camper- down ; and after a gallant fight of four hours, eight ships of the line, Including those of the admiral and vice-admiral, be- sides four frigates, struck their colours. The loss of the English in this memorable action amounted to 700 men ; the loss of the Dutch was estimated at twice that number. The gallant admiral Duncan was raised to the peerage, and received the title of viscount Camperdown, with an heredi- tary pension. About three months previous to this ac- tion admiral Nelson, acting on fallacious intelligence, made an unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffie ; on which occasion the assailants sustained great loss, and Nelson himself had his arm shot off. A.D. 1798.— As the French republic had at this time subdued all its enemies except England, the conquest of this country wns the principal object of their hopes and ex- pectations. The vast extent of territory I which the French now possessed, together with the influence they had obtained over the coivicils of Holland, rendered them i much more formidable than they had been i at any former period. The circumstances of the British nation were, however, such as would discourage every idea of an inva- ! Eion. Its navy was more powerful than it j had ever been ; the victories which had lately been gained over the Dutch and Span ish fleets had confirmed the general opi- nion of the loyalty as well as bravery of its seamen ; and all parties burying, for a time, all past disputes in oblivion, unanimously I resolved to support the government. On the meeting of parliament, in January, a message from the king intimated that an invasion of the kingdom was in contem- plation by the French. This communica- tion gave rise to very active measures, which plainly manifested the spirit of una- nimity which reigned in Great Britain. Be- sides a large addition made to the militia, Q Q 2 450 Cfje CreaSuru nf W^tavs, «rc. ilz every county was directed to raise bodies of cavalry from the yeomanry ; and almost every town and considerable village had its corps of volunteers, trained and armed. The island was never before in such a for- midable state of internal defence, and a warlike spirit was diffused throu«bout the entire population. A voluntary sul)Scription for the support of the war also took place, by which a million and half of money was raised towards detrayiuK the extraordinary demands on the pulilic purse. Wliile this universal h.irmony seemed to direct the councils of Great Britain, the Irish were gre.atly divided in their senti- ments, and at length commenced an open rebellion. In the year 1791 a society had been instituted by the catholics and Pro- testant dissenters, for the purpose of ob- taining a reform in parliament, and an en- tire deliverance of the Roman catholics from all the restrictions under which they laboured on account of religion. This in- stitution was projected by a person named Wolfe Tone ; and the members, who were termed the ' United Irishmen," were so nu- merous, that their divisions and subdivi- sions were, in a short time, extended over the whole kingdom. Though a reform of par- liament was the ostensible object of this society, yet it soon proved that its secret but z^lous endeavours were directed to the liringing about a revolution, and, by effect- ing a disjunction of Ireland from Great Britain, to establish a republican form of government similar to that of France. So rapidly did the numbers of these republican enthusiasts increase, and so confident were they of the ultimate success of their under- takings, that in 1797 they nominated an executive directory, consisting of lord Ed- ward Fitzgerald, Arthur O'Connor, Oliver Bond, Dr. 3Iac Niven, and counsellor Em- met. Their conspiracy was planned with such consummate art, and conducted with such profound secrecy, that it would, doubt- less, have been carried into effect, but for its timely discovery in March, by a person employed by the government, when the prin- cipal ringleaders were apprehended, and Fitzgerald was mortally wounded while re- sisting the officers of justice. A second conspiracy shortly afterwards was In like manner detected, but not until a general insurrection had been determined upon, in which the castle of Dublin, the camp near it, and the artillery barracks, were to be sur- prised in one night, and other places were to be seized at the same moment. But the flame of rebellion was not easily extin- guished. In May, a body of rebels, armed with swords and pikes, made attempts on the to\vTis of Naas and Wexford ; but they experienced a signal defeat from lord Gos- f ord, at the head of the Armagh militia, and four hundred of them were left dead on the field. They afterwards marched, 15,000 strong, against Wexford, and upon defeat- 1 iug the garrison, which sallied forth to meet them, obtained possession of the town. Subsequently they became masters of En- iiiscorthy ; but being driven back, with great ' slaughter, from New Ross, they wreaked their vengeance upon their captives at Wex- ford In the most barbarous manner. On the 12th of June, general Nugent attacked the rebels, 5,000 in number, commandecl by Munro,near Ballynahinch, and routed them with great slaughter. But their greatest discomfiture was that which they sustained in their encampment on Vinegar-hill, where general Lake attacked and completelyrouted them. VarUms other minor engagements ensued about this time, in all which the rebels were defeated with consideraljle loss. In the present divided and dangerous state of Ireland, It was judged prudent by the legislature to appoint to the lieutenancy of that country a military man of acknow- ledged prudence and bravery. The i>ersou chosen for the station was lord Coriiwalhs, who arrived at Duljlin on the 2oth of June. His first act was to puldish a proclamation offering his majesty's pardon to all such in- surgents as would desert their leaders, and surrender themselves and their arms. This proclamation, and the rosolute conduct of government, had a great effect on the rebels, and the insurrection was in a short time suppressed. On the 23rd of August, about 800 Frenchmen, under the command of general Humbert, who had come to the assistance of the rebellious Irish, landed at Killala, and made themselves masters of that town. But instead of being joined by a considerable body of rebels, as they ex- pected, were met by general Lake, to whom they surrendered as prisoners of war. An end was thus temporarily put to the Irish rebellion— a rebellion which, though never completely organised, was fraught with excesses on each side at which humanity shudders. It was computed at the time that not less than 30,000 persons, in one way or other, were its victims. The preparations which had been making for the invasion of England were apparen tly continued, but at the same time an arma- ment was fitting out at Toulon, the desti- nation of which was kept a profound se- cret. It consisted of thirteen ships of the line, with other vessels amounting in all to fortv-flve sail, besides 200 transports, on board of which were 20,000 choice troops, with horses, artillery, and an Immense quantity of provisions and military stores. All Europe beheld with astonishment and apprehension these mighty preparations, and seemed to wait in awful expectation for the storm of war that was about to burst on some devoted land. This armament, which was under the command of general Buonaparte, set sail on the 20th of Jlay, and having taken possession of the island of Malta on the 1st of June, proceeded towards Egypt, where it arrived at the beginning of Jiilv ; its ultimate destination being said to tie the East Indies, vii the Red Sea. Sir Horatio Nelson, who was sent in pursuit of tlie French fleet, being wholly ignorant of its destination, sailed for Naples, where hi; obtained information of the surrender of Malta, and accordingly directed his course towards that island. On his arrival he had the mortification to find that Buonaparte was gone, and conjecturing that he had sail- ed to Alexandria, he immediately prepared to follow. He was, however, again dlsap- "ii^gran^^IioitiTonBrun^it]^^ 451 iHiiiited foi- nil reaching Alexandra he u' ■ -d tliat the enemy had not been there Aflerthlsthe British squadron proceeded to Khode " and thence to Sicily, where they had The satisfaction of hearing that th« eneniy had been seen off Caudia about a nwnUU,^ fore, and had gone to Alexandria Thitl e, ward they pressed all sail, and on the 1st of Aiicust descried the French tleet lying n Aboukir bay Buonaparte had landed las army on the 5th of July, and having made Wn self master of Alexandria,hedrew uph s transports within the inner harbour of that c tj'and proceeded with his army along He banks of the Nile. The French tleet, co u- ma ided by admiral Brueys, was dr/jvn up near the shore, in a compact line of battle, SInked by four frigates, and protected in the front by a battery planted on a small island Nelson decided on an immedia e atta,-k that evening, and, r^Sardf ^"^ '^f_ position of the French, led his fleet be tween them and tl>e shore so as to r ace his enemies between two fl«s The victory was complete. Nine ships of the "je we o taken one was burnt by her captain, and the adnTral's ship, L'Orient. was blown up in the action, with her commander and the greater part of the crew. The loss of the InWish was 900 sailors killed ; that of the Fmu^ far greater. The glorious conduct of the bravf men who achieved this s.g al triumph was the theme of every tongue, and the intrepid Nelson was rewarded with ■■' ^'hTvfcto^? ofX'Ni'ie producedapower- ful effect throughout Europe The formi- dable preparations which had menaced Asia and if rica with Immediate ruin were overthrown, and seemed to leave behind them an everlasting monument of the ex- treme folly and uncertainty of human uiidertakings. The deep despondency wWch had darkened the horizon of Europe was suddenly dispelled, the dread of (,al i. vengeance seemed to vanish in a moiiieiit, and the minds of men were awakened into action by the ardent desire of restormg tranquillity to Europe. A second coalition was immediately formed against France under the auspices of Great Britain, and was entered lAto by Austria, Russia, the Ottoman Forte, and Naples.- Towards the close of the vear the island of Minorca sur- rende?ed, with scarcely a show of resist- ance; to general Stuart and commodore "weTJift'now take a glance of the state ,if British affairs in India. Tippoo Sahib having entered into a secret correspond- ence with the French republic the gover_ nor-general demanded an explanation of his intentions ; and .as this demand was not complied with, general Harris .m-aded his territories. After some slight eiigage- ments, the British army advanced to Se- r ngapatam, the capital of Tippoo and on the 4th of May, after a gallant and despe- rate resistance, they succeeded in taking it, the sultan being killed while defending the fortress. AD 1799.— In consequence of the new confederacy which had been formed against the French republic, the campaign of thi:. year became particularly interesting French array which h.ad advanced into Sua" a under general Jourdain, was op- posed by the Anstrians under the archduke C larles, and being discomfited was com- p" ed to retreat into Switzerland The Austrians pursued them as far as Zurich where tliey were enabled to make a stand unti they received rrinfnrcements. In the meantime, an army of Austrians and Rus- sians, under general Sinvnrrow l;av "g^b" ligcd the French to '•fl'"'l»'*''> Vr,Lfrp,; quests in Italy, they detf"'"''^. ° f"?",^"; to the assistance of the archduke , but being anticipated by the French general Massena, the Austrians ^.f-i?. o^'fed ,*o retreat in great haste, and the R"ssian8 were surrounded so completely, that onlj 5,000, with their general, escaped m tact so severe were the several contests, that in the space of nfteen days 30,000 men on both sides fell victims to the unsparing sword While these events were transacting m Italy and Switzerland, an attempt was made by Great Britain to drive the French Sofn Holland, and to reinstate the prince of Orange in his authority as stadtholder A landing was accordingly effected at he mouth of the Texel, under ^ir Ralph Abtr- cromby ; and immediately afterwards the British Heet, commanded by admiral Mit- chell entered the Zuiderzee, and captured eight ships of the line, besides some smalU r vessels of war and four Indiamen. On the 13th of September the duke o* York as- sumed the chief command of the army, which amounted to 35,000 men, inclndmg 17 000 Russians. This army was at first successful, and drove the French fi-om their positions ; but their reinforcements arriv- in'' and the British commanders finding no support from the Dutch, a suspension of arms was agreed upon, and the duke resolved to relinquish the enterprise. Hol- land was consequently evacuated ; and, as the price of being allowed to reerabark without molestation, 8,000 seamen, Dutch or French, prisoners in England, were to be " Afttr the battle of the Nile, Buonaparto led his army into Palestine, with the avowe^ intention of taking possession of Jerusa- lem, rebuilding the temple, and restoring the Jews. El-Arisch and Gaza surrendered to him, Jaffa was carried by storm, and he rapidly advanced as far as the cily of Acre which he Invested with an army of 10,000 select troops ; but here he met with an op- ponent who not only arrested his progress, but who ultimately put his veteran legions to shame. The pacha had the assistance of that gallant Englishman, sir Sidney Smith, whose former dashing exploits on the coLsts of France had rendered lushame far more familiar than agreeable to Galic ears On the 20th of March Buonaparte opened his trenches ; hut a flotilla convey- ing part of his besieging tram had been captured bv sir Sidney Smith, who was on board the i'igre of 84 guns, then lying off Acre, and the enemy's guns were employed in its defence. However, the French made a breach, and attempted to carry the plate by asLault, but were again and again re- 462 C^e CrwiSurp of ^iitavs, ice. pulsed, witU giVHt loss. An iiltcriiatldii of iittai-ks and sorties follmvcd for tlie simre of sixty days, during wlilcli Ituon.-iiiurtc nfolessly sarrillot'd an linnicnse number of liis bravest soliliiTs, and at b-wt was cnni- IH-lli'(l to raisi' tlic sifKc Uaviiiy rcccivi d iiitollieriK-i' of Miu arrival .if a Tnrkisli army in Eu-ypt, Napoleon returned from Palestine across the deserts of Arabia, and on tbe 25th of July obtained a great vic- tory over tbe Turks near the Pyramids. But he was n(jw about to enter on a new theatre of action. I'arty dissensions in France, her danger of external foes, and the oprorliinity whicli was thereby afforded to the ambition of this extraordinary leader, seems to have suddenly determined him to quit Egypt. He accordingly left the .army to general Kleber, and sailed with .all imagmable secrecy from Aboukir: his good fortune eual)ling him, and the few friends he took with him, to reach Frej'ns on the 7th of October, unobserved and un- molested. Finding that the people gene- rally approved of the step he had taken, and tliat while the corruption and mis- management of the directory had rendered them very unpopular, he was regarded as the good genius of France, he, iu the true Cromwelliau fashion, with the assistl of .lanuary, IRiil. Ity this ar- rangement the Irish were to have a ^hare of all the commerce of Great Britain, ex- cept such parts of it as belong to char- tered companies. The commons of Ire- laud to be represented in the imperial par- liament by a hundred mcmliers ; the spiri- tu.al and temporal peerage of that country, by fcmr bi.shops and twcnty-eiglitlay lords, holding their seats for life. Such peers of Ireland as are not elected into the house of lords, to be competent to sit in the house of commons as representatives of British towns and counties, on condition of their giving up all the privileges of the peerage during their continuance in the lower house. The former laws and courts of justice in Ireland to be retained, with its court of chancery, and the sovereign to be still represented by a lord-lieutenant. During the past winter and the early part of spring the greatest distress was felt by the poorer classes on account of the scarcity and extraordinary high price of bread ; in order to mitigate which, an act was passed prohibiting the sale of that great necessary of life until it had been l-iaked twenty-four hours, from a notion that the consumption of stale bread would be much less than that of new. On the 15th of May, as the king was re- viewing a battalion of the guards in Hyde Park, a ball was fired by a soldier, which wounded a gentleman who was standing not many yards from his majesty ; but whether it was from accident or design could not be discovered. And on the evening of the same day a much more alarming circumstance oc- curred at Drury-lane theatre. At the mo- ment his majesty entered the royal liox, a man stood up in the pit and discharged a pistol at the king : the ball providentially missed him, and the offender was inimedi- atel}' seized; when it appeared that his name was James Hatfield, formerly a private sol- dier, and that he was occasionally afflicted with mental derangement from a wound he had received in the head. He was accord- ingly 'provided for' as a lunatic. The con- sternation occasioned by these occurrences was succeeded hy many signal proofs of affectionate loyally, especially on the 4th of .lune, his majesty's birthday. The campaign of 1800 was opened with great resolution on both sides. Independ- ently of the other troops of France, an ad-, ditional army of 60,000 men was assembled at Dijon, and it was publicly announced in the French papers, that it was intended as a reinforcement to the armies on the Rhine and in Italy, as circumstances might re- quire. No one suspected that any import- ant plan of military operations was con- ce.aled by the affected publicity of this ar- rangement, so no precaution w.as taken to obviate the consequences which might arise from its movements. The Austrians in Italy, under general Melas, attacked Mas- (iPuglanif.— I^auic of aSruaibouIt.- nicoeded to Cadiz, was there reinforced by the Spanish admiral, Gravina, and six large ships, and immediately embarked for the West Indies. When lord Nelson re- ceived information that the French and Spaniards had put to sea, he supposed that tliey were destined for an attempt on Alex- andria, and accordingly set sail in that direction. He traversed the Mediterranean with the utmost celerity, having a squadron of ten ships with him ; but flnding that he was mistaken in his conjectures, he con- cluded that the enemy had sailed for the West Indies. He immediately directed his course towards that quarter, and by driving the combined squadrons from island to islnnd, he prevented them from making an attack on any of the British possessions ; nay, so universal was the dread of Nelson's name, that they had no sooner arrived than they consulted their safety in a precipitate and disgraceful flight, and hastily returned to Europe. When tlie brave Nelson was as- sured of the course of his adversaries, he despatched a messenger to England, and immediately set sail in hopes of overtaking the fugitives. He arrived at Gibraltar on the 20th of July, and having refitted his ships, he resumed his position off Cape St. Vincent, sixty- three days after his departure from it for the West Indies. On the arrival in London of the informa- tion of the enemy's retreat, a squadron, consisting of fifteen sail of the line, was despatched under sir Robert Calder, in the hope of intercepting them. On the 22nd of July sir Robert descried the oT)ject of his mission off Ferrol ; and, notwithstand- ing their great superiority, he did not hesi- tate a moment in bringing them to action. After an obstinate engagement, the unequal conflict terminated in the defeat of the enemy, who, having lost two large ships, proceeded in haste to Ferrol. Being rein- forced by the admirals Grandaliana and Gourdon, they weighed anchor and retired to the harbour of Cadiz ; where they were blockaded by sir Robert Calder. Some dissatisfaction having been expressed in the public papers, relative to the conduct of tlie British admiral in the engagement off Ferrol, he, in order to meet tlie charges with manly boldness, and to obviate the effects of malicious reports, applied for a court-martial to enquire into the sul^ject ; when, to his great astonishment, and to the regret of the whole navy, he was found guilty of an error of judgement, and sen- tenced to be reprimanded — a reproach which lie, who had passed forty-six years with honour in the service, felt deeply. Subsequently to his arrival at Cape St. Vincent, admiral Nelson traversed the bay of Biscay in search of the enemy ; but being oppressed with fatigues and disappoint- ment, he resolved on returning to England. He arrived at Portsmouth on the 18th of August, and having reached London on the 20th, experienced a most cordial and affectionate reception from his grate- ful countrymen. He would not, however, allow himself to remain in inactivity, and being offered the command of an arma- ment that was then preparing, he without hesitation embraced the opportunity of serving his country. Having hoisted his flag on board the Victory, on the following day he put to sea, and on his arrival at Cadiz he received from admiral Colling- wood tlie command of the British fleet, which now consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line. On the 19th of October Nel- son learned that the combined French and Spanish fleets, consisting of thirty-three sail of the line, had put to sea from Cadiz, under admirals Villeneuve and Gravina; and on the 21st he discovered them off Cape Trafalgar. He immediately ordered the fleet to bear up, in two columns, as directed by his previous plan of attack ; and issued this admonitorj- signal — which has since become a national proverb — ' England expects every man to do his duty.' Tlie windward column of the Eng- lish ships was led by lord Nelson in the Victory; the leeward by rear-admiral Col- lingwood, in the Royal Sovereign. About noon the awful contest commenced, by the leading ships of the columns piercing the enemy's line; the others breaking through in all parts, and engaging their adversaries at the muzzle of their guns. The enemy fought with intrepid spirit ; but the su- perior skill which opposed them was resist- less. The fury of the battle was sustained for three hours, when many ships of the combined fleet having struck, their line gave way : nineteen sail of the line, with Villeneuve and two other flag officers, were taken ; the other ships, with admiral Gra- vina, escaped. This splendid victory, so preeminent in the annals of Britain, was purchased witli the life of her greatest naval commander. In the middle of the contest lord Nelson received in his left breast a niusket-bali aimed at him from the ship with which he was engaged ; and in about an hour after- wards he expired, displaying in his deatli the heroic firmness which had distinguish- ed every action of his life. The loss of this gallant man damped the enthusiastic joy which the news of so important a victory would have excited ; and it is difflcult to HR (!rT)e Creaifui-ii of ^^({itarjf, $tt. 453 say wlietlier the ponornl (?rlcf that was felt I for the hero's dcatli, or the exultation for so sli-'iml a triumiih.ijroiioiulcrated. Many tliire were, nio.-it assuredly, who would have rellmiuislicd the victory to have saved the victim. Ills remains were deposited in St. rani's cathedral, and were accompanied by a procession more extensive and mag- niflcent tlian England had, on any similar occasion, beheld. Of that iiart of tlie Cadiz fleet which had escaped, four sliips were afti'rwards captured hy sir Uichard Strachan, oft Fcr- rol, and were conducted to a British port. — Thus the enemy's marine was virtually annihilated, and the na^-y of England held, undisputed, the ma.stery of the seas. It was far otlierwise, however, with her continental projects and alliances. An alli- ance oflensive and defensive had long been ineffectually negotiating with Russia, Aus- tria, and Sweden ; but it was not till the French emperor had arbitrarily annexed Genoa and P.irma to his dominions, that a treaty was concluded. The objects of this formidable coalition were the liberation of Holland, Sardinia, Switzerland, and Hano- ver from French tyranny; the restoration of tranquillity to the Italian states, and the reestabliihment of safety and peace in all Europe. It was stipulated, that the three continental powers should furnish 500,000 men, exclusive of the British troops. The military force at the disposal of France was 650,000, besides a considerable number of auxiliaries. By one article of the con- federacy it was agreed, that the continental powers should not withdraw their forces, nor Great Britain her subsidies, till a gener.al paciflcation took place with the common consent of the contracting parties. The dissatisfaction evinced against the French emperor in all the territories which he had seized, seemed only to raise his un- principled ambition. To Insure the subju- gation of Germany, he, under the perfidious plea of moderation, endeavoured to sepa- rate Austria from the other imperial states. He issued a manifesto, reprobating the folly andinjustice of the confederate powers, and declaring that if hostilities were com- menced against any of his allies, particu- larly against Bavaria, he would instantly march his whole army to avenge the af- front. He said that the war was created and maintained by the gold and hatred of Great Britain, and boasted that he would flght till he had secured the independence of the Germanic body, and would not make peace without a suEBcient seciu-ity for its continuance. The Austrians, disregarding these threats, entered Bavaria with 55,000 raen, and were vigorously supported by the hereditary states. These forces, with those furnished by Russia and the Tyrol, seemed to promise success ; but through the preci- pitancy of the Austrians, the tardiness of the Russians, and the vigorous measures of Buonaparte, the great objects of the coali tion failed, and the most disastrous reverses were experienced. The French reached thebanks of theRlilne in September, and effected a passage over the river ; engaged theAustriaus before the Russians could join them, and defeated them with great loss at Wertingcn and Gun.s- burgli. In ttio me.mtime general lierna- dotte, by the order of Buonaparte, entered the ncutr.al territories of Kraiimnia, and was there joined by the Bavari.'in army of 20,000 cavalry and infantry, the Batavian division, and by thearmy of Holland, under JIarmont. The losses sustained by the Aus- trians had hitherto been very inconsider- able ; but on the 1.1th of October, Jleningen, with its large garrison, surrendered to mar- shal Soult. On the 19th, the Austrians making a sortie from the city of Ulm, and attacking Dupont's division, were defeated, and 15,000 of their men taken. A few days afterwards the Austrian general Mack, who had shut himself up in Ulm, with 30,000 men, surrendered to the French under very suspicious circumstances, and his whole army were made prisoners of war. The first Russian division, under generals Kutusofl and Merveldt, having at length effected a junction with the Austrians, the French army, 110,000 strong, hastily ad- vanced to attack them. The allied troops were unwilling to engage a force so much more numerous than their own, and awaited the arrival of the second Russian army. That arrival was, however, delayed for a very considerable time, by the menacing and impolitic opposition of the Prussian ar- maments. Had the king of Prussia, by join- ing the confederates, avenged the insult offered to his Franconian territories, the French would soon have been compelled to return home ; but the ill-fated policy he now adopted was the cause of all the dis- asters which Europe afterwards suffered. The first Russian army, unable to maintain its position against the superior power of the enemy, were under the necessity of fall- ing back upon Moravia, and in their rout had no alternative but that of crossing the Danube, above Vienna. The imminent dan- ger with which his capital was now threat- ened, induced the emperor of Austria to propose an armistice, in hopes of gaining time for the arrival of reinforcements. Count Guilay was accordingly despatched to the headquarters of Napoleon, with pro- posals for concluding a suspension of hos- tilities for a few weeks, as a preliminary step towards a negotiation for a general peace. Buonaparte expressed his readiness to accede to the armistice, on condition that the Austrian monarch would cause the allied army to return home, the Hun- garian levy to be abandoned, and the duchy of Venice and the Tyrol to be occupiwi by the French. The Russian armies, having at length effected a junction with those of Austria, marched towards Austerlitz, where the French were posted ; but as the allied sovereigns were desirous of preventing the dreadful sacrifice of life, which was inevitable from the conflict of two such prodigious armies, the counts Stadion and Guilay were sent to Napoleon to propose an armistice. The French emperor, suppos- ing that they merely wished to lull him into a false security, beguiled them with artful compliments, and solicited an interview enalault.— I^auie at Unm^toicft.— (gearflc Jt££. 459 witli the cmiicror Alexander. He had pre- viously discovered tliat the allies were raslily advancing against biin when the utmost caution was necessary; and, in order to talie full advantage of the circumstance, he commanded his army to feign a retreat, that his enemy might be confirmed in the idea of his being unable to resist their forces. The Russian emperor declined in his own person the proposed interview, but sent his aide-de-camp as a proxy, who returned after a long conference, fully per- suaded that the French were reduced to the last extremities. The French having by cautiousmovements kept up the idea of their own weakness and alarm, were attacked on the 1st of Decem- ber by the combined army ; but when their artifices had been duly prolonged, Buona- parte brought up all his troops, and by the superiority of his numbers, gained a com- plete victory. This was the well-contested and memorable battle of Austcrlitz, or, as it was often called, the battle of the 'Three Emperors.' The Austro-Russian armies, amounting to 80,000, were com- niMudid by general Kutusoff and prince Lichtenstein ; and nearly 30,000 in killed, wiiunded, and prisoners, with 100 pieces of cannon, attested the triumph of Napoleon. In consequence of this, an armistice was four days afterwards effected; and on the 20th of the same month, a pacific treaty was concluded at Presburg between France and Austria. By the terms agreed on, France retained jiossession of the Transal- pine territories ; Buonaparte was acknow- ledged king of Italy, but the crowns of France and Italy were to be for ever sepa- rated, instead of being united under one head ; and the new-made king was invested with the power of appointing an acknow- ledged successor to the Italian throne. On the other hand, the French emperor gua- ranteed the integrity of the empire of Austria, in the state to which he had now reduced it, as well as the integrity of the possessions of the princes of the house of Austria, Russia, &c. Prussia, which had insidiously held back, watching the progress of the campaign, determined for the present to preserve peace with France, and concluded a con- vention with that power, by which Prussia was to have the aid of France in occupying Hanover in exchange for Anspach, Cleves, and Neufchatel. It has always, indeed, ap- peared to us that the policy of Prussia was c(mstantly directed to the diminution of the Austrian power, in the hope that the imperial crown might be transferred to the house of Brandenburg: a feeling which Buonaparte insidiously encouraged as long as it suited his own views of aggrandise- ment. A.D. 1806.— The campaign of 1805 having thus fatally terminated, and the Russian armies having retreated across the Elbe, Napoleon resolved to take vengeance on the king of Naples, who had provoked his wrath by admitting some British and Russian troops into his dominions. On the morning after he had signed the peace of Presburg, the French emperor issued a proclamation from his headiiuartcrs at Vieunn, diciaring that the Noapijlitan dy- nasty bail ceased to reigu, and denouncing vcni,'! ancoon the royal family. Immediate- ly nftcr this threatening manifesto reached Naples, the Russian troops reembarked, and the British determined on retiring to Sicily, without waiting the arrival of the enemy. The crown of Naples was conferred on Joseph Buonaparte, who, being support- ed by a numerous French army, took pos- session of his kingdom on the 13th of Febru- ary 1806. The late king took refuge at Pa- lermo, where he was protected by the troops and fleet of Great Britain. As that part of the Neapolitan territories called Calabria persisted in opposing the invaders, sir J. Stuart, commander of the British forces in Sicily, undertook an expe- dition for the purpose of restoring the legitimate sovereign. Having landed his troops, consisting of 4,800 men, he immedi- ately advanced to attack the French general Regnier, who occupied a strong position near the plains of Maida, with an army of 7,000 men ; but the British troops charged the enemy at the point of the bayonet, and obtained a glorious victory ; the enemy's loss being 4,000 men, killed, wounded, and prisoners, while that of the English was only 45 killed and 282 wounded 1 The battle of Maida led to the expulsion of the French from Calabria in less than a mouth; but such considerable reinforcements were re- ceived by Joseph Buonaparte, that the authority of the new monarch was estab- lished at Naples ; and the English being under the necessity of withdrawing their forces to the protection of Sicily, the Cala- brians were obliged to submit. Shortly ^ter this Buonaparte erected Holland into a kingdom, whicli he bestowed on his brother Louis ; whose mild adminis- tration, whilst it gained him the good-will and affection of his subjects, incensed hia despotic brother. He next subverted the Germanic constitution, and established the confederation of the Rhine ; of which he declared that he had taken on himself the office of ' protector.' These momentous transactions on the continent have necessarily interrupted our narration of those events which relate ex- clusively to Great Britain. An important acquisition was made by general Baird and sir Home Popham, who, after surmounting the most formidable obstacles, made them- selves masters of the Cape of Good Hope, on the loth of January, experiencing little resistance from the Dutch governor. This conquest was followed by the capture of three French ships of the line, part of a squadron that had escaped from theharbour of Brest, and which sir J. Duckworth for- tunately met with in the West Indies. But no event that took place, favourable or otherwise, was of equal importance to the death of Mr. Pitt, which happened on the 23rd of January. Excessive anxiety, application, and debility, added to the fail- ure of his plan for delivering Europe from French tyranny, accelerated his death ; and the last words which quivered on his lips were 'Oh, ray country!' By a vote of lEClje HLveKiur^ of iftjudoru, ^f- •IGO tlie commons, liis remains were intrrrcd f in Wcstminstor abbey, with the greatest solemnity, and a monument was erected to | him at the public expense. liy the same vote, his debts were discharged by th» ; public* Our limits and the plan of the work for- bid us to trench upon the province of the biograplier; but we may, perhaps, l>e ex- cused for insertinor a few additional lines, when recording the death of so eminent a statesman. Both in the commencement of the war, and in his internal policy, Mr. Pitt was controlled by circumstances. 'He perceived,' says bisliop Tomline, 'the for- midable cooperation of external and in- ternal enemies ; but the former could not be effectually resisted except by open war, nor the latter without coercive acts of the legislature ; and he was persuaded that nei- ther of these expedients, exclusive of his own earnest wish not to have recourse to them, would beapproved till their necessity i was obvious and incontestable.' It has been frequently objected to him, that he made his principles subordinate to his ambition, and that 'he lent himself to the corrupt agencies of a war-faction whom a long course of lavish expenditure raised into an almost irresistible influence.' Yet it is ad- mitted that 'he was favourable to every species of domestic reform ; there was no abuse in the church, nor in the revenue de- partment, nor in the laws affecting the dif- ferent religionists, nor even in parliament- ar>- representation, to the removal of which he was not friendly.* He was rigidly just and strictly moral. Self-reliance, boldness, lofti- ness, and perseverance, were the qualities that marked the outset and progress of his career : the whole of his actions being par- ticularly distinguished by constancy and .steadiness, a pride of superiority arising from the consciousness of superior talents, and an unsullied integrity. His eloquence was always powerful, logical, and persua- sive : he had a perfect command of language, and in the arrangement of his matter he was lucid and natural. This great man died in the4rth year of his age ; at a period, too, when such a master-mind seemed to be more than ever needed to counteract the vast designs and imiversal despotism of the tyrant of the continent. Soon after the decease of 3Ir. Pitt, his colleagues in office unanimously resigned their employments, and a new ministry was formed, the chief members of which were lord Grenville, first lord of the treasury ; Mr. Fox, secretary of state for foreign af- fairs ; and Mr. Erskine (created a peer1, lord high chancellor. Kegotiations for a treaty of peace were immediately opened, and from the cordiality with which the two governments commenced their proceed- ings, the most happy consequences were anticipated ; but it soon appeared that the immoderate ambition of the French ruler excluded for the present all hopes of an accommodation. » Pitt was, at the least, careless in the manage- ment of his private affairs. See Lord Stanhope's L'fi o/Pilt. A measure which will forever reflect glory upim the British nation was brought about by the new administration : we mean, the abolition of the .slave trade. The bill was introduced l>y Mr. Fox, and mil wit list rinding the oppi'sitioii it encountn-cil frcnn those who were interested in it^ contiiitiance, it passed through both houses with a great majority. This distinguished act of hu- manity was, in fact, one of his last mea- sures. This celebrated and much-respected statesman died at Chiswickhouse, in his 59th year, on the 13th of September. Like his great rival, the late premier, he gave early indications of superior capacity, and, like him, he was educated for political life. He was certainly one of the most eminent statesmen and distinguished assertors of public freedom that have ever appeared in England. As an orator, his powers were gigantic ; his eloquence was forcible ; the simplicity and variety of his language emi- nently fitting him for debate. He was less copious and less persuasive than Mr. Pitt; yet he captivated his hearers by his forcible argitments, his convincing appeals to their reason, and his imposing earnestness. In his faults, which were not a few, he had no mixture of pride, deceit, hypocrisy, or des- potism. In his affections he was warm ; in his temper, kind and humane ; in his man- ners simple ; and in his disposition easy and unsuspecting. It is rather remarkable, that notwithstanding the irreconcilable oppo- sition between him and Mr. Pitt, he received similar honours from the representatives of the nation, and his remains were de- posited in Westminster-abbey, within a few inches of his political opponent. Wehave before spoken of the ill-feeling existing between Austria and Prussia, which had induced the latter to cultivate the friendship of France, to extend her influence and dominions in Germany, and to maintain a strict neutrality with the hostile powers. From this conduct, which for a certain time ensured the peace and en- tirety of Prussia, many advantages were ex- pected to result ; yet, at the same time, the military system of the nation declined, and its reputation had greatly decreased. After the battle of Austerliti, so fatal to the liber- ties of Europe, the king of Prussia became entirely subservient to the arbitrary will of Buonaparte ; and, being instigated by that powerful tyrant, he took possession of the electorate of Hanover, by which means he involved himself in a temporary war with Great Britain. A peace, however, was in a short time concluded ; and as his Prussian majesty was unable any longer to submit to the indignities imposed upon him, he en- tered into a confederacy with Great Britain, Russia, and Sweden. An instantaneous change took place in the conduct of the Prussian cabinet, the precipitancy of whose present measures could only be equalled by their former tardiness. The armies of the contending parties took the field early in Oc- tober, and after two engagements, in which the success was doubtful, a general battle took place at Jena on the 14th of th.at month. The French were posted along the Saale, their centre being at Jena. The CEttfllanU V^au^t al Mtuniioii^,— nego- tiate, but to light.' NdtwIthstamiliiK this repulse, similar overtures were made by rtuoiiaparte to the king of Prussia, and met with no better success. The we.ak state of the French army at this time seemed to pnmiise the allies a sjicedy and fortunate termination of the emitcst ; but the sur- render of n.inlzic tcitally cliHtiLTid the fare of affairs, and by siii'Plyini,' the French with arms and aninninition, enabled them to maintain a superiority. On the Hth of June a general engagement ensued at Fricdland, and the concentrated forces of the allies were repulsed with prodigious slaughter. On the 23rd of the same month an armistice was concluded ; andonthesth of July .a treaty of peace was signed at Tilsit, between the emperors of Fraiice and Russia, to which his Prussian majesty acceded on the following day. Tlie first interview between Buonaparte and the emperor Alexander took place on the 25tU of June, on a raft constructed for tliat purpose on the river Niemen, where two tents had been prepared for their re- ception. The two emperors landed from their boats at the same time, and embraced each other. A magnificent dinner was after- wards given by Napoleon's guard to those of Alexander and the king of Prussia ; when they exchanged uniforms, and were to be seen in motley dresses, partly French, partly Russian, and partly Prussian. The articles by which peace was granted to Russia were, under all circumstances, re- markably favourable. Alexander agreed to acknowledge the kings of Buonaparte's cre- ation, and the confederation of the Rhine. K.apoleon undertook to mediate a peace be- tween the Porte and Russia ; Alexander having undertaken to be the mediator be- tween France and England, or, in the event of his mediation being refused, to shut his portsagainst British commerce. Theterms imposed on the king of Prussia were marked by characteristic severity. The city of Dantzic was declared independent ; and all the Polish provinces, with Westphalia, were ceded by Prussia to the conqueror, by which means the king of Prussia was stripped of nearly half of his territories, and one third of his revenues. All his ports were likewise to be closed against England till a general peace. The unexampled infhience which Napo- leon had now acquired over the nations of Europe, to say nothing of that spirit of do- mination which he everywhere exercised, rendered it extremely improbable that Denmark would long preserve her neutra- lity ; nay, the English ministers had good reasons to believe that a ready acquiescence to the dictates of the French emperor would be found in the court of Copen- )iagen. As it was therefore feared that the Danish fleet would fall into the hands of the enemy, it was thought expedient to despatch a formidable armament to the Baltic, and to negotiate with the Danish government. The basis of the negotiation was a proposal to protect the neutrality of Denmark, on condition that its fleet should he deposited in the British ports till llie termiu.ition of the war with Framr. As this projiosal was rejected, and as the general conduct of the D.ancs betrayed their partiality for the French, the ar- mament, which consisted of 27 sail of the line and 20,01)0 land forces, under Iho command of admiral Oambler and lord Cathcart, made preparations for investing the city. A Ireniendous cannonadinLr Un 11 commenced. The cathedral, many piililic edillccs, and iirivate houses weredeftroyed, with the sacrifice of 2,000 lives. JYomthc! 2nd of September till the evening of tlie .5th, the conflagration was kept uji in dif- ferent places, when a considerable part of the city being consumed, and the remain- der threatened with speedy destruction, the general commanding the garrison sent out a flag of truce, desiring an armistirc, to afford time to treat for a capitulation. This being arranged, a mutu.il rest iinl ion of prisoners took place, and the U.anisiL fleet, consisting of 18 sail of the line and 15 frigates, together with all the naval stores, surrendered to his Britannic majes- ty's forces. The Danish government, how- ever, refused to ratify the capitulation, and issued a declarati dominions. In order to attain the fonm r of these objects, he, in November I8O6, is- sued at Berlin a decree by which the Bn tish islands were declared to be in a .staio of blockade, and all neutral vessels that traded to them without his consent were subject to capture and confiscation. This new mode of warfare excited, at first, the apprehensions of the British merchants; but the cabinet were resolved to retaliate, and accordingly issued the celebrated or- ders in council, by which France and all the powers under her influence were de- clared to be in a state of blockade, and all neutral vessels that should trade between the hostile powers, without touching at some port of Great Britain, were liable to be seized. These unprecedented measures were extremely detrimental to all neutral powers, especially to the Americans, who were the general carriers of colonial pro- duce. They, by way of retaliation, laid an embargo in all the ports of the Tnited States, and, notwithstanding the extinction of their commerce, long persisted in the measure. In the conduct pursued by Buonaparte with respect to Portugal, he resolved to act in such a manner as should either involve that nati(jn in a war with England, or would furnish him with a pretence for in- vading it. He accordingly required the court of Lisbon, 1st, to shut their ports against Great Britain; 2dly, to detain all Englishmen residing in Portugal; andadly, CFnQlanir.— I^oujSe of Sarun^tDtch.— (SeoiQe iM. 462 Id i-oiiliut to be restored after tlie peace, and the Hussian olTlrrrs and men to lie conveyed lionie in Knclisli transports. Tlie c.Miv.'iilion cf ('Intra brini,- i^irrird Into etT.ct, llie Itritisli f..r,-cs a.lvanced to Lisbon, and liaving reniaiiieii In llKit city about two months, proceeded in different divisions towards Salamanca, in Spain. In the meantime, an army of 13,1)00 men, nndcr sir David I5aird, Iinvliip I.'indcd at Corunna, was niarchini; lhronf,'h tlie nor- thern part of I'ortiit'nl towards the snnie point. BuonajKirte liavin.Lr, with an im- mense army, entered Spain, in order to conduct the operations of the war, the patriot troops, under Belvidere, Blake, and Castanos, were successively defeated, and Napoleon entered Madrid in triumph. Sir John Moore, the comniander-in-cjiief of the British army, being unable to keep the field in the presence of an enemy so much superior in numbers, while his own troops were suffering dreadfully from hunger and fatigue, retreated, in the midst of winter, through a desolate and mountainous coun- try, made almost impassable by snow and rain ; yet he effected his retreat with great rapidity and judgement, and arrived at Co- runna Jan. 11, 1809. Soult took up a position above the town in readiness to make an at- tack as soon as the troops should liegin to embark. On the 16th, the operation hav- ing begun, the enemy descended in four columns, when sir John Moore, in bringing up the guards where the lire was most de- structive, received a mortal wound from a cannon-ball. General Baird being also disabled, the command devolved on sir John Hope, under whom the troops bravely continued the fight till nightfall, when the French retreated with the loss of 2,000 men, and offered no further molestation. The loss of the English in this battle was stated at between seven and eight hundred men ; but their total loss in this arduous expedition was little less than 0,000, with their brave and noble commander, whose soldierly skill and general high qualities fully entitled him to the respect and admi- ration in which he was universally held. A.D. 1809. — The most vigorous exertions were now made by the French for the cora- l>letesul)jugation of Spain. Having defeated and dispersed several bodies of the Spanish troops, the enemy sat down before Sara- gossa, and made themselves masters of it, after a desperate and sanguinary assault. The French army then entered Portugal, under marshal Soult, duke of Dalmatia, and took Oporto. On the arrival of ano- ther British armament, consisting of above 30,000 men, under generals Wellesley and Beresford, Soult was obliged to retire from Portugal with considerable loss. Sir Ar- tliur Wellesley advanced with rapidity into Spain, and having united his troops with a Spanish army of 38,00<3 men, under gene- ral Cuesta, they marched on Bladrid. On the 26th of July general Cuesta's advanced guard was attacked by a detachment of the enemy, and, as a general engagement was daily e.xpected, sir Arthur Wellesley took a strong po.sitlon at Talavera. On the fol- lowing day a very obstinate engagement commenced, which was continued with various success till tlie evening of the 2aili, when the enemy retreated, leaving behiiid them seventeen pieces of ciiuion. Tiif battle was most severe, the Kn^lisli loslni,' in killed, wounded, and missing, (),uoo mrn ; while the loss on the part of the Frcnili was estimated at 10,000. For the great skill and bravery displayed in this action sir Arthur "Wellesley was created a peer, with the title of viscount Wellington. The Frincli .army w.as commanded by Victor and Seliastiani; but soon afterwards, the junction of Soult, Ney, and Mortier, in Un- rear of the English, compelled them to fall back on Badajoz, and Cuesta remained In Spain to check the enemy's progress. Austria, stimulated by what was passing' in Spain, had once more attempted to as- sort her independence; and Buonaparte had left the peninsula soon after the battli of Corunna, in order to conduct in person the war which was thus renewed in Ger- many. Hostilities bad been declared on tin- 6th of April, when the archduke CliarUs Issued a spirited address to the army pre- paratory to his opening the campaign. Tlie whole Austrian army consisted of nine corps, in each of which were from 30,oon to 40,000 men. Buonaparte, in addition to the French corps, now congregated under his standard Bavarians, Saxons, and Poles ; and such was his celerity of movement, and the impetuosity of his troops, that in the short space of one month he crippled the forces i if Austria, and took possession of ATenna on the 13th of May. On the 21st and 22nd of tlic same month the archduke Charles, who had taken his position on the left bank of thr Danube, engaged Buonaparte between the villages of Aspeme and Essling, and com- pletely defeated him, compelling him to retire to Loban, an island on the Danube. The Austrians were, however, so mucli weakened by this battle, as to be unable to follow up their success ; and both annles re- mained inactive till the 4th of July, when Buonaparte having been greatly reinforced, relinquished his situation, amidst a violent torrent of rain, and drew up his forces in order of battle on the extremity of the Austrian left wing. The allies were greatly disconcerted by this unexpected movement, and being obliged to abandon the stroncr position which they held, an engagement commenced near Wagram, under every dis- advantage, when the French were victo- rious, and the Austrians retreated towards Bohemia. A suspension of hostilities was soon afterwards agreed on, wliich was fol- lowed by a treaty of peace, concluded at Schonhrun, on the 15th of October ; by which the emperor of Austria was compelled to cede several of his most valuable pro- vinces, to discontinue his Intercourse with the court of London, and to close his ports against British vessels. In the course of the summer was fitted out with great secrecy one of the most for- midable armaments ever sent from the shores of England. It consisted of an army of 40,000 men, and a fleet of 39 sail of mxsimtS.—'^auSt 0f ISruttglMtcli.— ri)Ioiigiii(a; the cuiitist, and induced him to accelerate tlic conclu- sion of peace. Tlie treaty was consequently signed at Client, Dec. 24. A.D. 1815.— We now resume our brief narrative of the events which were occur- ring on the other side of the English chan- nel. Louis XVIII. devoted his allenlion to the reestalilishment of order in the government, and endeavoured, hyevery kind and conciliatory act, to soothe the animosi- ties that still rankled in the hosonis of the royalists, republicans, and Buonap,irtists. The new constitution, which was modelled upon that of England, was readily accepted by the senate and legislative body. The conscription was abolished ; the unsold property of the emigrants was restored to theni^ the shops, which, during the re- public and the reign of Buonaparte, had always remained open on Sundays, were now ordered to be closed : and the liberty of the press was restricted within proper limits. A congress of the allied powers was now held at Vienna for the purpose of making such political and territorial regulations as should effectually restore the equilib- rium of power, and afford a more certain prospect of permanent tranquillity. But a state of tranquillity was not so near as their sanguine wishes contemplated. An event happened before their deliberations ■were brought to a conclusion,which made it necessary for them to lay by their pen, and once more take up the sword. The restless and intriguing spirit of Xapoleon was not to be confined to the island of Elba ; and the i allied armies were no sooner withdrawn from France than he meditated a descent on its coast. He accordingly took advan- tage of the first opportunity that offered of quitting the island, attended by the ofHccrs and troops who had followed him thither, with many Corsicans and Elbese, and land- ed at Cannes, in Provence, on the 1st of March. The news of his landing was instantly conveyed to Paris, and large bodies of troops were sent to arrest his progress, and make him prisoner : but Louis was sur- rounded by traitors ; the army regretted the loss of their chief who had so often led them to victory ; they forgot his base desertion of their comrades in the moment of peril ; and doubted not that his return would efface their late disgrace, and restore tliem to that proud preeminence from which they had fallen. At his approach, the armies that had been sent to oppose him openly declared in his favour ; and he pursued his journey to Paris, augmenting his numbers at every step, till all resistance on the part of the king was deemed useless. On reach- ing the capital, he was received by the Inconstant multitude with acclamations as loud as those which so recently had greeted thearrival of Louis. Such is the instability of what is termed popular favour I The unfortunate king retired first to Lisle, and then to Ghent. When the allied sovereigns were inform- ed that Napoleon had broken his engage- ments, aiid saw that his bad faith was fully equal to his ambition, they published a declaration, to the effect that Buona- parte, having violated the convention, had forfeited every claim to public favour, and would henceforth be considered only .■)s an outlaw. In answer to this, he pul)- lished a counter-declaraticm, asserting that he was recalled to the throne by the unani- mous voice of the nation, and that he was resolved to devote the remainder of his life in cultivating the arts of peace. In the meantime, preparations for war were made by all the allied powers. The English, whose army, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, was at this time In the Netherlands, resolved not to leave the man they had once conquered in quiet possession of the throne of France, and every engine was put in motion to re- assemble the troops. Buonaparte, likewise, actively prepared for the contest that was to decide his fate. He collected together all the disposable forces of France, and led them towards the Netherlands, hoping to arrive before fresh troops could come to the aid of the English and Prussians, and thus defeat them and get possession of Brussels. The army under the immediate direction of the French emperor, including the corps of Grouchy, amounted to upwards of 150,(X)0 men, with 330 pieces of cannon. In an order of the day, issued the llth of June, he said, ' the moment has arrived for every Frenchman who has a heart, to conquer or perish.' The allied troops in Flanders were yet quiet in their cantonments. The Prus- so-Saxon army formed the left, the Anglo- Belgian army the right. The former was 115,000 strong, commanded by the veteran Blucber; the latter about 80,000, com- manded by the duke of Wellington, whose headquarters were at Brussels ; those of Blucher were at Namur, about sixteen leagues distant. On the loth of June the memorable campaign of 1815 was begun, by Napoleon driving in the advanced posts of the Prus- sians on the river Sambre : whilst marshal Ney crossed the river at Marchiennes, re- pulsed the Prussians, and drove back a Bel- gian brigade to Quatre-Bras. In the even- ing, at eleven o'clock, the duke of Welling- ton (who together with the duke of Brunswick, and the principal officers then in Brussels, were participating in the festi- vities of a ball given ny the duchess of Richmond,) received a despatch from marshal Blucher, informing him that Buonaparte was on his march to Brus- sels, at the head of 150,000 men. Orders were immediately issued f(jr assembling the troops. On the 16th was fought the battle of Ligny, in which Blucher was defeated, and forced to retreat to Wavre, having narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. On the same day the duke of Wellington had directed his whole army to advance on Quatre-Bras, with the intention of succouring Blucher, but was himself attacked by a large body of cavalry and infantry, before his own cavalry had join- ed. In the meantime the English, under sir Thomas Picton, with theBeIgians,under ffinglanlr.— ?§ou)S0 of Brunitufcit.— (©torgc Mi. 473 the duke of Brunswick, liad to sustain the impetuous attacks of the French, com- manded by marshal Ney, who was eventu- ally repulsed, though with consideraljle loss. In this action fell the gallant duke of Brunswick, who was universally and de- servedly lamented.— The whole of the 17th was employed in preparations for the event- ful battle that ensued. The retreat of Blucher's army to Wavre rendered it necessary for Wellington to make a corresponding retrograde move- ment, in order to keep up a communica- tion with the Prussians, and to occupy a position in front of the village of Water- loo. Confronting the position of the allies was a chain of heights, separated by a ravine, half a mile in breadth. Here Na- poleon arrayed his forces ; and having rode through the lines and given his last or- ders, he placed himself on the heights of Kossome, whence he had a complete view of the two armies. About a quarter before eleven o'clock the battle began by a fierce attack on the British division posted at Hougoumont ; it was taken and retaken several times, the English guards bravely defending and eventually remaining in possession of it. At the same time the French kept an inces- sant cannonade against the whole line, and made repeated charges with heavy masses of cuirassiers, supported by close columns of infantry; which, except in one instance, when the farm of La Haye Sainte was forced, were uniformly repulsed. Charges and countercharges of cavalry and infantry followed with astonishingpertinacity. The brave sir Thomas Picton was shot at the head of his division : a grand charge of British cavalry then ensued, which for a moment swept everything before it ; but, assailed in its turn by masses of cuirassiers and Polish lancers, it was forced back, and in the desperate encounter sir William Ponsonby and other gallant officers were slain. Soon after this, it is said, the duke felt himself so hard pressed, that he was heard to say, ' Would to God night or Blucher would come I' As the shades of evening approached, it appeared almost doubtful whether the troops could much longer sustain the unequal conflict; but at this critical moment the Prussian can- non was heard on the left. Buonaparte immediately despatched a force to hold them in check ; while he brought forward the imperial guards, sustained by the best regiments of horse and foot, amid shouts of Vive I'empereur, and flourishes of mar- tial music. At this moment, the duke of Wellington brought forward his whole line of infantry supported by the cavalry and artillery, and promptly ordered his men to ' charge I ' This was so unexpected by the enemy, and so admirably performed by the British troops, that the French fled as though the whole army were panic-stricken. Napoleon, perceiving the recoil of his co- lunms on all sides, exclaimed, ' It is all over,' and retreated with all possible speed. The French left the field in the utmost confusion and dismay, abandoning above one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. They were pursued by the victors till long after dark, when the British, exhausted by fatigue, halted ; the Prussians, therefore, continued the pursuit, and nothing could be more complete than the discomfiture of the routed army : not more than 40,000 men, partly without arms, and carrying with them only twenty-seven pieces out of their numerous artillery, made their re- treat through Charleroi. The loss of the allies was great ; that of the British and Hanoverians alone amounted to 13,000. Two generals and four colonels were among the killed ; nine generals and five colonels were wounded : among them was lord ITx- bridge, who had fought gallantly, and was wounded by almost the last shot that was filed by the enemy. Such is the general, though necessarily meagre, outline of the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo ; evinc- ing one of the noblest proofs upon record of British valour, and of the talents of a great national commander. Buonaparte returned to Paris, in the gloominess of despair, and admitted that his army was no more. The partisans of Louis looked forward to the restoration of the Bourbons ; another party desired a republic ; while the Buonapartists showed their anxiety to receive Napoleon's abdi- cation, and to make Maria Louisa empress- regent during her son's minority. Mean- while the representatives of the nation declared their sittings permanent ; and some of the members having boldly as- serted, that the unconditional abdication of Buonaparte could alone save the state, the declaration was received with applause, and the fallen emperor was persuaded once moie to descend from his usurped throne. A commission was appointed to repair to the allied armies with proposals of peace, but the victors had formed a reso- lution not to treat but under the walls of Paris. The duke of Wellington then addressed a proclamation to the French jic'ople, stating that he had entered the coun- try not as an enemy, except to the usurper, with whom there could be neither peace nor truce, but to enable them to throw off the yoke by which they were oppressed. Wellington and Blucher continued their march to Paris with little opposition, and on the 30th it was invested. The heights about the city were strongly fortified, and it was defended by 50,000 troops of the line, besides national guards and volun- teers. On the 3rd of July, marshal Da- voust, the French commander, concluded a convention with the generals-in- chief of the allied armies, who stipulated that Paris should be evacuated in three days by the French troops; all the fortified posts and barriers given up; and no individual prosecuted for his political opinion or con- duct. The provisional government now retired; and on the 6th Louis made his public entry into Paris, where he was hailed by his fickle subjects with cries of Vive le roi 1 The military, however, though beaten into submission, were still stubborn ; and it required some time and address to make them acknowledge the sovereignty of the Bourbons. 476 fS^^t (ITrrjuturj? of ^iitor^, Sec. Buonaparte In the me:iiitiinc had riMched the port of Roclicfort in safety, fmni whence he anxiously hoped to escape to Anicrica ; but finding It impossible to elude the Bri- tish cruisers, he went on board the Belle- rophon, one of the vessels blockading tlio coast, and surrendered himself to captain Maitland. Prior to this, he had sought to stipulate for a free passage, or to surrender on condition of being allowed to reside In England, in honourable exile; but neither ; proposal could be listened to: the allied I powers, aware of his restless and intri- gruing disposition, had determined upon the island of St. Helena as his future resi- dence, and that there he should be kept under the strictest guard. The Bellero- phon proceeded to Turbay: Napoleon w.is transferred to the Northumberland, com- manded by admiral sir G. Cockburn, and, attended by some of his most attached friends and domestics, he in due course reached his ultimate destination ; but not without violently protesting against the injustice of his banishment, after having thrown himself upon the hospitality of the British nation. Murat, the brother-in-law of Napoleon, having joined the allies when he found the career of his friend and patron growing to a close, rejoined him again on his return from Elba; but having been driven from the throne of Naples, he joined a band of desperadoes, and landed in Calabria ; where, being speedily overcome and taken, he was instantly shot. Marshal Ney (who had promised Louis to bring Napoleon, ' like a wild beast in a case to Paris') and colonel Labedoyere, suffered for their treachery ; but Lavalette, who was sen- tenced to the same fate, escaped from pri- son, disguised in his wife's clothes; and hy the assistance of sir Robert Wilson, Mr. Hutchinson, and Mr. Bruce, got out of the country undiscovered. A congress was held at Vienna, and seve- ral treaties between the allied powers and France were finally adjusted (Nov. 201. The additions made to the French terri- tory by the treaty of 1814 were now res- cinded; seventeen of the frontier fortified towns and cities of France were to be gar- risoned by the allies for five years ; 150,000 troops, as an army of occupation, under the duke of Wellington, were to be main- tained for the same space of time ; and a sum of 900,000,000 francs was to be paid as an indemnity to the allies. It was further agreed, that all the works of art which had been plundered by the French from other countries should be restored. Thus the master-pieces of art deposited in the gallery of the Louvre (the Venus de Medicis, the Apollo Belvidere, &c. &c.) were reclaimed hy their respective owners — an act of stem justice, but one which excited the utmost indignation among the Parisians. In order to secure the peace of Germany, an act of confederation was concluded be- tween its respective rulers ; every member of which was free to form what alliances he pleased, provided they were such as could not prove injurious to the general safety; and in case of one prince being attacked, all the rest were bound to arm in his defence. Thus ended this long and sanguinary warfare; the events of which were so rapid and aiipalllng, and their consequences so mighty and unlooked-for, that future ages will be tempted to doubt the evidence of facts, and to believe that the history of the nineteenth century is interwoven with and embellished by the splendour of fiction. A.D. 1816.— It has been justly observed, that it w.as only after the storm had sub- sided that England became sensible of the wounds received in her late tremendous struggle. One of the first results of peace was an enormous diminution in the war expenditure of the government. During tlie last five years of the war, the public expenditure averaged 108,720,000!. During the first five years of peace it averaged 64,600,000?. Peace thus caused an immediate reduction of nearly fifty millions in the amount of money expended by government in the support of domestic industry. Tran- sitions, whether from peace to war or war to peace, invariably produce derangements, if not aggregate loss, in the economical relations of the community. In the first, there is the abandonment of various pro- jects of improvement, as roads, canals, bridges, and buildings; and of undertakings in commerce, agriculture, and manufac- tures, that depend on a low rate of interest, and moderate price of labour: in the last, are the derangements just referred to, of soldiers and seamen discharged, foreign colonies relinquished, manufactures, suited to a state of war, suspended, workmen and capital put out of employment, and the public loaded with enormous debts, and the maintenance of reduced placemen, and naval and military supernumeraries. In times of industrial prosperity the masses take little interest in public affairs ; their differences are with their employers. En- couraged by the demand for latjour, they seek by combination to extort higher wages. The struggle continues till high prices and overstocked markets produce a mercantile revulsion ; then workmen are discharged, wages lowered, and masters recover their ascendency. It is in this stage of depres- sion that workmen begin to listen to repre- sentations of public grievances. While the popular excitement lasts the propert.v- classes keep aloof, having no wish to countenance opinions incompatible with their present immunities; and the aristo- cratic politicians of all parties either com- bine against the common enemy, or suspend the agitation of their mutual differences. This was the state of the country in 1816 : in the metropolis and in the northern coun- ties there were vast assemblages of people in the open air, but they were unattended by the rich and iufluential. Working men called the meetings, drew up resolutions, and made speeches, setting forth the evils of non-representation, of long wars, of the pressure of taxes levied on the in- dustrious, to be squandered in extravagant salaries, sinecures, and unmerited pensions —for all which the remedy prescribed was a RADICAL KEFORM Of the liouse of com- enslaulf.— I^ouie of iSrun^tofclt.— ression on the public ; and though none of his motions were carried, the attention of ministers was thereby directed to the gradual diminution of the enormous ex- pense incurred in the different public ofllces, wherever it could be done without detriment to the public service. The anticipated coronation was now the all-absorbing topic. Tin' queen having, by memorial to the king, claimed a right to be crowned, her counsel were heard in support of her claim, and the attorney and solici- tor-general against it. The lords of the council, having given the subject a long deliberation, decided that queens-consort were not entitled to the honour— a decision which the king was pleased to approve. The 19th of July was the day appointed for the ceremony, preparations for which had long been making ; and nothing more magnificent can be imagined than the ap- pearance of Westminster-abbey and West- minster-hall. It had been currently re- ported that the queen would be present as a spectator of the scene ; and so it proved : but no preparation had been made for her reception, and, not having an admission- ticket, she had to bear the indignity of a refusaj, and was obliged to retire! The king arrived at ten, and the procession immediately moved from the hall towards the abbey, his majesty walking under a canopy of cloth of gold supported by the barons of the cinque-ports, among whom was Mr. Brougham, the queen's legal ad- viser and leading counsel 1 The ancient solemnity of the coronation in Westmin- ster-abbey occupied about five hours; and when the king reentered the hall, with the crown on his head, he was received with enthusiastic cheers. The expenses of the coronation amounted to 238,000i. The queen died August the 7th, aged 52 ; leaving the world, as she herself de- clared, without regret. Her body lay in state at Brandenburg-house, her villa near Ham- mersmith ; and, on the 19th, it was con- veyed through Loudon, on its way to Harwich, the port of embarkation for its final resting place at Brunswick. But, as though indignities and tumults were to follow her to the grave, a fracas took place between the populace and the military who formed the escort. Countless multitudes had assembled to join in the procession : and when it was discovered that a circuitous route had been prescribed for the funeral train, in order to avoid passing through the streets of the metropolis, the indigna- tion of the people knew no bounds, and in an afiray with the guards two lives were lost. By obstructing and barricading the streets, however, the people at length suc- ceeded in forcing the procession through the city, and the royal corpse was hurried with indecent haste to the place of embar- kation, on the 24th of August the remains of the queen reached Brunswick, and were deposited in the family vault of her ances- tors. At the time of the queen's death, his majesty was making a visit to Ireland, whitUer he had gone with the laudable but eFitfllantf.— ^0tt^c of aSrunsiotcft.— (Scorfle iW, 481 fallacious hope that his presence would allay the factious spirit of his Irish sub- jects. On returning from Ireland, his ma- jesty expressed his intention of visiting Hanover. Having appointed lords-justices to administer the government during his absence, he embarked at Ramsgate and landed at Calais, September the 24th ; en- tered his German dominions October the 5th ; and on the 11th made his public entrance into the capital, drawn by eight milk-white horses. Public rejoicings and festivals attended his sojourn ; and, having laid aside the title of elector for that of king, he gratified his loyal subjects with the sight of another coronation, though on a less superb scale. On the 8th of the fol- lowing month his majesty was again domi- ciled in Carlton-palace. We shall now turn for a moment to notice .■some events of importance, though not connected with the domestic history of Great Britain. The first is the death of Napoleon Buonaparte, who died of cancer in the stomach, aged 51. The disease was constitutional, but it had probably been accelerated by mental agitation and the tropical climate of St. Helena. Those who wish to know the character of this extraordinary man must read it in his actions, under the various and varying as- pects of his fortune. His aim was to aston- ish and aggrandise : to uphold or trample upon right and justice, as best suited the object he had in view. Before his love of universal domination every other passion and principle was made to give way; reli- gion, honour, truth— all were sacrificed to personal ambition. In his will he expressed a wish that ' his ashes might repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom he loved so well.' That wish has since been gratified by a Bourbon 1 In Spain, Portugal, and Naples, a sort of revolutionary crisis had commenced. En- couraged by the discontents of the middle ranks, the troops, under the Influence of lUegot and oth er gallant otBcers, succeeded in making Ferdinand swear fidelity to the constitution of 1812. Similar conduct was pursued by the people of Portugal, whose declared otijects were the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. And in Naples tlie popular mind took the same direction, and effected the same object. A.D. 1822.— The year 1823, though not marked by any great event, foreign or domestic, was one of much interest as re- garded the number of important questions discussed In parliament. Among the lead- ing subjects of debate were agricultural distress in England, arising from a super- abundant supply and consequent low prices, and the scarcity and distress in Ireland, which, from the prevalence of agrarian out- rage and other causes, amounted to posi- tive famine. Some changes during January took place in the cabinet ; ministers having strengthened themselves by a miion with the Grenville party ; and lord Sidmouth re- tired from his office of home secretary, to make room for Mr. Peel. On the 5th of February the king opened parliament, and took the occasion to ex- press his regret that his visit to Ireland had failed to produce tranquillity. He also admitted that agriculture had to contend with unexpected difflculties, but congra- tulated the house on the prosperity which attended the manufactures and commerce of the country. The state of Ireland did indeed demand the most serious attention of the legisla- ture. On one hand, coercive measures were necessary to repress the wild disorder that reigned throughout the island ; for owing to the daring nocturnal bands of White- boys, &c., neither life nor property was safe. On the other hand, so universal was the failure of the potato crop, that the price was quadrupled, and the peasantry of the south were in a state of actual starvation. To meet the former evil, it was found necessary to suspend the habeas corpus act, and to renew the insurrection act. To alleviate the latter, a committee was formed in London, and corresponding committees in different parts of the country. British sympathy was no sooner appealed to than it was answered with zealous alacrity ; and such was the benevolence of individuals, that large funds were speedily at their dis- posal ; so that before the close of the year the subscriptions raised in Great Britain for the relief of the distressed Irish amounted to 350,000!.; parliament made a grant of 300,000;. more; and in Ireland the local sub- scriptions amounted to 150,000!.; making altogether a grand total of 800,000J. From the beginning of the year to the end of the session in August, the houses of parliament were almost incessantly occu- pied on questions of the highest import- ance ; agricultural distress, for which vari- ous remedial measures were proposed ; lord John Russell's plan for a parliamentary re- form ; Mr. Vansittart's scheme for relieving tlie immediate pressure of what was called the ' dead weight ; ' the currency question, which referred to the increased value of money caused by Mr. Peel's act of 1819, for the resumption of cash-payments; the im- provement of the navigation laws, &c. Parliament was prorogued on the 6th of August ; and on the 10th the king em- barked at Greenwich fur Scotland. On the 15th he landed at Leith, and on the 19th held a levee in the ancient palace of Holy- rood, where he appeared in the Highland costume. Having enjoyed the festivities which his loyal subjects of Edinburgh pro- vided for the occasion, he reembarked on the 27th, and In three days was again with his lieges in London. During his majesty's absence the unwel- come intelligence was brought to him of the death of the marquis of Londonderry, secretary of state for the foreign depart- ment. 'This nobleman, who for some years had been the leading member of govern- ment, was in his 54th year ; and in a tem- porary fit of Insanity committed suicide, by cutting the carotid artery. In consequence of his tory principles and the share he took in effecting the union with Ireland, he was the most unpopular member of the admi- nistration ; but he was highly respected T T 482 acfft CrcaiSMrD of W^iorn, &c. in private life, and eiijojcd the personal esteem of his sovereign. Little else of domestic Interest occurred this year; but a few words relative to foreign affairs are perhaps requisite. The congress at Verona terminated In Decem- ber : the allied sovereigns were disposed to reestablish the despi>tism of I«'enlinaud in Spain, in opposition to the corus ; but to this policy England objeeted, denying the right of foreign powers to Interfere in the affairs of the peninsula. The 'sanitary cordon,' established on the frontiers of France for the avowed purpose of prevent- ing the fever which raced at Barcelona from spreading to that country, changed its name to an ' army of observation,' while the designs of the French government to check the progress of revolutionary princi- ples in Spain were developed, and, indeed, soon afterwards openly expressed. A.D. 1823.— On the death of lord Lon- donderry, Mr. Canning, who was about to set out to India as governor-general, relin- quished that employment, andacceptedthe vacant secretaryship, as one more congenial to his taste, and for the duties of which he was supposed to be perfectly efficient. The new year prssented more cheering prospects than any which had for a long time preceded it ; the foreign demand for goods of English manufacture kept the cot- ton, silk, and woollen factories at work, and greatly benefited others, particularly the hardware and cutlery businesses. Those engaged in the shipping interest, also, participated in the general improve- ment. But it was not so with regard to the agriculturists ; and during the mouth of January no less than sixteen county meetings were called to take into consi- deration tlie causes of their distresses. The usual topics — parliamentary reform, remission of taxes, a commutation of tithe, a depreciation of the currency, &c.— were generally suggested ; and in some instan- ces, where Mr. Cobbett and his support- ers had sufficient influence, resolutions of a more ultra-radical kind were carried. These were pretty much of the same staple commodity as are still hawked about on similar occasions : namely, an appropria- tion of part of the church property; the extinction of tithes ; the sale of the crown lands ; the abolition of sinecures and pen- sions ; a reduction of the standing army ; the repeal of a variety of taxes ; and an equitable adjustment of contracts. Some popular changes now took place in the ministr}'. Mr. Vausittart, chancellor of the exchequer, resigned in favour of Mr. Robinson, and accepted the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancashire, with a seat in the upper house and the title of lord Bex- ley; and Mr. Huskisson was made presi- dent of the board of trade, in the room of Mr. Arbuthnot. Parliament was prorogued by commission on the 19th of July ; a great mass of business having occupied the at- tentiou of the members, and much alter- cation having taken place between Mr. Canning and his political opponents, who plainly convinced hiin that he was not ' reposing on a bed of roses.' But he had the satisf.action, at the close of the session, of dwelling on the flourishing condition of all branches of commerce and manufac- tures, and a consideraljle abatement of the dlfllculties felt by the agriculturists at Its commencement. In April, the French army of observation crossed the Pyrenees; and the duke of Angouleme, its commander, published an address to the Spaniards, declaratory of the objects of this interijosition In their affairs: defining it to be, the suppression of the revolutionary faction which held the king captive, that excited troubles in France, and produced an insurrection in Naples and Picilnioiit. They then marched onward, and, without meeting any resist- ance of consequence, occupied the prin- cipal tottTis and fortresses. In October the city of Cadiz surrendered ; and French in- terference terminated with the liberation of Ferdinand from the cortes, who in all their movements had carried the unwilling king with them. The French then retraced their steps, leaving, however, 40,000 troops in possession of the fortresses, to maintain the authority of the Spanish king In case of a reaction. A.D. 1824.— Favourable as the political aspect of Great Britain appeared at the com- mencement of 1823, there was now an evi- dent improvement in almost every branch of commercial industry ; while the cultivators of the soil found their condition materially assisted by natural causes, without the aid of legislatorial interference. It was there- fore a pleasing task for Mr. Robinson, when he brought forward his budget, to describe in glowing terms the general prosperity of the country, and declare his intention of effecting an annual saving of 375,000?. by reducing the interest of the four per cent, stock to three and a half. In short, it was evident that there were too many symptoms of a return to a healthful state for the most sceptical cavillers to contradict. But a course of prosperity in England, like true love's course, ' never did run smooth' for any length of time. There was now an abundance of capital, and money was ac- cordingly to be had at low rates of in- terest. Sale investments were difficult to be found at home : hence foreign loans were encouraged, till there was scarcely a state in the Old or New "World which had not the benefit of English capital. It was a rare era too for the gambling specula- tions of a host of needy adventurers ; and under pretext of having discovered advan- tageous modes of employing money, the most absurd schemes were daily set afloat to entrap the avaricious and unwary. Many of these devices, however, were so obvi- ously dishonest, that the legislature at length interfered to guard the public against a species of robbery in which the dupes were almost as much to blame as their plunderers. A resolution passed the house of lords declaring that no bill for the purpose of incoi-porating any joint- stock company would be read a second time till two-thirds of the proposed capi- tal of the company had been subscribed. This bill certainly checked such onerationa dEiiSlanXf.— I^ouie of Mvuniioitk,— Hearst 483 for a time ; but the evil had been allowed to proceed too far, as further experience proved. A convention between Great Britain and Aiistria was laid on the table of the house of commons, by which the former agreed to accept 2,5OO,000i. as a final compensation for claims on the latter power, amounting to 30,000,000i. — a composition of one shil- ling and eight-pence in the pound I A.D. 1825.— One of the first steps in legis- lation this year was an act to suppress the Catholic Association of Ireland. Daniel O'Connell assumed to be the representiv tive and protector of the catholic popula- tion in that country, and continued to levy large sums from the people, under the al)- surd and hypocritical pretence of obtain- ing ' justice for Ireland.' Subsequently a committee of the lords sat to enquire into the general state of that country ; and in the evidence that came before them, it clearly appeared that the wretched state of existence to which the peasantry were reduced by landlords and sub-letters was greatly aggravated by their abject bondage to their own priests, and by the vicious mode in which tithes were collected ; but that while the arch-agitator and his satel- lites were allowed to inflame the passions of the people, and delude them into a be- lief that they were oppressed by their con- nection with Great Britain, no remedy within the power of the legislature pre- sented itself. We may here observe, by the way, that in the petitions that were presented to parliament in the preceding year, the catholics no longer placed eman- cipation in the front of their grievances, but demanded a reform in the temporalities of the Protestant church, a better regulation of juries, and the disf ranchisment of muni- cipal corporations. The catholic relief bill passed in the house of commons, but was rejected in the lords by a majority of 178 against 130. We have seen what astonishing imptiLse had been given to speculations of all kinds last year by the abundance of unemployed capital and the reduction of interest in funded property. The mania for joint^stoek companies was now become almost uni- versal. During the space of little more than a twelvemonth, 276 companies had been projected, of which the pretended capital was 174,114,050!. Though many of these were of an absurd character, and nearly all held out prospects that no sane man could expect to see realised, yet the shares of several rose to enormous prc- miinns, especially the mining adventures in South America. But a fearful reaction was at hand. Several country banks stopped payment in December, and among them the great Yorkshire bank of Wentworth and Co. A panic in the money market followed ; .and in a few days several London bank- ers were unable to meet the calls upon them. On the I2th of December the bank- ing-house of sir Peter Pole and Co. stopped payment. This caused great dismay in the city, it being understood that forty-seven country banks were connected with it. During the three following days five other London banking firms were compelled to close ; and in a very short space of time, in addition to the London houses, sixty- seven country banks failed or suspended their payments. Tlie abstraction of capital in mining and other speculations was now felt more severely than had been expected, even by those who had endeavoured to op- pose their progress. It was impossible to calculate when or where the evil would stop; but that thousands of families must in the end be ruined was inevitable. The principal merchants of the city of London, at the head of whom was Mr. Baring, feel- ing that something was necessary to be done to support credit and restore confi- dence, assembled at the mansion-house, and published a resolution to the effect that ' the unprecedented embarrassments were to be mainly attributed to an unfound- ed panic : that they had the fullest reli- ance on the banking establishments of the capital and country, and therefore deter- mined to support them, and public credit, to the utmost of their power.' In two days after this declaration, the Bank of England began to reissue one and two-pound notes for the convenience of the country circulation. For one week 150,000 sovereigns perd.ay were coined at the Mint ; and post-chaises were hourly despatched into the country to support the credit, and prevent the failure, of the provincial firms, which still maintained their ground. A.D. 1826.— The effects of the panic were long and most severely felt ; but it must he admitted that the Bank of England made strenuous eflEorts to mitigate pecuniary dis- tress, and the course pursued by goveim- ment was steady and judicious. The main ingredient in producing the mischief had been the great facility of creating fictitious money ; the ministers, therefore, prohibited the circulation of one-pound notes ; while incorporated companies were allowed to carry on the business of banking. Beyond this they could scarcely go ; it was next to impossible that they could alford an effec- tive guarantee against future panics, over- trading, or the insolvency of b.ankers. On the 2nd of February parliament was opened by commission. The royal speech adverted to the existing pecuniary distress, and showed that it was totally unconnected with political causes. It also alluded to measures in contemplation for the im- provement of Ireland. After sitting till the end of May, the parliament was dis- solved, and active preparations were made for a general election. Certain leading questions, which had been frequently discussed in p.arliament of late years, had now got such possession of the public mind, that, at most of the elec- tions, tests were offered and pledges requir- ed from the several candidates. The most important of these were catholic emanci- pation, the corn laws, and the slave trade ; and out of the members returned for Eng- land and Wales, 133 had never before sat in parliament. It was observed that now, for the first time, the catholic priests of Ireland openly began not only to take au 484 Cl)C CrcaSttrg of l^trftarg, &-c. active p:irt In elections, but to inculcate tlie doctrine, that opposition to an anti-catho- lic candidate was a christian duty. The English radicals were also extremely noisy and active in their endeavours to return Cobhett, Hunt, and others of that cliciue ; but for the present they were unsuccessful. The new parliament met on the 14th of November, and the session was opened by the king In person. No business of any great importance was brought before the house ; but an e.xposure of the numerous joint-stock companies that had been esta- blished was made by alderman Waithman. He obsen'ed that 600 had been formed, most of them for dishonest purpo.ses ; the directors forcing up or depressing the mar- ket as they pleased, and pocketing the dif- ference between the selling and buying prices. As certain members of the house, whom he named, were known to be direc- tors of some of these bubble companies, he moved for a committee of enquiry with reference to the part taken by members of parliament in the joint-stock mania of 1824-5-6. The enrjuiry, on the suggestion of Mr. Canning, was restricted to the Arigna mining company, of which Mr. Brogden had been a director. A few foreign occurrences claim our no- tice. The death of Alexander, emperor of Russia, a powerful ally of England, and a noble and benevolent prince, who sincerely desired the good of his people. It was his ■wish that his brother Nicholas should suc- ceed him ; and, in compliance with that wish, the grand duke Constantine, who was next heir to the thronr, publicly renounced his right to the succession in favour of his younger brother.— Also the death of John VI., king of Portugal and titular emperor of Brazil ; whither he had retired, with his court, on the invasion of Portugal by Buona- parte.— Missolonghi, the last asylum of the Greeks, taken by storm, by the combined Egyptian and Turkish forces, who, rendered furious by the bravery of the besieged, put all the males to the sword, and carried the women and children into slavery.— The de- struction of the Janissaries by Sultan Mah- moud, followed by an entire remodelling of the Turkish army and the introduction of European military discipline.— Remark- able coincidence in the deaths of two ex- pre-identsof the United States of America: Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson not only ex- piring on the same day, but that day (July 4), being the fiftieth anniversary of the de- claration of American independence. A.D. 1827. — We closed our last brief an- nual record with a notice of the deaths of two distinguished men on transatlantic ground; we are compelled to commence the present year with an account of the de- cease of an illustrious personage at home. His royal highness Augustus Frederick duke of York, presumptive heir to the throne, and commander-in-chief of the army, (at the head of which he had been thirty-two years, and under whose admi- nistration it had won Imperishable laurels,) died on the 5th of Jantiary, in the 64th year of his age. In person he was noble and Boldierlike ; indisposition, frank, amia- ble, and sincere ; in the discharge of his offlcial duties, impartial and exact ; and in attention to the comforts of the soldier, he was equalled by few, surpassed by none. The first topic of domestic Interest was the change of ministry which took place in consequence of lord Liverpool, the pre- mier, being suddenly disabled by a stroke of apoplexy, which, though he survived the attack nearly two years, terminated his public life. His lordship was free from in- trigue and partLsanship, and his offlcial ex- perience enabled him to take the lead in conducting the ordinary affairs of the go- vernment : but his oratorj' was common- place, and he was Incapable of vigorously handling the great questions which during his premiership agitated the country. Nearly two mouths elapsed before the vacancy occasioned by lord Liverpool's ill- ness was filled. The king then empowered Mr. Canning to form a new ministry, of which he wis to be the head ; and he ac- cordingly began to make his arrangements. But he met with almost insuperable diffi- culties ; for within forty-eight hours after he had received his majesty's commands, seven leading members of the cabinet— his former colleagues — refused to serve under him, and sent in their resignations. In this perplexity he waited on the king, who suspected that there was not only a confe- deracy against Mr. Caiming, but also a dis- position to coerce the royal will. The king was not, however, likely to withdraw his .support from the minister of his choice ; and ultimately a mixed administration (but chiefly tory), entered on the duties of office. Mr. Canning, premier ; earl of Harrowby, president ; duke of Portland, priiT seal ; viscount Dudley, foreign secretarj' ; Mr. Sturges Bourne, home secretary : Mr. Hus- kisson, board of trade ; Mr. C. Wynn, board of control ; viscount Palmerston, secretary at war ; lord Bexley, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster ; lord Lj-ndhurst, lord chan- cellor. Parliament met after the Easter recess ; and on thelst of June Mr. Canning brought forward the budget. The session was of short duration, and the greater part of the time was occupied by charges of political tergiversation which were bandied about, and the explanations which such charges necessarily elicited. The corn laws came in for a share of discussion ; as did also the law between debtor and creditor, the state of the court of chancery, and the game laws ; while Mr. Peel continued his exer- tions towards a consolidation of the crimi- nal statutes. On the 2nd of July parlia- ment was prorogued. A treaty which had for its object the pa- cification of Greece, by putting an end to the sanguinary contest between the Porte and its Grecian subjects, was signed at London, on the 6th of July, by the ministers of Great Britain, France, and Russia. From the hour that Mr. Canning under- took the office of premier he had been suf- fering under adegree of nervousexcitement which made visible inroads on his consti- tution ; but it was expected that a little repose during the parliamentary recess emlmts—Wu^t of 38rungto{tfi.-<§gorgg 485 would reiiivigoraLe him. Not so, liowever ; for on the 8th of August he expired, the Immediate cause of his dsath hemg an in- flammation of the kidneys. This highly gifted statesman, who was in the 57th year of his age, was not less remarkable for scholastic acquirements than for brilliant oratory and pungent wit ; weapons which lie often used with success in demohahing the more solid arguments of his opponents. In politics he was a tory possessing the good sense to avow and act upon liberal principles, upon such points as were mani- festly for the good of the country, and in accordance with true progressive enlight- enuient. He was long the efficient repre- sentative of Liverpool ; and his constitu- ents were justly proud of one who, while he shone in the senate, combined the graces of scholarship with elegant manners and amiability of temper. On the death of Mr. Canning there were tut few changes in the ministry. Lord Goderich became the new premier, as first lord of the treasury, Mr. Huskisson suc- ceeded to the office of colonial secretary, and Mr. Berries was made chancellor of the exchequer. A few other changes took place; and the duke of Wellington re- sumed the command of the army, but with- out a seat in the cabinet. The treaty mentioned as having been signed on the 6th of July, for attempt- ing the paciflcation of Greece, not being palatable to the sultan, he declined the mediation of the allied powers, and re- commenced the war furiously against tlie Greeks. To put a stop to this course of desolation, the combined fleets of Eng- land, France, and Russia proceeded to the bay of Navarino, with a determinar tion to capture or destroy the Turkish fleet which lay there, if Ibrahim Pacha refused to listen to paciQc overtures. No satisfaction being obtained, admiral Cod- rington, followed by the French ships, un- der De Rigny, and the Russian squadron late 'untoward event' at Navnrino, hut defended it on the ground that the rights of neutral nations were violated by the re- volting excesses of the Turks. Mr. Brougham having made one of the most elaborate expositions of the abuses and imperfections of the law ever delivered in the house of commons, two commis- sions were appointed, one to enquire into the state of the common law, the other into the laws of real property. On the 8th of May the catholic claims were again brought forward, when sir Francis Burdett moved for a committee of the whole house on this subject, with a view to a conciliatory adjustment. After a three nights' debate,this was carried by a majority of six. A conference with the lords was then requested, and held ; after which there was a two nights' debate in the lords, when the duke of Wellington opposed the resolu- tion, chiefly on the ground that the church government of Ireland was unconnected with the civil government of the empire. But it was remarked, that although the re- solution was lost by a majority of fifty- four, the moderate tone of his grace au- gured favourably for it on a further trial. In Ireland during the Canning aud Gode- rich ministries all was comparatively still ; Ijiit this year the excitement of the people, led on by the popular demagogues, was greatly increased by the fonnation of a Wellington and Feel administration. The Catholic Association was again in full activity ; Mr. O'Connell was returned for Clare, in deflance of almost all the landed gentry of the country ; the priests seconded the efforts of the itinerant politicians ; and, in the inflated rhetoric of Mr. Shiel, 'evei-y altar became a tribune at which the wrongs of Ireland were proclaimed." Meanwhile, ministers looked supinely on, till the smouldering embers burst into a flame, which nothing within their power could extinguish. How could it, indeed, be otherwise, when the marquis of Angle- entered the bay ; and after four hours from sea, the king's representative, wrote aletter the conimencenient of the conflict, which to Dr. Curtis, the titular Catholic primate had been carried on with great fury, the [ of Ireland, to the eSect that_the settle- enemy's fleet was wholly destroyed, and "' " ' "" the bay strewed with the fragments of his ships. ^ ..,, a ,. AD 1828.— It was seen from the first formation of the Goderich ministry that it did not possess the necessary ingredients for a lasting union. Differences between some of the leading members of the cabi- net rendered his lordship's position un- tenable, and he resigned his seals of office. Upon this the king sent for the duke of Wellington, and commissioned him to form a new cabinet with himself at the head : the result was, that his grace immediately entered into communication with Mr. Peel, and other members of lord Liver- pool's ministry, who had seceded on the elevation of Mr. Canning ; and, with very few exceptions, the same parties once more came into power. The duke, on becoming the first lord of the treasury, resigned the office of commander-in-chief. The royal speech, delivered at the open- ing of parliament, chiefly referred to the ment of the catholic question w.as unavoid- able, and recommending the catholics to 'agitate, but refrain from violence, and trust to the legislature.' The marquis was forthwith recalled from the government of Ireland for writing this letter. The repairs and improvements of Wind- sor castle, which had been for a long time in hand uudor the direction of Mr. Jeffrey Wyatville (subsequently knighted), were this year completed; and the king took possession of his ap,artments on the 9th of December. A parliamentary grant of 450,000!. had been devoted to this truly na- tional edifice, and great ability was shown in retaining the principal features of the original building, while studying the con- veniences of modem civilisation. At the latter end of the year, owing to the discovery of a systematic plan of mur- der having been pursued by same wretches at Edinburgh, an indescribalile feeling of horror aud disgust pervaded the whole country. X T ^ 486 C|)C Crcaiuru of f^Wtorg, ^c. It appeared on the trial of William Burke and Helen M'Doujfal, who lod^ed in a house kept by a man named Hare, that Burke and Hare had been in the habit of decoying persons into the house, where they llrst made them intoxicated, and then suffocated them. The bodies were then sold to Dr. Knox for anatomical purposes, and, no marks of violence ap- pearing upon the bddlfs, no (|\iestions wore asked nor suspicion created respect- ing the horrid mode in \vlii<-li tliey had been procured. The nuniljur ol their vic- tims it was difllcult to ascertain, though Burke confessed to upwards of a dozen. This wretch, who was an Irish catholic, was executed, amidst the exultations and execrations of an immense concourse of spectators; and the system of strangula- tion which he had practised was afterwards kno\vn by the expressive term of burkinq. The foreign events of this year, though important in themselves, bear too little on English history to render necessary more than a bare mention of them.— In April Russia declared war against Turkej'. The destruction of the Turkish fleet at Nava- rino left the former power masters of the Black-sea ; and on land 115,000 Russians were assembled to open the campaign on the Danube. Several great battles were fought, the Turks offering a much more effectual resistance to tlieir invaders than was anticipated ; at length the Russians retired from the contest, but did not return to St. Petersburgh till October.— The affairs of Greece had gone on more favourably, in consequence of the war between Tur- key and Russia ; and, assisted by Prance and England, that country, which had so long groaned under the oppressor's yoke, was emancipated from foreign control, and restored to the rank of an independent nation. A.D. 1829.- Soon after the opening of parliament, ministers declared their In- tention to bring forward and support the long-agitated question of catholic eman- cipation in order to put an end for ever, if possible, to a grievance which, among the Irish in particular, had 'grown with tlieir growth, and strengthened with their strength.' In Ireland the catholic popu- lation was at that time estimated at five inillions and a half, whereas not more than one million and three quarters were Pro- testants ; but in England, Scotland, and Wales, the number of catholics fell short of a million. It was well known that the duke of Wellington's repugnance to the measure had been gradually abating ; that he thought the security of the empire de- pended on its being carried; and that he bad laboured hard to overcome the king's scruples. These being at length removed, Mr. Peel, in a long, cautious, and elaborate sjieech, introduced the ' catholic relief bill' into the house of commons on the 5th of March. Its general objects were to render catholics eligible to seats in both houses of parliament, to vote at the elec- tion of members, and generally to enjoy all civil franchises and ofBces, upon their taking an oatb not to use their privileges to 'weaken or disturb the protestant estab- lishment.' As it was a course of policy which the whIgs advocated, it had their support ; the chief opposition coming from that section of the tory party who felt it to be a measure replete with danger to the protestant institutions of the country. The majority in favour of the bill, however, at the third reading, was 320 to 142. In the upper house a more resolute stand was made against it ; the lords Eldon, Winchel- sea, Tenterden, and others, backed by the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the bishops of London, Durham, and Salis- bury, in the most solemn manner denounc- ing it as a measure pregnant with the most imminent peril to church and state as by law established ; and powerfully appealing to their fellow peers to uphold the protestant faith at all hazards, and not sacrifice their principles at the shrine of expediency. It was, however, carried on the 10th of April, and received the royal assent on the 13th. A few official changes followed. Sir Charles Wetherell, attorney-general, was dismissed for his anti-catholic opposition to the miui.sters, and sir James Scarlett appointed. Chief-justice Best was elevated to the peerage by the title of lord Wynford ; and was succeeded in the common-ple.as by sir Nicholas Tindal, the solicitor-gene- ral ; whose office was given to Mr. Sugden. If we except the 'metropolis police bill,' which owes its origin to Mr. Peel, and from which such great advantages have arisen, there was nothing of moment sub- mitted to the legislature after the passing of the catholic relief bill. The creation of this new police force was one of the wisest measures that had ever been resorted to for the protection of property and the peace of the metropolitan districts : the old paro- chial watch, as corrupt as they were feeble, had become an absolute street nuisance ; and, so far from being 'a terror to evil doers,' their well-known inefficiency en- abled the midnight burglar and the daring footpad to pursue their criminal vocations with impunity. During the summer months an unusual depression in every branch of trade wasfelt, and the wages of the artisan had greatly fallen. This gave rise to combinations and the destruction of property, particularly among the silk-weavers of Spitalflelds. It was also the case in the manufacturing districts of the northern and inland coun- ties ; where, owing to the introduction of power-looms, the workmen were almost destitute of employment, and their fami- lies in a state of abject penury. The year 1830 commenced v/ithout any circumstance occurring in or out of par- liament worth relating. The position of ministers was a difficult one, but it was what they had a right to expect. By con- ceding catholic emancipation they had lost the support of their most influential old I friends, and they were now compelled to accept as auxiliaries those hybrid whigs, ' whose cooperation, to be pennanent, must I be rewarded by a share in the government. But the stem unbending character of ' the duke' would not allow him to sliare even d^nglantr.— ?1^0uie af 23ruitstDtcit.— timtllfam W. 487 the glory of a conquest witb allies whom he could not depend on ; and therefore, as the tories were divided, it was clear that their rule was fast drawing to a close. An event, by no means unexpected, now took place. For a considerable time past the king had been indisposed, and he was rarely seen beyond the limits of his royal domain at Windsor. But gout and dropsy had made sad havoc on his health. His ill- ness gradually increased from that time to the 26th of June, the day on wliich he died. Tlie character of this monarch Is not to be summed up in a brief sentence or two ; to form a just opinion of it, his conduct under many varying aspects must be impar- tially considered. This we endeavoured to do in our memoir of George IV. In the Biographical Treasury, and to that we beg to refer. CHAPTER LXV. The Beign of William IV. A.D. 18.30, June 26.— WILLIAM HbnRT, duke of Clarence, third son of George III., succeeded to the throne as William IV., being at the time of his accession in the 63th year of his age. This monarch was brought up to the navy, having entered the service as a midshipman in 1779, on board the Royal George, a 98-fiun-ship, com- manded by captain Digby ; and, by regular gradations, he became rear-adiniral of the blue In 1790. From that time he saw no more active service afloat, although he wished to share in his country's naval glo- ries ; and nothing was heard of him In his ]>vofessional capacity, till Mr. Canning, In 1837, revived the office of lord-high-admi- ral, which for more than a century had been in commission. He, however, resign- ed it in the following year, the duke of Wellington, as prime minister, disapprov- ing of the expense to which the lord-high- admiral put the nation, by an over-zealous professional liberality. On the 23rd of July parliament was pro- rogued by the king In person, the royal speech being congratulatory as to the gene- ral tranquillity of Europe, the repeal of taxes, and certain reforms introduced into the judicial establishment of the country. It was, notwithstanding, a period preg- nant with events of surpassing Interest, but as they chiefly belong to the history of France, the bare mention of them is all that Is here neces.sary. An expedition on ■A large scale was fitted out by the French, with the ostensible view of cliastising the Algerlnes for their piratical insults ; but It ended in their capturing the city, and in taking measures to secure Algeria as a French colony. Then came the revolution- ary struggle on the appointment of the Polignac ministry, which ended in the ex- pulsion of Charles X. from the throne of France, and the elevation of Louis Philippe, duke of Orleans, as ' king of the French,' wlio swore fidelity to the constitutional i charter. This great change in the French mo- 1 narchy was effected with less bloodshed, and in far less time, than could have been anticipated by its most sanguine promo- ters ; for from the date of the de.spo- tic ordinances issued by the ministers of Charles X. to the moment that the duke of Orleans accepted the office of lieutenant- general of the kingdom, preparatory to his being elected king, only four days elapsed, during two of which there were some sharply contested battles between the citi- zens and the royal troops under Marmont. Of the citizens 390 were killed on the spot ; and of 2,500 wounded, 306 died. Of the royal guard, 375 were killed and wounded ; and of gendarmes 202. A similar revolution In Belgium followed. When that country was joined to Holland in 1815, to form the kingdom of the Nether- lands, and thereby raise a powerful bul- wark on the frontier of Prance, it was avowedly a mere union of political conveni- ence, in which neither the national cha- racter, the institutions, nor the religion of the Inhabitants was consulted. No sooner did the outbreak in Paris become known, than Brussels, Liege, Namur, Ghent, Ant- werp, and other cities, showed an invete- rate spirit of hostility to their Dutch ru- lers ; and insurrections, which soon amount- ed to a state of civil war, were general throughout Belgium. The kingdom of the Netherlands having been created by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Prance, these powers assumed a right of mediation between the belligerents; and on the 4th of November a protocol was signed at London, declaring that hostili- ties should cease, and that the troops of the contending parties should retire within the limits which formerly separated Bel- gium from Holland. The effect of these successful popular commotions abroad was not lost upon the people of England; and 'parliamentary reform ' became the watchword of all who wished to harass the tory ministry. The duke of Wellington was charged, though most unjustly, of having given his support, or at least been privy to, the arbitrary mea- sures of the Polignac ministry; and a cla- mour was raised against him and his col- leagues which was beyond their power to control. So strong and general, indeed, was the feeling against ministers, that the elections throughout the country had gone deci- dedly against them. At length, on the 2nd of November the houses met, and his ma- jesty's speech referred, among other topics, to the before-mentioned events, concluding with exjiresslons of reliance on the wisdom and firmness of his parliament. Earl Grey took occasion to urge the necessity of an Immediate reform of the representative system, which elicited from the duke of Wellington a declaration of his determi- nation to oppose any measure which might be brought forward for that purpose, he being convinced that the legislature could not be Improved. This useless avowal of his opposition to all reform excited a strong feeling against the duke, which was greatly augmented by the ingenious com- mentaries and violent denunciations of the whig press. Another less honourable mode 488 CV)« Crfatfttrj »f Slultotjj, *c. bad niso been resorted to for tbe purpose of iiitlamliig tlie public mind— tlie posting of placards In the streets of London, se- verely commentini? on llie royal speech, the auti-refonn declaration of tbe duke, and tbe new metropolitan police. Tbe great civic festival of lord-mayor's day was nigb, at wbicb tbe king and bia ministers intended to be present ; but ow- ing to several letters bavins been received by tbe duke of WellinKton, statinit tbat a riot was to be apprelieiuled it be made his appearance in tlie city, — one of wbicb was from Mr. Jolin Key, tbe lord-mayor elect, suggesting that he should come ' strongly and sufficiently guarded,'— his grace ad- vised that tbe king's visit should be post- poned. Considerable discussion took place in both houses on tbe abandonment of his majesty's visit to tbe civic banquet ; earl Grey and other peers arguing that it had excited needless alarm, and produced an extraordinary depression of the funds. But the duke had been forewarned that a riot, and perhaps bloodshed, would have ensued ; and no better argument is needed to show the soundness of his policy than his own words, as they are recorded in the me- moirs of the late sir W. Knighton. ' If firing had begun,' said the duke to sir Wil- liam, 'who could tell where it would end? I know what street firing is; one guilty person would fall, and ten innocent be de- stroyed. Would this have been wise or humane, for a little bravado, or that the country might not have been alarmed for a day or two t ' But, admitting the correctness and hu- mane motives of tbe duke's conduct in this instance, the popular feeling was hourly increasing against his administra- tion. By degrees the small ministerial ma- jority dwindled away, and in less than a fortnight from the assembling of parlia^ ment, the tories found themselves in a mi- nority of 29, on a motion for the settle- ment of the civil list. This was a signal for the Wellington ministry to resign, and their seals of office were respectfully ten- dered to the king on the following day, Nov. 16. Tbe celebrated 'reform ministry' im- mediately succeeded ; at the head of which ■was lord Grey, as first lord of the trea- sury. The other members of the cabinet ■were the marquis of Lansdowne, lord pre- sident ; lord Brougham, lord chancellor ; viscount Althorp, chancellor of the exche- quer ; viscount Melbourne, home secre- tary ; viscount Palmerstou, foreign secre- tary ; viscount Goderich, colonial secretary; lord Durham, lord privy seal; lord Auck- land, president of the board of trade ; sir James Graham, first lord of the admiralty ; lord Holland, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster; hon. Charles Grant, president of the India board ; and the earl of Car- lise, without any official appointment. Among the ministers who had no seats in the cabinet, were lord John Russell, pay- master-general ; the duke of Richmond, postmaster-general ; tbe duke of Devon- shire, lord chamberlain ; marquis Welles- ley, lord steward; sir T. Denman, attorney- general ; .'Uid sir W. Home, solicitor-gene- ral. Tbe marquis of Anglesea was invested with the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, and lord riunkett was its lord-chancellor. During the autumn of this ye.ar a no- vel anle of commanding, were brought to bear upon this great question ; and when the house divided, a majority of 41 appeared against the bill. On the 20th of October parliament was prorogued, and was not again called to- gether till the 6th of December. The year, however, did not close till the great measure was again before the legislature. On the 12th the third reform bill was in- troduced into the commons by lord John Russell, who pointed out various altera- tions that had been made in it ; the efEect of which was to lessen the number of the boroughs to be disfranchised, and to main- tain the full complement of 658 members. These concessions were regarded as im- provements by the opposition, and on the second reading the majority in its favour was two to one ; the numbers being 324 for, and 162 against it. The house then adjourned till after Christmas. That we may not interrupt the thread of our narrative by taking the other events of the year in their chronological order, wc pass on to April 14, 18.32 ; when, after a four nights' debate In the house of lords, this popular bill was carried by a majority of nhie. After this, parliament adjourned to May 7, for the Easter holidays. On that day lord Lyndhurst moved that the dis- franchising clause should be postponed, and the enfranchising clause first consider- ed ; which was carried against minister.^:, by a m.ajority of 151 to 116. As this was considered the first of a series of obstruc- tions, dexterously contrived to delay and mutilate the reform bill, the ministers an- nounced their intention to resign, unless his majesty would consent to a new crea- tion of peers. To that expedient the king declined to resort, and the ministers sent in their resignations accordingly. A week of terrific agitation followed ; all the hate and rancour of party feeling were centred in one object ; and while men of moderate views and principles trembled for the safety of the monarchy, crafty and designing dema- gogues stirred up the passions of the peo- ple in the hope of profiting by a popular convulsion. His majesty was desirous of having ministers who would carry an 'ex- tensive measure of reform ;'and on send- ing for lord Lyndhurst, whom he desired to communicate with the duke of Welling- ton and sir Robert Peel, he expressed him- self distinctly to that effect. The duke, in loyal obedience to thq commands of his sovereign, was disposed to lend himself to the royal emergency, notwithstanding his former anti-reform declaration. Not so, however, sir Robert ; he saw no hope of modifying the reform bill to his satisfac- tion ; and he declined, though tempted witli the premiership, to cooperate in the de- sign. The idea of a new administration was therefore abandoned ; and the duke of Wel- lington recommended the king to recall his former servants. This was done ; and as it was evident that the wishes of the king were more in accordance with the deter- mination of the people as a body than with the aristdcracy, the peers, in obedi- ence to the royal wish, absented them- 490 C^e HLvs&iuKB of ^atarpt itt. gclvps from the house, and the reform bill was silently carried through Its remaining stageH ; the majority on Its third reading being 106 to 22. We shall now briefly refer to a few oc- rnrreuces, foreign and domestle, whicli we have hitherto necessarily oinitred.— The Russians sustained a severe defeat at Wawz, after a battle of two days, their loss being 14,noo men ; their opponents, the Poles, suffered comparatively little. But on tlie 30th, a Polish corps, under Dwer- nick), being hard pressed by the Russians, retreated into Austrian Gallici.a, and, sur- rendering to the Austrian authorities, were treated as prisoners, and sent into Hun- gary. In short, after bravely encountering their foes, and struggling against superior numbers, Warsaw capitulated, and the idea of Polish independence was farther re- moved than ever. — In June, prince Leopold w.as elected king of Belgium by the con- gress at Brussels ; his territory to consist of the kingdom of the Netherlands, as set- tled in 1815. On the 21st of October, the London Ga- zette contained precautions to be adopt- ed by his majesty's subjects against the spread of the Asiatic cholera, tliat dread ful pestilence having lately extended from Moscow to Hamburgh. It was ordered that a board of health should be esta- blished in every town, to correspond with the board in London, and to consist of magistrates, clergy, and members of the medical profession ; while the most eifec- tual modes of insuring cleanliness, free ventilation, &c., were pointed out. These precautionary measures were doubtless of great use, and worthy of the paternal at- tention of the humane government ; but ow- ing, as was supposed, to the quarantine laws having been evaded by some persons who came over from Hamburgh and landed at Sundei'land, the much-dreaded Infection visited many parts of Great Britain, and in the following year produced indescribable alarm among all ranks of people. One other event, but of so disgraceful a character, that we would fain omit it alto- gether, remains to be mentioned among the domestic occurrences of the year. On the 29th of October the city of Bris- tol became the scene of dreadful riots, which were continued during the two fol- lowing days, and were not overcome till that large commercial town appeared to be on the verge of total destruction. The mansion-house, custom-house, excise-office, and bishop's palace, were plundered and set on fire ; the prisons were burst open, and their inmates set at liberty ; and during one entire day (Sunday), the mob were the unresisted masters of the city. On Monday morning, when the fury of the rioters had partly spent itself in beastly orgies, and many had become the victims of excessive drinking in the rifled cellars and ware- houses, the civil magistrates appeared to awake from their stupor; and, with the assistance of the military, this 'ebullition of popular feeling,' as it was delicately termed by some who had unconsciously fanned the flame, was arrested. The loss of property was estimated at half a million. Tlic number of rioters killed, wounded, or injured, was about 110 ; but, of these, far more suffered from iuleinpcrance, and from ln'iim' unable to escape from tho Ihimes wliicli tliey had tliemselvcs kindled, than from the sabres of the soldiery or the truncheons of constabulary protectors. One hundred and eighty were taken into custody, and tried by a special commission ; when four were executed and twenty-two transported. Their trials took place on the 2nd of January, 18.'i2. Not many days afterwards, lieutenant-colonel Brereton, who had the command of the troops, com- mitted suicide pending an enquiry into his conduct by a court-martial. He was charg- ed with not having displayed the firm- ness and decision necessary for quelling a tumult of such magnitude. That more energy and decision ought to have been shown at the commencement by the civil power is evident ; how far the colonel was in error is very questionable. A.D. 18.32.— Having in our previous notice stated the result of the long-continued contest respecting parliamentary reform, we have now only to describe the changes effected in the representative system when the bills came into operation. As soon as the royal assent was given to the English reform bill (June the 7th), congratulatory addresses and other peaceful demonstra- tions of public joy were very generally in- dulged in ; but if we may judge by the triumphant chuckle of the victors and the lofty scorn of the vanquished, the angry invectives of the late political disputants were neither forgotten nor forgiven. Yet though the war of words had not wholly passed away, it was now as a mere feather in the balance — the reform bill had be- come the law of the land. The decayed boroughs were disfranchised, and in their stead the right of parliamentary represen- tation was given to large and populous towns: while an entire new constituency of 10/. householders was created in cities and boroughs. The county constituency was also greatly extended. Heretofore it had been restricted to 40s. freeholders; now copyholders of lOl. per annum ; lease- holders of 101. if for not less than sixty years, or of 50!. if not less than twenty years : and tenants-at-will. If occupying at a yearly rent of not less than 50/., were entitled to the franchise. The county ri-'presentatlon was likewise modelled a- new : To Yorkshire six members were given, two for each riding Devon, Kent, Lancashire, and twenty-three other large counties were divided, and two knights given to each division : seven English counties were to return three Instead of two members each ; and three Welsh counties, two instead of one. 'The reform bill for Scotland received the royal assent July 17th ; that of Ireland, August 7th. Eighteen members had been deducted from the entire representation of England, but an addition of eight to Scotland, five to Ireland, and five to Wales, made the total for Great Britain and Ireland 658, as before. The Scotch and Irish reform bills etxQXatiiS.—^au^t tif 33rttnitDtrft.— ffieSiHtam m. 491 possessed the graud features of tlie English bill, by exteudiug the franchise ; but some lieculiarities adapted to the state of pro- perty, &c. ill both countries, were neces- sary to be observed. During the mouths of February, March, and April, the cholera became very preva- lent, not only in the country towns and villages of the North of England, where it first appeared, but also in the metropolis, and all the horrors of the great plague of London, depicted with such fearful power by Defoe, were present to the imagination. Every possible attention was paid to the subject by government : parochial and dis- trict boards were forthwith organised; tem- porary hospitals got ready for the reception of the sick ; and every measure that huma- nity and prudence could suggest was re- sorted to, to check the progress of the malady where it appeared, and to prevent contagion where ithad not. The virulence of the disease abated during the three succeeding months, but at the end of the summer it appeared again as malig- nantasever. In the whole year, the deaths from cholera, within the limits of the bills of mortality, amounted to 3,200; and the total number of deaths, as reported by the central board, exclusive of Loudon, ■was 24,180; the amount of cases being 68,855. In Paris, 1,000 deaths occurred dur- ing the first week of its appearance there ; nay, so fatal was it, that out of 45,6/5 deaths which took place in the French capital in 1832, the enormous number of 19,000 was occasioned by cholera. This frightful epidemic next appeared in the Canadas and United States. It thus made the tour of the globe; beginning, as it was supposed, in Hindostan ; then devastating Moscow and the northern parts of Europe; visiting Great Britain and France ; and lastly, crossing the At- lantic. In this year's obituary are the names of several men of eminence. From among them we select — sir James Mackintosh, an eloquent writer and statesman.— Jeremy Bentham, celebrated as a jurist and law reformer ; a man who had his own specifics for every disease of tho body politi^ but who never had the happiness to see one of them effect a cure.— Sir Walter Scott, an excellent romance writer, and a poet of acknowledged merit, who for a long period enjoyed a popularity unknown to any of his contemporaries. A.D. 1833.— On the 29th of January the first reform parliament was opened by com- mission, and on the 5th of February the king delivered his speech in person. Among other topics of interest, he emphatically dwelt upon the increasing spirit of insubor- dination and violence in Ireland, and of the neces^ty which existed for intrusting the crown with additional powers for punish- ing the disturbers of the public peace, and for strengthening the legislative union of the two kingdoms. This led to the passing of the insurrection acts in the following month ; empowering the lord-lieutenant to prohibit public meetings of a dangerous ten- dency ; suspending tho writ of habeas cor- pus ; authorising domiciliary visits by ma- gistrates, &c. During this session of parliament, which was unusually protracted and laborious, many other subjects of great national im- portance were legislated upon ; foremost among which were the abolition of colonial slavery, and the i-enewal of the charters of the Bank of England and East India Com- pany. Great Britain had in 1807 abolished the 'slave trade,' but slavery itself was now to become extinct in the West Indies. By the act for the 'abolition of colonial sla- very,' all children under six years of age, or born after Aug. 1, 1834, were declared free ; all registered slaves above six years became, from the same date, apprenticed labourers, with weekly pay, either in money or by hoard and lodging; possessing, at the same time, all the rights and immuni- ties of freemen. In effecting so gi-eat a change, it was necessary that the owners of slaves should receive some adequate com- pensation. To meet this object, ministers at first proposed advancing a loan of fifteen millions to the West India proprietors; but the idea of a loan was soon converted Into a gift, and of a still higher amount ; the sum of 20,000,000i. being finally voted to the slave-owners as a liberal compensation for the losses they might sustain by this humane measure. An end was thus put to a question that had agitated the religious portion of the community from the day that Mr. Wilbei-force first stood forward as the champion of African emancipation. Many questions of magnitude present themselves in legislating for our extensive empire in the East, where the interests of a population of 100 millions are to be con- sulted ; yet, vitally important as the sub- ject is to the commercial prosperity and political influence of Great Britain, It never seems to have met with the consideration to which it is manifestly entitled, either in tlie British senate, or among the British community. It now, hoAvever, engaged the attention of parliament somewhat more than on former occasions. Three new sta- tutes were passed ; the first applied to the renewal of the charter of the East India Company, and the future government of India; the second regulated the trade to China and India ; and the third referred to the collection and management of the du- ties on tea. The charter of the company was renewed for the term of twenty years, frcnn April 30, 1834, under certain resU-ic- tions. And several subordinate provisions were made of a judicial, municipal, com- mercial, and ecclesiastical character; one ln-ing for the mitigation and gradual aboli- tion of slavery in the East. With regard to renewing the charter of the Bank of England, there were three questions on which the legislature were divided upon some material points ; the majority, however, insisting on the expe- diency of continuing the exclusive privi- leges of the Bank, so that it should re- main the principal and governing monetary association of the empire. One important concession obtained from the Bank was a 492 Cl^e CrpaSttix) of WStariy, &c. reduction, to tht> amount of J20,000/., In a charge of about 280,OOO(. which the dlrectorB nniiually made for the mauapoment of the liul>llc debt, &c. It also obtained one im- luirtant privilecre : the paper of tlic BaUK of Kuplaiul beini? made a liual lender for all sums above 5(., except liy I be liank itself or its branches. There was aiioilier eiiact- nieut, of general interest, but of very ijues- tionable policy, namely, that by which bills of exchange drawn at a certain limited date were exempt from the usury laws ; an enactment the ruinous and demoralising effects of which, in times of commercial distress, are incalculable. The charter, though renewed till .August, 1853, had this reservation — it might be put an end to, should parliament choose, in 1845, by a year's previous notice being given. Besides the settlement of the foregoing great legislative measures, various taxes ■n ere repealed or reduced ; many official si- tuations were abolished or reformed ; seve- ral judicial processes amended ; and a great variety of private bills passed. A.D. 1834.— The desire to move onward ill legislating for and removing everything that seemed to obstruct the progress of 'liberal' principles, was the natural con- sequence of the reform bill ; and at the Very commencement of the year the 'pres- sure from without' was felt by ministers to be a most inconvenient appendage to their popularity. They had effected one mighty object ; and to enter upon more, much cau- tion and patient deliberation were requisite. They knew that popular clamour had been kept up long enough, and they accordingly endeavoured to separate themselves from the noisy and irregular auxiliaries who had joined their ranks in the hour of need, but who were now become troublesome hang- ers-on. This state of things could not long remain ; and on Mr. Ward bringing for- ward a motion in the house of commons for appropriating the surplus revenues of the Irish church to the purposes of go- vernment, it appeared that there existed a difference of opinion in the cabinet as to the mode in which the motion should be met. The majority was in its favour ; but the appropriation of church property to other than ecclesiastical uses was incom- Iiatible with the notions of Mr. Stanley, sir James Graham, the earl of Ripon, and the duke of Richmond ; and they accord- ingly resigned their places in the ministry. Tliis rupture with the ministers above- named was speedily followed by another, which ended in the resignation of earl Grey, the premier. In the communications which had from time to time been made by ministers to Mr. O'Connell on Irish affairs, it had been confidentially stated to hira that when the Irish coercion bill was re- newed, the clauses prohibitory of meetings would not be pressed : nevertheless, the obnoxious clauses appeared in the bill ; and Mr. O'Connell declared that he con- sidered it dissolved the obligation of se- crecy, under which the communication had been made. Lord Althorp, finding himself unable to carry the coercion bill through the commons, with the clauses \ ag linst public meetings, sent in his resig- nation ; and as earl Grey considered him- self unable, without the assistance of lord Althorp, as ministerial leader in the house of commons, to carry on the t-'overiMnent, he also resigned. Parliamenlary reform, the great object of his public exertions, had been accomplished ; and as he was now upwards of seventy, and in an inflrm state of health, he seemed glad to seize the first opportunity of closing his official labours. An arrangement was, however, soon ef- fected to form another reform ministry, lord Althorp consenting to resume the chancellorship of the exchequer, under the premiership of viscount Melbourne. The new cabinet then stood thus: — viscount Melbourne, first lord of the treasury ; lord Brougham, lord chancellor ; viscount Al- thorp, chancellor of the exchequer: mar- quis of Lansdowne, president of the council ; earl of Mulgrave, privy seal ; viscount Dun- cannon, home secretary ; viscount Palmer- ston, foreign secretary; Spring Rice, colo- nial secretary ; lord Auckland, first lord of the admiralty ; Charles Grant, president of the India board : marquis of Conyngham, postmaster-general ; lord Holland, chan- cellor of the duchy of Lancaster ; lord John Russell, paymaster of the forces; and E. J. Littleton, secretary for Ireland. The king in person prorogued parliament on the 15th of Augiist. Notwithstanding the time lost in ministerial disagreements and changes, a great mass of business had been despatched. The two principal mea- sures were the ' central criminal court act,' and the 'poor-law amendment act.' The former extends the jurisdiction of the Old Bailey court over a population of about 1,700,000; not only in Middlesex, but in parts of Surrey, Kent, and Essex ; leaving to the Middlesex sessions, at Clerkenwell, the trial of offences punishable with not more than seven years' transportation. The Old Bailey sessions to be held at least twelve times a year. But by far the most important of these measures was the poor-law atnendmentact : a measure which has scarcely satisfied the expectations formed with regard to it. In sayiii^ this, we by no means would infer that a continuance of the former poor-law sys- tem, with its incompetent officers, private jobbing, expensive litigation, and all the numerous errors and inconsistencies that had been engrafted on the original act of Elizabeth, would have been desirable : far from it. But the present ' amended ' system, which was chiefly intended to reduce the burdensome amount of the poor-rates, might have been easily carried out without those obnoxious clauses which enforce the separation of married menfrom their wives, and mothers from their pauper children ; withholding out-door relief, &c. Moreover, however desirable the centralisation of poor-law power may be, and however able the commissioners who form the board at Somerset-house, local interests must often be left to local management ; or a mode of generalising may become so habitual to those who superintend the administration CFnfllanlr.— I^flu^t of SBnmSJntcit.— amttltam W, 493 <>£ the poor-laws, as to frustrate all endea- vours to obtain individual justice. Several popular measures were carried during the session ; namely, the repeal of the hnuse-tax ; the abolition of the duty on almanacks ; the abolition of sinecure otlices in the house of commons; facilities at the post-offlce for the transmission of foreign newspapers ; grants for building schools in England and Scotland, &c. This year was remarkable for the sys- tematic organisation of 'trades' unions' in London and other large towns of Eng- land, and for repeated ' strikes ' among tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, bricklayers, weavers, spinners, and other ' operatives.' But the different crafts all returned to their employments, without any very seri- ous injury to trade or to themselves. At Paris, Lyons, and Brussels similar combi- nations of workmen took place, and were attended with serious consequences, par- ticularly at Lyons, where no less than 5,000 persons (of whom 1,700 were troops) were killed before the insurrection, which had been caused by the trades' unionists' inter- ference with the trials of some of their members, was quelled. On the evening of the 16th of October a fire broke out in one of the offices at the lower end of the house of lords, which con- tinued to rage throughout the night, and was not completely extinguished for several days. Great anxiety was felt for the safety of that ancient edifice, Westminister-hall ; and even the venerable and magnificent Gothic pile opposite, Westminster-abbey, was at one period thought to be in great danger ; but nothing that skill or intrepidity C(mld achieve w,as neglected in arresting the progress of the flames ; and though the two houses of parliament were destroyed, neither the hall nor the abbey sustained ma- terial damage ; and the libraries and state papers in the lords and commons were preserved. The fire, as it appeared on strict enquiry, was caused by negligence, in burning the exchequer-tallies in a build- ing adjoining the house of lords. Tempo- rary chambers for the accommodation of the legislature were afterwards erected on the site of the old buildings. Just one month after the destruction of the houses of parliament the Melbourne ministrj' was summarily and unexpectedly dismissed. On the 14th of November lord Melbourne waited on his Majesty at Brigh- ton to take his commands on the appoint- ment of a ch.ancellor of the exchequer, in the room of lord Althorp, removed, by the death of his father, earl Spencer, to the house of peers. The king, it is said, ob- j'ected to the proposed reconstruction of the cabinet, and made his lordship the bearer of a letter to the duke of Welling- ton, who waited upon his maje.'ity on thp lOth, and advised him to place sir Robert Peel at the head of the government. Sir Robert was at the time in Italy, whither a courier was despatched, and the baronet arrived in London Dec. 9, saw the king, and accepted the situation of premier ; the duke of Wellington having in the interim provisionally filled the chief offices of the j government. Thus again, though for a brief space, the tory party, or conserva- tives, as they were now called, were in the ascendant. A.D. 1835.— The Melbourne cabinet had been for some time looked upon as the mere dregs of the Grey ministry ; and the losses it had sustained by the withdrawal of the earl of Durham, the Stanley section, and the noble premier himself, had not been supplied by men of suitable talents. The public therefore had no great reason for re- gret, however much they may have been surprised, when the king so suddenly dis- pensed with their services. Yet when the same men were intrusted with the reins of government who had been the strenuous opposers of reform, an instantaneous out- cry burst forth, and the advent of toryism was regarded by the populace with feelings of distrust and dread. Sir Robert Peel, however, explicitly declared, that he con- sidered the reform bill as a final and irre- vocable settlement; and he appealed to several important measures that had for- merly emanated from himself as proofs that he was not opposed to the redress of real grievances, and the removal of all re- cognised abuses. Upon these grounds sir Robert solicited the confidence of the coun- try ; and he brought forward his leading measures with great despatch and ability. The ministerial plansfor affording relief to dissenters relative to the marriage cere- mony, and also the settlement of tithes, met with general favour and concurrence. But when, on the 30th of March, lord John Russell brought forward his resolution — ' that the house should resolve itself into a committee of the whole house, to consi- der of the temporalities of the church of Ireland,' the motion was met by sir E. KnatchbuU with a direct negative, and after a long and stormy debate, ministers found themselves in a minority of 33. The Irish church bill was then discussed in commit- tee ; and after three nights' debate on the question of appropriating the surplus funds of the church to the 'general education of all classes of Christians,' which was op- posed by the ministers and their friends, there was still a majority against them of 27. Finding that neither concessions nor professions of liberality were of any avail, the duke of Wellington in the upper house and sir Robert Peel in the lower, announced their resignations; the latter at the same time declaring, that, though thwarted by the commons, he parted with them on friendly terms. Once more, then, we see lord Melbourne as the premier; with lord John Russell, home secretary; lord Palmerston, foreign secretary ; right hon. Spring Rice, chancel- lor of the exchequer ; the marquis of Lans- downe, president of the council ; and the other official appointments filled nearly as they were when the 'liberals' were lately in power, except that the great seal was for the present put in commission. The first great question that engaged the attention of the commons, and one which had been looked forward to by the commu- nity with much impatience, was that of VV Cf)e Creaittrp at ^Wtdtn, fit. 494 ' municipal reform.' For more than two centuries the atiuscs existing In corporate luulies, particularly tlio nils:ipplicatiou of uumiiipal fumls, had liecii a ukiIIlt of cou- slaiit coiiiplaiiu. It wa? iiatiijally expected that a reform in the representative system in boroughs haviiiK been elfected, a reform In the election of their own local authori- ties Would follow. A commissiou to enquire into the state of municipal corporations, their modes of administering justice, their reveuues and funds, and the privileges of freemen, &c., had already been instituted, and the result of the ennulry induced the commissioners to report to his majesty, that •the perversion of municipal institutions to political ends has occasioned the sacrifice of local interest to party purposes, which have been frequently pursued through the corruption and demoralisation of electoral bodies." Then, after pointing out the va- rious InefBcient and corrupt modes in which muuiciiial interests were attended to, and the great and general dissatisfaction which prevailed on the subject, the commissioners declared it to be their duty ' to rei>resent to his majesty that the existing municipal corporations of England and TVales nei- ther possess nor deserve the confidence or respect of his majesty's subjects, and tliat a thorough reform must be effected before they can become useful and elBcient instru- ments of local government.' Upon this report, which was supported by a volumi- nous mass of details, lord John Russell brought in his bill, which, having been se- verely scrutinised in the lords, passed into a law. Th« grand feature of this bill is, that it vests the local government of a town in the rated and permanently resident in- habitants. In the council is vested the en- tire deliberative functions of the corporar tion. They appoint the town-clerk and treasurer, and from them the mayor and aldermen are chosen. They have the con- trol of the police, watching, and lighting. If there be a surplus in the burgess fund, they may apply it to local improvements or any object beneficial to the inhabitants ; or if insutncient, they may order a rate to be levied. All the existing rights of freedom, or citizenship, or burgess-ship, in the old corporations, are preserved to the present possessors ; but all exclusive privileges of trading, or of exercisingany calling or han- dicraft, in corporate towns, are abolished. JIanv other measures of practical utility were discussed and passed this session. Among them were several acts framed by sir James Graham for improving the naval code and thereby increasing the naval power of Great Britain ; first, by an act for amend- ing and consolidating the laws relative to merchant-seamen ; and secondly by an act, the object of which is to encourage the vo- luntary enlistment of seamen Into the royal navy, by limiting tlie period of service to five years. Lord Brougham also brought forward a very useful bill for removing som e of the more obvious and glaring defects in the old patent law ; not the least of which was that the patent often expired just about the time the difficulties attending its first introduction had been surmounted, and, consequently, before the patentee had be- nefited by his invention. By the new law a power Is vested in the crown of extend- ing, on the recommendation of the privy council, the term of a patent from fourteen to twenty-one years. We sh.all close our sketch of this year's occurrences by briefly noticing the deaths of two persons, who, in their career for po- pular applause, attained a more than ordi- nary share of notoriety. The one was Henry Hunt, late M.P. for Preston, who had long figured as a leader among the ra- dicals, and whose zeal for 'the people' at the too memorable meeting at Manchester had been rewarded by a long Imprisonment in Ilchester gaol. His more distinguished cotemporary and coadjutor, though some- times powerful rival, was "William Cobbett, M.P. for Oldham ; a man remarkable for persevering industry, and of unquestion- able talents, who, from following his father's plough, and afterwards serving with credit as a British soldier in America, passed the greater part of his life in the unceasing strife of politics, and was able, by the force of his extraordinary and versatile powers as a writer, to keep a strong hold on public opinion for nearly half a century. He died in June, not three months after his quondam friend, Mr. Henry Hunt. [A memoir of Mr. Cobbett is given, at considerable length, in the ' Bio- graphical Treasury.'] A,D. 183G.— The year opened auspiciously, both with regard to its commercial pros- pects and its poUtical aspect. The whole manufacturing districts were in a state of activity ; money was abundant wherever tolerable security was offered ; and though an immense absorption of capital was tak- ing place in extensive public undertakings, such as railways, some of which were al- ready highly successful, there was very lit- tle of that wild si>irit of adventure which ten years before had nearly brought the country to the brink of ruin. Mercantile confidence rested upon a better basis than it had done for a long time past ; the ports bore ample evidence of the prosperity of British commerce : and though there were still just complaints of agricultural dis- tress, they were partial rather than general. When the king opened parliament in February these facts furnished congratu- latory topics for the royal speech, and sug- gestions were also thrown out relative to certain nnprovements, contemplated by the legislature, and in the administration of justice, especially in the c«urt of chancery ; an equitable settlement of tithes in Ireland ; municipal reform in that country, &c. The first question of importance that occupied the attention of the house was brought forward by the chancellor of the exchequer, who announced the intention of government to reduce materially the stamp dutv on newspapers. It was pro- posed, he said, to reduce.it from its present amount of 4d. with the discount, to Id. without discount, which would be a reduc- tion of nearly 2id. on all newspapers sold for 7d. or less. To this remission parlia- ment assented, by which the circulation of ensranlf.— ?§o«;Sc af 33nin;Stot(6.— ?12StUtam le. 495 uust.iniped newspapers — an illicit trade that liad long been followed by certain London newsvendors— was abandoned as profitless. Notwithstanding several useful measures of legislation had been carried during tlie session, considerable disappointment was felt at its close in consequence of the loss or abandonment of certain bills which had been brought forward by ministers witli some parade and apparent confidence of success : as, for example, the Irish tithe and municipal bills ; the bill for governing charitable trusts in England by popular election ; bills for amending the English municipal act, for Improving the court of Chan eery, for removing the civil disabilities of the Jews, &c. But if the value depended on the amount of legislation, there was no cause of complaint; the number of gene- ral acts passed in 1836 being 117 ; and of railway bills alone, 33. By the act for the ' commutation of tithes in England and Wales,' provision was made for the final extinction within two years of the vex- atious right of exacting tithes in kind, and for commuting them into a corn rent charge, payable in money. By the ' estab- lished church' act for efl:ecting a new dis- tribution of episcopal dioceses and incomes, the income of the archbishop of Canterbury was to be reduced to 15,000;. ; the archbishoii of York to lo.ooo;. ; tlie bishop of London to lo.oooi. ; the bishop of Durham to 8,000/. ; Winchester, 9,00o;. ; Ely, 5,5001. ; St. Asaph and Bangor, 5,200i. ; Worcester, 5,000/. ; and the other bishops to have incomes varying from 4,000/. to 5,000/. The bishoprics of Bristol and Gloucester to be united ; also St. Asaph with Bangor, and Sodor and IMan with that of Chester ; and two new bishop- rics to be erected, one at Manchester, the other at Ripon. Several other economical regulations In the church were at the same time effected by this bill. Two acts were also passed which were in some degree connected with church reform, namely, the 'marriage act,' and the act for ' registering births, deaths, and marriages.' Formerly, in order to be legally maiTied, it was ne- cessary to comply with the ritual of the established church ; but by the new act a marriage may be simply a civil contract or a religious ceremony, according to the wish of the parties ; it will be equally legal whether contracted in any registered place of religious worship, or in the office of the registrar. The new mode of registering births, deaths, and marriages is valuable also as a statistical document and an au- thentic record of facts. In the obituary for this year are several distinguished names. Lord Stowell, aged 90, an eminent civilian ; many years judge of the high court of admiralty, and brother of lord-chancellor Eldon.— Charles X., ex- king of France, who died an exileln Illyria, in the 80th year of his age. — And the abbe Sieyes, who under all the phases of the French revolution maintained an elevated station, and on the fall of the republic became a count and peer of the empire. A.D. 1837.— It was remarked at the com- mencement of the previous year that symp- toms of prosperity appeared in all the lead- ing branches of commercial industry, and tliat no lack of capital was known for any undertakings, however vast, provided they held out a prospect for safe investments. But over-trading, led on and encouraged by over-banking, produced evils which, if not equal, were very similar in their effects to those disasters which overwhelmed the country during the memorable commercial panic of 1825. During the year 1836 no less than forty-flve joint-stock banks had been established. It was tlierefore natural that one of the subjects recommended to the attention of parliament in the opening speech, should be ' a renewal of the enquiry into the operation of joint-stock banks.' But the more important measures which had formed the leading subjects of debate, and which were regarded by ministers as necessary to the stability of their tenure in office, underwent certain alterations, and were again brought forward for discussion. Little progress, however, was made, when an event occurred which for a time absorbed all matters of minor interest. The public had been apprised by the publication of bulletins, that his majesty was seriously ill, and on the 20th of Jiuie his death was announced as having taken place early that morning. His majesty was in the 72nd year of his age, and had nearly completed the seventh year of his reign. Many were the eulogiums pronounced upon the deceased monarch ; but no testi- mony was more just, or more characteristic of his real qualities, than the following tribute by sir Robert Peel. He said: 'It was the universal feeling ot the country, that the reins of government were never committed to the hands of one who bore himself as a sovereign with more affability, and yet with more true dignity — to one who was more compassionate for the suffer- ings of others— or to one whose nature was more utterly free from aU selfishness. He did not believe that, in the most exalted or in the most humble station, there could be found a man who felt more pleasure in witnessing and promoting the welfare of others.' CHAPTER LSVL The Reign of ViciORL,i. A. B. 1837. — Intelligence of his majes- ty's death having been officially commu- nicated to the princess Victoria and the duchess of Kent, at Kensington palace, preparations were immediately made for lioldiug a privy council there at eleven o'clock. A temporary throne was erected for the occasion ; and, on the queen being seated, the lord-chanceUor administered to her majesty \he usual oath, that she would gr{a. walkiiiK procession of all the estates of tlie 7calm, a'.d the baiuiuet in Westminster- hall with all the feudal services attendant thereon ^which distinguished the Sf-seous ceremony of George IV from that of Wl- liam), were to he wholly dispensed with , it having been discovered that the cost spoiled the relish;' hut in order to make it more stately than the last the exterior cavalcade was to he increased m splendour and numbers. The 28th of June was tlie day appointed for the celebration of this aulust ceremony, and as the Procession was to pass through the principal streets there was scarcely a house or a vacant spot along the whole line from Hyde Park-cor- ueV, through Piccadilly, St. James's-street, Pali Mall, Whitehall, and Parliament-street, to the Abbey, that was unoccupied with galleries or scaffolding. The coronation festivities gave a great impetus to trade in the metropolis ; there being, in addition to the numerous visitors from all p.arts of the United Kingdom, a very considerable number of distinguished foreigners, independent of the gentlemen attached to the different emhassics. No one. however, attracted so much notice or received such marked attention as marshal Soult, ambassador extraordinary from the French court. . , A new coinage in gold, silver, and copper was now issued. The gold consisted of five- pound pieces, double sovereigns, sove- reigns, and half-sovereigns ; the silver and copper comprised all the usnal current com of those metals; but in none of them wag there either the originality or taste dis- played that was expected. AD 1839.— Canada again demands our notice. Lord Durham had been sent out with extraordinary powers to meet the exi- gency of affairs in that colony. It was now Admitted that he had exceeded the scope of those powers, by deciding on the guilt of accused men, without trial, and by ba- nishing and imprisoning them ; but the ministers thought it their duty to acquiesce in passing a bill, which, while it recited the illegality of the ordinance issued by his lord-^hip, should indemnify those who had advised or acted under it, on the score of their presumed good i»tCTitiniis. The or- dinance set forth that ' Woolfred Nelson, E S. M. Bouchette, and others, now m Montreal gaol, having acknowledged their treasons and submitted themselves to the will and pleasure of her majesty, shaU be Transported to the island of Bermuda, not to return on pain of death ; and the same penalty is to be incurred by Papineau, and others who have absconded. If found at large in the province." Government had intended merely to substitute a tempo- rary legislative power during the suspen- sion of; and in substitution for, the ordi- nary legislature ; and as the ordinary legis- lature would not have had power to pass such an ordinance, it was argued that neither could this power belong to the sub- ^'xhe^passing of the indemnity act made a great sensation as soon as it was known m Canada ; and lord Durham, acutely feeling that his implied condemnation was con- tained in it, declared his intention to re- sign and return immediately to England ; inasmuch as he was now deprived of the kwutj to do the good which he had hoped to accomplish. . y,^„„,„„ Meanwhile, the Canadas again became the scene of rebellious war and P'rat cal invasion The rebels occupied Beauhar- nois and Acadie, near the confluence of the Richelieu and the St. Lawrence, establish- ing their headquarters at Napierville; and their forces mustered, at one time, to the number of 8,000 men, generally well armed Several actions took place ; and sir John Colborne, who had proclaimed martianaw concentrated his troops at NapiervUIo and Chateauquay, and executed a severe ven- geance upon the rebels ^j\"™ .^^ „*°"°^ there, burning the houses of the disaffected through the whole district of Acadie. But it was\ part of the plan of the traitors and their republican confederates to distract the atteTition of the British comniander and to divide the military force, by invad- ing Upper Canada; and at the monient sir John Colborne was putting the last hand to the suppression of the rebellion in Beauharnois and Acadie, 800 republican fili- busters embarked in two schooners at ug- denburgh, fully armed, and Pro'^'ided with six or light pieces of artillery, to attack the town of Prescott, on the opposite side of the river. By the aid of two United States steamers, they effected a landing a mile or two below the town, where they established themselves in a wmdmiU and some stone buildings, and repelled the flist attempt made to dislodge them, kiUing and wounding forty-five of their assailants, among whom were five officers; but on colonel Dundas arriving with a reinforce- ment of regular troops, with three pieces of artillery, they surrendered at discretion Some other skirmishes subsequently took place, chiefiy between American despera- does who invaded the British territoiy and the queen's troops; but the former were severely punished for their temerity. 'The conduct of sir John Colborne elicited the praise of all parties at home; and he was appointed governor-general of Canada, with all the powers which had been vested in the earl of Durham. ^ ,. , ^ The adjustment of a boundary line be- tween Maine and New Brunswick had been a subject of dispute from the time the in- dependence of the States was acknowledged in 1783. Though the tract in dispute was of no value to either claimant generally as likely to become profltable under culti- vation, yet some part of it was found ne- cessary to Great Britain as a means of com- munication between New Brunswick and the Canadas, and thus through all the Bri- tish colonies. Great Britain had, more- over, since 1783, remained in de facto pos- session of the desert, as far as a desert can be said to be occupied. At length, how- ever, the state of Maine invaded this de- bateable Land, and several conflicts took Place, which for a time seemed likely to i involve Great Britain and Amenra. in a general war. The colonists showed great 498 CT^e HLvtaSutu of ^iitars, S(c. nlHCrily ami dfterniiii.-itidu In defending tlielr riglit to the dispiited territory; and it was eventually agreed that, both parties were to continue in possession of the parts occupied by them respectively at the com- mencement of the dispute, until the federal government and Great Britain should come to a deflnitive arrangement. The proceedings of parliament had lately been watched with more than ordinary in- terest, the state of parties being too nicely balanced to insure ministerial majorities on questions affecting certain commerGial interests. On the 9th of April leave was given to bring in a bill, on the motion of Mr. Labouchere, to suspend the executive constitution and to make provisions for the temporary government of Jamaica. It appeared that, in consequence of a dispute between the governor of that island and the house of assembly, no public business could be proceeded with ; and it was pro- posed by this bill to vest the government in the governor and a council only— to be continued for five years. When, in the f ol- lowing month, the order of the day for going into committee on the Jamaica bill ■was moved, it was opposed by sir R. Peel, in a long and elaborate speech ; in which he exposed the arbitrary provisions of the bill, the enormous power it would confer on the governor and commissioners, and the impossibility of imposing an effectual check ou the abuse of power exercised at a distance of three thousand miles. In sup- port of the view he had taken, sir Robei^ alluded to the mode of treating refractorj- colonies, formerly suggested by Mr. Can- ning ; who had declared that 'nothing short of absolute and demonstrable neces- sity should induce him to moot the awful question of the transcendental power of parliament over every dependency of the British crown: for that transcendental power was an arcanum of empire which ought to be kept back within thepenetralia of the constitution.' After an adjourned debate. May the 6th, the house divided, when there appeared for going into com- mittee 294, against it 289, the majority for ministers being only five. The next day lord John Russell and lord Melbourne stated, that in consequence of this vote, the ministry had come to the resolution to resign. At the end of a week they were reinstated in their places, and one of the first acts of the reinstated ministry was to form a legislative union of the provinces of Tipper and Lower Canada, and to continue for two years the powers vested in the governor and special council of Lower Canada by the act previously passed to that effect. Another measure was also carried, after much opposition, namely, to grant the sum of 30,0O0Z. for the purposes of public education. And a third, still more interest- ing to the great body of the public, was an immense reduction in the charge for pos- tage, by the substitution of one uniform rate by weight, instead of increased charges according to the number of pieces of paper contained under one cover. Thus, what- ever be the distance, the postage charge for a letter weighing only half an ounce is one penny ; 2d. if an oimce; id. if two ounces, and so on. The fierce and cruel contest that had raged for the last three years in the (Spanish peninsula, between the Carlists and Chris- tinos, was now virtually terminated by the active and soldier-like conduct of Espar- tero, the queen's general and chief. The British legion had some tinje since with- drawn, the queen's party daily gained ground, and Don Carlos had found it ne- cessary to seek refuge in France. In narrating the affairs of Britain, it will be observed that we are necessarily led, from time to time, to advert to the events which take place in British colonies and possessions, wherever situate and however distant. For a considerable time past the government of India had been adopting very active measures, in consequence of the shah of Persia, who was raised to the throne mainly by British assistance, being supposed to be acting under Russian in- fluence, to the prejudice of this country. Stimulated by Russia, as it appeared, the Persian undertook an expedition to Herat ; an important place, to which a small prin- cipality is attached, in the territorj' of Afi- ghauistan. Lord Auckland, the governor- general of India, thereupon determined to send an army of 30,000 men towards Can- dahar, Cahoul, and Herat ; and this force was to be joined by about 45,000 men, furnished by Runjeet Singh, the sovereign of the Pun- jaub. In the meantime it appeared that the Persians had suffered great loss at He- rat. It was soon afterwards rumoured that the chiefs of AJfghanistan were prepared to meet a much strongerforce than the Anglo- Indian government, though reinforced by Runjeet Singh, could bring into the field, and that they would listen to no terms of accommodation. Tlie next accounts, how- ever. Informed us that the British had en- tered Candahar, that the difficulties expe- rienced with respect to provisions had va- nished, and that the troops were received with open arms. Shah Soojah was crowned with acclamation ; and the army proceeded , forthwith to Caboul. On the 21st of September the fort of Joudpore, In Rajpootana, surrendered to the British ; and that of Kumaul, in the ' Deccan, on the 6th of October. The camp | of the rajah was attacked by general Will- j shire, which ended in the total rout of the enemy. A very great quantity of military j stores were found in Kumaul, and treasure i amounting to nearly 1,000,000?. sterling. In the camp an immense quantity of jewels was captured, besides 150,000/. in specie. ' The shah of Persia consented to acknow- j ledge Shah Soojah as king of Allghanistan ; but Dost Mahomed, the deposed prince, was still at large, and there was no doubt I that a widely-ramified conspiracy existed among the native chiefs to rise against the British on the first favourable opportunity. The country had been much disturbed during the year by large and tumultuous assemblages of the people, of a revolution- ary character, under the name of churtists; and many excesses were committed by them in the large manufacturing towns of CPngTanlf.— I^DUiSe 0f 33runS&jtr6. -©ittorfa. 499 Maucliester, Bulton, Birmingham, Stock- 1 port, &c. that required tlie strong arm of the law to curb. This was referred to in her majesty's speech, at the close of the session of parliament, as the first attempts at insubordination, which liajipilyhad been checked by the fearless administration of , the law. But present appearances were not to be ] trusted. The insurrectionary movements and outrages in the manufacturingdistricts of the north had for a time, it Is true, been quelled ; and ministers boasted that chart- ism had received its death-blow, or was now l)ut an idle word. But though the flames of sedition were not seen to blaze as before, the embers were still burning, and a mass of inflammable materials was spread abroad, ready to become ignited in a moment. That the friends of order might be lulled into security, there had been none of those public meetings lately, nor anything to lead the superficial observer to believe but that with the breaking up of the ' conven- tion,' the charter cause was dead. Secret organisation was, however, all the time going on, and a general rising was in con- templation. It was arranged that their active operations should commence in the remote and unguarded districts of South Wales, where the emissaries ' of the charter ' had obtained considerable influence ; and while the country was in a state of alarm and confusion at what was going on In that quarter, other branches of the wide- spread conspiracy were to assemble and make a display of physical force sufllcient to overawe the local authorities and astound the government. Thus prepared, on the 2nd of November the men began their march from the 'hills' in the neighbourhood of Merthyr, &c., armed with muskets, pikes, swords, crowbars, pickaxes, and whatever other implements they could muster, and proceeded in the direction of Newport in Monmouthshire, marching through the villages and compelling many to join them, till the whole number amounted to nearly 20,noo men. It was their intention to enter Newport in the dead of night, and thus obtain possession of it unresisted ; but the rain had fallen in torrents, which greatly impeded their progress, and thus happily that part of the design was frustrated. At about four o'clock in the morning of the 4th, the main body of this lawless mob halted at Tredegar-park, the seat of sir Charles Morgan. The magistrates of New- port having received private information of the intentions of the rioters, were at this time assembled at the Westgate Arms, where a small party of the 45th foot was stationed one company of that regiment being all the military force at that time in the town. The sevetal gatherings of the rioters were under the guidance of certain leaders, the general-in-chief of whom was John Frost, a man respectably situated in life asatrades- man, and who for his zealous advocacy of the ' liberal ' measures of the day (for he was a noted patriot of the new school) had found favour In the eyes of lord John Russell, who flattered and rewarded hiiu with a magisterial appointment. Hia son, a mere boy of sixteen, was also the leader of a parly. One Jones, a watchmaker at Pontypool, was another of the redoubtable chartist generals, and Zephaniah Williams was a fourth. Such was the state of ter- rorism inspired by the chartist bands, that many of the peaceable inhabitants of Tredegar, Blackwood, &c. fled from their homes on Sunday, and passed the night in the woods, lest the chartists should kill them. At length they reached Newport, and proceeded at once to the rendezvous of the magistrates at the Westgate Arms, which they assailed and endeavoured to take possession of; but by the excellent arrangement of Mr. T. Phillips, the mayor, and the steady resolution of the soldiers, who were planted in an upper room of the inn, from which they could take good aim, tho rioters were successfully resisted, seve- ral were killed or wounded, others were made prisoners, and the multitude, with their cowardly instigators, fled from the scene of danger with all imaginable speed. The conduct of the mayor and his brother magistrates on this trying occasion was above all praise; and it was a source of general regret throughout the country that, in the performance of his perilous duty, the worthy mayor was severely wounded by two musket-balls. Fortunately, neither wound proved dangerous, and he subse- quently received the honour of knighthood for his zeal, skill, and bravery. The whole of the military stationed at the Westgate Arms amounted to only one ofl3cer (lieuten- ant Gray), two non-commissloued officers, and twenty-eight privates I On the 10th of December a special com- mission was held at Monmouth for the trial of the chartist rebels at Newport, before lord-chlef-justlce Tindal and the judges Park and Williams ; the chief justice open- ing the proceedings with a luminous and eloquent charge to the grand jury. Accord- ingly on the 12th, true bills were returned against John Frost, Charles Waters, James Aust, William Jones, John Lovell, Zepha- niah Williams, Jenkin Morgan, Solomon Britton, Edmond Edmonds, Richard Ben- flcld, John Rees, David Jones, and George [ Terner (otherwise Coles) for high treason. In order to comply with the forms custo- ! mary in trials for high treason, the court \ was then adjourned to Dec. 31, when John Frost was put to the bar. The first day j was occupied in challenging the jury ; the ! next day the attorney-general addressed the j court and jury on the part of the crown, I and the prisoner's counsel objected to the calling of the witnesses. In consequence of . the list of them not having been given to . the prisoner. Frost, agreeably to the terma of the statute; on the third day the evi- 1 dence was entered into ; and on the eighth day, after the most patient attention of the court and jury, a verdict of guilty was re- corded against Frost, with a strong recom- mendatiim to mercy. The trials of Zepha- niah Williams, and William Jones, each occupied four days, with a like verdict and recommendation. Walters, Morgan, Rees, 1 Benfleld, and Lovell pleaded guilty, and 500 HL^t Crca^ury of ^iitaxyiy iet. received sentence of deatli, the courl inti- mating tliat they would l)e tiansported for life. Four were dlscliarced; two forfeited tlieir hail ; and nine, havincr pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and riot, were sen- tenced to terms of imprisonment not ex- ceeding one year. Frost and the other ringleaders on whom sentence of death had been passed, were finally transported for life. The spirit of cliartism, however, though repressed, was not wholly suhducd. Sun- day, the 12th of January, had heen fixed on for further outhreaks in various parts of the country ; but by the precautionary mea- sures of the government and the police, their concerted designs were frustrated. Information was afterwards received that the chartists intended to fire and pillage the town of ShefHeld on Sunday morning at two o'clock. They began to assemble, but the troops and constables, being on the alert, succeeded in taking seven or eight of the ringleaders, but not before several persons were severely wounded, three of whom were policemen. An im- mense quantity of flre-arnis of all descrip- tions, ball-cartridges, iron-bullets, hand- grenades, flre-balls, daggers, pikes, and swords were found, together with a great quantity of crowfeet for disabling horses. The ringleaders were committed to York castle, and at the ensuing spring assizes were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to various terras of imprisonment of one, two, and three years. At the same time four of the Bradford chartists were sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and three from Barnsley to the term of two years. At the same assizes, Feargus O'Connor was con- victed of having published, in the Northern Star newspaper, of which he was the editor and proprietor, certain seditious libels : and the noted demagogue orators, Vincent and Edwards, who were at the time undergoing a former sentence in prison, were convicted at Monmouth of a conspiracy to effect great changes in the government by illegal means, &c., and were severally sentenced to a fur- ther imprisonment of 12 and 14 months. In various other places, also— London among the rest — chartist conspirators were tried and punished for their misdeeds. A.D. 1840. — On the 16th of January the queen met her parliament, and commenced her speech with the following plain and un- affected sentence : — ' My lords and gentle- men, — Since you were last as.=.embled I have declared my intention of allying my- self in marriage with the Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha. I humbly implsre that the divine blessing may prosper this union, and render it conducive to the in- terests of my people, as well as to my own domestic happiness.' There could be no reasonable ground for cavilling at her majesty's choice. A natura- lisation bUl for his royal highness was im- mediately passed ; and lord John Russell moved a resolution authorising her majesty to grant 50,00o;. a year to the prince for his life. This was generally thought to be more than sufficient ; and Mr. Hume moved as an amendment, that the grant be 21,000i. ; how- ever.^n a division there was a majority of 267 against the amendment. Upon this, colonel Sibthorp moved a second amend- ment, substituting 30,0iX)'., which was sup- ported by Mr. Goulburn, sir J. Graham, and sir R. Peel, who considered 30,000f. a just and liberal allowance for the joint lives of the queen and the prince, and for the prince's possible survivorship, should there be no issue; if an heir should be born, then the 30,000?. might properly be advanced to 50,000-'. ; and, should there be a numerous issue, it would be reasonable to make a still further increase, such as would beflt the father of a large family of royal chil- dren. Those events would justify the aug- mentations, by giving a guarantee for the prince's permanent residence in, and at- tachment to, this country. He showed the inapplicability of the precedents in the cases of queens-consort, and animadverted upon the instance of prince Leopold's 50,000!. ; as the whole countrj' had cried out that that allowance was excessive; and on the house again dividing, the numbers were, for the amendment 262, for the mo- tion 158 ; majority against ministers 104. On the 6th of the ensuing month (Fe- bruarj') the bridegroom elect, conducted by viscount Torrington, and accompanied by the duke his father, and his elder brother, arrived at Dover ; and (m the 10th, the marriage of the queen's most excel- lent majesty with fleld-marshal his royal highness Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emanuel, duke of Saxe, prince of Saxe Co- bourg and Gotha, K.G., was solemnised at the chapel royal, St. James's. F'or many months past there had been an interruption to those relations of amity and commerce which for a long period had been maintained between this country and China. It originated in the determination on the part of the Chinese government to put an end to the importation of opium into the ' celestial empire,' and to the op- position made to that decree by tlie British merchants engaged in that tralHc. Early in the preceding year a large quantity of opium, belonging to British merchants, was given up, on the requisition of Mr. Elliot, the queen's representative at Can- ton, to be destroyed by the Chinese autho- rities. The quantity seized was upwards of twenty thousand chests, which was sup- posed to be worth two millions; and Mr. EUiot pledged the faith of the government he represented that the merchants should receive compensation. The English government was naturally desirous to keep on good terms with a country from which so many commercial advantages had been derived ; but the Chi- nese authorities daily grew more arrogant and unreasonable, and several outrages against the English were committed. At length, in an affray between some sea- men of the Volage and the Chinese, one of the latter was killed ; and when captain Elliot refused to deliver up the homicide to commissioner Lin, the most severe and arbitrary measures were immediately t.aken to expel all the British inhaljitants from Macao. This hostile conduct was quickly followed by an outrage of a still more se- CFitQ;Tanir.-l0ujge of 23nntjS&jfclt.— ©tctorfa. 501 rious character. The Black Joke, having (in hoard one passenger, a Mr. Moss, and six Lascars, was obliged to anchor In the Lantaod passage, to wait for the tide. Here she was surrounded by three manda- rin boats, by whose crews she w;is boarded ; five of the Lascars butchered,— and Mr. Moss shockingly mutilated. These pro- ceedings gave rise to further measures of hostility. On the 4th Sept. captain Elliot came from Hong Kong to Macao in his cut- ter, in company with the schooner Pearl, to obtain provisions for the fleet. The man- darins, however, on board the war-junks opposed their embarkation, when captain Elliot intimated that if in half an hour the provisions were not allowed to pass, he would open a fire upon them. The half hour passed, and the gun was flred. Three war junks then endeavoured to put to sea, but were compelled, by a well-directed fire of the cutter and the Pearl, to seek shelter under the walls of Coloon fort. About six o'clock the Volage frigate hove in sight, and the boat of captain Douglas, with twenty-four British seamen, attempted to board the junk, but without success. The boat's crew then opened a Are of musketry, by which a mandarin and four Chinese sol- diers were killed, and seven wounded. The result, however, was, that the provisions were not obtained, and that the Chinese junks escaped; while, instead of any ap- proach to a better miderstandlng between the two countries, it was regarded rather as thecommencemeut of a war; which. Indeed, the next news from China confirmed. On the appearance of another British ship, the Thomas Coutts, at TThaniptia, commissioner Liu renewed his demand for the surrender of the murderer of the Chi- nese, and issued an edict commanding all the British ships to enter the port of Can- ton and sign the opium bond, or to depart from the coast immediately. In case of non-compliance with either of these con- ditions, within three days, the commis- sioner declared he would destroy the entire British fleet. On the publication of this edict captain Elliot demanded an explana- tion from the Chinese admiral Kawu, who at first pretended to enter into a negotia- tion, but immediately afterwards ordered out twenty-nine war-junks, evidently in- tending to surround the British ships. The attempt, however, ended in five of the junks being sunk, and another blown up, each with from 150 to 200 men on board ; and on the rest making off, captain Elliot or- dered the firing to cease. A decree was now Issued by the emperor prohibiting the importation of all British goods, and the trade with China was con- sequently at an end ; but the American ships arrived and departed as usual. In the meantime preparations on a large scale were making in India to collect and send ofi: a large force to China, so as to bring this most Important quarrel to an issue. Several men of war and corvettes, from England and various foreign stations, were also got ready, and the command given to admiral Elliot, to give the expedition all the assistance and cooperation possible. The object of these preparations, as was stated by lord John Russell in the house of commons, was, in the first place, to ob- tain rep.aration for the Insults and Injuries offered to her majesty's subjects by the Chinese government ; in the second place, to obtain for the merchants trading with China an indeinniflcatlon for the loss of their property incurred by threats of vio- lence offered by persons under the direc- tion of the Chinese government ; and, in the last place, to obtain a certain security that persons and property, in future trad- ing with China, shall be protected from insult or injury, and that their trade and commerce be maintained on a proper foot- ing. We shall hereafter have occasion to show the progress of the armament des- tined for China and its results. The ac- count we have here given was deemed necessary in order to show the origin of the dispute. "We return now to matters of domestic interest. A great sensation was caused in the pub- lic mind by an attempt to assassinate the queen. On the 10th of June, as her ma- jesty was starting for an evening drive, up Constitution-hill, in a low open carriage, accompanied by prince Albert, a young man deliberately flred two pistols at her, but happily without effect. His name proved to be Edward Oxford, a young man about eighteen years of age. He was instantly seized, and sent to Newgate on a charge of high treason ; butasitappcaredonhis trial cwhich lasted two days) that there were grounds for attributing the act to insanity, and as there was no positive proof that the pistols were loaded, the jury returned a verdict of ' guilty but that at the time he committed the act he was insane.' The con- sequence was, that he became an inmate of Bethlem for life, as was the case with Hatfield, who forty years before flred off a pistol at George III. in Drury-lane theatre. It is some time since we have had occa- sion to notice anything relative to French affairs ; but ai\ event transpired in August which we cannot well omit. On the 6th of that month Louis Napoleon (son of the late king of Holland, and heir male of the Buonaparte family) made an absurd at- tempt to effect a hostile descent upon the coast of France. He embarked from London in the Edinburgh Castle steamer, which he had hired from the Commercial Steam Navi- gation Company. They landed at a small port about two leagues from Boulogne, to which town they immediately marched. But the soldiers refused to rally under his standard, and within three hours the prince and his followers were safely lodged in the castle. From Boulogne he was removed to the castle of Ham, and placed in the rooms once occupied by prince Polignac. On being tried and found guilty, Louis NapoleiO; if not liefore the end of four- teen days, to 8,000,1X10; and if not before twenty days, to 9,000,000 dollars. After three days, the conditions havlnsr been ful- niled, the troops left for Hong Kong, having had 13 men killed and 97 wounded. Sir H. F. Seiilionsedicd on bo.ani the Blenheim from a feviT hroiiuht on by excessive fa- tigue. Xotwithstanding this defeat, the Chinese were still determined to resist, and Yeh Shan had reported to the emperor, his uncle, that when he had induced the bar- barians to withdraw, he would rejjalr all the forts aeain. The emperor, on his part, declared that, as a last resort, he would put himself at the head of his army, and march to India and England, and tear up the Eng- lish root and branch! Sir Henry Pottinger, the new plenipo- tentiary, and rear-admiral Parker, the new naval commander-in-chief, arrived at Macao on the 9th of August. A notification of sir Henry's prese7ice and powers was sent to Canton immediately on his arrival, ac- companied by a letter forwarded to the em- peror at Pekin, the answer to which was required to be sent to a northern station. The fleet, consisting of nine ships of war, fourarmed steamers, and twenty-two trans- ports, sailed for the island and fortified city of Amoy on the 21st of August. This island is situated in a fine gulf in the province of Fokein, the great tea dis- trict of China, opposite the island of For- mosa, and about 350 miles north-east of the gulf of Canton, 500 miles south of Clni- san, and 1,300 miles from Pekin. It was fortified by very strong defences, of granite rocks faced with mud, and mounted with no less than 500 pieces of cannon. On the 26th, after a brief parley with a man- darin, the city was bombarded for two hours. Sir Hugh Gough, with the 18th regiment, then lauded, and seized one end of the long battery ; whilst the 26th regi- ment, with the sailors and marines, car- ried the strong batteries on the island of Koolangsee, just in front of Amoy. The Chinese made an animated defence for four hours, and then fled from all their for- tifications, and also from the city, carrying with them their treasures. The Chinese junks and war-boats were all captured ; and the cannon, with immense munitions of war, of course fell into the hands of the English. Not a single man of the British was killed, and only nine were wounded. The next day sir Hugh Gough entered the city at the head of his troops without op- position. The next despatches from China stated that Chusan had been recaptured on the 1st of October. A more resolute stand than usual was made by the Chinese ; but the troops, supported by the flre of the ships, ascended a hill, and escaladed Ting- hae, the capital city, from whence the Bri- tish colours were soon seen flying in every direction. On the 7th the troops attacked the city of Cinhae, on the mainland oppo- site Chusan, which is enclosed by a wall thirty-seven feet thick, and twenty-two feet high, with an embrasured parapet of four feet hmh. The shijis slielled the citadel and enfiladed the batteries; the seamen and marines then landed, and admiral sir W. Parker, with the true spirit of a British sailor, was among the first to scale the walls. Here was found a great arsenal, a cannon foundry and gun-carriage manu- factory, and a great variety of warlike stores. Several other engagements took place, in all of which the British continued to have a most decided advantage, although it was admitted that the Chinese and Tartar sol- diers showed more resolution and a better acquaintance with the art of war than on former occasions. However, as a large re- inforcement .of troops, with a battering train which had been sent from Calcutta, w.as shortly expected, sir Henry Pottinger put oit the execution of some intended operations on a more extended scale until their arrival. Home affairs again require our attention. The finances of the country had latterly assumed a most discouraging aspect ; and on the chancellor of the exchequer bring- ing forward his annual budget, he proposed to make up the defl^-iency of the present year, which he stated to be 2,421,000/., be- sides the aggregate deficiency of 5,00O,000I., mainly by a modification of the duties on sugar and timber, and an alteration of the duties on corn. The opposition, generally, censured the proceedings of ministers ; and sir Robert Peel commented severely on the enormous deficiency of 7,500,000/. incurred during the past five years, with a revenue, too, which had been throughout improving It appeared that the Melbourne adminis- tration was on the wane; and its perma- nency was put to the test when lord John PiUssell, in moving that the house should go into a committee of ways and means in order to consider the sugar duties, entered into a defence of the present policy of go- vernment. Lord S.andim then moved the amendment of which he had given notice, ' That considering the efforts and sacrifices which parliament and the country have made for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, with the earnest hope that their exertions and example might lt\ad to the mitigation and final extension of those evils in other countries, this house is not prepared (especially with the present pro- spects of the supply of sugar from British possessions) to adopt the measure proposed by her majesty's government for the reduc- tion of the duties on foreign sugars.' The debate which hereupon ensued was ad- journed from day to day, and lasted for the unprecedentedextentof eight nights. When the house divided, on the 18th of ilay, there appeared for lord Sandon's amendment, 317 ; against it, 281 ; majority against mi- nisters, .36. On the 27th of May sir R. Peel took an opportunity of minutely reviewing the va- rious measures that had been submitted to parliament by ministers, and afterwards CFuQlatitJ.— I^DtiSc 0f Uruiiaajicit.— ?Ffrtnrta. 505 abandoned, and tlie prejudicial effects on tlie fliiances of the conutry which had ac- crued from the passing of others. Sir Robert added, that in every former case where the house had indicated that its confidence was withdrawn from the minis- try, the ministers had retired. The whole of their conduct betrayed weakness and a servile truckling for popular favour; and the prerogatives of the crown were not safe in their hands. He then moved the follow- ing resolution, 'That her majesty's minis- ters do not sufficiently possess the confi- dence of the bouse of commons to enable them to carry tlirough the liouse measures which they deem of essential importance to the public welfare, and that their conti- nuance in office, under such circumstances, is at variance with the spirit of the consti- tution.' This motion was carried in a full house (the number of members present being 623), by a majority of one. On the 22nd of June her majesty prorogued parlia- ment, 'with a view to its immediate disso- lution ; ' and It was accordingly dissolved by proclamation on the following day. On the meeting of the new parliament (August the 24lh), the strength of the consers-ative party was striking. The min- isters had no measures to propose beyond those on which they had before sustained a defeat ; and when iyi amendment to the address was put to the vote, declaratory of a want of confidence in her majesty's pre- sent advisers. It elicited a spirited debate of four nights' continuance, terminating in a majority of 91 against ministers. This result produced, as a matter of course, an immediate change In the ministry. The new cabinet was thus constituted :— Sir 11. Peel, first lord of tlie treasury; duke of ■Wellington (without office); lord Lynd- hurst, lord-chancellor: lord Wharnclilfe, president of the council; duke of Bucking- Iiam, privy seal ; right hon. H. Goulburn, chancellor of the exchequer; sir James Graliam, home secretary ; earl of Aberdeen, foreign secretary ; lord Stanley, colonial secretary ; earl of Haddington, first lord of the admiralty ; lord EUenborough, presi- dent of the board of control ; earl of Ripon president of the board of trade ; sir Henry Hardinge, secretary at war ; sir Edward KnatchbuU, treasurer of the navy and pay- master of the forces. Earl de Grey was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland ; and sir Edward Sugden, Irish lord chancellor. Some ordinary business being disposed of, sir R. Peel proposed to defer till after Christmas the )neasures he thought neces- sary to equalise the expenditure and the revenue, and the plans of ministers for meeting the commercial difficulties of the country : and the first session closed on the 7th of October. On the 30th of October, the inhabitants of London were alarmed by a destructive fire in the Tower, which broke out about lialf-past ten o'clock at night, and con- tinued to rage with the utmost fury for several hours. It was first discovered in the round or Bowyer tower, and quickly spread to the grand armoury. Notwith- standing the exertions of the firemen and the military, the confiagration continued to spread, and apprehensions were enter- tained that the jewel tower, with its crowns, sceptres, and other emblems of royalty deposited there, would fall a prey to the flames. Happily, by prompt exertion, they were all taken to the governor's resi- dence; and the gunpowder and other war- like stores in the ordnance office, were also removed. In addition to the annoury and Bo^vyer tower, three other large buildings were entirely consumed. The grand ar- moury was 345 feet long, and 60 feet broad. In the Tower floor were kept about forty- three pieces of cannon, made by foiniders of dlflierent periods, besides various other interesting objects, and a large number of chests containing arms in readiness for use. A grand staircase led to the upper floor, which was all one room, and called the small armoury, in which were above 150,000 stand of small arms, new flinted, and ready for immediate service. As that part of the building where the Are originated was heated by flues from stoves, it was the general opinion that the accident was thereby occasioned. The loss sustained, including the expense of rebuilding, was estimated at about 250,000?. On the 9th of November the queen gave birtli to a prince at Buckingham-palace. On the 25th of the following January the infant prince of Wales received the name of Albert Edward, the king of Prussia being one of the sponsors. A.D. 1842.— The year commenced wntli most disastrous intelligence from India. In consequence of reductions having been made in the tribute paid to the eastern Ghilzie tribes, for keeping open the passes between Caboul and Jellalabad, in Afl'ghan- istan, the people rose and took possession of those passes. Gen. sir R. Sale's brigade was therefore directed to reopen the com- munication. The brigade fought its way to Gundamuck, greatly harassed by the enemy from the high ground, and, after eighteen days' incessant fighting, reached that place, much exhausted ; they then moved upon Jellalabad. Meantime an in- surrection broke out at Caboul. Sir A. Burnes, his brother lieut. C. Burnes, lieut. BroadXoot, and lieut. Sturt were massacred. The whole city then rose in arms, and universal plunder ensued — whilst another large party attacked the. British canton- ments, about two miles from the town. These outrages, unfortunately, were but the prelude to others far more frightful. Akh- bar Khan, the son of Dost Mahommed, ou pretence of making arrangements with sir W. M'Naghten, the British envoy at the court of Shah Soojah, invited him to a conference ; he went, accompanied by four officers and a small escort ; when the trea- cherous Aifghan, after abusing the British ambassador, drew a pistol and shot him dead on the spot. Capt. Trevor, of the 3vd Bengal cavalry, on rushing to his assist- ance, was cut down, three other officers were made prisoners, and the mutilated body of the ambassador was then barba- rously paraded through the town. It was also stated that some severe fighting had dOG (Tljr rrrnSttrn of ?}t«ftnrp, *Vr. takPii place, but under the greatest dlsad- vantaBe to the British and native troops, and that the army In Catioul had been almost literally annihilated. A capitulation was then entered into, by which the re- mainder of I lie Auk-'lo-lndian army retired from the town, leaving all the sick, wound- ed, and sixteen ladies, wives of ofllcers, behind. They had not, however, proceeded far before they were assailed from the mountains by an innnense force, when the native troops, having fought three days, and wading through deep snow, gave way, and nearly the whole were massacred. So terrible a disaster had never visited the British arms since India first acknow- ledged the supremacy of England. A fatal mistake had been committed by the former government, and it was feared that all the energy of the new ministry would be insuf- ficient to m.aintain that degree of influence over the vast and thickly peopled provinces of India, which was necessarj' to insure the safety of our possessions. The governor- general, lord Auckland, was recalled ; and his place supplied by lord Ellenborougb, whose reputation for a correct knowledge of Indian affairs was undisputed. His lord- ship arrived at Calcutta on Feb. 28; at which time sir Robert Sale was safe at Jellalabad ; but he was most critically situ- ated. The garrison, however, maintained their post with great g.allantry, and were able to defj' the utmost efforts of the Affghans, having in one Instance sallied forth and attacked their camp of 6,000 men, and gained a signal victory. At length general Pollock effected a junction with the troops of sir R. Sale, and released them from a siege of 154 days' duration : having previously forced, with very little loss, the dreaded pass of the Khyber, twenty-eight miles in length. General Nott also, who advanced from Candahar to meet general England, who had sustained considerable loss at the pass of Kojuck, encountered a large force of Affghans and completely defeated them. But, on the other hand, colonel Palmer surrendered the celebrated fortress of Ghuznee, on condition that the garrison should be safely conducted to Caboul. The day of retribution was now at hand. General Nott, at the head of ",000 men, having left Candahar on the 10th of Au- gust, iiroceeded towards Ghuznee and Ca- boul ; while general England, with the re- mainder of the troops lately stationed at Candahar, marched back in safety to Quetta. On the 30th of August Shah Shoodeu, the governor of Ghuznee, with nearly the whole of his army, amounting to not less than 12,000 men, arrived in the neighbourhood of the British camp ; and general Xott pre- pared to meet him with one half of his force. The enemy came boldly forward, each division cheering as they came into position, and occupying their ground in excellent style ; but after a short and spi- rited contest, they were completely de- feated, and dispersed in every direction ; their guns, tents, ammunition, &c. falling into the hands of the Encrlish. On the 5th of September general Nott Invested the city of Ghuznee, which was strongly gar- risoned, while the hills to the north-east- ward swarmed with soldiery ; but they soon abandoned the i)lace, and the British flags were li.iit^tcil in triniiiiih on the B.ila Uis- .s:ir. The cil;i.lcl of (Jlinznee, and other forniiilable wiirks and defences, were razed to the ground. Early in September general Pollock marched from Gundamuck on his way to Caboul. On reaching the hills which com- nuind the road through the pass of Jug- dullock, the enemy was found strongly posted and in considerable numbers. In this action most of the influential Affghan chiefs were engaged, and their troops manfully maintained their position ; but at length the heights were stormed, and, after much arduous exertion, they weredis- lodgcd and dispersed. (General Pollock pro- ceeded onwards, and does not appear to have encountered any further opposition until his arrival, Sept. 13, in the Tehzear valley, where an army of 16,000 men, com- manded by Akhbar Khan in person, was assembled to meet him. A desperate fight ensued ; the enemy was completely defeat- ed and driven from the field. On the day following this engagement the general ad- vanced to Boodkhak ; and on the 16th he made his triumphal entry into the citadel, and planted the British colours on its walls. At length the long and anxiously desired liberation of the whole of the British pri- soners in the hands of the Affghans was effected. Their number was 31 officers, 9 ladies, and 12 children, with 51 European soldiers, 2 clerks, and 4 women, making in all 109 persons, who had suffered captivity from Jan. 10, to Sept. 2r. It appeared that, by direction of Akhbar Khan, the prisoners iiad been taken to Bameean, 90 miles to the westward, and that they were destined to be distributed among the Toorkistan chiefs. General Pollock and some other ofllcers proposed to the Affghan chief, that if he would send them back to Caboul, they would give him 2,WMI. at once, and l,200i, a year for life. The cliief complied, and on the second day they were met by sir Rich- mond Shakspear, with 610 Kuzzilbashes, and shortly afterwards by general Sale, with 2,000 cavalry and infantry, when they returned to Caboul. Besides the Europeans, there were 327 Sepoys found at Ghuznee, and 1,200 sick and wounded, who were beg- ging about Caboul. On the arrival of gene- ral Nott's division, the resolution adopted by the British government to destroy all the Affghan strongholds was carried into execution ; though not mthout resistance, particularly at the town and fort of Istalifl, where a strong body of Affghans, led on by Ameer Oola, and sixteen of their most determined chiefs, had posted themselves. This town consisted of masses of houses built on the slope of a mountain, in the rear of which were lofty eminences, shut- ting in a defile to Toorkistan. The number r)f its inhabitants exceeded 15,000, who, from their defences and diflficulties of ap- proach, considered their possession unas- sailable. The greater part of the plunder ©nslanir.— ^nuSe of aUrunsftotrS.— SFtctnria. 507 seized last January from the Britisli was placed there ; the chiefs kept their wives and families in it; and many of those who had escaped from Oabonl had sought refuge there. Its capture, however, was a worlv of no great difficulty; the British troops driving the enemy liefore them with consi- derable slaughter. The Anglo-Indian troops soon afterwards commenced their home- ward march in three divisions; the first under general PoUoclc, the second under general M'Caskill and the third under ge- neral Nott. The first division effected their march througli tlie passes without loss ; but the second was less successful, the mountaineers attacking it about Ali-Mus- jid, and plundering it of part of the bag- gage. General Nott, with his division, ar- rived in safety ; bf-aring with them the celebrated gates of Somnauth, which, it is said, a Mahometan conqueror had taken away from an Indian temple, and which, during nearly eight centuries, formed the chief ornament of his tomb at Ghuznee. The Niger expedition, as it was termed, which was undertaken last year by l)ene- volent individuals, supported by a govern- ment grant of 60,000!., was totally defeated by the pestilential effects of the climate. The intention was, to plant in the centre of Africa an English colony, in the hope, by the proofs afforded of the advantages of agriculture and trade, to reclaim the na- tives from the custom of selling their cap- tives into sl.averj'. Among the various domestic incidents which diversify a nation's annals, none excite such lively interest or give birth to such a spontaneous burst of loyal feeling, as outrages directed against the life or welfare of a beloved sovereign. On the .SOth of May, as her majesty, accompanied by prince Albert, was returning down Con- stitution-hill, to Buckingham-palace, from her afternoon's ride, a young man, named John Francis, Bred a pistol at the carriage, but without effecting any injurj'- Hp was immediately taken into custody, examined before the privy council, and then com- mitted to Newgate ; he was tried and found guilty of high treason ; but the extreme penalty was commuted to transportation for life. It was evident that the false and repre- hensible sympathy shown to Oxford had encouraged others in their base attempts ; and sir Robert Peel, acting on that con- viction, introduced a bill into parliament for the better security of hermajesty's per- son ; his object being to consign the of- fenders to that contempt and to that sort of punishment which befitted their dis- graceful practices. The bill was so framed as to inflict for the offences of presenting flre-arins at her majesty, or striking or at- tempting to strike her person with missiles, and for various other acts of violence in- tended to alarm her majesty, or disturb the public peace, the penalty of seven years' transportation, with previous Imprison- ment and a good flogging, or other bodily chastisement. Her majesty having signified her Inten- tion of visiting Scotland this summer, she and prince Albert embarked at Woolwich Aug. 29. During their progress every tower and beacon along the coast vied in demon- strations of loyalty. Her majesty arrived Sept. 1 ; and on lauding proceeded direct to Dalkeith palace. On the 3rd her majesty made her public entry into Edinburgh ; and reembarking on the 15th, in two days readied Windsor-castle. We must once more recur to the warlike operations in China. After the arrival of reinforcements, the British expedition on the l.'ith of June entered the large river called Yang-tze-Kiang, on the banks of which were immense fortifications. The fleet at daylight having taken their stations, the batteries opened a flre, which lasted two hours. The seamen and marines then landed, and drove the enemy out of the bat- teries before the troops could be disem- barked. 253 guns were here taken, of heavy calibre, and n feet long. On the 19th two other batteries were taken, in which were 48 guns. The troops then took possession of the city of Shanghai, destroyed the pub- lic buildings, and distributed the granaries among the people. Two other field-works were also taken, and the total of the guns captured amounted to theastonishingnum- ber of 364. The squadron set sail from Woosung on the 6th of July; on the 20th the vessels anchored abreast of the city of Ching-Keang-foo, which commands the en- trance of the grand canal, and the next morning the troops were disembarked, and marched to the attack of the Chinese forces. One brigade was directed to move against the enemy's camp, situated about three miles distant ; another was ordered to co- operate with this division in cuttingoff the expected retreat of the Chinese from the camp ; while the third received instruction? to escalade the northern wall of the town. The Chinese, after firing a few distant vol- leys, fled from the camp with precipitation, and dispersed over the country. The city itself, however, was manfully defended bv theTartar soldiers, who prolonged the con- test for several hours, resisting with despe- rate valour the combined efforts of the three brigades, aided by a reinforcement of ma- rines and seamen. At length opposition ceased, and ere nightfall the British were complete masters of the place. Ching- Keang-foo, like Amoy, was most strongly fortified, and the works in excellent repair. It is supposed that the garrison consisted of not less than 3,000 men, and of these about 1,000 and 40 mandarins were killed and wounded. The Tartar general retired to his house when he saw that all was lost, made his servants set it on fire, and sat in his chair till he was burned to death. On the side of the British, 15 officers and 154 men, of both services, were killed and wounded. A strong garrison being left behind for the retention of Ching-keang-foo, the fleet proceeded towards Nankin, about 40 miles distant, and arrived on the 6th of August, when preparations were immediately made for an attack on the city. A force, under the command of major-general lord Saltoun, was landed and took up their position 508 Cfjp CwKduru 0l i^tit0ijj, ^t. to the west of the town ; and operations were about to lie eoniineneed, when a letter was sent ott to the plenipotentiary, reuuest- ins a truee, as certain hiali commission- ers, specially delei-'ateil by the emperor, and possessed of full powers to negotiate, were on their way to treat witli the English. After several visits and long discussions between the contracting jwwers, tlie treaty was publicly signed on board the Cornwallis, by sir H. Pottini.' on the appointment to the majority of heads of families in the parishes. This act, however, having been pronounced to be illegal by the courts of law, the leaders of ilic' doininaiit party in the Assembly determined to secede from the church. Accordingly on the first day of the meeting of the Uenoral Assembly in May, tlu! ministry and elders, members of tliat body, opposed to the right of pa- tronage and in favour of the veto, having given in a protest, retired to a separate place of meeting, and constituted them- selves, and such as might afterwards ad- here to them, into a body to be denomi- nated the Free Church of Scotland. Within a few weeks, 470 clergymen seceded from the establishment and joined the Free Church, together with nearly a third of the whole Scottish population. Whatever may be thought of its wisdom, this proceeding evinced but too well the sincerity and zeal -which animated the seceders. The voluntary abandonment by so many indi- viduals of their homes and incomes, rather than hold them by compromising what they believed to be a fundamental principle, re- flects the highest credit on the Scottish church and character. Towards the close of this year, the affairs of Ireland assumed a serious aspect. Mr. O'Connell, who had long not only vaunt- ingly prophesied the repeal of the union, but boasted that Ireland would see her own independent parliament legislating in Dublin by the approaching Christmas, now determined on active measures for the ac- complishment of his designs. For a long time previous his delusive promises had been echoed throughout the land ; and the exultation of his supporters and folIoT^ers — priestly as well as secular— at the pros- pect of so soon obtaining ' Ireland for the Irish,' was as extravagant as his haran- gues and proclamations were artful, insult- ing, and fulsome. It was too apparent, at the same time, to escape observation, that while he boasted of preserving the peace, and charged the government with attempting to overawe the people by the presence of the military, the mighty ' gatherings ' of repealers were conducted to the ground in companies and detachments, with all the precision and re- gularity of disciplined bodies. At Tara, Mullaghmast, and many other places, these monster meetings had thus displayed their 'moral' strength. At length, great pre- parations having been made for holding a repeal meeting at Clontarf, near Dublin, on Sunday the 15th of October, 1843, which was expected to be one of immense magni- tude, the lord-lieutenant, with the lord- chancellor, and other members of the Irish government, suddenly held a council at the castle on Saturday, and published a procla- mation, denouncing repeal agitatiou, and cautioning all persons from attending the Clontarf meeting, on pain of being pro- ceeded against according to law. Jlean- time fresh troops, in considerable numbers, arrived from England; and at Mr.O'Connell's bidding the meeting was abandoned ! But, notwithstanding this, goverament issued a warrant for the arrest of nine of (iPitsIanU.— i§0ugg 0f 3Srun^&)tc6.— il^irtorta. 5ii the leading agitators : viz. Daniel O'Con- nell, John O'Connell, Thomas M. Ray, Thomas Steele, Dr. Gray, Richard Bur- nett, Charles G. Duffy, Rev. Mr. Tyrrel, P.P., and Rev. James Tierney, P.P., all of whom had taken a conspicuous part in recent repeal meetings. The offence with which all these persons were charged was a conspiracy to excite disaffection and con- tempt among her majesty's subjects, and, amongst others, those serving in the army and navy ; to excite unlawful opposition to the government by the demonstration of physical force ; and to bring into contempt the legal tribunals of the country by usurp- ing tlie queen's prerogative in the establish- ment of courts for the administration of the law. They were also charged with en- deavouring to forward those objects by se- ditious speeches and libels, and with soli- citing and obtaining from different parts of the United Kingdom, as well as from foreign countries, divers large sums of money. The whole of the parties were then iield to bail, to take their trials in the Queen's Bench, Dublin. We have no space to enter into a detail of the judicial proceedings which followed ; but we must say that so numerous were the objections, and so technical the argu- ments, which were brought forward by the professional phalanx employed to defend the ' traversers,' that it seemed for a long time doubtful whether the trial would ever he brought to a close. The arguments ■were, however, combated seriatlvi by the counsel for the crown, the objections overruled by the judges, and a verdict of Guilty was at length recorded against gJJ of them, except the Rev. Mr. Tierney, Who had been previously discharged. Daniel O'Connell was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, to pay a fine of 2,000Z., and to And bondsmen for his good beha- viour for five years from the expiration of the term of his imprisonment ; the rest to nine months each and a flue of ML, and all to find sureties for keeping the peace after their terms of durance had expired. Against this judgment an appeal was made to the house of lords on a ' writ of error." Re- g.arding the question as one of laio rather than /act, the peers, instead of themselves adjudicating.reterred the subject in the first instance to the English judges, who sever- ally delivered their opinions on the differ- ent counts of the indictments, &c., the de- cision of the majority being in affirmation of the proceedings of the Irish court. It then (on the 3rd of September, 1844) came before the peers, when the ' lay lords ' consented to leave the decision of this most important national question to the ' law lords,' of -whom there were only five. Of these, two voted against, and three in favour of, the prisoners ; thus abrogating all that had been done in vindication of the offended laws, and leaving the question of ' repeal ' ojien for future strife and conten- tious disputation ! A.D. 1844.— At the commencement of this year, the affairs of the kingdom generally wore an improving aspect : trade and ma- nufactures were reviving: internal tran- quillity had in a great measure been re- stored ; and the revenue was in a compa- ratively flourishing state : in short, no cloud appeared to darken the political horizon, save that portentous one which still en- shrouded Ireland. On the 1st February her majesty opened the parliament in person. The royal speech referred with pride to our late successes in India ; to the establishment of commercial relations witli China ; and to the good un- derstanding which subsisted between the government and all foreign powers ; while the commercial and manufacturing pros- perity of the country formed a subject for equal congratulation. It also earnestly re- commended the adoption of such measures as might tend to improve the social con- dition of Ireland, and develope its natural resources ; but at the same time emphati- cally declared her majesty's firm determi- nation to maintain inviolate tiie legislative union between that country and Great Bri- tain. Tlie address was carried by a very large majority; and sir Robert Peel (who in his speech advocated corn-law protection, and dwelt on the advantages of his ' sliding- scale' over lord John Russell's proposition for a 'fixed duty') concluded by main- taining that his past measures had fulfilled the expectations he had held out, and that he now met parliament under greatly im- proved circumstances both at home and abroad. Indian affairs shortly afterwards formed the subject of parliamentary discussion ; and the thanks of both houses were voted to sir Charles Napier and the army em- ployed in Scinde, for their unbounded zeal and gallantry — the duke of 'Wellington taking the opportunity of complimenting sir Charles in the strongest terms, and declaring that he never knew an instance in whicli a general officer showed in a higher degree all the qualifications which were necessary for the conduct of great operations. This just tribute to the merits of an old and distinguished military officer was quickly followed by an event insepar- ably connected with the reputation and sta- bility of our Indian empire. From some cause, never thoroughly made public, the East India directors thought proper to re- call lord El]eni)orough, tlic goveriKU'-gene- ral. Tliisnnhlemui h;id only been apiininted to that important pnstabnut twoyrars : his acts liad met with the decided approbation of government, and it was generally sup- posed that his policy had given satisfaction to the court of directors. But it appeared that the contrary was the fact : and as va- rious niariiiii-iits had secured to them the undoubted liglit to recall the governor-ge- neral whenever they might think fit, they exercised that right on thepresentoccasion, not only without the consent of her majes- ty's ministers, but in opposition to their well-known sentiments. This conduct gave rise to various conjectures, and became the subject of considerable animadversion ; and the duke of Wellington, as one of the chief members of the government, did not hesi- tate to characterise it as the most indiscreet exercise of power he had ever known. It «12 C^e lEvtaSuxyi of l^t^tarn, iet. ■n-a? ncco-;?ni-j-, linwevor, that a new povi-r- nor-Kcneral should lie sent out withcuit de- lay; the onirc was acnirdiiiKly tendered to sir Henry Hardinire; and the directors, anxious to conciliate the ministry, rcadijy aciiiiiesced in his appoiiitniont. And now the subject of Irish affairs for a time (ontlnued to enwross the attention of parliament, to the exclusion of almost all other business. On a motiou brouKht for- ward by lord John Russell for a conimittee of the whole house on the state of Ireland, the debate was continued, by adjournment, .for nine nights, and ultimately rejected by a majority of 99. In the course of this pro- tracted discussion frequent reference was made to the recent trial and conviction of Daniel O'Connell and his coadjutors (but on which we need not dwell further here, the subject having been noticed in the concluding paragraph of the history of the preceding year). About the same time, another measure of relief to the Roman Catholic body was obtained by a bill for the abolition of a number of penal acts — many of which were otisolete, although they were still retained on the statute-l)oi>k. ■Several long debates also took place on nnitions for the limitation of the hours of labour In factories; tliat question exciting much controversy, but leading to no satis- factory result. The discussions on the subjects of free trade and the corn-laws, which had occu- pied so large a share of the attention of both houses m former sessions, did not this year engage so much of the time of parliament. Mr. Cobden, however, brought it before the house, by moving for a committee to enquire into the effects of protective duties on agri- cultural tenantsand labourers. Reargued that the gainers by the present Law were not the farmers, but the speculators; and he denied that corn could be grown abroad, or conveyed from foreign countries hither, at rates ruinous to the English agriculturist. Mr. Villiers and other members favourable to frep-trade principles, strongly dwelt upon the effect of the repeal of the corn laws in giving additional employment to m.anufac- turing districts: but the motion was lost by a majority against it of 91. When the chancellor of the exchequer exhibited his financial statement, it was seen that the revenue very considerably e,x- ceeded the expenditure; and a fact so gratifying was hailed with joy, and looked upon as a happy presage of still increasing prosperity by the public in general ; while it enabled him not only to propose the re- duction of those stocks which bore the highest rate of interest, but also the remis- sion of certain taxes. Long and anxious discussions on the sugar duties hill next engaged the attention of parliament, and the ministers sustained a defeat by a ma- jority of 20 ; but, on the 17th of June, sir Robert Peel called on the house to recon- sider their late decision ; when they re- covered from their ' false position,' by ob- taining a rather larger majority than the one by which they had been outvoted. It will be seen, from what has already been mentioned, that the legislature had beeu far from idle during this session ; hut no measure that had yet been brouglit forward equalled Iti magnitude, as regards the great in tere.-fs it Involved, or whichwas calculated to produce such effects upon the commer- cial and monetary transactions of tlu' kinn- dom, as the bill, introduced by sir R. i'eel, for the ret'ulation of the Bank of England, aiul for the administration of banking con- cerns in general. By an act of parliament passed in l.S.'iS, it was provided th.at the charier for securing certain privileges to the Bank of England shmild exi)ire in lffi.'>, but reserving to the legislature the power of giving six months' notice, to revise the charter ten years earlier ; and this the prime minister signified his intention of now do- ing. On a subject so extensive, and em- bracing such abundant details, we cannot pretend to give more than a faint out- line ; but it is incumbent on us to state, that the ability with which he introduced the subject, and the lucid arguments Iiy which he supported it, not only riveted the attention and admiration of the house, but tended to confirm an opinion w-hich at that time very generally prevailed, that sir Robert Peel was, of all public men, the one most capable of directing the financial operations of a great com- mercial country. He proposed that there should be an actual separation of the two departments of issue and banking, in the Bank of England ; and that there should be different officers to each, and a dif- ferent system of account ; thai the banking business of the Bank should be governed on precisely the same principles as would regulate any other body dealing with Bank of England notes ; that the fixed amount of securities on which he proposed that the Bank of England should issue notes was 14,000,000(. ; the whole of the remainder of the circulation to be issued exclusively on the foundation of bullion : that there should be a complete and periodical publication of the accounts of the Bank of England, both of the banking and issue departments, as tending to increase the credit of the Bank, and to prevent panic and needless alarm. ' I would therefore,' he said, ' enact by law, that there siiould be returned to the govern- ment a weekly accountof the issue of notes by the Bank of England— of the amount of bullion — of the fiuctuations of the bullion— of the amount of deposits— in short, an account of every transaction both in the issue department and the banking depart- ment of the Bank of England ; and that the government should forthwith publish un- reservedly and weekly a full account of the circulation of the Bank.' He also observed that the Bank would be allowed to extend its issues beyond the 14,000,000?. on emer- gency, but only with assent of three mem- bers of the government ; and in such case the whole of the net profit on any amount beyond the 14,000,000/. was to revert to government. After subtracting all the items of charge and necessary deductions, it was seen that 220,000;. would be derived from the issuing of notes. ' Hitherto,' said sir Robert, 'the Bank has paid 120,000!. to government for its privileges ; its privi- ihiQlmxiS.—^auit nf JSnuiiSlMtrft.— ?Etct0it(i. 513 leges are now to he affected ; but on tlie other band increased stability is to be given to its banking business;' and he proposed that in future the Bank should still pay that sum, besides the 60,000(. composition with tlie stamp-office, for the privilege of issuing notes, making in all about ISO.OOOJ. The difference between this sum, and the sura of 248,0001., which was the amount government paid to the Bank for the management of the public debt, would be the balance that government would have to pay over to the Bank. Among various regulations affecting joint-stock and private banks, the following appear to be the most important :— No new bank of issue to be constituted ; but all the existing banks of issue to be allowed to re- tain the privilege, upon condition that they do not exceed the present amount ; joint- sto'k banks in London, which were before restricted from accepting bills for a date less than six nmnths, to be placed on an equality with oHkt banks, and allowed to accept bills of any aiiKmnt, audany date: joint-stock banks to jaililish a full and com- plete periodical list of all partners and di- rectors ; and banks of issue to publish an account of their issues. Some parts of this comprehensive bill met with innsiil, rahle opposition, particularly that ivbirh limitiTl the issue and circulation of cuiiuiry noi cs : but after further discussions in cuiiHiiiitic, in which some members attempted to in- troduce modifications in the In'll, the origi- nal propositions of sir R. Peel were carried by a very large majority. The only other parliamentary proceeding of this session, which produced much ex- citement out of doors, was a bill which originated in the house of lords, where it was brought in by the lord chancellor. Its object was to confirm the possession of religious endowments in the hands of dis- senters ; and to put an end to all legal controversy respecting the right to volun- tary endowments connected with dissent- ing chapels, by vesting the property in the religious body in whose hands it had been for the preceding 20 years. The opposition this met with in parliament, though it was at first both loud and strong, was at length overcome by its being manifestly based upon the soundest principles of policy and justice ; and it was eventually carried by large majorities in both houses. On the 5th of September the royal assent having been given to several bills, and various routine business being disposed of, parliament was prorogued by commission to the 5th of October ; and it must be ad- mitted, that, considering the great and complicated interests continually springing up in this immense empire, and the ever- varying phases which those interests pre- sent to view, the destinies of the country wore a more promising appearance tlian they had exhibited for many previous years, and gave to the existing administration that degree of credit and stability which nothing but an Improved state of things could have given them. Although the warmest professions of sincerity between the governments of France and Great Britain had been reci- procated for the last three years, it was plainly to be seen that among a large por- tion of the French people there existed a latent jealousy against 'perfldious Albion,' as the democratic press chose to term our sea-girt home. That M. Gnizot and his compeers had no share in encouraging this odious feeling, our government was well aware; and that Louis Philippe was sin- cerely desirous of preserving the political friendship of the two nations was shown by all his words and actions. But still there was a formidable war party in Prance— a restless, discontented faction, whose pug- nacious valour seemed to be unappeasable by anything short of an appeal to arms. At one time, indeed, a pretext for coming to an open rupture appeared on the eve of presenting itself. Queen Pomare, the so- vereign of Tahiti, had, by a treaty in 1842, placed her dominions under the protection of France— an act which appears to have been distasteful to the natives; and the French experienced considerable difficulty, which they attributed to the intrigues of English missionaries resident in the island. Admiral Dupetit Thouars insisted that the queen should hoist the French flag, in token of the French sovereignty ; and on her refusal to comply, troops and seamen were landed to take possession in the name of the king of the French, and M. d'Aubigny was appointed governor. On the news of this occupation reaching Europe, the act was at once disavowed by the French government. A Mr. Pritchard, who had gone out originally to tliis distant island in the Pacific as a missionary, had been acting as British consul there; and though he had notified to the English govern- ment his wish to resign the olBce, intel- ligence of the acceptance of this resigna- tion had not reached Tahiti, and he was still exercising the functions of consul. A French sentinel having been .attacked and disarmed by the natives, Mr. Pritchard was held responsible for their acts, and he was seized and hurried off to prison by order of the French governor. When the news of this outrage reached England, a very gene- ral feeling of indignation was expressed ; and sir Robert Peel, in his place in the house of commons, declared, that a gross outrage, accompanied with gross indignity, had been committed upon Mr. Pritcliard, though, as it was well known, the French government were not privy to it. He, however, represented theaffairin its proper colours to them ; and on the last day of the sessions of the British parliament he was enaliled to state that the Tahitian business had been brought to an amicable and satis- factory termination— the conditions being, that Mr. Pritchard would receive a sum of money from the French government as an indemnity or compensation for the outrage. On the 6th of August Queen Victoria was happily delivered of a prince. On the 9th of September Her Majesty, accompanied by Prince Albert, the Princess Royal, and suite, proceeded to Scotland. Her return from Scotland was followed by the speedy arrival of Louis Philippe, king of the 514 CtjC Ciraaury at ^istuiy, *fc. FriMuli, on a vUit to Her Majesty, at Windsor-castle. On the IStli of Octnher, a most interesting ceremony took i>laoe in London, and one that will be lontf memorahle in the eity annals,— the openin« of the New Royal Exchanpre by Queen Victoria. A.D. 184.').— We have seen that Great Britain iR^ran the year 1844 with tavourahle omens, and continued to advance in indus- trial and commercial prosperity to its close ; and It was generally admitted that to sir Robert Peel's financial measures .and fiscal regulations much of that prosperity was to be attributed : accordingly at the com- mencement of 1843, his position and that of Ills colleagues appeared to possess increased stability. But doubtless there were potent drawbacks to it. The successful exertions of the anti-corn law league still occasioned great disquietude to the agriculturists; and a feeling of great uncertainty, as to the ul- timate fate of the much-assailed protective laws, was generally entertained by those of the landed classes who kept a watchful eye on the course of passing events. 'when the queen met her parliament on the first day of the session (Feb. 4, 18451, she was enabled to state that trade and com- merce had been extended at home and abroad: — that she continued to receive from all foreign powers and states assur- ances of their friendly disposition (alluding moreparticularly to the visits of the emperor of Russia and the king of the French); — and that the political agitation and excite- ment which she had heretofore had occasion to lament existed in Ireland appeared to have gradually abated. But whether this apparent state of repose and security had been effected by the prosecution of O'Con- nell and his fellow-repealers, or by the re- versal of their sentences, the royal speech did not hazard even the most guarded hint. Ten days after the opening of the session the premier submitted his financial scheme to the house, and clearly showed that he liad to deal with a prosperous revenufc. He stated, that on the 5th of January 1845, he had a surplus amount over the expenditure of 3,357,(X)0(., and that by making the ac- count up to the approaching 5th of April he might fairly estimate the actual surplus re- venue at 5,000,(W0i. ; a sum, he said, which would be either sufficient for the repeal of the income-tax, or enable him to make large remissions in general taxation. He decided on the latter course ; and proposed that the income-tax should be continued for threeyears longer. Thedetails of hisfinan- cial propositions (all of which, after con- siderable discussion, were ultimately car- ried), may be thus summed up :— The duties on British plantation sugar he proposed Bhould be reduced from 25s. 3d. per cvrt. to 14s. per cwt., and the foreign free-grown sugar from 35s. 9d. to 23s. 4d. He proposed also the total repeal of the duty on cotton- wool, amounting to five sixteenths of a penny per lb., and yielding a revenue of 680,000i. ; the repeal of the auction duty, 250,(X>0i. ; of the duties on glass, 640,000i. ; of the export duty on coal, 183,000Z. ; and of reductions on duty on the numerous minor art icles in the tariff to the ex tent nf;i-.'o,fKio/.: which, together with an estimated loss on the suear duties of 1,3(X),000(., would amount to 3,3«S,(X)0i. Among the most important and obstinately contested questions brought l)efore the con- sideration of parliament were the proposal to augment the grant for supporting the Catholic College of Maynooth, and the es- tablishment of three Irish colleges for secu- lar education. With regard to Maynooth, sir R. Peel declared that the government were prepared, ' in a liberal sense and con- fiding spirit,' to improve that institution, and to elevate the tone of education there : for which purpose he proposed that a vote for the sum of 30,000/. should be taken for the proper accommodation of the president and professors, and for the maintenance and education of 500 free students. This an- nouncement excited much surprise, and, from many of the members, strong animad- versions, based on religious grounds; but the minister, speaking for himself and col- leagues, said, 'We do not think there is any violation of conscientious scruples in- volved in our proposition. We believe that it is perfectly compatible to hold stedfast theprofessionofourfaith without wavering, and at the same time to improve the edu- cation and to elevate the character of those who— do what you will— pass this measure or refuse it— must be the spiritual guides and religious instructors of miUionsof your fellow-countrymen.' When the minister's plan became known, a determined opposition to it arose in the country, and numerous were the petitions that were presented against it. In London great meetings were held in Exeter-hall and Covent-garden theatre, and the measure was condemned in the strongest terms, as an endowment by the state of the popish religion. The opposition to it, however, was counteracted by the great majority of votes it obtained in both houses.and it at length pa-ssed into a law. The Irish colleges bill was introduced by sir J. Graham on the 9tb of May. Its object was to establish three colleges for secular education in Ireland, to be wholly independent of all religious instruction, though it should give every fa- cility to the voluntarn endowment of theo- logical professorships. Sir R. H. Inglis de- clared it to be 'a gigantic scheme of godless education;' but the epithet, though strong and characteristic, and one that was well calculated to dwell on the ear, failed to make an impression suHiciently powerful to defeat the measure ; and it passed, carried by a great majority. The labours of a long and anxious session of parliament were now brought to a close. The queen appeared in person ; and the speaker, in addressing her majesty on the various and important business which had occupied the attention of the legislature, spoke of the rapid developement of private enterprise, in extending the railway com- munications of the kingdom— the care with which they had consulted the interests, and regarded the religious feelings of the people of Ireland, by the Maynooth grant, and the means they had provided for academical CPiigranXr.— Iftou^j of ISiuiiStotcfe.— ^Eorge Mi. 515 Instruction in that country — tbe abolition of the duties on many articles of import— and the measures which had been adopted for the further security and extension of the trade and commerce of the country. Some bills having received the royal assent, her majesty read a very appropriate speecli, con- cluding' by iiniiloriiif,' the blessing of Divine Frovidi'iii'i' I in tlieir iinitL'd rlforts toencou- nigi- the induslry.-uiil inrrc'ase the comforts (jf litT people, and to iiuuloate those reli- gious and moral principles which are the surest foundation of security and happiness. Railway legislation had occupied consi- derable attention during this session. It was tlii)Uf;Iil by many that a more experi- enced and inexpensive tribunal for deciding on railway bills than committees of the liouse might be discovered ;but an opposite opinion was entei'taiued by tlie premier, and it was therefore resolved to persist in tlie former system, and to constitute a number of railway committees to whom bills might be referred. The railway department of the board of trade failed in its professed object ; it was no guide or authority for the com- mittees, who chose to come to the consi- deration of the bills before them unfettered by the conclusions of any former tribunal ; and thus the labours of tlie board of trade became eventually to be entirely disre- garded. An immense sum was expended in feeing counsel, paying witnesses, &c. ; but in the end a great number of bills were passed, authorising the employment of .S7,000,000(. of capital. When railways were first commenced in this country they were regarded with great suspicion ; but the weekly returns of trafBc, published during the three or four previous years, held out such a prospect of large and certain returns, that speculation in railway shares, which at first advanced with some discretion and steadiness, now tooic so wild and eccentric a direction, that it was properly denomi- nated the ' railway mania,' and sucli a one as seemed to promise the speedy ruin of thousands. Every project, however wild or visionary, had crowds of applicants eager for its scrip ; and as there was no patent to secure to each promoter a right in his line from one place to another, a feasible scheme wasnosooneradvertised thanithad several rival companies to oppose it. In one week alone there were projects ad- vertised whose united capitals amounted to iro,000,00o;. in order to check this intern perate species of gambling, tlie legislature enacted, that, before petitions for bills could be presented to parliament, lo;. per cent, on the estimated capital should be lodged with the accountant-general ; and a sum of about 15,000,000(., on account of deposits, was at one time actually vested in his liands. Although throughout the session govern- ment commanded powerful majorities, it frequently had to rely for its existence on the votes o£ the oppositi(m ; and it was evi- dent that the elements of union which had so long kept the tories together were fast giving way. The premier was repeatedly attacked, and in no measured language, for his want of good faith in endeavimring to lull into a fancied security the agricultural party, whose interests he had declared he would support, and by whose means he had attained the elevated position he now held. Annoyed by their suspicious and reproaches, he determined in his own mind to defy the agriculturists, and throw himself, if neces- sary, into the arms of the opposition for support. Yet during the session, neither his declarations nor liis acts were of a kind to impair the confidence they reposed in him. But towards the latter end of the year a rumour prevailed throughout the country that the parliament would assem ble early in January, and that sir Robert Peel would certainly bring forward a motion for the total repeal of the corn laws. Freuuent cabinet councils quickly followed, which showed that some suliject of the highest moment was in debate. Sir Robert, it ap- peared, liad strenuously urged their repeal, but had failed to reconcile his colleagues to the change ; and on the 12th of December the whole of the ministers tendered their resignation to her majesty. Lord John Russell was immediately sent for by the queen, and he hastened to Osborue-house in obedience to her commands. He was anxious to have the support of the Peel party, which was morediOicult than he had anticipated, and he was perplexed by a di- vision among his own ; so that, although he had accepted the charge of constructing a cabinet on the 15th, he finally refused it two days after ; and her majesty again sent for her former minister. Sir Robert well knew that his chief dilHcuIty lay in obtain- ing the support of the duke of Wellington. He therefore acquainted his Grace that, lord John Russell having failed to form a ministry, the queen and the country were withouta government ; adding, thatforhis own part, he was resolved to sacrifice his desire of retirement to a sense of duty. He knew well tliat the man whom he thus ad- dressed had a chivalrous feeling of duty for his sovereign that was superior to every po- litical consideration. The duke complied ; and, witli the exception of lord Stanley who retired, sir Robertonce more sawhim- self surrounded by his former friends in the cabinet. It is time that we now advert to our pos- sessions in India. From the arrival of sir H. Hardinge, until nearly the close of the year, uninterrupted peace pervaded the vast peninsula of India, and the governor- general was actively employed in promot- ing the interests of the natives, by giving his attention to the Important question of education, when suspicious appearances on our western frontier summoned him to en- gage in warlike preparations. The state of the Puiijaub had for some time previous been so unsettled as to render it necessary that the British should keep a watchful eye on the advanced post under their protec- tion ; but it was not anticipated that abold invasion was on the eve of being attempted. It was known that the Sikh troops were insubordinate and restless; and it is al- leged, that in defiance of the wishes of the Lahore government, which was in a disoi- ganised state, they determined to cross the Sutlej, in hopes of finding us unpre- 616 Ci)C gErcagu rB of ^tgtanj, ^t. Still up 10 the 12tli of Dercnil'iT "o J"^!" ankrcssion had heon cmnintwi, ""J '•o artillery had moved down tlu- river ,i>ut on the following day eertaiii infmmatioi wa= received thai theSikharniy hadcro,.sed ! the Sullej, and was concentrating in great force on its left hank. . Having crossed the Sutlej. the Sikhs in- rested Kerozepore on one side, and took UP an entreiuhed position at the village of Fero7.eshah, about ten miles in advance of Ferozepore, and nearly the same distance from the villacc of Jloodkec. The head- quarters of sir Hugh Gough, commander- iu-chief, were at Umhallah, which is dis- tant 150 miles from Moodkee ; and Fero- zepore was garrisoned by a body of rather mJ,re than 5.c*0 troops under the comniand of roalor-pcneral sir John Littler. In or- der therefore, to effect a junction between the several portions of the Anglo-Iudiau arm;, before an attack could be made ^ron'them by the Sikhs, the eovernor- i general issued orders to sir Hugh Gough fo hasten with his force towards Feroze- pore After suffering severely for want of water, as well as fatigue, they arrived in a state of great exhaustion,and took up their encamping ground in front of Moodkee : the troops having scarcely time to get under arms and move to their positions, when thev heai-d that the Sikh array was rapidly advancing. The enemy's forces were said to cousi^t of from 15,000 to 20,000 infautrj', about the same number of cavalry, and forty guns. 'To resist their attack, and to cofer the formation of the infantry,' tavs the despatch of sir Hugh Gough, I a.lVanced the cavalry, under .^ngadiers White, Gough, and Mactier, rapidly to the , front, in columns of squadrons, aiid occu- pied the plain. They were speedily fol- lowed by five troops of horse artillery, under brigadier Brooke, who took up a forward rSsition, having tlie cavalry then on h^s flanks.' The battle-field was a thick jungle, dotted with sandy hillocks, which partly screened the infantry and juns of the enemy ; but the rapid and well-directed fire of the British artillery, and the brilliant charges of the cavalry, appeared soon to l>arafyse their opponents. The inf?"t'T, under major-generals sir Harry Sm th GUbert, and sir John il'Caskill, attacked in echellon of lines the enemy s lufantry, almost invisible amongst wood and the approaching darkness of night. I? Jue words of the despatch, • the opposition of the enemy was such as might have been expected from troops who had everything at stake, and who had long vaunted of being irresistible. Their ample and extended line, from their great superiority of num- bers far outflanked ours; but this was counteracted by the flank movements oi our cavalry. The attack of the infantry now commenced, and the roll of fire from this powerful arm soon convinced the bikh army that they had met with a foe they little expected ; and their whole force was driven from position after position with great slaughter, and the loss of seventeen pieces of artillery, some of them of heavy- calibre : our Infantry using that never- failing weapon, the bayonet, wherever the enemy stood. Night only saved them from a worse di^a-ter, for this stout conflict was maintained during an hour and a half of dim starlight, amidst a cloud of dust from the sandv plain, which yet more obscured every object.' This victory, though glori- ous, was dearly purchased. Major-general sir Kobert Sale, the hero of Jellalahad, was amongst those >vho fell ; as was also major-gpner.al sir John M'CaskiU : the total of killed and wounded was 872. On the 21st sir Hugh Gough advanced with his whole force towards Ferozeshah, where tlie Sikh army was posted in a strongly entrenched camp, defended by a most formidable park of artillery. A junc- tion with sir John Littler's division was effected, and sir Henry Hardinge offered his services to the commander-in-chief as ^cond in command. The camp of the enemy was in the form of a parallelogram, of about a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth, including within its area tbe strong Tillage of Ferozeshah ; the shorter sides looking towards the Sutlej and Mood- kee and the longer towards Ferozepore and'theonen country. The British troops moved against the last-named face the ground in front of which wa>, like the Sikh position in Moodkee, covered with '°The "command of the right wing of the British army was taken by sir Hugh Gough ; the left was under the charge and direction of sir Henry Hardinge. The veteran com- mander thus describes the fl/ht :- A very heavy cannonade was opened by the enemy, who had dispersed over their position up- wards of one hundred guns, more than forty of which were of battering calibre ; these kept up a heavy and well-directed fire, which the practice of our farlessiiumerous artillery, of much lighter metal, checked m some degree, but could not silence ; finally, in the face of a storm of shot and shell our infantry advanced and carried these formidable entrenchments; they threw them.=elves upon their guns, aiid with matchless gallajitry, wrested them from the enemv : bSt when the batteries were par- tially "within our grasp, our soldieij' had to face such a flre of musketry from the bikh infantry, arrayed behind their guns, that in spite of the most heroic efforts, a portion only of the entrenchment could be carried. Night fell while the conflict was every- where raging. Although I now brought up majo?-generfl sir Harry Smith's division and he captured and long retained anothei point of the position, and hej majesty s 3rd light dragoons charged and took some of the most formidable batteries yet the enemy remained in possession of a consi- derable portion of the great quadrangle, whilst ourtroops.intermmgledwith -heirs, kept possession of the remainder, and finally bivouacked upon it, exhausted by fhe^r gallant efforts, greatly reduced m numbers, and suffering extremely from thirst, yet animated by an indomitable spirit. In this state of things the night wore away. ePitglanU.— I^Dusfc al Unin^tot'rfe.— aitcf0rfn. 617 ' Near the middle of it, one of tlicir lieavy guns was advanced, and played witli deadly eifect upon our troops. Lieut.-geu. sir Henry Hardiuge immediately formed lier majesty's Sotli and the 1st European light infantry. Tlicy were led to tlie atlacl; hy their i-cinimandinLToltii-ers, and .-mi ma led in their exertions, I'y licnt.-col. Woml, who was wounded in the outset. Tiie 80th captured the guii, and the enemy, dismayed by this counter-check, did not venture to press on farther. During the whole night, liowever, they continued to liarass our troops by fire of artillery, wherever moon- light discovered our position. 'But with daylight of the 22nd came retribution. Our infantry formed line, supported on both flanks by horse artillery, whilst a Are was opened from our centre by such of our lieavy guns as remained effective, aided by a flight of rocliets. A masked battery played with great effect upon this point, dismounting our pieces, and blowing up our tumbrils. At this momeut lieut.-gen. sir Henry Hardiuge placed himself at the head of the left, whilst I rode at the head of the right wing. Our line advanced, and, unchecked by the enemy's fire, drove them rapidly out of the village of Ferozeshah, and their encamp- ment: then, changing front to its left, on its centre, our force continued to sweep the camp, bearing down all opposition, and dislod.ged the enemy from their position. The line then halted, as if on a day of manoeuvre, receiving its two leaders, as they rode along its front, with a gratifying cheer, and displaying the captured stand- ards of the Khalsa army. We had taken upwards of seventy-three pieces of cannon, and were masters of tlie whole field. 'The force assumed a position on the ground which it had won ; but even here its labours were not to cease. In tlie course of two hours. Sirdar Tej Singh, who had commanded in the last great battle, brought up from the vicinity of Ferozepore fresh battalions and a large field of artillery, suiijiorted by 30,000 Ghorepurras, liitherto ciicamiied near the river. He drove in our cavalry parties, and made strenuous efforts to regain the position at Ferozeshah : this attempt was defeated ; but its failure had scarcely become manifest, when the Sirdar renewed the contest with more troops and a large artillery. He commenced by a combination against our left flank, and when this was frustrated, made such a demonstration against the captured village as compelled us to change our whole fnmt to the right. His guns during this man- oeuvre maintained an incessant Are, whilst our artillery ammunition being completely expended in these protracted combats, we were unable to answer him with a .single shot. I now directed our almost exhausted cavalry to threaten both flanks at once, preparing the infantrj' to advance in sup- port, which apparently caused him suddenly to cease his fire, and to abandon the fleld,' Such a victory, fought under such dis- advantages, could not be achieved without heavy loi5S. In the two actions of the 21st and 22nd of December, the British had 694 killed, and 1,721 wounded. The Anglo-In- dian force consisted of is,roo men and 69 guns, chiefly horse artillery. The Sikh forces varied from 48,ooo to 60,ooo men, with 108 pieces of cannon of heavy calibre, in lixed batteries. The Lite victories had prepared the pub- lic fi >r cxi'ecting to hear that the discomfited Sikhs had re-crossed the Sutlej ;whennew3 arrived of another victory, obtained by the troops under the command of major-general sir H.arry Smith, on the 28th of Januaiy, at Aliwal, over the Sikh forces commanded by the Sirdar Runjoor Singh Majeetliea. In this decisive and glorious action, the enemy's infantry were dislodged from every position and village they attempted to hold, by rapid charges at the point of the bayonet. Their horsemen were driven from every part of the field by repeated charges, iii which the superior valour of the European' and native cavalry, as well as the precision of the artillery, were most conspicuous. These noble efforts, combined with the skill of the commander, ended in the signal de- feat of the enemy ; who was driven across the river with great loss, his camp being captured, and 52 pieces of artillery remain- ing in the hands of the victors. Sir Harry Smith's account of the battle was both spirited and luminous, but our limits forbid us from quoting more than the concluding paragraph. ' The determined bravery of all was as conspicuous as noble. I am nn- wont to praise when praise is not merited, and here I most avowedly express my firm opinion and conviction that no troops iii any battle on record ever behaved more nobly. British and Native (no distinction) cavalry al! vying with her majesty's ]6tli lancers, and striving to lead in the re- peated charges. Our guns and gunners, oflicers and men, may be equalled, but cannot be excelled, by any artillery in the world. Throughout the day, no hesitation, a bold and intrepid advance. And thus it is that our loss is comparatively small, though I deeply regret to say, severe. The enemy fought with much resolution ; they maintained frequent rencontres with our cavalry hand to hand. In one charge of infantry upon the 16th lancers, they threw away their muskets, and came on with their swords and targets against the lance.' In killed, wounded, and missing, the British loss amounted to 589. The quantity of am- munition captured with the artillery, and found in the camp of the enemy, was be- yond accurate calculation ; consisting of shot, shell, grape, and small arm ammu- nition of every description and for every calibre. In about a fortnight after this, another desperate contest took place, when the Sikhs were swept from their last and strong- est hold on the British side of the Sutlej. The strongly fortified camp at Sobraoii, constructed by them to protect the bridge at Ilurrakee, and so keep up communication with their own territories, was the scene of this ever-memorable battle. Sir Hugh Gougb, commander-in-chief of the army, was the leader on this occasion, and tlie army under his direction consisted in the Y Y 518 Br!)e CrwiSurp of ^jtiSttiry, &f. main of the officers and men who had fought the hattlesof Moodkee, Korozeshah, and Allwal. Sir Henry Hardinge was pre- sent, aiding liy his advire, and inspiriting the soldiers by his example. He described the victory in his despatch as one of the most daring exploits ever acliiered, hy which. In open day, a triple line of breast- works, flanked by formidable redoubts, bristling with artillery, manned by 32 regular regiments of infantry, was assaulted and carried ; and he stated that 220 guns had been taken in the campaign. The loss of the enemy was immense ; not less, accord- ing to all accy the new administration, was lord John Russell's scheme for a re- duction of the sugar duties. He proposed that slave-grown sugar and foreign free- grown sugar be admitted at a duty of 21s. till July, 1847 ; from that date a descending scale until 1851, when they were to be admit- ted at a fixed duty of 14s., the present duty on British colonial sugar. Another ques- tion which occupied the attention of parlia- ment this session was the necessity which was said to exist for having a uniform gauge on all railways. Great and incontro- vertible reasons were certainly given for it, and the hulk of the evidence tended to thow that the narrow gauge was best for the public. The almost universal failure of the potato crop, as we have before observed, was the immediate cause that led to the abrogation of the corn laws, although sir R. Peel had at the same time declared that his late ex- perience had induced him to become a con- vert to free-trade principles. The most dis- astrous accounts from all parts of Ireland soon showed that the minister's apprehen- sions on that score were too well founded ; and that unless prompt assistance were af- forded, the great mass of the poorer popu- lation must die of starvation. Such evi- dence, indeed, was given of their destitute condition, that, forgetting everything but their necessities, the people of England, in every town and village in the kingdom, and of every class, contributed to their relief by raising bountiful subscriptions, and thus for a time partially arrested the impending awful visitation. Great, however, as was the assistance thus derived from individual charity, it was found absolutely necessary for the government to aid the suffering Irish by means more permanent and effec- tual, which, however, will best be noticed in the proceedings of the next session of parliament. During this year our relations with the United States more than once assumed a serious aspect. Mr. Polk, a conspicuous member of the democratic party, had suc- ceeded Mr. Tyler as president ; and there appeared to be a determination on his part not to yield an iota of their claims on the Oregon territory to Great Britain. What was called ' the clear and unquestionable right' of the States to the territory in dis- pute, was arrogantly insisted on ; and it was not until a firm and unequivocal declara- tion had lieen made by sir R. Peel, in the house of commons, that England was de- termined to maintain her territorial rights, that the threats of taking forcible posses- sion gave way to the more wise and equitable mode of settling the question by arbitration, and it was eventually agreed upon, 'that from that point in the 49th parallel of north latitude, in which the boundary laid dow^l by existing treaties between Great Britain and the United States terminates, the line of boundary between the territories of the two countries should be continued west- ward along the 49th parallel to the middle of the said channel which separates the con- tinent from Vancouver's Island, and thence, southerly, throuuh the middle of the said channel and the Fuca Straits to the Pacific Ocean.' A.D. 1847.— The commencement of this year found the domestic affairs of the British Empire in a position calculated to call forth all the firmness of those intrusted with the government. The calamity that had befallen unhappy Ireland in the pre- vious year still continued to harass lier. The chancellor of the exchequer having congratulated the house that the finances of the country were never better able to bear the demand that would he made upon them, said, ' Ireland required an extraor- dinary provision. Up to the present time (Feb. 22) there had been 2,000,000!. ad- vanced towards its relief, and he much feared the expenditure under this head could not be estimated at less than one million per month, until the next harvest shall have been collected. This would be about 8,000,000?., which, with the two already advanced, would be 10,000,000!.' Besides many measures of immediate .ind temiiorary application, others of a perma- nent character were introduced to secure the well-being of Ireland ; and among these was an efficient poor law for compelling the land to provide for the relief of its own pauperism. The discussion of this bill in its progress through parliament, oc- cupied a great portion of the session ; but time was found for lengthened discussions upon the navigation laws, which had so long been identified with the established policy of the country ; and various mea- sures were introduced in connection with its finance, commerce, and trade, of which the most important was the bill for limiting by law the labour of young persons in factories, which had of late years excited much interest and discussion both in and out of parliament. These, and other measures having been passed, parliament was prorogued by the queen in person on July 23rd, with a view 1 to an immediate dissolution ; and the uen- 620 "c:!)e Crca^ury af ^(gtorg, &-c. parlianicnt wa3 convoked in November, to | adopt measures appllcaMe to the commer- cial distress which weiglied so heavily upon all persons eniraped in trade at this period. The railway mania of the preceding year, and the failure of the potato crop, had brought on a commercial crisis, during which a great many commercial houses were swept away ; and the alarm thereby occasioned gave rise to a panic, during which the government consented to a tem- porary suspension of the banlc act of 1814. But whether the violence of the crisis had already abated, or the mere announcement of the determination of the government had a beneflcial effect on the public mind, there was no need for putting it in force, and on the meeting of parliament the chancellor of the exchequer Informed the house that there was every reason to believe that the crisis was over, and that the anticipated distress of the winter would be averted. The rest of the session was chiefly occupied with the discussion of measures for the repression of crime in Ireland ; and the special business for which parliament had been called together having been now concluded, the two houses ad- journed to the 3rd Feb. 184S. This year witnessed the decease of two men who, in their respective careers, had exercised greater influence upon their coun- trvmen than most of their contemporaries —Daniel O'ConneU and Dr. Chalmers. But for a sketch of these remarkable men we must refer the reader to the 'Biographical Treasury.' , .« i ' A D 1848 — There are few more eventful years in the history of the world than 1848. The combustible materials that had long been smouldering throughout Europe, then burst into a flame, which threatened for a time not merely to overthrow the thrones and dynasties of nations, but to sweep away the very bases on which modern society has been established. The expulsion of Louis Philippe's family from the throne and soil of France on Feb. 24, gave the signal for these general outbreaks. But whilst almost every throne on the continent was shaken by re- volution, tlie English monarchy, strong m the attachment of the people, not only stood Arm in the tempest, but appeared even to de- rive increased stabilityfrom theeventsthat elsewhere convulsed the world. By the far-sighted sagacity of sir Robert Peel the great question of free trade in com, which might have become a prolific source of agitation, had been happily set at rest; hence when a knot of malcontents attempt- ed to forward their political designs by a demonstration of physical force, the great mass of the British population at once rose up in defence of the laws and institutions of (lie country, and gained a moral victory over their opponents, the effects of which promise to be as lasting as they were bene- ficial. The 10th of April had been fixed by the chartists for an immense meeting to take place on Kennington-common, whence they were to proceed to parliament in mili- tary array, to present a petition signed, as was asserted, by nearly 6,000,000 of men, and thus to overawe the government into a concession of their demands. Meanwhile the government took all necessary precau- tions to preserve the peace of the metro- polis Large bodies of troops were stationed unseen in different public buildings ; and l.w.ooo citizens of London voluntarily en- rolled themselves as special constables for the maintenance of order. When the ap- pnintod day arrived, the courage of the ch.artists fell. Their leader, Feargus O'Con- nor, at the instigation of the police, induced the meeting quietly to disperse and the ' Monster Petition,' as it was called, was conveyed to the house of commons In a hackney vehicle. When analysed, it was found to contain not so many as 2,000,000, instead of 6,000.000 of signatures, and these of the most absurd kind ; hence it was de- servedly treated with disdain, and the great chartist demonstration, which was to have changed the institutions of the country, became a byword of contempt. But although \ all alarm was at an end, meetings continued i to be held in the metropolis for the pro- i motion of what was called the ' People's Charter,' at which much seditious language I was held. The contagion spread to some of the large manufacturing towns both in England and Scotland, and in some parts ■ of the country the chartist demonstrations created so great an apprehension, that the government judged it expedient to arrest and bring to trial a few of the most violent leaders, who, on being found guilty, were transported or imprisoned for different periods. These transactions out of doors became the subject of frequent discussion in parliament, and led to the introduction of some new legal securities forstrengtben- ing the hands of government, and enabling them to deal more effectually with plotters against the public peace. Scarcely had the alarm consequent on the proceedings of the chartists subsided in England, when the country was again thrown into agitation by the events which took place in Ireland. The 'Great Agitator' being now removed from the stage, his place was soon filled by some young men, of great spirit and sincerity, who thought that their demands for the ' Repeal of the Union' might be prosecuted with success amid the turmoils of the period both at home and abroad. Among these were Messrs. Smith O'Brien, John Mitchell, and Thomas Meagher. Mitchell had established a newspaper, called the ' United Irishman,' in which rebellion was proclaimed without disguise. Each number contained what was called ' Our War Article,' in which the people were taught how to arm them- selves, how to destroy troops in the streets of towns by pouring vitriol over them, how to fonn barricades and all the other apparatus of a civic insurrection. At length when, to all appearance, every preparation was made for civil war, tlie Irish govern- ment began to act. O'Brien, with his two accomplices, Meagher and Mitchell, were arrested and held to bail ; the two former for their ha- rangues, the latter for a series of libels in his newspaper, and, among others, for a seditious letter addressed to the lord-lieu- (lEnglanif.— ?60uSe a( Mrun^tattii.—WinaviH. 621 itiiaiit, iis HtT Mnjesty's Executioner-Gene- ral of Ireland. State prosecutions, indeed, are always delicate affairs, and there were peculiarities in the law in Ireland at that time which marie these prosecutions jiarticularly ha- zardous. In fact, it was already obvious that the law was too weak to grapple witli tlie turbulence which existed. Far from being intimidated by the impending trials, the Incendiaries were no sooner admitted to bail, than they renewed their criminal proceedings with redoubled violence. In fact, the e.xisting law was rather an attrac- tion to the seditious thanadiscouragement. The crime was vague, the punishment slight, the chances of escape con.siderahle ; and between arrest and trial, the public was at the mercy of the agitator, who might possibly reckon upon an intermediate accomplishment of his revolutionary ob- jects. To apply the law of treason, would have been neither easy nor desirable ; speeches and .articles alone would not come within its definition; and even if that dittlculty could have been got over, another would l)ave immediately occurred, arising from the magnitude of the penalties in an age so averse to extreme punishments. In short, the law of sedition was below the mark, and the law of treason above it. It was therefore expedient to meet the cir- cumstances of the period, and the pecu- liarities of the crime, by a new enactment. Tliese perilous forms of sedition were ac- cordingly made felonies : the precision of the new law materially reduced the chances of eluding it : the consequences of con- viction had much more of the pains than the charms of martyrdom : arrest was fol- lowed by committal and present incapa- city for further mischief ; while a punish- ment, at once infamous and merciful, satisfied both the claims of justice and the clemency of the public feeling. The bill met with some opposition in the house of commons on purely constitutional grounds ; but the chief resistance to it was ottered by Mr. John O'Connell on the part of the old agitation, Mr. O'Connor on the part of the chartists, and Mr. O'Brien himself on the part of the rebellious clubs. The figure the latter gentleman made in rising to oppose a bill for securing the crown and govornmen t against the machinations of himself ;indliis accomplices, was rendered doubly dis^'rarc- ful by the fact that he had just returned from his treasonable mission to France. The would-be Cataline was received in scornful silence by an assembly of loyal gentlemen, and sir George Grey, amidst the loudest acclamations, gave vent to the suppressed feeling of the house of com- mons. The new statute came no sooner into force than Mr. Mitchell was seized under its provisions, brought to trial with- out delay, convicted, sentenced, and, with imjiosing promptitude, transported to Ber- muda. This was the second blow ; first it stunned, then it maddened, the incendiaries, who agitated more furiously than ever, and extended their insurrectionary organisa- tion with increased industry and vigour. A newspaper, called the ' Felon,' started up in the place of the ' United Irishman.' Thirty-two new clubs were formed in Dublin in the course of the montL of June and the beginning of July. In the pro- vinces, also, the organisation w,as spreading widely. The papers of the confederation, seized by the police, proved the existence of sixty-four clubs scattered through nlne- trcn counties, but the number was prob- ably much greater. In the city of Cork alone there were seven clubs, of which four mustered 900 members. The law and the government were now openly defied. All descriptions of treasonable preparations were carried on with redoubled vigilance. Rebellion was no longer vaguely prated of, but for- m,ally declared ; nothing was left unsettled save the convenient and proper moment for revolt. Tlie leaders dispersed them- selves through the provinces, hectoring and blustering wherever they went, found- ing new clubs, talking tlie most rampant treason in every town and village, speaking and acting as if they had already trampled the law and the government under their feet. But the government, which had hitherto been watching them with a hun- dred eyes, was now prepared to smite them with a hundred hands. Power of proclaim- ing and disaruiiiig districts was already at the lord-lieuteiiaiit's command ; and on the 18th of July, to the great dismay of the clubs, this power was exerted, and Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Drogheda, and Galway, along with some half dozen counties, were subjected to the wholesome rigours of the act. This bold resolution took the enemy by surprise ; for as the law had been made especially for the counties, to suppress predial outrage, the anarchists had never dreamed of its appli- cation to cities and towns. With the same vigour the government now silenced the abominable journals which had replaced the 'United Irishman,' demolished their presses, confiscated their types, seized their editors, and cast out their devils. The faction w.as thus fairly driven into the field, about which they had been blus- tering for so many months. The leaders, in different parts of the country, .and in different strains of bombast, invited the ptitntion reserves for extreme cases of public disorders. On the a2nd of July a bill to suspend the habeas corpus was introduced in the cimimons by lord John Russell. On the 25tli the bill received the royal assent, and on the 27th the lord- lieutenant issued proclamations offering rewards for the capture of Mr. O'Brien and three other persons charged with overt acts of treason. The rest was rebellion burlesqued ; the lowest description of trea- son which ever provoked the penalties of that high crime. On the 29th of July, at the head of a large body of the Tippcrary jieasaiitry, Mr. Smith O'Brien attacked a small force of policemen, took a constable prisoner, made booty of a hor.se, stormed a cabin, and was totally overthrown in 622 BTIjc Cipa^urn nf W^tari*, ^t. Imrt an hour. After lying ;ir tliemselves, and having become most satisfactorily con- vinced of its truth, all other pursuits were abandoned, and all hands hastened to the ' diggings,' wliilst wages, and all the ne- cessaries of life and labour, have risen to the most exorbitant prices. In the C(mrse of three months, 4,000 people collected, dig- ging and scraping early and late. The gold was found in three forms : granulated, of the size of medium gimpowder, and mixed with iron ; in small scales or laminse, of from one eighth to one twelfth of an inch in di.ameter ; and in solid lumps of from half an ounce to four pounds in weight. In the East, the arms of Great Britain were not allowed to remain inactive, being once more challenged to a contest by a foe who, it was thought, had been effectually subdued. The immediate cause of the rup- ture was as follows : — Soon after the eva- cuation of the Punjaub by the British troops in 1846, Moolraj, the dewan or go- vernor of Mooltan, had become embroiled with the court of Lahore respecting the non-payment of his stipulated tribute to the treasury. By the mediation of the British authorities in India, these differ- ences were at first temporarily adjusted ; and at length, under their guarantee, the dewan was induced to trust himself in the city of Lahore for the purpose of person- ally arranging a final and amicable com- promise. After this he returned to his province ; but some time subsequently it was agreed, or alleged to be so, that he should retire from his office ; and, in pur- suance of this understanding, the British officers, Mr. Vans Agnew and lieut. An- derson, departed in the spring of 1848 from Lahore to Mooltan, to receive his surren- der, and instal his successor. 'While in dis- charge of this duty they were treacherously and foully murdered. Moolraj then shut himself up in his fort, strengthened his defences, collected adherents from all parts of the country, and prepared to defy the British power. Immediately on intelligence of the murder reaching Lahore, a body of 3,000 Sikhs, horse and foot, was ordered to march to Mooltan, under the command of Rajah Shere Singh. It happened that at this juncture lieutenant Edwardes was engaged upon the Indus with a small force, coUectingthe land-tax due to Moolraj. As soon as he heard of the assassination at Mooltan, he immediately took measures to effect a jimction with the forces of colonel Cortlandt, who had been commanding in a contiguous district ; and this being ac- complished, on the 20th May an engage- ment took place, in -n-hich the enemy were defeated with great slaughter, and the loss of two guns and five swivel pieces. The British troops then occupied the forts of the Dera and the line of the Indus. But they did not remain inactive. On the 18th of June, lieut. Edwardes, having, ■with great skill and energy, formed a junction iSnQlunti.—'^auSe of JSruit^fiofclt.— JFtttorta. 523 with tlie forces of the rajah of Bliawalpoor, once more engaged the army of Mooh'aj, which, after a sanguinary contlict of nine hours' duration, was completely defeated with tlie loss of all its artillery. Moolraj now fell h;ick upon Mooltan, and was im- niediati'ly followed hy the British and their allies. General Whish soon after arriving from Lahore with a large reinforcement, with a view to besiege the city, the wliole British force assembled round the walls of Mooltan amounted to 28,000 men. The 12th of September was fixed for making a ge- neral attack upon tlie town. A party of the enemy having strongly entrenched themselves in a garden and village near the walls, 2,500 of the British troops, under the command of brigadier Harvey, marched at daybreak against tliis post, and carried it after a severe struggle and much loss on both sides. Next day the Mooltanese troops made a desperate attack on Lieut. Edwardes' camp, but were repelled, and the British troops carried another important outwork. But at this critical juncture, Shere Singli went over to the enemy with the whole of liis troops consisting of 5,000 men; and in consequence of this defection general Whish deemed it expedient to r.aise the siege, and fall back upon a position a few miles from the town. As it had now become apparent that a struggle witli tlie whole of the tierce soldiery of the Sikhs was at hand, a large force was ordered to assemble at Ferozepoor, under the orders of lord Gough, and pret/arations on a Large scale were made to crush this formidable rebellion. On Oct. 9, Shere Singh separated him- self from Moolraj, and by skilful manoeuvres led the whole of his force across the Ravee, and through the whole extent of Doab-i-Bechna, to the country north-west of Lahore, and soutii-east of Vyseerabad, where Chuttur Singh shortly after took up his position. On Nov. 21, it was found that Sliere Singh was entrenched on the right bank of the Chenab, behind Ram- nuggur, with nearly 40,000 men and 28 gnus well placed. A picket of two re- giments was posted advantageously on the left bank. Lord Gough despatched major- geueral Thackwell with thirteen infantry regiments, besides artillery and cavalry, to cross the river some miles up the stream, and operate on the enemy's Hank. Lord Gough personally led the attack on the advanced position. A surprise was at- tempted, but unsuccessfully. Some of the British troops fell into ambush, suffered great slaughter, and lost a gun. Among the losses sustained by the British in this engagement^ were col. Havelock, gen. Cureton, and capt. Highbury, who fell in a gallant but un.successful charge against the enemy. After a variety of manoeuvres, in which Shere Singh displayed great abil- ity as a tactician, the whole Sikh army abandoned their position at Ramuuggur, and marched upon the Jheluni. Meanwhile, general Whish, having been joined by the Bombay troops, renewed. the siege of Mooltan. The besieging army now amounted to 15,000 British troops ; that of the allies to about 17,000 ; or 32,000 in all, besides 150 pieces of artillery. On December 27, the troops advanced in four columns to the attack ; and clearing the suburbs, and driving in the enemy on all sides, established themselves within 500 yards of the walls. A terrific cannonade and bombardment commenced next day. On Dec. 29, the besiegers had arrived so close to the walls, that their heavy guns were breaching them at a distance of no more than eighty yards. Tremendous damage was caused to the town ; and in the fort a granary was set on Are, and several small magazines exploded. On the morning of the 30th, the principal magazine of the fort, in which nearly 800,000 pounds of powder were reported to have been stored, blew up with a terrific explosion. The Dewan's mo- ther, and several of his relatives, with many of the sirdars, and a great number of troops and people, were blown into the air ; while mosques and houses, and huge masses of masonry, came tumbling down in destruc- tive confusion. But with this grave event our narrative for the present year must close. In this memorable year's obituary are the names of two distinguished states- men, viscount Melbourne and lord George Bentinck. The former for some time had retired from the active scene of politics, and was carried to the grave full of years and honours. But the latter was struck down in the vigour of manhood, and, it may be said, at the very commencement of a career which the great and various resources he had recently displayed, his boundless energy and uncompromising firmness, had made full of promise. A. n. 1849. — Puldic affairs at the com- mencement of the parliamentary session presented no extraordinary feature. In England, the landed interest sliowed itself uneasy and dissatisfied with the great com- mercial changes that had recently taken place; and in Ireland a lawless spirit still prevailed to some extent among the popu- lation. But commerce was reviving from the shocks which it had felt for the last two or three years ; and the internal tran- quillity of the kingdom was undisturbed. Great part of the session was devoted to the affairs of Ireland. A select committee having been appointed upon the Irish poor law, a committee of the whole house was agreed to, after a long discussion, to consider the government proposition of a ' rate in aid ; ' and the debates that then ensued were chiefly remarkable for the speech of sir Robert Peel, who at great length developed his own views respecting the state of Ireland, and suggested a plan for the redemption of landed property in that country. 'If,' said the right hon. gentleman, ' technicalities and legal difll- culties stood in their way, they should cut the Gordiau knot and release the land.' 'Sooner than let the present state of things continue, he would altogether oust the court of chancery of its jurisdiction ovci the subject.' These memorable words were soon followed by the introduction oJ a bill tor facilitating the sale and transfe^ 524 d)C CicnSuiy of ^i^iory, &rc. of onciimhorod rstnres. By iiio:ins of it, a simple, short, tnexpoiisive iiin.lc of splliiii.' and traiisforriiior land is sulistilutcct for tlip tardy and ruinous course of procedure whicli previously prevailed ; and wliettier we refrard the niairnitude and stuMiorn- ness of tlie abuse It prappled with, the vlRour and oripinality of the machinery it employed, or the vast and almost incal- culable Importance of the social cbanpe which its operation promises toacromplisli In Ireland, it may justly challenge com- parison with the greatest achievements of modern legislation. Another most important measure of the session of 1849 was the bill introduced by the government for the repeal of the navi- gation laws. After lengthened discussions in both houses, this crowning measure of the free-trade policy received the final s.anction of parliament, and shortly after- wards obtained the royal assent ; Its opera- tion being fl.ted to commence on Jan. 1, 18.50. We must now revert to the affairs of IndLa. Our narrative closed Last year with an account of the tremendous explosion of a large powder magazine in Mooltan, on the 30th of December 18-t8, in the midst of the assault made by the British troop.s. But this produced hardly a pause in tlie conflict. After an incessant mar of cannon and musketry for about eight and forty hours, her majesty's 32nd and 49th, and r2nd native infantry, pushed forward to a breach near the Delhi gate, but it proved impracticable. The troops then moved round to the opposite side of the town, where the entrance of the Bombay column had already been effected. The Fusileers entered first, and placed the standard on the city walls. The Bengal column fol- lowed, and the city, which was taken about 3 P. 31., was before sunset filled with British troops. The citadel, however, in which Moolraj had shut himself up, still continued to hold out ; but practicable breaches haring been effected, the British troops were about to storm the citadel, when Moolraj surrendered himself uncondi- j tionall.v, with his whole garrison. Mooltan ' having thus fallen, the troops engaged in ' the attack immediately commenced their j march northwards, to join the grand army : under lord Gough, opposed to the two ! rebel chieftains, Shere Singh and Chuttur [ Singh. On the 10th of Janu.ary, lord Gough received an official commuuication, that the fortress of Attock, which had so long been defendedby major Herbert, had fallen, and that Chuttur Singh was advancing to join his forces to those under his son Rhere .Singh, which then amounted to nearly j 40,000 men with 62 guns. He, therefore, | determined to lose no time in attempting the complete overthrow of the Sikh army in his front ; and at daylight on the morn- ning of the 12th marched from Loah Zib- bah to Dingree. The succeeding move- ments may be narrated iu the words of his own despatch : ' Having learned from my spies and from other sources of inform- ation, that Shere Singh still held with his ric-ht the villages of Lukliueewalla and Fiuteh-.-iiinii Catholic (■(illct.'e of Mayiini.tli ill Irelriiul. Tlie resolution was nei-Mtived; and when iu the liouse of lords the same proposition was made l>y lord Wlnchelsea, an amend- ment by which lord Aberdeen proposed that a commission should he issued to enquire into the government and management of the Majniootli college, was adopted in its gtead. A more important detjate followed on the Canadian clergy reserves. According to the statement of Mr. F. Peel , who proposed the bill, these reserves dated from the year 1791, when the province was divided into two parts. It was then provided that one seventli of the value of waste lands disposed of by the cromi should be reserved for the support of the Protestant clergy. But iu the time between 1791 and l.^io the clergy of the established churches of England and Scotland had received the largest portion of the profits arising from the sale of these lands, and great discontent had thus been cau.sed in the colony. The object of the bill, as described by Mr. Peel, was to enable the legislature of Canada to alter th£ exist- ing arrangement, if it thought fit so to do. The poiut to be determined was whether it was an imperial or a local question. Sir John Pakington, maintaining the former position, protested against the secular- isation of the lands by which the Protestant missions were supported, and the injury which would thus be inflicted on the church of England. On the other side, sir W. Molesworth insisted that the Canadian le- gislature should have full power to deal with the reserves as it might think best; and Mr. Gladstone further maintained that the alteration effected in 1840 made it, in con- sistency, necessary to leave to the (Canadian parliament the power of making any other changes. On the llth of April, which was appointed for the tliii'd reading of the bill, Mr. Walpole proposed that it should be read that day six months, on the ground that its enactment would be followed in Canada by the establishment of the voluntary system and the outbreak of religious strife. Mr. Peel in reply stated that the bill protected the interests of all existing incumbents, and simply left to the Canadian legislature the power of managing its own local affairs. Lord John Russell, while hoping that the exibtii:g arrangements might not be dis- turbed, did not hesitate to assert that if the people of Canada preferred the voluntary system to church establishments, they must follow their own will. The bill was then passed in the commons by a majority of 80. In the house of lords, the duke of Newcastle urged that the best way to preserve the existing arrangement was to trust the colonists outright. The bishop of Exeter proposed the motion which Mr. Walpole had brought forward in the house of commons; and lord Derby suggested a compromise by which, while the Canadian legislature should have more power than was accorded to it by the Act of 1840, all the appropriations for the Church of England or Scotland should be maintained iuvioLate aud for ever. To this I compromise, when proposed by lord Derby in Ibe committee of the house, on the 2.">thof April, the diilci- of N.-wc.-islle replied tliat, as atrecting the princiiile of the bill, it should have been br^uglit forward on the motion for the second reading, and said that lord Derby had himself given a pre- ' cedent for what was now proposed by 'abolishing ten Irish bishoprics, while he saved the rit'lits of the then existing bishop?. Th.^ bishop of Oxford drew a distinction between churcli property in England as granted to specific parishes, j while the reserves were granted by parlia- ! ment to be administered for the whole Canadian province. He urged, therefore, j that the Canadians should be left to deal with the matter as they might think best ; ( and the bill was read for the third time on the 28th of April. The subject of Jewish disabilities was discussed in the house of j commons when, on the 24th of February, lord John Russell proposed that the Jews should be admitted to the same rights and privileges as the Dissenters and Roman Catholics ; hut the bill, although passed in j the commons, was lost in the house of lords by a division of 164 to 115. On the ' 4th of April, lord John Russell, in explain- ing the views of the government with re- gard to public education, expressed his dis- j approval of the voluntary and secular sys- tems alike. Hedenied that the state, which j assumed the power to punish for crimes, should leave education, which .should in- struct men in the rules of morality and 1 law, entirely to voluntary effort. The sys- tem of exclusive secular instruction was ' condemned by the need of teaching the [ poor how to regulate their conduct in life ; and with merely secular teaching, it was I impossible to do this. After explaining his views with regard to the national debt, Mr. Gladstone, on the 18th of April, made his financial statement, in a speech of the greatest ability, extending over five hours. It was distinguished especially by a masterly analysis of the income-tax, which preceded his proposal for its extension, as well as for remissions of taxation. Havingshown that the enormous accumulation of debt pre- vious to 1798 would not have occurred, had the resolution to submit to the income- tax been adopted earlier, he asserted that the income-tax, as applied to a time of war, might enable the country to defy the world. But this tax had produced results not less wonderful, in assisting our indus- trious toils in time of peace, and effecting the reform of our fiscal and commercial system. Then, showing that the system of exemption was one which could not be minutely carried out, he proposed that the tax should be extended to Ireland, that incomes between 100/. and 150/. should pay id. in the pound during the whole con- tinuance of the tax, while incomes above InOl. should pay 7cl. for 2 ye;irs from April 1833, 6d. for 2 years more from April 1835, and 5d. for 3 years from April 1857, thus leaving the tax to expire in April 1860. In the way of remission he proposed to abolish the duty ou soap, to reduce the duty ou life assurance, rearrangement of CSiTfllantf.— I^oti^e of 33ruir^Jm'cli.— SFictorta. 535 the system of assessed taxes, with a reduc- tion of the duty on tea and otlier articles of food, &c. Tlie statement was received with general satisfaction, and the debate on the propositions respecting the income- tax began on the 25th of April. Sir E. B. I^vtton jiroposed an amendment which af- HriiRHl rli:U the continuance of the income- tax, ;ind its extension to classes who had hitherto been exempt from its operation, was alike unjust and Impolitic. This amendment was supported by Mr. Disraeli, on the ground that the budget added to the burdens on land, while it lightened those which pressed on particular classes. Such privileged classes were always a source of the greatest dangers to a nation, and he could see no difference between a privileged noble and a privileged tobacco- nist. In reply, lord John Russell pointed out the inconsistency of Mr. Disraeli in supporting an amendtflent which left tlie burdens on land just where they were and lowered the rate of tax in favour of trades and professions. The loss of this amendment placed the budget in safety ; and an attempt to leave Ireland exempt from the tax was equally unsuccessful. There ivere no special features in the de- bates of the house of lords on the subject, and the bill was Hnaliy passed on the 27th of June. But although successful in the main principles of the budget, Mr. Glad- stone was defeated in some points of detail ; and in place of his motion to reduce the duty on advertisements to 6(1., a resolution was carried wliicli substituted a cipher (or 0) in place of this sum : and the Speaker decided that there was nothing informal in the proceeding. Among the remaining subjects which occupied the attention of the house during this session was the con- dition of conventual establishments, the questions of church rate, law reform and charitable trusts, and transportation of criminals. In the first of these an ineffec- tual attempt was made to introduce a bill by which persons in conventual houses might regain their liberty when they should desire to do so. On the subject of church rates. Dr. Phillimore opened up a controver- sy ,which was afterwards to assume more for- midable proportions. His proposal was for a bill to alter and amend the existing law, while sir W. Clay proposed an amendment for the abolition of the rates. The house, however, after a long debate, rejected both the amendment and the original motion. In the province of law reform, the house of lords passed a bill, brought forward by the lord-chancellor, for the registration of assurances; but it was subsequently with- drawn in the house of commons. The chari- table trusts bill was more succes.sful. The lord-Chan cellor,in explaining thediflerence between this bill and that whCch had been Introduced in 1851, said that the board of superintendence would be a branch of the government, and that its powers would ex- tend to all the charities in the kingdom, and to the sanctioning of different applica- tions of their funds, in cases where it was found impossible t.i apply them to the original object, or where the object did not carry out the intentions of the founder, or when, of several charities, the funds taken separately failed to accomplish their pur- pose, but when au amalgamation would enable them to do so. The bill was read for the last time in the house of commons on the 8th of August, and soon afterwards became law. It had now become clear that simic altera- tion must be made in the matter of trans- portation. With the exception of Western Australia the colonies showed a strong repugnance to the further reception of convicts. Still on the 10th of May, lord Grey proposed an address to the crown urging that the existing system should be continued until the new arrangements should be laid before parliament and care- fully considered ; and he urged that the abandonment of transportation would throw large bodies of criminals on this country who would ultimately become a class as formidable as the formats of France. Lord Aberdeen in his reply quoted lord Grey against himself as having admitted that this country had no right to force convicts on colonies against the will of the latter, and maintained that the for<;ats of France were formidable only because they were not disciplined. The duke of Newcastle urged that the dangers apprehended from a discontinuance of the old system were greatly exaggerated. The whole number of convicts transported in 1857 did not exceed 2,000. Lord Grey's motion was lost. A bill for altering the punishment of transporta- tion was introduced into the house of lords ; and the lord-chancellor proposed that the punishment should be reserved for those who had been sentenced for periods of four- teen years and upwards, while for other cri- minals the sentence should be commuted for a proportionate term of convict labour at home. Lord Brougham regretted that transportation should be given up : the duke of Newcastle replied that its abandonment was absolutely necessary, and the only questi(ui was to determine what was best under existing circumstances. When the bill, having passed the lords, was introduced into the commous, lord Palmerston explain- ed that criminals sentenced to transporta- tion shcmld, after a certain term of impri- sonment, be set at liberty with conditioual tickets of leave, revocable on misconduct by the secretary of state. Mr. Walpole added that, while transportation cost the country about 200,000/. a year, the works at Portland paid themselves, besides produc- ing a splendid harbour, and through the past year the earnings of the convicts had exceeded the expenses of the establishment. The bill was read for the third time on the 12th of August and passed after a slight discussion on the merits o£ the ticket-of- leave system. ■« The charter of the East India Company had been renewed in 1833 for twenty years. It now became necessary to renew it or to alter it. Sir Charles Wood, in introducing the ministerial measure, said that the chief subjects of complaint in native petitions from India were the maladministration of justice, the want of public works, and the 636 Cte Crea^urp of ?B«storg, ic(. tenure of land. In all of lliese a marked imiirovcnienl had taken place. Tbe natives plaoed imrliclt ronfldence in tlie upriglit- ness of the Enftli.-^li judges, while the charartpr of the native judges, who now decided a large nuniher of causes, had risen greatly. In puhlic works, large sunis had been and would be expended on roads and railroads ; and canals and works of irrigation had already added 11,(XX),000 acres to the productive soil of India. Of the three systems of land tenure at present existing he showed that none could be established as a universal system. The revenue of the country was greatly increased ; and the augmented consumption of the necessaries of life was the evidence of the improved condition of the peasantry. The value of imports had risen 140 per cent, in the course of fllteen years. Still the syst^-m of Indian government was not perfect, and some changes in it appeared to be expedient and necessary. It had been objected that the home government of India was irrespon- sible; hut he maintained, thatasheadof the board of control, he was as responsible to parliament as the secretaries of state in their several departments, and that the court of directors was neither a sham nor the cause of any unnecessary and hurtful delay. The measure which he proposed left untouched the relations of the board of control and the court of directors, while it changed the constitution and limited the patronage of the latter. The thirty members of the court were to be reduced to eigh- teen, twelve of whom were to be elected in the usual way, the rest being nominated by the crown from Indian servants who had been ten years in the service of the crown or company. One third of this num- ber was to go out every second year, but to be forthwith re-eligible ; and the system so introduced was to continue until parlia- ment should determine on changing it. All civil and scientific appointments were to be thrown open to public competition ; and merit alone was to be the test of Haileybury and Addiscombe. On the renewal of the debate on the 6th of June, Mr. Phillimore attacked the government measure, and said that the actual condition of India stood out in striking contrast with the picture drawn by sir C. Wood. The civil and criminal law was miserably adminis- tered, and judgments were passed without the accused being even heard. The present system might best be likened to the ad- ministration of Verres in Sicily in the days of Cicero, and it was a libel to assert that the people of India were not fit to hold office in their native land. Sir James Hogg warmly defended the company, and urged the necessity of immediate legislation, insisting that the double government was the only way in which the administration of India could be purged of all political bias. If the cotton trade of India was not flourishing, it must he put down especially to the want of railroads, to the want of foreign capital, rather than to the govern- ment. And so far was the statement of Mr. PhlUimore as to the law courts from being a true one, that 96 per cent, of the causes heard were decided by natives ol India. On the 9th of June, after some further discussion, leave was given to sir C. Wood to introduce the bill. Lord Stanley immediately moved a resolution that fur- ther delay was needed before the parlia- ment could be able to legislate with advan- tage for the permanent government of India. Delay was a matter of comparatively little moment. There were no elements of insurrection in the country, atid if there were, there was no leader. The continuance of the present system a little longer would awaken a higher sense of responsibility in the servants of the company, and give a stimulus to local reforms. Xo attempt, he said, bad been made to justify the Indian government with respect to the proportion of revenue expended on public works ; and on the subject of education, especially, a rigorous enquiry was indispensable. When the debate was resumed on the 24th of June, Mr. Hume urged that the court of directors should only bemade more efficient, and Mr. Macaulay spoke of the bill as designed chiefly to make room for greater improvements hereafter. A double govern- ment in some sense was acknowledged by all to be best suited for India, and it was beyond question that India must be govern- ed in India. He protested against allowing the governor-general to nominate the civil servants, as leading to the most monstrous jobbery, and maintained, in opposition to lord Ellenborough, that the most efficient test was that of competition, and that nothing could be more unjustand impolitic than to exclude the natives of India from a share in the government, or to discourage their study of Western leaniiner. After a further adjournment to the 27lh of June, the debate was resumed, when Mr. Cobden denied that any double government existed. Except in patronage, the directors had no irresponsible power, and werea mere screen, concealing the real government, which he was anxious at once to remove. India could be sared only by governing it as the colonies were governed, so that public opinion could reach it. He denied the ac- curacy of sir C. Wood's financial picture. The mere increase of revenue proved little, if the debt was increased along with it ; and this debt had increased with additions of territory, and the newly acquired pro- vinces were confessedly governed at a loss. Sir J. Graliam met Mr. Cobden's charge of unnecessary wars by saying that war in that country 'is not British policy, it is Indian necessity.' Every governor-general went out with the most pacific intentions, but found it impossible to adhere to them. On the subject of debt he urged that while this had risen from 38 to 53 millions, the revenue had increa.sed from 18 to 29 millions. The debate, after being again adjourned, was resumed on the 30th of June, when Mr. Disraeli, criticising the bill, spoke of the home government as being ' cum- brous, divided, tardy and deficient in re- sponsibility,' and urged the recall of lord Ellenborough as proving that the directors were the real governors of India. It was Impossible to draw a line between English CFnglauU.— I^nit^e of 38runStotc|t.— 5^tct0n'a. 637 and Indian finance : twenty years later, wo must accept the Indian deljt, wliatever miglit be its amount. Sir James Hogg, lie said, had expressed his unqualitled approval of the existing system and its worliing ; and he ought therefore to vote against his own hill for changing what was so perfect. Lord John Russell insisted that under present cir- cumstances delay was dangerous and hurt- ful; on the division of the house the amend- ment was lost, and the bill read a second time. As it passed through committee, much discussion arose on many of its clauses ; but when the bill was resd as amended on the 28th of July, sir John Paklngton introduced an important dis- cussion by proposing to forbid the manu* facture of salt by the East India Company after the 1st of May, 1856, and to declare its manufacture and sale from that date to be absolutely free. The motion was opposed by sir C.Wood, lord John Russell, and others, but it was Anally carried against the government by a majority of 117 to 107. The bill itself was passed in the house of commons ; and in the lords, after some strong arguments against it from lord Ellenborough, sir J. Pakington's clause re- lating to the monopoly of salt was struck out, and the bill so amended was approved, and soon afterwards became law. But the subject which more than all others at this time engrossed the attention both of the parliament and the nation was the dispute between the Russian government, for tlie origin of which the reader is referred to the History of the Otiiiman Empire. In April lord Clarendon li;id stated that the government rehcd partly on the words of the emperor of Russia, and that the sultan of Turkey had nothing to fear, if, guided by ordinary prudence, he would adopt a more humane policy towards his Christian subjects. On the 27th of May lord Malnies- bury said that the promises of lord Clarendon had not been borne out by subsequent events. With any disputes which were confined to the holy places, England would have no personal concern ; but prince Menschikoif had further insisted that the sultan should concede certain privileges to his Christian subjects, and accept Russia as a guarantee for the personal security of those privileges; or, in other words, that the czar should become the actual ruler of a great portion of the subjects of the sultan. Lord Clarendon, in reply, stated that no decisive information could begiven because none had been received, but that the policy of the government had undergone no change, and they were acting in perfect concert on this question with the govern- ment of France. On the 14th of June, the czar announced his intention of occupying the Danubian principalities ; on the 2nd and .Srd of July his troops crossed the Pruth, and occupied the Turkish provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia. But on the 11th of July, in answer to a question from lord Malmesbury, lord Aberdeen replied that no information had been received of the occupation of Bosnia by Russian troops. At this time a circular despatch from count Nesselrode to the diplomatic agents of the Russian court was published in the news- papers, and its authenticity was admitted by lord John Russell. It stated that the emperor would not withdraw from the principalities until the sultan h.id given him full satisfaction, and until the Ki-tiich and English fleets had retired Irom those ports of the Turkish empire wliich they then occupied. Much controversy arose on the interpretation of this despatch. But in August hopes of a satisfactorj' adjustment were again roused by lord Clarendon's statement that the negotiations then pend- ing had assumed a favourable charac- ter, and that Austria, France, and England were acting together to check designs which were likely to upset the balance of power. Still, much dissatisfaction was felt and expressed throughout the country at the reserve of the government in speaking of their proceedings with reference to this quarrel ; and an important discussion took place on the subject in the house of commons on the 16th of August, when lord John Russell explained the state of the nego- tiations at the time ; and said that the evacuation of the principalities would be made an indispensable condition for the satisfactory settlement of the question. A long debate followed, in the course of which Mr. Cobden, admitting that there was a feeling of uneasiness in this country re- specting Turkey, said that there was also a growing conviction that the integrity of the Turkish empire as a maxim of policy was nownothingmore than an empty phrase; that the Turks were intruders in Europe, ruling over a population of Christians who stood to them in the proportion of three to one. He denied that it was in the interest of England to maintain Turkey, and held that the government had done wisely in resisting the demand for war. Lord Palmer- ston, denying all Mr. Cobden's statements, said that he had forgotten his own princi- ples of free trade, which should have led him to prefer the liberal commercial policy of Turkey to the eminently restrictive and prohibitory policy of Russia. Turkey, again, so far from having fallen back, had im- proved more than any other country in its social and moral relations, and in religious tolerance. Many other countries, to all appearance, were in a much more critical condition internally than Turkey; and if France and England would unite in de- claring that its integrity should be pre- served, their decision would be respected. The state of affairs generally demanded active preparation ; and the naval coast volunteers' bill was accordingly introduced in the house of commons, for the esta- blishment of a naval militia; and it was thought that by its means an additional force of 18,000 or 20,000 men could be easily provided among the seamen employed in the coasting service, and others who had experience in sea life and would not object to be trained during a short time in each year to the practice of great guns. In addition to this bill, two other measures of great importance were passed in the pilotage and mercantile marine bills. Thus the par- liamentary session closed with an imminent 638 Cfje (Crrafiury of ^ftigtorjj, &c. prospect of war, after a peace which dated from the battle of Waterloo, nearly forty years before. Nor was the Internal con- dition of the country by any means so encouraeing as It had been a twelvcniontli previously. A bad harvest here, and in all other corn-growinp countries of Europe, had been accompanied by prolonL-ed strikes in the manufacturinc districts for .in increase of waffcs at a tiiiu' when the contraction of trade rendered any such scheme im- practicable. On the 16th of December It was announced that lord Paltnerston had reslpned his ofTlce of home secretary ; in a few d.ays the resienation, which had never been accepted, was withdrawn; Init altlioush it was imputed to a difference of opinion on the eastern question, no explanation was offered in parliament of a step which. If persisted In, would have endangered the stability of the cabinet. In the course of this year the Caffre war in southern Africa was brought to a con- clusion by Keneral Cathcart, who had suc- ceeded sir Harry Smith as governor of the colonyandcommander-in-chief of the troops at the Cape. Pe.ace was brought about by the exhaustion of Sandilli and his subordi- nate chiefs : and the result was that the Gaika tribe was compelled to retire 200 miles to the north of its former frontier, and the Kei and Oranee rivers became the boundaries of British Caflraria to the north and east. The chiefs begged enrnestly for permission to retain possession of the Araatolas : but the governor gave them no hope of returning to a country where their constant plots showed that they could not be trusted again. The only other event of importance in the colony was the pro- mulgation on the 1st of July of the consti- tution for the colony of Cape Town. The war with Burmah had practically come to an end in 1852, with thefall of Promeand the annexation of the province of Pegu. The operations of this year were directed against the marauding chief, Hea Toon, who Anally escaped from his stronghold, with only 300 of his f> Uowers. The king of Ava refused to sign any formal treaty of peace ; but the governor-general consented to regard all hostilities as at an endjis long as the British possession of Pegu was left undisputed. At the same time all British prisoners detained at Ava were released, and the river Irrawaddy was declared free for all purposes of trade to the people of both countries. The year 18.54 began with the prospect of almost immediate war. The massacre at Sinope (Nov. 1853) and the entrance of the allied fleets into the Baltic, left but a faint hope that peace would be preserved. But although a time of comparative dearth had depressed the trade of this country, the farmers were generally satisfied with the state of prices, while the revenue, after the recent remission of taxation, continued satisfactory. Parliament was opened by the queen in person on the 30th of January. In the debate on the address in answer to the royal speech, much comment was made on the secret and mysterious method in which the government had concluded the negotia- tions with Russi.a. Lord Aberdeen, In de- fi-iidiiip himself, insisted that instead of beinir ' tin' instrument and tool of Russia,' he had taken a more active part than any one else against the Russian government, and that a menacing tone to Russia In 1853 would have brought about an immediate attack on Constantinople at a time when the Turks were altogether unable to resist it. At tlie same time he took the opportu- nity of defending prince Albert against the ch.arges of undue interference in domestic .and foreign politics. Having said that it w.as a matter for regret whenever the prince was not present in the council, he repelled still more indignantly the charge that he interfered unduly with the army and the horseguards. It had been the earnest wish of the duke of Wellington that prince Albert should succeed hlTn in the command of the army ; but, from motives of strict duty, the offers repeatedly made to him were without hesitation and positively declined. The prospect of war may have diminished the chauces of success for the government reform bill. It certainly diverted from it in a great degree the attention of the public. It was urged that at such a time the intro- duction of such a measure was highly im- prudent, while a change of ministry or a dissolution of parliament would be most dangerous. But lord Aberdeen, denying that the nation was already at war, said that the prospect of war must not be allowed to interfere with the fulfllment of pledge? given to the country, and that the govern- ment was distinctly pledged to a measure of reform. Accordingly on the 13th of Februarj-, lord John Russell proposed the new measure by which he designed t" remedy three main defects of the Reform Act. First, there were some boroughs which had not enough electors to justify their sending a member to parliament. A second defect lay in the manner in which the counties were divided ; and this he pro- posed to remedy by the distribution of the sixty-two seats gained by the disfranchise- ment of the small boroughs, or by reduction in the number of members returned by them. Thirdly, in place of the uniform 101. borough franchise, he proposed to make several new franchises common to counties and towns, by which votes would be given, among others, to those who had yearly salaries of 100/. a year, or paid 40.?. a year to income or assessed taxes, or were gra- duates at any university in the United King- dom. He proposed to give votes also to all persons rated above 6/. a year, with the condition of two year.s' and a half resi- dence ; and to disfranchise all ' freemen ' of boroughs after the expiration of existing interests. The second reading of the bill was fixed for the 13th of March ; hut in the meanwhile strong efforts were made to have the measure withdrawn on account of the impending w.ar. On the.3rd of March the government postponed the re,ading to the 27th of April : and finally on the llth of April, lord John Russell announced the withdrawal of the measure. Maintaining that the government were bound to do their utmost to carry it into effect, he said that dBnsXants.—^au^t al ajrun^tot'cfi.— ©tctnn'a. 639 they were not iJi-epared to decline tlis re- spousibility which belonged to the war by pressing; a measure on the success of which it might be necessary to stakg the exist- ence of the ministry. Thus, with the ex- pressed determination of bringing it for- ward again at a better opportunity, ended the second attempt of lord John Bussell to carry a new reforui bill. A bill to amend tlie law of bribery passed botli houses in February, and was followed by the introduction of five separate bills by the attorney-general, for the prevention of bribery and corruption in the city of Can- terbury, and the boroughs of Cambridge, Barnstaple, Kingston-upon-Hull, and Mal- don. These, however, were withdrawn on the 29th of May, when a debate took place in which Mr. Disraeli taunted lord John Russell with retaining office after several of his measures had been successively defeated, and with some bitterness assailed the position of the government, for which Mr. Gladstone pleaded that it was altogether exceptional, and appealed to the measures of the last session. E^irly in February, lord John Russell had broiiglit forward a bill by which, in place of the oaths of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration, one single oath should be sub- stituted as simple and intelligible as pos- sible. The measure was practically a bill for the admission of Jews to the power of sitting in parliament. The oath of alle- giance was as binding now as ever ; those of supremacy and abjuration applied to dangers which had long since ceased ; and the declaration required of Roman Catholic members ought no longer to be insisted on, while the words 'on the true faith of a Christian' had been inserted not to exclude Jews but to bind Roman Catholics, and especially Jesuits, to the substance of the oath. It was, therefore, unjust to disable any class of subjects by the usual operations of law. When the second reading was moved on the 25th of May, sir F. Thesiger moved its postponement for six months, urging that, like Nero, lord John Russell had given the protestant safeguards of the country one neck in order to strike them all ott at a single blow. In reply Mr. Glad- stone insisted that the positive supremacy of the crown, in the oath of queen Elizabeth, had been altered, in the reign of William and Mary, to a negative declaration denying the rights and encroachments of the pope. At the present time the positive supre- macy was denied, not by Roman catholics only, but by Protestant dissenters and Scotch Presbyterians. He insisted further that the strength of this country and the rights of the crown lay not in oaths and declarations, but in the attachment of the people, and that lord John Russell had done well in handing over to the e.xecutioner a bundle of useless oaths which might be pitfalls to the scrupulous, but would never be regarded by those who wished to evade them. Mr. Disraeli remarked that the Jews could wait, and asked why their cause had been prejudiced by mixing it up with the gravest political jiroblcms? On a division the bill was thrown out by a majority of 4 against the government, the numbers being 251 against 247. During this session a bill was passed for the amendment of the common law, al- though lord' Lyndhurst had ineffectually urged the importance of a measure for the consolidation of the statutes in general. By another bill the navigation laws passed since the repeal of the Navigation Act were consolidated, and the coasting trade thrown open to foreign vessels. On the 24th of February the army and navy estimates were proposed by Mr. Sidney Herbert and sir J. Graham respectively. For the former, the increase of cost was about 270,ooo(., for the latter, 1,202,455?. On the 6th of March the chancellor of the exchequer brought for- ward the budget, and said that the revenue actually received for the year showed an improvement or excess over the estimates of 1,035,000;. As for the estimate for the war in the East, it was impossible to say that it would suffice for the wants of the whole year ; and the measure which he proposed was to vote for extraordinary military expenditure a sum of 1,250,000!. Hence there was a detlciency of nearly three millions to be provided for, and even this was not the whole cost of the war ; but while he hoped that this sura might be raised without returning to the higher duties on various articles which had re- cently been diminished, he urged strongly that it should not he raised by resorting to a loan, and so throwing the burden on pos- terity. Such a course was not required by the necessities of the country, and was therefore not worthy of its adoption. No country had played so much as England at this dangerous game of mortgaging the industry of future generations. It was riglit that those who make war should be prepared to make the sacrifices needed to carry it on ; ihe necessity for so doing was a most useful check on mere lust of con- quest, and would lead men to make war with the wish of realising the earliest pro- spects of an honourable peace. The means of raising the sum required were numerous. The income-tax had been shown to be capa- ble of producing immense results, and he proposed now to raise it by one half, levying the whole addition for and in respect of the first moiety of the year, or, in other words, to double the tax for the half-year. This would not only meet the estimated expenditure, but leave a surplus of 467,000/. On the 20th of March, the resolution to this effect was passed in committee with- out discussion or division ; but when the report was brought up on the following day, sir H. Willoughby proposed to omit the last clause, and so to spread the addi- tional assessment over the whole year. Mr. Disraeli, while denouncing the war as one of coalition, and severely censuring Mr. Gladstone for allowing the exchequer ba- lances to fall from about nine to four or live millions, still refused, by supporting the amendment, to add at such a time to the difllculties of the government. The same arguments were repeated by sir J. Pak- ington, on the 30th of March, when the bill was read for the third time and passed. 640 CIjc CTrrajJury of S^iStorg, &c. Tlie Ptimp dutips 1)111 was sulisequently i iissed with liitlc alteration, while a scpa- Kite set of resolutions, anionjr other iiro- vislons, authorised the treasury to issue oxelu'fiuer bonds to be paid olT at jKtr In May 1858, for a sum nor pxr('eillngl',i'xX),ooo(. The same issue (and with the same result), roKardinir the niianci.il schemes of the fhaiicollor of the ex cheaucr, was raised in the debates on the malt tax; and the re- luainder of the budget was carried with but little discussion. On the irtli of March lord Jolin Russell introduced the government liill for reform- ing the university of Oxford, of wliieh the chief features were a change in tlie govern- ing body in the university, the extension of the university itself, the combijiation of the tutorial and professorial systems, and a more opeu competition for endowments which had been hitherto much restricted or confined to founders' kiu. The question of the admission of dissenters to the univer- sities he reserved for separate consideration, while he expressed his belief that the pur- pose of a university was not wholly fulQlled, as long as a large class of persons were hin- dered from entering it at all. Ou the second reading much discussion rose on an amend- ment to refer it to a select committee, which was negatived by 172 against 90. "When the report was brought up on the22nd of June, Mr. Heywood moved the insertion of a clause which abolished at matriculation all declarations or oaths ex'cept that of alle- giance, and so left it open to dissenters to become members of the university as at Cambridge. Mr. Sidney Herbert thought that the insertion of such a clause would be impolitic, as, if forced upon the university, this part of the measure would probably lie defeated indirectly. If, however, the uni- versity should refuse to act voluntarily in this direction, then a measure on the sub- ject might be introduced into parliament. The motion was, however, carried, and Mr. Heywood immediately proposed another clause by which only the oath of allegiance would be required from any one on taking a degree. On this motion, lord John Rus- sell said that after the vote just given he would not take a division : but Mr.Walpole Insisted upon It, saying that the last motion gave to dissenters the right of admission, while this would make them part of the governing body in the university. The clause was negatived by 208 against 19G, but on the third reading of the bill in June, it was carried in a modified form. After some amendments in the house of lords, it was finally passed on the 27th of July. On the 12tb of August parliament was "proro- gued. During the session some changes bad taken place in the cabinet; lord John Russell had been placed in a detlnite office as lord president of the council ; and as the discharge of the duties of war minister had been found incompatible with those of the secretary of the colonies, a fourth secre- taryship— for war— was created, and confer- red on the duke of Newcastle. Parliament reassembled on the 12th of December, when debates took place in both houses on the conduct of the ministry and the manage- ] ment of the war. Lord Derby asserted that the ministers had been too late in all their measures, andthat thenuniberof troopssent I out wa:^ quite ill^llmcl(•llt tosettle Iht- gri'at questinn .if linssi.iii sii|ir,-iM:i( y. The duke of NewcH-^tlc. Ill rrpclllng the cl.argi'S of lord Derby, s.iid that great good had lieen done in the Baltic caiupaign by the destruction of Honi:n>uiid, which in a little while would I have become a fortress farmore formidable than those of Cronstadt or Sweaborg, and I have made the gulf of Bothnia a Russian , l.ike. In the house of commons, Mr. Disraeli I charged the government with having in- i vadcd Russia with 2,500 men, and made no provision for their suiiport,and urged strong doubts as to the sincerity and well meaning of Austria, which were combated by lord John Russell. On the 15th of December the thanks of both houses were unanimously voted to the officers and men of the army in the East, and to the French generals who had cooperated with them. The bill for the enlistment of foreigners roused a good deal of opposition. LordEllenborough protested against; the drilling and training in this country of a number of foreigners who were to be substituted for an equal number of militiamen sent abroad, and against whom, if employed against an English mob, the nation would rise up in arms. Lord Aberdeen denied that they were to be used as substitutes for militiamen or to be em- ployed in this country. Subsequently, the duke of Newcastle consented to reduce the ntimheis to be enlisted from 15,000 to 10,000. In the house of commons, lord John Rus- sell stated that having recommended this. In conformity with many precedents, asone of the means of carrying on the war, minis- ters could not attempt to conduct it, if the bill were rejected; and lord Palmerston urged further, that with our voluntary system, every augmentation of the army was a slow and gradual jirocess, while the enemy with whom we had to contend had an almost un- limited supply of men. The debate on the third reading was concluded by Mr. Bright, who said that in supporting the Porte against Russia we were fighting for a hope- less cause and a worthless ally. The bill was carried by a majority of 38, and the parliament adjourned on the 23rd of De- cember. The summer of this year was marked by a return of the cholera ; but the total number of deaths, 26,722, fell short of the deaths from cholera in 1849 by one half. It raged more fiercely in towns than iu the country, and caused great havoc along the valley of the Thames, especially at Oxford, where the deaths rose from 139 to 28.3. In Scotland its ravages were most felt at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, and Montrose. On the continent it was still more severe ; but the disease readied its greatest height in the TVest Indies, where in the island of Barbadoes 17,000 persons fell victims to it ; in this country its course showed that its attacks might generally be warded off by timely sanitary precau- tions ; thus, at Liverpool, the numbers carried off were 933, as against 4,54S deaths iu 1849. (PiTglanlf.— |^0u«e at 3&runAtaitk.—WictanH. 541 A.D. 1S55.— Before the close of this year the gi-eatest enterprise in the war with Russia was brought to a successful issue by the fall of Sebastopol ; but the events which had preceded it were received with no feel- ings of unmingled satisfaction In this country. The sufferings of the troops had roused painful sympathy, and gave rise to frequent charges of carelessness and maladministration in the commissariat. Hence the parliamentary history of this year exhibits sudden changes and frequent controversies, which powerfully agitated the country. The parliament had no sooner met on the 23rd of January, than notices were given of several motions relating to the conduct of the war. Lord Ellenhorough demanded information on the condition of the army ; Mr. Roebuck called for a wider and more searching enquiry ; while lord Lyndhurst gave notice of a resolution distinctly affirming that the government was responsible for all the disasters which had taken place. Of these motions the two former were to have been discussed on the 25th of January ; but on that day the parliament heard with astonishment of the resignation of lord John Russell. On the day following, he explained the reason fur this step,— which arose from a feeling that Mr. Roebuck's motion could not be honestly opposed by the government, and from a dissatisfaction with existing arrangements, the faults of which he had pointed out to lord Aberdeen, urging that the seals of the war department should be transferred from the hands of the duke of Newcastle to those of lord Palmerston. It had seemed to hlra his duty to resign when this suggestion was not complied with; but he consented to retain office, and had done so until Mr. Roebuck's motion brought before the house a question to which he felt that he could not give the only answer which would stop enquirj'. Lord Palmerston complained that the step was not in accordance with the practice of public men, and that he was not justified in thus embarrassing the govern- ment. The motion of Mr. Roebuck for a select committee was opposed by Mr. Sid- ney Herbert, who attributed much of the evils complained of to a want of experience in the field officers : the regimental system was perfect, but the field officers had never seen a brigade and knew not how to organ- ise large bodies. Asserting that the con- dition of things was grossly exaggerated, and that much had been already done to improve it, he protested against the motion as likely to paralyse all action both at home and abroad. He was supported by sir George Grey, and opposed by Mr. Stafford, who drew a painful picture of the miseries of the English soldiers in the East. He spoke from personal knowledge ; and he had seen hospitals containing 300 sick, yet without wine : he had seen soldiers asking in vain for their knapsacks, which were stowed away under the cargoes of ships : he had seen wounded men lying on bare boards, while in the passages were bed- steads that could have been put up imme- diately. There seemed to be but one allevintion to the picture, and that was in the ministrations of Miss Nightingale and other ladies who shared with her the labour of tending the wounded and the sick in the hospitals at Scutari. Mr. Stafford was followed by Mr. Bernal Osborne, who made a sweeping attack on the whole military system of the country', with which he placed his own department of the admiralty in very favourable contrast. Among the many other charges brought forward by other speakers, sir B. B. Ly tton dwelt strongly on the folly shown in not taking Odessa, a defenceless town, where the troops might have wintered with ease and safety. Mr. Gladstone, in reply, said that Odessa, with its 100,000 inhabitants, and an army of 300,000 Russians in its neighbourhood, would not have furnished the most com- fortable quarters for the British troops, and urged that great improvements were taking place in the camp before Sebasto- pol : he was further sure that within a year there would be a reaction in favour of the duke of Newcastle, on whom the blame was now chiefly laid. Mr. Disr.ieli charged lord John Russell with profligate intrigu- ing, and was met by the answer that he had done no more than had been done during the administration of lord Grey. Towards the conclusion of the debate lord Palmerston deprecated Mr. Roebuck's select committee, and said that if there was a want of confidence in the government rather than in the conduct of the war, it would be better to say so openly. On a division of 305 against 148, a majority against the government appeared of no less than 157. On the 1st of February, therefore, in both houses, the resignation of the ministry was announced ; and while lord Aberdeen promised his ready support to whatever administration might be formed, the duke of Newcastle defended himself eloquently against the charges of indolence and indifference, while he left the other charge of incapacity to the verdict of the parliament and of the nation. During the next few days unsuccessful atteiupts were made to form a ministry under the leader- ship of lord Derby, and afterwards of lord John Russell. Finally a ministry was not so much formed afresh as reconstructed, in which lord Palmerston became the first lord of the treasury ; lord Clarendon, foreign secretary ; lord Panmure, secretary for war; while Mr. Gladstone continued to be chan- cellor of the exchequer. On the 16th of February, lord Panmure proposed to remedy the evils complained of at Sebastopol by a bill for the enlistment of experienced men for shorter periods of two or three years. A large proportion of the forces sent to the Crimea were young and unseasoned re- cruits, who rapidly sickened and died off ; he mentioned, also, many other measures which had been taken to remedy existing defects. In the house of commons, Mr. Layard stated that England was on the brink of ruin, and had become the laughing- stock of Europe, and contrasted with the conduct of the British parliament that of the French convention, who on the failure of iheir army sent out their own members, whose impartiality was soon rewarded by .1 A 512 (!rf>e CrMiSury of ?^Wt0rt», ^c. the raost brilliant and solid rrsults. This language was strongly rcsontt'd by lord Palmerston, who said tliat it wimld bo will If Mr. Layard and his proposed ciininnttcc could be sent out to the Crinu-a, and coni- mauded to remain tliere during the rest of the session. But the government had i hardly existed for a fortnight, when an-! other crisis occurred, and it was announced that Mr. Gladstone, sir J. Graham, and Mr. Sidney Herbert had resigned their offices. In explanation sir J. Graham said that he could not assent to the appointment of a committee which included no member of the government : he objected further to a select committee. If secret, it could not be checked by public opinion : if it were open, the evidence brought before it would be immediately made public, and comment- ed upon in ways highly injurious to the public service. In the same spirit Mr. Herbert said that he gave up his ofBce, because, as a vote of censure the motion for a committee was valueless, while as an enquiry it would be a mere sham. With greater particularity, Mr. Gladstone urged, that the committee, being neither for pun- ishment or remedy, must be for govern- ment, and could not fail to deprive the executive of its most important functions. The committee was, however, appointed, and the vacant places shortly filled up in the cabinet. Lord John Russell, already plenipotentiary at Vienna, was appointed secretary of state for the colonies. Sir J. Coraewall Lewis succeeded Mr. Gladstone as chancellor of the exchequer, and sir C. Wood followed sir J. Graham at the admiralty. On the 2nd of Starch news was received of the death of the emperor of Russia, and caused great sensation throughout the country. Owing to these tidings lord Lyndhurst consented to post- pone a motion which had reference to the position of Prussia on the approaching negotiations at Vienna. In the house of commons an ineffectual attempt was made to make the Sebastopol committee a secret one. On the 23rd of March the accession of Sardinia to the Anglo-French alliance was announced in parliament. By the terms of the treaty the king of Sardinia engaged to keep up a body of 15,000 men for the requirements of the war, in return for a loan of 1,000,000/. from the British government The death of the emperor Nicholas was generally regarded as the removal of an important obstacle in the way of peace ; but the hopes of peace raised by the sub sequent conferences at Vienna soon issued In disappointment. At the end of February lord John Russell was despatched as pleni I potentiary in the hope of such a settlement of the eastern question as might put an end I to the war. He bad been instructed that j the object of the negotiations must be the formal recognition of the Turkish empire I as a member of the great European family I of nations, and guaranteed by the abroga- I tion of Russian supremacy in the Black .Sea. It was manifestly useless to seek this end by proposing to maintain in the Black Sea I an English and French fleet which might counterbalance that of Russia; as it was most unlikely that Great Britain would incur this expense for any length of time. It mnst therefore be attained by reducing the maritime force of Russia, and by oiien- ing the Black Sea, with the consent of Turkey, to the maritime forces of other nations. The conference was opened at Vienna on the 15th of March ; .and after two days' discussion it was agreed that Russia should abandon all exclusive protection over the Danubian principalities of Mol- davia, Wallachia, and Servia; nor did any difficulty occur as to the next point which related to the free navigation of the Danube. The third point regarded not only the rela- tions of Turkey to the balance of European power (a matter which seemed to involve no serious difficulty), but the more delicate subject of the restrictions to be placed on the Russian force in the Black .Sea. After some delays and adjournments, prince Gortschakoff, the Russian envoy, declared that Russia would not consent to the strength of her navy being restricted to any fixed number either by treaty or in any other wa.v. It appeared, however, to the Turkish envoys that the difficulty might be met by a declaration of the contracting powers to respect the territorial integrity and independence of Turkey as an essen- tial condition of the equilibrium. To this principle the Russian envoys assented, but added tliat they could not thereby pledge themselves to a territorial guarantee. To a suggestion that the Porte should enter into separate negotiations with Russia apart from the conference, the answer was given that such a course was impossible. On the 21st of April prince Gortschakoff again stated that Russia must decline, as dero- gatory to her dignity, any proposal which regulated the amount of her forces in the Black Sea ; but he added that Russia would not be able to transport more than 20,000 troops, with the greatest developement of its navy, on any given point of the Ottoman territory in the space of about three weens, and asked whether this involved any great danger, or justified the fears which were entertained of Russian aggression? He then proposed an arrangement to which lord John Russell and M. Dronyn de Lhuys objected as resting on a basis on which they were not authorised to treat. A similar result followed the meeting of the 26th of April, the Austrian plenipotentiary alone |. declaring that the Russian proposals ad- mitted of discussion and containedelements of which Austria would endeavour to avail herself for an understanding. The con- ference was now virtually at an end, although Austria put forward some final proposals which appeared to M. Drouyn de Lhuys as well as to lord John Russell to hold out the prospect of an amicable arrangement of the question. Hence on his return the former resigned or was deprived of his oBlce as minister of foreign affairs ; and the latter withdrew shortly afterwards from the cabinet of lord Palmerston. The formal close of the Vienna conferences was announced in the house of commons on the 4th of June; and was followed by (SnqXana,—^a\xSt al Mtwi&tiiitk.—Wictavia, 543 many debates in both houses on the conduct of the war, and on the policy of Russia and Austria in particular. Lord Lyndhurst urged that on the last war between Russia and Turkey, Prussia had acted in such subservience to the former as to appear scarcely an independent power, and that now no real aid could be expected from her, and throughout the policy of Austria had been tortuous and vacilJating. She had not occupied the principalities till the Russians had retired beyond the Pruth, and while imposing distinct obligations on the allies, she had taken only vague and almost un- intelligible obligations on herself. Lord Clarendon, complaining that the tone fre- quently adopted iu this country towards Germany had alienated from us the sympa- thies of the German people, excused the reluctance of Austria from taking even now an active part in the war. Although one of the four points had been rejected by Russia, still the western powers had rejected other alternatives which to Austria seemed to furnish a fit basis for peace. In subse- quent debates, an address to the crown was urged by lord Ellenborough and opposed by lord Pannnire. In that of the 28th of May, lord Grey brought forward a motion that the proposals of Russia had been such as to afford a fair prospect of an honourable peace ; he urged that to carry on a just war even for one hour after the cause of that war had ceased, was the greatest sin that could be committed, and in that sin every man had a share who wilfully neglected doing all that lay in his power to check what is so contrary to the laws of God. In reply lord Clarendon and lord Malmesbury insisted that the proposals of Russia were not such as could be relied upon or accepted ■with safety ; on the other hand, the bishop of Oxford, while justifying war under certain necessities, argued that there was no principle in the present war after the concessions of Russia and the successes of the allies. In the house of commons, Mr. Layard proposed various expedients for Improving the public service ; and a long debate ensued on the merits and demerits of the several systems of open nomina- tion and of open competition for appoint- ments to public offices. At this time the publication of count Nesselrode's circular brought lord John Russell again prominently before the public. It had been rumoured previously that the cabinet of a government engaged in a war had one member who thought that war unnecessary: lord John Russell defended himself by saying that he had promised to put the Austrian propositions in such a light as he hoped might lead to their adoption. He had made this promise to count Buol at Vienna : he had fulfilled it on his return to England. The Austrian proposals were deliberately considered and rejected by the cabinet; and he felt that as a plenipoten- tiary he was bound to submit to the decision of the government, and that within the cabinet it was the duty of the minority to yield to the majority, if there was a majority and minority. Mr. Cobden severely blamed lord John Russell for thus sacriflclng his judgment, and asserted that the war was odious in France. Lord Palnierston insisted in his reply on the enthusiasm fell through- out England for the war. Mr. Disraeli urged that when a minister who had not succeeded in hi.s negotiations remained in a cabinet of which ail the other members disagreed with him, the house had a right to ask what reasons the cabinet had for rejecting the views of their plenipotentiary. The debate was adjourned to the 12th of July, when lord John Russell explained further that, although he had urged the Austrian pro- posals, he felt now that there was no alternative but to prosecute the war with vigour. Still, as it seemed likely that a vote of censure would be carried against him, he announced that he had resigned his office. He stated at the same time that he had brought the Austrian propositions to London on the 29th of April, but that circumstances had occurred, quite inde- pendent of the merits of the propositions themselves, whith made it impossible to agree to them. Hence, after their rejection, there was no other course but to carry on the war vigorously. Sir E. B. Lytton, however, maintained that lord John Russell could not separate his conduct from that of his colleagues, and charged lord Palmerstou with having accepted office under the engagement of carrying out the foreign policy of lord Aberdeen, and then rejecting proposals which the latter would certainly have accepted. On the 17th of July, Mr. Roebuck proposed a motion, founded on the report of the Sebastopol cummittee, visiting with severe reprehension every member of that cabinetwhose counsels had led to the disastrous results of which he complained ; but after a debate of two days it was rejected in favour of an amendment proposed by general Peel, who contended that the house had not the means of judging the Crimean expedition. In another debate on the 3rd of August, Mr. Gladstone fixed on the ministers the whole responsibility of continuing the war after the rejection of the Austrian proposals. They had now no de- finite object, and having castaside abasisof agreement to which all the plenipotentiaries at Vienna had agreed, they were making war now only for paltry differences. Our difficulties were increasing; Austria was gradually withdrawing from us; Turkey was an ally such as Anchises was to ^Eneas on his flight from Troy ; Sardinia was drag- ging heavily through the conflict in mere dependence on England, and France was not likely to add 100,000,000!. sterling to her debt for a mere difference between limita- tion and counterpoise. Amidst such dis- cussions the session drew towards its close. During its course few bills were passed of a purely social nature except those whicli have been named ; and the Irish tenant- right bill, together with a bill for reforming the university of Cambridge, had been put off to another season. A.D. 1856.— In England the prospect of an immediate peace, which might now be look- ed upon as almost certain, was far from causing universal satisfaction. The success of the allies at Sebastopol had in some Cte HLveaiMXB of ^guStarg, &c. 544 flpgroe IfBscned the prcrlous discnntoiit ; but lliere was a large imrij- tlirouglmut tlie (•(Hiiitry who thouRht that If the war were continued the English army wuukl arhitve brilliant success and gain new glciry fcirour arms ; and tins parly laid great stress on I lir fact that, so far fr.un ln-iiitr .-rii'i.li-d l.y tlio war, the revenue Iwid risen fully to the demands made upon it, and our eominerce Lad seldom been more flourishing. On the meeting of parliament lord Derby complain- ed that the government appeared to Jie rather claimants of peace from Russia than to be granting a peace on the petition of their enemies. He complained also of the omission of Sardinia and Turkey in the queen's speech, when reference was made to the negotiations then going on, and further that no mention had been made of the surrenderor Kars to the Russians. In reply lord Clarendon denied that any overtures had been made by the allies, or that Austria had offered any mediation ; all that she had done was to ascertain and make known at St. Petersburg the conditions on which the allies would grant a peace : to these terms she had required a simple negative or affir- mative answer, and she had received the latter, when she threatened that unless the Russians gave a simple reply the Austrian embassy would be withdra\vn from St. Pe- tersburg. In the house of commons, on the 28th of April, llr. Whiteside, in bringing for- ward a motion which imputed the fall of Kars to the want of foresight and energy on the part of the government, complained that general Williams had been sent to Kars to restore the efDciency of the Turkish anny, but without authority to do anything. They had given him no powder and shot, but a plentiful supply of pen and ink. Lord Stratford de Redchfte had failed in his du- ties, and yet he remained ambassador still. In a subsequent debate an amendment was proposed to defer all consideration of the fall of Kars until the terms of the peace had been made known ; but to this sir Cornewall Lewis demurred.as giving the go-by to Mr. Whiteside's motion, which the government were resolved to meet, and on which they confidently expected an acquittal. He maintained that Mr. Wliiteside's speech was utterly irrelevant, and that the government had not been responsible for the defence or fall of Kars. To have withdrawn troops from before Sebastopol for the relief of tliat fortress would have endangered the es- sential enterprise of the war to attain a mere secondary object : in like manner, lord Palmerston denied that the government had ever undertaken to carry on the war in Asia, and imputed the loss of Kars to the misconduct of the pasha of Erzeroura, who, with an abundant supply of money to pur- chase provisions, had not paid the carriers, and the supplies fell into the hands of the Russians. After the rejection of the amend- ment, the motion of Mr. Whiteside was thrown out by a majority of 127 in favour of the government, the numbers being 303 to 176. In requital for his great services, a baronetcy with a pension of 1000/. a year was conferred on general Williams for his heroic defence of Kars. nut from his command in the Baltic, sir (^harles Napier had returned only to receive censure from the government and disappro- val from the country. His appointment had been highly popular ; and the failure of high-wrcuight expectations had been follow- ed liv a feeling of vexation which was not inori' rational or well founded. Sir Charles .Napier had now been returned as member forSouthwark.and on the 13th of March, he moved from his place in parliament, for a select committee to enquire into the opera- tions of the British fleet in the Baltic during the two preceding years; and, taking the opportunity of explaining at length his own conduct during his period of command, he dwelt on the difficulties which had from the first been experienced from the want of pilots and the improper manning of the ships. His instructions with respect to the attacking of Cronstadt and Sweaborg were embarrassing ; and the admiralty had ap- proved of the delay in attacking Bomarsund until the arrival of the French troops. He insisted that the attack on Sweaborg with large ships only would have been an act of pure insanity, and, contrasting the sudden impatience of sir J. Graham with his pre- vious caution, he censured the conduct of the government as being worse than negli- gent. Sir J. Graham in reply refuted the charge by reading, with the writer's per- mission, passages from the letters of sir Charles Napier, who, after some angry de- bate, withdrew his motion, being content to rest his case on the letters which he had brought forward. On the 31st of March the signing of the treaty of peace was announced in both houses of parliament, and the news was followed by debates on the terms made be- tween the allies and Russia. LordMalmes- bury complained that Russia had been allowed to resume possession of the Cir- cassian coasts and to re-build her forts there, and urged that the allies should have insisted on the abandonment of the arsenal at Kicolaieff; if Russia was permitted to have only six ships of war in the Black Sea, she might build transports of any size at Sebastopol, and send them forth with troops to assail the Turkish coasts at her pleasure. Lord Clarendon in reply urged that the countries on the eastern coast of the Black Sea must either have been made independent or restored to Turkey. To the latter course they would not consent, while the assertion of the former would be a mere mockery. A debate of much the same cha- racter occurred on the same day in the house of commons, in the course of which Mr. Sidney Herbert said that the war had burst the bubble of Russian invincibility; but while he was sure that the policy of Russia was not the result of any long- cherished ambition, he held that It ought to be the more severely curbed because it arose from a necessity. Lord Palmerstcm believed that the objects of the war, viz., I rescuing Turkey from diplomatic, militar.v, and naval assaults, had, in the short period of two years, been fully accomplished. The I thanks of both houses were then voted to j the officers and men of the army and navy dEuglanii.— I^nuic at 3Bruujitotcit.— ?Ftctaria. 545 who had taken part In the war, as well as 1 In law, the crown might ennohie a whole to the ofllcers and men of the militia. The troop of guards at once, hut u. would be a duke of Camhridge s|)oke in high praise of gross violation of the constitution. Lord the conduct of ail who had been engaged i Derby urged that if the precedent were au- iu the struggle, and the motion was carried mitted, the fall of the monarchy would be unanimously ultimately ensured. These arguments were On the 30th of June the disputes which 1 met by counter-statements, but the con- had arisen between the British government troversy was (Inally settled by the con- and that of the United States, on the ferring of an hereditary peerage on ord Central American convention, and more i Wensleydale in the usual way. The failure especially on the Foreign Enlistment Act, i of this measure was followed by the appel- were brought before parliament. Mr. Moore late-jurisdiction bill, which called to the proposed a motion afflrniing that, in these ! house of lords, as accessory to the lord- differences the conduct of the government ; chancellor in appeal, two officers who have had not entitled them to the approbation , held high judicial office for a period Of of the htoii the British ambassador, of violatingintcrna- tional law by secretly enlisting the subjects of the rnited States. The attorney-general denied that the persons enlisted were Ame- rican citizens, and that if by their enlistment the municipal law of the States was not violated, the international law was as- suredly not broken by it. Sir Frederick Thesiger, on the other hand, contended that flveyears. This bill, successful inthehouse of lords, was twice read in the house of commons, when a motion of Mr. Currie to refer the bill to a select committee, having been carried, stopped its further progress. It had been agreed at the conference of Paris, that theneafter in war a neutral flag should cover an enemy's goods ; in protest ag.ainst this doctrine, lord Colchester, on the 23nd of May, moved a series of resolu- the conduct of Mr. Crampton was a breach tions which affirmed that the maintenance of the sovereign rights of the United States, of the right of capturing an enemy's goods Sir G Grey said that it was not easy to I on board of neutral vessels was of essential determine in "this case the precise charges 1 importance to a power whose main reliance brought against the government, but that ; is on her naval superiority. Lord Derby if any offence had been committed, an characterised the abandonment of this apology had been made ; at the same time right as a surrender of the foundation of the p'ovemment could not distinctly admit , England's greatness. Lord Grey in answer that the acts done were contrary to the said the principle must he judged by i'= law because they had no evidence to that working, and in practice ■* - "" effect. In the end, Mr. Moore's resolution was lost in a division of 274 to 80. Among the subsequent debates of this session were some important conversations on the affairs of Italy. Lord Lyndhurst inveighed against the tyranny of Austria, which had extended her limits of occupa- tion in Italy, not only over the legations, but over the duchy of Parma ; and urged that as there were cases iu which it waa the bounden duty of foreign governments to interfere, there could be no doubt that the execrable disposition of the king of Naples called for such interference. In the house of commons, lord Palnierstou stated it to be the wish of the French em- peror that the occupation of the Roman States by his troops should cease, if the consent of Austria could be obtained ; but of this the Austrian representative at the Paris conference held out no hope. It might, however, be anticipated that the papal government would so regulate its own affairs, as soon to render all further foreign intervention unnecessary. To the king of Sardinia England was undoubtcd.y pledged to yield support and protection in any unprovoked attack, even though the force of Sardinia might itself be suffleicnt to repel it. During the session the question of life- peerages called forth much debate. Baron Parke had been created a peer for life, under the title of lord Wensleydale, when lord Lyndhurst said it was clear froni the circumstances of the case that he had been so appointed to make a precedent for the future. He doubted the legality of the act, and was sure that it was unconstitutional. was found impossible to ascertain what was the pro- perty of an enemy in neutral ships. On a division there appeared against the resolu- tions a majority of 54. Towards the close of the session, a bill for the retirement of the bisbojis of London and Durham was introduced, and, although much contested at every stage, ultimately passed both houses. During the financial debates of the session, Mr.Muntz introduced a motion afflrming the need of a readjustment of the income-tax, especially with regard to the rates levied on professional and industrial incomes as compared with those derived from fixed property. This motion was lost by a large majority. On the 6th of March lord John Russell Introduced the subject of national education in a series of resolutions by which, amongst other measures, it was provided that 80 sub-inspectors should be added to the exist- ing number of inspectors ; that the sub- inspectors should report on the available means for the education of the poor in each school district; that in order to ex tend such means, the powers of the commissioners of charitable trusts should be enlarged, and that the funds now useless or injurious to the public should he applied to the education of the middleand poorer classes of the commu- nity; that where such means are not avail- able, the rate-payers should have the power of taxing themselves for the maintenance of schools; that employers of children between nine and fifteen years of age should be rc'juired to furnish certificates half-yearly of the attendance of such children at school, and to pay for such instruction. Against these resolutions many objections were 3a2 .546 Ct)e ULttaiuvQ at W^tavit, $(c. urpi'ii ill tlit^ debute of tlie lndi of April. Among others, sir J. (iraliani urged the. heneflts of the voluntary as eoinpiircil with the compulsory system, wliile sir J. Pakliig- ton, compljiininp of the failure of this system, said that there were parts of England and Ireland where education was retrograding. In effect, l<.nl .Inhn linsscll withc'.rew some of the most important of the resolutions, and the rest werenciratived on a division. Hut in coiumittee of supply, on the 14th of June, a sum was voted in excess of the expenditure of the previous year in public education by 54,292/. A bill for the regulation of the university of Cambridge was likewise passed, and that for the withdrawal of the grant from the college of Maynooth was abandoned, owing to the lateness of the season. During the session lord Albemarle pre- sented a petition from the inhabitants of Madras, complaining of tbe infliction of torture by the officers of the East India Company, and urged that the tortures so complained of were only a sample of the modes in which the Company administered justice and collected its revenue. Enume- rating four methods of torture, he expressed I his belief that the practice was connived at, or tacitly tolerated by, European officers. I The duke of Argyle admitted the facts, but I s.aid that the government were not res- 1 ponsible for a custom which had come down ! from preceding empires, and which they bad done their utmost to abolish ; he proposed some verbal alterations in the resolutions which expressed the reliance of the house that all persons in authority in this country, and in India, would strive to extirpate a practice disgraceful to the character of our government, and likely to render it odious to the people of India. Lord Clanricarde said the whole question was a matter of money : if the company paid fair wages, they would obtain, as collectors of revenue, men who would not employ torture as a means of extorting confessions. On the 18th of April, thehouse of commons, unconscious of coming disasters, of which even the government in India foresaw no sign, was occupied with the discussion of Indian affairs, when sir E. Perry, complain- ing of the deficit in the finances of that country, said that it was owing not, as was alleged, to expenditure on public works, but to a series of wars which were not defensive, followed by annexations of terri- toiT. He inveighed especially against the annexation of Oude, and urged that the ch.arges brought against the rulers of that kingdom were over-coloured, but that, even if true, they had reference to a state of things which was commenced by Warren Hastings. The statements of sir E. Perry were called in question, and on the 21st of July Mr, Vernon Smith, in the annual official statement, showed a decrea.se of more than 400,000!. on the deficit of the previous year, and said that it was caused by excess of expenditure in public works. The land revenue, he believed, could be increased by introducing a lower assess- ment, and the cultivation of cotton was greatly increased. The prospect on the I whole was encouraging ; but the difficulty ! might further be met by a reduction of j expenditure. This, however, must not apply to the military expenses: he could not admit any reduction which was based on cmplrjying the native army more, and the queen's army less. He defended the annexation of Oude, and exhibited the progress made in laying down railways and electric telegraphs throughout India. After some further conversation, the government resolutions were agreed to. Towards the close of the session, Mr. Disraeli, while moving for the number of bills discharged during its course, charged the government with deficient legislation and the large number of measures which they had been compelled to abandon, and expressed his belief that a large party looked with suspicion and dislike on the influence of landed property, on the union between church and state, and to all heredi- tary influence. Lord Falmerston, in reply, said that in attempting to introduce "a schism into the liberal party, Mr. Disraeli had fallen into a contradiction. He had charged the government with abandoning liberal views, and yet in the same speech he accused them of inundating the house with more measures than it was possible to pass. If, however, many measures had been abandoned, the reason was obvious ; the fact must be attributed to the obstacles placed in the way of the government bv the opposition side of the house. He was far from being discontented with a state of things from which incalculable benefits were derived ; but nevertheless this was the cause of the defects of which Mr. Disraeli had complained, and, in spite of these failures, he believed that the govern- ment had not lost the confidence of the house or tlie country. Parliament was prorogued by commission on the 29th of July. For the differences which arose in the course of tliis year between the British government and the pasha of Persia, as well as with J;he Chinese empire, the reader is referred to the history of those countries respectively, A.D. 1857.— At the commencement of this year it seemed as though the income-tax would be the chief subject of attention dur- ing the coming session of parliament ; but that session itself was prematurely brought to a close by a dissolution caused by the diftereuces which had arisen between the British and Chinese governments ; and the Indian mutiny following immediately after, absorbed the attention of the nation to the exclusion, almost, of every other subject. But, in the debates which follow- ed oil the queen's speech, the income-tax furnished the most prominent topic. Lord Derby insisted that parliament would be wanting in its duty if it did not demand the fulfilment of the solemn pledge that the tax should definitely cease in 1860. And then subject of complaint arose out of the quarrel with Persia ; but an amendment of lord Grey, that war ought not to have been declared against Persia without the consent of parliamentj was negatived by a CPnglanir.— i^nu^e of 3iJrunslDicfe.— ?gictjjrta. 547 large iiiajurity. In the liouse of commons, Mr. Gladstone urged that a strict scrutiny into the national expenditure must precede any discussion on taxation. At the same time he remembered the pledges given in 1853, and he should tlierefore strive to bring the fiscal arrangements of the country into a state which would not stand in the way of the fulfllraent of those pledges in 1860. Lord Palmerstou complained that there was a disposition to judge of the expendi- ture before the estimates were announced, and warned the house against being so led astray. Soon after the beginning of the session the house of commons was occupied with an unpleasiug task not often imposed upon it, in the expulsion of a member — Mr. James Sadleir, who had been charged with serious frauds in the management of the Tipperary bank. Leave was given to bring iri bills relating to law reform, secondary pun- ishments, the establishment of a separate and responsible department for the affairs of public justice; while a proposal of Mr. Locke King to extend to counties the 10(. bo- rough franchise was lost in a division of 192 to 179, and Mr. Spooner's annual proposal to discontinue the endowment of Maynooth was defeated by a majority of 8. The flnan- cial statement of the chancellor of the ex- chequer was made early in the session. Sir G. Lewis estimated the expenditure of the coming year at about 63,000,00o;. and the revenue at about 66,000,000!., which, after providing for debts, would leave a surplus of nearly 900,000!. Mr. Disraeli took the opportunity to urge again the necessity of so reducing expenditure as to enable parlia- ment to remit the income-tax altogether in 1860, while Mr. Gladstone urged that in four years six millions had been added to the expenses of the country quite apart from the war ; and he protested especially against the increase of indirect taxation on such articles as tea and sugar. Lord John Russell thought, on the other hand, that the budget of the chancellor of the exche- quer was likely to promote rather than to hinder the object which Mr. Gladstone had at heart. In the end Mr. Disraeli's resolu- tions were defeated by a majority of 80 ; and the income-tax bill, which reverted to the rate of rrf. in the pound for the ensuing year, passed the house of commons without any great opposition. But, in both houses alike, the excess of expenditure was attributed to the foreign policy of the government, ■which was also likely to outrage the feel- ings of every state brought into connection with it. Before this time, however, the government had announced their intention to dissolve the parliaifient, and lord Pal- merstou warned Mr. Disraeli that in the ensuing elections the people of England would not be led astray by any cry founded on the turbulent and aggressive policy of the ministry. The circumstances which led to this re- solution arose out of the quarrel with China in reference to the lorcha called the Arrow. This vessel, showing British colours, had heen seized by the Chinese ; and the ques- tion to he determined was Us right to the protection of the British flag. Lord Derby insisted strongly that a vessel built in China, captured by pirates, and recaptured by Chinese, and afterwards manned, owned, and bought by Chinese, could have no such claim, and adduced two statements of sir John Bowring, that the license to carry the English flag had expired some time before. He further insisted that the quar- rel had arisen entirely from sir J. Bow- ring's absorbing desire to bring about his own ofDcial reception in Canton. Lord Clarendon as strongly supported sir J. Bowring and the government ; while lord Eilenborough maintained that there could bo no peace for China while sir J. Bowring remained near Canton, and that he ought to be recalled as having made, with reference to the Arrow, statements which at time of making them he knew to be untrue. In the house of lords, the majority against lord Derby's motion was 36 ; a different issue followed the debate in the house of com- mons on the motion of Mr. Cobden, that the papers laid before parliament failed to explain satisfactorily the violent measures resorted to at Canton in the aflair of the Arrow. Mr. Phillimore, speaking on the law of the case, denounced the whole trans- action, while, apart from all legal technica- lities, Mr. Sidney Herbert said that it had been admitted by Mr. Consul Parkes that even if the lorcha had been a British vessel, the reparation obtained was more than what was needed, and expressed his indignation at force exercised with so little mercy on pretexts so transparently frau- dulent. Lord Palmerstou in reply denied that we were at war with China, and said that the future policy of the government, while it must aim first at protecting British subjects in China, must be guided in great measure by the course of events. Still, on a division, it was found that the ministers were in a minority of 16 ; and lord Palmer- stou immediately made up his mind to appeal to the country. Admitting that in general it would, after such a defeat, be the duty of the government to resign, he thought it did not apply to the present case, as recent divisions pointed to anything but a want of confldence in the government. Mr. Cobden asked what, in the meanwhile, was to be done in the Chinese quarrel, sug- gesting that some one should be sent out forthwith authorised to supersede all British authority in China, and to act ac- cording to circumstances. The answer of sir J. Grey asserted generally that they would do all that lay in their power to pro- tect British subjects and their property in China, and denied Mr. Cobdeu's right to impute to the government any desire to keep our relations with China on an un- friendly footing. Before the dissolution of the parliament the speaker of the house of commons, Mr. Shaw Lefevre, announced his intention of resigning the office which he had held for 18 years. The thanks of the house were cordially and unanimously voted to him, and he was immediately afterwards raised to the peerage, with a pension of 4,000/. a year. The close of the Persian war was | 618 Cfje CCreaSure 0C History, Set. announced by lord Olarcndon, who slated Miat there wasnotltinK in the treaty of peace 1 deroeatorv to the Persian Kovernment. On tlie21st of Mardi tlie parliament was dis- solved, and the new elections took np at once the whole attention of the country. i It was found that the new parliament had strenK'tUcned instead of weakening the government of lord I'almerston. In tho place of Mr. Lefevrc, Mr. E. B. Denison was elected speaker of the house of com- j mons; and ou the 7th of May the business of the session commenced. The intended njaniacre of the princess royal of England with prince Kredericlc William of Prussia, and a dowry and annuity to the princess, was agreed to by the house. After much opposition in the house of commons, and a narrow escape In the house of lords, a bill was passed which abolished the tax called ministers' money in Ireland. Its opponents maintained that it was simply a tax upon property, and that it belonged to the United ^ Church, as much as any landed estate be- longed to its proprietor, while its advocates denied that the government ever accepted the position that this property could not be ^ alienated. The city of London had again returned baron Rothschild to serve in parliament, and the subject of the admission of Jews to sit as members was brought forward with the greater force, as all the members had just had to take oaths with which they could not in every particularacquiesce. The bill in- troduced by lord Palmerston was carried by a very large majority, although a clause was subsequently inserted excluding them from the office of lord-chancellor, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and other high places. In the house of lords the bill was thrown out ; and another effort was made by lord John Russell to substitute a solemn declaration in place of an oath, according to an act 5 and 6 Will. IV. c. 02 ; but it was found that the act was not applicable, and he contented himself with promising to introduce the subject ag.ain in the ensuing session. Tho first tidings of the great Indian mu- tiny were received in this country in June ; and the causes which led to this terrible outbreak, as well as the remedies which should be applied to it, were anxiously dis- cussed in parliament. Lord Ellenborough attributed it in great measure to a dread on the part of the natives that the government purposed to interfere with their religion, and complained that not merely military men of high rank were mixed up with mis- sionary operations, but that the governor- general himself largely subscribed to every society which has the conversion of the natives for its object. This he asserted to be one of the most dangerous things which could have happened for the security of our government in India. These arguments were, naturally, combated with much vehe- mence; andlord Gr mvilledeclaredthatlord Canning, so far from lying open to such charges, had, by the first exercise of his power of veto, arrested a police bill because It might affect the religious feelings of the natives. Lord John Russell dwelt much on the oppression practised by the police of India and on the Insufllcient adminis- tration of justice. The succeeding mails brought darker tidings, and 14,000 troops were despatched from England; but while these and other measures were discussed, much controversy was expended on the former questions relating to the origin of the struggle. Lord Ellenborough was con- vinced that there must have been long- standing mismanagement to account for the mutiny of such noble troops and ex- cellent soldiers as the 16th grenadiers and the 26th light infantry. Mr. Disraeli con- sidered it a national revolt rather than a military rebellion, and set It down to three causes': l. the forcible destruction of native authority in India ; 2. the disturbance of settlements of property ; 3. tampering with the religion of the people. The Hindoos had no dread of missionaries or of free dis- cussion ; what they feared was the union of missionary enterprise with the power of the government ; and two recent acts (which provided that a Hindoo widow might marry a second husband, and that no man should lose his property because he changed his religion) had caused wide and deep alarm. To this must beadded the annexation of Oude, which drove the Ma- hometan princes to make common cause ■with the Hindoos. I The necessity of providing for the defence of the country led to the Introduction of a '. bill to enable the government to embody j the militia, without having to call parlia- j ment together, as was now required, within a fortnight after so embodying them. This I bill was passed just before the recess. Some important social reforms were like- wise made during: this session. The testa- mentary jurisdiction bill established a new court of probate, of which the judge was to preside also in the matrimonial and divorce courts, and finally on the occurrence of a vacancy, in the court of admiralty, as it was j the opinion of Dr. Lushington that the du- ties of these courts might all be discharged I by one judge. But a measure which at- ' tracted far greater attention, and was met by a very strong opposition, was the divorce bill, for the passing of which the govern- ment expressed their most determined re- solution. The lord-chancellor stated that, according to the present practice, to obtain adivorce a vinculo matrimmiii a.veTdict must be obtained against the adulterer in the ecclesiastical courts, and the facts proved before the house of lords ; and he proposed now to constitute one tribunal to try the whole case, to admit none but vivd voce proceedings, and to permit actions for criminal conversation only after a divorce had been obtained. Lord Lyndhurst, com- plaining of the inequalities in the bill, hoped that desertion by the husband for five years would be held sufllcient ground for a di- vorce ; and he thought further, that to re- verse the order with regard to the action for crim. con. would leave to the injured party in many cases no power of action at all. In committee, an amendment bythe archbishop of Canterbury was carried which restricted the pers in against whom the divorce is I pronounced from marrying his companion dSnQlaviiS.—^axi^z af 3iiruniS&)tcfe. — SJtctnrta. 549 In guilt, A further amendment was carried, tLatadulterywith a married woman sliould be considered a misdemeanor. And Anally lord Redesdale sought ineffectually to de- prive the new court from granting any di- vorce a vinculo. In the Iiouse of commons, the bill was far more determinately op- posed. The attorney-general pointed out the urgent necessity of the measure. The verdicts of the ecclesiastical courts, which would only grant separation, left the wife still entitled to dower, and the husband to the property of the wife. Hence cases frequently occurred, in which the husband, having been so separated, returned and seized the property of his wife, who, by her own industry, had raised herself to an inde- pendent position. Mr. Gladstone said that of the three alternatives, — viz. that of passing private acts, of ceasing to pass them, and of passing this bill, the last was far the most dangerous, and then urged strongly the theological objections to the bill. In committee of the house, an amendment to restrict the power to remarry to the person on whose petition the marriage had been dissolved, was firmly i-esisted by the govern- ment and negatived. But the government consented very reluctantly to admit another amendment, which left to the clergy the option of refusing to solemnise the mar- riage of any person who may have been divorced ; a further amendment was, how- ever, carried, which, on the refusal of the incumbent, gave power to any licensed clergyman of the diocese to perform the ceremony in the parish church. The bill so amended was returned to the lords, when a proposal of lord Redesdale, that the amend- ments of the commons should be discussed that day six months, was objected to as against all ordinary proceeding, and by a majority of 3 it was decided that they should be considered at once : and thus, ■with this narrow escape, and just at the close of the session, the bill became law. Another bill was also passed to make trustees crimi- nally responsible for frauds or malversa- tion of funds committed to their hands. Among other measures of the session was one introduced by sir De Lacy Evans for improving military education by means of competitive examinations, and extending these to officers who might wish to qualify themselves for the staff,— and another by lord Goderich for extending the same system to the public departments of the foreign office, the India board, &c. in which it had not yet been adopted. Another bill for civil service superannuation had for its object the removal of a grievance which had been a general subject of complaint— the salaries of members of the civil service ■being subject to a certain annual deduc- tion to furnish retiring pensions to super- annuated members. It was contended that the funds so raised had been more than what was necessary for the purpose, and had been a source of profit to the govern- ment, and, assuch, oughtto be relinquished. An arrangement was at this time made dues, and to maintain light-houses, &c., for the conrenience of commerce ; and this sum the house of commons granted out of the consolidated fund. It was further agreed that the existing duties on tea and sugar, confectionery and rice, should be continued from April 1858 to April 1860. The monetary crisis which had caused the stoppage of several banks in the United States, and created a panic in this countrj-, drove the directors of the Bank of England, as in 1847, to appeal to the ministers of the crown for authority to increase their issue of notes, and so to suspend the operation of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. The govern- ment without hesitation acceded to this request; but it became necessary to obtain from parliament a bill of indemnity ; and the houses were accordingly assembled for a short session in December. With the ne- cessary business connected with the Bank Act, there was much conversation on the subject of the Indian mutiny, which lord Panmure characterised as a purely military revolt, with which the people felt no sym- pathy. During the short session leave was again given to bring in a bill on the sul)- ]ect of Jewish disabilities, authorising the omission of the words ' on the true faith of a Christian," when the oath was administered to Jews who might be returned as members to parliament ; but an attempt to limit the liability of shareholders in joint-stock banks was unsuccessful. A.D. 1858.— The session of 1858 had vir- tually commenced with the meeting of par- liament in December 1857, but after that short session the houses were adjourned to the 4th of February 1858, when they resumed business. The congratulations of both houses to the queen on the marriage of the princess royal were followed by anxious debates on the affairs of India ; and Mr. Vernon Smith, the president of the board of control, asked leave to bring in a bill enabling the East India Company to raise a loan of 10,000,000?. It was admitted on all hands that the Indian government was in urgent need of money, but it was not so easy to determine into whose hands the money was to be paid, or who was to have the control over it. It was urged that the East India Company was a dying body, and that the responsibility of the loan must ultimately rest on the English exchequer. After much discussion, the amount of the loan was fixed at 8,000,O00i. On the motion for a vote of thanks from both houses to the civil and military officers and the troops of India, as well as to persons not holding military rank, for their energy and ability in suppressing the mutiny, lord Derby, in the house of lords, and Mr. Disraeli, in the commons, objected to the mention of the name of lord Canning the governor-general, on the ground that parliament would thus be pledged to the approval of his policy, which they characterised as weak and vacil- lating; but on receiving the assurance that no such meaning could be attached to it, the objections were withdrawn, and the with the Danish government, by which, on vote agreed to. The court of directors now receiving from Great Britain a sum of resolved to anticipate the action of the 1,125,206;., they agreed to abolish the Sound | government.and lord Grey presented to the 650 Ci)C CrraSurj? of ||()Starj», &c. lords a petition from tliat hody wliich was at the s!ime time brouj-'lit by Mr. BariiiK before the rominoiis. I.oriKirey iirKcil that the interposition ol tlie directors between the government and the Indian executive had l)een of much use in preventing many acts of injustice, and contcil with. In in- troducing the bill for ^ubstit\ilini;, in place of the court of directors, the iinuicdiatc government of the crown, lord P.-ilmerstou said, tliat being confined to the government at home, it would make no change in India. Instead of a court of directors and court of proprietors there would be a president and council, the former being a nienilier of the cabinet. Local appointments would remain as thev had been, except that the members of council in India would be nominated by the governor-general instead of by the home government. Writerships would be thrown open to competition, and cadet- ships divided between the president and members of the council. Mr. Baring then moved the postponement of all designs for such legislation, Imt was followed by sir Erskine Perry, who said that the time was most favourable for it, and tliat from his own personal knowledge he could afllrm the government of the directors to be effete, cumbrous, and useless. In a speech of great power, sir Comewall Lewis went more deeply into the matter, and said that the petition of the directors was a string of as- sumptions and fallacies. They had assumed that the Company had acquired our eastern empire, and that its government had been one of the best that ever existed. But the eastern empire was acquired in defiance of express and repeated orders of the Company, whose servants had from the first been an insubordinate and mutinous race. To such men as Clive and Warren Hastings the di- rectors had always said, ' Be just, but do not forget our remittances :' and they knew that the easiest means of complying with this re- quest was to be found in the plunder of a province. But further, the government of . India had practically passed out of their hands in 1784, previous to which time there had never been a government 'more cor- rupt, more perfidious, more rapacious, than the government of the East India Company.' All, therefore, that the directors could allege in their favour had happened sub- sequently to 1784, and their present claims to merit arose from confounding the acts of two periods. In 1784, the Company was reduced to complete subordination by the establishment of the board of control ; in 1813 they lost their monopoly of trade with India; in 1833 they were prohibited by law from trading ; and so having entirely lost their original functions, they retained only a portion of sovereign power, in having certain subordinate capacities. In 1853 there was a further invasion of the original constitution, and one third of the court of directors was formed of nominees of the crown. There could not therefore be a more absurd fallacy than to regard as one and indivisible from the time of the battle of Plassev, a company which had exhibited as many phases as the English constitution from the days of the Heptarchy. To these assertions of the chancellor of the exchequer strong counter-statements were brought forward ; but Mr. Disraeli raised another issue, when, expressing his readiness to support any measure which might draw the people of Hindostan nearer to this country, he doubted whether this bill would do so,"and that the first question to be asked was, what were to be the financial relations between England and India; what were the resources of India, and how they would be managed. What was wanted was, in his opinion, a total change in the local administration of India itself. At this stage the debate was interrupted, and before it could be resumed, the government of lord Palmerston had ceased to exist. The unsuccessful attempt made by Orsinl in January, against the life of the French emperor, had roused in England a strong feeling of sympathy for the emperor, but that feeling in France linked itself with expressions of discontent, if not of indig- nation, against England, for allowing fo- reign refugees to concoct and mature in this country plots to be carried into execu- tion elsewhere. These feelings came out prominently in the addresses of certain French colonels to the emperor, which were printed in the ' Moniteur.' Hints were thrown out that the law of England on this subject needed alteration : and the English people were not slow in resenting any such attempt to intimidate them into making or changing laws to suit the wishes of any foreign power. When, there- fore, the house of commons met again, lord Palmerston said, in answer to a question of Mr. Roebuck, that the minister of foreign affairs at Paris had urged the government to take some measures in the matter, but without making any more definite sugges- tion. On the 8th of February he introduced a bill to amend the law of conspiracy with intent to murder. Denying that any special step could be taken in the matter, he yet believed that the law was defective, and now proposed to make conspiracy to murder a felony, punishable with penal servitude for five years, and to make the law uniform throughout the United Kingdom. Mr. King- lake immediately moved an amendment that no change should be made till the correspondence between the two govern- ments should be laid before the house, and maintained that the bill was either a mere piece of law reform, or a political action suggested from abroad. In the former case, it should have been left in the hands of the law ofHcers of the crown. Mr. Roebuck retorted on the French emperor the payment which he had ordered of the legacy left by the first Napoleon to Cantillon who bad conspired to kill the duke of Wellington. Lord Palmerston, however, received permission to bring in his bill bv the large majority of 200. But when the matter again came before the com- mons, the position was changed. The effort of the speakers who favoured the measure was to describe it as one of law reform : its opponents insisted on keep- ^^JJ^^^T^ouiSe of 38runSIntc6.— 50ictorta 651 liiK the political aspect of tbe question promineutly in view. Mr. Gihson's amend- inents expressed, (1) sympatliy with the Frciich emperor, (2) readiness to amend ac- knowledged legal defects at once and (3) surprise that the e"^"""';"^,^,''!,",,; answered tbe despatch of count Walewslii. before calling on tbe house to amend ine law of conspiracy. Mr. Gladstone .spoke strongly against any such change in the interest of freedom tli>-o"Kl>""A*^'^7'' i,t They were but few spots on which institu- tions exist that may claim our sympathies , and these were but the boles and corners of Europe so far as material greatness was concerned, although in moral greatness they might be strong. The division on the sec'ond reading of tiie bill showed a majo- rity of 19 against the government ; and tne ministers found that they bad no a ter- nativc but to resign. It was felt how- ever, that it mattered little who held the reins of government, as tbe ascendency of liberal principles throughout tbe country was now so decided. The conservatives pt the same time were well aware that it thev now held back, or if when m office they should refuse to bring forward the measures, or make the concessions which were unmistakably called for by Public opinion, they would, in effect, yield up a power which would be perniauently re- sumed by their opponents. Lord Derby therefore, formed a ministry, in wh ch he was tbe first lord of the treasury, while lord Chelmsford (sir F. Tbesiger) became lord- chancellor, lord Stanley colonial secretary, lord Ellenborough president of the board of control, and Mr. Disraeli cha.ncellor of the cxcheuuer. The discussion of Indian affairs was preceded by debates on what vfas asserted to be the illegal seizure of a vessel called the Cagliari by Neapolitan cruisers, and the imprisonment of two Eng ish engineers, whose release ultimately settled the affair. On the 20th of March Mr. Dis- raeli introduced what was called the Indian Bill No. 2, to distinguish it from tbe hill introduced bv lord Falmerston and not yet abandoned. By this bill Mr. Disraeli pro- poted to appoint a president of. the counca of India, who should be a minister of the crown, and that the council should consist of 18 persons, bait to be nominated by tbe crown, half to be elected. In the patronage of India and in the army there would be virtually no change, and the expenses of Bovernraent would be fixed wholly on the revenues of India. Leave was given to bring in the bill, and tbe bouses adjourned for the Easter recess. During its course the bill was discussed throughout the coun- try and generally disapproved ; the election of a portion of tbe members of council being especially denounced as a most im- prudent anomaly, and an artifice designed simply to attract popularity for tbe govern- ment The Indian Bill No. 2 seemed therefore, to have no better prospects than the Indian Bill No. 1: and fears were strongly entertained, on the reassemliling of parlUiment, that the i"'"if y„^™"'f^ Rgain be shaken, when lord Jolm Russell put the matter on anew issue, by proposing to take resolutions in a committee of the whole bouse Instead of proceeding with either of tbe existing bills. Tliis suggestion was so readily accepted by Mr. Disraeli, as to give rise to a rumour that the move was preconcerted. The house accordingly re- solved itself into committee on tbe 30th of April when an unsuccessful attempt was again made to postpone all present legisla- tion on tbe subject. The resolution to transfer the government of India to tne crown was then passed, as well as another which made the president of the Indian council a responsible minister of theciwn. At this stage of the billacrisis arose, which threatened the existence of the govern- ment itself. In May, an incomplete copy was published of a proclamation, by lord Canning, threatening confiscation to the insurgent landholders of Oude, to which lord Ellenborough returned immediately a severe condemnation. This reply of lord Ellenborough was laid before parliament with tbe admission that tbe government ' disapproved of the policy of the proclama- tion in every sense.' Its publication created great excitement. It was regarded on one side as an unwarranted censure cast on an absent officer who was contending witli circumstances of extreme difllculty and danger ; and on the other it was spoken of as too severe in its language, although substantially just in its remarks. It canie out afterwards that Mr. Vernon Smiih bad, after resigning his office as president of tbe board of control, received a private letter from lord Canning, promising an .explana- tion of bis policy as soon as time permitted ; and that this letter had not been shown to lord Ellenborough, who was therefore not awai-e that it had been written. But the danger which threatened the government was lessened by the voluntary resignation of lord Ellenborough ; and the rejection of lord Shaftesbury's amendments relieved the government from censure in tbe house of lords. The debates in tbe bouse of commons were more Important. Mr. Card- well brought forward tbe amendments of lord Shaftesbury ; and, after a speech from lord Stanley, lord John Russell said that tbe bouse was reduced to tbe alternative of censuring tbe government, or condemning lord Canning. One or two adjournments at this time greatly favoured the cause of the government, which was promoted still more by the news brought by the overland mail from India, that sir James Outram dis- approved altogether of lord Canning's pro- clamation. Another adjournment brought the house nearly to Whitsuntide, and when Mr Disraeli moved the adjournment for the holidays, an appeal was made to Mr. Card- well not to press his motion to a division. Tlie reply of the latter was, that be saw no reason for so doing ; and Mr. Disraeli said that while the motion wasa vote of censure, to the result of which the government looked without apprehension, he had reason to believe that lord Canning had given up bis policy of confiscation. Mr. Cardwells motion was then withdrawn, and so ended this great parliamentary conflict. It was evident that the opponents of government 652 C^e Wretipxtrn of W^ia^Vy ^c» liad made a false move, and that the Intti-r wr.s flrmly fixed for the renmiiuler uf the session. Lord Stanley, who had siiocceded lord EllenborouRh a? president of the board iif eontrol, now applied himself earnestly to the task of Indian legislation : and after an Ineffectual attempt made by .Mr. Gladstone to put off all chanjjes for another year, the house pronounced in favour of a council for India, and proceeded to discuss its consti- tution. A speechofMr.Bright, In which he explained his view of the way in which India should be governed, had no practical effect on the house, and finally on the 8th of July the Indian bill wa.s passed by the commons. It went speedily through the lords, and became lawon the last day of the session. It is unnecessary to dwell at any length on Mr. Disraeli's financial measures, which were generally approved, and of which the chief features were the repayment of the exchequer bonds, the eaualisation of the spirit duties, and the introduction of a tax on bankers' cheques. The house passed a resolution of Mr. Milner Gibson, condemn- ing as impolitic the permanent continuance of the paper duty. The oaths' bill, again introduced by lord John Russell, brought up once more the controversy on the admission of Jews into parliament. It was passed In the commons, but the clause which permitted the admis- sion of Jews by striking out the words ' on the true faith of a Christian,' was rejected bv the lords, and a collision between the two houses was seriously anticipated. The motion to accept the amendment of the lords was rejected in a division of 263 to 150, and it was resolved to appoint a committee to draw up the reasons for this disagree- ment. A motion was then made that baron Rothschild should serve on this committee, and was carried by 251 to 196. When the reasons so drawn up were sent to the house of lords, an amendment was proposed by lord Lucan authorising either house by spe- cial resolution to modify the form of oath to be taken by a member. This amend- ment was carried ; and when by the oaths' bill a short and simple declaration of alle- giance to the reigning sovereign had been substituted in place of the oaths of allegi- ance and supremacyhithertoimposed, baron Rothschild was brought to the bar of the house, and declined on grounds of con- science to take the oath in the form in which it was tendered. Lord John Russell then proposed and carried a resolution simply stating this fact ; and afterwards another, which gave to all Jews returned as members of parliament the power of taking the oaths, leaving out the words 'on the true faith of a Christian.' The oath so tendered was taken by baron Rothschild, and the controversy of ten years between the two houses was by this compromise ended. During this session sir J. Trelawney's bill for the abolition of church rates was again passed in the house of commons, and again defeated in the house of lords. A similar result followed the introduction in the lords of the blU for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sifter. A measure of much Interest to the church of England was the abolition of the three services appended to the book of common prayer, for the 5th of November, the 30th of Jannary, and the 29th of May. In the month of June, news was received of some alleged outrages committed by English ships on vessels carrying the Ame- rican flag, in prosecution of the right of search In suppression of the slave trade. The United States government had asked for explanations, and, without waiting to receive them, had increased its force in the gulf of Mexico. But the dangersapprehend- ed were happily not realised. About this time the bishop of Oxford presented a peti- tion from Jamaica, complaining that the Spanish government habitually violated the treaties which bound it to suppress the slave trade in Cuba. A misunderstanding similar to that which hnd threatened the peace between England and the Tnited States, broke out also between the English and French governments on the case of the Regina Coeli, and gave rise to a resolution, which was proposed in the house of com- mcjus, to abolish the right of search on vessels suspected of being concerned in the slave trade. The house, however, negatived this resolution in a division of 223 to 24. During this session also Mr. E. A. Glover, M.P. for Beverley, was convicted of having evaded the law relating to the property qualification for members returned to par- liament, and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. It was the last penalty in- flicted under the act. Before the term of his imprisonment had come to an end, the qualification wa3 abolished on the motion of Mr. Locke King, whose bill for a 10^ franchise in counties was carried through a second reading, and then dropped owing to the pressure of business towards the close of the session. The same result at- tended the bill for the abolition of the exemption which protected members of parliament from arrest for debt, as well as Mr. Berkeley's annual motion for the vote by baUot, which was lost in a division of 294 to 197. A bill to abolish the office of lord-lieutenant of Ireland was likewise re- jected ; and this was also the case with a bill which sought to divide the expenses connected with the cleansing of the river Thames between the metropolis and the country. Parliament was prorogued on the 3rd of August. Before the commencement of the year 1859 it became more than probable that the peace of Europe would agam be disturbed. For reasons which perhaps have never been fully ascertained, the French emperor re- solved to espouse the cause of the king of Sardinia in his claim to unite Lombardy to Italy, and he was therefore fast drifting into a war with Austria. The attention of the English public was further occupied with lord Derby's promised measure of parliamentary reform. Throughout the re- cess, Mr. Bright had been conspicuous in his agitation for that subject, but his vehe- ment" advocacy had frightened or repelled the more moderate, and seemed rather to have injured than advanced his cause. (tBnqlmxtS.—^axt^t af JSntiDStofrR — Wictavin. 553 Parliament had not long met when sir Hugh Cairns, the solicitor-general, intro- duced two bills, one to simplify titles, the other to establish a registry of landed es- tates. Tlie great evils attendant on the transfer of land lay in the length of time which passed between the bargain and the purchase, and the expense in investigating the title : and if money was to be raised on mortgage after the transfer, the whole process must be gone through again. In Ireland the landed estates court had been empowered to give relief in the case of un- encumbered not less than of encumbered estates ; and he saw no reason why a system so beneficial in the one country should not be applied, in part at least, In the other. These bills advanced as far as discussion in committee, but the session on the whole was characterised Ijy iueflectual attempts at legislation : and the ministerial crisis, followed by the dissolution of parliament, proved as fatal to the bills of sir Hugh Cairns as to many others. Thus also a motion by Mr. Kingl.ike which reflected on thegovern- mentfor inertness in a dispute which arose between France and Portugal respecting a ship named the Charles et Georges, fell to the ground. But greater attention was given to the subject of the national defences, and sir J. Pakington found little difficulty in obtaining the vote for the increase of the navy. His estimate for the coming year amounted to 9,831, 181i. against 8,851,3771. for the preceding year ; and he proposed to add fifteen screw-liners and nine heavy frigates to the fleet by the conversion of sailing vessels and the building of new ones, while two iron-cased ships should be built on the best principles to match those which had been constructed for the French navy. A long series of debates began on the 14th of February, with a speech by lord Stanley on the finances of India. He showed that at the time when the mutiny broke out, the revenue nearly balanced the expenditure : but for the last and the present year the total deficiency would be 21,600,000;., exclu- sive of all compensation for the loss of private property. It was, however, clear tliat increased prosperity did not affect revenue in India as it does in England ; the only present resource therefore must be found in diminished outlay : the deficiency complained of had been caused entirely by increased military expenditure owing to the mutiny, and the European force in India now was nearly double what it had been before the outbreak. Still he augured well for the future of India: her imports and exports had doubled themselves within the last twenty years, and the export of cotton had risen from 323,000,000 lbs. in 1843 to 863,000,000 lbs. in 1857, while many of the pulilic works not only paid their own ex- )>enses but covered the cost of the less successful. He promised further that the country should be laid open to European colonisation by selling absolute ownership in the soil, which might be acquired by the native zemindars also on paying a commu- tation of the land tax. Sir C.Wood and sir Erskine Perry drew pictures by no means to encouraging; and Mr. Vernon Smith complained that lord Stanley's statement said nothing of the heavy compensations which must be made for the loss of private property. Nevertheless this India loan bill was one of the few measures which became law during the session which preceded the dissolution of parliament. In spite of some opposition, the bill for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister was passed in the commons ; but, in the house of lords, it experienced the same fate as in the previous session. On the subject of church rates sir J. Trelawney again brought in his former bill for their total abolition : but the government in- terposed with a bill, designed as a com- promise, and explained by Mr. Walpole on the 21st of February. Instead of making the parishioners of every parish responsible for the maintenance of the parish church, it proposed to make the rate a landlord's rate, and to enable the owners of the land to charge it with a church rate, extending that power to tenants for life as well as to owners in fee : It also made provision for exempting dissenters from the rate ; but all who so claimed exemption would be excluded from vestry meetings for im- posing a church rate. This bill was thrown out by the passing of sir J. Trelawney's amendment to postpone it for six months. Another set of suggestions was then brought forward by sir A. Elton and with- drawn, and sir J. Trelawney's bill was carried through a second reading, and then laid aside owing to the ministerial crisis. On a proposition by Mr. Fitzgerald (who had been attorney-general for Ireland under lord Palmerston's administration) for pla- cing Roman catholics on the same footing with regard to the oath taken by them as other members of parliament, the house agreed to go into committee on the subject, and leave was further obtained to bring in a bill substituting a new oath in place of that which was now taken by Roman catholics. It had been the intention of the govern- ment to bring forward several important measures before introducing their reform bill. But to the charges of lukewarmness wbich were founded on this apparent re- luctance to enter on the subject, they replied by fixing the 28th of February for the first reading of the bill. On that day Mr. DLsraeli explained the measure, which was intended, not to alter the limits of the ft'anchise, but to introduce into the borough a new kind of franchise founded up severe, Hie price of praiii never readied the enor- mous amount wliii-)i it readied last year. Tlie liad feelini? tielween tlie indieo-planters and tlie ryots Involved anotlier difllculty in Indian poveriinient. tlie cultivation of tlie riant during the last year having ceased to a great extent. But a sul)ject of even greater importance at the present time was the cultivation of cotton in India, While the war In Aniericaendangered the supplies on which we had hitherto depended, we liad in India a field, which, if proper mea- sures were taken, would render this coun- try in a great measure independent of every other. During the last year a million of bales had been either received or de- spatched from India, a number exceeding that of any previous year by 320,000. For the general government three measures of importance were passed, — the first, ap- pointing as an additional memljer of coun- cil a lawyer who should be competent to assist the governor-general and his council in framing laws ; the second, establishing high courts of judicature in India, by the consolidation of the supreme courts with the sudder courts, or courts of appeal from the courts in the provinces ; the third, confirming and legalising certain appoint- ments in India which had been made con- trary to law, and to amend the law of the civil service by providing that, notwith- standing any restrictions in force, such appointments might stiU be made with certain exceptions. Among the more Important legislative measnresof thissessionmnstbe mentioned the bankruptcy and insolvency bill, intro- duced by the attorney-general. This bill aboli.shed thedistinctions of the certificates given to bankrupts, and enabled the judge, in certain specified cases of misconduct, either to refuse the certificate, or to sus- pend the order for discharge, or to commit the bankrupt to fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding a year. These forms applied to trader debtors : in the case of non-traders, it placed the law of insolvency on the same footing with that of bank- ruptcy, abolishing the term of imprison- ment before an insolvent could obtain re- lief from the court, as a provision which could not benefit the creditor, while it was a gross injustice to the non-trader. It stated that the insolvent should in all cases be obliged to give up his property to his creditors, but it provided that the latter should not be entitled to more than an equal distribution of his property at that time, and should not retain the power of pursuing him through life. Anotherimpor- tant measure was a bill for consolidating the statute criminal law of England and Ireland, which was followed by another re- pealing a large number of obsolete or ex- pired acts passed since the eleventh year of the reign of George III. An attempt to legalise marriage with a deceased wife's sister was defeated by a division on an amendment, which afilrmed the injudictousness and inconvenience of ! iiladiig (he law of marriage on a different fontiiih' in dim-ii'iit parts of the kingdom. ; The i-uliject of public education raised some controversy in reference to ragged schools, which were declared by the report of the commissioners to be ' not proper objects for public assistance." It was admitted that these schools had done great good ; but the olijection was that they were taken advan- tage of by a class who did not so much need the assistance. Sir John Pakington pointed out that the estimates contained a sum of 100,000!. for the improvement of science and art, while 15,000 schools were languishingforw.ant of succour. Mr. Lowe, having stated that it was not the intention of government to Interfere with the prin- ciples of the present system, detailed the measures by which he proposed to remedy its defects, which were these— that the edu- cation was superficial and imperfect, that the number of schools was not sulBcientfor the wants of the country, and that the sys- tem was too complicated. Parliament was prorogued on the 6th of August after a ses- sion which had produced a fair amount of useful and important measures, although the organic changes which for so many ses- sions had been contemplated were post- poned with the tacit consent of all parties. Before the close of the year the English government found itself all but involved in a war with the United States of America. TheTrent,apacket belonging to the British Mail Steamsliip Company, and being there- fore a neutral vessel, had taken on board at Havannah (a neutral port), four passen- gers, who were envoys from the confede- rate states to London and Paris. They em- barked, however, simply as private passen- gers. On the 7th of November the ship was stopped in the old Bahama channel by the United States' steamer San Jacinto commanded by captain Wilkes, who de- manded to see the list of the passengers. This was refused : and he then announced that his orders were to take Messrs. Slidell, and Mason, Curtis and M'Farland, who were known to be on board. They were taken by force on board the San Jacinto, in spite of their own protest and that of the British admiralty agent, commander Williams, R.N. This violation of national rights involved a strange dilemma. If captain Wilkes was right in searching the vessel, the southern states were belligerents; If they were not belligerents but simply insurgents, the San Jacinto had no right to search for contra- band of war, as there was no war. If sim- ply traitors and rebels, the commissioners were protected from seizure by being on board an English ship. The risk of war be- tween the two countries seemed to be im- minent ; but after some delay the commis- sioners were surrendered, when it was found that the British government were determined to accept no compromise. The popular opinion of Europe was unanimous in condemning the act of captain Wilkes ; and the only effect of the delay -was to create a causeless irritation on both sides. The prospect of a war of this nature, and for such a cause, produced no little gloom in this country, although the nation never (iSntiXmO.—^auiz af aSnmSfatcit.— ?F(ctorta. 663 exhibited a more consistent and determined attitude in tlie vindication of its just riglits ; Imt tlie depression was increased a hundredfold by an event which, while it plunged the queen and her family in the greatest sorrow, was felt as a personal be- reavement throughout the land. Early in December it was announced tliat the prince consort was suffering from fever, wliich, although not serious, might be of long con- tinuance ; on the 14th the news of his death spread mourning everywhere. During the twenty years which had passed since he became the husband of the queen, he had for one or two brief seasons to face some little misrepresentation, but throughout lie had so lived as to win the respect and es- teem of all who Icnew him, and for many years past his popularity had been steadily on the increase. Foramemoirof the prince the reader is referred to the ' Biographical Treasury;' It is enough to mention here that the queen bore her great grief nobly, and that the sympathy of all her subjects was no slight alleviation of her suffer- ings. Both in and out of parliament the year 862 was singularly uneventful. The pros- pect of a war with the TJnited States of America was removed early in January; and there were apparently no subjects on which political agitation could fasten at home. It seemed as though, in the face of the great struggle which was going on in America, political parties had agreed to suspend their animosities. No attempts were made in parliament to introduce the question of parliamentary reform ; and among the measures of the session, the most prominent was the revised code put fortli by Mr. Lowe to regulate popular edu- cation. It was received by all whosefeelings or interests it assailed, as revolution rather than reformation; and its most important provisions were so far modified as to make what remained practically a new measure. The efforts made to induce the government to interfere in the American quarrel have completely failed ; and a despatch from earl Kussell to the French emperor declared that at the least the time for mediation had not yet come. As the year 1862 was the bicentenary of the expulsion of nonconformist ministers consequent on the Act of Uniformity, great efforts were made by the leaders of dis- senting sects to make use of the comme- moration in disparaging the principle of church-establishment. They were more successful in collecting money than in rousing any vehement animosity among the dissenters towards the church of Eng- land. In the midst of this general tranquillity the condition of Ireland has presented a strange contrast to that of other parts of the kingdom. Since the establishment of the kingdom of Italy, the pressure from their ultramontane superiors seems to have repressed, if not extinguished, the general feeling of loyalty which had been expressed by the Irish catholic priesthood. It may perhaps be both rash and false to assign this as the whole cause ; but the fact is unquestionable that the island haa reverted to a state not greatly unlike that which belonged to it in the days of Daniel O'Connell. The language of the press has become seditious; the clergy have preserved an ominous silence on the violent crimes which have been perpetrated almost with impunity. Landlords have been murdered without regard to their religion or their nationality. The French catholic has been struck down not less than the English Protestant; and the old sympathy for the murderers has in every case been deter- minately shown by the Irish peasantry. During this year, the Great Diternational Exhibition displayed to the public a marvel- lous collection of treasures of every kind. The taste which guided the arrangement of them was not equal to their value; and it may be probably said with truth that its defects would have been lessened, if not removed, had the exhibition taken place a year earlier. But the circumstances at- tending it were very different from those of the first exhibition of 18.il. Then the union of nations in contributing the pro- ducts of science, art, and trade was looked upon as no slight guarantee for the con- tinu.ance of a general peace. The exhibition of 1862 opened in the midst of the fearful civil war in America ; and the feelings of satisfaction or pride with which it might otherwise have been regarded were miser- ably damped by the cotton famine, which deprived half a million workmen in Lan- cashire of all means of support. Slowly, but surely, the dearth of cotton resulting from tlie American blockade had been in- creasing in intensity,— until in the autumn of 1862 the dreadful extent of the calamity forced itself on the whole nation. Never was a distress which it is Impossible to exaggerate more nobly borne. Not an expression of discontent was heard ; and the efforts of agitators to create it were utterly impotent. But while ruin was spreading on every side, the nation was making a determined effort to arrest the evil. All that was needed to save the noble workmen of Lancashire not merely from starvation but from pinching distress, was cheerfully given ; and the relief so obtained has been administered with a singular wisdom. Nor must it be forgotten that, in the midst of their own anxieties and dangers, the merchants of New York have contributed largely to relieve the sufferings of the Lancashire workmen. It is hoped that the tide has at length turned, and a short time will suffice to prove the truth or the fallacy of this hope; but the calamity itself has exhibited the character of the working population of Lancashire in a light for wliich the whole nation may be both proud and thankful, while it has fur- nished good evidence to the world at large that the English nation is not unequal to an emergency from which not a few foreign politicians confidently prognosticated her ruin. It has done more to cement the good feeling of the several classes of the nation, than perhaps any one event In the whole course of English History. THE HISTORY OF IREL.AJs^D. CHAPTER I. There Is no other country in tlic world the history of wli id) has boeu written and coniraented upon in so unwise and unjust, not to say unchristian, a temper and tone, as that of Ireland. And, strange to say, the ijersons who had been the most fre- Mueutly and the most violently wrong in iheir statements of the evils of Ireland, and oQ their proposals forreinedying them, have lieen precisely those persons who have made the loudest professions of desiring to serve her. It is not worth while to say how much of this mis-statement has arisen from their want of correct information, and how much from a deliberately bad spirit ; certain it is, however, that Ireland has few worse ene- mies than those who in ignorance or in evil- temper attribute motives and feelings to England and English statesmen of which they are quite innocent, and who assign for Irish poverty and Irish suffering causes which have really had no part in producing them, and thus assist in maintaining a most fatal ignorance of the real causes not only iu the minds of the sufferers themselves, but even in those of too many public writers and legislators upon whom so much of the nation's weal or woe de- peud.s. Unwise laws and harsh rule of centuries long passed are quite coolly cited as proof of a partial tyranny of Ireland by England ; yet a single glance at our statutes, a single reflection upon the punishments which to a very recent date were still allowed to dis- gust the wise, thrill the merciful, and bru- talisethe bad, would show that Ireland was not a jot less mercifully governed than Kent or Yorkshire, and that the cruelties of English law, whether administered in London or in Dublin, at Bristol or Cape Clear, were no proofs of English dislike of Ireland ; but the inevitable result of the ignorance of which the lawsof every nation have re^juired long centuries of the patient toil of the good and the wise to rid them. Into an examination of the early history of Ireland we hold it unnecessary to enter. .Sir Cornewall Lewis has completely dis- proved the fact of Phoenician colonies In any part of Great Britain ; and the tales of Milesius are less historical than those of the earlier Roman kings. 'We need only remark now that the early history of Ire- land is as fabulous in all that relates to glory, learning, wealth, and heroes, as any other early history whatever ; that, in the case of Ireland this fabulous turn of early writers has been made the foundation of great injustice committed by later writers, and by orators and statesmen, too, as to Kngland ; that though, no doubt, English l;ings and their advisers in past days may lave unwisely decreed or unjustly acted in Ireland, as In any other country, yet Ireland never began to be civilised, populous, learn- ed, wealthy, or important, until connected with EngLand ; that English connection has done much, and is still doing much, to make Ireland both prosperous and happy, and would do far more but for the fierce party spirit of some, and the equ.-xlly fierce but still more disgraceful personal selflshnoss and ambition of others, which are con- stantly at work to perpetuate the grossest prejudices and the basest feelings. This, indeed, will incidentally become so evi- dent in the course of the history of Ire- laud, that we only make this emphatic ge- neral statement, because we deem it an act of real and important justice to both Eugland and Ireland, and, substantially, even a more important justice to the poor of the latter country than to the wealthy and powerful of the former, thus to draw the special attention of all readers of his- tory, and especially of all young readers, to the utter incorrectness of the ill-natured declamations which charge Eugland with an injustice never committed, by way of supporting the character of Ireland for an ancient prosperity which she never pos- sessed. CHAPTER II. The very early power, wealth, and learn- ing of Ireland seem to be negatived in a variety of ways ; the nature of the govern- ment of the country might alone, we think, have sufHced, in addition to the worst spe- cies of heathenism, to render its achieve- ment of prosperity at home or its influence abroad a thing quite impossible. When the ancient kings of Ireland and the ancient glories of Ireland are spoken of, inexperienced readers of history are very apt to picture one king of Ireland swaying the whole Irish territory from the Giant's Causeway to Cape Clear, and from Galway- bay to the HiU of Howth. This, however, was so far from being the case, that within that island there were five separate king- doms, always jealous of each other, and fre- quently at open war, either against each other or against one or more of the turbu- lent chieftains, whose power, recklessness, and utter detestation of peace and quiet- ness, subdivided each of these five king- doms Into several more, with rulers who were more likely to quarrel frequently, and to sanguinary result, than the kings them- selves, from the very pro.xiniity and com- parative pettiness of each chieftain's pos- session, and the increased bitterness and personal sense of injury which entered Into every dispute whether personal or terri- torial. The five provinces or kingdoms of Ire- land were Jleath, Leinster, Munster, Con- Clbe W^tavxi of ixtUnis. 565 nauBht, and Ulster. The first named was considered the ohief soverelffiity ; at the hill of Tara, famed alike In true history and bard's romance, which was situated in that kingdom, was the great place of assemblage for princes and cliiofs ; and the other four kinss were nominally tributary to the king of Month, just as the tanists, or chiefs of septs, in Mieir respective kingdoms were to thfin. J!ut in all these cases alike the sulj- ject ion of the Inferiors was merely nominal, and was thrown off or acknowledged just as the caprice, convenience, or Interests of the Inferior dictated. With a very small island thus divided among very many fierce, proud, jealous, and scarcely half-civilised rulers, it would be strange indeed if the his- tory of Ireland, while such a state of things existed, could afford matter of sufllcieut interest to occupy the reader's attention. Kingdom against kingdom, sept against sept, neighbour against neighbour, and often brother against brother, and sou against father: such was the state of society which, however lamentable, was quite in- evitable and natural under such a system. To refuse to pay a tribute was to declare war against a superior ; to insist upon the payment of a tribute was, generally speak- ing, to call the inferior to arras, aided by all the power, or, as they called it, all the ' back ' they could command. Sometimes, indeed, a superior who could not procure payment of so many head of sheep or horned cattle, alive and in good order, would invite himself and his ' back' or 'following' to board and lodging with the defaulter for a period proportioned to the tribute, rent, or other debt in default ; and when the self-invited guest chanced to be a great tanist or other personage with a numerous following, the unwilling tenant, as in the case of many recorded ' royal pro- gresses ' in England, felt the effects of en- tertaining his superior for many a long year afterwards in barn and byre, in field and house. So ruinous, indeed, were these self- invitations, these cosherings, in which we may easily believe that a powerful creditor would sometimes eat more beef and mut- ton than could ever have been covered by the skins of as many oxen and sheep as were due to him, that it was no uncommon thing for the visited debtor, in sheer des- peration, to call together his 'back,' and very fairly refuse to allow a morsel of his food, or a drop of his drink, to pass the lips of his creditor. In this case a sanguinary fight, leading probably to a dozen or more in explanation or support, in reprobation or in vindication of the conduct of one or other of the parties, was usually the result. How could a people thus situated, a people too, high of heart and hot of head, and ready of hand, beyond almost any other people on the face of the earth, be other- wise than a turbulent, a divided, an always unlnfluentlal and a frequently diseased and starving people? Barter and tribute In kind among people who carry arms and are prone to bloodshed, is only another name for perpetual war, arising out of the desire of the weak to cheat, and of the strong to extort. In a land in which bloodshed and dis- turbance were not the occasional and rare exception, but the frequent, almost the con- stant rule, cousins and more remote rela- tions, nay even brothers themselves, were but too apt to live upon terms which were little likely to make them desirous to be- nefit each other ; but the law said that a man dying possessed of landed property should not bestow it solely upon his chil- dren — to whom he would naturally be more attached than to anyone else, but that all male relations even to the most distant, and without the slightest reference to friendli- ness or feud, however deadly or long-stand- iug, should equally share with the eldest or best-beloved child. It thus often chanced that the eldest son, or only son, of a de- ceased tanist or chieftain called his friends and sept around him and pursued his cousins or male relatives to the actual death, as the only means of keeping his position in society by keeping his property intact and unbroken. Nor did even the chieftainship itself of necessity descend to the eldest, or any, sou of a deceased tanist ; he whom the family and the sept of the deceased chief elected as worthiest was to succeed ; and it is unnecessary to say that rivalry .and partisanship not unfrequently proceeded to the full length of bloodshed and even of murder. The bards, an idle, imaginative, and not remarkably moral set of men, were not merely the attendants upon and diverters of the chieftain's hours of recreation and wassail: the chieftain's bard was also his recorder ; and we may cease to wonder at the exaggerations that have come tradi- tionally down to us when we consider that, besides gaining at every generation, these marvels were originally said, sung, and written — U written at all— by men whose comfort depended upon the complacent feelings of him whose deeds and posses- sions they sang, and who, therefore, were certainly under no very great temptation to observe a too rigid adherence to pal- try realities. Every chieftain had his bard, and the chronicles thus composed of the affairs of all the chief families in the kingdom are said to have been committed to the care of keepers in the royal castle of Tara, but to have been burned about the middle of the fifth century after Christ, in common with all the maglan or druidical writings, by order of St. Patrick ; by no means the least service that that excellent first bishop of Armagh— so excellent a bi- shop that even the stupid exaggerations attached to him as a saint cannot lower him in the eyes of those who admire use- fulness and piety — rendered to the be- nighted land in which he and his handful of coadjutors from Rome were the first to preach the Gospel. CHAPTER III. Wb have spoken of St. Patrick as a bene- factor to Ireland; even the falsehoods of sedentary monks and of wandering and immoral bards and story-tellers cannot throw an air of ridicule over his truly 3C 566 t!r!>e CreaSurti of ^i^tanj, 5rc. Chri^5tian and voneralile rharactcr; and higlUT praise, scciiitr their imwcr of making truth (1 'iilitful and grave things ludicrous, it would not be easy to bestow. The horrible superstitions which the priests propagated and supported by stern and unsparing cruelty remained in lull force for above four centuries and a quar- ter after the linht of the Gospel had shed its rays of divine and glorious bright- ness upon nearly all the rest of Europe. Elsewhere the Gospel no sooner was preached than it had its converts, con- A-inced beyond the power of human sophis- try, and faithful even unto martyrdom ; but Ireland remained the prey of the bigot heathen, the abode of the heathen who was deluded, or the heathen who was coerced. In one of the frequent piratical excur- sions that were made by the Irish, Mac Xial, a petty king, landed on the coast of Brittany, slew, burned, and spoiled ; and brought spoil living as well as dead, human as well as brute. Among the captives was a youth of some fifteen or sixteen years of age, who, on arriving in Ireland, was sold as a slave and employed in herding sheep. This youth was the afterwards so cele- brated St. Patrick. Naturally of a thought- ful turn, the mountain track and the fo- rest glade in which his vocation caused him to spend much of his time, deep- ened all his meditative habits, and gave zeal and fervour to his native religious im- pressions. 'He looked upon the land and saw that it was very good ; ' but he saw that it was peopled by idolators and polluted by idolatrous cruelties. Even amid the bitter- ness of the reflections caused by his o^vn situation, a slave and a captive in a foreign land, he felt that it would be a great and a truly Christian deed to open the eyes of the blinded heathen among whom his lot was so unh-ippily cast, and save their minds from the bondage of a false faith, and the lives of their firstborn from being sa- crificed in torture at the flaming altars of senseless and graven idols. Fortunately, Patrick had scarcely attained the age of manhood ere he escaped from his slavery and got safely back to France, and for up- wards of twenty years applied himself with constancy and diligence to learning, such as was then attainable. But neither the long lapse of years nor the pride of culti- vated and matured intellect, could banish from his mind the recollection of the un- happy state of the Irish, or his early deter- mination to make the attempt, at least, to enlighten their minds, and to raise their social condition. A.D. 432. -Accordingly in the year 432, and when he was himself about forty-flve years of age, he applied to the pope for permission to preacli the Gospel in Ireland. Such a permission was willingly granted by the pope, and Patrick, accompanied by a few French monks whom he had inte- rested by his descriptions of the character I and condition of the Irish, landed in rister, after an absence of nearly or quite a quarter of a century. The foreign garb and striking appearance of Patrick and his companionB filled the i peasantry whom they first encountered with the notion that they were pirate.^, and preparations were made for driving them back to their vessels. But their quiet demeanour, the benevolence of their coun- tenances, and the earnest and simple as- surances given by Patrick, in the language of the peasants, that he and his compa- nions had arrived on an errand of peace and good-will to all men, speedily con- verted fear and hostility into admiration and confidence. The hospitality of the principal people was cheerfully and heartily bestowed upon the disinterested strangers who had traversed land and sea in tlie hope of benefiting their rude but cordial enter- tainers ; and Patrick and his companions presented themselves at Tara attended by a numerous and enthusiastic cortege. The mild and venerable aspect of the preachers gave full weight to the sublime and bene- volent doctrines which they propounded. King and people listened at first with inte- rest, and then with full and deeply inte- rested credence : and in an incredibly short time after their first lauding, idols and idol worship became hateful to the people, the Christian doctrines were everywhere received, and churches and monasteries arose where the fiames had but recently licked np the blood of the shrieking and expiring human victims of ferocious error or more hateful fraud. The mission of St. Patrick, although it destroyed paganism in Ireland, not only produced none of that individual suffering which but too generally accompanies exten- sive changes, however good and desirable in themselves, but it immediately and to a vast extent improved the political and social state of the converted people. There was no massacre, no sweeping and sangui- nary persecution of the priests or people of the old faith ; but both seem quietly and imperceptibly to have adhered to Christi- anity. Episcopal sees were established throughout the country, and Armagh was made the metropolitan see, of which the Irish apostle was himself the first prelate. Learned, active, and pious, St. Patrick's conduct so well warranted and seconded his precepts, that the preachers of the Irish churches and the monks of Ireland's numerous monasteries soon l>ecame famous throughout Europe for such branches of learning as were then attain.able; Irish monks traversed foreign countries as se- cular and religious teachers, and the music of the Irish churches was performed in a style of such unusual excellence, that in the reign of Pepin teachers were sent for to Ireland at an expense of great magnitude, considering the general poverty of the time, to instruct the nuns of Aivelle, in France, in psalmody. But, whether politically, morally, or re- ligiously, the undue number of religious establishments arid their inmates was an evil which could not but become more and more enormous with every succeeding generation. Though the Christianity of both the doctrine and practice of Ireland at this portion of her history was far beneath the genuine practical and apos- Cije W^totu of Strdantf. 567 tolic CliriBtianity, it is impossible not to perceive that St. Patrick,— pious, benevo- lent, aud, considering the age in which he lived, learned,— laid a broad and a solid foundation for the improvement that island has made since its connection with England. B'rom the information which we derive from St. Patrick himself, we gather some curious particulars of the condition of the Irish people during his time. Thus we And that the numbers of colours to be used in dress were particularised for each rank ; and we may, from the relative number of these allotted to the three principal ranks, form a slirewd judgement of the decree to which the magi, from whose ranks the bards, law- yers, and historians, as well as priests, were always taken, had usurped and used autho- rity. To kings and queens seven colours were allowed, to tanists or nobles only five; but to bards six colours were allowed. Both policy and the etiquette which so largely intluences even the rudest courts compelled the magi to allow an outward social supe- riority to their kings and queens, through whom they, in fact, governed ; but however warlike or wealthy the noble, he was re- minded even by his very dress that be was held inferior to the magi. CHAPTIiK IV. It was not to Ireland alone that St. Patrick did the inestimable service of substituting the mild truths of Christianity for the furious errors of paganism ; indirectly indeed, but substantially, he was the Chris- tian apostle also of Scotland, into which country Christianity was introduced in the sixth century by St. Colomb, an Irish monk of great zeal and learning, who founded the long famous monastery in the island of lona. For three centuries after the arrival of St. Patrick the influence of Cliristianity in humanising the people and elevating their condition was weakened, greatly weakened, at once by the plurality of kings and by the enormous number of the monastic esta- blishments; and during those three centu- ries the wars of petty princes and of five kings retarded civilisation and produced a sickening and pitiable amount of liuman misery. The fiercer and prouder spirits among the chief families scourged the country as warriors; the quieter spirits scourged it scarcely less by their learned and pious seclusion : and while even Eng- land was sending her best sons to the monks of Ireland, that they might enjoy the very best attainable education, those monks studied and prayed and taught foreign youth in cloistered ease, and in selfish indifference to the world's suffer- ings and the world's crimes, without seek- ing to make their learning available to lessening the one, or their rank and in- fluence useful in restraining the other. Though England at this time was divided into seven kingdoms, and though each of these, like each of the five Irish kingdoms, was again divided into petty but indepen- dent lordships; though. In fact, England fully shared with Ireland the evils of divi- ded sovereignties where no natural division of territory exists, the Saxon population of England enjoyed a plentif ulness of the most nourishing food, and a comfort botli of habitation and apparel far superior to those of the Irish, with all the superiority allowed to the clerical and monastic popu- lation of Ireland as to learning. A clearer proof needs not be adduced of the mischief, serious, widely-spreading, and of the ut- most practical importance, that was done by the preposterous extent to which mon- asteries were founded by mistaken piety and inhabited by indolent idleness. Corn and cattle of every description were abun- dantly produced ; yet the great mass of the Xieople were poorly fed, wretchedly lodged, and coarsely clad ; for the simple reason that they vere injured individually by their fierce petty princes when at war, and neglected by their priests and scholars at all times. The confusion and petty warfare inevit- able upon a plurality of Sfivereigns and princes, we have already referred to as an obvious cause of a low social condi- tion. A no less inevitable evil attendant upon that plurality is, that it bares the bosom of the people who are unfortunate enough to be subjected to it, to the attacks of foreign foes. The imminent danger of the whole country from .some vast invading force may for a time cause all the petty princes and their turbulent and almost in- dependent inferior chieftains to unite ; for a time each may learn to forget his envy, his hatred, the Insult that has stung, or the injury that has robbed him, and in the mere instinct of self-preservation each may do good service towards the preservation of all. This, we say, may happen in the case of the whole of such a country being threatened by a terrible and numerous in- vader ; but so it may happen, too, that ha- tred of the native and neighbouring enemy may not merely overpower that sentiment towards the foreign foemen, but may even convert it into a feeling of sympathy and a desire for his alliance or protection. But even where domestic differences do not, in tlie case of a great iuvasion, produce trea- sim in some cases and ruin in the rest, the mere weakness which internal warfare ever produces must render the temporarily united foes comparatively ineflScient just at the moment when they more than ever need strength, and more than ever desire to use that strength to good and wise pur- poses. If in actual warfare of king against king, chiefs against the king, or, the still more common case, of chief against chief, each of the five kingdoms of Ireland lost from the year 700 to the year 717 one hun- dred men per annum, here would be a vast army— for that time and country— of 8,500 men. We have reckoned the loss of the Ave Irish kingdoms in the seventeen years specified at a very low probable average ; and we have only reckoned with reference to those actually slain in battle, or in the occasional sanguinary skirmishes ; of those who subsequently perished by the famine caused by war, or of the pestilential dls- 568 CDlje Crcaafurj) nf ^iitavg, ^c. rasPs Invariably attiMKlint upuii f.niiliie.wo take no account. N.> jierinj could be bet- ter suited for the fair illustration of tlie evil to which we have adverted tlian seven- teen years; for while that period would make the mere infant capable of bearing arras— particularly auiouK a hardy, warlike, and half-barbarous people — it would still leave In soldierly vigour and activity the man of twenty-tlve, or even of thirty years of age, who escaped unwounded from bat- tle on the verj' day of that infant's birth. Thus, in seventeen years of miserable squabbling we have an army of 8,500 men utterly destroyed ; and at the end of that time we And that Ireland was insulted, in- vaded, and plundered for the first time by any considerable piratical force of North- men, or Danes, as the piratical northmen and sea-kings were generally called. Here, then, we have evidence as irrefragable as evidence can be, that to the plurality of so- vereignty in Ireland, and to the at once paltry and ferocious internal warfare to which that plurality gave rise, Ireland, when the fierce northmen sailed up her rivers, burned and sacked her monasteries, slew the monk in his cell, the peasant in the field, the penitent at the altar, and the nursling child at his mother's breast, owed the loss of an army thrice as numerous as would have sufficed to crush, ere he could have well landed, the slaying and spoiling foe who wrought so much havoc and so much woe. The kingdom of Meath, being nearly in the central part of Ireland, was, though originally the smallest of the five chief kingdoms, the titular chief; and the suc- cessful attempts of the king of Meath to wrest territory from the other kings, and of the latter, individually, to obtain the envied titular royalty in chief, were a fruit- ful source, both of general national distur- bance, and of partial and at the same time implacable feuda among the septs siding with the various kings. For nearly forty years the northmen con- fined their attacks upon Ireland to mere predatory descents, in which they were usually, from the disunion we have de- scribed, successful in carrying off consider- able spoil and numerous captives. But the very success of these descents, and the ex- perience which the marauders acquired alike of the fertility of the soil, and of the dis- union of the inhabitants, invited larger ex- peditions and more extended views of con- quest. About the close of the eighth cen- tury they began to send as many as a hun- dred vessels laden with fierce warriors into the Boyne and Liffey. The monasteries, both as being the wealthiest places in the island, and as being the abode of the teach- ers of the faith of that hated Charlemagne, whose prowess and whose sternness had made his faith odious to the northern ma- rauders, were the especial objects of their cupidity and vengeance. Built chiefly of wood, the monasteries when plundered were frequently committed to the flames ; and crowds of terrified monks and nuns escaped from the swords of the enemy, only to perish of hunger, or the inclemency u£ the weather, amid the woods and mo- rasses. Fi-om conducting larger and larger expe- diliniis froTu the banks of the chief rivers, farther and farther into the bosom of the Island, the northmen at length proceeded to attempt a permanent settlement. And here again the divisions among the Irish favoured the designs of their enemies ; for It was no uncommon thing for the weaker or more bitter of two rival septs to join their force to that of the invaders, losing sight of their general interest, as Irish- men, in their desire for safety or re- venge, as members of this or that sept or kingdom. When the beacon lire sent forth its lurid light from the summit of some coastward mountain, to announce the northmen's approach, it but too often happened that it was to many a signal to aid and not to repel them ; and to positive treachery of this kind the northmen chiefly owed it, that early in the ninth century (A. D. 815), they succeeded in planting a strong colony in the fertile district of Ar- magh. Between this colony and the neigh- bouring Irish there were frequent and des- perate struggles ; but about thirty years after it was planted, Turgesius, a Norwe- gian of great fame and power among the northern pirates, brought a powerful fleet to its aid, carried death and dismay into all the accessible parts of the country, and assumed the title of king of Ireland (A.D. 846). Having erected strong forts on well- chosen parts of the coast, he wielded his usurped authority most sternly. The na- tive-born kings were made to consider themselves as his mere tributary tanists ; and upon each he levied a tribute. In the nature of a pnle-tax upon their respective subjects, which tax, either from its very nature or from the punishment, as some writers think, of its non-payment being the amputation of the offender's nose, was called nose-money. Turbulent even towards their own native titular chief kings of Meath, it might have been expected that the singularly haughty and fiery kings of Ireland would be stung to desperation by the sweeping and con- temptuous as well as cruel tyranny of a foreign pirate chief. Many attempts at throwing off his oppressive and insulting yoke were unsuccessful ; but at length the art and intrepidity of O'Malachlin, an Irish king, put an end to both the reign and the life of the usurper. As though the whole power and skill of the northmen had been supposed to centre in this one man, his death was the signal of a general rising of the Irish. The lukewarm grew zealous and the timid grew brave ; every- where the Irish heart beat and the Irish sword gleamed for Ireland alone ; and the massacre of the northmen was so exten- sive, that the country might once more be said to be almost free from all enemies save the turbulent and divided among her own sons. But this freedom from the insulting yoke of the foreigner was soon interrupted. In larger numbers than ever, and with ven- geance now animating them as well as Cljj W^iov}} af iwlanlr. 669 cupidity, tlie pirate lioi'des of the north again poured In under three famous sea- kings, Sitric, OlaflE, and Ivar. Waterford, Limerick, and Dublin were seized upon, as being convenient eijually as strongholds from which to rule and oppress the natives, and as commercial cities. And, as is ge- nerally observable, the energy of unprinci- pled conquerors gave a commercial and trading consequence to those cities such as they had never before possessed, and most likely would never have derived from their original possessors. Merchants from va- rious foreign countries repaired thither, with articles of both use and mere luxury; and an observable impulse was given to the civilisation and refinement of the country, through the medium of the very invaders to whom thousands of the inhabitants owed misery and death. In truth, the situation of the native Irish during this occupation by. the Danes may, without exaggeration, be compared to that of the unhappy Bri- tons, whose miseries under the early rule of the Saxons are so graphically and so thrillingly depicted by Bede. But a warfare which kept alike the na- tive and the invader in constant peril, could not fail to abate in vh-ulence as years passed over. Intermarriage, and gradual commu- nion for the purposesof trade, caused some- thing like an armed incorporation of the two people. The natives were still go- verned respectively by their own kings; and the Danes, under their kings, in their fer- tile agricultural possessions and prosper- ous commercial towns, looked complacently down upon the frequent disputes and san- guinary engagements between the native provinces, precisely as Europeans looked forth from their factories upon those jea- lousies and combats of the Indian princes, which have given so much territory, wealth, and influence to a race who first went among them with the timidity of strangers and the cupidity of mere traders. As we have already said, we believe that the accounts that have been given of the plentif ulness of native Irish gold and silver have been most ridiculously exaggerated. It was to the commerce carried on and encouraged by Ireland's invaders, that wealth, whether of the precious metals or of foreign conveniences and luxury, was chiefly, if not entirely, owing. The Italian goldsmiths, so famous for the richness and cunning of their workmanship, undoubt- edly supplied those ornaments and services of gold and silver plate which, towards the middleof the tenth century, abounded in the Irish monasteries and churches. We say that this is induldtable, because we have clear evidence of it in the will of Cormac, bishop of Cashel and king of Munster. In that will he bequeathed to various churches and monasteries not merely rich articles of gold and silver, but also rich garments of silk, which not even the wildest dreamers about the early native wealth and magnitt- cence of Ireland will pretend to attribute to any other source than that commercial intercourse with foreigners which Ireland owed to her conquerors. But neither the influence of the commer- cial spirit nor the foreign luxury introduced by the Danes, had the effect of subduing the Irish turbulence or weakening the Irish courage. Even when, laying aside for a brief time their petty quarrels for local su- premacy, they turned their arms against the uorthmen, their endeavours were far more creditable than successful. But a king of Munster at length arose, to show the northnieu that the power of an inva- der is precarious, and may be shaken long after the most timid of his followers have ceased to fear, and all save the verj- best and bravest among the oppressed have ceased to hope. A. D. 990.— Brian Borohme (or, as it is sometimes written, Brian Boru), whose ta- lentsand courage even the romances found- ed upon his actual deeds can scarcely rate too highly, was king of Munster, contempo- rary with Malachi, king of Meath. The lat- ter, though in title the chief kingdom, was at this time scarcely the superior of Mun- ster, the kings of which occasionally assert- ed their equality by a flat refusal to pay the tribute. Though rivals, Malachi and Brian Borohme had one common feeling of ha- tred to the foreign rule of Ireland; and the former, a brave and able general, was in a mere military point of view more com- pletely the liberator of their common coun- try than the latter. Disputes having arisen between the king of Meath and the Danes, who had now rendered Dublin very popu- lous and wealthy, a battle took place be- tween them in the vicinity of the hill of Tara, in which the Danes were so com- pletely routed, and with so much loss, that they were glad to accept Malachi's terras for peace. The Danes had so often been victors in former and less ably conducted attempts to restrain their power, that among their slaves— by whom that warlike and trading people had all domestic duties performed, deeming them degrading to warriors and merchants — were upwards of two thou.sand native Irish. These Malachi compelled tlie Danes to liberate, and he had the satisfaction to believe that this battle had struck a terror into his foes which would not merely restrain them from any future excursions beyond their own bounds with warlike or predatory objects, but even cause them in the course of time to aban- don the country altogether. Brian Bo- rohme, as king of Munster, had obtained scarcely less decisive triumphs over the Danes, from whom he had, in the case of those who dwelt in Dublin, exacted an annual tribute of an ounce of gold per house. Probably the triumph of Malachi over the Danes wtmld have ended with the day of their defeat before Tara, but that his own subsequent defeat by Brian Borohme threw power into the hands of a man as wise in ccjuncil as he was hrave in the field. After what has been said of the general pro- pensity of all the Irish princes, from the highest of the five kings to the very pet- tiest tanist who could boast liis territory of a few acres, and his sept of a few scores of half-starved peasants, it will be a matter of no marvel that two powerful and warlike 3c 2 m)t Knaiuvn of W^tatyiy ice. 670 princes, so nearly matched in point of power and ambition as Malaclii and Brian Borohme, should nnd subject matter for war against each otlier. Hrhiii rionilniif, conscious not only of warlike iibilil.v but also of capacity for civil rule, and prrliups honourably anxious to mal>• tlio sud- den loss nf so stroma a l)oiiy, Ilial Strt>ii'-rlto\v found it necessary to dcspatcli a lucssenKer to Le Gros, wlio liad landrd in Wales, pro- mising lliat liis di>nt)le nnor entered into a new treaty, by which he engaged to hold his rightful dominions as the liege vassal of the king of England ; and in consider- ation of his having the chief sovereignty of Ireland, exclusive of the English pale,— he undertook to secure the peaceable ccmduct of the other native priuces, to whom Henry assui-ed the possession and peaceful enjoy- ment of their respective territories on con- dition of their regular payment of tribute, consisting of a hide for everj- ten head of cattle slaughtered. Roderic O'Connor, therefore, was king, in vassalage to Eng- land, of all Ireland except the English pale, which included Dublin, Waterford, Lein- ster, Meath, and tlie whole extent of coun- try from Dungarron to Waterford. A.D. 1175.— Strongbow died in 1175, leav- ing his daughter Isabel de Clare heiress to his immense wealth, with the exception of certain lands with which he endowed the priory which, in compliance with the guasi devout spirit of the age, he had founded at K-ilmainham. At the death of Strongbow a new gover- nor, Fitz-Adelm, went to Ireland. In his train was a knight, of no great previous notoriety, named De Courcy, who, in pur- suance of a singular fancy, lighted up the flames of war in a part of the country which amid all the recent bloodshed had remained at peace. Lying towards Scotland, and being inhabited chiefly by Scotsmen and shepherds, the province of Ulster might have long remained undisturbed, but that a headstrong English knight conceived the humane and worshipful plan of fulflding an Irish prophecy, at no matter what expense of blood, Scotch, English, or Irish. The prophecy ran that Ulster should be con- quered by aknight from oversea, riding on a white horse, and bearing birds upon his shield. De Courcy had come from over sea, he speedily provided himself with a white horse, and though his shield bore not birds but bees, yet as the latter as well as the former have wings, he was decidedly of opinion that he was tout d/ait the very knight alluded to in the prophecy 1 And to this mere whim of a foreigner, who in more sober times would have been laughed at as a coxcomb, or shut up as a dangerous lunatic, the unhappy people of Ulster were to see homes and lives sacrificed I In despite of the express prohibition of the governor, Fitz-Adelm, De Courcy mus- tered a numerous band of followers, and with pennant flying and trumpets sound- ing, galloped at daybri'ak into the streets of Downpatrick, the capital of Ulster. The pope's legate, cardinal Vivi.ani, who was in that province, endeavoured to dissuade De Courcy from violence ; but the cardinal's eloquence was powerless against the pro- phecy. Tlie cardinal, then, becoming in- dignant It the senseless and uniirincipled conduct of De Courcy, advised the king of Ulster, O'Xeil, to oppose him in arms. In the first engagement O'Neil was defeated, but subsequently De Courcy, though gene- rally successful in pitched battles, was fre- quently reduced to great straits ; and on one occasion he only escaped capture — which in his case would have been inevi- table death— by flying before his enemies for two days and nights, without other sus- tenance than water and wild berries. The petty and mischievous warfare which De Courcy had commenced in Ulster natu- rally led to similar disturbances in other parts. Fitz-Adelm, the governor, was de- tested ; and Henry imagining that a more popular governor would perhaps succeed in restoring and preserving the peace of the country — a peace which was indispensable towards making the possession of the country a source of revenue to England — removed Fitz-Adelm, and gave his post to Hugh de Lacy, the lord of Meath, whom he instructed to take all possible means to conciliate the natives, but at the same time to exert himself in the erection of castles sufficiently strong and advantageously situ- ated for the defence of the English pale. Nor did the king's anxious efforts to secure the peace of Ireland stop even here. He applied to Rome for permission to crown his son prince John as king of Ireland, though of course in vassalage to England. The court of Rome, which, even only with reference to the Peter-pence, and still more with reference to future contingencies, had a deep stake in the tranquillity and pros- perity of Ireland, readily gave the permis- sion required. But, whether from already perceiving something of John's real na- ture, or from some other unexplained feel- ing, the king did not avail himself of it, but merely sent him over as lord of Ire- land, where the prince arrived in the year 1185. CHAPTER VIIL A.D. 1185. — Pbikce John was at this period about nineteen years of age. Arrogant, heartless, and destitute even of the pru- dence which would have taught him to imitate the affability and kindliness of man- ner by which his father, during the whole Ef)t ^i^tDrg o( Jreranlf. 579 of liis stay iii Ireland, had contrived to cf>ii- flliate and even attach the irritable but warm-hearted chieftains, John by his very llrst act disgusted those who approached him for the purpose of renewing their oath (if alk-i-'iaucetntlieEuglishcrown. Theflow- iMK yi-llnw Lrarniciitsand thepreposterously long hair and beards of the Irish, presented a very odd appearance, no doubt; though, as the Irish were a singularly well and jiowtrfully made rac*, one would imagine tliat their peculiarities of costume tended to make their appearance imposing rather than ludicrous. But when they were in- troduced to prince John, who seems to have been surrounded chiefly by persons as young and as iLrnorant as himself, they were received Willi peals of Insulting laugh- ter, and some of the boy-courtiers are said to have even gone so far as to puU the tieards of these fiery and veteran warriors with every manifestation of contempt. The Iri.sh nature was precisely such as it would be far safer to injure than to insult. Burn- ing with rage, the chieftains departed from the prince's presence with the deepest de- termination to leave no effort untried to- wards shaking offi the English yoke. They v.ho had been the most cordially and sin- cerely desirous to show themselves faithful to the absent king of England, now unhesi- tatingly joined those of their fellow-coun- trymeu who were already in arms against lii'm, and an insurrection of the most es- tensive and terrific description forthwith broke out. The English army, beaten at variims points, was in a great measure de- stroyed, and the Irish even made them- si'lves a passage into the English pale, lilundering and then burning many of the liouses and butchering many of the Inhabi- laiits. So extensive was this revolt, and so deadly the animosity that was felt towards prince John, that it is most likely Ireland would have been wholly lost to England, for a time at least, had he longer continued in that island. Fortunately, however, gen- uine information, not always procurable by even the most powerful kings, reached the ears of Henry ; and he instantly recalled his petulant and incapable son, and gave the government to De Courcy, earl of Ulster. He probably, combining as he did both civil and military talents, and possessing enor- mous property and proportionate influence in rister, was the fittest man then in Ireland to overcome the formidable difficulties and danger consequent upon prince John's absurd and most unjustifiable conduct. Hugh de Lacy, who had formerly replaced Fitz-Adelra, would, indeed, have been a still more efflcient governor than De Courcy, but he had recently been murdered in cold blood by an Irish labourer, while superin- tending the building of a castle in his lord- ship of Meath. 1)0 Courcy, well knowing the propensity of the Irish princes to make war upon each other, upon even the slightest provocation, so skilfully exerted himself to foment quar- rels among them, that he easily broke up their league ;and, oiuo separated from their common object, they weakened each other so far that he had but little difficulty in quelling their desultory and individual at- tacks upon the English. A.D. 1189.— Henry II. after a reign of thirty- five years, the latter portion of which had been tormented by the unnatural miscon- duct of his sons, died on theGthof July, 1189, and was succeeded by the renowned king Richard I. Attached to warfare even to the verge of actual insanity, Richard was more anxious to humble France or to lead an army against the far distant hosts of Infidels, than to improve a conquest that was already made in his own immediate neighbourhood. He left Ireland wholly unnoticed : yet it was in his reign that tlie final annexation of Ireland to the English irouu may in some sort be said to have lakiii place; as in the year 1198 Roderic O'Connor, the last native king of Ireland, expired in the monastery in which for thir- teen years he had lived in peace while so much of strife and misery pervaded his country. But in his retirement he was far more useful to his country than its kings usually were. As he was the last Irish king, so was lie the first of them who had the sagacity to perceive that the great source of Irish weakness and Irish misery was ig- norance. Though monasteries and their inhabitants existed in very evil abundance, the great mass of the people were in the most deplorable state of ignorance. Rode- ric O'Connor exerted himself to establish schools, especially in Armagh ; and by that wise act deserved an admiration which, un- fortunately, the world is far more willing to bestow upon the brilliant but destructive career of the king who leads in war, than upon that of him who points the road to civilisation and consequent happiness. De Courcy, by nature bold, restless, and ambitious, availed himself of the neglect shown to Ireland by Richard, and made war and took spoil at his own pleasure : and when, in 1199, John succeeded to Richard, De Courcy had the boldness to refuse to acknowledge him as his sovereign. As the matter really stood between John and his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, his claim cer- tainly was open to reasonable question. But powerful as De Courcy was in Ireland and against Irish chieftains, he soon dis- covered that he had overshot his mark in venturing to beard the king of England, even in the person of so every way con- temptible a man as John. De Courcy, in the lifetime of Richard, had given great offence to prince John by the utter con- tempt with which he had treated all the prince's crders in relation to Ireland; and John, now that he had come to the throne, resolved to curb the proud vassal. De Courcy was accordingly arrested and sent to England. How or when he died is not accurately known, but it is certain that he was never allowed to return to his Irish possessions ; and even his lordship of Ulster was taken from him and bestowed upon Hugh, the sou of Hugh de Lacy, the murdered governor. Though aii.vthiiig lint warlike in disposi- tion, John made an expedition to Ireland; less, it would seem, for the sake of putting an end to the disorders which existed there, 580 Ct)e HLxta^ury at H^t^tDry, i^c. tlian asan excuse for lenviii!,- Kivirlaini wliilc the minds of his subjects won; alarmeil and Irritated by tbe treiuondous effects of tlio liapal interdict. Attended liy a powerful army, lie was speedily waited upon af Uul]- lin by twenty of I lie most powerful cliief- tains) wlio Ie homage. Whether, iiowever, from some vague predilection in Ills favour, or from the very fact of his being accompanied l>y a large and well-appointed force, lie was even joyfully received. No fewer tli.an seventy-four of the most power- ful men liastened to make a formal surren- der of their pos.-essions, and to agree to receive them in grant from him on condi- tion of maintaiuing his royal authority in Ireland against all who should gainsay or resist it. Delighted with a loyalty .so exu- berant where he had anticipated reluctant homage, if not actual resistance, Richard proposed to honour with knighthood the four principal chiefs, or petty kings asthev still affected to be styled. But the Irish were not learned iu the high lore of chi- valry, and ail honour w'hich would have been eagerly coveted by the high-born and wealthy elsewhere, and whicli was often gladly earned by long and perilous services in the field, was actually declined by these rude and untutored men, who gravely as- sured him that it was the custom of the Irish kings to confer knighthood on their sons even at the early age of seven years. And it was not until much pains had been taken to explain to tliera the theory and ordinances of genuine knighthood, that they could be induced to pass the prepara- tory vigil and receive the honour with its strict and solemn formalities. Richard on this occasion made a considerable stay in Ireland, and he and his Irish subjects parted in apparently cordial good feeling. But as soon as the king was absent the Irish chiefs became as turbulent as ever. The English pale was perpetually attacked, and so much territory recovered from it by the Irish, that it became reduced witliin dangerously narrosv limits; and at length Roger, earl of March, cousin and heir pre- sumptive of the king, was barbarously mur- dered. Richard was, at this time, gi-eatly harassed and endangered by the enmity of Henry Bolingbroke, the exiled duke of Lancaster. But though he well knew that that noble meditated the invasion of Eng- land, Richard unhesitatingly led an army to Ireland, to avenge the death of his cousin : (a.d. 1399). As was usual with them, the Irish chieftains endeavoured to avoid being brought to a general action, and retired to the least accessible spots among the bogs and mountains. But Richard was too intent upon avenging the murder of his cousin to listen to those who represented the difficulty of following the rebels into their retreats. Burning the towns and villages as he marched along, and disregarding the sufferings and com- plaints of his soldiers, who often flound- dered In the treacherous soil of the bogs, furnishing easy and helpless marks for the unerring weapons of their enemies, he fol- lowed the latter up so closely, that the greater part of them gladly submitted on condition of being received into the king's peace with full indemnity for the past. But Macmorrogh, a lineal descendant of the chief whosu misconduct had first called the English into Ireland, held out and loudly protested that neither fear nor love should ever induce him to submit. The chivalry of England was not, Imwever, to be long resisted by a cliicfmiii s(i com- paratively powerless, and .'MainiDrrogh at length agreed to treat with tlie carl of Gloucester. But when tha meeting took place the fiery chieftain was so enraged at what he thought the insulting terms pro- posed to him, that he angrily broke up tlie conference and betook himself to his savage haunts, less inclined than ever to submis- sion, though less than ever in a condition to carry on any permanent or effective war. Richard offered a very large reward for the person of Macmorrogh, living or dead ; but events had by this time taken place in England, which compelled him to forego his desire to punish his haughty and half- barbarous enemy ; for the earl of Lancas- ter, who subsequently dethroned Richard, and succeeded him under the title of Hen- ry IV., h.ad landed In England, and been joined by some of the most powei-ful of the nobility, and an army of nearly sixty thousand men. Richard was consequently obliged to abandon whatever projects he had formed for Ireland, Henry IV. could find no leisure to attend to the affairs of Ireland, though many and pressing petitions were sent to him ; and during the whole of his reign the turbu- lence of the Irish chieftains, and the cupi- dity and despotism of the English autho- rities, made that country a scene of wild disorder and wretchedness ; in which con- dition it remained from the close of the fourteenth century to the accession of Henry VII. of England. During this long period of fourscore years, the whole his- tory of Ireland may be written in two words, strife and misery ; and to enter into any detail would be merely to weary the reader with a monotonous recital of all the wrong that disgraces abused might, and all the misery that degrades while it tor- tures trampled weakness. CHAPTER IX. A.D. 1485.— As though Ireland had not already suffered sufficiently from wars, re- volts, and their 'inevitable results, the ac- cession to the throne of England of one of its most solidly wise and peace-loving kings, Henry VII., was the signal for more Irish disturbance. Hitherto the unhappy people had at least fought about their own affairs : but now they were involved in the cause of a low-born boy, a silly impostor, and the mere tool of a more knavish one. The his- tory of the equally impudent and unsuc- cessful attempt of the priest Simon to palm a mean youth, named Lambert Simnel, upon the people as the earl of W.arwick, the nephew of Edward IV., and heir to the throne of England, we gave in detail under the history of that country. But it is ne- cessary that we speak of it here, inasmuch as that gross imposture became a cause of very considerable suffering to the Irish. Richard Simon, a priest living in Oxford, Cije W^tavp ai Srelanif. 583 \v;i3 un(l(.iibtedly tlie chioi and dirsct in- structor of the young impostor, Lainhrrt Sinmel:t)ut considering the mode in wliicli tlie king had arrived at his royal diirnity, and considering the number, rank, and tem- per of his enemies, and especially consider- ing the character of the dowager queen, there is but little reason to doubt that Simon was himself a mere tool in the hands of persons far higher in rank. Though, by whatever means procured, young Sininel was well furnished with information of the circumstances connected with the royal fa- mily; and though, consequently, it might fairly be expected that all examination of his own story by those who also had means of knowing those circumstances, would but tend to strengthen his cause, his tutor judged it best to let him make his first essay at imposture at a distance from the court. Both for the sake of its ignorance and its propensity to fighting for any or for no cause, Ireland was judged to be the fit- test scene for the first attempt ; especially as many of the Irish were fondly attached to the cause of the house of York, of which it was pretended that the young impostor was a scion, and were still more especially attached to his alleged parent, the duke of Clarence, who, as lord-lieutenant of Ireland, had been avery general favourite. All these circumstances induced the friends and ad- visers of Siranelto take him to Ireland, and his reception there fully answered their most sanguine expectations. The lord- deputy of Ireland, Thomas Fitzgerald, earl of Kildare, received the impostor's story without suspicion or hesitation, the people followed the example of the court, and the impudent son of a poor baker was actually crowned,— the crown being taken for that purpose from an image of the Virgin — lodged in Dublin castle with all regal ho- nours, and received throughout Ireland, luider the title of king Edward VI., without a word said, or a blow stricken in defence of king Henry VII. Much as we know of the Ignorance that pervaded the great mass of the people pre- vious to the general diffusion of informa- tion by means of the press, the success, however temporary, of this most impudent impostor, is marvellous even as regards the common people ; and as regards the higher order of his adherents, it requires no small exertion of charitable judgement to acquit them of having feigned credulity, in order to play off a low-bom impostor against their king, in hatred of that king's talents, firm- ness, economy, and love of peace. For, in the first place, had the person to whose tale such extraordinary credence was yielded been the actual earl of Warwick, he would, even setting all the claims of Henry, the de facto king, aside, have had no title until after the daughters of Edward IV. And, in the next place, Henry VII., with the prudence which characterised his whole life, no sooner heard of the pretensions of Simnel, than he put all doubt out of the question, and rendered all disputation upon the subject utterly ridiculous, by causing the real ear] of Warwick to be taken from bis confinement in the Tower of London, and exhibited to the populace in the most I'ublic manner at Paul's-cross. Margaret of Burgundy, however, affecting to believe tlie absurd tale, got together two thousand German troops, under the command of an able and enterprising ofHcernanied Swartz, and sent them to Ireland. The arrival of such a force, sent, too, by a person of such influence as the duchess dowager of Bur- gundy, raised the Irish enthusiasm to the highest pitch. Too poor to be able much longer to support the pretender and his numerous followers, the Irish now be- came eager to be led to the support of his claims in England, where, moreover, it may fairly be presumed that they hoped to profit largely in the way of plunder, even should they not succeed in dethron- ing Henry. That shrewd and sensible mo- narch had, however, wisely contented nim- self with convincing his English subjects of Sinmel's imposture, and thus preparing them to give him a cold or hostile recep- tion should he attempt to leave Ireland for England. Simnel, intoxicated with the honours which art in some and credulity in others caused him to receive in Ireland, was easily induced to believe that his cause and name were equally popular in England;; and, in the full persuasion that he had' only to show himself in order to secure English support to his cause, he actually disem- barked his Germans and a host of the wild- est of the kerne, as the native Irish war- riors of that day were called, at Foudrey, in Lancashire. This was precisely what the king desired. He had completely des- troyed the pretender's character in Eng- land by the simple but irrefragable evi- dence of the real and living earl of War- wick, and having ihus rendered it next to impossible for the pretender to excite Eng- lish sympathy, he marched against him. The hostile forces met in Nottinghamshire, and near Stoke in that county a most san- guinary action was fought. The impostor was completely defeated, and both he and his tutor were taken prisoners. The Irish, who fought with even more than their ac- customed bravery, suffered dreadfully in this engagement. Ill provided with offen- sive weapons, they were altogether des- titute of defensive armour; and conse- quently received the most ghastly and fatal wounds. Rushing, half-naked, upon the cool and well-protected soldiery of Eng- land, they saw their ranks a^vfully thinned at every charge, and when the battle was over but few of them remained alive. With the capture of Simnel the king's anger ended. He immediately despatched sir Richard Edgecombe with a full and free pardon to all In Ireland who had abetted or aided the impostor, and with authority and commandment to take their renewed oaths of allegiance. To Thomas, earl of Kildare, he sent, with the letter contain- ing his p.ardon, a splendid gold chain ; and shortly afterwards the principal lords of Ireland were summoned to wait upon the king at his palace at Greenwich, ostensibly for the purpose of doing homage and tak- ing oaths of allegiance to him in person 684 €1^t CrcaiSurg of ^^titors, Stc. as they already had done to his cnnndential rciirescntativc. But the ever-politic kiiig had a deeper design ; that of making the Irish lords so ashaiDed of the impostor to whose designs they had so foolishly lent themselves, that they should be for ever after little disposed to conntcnanre similar adventurers. And, accordingly, at a grand hanquet to which they were invited, they had the surprise and mortification to And, among the liveried menials who waited upon them, that identical Simnel whom a short time previous they had crowned as their king — and crowned, too, with a dia- dem taken from the head of an image of the Virgin 1 While a portion of the Irish were as foolishly as hardily throwing away their lives in England in support of Simnel, the Irish at home were fighting furiously among themselves. Bad as the situation of Ireland generally was, it was just now even worse than usual. The continual wars which were carried on by the Irish chief- tains against each other and against the lords of the English pale, h,ad thrown all the country beyond the then verj' narrow limits of that pale completely back into its primeval barb.arism. Their huts, where they had them, were dreadfully mean, squa- lid, and unwholesome ; thousands of them had no shelter but the woods and the mountain caves, and for the most part they lived like the nomade tribes of the East, shifting from place to place with their flocks and herds for the sake of pa.sturage, and neither practising nor profiting by the cultivation of their singularly fertile count r.r. Partly, perhaps, because he deemed that the mere existence of such a state of things proved the negligence or tlie incompetency of the earl of Kildare, and partly from in- formation that another conspiracy was on foot, and that the earl was concerned in it, the king dismissed that nobleman from his office of lord deput.v of Ireland. Incensed at this disgrace and deprivation, Kildare leagued with O'Donnell, O'Xeill, and other Irish chieftains, and all the horrors of war were again inflicted with increased se- verity. The English pale was invaded and ravaged ; and the sufferers, in revenge, made incursions upon the neighbouring country; each party vied with the other in ferocity and injustice; and thus even the prudent and just precaution of the most peace-loving of English kings ciusedall the worst horrors of civil war to rage with ten- fold violence throughout Ireland. It seems to be a law as invariable as any physical law of nature, that evil deed shall he an evil seed ; in other words, that in addition to the present evil which results ' from crime or folly, some future crime or i folly shall result immediately from the one and mediatel.v from the other. Ireland, poor, half-barbarous, and distant, would have been but little likely to have been dragged into the seditions of the enemies of Henry VII. if that .same country had not also been desperate and turbulent. But its known propensity to turbulence and blood-shed, the ready credulity with which It had listened to Simnel, and the igno- rant and faithful ferocity with which its thousands had perilled lifeand limb in that imiiostor's cause, could not fail to point it out to any new adventurer of the same stamj), as a sure refuge and nurserj' of his embryo conspiracy. Accordingly, that Per- kin Warbeck,of whom we have had occa- sion to speak .at length under the head of England, chose Ireland as the abiding- place of his designs upon the English crown. He landed at Cork, and was re- ceived there with a warmth and credulity even suin-rior to those which had been be- stowed u|)on Simnel. Pretending to be Richard Pl.antagenet, one of those young princes who were murdered by Richard III. in the Tower of London, he had no sooner landed in Ireland than he sent out his false missives in every direction ; especially di- recting his attention to Desmond and Kil- dare, as knowing them to be beforehand inclined to treasonable practices against their sovereign. Fortunately for the usu- ally unfortunate Irish people, the infatua- tion in favour of this pretender reached France, and was still stronger there than in Ireland, and Warbeck accepted an invi- tation to the former country. But Henry VII., who, though he loved peace and preferred the amassing of money to the showy hut empty glories of the mere conqueror, was, nevertheless, very capable of exerting real vigour upon real and solid ocrasitm, now came to the conclusion that the existing state of things in Ireland was far too favourable to the enemies of his throne; and he at once determined to make such alterations as would prevent that island from being so convenient a re- fuge and recruiting place lor pretenders and their traitorous friends. It is a sin- gular fact, that Irel.and, overrun and terri- bly injured by her owu native factions, was at this time an avowed and permitted sanc- tuary to evil doers. He who had committed in England an offence by which he had for- feited his life or liberty, had only to escape from England into Ireland, and no man could touch him. Tliis right of sanctuary was first formally recognised by Richard duke of York— father of Edward IV.— dur- ing his governorship of Ireland, but for its actual origin we must look to the numerous monastic houses there. Henry VII., per- ceiving the immense butpernicious advan- tages which the worst enemies of England derived from this Irish right of sanctuary, very wisely determined to abolish it ; and he intrusted this and some other important reforms to a man of considerable talent aud still more energy, sir Edward Poyn- ings, whose able and firm conduct caused his name to be given to the important re- gulations known to la^vj-ers under the name of ' Poynings' law,' which struck at the very root of Irish sedition and turbu- lence, by taking away from the lords, par- liament, and all other authorities in Ire- land, the power of giving force and validity to an.v law until it should have been con- sidered and sanctioned by the king of England. Sir Edward Poynings at the same time revived, as far as practicable. HLfft i^tStDrg ai i«Ianlr. 585 tlie celebrated statute of Kilkenny, and did much towards rendering tlie lords of the English pale less powerful, both as to wan- tonly oppressing the Irish, and as to carry- ing on with impunity their rebellious and traitorous practices against the king of England. Perhaps the most important act performed by sir Edward Poynings towards discountenancing the disorderly conduct of the lords of the pale, was his arresting and sending prisoner to England the cele- brated earl of Kildare. The earl, however, was in no real danger. In this, as in not a few other cases, Henry VII. carried his usu- ally praiseworthy temporising and peace- able policy too far, and allowed an ex- ceedingly dull joke of the earl's to serve as an excuse not merely for pardoning him, but even for reappointing him to the dan- gerously powerful office for which he had shown himself so singularly unfit. A.D. 1497.— "Warned by his narrow escape, the earl of Kildare seems henceforward to have conducted himself with considerable discretion. Perkin "Warbeck, aided by his French friends, having made an attempt upon Englaud, was signally disappointed by the loyal men of Kent. They invited him to land, intending to seize him, but the pretender was too experienced a cheat to fall into the snare, and the result fully justified his caution. Those of his adher- ents who had landed were either slain or made prisoners ; and Warbeck, unaware or neglectful of the alteration in the tem- per and opportunities of Ireland that had been wrought by Poynings' law, proceeded thither. But though on landing at Cork he was well received by the mayor of that place, and also by the factious earl of Des- m.ond, he speedily found it necessary to de- part for Scotland, where he had a most credulous and fast friend in James IV., who protected and honoured him to the utmost, and even went so far as to give him the hand of his own rel.^tive the lovely Catherine Gordon, daughter of the earl of Huntley, who, to the honour of Henry VII., be it said, was moat kindly and hospitably treated after the fall and execution of her husband. This short stay of "Warbeck in Ireland was, thanks to the good order es- tablished by Poynings, productive of no general injury; the mayor of Cork, who was subsequently executed for his treasonable conduct with the pretender, being the chief sufferer. A.D. 1535.— The earl of Kildare had now for some time been in a sort of honourable imprisonment in England ; cardinal "Wol- sey, the able minister of Henry VIII., hav- ing decidedly, and very wisely, objected to allowing that nobleman's use or abuse of his immense power in Ireland to depend upon his more or less lively recollection of the narrow escape his father had formerly had ; and the cardinal had an additional reason to doubt the loyalty and faith of the young earl, from the fact of his being very closely allied with the notoriously sediti- estilence which, originating in Dublin, spread itself thence through the whole country. A.D. 1535.— Lord Leonard Grey, newly ap- pointed to the gcivemment of Ireland, dis- played considerable talent in the course of this terrible strife ; and after upwards of six months of hard Sghting.he obliged lord Thomas to surrender. He and five of his uncles, who had been as deeply concerned as himself, were sent to Loudon as pri- soners, and there executed. Henry VIII. was the more enraged by the extent and continuance of this rebel- lion, because it put a stop to the efforts he was just then making to carry into the religion of Ireland the same reformation he had brought about in. England. As soon as the rebellion was suppressed, Henry re- newed his endeavours to that end ; and so evident an evil was the multitude of mon- astic houses in Ireland, that the archbishop of Dublin was the very first person to fall in with the king's design. By that prelate's advice the Irish parliament was called to- gether, and an act was forthwith passed for transferring to the crown the first fruits and other spiritual dues which hitherto had been paid to the pope. This politic step was soon after followed up by the issuing of a cx>mmission similar to that which had existed in England for suppressing the monasteries. Unquestionably good and necessary as this measure was in itself, it was carried into effect without a suflicient retfard to considerations of political econ- omy, or even of ordinary humanity. The very enormousnessof the evil required that the remedy should be applied with all the greater prudence. Almost destitute as Ire- land was at this time of manufactures and commerce, the sudden turning upon the world of an immense number of men and women, who for years had been unaccus- tcmied to the cares of providing for their worldly wants, could not fail to make a very terrible addition to the frightful dis- tress that already existed. Moreover, ihe doles that were given at the gates of the religious houses were of vital importance to starving thousands, and the courtiers and speculators to whom the king disposed of the possessions of the suppressed com- munities, with a iBost unreflecting profu- sion, were little inclined to show the same indulgence to the tenants that had made the church everywhere provi^rbial as the easiest and most lilieral of landlords. It is obvious that a very slight amount of judge- ment and care might have spared very much of the misery that was thus caused ; and it is lamentable to reflect that the want of that care and judgement made evil mingle so largely and so long in what would other- wise have been a measure of unmixed good- ness and wisdom. The suppression of the monasteries, and the formal declaration of Henry VIII. as king of Ireland, completely Independent of the pope— instead of lord of Ireland hold- ing under the pope, which was the light in which the Irish had hitherto looked upon the king of England— ware followed up by some politic endeavours on the part of Henry, by personal attentions and the dis- tribution of titles, to conciliate the loyalty and regard of the Irish chieftains. O'Don- nell, for instance, was created earl of Tyr- connel; O'Neill, earl of Tyrone ; and his son, lord Duncannon ; though thelatter,formid- able as he could make himself in wild Irish warfare, was so poor, that in order to be able to go to London to receive his new honour from the hands of the king, he was actually obliged to borrow a hundred pounds of St. Leger, the English governor, and had so little prospect of returning even that petty sum in hard cash, that he stipu- lated to be allowed to repay it in cattle. The most politic and just use that Henry made of any of the lands of the suppressed monastic houses in Ireland, was that of giving estates to many of the nobles upon whom he conferred titles; a step by which he at once reconciled them to the suppres- sion and the separation from Rome, and gave them a stronger interest in resisting any attempts that might be m.ade to dis- turb the country or to throw off his autho- rity. And though neither that nor any measure, which, unaccompanied by a more extensive civilisation of the people, and in- crease of trade and commerce than were immediately practicable, could have wholly restored peace to a people who had been so long accustomed to live in the midst of the disturbances and miseries of civil war, it is clear that Henry's politic attention and liberality to the Irish had considerable ef- fect ; for the suppression of the monasteries and all the consequent sufferings of the people caused scarcely any increase of the usual turbulence of that most turbulent country'. The comparatively short reign of Mary in England, however, served to show that the facility with which the Irish had acquiesced in Henry's sweeping reform of religion was chiefly owing to self-interest and to the skill of the king in accommoda- ting his favour to the temper and desires of the person to be conciliated. For a very general inclination was shown in Ireland, during the reign of Mary, to return to the papal faith, and one of the earliest diUl- culties experienced by Elizabeth was that C!)c l^i^tnry at irctanir. 687 of reestaljlishiug protestantism among her Irish subjects. The Desmonds and the O'Neills were es- pecially troublesome In their resistance to England. The earl of Desmond broke out into an open war with the earl of Orraond, who, besides being a very powerful and able nobleman, was a cousin of the queen. Desmond, professing to be conllilent that he could show that lie w.is in tlie ri^'lit in the dispute between liini and riniiond, which originated in a qnestion of lioundary of their adjoining possessions, petitioned to be allowed to represent the matter to the queen In person. He arrived in London under the impression that he was to have the required interview, but instead of Ix'iiig so favoured, he was, harshly enough, thrown in the Tower, where he was kept a clo.^e prisoner for some years. When he at length got his liberty, he naturally enough ex- tended his enmity from the earl of Ormond to the English power altogether. A.D. 1579. — Pliilip of Spain, hating Eliza- beth, both as the protestant ruler of that kingdom which he would fain have sub- jected to the gloomy and desolating despo- tism of the inquisition, and because she had, most prudently, refused the offer he made of his hand almost before her sister and his wife was laid in her tomb, gladly encouraged Desmond in his desire to work evil, to the English power, and actually sent the rebel earl a very considerable force of Spaniards and Italians. But the wild Irish warfare, with its accompanying famine and other sufferings, was too much for the en- durance of these troops, who had been ac- customed to make war with considerably less bloodshed and more personal indul- gence. Defeated wherever they appeared, and at length abandoned in despair by Des- mond himself, they laid down their arms, and sir Walter Raleigh and other English officers decided that they could not be looked upon so much in the light of pri- soners of war, as in that of felonious abet- tors of afoul domestic rebellion; and, as a consequence of this decision, they were summarily executed. Desmond himselfbeingfound in a wretch- ed hut, was put to death by some soldiers for the sake of the reward they anticipated receiving for his head from his enemy the earl of Ormond. The large territories of Desmond, and the vast possessions of the numerous wealthy men who had abetted his rebellion, were confiscated, either on the death of the owners in battle, or by their departure on the failure of the rebel- lion to the Low Countries, where service was offered to them by Philip. If the miseries of civil war fell exclu- sively upon those who excite it, the evil would be great and sad enough to cause our sorrow ; hut, uidiappily, the worst share of wretchedness usually falls upon people who neither take part In the crime, nor have any power to prevent its commission. In the present case, the horrors of famine and disease raged to such an extent as almost to depopulate Munster. Raleigh and other Englishmen got grants of the land that was thus left untenanted; up- wards of forty new lordships being distri- buted, at almost nominal rents, upon the condition of settling English families. This, however, could only be partially done, for we have not a greater horror of the most savage deserts of Africa at the present day than the generality of Englishmen then had of Ireland. Irish tenants, therefore, were, in many cases, accepted by the new owners of the soil. We Imve mentioned .among these new owners th.- (.■I.brated sir Walter Raleigh ; and to the accident of his obtaining a grant Ireland owes the introduction of her staple food, potatoes, which he first brought into that country from Spanish America. He also introduced the cultivation of tobacco, but the climate of Ireland — more moist even than England —prevented the quality from being good, or the crop from being even moderately safe, and, excepting as a matter of curiosity, it is now but little known there. But, by introducing the potato, Raleigh conferred a real and permanent beneflt upon that country. Hugh O'Neill, who had received much kindness from queen Elizabeth, by whom he had been created earl of Tyrone, and to whom he was indebted for the restoration of a very considerable part of the earldom, which had been forfeited to the crown by the treason of his uncle Shane O'Neill, was for some time one of the most loyal of the queen's nobles in Ireland. It chanced, however, that when the great and providen- tial tempest disix'rsed that armada which Philip of Spain and the pope had presump- tuously named the 'inviucible,' some of the vessels composing it were wrecked upon the coast of Ireland. Tyrone, whose art had not so completely concealed his real feelings as to cause his loyalty to be wholly unsuspected, behaved with so much cordiality to the shipwrecked Spaniards, as to give an opportunity to his cousin, a son of Shane O'Neill, to accuse him of treason- able correspondence with Spain. All the long-suppressed violence of the earl's na- ture now burst fiercely forth, and with a violence which gave ample occasion to be- lieve that the real sting of the charge lay in its truth. As he had, for many years, been favoured and distinguished by the queen, in whose service he had in his youth borne arms against the earl of Desmond, had he really been innocent, and indignant at the impeachment of his loyalty, it is quite ob- vious that he could have had no difficulty in obtaining an opportunity to clear him- self in the eyes of her majesty. But instead of taking this safe and straightforward course, he caused his cousin to be seized and put to death ; and having thus, by an inhuman and gratuitous crime, put himself out of the queen's peace, he Impudently set himself up us tUe patriotic enemy of that queen to whose favour he owed all that he possessed. Levying war under the pretence of patriotism, but, in reality, to save him- self from the deserved penalty of murder, he also excited theM'Guires, thoM'Mahons, and other septs to join in his rebellion ; and while the English government and its authorised ofllcers and agents were 688 E^t CrrcaiSury at W^tarn, &c. cndcavoiiriiiK to civilise aud enrich tlie coiintry, tlu'se patriots were doing their utmost to throw it deeper and deeper into lirirbarisin and poverty, for the mere sake of serving their own most disgracefully selfish purposes. A.D. 159t.— The experience of ages had not as yet taught the Irish that peace is the true nursing mother of prosperity aud hap- piness. Tyrone and his rebellious associ- ates, with abundant support, had commit- ted proportionate crime, and inflicted pro- portionate misery. And yet, when iu 1594, sir William Russell went to Ireland as lord-deputy, Tyrone had the consummate assurance to go to Dublin to take the oath of allegiance aud give assurances of his de- sire to support her majesty's government. .Sir Henry Bagual, a shrewd man and stem soldier, who then filled the ofBce of mar- shal of the army in Ireland, was for putting it out of the practised traitor's power to commit further crime by at once sending him over to England. But sir William Russell, desirous above all things of car- rying conciliation to its utmost prudent length, determined to trust the earl's pro- mise of faith and loyalty ; and the earl showed his sense of this too trusting and chivalrous conduct, by immediately going to his own territory and opening a cor- respondence with her majesty's bitterest enemy, the Spaniard, from whom he ob- tained a large supply of arms and ammuni- tion, and then openly placed himself at the head of a confederacy of Irish chiefs, the avowed ohject being the rain of the Eng- lish power in Ireland. The very poverty of the Irish, added to the nature of their country, abounding in wood, bog, and mountain, rendered the putting down of an armed rebellion in that country a mat- ter of extreme difliculty under any circum- stances : and this difficulty was increased by queen Elizabeth's well-known parsimony, which, in this case, was as censurable as it usually was praiseworthy. Ill-provided with means of paying anything Uke a con- siderable force, her commanders in Ireland had their best-laid plans defeated ; and the rebels retiring for a time to their wild fastnesses, made their appearance in as fuU force as ever, the instant that the Knglish troops were disbanded or reduced. It was chiefly, beyond all doubt, to this cir- cumstance, that the treacherous Tyrone owed his long impunity. Knowing the dif- ficulty of Anally and efficiently crushing such an enemy, ■without a far larger sum than the queen was ever likely to devote to that purpose, the queen's officers were na- turally better inclined than they otherwise would have been to listen to Tyrone's spe- cious proposals for accommodation ; which propo.sals he regularly made, and as regu- larly broke, according as the fortune of war made the one course necessary or the other seductive. Shrewd and well-advised as Elizabeth was beyond almost all English sovereigns. It ■was, probably, only her ruling passion that would thus have been allowed to injure her interest, without check from her own strong sense, or censure from her ministers' faith- ful zeal. But magnnm vectiga lparsim in exact ciiiidiriinty willi tlic o|iiiiiciiis In- lirni so often anil so stmnLrly expi-cssiil. He was now, tljenfore, iluulily iilcd^Til ; at once l>y Ills own jiult'ement anil liy liis duty. tet he had scarcely landed In Dublin when he allowed liiniself to be persuaded that the season was too early for passing the boss which slieUered Tyrone, and that his better plan wi.uUI lie to devote some time to anexpeditinn into Munslrr, where p;ir- tlesot the rebels wire dnins.' much mischief and exerclsiiif; much tyranny. Now, mak- inir every allowance for the climate of Ire- land, It is dillicult to understand how it could he too early for soldiers, men whose duty and boast it is to overcome difficulties, to inake their way through the hogs, when we remember that Essex did not leave Lon- don until the month of March. A man of prudence would have enquired how far such a strange excuse originated in the selfish interest rather than in the sincere convic- tion of the advisers. But gallant as Essex had proved himself, and especially at Cadiz, he had none of that deep retiection and eagle-eyed glance at details which are so necessary to a commander-in-chief ; and in- stead of discovering, as with more solidity and less hrilliancy, he must have dis- covered, that the persons who thus advised him had possessions in Munster, about whicli they were far more anxious than about the national honour, he at once fell into the snare, and employed himself in the very task of mere detail which he had so emphatically censured in other command- ers. He was very successful in Munster— while he remained there ; but when in July the English troops, thinned and sickly, re- turned to Dublin, the dispersed rebels re- turned to Munster as strong as ever, and far more confident ; for they now perceived that Essex was by no means the consum- mate commander he had been called. The course he had so unwisely pursued had yet farther ill consequence. For the sake of what must of necessity liave been merely temporary success in Munster, he had not only thinned and weakened his men, but, in mere partial actions, liad given them the opportunity to form a very respectful opi- nion of the Irish prowess. On one occa- sion his men behaved so timidly, that he cashiered the officers of the detachment, and actually decimated the common men. Nothing worse than this could have occur- red in a decisive aitair with Tyrone himself ; nothing of the sort was likely to have hap- pened while the English troops were fresh, strong, and full of contempt for the kerne of Ireland ; but after being so disheartened In detail, how could men be expected to show any great zeal for more decisive and extensive operations ? Moreover, so much time had been wasted, that, as formerly, it was said to be too early for passing the morasses, so now it was said to he too late. Essex now wrote home for reinforcements, and the queen, seemingly resolute to leave him no reasonable excuse for ultimate and signal failure, at once reinforced him. But real and counterfeited sickness, and very numerous desertions, rendered it impossi- ble fur him, out of tlie inijioslng force which ■ bad frittered away in idle detail skir ishing to lead lUiTe than four thousand en against the in:iin enemy. With this fee he found it imp issible to bring Tyrone to action ; for that wily chieftain was far more desirous of wr.-iring out his enemy than of giving him :in opportunity of pro- fiting by snperiordiaciplineand equipment. And with his usual and often successful iMipuiIruce, he demanded a personal con- ference witli the English comnuuider. Here again Essex displayed great unlltness for his command. He was fully authorised, it is true, to pardo7i rebels, but he betrayed at once his own dignity, and that of his royal mistress, in consenting to give the rebel chief an interview without first insisting upon his submission. Tyrone, who was as deeply politic as Essex was open and thoughtless, seems to have understood at a glance the character of the man with whom he had to deal. While making stipulations which, as coming from a relx^l, could be looked upon only as insult to the queen, he behaved to the queen's lieutenant with the most profound personal respect ; persuaded him into a truce until the following May, and even, it would seem, caused him to listen, at least, to insinuations which it was treason even to hear without resent- ment. This 'most lame and Impotent conclu- sion' could not fail to be deeply annoying to Elizabeth, after she had departed so far from her usual economical policy in order to insure a complete conquest of the Irish rebels. And Essex was so far from even now seeing his error, and taking the only mode by which Elizabeth could have been soothed, that he excited her temper still farther by peevish and petulant letters in which he sought to throw the blame rather upon an alleged want of means and oppor- tunity, than upon his own want of firm- ness and sagacity. Though the queen's answers plainly showed that she really was deeply offended, she was even yet disin- clined to wound his proud spirit by so pub- lie a disgrace as immediate recall would by both his friends and his foes have been con- sidered ; and she expressly ordered him to remain in Ireland. Judicious action, or even judicious refraining from such action as could probably add to the queen's anger, might even now have enabled him to re- cover his ground in Ireland; but instead of availing himself of the opening the queen afforded him by refraining from recalling hira, the spoiled favourite, happening, while in his worst humour with the English court and with himself, to hear that the queen had promoted his rival, sir Robert Cecil, to an office which he had long coveted for him- self, took no farther notice of the queen's expressed command, but hastened over to England. His reception there belongs to the History of England ; we must here confine ourselves to Ireland, and its af- fairs, as he, on this petulant departure, left them. Lord Mountjoy, whom Elizabeth, as we have said, originally intended for the Irish i expedition, was now sent over in the hope €l)t S^tstorg of IrrtanU. 591 that he would repair the evils caused I)y the flighty and inconsiderateconduct of his accompllslied, but, in this case at least, in- capable rival. The Irish rebels speedily discovered that they now had to deal with a lord-lieutenant very different in character from the vain and facile Essex. Brave and accomplished as a soldier, Mountjoy was also somewhat inclined to sternness and severity. A.D. 1602.— On taking the command in Ireland, Mountjoy determined neither to employ all his force upon one point, nor to make a war of detail in such a way as could be advantageous to the rebels. Divi- ding his force into detachments, he gave the commands to men of known ability and courage, with orders to act with the utmost vigour while opposed, and to give no quar- ter even when opposition had ceased. The rebels being thus attacked in all quarters at once, and finding that their new oppo- nent was as impracticable in negotiation as he was irresistible in war, threw down their arms. Many of them sought safety by re- tiring nuo tne most inaccessible morasses and mountain caves, and remaining hidden there, and half starved, while their friends exerted themselves to obtain their peace on such terms as Mountjoy chose to dic- tate. Tyrone was no exception to this general rule. At first, indeed, he tried to obtain terms, but his days of successful deception were now at length abandoned. Mountjoy inflexibly refused to admit him to mercy on any other condition than that of the nu)st al)solute aiKl literal surrender of both his life and fortunes to the queen's pleasure. A.D. 160.T— Finding that any attempt to palter with Mountjoy would probably put him In some danger of being altogether ex- cluded from the queen's mercy, he appeared before the lord-Ueutenant and made the re- quired submission. But he was even now too late. Elizabeth had expired whilehestill hesitated ; and as the character of her suc- cessor rendered it very unlikely that he would show mercy to rebels so crafty and faithless as Tyrone, both he and O'Donnell made their escape to Italy ; where Tyrone lived some years, supported only by a pen- sion allowed to him by the pope. CHAPTER X. A.D. 1612.— The most efflcirnt of the Eng- lish commanders in curbing the rest- less spirit of Ireland wa? undoubtedly the lord Mountjoy; and perhaps, liut for his stern chastisement of armed rebellion, Ire- land would not have been in a state to pro- fit by the wise and humane desire of Eliza- beth's successor, James I., to civilise the people by raising them socially as well as intellectually, by giving them an interest in the preservation of peace by putting them in possession of the manifold luxuries and comforts which are only obtainable by the practice of the arts of peace. It is impos- sible to rate too highly the good effect of the wise policy of James towards Ireland ; and when he boasts of that policy, we must read his self-laudation altogether without that pitying smile which we bestow upon his pedantries, and upon the absurdities which even his native sagacity did not pre- vent him from sharing with the majority of his subjects. He clearly perceived what, next to the putting down of actual rebellion, was the most pressing and the most vital want of Ireland : manufactures, trade, and the op- portunity, means, and, above all, the ex- amples of using them. The immense tracts of land which civil war and rebellion had depopulated in Ire- land, and especially in Ulster, furnished the sagacious James with the first great ele- ment, room for civilised colonists whose example of industry and prosperity could not fail to have the effect of raising all the rest of the country in the social scale. Ou all former occasions the scheme of colo- nising Ireland had a radically bad principle which constantly caused it to fail. The English pale was held by swordsmen, not by manufacturers, or even to any consider- able extent by traders. Bold soldiers, but for the most part as uncultivated as the very natives whom they had dispossessed, these men either were constantly engaged in petty warfare with the 'mere Irish,' as the men beyond the English pale were called, or, if they fell into peaceable inti- macy with them, were far more apt to fall with them into barbarism, than to raise them into civilisation and an inclination to- wards the arts of peace. And that, as must be abundantly evident to the attentive rea- der, was actually the process which took place, not merely with the general mass here, but also with men of some mark and note. Aware that a large sum of English money was absolutely necessary for the carrying out of his admirable plan of Irish reforma- tion, and aware too that practical mercan- tile men were the best possible persons to look after the details upon which so much would necessarily depend, James incorpo- rated the Royal Irish Society. The mem- bers were to be annually elected from among the aldermen and common council of London ; and to the committee, thus formed, were all matters to be intrusted connected with the management of the Irish fisheries, and the waste tracts of land which were to be disposed of. These lands were to be let to three distinct classes of undertakers ; so called because they under- took to fulfill certain conditions. Those who received two thousand acres were to build a castle, with a proportionate batvn or yard, surrounded by a substantial W!iU ; those who received fifteen hundred acres were to build a substantial stone house, also surrounded by a,bawn, unless in situ- ations where a bridge would be still more desirable ; and those who received a thou- sand acres were to build a good and sub- stantial dwelling to their own taste. In some cases Irish chieftains were allowed to undertake upon these terms, and to have Irish tenants, on condition that these lat- ter should abandon their wandering and predatory habits, and dwell together in steady, peaceful, and industrious pursuits ; 502 ^Ift Crca^urs at %tgtarB> ^c. Init, for the most, part, rrofi loiico wub L-ivcn to Kii!rH:ih iitidortaV.ers, ^vho were to hivo Knpli^^ii or Lowland Scotch tenants. Xor did this excellent scliomecomiirclicnd merely the open and wholly depopulated country ; Colcraiue, Londonderry, and some smaller towns had considerable sums spent upon them in repairini; and rebuilding; and hundreds of Enclish and Scotch me- chanics, with their families and all neces- sary appliances for their several trades, were sent thither. At the same time, churches were endowed and schools esta- blished ; and those who so loudly charge it upon England as an injustice that the Pro- testant church Is supported in Ireland, would do well to look backhand to look atten- tivclv, upon this passage in Irish history. HaVins done so much towards introduc- ing the hidustry and profit in the tram of which civilisation, comfort, and an attach- ment to peace are so sure to follow, James declared all the people in Ireland to be eouallT his subjects, abolished the whole of the Brehon laws, and stationed a small army in Ireland, which was regularly paid from England, and thus spared all tenip- tation to excite disturbances in the coiintry by levying contributions upon its ninaln- tants The good effect of this was strik- ingly shown in the case of an outbreak ex- cit'ed and headed by a turbulent chief named O'Doghertv. This chieftain, among many, was very much enraged at seeing the com- fort and prosperity in which strangers dwelt in his native country ; and he was especially opposed to the abolition of the Brehon laws, which gave occasion to peri- odical warfare by a most absurd division of property, and made murder and other crimes as purchaseable as any manufac- tured luxury, by affixing a price to each crime ; as the Normans and Saxons, and most other partially barbarous people, had done at an earlier day. Taking counsel With other chieftains as prejudiced and tur- bulent as himself, O'Dogherty endeavoured to plunge the country into a civil war once more But his first outbreak was steadily met by the resident English troops ; rein- forcements were speedily sent ; and he who but a few yeai-s before might have sacked towns, and then have sold his good be- haviour for a peerage, was easily and spee- dily put down. Regular circuits for the administration of justice were formed ; charters of incorporation were bestowed upon the larger and more prosperous towns ; and James had the truly enviable pleasure of seeing prosperity and growing civilisa- tion accomplished by his peaceful and equi- table rule, for a countiy which his prede- cessors had for nearly four hundred and nfty years failed even to begin to rule with either certainty or advantage. CHAPTER XL AD 1641 —From the year 160,3 Ireland had been constantly progressing, sometimes slowlv, sometimes more rapidly, but always progressing, more or less, towards the com- parative perfection of England ; and if in the year 1641, Brian Borohme, or Malachi of the golden collar, those sincere and -the age in which they lived being considered —sensible friends of their native country, could have seen the splendid alterations that had been wrought in its favour, they would have denounced to the death the traitor, who, for the sake of his own base interests, or his own ignorant fancies, should have proposed to light up the torch of war, and undo, in a few weeks of vio- lence, what had been accomplished by the wisdom, patience, and unbounded liberality of so many years. But unhappily the tunes were favourable to the worst designs of the worst description of mock patriots. The unfortunate Charles I. was now upon the English throne, and deeply Involved in the fatal disputes with the parliament, which ended so lamentably for both king and people. To all discerning men it was evident, that both king and parliament had drawn the sword and thrown away the scabbard. Scotland had openly thrown off its allegiance; and though in England Charles still had the title of king, his most reasonable demands were treated with mockery ; and as the Irish parliament— as was evident in the case of StrafEord— was the ally, or rather the subservient tool, of the English commons, it was obviously impossible for the king to have that in- fluence with the former, without which he was powerless to keep the country in order. The settlers in Ireland under the nohie scheme of king James were almost exclu- sively Protestant, and they naturally hasolute au- thority of the green isle ; and the instant he heard that O'Neill had agreed to give the torn land and the sufferiug people rest, he sent a confidential priest named Rinuc- cini as his nuncio. Rinuccini took over a few men, a large supply of arms and ammunition, aud a very considerable sum of gold. As he was, ac- cording to his instructions, even profuse in his distributicm of the money among the infiuential leaders, he found no difficulty in procuring the answer that he required to the ci-y of 'war to the heretics! war, war!' which formed the burden of all his dis- cour.ses. While he was exerting himself to procure a renewal of war, in which he suc- ceeded to his utmost wish, he exerted him- Cbe I^Wtors flf S«lanlf. 597 self also in preimrius Ireland to bccumo not only catholic but also monastic as ever. Wliatcver else the court of Rome midor- stoort, it was profoundly ignorant of poli- tical economy. Forwhilethatgraspingand insolent power was ready to brave all divine laws and outrage all human feelings in its ardour for conquering countries, it was to the full as anxious to impoverish as to conquer them ; and while desirous of tribute, was ever bent upon multiplying those non-producing coiumunities, which could neither pay tribute themselves nor (-xist but by hugely diminishing that which liut for them might have been wrung from the laity. It was in accordance with this ciiually invariable and ignorant policy of Home that Einuccini now did all that ex- hortation, threat, intreaty, and gold could accomplish, to rebuild, beautify, and re- people the religious houses that had been demolished by Henry VIII. : and, still farther, the monks, whether Jesuits or franciscans, Carmelites or dominicans, who were placed in the principal abbeys and monasteries that were restored under his own directions, had it in charge from the zealous Jesuit, that they should be instant, in season and out of season, in exhorting the laity to aid in restoring and beautifying all the mouasteries throughout the island, of which it is quite clear that Home felt confident of obtaining the com- plete dominion. The assistance which the rebels received from Rome enabled them to recommence and continue the civil war with great ad- vimtage over the royal force, for the king was now in the power of the puritans ; and much as those bigots hated the papists of Ireland, they loved their own aggrandise- ment still more ; and while they obtained large sums from the gulled people of Eng- land, under the pretence of putting down the Irish rebels, they coolly applied those sums to the support of their own treason- able schemes, and left the luckless autho- rities at Dublin wholly unaided. Rinuccini, though his ostensible mission was only of a spiritual character, no douljt had more ample secret powers and instruc- tions. At all events, he by no means con- fined himself to matters spiritual, but in- terfered, and with so much insolence, in civil affairs, and showed so evident an in- tent to usurp all authority, that even the most bigoted among the Irish rebels be- came disgusted, and he was at length fairly driven out of the country. After the murder of Cliarles I. that event added to the previously existing sources of strife in Ireland. The 'king's party ' in- cluded not a few of those who had rebelled against the authority of Charles I., and was, from a variety of causes, so strong, that the marquis of Ormond, then at Paris with the queen and Charles II., complied with the invitation that was sent to him to go over and take the chief command, in the hope that both his experience, his courage, ability, and his popularity, as being himself an Irishman, would make him so efficient a rallying point for the royalists, that Ireland might enable the young king at some future day to reconquer England. For a time, In truth, it seemed as if this really would be the case. Notwithstanding the numerous causes of hate and strife which not merely divided the Irish people into royalists and parliamentarians, but also divided each of those two leading par- ties into many smaller factions that were either openly or secretjy at the bitterest enmity, all differences among the royalists seemed to cease. Ormond was most cor- dially received among them, and speedily found himself at the head of an army of nearly twenty thousand men. Colonel Jones, who was a mere creature of the par- liament, and to whom Ormond had de- livered the chief command in Ireland when he himself hastened to aid the unfortunate Charles I. in England, was compelled to bestow all his care upon Dublin, where the parliament left him unaided. Ormond, therefore, found but little difficulty in the earlier part of his attempt to reduce Ire- land to subjection to Charles II. At Dun- dalk, he had no sooner summoned the place, than the garrison mutinied against their goveimor. Monk, and compelled him to surrender without firing a shot. Tredah and several other places were taken with comparatively small trouble and loss ; and Ormond now proposed, after giving his troops necessary repose, to advance to the siege of Dublin. Could he have succeeded in that important point, it is very possi- ble that Ireland would have wholly been lost to the parliament ; for, considering the enthusiastic nature of the Irish people, it is highly probable the appearance of the young king in Dublin, whither he would have proceeded immediately on the success of Ormond, would have united the whole Irish people in defence of their king against the puritans, and their country against usurpers. But a change had come over the spirit of things. Cromwell was now more potent in England than the parliament whose tool he had seemed to be ; an though England presented abundant labour and no little danger, general Cromwell grudged Waller and Lambert the glory, which lioth aspired to, of conquering Ireland, in the character of its lord-lieutenant. With his usual art, he procured his own nomination ; and, with his usual promptitude and energy, he no sooner received his appointment than he prepared to fulfil his task. He immedi- ately sent over a strong reinforcement of both horse and foot to colonel Jones, in Dublin. Never was reinforcement sent at a more critically welcome moment. Or- mond, and Inchiquin, who had joined him, had actually proceeded to repair a fort close to Dublin, and luad carried forward their work very considerably towards com- pletion. Colonel Jones, who, though he was originally educated not for the army but for the law, was a gallant and energetic oflicer, had no sooner received this rein- forcement than he sallied out suddenly npon the royalists, and put them com- pletely to the rout. One thousand of them were killed ; and twice that number, with 598 CT^c Crca^ury af ©Wtorp, f(t. all tlie ammunition and munitions of tlie royal army, graced tlie trlumplial return of the colonel to Dublin. In the midst of the joy and exultation of the garrison and people of Dulilin at this success, Cromwell himself, accompanied by Ireton, arrived upon the scene. Tredab, or Drogheda, a strong and well-fort ifled towii near Dublin, was garrisoned for the king by three thou- sand men, principally English, under the command of sir Arthur Aston, an able and experienced officer. Thither Cromwell hastened, battered a breach in the wall, and led the way in person to an assault. Though the parliamentary soldierj- of Eng- land, with Cromwell and the scarcely less ter- rible Ireton at their head, sword in hand, were not the men to be easily repelled, the garrison of Tredah showed that they were ' English too ; ' for the assailants were twice beaten back with great carnage. A third assault was more successful, and partly in implacable rage at having been even temporarily held in check, and partly as the surest way to deter other places from venturing to resist his formidable power, Cromwell, to his eternal disgrace, gave the fatal word 'No quarter ; ' and so deter- mined was he in this barbarous resolution, that even a wretched handful of men who were spared in the carnage, were, on the fact becoming known to Cromwell, imme- diately put to the sword. The excuse that Cromwell made for this barbarity, so tho- roughly disgraceful to the soldierly charac- ter, was his desire to avenge the shocking cruelties of the massacre. Professing so much religious feeling, even that motive would scarcely have palliated his cruelty ; but the excuse was as ill-founded as the mea- sure was ruffianly, for the garrison were not Irishmen stained with the horrible guilt of the ever-execrable massacre, but, as Crom- well well knew, Englishmen, true alike to tlieir monarch, theirfaith,and their country. Having thus barbarously destroyed tlie entire garrison of Tredah, with the excep- tion of one solitary soldier, whose life was merely spared that he might carry through the country the tale of the prowess and remorselesness of the English general, Cromwell advanced upon Wexford. Here he had the same success, and showed the same murderous severity as at Tredah ; and in less than a year from his landing in Ireland he was in possession of all its chief towns and fortresses, and had driven both English royalists and Irish rebels to such straits, that no fewer than 40,000 withdrew from the island altogether. But Scotland now attracted the ambition of Cromwell; and having looked well to the garrisoning of the principal towns, and sent a vast number of the inhabitants, and especially young people, of both sexes, to the West Indies as slaves, he left the go- vernment of Ireland to Ireton, upon whom al.so devolved the task of finishing the sul)- jection of the country. Ireton, who was both a stout soldier and an accomplished officer, followed the parting advice and in- structions of Cromwell to the very letter. With a well-disciplined and well-supplied army of 30,000 men, he ruled the country with an iron and unfaltering hand. Wher- ever the rebels appeared in force, there he was sure to meet them ; and wherever he met, there lie also defeated them. This war was almost literally without an exception against the native Irish, for the English royalists had departed before Cromwell committed the lord-lieutenancy to Ireton. The latter, therefore, was probably quite sincere, however otherwise blameworthy, when he alleged, as the cause of his inflex- ible severity to the prisoners he took in his various battles and skirmishes, his deter- min.ation to take full vengeance for the massacre of the protestants. And however much we may pity the fate of those pri- soners, many of whom, in all human pro- bability, had no kind of concern in the massacre, it is Impossible not to see in the cruelty of Ireton a fearful consequence of the original crime of the Irish themselves. There was one prisoner, however, for whose death, or even for the ignominious manner of it, the most sincere and earnest hater of severity could scarcely find a tear. The faithless, selfish, and black-hearted Phelim O'Neill, the real author of the worst atrocities of the rebellion, was at length taken prisoner ; and If ever the gibbet was rightfully employed in taking away human life, it was most certainly so on this occa- sion. As far as his means had permitted him, this man, who was in every sense of the word a mere bandit, caring little for creed and less for countrj', and intent solely upon his own aggrandisement, had rivalled Nero and all the worst tyrants and mis- creants of antiquity. That he at one time contemplated the possibility of making himself king of Ireland, his whole conduct during the stay of the nuncio Rinuccini goes strongly to show ; and however great the horrors inflicted upon Ireland by Crom- well, whose name to this day is the by- word of terror throughout the island, that unhappy country was at least fortunate in being reconquered by even a Cromwell, instead of falling under the awful dictator- ship of an O'Neill. The only town of any great strength or importance that had now not yielded to the English was Limerick. Against this town Ireton led his men with his usual success. A fierce resistance was made to him, and when he at length took it by assault, he took a no less fierce reveuge. But here it was ordained that both his success and his cruelty should terminate. The crowded state of the place and the scarcity of pro- visions had generated one of those fevers so common in Ireland, which are as infec- tious as the plague of the East, and nearly as fatal. Ireton had scarcely stilled the tumult and excitement inseparable from the taking of a besieged to'wn, when he was attacked by this fever; and as he was already very much weakened by fatigues and exposure, it very speedily proved fatal. Ireton was succeeded In the lieutenancy by Ludlow. He drove the native Irish, almost without exception, intoConnaught; and so completely was the Irish cause a lost one, that Clanricarde, who had succeeded O'Neill as its chief hope and champion, lost €;f)e ?l&t^tori) at Ertlautf. 599 all heart and confldeiiee, made his pi-'iice with parliament, and was allowed to find a shelter in England, where he resided in peace until his death. UiuUt Ludlow and Henry Cromwell, Ireland, although in an awful state, as the consequence of so many years' continuance of all the ravages and neglect attendant on civil war, gradually improved. On the restoration of Charles II., the duke of Orniond, who was con- demned to death at the same time as O'Neill, but .spared and allowed to retire to France, returned to Ireland as lord-lieuten- ant. Though brave and accomplished as a military man, Ormond, unlike soldiers in general, set a due value upon the more peaceable arts, and he wisely considered that the best way to insure the peace and the obedience of a people is to encourage commerce and manufactures among them. .\nd, accordingly, he exerted himself to promote the immigration of English and foreign artisans, and established linen and woollen factories in Clonmel, Carrick, and other towns. In the flrst-named of these lie established, also, a manufactory of that most beautiful of all the materials of ladies' dress which is known by the name of pop- lin, an article of commerce from which Ireland, for many years after she had for- gotten the very name of the benefactor to whom she owed its possession, derived an immense annual income. The duke of Ormond continued to be lord-lieutenant of Ireland during the whole of the reign of Charles II. ; and the im- provement of the country was proportionate to his great and well-directed efforts to that end. On the accession of James II., that monarch, who •svas extremely anxious to HI] all the offices of that country with zealous catholics, as though he foresaw that it would one day be the last spot of his do- minions upon which he could, with even a chance of success, attempt to defend his crown, removed the duke ; but Ireland still continued steadily to inipnive in wealth, morals, and comfort, until the abdication of James once more involved that ill-fated country in warfare. Aided by Louis XIV., James led a strong force to Ireland, where he lauded, at Kinsale, on the 17th of March HiSO. The earl of Tyrconuel, whom he had himself made lord-lieutenant, escorted him 1 Dublin, where he was received with every demonstration of loyalty and respect l)y the catholic clergy and people, theformernieet- ing him at some distance from the city in their full clerical attire. But his whole conduct while in the country was arbitrary and mischievous in the extreme. As if the country had not already suffered long and severely enough from religious differen- ces, he called them into fierce and active life again, by arbitrarily dismissing from the parliament the whole of the Protes- tant members. Having thus done what was most calculated to embitter men's minds, and make any disputes that might occur between men of the opposite faiths dcsjierate and fatal, he next proceeded to make it yuite certain that of such disputes there should be no scarcity. Whatever might^e the original sius of tbe act of settlement, by which all the real property tenures of the Island were fixed, men's minds were now accustomed to consider that settlement as final and indefeasible. Lands and tenements had changed owners again and again since the passing of that act. To take the land from persons who had paid for it merely because the origi- nal holders held under that act, was not merely arbitrary but dishonest; and h) the spirit which dictated such a course wo see a spirit not less detestable than that of any of the agrarian theorists, wlio have from time to time varied the vagaries of mad or dishonest political speculators by gravely proposing that lands, which during many centuries have been in a state of improvement, should be taken from those whose toll, expense, and skill— or those of their ancestors — have made them worth something, and given them to those who have done nothing towards their improve- ment ; for no better reason than that of allowing them, in due course of neglect, to relapse into their original condition of swamp and heath, with their Inevitable concomitants, fever and famine. Kven here James did not halt in his ingenious efforts for deteriorating the condition of the coun- try to which he had appealed for shelter and aid. Having unsettled men's mindsby a point- ed and insulting exclusion of men of Pro- testant faith and profession from parlia- ment, and having literally robbed others of their property ; having done all this, James now proceeded to debase the coin ; a mea- sure destructive of trade and confidence, of private enterprise and of public credit, wherever it is ventured upon. To tamper with the coin of a country, to however tri- fling an extent, is to do that country an in jury which must be great, but of which no human sagacity and skill can enable any one to say what will be the whole extent. But James did not merely tamper with the coin of Ireland ; he debased it in a manner so wholesale and so shameless, that one might almost suppose that he foresaw that he would ultimately be driven from Ireland by the son-in-law who had already driven him from England. Harsh as this censure may sound, it will not seem too harsh to our readers, when tliey are told that James caused several pieces of brass artillery to be melted down and coined. The utmost value of each of these coins was sixpence, but the current value given to them by the preposterously dishonest order of James was five pounds I Nothing could have been more impolitic than this varied and persevering injustice to his Irish subjects : by it James not only sharpened the zeal of the protestants, and made them more than ever willing to die, to the very last man, rather than live under his rule, but it also alienated many of tlie catholics, and considerably abated the con- fidence and zeal of still more. That he would ever, under any circumstances, have Kucce( ded in recovering England by means of Ireland, (jr even in holding the latter as an independent kingdom, no one who ap- preciates the superiority of William 111. eoo (!ri)c Crra^ttrji of ?Utdtori?, &c. can for a moiiiciit siii>ihisc. But it is by IK) im-ans so coiiaiii tlmt ,l:iiiu's woiilil imt, l>v wiser, iiioiT U'liiciit, ami more just cun- rt'uct, have lioU\ out iinicli Idiipor. and liavo (limlly retired fnuii Ireland under better oirounistances, and on terms far more ad- vantac;eous to himself. In the province of Xllrter, where nearly the whole iioi'ulatioii were traders and Pro- testants, and where viTy much of the real property tenure was affected by the act of settlement, the tyranny of James aroused a spirit of the most determined resistance. The kincr, obstinate in his resolutions and implacable in his resentments, looked upon the natural dislike of his subjects to a wuolesale destruction of both their poli- tical liberty and their private property, as nothing less than treason against his autho- rity ; and made war upon them as fiercely as thoutrh they had no more right or title to their land than the meanest of the fierce mercenaries by whom he was accompanied. Derry, commanded by the famous protes- tant clergyman, George Walker, closed her gates against him ; and to the steady bravery with which, under circumstances of superhuman constancy, that city was held out against him, as more particularly described in the History of England, it was mainly owing that he was so early driven from the island. Inniskillen resisted him with success; Derry, with her clerical general and her army of 'prentice boys, nobly made good her war-cry of ' no surrender ; ' and at length on the 30th of June 1690, after a little more than fifteen months of tyranny, so senseless that one might almost suppose him to have laboured during the whole of that time under a judicial blindness, the famous battle of the Boyue drove him for ever into that obscurity for which, as con- cerned the happiness of mankind, he was, in spite of many really good qualities of both head and heart, alone fitted. Even the departure of James did not restore peace to this truly unfortunate country; for though catholics as well as Protestants had deeply suffered under his arbitrary rule, the former preferred any other fate to that of having for their mo- narch so distinguished a champion of pro- testantism as the victorious "WiUiam. Lime- rick, especially, made a stout and able re- sistance. William in person laid siege to that citv, and was effectually repulsed, and compelled to retreat ; and his retreat was made the more difficult by his rear being encumbered with the protestant population of that part of the country, who, despoiled of their property, and fearing to trust to the mercy of their catholic brethren even for their lives, followed the army with piteous cries for that relief which it was utterly impossible to afford them. The affairs of England now requiring ■William's presence, he gave up the com- mand of the army to Gincle, an able gene- ral. He defeated the Irish and French at Aughrira, and when the defeated troops took refuge in Limerick, he at once laid siege to it. But the cause of the fugitive James was now at so low an ebb, that even i,..^ ...v'St enthusl.i.erty instead of a crown. The 9th of December, 1792, was appointed for the general muster of these guards; but go- vernment interfered with their proceedings, and the muster never took place. But although the progress of insurrection was stayed for a time, the spirit of disaffec- tion only lay dormant till a more favourable opportunity should offer for displaying its activity. At length, however, an arrange- ment was made between the ringleaders and the French government, that an ar- mament should be sent iu the winter of 1796-97, with whom the Irish insurgents would be ready to cooperate. Accordingly the invading fieet anchored in Bantry Bay, on the 24th of December 1796; but as the general and a great part of the troops were on board ships that had not arrived, the admiral, after waiting lor him a few days, returned to Brest ; having previously as- certained, however, that the country was in a better state of defence, and that the population was less disaffected to the Eng- lish government, than the French directory had reason to suppose. . In May 1797, a proclamation was issued, declaring the civil power Inadequate to quell the insurrection, and ordering the niilitaiT to act upon the responsibility of their own officers. Many severities were consequently practised ; and the United /rish7neri, perceiving that their only chance of success was by assuming the appearance of being reduced to obedience, they con- ducted their operations in a more secret manner, discontinuing their meetings, and putting on the semblance of loyalty with such consummate art, that, the government being deceived by these appearances, the administration of justice was again, in about three months from the date of the proclamation, committed to the civil power. The organisation of the United Irishmen, however, had been going on all the time in a manner the most secret and effectual. Secretaries,delegates, committees, and even an executive directory, were respectively engaged in furnishing supplies and arrang- ing the materials necessary for carrying out their plans; and in the spring of 1797, the 3F 602 ^\)t (Errajfiiry of fljtiStnn), &c. ] Irish niiion was pxtonstineiii-i' fr.mi spirituous liquors Was sIr.iiiKly ri'Ci.ninien.lrd— for the two- fold reason of inipairinj,' the revenue, and of guarding against intoxication, lest the secrets of tiie society should be incautiously divulged to the agents of government. Those who thought they knew the i-linracter of tlie lower l:ish would not li.ive believed that any ni. dive would Induce I hem to follow this advice; but it was so generally and faithfully obeyed, that drunkenness among the Dnited Irishmen became a compar- atively rare occurrence. The members were cautioned against purchasing the quit-rents of the crown, as the bargains would not be valid in case of a change in the govern- ment ; and the taking of bank notes was also to be especially avoided. These things indicated an approaching revolution, and to effect it they looked with intense anxiety to France for military aid. This was readily promised thera ; and preparations for the invasion of Ireland were made at Brest and in the Texel ; but lord Duncan's victory off Camperdown rendered the latter abortive, while that at Brest met with unexpected delays. By this time the number of inen sworn into the conspiracy amounted nearly to half a million, and plans were forined for tlie simultaneous rising of this body ; their plans were, however, defeated by the vigi- lance of the ministry, and some of their most influential leaders arrested. In March 1789, government issued a proclamation for the immediate suppression of the disaffec- tion and disorders in Ireland ; while gene- ral Abercrorabie, at the head of the forces, marched into the most di-sturbed districts, not, however, till the insurrection had risen to a most alarming height. Vigorous mea- sures were now taken ; and general Lake, wlio succeeded Abercrombie in the com- mand of the army, proclaimed martial law, and eventually crushed the rebellion in the memorable conflict at Vinegar-hill. But it is needless to proceed : for the scenes wliich followed, and the affairs of Ireland generally, are so bound up with those of England from tliis period, that the reader will find the material points already succinctly given. That we may not be subject to the charge of taking a one-sided view of Irish grievances, we sh.all ijuotea few rcninrks on the state of Ireland before the Union by an nlile poimhir writer, who in discussiny- p(i|itical queslious is never justly charged with any lack of liberal sentiments. ' In truth, this independence was ap- parent only. The wretched state of the elective franchise in Ireland was totally inciinsistent witti anything like real in- depciideiicc ; and so venal was the Irish parliament, that any minister, how un- popular soever, had no difficulty in securing a majority in that assembly. Hence the anticipations in which the more sanguine Irish patriots had indulged were destined soon to experience a most mortifying disap- pointment; and tills, and thehopes inspired by the French revolution, terminated in the rebellion of 1798, which was not suppressed without a repetition of the former scenes of devastation and bloodshed. ' The British government at length wise- ly determined to effect a legislative union between Great Britain and Ireland, and to supiiress the separate legislature of the latter. This measure, notwithstanding a strenuous opposition, was happily carried, and took effect from the 1st of January 1801. And, unless it were resolved or wished to put an end to ail political con- nection between the two countries, no- thing could be more inexpedient and ab- surd than the existence of a separate inde- pendent legislature for Ireland. Perpetual jealousies could not have failed to arise between it and the legislature of Great Britain, which must necessarily in t!ie end liave led to estrangement, .and probably separation. A legislative union was tlie only means of obviating these and other sources of mischief ; its repeal would make Ireland a theatre for all sorts of projects and intrigues, audit would be suretobefol- lowed, at no distant period, by the dismem- berment of the empire.'— M'Ciilloch's Diet.* * See also for a masterly examioation of the pait history, the present condition, and future prospects of the Irish nation, * Sketches of Irish History and Character,' by Goldwin Smith, M..\., Regius Professor of Modern History in the Uni- versity of Oxford. THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, CHAPTER I. TnE Scots appear to have been descended from till' Britons of the south, or from the (ialedoiiians, both of Celtic origin, who be- ing pressed forward by new colonies from Gaul, till they came to the western shores of Britain, there took shipping and passed over to Ireland, about a century before the Christian era. In their new abode. It is said, they obtained the name of Scuyts, or Wanderers ; from which the modern term Scots is supposed to be derived. About A. D. 320, they returned to Britain, or at least a large colony of them, and settled on the western coasts of Caledonia, whence they had formerly emigrated, and in a few years after we find them associated with the Picts in their expeditions against the Roman province of South Britain. The modern inhabitants of Scotland are divided into Highlanders and Lowlanders ; but the general name of both is Scots. In the year 81, the Romans, under Agri- cola, carried their arms into the northern Iiarts of Britain, which they found possessed by the Caledonians, a fierce and warlike people; and having repulsed, rather than conquered them, they erected a strong wall, or line efforts, between the friths of Forth and Clyde, which served as the northern boundary of their empire. In 121, Adrian, on account of the difficulty of defending such a distant frontier, built a second wall much more southward, which extended from Kewcastle to Carlisle. However, the coun- try between the two walls was alternately under the dominion of the Romans and the Caledonians. In the reign of Antoninus Pius, the pro- prtetor Lolllus Urbicus drove the Scots far to the northward, and repaired the chain of forts built by Agricola, which lay be- tween the Carrou on the frith of Forth and Duuglass on the Clyde. However, after the death of Antoninus, Commodus having recalled Calpurnlus Agricola, an able commander, who kept the Scots In awe, a more dangerous war broke out than had ever been experienced by the Romans ill that quarter. The Scots having passed the wall, put all the Romans they could meet with to the sword ; but they were soon repulsed by Ulpius Marcellus, a ge- neral of consummate abilities, whom Com- modus sent into the island. In a short time the tyrant also recalled this able com- mander. After his departure the Roman discipline suffered a total relaxation ; the soldiery grew mutinous, and great disorder ensued : but these were all happily removed by the arrival of Clodius Albinus, who pos- sessed great skill and experience in mili- tary affairs. His presence for some time restrained the Scots, but a civil wai- break- ing out between him and Sevems, Albinus crossed over to the continent with the greatest part of the Roman forces in Bri- tain ; and meeting his antagonist at Lyons a dreadful battle ensued, in which Albinus was utterly defeated. The withdrawal of the Roman troops gave encouragement to the Scots to renew their insurrection, which they did with such success that the emperor became ap- prehensive of losing the whole island, on which he determined to take the field against them in person. The army he col- lected on this occasion was far more nu- merous than any the Romans had ever sent into Britain ; and it is asserted that in re-conquering Scotland he lost no less than 50,000 men. On his return from the northern extremity of the island he built much stronger fortifications to secure the frontiers than had ever been done before, and which in some places coincided with Adrian's wall, but extended farther at each end. But, In the meantime, the Scots, provoked by the brutality of the emperor's son Caracalla, whom he had left regent in his absence, again took arms ; on which Severus put himself at the head of his legions, with a determination, as he said, of extirpating the whole nation. But his death, which happened soon after, put a stop to the execution of a threat so dire- ful ; and we Dud that his son Caracalla ratified the peace with the Scots. At this period Scotl.and was governed by Donald I., who is said to have been its first Chris- tian king. He died A. D. 216. From the reign of Donald I. to that of Eugene I. in 357, during which time eleven kings filled the throne, no Important event occurs for which we have authentic history ; * though we are told that for the great aid afforded by one of the Scottish kings, named Fin- cormachus, to the Britons, in their contest with the Romans, Westmoreland and Cum- berland were ceded to Scotland. In the reign of Eugene I. we read that the Ro- man and Pictish forces were united against the Scots. The Picts were commanded by their king, named Hargust; and the Ro- mans by Maximus, who murdered Valen- tiniau III., and afterwards assumed the * It must be admitted that no little uncertainty liangs over the history of Scotland generally for the first nine or ten centuries of the Christian era. An examination of the reasons for which each particular event should be accepted or rejected would need greater space than the present sketch can admit. But the application of the test (viz. the existence or absence of contemporary historians) which has been already applied to the early history of Greece and Rome will enable the reader in many cases to come to a definite oonclusi( ^-r. 606 ordered tlio barons to appear before him itt Lanark, where he had provided an armed host to take such of them into custody as ho knew to be notorious ofTenders, and on the rharL'e< luMUi.' substantiated, tliey were com- relled to niak.- restitution, or were puuished in proportion to the magnitude ot tli( n offences. In this reign the Danes, who had previously been makiuK attempts to invade England, landed ftt Montrose, and '^njl waste the country around. Kenneth, tlnd- insT that they were making rapid progress in" his kinffdom, and were then besieging Perth, resolved to give them battle. Ho is =aid to have offered ten pounds in silver or the value of it in land, for the heaa of every Dane which should be brought to liim ; and an iinmuuity from all taxes to the soldiers who served in his army, pro- vided they should be victorious ; but; not- withstanding the utmost efforts of the Scots, their enemies fought so desper.ately, that Kenneth's army must have been to- tally defeated, had not the fugitives been stopped by a yeoman of the name of Hay, and his retainers,whowere only armed witli rustic weapons. The flght was now renewed with such violence on the part of the Scots that the Danes were utterly defeated; and after the battle the king rewarded Hay with the barony of Errol, in the carse of Gowrle, ennobled his family, and gave them an armorial bearing alluding to the rustic weapons with which they had achieved this illustrious exploit. Kenneth, at length, in 994, met his death by murder, at the instigation of a lady named Fenella, whose son he had caused to be put to death. The throne wasthen seized by ausurper, named Constantine ; who, being killed in battle after a reign of a year and a half, was succeeded by Grime, the grandson of king Duffus; and he again was defeated and killed bv Malcolm, the son of Kenneth, the lawful heir of the Scottish throne. Malcolm formed a strict alliance with the king of England, and proved so suc- cessful against the Danes in that country that Sweyn, their king, resolved to direct his whole force against him by an invasion of Scotland. In conjunction with Duncan, prince of Cumberland, who on this occa- sion entered into an alliance with Sweyn Malcolm sustained a ten-ible defeat, and •was himself desperately wounded. So elated were the Danes by this victory, that they sent for their wives and children, intending to make Scotland theirfuture home. Towns and fortresses fell into their hands, and the Scots were everywhere treated as a con- duered people: but they afterwards met with a severe check, which they endea- voured to remedy by sending for reinforce- ments both from England and Norway. Their fleets soon appeared off the coast, and thev effected a landing at Bedhead in the conn ty of Angus. The castle of Brechin was first besieged ; but meeting with a stout resistance there, they laid the town and church in ashes. Malcolm, in the mean- time, was at hand with his army, and en- ramped at a place called Barr, in the netgh_ bourhood of which both parties prepared to decide the fate of Scotland. The action was Uerco and lilo.uly, but. was eventually crowned with complete suc- cess to the Scots. Sweyn was not, how- ever, so discouraged but that he sent his son Canute, afterwards king of England, and one of the greatest warriors of that age, into Scotland, with an army more powerful than any that had yet appeared ; and though the Danes were, upon the whole, successful in the great battle which followed, they were so much reduced that they willingly concluded a peace on the following terms; viz. that the Danes should immediately leave Scotland ; that as long as Malcolm and Sweyn lived, neither of them should wage war with the other, or help each other's enemies ; and that the field in which the battle was fought should be set apart and consecrated for the burial of the dead. But glorious as the warlike e.xploits of Malcolm had been, he is said to have stained the latter part of his reign with avarice and oppression ; and at the age of eighty, after having reigned thirty years, he fell by the hand of an assassin. Duncan I., a grandson of Malcolm, suc- ceeded him in 1034; he had also another grandson, the celebrated Macbeth, who in the early part of Duncan's reign signalised himself in quelling a formidable insurrec- tion but who subsequently, after having done much in expelling the Danish ma- rauders, murdered the king, and usurped his throne, to the exclusion of Malcolm, the rightful son and heir of Duncan For some time Macbeth governed with moderation, but his tyrannical nature w\is afterwards shown in almost every act. He caused Banquo, the most powerful thano in Scotland, to be treacherously murdered, and intended that his son Fleance should share the same fate, had he not made his escape to Wales. Next to Banquo the most powerful of his subjects was Macduff, the thane of Fife ; for which reason Macbeth plotted his destruction ; but on Macduff seeking refuge in England, the tyrant cru- elly put to death his wife and infant chil- dren, and sequestered his estate. The in- jured Macduff vowed revenge, and encou- raged Malcolm to attempt to dethrone the traitorous usurper. With their united forces they gave Macbeth battle; and being de- feated, he retreated to the most inacces- sible places in the Highlands, where for two years he continued to defend himself against all who dared to oppose him. In the meantime, however, Malcolm was ac- knowledged king of Scotland, and Macbeth perished in a conflict with Macduff. AD 1057.— Malcolm III. being now es- tablished on the throne, commenced his reign by rewarding Macduff for his great services, and conferred upon his family some distinguished honours. The conquest of England'' by William of Normandy in- volved Malcolm, who espoused the cause of the Saxons, in many fierce wars. Edgar Atheliuc, the heir of the Saxon line, and many of the Saxon nobles, found an asy- lum in Scotland. Malcolm married Mar- garet, the sister of the fugitive prince, who 1 is said to have introduced a degree of re- finement into her court remarkable lor srijc W^tavu o£ ^catlauif. 607 that tfme.aiid tohavecontriliuted to soften the ruiio manners of the people. Malcolm twice invaded England with success ; but; William, having collected a preat army, in his turn invaded Scotland, and compelled Malcolm to do homage for the lands which lie held within what was accounted the English territory. This was, as the reader has been elsewhere informed, an ancient feudal practice, common at the period ; though in later times it has been asserted that the Scottish monarchs held tlieir whole kingdom on this tenure. On the death of William the Conqueror, Malcolm again espoused the cause of Edgar Atheling, who had been induced to seek his assistance a second time, when William II., surnamed Rufus, ascended the English throne. After several negotiations between Malcolm, Rufus, and Edgar, it was agreed that the king of England should re- store to Malcolm all his southern posses- sions, for which he should pay the same homage he had been accustomed to do to the Conqueror; that he should restore to Malcolm twelve disputed manors, and give him likewise thirteen marks of gold yearly, besides restoring Edgar to all his English estates. William, however, afterwards re- fused to fulBI his engagements, and applied himself to the fortification of his northern boundaries, especially Carlisle, which had been destroyed by the Danes 200 years be- fore. This place lying within tlie feudal dominions of Malcolm, he complained of William's proceedings, as a breach of the late treaty. Another war was the natural consequence; and the Scottish king, with liis eldest son, was killed in attempting to take the castle of Alnwick, a.d. 1093. Though Malcolm left male heirs, yet his throne was usurped, first by his brother Donald Bane, and afterwards by Duncan, his natural son. By tlie interposition of the king of England, however, Edgar, law- ful sou of Malcolm, was placed upon the Scottish throne. After a reign distin- guished by no remarkable event, Edgar died in 1107 ; and was succeeded by his brother Alexander, surnamed the Fierce, from the impetuosity of his temper. But though impetuous, he was severely just, and rendered himself chiefly remarkable by the attention he paid to the administration of justice and the redress of wrong. A con- spiracy formed against the life of this good king was dissipated by the vigour of his measures ; and after assisting Henry I. of England in a war with the Welsh, he died in 1124. Having left no issue, Alexander was succeeded by David, liis younger bro- ther, commonly called St. David, on ac- count of his great piety and excessive libe- rality to the church and clergy. David in- terested himself in the affairs of England, espousing the cause of Maud against Ste- phen. In several engagements he was suc- cessful, but was in others defeated ; and found himself unable effectively to support the cause he had undertaken. He died in 1153, and was succeeded by Malcolm IV., a prince of a weak body and no less feeble mind, who, dying in 1165, left his crown to his brother William. In the beginning of his reign, William recovered from Henry of England the earl- dom of Northumberland, which had been relinquished by Malcolm ; but afterwards leading an army into England, and con- ducting himself with too little caution, he was made prisoner by surprise, and de- tained in captivity, till, in order to regain his liberty, he consented to declare himself a vassal of England, and to do homage for his whole kingdom. Richard Cocurde Lion, however, who succeeded Henry, remitted tlie oppressive terms, and declared Scot- land to be an independent kingdom : a mea- sure to which he was induced, partly by the injustice of the claim itself, and partly by his wish of rendering the Scots his friends, during an expedition which he w.as about to undertake into Palestine. William showed his gr.atitude for the restoration of his independence, by continuing a faithful ally of the English till his death in 1214. William was succeeded by his son Alex- ander II., a j-outh of sixteen. He took the side of the English barons in their conten- tions with John, their feeble and imprudent monarch. He was a wise and good prince, and maintained with steadiness and spirit the independency of his crown abroad, and the authority of his government at home. At his death, in 1249, lie was succeeded by his son Alexander, a child of eight years of age, who was immediately crowned at Scone as Alexander III. Having been betrothed, when an infant, to the princess Margaret of England, their nuptials were celebrated at York in 1231, and he did homage to Henry for his English possessions. Tlie latter monarch demanded homage for the kingdom of Scotland, but the young prim-e replied with spirit, that he came to York to marry the princess of England, not to treat of state affairs, and that he would not take so imjiortant a step without tlie con- currence of the n.atlonal council. One of the principal events of Alexander's reign was the battle of Largs. Haco, king of Norway, having collected a fleet of one hundred and sixty ships, sailed towards Scotland with a numerous army, A.D. 120.3, with a view to recover such of the Westei-u 1 sles as had formerly belonged to his crown, but which had been wrested from it by the Scots. He made himself master of Arran and Bute, and afterwards landed on the coast of Ayrshire. Alexander attacked him at Largs ; where, after a fierce contest, vic- tory at last declared for the Scots, and the greater part of the invading army fell either in the action or the pursuit. Haco reached the Orkneys, but soon afterwards died, as is said, of a broken heart ; and was suc- ceeded by Magnus, who, discouraged by the disaster whicli had befallen his father, yielded all hisrights to the Western Islands and the Isle of Man to the crown of Scot- land, for the sum of 4,000 marks, to be paid in four years, and a quit rent of one hun- dred marks yearly : A.D. 1266. The Norwe- gians still retained the Orkney and Shet- land Islands. From this period, Alexander was employed for .several years in maintain- ing the indeiiendence of the Scottish church against the pretensions of the pope, aiic^ 608 Cfje CrtaSuru a( ^^tStarj), &c. in restraining the enrroacliments of the clergy. His reign was a long and prosper- ous one; and his death was, in its conse- (juences, a serious calamity to Scotland. While riding in the dusk of the evening along the .so.a-coast of Fife, his horse starts ed, and he was thrown over the rock and killed on the spot. A.D. 128G.— -Alexander's children had all died before him. His daugliter Margaret had married Eric, king of Norway, and died, leaving issue one daughter, Margaret, usually called the Maiden of Norway, the now undoubted heiress of the crown of Scotland, and recognised as such by the states of the kingdom about three weeks after Alexander's death. The same conven- tion appointed a regency of six noblemen during the absence of the young i^ucen. These regents for some time acted with wisdom and unanimity; but two of them dying, dissensions arose among the remain- ing four ; and Eric, king of Norway, appre- hensive for the interests of his daughter, applied to Edward, king of England, for his assistance and protection. Edward had already formed a scheme for uniting the two kingdoms by the marriage of his eldest sou, Edward, with the queen of Scots. A treaty was entered into for this purpose ; but the Maiden of Norway unfortunately died at Orkney, on her passage to Scotland ; and the nation was struck with grief and consternation in beholding the extinction of a race of sovereigns who had distinguish- ed themselves for their bravery and wisdom, and in anticipating the miseries of a con- tested succession. The line of Alexander's descendantsbeing thus extinguished, the right of succession devolved on the descendants of David, earl of Huntingdon, third son of David I. Among these, Koljert Bruce and John Baliol ap- peared as competitors for the crown. Bruce was the son of Isabel, earl David's second daughter : Baliol, the grandson of Margaret the eldest daughter. Although the right was incontestible in Baliol, the prejudices of the people favoured Bruce : each was supported by a powerful faction ; and arms alone, it was feared, must decide the dis- pute. In order to avoid the threatened miseries of civil war, Edward I., king of England, was chosen umpire, and both parties agreed to acquiesce in his decree. This measure had nearly proved fatal to the independence of Scotland. Edward was art- ful, brave, and enterprising. The anarchy which prevailed in Scotland invited him first to seize, and then to subject the king- dom. Under tlie authority of an umpire, he summoned all the Scottish barons to Norham ; and having gained some, and intimidated others, he prevailed on all who were present, not excepting Bruce and Baliol, the competitors, to acknowledge Scotland to be a flef of the crown of England, and to swearfealty to him as their sovereign lord. Edward now demanded possession of the kingdom, that he might be able to deliver it to him whose right should be found preferable ; and such was the pusil- lanimity of the nobles, and the impatience of the competitors, that both assented to his demand ; and Gilbert d'Umpfreville, carl of Angus, was the only man who refused I to surrender the castles in his custody to \ the enemy of his country. Edward, find- ing Baliol had the best right, and was the least formidable of the two competitors, gave judgement in his favour; and Baliol once more confessed himself the vassal of England. Edward now concluded that his domi- nion was fully established in ScotUand, and i began to assume the character of master: I his new vassals, however, bore the yoke ' with impatience. Provoked by his haugh- ' tiness, the humble spiritof Baliol began to mutiny. But Edward, who had no further use for such a pageant king, forced him to resign the crown ; and attempted to seize it, as having fallen to himself by the rebellion of his vassal. Sir William Wallace, a hero and patriot, now first made his appearance, and almost singly ventured to take arms in defence of the kingdom ; but his courage, although for a time it revived the spirit of his country- men, could not save them from the power of the English king. He had lived a free man, and a free man he resolved to die ; but the season of resistance was passed. He at length fell Into Edward's hands, was arraigned at Westminster as a traitor, and an ignominious death was the reward of his unexampled bravery. Robert Bruce, the grandson of the competitor of Baliol, then came forward, to assert his own rights, and to vindicate the honour of his country. The nobles crowded to his stan- dard, and many battles were fought with the English. The Scots, though often van- quished, were not subdued : the prudent conduct of Bruce, aided by the national enthusiasm, baffled the repeated efforts of Edward ; and although the war continued, with little intermission, upwards of seventy years, Bruce and his posterity kept posses- sion of Scoiland. A.D. 1336. — Robert Bruce began to reign in 1306, and no prince was ever more in- debted to his nobles. Their valour conquered the kingdom, and placed him on the throue ; and he bestowed upon them, in return, the lands of the vanquished. Robert died in 1.329, and was succeeded by his son David. He had been an exile in France, and after- wards a prisoner in England : and being involved in continual war with Edward III. of England, had not time to attend to the internal police of the kingdom. He died without children in 1371, and was succeeded by Robert Stuart. CHAPTER II. Tlie House of Stuart. A.D. 1371.— The reign of Robert II. (the first of the House of Stuart) is replete with accounts of skirmishes and inroads, but of very little consequence in an histo- rical point of view. He died in 1390, and was succeeded by Robert III., who was a man of weak mind and sickly constitution, and very unfit to check the growing power of the martial barons. Robert died in 1406 ; and au interregnum of eighteen years took CT)e W^tovs a£ ^cotlautl. 609 place, owing to James, his successor, bL-iufe' a prisuner in England. . ,, ■, A D. 1424— Tlic English had nnjustiy de- tained the heir of the Scottish throne, but they certainly made some amends for their injustice by the care they took in his edu- cation. During his long residence in Eng- land, he had an opportunity of observing the feudal system in a more advanced state and refined from many of the imperfections which still adhered to it in his own king- dom He saw tliere nobles great, but not independent ; a king powerful, though far from absolute : he saw a regular admini- stration of government; wise laws enact- ed; and a nation flourishing and happy, because all ranks were accustomed to obey them. Full of tUese ideas, he returned to his native country, vFhich presented to hun a verv different scene. The royal autho- rity liever great, was now contemptible, by having been so long delegated to regents. The ancient patrimony and revenues of the crown were almost totally alienated. The license of many years had rendered the no- bles independent. TTniversai anarchy pre- vailed ; the weak were exposed to the op- pression of the strong ; the barbarous chief- tains ruled at pleasure,' and neither feared tlie king, nor felt for the people. James was too wise to employ open force to correct such rooted evils ; neither tlie men nor the times, would have borne it. He applied the gentler remedy of haws and statutes, tending visibly to reestablish or- der, trancLUiUity, and justice m the king- dom But at the same time that he en- deavoured to secure these blessings to the people, he discovered his intention to re- cover those possessions of which the crown had been unjustly deprived : and for that purpose obtained an act, by which he was empowered to summon such persons as had obtained crown lands during the three last reigns to produce the rights by which they held them. As this statute threatened the property of the nobles, another, which pass- ed in a subsequent parliament, aimed a dreadful blow at their power. By it the leagues and combinations which rendered the nobles so formidable to the crown were declared unlawful. James now took bolder and more decisive steps. During the sitting of parliament, he seized his cousin Murdo, duke of Albany, and his sons ; the earls of Douglas, Lenox, Angus, March, and above twenty others of the first rank, who appear- ed restless under the new statutes. To all of them, however, he was soon after re- conciled, except Albany and his sons, and Lenox. These were tried by their peers, and condemned. Their execution struck the whole order with terror ; and the for- feiture of their estates added considerably to the possessions of the crown. He seized likewise the earldoms of Buchan and Strath- ern upon different pretexts ; and that of liar fell to him by inheritance. The patience and inactivity of the nobles, while the king was proceeding so rapidly in aggrandising the crown, are amazing. The only obstruc- tion he met with was from a slight insurrec- tion, headed by the duke of Albany s young- est son, and which was soon suppressed. Encouraged by the facility witli which he had hitherto advanced, James ventured upon a measure that irritated the whole body of the nobility. The father of George Dunbar, earl of March, had taken arms against Robert IIL the king's father; but that crime had been pardoned, and his lands restored, by Robert, duke of Albany, during the confinenientof James in England. Un- der the pretext that the regent had exceed- ed his power, and that it was the preroga- tive of the king alone to pardon treason, James declared the pardon to be void. Many of the nobles and great men held lands by no other right than what they derived from grant of the two dukes of Albany. Although Dunbar was at present the only sufferer, it caused great alarm, as the precedent might be extended. Terror and discontent spread far and wide upon this discovery of the king's intentions; the common danger call- ed on the whole order to unite, and to make one bold stand, before they were stripped successively of their possessions. A conspiracy was formed against the king's life by those who had been the chief suf- ferers under the new laws, and the first in- telligence of it was brought to him while he lay in his camp before Roxburgh castle. He instantly dismissed his nobles and their vassals, in whom he could place no con- fldcnce, and retired to a monastery near Perth, were he was soon afterwards mur- dered in a most cruel manner, in 1437. James was a prince of great abilities, .and in general conducted his operations with prudence: he was beloved by the peo- ple, and hated by the nobles. His m.axims and manners were too refined for the ago and country in which he lived. He was succeeded by his son, James II., an infant. A.D. 1437.— Crichton, who had been the minister of James I., stiU held the reins of government. He did not relinquish the design of the late king for humbling the noiiiiity, but endeavoured to inspire his pupil with the same sentiments. But what James had attempted to effect slowly, and by legal means, his son and Crichton pur- sued with the impetuosity natural to Scots- men. William, the sixth earl of Douglas, was the first victim to their barbarous po- licy. He was decoyed to an interview in the castle of Edinburgh, and there mur- dered with his brother. Crichton, how- ever, gained little by this act of treachery, which rendered him universally odious. ■William, the eighth earl of Douglas, was no less powerful, and no less formidable to the crown, than his predecessor; he had united against his sovereign almost one half of his kingdom, when his credulity led him into the same snare which had been fatal to the former earl. Relying on tho king's promises, who had now attained to the years of manhood, and having obtained a safe conduct under the great seal, he ventured to meet him in Stirling castle. James urged him to dissolve that dangerous confederacy into which he had entered : the earl obstinately refused. 'If you will not,' said the enraged monarch, drawing his dagger, 'this shall;' and stabbed him to the heart. This filled the nation with 610 Clje deaslurit of W^tat^, $tt. astonlslinicnt. Tho earl's vassals ran to arms, iiianlied to Stirlinp, Inirnt tho town, and Ihreatoncd to boslcire the castle. An aoconiniodatlon, however, ensned ; on what terms Is not known; but tho king's jea- lousy, and the new earl's power and resent- ment, urevented it from being of long con- tinuance. Both took the Held at the head of their armies, and met near Abercorn. That of the earl, conijiosed chiefly of bor- derers, was far superior to the king's both In number and In valour; and a single bat- tle must, in all probability, have decided whether the house of Stuart or of Douglas was henceforth to possess the throne of Scotland. But as his troops were impa- tiently expecting the signal to engage, the earl ordered them to retire to their camp. His principal officers, now convinced of his want of genius and cour.age, deserted him ; and he was soon after driven out of the kingdom, and obliged to depend for his sub- sistence on the friendship of the king of England. The ruin of this great family, which had 60 long rivalled and overawed the crown, secured the king for some time from oppo- sition, and the royal authority remained un- controlled, and almost absolute. James did not suffer this favourable interval to pass unimproved : he procured the consent of parliament to laws more advantageous to the prerogative, and more subversive of the privileges of the aristocracy, than were ever obtained by any former or subseyuent mo- narch of Scotland. During the remainder of his reign, this prince pursued the plan which he had be- gun with the utmost vigour; and had not a sudden death, occasioned by the splinter of a cannon which burst near him at the siege of Roxburgh, prevented his progress, he wanted neither genius nor courage to per- fect it ; and Scotland might, in all probabi- lity, have been the first kingdom in Europe wliich would have seen the subversion of the feudal system. A.D. 1460.— James III. succeeded his fa^ ther in 1460, and discovered no less eager- ness than his father, or grandfather, to humble the nobility: but, far inferior to either of them in abilities and address, he adopted apian extremely impolitic ; and his reign was disastrous, as well as his end tra- gical. James feared and hated his nobles ; he kept them at an unusual distance ; and bestowed every mark of confidence and af- fection upon a few mean persons. Shut up •with these in his castle of Stirling, he sel- dom appeared in public, and amused him- self in architecture, music, and other arts, which were then little esteemed. The no- bles resented this conduct in the king ; and combinations, secret intrigues with Eng- land, and all the usual preparations for civil war, were the effects of their resent- ment. Alexander, duke of Albany, and John, earl of Mar, the king's brothers— two young men of turbulent and ambitious spirits, and Incensed against James, who treated tUem with great coldness— entered deeply into all their cabals. The king de tected their designs before they were ripe for execution ; and seizing his two brothers. committed the duke of Albany to Edin- burgh castle. The earl of Mar, having re- monstrated with too much boldness, it Is said, was murdered by the king's com- mand. Albany, apprehensive of the same fate, made his escape out of the castle, and reached France. James's attachment to favourites ren- dering him every day more odious to his nobles, soon inspired Albany witli nioream- bitious and criminal tlioughts. He con- cluded a treaty with Edward IV. of Eng- l.and, in which he assumed the name of Alexander, king of Scots; and, in return for the assistance which was jiromiscd him towards dethroning his brother, he bound himself, as soon as he was jnit m iH)H>es- sion of the kingdom, to swe;ir tcalty and do homage to the English monarch, to re- nounce the ancient alliance with France, to contract a new one with England, and to surrender some of the strongest castles and most valuable counties in Scotland. The aid which the duke bo basely pur- chased at the price of his own honour and the Independence of his countr)-, was punc- tually granted him ; and Richard duke of j Gloucester, with a powerful army, conduct- ed him towards Scotland. The danger of a foreign invasion soon induced James to ask the assistance of those nobles whom he had so long treated with contempt. Tlicy ex- pressed their readiness to stand forward in defence of their king and country against all invaders, and took the field at the head of a large army of their followers ; but it was evident at the same time that they were animated by a stronger desire to redress their own grievances than to annoy the enemy, and with a fixed determination of punishing those favourites whose inso- lence had become intolerable. This reso- lution they executed in the camp near Lau- der. Having previously concerted their plan, the earls of Angus, Huntle.v, and Lau- der, followed by almost all the barons of note in thearmy,forcifcly entered the apart- ments of the king, seized every one therein, except Ramsa3% who had taken shelter in his arms, and hanged them immediately over a bridge. Among the most remark- able of those who had engrossed the king's favour, were Cochran, a mason; Hommil, a tailor; Leonard, a smith ; Rogers, a mu- sician ; and Torlifan, a fencing-master. Having no reason to confide in an array so little under his command, James dis- missed it, and shut himself up in the castle of Edinburgh. At length Albany made his peace with the king, but it was not of long duration ; for James abandoned himself once more to his favourites ; and Albany, again disgusted, retired to his castle at Dimbar, and renewed his former confede- racy with Edward. The death of Edward, soon after, blasted his hopes of reigning in Scotland. He fled flrst to England, and then to France, and from that time he took no part in the affairs of his native country. Grown fonder of retirement than ever, and sunk into indolence or superstition, James suffered his whole authority to de- volve upon his favourites. The nobles flew Cfie W^tarv! Iff ^c0tlanTf. 611 tonrins, and nliliged or rPi'suaded the duke of Ivotlis.-iy, tlie king's eldest son, a yniuli of llfr<'iii,"ln si'tlilmself at their liead; ami they tlicn ninnly declared their intent inn of dc'iiriving James of the crown. Kousrd by this danger, the king quitted his retire- nicnt, took the field, and encountered them at Knnnoi-klmrn ; hut his army was soon routi'd, and he was slain in the pursuit. Sus|iicinn, indolence, immoderate attach- imnt to favourites, and all the vices of a foctile mind, are visible in his whole C(iniUu-t. Jlariy of those who acted against James, being fearful of the terrors of excommuni- cation for having imbrued their hands in the blood of their king, endeavoured to atone for the treatment of the father by their loyalty and duty towards the son. They placed him instantly on the throne ; and the whole kingdom soon united in ac- knowledging his authority. A.D. 1488.— James IV. ascended the Scot- tish throne in the year 1488. He was na- turally generous and brave : loved magnifi- cence, and delighted in arms. Indeed, so well suited was he for those over whom he ruled, that during his reign the ancient enmity lietwieii the king and the nobles scemedalninst to have entirely ceased. He envied not their splendour, because it con- tributed to the ornament of his court; and their power he considered as the se- curity of his kingdom, not as an object of terror to himself. This confidence on his part met with duty and affection on theirs; and in his war with England he experienced how much a king beloved by Ills nobles is able to perforin. Through the ardour of his courage, rather than from any prospect of national advantage, he de- clared war against England, and was fol- lowed by as gallant an army as ever any of his ancestors had led into England. The battle of Flodden Field, [see 'Esglasd,' p. 297] gained by the earl of Surrey over James, and in which he lost his life, serv- ed to humble tlie aristocracy of Scotland more than all the premeditated attacks of the preceding kings. Twelve earls, thirteen lords, five eldest sons of noblemen, and a great number of barons, fell with the king. A.D. 1517. -James V. succeeded his father when only one year old. The ofilce of re- gent was conferred upon his cousin, the duke of Albany, a man of genius and en- terprise, a native of France. A stranger to the manners, the laws, and the language of the people over whom he was called to rule, he acted rather as a viceroy of the French king, than the governor of Scotland. When James had attained his thirteenth year, Albany retired to Prance ; and the nobles agreed that the king should assume the government, with the assistance of eight councillors, among whom was the earl of Angus, who soon got the whole authority into his own hands. James was continually surrounded by the earl's spies and confi- dants, who closely watched his motions ; he, however, eluded all their vigilance, and escaping from Falkland, fled to the castle of Stirling, the residence of the queen, his mother, and the only place of strength in the kingdom which was not in tlie hands of the Douglnsse.s. The nobles soon appear- rd at Stirling ; and the court of James was pivscntiy tilled by persons of the first dis- tinctiiin. In a iiarlinmcnt held soon after, Angus and his adherents were attainted, and he was at length obliged to fly to Eng- land for refuge. James had now not only the name, but the authority of aking. His understanding was good, and his person graceful ; but his education had been neglected. He, how- ever, formed apian for humbling the power of the nobles, more profound and more systematic than any of his predecessors. The Scottish luonarchs had the sole right of nomination to vacant bishoprics and ab- beys; and James naturally concluded, that men who expected preferment from his fa- vour would be willing to merit it by pro- moting his designs. Happily for him, the nobles had not yet recovered the blow which fell on their order at Flodden, and James treated them with coldness and reserve. Those ofllces which, from long possession, they considered as appropriated to their order, were bestowed on ecclesiastics, who alone possessed his confidence, together with a few gentlemen of inferior rank. These ministers were chosen with judge- ment ; and cardinal Beaton was a man of superior genius. However, a false step which they took presented to the nobles an advantage which they did not fail to improve. Henry VIII. of England, uncle to James, proposed a personal interview with him at York, with a view to induce him to throw ofl; his allegiance to the pope; and James accepted the invitation. By the persuasion of his ministers, however, James broke his agreement with Henry, who, in expectation of meeting him, had already come to York ; and that haughty monarch resented the affront, by declaring war against Scotland. James was now obliged to have recourse to his nobles for the defence of his dominions. At his command they assembled their fol- lowers, it is true ; but with the same dispo- sitions which had animated their ancestors in the reign of James III. The king, per- ceiving their designs, disbanded the army, and returned into the heart of the kingdom. Impatience, indignation, and resentment against the nobles filled his bosom by turns. He became pensive, sullen, and re- tired. In order to revive his spirits, an in- road on the western border was concerted by his ministers, who prevailed upon the barons in the neighbouring provinces to raise as many troops as were thouglit ne- cessary, and to enter England. But nothing could remove the king's aversion to his no- bility, or diminish his jealousy of their power. He would not even trust them with the command of the forces which they had assembled, but appointed Oliver Sin- clair, his favourite, to that post. As might have been foreseen, Sinclair no sooner ap- ired to take upon liim the dignity con- ferrcil, than a universal mutiny took place in the army. Five liiindred English, who liaijpencd to be drawn up in sight, taking advantage of this disorder, attacked the 612 (!i:^e Crra^urt? nf ?§Wtorri, ^c. Boots; when hatred to tlio king, and con- tcnii>t for liis gi'ucml, prminoi'd an cftect to wlilcli tliere is no iianilk'I in liistory. Ten Ihousand men fleil b;'fnri> an army so vuslly inf.-rior, witlunit sIrikinL.' a blow. Ali.'ut lliiny wiTc killed ; .-[Ik.vi' a lliousaud wiTi' lal est melancholy and despair succeeded to the fui'ious transports of his rage. Death relieved him from his anxiety ; but whether from the diseases of his mind, or by poi- son, is not sufficiently ascertained. It took place in December 1543. CHAPTER III. Tlie Beign of Hary.— House of Stuart. A.D. 1543.— Maut, only child of James V. and JIary of Guise, who was born only a few days before the death of her father, suc- ceeded to the crown. The situation in which he left the kingdom, and the perils to be apprehended from a lengthened regency, alarmed all ranks of men with the prospect of a turbulent and disastrous reign. Cardinal Beaton, wlio for many years bad been considered as prime minister, was the first that claimed the high dignity of re- gent ; in support of his pretensions, he pro- duced a will, which he himself had forged in the name of the late king, and, with- out any other right, instantly assumed the title of regent. He hoped, by the assistance of the clergy, the countenance of France, the connivance of the queen dowager, and the support of the whole popish faction, to hold by force what he had seized on by fraud. But Beaton had enjoyed power too i long to be a favourite of the nation. James Hamilton, earl of Arran, the next heir to the queen, was called forth, by the general voice of the nation, to take upon himself tlie high office ; and the nobles, who were assembled for that purpose, unanimously proclaimed him regent. The earl of Arran had scarcely taken possession of his new dignity, when a ne- gotiation was opened with England, which gave rise to events of the most fatal conse- quence to himself, and to the kingdom. This negotiation embraced a proposal from Henry, of the marriage of Edward, his only son, with the young queen of Scots. All those who feared the cardinal, or who de- sired a change in religion, were pleased with the idea of an alliance that would af- ford protection to the doctrine which they had embraced, as well as to their own per- Bons, against the rage of that powerful and haughty prelate. The designs which Henry had formed upon Scotland were obvious from the mar- riage which he had proposed, and he had not dexterity enough to disguise them. He demanded that the young queen should be put under his care, and the government of the kingdom placed in his hands during lier minority. The Scots parliament consented to a tre.aty of marriage and of union, but upon terms somewhat more equal. The Scots agreed to send their sovereign into England as soon as she had attained the age of ten years ; and to deliver six persons of the first rank, to be kept as liostages Ijy Henry till the queen's arrival at his court. On the side of Henry, it was agreed that the queen should continue to reside in Scotland, and himself remain excluded from any share in the government of the kingdom. • The cardinal complained loudly that the regent had betrayed the kingdom to its most inveterate enemies, and sacriflccd its honour to his own ambition : he lament- ed to see an ancient kingdom consenting to its own servitude, and descending into the ignominious station of a province ; and in one hour, the weakness or treachery of one man, surrendering everything for which the Scottish nation had stniggled and fought during so many ages. These remonstrances of the cardinal were not without effect, and the whole nation de- clared against the alliance which had been concluded. Argyll, Huntley, Bothwell, and other powerful barons, declared openly against the alliance with England. By their assist- ance the cardinal seized on the persons of the young queen and her mother. On the 25th of August, 1543, the regent ratified the treaty with Henry, and pro- claimed the cardinal, who still continued to oppose it, an enemy to his countiT- On the 3rd of September, he secretly withdrew from Edinburgh, and had an interview with the cardinal at Callandar, where he not only renounced the friendship of England, and declared for the interests of France, but also changed his sentiments concern- ing religion, and publickly renounced the doctrine of the reformers in the Francis- can church at Stirling. The cardinal was now in possession of everything his ambition could desire, and exercised all the authority of a regent, without the envy and opprobrium attached to the name. Henry VIII. was not of a temper to bear tamely the indignity with which he had been treated both by the regent and the parliament of Scotland, and determined on invading that country. The earl of Hertford had the command of the army destined for the enterprise, and land- ed it, without opposition, a few miles above Leith. He marched directly for Edinburgh, which city he entered May 3rd, 1544. After plundering the adjacent country, he set fire to both these towns; then putting his booty on board the fleet, reached the Eng- lish borders in safety. Peace followed soon after ; but cardinal Beaton had previously been murdered by the means of Norman Leslie, eldest son of the earl of Rothes, whom the cardinal had treated not only with injustice, but contempt. The prelate resided at that time in the castle of St. Andrew's, which he had forti- fied at a great expense, and, in the opinion of the age, had rendered it impregnable. His retinue was numerous, the town at his devotion, and the neighbouring couutry Cije W^tavp 0f ^tatlaxits. 613 full of his di>ppiKlcnts. In tliis sitii;ition Leslie, with fifteen others, undertoolc to surprise liis castle, and assassinate him ; aiui their success was equal to the boldness of tlie attemiit. May 20th, I54G, early in the morning, they seized on the gate of the castle, which was open for the accom- modation of the workmen who were em- ployed in finishing the fortiUcations; and iiaving placed sentries at the door of the cardinal's apartment, they awakened his domestics one by one, and turning them out of the castle, they murdered him with- out offering violence to any other person ; thereby delivering their country from a man whose pride was insupportable, and whose cruelty and cunning were great checks to the reformation. The death of Beaton was fatal to the catholic religion, and to the French interest in Scotland. The regent threatened vengeance, but the threat was as impotent as it was unwise. The death of Henry VIII., which hap- pened January 28th, 1547, blasted the hopes of the conspirators, who had been sup- ported by him both with money and pro- visions. Henry II. of France sent power- ful succours to the regent, under the com- mand of Leon Strozzi ; and the conspira- tors, after a short resistance, surrendered, with the assurance of their lives, and were sent prisoners to France. The castle, the monument of Beaton's power and vanity, was demolislied in obedience to the canon law, which dinnuiices its anathemas even against tile house in which the sacred blood of a cardinal happens to be shed, and or- dains it to be laid in ashes. Edward VI. was now king of England : and the earl of Hertford, now duke of Somerset, and protector of the king- dom, entered Scotland at the head of 18,000 men : at the same time a fleet of sixty ships appeared on the coast, to se- cond his land forces. The Scots had for some time seen this storm gathering, and were prepared for it. Their army was almost double that of the enemy, and post- ed to the greatest advantage on a rising ground above Musselburg, not far from the banks of the Esk. ConHdent of success, they attacked the English, under the duke of Somerset, near Pinkey, September 10th, 1547, who, taking advantage of their Im- petuous haste, routed them with consider- able loss The encounter in the field was not long, but the pursuit was continued for some time, and to a great distance : the three roads by which the Scots fled were strewed with spears, swords, and targets, and covered with the bodies of the slain. More than 10,000 men fell on this day, one of the most fatal Scotland had ever seen. A few were taken prisoners, and among them some persons of distinction. A.D. 1548. — The Scottish nobles falling in with the prejudices of the queen dowa- ger in favour of France, in the violence of their resentment against England, volunta- rily proposed to Henry II. of France a marriage of their young queen, only six years old, with the dauphin, eldest son of Henry II., and to send her to his court for education. Henry without hesitation ac- cepted these offers, and prepared for a vigorous defence of his new acquisition. On the 15th of June, 1548, the treaty was concluded by the parliament assembled in the camp before Haddington ; and Mary was immediately sent to France, at that time notoriimsly the most corrupt court in Europe. Here she acquired every accom- plishment that could add to her charms as a woman, and contracted many of those prejudices which occasioned her misfor- tunes as a queen. Peace was soon afterwards made witit England ; and both the British and Scot- tish nations lost power by this unhappy quarrel, while France obtained a deci- sive advantage. The reformation, however, gained ground. At this time appeared the famous John Knox, a man whose natural intrepidity of mind placed him above fear. He began hin public ministry at St. An- drew's in 1547, with that success which always accompanies a bold and popular eloquence. He was patronised by the con- spirators while they kept possession of the castle, which he made the place of his abode. At this time the queen dowager, Mary of Guise, aspired at the office of regent. She had already nearly engrossed the adminis- tration of affairs into her hands. Her de- signs were concealed with the utmost care, and advanced by address and reflnement : her brothers entered warmly into the scVieme, and supported it with all their credit at the court of France. The queen dowager visited France in 1550 ; from thence overtures were made to the regent to resign his situation in her favour, which the king of France enforced, by an artful admixture of threats and promises ; so that he was induced to relinquish his power, which he formally laid down in 1554; and the parliament raised Mary of Guise to that dignity. Thus was a woman, and a stranger, advanced to the supreme autho- rity in Scotland 1 A.D. 1558.- On the 14th of April, the marriage of the young queen took place with the dauphin Francis ; and the parlia- ment of Scotland sent eight of its members to represent their whole body at the nup- tials. In the treaty of marriage, the dau- phin was allowed to assume the title of king of Scotland as an honorary title. The French king, however, soon after insisted that the dauphin's title should be publicly recognised, and all the right appertaining to the husband of a queen should be vested in his person : upon which the Scots' par- liament (Nov. 29) passed an act confer- ring the crown matrimonial on the dauphin. The earl of Argyll, and James Stuart, prior of St. Andrew's, were appointed to carry the crown and other ensigns of royalty to the dauphin. But from this they were di- verted by the part they were called upon to act in a more interesting scene, which now began to open. The bigoted queen Mary, of England, whose religious persecutions had earned for her a still more offensive name, died irii>rity of Murray's genius ajipeared, and he was soon In a condition to take the field. Between the two armies, and on the road towards Dumbarton, lay Langside-hiU. This the regent had the pre- rautioii t-o seise, and here he waited the approach of the enemy. The encounter was fierce and desijerate : at lengtli tlie queen's army was obliged to give ground, and the rout immediately became universal. Mary witnessed Uie battle from a hill ; and when she saw the army, her last hope, thrown into irretrievable confusion, she began her flight, and never slept till she reached the abbey of Dundrennan, in Gallo- way, full sixty Scots miles from the field of battle. From thence she escaped in a fisher- man's boat to Carlisle, with about twenty attendants. This event took place on the 16th of May, 1508. Elizabeth no sooner heard that Mary had arrived in England thaii she resolved to detain her. With this view she instantly despatched lord Scrope and sir Francis KnoUys, with letters full of kindness and condolence ; but at the same time gave or- ders to prevent her escape. Mary was soon after conducted to Bolton, a seat of lord Scrope's, on the borders of Yorkshire. She was some time after, on account of a rebel- lion in her favour, removed to Coventry, a place of strength, which could not be taken without a regular siege. Weary of keeping such a prisoner as the Scots queen, Elizabeth resolved to deliver her to the regent on certain conditions. But while this affair was in negotiation, the regent was murdered by Hamilton, of Bothwellhaug'n, a person who owed his life to the regent's clemffncy. Thus ended that celebrated man, James Stuai't, natural son of James V., by lady Ersklne, and natural brother to Mary, queen of Scots. He pos- sessed personal intrepidity, militarj- skill, and Si.gacity. He was a friend to learning, zealous for the reformed religion, and li- beral to all whom he esteemed worthy of his confidence and friendship. He was long and affectionately remembered among the people by the name of the 'good regent. A. D. 1570.— Tlie earl of Lenox, father of the unfortunate Darnley, the murdered husband of Jlaiy, was elected regent on the 12th of July, 1370; and in 1371 Dum- barton castle was attacked and taken by captain Crawford ; a service of great im- portance to the regent, being the only for- tified place in the kingdom that held out for the queen. He was, however, surprised and murdered at Stirling on the 3rd of Sep- tember 1571. The earl of Mar was chosen regent lay a majority of voices, on the 6th of Septem- ber 1571 ; but he retained the situation no longer than the 29th of October 1572, when the earl of ilorton %vas elected ; the fourth who had held that dangerous office in the , space of five years. James was now in tlie twelfth year of his age. Ale.xander Ersklne had the chief direction of his education ; and under him the celebrated Buchanan acted as preceptor, asslstr Designment, which she no sooner discovered than she resolved to take Mary out of the hands of the earl of Shrewsbury, who had had the care of her fifteen years, and appointed sir Amias Paulet and sir Drue Drury to be her keepers. Soon .after this an act was passed, which rendered Mary accountable not only for her own actions, but forthose of others: in consequence of which she might forfeit her right of succession, and even her life itself. From this period Mary was treated with increased rigour; almost all her ser- vants were dismissed, and she was removed to Tutbury. Not long after, the inconsiderate affection of the English catholics towards Mary, and their implacable resentment against Eliza- beth, gave rise to a conspiracy which proved fatal to the former. Having, however, taken up this subject at considerable length in Eli- HL^t |^t)StflrB 0f ^catlanlf. C17 zabeth's reign [v. ' England,' p. 356—8], and given all the necessary particulars of Mary's trial and execution, we shall here omit the description ol those degrading, yet truly affecting scenes, thereby avoiding needless repetition ; and pass on to the next event (it importance connected with the court of Scotland ; viz. the marriage of James to the princess Ann of Denmark, which took place Nov. 24, 1589. As the prospect of succeeding to the crown of England drewnear, Jamcsthought it prudent to endeavour to gain a party in that countrs'. Edward Bruce, his ambas- sador at the court of Elizabeth, solicited her in the most earnest manner to recog- nise his title by some public deed ; but a general and evasive answer was all that James could obtain. As no impression could be made on the queen, the ambassa- dor was then ordered to sound the disposi- tion of her subjects. In this he succeeded ; and many of the highest rank gave him repeated assurances of their resolution to assert his master's right against every pre- tender. During the summer of 1600, Scotland en- joyed an unusual tranquillity : when, in the midst of this security, the king's life was exposed to the utmost danger, by a conspi- racy altogether unexpected, and almost in- explicable. The authors of it were John Ruthven, earl of Gowrie, and his brother Alexander, the sons of that earl who was beheaded in the year 1584. Ou the 5th of August, as the king, who during the hunting season resided at Falk- land, was going out to his sport early in the morning, he was accosted by Mr. Alex- ander Ruthven, who with an air of import- ance, told him, that the evening before ho had met an unknown man, of a suspicious appearance, walking alone in a by-path, near his brother's house at Perth ; and on searching him, had found under his cloak a pot filled with a great quantity of foreign gold ; that he had immediately seized both him and his treasure ; and without com- j municating the matter to any person, had kept him confined and bound in a solitary house ; and that he thought it his duty to | impart such a singular event first of all to i his majesty. James immediately suspect- ed this unknown person to be a seminary ] priest supplied with foreign gold, in order i to excite new commotions in the kingdom, | and resolved to empower the magistrates of 1 Perth to call the person before them, and ; enquire into all the circumstances of the story. Ruthven violently opposed this re- solution, and with many arguments, in- duced the king to ride directly to Perth, and | to examine the matter in person. When , within a mile of the town, Ruthven rode forward to inform his brother of the king's ; arrival, with about twenty attendants. No 1 preparations were made for his entertain- j ment: although the earl appeared pensive and embarrassed, he took great pains to | atone, by his courtesy, for the common fare j with which he treated his guest. As soon t as the king's repast was over, his attend- l ants were conducted to dinner in another room. Ruthven told him, now was the time to go to the chamber where the un- known person was kept ; and conducting the king up a staircase, and then through several apartments, the doors of which he locked behind him, led him at last into a small study, in which stood a man clad in armour, with a sword and a dagger by his side. "The king, who expected to have found one disarmed and bound, started at the sight. Ruthven snatched the dagger from the girdle of the man in armour and held it to the king's breast. ' Remember,' said he, 'how unjustly my father suffered by your command. You are now my pri- soner; submit to my disposal without re- sistance or outcry, or this dagger shall in- stantly revenge his blood.' James expos- tulated with Ruthven, entreated and fiat- tcred him. Words had no effect. Ruthven told him he must die, and attempted to bind his hands. James, unarmed as he was, scorned to submit to that indignity ; and, closing with the assassin, a fierce struggle ensued ; the man in armour stand- ing motionless all the while, and the king dragging Ruthven towards a window which was open. The king then, with a voice of terror, loudly exclaimed, ' Treason ! treason! help! I am murdered!' His attendants hoard and knew his voice, and saw at the window a hand which grasped the king's neck with violence. They fiew to his assistance ; and sir John Ramsay first entering the apartment, rushed upon Ruthven, who was still struggling with his royal master, struck him twice with his dagger, and thrust him towards the stairs, where sir Thomas Erskine and sir Hugh Herries met and killed him. Gowrie now rushed into the room, with a sword in each hand, followed by seven of his attendants well armed, and with a loud voice, threat- ened them all with instant death. Not- withstanding the inequality of numbers, they encountered the earl, and sir John Ramsay pierced Gowrie to the heart, who fell without uttering a word. His follow- ers, having received several wounds, imme- diately fled. The parliament lost no time in proceeding against the conspirators. The dead bodies of the two brothers were produced there according to law: an indictment for high treason was preferred against them ; wit- nesses were examined; and by a unanimous sentence, the punishment due to traitors was inflicted on their dead bodies. The parliament also enacted that the surname of Ruthven should be abolished. Queen Elizabethdied on the24th of March, 1604, in the seventieth year of her age, and the forty-fifth of her reign. A short time previous to her death, she declared to Cecil and the lord admiral, 'that her cousin, the king of Scots, should be her successor.' This she confirmed on her death-bed. As soon as she had breathed her last, the lords of the council proclaimed James king of England. All the intrigues carried on by foreigners in favour of the infanta, all the cabals formed within the kingdom to support the title of lady Arabella Stuart and the earl of Hertford, disapiieared in a moment. Sir Charles Percy, brother to 3c. 2 618 Clje J!DrcHiSuri» of Ht^tar^, ^(. I lie carl of Niirtlinnilierlaiul, and Thinnas s.inieivet, son of tlio i-.-irl of Worcrstir, woro (iespatcliril In ScoII.iikI with a IcIUr lo .lanu's, .-iu'iH'il by all I In' pfiTs ami iirivy cninicillors llicn in Lonilon ; inforniinj,' liim of Elizilii'ili's ilci-eaji-, and of his acct'ssion to the throne. Hi- in-cparod to set out for Londnn, and appointed the (jueen to follow hlMi within afew weeks. On the 5th of April James began hia journey with a splendid train, and entering l.onilon nn the 7th of May, took peaceable pcLsscssion of the throne of England. From this jicriod to the legislative union of the kini-'donis, Scotland declined not only in imiiortance but in wealth. Instead of enjoying any advantages by the alliance, it was considered rather as an appendage of England, than as an important part of Great Britain, and it was consequently neg- lected. Hence it became a scene of civil strife and national disturbances, rather tlian a laud united in the strong ties of mu- tual interests and reciprocal attachments. Not that this state of things commenced immediately after the accession of James to the crown of England, or even during his life; but that, perhaps, must be attributed more to the personal attention of the sove- reign, tlian to the transfer of the sove- reignty. There were seven Scottish parliaments called after the accession of James, where- in he presided by a commissioner. An act was passed in 1606 for the resto- ration of the estate of bishops ; which was followed by a great variety of laws for giv- ing proper eifect to the general principle ; and there were also many laws enacted for promoting domestic economy. After go- verning Scotland with considerable success during his occupation of the throne of Eng- land, he died on the 27th of March, 1625, and was succeeded by his son Charles I., then in th.e twenty-fifth year of his age. CHAPTER IV. From the Accessimi of Charles I. io tJie Deatli 0/ William III. During the first ten years of Charles's reign nothing occurred in Scotland calcu- lated to disturb the serenity of his rule ; but this calm was succeeded by frequent broils and contentions, arising from many causes, but chiefly originating in ecclesi- astical matters. Among many laws of a salutary tendency, they passed an act, re- serving to the crown those lands which the baronage had wrested from the church ; the clergy were thus benefited, the people were relieved, but the barons were offended. Charles, who was attached to episcopacy from sincere religious convictions, as well as from viewsof political expediency, form- ed the scheme of assimilating in all re- pects the churches in England and Scot- land. With this view he determined to introduce a liturgy, which in Scotland had never been regularly used ; and he insisted upon the reception of a set of canons abo- lishing the control over ecclesiastical mea- sures which the inferior church judicatories had been permitted to exercise. The vio- lence with which all this was resisted was carried to the most extravagant pitch : the clergy were insulted, and episcopacy was again contemplated as the engine of popery and despotism. The dissensions which soon arose in England chcrislied this state of mind : the discontented in Scotland made common cause with the disaffected in the southern part of the island : they bound themselvesby the extraordinary deed which they entitled ' the solemn league and cove- nant,' to exterminate prelacy as a corrup- tion of the Gospel ; and they took >an active part in those violent scenes which ended in the death of Charles and the erection of the commonwealth. To describe the battles which took place between royalists and roundheads, or to make comments on the hypocrisy .and faith- lessness of the times, would be to repeat that which has already found a place in this volume. We shall therefore merely ob- serve that .after the execution of Charles I., in 1648, tlie Scots proclaimed his son king, under the title of Charles II. ; and that some months after his defeat at Worcester, Scot- land was incorporated into one common- wealth with England. On the restoration of Charles II., the Scottish parliament assembled, under the earl of Middleton, the king's commissioner, on the 1st of Januai-y, 1661. He declared the king's resolution to maintain the true reformed protestant religion, as it had been established during the reigns of his father and grandfather; intimating, however, that he would restore the episcopal government, though he allowed, meanwhile, the admi- nistration of sessions, presbyteries, and sy- nods. This endeavour to establish episco- pacy was violently opposed, and led to the most cruel persecution of the Presbyteri- ans, which lasted, with more or less se- verity, during the whole of his reign. Num- bers were executed ; others were fined, im- prisoned, and tortured ; and whole tracts of the country were placed under amilitary despotism of the worst description. Driven to desperation, the Presbyterian party had several times recourse to arms, and, al- though in some cases successful, they were finally defeated and scattered at Bothwell- bridge. A.D. 1685.— On ascending the throne, James II. professed his intention to sup- port the goverinnent, in church and state, as by law established ; yet his predilection for the catholic religion was evident in his very first acts. Compliant as the Scottish parliament was in what related to their civil liberties, they were resolved to adhere to their religious principles. On this point, indeed, the people of Scotland *-ere unani- mous, and when they heard of Me landing of the prince of Orange, and read his de- claration in favour of liberty and in sup- port of law, they hailed his advent with joy. The nobles began to intrigue ; the populace, in their zeal, broke out into in- surrection against the catholics at Edin- burgh ; and all classes looked up to the prince of Orange as the deliverer of the two nations from popish dominion. Wil- liam consulted several of the Scottish no- HL^t W^tovp af ^cfltlanlf. C19 bles, clergy, and gentry, regarding the state of their country, and issued circular letters, summoning a convention at Edinburgh, on the 22nd of March 1089. When tliey met, they decided that liing James, tiy his aliuse of power, liad forfeited the rights to tlie crown ; and immediately declared the prince and princess of Orange to be king and queen of Scotland. This act, which involved such mighty consequences, was attended by a declaration of their wrongs and rights. Former insurrections, though accompanied by many mischiefs, passed away without any advantage to the nation. Though the revolution of 1689 brought with it a civil war, it was the means of strengthening the constitution, of preserving public liberty, and securing private rights. The presby- terian church was now erected on the ruins I of episcopacy ; the prerogative was re- strained to its proper functions ; and many eaiutary laws for promoting domestic econ- omy were enacted. Although the great bulk of the people was in favour of the revolution, it must not be forgotten that there was a veiy consi- derable party that remained attached to the exiled family of the Stuarts ; and it was found to be no easy matter to recimcile the Highlanders to the expulsion of their ancient race of nionarchs. Many of tliem were in an open state of rebellion. How- ever, in August 1G92, a proclamation of in- demnity had been passed to such in.sur- gents as would take the oath of allegiance to the new government on or before the last day of December. The last man to submit was Macdonald of Glencoe, and he, owing to the snows and other interruptions which he met with on the road, did not reach Inverary, the county town, in time, and the beneBt of the indemnity was there- fore strictly forfeited. William was in- formed, and fully believed, that Macdonald of Glencoe was the chief obstacle to the pacification of the Highlands, and a war- rant of milit.ary execution was procured from him against the unfortunate chief and his whole tribe. A detachment of sol- diers, one hundred and twenty in number, commanded by captain Campbell, was or- dered, on the 1st of February, to repair to Glencoe, where they were quartered for a fortnight among the inhabitants of that sequestered vale. On the evening of the 13th, orders arrived to attack the Mac- donalds while asleep at midnight, and not to suffer a man to escape their swords; an order which the soldiers obeyed with ruth- less barbarity. Thirty-eight persons, among whom were Glencoe and his wife, thus mer- cilessly perished ; the rest, alarmed by the report of musketry, escaped to the hills, and were only preserved from destruction by a tempest that added to the horrors of the night. The carnage was succeeded by rapine and desolation ; the houses were burned to the ground, and women and children, stripped naked, were left to die of cold and hunger. This horrible mas- sacre excited universal execration ; and, naturally enough, rendered the government of William odious to the Highlanders. CHAPTER, V. The Union of the two Kingdoms. William III. died in 1702 ; and the crowns of the two nations devolved on Anne, who assured the parliament that she would sup- port the government as then established. But they refused to tolerate episcopacy, and they declined to concur in adopting the pro- testant succession for the crown ; nay, they issued a declaration which intimated a pur- pose, in case of the demise of the crown, to appoint a different sovereign from whoso- ever might be the English king. The Eng- lish statesmen,fore.seeingwhatthiswas like- ly to produce, recommended the appoint- ment of commissioners to treat of a union between the two kingdoms. Instead of re- garding it as an identification of the inter- est of both kingdoms, the people generally considered it as a total surrender of tboir Independence into the hands of a powerful rival. Addresses against it were presented from all quarters, and in several places the populace rose in arms, and formed them- selves into regiments of horse and foot in order to oppose the union. Nor were the commercial part of the community, who were supposed to benefit largely by it, satis- fiedwith its terms. Notwithstanding every opposition, however, the treaty of union was ratified by both iiarliaraents, and on the 1st of May 1707, the legislative union of England and Scotland was ratified. For several years the union was unpro- ductive of those advantages which were at first expected : no new manufactures were attracted to Scotland, and commerce grew more languid than before. But by a con- siderable assimilation of the laws to those of England, the courts of justice were bet- ter regulated, and legal redress more easily obtained ; while the barbarous practice of subjecting prisoners to the torture was abolished. It was stipul.ated by the treaty that no alterations should be made in the church of Scotland ; that the commercial laws and customs should be the same iu all parts of the United Kingdom ; that the Scotch royal burghs should retain all their ancient privileges ; and that no persons should be deprived of those hereditary rights and offices which they had enjoyed by the laws of Scotland. Looking at these and other conditions of the union, it was certain that if the Scotch would abandon prejudices that ought to be obsolete, and re- solve to profit by theconnexion, they would soon have ample opportunity of so doing ; while, on the part of England, it was evi- dent that the zealous cooperation of her northern neighbour in times of war must tend to the security of the whole island, and in peace contribute to its commercial importance. Queen Anne died on the 1st of August 1714; and, under the act of set- tlement, the united crown was transferred to George I. We conceive it to be unnecessary to carry the general narrative beyond this period; the affairs of Scotland being henceforth de- tailed, in commtm with those of England, in the history of that countiT. But, in con- cluding this sketch, it appears requisite to 620 HLfft CrraiitirB nf ^^tStorg, &r. (five a brief accouut of tlie pfrullRiitics which attach to matters ccclpslastical.— In iri60, the Roman cith.iUc reliKiou wns abo- lished, and the reformation was Kanctioiied liy act of iiarliami-iit, the distiiipuisliiiiB tenets ot the Sc-otch church li.-iviiitr been llrst embodied in tlu' formulary of f.iilh at- tributed to John Knox, who had adopted the doctrines of Calvin, established at Ge- neva. General assemblies at that time be- gan, and continued to meet twice every year, for the space of twenty years ; after which they were annual. From 1572 to 1592 a sort of episcopacy obtained in the church, while the ecclesiastical form of government was presbyterian. Meantime, the dignitaries of the church and the no- bility monopolised the revenues of the church, and left the refonned clergy in a state of indigence. After much delibera- tion, the protestant leaders resolved to pro- vide a state-maintenance for their teachers, and the following plan was adopted. Two- thirds of all ecclesiastical benefices were reserved to the present possessor, and to the crown the remainder was annexed, out of which a competent subsistence was to be assigned to the protestant clergy. But the revenue thus apjiropriat^d, instead of being duly applied, was diverted into other channels. In 1587, all the unalienated church lands were annexed to the crown ; and the tithes alone were reserved for the support of the clergy. Bishops continued till 1592, when presbyterian government was established by an act of parliament, and a division was made of the church into synods and presbyteries. But tlie king, de- sirous of having the power of the bishojis restored as a balance to the nobles in parliament, prevailed on a majority of the clergy, in 1597 and 1598, to agree that some ministers should represent the church in parliament, and that there should be con- stant moderators in presbyteries. By an act of parliament in 1606, the temporali- ties of bishops were restored, and they were allowed a seat in parliament ; and thus the presbyterian government was over- tumed. But episcopacy at length grew so obnoxious to the people, that in 1689, pre- lacy was declared, by a convention of es- tates, to be a national grievance, which otight to be abolished ; and in the follow- ing year the presbyterian government was restored and established by parliament ; and the general assembly met, after ithad l)een discontinued from the year ir).-)2. Hitherto the provision for the maintenance of the clergy was inadequate, but their stipeiids were now raised and regulated Ijy the price of grain. The presbyterian church government, af- terwards secured in the treaty of union, is founded on a parity of ecclesiastical autho rity among all its presl)yters or pastors, and modelled after the Calvinistic plan, which Knox recommended to his country- men. This form of government excludes all preeminence of order, all minister^ being held equal in rank and power. In matters relating to discipline a pastor is assisted by elders, who ought to be selected from among the most intelligent and con- sistent of the parishioners, but have no right to teach, nor to di.spense the sacraments. Their proper office is to watch over the morals of the people, and to catechise and visit the sick. They likewise discharge the office of deacons by managing the funds for the maintenance of the poor within their districts. The elders and ministers com- pose what is called a kirk or cftiirc/i-session, the lowest ecclesiastical judicature in Scot- land. When a parishioner is convicted of immoral conduct, the church-session in- flicts some ecclesiastical censure. If a per- son considers himself aggrieved, he may appeal to the presbytery, which is the next superior court. The ministers of an inde- finite number of contiguous parishes, with one ruling elder chosen half-yearly, out of every church-session, constitute what is called a presbytery, which has cogni- sance of all ecclesiastical matters within its hounds. Synods are composed of several presbyteries, and of a ruling elder from every church-session within their bounds. They review the proceedings of presbyte- ries, and judge in references, complaints, and appeals from the inferior court. But their decisions and acts are reversable by the general assembly, which Is the highest ecclesiastical court, and from which there is no appeal. THE HISTORY OF FEANCE. France, which In the times of the Romans was called Gaul, or Gallia, extended from the Pyrenees to the Rhine, and on the side of Italy, beyond the Alps to the Adriatic; that which was situated on the Italian side of the Alps being named Cis- alpine Gaul, and that beyond the Alps, Transalpine Gaul. The part of Transalpine Gaul nearest Upper Italy, and stretching along the Mediterranean towards the Pyre- nees, was conquered by Pabius. As this was the first part that was converted into a Roman province, it was called, by way of eminence, the Provincia. It was bounded by the Alps, the Cevennes, and the Rhone. Caesar, who conquered Transalpine Gaul at a later period, found it divided into three parts : 1. Aquitania, extending from the Pyrenees to the Garonne, chiefly occupied by Iberi.an tribes; 2. Gallia Celtica, from the Garonne to the Seine and Marne ; 3. Gallia Belgica, in the north, extending to the Rhine. But subsequently, by the com- mand of Augustus, a very different and much more minute division of the country took place, which, however, it is not here necessary to describe. The Gauls were the chief branch of the great original stock of Celts ; and as they called them-selves GaMl, the name Gaul probably thus took its rise. A great resem- blance appears to have existed amonw all the Celts ; and although they were divided into numerous tribes, there were but few branches that were perceptibly different from each other. The period of their ear- liest migrations is, however, too remote for history, and, moreover, inapplicable to our liresent object. Caesar represents all the Gallic tribes as warlike, going always armed, and ready on all occasions to decide their differences by the sword ; as a people of great levity, and little inclined to idleness ; but hospita- ble, generous, confiding, and sincere. The Druids, their priests, who were the sole de- positaries of learning amongst them, were indebted to the credulity of the people for the deference they paid to them. They had also bards or poets, who composed war songs to animate the combatants, and to perpetuate the memory of their heroes. The elders, or senators of their towns, together with the military and their chiefs, formed what we call the nobility; these, in conjunc- tion with the priests, possessed the riches and the power : vassalage and misery were the portion of the commonalty. The discipline of the Romans, and the genius and good fortune of Ctesar, tri- umphed in ten years over the valour of the Gauls. — Colonies had commenced the work of their subjugation, and conquest com- pleted it; Gaul became a Roman Province. The municipal regulations, and the agri- culture of the Romans, soon rendered the country flourishing ; but despotism after- wards despoiled it. This state of things continued for four centuries, when the people were reduced to the lowest depths of misery, impoverished by the proconsuls, the prey of factions, and alternately passing from insurrection to slavery, under tyrants who were perpetually changing. But the 'incursions of the barbarians' on the Bo- man territory had by this time greatly humbled the former mistress of the world. The civilisation, arts, and literature of the Romans were on the decline ; the empire, divided and weakened, was falling into ruin, discipline was relaxed ; the glory of the Roman name faded before the barbaric hosts that issued from the north, and over- ran the flveprovinces, which had flourished under the administration of a Trajan and an Antonine. Upwards of four hundred years after the Roman conquest, and under the reign of the weak Honoriu-, a people known by the name of Franks, from Franconia in Germany, abandoned their morasses and iheir woods, in search of a better country. Under the direction of their king Phara- mond, they passed the Rhine, and entered Gaul, but carried their arms no further than Belgic Gaul, the country till lately called the Netherlands. Pharamond died soon after he had effected the settlement. The long list of kings which followed Pharamond are divided into three races. The.^rsf is called the Merovingian, from Merovius, the third king of the Franks : it- produced twenty-one kings to Prance, from the year 448 to the year 751, and ended with Childeric III. sumamed the Foolish. The second race began with Pepin, mayor of the palace, who did not take upon himself the title of king ; nor did his son, the cele- brated Charles Martel. Pepin the Short, his son, deprived Childeric III. of his crown. This race, called the Carlovingias, gave thirteen kings to France. It acquired much glory under Charlemagne, but be- came very weak under his successors, and terminated with Louis V. called the Slug- gard, after having possessed the throne 235 years, from 752 to 987. The third race, called the Capbtinb, commenced with Hugh Capet, and gave to France thirty-three kings, who reigned 806 years, and finished with Louis XVI., who w.is beheaded Jan- uary 1793. France then became a repub- lic, which lasted until May 1804 ; when it was transformed into an empire by Napo- leon Buonaparte, who had risen on the ruins of the republic, and had been dic- tator of France under the appellation of chief consul. The imperial title, however, lasted but ten years ; Napoleon having been driven from his usurped throne, and 622 Clje dCrcaifiirg of ?8tiStarp, &c. IiOuU XVIII. restored to the throne of his ancestors. In tracing the obscure records of the parJy periods, wc beliold alternately wars and alliances among the Itonians and Franks, the Visigoths, and other barbarians ; ambitious generals raised to power by the imperial court, but quickly overcoming theirfeeble masters, and calling in the aid of the barbarous tribes to serve the ever-va- rying purposes of their personal ambition. The westeru empire was then declining : the Sax(ms seized upon Anjou and Maine ; the Burguudians occupied the country near the Seine ; the Goths and Visigoths extend- ed tlieir dominions as far as the Loire ; the Franks and the Allmanns, branches of the different hordes, which issued from Ger- many, contended for the possession of the north ; while the Romans or Gauls kept the remaining part of the country. We may here observe, that ou the con- quest of Gaul by the Franks, the lands were distributed among their oIBcers ; and tliese, with the clergy, formed the first great councils or parliaments. Thus the government was evidently a kind of mixed monarchy, in which nothing of moment was transacted without the grand council of the nation, consisting of the principal otDcers, who held their lands by military tenures. It appears. Indeed, that when Gaul became the possession of northern invaders, it did not acquire that degree of freedom to its constitution which Britain received about the same time, from con- querors who sprung from the same com- mon stock. The Merovingian Dynasty, or First Race. A.D. 420.— Pharamond, the first king of the Franks, was succeeded by C'lodio, who extended the bounds of his kingdom. Me- rovius secured the acquisitions of his pre- decessor ; and Chi'deric, his son, pushed his conquests to the banks of the river Seine. Clovis, his son, and the inheritor of his ambition, aggrandised his kingdom, and so far extended his power, that he is ranked as the founder of the French monarchy. This prince, the first of the Frank kings who had embraced Christi- anity, brought almost all the Gauls under his government. He parted his dominions, before he died, between his children. Clovis owed his conversion to Christi- anity from his marriage with a Christian princess of Spain, and his example was fol- lowed by most of the Franks, who until that time had been pagans. He was bap- tised with great splendour in the cathedral at Rheims ; on which occasion the king granted freedom to a number of slaves, and received the title of ' Most Christian King,' whicli has ever since been retained by the monarchs of France. Clotaire I., the youngest and most bar- barous of the sons of Clovis, and the last survivor of them, at the time of his death possessed the whole of France ; his domi- nion extended from the banks of the Elbe to the sea of Aquitaine, in the Atlantic Oc*an ; and from tlie Scheldt to the sources of the Loire. At his death he divided it among his four sons. The kingdom was soon after rendered miserable, from the jealousy of two anitiitioiis wonun, the queens Fredigonde and liruiieluiut. The former was a prodigy of hohlness, i>f wick- edness, and genius ; and gained several battles in person : the other is described as a woman who, under the exterior graces of beauty, practised the worst of vices, and expiated her crimes liy a shocking death. A.D. 613.— Clot.aire II., the worthy son of Fredigonde, became sole monarch of Fr.ance. Under this prince the maj/orso/ the palace began to have considerable power, which increased under Dagobert I., and be- came excessive under Clovis II. and his successors. We see in the first race little more than the shadows of kings, whilst their ministers governed and tyrannised over the people. Pepin Heristal, mayor of the palace to Childeric the Foolish, seized the whole au- thority. His son, Charles Martel, a bold and enterprising warrior and great politi- cian, with more ambition even than his father, increased his power by his brilliant achievements, and governed France under the title of duke. The Carlovingian Dynasty, or Second Race. As mayor of the palace, Charles Martel had long exercised the sovereign power in the n.ame of Childeric, a weak and indo- lent prince. The Sar.acens, who had made themselves masters of the south of France, penetrating into the heart of the kingdom, were at length entirely defeated by him, in one great liattle fought between Tours and Poitiers, which lasted seven days, and in which 300,000 Moslems were slain. In ciinsequence of this splendid victorj-, he was considered the champion of Christen- dom ; and snch was his popularity, that, with the consent of the people, he assumed the dominion of France : for, having a vic- torious army at his command, he not only deposed the king, but rendered himself an absolute prince, by depriving the nobility and clergy of their share in the govern- ment. A.D. 752.— His son Pepin succeeded him in the throne ; but restored the privileges of the nobility and clergy, on their agreeing to exclude the former race of kings. He also divided the provinces among his prin- cipal nobility, allowing them to exercise sovereign authority in their respective go- vernments ; till at length, assuming a kind of independency, they only acknowledged the king as their head ; and this gave rise to the numerous principalities, and their several parliaments, every province retain- ing the same form of government that had been exercised in the whole ; and no laws were made, or taxes raised, without the concurrence of the clergy. A.i). 768.— Charles, his son, called Charle- magne, was valiant, wise, and victorious. He conquered Italy, Germany, and part of Spain, and was crowned emperor of the Romans (the western empire), by pope Lee III. He established a regular and popular government, compiled a code of laws, fa- voured the arts and sciences ; and died with C:f)e f^Wtorji 0f dfrance. 623 the glory of being beloved by liis subjects, and feared by liis enemies. Louis I. le DelJonnaire, the only surviving son of Cliarlemagne, began his reign witli Mie most cruel executions. His elilldreii revolted against him ; he was conipcllcd to do public penance, and declared to have forfeited the imperial dignity. The Normans renewed their incursions and their ravages under Cliarles the Bald ; besieged Paris in the reign of Charles the Oross ; and at length obtained a ilxed establishment under Charles the Simple. The royal authority became weakened, while the power of the lords considerably augmented ; the imperial dignity was al- ready lost to the house of Charlemagne ; and it was soon followed by the loss of the crown of France. First Bkanch.— TRc CapcUne Dynasty, or Third Bace. A.r. 9S7.— After the death of Louis V., the last of the Carlovingian race, Hugh Ca|iet usurped the throne. This Hugh was tlie grandson of Robert, whom the French had elected king in the room of Charles the •■Simple. His father had rendered himself much respected by the nation, in defending Paris against the attacks of the barbarians. Hugh Capet, inheriting the valour of his ancestors, saved France under Lothaire. This family possessed the duchies of Paris and of Orleans; and these two cities, by their situation on the Loire and the Seine, were the strongest bulwarks of the mo- narchy against the Normans. Hugh associated his son Robert in the kingdom. Robert, as pusillanimous as his father was courageous, reunited the duchy of Burgundy to the crown ; but his weak- ness tarnished his virtues. A.D. 1031.— Henry L, who had the mis- fortune to see his own mother armed against him, to deprive him of his crown and give it to his brother, with the assist- ance of the Duke of Normandy, forced his brother to content himself witii Burgundy, which this branch of the royal family pos- sessed 300 years. At this period the tyranny of feudalism was at its height. Overwhelmed with ser- vices, tolls, and subsidies of all sorts, im- posed by the military or the ecclesiastics, the people fought only to rivet their chains more flrnily. Those who lived in the coun- try were called villeins ; those of the cities and towns, bourgeois. Neither of them could labour but for the advantage of their lords, who often quartered their military retainers upon them. Among themselves the lords were equally ferocious ; their de- clarations of war extended to relations and allies, and the quarrel of a single family was suflicient to involve a whole commu- nity in the fiercest war for years together. Thus France became one vast field of blood, and perpetual carnage at length wearied even ferocity it.self. A.B. 1060.— The long reign of Philip L, son of Henry I., is an epoch of remark- able events. William, duke of Normandy, cros.sed the Channel, and effected the con- quest of England in 10G6, where he e.sta- blislied his own rigorous modification of the feudal n-gime ; and he had the firmness to refuse homage to the pope. A jest of the king of France on the obesity of William kindled a war, from whicli may he dated a long-continued enmity between France and England. A.D. 1108. — Philip was succeeded by his son, Louis the Gross. The first years of his reign were disturbed by insurrections of his lords in different parts of the kingdom ; and these insurrections were the more trou- blesome, as they were secretly fomented by the English king, that by weakening the power of France his duchy of Normandy might be the more secure. These wars between the two countries were often in- terrupted by treaties, but as often re-lighted by national ambition and antipathy. Louis the Young, unfortunate in the cru- sades, at his return repudiated his wife, in whose right he inherited Guienne and Poic- tou. He died in 1180, and was succeeded by his son, Philip IL surnamed the Aiigust. Philip II. defeated John, king of Eng- land, and wrested from him Normandy, Maine, and Anjou. He then went on the crusade with Richard Coeur-de-Lion, to rescue Jenisalem from the Saracens. The two kings succeeded only in taking Acre; and Philip, on his return, treacherously in- vaded Normandy during Richard's absence. A.D. 1223. — Philip Augustus was succeed- ed by his son Louis VIII., surnamed the Lion. His short reign was not marked by any great events ; but he distinguished it by enfranchising a great number of serfs or villeins. He signalised his courage against the English ; and died of a conta- gious distemper, at the age of thirty-nine years. A.D. 1226.— Louis IX., surnamed for his piety Saint Louis, having defeated the king of England, and many of the grand vassals of France, at Tailleburg, conducted an army to Palestine, took Damietta in Egypt, and distinguished himself at Massous, where he was taken prisoner. He was a friend to the indigent, and a zealous advocate for the Christian religion. He died before Tunis, where he had gone upon a second crusade against the infidels. Philip III., surnamed the Bold, his son, was proclaimed king by the army ; he was liberal, benevolent, and just, but displayed no striking abilities. He was succeeded by his son, Philip the Pair. A.D. 1285.— Philip IV., surnamed le Bel, or the Fair, celebrated for his disputes with Edward the First of England, and Pope Boniface VIII., abolished the order of the Templars, reduced the Flemings, and made the seat of the parliament permanent in Paris. He was of a lively disposition, but cruel and unfeeling ; and employed mi- nisters who possessed all his defects, with- out his good qualities. In his reign the states-general, or representatives of the three estates of the kingdom, the nobility, clergy, and commonalty, were first assem- bled. Philip IV. was succeeded by his son, Louis X., during whose reign, which was short, the people were burdened with im- posts. The two brothers of Louis, Philip the 624 CT^e CTrraiSuru of ?§tiStory, &c. Long and Cliarles IV., sucfcodrd suci-i-s- his roliellicusson. He established the posts sively. Philip signalised himself !>>• a uum her of wise regulations in the courts of jus- tice. Charles followed his brother's steps in this particular ; but the state was loaded with debts and badly governed. Second Branch.— Zfojtsc of Taloia. A. p. 1328. — Queen Jane, wife of Ch.-irles IV., being delivered of a posthumous daugh- ter, the nou.se of Valois mounted the throne ; the states of France having de- creed females to be incapable of inheriting the crown of France. This is called the Salic law, from its having been the prac- tice of a tribe of Franks, called Salians, to exclude females from all inheritance to landed property. Philip IV., soon after his succession, defeated the Flemings ; but was defeated by the English in a sea-flght near Sluys ; also at Cressy and Calais. In this reigu Dauphiny was annexed to the crown of France. A.D. 1350. — John, a brave prince, but with- out genius or political discernment, suc- ceededPhilip. He continued towaragainst He was a bad son, and as bad a father; a severe i)rince, but a deep politician. Some important changes in the political condi- tion and the manners of the nation were produced in this reign. The royal power was extended and consolidated; the knights and nobles assisting in this, because it gave scope for their exploits. The gendar- merie, or body of permanent cavalry, was formed, and a corps of foot archers. Charles VIII., who succeeded him, mar- ried Anne of Brittany ; thereby putting an end to the last of the great feudal fiefs of France. He restored to Ferdinand V. Car- dagne and Roussillon. He was an amia- ble prince, and his death was considered as a public loss. The Bouse of Valois-Orleans. A.D. 1495.— Charles VIII. dying without children, Louis, duke of Orleans, descend- ed from Charles V., obtained the crown, of which he appeared worthy by his good qualities and virtues. He commenced his reign by forgiving his enemies, and England, but was defeated and taken pri- befriending his people. He conquered the soner at the battle of Poitiers. The king- Milanese, which he afterwards lost. He dom became the theatre of factions and made himself master of the kingdom of carnage, and was drained of its valuables to ransom the king. He had stipulated for the cession of one-third of the kingdom, aud 3,000,000 of gold crowns. Not being able to raise this enormous sum, John volunta- rily returned to Loudon, where be died in the Savoy, a.d. 1364. His son, Charles, sur- named the Wise, succeeded him. Charles v., seconded by De Guesclin, con- stable of France, avenged the honour of the nation, and reestablished order in the state. Everything W'ore a new face under this king, who was wise, laborious, andeco- Naples, conjointly with the king of Arra- gon. He made war also against pope Julius II. Gaston, duke of Xemours, and the che- valier Bayard, greatly distinguished them- selves; but the French were obliged to quit Italy. Louis XII. acquired glory more du- rable, by gaining the love of his people, and by his extraordinary affability, than by his wars. House of Yalois-AngoruUme. A.D. ISlo.^A prince of the house of Va- lois- Angouleme ascended the throne after nomical ; a friend to the arts, to letters, [ the death of Louis XII., who left an only and to virtue. daughter, married to Francis, count of A.D. 1380. — Charles VI. succeeded to the : Angouleme, heir to the crown. Francis de- crown ; and France, under his government, j feated the Swiss at Marignan ; reunited fell into great disorder. This prince having i Brittany to the crown; and conquered lost his reason, and recovering it at inter- j Luxembourg. He was the protector and vals, nothing decisive could be effected. The I promoter of the fine arts, and a great en- English king Henry V. entered France, and ' courager of the learned. He died with the gained the battle of Agincourt. Henry, by [ reputation of being the most polite prince treaty, became heir to the crown : but died j in Europe. a few days before Charles VI. Henry VI. | a.d. 154".— Henrj* U- succeeded Francis, of England was crowned king of France at The face of aflairs changed at the con> a very early age. His uncle John, duke of mencemeut of the reign of this prince. He Bedford, acted as regent, and during his joined the league of the protestant princes life the power of the English increased in against the emperor, and made himself France. About this time Joan of Arc, an , master of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. The enthusiast in the cause of her country, re- ; emperor, Charles V., besieged Metz ; the animated the valour and patriotism of the duke of Guise obliged him to raise the French nation. She fought several battles i siege and defeated him at Renti. Henry with success; but was at len,'jth taken at I afterwards entered into a league against Compiegne, and burnt as a witch by order of 1 the house of Austria in Spain : and Philip the English. [See ' England,' Henry YI.^ i II. avenged the honour of the Spaniards at During this time, Charles VII. reigned ' St. Quintin. The duke of Gnise took Calais only over a part of France. But the duke from the English ; and the peace of Chateau of Bedford was no sooner dead, than the Cambresistenninatedthe war. Francis II., duke of Burgundy became reconciled with Charles. Normandy, Guienne, and the other provinces which had been held by the power of the duke of Bedford, acknow- ledged Charles ; and the English were com- pelled to evacuate France. his son, succeeded to the throne : a prince without any remarkable vices or virtues. He was married to Mary, Queen of Scots, and died at the age of seventeen. A.D. 1560.— Francis II. was succeeded by Charles IX The religious wars, the seed; Charles ViL was succeeded by Louis XL, 1 of which had been previously sown, broke t!Ll)t ilt^tarj) of JFrancc. 625 out with furj' in tliia reign. The massacre of Vassi was the signal, and France pre- sented nothing but one continued scene of sanguinary factious for years. The massacre of .St. Bartholomew's day covered the land with the bleedingbodiesof theprotestants. On the eve of St. Bartholomew, orders had hceu seut to the governors of provinces to fall upon the protestants in every depart- ment throughout France ; and though .an edict was published before the end of tlie week, assuring them of the king's protec- tion, and that he by no means designed to e.\ terminate them because of tlieir religion, yet private orders were seut of a nature di- rectly contrary ; in consequence of which the massacre at Paris was repeated in many of the principal towns; so that in the space (jf two months 50,000 protestants were cru- elly butchered. From the time of this most atrocious order, given by Charles himself, he was taken ill, and languished with bodily pains until relieved by death A.r. 1572. Charles, dying without issue, was suc- ceeded by his brother Henry III., who, in 1575, concluded the celebrated 'edict of pacification' with theprotestants ; the sub- stance of which was, that liberty of con- science, and the public exercise of religion, were granted to the reformed, without any other restriction than that they should not preach within two leagues of Paris, or any other place where the court was. This edict caused the Guises to form an association called the 'catholic league.' This struck at the very root of the king's authority; for, as the protestants had already their cliiefs, so the catholics were for the future to depend entirely upon the chief of the league, and execute whatever he com- manded. Hence arose another persecution iif the protestants, and auother reconcilia^ tiou. In the end, however, the king pe- rished by assassinatiou at the hands of a monk, in the year 1588. Before the king's death he nominated Heni-y of Bourbon, king of Navarre, as his successor ou the throne of France. Third Brakcb.— House of Bourbon. A.D. 15R9.— Henry IV. took the title of king of France and Navarre; and his first care was to put an end to the religious disputes which had so long distracted the kingdom. For this purpose he subse- quently promulgated the celebrated edict i>f Nantes, which reestablished all the fa- vours that had ever been granted to the reformed by other princes. He. was ac- knowledged bj; the lords of the court, but opposed by the catholic league, which set up the old cardinal of Bourbon as king, under the title of Charles X. Henry IV., with a small army and little money, was oliliged to conquer his kingdom. He raised the siege of Paris, and defeated the duke of Jlayeune at Arques and at Ivri. After this success, he presented himself before Paris, and before Rouen, which places he besieged in form; but was compelled to atiandou them by the duke of Parma. The Juke of Mayenne assembled the states- general for the election of a king of France ; but the victory gained by Henry at Dreux, I and his abjuration of the protestant reli- gion, overthrew all their projects ; and I Paris, with the greater part of the cities in the kingdom,. submitted to his government. The duke of Mayenne retired into Bur- gundy ; but the leaguers, supported by Spain, were still in opposition in Brittany. Heury declared war against Spain, and de- feated the Spanish army at Fontaine-Frau- ^oise. With the assistance of his sagacious friend and minister. Sully, he established order in the finances, and in every depart- ment of the state ; and whilst intent on reducing the dangerous power of the house of Austria, and rendering still greater ser- vice to the people, he was stabbed by a fa- natical priest named Ravaillac. Thus fell the greatest prince ever known in France ; the best and bravest of its kings. A.D. ICIO. — Louis XIII., surnamed the Just, succeeded Henry IV. Being a minor, Mary de Medicis was declared regent of the kingdom, and dispensed with profusion the riches which Henry had amassed to render France powerful. The queen's favourite, a Florentine, named Concini, governed the state. The lords, dissatisfied with the pride and despotism of this stranper, took to arms ; and the death of the favourite calmed the intestine division. But no sooner was Concini in his grave, than auother favourite, De Luynes, appeared, possessing more power, if possible, than the former. Louis banished his mother to Blois. The cele- brated Richelieu, then bishop of Lu^on, effected a reconciliation between them, and received, as a reward, a cardinal's hat. The protestants, much aggrieved by the catho- lics, took to arms. The king marched against them, and was victorious in every quarter, except at Montauban, ft-om whence he was obliged to retire with great loss. The credit and ambition of Richelieu increased daily, until he was declared minister of the state. The war was renewed with the protes- tants ; and Rochelle, the bulwtirk of the Calvinists, was, after a severe conflict, re- duced by the king. The queen-mother, and Gaston d'Orleans, became jealous of the authority of Richelieu, and, disgusted with his pride, left the kingdom ; and the duke de Montmorenci was beheaded at Toulouse. Richelieu died in the fifty-eighth year of his age ; and his death was soon followed by that of the king, who was suc- ceeded by his son. A.D. 1643.— Louis Xrv., being only six years old when his father died, the queen Anne of Austria was declared regent of the kingdom, and appointed cardinal Ma- zarin as minister. Conde defeated the emperor at Rocroy, at Fribourg, at Nord- lingen, and at Lens; and these successes, seconded by those of Turenne's, determined the emperor to conclude peace. The Span- iards still continued the war. The young king took the Held in person at the head of his armies, and Stenay and Moutmedi were the fruits of his first effort for military fame. Peace was soon after concluded be- tween Don Louis de Haro, on the part of the Spaniards, and cardinal Mazarin, on that of the French. The cardinal died sooa 3 H 626 ^t CrcaSuri? of ^iitarn, &c. after, leaving the flnancos In the most de- ranttcil state, and the navy nearly ruined. Louis XIV. now took the reins of povcrn- inent Into his own hands. He thirsted for glory, and had the discernment to choose gnat men as his ministers. Col- bert and Louvois flllcd the first otTices of the state. The finances, the commerce, the marine, the civil and military govern- ments, the sciences, and the arts, experi- enced a happy change. The death of Philip IV. of Spain occa- sioned the renewal of war. Louis headed his troops, showing a great example of ac- tivity and courage ; and his conquests were the means of reestablishing peace. The success of his arms alarmed the neighbour- ing powers, who entered into a defensive league against France. Louis again took the Held, and conquered the greater part of Holland, which he was obliged to evacuate through the firmness and intrepidity of the stadtholder, afterwards William IIT. king of Great Britain. The theatre of the war was soon after changed, and Franche Compte was reconquered. In the zenith of his conquests, Louis dic- tated the conditions of the peace of Nime- guen ; but this peace was soon after broken. The Spaniards lost Luxembourg : Algiers, Tripoli, and Geneva were bombarded, and obtained peace by making reparation in pro- portion to the offences they had given. The princes of Europe formed the league ofAugshurg against Louis, of which Wil- liam, prince of Orange, was the soul. Louis revoked the edict of Nantes, thereby de- priving himself of the services of many thousands of his best and most useful sub- jects, the Protestants, whom he threw into the arms of his enemies. Having so done, he marched against the allied powers. He took, in person, Mons and Xamur; and under Luxembourg, Catinat, and Vendome, the French signalised themselves at Fleu- rus, at .Steinkirk, at Xeuvinde, at Barcelona, and elsewhere. James II. of England, having abdicated his throne, flew to France as an asylum ; and Louis endeavoured, but in vain, to reestablish him. Peace was made at Rys- wick, and Europe once more enjoyed repose. Peace was of short duration : the death of Charles II. of Spain rekindled the flames of war. Philip, duke of Berri, by the will of the late king, was named heir to the Spanish throne, which he ascended by the name of Philip V. The emperor claimed the crown of Spain for his son. War was declared ; and the fortune of arms appear- ed to have abandoned Louis, who, as well as Philip, sued for peace ; but the terms offered by the allies were so hard as to j e-xcite the indignation of the Bourbons. The v.-ar was continued ; and at lengih ter- I minated in favour of France, who saw Phi- ! lip in peaceable possession of the crown of j Spain, secured by the peace of rtrecht in | 1713. Two years after, Louis died, having reigned seventy-two years. j The reign of Louis XIV. has been cele- brated as the era which produced every thing great and noble in France. He has been held up to the world as the muniflcent i patron of tlie arts, and a prince whose con- ceptions and plans were always grand and dignified. The true character of kings can only be justly determined by posterity, and the reputation of this celebrated monarch has not been strcntrilicned by time. After every proper tribute the peace of Canipo Formio the Austrian capital was saved from destruction. This treaty led to a congress to be held for the adjustment of claims, and to bring about that desirabls blessing, peace. Ead- stadt was the place appointed for the meet- ing of the ministers of the different powers who were to assist. Fifteen months elapsed in negotiation, which terminated in delu- sion ; and the French plenipotentiaries. Bonnier and Roberjot, were assassinated by some German soldiers on their return to France. Both parties having in the interim recruited their strength, renewed the war. During the above-mentioned negotiation, a plan was laid in France for the conquest of Egypt. They accordingly fitted out a for- midable fleet at Toulon, on bo.ird of which were emb.arked 42,000 troops, the flower of Buonaparte's victorious Italian army. All Europe was interested in the destination of so formidable an armament, but more particularly England. Buonaparte, it was generally understood, was to have the com- mand ; but the great secrecy with which everything relating thereto was conducted, baffled all the eitorts at the discovery of his real designs. It left Toulon in May 1798 under the command of Brieux as ad- miral, and Buonaparte as commander-in- chief of the troops, and steered to the east- ward. In June, Malta submitted ; and on the 2nd of July, it reached Alexandria, in Egypt ; having had the good fortune to es- cape the vigilance of admiral Nelson, who had been despatched in search of it as soon as it was known for a certainty that it had gone to the eastward. Alexandria was taken on the 3rd ; and the beys and Mamelukes were defeated in several actions. Egypt, Including its capital. Grand Cairo, was in the possession of the French in twenty-one days from their landing. Buonaparte had landed his forces but a short time before the English fleet appear- ed on the coast of Egypt. The French fleet lay in the bay of Aboukir, moored in the greatest security : the Intrepid Nelson at- tacked it on the 1st of August, and gained a victory as complete as any in the naval annals of our country. Buonaparte having brought Esrypt under his power, his next object was Syria, for the invasion of which he was in readiness early in February 1799. He marched from Grand Cairo across the Desert. He took El Arish, Joppa, and Jerusalem, and pene- trated the country as far as Acre, whidi place he besieged. Here he met with an unexpected foe, in the captains and crews of a small English fleet, commanded by sir Sidney Smith, which had come to the as- sistance of the pacha ; and after many most daring attempts to take that city, durincr forty days and upwards, he retired with considerable loss. It was during the siege of Acre that Buimaparte first heard of the reverses of the French, and the loss of the greater part of his conijnests in Italy. He soon after- wards defeated tlie army of the pacha of N.atolia at Aboukir, and his departure from Egypt followed immediately on that event. He left the government of hisnewcon<]nest under general Kleber; and embarking on board a small vessel, with a few of his prin- cipal officers, had the good fortune to es- cape the numerous English cruisers, and arrived at Frejus on the 1.3th of October. He was received in Paris on the 16th amidst the acclamations of the people ; and was soon made acquainted with the external and internal situation of France. He de- plored the loss of those conquests which had acquired to him immortal fame ; hut he further deplored the state of the coun- try, torn into a variety of factions. An army, unclothed, unfed, and unpaid ; a part of the interior of the republic in rebellion ; a host of foes from without pressing it on all sides; the finances in the utmost possi- ble state of derangement ; and the resources drainedalmost to the last livre. The (juick discernment of Buonaparte told him tlint nothing short of a grand eitort could save France from ruin. He soon made up his mind to the action, and, assisted by a few friends, his generals, and his army, actually assumed the government on the 9th of No- vember; abolishing, at the same time, the constitution of the third year. He was soon after elected first consul, with extraordi- nary powers. The scene that took place on this me- morable occasion is well worth transcrib- ing: — The legislature met at St. Cloud: the council of elders in the great gallery ; and that of five hundred, of whom Lucien Buonaparte was president, in the orangery. Buonaparte entered the council of elders, and, in an animated address, described the dangers that menaced the republic, and conjured them to associate their wisdom witli the force whicli surrounded him. A member using the word 'constitution,' Buonaparte exclaimed, 'The constitution ! It has been trodden under foot, and used as a cloak for all manner of tyranny.' Meanwhile a violent debate was going on in the orangery, several members insistincr upon knowing why the place of sitting had been changed. The president endeavoured to allay this storm ; but the removal had created great heat, and the cry was, ' Down with the dictator ! No dictator!' At that moment Buonaparte himself entered, bare- headed, followed by four grenadiers : on which several members exclaimed, 'Wh'> is that ? No sabres here I No armed men ! ' while others descending into the hall, col- lared him, calling him 'Outlaw,' and Efft l^i^torg of dFcance. pushed him towards the door. One mem- ber aimed a blow at him with a dagger, which was parried by a grenadier. Dis- concerted by this rough treatment, general Lefebvre came to his aid ; and Buonaparte retiring, mounted his horse, .and addressed the troops outside. His brother Lucien also made a forcible appeal to the military ; and the result was, that a picket of grena- diers entered the hall, and, the drums beating the pas de charge, cleared it at the point of the bayonet. This truly Crom- wellian argument decided the affair, and in the evening it was declared that the di- rectory had ceased to exist ; that a provi- sional consular commission should be ap- pointed, composed of citizens Sieyes, Ducos, and Buonaparte ; and that the two councils should name committees, of 25 memljers each, to prepare a new constitution. In the interval between the abolition of one constitution and the creation of another, the consuls were invested with a dictator- ship. Lucien Buonaparte was made minis- ter of the interior; Talleyr.and, of foreign .af- fairs ; Carnot, of war ; and Fouche, of police. Tlte Consular Government. A.D. 1800.— The new constitution con- sisted of an executive composed of three consuls, one bearing the title of chief, and in fact possessing all the authority of a conservative senate, composed of 80 mem- bers, appointed for life ; the first 60 to be nominated by the consuls, and the number to be completed by adding two, annually, for ten years: a legislative body of 300 members; and a tribunate of 100. Buona- parte was nominated the first consul, for ten years ; Cambaceres and Lebrun, second and third consuls, for five years. Sieyes, who had taken an active part in bringing about the revolution, and in framing the new constitution, was rewarded by the grant of an estate worth 15,000 francs per annum. One of the first acts of the consulate was a direct overture from Buonaparte to the king of England for peace; which was replied to by the English minister, who adverted to the origin of the war, and inti- mated th.at 'the restoration of the ancient line of princes, under whom France had enjoyed so many centuries of prosperity,' wimld afford the best guarantee for tlie maintenance of peace between the two countries. This was of course construed, as it was meant, as a rejection of the offer. The strength and energy of the new go- vernment made itself visible in the imme- diate union of the best leaders of all par- ties ; in the return of many thousand emi- grants in the humbler ranks of life ; and in the activity which was displayed by all who held office under the consular govern- ment. Buonaparte soon put himself at the head of the army of Italy, and by the ra- pidity of his operations out-generaled his opponents. Having made himself acquaint- ed with the position of the Austrian army, encamped in a valley at the foot of Mount St. Bernard, he formed the bold design of surprising them by crossing that part of the Alps, which was before considered in- 631 accessible to a regularly equipped army. It was, in truth, a most difficult and daring exploit, exceeding anything that had oc- curred since the days of Hannibal : but in proportion to the peril of the undertaking, was the glory that awaited it. The battle of Marengo, which was fought on the 14th of June 1800, decided the fate of Italy. Moreau, who was at this time command- ing the army of the Rhine, gained the battle of Hohenlinden, December 3rd, and tlireatened Vienna. These great victories were followed by the conclusion of a treaty with Austria, in its own name, and that of the German empire, but without the con- currence of England, on the 9th of February 1801. In this peace, the course of the Rhine was fixed as the limit between France and Germany. Those German princes who lost their territories beyond the Rhine by tliis new arrangement, were to be inderauifled by additional possessions on the right bank of that river. In Italy the course of the Adige was fixed as the boundary between Austria and the Cisalpine republic, and the former power gave the Briesgau and Orte- nau to the duke of Modena. The terri- tories of the grand duke of Tuscany were erected into the kingdom of Etruria, which was given to the hereditary prince of Parma, according to a treaty between France and Spain : while the grand duke was to be in- demnified in Germany for the loss of his territories. This peace was the prelude to others. On the 29th of September 1801, Portugal concluded a treaty with France; and Russia and Turkey ou the 8th and 9th of October. A.D. 1802.— England 'was also now dis- posed to enter into negotiations for peace ; and the terms of the treaty of Amiens were soon arranged. France retained her acqui- sitions in Germany and the Netherlands, and her supremacy in Holland, Switzer- land, and Italy. England consented to re- sign Malta to the knights of St. John, to make the Ionian islands an independent republic, and to restore all the colonies she had taken from France, except Ceylon and Trinidad. France, on the other hand, gua- ranteed the existence of the kingdoms of Naples and Portugal. The treaty was signed on the 27th of March 1802 ; and for a short time the inhabitants of Europe were flat- tered with the prospect of continued tran- quillity. In May, Buonaparte founded the legion of honour; and soon after, he was chosen first consul for life. He had just before concluded with the new-elected pope a concordat for the Galilean church, the articles of which were— the establishment of the free exercise of the catholic religion ; a new division of the French dioceses ; the bishops to be nominated by the first consul, and to take an oath of fidelity to the republic. He also put an end to the proscription of the emigrants, and numbers returned to end their days in the land of their birth. But his extraordinary successes, the adu- lation of the army, .and his elevation in- to.xicated the chief consul; so much so. 632 (!ri)C dcaiSmj) at ^giitDrg, &c. Indeed, that it was not long bcfDre he took an opportunity of openly Insulting the En- Blish ambassador. A renewal of hostilities was the natural result; and to such an ex- tent did Rumiaparte carry his animosity towards ICnirland, that on the ground that two French sliips had bOL-n captured jirior to the formal declaration of war, he issued a decree for ilie detention of all the Knglish in France; and under this infringement of international law, the number of British subjects detained in France amounted to 11,000, and in Holland to 1,300. A.u. 1804.— In February a plot was dis- covered in Paris for the assassination of Buonaparte and the overthrow of the con- sular government. The principals in this conspiracy were general Pichegru ;(jeorges, an enthusiastic loyalist ; and Lajolais, a friend of general Moreau, who also was charged with disaffection to the consular government. Pending the trials Pichegru was found strangled in prison ; Georges and some of his accomplices were publicly executed ; and Moreau was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, which was com- muted to banishment to America. One of the foulest atrocities of modem times was next perpetrated by the order of Buonaparte. The duke d'Enghien, eldest sou of the duke of Bourbon, was seized in the neutral territory of Baden, and taken first to Strasbourg, thence to Paris, and afterwards to the castle of Vincennes, wliere a military commission met on the night of his arrival, to try him, on the charges of having served in the emigrant armies against France, and of being privy to the conspiracy of Georges. It, however, signi- fied little what the charges were ; he was predestined for immediate execution ; and, in defiance of every barrier of international law, justice, and humanity, he was taken out and shot in the castle ditch, almost im- mediately alter his midnight trial was con- cluded. The prince had the reputation of being a brave soldier and a virtuous man ; hence he was the more obnoxious I The ambition of Buonaparte to obtain the imperial dignity, and his denunciations against England, seemed to occupy all his thoughts ; and, truly, these were objects of no little magnitude. At length, on the 1st of Hay, a motion was made in the tri- bunate for conferring on Napoleon Buona- parte the rank of emperor, with hereditary succession in his family. The decree of the tribunate was adopted by the senate ; and power given to Buonaparte, if he had no male issue, to adopt an heir ft-om the chil- dren of his brothers. The title of prince, princess, and imperial highness, were con- ferred on all members of the Buonaparte family. Thus ended the French republic, under all its phases. It had lasted eleven years and four months— almost the exact duration of the English commonwealth from the death of Charles I. Pope Pius VII. now proceeded to Paris, and on the 2nd of December solemnly anointed the new emperor, who himself placed the imperial crown upon his own head. The Italian republic followed the example of France ; and on the 15th of M.arch 1805, having named their president king of Italy, Napoleon, on the 2r)th of May, with his own hands also placed the new crown of the I.ombardlan kings upon his own head, and was anointed by the archbishop of Milan. During his presence in Italy, the senate of the Liguriau republic demanded and ob- tained the incorporation of the Genoese state with the French empire, on the 4th of June ; and the small republic of Lucca was transformed in the same year Into an hereditary principality for Buonaparte's sister, the princess Eliza. He was already, also, preparing thrones to establish his brothers. The threatened Invasion of Britain had long been the theme of every tongue, and the people of France had been diverted from all other thoughts during the mo- mentous changes which, with a magician's wand, had taken place in that system of government for the attainment of which the blood of Frenchmen had flowed with such reckless prodigality. A third coalition against France was concluded at Peters- burgh, between England and Russia, -A.pril 11: Austria joined the confederacy in Au- gust; and Sweden likewise was made a party to it, and received a subsidy. But the emperor Napoleon felt assured that while he could detach Prussia from the alliance, which he did by promising Hano- ver to the king, he had no great reason to apprehend any serious injury from the other powers. In Italy the archduke Charles was op- posed to marshal Massena; at the same time 25,000 French marched under St. Cyr from Naples into Upper Italy, after a treaty of neutrality had been concluded between France and Naples. The Austrian army in Germany was commanded by the archduke Ferdinand and general Mack. This army penetrated into Bavaria in September 1803, and demanded that the elector should either unite his forces with the Austrians or disband them : upon which the elector joined Napoleon ; and a similar course was adopted by the dukes of Wirtemburg and Baden. Forsaking the camp of Boulogne, where he had been preparing the ' army of Eng- land ' for the projected invasion, Napoleon hastened towards Wirtembui-g, and Issued a declaration of war. The corps of Berna- dotte and the Bavarians having marched towards the Danube, through the neutral province of .\nspach, belonging to Prussia, the latter power, which had assembled its armies in the neighbourhood of the Rus- sian frontier, renouuced its obligationB to France ; and by the treaty of Potsdam, con- cluded on the 3rd of November, during the stay of the emperor Alexander at Berlin, promised to join the enemies of Napoleon. The Prussian armies, in conjunction with the Saxons and Hessians, took up a hostile position extending between the frontiers of Silesia and the Danube. But the Austrian armies in Suabia had been rapidly turned and defeated by the French, in a series of operations extending from the 6th to the 13th of October ; upon which Mack, in the Wift ^istar^ nf jFvmxce. 633 infamous capitulation nf V]m, siirremipred witli 30,000 nicii, but the arrliilulip Ferdi- nand tiy const.-int ni,'litins readied IJnhe- mia. The Frcnrli now peiietrfited thrmigli Bavaria and Austria into Moravia, and after liavingr obtained possession in November of the defiles of the Tyrol, and driven back several Russian corps in a series of skir- mishes, they occupied Vienna on the 13th of November, and afterwards took posses- sion of Presburg. The next great battle, fought at Austerlitz on the 2nd of De- ceniber, decided the war, although it had only lasted two months; and the archduke Charles, havingreceived information of the event in Suatiia, retired through the Ger- man provinces after having fought a dread- ful battle upon the Adige, which lasted three days. The battle of Austerlitz, in which Napoleon so signally defeated the allies, was well contested by the troops on both sides. The Austro-Russian armies amounted to 80,000 men, commanded by general Kutusofl and prince Lichtenstein; liut 100 pieces of cannon, and 30,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners on the side of the allies, was an irresistible proof of the despe- rate nature of the conflict, as well as of the good fortune of Napoleon. An immense number perished in a lake by the ice giving way. Davoust, Soult, Lannes, Berthier, and JIurat most distinguished themselves among the French marshals. An interview between Napoleon and Francis II. immediately followed, and an armistice was concluded on t)ie 6th. By the treaty of peace of Presburg, Austria yielded its Venetian possessions to the kingdom of Italy ; the Tyrol and several German countries to Bavaria ; Briesgau to Baden, and other Suabian possessions to Wirteniburg. She also recognised the elec- tors of Bavaria and Wirtemburg as kings, and the elector of Baden as sovereign elec- tor. These and other concessions Austria was compelled to make. But during the victorious course of the armies of France by land, she suffered deeply from the naval power of England ; the united fleets of France and Spain, under Villencuve and Gravina, being nearly annihilated by Nel- son in the battle of Trafalgar. This took place on the 21st of October. On the l.'ith of December the emperor concluded a treaty with Prussia at Vienna, in which the alliance between both these powers was renewed, and a reciprocal gua- rantee of the ancient and newly-acquired states exchanged. Prance pretended to give Hanover to Prussia ; and, on the other hand, Prussia yielded to France, Anspach, Cleve, and Neufchatel. Prussia was now obliged to act offensively against England, as well by taking possession of Hanover as liy excluding English vessels from the ports under her control. Joseph, the elder bro- ther of Napoleon, was by an imperial de- cree named king of Naples and Sicily, ■which had been conquered by marshal Massena, who marched with an army frnin Upper Italy into Naples, on account of a pretended breach of neutrality occasioned by the landing of the English and Russians. But Ferdinand IV. took refuge in Sicily ' with his family ; and that island being pro- tected by the English fleet, formed merely a nominal appendage to the crown of Jo- seph Buonaparte. Prince Eugene Beau- harnois, son of the empress Josephine by her first husband, was named viceroy of Italy ; Talleyrand received the nominal title of prince of Benevento ; Bernadotte was proclaimed princeof Ponte Corvo ; and Louis, the second brother of the emperor, was proclaimed hereditary and constitutio- nal king of Holland. With the same disre- gard of political justice, the constitution of the German empire, which had lasted for above a thousand years, was overthrown on the 12th of July 1806, to make way for the Rhenish confederation, of which the empe- ror Napoleon was made protector. Prussia, at tliis period, still trembling for her own safety, was once more excited by England and Russia to resistance; upon which Napoleon transported his immense army across the continent, and in less than one month he arrived at Berlin, having gained the ever-memorable battle of Jena, in which 250,000 men were engaged in the work of mutual destruction. More than 20,000 Prussians were killed and wounded, and 40,000 taken prisoners, with 300 pieces of cannon. Prince Ferdinand died of his wounds. A panic seized the garrisons, and all the principal towns of Prussia west of the Oder surrendered to the French soon after the ijattle; and on the 25th of Octo- ber Napoleon entered the capital. Buonaparte next promulgated the cele- brated Berlin decree, or ' continental sys- tem,' by which the British islands were declared in a state of blockade ; all articles of British manufacture were interdicted ; and all vessels touching at England, or any English colony, excluded from every har- bour under the control of France. Beyond the Vistula, the war between France and Russia was opened on the 24th of December 1806, by the flght of Czar- nowo, in which the French carried the Russian redoubts upon the left bank of the Ukra. On the succeeding morning Davoust drove field-marshal Kameuskji out of his position; and on the day following the marshal renounced the command-in-chief, in which he was succeeded by Benningsen. This general suddenly transported the the- atre of war into eastern Prussia, where the Russians, on the 23rd of January 1807, at- tacked the advanced posts of the prince of Ponte Corvo, who engaged them on the 25th at Mohrungen, and by his manoeuvres covered the fiank of the French army until a junction was formed. After continual fighting from the 1st to the 7th of Febru- ary, the battle of Eylau took place. The slaughter was dreadful ; both parties claim- ed the victory, and both were glad to pause while they recruited their respective ar- mies. The next operation of con.sequence was the siege and bombardment of Dantzic, by Lofebvre; and general Kalkreuthwas com- pclli'd to capitulate on the 24th of May, after marshal Lannes had defeated a body of Russians who had landed at Weichsel- munde with the view of raising the siege. 634 €lft CrcaiSure of W^tar^, &c. At last, after a series of skMniilshes be- tween the different divisions of llieliostile armies, tlie decisive victory of tlie Frencli over tlie Uussians at Friedland, on tlie lltli of June 1807, led to tlie peace of 'J'ilsit; which was concluded on tlie 9th of .lulv, between France and Prussia, by Talley- rand and count Kalkreuth, after an inter- view between the three monarchs upon tlic Nienien, and subsequently at Tilsit. In this peace Prussia was shorn of territories crn- taining upwards of one half of the former population of that kMngdom ; and from the various districts which fell into the comjue- ror's hands were formed two new states : the liinKdom of Westphalia, and the duke- dom of Warsaw. The former was given to Jerome Buonaparte, and the king of Sax- ony was flattered with the title of duke of Warsaw. Upon the intercession of Russia, the dukes of Mecklenburgh-Schwerin, Ol- denburg and Coburg were reinstated ; and France and Russia exchanged reciprocal guarantees of their possessions, and of those of the other powers included in this peace. Never had the fortune of man been more brilliant : the whole world was struck with astonishment at victories so rapid, and seemed to how itself before so colossal a power. But his ambition was boundless; and under the guise of giving freedom to the world, he became its greatest tyrant. No sovereign could be more absolute ; he regarded other men as insigniflcant ciphers destined to increase the amount of that unity which centered in himself. Hetalked of the glory of France ; but thought only of his own exaltation, and was gratified with the incense of servile adulation. He re- established the Imposts, the abuses, and prodigalities ofthe ancient monarchy. The aids and monopolies re-appeared under the name of united duties. The press was kept under by a merciless censorship; juries were perverted ; prefects and other petty despots assumed the place of free adminis- trations of justice; the emperor nominated all the public functionaries, and all were inviolable : the council of state, a depend- ent and removable body, was the sole ar- biter of their responsibility. The election of the deputies was ridiculous in this pre- tended representative government, thelaws of which were the dicta of the emperor, under the name of decrees or senatorial edicts. Individual liberty no longer ex- isted : a police, that was a true political inquisition, suspected even silence itself; accused even the thoughts of men, and ex- tended over Europe a net of iron. All this time too, the conscription, a dreadful tax upon human life, was levied with unspar- ing activity; and the French youth were surrendered to his will by the senate as a sort of annual contribution. The affairs of Spain now began to occupy the attention of Napoleon : one of his first objects, however, was to destroy the Eng- lish influence in Portugal. A French army, in concert with a Spanish one, marched against that kingdom, the partition of which had been concerted between France and Spain, on the 27th of October 1807; the northern part being given to the house of Parma ; the southern part to Godoy, who received the title of prince of peace ; and the middle, on the conclusion of peace, to tlie house of liraganza. Tuscany was to be given to France, and the king of Spam to be declared protector of the three slates erected out of Portugal ; the Spanish monarch was also to assume, after the maritime peace should be concluded, the title of emperor of both Americas. In con- formity with this treaty, Tuscany was given up to Napoleon in 1807, and afterwards incorporated with France; and marshal Junot, duke of Bragauza, entered Lisbon on the 30tli of November, after the royal family had embarked with their treasures, and a few of the principal nobility, in a British fleet for the Brazils. But, in 1808, the Spanish nobility, tired of the govern- ment of the prince of peace, formed a plot to raise Ferdinand VII. to the throne, and free their country from foreign in- fluence. It required no great effort to in- duce Charles to resign in favour of his son ; but this was an arrangement to which Napoleon would not consent ; and both father and son now became pensioners of the French conqueror, who invested his brother Joseph, at that time king of Na- ples, with the sovereignty of Spain and In- dia. The people now rose en masse to vin- dicate their rights, and that struggle com- menced in which the patriotic Spaniards were so warmly and successfully supported by the British under Wellington, during the long and arduous military operations which in England are known as the 'Penin- sular war.' The war in Spain appeared to give Aus- tria a new and favourable opportunity for attempting the rcestablishment of her for- mer influence in Germany. The emperor Francis accordingly declared war against France, and his armies advanced into Ba- varia, Italy, and the dukedom of Warsaw. But the rapid measures of Napoleon baffled the Austrian calculations; and, collecting a large army, he defeated the archduke Louis so severely at Eckmuhl and at Ratisbon, on the 22ud and 23rd of April, that he was compelled to cross the Danube. Vienna was thus opened to the conquerors, and Napoleon took possession of that capital. The archduke Charles was, however, undis- mayed ; he attacked the French in their position at Aspern, on the21st of May, and the battle continuing through thenextday, Napoleon was compelled to retreat into tlie isle of Lobau, where his army was pl.aced in a situation of great jeopardy, the flood having carried away the bridge that con- nected the Lsland in the middle of the river with the right bank of the Danube ; and two months elapsed before he was able to repair the disasters of the battle, and again transport his army across the river. Then followed the great battle of Wagram, which was fought on the 5th and 6th of July ; and in this desperate conflict the loss of the Austrians was so great that they immedi- ately sought an armistice, which led to the peace of Vienna, signed on the 14th of Oc- tober 1809. C^e W^tav^ at JTranct. 63) By this peace Austria was obliged to re- sign territories containing tliree millions ol subjects. Saltzburg, Berchtolsgaden, &c. were given to Bavaria ; the whole of Western Gallicia, and a rart of Eastern Gallicia, with the town of Cracow, were united to the dukedom of Warsaw ; and other provinces, with part of the kingdom of Italy, were destined to form the new state of the Illyrian provinces; while Aus- tria was absolutely cut off from all commu- nication with the sea, by the loss of her ports on the Adriatic. The Tyrolese, who had been transferred to the king of Bavaria by the treaty of Pres- burg, finding that their anciontimmuuities and privileges had been violated, and that they were crushed by severe taxation, seized the opportunity of the Austrian war to raise the standard of revolt; and in their early operations they expelled the Bava- rians from the principal towns. A French army entered the country and laid it waste with fire and sword ; and the Tyrolese, ani- mated by an heroic peasant named Hoffer, expelled the invaders once more, and se- cured a brief interval of tranquillity. The results of the battle of Wagram, however, gave the French and Bavarian forces an opportunity of overwhelming them ; they penetrated their mountain fastnesses, de- solated the land, executed the leading pa- triots as rebels, and the land was again subjected to the tyranny of Maximilian Joseph, the puppet of Napoleon. Several efforts were simultaneously made in Ger- many to shake off the French yoke ; but after the overthrow of the Austrians there were no longer any hopes for them, and the emperor of the French exercised an al- most nnlimited power over the northern part of continental Europe. In this concise history we are obliged to pass over those transactions which we have recorded elsewhere, and shall therefore not enter further than is absolutely necessary upim tlie particulars of the peninsular con- test, the chief events of which are given un- der ' ExcJLAND ' and ' Spain.' This, in fact, should be borne in mind, generally, while turning over the subsequent pages; for, during the long war in which England and France were the principal belligerents, such were the alliances on both sides, that the leading events properly belonging to other countries, were too involved in the affairs of England to be there omitted; and where space can so ill bo spared, though the reader may sometimes find a 'tlirlce-told talc,' we wish to take credit for the avoid- ance, as far as is possible, of tautology. During Napoleon's residence at Vienna, he abolished tlie temporal power of the pope, and united the remaining territories of the states of the chur<-h with France, to which he had previously united Piedmont, liignria, Tuscany, and Parma, besides Savoy and Nice. A pension was assigned to his holiness, and the city of Rome declared an imperial and free city. The pope was con- ducted to Fontainebleau, where Napoleon concluded a second concordat with him, in which, though the pope did not resume his temporal jurisdiction, he obtained the right to keep ambassadors at foreign courts, to receive ambassadors, and to appoint to cer- tain bishoprics. One of the consequences of the peace of Tienna was the dissolution of the marriage between Napoleon and Josephine, whic-h took place in December 1809 ; and his se- cond marriage with the archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the emperor of Aus- tria, in April 1810. And when Napoleon declared the papal territory a province of France, and Rome a city of the empire, he determined that the heir apparent of France should bear the title of king of Rome, and that the emperor of France should be crowned in Rome within the first ten years of his government. The firmness with whicli he was opposed in Spain; the perseverance of Great Britain in maintaining the orders in council, to counteract the decrees of Berlin and Mi- lan ; and the daily increasing prospect of an approaching war in the North, where hmger submission to the arbitrary man- dates of Napoleon was refused, did not au- gur favourably for the future stability of his vast power. The British also carried on an important commerce with Russia, through Gottenbnrg and the ports of the Baltic, of which complaints were made to the courts of Stockholm and Petersburg. The commercial policy of Russia in 1810 and 1811, and its disapprobation of the treatment of the duke of Oldenburg (a near relation of the emperor Alexander), had excited the distrust of Napoleon ; and he spoke the language of offended confi- dence in remonstrating with 'his brother the emperor.' At length Russia and Sweden made com- mon cause with Great Britain in opposing Napoleon's darling 'continental scheme;' while the latter arrayed under his banners the military strength of western and south- ern Europe, and, trusting to the vast num- ber of his victorious legions, he crossed the Niemen, and directed his march to the cajiital of Lithuania. As the French ad- vanced, the Russians retired, wasting the country in their retreat. Napoleon then with his main body marched upon Moscow, while a large division of his forces menaced the road to St. Petersburg. But the main force of the invaders advanced to Smoleu- sko, which was justly regarded as the bul- wark of Moscow. This strongly fortified position was taken by storm on the 17th of August, after a brief but bloody struggle ; the Russian general, Barclay de Tolly, firing the town on his retreat. But Moscow was not to be abandoned withoutanother effort. Kutusoff, whonow assumed the command of the Russians, fixed upon a position near the village of Borodino, and there firmly awaited the in- vading host. Nearly 70,000 men fell in this furious and sanguinary conflict; and as the French were joined by new rein- forcements after the battle, Napoleon en- tered Moscow, and took up his residence in the Kremlin, the ancient palace of the czars. The citizens, however, under the direction, or with the sanction, of the go- vernor Rostopchin, not only determined to 636 dTfje CrraiSurp of ^iitar^y Sec, alitiiulim tlu'ir liolnvoil iiu'truiiolis, but t( consiu'ii it t,i thv tluincs; .-lihI sc.ir.-i-lv liai till' Kri-iicli tnio|isc.!ii-ratul.iloil tlifTiisi'lvc: vn liaviiif,' siTvircd wiiilor miartiTs in tliat Cdld and iiilinspilalili' reKiou, fre tlie con- flapraticjii!. burst fnrlli in every direction; and not witlistandi lit,' every device was tried to subdue tbe llaiiie*, tliey ceased not until more tlian Iliree-fourtlis of the city were a mass of smokiiiu' eniliers. In tliis unexiH'Cli'd and embarrassing po- sition, Kapoleou nave orders for a retreat. All the horrors that tlie imagination can conceive were now felt l>y the hapless fugi- tives, who so lately were the boasted cou- (juerors of southern Europe. The winter had set in unusually early, and brave as the French soldiers were, the climate of Russia was au enemy too powerful for them to contend with. Thousands upon thousands perished with cold and hunger; thousands upon thousands fell beneath the swords of their relentless pursuers, who, maddened by the recollection that their hearths and homes had been polluted by these invaders, and that their ancient city lay smouldering in the dust, heeded not their cries for meicy. But why should we repeat the tale of h'frors? Suffice it to say, that the wreck of this mighty army retreated through Prussia and Poland, into Saxony ; while Napoleon, bent on providing for his own personal safety, and anxious to devise some new plan by which the progress of the en- raged enemy might be impeded, hastened to Paris with all the speed that post horses could effect, and with all the comfort that a close carriage and fur garments could bestow. Napoleon appealed to the senate for men, money, and the other munitions of war, and his appeal was promptly responded to. Notwlthstandinghis recentreverses.he felt that he still possessed the confidence of the French nation ; and a large conscription was ordered to supply the losses of the late cam- paign : as soon, therefore, as the new levies were organised, he hastened to the north ; and, to the astonishment of all Europe, the army under his command was numerically superior to those of his adversaries. The public voice in Prussia loudly demanded warwith France, and the Prussian monarch took courage to assert his independence and enter into alliance with Alexander. The armies of these newly-united powers sustained a considerable loss at Lutzen on the 2nd of May, and at Bautzen on the 21st and 22nd, in engagements with the French, but neither battle was decisive; and Na- poleon, alarmed at the magnitude of his losses and the obstinacy of his enemies, consented to an armistice. During the truce the British government encouraged the allies by large subsidies ; but what was of more consequence, the emperor of Aus- tria, who had never cordially assented to an alliance with his son-in-law, now aban- doned his cause, and took an active part in the confederation against him. Napoleon established his headquarters at Dresden, and commenced a series of operations against his several foes, which at first were successful ; but the tide of for- tuiic liiriied ; different divisions of his army were siici-rssivrly dil'caled ; and he collect- ed liis scan, red f,,rccs for one tremeiulcms elfort which was to decide the fate of Eu- rope. Retiring to Leipsic, he there made a stand, and under the walls of that ancient city he sustained a terrible defeat, Oct. 18, the Saxcm troops in his service having de- serted in a body to the allies during the engai-'enient. Compelled to evacuate Leip- sic, he retreated upon the Rhine, followed by the allied troops ; and after a severe struggle at Hanau, Oct. 30, in which the Bavarians, under the command of general Wrede, took a decisive part against the French, they were defeated, and multi- tudes were made prisoners. Bernadotte un- dertook the task of expelling the French from Saxony. The sovereign governments in the kingdom of Westphalia, the grand dukedom of Frankfort and Berg, and the countries of the princes of Isenberg and Vender Leyen, were now overturned ; the elector of Hcsse-Cassel, the duke of Bruns- wick- Wolfenbuttel, and the duke of Olden- burg, returned to their own country : the Hanoverians again acknowledged their old paternal government; and the Russian ad- ministration was re-introduced into the provinces between the Rhine and the Elbe. Considerable masses of troops, partly vo- lunteers, and partly drafted from the Prus- sian militia, enthusiastically followed the Austrians, Russians, and Prussians across the Rhine. The flame of independence spread to Holland, the yoke of France was spurned, and the hereditary claims of the house of Orange were rapturously acknow- ledged. A.D. 1814.— While the allies were thus effecting the humiliation of Napoleon by following up their successes to the very gates of Paris, Wellington's army advanced slowly but steadily towards Bayonne. As he advanced, the old partisans of the Bour- bons began to revive, the exiled family was proclaimed, and the white flag floated on the walls of Bordeaux. Napoleon had the advantage over Blucher at Brienne on the 29th of January, but was forced to retreat at La Rochiere, where the allies had con- centrated their forces. He now retired be- tween the Loire and the Marne, with the view of covering Paris; and it was not without difflculty that Blucher succeeded in penetrating the French line. But the order of march was still 'forward I for- ward I ' On the 31st of March 1814, the allied troops entered Paris, and Alexander de- clared, in the name of the allied sovereigns, that they would not negotiate with Napo- leon Buonaparte, nor with any of his fa- mily ; but they acknowledged the right of France only to the territory embraced within its ancient limits under its kings; and, finally, that they would acknowledge and guarantee the government which the French nation should adopt. They there- fore invited the senate to establish a pro- visional government for the administration of the country and the preparation of a constitution. Accordingly, the senate as sembled April 1, under the able presidency ^i)z W^iottf at dfrancp. 637 of Talleyrand (a man ever skilful in taking advantage of circumstances), whom, with four other members, they charged with the pro visional government. On the next day, it declared tliat Napoleon and his family had forfeited the throne of France. The legis- lative body ratified this decree ; and the recall of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France was soon after made known. Mean- while, April 11, Napoleon had resigned the crown conditionally in favour of his son, at Fontainebleau ; and a treaty was concluded the same day, ceding to him the island of Elba. Wearied with the imperialyoke, and with continual war, France hailed the return of peace with acclamations of joy and hope. The senators, in conjunction with some others, formed a chamber of peers. At the same time was convened the legislative body of the empire, which formed the chamber of deputies : and Louis, who had declared his determination to adopt a libe- ral constitution, granted the charter, which, notwithstanding some omissions and im- perfections, contained sufScient guarantees for liberty. The new constitutional char- ter was presented to the nation by the king on the 4th of June. It contained the prin- ciples of a limited monarchy ; as, the equa- lity of all Frenchmen in the eye of the law ; tlie equal obligation of all to contribute to the expenses of the state ; the equal right of all Frenchmen to all offices ; personal liberty ; the free exercise of religiim, and the liberty of the press ; the security of pro- perty; oblivion of the past; and the sup- pression of the conscription. The person of the king (in whom was vested the exe- cutive power, the command of the forces of the kingdom, the right of declaring war and making peace, of appointing ofllcers, and proposing and publishing the laws) was declared to be inviolable ; the legis- lative power was vested in him in conjunc- tion with the two chambers ; laws relating to imposts and taxes were required to be presented first to the chamber of deputies ; and the legislature was required to grant the civil list of the king for the period of his reign. The king convoked the chambers, named the peers, hereditary or personal, prorogued the chambers, and dissolved the chamber of deputies, but was required to summon a new one within three months. The chamber of deputies was to be com- posed of deputies chosen by the electoral colleges, one fifth part to be renewed year- ly ; to be eligil)le as a deputy, it was neces sary to be forty years old, and pay 1,000 francs of direct taxes. On the 14th of May Louis created the new ministry, and on the 3rd of August a new council of state. The royal orders of the Holy Ghost, of military merit, the order of St. Louis, and that of St. Michael, were revived: the legion of honour received a new decoration (the portrait of Henry IV.) and a new organi- sation, and the order of the silver lily was founded. There were still, however, many preju- dices in favour of the abdicated emperor to overcome, and many restless spirits to soothe. It was soon perceived that a great difference of opinion prevailed among the membeis of the royal family and among the ministers. The honours conferred on the old nobility and the emigrants who had returned with the court, excited great discontent ; and the national pride was of- fended by the public declaration of the king that he owed his crown to the prince regent of Great Britain. The army, so long used to war and the rewards which awaited a successful career, was in a state of the highest irritation ; the remembrance of him by wliom they had so often been led to victory was yet fresh, when they saw their corps dissolved, their dotations, their pay, and their pensions diminished, their importance and their influence destroyed, and they themselves compelled to change their favourite badges for others on which they had formerly trampled. The holders of the national domains feared to lose them. The people were discontented with the burden of the taxes, the alleviation of which had been promised to them. In this state of public feeling nothing could be more fatal for the royal government then the sudden re-appearance of Napo- leon on the coast of France, the 1st of Miirch 1815. These circumstances explain why, without the existence of an actual conspiracy in favour of Napoleon, the mea- sures taken to oppose his progress were unsuccessful ; why the army and a great part of the nation declared for him ; and why, after a march of eighteen days, which resembled a triumph, he was able to enter Paris without shedding a drop of blood. The king and his adherents left the coun- try. Napoleon immediately annulled most of the royal ordinances, dissolved the two chambers and named a new ministry. He declared that he should content himself with the limits of France, as settled by the peace of Paris, and that he would establish his government on liberal principles. But he could not satisfy the expectations of the different parties ; much less could he avert the danger of a new war with Europe. As soon as the news of Napoleon's land- ing in France was known at Vienna, the ministers of all the allied powers, who were assembled In congress there, denounced him as the enemy and disturber of the repose of the world ; and declared that tlie powers were finally resolved to employ all means, and unite all their efforts, to main- tain the treaty of Paris. For this purpose, Austria, Russia, Britain, and Prussia con- cluded a new treaty, on the basis of that of March 1st, 1814, whereby each power agreed to bring 150,000 men into the field against Napoleon ; who, on his part, was In- defatigable in making preparations for war. At the same time, April 22, he pnlilished the additional act to the constitutions of the empire, and summoned the meeting of the Champ de Mai, which accepted that act, June 1. As we gave in the ' History of England' a succinct account of the operations of the French and allied armies, which ended in the Ijattle of Waterloo ; as also the depor- tation of Napoleon to St. Helena, and the events which immediately followed the 31 63S OL^t tlTrrapurp ai l^tetorj), &c. socoiul restoration of Loiii3 XVIIT., we shall not repeat tlieni in this place ; hut carry on our narrative to tlio period when the two chaml)t'r3 passed the law ol! amnesty pro- posed bv tlie kinp, by which all those who had vntrd for llic- dr:ith of r.ouis XVI., or had ai-ceiitpii (.llli-cs from Niipolron, diirinpr the ' hundred (hijs,' were for ever banished from the kingdom. With the evacuation of the French terri- tory by the forelcru troops, which was de- termined on by the conin-ess of Aix-la-Cha- piMle, the mil of October 1818, and accom- pli-hfd in the course of the same year, was connected the payment of the expenses of the war, and of the individual claims of the subjects of foreign powers on the French government and nation. Here French di- plomacy was successful ; and ultimately a very small proportion of the real claims was accepted as a liquidation of the whole. France was now admitted into the alliance of the great European powers. But the re- turn of France to royalty, and in a great measure the ancien rfgime, was far from satisfactory to the bulk of the people; and the government was kept in a continual state of oscillation,— now a set of ultra- royalists, and now the liberal party, direct- ing the national councils. While strict monarchical principles were gradually gaining strength and influence in all departments of the domestic adminis- tration, the French cabinet entered more deeply into the continental system of the great European powers. The election laws were found too favourable to the liber.al party, and the ministry therefore proposed a new election law, for the purpo.se of giv- ing the richest landholders the preponder- ance in the elections of the deputies, and, at the same time, some laws of excei'tion, relative to personal liberty and the liberty of the press, for the purpose of checking public opinion. Underthese circumstances much acrimonious discussion took place in the French chambers ; and the sessions of 1819 and 1820 were agitated by the most violent conflicts. The two parties attacked each other with reciprocal accusations, and Decazes, the president of the ministry, had already proposed several l)ills, calculated to gain over the moderate of both sides to the ministry, when, in February 1820, the as- sassination of the duke of Berri by Louvel (who to the last moment of his life ex- pressed his fierce hatred of the whole Bour- bon race, and his detestation of royalty! drew forth the most virulent accusations from the extreme right. The minister De- cazes resigned, and the duke of Richelieu succeeded him. A new law of election was carried, amid the most violent opposition on the part of the doctrinaires (members who defended a consistent mainten.auce of the principles of the charte) and the libe- rals. Many officers of government, by their writings, and in their places as deputies, opposed the new system ; so that with every new ministry there were numerous dismis- sions, and many names were even erased from the army-rolls for political opinions. It was evident, indeed, that many conspi- rators were secretly employed in attempts i to excite the troops to a revolt, and some were tried, found guilty, and suffered the penalty due to treason. The king opened the session of 1823 with a speech announcing the march of 100,000 French troops to Spiiii. He was alarmed for the safrty of France by the revolution- ary inovenicMits of his neighbours ; and this army, which was commanded by the duke of Angouleme, was sent expressly to restore the royal authority. The iuvaders encoun- tered no effective opposition ; the cortes fled before them to Cadiz ; and when king Fer- dinand approached that city, they permitted him to resume his despotic sway. During the last few years of the reign of Louis XVIII. he was much enfeebled by disease, and, consequently, unable to act with the energy necessary for establishing a firm and at the same time a conciliatory government. He died in .September 1824, nine years subsequent to his restoration. On his accession Cliarles X., brother of the deceased king, declared his intention of confirming the charter, appointed the dauphin (duke of Angouleme) as member of the ministerial council, and suppressed the censorship of the public journals. Vil- I61e was his prime minister. In May 1826, the splendid coronation of Charles took place at Rheims, according to ancient cus- tom, with the addition, however, of the oath of the king to govern according to the charter. On Lafayette's return from America in 1825, the citizens of Havre having received him with some demonstrations of joy, the government manifested their resentment by ordering out the gendarmes, who charged the multitude with drawn sabres. The in- fluence of the Jesuits was seen in the pro- secution of the Constitutionnel and Cnurrier Fran^ais. Villele, who had discernment enough to see to what this f.anaticism would lead, and who was at the same time ob- noxious to the liberals, on account of his anti-constitutional principles, and his oper- ations in the funds, became less secure. The parties assumed a more hostile attitude towards each other. Tlie royalists and the supporters of the Jesuits became more open in the expression of their real sentiments ; the liberals became stronger and bolder ; and the government assumed a tone ill cal- culated to conciliate its avowed opponents. On the opening of the session, Dec. 12, 1826, Damas, minister of foreign affairs, in- formed the chamber that all the continen- tal powers had endeavoured to prevent the interference of Spain in tlie affairs of Por- tugal ; that France had cooperated with them, had withdrawn her ambassador from Madrid, and liad entered into arrangements with England to leave Portugal and Spain to settle their affairs in their own way. Several unpopular measures brought for- ward by the ministers were, after violent discussions, rejected; among which was a proposed law concerning the liberty of the press. The withdrawal of this by an ordi- nance was regarded as a popular triumph. This event was followed by the disbanding of the national guards of Paris, a body of 45,000 men, who at a review in the Champ m)Z mi^tav^ at JTrantt. 639 de Mars, had jdlned the cries of hatred against the ministry. This was a higlily impopular measure ; aud Lafltte, Benjamin Constant, and some other members talked of impeaching the ministers; but Vxllele took credit to liimsell for having ventured on a step which he knew to be unpopular, but considered necessary. Every proceed- ing however, served to show that the mi- nisterial party was gradually losing ground, and that no trifling concessious to their op- ponents would avail. While Charles was much more resolutely opposed to the prevalence of democratic j.rinciples than his brother, and yielded to the counsels of priests who were intent on the restoration of the church to the power it possessed some centuries before, the people were taught to believe, and actually dreaded, that a plot was forming to deprive tliem of the constitutional privileges winch they had gained after so long a struggle. Thus the nation became gradually alienated from the court, and the court from the nation ; while every opportunity was seized bv the turbulent spirits of the time to widen the breach, aud, if possible, to overturn the monarchy. A new ministry wasforced upon Ihe king by the popular party ; they pro- fessed moderate principles, it is true ; but they had neither the abilities nor the influ- ence necessary for steering a safe course between the extremes of royal prerogative on one side, and popular encroachment on the other : the ccrasequence of which was, that while the ultra-royalists were deeply offended by their liberal measures, the i-e- volutionary party treated them as drivellers and incapables. In this state of opposite feeling, Charles suddenly dismissed them, and intrusted the formation of a new cabi- net to prince Polignac. . On Aug. 9, 1829, the following appoint- ments were announced : prince Polignac, minister of foreign affairs ; M. Courvoisier, keeper of the seals and minister of justice ; count Bourmont, minister of war ; count de Bourdonaye, minister of the interior ; baron de Montbel, minister of ecclesias- tical affairs, and public instruction ; and count Chabrol de Crousol, minister of fi- nance. To these was afterwards added M. d'Haussey, minister of marine and the colo- nies, in lieu of admiral count Rigny, who declined the offered portfolio. The minis- try was decidedly ultra-royallst ; and never, perhaps, had an administration in any coun- try to encounter such a storm of virulence and invective as that which assailed the cabinet of Polignac. On looking dispas- sionately at their first measures, they ap- pear dienifled, moderate, and even concilia- tory ; but nothing could convince the de- mocrats of the rectitude of the intentions of either Charles or his favourite ministers. And when it was seen that the king not only favoured the Jesuits and monastic orders, but that he showed a marked dis- like to those who had acquired eminence in the revolution or under Napoleon, and that the rigid court etiquette of former days was revived, they were ready to be- lieve the most absurd rumours of his In- tended designs, not merely to crush the rising spirit of liberty but to rule over France with the most absolute despotism. But though Charles and his ministers had endeavoured to uphold the aristocratic power of the state, many of their measures had a contrary effect. The nobles had ceased in France to form an aristocracy. Their great numbers and little wealth ; the mix- ture of political elements they presented ; their total want of any political privileges, &c., had left the noblesse entirely without consequence : and it was apparent from the first that neither the king nor Polignac fully comprehended the wishes or wants of the people, but trusted that something might arise to turn the popular current in their favour. A.D. 1830.— Though they knew not tho signs of the times, they did not, however, forget that Frenchmen were notorious for their love of military glory. War was there- fore declared against Algiers, on account of insults some time before offered to the French flag, and also to resent a personal indignity committed on the French consul by the dey, who struck him while at a pub- lic audience. An armament was accord- ingly prepared with extraordinary care, aud the success which attended it corresponded with the exertions made to insure it. On the 10th of May, the army, consisting of 37,577 infantry and 4,000 horse, embarked at Toulo.i, and the fleet, consisting of 97 tcs- sels, of which eleven were ships of the line and twenty-four frigates, set sail. June 14, the army began to disembark at Sidi Fer- rajh, on the coast of Africa. The city of Algiers was taken after a slight resistance, the dey was sent prisoner to Italy, and his vast treasures remained at the disposal of the conquerors. The maritime powers of Europe were naturally jealous at the estab- lishment of French garrisons and colonies in northern Africa : and to allay their sus- picions, it was declared that the occupation of Algiers would be merely temporary ; but the French nation became so infatuated with their conquest, that to the -present hour Algeria is looked upon by them as a most important acquisition, although it causes an enormous annual waste of blood and treasure, without conferring the slight- est advantage either on Africa or on France. Resolved to take advantage of the moral effect which the ' conquest ' of Algiers might produce, on the 17th of May appear- ed in the Muniteur the royal ordinance dis- solving the chambers: at the same time, new elections were ordered, and the two chambers convoked for August 3rd. The Moniteur of June 15th contained a procla- mation of the king, in which he called upon all Frenchmen to do their duty in the colleges, to rely upon his constitutional intentions, &c. In this proclamation are these remarkable words ' As the father of my people, my heart was grieved ; as king, I felt insulted. I pronounced thc^ dissolution of that chamber.' It ends thus ; ■ Electors, hasten to your colleges. Let no reprehensible negligence deprive them of your presence ! Let one sentiment ani mate you all ; let one standard be your ral- lying point I It is your king who demands 640 t![J)e CwaSurg of fltStorg, &c. tliis of you; It Is a father wlio c-ills upon you. Fnini your duties. I will tnko cure to fulfil mine.' Tlie electiiuis for the new ehanilier took plnce In the latter part of June and in .Inly. Though the surccss of the army in AlKiers liei-inie known during the electoral struu'Jrle at home, and thousrh all parties exulted in the sueeess of the French arms, the ministry appeared to i-'aiii no popularity by it. All the returns of the new elections indicated a stniuK majority against the miui.stry, so that, in the be- ginning of July, intelligent men spoke of a change in the administration as a natural consequence. A crisis was evideutly ap- proaching. A blind infatuation seems to hare pos- sessed prince Polignac and his colleagues: they preferred to attack the charter, vio- late the social contract, and expose France to a civil war, rather than to yield. During this time the king and queen of Naples visited Paris, and many festivals took place, strongly in contrast with the state of poli- tical affairs. The king also ordered TeDeiim to be sung in all the churches of the king- dom for the victory of his army in Africa, the news of which reached Paris four days after the capture of Algiers. Ardently as some of the fierce and un- ruly demagogues of Paris desired to see the monarchy overthrown, the majority of the commercial classes and landed proprie- tors in France dreaded the renewal of civil commotions ; they knew there was an ac- tive republican party in the country, which, though not very numerous, was unscrupu- lous and energetic ; and they liad a just apprehension that if therevolutionary party gained the ascendency, it would lead to a renewal of those dreadful enormities which were committed during the reign of teiTor, when the Jacobins were in power. But at the same time they were hostile to the res- toration of the ancient despotism, which they had been taught to believe was the determination of king (Charles and the Po- lignac ministry to revive. Had Charles X. dismissed his obnoxious ministers and formed a cabinet of mode- rate men, the crisis would, in all proba- bility, have passed over without danger, and the prerogatives of a constitutional monarch would have been secured to him. Instead of which the ministers made a 're- port to the king' (July 26), setting forth at length the dangers of a free press, and calling upon him to suspend the liberty of the press. 'The state,' they said, 'is in danger, and your majesty has the right to provide for its safety. No government can stand, if it has not the right to provide for its own safety ; besides, the 8th article of the charter only gives every Frenchman the right of publishing his own opinions, but not, as the journals do, the opinions of others ; the charter does not expressly al- low journals and the liberty of the press. The journals misrepresent the best inten- tions of government ; and the liberty of the press produces the very contrary of pub- licity, because ill-intentioned writers mis- construe everything, and the public never knows the truth." This report was ac- companied by three ordinances, which vir- tu.ally subverted the constitutional jirivi- leges of the charter. The first dissolved the newly-elected chamber of deputies be- fore it assembled ; the second changed the law of elections, and disfranchised the great body of electors ; and the third sub- jected the press to new and severe restric- tions which would have completely annihi- lated its liberties. Astonishment and in- dignation seized the people of P.aris as soon as the news reached the different quarters of the city; but no tumult occurred. While the ministers were congratulating themselves on the apparent tranquillity of the citizens, the latter had been actively employed in summoning the deputies of their party within reach, or in concerting measures for a vigorous resistance. The principal journalists prepared and printed a spirited protest against the re.strictions on the press, declaring their right to pub- lish as usual, and enforcing that right upon the ground that property in a journal dif- fered in no respect from any other kind of property, and that it could only be attacked by regular judicial proceedings for a breach of the law. The liberal papers, notwith- standing, were all suppressed, and only those which were known to be favourable to the government allowed to appear. It was impossible that this state of things could long exist. The deputies represent- ing the electors of the city, and some from other parts of the kingdom who were then in Paris, in all thirty-two, assembled at the house of the deputy, M. Lafitte, the b.inker, to take the subject into serious considera- tion, and decide on some immediate course of action. A number of constitutional peers also met at the duke de Choiseul's. At each of these meetings it was resolved not to submit. The peers signed a pro- test, and sent it by a deputation to the king, who refused to receive it. The rejection strengthened the resolution of the depu- ties, and forty couriers were sent with des- patches to towns and villages within a hun- dred miles of the metropolis, representing the outrageous conduct of government, and urging the inhabitants to cooperate with the Parisians in a determined stand for the liberties of France. In the meantime the government was on the alert, and sent a general officer to Crenelle and another to Angers, for mili- tary purposes. The military command of Paris was intrusted to marshal Marmont, duke of Ragusa. Troops were ordered in from the barracks within fifty miles around ; and the guards in the city were doubled. Towards the evening, bodies of gendar- merie were stationed about the Bourse and on the Boulevards. In consequence of the bank refusing to discount bills, the manufacturers perceived it had not confi- dence in the government, and they imme- diately discharged their workmen. These artisanscongregatedinthe different streets, and reported what had happened to listen- ing crowds. An ordnance was now issued by the prefect of police, declaring, among other things of a restricting kind, that 'Every individual keeping a reading-room. Ctje W^tars at iffxmtt. 641 .■ofCco-liousc, Ac. who shall give to be read iminials, in- (illiiT writings, printed cnn- iiMiy t'l the cinliiiance of the king of tlie •Mil' iiist, relative to the press, shall be l.rosecuted as guilty of the misdemeanours which these journals or writings may con- sul nte, and his establishment shall be pro- visionally closed.' This ordinance showed a- wreat ignorance of character ; for a news- paper with a Frenchman's coffee is ren- dered by habit almost as indispensable as liis morning's meal. Nevertheless, the of- llci-rs of police cleared the coffee-houses, reading rooms, &c. and shut them up. By tliuir interference also the theatres were closed. A sullen discontent was seen in every couutenance, and occasionally was heard the cry of Vive la chaHe ; yet during all this time, it would seem the ministers liad uo idea of the mischief that was brood- o'li Tuesday the 27th, in the forenoon, the police and a large force ©f gendarmes, mounted and on foot, appeared before the offlce of the Natianal, a popular journal. They found the door fast closed ; and, being refused entrance, broke in, seized the tvpes, and carried the editor to prison. They then proceeded to the offlce of the Temps, another popular newspaper, whii-b though the door-way was barricaded, and a detennined resistance was offered Ijy the printers, they forced, and seized the printed l>,-ipers and the types. This was the signal for a general resistance to the ordinances. All work was now abandoned, every manu- factory was closed, anddelarhiiii'iils .it arti- sans with large sticks travel. -r.l iIk streets. Troops of gendarmes patrullcd ilic streets at full gallop to disperse the aceuiiiulating crowds. Tlie people were silent, and at an early hour tlie shops throughout Pans were closed. Troops of the royal guard and soldiers of the line came pouring in. Tlie people looked sullen and determined. The chief points of rendezvous were the i^tilais Royal, the Palais de Justice, and the Bourse. There were simultaneous cries of 'Vive la churlel' 'Down with the abso hue kiug!' but no conversation, no ex- change of words with each other. The king' was at the Tuileries. In the Place Carousel there were stationed several thou- sands of the military, with a great num- ber of cannon. At the Vendome a strong guard of infantry was stationed around the column, to guard the ensigns of royalty upon it from being defaced ; and there were crowds of people upon the spot, who me- naced the troops. Sever.il smart skir- mishes between the citizens and the soldiers occurred in the evening, in which the lat- ter were generally successful, so that Mar- nifint sent a note to the king, congratula- ting him on the suppression of the riots. But when night closed in, the citizens de- stroyed every lamp, thus securing the pro- tection of darkness for tlieir preparations to renew the struggle in the morning. On Wednesday, at an early hour, all Paris was in arms ; the shops were closely , shut, and the windows fastened and barred, I as if the inhabitants fully anticipated an , tipproaching calamity. The tocsin sounded, I and the people flocked in from the fau!.- bourgs and different quarters of the city. The press liad been in active operation during the night; handbills were pro- fusely distributed, containing vehement philippics against Charles and his minis- ters, and summoning every man to arm for his country, and to aid in ejecting the Bourbons. Nor had the citizens in gene- ral been idle during that eventful night ; they were ready and organised for a de- cisive contest ; they were in possession of the arsenal and powder magazine ; they had procured arms from the shops of the gunsmiths and the police stations : they had thrown up rude barricades across the principal streets to prevent the attacks of cavalry, and had selected leaders compe- tent to direct their exertions. A red flag was hoisted on the several buildings, amidst the shouts of the people. Tri-coloured flags were promenaded in the streets, and tri- coloured cockades and breast-knots were worn by all classes. All Paris, in sliort, was in a state of insurrection, and every movement of the people portended a terrible conflict. . , A deputation of the most influential men in Paris w.-uted upon marshal Marraout, and represented to him the deplorable state (it the capital; stating, at the same time, that they inaile him personally responsible, in the name of the assembled deputies oi France, for its present alarming situation, and for the fatal consequences which must inevitably ensue. The marshal replied, ' The honour of a soldier is obedience ; but, gentlemen,' said he, 'what are the conditions you propose?' To this M. La- fttte made answer — 'The revocation of the illegal ordinances of the 25th of July, the dismissal of the ministers, and the convo- cation of the chambers on the 3rd of Au- gust.' The marshal replied, that though as a citizen he might even participate in the opinions of the deputies, as a soldier he had only to carry his orders Into exe- cution ; but that if they wished to have a conference with M. de Polignac, he was close at hand, and he would go and ask him if he would receive them. A quarter of an hour passed, when the marshal re- turned with his manner much changed, and told the deputies that M. de Polignac had declared to hiin that the conditions pro- posed rendered any conference useless. ' We have then civil war,' said M. Lafltte. The marshal bowed, and the deputies re- tired. , As soon as Polignac's answer was made known, all the stifled feelings of resent- ment burst forth, and the people rushed eagerly forward to oppose the troops wher- ever a favourable opportunity presented itself. With a disinclination to take any decisive steps, it was noon before marshal Marmont determined to clear the streets by military force; and he then unwisely divided his troops into four columns, which he sent in different directions, thereby destroying the great advantage they pos- sessed in being able to act in concert. The drums of the national guard sple, and nobly repaid the confidence that was re- posed in them, hy the coolness and cou- rage they displayed. The garden of the Tuileries was closed. In the Place du Ca- rimsel were three squadrons of lancers of the garde royale, a battalion of the3rd regi- ment of the guards, and si.\ pieces of can- non. The royal guards had hardly made themselves masters of the Hotel de Ville, when they were assailed on all sides with a shower of bullets from the windows of the houses of the Place de Greve and in the streets abutting on the quay. The royal guards resisted vigorously, but were ulti- mately compelled to retreat along the quay ; their firing by files and by platoons suc- ceeding each other with astonishing rapi- dity. They were soon joinedby fresh troops, including mo mir.-issic-rs i>f the guard, and four pieces of artillery, each of them es- corted by a dozen artillerymen on horse- back. With this reinforcement they again advanced on the HGtel de Ville, and a frightful firing began on all sides. The artillery debouching from the quay, and their pieces charged with canister shot, swept the Place de Greve in a terrific man- ner. They succeeded in driving the citizens into the Rues de Matriot and du Mouton, afid entered for the second time that day into their position at the Hotel de Ville ; but their possession of it did not continue long, for they were soon again attacked with a perseverance and courage that was almost irresistible. On the 29th general Lafayette was ap- pointed commander-in-chief of the national guards by the liberal deputies, and was re- ceived with enthusiasm by the Parisians. A youth of twenty years of age belonging to the Polytechnic School, led the attack on the Louvre, from which the Swiss guards retreated to the Tuileries. This place was also taken by the people, with one of these youths at their head. The Luxembourg had already fallen into their hands. The young men of this school rendered the greatest service to the cause of the nation ; and afterwards declined the medals granted to them, and also the rank of lieutenant, offered to each, in case he entered the army. Many of the soldiers solemnly vowed they would not continue to act against the peo- ple ; others were disheartened and discom- fited ; and two whole regiments went over in a body to the side of the Parisians. At length, all the royal troops left the capital by the way of the Champs Elysees, and in their retreat were fired upon by the people. At night the city was partially illuminated, and perfect tranquillity prevailed, while strong patrols silently paraded the streets, and passed gently from barricade to bar- ricade. A deputation from Charles X. at St. Cloud, arrived at the Hotel de Ville early in the morning. At eleven o'clock, the de- puties and peers then in Paris assembled in their respective halls, and established regular communications with each other. The duke de Jlortemart was introduced to the chamber of deputies, and delivered four ordinances signed the previous day by the king. One of them recalled the fatal ordi- nances ofthe25lh; another convoked the chambers on the 3rd; the third appointed the duke de Mortemart president of the council ; and the fourth appointed count Gerard minister of war, and M. Casimir- Perier minister of finance. The reading of these ordinances was listened to with the greatest attention. But at the termina- tion no observation was made — the most profcmnd silence was for a time observed —and then the deputies passed to other business. The manner in which the duke and his communications were received by the deputies was an announcement that Charles X. had ceased to reign. On the 31st of July the deputies pub- lished a proclamation, declaring that they m)t l^igtarg ai dTrancc. G13 liad Invited the lUike of Orleans to become lieutenaut-generaJ ol the kingdom. At noon of the same day, Louis Philippe d'Orleans issued a proclamation, declaring that he had hastened to Paris, wearing the ' glorious colours ' of France, to accept the invitation (if the assembled deputies to become lieu- tenant-general of the kingdom. A procla- mation of the same date appointed provi- sional commissaries for the different depart- ments of government. The king, ivith his family, had fled to St. Cloud. They now proceeded to Eambouil- let, a small place six leagues WSW. of Versailles. Three commissioners were sent from Paris to treat with him ; who, on their return, informed the authorities that the king wished to leave France by way of Cherbourg; to restore the crown jewels, which he had taken from Paris, &c. Thesc ccmcessions were produced by the advance of the national guard towards Rambouillet. On the morning of Aug. 2, the abdication of Charles X. and the dauphin, Louis An- toine, was placed in the hands of the lieu- tenant-general : the abdication, however, was madein favour of the duke of Bordeaux. A letter of the king, bearing that date, ap- pointed the duke of Orleans lieutenant-gene- ral of the kingdom, and ordered him to pro- claim the duke of Bordeaux king, under the title of Henry V. The abdication of Charles was announced to the peers and the deputies by the lieu- tenant-general on the 3rd of August ; and Casimir-Perierwas at the same time chosen president of the chamber. On the 6th, the chamber of deputies declared the throne of France vacant, de jvre and le struggle had taken place in the cavern, some wishing to submit, and others stub- liornly opposing it. A large number had received yataghan cuts, and bore the marks of deep wounds. Altogether, eight hundred men, women, and children perislied ; many of their bodies literally sticking to the heated sides of the grottoes. That such an act of remorseless vengeance would be followed by severe retaliation from the Africans, was naturally to be expected. A o-eneral rising of the Arab tribes, with the formidable Abd-el-Kader at their head, speedily took place ; and the massacre per- petrated by the French in the caves of the Dairha produced some extraordinary ex- ploits of savage valour on their part, and rendered the name of the Arab chief a greater terror than before. It was not until the close of 1847 that Abd-el-Kader, after being hemmed in on all sides, sur- rendered to general Lamoriciere, under certain conditions, which have never been fulfllled. . . It was during sir Robert Peel's adminis- tration, that the French and English al- liance reached its climax. Queen Victoria p,aid a visit to Louis Philippe at the chateau d'Eu, and shortly afterwards Louis Philippe visited the Queen at Windsor. But, not- withstanding this cordiality of the two crowns, there was no lack of difference, even at this time. In Greece, for instance, France constantly supported the Coletti ad- ministration, whilst England Inclined to Maurokordatos. After Coletti's death, an insurrection broke out, which was supposed not to be looked upon with much disfavour by England; but the policy which Coletti liad adopted finally prevailed, and it was generally understood that French influence carried the day. But still greater was the result of the French policy in Spain. The interests of France and England were here brought into collision on the occasion of the pro- jected marriage of the young queen of Spain and her sister. France desired that the Bourbon line should continue upon the Spanish throne. England would have liked to see a prince of the House of Coburg ob- tain the hand of the queen. The queen's mother, Christina, had previously been anxious to obtain the hand of the duke of Montpensier for her eldest daughter ; but Louis Philipe showed his usual circum- spection in declining this alliance for his son, the treaty of Utrecht having expressly declared that no prince of the House of Or- leans should ever fill the Spanish throne. The candidates whom France one after the other proposed were the count of Aquila, brother to the king of Naples, count of Trapani, eldest son of Don Carlos, and the two sons of Don Francisco. As Louis Phi- lippe engaged that his son should not enter the list as a candidate for the hand of the fiueen of Spain, Lord Aberdeen promised in return to support no other prince but CAS one of the House of Bourbon, niid the French cabinet expressly reserved to itself the right, if England should push forward a prince of Coburg, of making a French prince his rival competitor. It was under- stood that England would not oppose an alliance of the duke of Montpensier with the infanta, if her elder sister should have children. But, strangely enough, the Eng- lish agents in Spain did not adhere to the instructions of their superiors. An invita- tion even was addressed to the duke of Coburg, who was at that time in Lisbon, to come to Madrid, in order to negotiate the marriage with a prince of his House. Queen Christina was probably aware of the terms that had been arranged between France and England, and accordingly hoped that France, now released from its engagements, would make the duke of Montpensier a competitor for the hand of her eldest daugh- ter. But, scarcely had lord Aberdeen in- formed the French ministry of this unex- pected step on the part of the Spanish government, and forbidden the English am- bassador to enter into the. Spanish proposal, when sir Robert Peel's ministry resigned, and was replaced by the Whigs, with Lord Palmerston as foreign secretary, in whom the French ministry had less confidence than his predecessor. Immediately after this event Queen Christina, dreading the English influence, urged count Bresson, the French ambassador at Madrid, to decide at once for a simultaneous marriage of the queen with the duke of Cadiz, and the infanta with the duke of Montpensier. Bresson, who had a quasi permission to enter into this proposal, adopted the project. But when this news reached the French court, Louis Philippe desired M. C4uizot to compel Bresson to a formal disavowal. Whilst Louis Philippe was thus receding from the course taken by his represen- tatives, the English ambassador in Madrid, Mr. Bulwer, received instructions from lord Palmerston, that the prince of Coburg was the real candidate of England. Louis Philippe now became alarmed, and hastened I to conflrm Bresson's arrangements for the simult.aneous marriage of Queen Isabella and the infanta; and it was in this way that those important and much-talked- of Spanish marriages were accomplished, which certainly belong to the most import- ant diplomatic victories ever gained by one cabinet over another. But there was no sympathy in France for Louis Philippe's triumph ; on the contrary, his ministry was even attacked from all sides on account of it; and the so-called entente cordiale that subsisted between the English and French governments then sustained a shock from which it never fully recovered. These events took place in 1846. But nothing contributed more to weaken Louis Philippe's government than a series of scandalous events, in which the year 1847 abounded. The duke of Praslin, a peer of France, who stood in the most inti- mate relations to the court, in that year murdered his wife, the daughter of marshal Sebastiani, under the most abominable cir- cumstances. He was seized, and about to 646 Crf)e CrcaSurg of ?^titorp, ^c. be confronted with his judges, when it was suddenly known that he liad found time to poison himself, and thus to escape the scaffold by suicide. Letters were published after his death, from wliirli it appeared lliat he was entraped In an inipropcr connec- tion with the Kuvcrnessof his children, and that, for the sake of this person, he had not shrunk from the perpetration of this foul deed. General Despans Cuhieres, peer of France, formerly minister of war, and the cidevaut minister Teste, one of the presi- dents of the Court of Cassation, were con- demned for bribery and for corruption, by the Court of Peers ; and after the most audacious denials, the latter was obliged to confess having accepted 100,000 francs for granting some privileges to a mining com- pany. He tried to shoot himself in prison, and it was universally reported that his own son had procured him the pistols. Yet fate would have it that he should survive his own disgrace. The minister of justice, Martin du Nord, died suddenly a mysterious death ; he is said to have sunk into imbe- cility, for he was discovered by the police in a secret gambling house, where they expected to And only debauchees, and other characters of the lowest description. Bresson, who had negotiated the Spanish marriages.cut his throat. EmiledeGirardin accused Guizot of being willing to sell the dignity of the peerage, and he himself was convicted of having sued for this dignity for his own father, and having given a promise to withdraw from the opposition press, in the event of his rcjuest being granted. It became known at the same time that the minister of the interior had received 100,000 francs from a ministerial paper, to which he had granted a privilege. The mi- nister of com-merce was convicted of having accepted 500 railway shares from the Nor- thern Company Immediately after M. Gui- zot's declaration that a minister to whom such a charge could be brought home was to be considered infamous. Many other similar delinquencies were proved again.st government officials ; but enough has been said to show how deep-seated was the dis- ease, and consequently what inroads were daily made upon the popularity of King Louis Philippe and the integrity of his government. But the proximate cause for the unpopu- larity of Louis Philippe was his speech, at the opening of the chambers on the 28tli of December 1847. In that speech his majesty ascribed the refor.m agitation, which had spread over the whole country, to 'hostility and blind passions.' This angry phrase confounded, in one assertion, the mean with the extremes — the ultras with the moderates ; those who might at the next turn of the political wheel constitute the new administration, with those whose only chance of power depended on a revo- lution. Nineteen sittings were held before the address on the royal speech could travel through the chambers. Yet, obstinate in error, the king and the government pro- ceeded to follow up the blow, by putting to issue the legal right of the constitutionally legitimate parliamentary opposition to a reform banquet, assembled not by the members of an extra parliamentary and law-prohibited association, but by those of a great party in the chaml)er, for the ex- ercise of an undoubted constitutional right. The reform banquet was fixed to take place on Sunday the L'otli ; but was subsequently deferred until the following Tuesday. That Tuesday morning the general com- mittee appointed to organise the banquet, had desired only 'to make a legal and pa- cific protest' against the acts of the govern- ment — a protest which, as they publicly advertised, would ' be the more efficacious the more calm it was. Pursuant to this Idea, they requested by their manifesto tne citi- zens to utter no cry, to carry neither flag nor exterior emblem ;' and such of the na- tional guard as might join the procession, ' to present themselves without arms.' The dynastic opposition meanwhile had yielded to the conservative cabinet, and, much to the chagrin of the multitudes abroad on the morrow, had resolved on withdrawing from the banquet, and to rest satisfied with the impeachment of the ministry. Notwithstanding the unpleasant state of the weather, groups of artisans and shop- keepers crowded the Boulevards and the Champs Elysees ; and the whole of the immense area between the church of the Madeleine and the chamber of deputies was completely occupied. At noon there followed a procession of labouring men, dressed in blouses, who were soon dis- persed by a regiment of infantry and a civil magistrate. "To these succeeded a deputa- tion of students bearing, unarmed, a peti- tion to the chamber for the impeachment of ministers. As the day advanced the money-changers on the Boulevard closed their shops : for the old Marseillaise hymn, and a new chorus, ' Mourir pm^r la Patrie,' had been sung by the people densely massed in the Place de la Concorde. Moreover, as at the same hour on the 2"th of July 1830, the official residence of the premier was at- tacked with stones, two panes of a mock window being broken. Thereupon followed a charge of cavalry, by which many were injured, some wounded, and one man had his head cleft open. The national guard, during the day, responded with reluctance to the beat of the raijpel. A detachment of the seventh legion, on guard at the Chamber of deputies, had indeed, eveu early in the day, refused to clear the colonnade, lobby, and avenues. The populace from time to time attempted to erect barricades in the rues Koyale, Eivoli, St. Honore, and St. Florentin, the Place de Chatelet, and other spots favourable to their purpose ; but by midnight all had been thrown down, and the troops of the line bivouacked in the streets, along the quais, and in the market- places of Paris. But next morning the barricades were reerected, and stoutly de- fended, and some of the soldiers, by whom they were attacked, were slain. The na- tional guard declared for reform andagainst the ministers. A company of the fourth legion appeared in arms before the chain. Cfte W^tar^ of JTranre. 647 her, to present a petition in favour of re- form ; while detHCliraents of the second, third, and seventh legions raised shouts of 'Vire. la Eiformel' — 'A bas I'homnne de Oandl' — 'A baa QuizotI' A change of ministry was now inevitable, and the Iting's choice fell on count Mole. In the course of the night the supreme command of the national guards and of the troops of the line was confided to marshal Bugeaud ; and count Jlole having failed him, the king charged MM. Thiers and Odillon Barrot with the duty of forming a new cabinet. But whatever hopes were indulged in from this arrangement were soon dissi pated ; — for an event had occurred which converted the insurrection into a revolu- tion. A ball from a gun, then supr>osed to have gone oil accidentally, struck on the leg the horse of a colonel of tlio 14th regiment of the line; — who, conceiving that he was attacked, ordered an instant discharge. At once muskets were levelled and flrcd— the shrieks and ravings of thou- sands were heard — and then sixty-two bodies lay weltering on the pavement. Over them drove a squadron of cuiras- siers, sword In hand; and the whole scene about the Hotel des Capucines, where M. Guizot resided, was one of massacre. Seventeen of the corpses, being placed on a truck, were borne along from place to place, and exhibited for a spectacle by the ghastly glare of torch and gaslight. Scop- ping before the oHice of the National, MM. Garnier Pages, Arraand Marrast, and other popular citizens were called forth. Every- where the multitude cried ' Aux armea ! Nous sommes trahis !' It became clear that on Thursday morning, no mere ministerial change would satisfy the people. The new ministry felt its weakness, and not further to exasperate their countrymen, directed the military — ' not to lire.' The troops of the line, paralysed by the order not on any account to Are, presented but a weak ram part against the insurgents ; they fell back within the court of the Tuil- eries. The national guard had wholly dis- appeared ; the insurgent crowd continued to advance ; already was heard the dis- charge of their Are arms. The ministers, in a state of consternation, lost all hope. Amid the terrible confusion which reigned round Louis Philippe, some e-tclaimed, ' "Will you permit your whole family to be butchered!' others, 'The regency of the duchess of Orleans will save all!' The king signed his abdication, and withdrew from the palace of theTuileries to retire to St. Cloud. Meanwhile the due de Nemours, doubt- less with the design of protecting the king's retreat, was still on horseback in the court of the Tuileries, with two regiments of infantry. "The position could, however, be defended no longer. The duke gave di- rections to abstain from tiring, in order to spare useless bloodshed. He also, though in vain, sought to repel the multitude by a weak detachment of national guards that had just reentered the court. While these events were taking place, he learned that the duchess of Orleans, with her two , sons, had quitted the Tuileries by the gar- den. It was in good time ; an instant later and she must have been unable to save herself or her infant children, for armed bands were already making their way into the gardens through the railing of the Rue Rivoli. The prince ran to join her. On his arrival at the Place de la Concorde, he ga^ve orders for the troops to be drawn up along the Champs Elysees, with a view to conducting the duchess of Orleans safely to the palace of St. Cloud. In the meantime he posted guards at all the e.xits of the place, and at the Pont Tournant. While the prince was superin- tending the execution of these ditferent measures of precaution, the duchess of Orleans was, with her children, conducted into the chamber of deputies, in the midst of a group, in which were many members of the chamber, and officers in attendance upon the count of Paris. The chamber re- ceived the duchess with acclamations, which were redoubled after the speech of M. Du- pin. On the benches of the deputies and in the tribune, 'Long live the regent!' ' Longlive thecountof Paris 1 ' were loudly shouted. The sitting, however, was pro- longed. The radical opposition drowned the voice of M. Odillon Barrot, who spoke in support of the regency. Finally, several orators, among whom was M. de Lamartine, insisted upon an appeal to the people. At this moment the headstrong rabble, armed with sabres, pikes, and firearms, preceded by persons in the uniform of the national guard, who bore a tricolour flag, threw it- self into the hall. A young madman, in a blouse, from the height of the tribune, levelled a gun with direct aim at the presi- dent. Another stared with ferocious earn- estness upon the group, in which were members of the royal family. The national representation was contemptuously disre- garded, profaned, outraged, and dissolved ; the regency was trampled under foot ; the duchess of Orleans and her two sons with- drew ; and the monarchy was at an end. LedruRollin then read out the names of the members of a provisional government. Thence they proceeded to the Hotel de Ville, where the republic was formally pro- claimed. Meanwhile King Louis Philippe had fled from the Tuileries. When the people came thronging to the Tuileries, the na- tional guard appeared to take their side, and it therefore seemed useless to call ujion the troops to act. The king and queen then issued from the palace on foot, and walked on through the garden to the very spot where Louis XVI. had been murdered. Here they found them- selves hemmed in on all sides, but no one offered them injury or insult. They got into a small one horse carriage and drove to St. Cloud, whence they directed their course for the coast, and on the following Thursday they got on board an English steamer, from which they landed next day atNewhaven, in Sussex. Thus, after a duration of leas than eighteen ye.ars, terminated the rule of the House of Orleans in France. ' If King G48 Cf)C Crra)SurM of ^tiStor]i, &c. Louis Philippe," says a coiiteiupnrary wri- ter, 'had not also been infatuated with tlie curse of his race — that of refusing to coni'eJe a simple and just demand, made in euuity and moderation by the people — he would not in his old ane have been exiled from his country. He had disdained to be taught even by all his eventful ex- perience. He had forgotten or disre- garded In power what he had written in adversity. In France, after two revolu- tions and more bloodshed in the name of liliertv than In any c.iuntry in tbeworld the press was thonmi-'lily fettered hy the laws. Ko French citizen cjr foreigner could move in or out of or over France, without a writ- ten license, or permission to do so from the police. The freedom of assembling in public or private meetings was prohibited by the laws of September 1834— laws which Berryer with truth said, "put into execu- tion the ordinances of Charles X." The representative system was so limited by the high money-rate in direct taxation required to be paid to qualify electors as to amount to a mockery of the whole population. In short, though there was civil, military, and legislative equality for all before the tri- bunals, and equality for all rich enough to qualify for electofs, civil liberty did not exist in France.' The republic having been proclaimed on the basis of liberty, equality, and fraternity, Dupont de I'Eure was named president of the council ;Lamartine, minister of foreign affairs; Ledru Rollin, minister of the in- terior; M. Goudchaud, minister of finance ; Cremieux, minister of justice; Francis Arago, minister of marine ; general Bedeau, minister of war ; Carnot, minister of public instruction ; Bethmont, minister of com- merce ; Marie, minister of public works ; Cavaignac, governor-general of Algiers ; and Garnier Pages, mayor of Paris ; while Arniand Marrast, Louis Blanc, Flocon, and Albert, ouvrier, were appointed secre- taries. The fortresses of Paris and Vincennes ac- knowledged this provisional government. Odillon Barrot, marshal Bugeaud, and nu- merous other members of the opposition, gave in their adhesion to it. The palace of the Tuileries was transformed into an hospital of invalids for the wounded work- men, to whom a million of money, due of the sum which had been granted for the civil list of the late king, was directed to be piid, in order to relieve the immediate wants of the unemployed laboiu'ers and citizens. All political prisoners were discharged; and the punishment of death was abolished for political crimes. It was declared that the national tricoloured flag should bear the words ' BepiCblique Franfaise, Liberie, Egalite, Fraternity ;' that the red rosette should be introduced as a souvenir of this last revolutionary act, and that it should be worn by the members of the provisional government. A strong garde mobile, con- sisting of twenty-four battalions of 1,048 men each, was formed for securing the tranquillity of Paris ; and acts of accu- sation were drawn up by the procureur- geueral against the Guizot ministry, most of whose members had meanwhile fled to England. But it soon became apparent that Import- ant differences of oi>inion existed amongst those whom a strange series of events had placed at the head of affairs. Lamartine, the presiding genius of the new move- ment, who sought, with Marrast and others, to govern the couritry according to the principles of constitutional liberty, was opposed by Louis Blanc and Ledru Rollin, whomaintained that the last revolution, un- likeall i)revious revolutions,wasmore .social than political, and that measures should immediately be taken by the government for the organisation of labour, and the abolition of misire. To meet these views, a commission of emiulry was appointed to sit at the Luxembourg with Louis Blanc as pre- sident, and Albert, ouv)-ier, as vice-presi- dent. National workshops* too were opened, where two francs per day were awarded by government to each new comer, and where thus the idle and vicious had the same re- muneration as the energetic and indus- trious. The enormous multitudes of work- ing men flocking into Paris from the de- partments to take advantage of the new regulation, caused great excitement in the capital. These working men formed them- selves into clubs, which became the centre of furious debates, and fomented such dis- order in Paris, that many of the wealthy in- habitants, deeming a residence in the capi- tal unsafe amid such elements of discord, quitted France, and trade was for a time prostrate. Meantime tlie assembly pro- posed to frame a new constitution, and di- vided the country into electoral districts. Great exertions were made by the extreme party, who now obtained the title of ' Red Republicans' from wearing the old red cap of liberty as their badge, to obtain a prepon- derance in the election of members for the national assembly. The assembly, though chosen by universal suffrage, being, not- withstanding all the efforts of the Red Re- publicans, composed of men of moderate views, great antagonism arose. A formid- able outbreak on the ISth of May, resulting from the refusal of the assembly to appoint a minister of labour, and which eventually led to the expulsion of Louis Blanc, was suppressed by the vigorous efforts of Lam- artine. This outbreak was followed by another of a most alarming character. In the month of June, the increase of labourers in the national workshoiis from 1S,000 to 120,0(X), became a subject of apprehension to the government, who ordered that 30,000 of those who came from a distance should return to their homes. After an interview with the executive committee, a deputation * It is but justice to M. Louis Blanc to state that, whatever evils these national workshops in- tiicted upon the community, he was iu no respect to blame for their establishment. He has clearly exonerated himself on this point in his Putjes d'Histoire; and his statement is fullv corro- borated by M. de Lamartine, who says, ' Bien loin d'etre a *Ia solde de Louis Blanc, ils (les ate- liers natlonauxl ^talent inspires par I'esprit de see advcrsaires.' — Hiatoire de la Keo, de FtvrUr, t. ii, p. 120. Efit igtStorg of ifrancc. 649 f men from the national workshops col- lii-ted a riotous mob, as tliey marched iliiv'iigh the streets of Paris, exclaiming ,i; uinst the measures of government. The i:il'idity with which barricades and prepa- atiiins for civil war were commenced, jiroved that the conspiracies against the giivernment were no hastily concerted I'lang, and the strong line of works, which embraced a great part of the city, induced the executive committee to resign their functions, and confer the command of the forces upon general Cavaignac. On the morning of the 33rd of June, the insurrec- tion broke out ; and in the course of a few hours the insurgents had taken possession of a segment of the town of which the river, the canal St. Martin, and the Rue and Fau- bourg St. Denis, formed the three principal sides. The whole of this ground was a mass of barricades. All the streets leading to the principal thoroughfares, such as the Rue St. Denis, and the Rue St. Jacques, were blocked up at the entrance ; at the bridge of Austerlitz, on either side of the river, at the bridge St. Michael and that of Notre- dame, formidable tetes-de-pont were erects cd ; every street wag barricaded from one end to another, and the barricades were defended by loopholes made in the wall on each side. These were the defensive preparations : but the plan was to march simultaneously forward by the right bank on the Hotel de Ville, the National Palace, the Chaussee d'Antin, and the Faubourg St. Honore ; by the centre on the Palais de Justice, the Louvre, the Bank, and the Mint ; by the left bank on the Luxembourg, the ofDces of the ministry and the national assembly, and thus form a junction at the western extremity of Paris. For three whole days this terrible conflict lasted from morning till night, and in spite of the barricades being breached by artil- lery, of shells being thrown into the whole district, of the mine being brought into play, the troops could gain their ground but step by step, the insurgents beaten from one stronghold rapidly reaching another. Fi- nally on the fourth day, they were forced to retreat from all sides into the Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine, which offered a suc- cession of very close barricades, almost all cannon jiroof, from one end of the street to another, the cross streets, leading on one side towards the canal and on the other towards the Seine, being likewise barri- caded. At ten o'clock a battery of mortars on the Place de la Bastille bombarded the faubourg on that side ; and in a short time, a few shells had set fire to some of the nearest houses. A mine also pushed some considerable distance threatened to blow up a considerable number of the insurgen t», whilst their position was taken in flank by General Lamoriciere. Perceiving the in- evitable conserjuences of furtheropposition, they capitulated. On both sides the loss of life was tre- mendous. Among the victims was the archbishop of Paris, who had nobly gone among the insurgents as the messenger of peace : but the firing which had ceased having been accidentally renewed, he was l struck by a ball in the groin and died of the wound. Immediately after the suppres- sion of the insurrection, general Cavaignac resigned the dictatorship, with which hehad been invested ; but was forthwith elected chief of the executive. The constituent assembly, which had met on May 4th, now proceeded to draw up a constitution of which the outline was as follows : — The legislative power was to be voted in a single chamber, called the na- tional assembly, consisting of 750 members, elected by universal suffrage, with a maxi- mum duration of three years. The execu- tive power was to be vested in a president, elected for four years by universal suffrage, with himself and his relations to the sixth degree ineligible for the next term. The national jepresentatives were to receive 25 francs per day, and the president was to have a salary of 600,000 fi-ancs per annum with a residence. These details being completed, the pub- lic mind was almost solely occupied by the election of the first president of the re- public. The contest lay between general Cavaignac and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the emperor and eldest surviv- ing son of Louis ex-king of Holland, who had been elected to the assembly by Paris and various other constituencies. On the day of election, Dec. 10, it was found that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte had upwards of fivemillions and ahalf of votes inhisfavour, while general Cavaignac had only about one million and a half. His name, no doubt, gained this great majority over his able com- petitor ; and no more striking proof could have been given of the respect paid in France to the memory of Napoleon. But it should not be overlooked that general Cavaignac was supported only by repul)- licans as sincere as himself; while his competitor obtained the suffrages, not only of the Orleans and legitimist parties, but of the so-called socialists, who thus avenged on the republican general their overwhelming defeat in the month of June. On the 20th of December, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte took the prescribed oath to ob- serve the constitution, and was installed president of the republic amid Imposing solemnities. It would serve no useful purpose to dwell upon the events of the next three years. Ignorance and hero-worship, the supersti- tion and idolatry of a name, raised Louis Napoleon on a lofty pedestal without a single claim or merit of his own ; but the moment he was there, one party of the monarchists hailed him as their precursor, while another considered him a useful stop- K.ap till they had matured their plans. But whatever rivalry existed between the dif- ferent sections of the monarchical party, they all, legitimist, Orleanist, Bona- partist, combined to prevent the republic from having a fair trial. They did all tl;at lay in their power to disgust France with the then existing form of govern- ment. They converted the national as- sembly into an instrument of oppression; they curtailed the liberty of the citizen, destroyed the independence of the press, 3 K CoO 5ri)e CrcaSurji af ?|fa{(orjj, ^r. and undermined theeducational Institutions of the country. Tbe choice of journals to lie sold in the streets was actually left to the police ; and the fundamental law of universal suffraKe repealed without the sanction of the nation. If the cause of order lost adherents out of doors, the fault was Willi the party that called tlieniselves it3 chainpions within the chamber. They possessed all the power, if not the will, to do good ; the majority in the single cham- ber was omnipotent in the nation, the ex- ecutive government was bound to obey their behests, and popular caprice could not affect their position ; they were re- turned uuder asystera of universal suffrage, and no legal power in the state existed to dissolve parliament. If they had been true friends to their country, and acted in-espec- tive of party considerations, they would have consolidated the liberties, developed the resources, and strengthened the position of France. All power in the country was concentrated in their hands ; they might have passed a habeas corpus act, relaxed their stringeut commercial code, modified the system of centralisation, or asserted some principle in their action which would have made them the rallying point of ra- tional liberty. Instead, however, of avail- ing themselves of their impregnable posi- tion, and directing the progress of the nation, they only signalised themselves as exaggerated alarmists or faint-hearted re- actionists. They seemed determined that France should enjoy the unabated excite- ment of a continual revolution ; they pro- tested against peaceful acquiescence in what had been adopted, and nothing an- noyed them so much as the supposition that their constitution was finally settled ; its very imperfections were a source of conso- lation to them, and any new evidence of Its instability was hailed as a triumph to their principles. To create discontent with the existing form of government '.vas their object ; nor were their efforts without suc- cess : they seriously damaged the republic in the eyes of the people, and it was diffi- cult to find any who were satisfied with its working. But while the national assembly was thus reaping laurels in so unpatriotic a field, it was kept in countenance by the doings of the president. From the first it was apparent to all who were not struck with judicial blindness, that his own personal ambition, and not the maintenance of the constitution which he had sworn to up- hold, or the prosperity of the country which had recalled him from exile, was the object he had at heart. In the prose- cution of his aims he adopted a mingled policy of cunning and hypocrisy, to which there are few parallels in modem times. To gratify the army, he regaled them on champagne and sausages on the plains of Satory :— while the conservative majority in the assembly were won by his apparent adherence to their illiberal and reactionary measures. Thus he gave a ready assent to the law on the 31st of May 1850, repealing universal suffrage in the election of the president and the assembly (the very law which he afterwards struggled hard to get repealed), and in order to gain over the priesthood, he sent the army into Italy in 1819, which abolished the lloman republic, and reinstated the pope- The close of the year 1851 had been long designated as the advent of a great convul- sion ; no pains were spared to prepare the public raind for some alarming event ; it had been the policy of all parties to exag- gerate the dangers society was exposed to, and Europe at large was willing to believe that secret associations for the worst of objects covered like a network the whole surface of France ; a janiuerie was an- nounced to be at hand, and many a Cas- sandra prophesied that hearth, altar, life, and property were about to be engulfed In a whirlpool of socialism. These and such like rumours were put in circulation by legitimist and Orleanist, monarchist and republican, each in the hope of turn- ing the alarm they created to his own Individual advantage. The greater the dis- trust in existing forms, the clearer, they thought, would be the Held for their own systems ; the day of confusion was to be the vigil of their success, the outbreak of revolution the eve of a restoration : France frightened from her propriety would fly to any standard which promised a momentary respite, and each party believed that theirs would be the first to wave over the scene of general confusion. But, strange to tell, while the friends of either branch of the Bourbons were thus building their hopes on a national panic, and both were busy scheming the fall of the republic, while monarchists were boasting of the sympathy of the people, and socialists beginning to believe in their rumoured importance, some half-dozen individuals swept away constitu- tion, chamber, press, tribune, law and au- thority throughout the realm, and consti- tuted themselves sole arbiters and absolute masters of life, limb, power, and property within the dominion of France. On the 2nd of Dec. 1831, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the president, whose tenure of ofHce was to have expired the following May, under the pretext of ' saving so- ciety,' assailed the legislative power, ar- rested the representatives, drove out the assembly, dissolved the council of state, expelled the high court of justice, sup- pressed the laws, swept the streets of Paris with grape-shot, and terrorised France. The audacity of the stroke was only sur- passed by its success ; no real opponent took the field : even the choice of evils was not left : the bewildered nation, reeling under the blow, threw itself at the feet of the power which had intticted it. The courts of justice, it is true, and the na- tional assembly did, to their immortal honour, protest ; but the love of legality was so dead that their voice did not find a single echo. Nay more, the immense majo- rity of the nation, when afterwards ap- pealed to, conferred on the president al- most despotic powers, and thus appeared to sanction his unheard-of deeds. In the constitution then granted to PYance, the form of liberty was maintained, but its 2ri)c l^tStarg at dfranw. 651 spirit was suppressed. It cniisists (jf a le- gislative chamber, a senate, and a council i>f state. The legislative chamber is to be elected every six years, by universal suf- frage; and the members of the senate and the council of state are nominated for life. No man of sense for a moment supposed that the republic was to be maintained after what had happened ; and hence, when the president, with a view to ascertain the opinion of the nation, made a progress through various parts of the country, soon after the coiip-d'etat, there arose on. all sides a cry for the reestablishment of the Miiiplre. This cry could not be misunder- stood ; and on Dec. 2, 1852, the anniver- sary of the coup-d'Hut, the empire was reestablished, the president assuming the title of Napoleon III., Emperor of the French. The assumption of the imperial title was followed almost immediately by the mar- riage of the emperor. On the 22nd of January 1853, he announced to the deputa- tions who met him at theTuileries that he had resolved on a marriage which was not in accordance with thetraditions of ancient policy, and in that lay its advantage. In- stead of seeking a royal alliance, which generally substitutes family interest for that of a nation, he had chosen a daughter of a Spanish nobleman whose lineage w.as among the noblest and the most ancient in Spain. On the 29th of January the emperor celebrated his civil marriage with Eugenia de Moutijo, countess-duchess of Zeba, and the ecclesiastical ceremony was performed on the following day in the cathedral of Notre Dame. This year w.as marked by a reconciliation of the two branches of the Bourbon family, by an acknowledgement of the superior title of the due de Bordeaux. Prom this step the duchess of Orleans withheld her sanction, as it gave up the right of her son the comte de Paris, who was the direct heir of Louis Philippe. In effect, it only postponed them by one step, as the due de Bordeaux had no children by his marriage. Into the part taken by France in the Crimean war it is not necessary to enter here, as a full account is given of it in the histories of Turkey and Russia, At home, the institutions of the old empire were revived in increasing completeness. The imperial guard was again embodied, and in January 1855 the emperor addressed them on the historical associations of their name. During that year two attempts were made to assassinate him : in the one case the criminal was executed, in the other lunacy wns proved, and he was shut up in an asylum. On the 2nd of July the emperor iiddressed the corps legislatif on the ineffec- tual results of the Vienna conferences, after which the bills, presented for the new war, were taken up with singular ra- pidity, the sum of 3,600,000,000 fr. being suliscribed by about 300,000 persons. When the legislative l)ody met again on March 3, 18.50, the emperor was able to announce that the plenipotentiaries were then met in Paris to arrange definitively the terms of the peace which was to end the Kussian war. On the Kith of March the euipress gave birth to a son, and a further prop was thus apparently added to the dynasty of Napoleon III. The reconciliation of the branches of the Orleans family did not last long. A letter written in January 1857, by the due de Nemours, stated that that reconciliation was not to be regarded as an engagement, unless the due de Bordeaux consented to maintain the tricoloured flag, and to rees- tablish constitutional government. As the latter maintained the impropriety of regu- lating such questions before the time of action arrived, the fusion of the two bran- ches was at an end. In January of the following year the emperor narrowly escaped assassination as he was on his way to the opera house. It was found that the leader in the attempt was an Italian named Orsini, wlio was arrested with three accomplices named lludio, Fieri, and Gomez. Orsini and Fieri were executed, the otlier two were con- demned to the galleys for life. It was owing to this event that attempts were made in the English parliament to amend the law of conspiracy. How completel,v those attempts failed, and what were the causes of their failure, has been already related in its place in the ' History of Eng- land.' On the 19th of August a convention was signed which closed the sittings of the conference of representatives of the great powers who had signed the treaty of Paris in 1856. The articles related to the organi- sation and government of the Danubian principalities, and placed Moldavia and Wallachia under the suzerainty of the sul- tan, of which it strictly defined the limits. The next important event in the history of the empire was the share taken by tho emperor in the Italian war of liberation ; but it is unnecessary to repeat here a nar- rative which belongs to the history of Italy, In the year 1861 the subject of the public debt began to attract great attention, and caused much anxiety. An able scheme to meet the difficulty was proposed by M. Fould, who suggested that the emperor should relinquish the power of opening supplementary credits, as hitherto had been the practice, without the consent of the legislative body by simple decree. Instead of this, he urged that unforeseen needs should be met by transferring the sup- plies voted for one service to another ; in other words, that when necessity arose, it might be lawful to break through th.it system of rigid appropriation which is care- fully maintained in England. In this sys- tem of transfers M. Fould saw 'the only practicable and effectual means of securing the public services in the absence of the legislative body,' while it would be left to the government to regularise that opera- tion on the meeting of that body, and to replace the sums so transferred under the chapter to which they belonged. He urged further that by couccding to this body its incontestable rights, tho emperor would harmonise it with his government : he would give up a privilege which exiBted 6.52 Ctje €^rea)^ui-ii at ^i^tavy, Sec, more In fancy than reiility, in sctun- :i bud- (ivt which would be strictly in accDrdaiice with the wants of the country. Tlic result of these suggestions was their acccinauce liy the eniiieror, who ajipoiulcd M. Fould to the ministry of llnance. The year 180a brouKlit with it no events of any great importance to the French empire. The Mexican expedition drawKed on its length slowly, witlioiit arhicving any positive result. The Mexicans de- clared their resolution to flood tlie couniry ruuud the cHy of Mexico ; but the French trnoi:s had not before the close of the year reaclied far enongli to make such a measure an immediate necessity; and although they have apparently succeeded in conquering that country, the diUicuitics already expe- rienced in holding It may lead to results which may seriously affect the government of France : but at present the symptoms, which seemed to point in France to a de- sire for revolution have passed away, and to ail appearance the empire remains as flrmly established as at any time since the coup-d^itat. THE HISTORY OF SPAIN. This country, situated in tlie eoutli-west of Europe, and bounded by tlie Atlantic, tiie Mediterranean, Portugai, and France, was well Icnown to tlie Plicenicians at least a thousand years before the Christian era ; yet it appears to have been very imper- fortly l^nowu to the Greelis in the time of Ili'i-odotus. As far as history or tradition makes us acquainted with its aboriginal inhabitants, they were the CeltsB and Ibe- rians, who became blended in the com- mon name of Celtiberians. Till the coming of the Carthaginians into Spain, however, nothing certain can be afflrmed of the Spaniards, and this happened not long be- fore the first Punic war. In ancient times Spain was regarded as a country replete with riches ; and though at the time of the Roman conquest pro- digious quantities of gold and silver had been carried out of it by the Carthagi- nians and Tyrians, it stiU had the repu- tation of being very rich. We are inform- ed by Aristotle, that when the Phoenicians first arrived in Spain they exchanged their naval commodities for such immense quan- tities of silver, that their ships could nei- ther contain nor sustain their load, though they used it for ballast, and made their anchors and other implements of silver. Nor could it have been much diminished when the Carthaginians came, since the inhabitants at that time made all their utensils, even their mangers, of that pre- cious metal. In the time of the Romans this amazing plenty was greatly reduced; still their gleanings were by no means des- picable, since in nine years they carried off 111,543 lbs. of silver, and 4,095 lbs. of gold, besides an immense quantity of coin and other things of value. Although the earliest inhabitants of Spain appear to have consisted of Celtic tribes, which probably entered the peninsula from the neighbouring country of Gaul, and oc- cupied the northern districts, there is every reason to believe that the southern part of the country was possessed by the Mauri- tani from the opposite coast of Africa ; the iiarriiwness of the strait of Gibraltar, and tlie valu;ible products of Spain, being in- (luccnieiits quite sufficient for the African barbarians to form settlements there. Ac- cordingly, the Carthaginians, whose descent from the Phoenicians led them to traffic with all those nations who could supply them with useful commodities, early di- rected their views towards Spain, and about the year 300 B.C. had cstablislied a colony ill the north-east of the peninsula, and founded the town of Barceno, tlie modern Barcelona. In the course of the same cen- tury their ambition and jealousy of the Romans induced them to attempt the con- quest of a country so advantageously situ- ated for their commercial enterprises. This attempt gave rise to the second Punic war. The result was the gradual annexation of the whole peninsula to the Roman repub- lic; and it continued, under the name of Hispania, to form an important province of the empire for nearly seven centuries. It was usually divided into three great por- tions, Lusitania, Boeticaor Hispania Ulteri- or, and Tarracouensis or Hispania Citerior. The Spaniards were naturally brave ; and though the inhabitants of the eastern and southern coasts had been reduced to a state of servile subjection, yet, as the Romans penetrated farther i!ito the country than the Carthaginians had done, they met with nations whose love of liberty was equal to their valour, and whom the whole strength of their empire was scarcely able to sub- due. Of these the most formidable were the Numantines, Cantabrians, and Astu- rians. In the time of the third punic war, one Viriathus, a celebrated hunter, and af- terwards the captain of a gang of banditti, took upon him the command of some na- tions who had been in alliance with Car- thage, and ventured to oppose the Roman power in that part of Spain called Lusita- nia, now Portugal. The praator Vetilius, who commanded in those parts, marched against him with 10,000 men ; but was de- feated and killed with the loss of 4,000 of his troops. The Romans immediately de- spatched another prastor with 10,000 foot and 1,300 horse ; but Viriathus, haviug first cut off a detachment of 4,000 of them, en- gaged the rest in a pitched battle, and having entirely defeated them, reduced great part of the country. Another prEetor, who was sent with a new army, met with the same fate; so that, after the destruc- tion of Carthage, the Romans thought pro- per to send their consul, Quintus Fabius, who defeated the Lusitanians in several battles. It is not, however, necessary to pursue this portion of the Spanish history with minuteness ; suffice it to say, that after many severe contests, in which the Romans were often obliged, to yield to the bravery of the Celtiberians, Numantines, and Cantabrians, Scipio ifimilianus, the destroyer of Carthage, was sent against Numantia, which, after a most desperate resistance, submitted to the Roman com- mander, though scarcely an inhabitant sur- vived to grace the conqueror's triumph. This was a final overthrow, and the whole of Spain very speedily became a province of Rome, governed by two annual prsetors. Nothing of importance now occurred in the history of the peninsula till the civil war between Marius and Sylla : B.C. 76. The latter haviug crushed the Marian fac- tion, proscribed all those that had joined against him whom he could not destroy. 3 k; 2 654 (!C!)C CrtajEiurs at l^i^tury, ^t. Among these was Si'i-iai'iu.-;, wliu had i-ol- locted a powerful army from the rclic-s of that imrty, and contcndoil with great suc- cess against Calus Annlus and Jletollns, who were sent ri'-rainst him. Serlorius nowfoniuMl a desis,'!! of en-i-l im,' l,usil;inia inlo an indrpcndrnl repiiMIc ; and so vii-'or- ously were his nn asurrs prdsccufed, that tlie Koiiians hi'canu' seriously alaianed for the safety of tlieir empire in tliat quarter. On tlie dealli of Sylla, tlie most emi- nent sener.ils in Itome contended for the honour of Ijavins' the counuand of the army wliii-h it was intended lo send against this fiuanidalile enemy. After some deli- beration, the management of this war was Intrusted to Pompey, afterwards suruamed the Great, though he had not yet attained tlie consular dignity. Metellus was not, however, recalled ; but Sertorius for a long time proved more than a match for them both ; and after establishing himself in Lusitania, he made such perpetual at- tacks on their united armies, that they found it necessary to separate, one retreat- ing into Gaul, and the other to the foot of the Pyrenees. Treachery at length effected for the Roman cause what valour tried in vain ; the bold and skilful Sertorius being assassinated at an entertainment by Per- perna, after having made head against the Roman forces for almost ten years. Pom- pey now pressed forward witl\ redoubled ardour against the insurgent army, and the troops, deprived of their able leader, were finally subdued by him. Though conquered, Spain was not alto- gether in a state of tranquillity ; many of the most warlike nations, particularly the Cantaljrians and Asturians, continuing, wherever opportunities presented them- selves, to struggle for their independence. But from the time of Agrippa, who carried on a war of extermination against them, till the decline of the western empire, they remained in quiet sulijection to the Ro- mans. Augustus himself founded the co- lony of Cajsar Augusta (Saragossa) and Augusta Emerita (Merida). For 400 years the Roman manners and language took root in the Spanish provinces. In the arts of war and peace, the peninsula at that period rivalled Rome ; and it gave birth to many men of first-rate character and abilities; among them, Pomponius Mela, Seneca, Lucan, Trajan, and Theodosius the Great. In the reign of the emperor Honorius, the Gothic tribes of Vandals, Suevi, and Alans spread themselves over the penin- sula. About the year 420 the brave Wallia founded tlie kingdom of the Visigoths in Spain. The Vandals, from whom Anda- lusia received Its name, could not with- stand him, and withdrew into Africa in a few years after. The Visigoths, under Euric, extended their kingdom by the ex- pulsion of the Romans in 484 ; and at length Leovigild, in 583, overthrew the kingdom of the Suevi, in Galicia. Under his successor, Recared I., the introduc- tion of the catholic faith gave the corrupt Latin language the predominance over the Gothic ; and, after that time, the unity of tlieSpanisli n.ation was niaintaiued by the catludic religion and the political influence of the clergy. Towards the end of the seventh century, the Saracens (the name .adopted by the .-Vralis afler their scl I Iiinc lit in Europe) having ovi'rriui Barbaiy witli a rapidity wliich notliiiig I'oiild resist, and possessed theULselves of the Gothic dominions In Africa, made a descent upon Spain. Rode- ric, the king of the Goths, was a usurper, and having occasioned great disaffection among his subjects, he determined to come to an engagement, knowing that he could not depend upon the fidelity of his own people if he allowed the enemy time to tamper with them. The two armies met in a plain near Xeres, in Andalusia. The Goths began the attack witli great fury ; but they were totally defeated, and Roderic in his Uight was drowned lu the Guadal- quiver, A.D. 711. Nearly the whole of Spain was brought under the dominion of the Moors (as the Arabs of Spain are usually called) by this decisive battle ; those Goths who still con- tended for independence retiring into the mountainous parts of Asturias, Burgos, and Biscay. But in 718 their power began to revive under Pelayo (or Don Pelagio), a prince of the royal blood, who he.aded those that had retired to the mountains after the fatal battle of Xeres. In the most inaccessible parts of these regions Pelayo established himself ; and such were its natural defences, that although the Moorish governor, Alakor, sent a powerful army to crush him, the followers of Pelayo were so concealed among the precipices, that, almost unseen, they annihilated their enemies. In a second attempt the Moors were equally unsuccessful, nearly the whole of their army being either cut In pieces or taken prisoners. At this time the greater part of Spain became a province of the caliphs of Bag- dad; but in the middle of the eighth cen- tury Abderahman, the caliph's viceroy in Spain, threw off the yoke, and rendered him- self independent, fixing the seat of his go- vernment at Cordova. Abderahman's first care was to regulate the affairs of his king- dom ; and though he could not alter the Mahommedan laws, which are unchange- able as the koran wherein they are written, he appointed just magistrates, released his Cliristian subjects from a great part of the tribute-money hitherto extracted from them, and patronised commerce and the arts. At Cordova he built one of the most superb mosques In the world, and it still re- mains a splendid monument of the skill aud magnificence of that enlightened people. The descendants of Abderahman conti- nued for nearly two centuries to reign in Spain, at their capital Cordova, patronising the sciences and arts, particularly astro- nomy and medicine, at a period when Chris- tian Europe was immersed in ignorance and barbarism. In 778, Charlemagne en- tered Spain with two great armies, one passing through Catalonia, and the other through Navarre, where he pushed his con- quests as far as the Ebro. On his return m)t ^i^tary ai ^jiain. 653 ■ M.J licwasatCickcdiuiduelcaU-dljy tli_ tliougli this did not prevent him from keep- ing possession of aU tliose places he had """iTthe meantime the kingdom founded hy Pelavo, now called the kingdom of Leou and Oviedo, continued *« ""■'■f f.J^P^^'^ in strength, and "'any advantages were gained over the Moors. In the early part ot the tenth century, a distinguished seneral, named Mohammed Elm Amir Almanzor appeared to support the sinking caii>,e ot that people. He took the city of Leon, whi.h he reduced to ashes, and destroyed the inhabitants. Barcelona shared the same fate : Castile was reduced and depopulated , Galicia and Portugal ravaged ; and he is «aid to have overcome the Christians in fiftv different engagements. A pestilence, however, having attacked his army just af- ter he had demolished the city of Compos- tella, and carried off in triumph the gates oVthe church of St. James, the Christians superstitiously attributed it to a divine judgement ; and, in the full persuasion that the Moors were destitute of all heavenly aid, they fell upon them with such fury m the next battle, that aU the valour of Alman- zor and his soldiers could not save them from a teiTible defeat ; and, overcome with shame and despair, he starved himself to '^'^During this period a new Christian prin- cipality appeared in Spain, namely, that of Castile! which lay in the middle between the Christian kingdom of Leon and Oviedo and the Moorish kingdom of Cordova This district soon became an object of contention between the kings of Leon and those of Cordova ; but by degrees Castile fell entirely under the power of the kings of Leon and Oviedo ; in 1035, Don Sanchez bestowed it on his son, Don Ferdinand, with the title of king ; and by this event the territories of Castile were flrst firmly united to those of Leon and Oviedo, and the sovereigns were from that time styled kings of Leon and ^ Arragon, another Christian kingdom, was set up in Spain about the beginning of the ileventh century. The history of Arragon however, during its infancy, is but little known. But about the year 1035, Don Sanchez, surnamed the Great, king of Na- varre erected Arragon into a kingdoin m favour of his son, Don Ramiro, and after- wards it became very powerful. At this time the continent of Spain was divided into two unequal parts, by a straight line drawn from east to west, from the roasts of Valentia to a little below the nimith of the Douro. The country north of this lie- longed to the Christians, who, as yet, had the smallest and least valuable share, and all the rest to the Moors In P'-int- o* wealth and real power both by land and sea the Moors were greatly superior ; but their continual dissensions weakened them, and everj' day facilitated the progress of the Christians. , . , „j !,„:„„ The Moorish governments, indeed, being weakened by changes of iiwers tlmft from Ills own sulijocis; niiil it was not long liefore liis old coinpetitor, Fnim-i?, with tlic aiil of KiiL'li.^li iiioiify, was alile to scud a foniiidablc army into Italy, under tlii? conunaiid of niarslial L.iu- trec. Clement then regained his freedom ; but the death of the French marshal, and the revolt of Andrew Doria, a Genoese ad- miral in the service of France, were serious disasters, which inclined Francis to try the effect of nepotiatiou in lien of the force of arms. The progress of the reformation in Germany— to which Charles was ever most strenuously opposed— at this time threat- ened the tranquillity of the empire ; while the victorious sultan Solyman, who had overrun Hungary, was ready to breiik in upon the Austrian territories with an over- whelming force. In this state of things a pacific accommodation was too desirable to be refused by Charles, notwithstanding he had lately gained such advantages ; and it was agreed that Margaret of Austria (Charles's aunf), and Louisa (the mother of Francis), should meet at Cambray, with a view of adjusting the terms of a treaty between the two monarclis. The result was, that Francis agreed to pay two millions of crowns, as the ransom of his two sons, to resign the sovereignty of Flanders and Ar- tois, and to forego all his claims on Italy; and Charles ceased to demand the restitu- tion of Burgundy. On this occasion, Henry VIII. was so generous to his friend and ally Francis, that he sent him an acguittal of near 600,000 crowns, in order to enable him to fulfil his agreement with the emperor. The terrors of the Turkish arms were at this time greatly increased by the cruel- ties exercised on the subjects of Christian states who were so unfortunate as to fall into the power of the Algerine pirate, Bar- barossa. This man was the son of a potter at Lesbos, and by deeds of violence had raised himself to the throne of Algiers. He regu- lated with much prudence the interior po- lice of his kingdom, carried on his piracies %vith great vigour, and extended his con- quests on the continent of Africa ; but perceiving that the natives submitted to his government with impatience, he put his dominions under the protection of the grand seignior. Solyman, flattered by such an act of submission, and considering him the only adversary worthy of being opposed to the renowned Doria, appointed him to the command of the Turkish fleet. Thus assisted, he not only strengthened his for- mer kingdom, but usurped that of Tunis ; and now carried on his depredations against the Christian states with more destructive violence than ever. Willing to support the exiled king of Tunis, Muly Hassan, but far more desirous I of delivering his dominions from so dan- 1 gerous a neighbour as Barbarossa, the em- peror readily concluded a treaty with the ] former, and set sail for Tunis with a for- midable armament. This was the most bril- 1 liaut exploit of his life. He sailed from ! Cagliari to the African coast, took the I strong seaport town Goletta by storm,! with 300 pieces of cannon and all Barba- j rossa's fleet; defeated the tyrant in a pitched j battle ; and 10,000 Christian slaves having overpowered the guards aud got possession of the citadel, he made his triumphant entry into Tunis. Muly Hassan, on being rein- staled, agreed to acknowledge himself a vassal of the crown of Spain, to put the emperor in possession of all the fortified seaports in the kingdom of Tunis, and to pay annually 12,000 crowns for the subsist- ence of the Spanish garrison in Goletta. These points being settled, and 20,000 Christian slaves freed from bondage, either by arms or by treaty, Charles, covered with glory, returned to Europe, and was received as the deliverer of Christendom ; while Bar- barossa, who had retired to Bona, lost no time in gatheringaround him the necessary means of becoming again the tyrant of the ocean. Wliilst (Carles was fighting in so glorious a manner against the hereditary enemy of the Christian name, the king of France took advantage of his absence to revive his pre- tensions in Italy. Glorious as the result had been, the temerity of the Algerine expedition at first portended nothing but misfortune; and Francis thought such an opportunity of turning the political scale might not again occiu-. How quickly did the prospect change I Barbarossa defeated and obliged to fly; the barbarian prince for whom Charles had interested himself replaced upon the throne of Tunis, and that kingdom made tributary to Spain : while altars were erected there to the Christian religion, and the triumph of the conqueror adorned with the broken chains of slavery. A.D. 1536.— Francis now invaded Italy, oc- cupied Savoy and Piedmont, aud threatened Milan. CSiarles, again roused by exertion, arrived with a superior force, and drove the French from the greatest part of Savoy, invaded Provence, and besieged Marseilles. But the great talents of the marshal de Montmorency, who commanded the French army, and still more the determined energy of the people, who now arose to defend their homes and property, compelled Charles to raise the siege and to make a most de- plorable retreat across the Alps. After various other feats of arms, attended with changing success, a truce was con- cluded, through the mediation of the pope, for ten years (June 18, 1538), according to which each of the belligerents retained what he possessed. Savoy was therefore divided, but Milan remained in the hands of the emperor, although under equivocal promises in favour of France. These conditions were not fulfilled. For Charles, having invested his son Philip with Milan, had given his adversarj* a new cause for animosity ; and the second expedition of the emperor to Africa, which was this time very unfortunate, furnished Francis with a favourable occasion for a new rup- ture. The audacious piracies of Barbarossa, which were renewed with all their horrors, appeared finally to require an avenging sword ; and (3harles, full of the proudest hopes, undertook this crusade in October IMl, at the head of a powerful army, well equipped and stored. Hardly had they Sr^e W^tart) of ^^pain. 661 arrived on the coast of Algiers, wlien a storm arose, destroyefi the fleet, and left the discouraged troops exposed to the fierce attacks of an exasperated enemy. The bat- talions, relieved by abandoning their bag- gage and munitions, marched from the gates of Algiers, amidst a thousand dangers and hardships, to Cape Metafuz, where the vessels that had escaped the storm awaited them, and the miserable remnant of the army embarked. A.D. 1542. — Francis thought that the mo- ment had at length arrived for prostrat- ing his enemy. He took the field against Charles with five armies, on five different boundaries : towards Spain, Luxembourg, Brabant, Flanders, and Milan. Nor did he blush to admit the auxiliary fleet of the sultan into the harbour of Marseilles, or to let the French flag float beside that of the pirate Barbarossa, in the line of battle against the imperial and papal fleets. But all this was of little avail. Andrew Doria remained master at sea, and the Ave armies of France, notwithstanding their success in the beginning (and notwith- standing: even the brilliant victory of Ce- risoles, in which 10,000 of the emperor's best troops fell), yielded at last to the per- severance, prudence, and fortune of Charles andhis genei"als. On theotherhand, Charles having renewed his old alliance with Henry, king of England, had already penetrated into Champagne, and menaced the heart of France, whilst Henry was advancing through Picardy, in order to unite with Charles at Paris. At length, mutually tired of harassing each other, the rival monarchs concluded a treaty of peace at Crespy (1544), which, in the main, renewed the conditions of the earlier one at Cambray, but contained also the project of a matrimonial connec- tion between the two houses. Francis died in 1547. In consequence of the emperor's resolu- tion to humble the protestant princes, he concluded a dishonourable peace with the Porte, stipulating that his brother Ferdi- nand should pay tribute for that part of Hungary which he still possessed, while the sultan enjoyed undisturbed possession of the rest. At the same time he entered into a league with Pope Paul III. for the extirpation of heresy, but in reality to op- press the liberty of Germany. But he failed in his object, and was obliged, in 1552, to conclude a peace with the protestauts on their own terms. By this peace the emperor lost Metz, Toul, and Verdun, which had formed the barrier of the empire in that quarter; he, therefore, soon alter put him- self at the head of an army, in order to recover these three bishoprics. In this he was unsuccessful. The defence of Metz was committed to Francis, of Lorraine, duke of j Guise, who possessed in an eminent degree 1 all the qualities that render men great in military command ; and although the em- 1 peror marched into Lorraine at the head of 60,000 men, and laid siege to Metz, attempt- i ing all that was thought possible for art or valour to effect, he was obliged to abandcjn the enterprise, with the loss of one half i of his troops. I Breathing vengeance against Prance, and impatient to efface the stain his reputation had received, Charles retired to the Low Countries, and took Terouenne. In Italy, and in Hungary, however the imperial arms were less successful ; still, by efforts of wisdom, celerity, and prudence, he again snatched the laurel from his enemy's brow. At length, after having reigned over Spain for thirty-nine years, this mighty monarch, whose life had been one continued scene of ardent pursuits— either disgusted with the pomp of power and the projects of ambition, or sickened by repeated disappointments- resigned the empire to his brother Ferdi- nand, and his hereditary dominions (Spain, Italy, Flanders, and the American posses- sions) to his son Philip. He then sought happiness in quiet obscurity, and retired to the monastery of Tuste, in the province of Estremadura, where, after two years' tran- quillity, he closed one of the most tumul- tuous lives that is to be met with in history : A.D. 1558.* Extraordinary penetration, astonishing skill, unwearied application to business, a profound knowledge of men, and of the art of placing them properly ; a mind calm in prosperity, and unshaken in adversity ; an activity which continually hurried him from one extremity of his empire to the other- were the talents that distinguished Charles, and raised him to the first rank among those who governed the world. Ambitious, artful, prudent : little scrupulous in point of religion, and always affecting to appear the reverse ; prodigal of his promises in danger, and preferring the advantages of breaking to the honour of keeping them ; affable and open with subjects who, in a manner, adored him ; a dissembler with his enemies, whom he flattered only to destroy ; this prince possessed all the virtues and vices necessary for the conquest of Europe, and would in all probability have subjected it, but for the courage of Francis and the capacity of Solyman. When Charles V. resigned his dominions to his son Philip II., anxious that he should pursue the same plans of conduct and prin- ciples of policy, he put into his hands all the political observations which he had written down during his long reign, and which formed a system of the art of go- vernment both in peace and war. Philip highly valued and carefully studied this his political testament, which, being the result of long experience, and dictated by great aljilities, might be thought an inesti- mable gift; but the event has proved that the maxims adopted and principles laid down were in their tendency destructive of the true interests of Spain, whose power has been gradually weakened, and wealth exhausted, by the system of aggrandisement therein recommended, and pursued during the two succeeding reigns. The Spaniards, even to this time, retain the memory of this fact, on which they have founded a proverbial expression, that 'in all great * For a graphic account of the closing scenes of the emperor's life, see the CloisUr Lift of Charlet Y., by William Stirliue. 3L 662 (E^c Crra)SurB af W^tar^, St:t. emerpenclos, their ministers are wont to consult the spirit of Charles V.' At the period to which we are now ar- rived, how powerful was tlie throne rrt Spain I Besides tli;it line and warlike coun- try. It Koverncil also in Kurope Ilie two Sicilies, the llilanose. tlie sevi'Utecn i.ro- vinces of the hnw Countries and Franclie Conipte: in Africa, Tunis and Oran, with their territories, the Canaries and some of the Cape Verd Islands; in Asia, the Philip- pines, the islands of Sundi and a part of the Moluccas ; in America, the empires of Mexico and Peru, New Spain, Chili, and al- most all the islands situate between those two continents. The troops of Spain were the first in Europe ; their armies, reckoned invincible, were composed of veterans trained in actual service, inured to fatigue, and animated by the remembrance of various triumphs. They were commanded by the dukes of Alva and Savoy, both pupils of Charles V., who had been brought up in his camp, and were already distinguished by their victo- ries. Her immense fleets, which in a man- ner covered the seas, had been taught to contend with Barbarossa, and to triumph under Doria; the mines of Potosi and Chili, lately opened, were In full vigour, and en- riched Cadiz with an annual tribute of twenty millions sterling. Philip II. was master of all those pos- sessions. He had recently married the Que£ai of England ; and the passionate fond- ness of Mary for a husband who made no return to her affection, gave him the com- mand of all the forces of her kingdom. This monarch had neither the valour nor activity of his father, nor that affability which made the emperor the idol of his subjects ; but he had all his ambition, and supported it with those talents and vices which make tyrants so formidable. His penetration and capacity were extensive ; but he was callous to every generous feel- ing, full of duplicity and suspicion, cruel, revengeful, and superstitious. A truce of Are years, settled by the man- agement of Charles V., had given some re- pose to Europe, and seemed to promise a lasting peace. An aged pontiff revived the animosity of nations, and kindled the flames of a general war. Paul IV., impa- tient to he revenged on Philip, sent his nephew to Henry II., in order to persuade him to take up arms. Montmorency In vain urged him to reject the solicitations of au ambitious old man : Guise, who ar- dently wished to display his talents, pre- vailed upon the monarch to assist the pope, and hostilities were renewed. Henry, who always found a faithful ally in Solyman, was joined by the sultan and the pontiff against Philip. The latter, who, notwith- standing the indifference he showed for his consort, still preserved an absolute em- pire over her, found no great difficulty in obtaining the assistance of English forces. Thus Italy, Hungary, and the frontiers of France, were at the same time in a flame. Tranquillity, however, soon revived in Italy, where the misfortunes of Henry, the defeats of Guise, and the abilities of the duke of Alva, obliged the pontiff to abandon the monarch whoso assistance ho had im- plored. In Flanders Philip appeared in pcrsnu, at the head of a numerous army ; the ope- rations being directed by Philibert of Sa- voy, a prince of great abilities, which he was particularly desirous of exerting on this occasion, from motives of resentment against the oppressors of his comitry. The flower of the French troops advanced to meet the Spaniards, and a splendid train of nobles followed their warlike leader ; the king was prepared to join them, and the city of St. Quentin became the general ren- dezvous of those numerous forces. Phili- bert laid siege to it ; and it was defended by the gallant Ooligny, nephew of the con- stable. The prodigious efforts of the in- habitants, animated by that young hero, confounded Philip ; and he already began to dread that he should be under the ne- cessity of raising the siege in a shameful manner, when the impetuous Montmorency appeared under the walls, and offered bat- tle. The French fought valiantly, but their courage was useless ; the capacity of the Spanish general triumphed over the rash valour of his opponent ; a bloody defeat threw Montmorency into chains, and de- stroyed the greater part of the nobles under his command. The capture of the city immediately followed. France, unprotected on all sides, thought herself undone, and Paris trembled with apprehensions of soon seeing the enemy at her gates. Charles, who was informed in his retreat of the success of his son, no longer doubted of the destruction of his ancient rivals, and the French monarch was preparing to fly for shelter to some re- mote province. The duke of Guise, who had been recalled from Italy, was the only person that did not despair of preserving the state. With incredil)le diligence he collected the scat- tered remains of the vanquished army ; and when, by judicious marches and con- tinued skirmishes, he had given a check to the ardour of the enemy, and revived the courage of the French, he suddenly turned towards Calais, and, after a vigorous and well-concerted attack, deprived the English of a place that, for three centuries, had given them a ready entrance to the conti- nent. Philip fixed his residence at Madrid, and governed his vast dominions, without the aid of any ostensible ministers, in perfect despotism. By his intrigues the popedom was conferred on cardinal Medicis, who was attached to the house of Austria, and became the minister of his designs. The new jiontiff loaded him with favours, and declared him the protector of the church, which title the monarch justified by extra- ordinary condescension. He submitted to bulls and papal edicts that affected the majesty of the throne, and paid a blind deference to the clergy. He raised im- mense and magnificent monasteries, rigor- ously persecuted the enemies of Rome, and presided at those horrid rites which bigotry and enthusiasm diguifled with the ©1)0 ^iitatu of ^patit. 663 nnme of acts of faith. He Rave orders for establishing that court in all the provinces under his authority, and rublished decrees to inflame the zeal of the tyrants who pre- sided over it. Can it be wondered at that the oppressive severity of this execrable court should cause disaffection ? The Moors, who remained in Spain on the faith of treaties, were enraged to see their privileges violated, their liberty con- tinually menaced, and the blood of their dearest friends flowing beneath the hands of public executioners. Despair supplied the place of strength ; they considered no- tliing but the excess of their misery, and endeavoured to break their chains, the weight of which was become insupport^ able. The execution of one of their coun- trymen, whom they had crowned, did not terrify them; they supplied his place by another, and implored the assistance of strangers who professed the religion of their ancestors. A general rebellion rent the southern parts of the kingdom, which now became once more the theatre of an- cient animosity. All Spain was alarmed ; Philip alone secretly exulted at the revolt he had produced. The valour of his troops and the abilities of his generals triumphed over the desperate resolution of the Moors, and these unfortunate people were obliged to submit to the mercy of the king; they lost their rights and possessions, and were transplanted to the provinces that lay most remote from their former settlements. The people of Arragon, at the same time, demanded a restoration of their violated privileges ; Naples threatened to shake off the yoke ; and Milan, so long remarkable for fidelity, was endeavouring likewise to break her fetters. The establishment of the Inquisition terrified the inhabitants, and prompted them to take up arms. But the same crafty measures also appeased those disturbances, and the efforts exerted by so many nations for the recoveiT of their liberty served only to rivet their chains the faster. The tumults and confusion in Flanders were still more violent. The people were extremely jealous of their privileges, which tiiey had preserved under their counts and the dukes of Burgundy; they compelled Charles V. to respect them, and that prince, after despairing to subject them by terror, adopted the more generous method of con- ciliating their affection. Philip, who never had a heart to relish such an expedient, was passionately desirous of bending the stub- born necks of this people to the most op- pressive and humiliating yoke ; their privi- leges were obnoxious to his pride, and their inimense riches inflamed his cupidity. When he quitted that country, with a resolution never to return, he seemed in- clined to continue the mildness of his fa- ther's rule : he appointed Margaret, the daughter of Charles V. and widow of Oc- tavius, duke of Parma, its ruler. The wit, charms, and clemency of this princess were well calculated to gain the hearts of a gene rous people ; but, at the saiue time, the un- feeling cardinal Granville, who made no distinction between policy and perfidy, or zeal and persecution, was placed at the head of the council. This ecclesiastic was the depository of the secrets of the cabinet, and while he appeared to perforin but a secondary part, was actually employed in the first. He treated the nobles with con- tempt, issued extravagant edicts that were prejudicial to industry and commerce, mul- tiplied taxes, trampled on the laws, and punished the most humble remonstrances and timid representations as crimes. The Flemings, thus oppressed under the yoke of a stranger, contented themselves with lamenting their distress in private, but the sight of the tribunal of the Inquisition, erected in their principal cities, raised a general indignation; the people forgot their weakness, and thought not of their duty ; Protestants, impelled by rage and fury, pulled down churches, subverted al- tars, and obliged the clergy to fly. Margaret trembled at those increasing tumults, and endeavoured to appease them by a prudent compliance with the desires of the people ; the cardinal overturned all her measures, and published n decree of council, equally ridiculous and cruel, against those sedi- tious proceedings, which condemned all the citizens indiscriminately— the heretics for having destroyed the temples, and the catholics because they did not prevent them. The nobles, foreseeing the consequences of the ill-advised acts of the minister, en- deavoured to persuade him from such in- considerate conduct ; but being dismissed with haughtiness, and finding themselves disappointed in their hopes of meeting with justice from the throne, they deter- mined, if possible, to save their country, by a resolute opposition to the council, that should reestablish the vigour of the laws. At the head of those nobles was "William, prince of Orange, descended from the il- lustrious house of Nassau, that three cen- turies before had swayed the imperial scep- tre. With every necessary qualification for effecting a, revolution, William had am- bition, capacity, and courage to undertake anything, and saw, with secret pleasure, that the Imprudent haughtiness of the Spa- nish ministers was opening a road to give him independence. In order to conceal his ambitious designs, he assumed an air of submission and respect, and talked of no- thing but carrying the complaints of his countrymen to Madrid ; hut he secretly concerted a more extensive plan. With this view he conciliated the friend- ship of the great, and ingratiated himself in a particular manner with the counts Egmont and Horn. These two noblemen were descended from very ancient families, and were both excellent citizens and faith- ful subjects: Egmont was distinguished for victories he had gained for the house of Austria ; Horn was respected for his virtues by all parties. The cries of the nation carried to the throne by such venerable ad- vocates seemed to affect Philip; Granville was recalled, and the people flattered them- selves with the hope of seeing their griev- ances redressed by a new minister. 664 Cfje dcaSurg of W^tavv, &^c. In some men llic most valuable- powers of the mind are united with the basest passions. Thus it was with Alva, whom Philip had appointed to succeed Granville. As soou as he arrived iii Flanders, by an affected show of lenity and moderation that silenced all dilHdence and apprehen- sions, he appeased the Flemings, disarmed them, and decoyed the principal nobility to Brussels. The qorernor, thus master of their fate, threw oft the mask that till then con- cealed his despotic and sanguinary senti- ments, confined the most distinguished per- S(ms in a dungeon, and appointed a special commission for their trial. Judges, devoted to Ills mandates, condemned eighteen noble- men to death, and a few days after pro- nounced the like sentence against Egraont and Horn. These executions, conducted with the most awful solemnity, were a pre- lude to many others. Executioners were despatched from one city to another, and in the space of one month thousands per- ished under their hands. Terror, which at first chilled the courage of the people, at length gave place to de.spair, by which it was relieved. Kumerous armies appeared on every side, all animated by the desire of avenging the blood of their friends and fellow-citizens shed on the scaffold, and all made desperate by the certainty of having no hope of pardon. Alva, no less great as a commander than he was barbarous as a minister, hastened at the head of a small l)ody of Spani.irds to the different provinces, fought and triumphed at every step, dis- persed the confederates, beat down the walls of the cities, and deluged the streets with blood. One head, however, escaped the gover- nor's snares : 'Wiiliam prince of Orange, having more penetration than his unfor- tunate friends, did not give way to the flat- tering inritations of the Spaniard. He re- tired to Germany, where he learned, with the rest of Europe, the miseries of his country : proscribed as he was, and his for- tune confiscated, without friends or sup- port, he ventured to declare himself openly the avenger of his countrymen. A general hatred against Philip, whose enormities he laid open ; horror and detestation against the duke of Alva, whose tyrannical excesses he painted in strong colours ; the interest of the protestant religion, the alliances of the house of Nassau with so many sove- reigns, his prayers, his patience and reso- lution, procured him a small army, and his two brothers who joined him gave increase to his hopes. He had scarcely raised the standard of liberty, when the people flocked round him ready to obey his orders. His first attempts were unsuccessful, and gave way to the su- perior fortune of the duke of Alva ; he re- turned to Germany, collected another army, made his appearance in Holland again, and was once more obliged to fly. Haarlem, Flushing, Leyden, and most of the mari- time towns renounced all obedience to the duke of Alva ; the love of civil and religious liberty animated every breast, and the Hol- landers, till then obscure and insignifi- cant, seemed to become a nation of heroes. Counigc and skill were In vain opposed to them : the love of liberty supplied the place of numbers, policy, experience, and ricliei>. At length the sovereignty of Philip was abjured, the Roman catholic religion alxi- lisheri, the state erected into a republic, and William declared Ilicir chief, imdertlie title of stadtholder. But he did not long enjoy the title. An assassin employed by Philip gratified his revenge against Wil- liam ; and the sudden death of that great man seemed to threaten the extinction of the republic he had created; but Maurice, his worthy son, inherited his dignity, his talents, and his zeal. The new stadtholder w.is not di.=mayed at the approach of the duke of Parma, though that hero possessed all the capacity of the duke of Alva, and, with more know- ledge and experience, had many excellent qualities. Though reduced to the last extremity by the amazing efforts of their enemies, they would listen to no accom- modation, and contented themselves with soliciting succours from lueen Elizabeth. Their persevering efforts were rewarded ; the republic revived, her fleets returned from distant countries richly laden, and furnished her with new resources for re- pelling her tyrants and securing her liberty on a solid foundation. While Philip was pursuing the war against these obstinate revolters, an un- expected revolution procured him a new kingdom. John III., who during a long reign saw Portugal enjoy the most splendid prosperity, left only a grandson for his suc- cessor, who was still an Infant, and pro- mised to be the model of happy monarchs. A peaceful and wise regency augmented those expectations, which were confirmed by the great qualities that appeared in Se- bastian. This prince. In peace with all Europe, master of the mostextensive commerce till then carried on, idolized by his people, who fancied the great kings his predecessor? were revived in him, appeared to have no- thing that could prevent him from enjoy- ing an enviable felicity. But a vain pas- sion for glory having suddenly captivated the mind of Sebastian, hurried him to the tomb, and with him the glory and pros- perity of the nation vanished for ever. One of those scenes of ambition so fre- quent among barbarians, had lately been exhlliited at Jlorocco. The ruler of thnt country was both weak and odious, and his uncle taking advantage of his unpopu- larit.v, obtained the crown. The unfortu- nate monarch, having no hopes of assist- ance from subjects that had suffered by his oppression, applied to the Christian princes, and endeavoured to interest them in liis cause by the most specious promises. Phi- lip was too prudent to engage in a war from which he could derive but little ad- vantage, and therefore rejected the solici- tations and offers of the African. Sebas- tian eagerly embraced them, and resolved to employ all his forces in restoring the tyrant. Deaf to all advice, and hlind to every other consequence, he could see no- thing In the prosecution of this design but Cl)C W^tovp of jgijiam. 665 the Imuuur of being the protector of klugs, the glory of having an emperor for his vas- sal, and of planting the standard of Chris- tianity in the capital of one of the most jiowcrful enemies of the cross. He led the army in person to Africa, and having landed witli such success as seemed to presage still greater advantages, he exulted in the general consternation that appeared around him.. But his fond hopes were speedily dissipated ; for when on the plains of Al- cassar the armies of Europe and Airica contested the prize of valour, the van- quished Christians suffered a memorable defeat : half the Portuguese nobility fell beneath the Moorish scimitar, and three kings were slain. The cardinal Henry immediately ascend- ed the throne of Portugal, but he survived liis accession only two years; and Philip, being in the same degree of affinity with Catherine, duchess of Braganza, who then claimed tlie sceptre, supported his preten- sions by force of arms, and proved victori- ous in many a sanguinary encounter. Lis- bon was taken, plundered, and deluged with blood. Executioners succeeded to the soldiery ; the whole kingdom was sub- jected to Philip, and his good fortune at the same time gave him possession of all the appendages of the crown— the Portu- guese colonies on the coasts of Africa, Bra- zil, and the richest islands of the Indies. Tet, rich and extensive as were his posses- sions, valiant as were his troops, and in- flexible as he was in all that he undertook, the brave Flemings, assisted by Elizabeth of England, carried on the war in support of their independence with unconijuerable fortitude. Impatient of this long-pro- tracted struggle, so disgraceful to him who could boast the best troops and most able generals in the world, Philip resolved, by one stupendous effort, to subdue the spirit of revolt, and chastise the powers which had abetted it. He fitted out, in the year 1588, tlio most formidable fleet that had ever sailed, and, that religious zeal might give greater force to the weapons of war, the pope (Sixtus V.) bestowed on it his benediction, and styled it ' the Invin- cible Armada." Three years had been spent in preparing this armament, which was destined for the conquest of England. It consisted of 130 ships, most of which, from their large size, were unwieldy ; nor was the skill of the Spaniards in maritime affairs equal to the management of such a fleet. No sooner had the armada entered the nar- row seas, than it was beset with violent tempests ; whilst the whole naval force of England, then composed of light quick- sailing ships, was drawn together to op- pose the attack. Lord EfBngham had the chief command, and sir Francis Drake, who was vice-admiral, performed signal services. The superior seamanship of the English was very succes.sfully displayed in this import- ant contest, in which great advantages were obtained from the use of flre-ships, which were first lirought into use upon this me- morable occasion. Such were the conse- quences, both from tempests and the attacks of their enemies, that in the course of a month from the time they left Corunna, no more than fifty-throe ships had escaped de- struction, and about 20,000 persons perished in the expedition. [For a more detailed account, see ' England,' p. 359, 360, &c.] Philip died in the year 1598, having reigned forty-three years. He has been compared, and in some respects with jus- tice, to Tiberius. Both these tyrants at- tempted and accomplished the abasement of the character of their people ; both were equally dreaded by their own families and by their subjects ; both were full of the deepest dissimulation ; both were severe towards others, and licentious in their own habits. But Philip possessed great perse- verance, admirable firmness under adverse circumstances, and an appearance of de- votion calculated to make a strong im- pression on the people, together with that stately reserve which the multitude mis- takes for dignity. Notwithstanding this severity of deportment, his manners were affable and gracious when he chose to as- sume that character. He suffered nothing to stand in the way of his undertakings ; he regarded religion and crime as two in- struments, of which he equally availed himself without hesitation, according as either was suitable to his purposes ; for he seemed to think that the performance of certain exterior rites of devotion, and a strict adherence in religious opinions to the dogmas of Rome, gave him unbounded license in all other respects. He was suc- ceeded by Pliilip III., his son by his fourth wife Anna of Austria ; Don Carlos, his eldest son, who was accused of a conspi- racy against the life of his father, having ended his days in 1568. Philip III. was not less bigoted or super- stitious than his predecessors, but he was less stained with crime and without the dangerous ambition of his father. A peace with England was concluded in 1604, and an armistice for twelve years with the Ne- therlands in 1609 ; but Spain suffered an irreparable loss in population and wealth by the expulsion of the Moriscoes or des- cendants of the Moors. They were allowed thirty days to banish themselves, and death was the punishment appointed for such as remained behind after the specified time. By this impolitic act, and the subsequent expulsion of the Jews, Spain lost 600,000 of her most industrious inhabitants, besides those who were successively butchered, a loss which transferred five-sixths of her commerce and manufactures to other coun- tries, and reduced the public revenue from thirty to fourteen millions of ducats. After a reign of twenty-two years, he died, and was succeeded by his son : A. d. 1621. tinder the reign of Philip IV. Portugal shook off its bonds by a happily conducted revolution, which placed the house of Bra- ganza on the throne in 1640. The war in the Netherlands was renewed, but to no other purpose than to bring about a peace, in 1648, by which the king of Spain ac- knowledged the independence of the Seven United Provinces. During the thirty years' war Prance acted against Spain, which was allied to Austria; and this struggle was 666 ^t BTrfoSuru n£ '^istar^, ^c. not even terminated by the peace of TVcst- plialia, hut continued till the peace nf the Pyrenees, In 1659, by which Uousslllon and Perpignau were ceded to France, and a niarrlaqre was concerted between the In- fanta Maria Theresa, Philip's daughter, and Louis XIV. In 1665 Philip TV. died, leaving for hig successor an Infant son (.Charles II.) only four years of acre, during whose minority the queen dowager, .Mary Anne of Austria, governed the kingdom, whilst she resigned herself to the government of her confessor, a Jesuit, and by birth a German, named Nitard, whom she caused to bo appointed inquisitor-general. The king, wli£n eighteen years of age, married a daughter of Philip duke of Orleans, who by her mother was grand-daughter to Charles I. of England ; but this marriage producing no issue, on the death of the king, which happened in 1700, the succession to the crown of Spain was contested between Philip duke of An- jou, second son of the dauphin, and grand- son to Louis XIV. by Maria Theresa, whom the deceased king had in his will named for his Immediate successor, and the arch- •dnke Charles of Austria, brother to the emperor Joseph. On this occasion, the jealousy which pre- vailed of the increasing power of the French monarchy occasioned a grand alliance to be formed between the maritime powers and the house of Austria, to prevent the duke of Anjou from obtaining the crown of Spain, and to place that diadem on the head of the archduke Charles. This occa- sioned a long and destructive war; but the unexpected death of the emperor Joseph, in 1711, when he was in the 33rd ye.ar of his age, entirely changed the political as- pect of Europe ; and Charles, who had as- sumed the title of king of Spain, and en- tered Madrid in triumph, in consequence of the wonderful successes of the earl of Peterborough, succeeding his brother in the empire, that idea of maintaining the balance of power in Europe, which had procured the archduke such powerful sup- port against the pretensions of Philip, now pointed out the bad policy of suffering the empire and the kingdom of Spain to be again held by the same sovereign. This, together with the reverse of fortune which had happened to Charles by the defeat at Almanza, brought about the peace of TItrecht, which confirmed the crown of Spain to Philip, but stripped it of all those valuable European appendages which had for many years been annexed to that mo- narchy : Belgium, Naples, Sicily, and Mi- lan being resigned to Austria ; Sardinia to Savoy ; and Minorca and Gibraltar to Eng- land. To prevent, as much as possible, the dan- ger apprehended from two kingdoms being possessed by one prince of the house of Bourbon, Philip V. solemnly renounced his right to the crown of France, in ease the succession should happen to devolve on htm ; and his brothers, the dukes of Berri and Orleans, on their parts renounced all claim to the crown of Spain. Many important conquests were made by the na.Yy of Great Britain in the Sledi- terranean, during the war for the succes- sion ; and the strength and resources of Spain were in every respect greatly ex- hausted by it. The provinces of Valencia, Catalonia, and Arragon, which had adhered to the interests of Charles, severely felt the resentment of Philip, when he became es- tablished on the throne ; all the remains of liberty which those people had been allowed to retain since the days of the Gothic kings, were abolished, and the sovereign assumed an absolute power over the lives and for- tunes of his subjects. Cardinal Albcronl, an Italian, who became minister to Philip/V. soon afterhe married his second wife, the princess Elizabeth, daughter of the duke of Parma (1714), was formed for enterprise and intrigue : he la- boured indefatigably to restore the king- dom to something of its former conse- quence ; and by his attention and superior talents the Spanish navy was greatly aug- mented. His designs were so bold and ex- tensive, that for a short time they seemed likely to effect mighty changes in the politi- cal system of Europe ; and in 1717 Spain re- fused to ratify the peace of Utrecht. All these ideal projects were, however, at once disconcerted by the British court, In send- ing a fleet into the Mediterranean, which, without any previous declaration of war, attacked the naval force of Spain, at Cajic Passaro, in Sicily (Aug. 1718), and took or destroyed the greatest part of their shii).-. This decided step on the part of England soon procured the dismissal of Alberoni, and at the same time gave birth to the quadruple alliance between Great Britain, France, Holland, and Germany. In 1739 great misunderstandings arose between the courts of Madrid and London, in respect to the right which the subjects of the latter claimed to cut logwood on the Spanish main, and from the conduct of the guarda-costas of the former in the West Indies, in seizing upon and confiscating British merchant^ships there. These dis- putes gave rise to a war, the principal event of which was the taking of Porto Bello by the English. Philip V. died in 1746, and was succeeded -iiy Ferdinand VI., his son by his first queen, who reigned thirteen years, and dying without issue, was suc- ceeded by his half-brother Charles III., then king of the two Sicilies. Under the reign of Charles III. the Bourbon family compact of 1761 involved Spain, to its injur.v, in the war between England and France. The expeditions against Algiers likewise miscarried ; as did the siege of Gibraltar, in the war of 1777-83. Tet the internal administration improved, as was seen in the advancement of agriculture, commerce, and the useful arts, while the population was consider- ably on the increase. The power of the In- quisition also was restricted, and the secret opposition of the Jesuits annihilated at a blow, by the ' pragmatic sanction' of 1767, which banished them from all the Spanish dominions, and confiscated their property. The grossest superstition, however, still abounded, and a strict observance of the Efft ^i^tav^ at ^pain. 667 most frivolous ceremonials of the church was regarded as obligatory aud indispen- sable. Charles rv. ascended the throne in 1788. The progress of improvement was still ob- servable while the able Florida Blanca con- duotod the affairs of the nation. But he was superseded, in 1792, by Godoy, whose administration was as void of plan as it was injurious to the state, aud greatly ex- asperated the people ; so that the fall of the most fortunate and proudest faTOurite of modern times was immediately followed by that of tlie royal family. Spain at first entered with zeal into the war against the French republic; but the favourite ruined all, by hastening to con- clude the discreditable peace of Basle, by which Spain resigned half of St. Domingo ; on which occasion Godoy received the title of ' Prince of Peace.' He then concluded with the republic the important offensive and defensive alliance of St. Ildefonso, in 1796, and declared war against Great Britain ; but being defeated at sea, Spain lost Trinidad, by the peace of Amiens, in 1802. The prince withdrew from the con- duct of aifairs, but retained his influence, and rose to high dignities. In 1801 mili- tary operations were commenced against Portugal, which wa.=i obliged to ced-e 011- veiii;a to Spain, at the peace of Badajos ; whilst France took possession of Parma, and made its duke king of Etruria, in 1801 ; in consequence of which Spain ceded Louis- iana to Napoleon.who, in 1803, sold it to the United States. Charles IV., in the war between Great Britain and France in 1803, having pur- chased permission to remain neutral, by the payment of a monthly tribute of 1,000,000 piastres to Napoleon, the British seized the Spanish frigates which were car- rying the products of the American mines to Cadiz, in 1804 ; and Spain was compelled to declare war. The victory of the British at Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805, destroyed its naval power ; the bold Miranda excited the desire for independence in Spanish Ame- rica, in 1806 ; aud Napoleon overthrew the throne of the Bourbons in Naples. Godoy now called on the Spanish nation to arm against ' the common enemy ;' and Napo- leon, therefore, sent a Spanish army, under Romana, to Denmark, and another, under O'Farrill, to Tuscany. October 27, 1807, he concluded a secret treaty at Fontainebleau, respecting the division of Portugal ; and 28,000 French soldiers, maintained by Spain, marched over the Pyrenees, and were joined by 11,000 Spaniards. The family quarrels of the royal family favoured the plans of the French ruler in Spain. At the instigation of Godoy Charles IV. wrote to Napoleon, stating that his son Ferdinand, prince of Asturias, had intended to dethrone him, and to deprive his mother of life, so that he ought to be excluded from the succes- sion. The junta, however, unanimously ac- iiuitted the prince and the other prison- ers ; but Godoy induced Ferdinand to ask pardon of the king and queen ; on which the king caused the letter to be published in the Gazette of Madrid, and issued a decree granting pardon to the prince on account of his repentance. The other prisoners were banished. Thus ended the process of the Escurial. In the meanwhile French troops entered Spain. Charles IV. received them as allies ; but, on a sudden, the court prepared to leave Aranjuez for Seville; and It was rumoured that the royal family intended to go to Mexico. Nothing would now satisfy the people but the dismissal of Godoy. This was done ; on the next day, March 19, 1808, Cliarles IV. resigned the crown in favour of his son ; and on the 24th Ferdinand made his public entry into Madrid, which had been occupied by Murat, commander of the French troops, the day previous. Ferdinand informed Napoleon of his as- sumption of the royal power ; while Charles made it known to him that he had re- tracted his resignation. It required not the keen eye of the emperor to discern that the affairs of the royal family were most wretchedly embroiled ; and he failed not to profit by it, but caused the whole family to be conveyed to Bayonne, where he himself arrived April 15. During the meeting at Bayonne, a com- motion, attended with bloodshed, took place at Madrid between the French and Spa- niards, the latter, excited by the arrogance of their visitors, having attacked them. Joseph Buonaparte, accompanied by all the ministers of Ferdinand VII., entered Ma- drid as the future monarch of Spain ; but some parts of the country would not ac- knowledge him so easily. Supine as the Spaniards appeared in the first instance, it could not be expected that a change of dynasties, or rather a transfer of one large country to the dominions of another, could be effected without some opposition ; yet had it not been for the energetic support of Great Britain, the struggle could not have lasted long. The people in Asturias first took up arms ; Arragon, Seville, aud Badajos followed. Pa- lafox carried from Bayonne to Saragossa the order of the prince of Asturias that the people should arm ; and the supreme junta received permission to assemble the cortcs. Early in June the junta at Seville had Issued a proclamation of war, and the French squadron at Cadiz surrendered to the Spa- niards. Six days laterau insurrection broke out in Portugal, and the alliance of Great Britain with the Spanish nation was pro- claimed. The great straggle now com- menced. Marshal Bessieres was successful in the battle at Medina del Rio Secco over general Cuesta ; but the previous defeat of Dupont at Baylen decided the retreat of the French from Madrid, and Castauos entered the city. General Romana had se- cretly embarked his troops at Fimen, and landed in Spain : and Wellesley was victo- rious over the French under Junot, at Vi- meira, on which the French general capi- tulated the day after at Ciutra, and soon after evacuated Portugal. Napoleon ad- vanced with a new army as far as the Ebro, and on the 10th of September Soult defeated the centre of the great Spanish army. Vic- tor and Lefebvre's victory on the 11th., at 668 Wl}t Cicasuip a( J^Oitors, &c. Espliiosa, ojii'iicil tlif way to Asluiia nud flic northern coast ; and In consequence of the success of Lannes at Todela, great numbers of fugitives took refuge in Sara- gossa. The mountain pass of Somo Sierra was talcen by assault by the French and Poles, under Napoleon and BessiOres ; and the French army appeared before Madrid, which surrendered Dec. 4. Tlie French gain- ed many victories and took many fortresses ; but the conquerors remained masters only of the places which they occupied, as the t'uerillas everywhere surrounded and ha- rassed them. Austria now declared war, and Napoleon ■was obliged, in January 1S09, to leave the conduct of the war to his marshals. Two objects chiefly occupied the French generals in that and the following year— the recon- quest of Portugal, and the march over the Sierra Morena to Cadiz. The British had become masters of Portugal. Sir Arthur ■WeUesley advanced from Lisbon, by the way of Alcantara, up the Tagus, and Cuesta jollied him near Truxillo ; whilst general sir Robert Wilson advanced over Placenzia, and Tenegas, the Spanish general, from the Sierra Morena, towards Madrid. This bold plan of attack was frustrated by the battle of Talavera. The British, indeed, were vic- torious over Joseph, Victor, and Jonrdain ; but not being sufficiently supported by the Spaniards, and being threatened by Soult and Xey advancing on their flank, they were obliged to retire to the frontiers of Portugal ; after which Venegas also began to retreat, and was defeated by Joseph at Almonacid, as was Wilson by Ney in the passes of Baros. Madrid thus escaped a siege. The central junta at Seville now resolved to yield to the universal wish to assemble thecortes and to nominate a regency. New armies were created, and Arezaga advanced with 55,000 men as far as Ocana, where, however, he was entirely defeated by Mor- tier. Madrid, therefore, was again saved ; but in Catalonia, Arragon, and Biscay, the most desperate struggle was carried on with the bands of the patriots. In Old Castile several guerilla parties hovered on the French ; and in Navarre the troops of Mina were an absolute ten-or to them. The largest company of them, under the dreaded Mar- quesito, formerly a colonel in the array, en- countered several generals in the open field. In vain did the French establish fortresses on their lines of communication, and en- deavour to protect their rear by movable columns. Yet their plan against Andalusia succeeded. With 22,000 men, the rash Are- zaga thought he could maintain the line on the Sierra Morena, fifteen leagues long, intrenched and mined, and having in its centre the fortified pass of Peraperos, against 60,000 troops, commanded by the best generals of France. Dessolles and Gazan, in January 1810, took the pass of Despenna-Peras ; Sebastiauo stormed the defile of St. Estevan, and took the bridges over the Guadalquiver; and on the 21st of January, 1810, Joseph Buonaparte enter- ed Baylen. Jaen was conquered ; Cordova submitted. Sebastiauo occupied Granada; and Joseph, on the 1st of February, entered Seville, from which the junta had fled to Cadiz. This place, the only one which remained in the hands of the Spaniards, and wliich was defended by 16,000 men under Albu- querque, and 4,000 English soldiers under Graham, besides the combined British and Spanish fleets, was besieged in February, but all the efforts and offers of the French were In vain. The war in Catalonia and Arragon continued. In Leon, the French conquered Astorga, and then directed their arms against Portugal. In this country, to the north of the Tagus, Wellington com- manded a British army of 30,000 men, and Beresford a Portuguese army nearly 60,000 strong, besides 52,000 militia. The right wing of Wellington, at Badajos, was joined by 20,000 Spaniards under Romans, and 8,000 under Ballasteros. The main body of the allied force was posted on the heights of Lisbon, which had been rendered impreg- nable. The plan of the British commander, therefore, was defensive. Massena began his undertaking in June, by the siege of Cuidad-Rodrigo, which surrendered on the loth of July, and Ney entered Portugal over the river Coa ; but Almeida detained Mas- sena till the 27th of August, when it was obliged to capitulate. Wellington ordered the whole country through which Massena could follow him to be laid waste ; and the latter was consequently compelled to defer his march some time. He was afterwards beaten at Busaco ; and Wellington now en- tered the strong position of Torres-Vedras, which consisted of two lines on the heights of Lisbon, defended by 170 well-placed works and 444 cannon. Massena found this position unassailable, and retreated, after several engagements of little import- ance, in November to Santarem. Here ho remained till March 1811, when he was compelled, by want of provisions, to eva- cuate Portugal entirely. But the French were victorious at other points. Suchet, in January 1811, took the important fortress of Tortosa, in Catalonia ; and, in the fol- lowing June, after a murderous assault of five days, the fortress of Tarragona, Soult took the frontier fortresses towards Portu- gal — Olivenija and Badajos ; and Victor de- feated general Graham at Chiclana. In the autumn, Suchet marched against Va- lencia; and after having beaten the army mider general Blake, Murviedro fell on the 26th of October, and Valencia surrendered in January 1812. Lord Wellington now again entered Spain. He took Cuidad Rodrigo and Ba- dajos ; but he was ill supported by the cortes and the regency. At this time Marmont was at the head of the French army in Portugal ; but the loss of the de- cisive battle of Salamanca, on the 22nd of July 1812, obliged him to give up the de- fence of Madrid. Wellington entered the city on the 22nd of August, and the French retired from before Cadiz about the same time ; thus withdrawing their forces from the south of Spain, and concentrating them in the eastern and northern parts. After the occupation of Madrid, Wellington fol- lowed the enemy to Burgos ; but he gave C^e l^t^torj? of ^jpain. 669 up tlio siege of the castle of Burgos, nftcr several unsuccessful assaults, as the Spa- niarils afforded him insufficient support, and the French had received succours. After several engagements, he transferred his head-quarters to Freyuada, on the fron- tier of Portugal, and the French again en- tered Madrid. At length, Napoleon's disasters in Russia decided the fate of the peninsula. Soult was recalled in the beginning of 1813, with 30,000 men, from Spain. Suchet left Va- lencia in July, hut delivered Tarragona, which was besieged by Bentinck, in Au- gust, and withstood Clinton on the Lobre- gat. But Joseph had been obliged to leave Madrid again, and Wellington had occu- pied Salamanca. The French army, com- manded by Joseph Buonaparte and Jour- dain, retreated to Vittoria. Here Welling- ton overtook the enemy, and gained the splendid victory of Vittoria ; after which the French army, pursued by Graham and Hill, retreated in disorder over the Pyrenees to Bayonne, and lost all its baggage. The victors immediately invested Pampeluna. Count Abisbal occupied the pass of Pan- corbo. Graham besieged St. Sebastian, and Wellington entered France on the 9th of July. In the meantime. Napoleon, then in Dresden, had appointed marshal Soult his lieutenant and commander-in-chief of his armies in Spain. He united the beaten corps, and opposed a considerable force to the victor. On the 24th July the strug- gle began in the Pyrenees, and was main- tained until August on every point. Wel- lington took St. Sebastian by assault, after having several times repulsed the enemy, who approached to deliver the garrison. It was not, however, until the 7th of October that he left the Pyrenees, and passed the Bidassoa. After Pampeluna had fallen, no French soldier was left on the Spanish ter- ritory, except in Barcelona, and a few other places in Catalonia. Wellington now at- tacked the enemy on the fortified banks of the Nivelle, and Soult retreated into the camp of Bayonue. But until Wellington had passed the Nive, and had repulsed se- veral attacks, it was not possible for him to obtain a secure footing in the hostile country. His head-quarters were at St. Jean de Luz. Thence he repulsed Suchet's attacks on the Gave. On the 23th of Fe- bruary he fought a battle with Soult at Orthcs, by which the latter was driven from his strong position, and obliged to retreat, in great disorder, to the Upper Garonne. Wellington foUowed the French, under Soult, to Toulouse, where a sanguinary en- gagement took place on the 10th of April ; and the occupation of France by the allied forces put an end to the war. The cortes had already held its first ses- sion, and had resolved that Ferdinand VII. should swear to preserve the constitution, before he should be recognised as king. The treaty of Valencjay, between Ferdinand and Napoleon, was made void by declaring all the acts of the king during his captivity null. On the 14th of May 1814, he en- tered Madrid : the people, dissatisfied with the new taxes which had been imposed by the cortes, received him with acclama- tions, and the friends of the cortes and king Joseph were persecuted with the greatest rigour. Freemasonry was abo- lished, and the Inquisition revived : the conventual states were restored, and the .Jesuits recalled, and reinstated in all the rights and property of which they had been deprived since 1767. And, although the king had solemnly promised a new constitution, liberty of the press, &c., he regarded none of his promises, and reigned with absolute power. The army, however, was highly disaf- fected to these proceedings, and guerillas, or bands of soldiers, infested the interior. Even the lower cla.sses, though averse to liberal principles, were discontented with the severity of the government, while the better classes were divided into the hostile factions of the serviles and the liberals. Those counsellors who ventured to remon- strate with the king, as Einpecinado, Bal- lasteros, &c., were banished or thrown into prison. From 1814 to 1819, there were twenty-five changes in the rainistiy, mostly sudden and attended with severities. They were produced by the camarilla, or persons in the personal service of the king. Every attempt to save the state was frustrated by them, and the overthrow of this ancient monarchy was accelerated by the loss of the American colonies. The army was the Instrument of its fall ; several conspiracies had been organised by the officers for the restoration of the constitution of the cortes; and Portier, Mina, Lacy, and Vidal, were successively the leaders of the conspirators. Mina had been obliged to save himself by flight ; the others had been executed, and their friends had suffered on the rack, or been thrown into prison. The army was indisposed to the Ameri- can service, for which it was destined, and the oEHcers favourable to the constitution of tUe cortes took advantage of this state of feeling to effect their own purposes : whole regiments had determined not to embark, and the commander himself, O'Donnell, conde del Abisbal, was in the secret. But, finding his ambitious project of becoming dictator of the monarchy frustrated by the civil authority, he caused a division of troops which had given the signal of insurrection to be disarmed (July 8, 1819), and the ofllcers, 123 in number, to be arrested. The embarkation of the troops was fixed for January ; but on the 1st of the month, four battalions under Riego proclaimed the constitution of 1812, surrounded the head-quarters of general Callejo, who had succeeded O'Donnell in the command, took possession of the town of Isia de Leon, and delivered the officers arrested in July, among whom was QuI- roga. The insurgents failed in their attack on Cadiz, but occupied La Caracca, where the naval arsenal, a ship of the line, and othfr vessels of war, with some transports, feU into their hands. Quiroga declared, in the name of the army of the nation — the title assumed by the insurgents — that it was their purpose to obtain from the king the acceptance of the constitution. Cf)c BTrcaSuru of lUt^taru, &c. 670 Rlego, at the head of a tronii of S.noo men, now ocrurlcd Algcsiras, entered Ma- Inga, and after some lighting with O'Don- nell, advanced through Eoija and Cordova to Antcquera; while the national army, under Qulroga, in addresses to tlie king and to the nation, declared their only ob- ject was to save their country by the re- storation of the constitution, which had al- ready been acc^^ptcd Ijy the nation. Risings now took place in all yuarters in favour of tlie constitution of the cortes; the royal forces joined the insurgents; Freyre him- self was obliged to proclaim the constitu- tiim in Seville; and Ferdinand, abandoned by his own troops, was compelled to yield to the general cry, and, by proclamation, declared himself ready to summon the cortes of 1812, and accept the constitution of that year. On the same day a general amnesty was proclaimed. On the 9th a provisional junta of eleven members was named, to conduct altairs till the meeting of the cortes ; and Ferdinand swore to ob- serve the constitution in presence of this body, and of the municipal authorities of Madrid. The Inquisition was abolished, as inconsistent with the constitution, and ob- noxious ministers, iStc, were succeeded by others favourable to constitutional prin- ciples. In place of the council of Castile and that of the Indies, a supreme judicial tribunal, with appropriate subordinate courts, was established, national guards were organised in the provinces, the mu- nicipal authorities were made to conform to the constitution, and the cortes finally assembled. Much was done to heal the wounds of the country; but an apostolical junta established itself on the frontiers of Portugal, and bands of peasants, monks, and guerilla soldiers were formed, for the purpose of restoring the privileges of the cro%vn and the clergy. The second session of the cortes began in March 1821, who declared the whole country in danger, and in a state of siege. The command of the armed force was now given to Morillo, and quiet was in some measure restored. But the ultra liberals, or exaltados, as they were called, were not a little excited by the events in Naples and Piedmont, in 1821, and the kingdom was in so disturbed a state that an extraordi- nai-y cortes was summoned in September. At the same time Mexico declared itself Independent ; Lima was occupied by the Chilians, under San Martin ; and the Spanish part of the island of St. Domingo was lost by its union with Hayti. Upon which the cortes urged the king to appoint an abler ministry, and, after some contention, his majesty yielded to their wishes. In Jan- \iary 1822, the cortes declared themselves ready to acknowledge America as a king- dom independent of Spain, but united with her under Ferdinand VII. their common sovereign. The deputies sent to America, however, could effect nothing on these con- ditions; and the session of the cortes was concluded on the 14th of February. At the outset of the third session the moderate liberal party prevailed, and tran- quillity was gradually restored to the in- ternal affairs of the country, when it began to be threatened from without. The strong sanitary cordcm of French troops along the Pyrenees, and the intrigues of the exiles, led the government to suspect that the disturbances excited among the peasants in Navarre and Catalonia, and the bauds of 'soldiers of the faith,' so called, were instigated by the French government. The cortes therefore armed the volunteer na- tional guards ; but the pecuniary resources werechiefly in the hands of the supporters of despotism. The royal guards, in spite of the opposition of Murillo, their com- mander, entered Madrid July 7, but Bal- lasteros, at the head of the national guards, defeated them, and they fled into the royal palace ; but the king, who favoured them originally, now showed himself irresolute. They were unable to resist the popular force, but would have been allowed to re- tire, if they had not again flred on the national guards, who then fell upon them, and killed or wounded the greater part. The moderate party, who had been in favour of a chamber of peers and the extension of the royal power, now joined the com- muneros, or popular party, and all the mtn- isters resigned. The new ministers acted in conformity with the views of the communeros ; and the king, whose authority had sunk en- tirely, consented to all they proposed. Many persons of rank, including bishops, were banished. General Elio was executed ; but the guards were treated with great leniency. The king again declared his ad- herence to the constitution ; but the apos- tolical troops in Biscay, Navarre, and Cata- lonia continued their revolting cruelties. Under the marquis Mataflorida, a regency of the friends of absolute government was established at Seo d'Urgel, near the French frontier, in August 1832. It issued orders, in the name of the ' imprisoned king,' for the restoration of everything to the state in which It had been before the 7th of March 1820. The troops of the apostolical party, after much bloodshed, were beaten by Mina and Milans. Generals Espinosa, Torrijos, and EI Pastor distinguished them- selves against Quesada, a Trappist, and others. The regency fled to France in No- vember 1822, and it was obvious that Its cause was not that of the nation. No troops of the line or national guards, no impor- tant cities nor individuals, went over to them. Some soldiers 'of the faith,' how- ever, still continued in Spain, particularly those of Bessieres, Ullmann, &c. At no period was Spain in a more unsettled state than now, and nothing less than a desperate struggle between despotism and revolution could be calculated on. The French had acceded to the principle of an armed inter- vention pronounced by Austria, Russia, and Prussia, in relation to Spain ; and the French ambassador at Madrid received orders to advise a change in the constitution, as the condition on which the continuance of peace between the two countries must de- pend ; and, in order to enable Ferdinand VII. to make such changes freely, he must first of aU be restored to the full enjoyment W^t W^tavv of ^j>a{n. 671 of sovereign power. The same demand, and even in bolder terms, was made by tlje ministers of Prussia, Austria, and Russia, while Great Britain advised the cortes to yield, and offered her mediation. The Span- ish government repelled with Indignation the interference of the foreign powers, and the threatened discontinuance of diplomatic intercourse took place. The foreign ambas- sadors were recalled from Madrid. 100,000 French soldiers were assembled with the soldiers of the faith at Perpignan and Bayonne, and the cortes summoned the national guards to serve with the troops of the line ; but the attempts to raise an army were unsuccessful, because the bands of the absolutists gave full employment to the troops of the line and the national guards In the various provinces. The duke of Angouleme, at the head of the French army, issued a proclamation to the Spaniards, declaring that the object of the French was only to aid them, and that France desired nothing but the deliverance of Spain from the evils of revolution. His array then passed theBidassoa ; ajunta was established, who formed a provisional go- vernment, declaring the king the sole de- pository of sovereign power, and that no change in the government should be re- cognised but such as the king should make of his own free choice ; and all the decrees of the cortes were declared void. Great Britain remained neutral, or rather aflf cted neutrality ; for the government allowed the exportation of arms and ammunition to Siiain ; and, in return, the ports of the New World were opened to her ships. Along, tudious, and cruel warfare was now kept up by the Spanish troops under the control of Ballasteros, Mina, L'Abisbal, and Morillo, against the French and the supporters of the ' absolute king.' On the 24th of May the duke of Augouleme entered Madrid am id the acclamations of the populace. He norain.ated a regency, consisting of the duke of Infantado, the duke of Montemar, the bishop of Osma, the baron d'Eroles, and Don Gomez Calderon ; but they had no pecuniary resources, and no power, if they had the will, to prevent the furious erup- tions of party hatred. The cortes had in vain tried to excite a general guerilla war. On account of the want of money, they decreed the seizure of all the property of persons of the opposite party, a forced loan of 200,000,000 of reals, and the coining of the superfluous church plate, by which measures the hatred of the people was still more increased. Yet the ministers did not dare to propose to the cortes the mediation offered by England, through sir W. A'Court, the British minis- ter. The king refused to go to Cadiz ; and a regency of three members, with royal powers, was appointed, because the case of moral incapacity on the part of the king, provided for by the constitution, had oc- curred. On the 12th of June, the cortes and the king, with the regency, departed tor Cadiz ; but the people were so furious against the constitutionalists, that the au- thorities called In the aid of the French. Meanwhile the regency in Madrid declared all the members of the cortes who had par- ticipated in the session of the Uth, when the king was declared morally incapable, to be traitors ; but more it could not do : it was so destitute of resources that it was even supported by French money. The duke of Angouleme took possession of Cadiz on the 4th of October. An act of the cortes had already reinvested the king with abso- lute power, and requested him to retire to the French camp, wliere he had been re- ceived in form by the duke, with cries of ' Viva el rey I Tiva la religion 1 Muera la nacion I ' &c. Ferdinand's first measure was to declare all the acts of the constitu- tional government, from March 7, 1820, to October 1, 183.3, void on the ground that during that time the king was acting under compulsion. The partisan warfare still con- tinued to rage with great fierceness, par- ticularly in Catalonia ; but the defection of some of the leaders soon after took place ; it appeared fast drawing to a termination ; and on the 22nd of October 1823, the duke of Augouleme took his leave of the army of the Pyrenees, which had so successfully accomplished the military objects of its mission. The political objects of the expedition, to secure a system of mildness and moderation, were frustrated by the bad faith of the Spanish government. In direct violation of the terms of the military capitulations, a persecuting and vindictive policy was .adopted towards the former partisans of the constitution. Among the crowds of fugitives were Mina, the count del Abisbal, Morillo, &c. Riego was executed at Ma- drid, and the king made his entry into the capital on a triumphal car twenty-flve feet high, drawn by a hundred men, and amidst the rejoicings of the people. It was not, however, to be expected that the excesses of political and religious bigotry would sud- denly subside, or that the people would quietly submit to the heavy taxation which the bad state of the finances rendered ne- cessary. A treaty was therefore concluded with France, stipulating for the mainte- nance of a French force of 45,000 men in the country, until the Spanish army could be organised ; and the debt due to France for the expenses of the French expedition was fixed at 34,000,000 francs. The year 1825 was disturbed by several insurrections of the Carlists, who were anxious to effect the abdication of Ferdi- nand, and place his brother Hon Carlos on the throne. Numerous executions and fre- quent changes of ministry took place, all plainly indicative of the weakness of the government ; while the independence of the colonies was acknowledged by foreign powers, and a general interruption of com- merce and industry throughout Spain was manifest. In this state the country conti- nued for several subsequent years. In 1827, Spanish subjects were permitted to trade with the Spanish American republics, but under foreign flags ; and in the following year Spain was evacuated by the French troops. The sword, the scaffold, exile, and the dungeon had done so much to subdue the 672 Cf)C tS^vtaSxttn of W^iorn, &r. nntional spirit, and to reduce tlie nuinliors of tlio const Itntiiinalist^i.Hiatwlien. in ISM, tlic French rovdhition produced surli effects in liolKiuni, ami cxilii'd so mucli alarm in licnnanyand otlicr neislitjouring countries, it scarcely awakened tlie popular feeling on this side the Pyrenees: the trouWes of Spain were now mostly confined to the struirprle for power between the more or less al)soiute of the alisolutists, the former liav- inc been favoured by the views of Don Carlos, then heir presumptive to the throne, and the latter by the king. But on the birth of a royal princess, in 1830, by Maria Ciiristiua, his fourth wife, a royal decree rendered the crown hereditary in the female line, in defaiJt of male heirs, and entirely changed the relation of the prince to the throne. During a severe attack of illness, Ferdi- nand, at the instigation of the friends of Don Carlos, in 1832, renewed the Salic law, which rendered the throne of Spain heredi- tary only in the male line ; but, with that vacillating conduct which is one of the surest marks of a weak mind, his majesty, on his recovery, formally protested against the decree, which he stated to have been extorted from him ; and he then again de- clared his daughter to be his only legi- timate successor to the throne of Spain. Shortly after this, Don Carlos was banished from the kingdom ; and Ferdinand, who was in his fiftieth year, died suddenly of apoplexy, on the 29th of September 1833. The death of Ferdinand VII. became the signal for the breaking out of fresh dissen- sions. In order still further to fortify the right of his daughter to the throne, he had exercised the prerogative of naming her his successor in his will ; and by the same instrument he appointed the queen regent till the Infanta Isabella attained the age of eighteen years. Don Carlos, however, claimed the throne in virtue of the Salic law, although it had been repealed, and was never, in fact, practically in force. The rights of Isabella II. were supported by the libi-rals ; the pretensions of Don Carlos by the absolutists. Guided by the counsels of II. Zea, the chief minister, the queen de- pended upon the support of the constitu- tionalists for securing the succession of her infant daughter. The strength of the Carlists lay chiefly in Navarre, Catalonia, the Biscayan provinces. Old Castile, and Kstremadura. The chief strength of the constitutionalists was in Madrid, and in the provinces of Andalusia, Murcia, Valen- cia, and other districts bordering on the Mediterranean. The queen-regent was not Blow in adopting vigorous and popular measures to counteract the Carlists. With the aid of the provincial militia and the volunteers, she disbanded the royalist vo- lunteers of the capital, and in Toledo; she also remodelled the post-office laws, the censorship of the press, and public educa- tion ; while at the same time care was taken not to disturb existing interests and pre- judices. Meantime several contests took place between the rival parties, accom- panied with the exercise of great cruelties on both sides ; but the queen's party was generally succes.sful, and at the close of the year the civil war appeared nearly at an end. The reciprocal massacre of prisoners had several times occurred, and the deadliest hatred and revenge was manifestly encou- raged by both parties ; in short, so savagely was the Spanish contest carried on, that the duke of Wellington, from motives of humanity, sent lord Elliot and colonel Gur- wood on a mission to .Spain, to endeavour to jnit a stop to the cruelties practised by the belligerents, and render the war less bloody and revengeful. The Christines he- sitated at first to enter into any terms with the Carlists, whom they deemed rebels ; and although, at length, it was mutually agreed upon to treat the prisoners taken on either side according to the ordinary rules of war, a few months only elapsed before similar barbarities were practised with all their former remorselessness. In the spring of 1834 a treaty was con- cluded in London, by the courts of Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal, hav- ing for its object the pacification of the peninsula. By this quadruple treaty it was agi-eed— that Spain and Portugal should assist each other in the expulsion from their respective territories of Don Carlos and Don Miguel ; that Britain should co- operate liy employing a naval force ; and that France should assist the contracting parties in any way that they in common accord might determine upon. The war thus continued to rage with unabated fury ; but the queen's party ob- tained an auxiliary force, which was raised In England, and the command given to general Evans. The British government was pledged to assist with a naval force only ; the troops therefore, which were denominated the 'British legion,' were raised without the sanction, though cer- tainly with the connivance, of ministers. They were ill-equipped and ill-clad, nor could anything be managed much worse than their commissariat. Jfotwithstandiug these disadvantages, and the motley cha- racter of the recruits, they fought bravely, and thereby contributed in no slight degree to the success of the queen's cause. On the 5th of May 1S36, some fortified works, which had cost the Carlists three or four months to erect, and through the centre of which ran the high road to Hernani, were gallantly carried by the auxiliary legion ; while two armed steamers, commanded by lord John Hay, lent very opportune aid to the victors. On this occasion the loss of the British in killed and wounded amounted to 800, among whom were upwards of se- venty officers. About this time Mendizabel, the .Spanish prime minister, from whose abilities much had been anticipated, but who had not been zealously supported by the corces, resigned, and w.is succeeded by M. Isturitz. Another violent change was, however, near at hand. At Malaga, Cadiz, Seville, and Cordova, the Cadiz constitution of 1812 had been pro- claimed, and provincial juntas established, wholly independent of the queen's authority. On the 3rd of August a movement com- Wbt ?§t^torg flf ^pain. 673 raenced In Madrid; Init it was put down, and tlie capital declared in a state of siege : ))Ut on the 12th the insurrection became more serious, and a regiment of provincial militia forced theirway into the apartments of the queen-regent, and obtained from her a promise of theacceptauce of the constitu- tion. This produced a revolution in the metropolis. Isturitz, the prime minister, made his escape to Lisbon, and thence to England. General Quesada, the military governorof Madrid, was seized by the popu- lace, and inhumanly put to death. Ulti- mately, the constitution was proclaimed by the queen-regent, subject to the revision of thecortes, anda new ministry of decided liberals formed, of which Mendizabel was minister of finance. The new government commenced with vigour. The sum of 2,000,000?. was sought to be raised by a forced loan ; a conscription of 50,000 men was called for, to send against the Carlists ; the pro- perty of emigrant Carlists was confiscated ; and the example of France and Portugal was proposed to be followed, by the extinc- tion of the remaining moiety of tithe, leav- ing the clergy stipendiaries of the state, or dependent on voluntary contributions. On the 16th of June 1837, the revised consti- tution of the Spanish monarchy was pro- claimed. Its articles appeared to be of a popular and liberal character. In June 1835, colonel De Lacy Evans, one of the members for "Westminster, was ap- pointed by the Spanish authorities to the command of the British auxiliary legion, which was to cooperate with the queen's troops against Don Carlos. On the 1st of October, 1836, a vigorous assault was made on the lines of the British legion at Sebastian by the Carlists, who made an unsuccessful attempt to carry them. Both parties fought bravely. The Carlists, charging down-hill, frequently sallied from their works in force, but each time were driven back at the point of the bayonet. Tlie Westminster grenadiers distinguished themselves ; and a small corps of lancers, under colonel Wakefield, made several bril- liant charges ; but a much more effective arm was the well-appointed artillery under the direction of colonel Colquhoun. The conflict lasted twelve hours. General Evans lost 376 men and 37 officers killed and wounded, and was slightly wounded him- self. The loss of the Carlists in killed and wounded was estimated at 1,000 men. In December 1836, the siege of Bilboa was raised, by the operations of the com- bined British and Christinos forces. Ge- neral Espartero, assisted by a small band of British engineers, artillerymen, and sail- ors, entered the city of Bilboa on Christmas- day, at the head of his army, after a series of contests with the enemy. The works raised by the Carlists were of great strength, and nothing but the enthusiasm of the troops could have enabled them to over- come the difficulties with which they had to contend. A vote of thanks to the libe- rators of Bilboa, and to the Spanish and British forces, was moved in the cortes; and the official gazette of Jan. 4, 1837, con- tained a royal decree, in which the queen- regent expressed, in the name of her daugh- ter, her gratitude to general Espartero and his army, the national and auxiliary British force, and to all tliose, whether Spaniards or English, who took a part in the memor- able engagements of the 24th and 25th of December. A month had scarcely elapsed, however, before the affairs of Don Carlos appeared to revive ; general Evans having sustain- ed a defeat before St. Sebastian, and the queen's armies under generals Saarsfleld and Espartero having found it necessary to make simultaneous retreats. These re- verses made such an impression, that at a secret sitting of the cortes on the 30th of March, the acting war-minister described Spain to be 'without credit at home or abroad — with a depreciated and ill-con- cocted revenue— with an army in the worst state as to subordination or military disci- pline—whilst the chiefs were at variance with each otlier.' It was originally arranged that Espartero, Saarsfleld, and Evans should move simul- taneously to the points of attack ; but owing to mismanagement or treachery, this plan was not carried into operation. On the 10th of March, general Evans broke ground from St. Sebastian, and commencing his operations by an attack upon the heights of Ametzagana, at the eastern extremity of the chain of hills, carried that position. On the 16th he prepared to make his deci- sive attack upon the town of Heruani, and succeeded in gaining possession of the wooded heights which rise above it on the north. All was prepared for a forward movement, when he discovered, most un- expectedly, that the Carlists had been so powerfully reinforced as to render an ad- vance desperately hazardous ; and almost at the same moment the whole of his left wing was thrown into confusion, by the appearance in its rear of three battalions of Carlists, who, under the cover of the night, had been brought, by a circuitous march, to the right bank of the Urumea, and having passed that river at Axterra- gaga, again moved in the direction of the north-west. The regiment on the extreme left of the Anglo-Christinos' line, thus anding itself attacked in front, and on the left flank and in the rear, made a rapid lateral movement to the right, which was soon accelerated to a panic flight. A regi- ment of Castile, which stood next in the line, was at once infected by its terror, and the alarm ran through the line, until it approached the battalion of royal British marines, on the extreme right. This noble corps maintained gloriously the character of the royal troops of Great Britain ; it re- pulsed every attack upon its position, and did not make a retrograde step, until it had covered the retreat of the whole allied army, and seen the artillery, wounded, and baggage of the allies placed in security. The Anglo-Christinos are said to have lost between 1,500 and 2,000 in killed, W(mnded, and prisoners- and immeasurably more in moral influence. The next accounts from Spain showed that the cause of the queen was somewhat 3M 674 Clje Eteaixirr} of W^tarn, ^r. Impwving. After au obstinate ilifonco by tlieCarllst troops, prencral Evans siirceedoil in carrying Irnn, where a dreadfnl scene of pillage and massacre ensued. Kontarabia soon afterwards caiiitulated. On tlie IStli of May, Kspartero entiTcd UiTiiani, after having beaten the Oirlists, and taken 6oo of them prisoners. In several other en- gagements he was also successful. Yet such was the uncertainty of this contest, that in the following month the forces of Don Carlos were almost everywhere successful. On one occasion— the battle of BarLastro — the Carlists gained a great victory, up- wards of 2,500 Christinos being put hors tie combat. This was the most sanguinary en- gagement that had been fought since the commencement of the civil war. Whilst Don Carlos was advancing to- wards L'pper Catalonia, and preparing to place himself In the centre of the moun- tains of that province, the revolutionary hydra had raised its head with more hardi- hood than ever. And, to add to the calami- ties of the Christinos, general Evans, with the greatest part of the olflcers belonging cortes took place, and a new cabinet was formed, in which Espartero was appointed minister of war, and at the same time con- tinued as comn)andcrin-chief of the army of the north. The English legion had l)ecn wholly disbanded, after a correspondence between its commander, O'Connell, and the Spanish general, O'Donnell, which had reached the height of asperity. The men composing the legion had given up their arms, and were in the mostdeplorable state of destitution. At the commencement of 1838 (Jan. 23), the town of Morella was captured by the Carlists. This was of the greatest import- ance to them, as it constituted the point of junction between the kingdoms of Valencia and Arragon, and was admirably fortified. 1,200 prisoners, 12 pieces of cannon, and provisions for three months, were the fruits of this capture. On the other hand, the Carlists liad been defeated in an at- tempt to obtain possession of Saragossa, and In some minor engagements elsewhere. To which we may add, that on the 26th of April, Espartero attacked and entirely de- to the legion, had abandoned the cause as 1 feated, near Burgos, the force of count hopeless and returned to England : only l,5tX) remaining behind, who formed a bri- gade under the command of colonel O'Con- nell. The cause of the queen now wore a most unpromising aspect. Her troops had sus- tained several severe defeats ; and, in Sep- tember, the forces of Carlos were actually investing the capital. On the 24th of Au- gust, general Buerens was defeated, with the loss of 1,500 men, while In endeavour- ing to repel one of the armies of Don Car- los, 12,000 strong, which was attempting to pass between Daroca and Saragossa. On the 14th of Sept. the remains of the British legion, under general O'Donnell, after their advance to Pampeluna, were attacked by a superior body of Carlists, who carried Andoain, where O'Donnell had fortified himself, and drove the queen's troops back to Hernani. The British auxiliaries bore the whole brunt of the attack, and twenty- five English officers were killed. On the 11th of Sept. the Spanish govern- ment received intelligence that Cabrera was Negri ; making 2,000 prisoners, of whom 215 were chiefs and officers. Thus for many succeeding months did victory continue to alteniate between the contending parties, though inclining gene- rally to the constitutional side. We shall therefore pass on till we come to an affair of considerable moment, namely, the sur- render of Morella — the last stronghold of Cabrera— to the queen's troops on the 'Jlst of May 1830 ; the garrison remaining pri- soners of war. Espartero had no less than 50,000 men, including 2,000 cavalry, and 72 pieces of artillery, to reduce this fortress. Balinaseda, the worthy rival of Cabrera in ferocity and rapacity, fell into the snare laid for him by the queen's generals. Be- lieving that he was not pursued, he passed the Douro, and conceived the bold project of surprising the two queens on their way to Madrid and Saragossa, where he was at- tacked, on the 25th of June, by the Ci>nsti- tutional general, Concha, and driven to the Pyrenees. He then retreated into France, but made his appearance again on the preparing to march against the capital, and ■, at the head of about 5,000 men. He had that his movement was to be supported by retired before the queen's troops, fighting the bulk of Don Carlos's army. Martial to the last ; and, although, like almost law was Immediately proclaimed. The ) every other chieftain in this sanguinary troops and national gniard mustered ; a i and long-protracted struggle, he was a 'sacred battalion' was formed to guard the i monster of cruelty, his firm adherence to two queens ; and cannon were stationed in i his master's cause until there was no longer the most exposed and dangerous quarters | any hope of success, merits admiration. of the city. | He appeared in nearly the last stage of Again the fortune of war inclined to the i exhaustion, from fatigue and from his Christinos side. Don Carlos, who had in- ; wounds, of which he had received no less vested Madrid, was compelled to make a than fourteen. precipitate retreat, with greatloss, and was At this time It was said that but little closely pursued by Espartero. In Navarre \ more than the name of royalty existed in and VaUadolid, also, the queen's troops ; Spain ; a military despotism, headed by gained some considerable advantages ; i Espartero, dictating the whole affairs of Carlos was driven to his old quarters in the J the nation. The queen-regent Christina, north ; and Espartero, having taken pos- j being stripped of nearly every particle of session of many strong places, appeared i power, made up her mind to quit Spain be- confldent of successful results from the fore Espartero and the new ministers ar- next winter campaign. rived. Shesaw them, however, at Valencia, In Kovember, the dissolution of the | and expressed her determination to abdi- Clje W^tavyi ai ^pat'ii. 675 Ciite the regency, in consequence of tlie difBciilties which environed her. She was t.lien told, that if she insisted on abdicat- ing, and on retiring to Naples, she mnst leave the young queen Isabella to the guardianship of the nation, and must also give up the public property vested in her as queen and regent. To this she con- sented, and the ministers accordingly an- nounced the event to the nation. Shortly afterwards the young queen Isabella IT. made her public entry into Madrid, at- tended by Espartero, &c., amid tt3 accla- mations of the inhabitants. In May 1841, the duke of Victory (Es- partero) was elected by a majority of 76 votes as sole regent of Spain during the minority of Isabella; the queen-mother, t'hristina, having previously sought refuge in PraTice. For a considerable time after this event, the new regent possessed the confidence of the people, and effected many useful reforms in the state ; but owing to his having given great offence to the clergj", in consequence of his having sanctioned tiie appropriation of part of the ecclesias- tical revenues to secular purposes, a power- ful party continued to harass and distract his government ; till, at length, the insur- rectionary movements in various parts of the country denoted that another crisis was .appro.iching. That crisis at length arrived, and the poli- tical career of Espartero was brought to a close. In June 1843, Corunna, Seville, and many other towns declared in favour of bis opponents ; and Madrid surrendered to them on the 24th of July. On receiving this information, Espartero immediately raised the siege of Seville, and started for Cadiz, with 400 cavalry. He was pursued to Port St. Mary's by general Concha, at the head of 500 horse, who arrived on the strand only five minutes after the regent had embarked in a boat for the English ship Malabar, of 72 guns. Nogueras, Go- mez, and a few other officers escaped with him. A manly and patriotic manifesto w.as addressed by Espartero to the nation prior to his departure for England ; which thus concludes :— ' A military insurrection, with- out the slightest pretext, concluded the work commenced by a mere few ; and, aban- doned by those whom I so often had led to victory, I ara compelled to seek refuge in a foreign land, fervently desiring the felicity of my beloved country. To its justice I re- commend those who never abatidoned the cause of legitimacy, loyal to the last, even in the most critical moments. In these the state will ever And its most decided assistants.' His enemies also addressed a manifesto to the people of Spain, with the alleged view of explaininp.and justifying the revo- lution, and also of vindicating themselves and those who cooperated with them in procuring the defection of the army, and the consequent overthrow of Espartero, by means of foreign gold. On the .30th of July, the duke of Baylen assumed the functions of guardian of the queen and the princess her sister. The new ministry adopted tho decided course of de- claring queen Isabella of age after the meeting of the cortes, which was appointed to take place on the 15th of October; to which proposal the queen gave her con- sent. Espartero left Spain, on his voyage to England on board the Prometheus steam- vessel ; and on his arrival at Woolwich he was received with marked respect by lord Blomflcld, commandantof the royal arsenal, sir P. Collyer, &c. On arriving In London, he took up his residence at Mivart's hotel, which was literally besieged by visitors of rank, amongst whom were the duke of Wellington, lord Aberdeen, and sir Robert Peel, the regent subsequently paid a visit to her majesty at Windsor; and the cor- poration of London made him welcome by inviting him to a festive entertainment in true civic style. Christina, the queen-mother, who for a long time had been living in a state of exile in France, was now permitted to re- turn to her native land ; and, accompanied by the young queen Isabella, the infanta, and the principal ministers, she, on the 2.'ird of March, entered Madrid, with great pomp and state. On the loth of October the cortes were opened by Isabella, who on that day completed her fourteenth year ; and, three days afterwards, Christina was pifblicly married to Seuor Munoz (pre- viously created duke of Rianzares). Her attachment to this person had long been a matter of public notoriety ; and it was uni- versally believed that she had either been privately married to him for several years past, or had lived with him in a state of concubinage. Many insurrectionary move- ments had lately taken place in Spain, but it might be^said that the civil war was now ended. Senor Gouzalvo Bravo had arisen upon the ruins of Espartero's power ; but none of the generals or ministers who attained a temporary eminence during the collision of arms and parties that had taken place, proved equal to the task of regene- rating theirunfortunatecountry. We have no space to trace the rise and fall of the various administrations that were subse- quently formed. It must suffice here to state that, soon after the expulsion of Es- partero, the corporations that had long been obnoxious were changed; the na- tional guard was disarmed and put downi, and a law obliging the queen to seek the consent of the cortes to the husband she might select was abolished. Before wo speak of the most recent events in Spanish history, it may be as M'ell to re- mind the reader that from time imme- morial the politicians of Spain have been divided into French and English factions ; tlie former called by the name of Mo- derados, the latter, Progresistas. On the downfall of Espartero, the Moderados, with general Narvaez at their head, had suc- ceeded to power; and they soon found in the marriage of queen Isabella and her sister the infanta the means of perpetu- ating both the interests of France in Spain, and their own influence over Sp.anish affairs. Some of the difficulties which for a time arose with respect to the manner in which this project could be carried out, wiU 67G CI)« CicaiSuri) of W^tara, $(C. lie fduiid at p. 615 III the 'History (if Fruirc' But, finally, queen Isabella was united to lioi- cousin Don Francisco de Assls, duke of Cadiz, — eldest son of Don Francisco de Paula, king Ferdinand's younger brother, and of Dona ("arlottn, uneen Thristina's sister ; whilst the infanta. Dona Fernanda, was married to the duke of Montpensier, king Louis Philippe's youngest son :— these marriages taking place at the same time in violation of a pledge, which the govern- ment of France had given to the Knglish government, to the effect that the infanta should not be married until the queen her sister had issue. The English government manifested much indignation ; and, after stating its objections on various grounds to the marriages themselves, protested against any child of the duke of Mont- pensier ever becoming sovereign of Spain, on the ground that by the treaty of TJtrecht, any descendant of the Orleans family was excluded from such a position. The Moderados were in the full enjoyment of their triumph, when intelligence arrived of the overthrow of monarchy in France, and the flight of Louis Philippe to Eng- land. On receipt of this important news, all parties seemed at first inclined to pre- vent violent results by prudent and mode- rate courses. The government requesting extraordinary powers from the cortes, de- clared that that body should be kept sitting in order to judge of the manner in which these powers ought to be exercised. The opposition leaders, on their part, believing that by the natural current of events they should come into power, deprecated vio- lence and revolution above all things, as likely to carry matters beyond the point at which men of reputation could engage in them. All of a sudden, however, af- fairs put on an entirely new aspect. Ge- neral Narvaez appeared one morning in full uniform before the legislative assem- blies, and declared them to be prorogued, in spite of the promises recently given, and without assigning any cause for such a violation of so solemn an engagement. The consequence was clear. On the 26th of March (the cortes had been prorogued on the 22nd) an insurrection broke out at Madrid. The minister of the interior de- scribed it as ' disturbances occasioned by groups, few in number, and of the lowest class, and vagabonds.' But no sooner had tranquillity been restored, than arrests of all sorts took place. Two of the most eniinent opposition leaders in the cortes, Senores Olozaga and Escosura, were seized, imprisoned, and finally sent off to Cadiz, there to be embarked for transportation to the Philippines. They were never tried, nor sentenced, nor even accused of any particular crime; and nearly all the men of mark in the same party underwent the same fate. Meanwhile the English government, which had a deep interest in the welfare of .Spain and the preservation of the Spanish crown, for which it had made great sa- crifices, instructed the British minister at the court of Madrid earnestly to recom- mend to the government of Spain a line of conduct more in accordance with con- stitutional usages. But against this iiit,er- fcrence with the internal affairs of tho country, the Spanish ministry protested in a vigorous despatch ; and soon afterwards, sir Henry Bulwer, the British amb.assador, who had been held up for some time in the ministerial press as a revolutionary in- triguer, was dismissed from the Sp.anish capital, on the pretext that his life was in danger. The British government contented itself by merely giving his passports to M. Isturitz, the Spanish ambassador in London. But all diplomatic intercourse was sus- pended between the two countries till 1850 ; when it was renewed on the mediation of the king of the Belgians, at the solicitation of the Spanish government. Previously to these negotiations, general Narvaez had restored the constitutional government which he had suspended in 1848, and granted a free pardon to all political of- fenders. But in spite of his adoption of a milder system, he did not long maintain his authority. Early in 1851, he retired from office, in consequence of the intrigues of the queen's mother, and a military op- position in the senate ; but it was generally understood that, should the unity of the conservative party be broken up, and the Progresistas be once more'aux portes du pouvoir,' Narvaez would again become i'homme necessaire, as in 1848, ' le plus propre,' as it was said, ' i tenir tete i. la con- tagion revolutionnaire.' For some years previously to 1850, an active system of propagandism had been organised in the United States, having for its object the annexation of Cuba, the chief Spanish colonial possession, to tlie American Union. It is true that the go- vernment of the United States gave no olncial countenance to these proceedings ; on the contrary, it took active measures to suppress them. Yet in the teeth of the government, newspapers were established, and meetings were held, with the view of making popular an enterprise, from which, it was said, some high American function- aries did not keep aloof. In consequence of these measures an expedition was or- ganised ; and on the 19th of May 1850, a buccaneering party of GOO men, under a Spanish adventurer named Lopez, landed in Cuba. After a short but obstinate strug- gle, they took possession of the town of Cardenas ; but a day or two afterwards, they were compelled to an ignominious and precipitate flight in presence of the prompt measures adopted by the governor, and the spontaneous fidelity of the population. Seve- ral of the pirates were captured, but their leader escaped. But instead of being discouraged by this striking failure, in little more than twelve months afterwards, another expedition for the same piratical purpose was organised tpy the same adventurer. On the 3rd of August 1851, a steamer called the Pam- pero left New Orleans for Cuba, stealthily and without a clearance, having on board upwards of 400 armed men. After touching at Key West, she proceeded to the coast of Cuba, and on the night of the llth and 12th of August, landed her piratical crew etc |^f)Stora at ^patn. 677 at ri;ij las, within abuut twenty leagues of Havannah. The main body of them proceeded to, and took possession of, an inland village, six leagues distant, leaving others to follow in charge of the baggage, as soon as the means of transportation could be obtained. The latter having taken up their line of march, to connect themselves with the main bod;-, and having proceeded about four leagues into the country, were attacked on the morning of the 13th by a body of Spanish troops, and a bloody conflict en- sued, after which they retreated to the place of disembarkation, where about fifty of them oV)tained boats, and reembarked therein. They were, however, intercepted near the shore by a Spanish steamer cruis- ing, and, after being examined by a military court, were sentenced to be publicly exe- cuted, and the sentence was carried into execution on the 16th of August. Mean- while the main body of the invaders, after some desperate struggles with the military, dispersed over the island. Lopez, their leader, was captured on the 29th, and pub- licly garotted at Havannah on Sept. 1. Many of his followers were killed or died of hunger and fatigue, and about 160 were made pri- soners, and sentenced to ten years' hard la- bour in Si)ain. The news of the execution of so many American citizens caused great excitement at New Orleans. The Spanish consul there was assailed by a mob, his property destroyed, the Spanish flag that adorned his office torn in pieces, and he himself obliged to flee for his personal safety. But the government of the United States at once took measures to atone for this indignity, and thus proved to the Span- ish government its lack of sympathy with the lawless expedition. The history of Spain presents nothing more worthy of record than the rise and tail of ephemeral ministries until the year 1854, when symptoms of serious discon- tent showed themselves against the cor- ruptions of the government, and a strong animosity was manifested against the queen-mother, and Arana the favourite of the queen. A military insurrection in January was successfully put down ; but the forced loans of the government con- tinued to exasperate the country, and in July a more formidable revolt broke out, iu which general O'Donnell bore a promi- nent part. A battle took place at Vical- varo, in which the queen's troops were defeated ; and O'Donnell retired to Aran- juez. In the following month he made overtures to the Progresista party ; and a proclamation wasissued with their consent stating their object to be the reestablisli- ment of the constitution of 1837, the dis- miE.sal of the camerilla and the qucen- muther, and the reembodiment of the na- tional guard. The agreement of the nation with these demands was .so manifest that the existing ministry found themselves compelled to resign. An attempt to form a government under the duke de Rivas only roused the inhabitants of Madrid to more determined insurrection, and a memo- rial was presented to the queen, who found it prudent and necessary to yield to their demands. After some further fighting, caused by the bad faith of general Cordova, it was announced that a new ministry would be formed by Espartero, and the tumult was at once appeased. It appeared, how- ever, that Espartero insisted on the same terms which had been demanded by O'Don- nell, and the new government was formed on their acceptance. It was determined that the elections should take place accord- ing to the constitution of 1837, which was based on universal sufl'rage. Permission was granted for the impeachment and trial of queen Christina, but with the former ministers she sought safety in fiight. The next acts of the new ministry were to re- place the existing agents at foreign courts by others of tried worth and honesty, to remove all ofllcers of the household, and to convoke the cortes with one chamber only. General O'Donnell was created a field-mar- shal. But it seemed that he could not rest contented with anything like a constitu- tional rule. In July 1856, he brought about the resignation of Espartero, and with the hearty concurrence of the queen proclaimed Madrid and all the provinces in a state of siege. The resistance made in the capital was put down by force ; and the cortes, who by an almost unanimous vote declared that they had no confidence in the O'Donnell ministry, were ignominiously dismissed. This coitp-d'dat, which under another name obtained the cordial approval of the French emperor, was resisted at Saragossa, but to no purpose. The national guard was dis- banded and suppressed; and tlie country was compelled to submit to a ministry which had violated every principle of the consti- tution. In three months that ministry was displaced by another under general Narvacz. The war which broke out between Spain and Morocco in 1859, again brought O'Don- nell into activity. The former government had demanded a cession of territory near Ceuta on the African coast ; but in discuss- ing the question of boundary it appeared that more was demanded than the emperor of Morocco was prepared to grant, and war was accordingly declared against the latter in October 1859. The British government immediately declared that they could never allow Spain to acquire in Africa any ground which might endanger their occupation of Gibraltar, and especially that they would not allow Spain to hold Tangiers beyond the close of the war. After a campaign in which the Moors, although fightingbravely, were almost always defeated, the war was ended in March 1860, the emperor of Mo- rocco undertaking to comply with the de- mands of Spain, and to pay a large in- demnity. During this year an ineffectual attempt was made by the count of Monte- molin to seize the throne of Spain. General Ortega, the commander of the Balearic Isles, endeavoured in vain to win the help of his troops in proclaiming and uphold- ing the count of Mcmtemoiin ; on their refusal he fied, was taken prisoner and executed. The count and his brother were also taken, but were released and I allowed to quit Spain on signing an act ^=s Cijc Crfa^urjj at l^i^tory, &r. of renunciation of all iirotensicms to the tlirone nf Spain. Tins act was, however, repudiated by the count in a letter written to the queen of Spain from Cologne in June 18G0. In the following year the Span- ish government entered into a convention ■with those of Great Britain and France, for an expedition to Mexico, in order to enforce the performance of those obliga- tions which the Mexicans had evaded or repudiated for more than twenty years. Unaware of this convention, the governor of Cuba despatched the Spanish expedition from the Havana before the arrival of the French fleet. On reaching Vera Cruz, the Spaniards demanded the surrender of the town, and the request was immediately complied with; and the arrival of the British and French fleets seemed to lay the whole country at the mercy of the three great powers, whose enmity the Mexicans had drawn upon themselves. But the ambition or the necessities of the French emperor enlarged the projects of the expedition so greatly that the governments both of Spain and England withdrew from any further share in it; and the Spanish nation threw itself more heartily than ever into the work of bringing out the material wealth aaiU resources of the country. THE HISTORY OF PORTUGAL. PORTtrGAL, anciently called Lusitnnia, ia supposed to have been originally colonised by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians; but was taken possession of by the Romans about 250 years before Christ, and became a Roman province under the emperor Au- gustus. Towards the beginning of the fifth centui'y the Alans, and afterwards the Sue- vi and the Visigoths, successively made themselves masters of this country. In the eighth century it was overrun by the Moors and Saracens, but was gradually wrested ft'oni them by the Christians. Henry, duke of Burgundy, distinguishing himself by his eminent services against the Moors, Al- phonso VI., king of Castile, gave him his daughter Theresa in marriage, created him earl of Portugal, and in 1110 left him that kingdom. Alphonso Henriques, his son and successor, obtained a signal victory, in 1136, over the Moors, and was created king by the people ; and in 1181, at an assembly of the states, the succession of the crown was settled. Alphonso III. added Algarve to the crown of Portugal. In 1383 the legitimate male line of this family becoming extinct in the person of Ferdinand, John I., his na- tural son, was, two years after, admitted to the crown, and in his reign the Portuguese made settlements in Africa, and discovered the islands of the Azores. In 1482 his great grandson John II. received the Jews who had been expelled from Spain, and gave great encouragement to navigation and dis- coveries. Afterwards, in the reign of king Emanuel, Vasco de Gama discovered a pas- sage to the East Indies by doubling the Cape of Good Hope. In 1500, Brazil was discovered by Don Pedro Alvarez, and the Portuguese made most valuable discoveries in the East Indies, where they soon erected forts, subdued the neighbouring inhabitants, and at the same time carried on a sanguinary war in Africa. The power of Portugal was then at its heigh t ; but in 1580, on the decease of Henry the Cardinal, the male line of the royal family became extinct, and in the succeeding year the kingdom was subdued by Spain. The Portuguese now lost most of the advan- tages they had obtained under their own monarchs ; their possessions in the East Indies, in Brazil, and on the coast of Africa, were neglected, and many of them wrested frcmi them by the new republic of Holland, and by the other maritime powers, while at home the Portuguese were much oppressed ; but in 1640, they shook oif the Spanish yoke, liy electing John, duke of Braganza, a des- cendant of the old royal family, for their king. This prince, who assumed the title (if John IV., drove the Dutch out of Brazil ; and from him all the succeeding kings of Portugal have been descended. AlphouBO | VI., the son of John IV., was dethroned by his brother Peter, who in 1668 concluded a treaty with Spain, by which Portugal was declared an independent kingdom. This was brought about by the mediation of Charles II. of Great Britain, who had married the infanta Catherine, sister to Alphonso and Peter. In 1706, John V. succeeded to the throne on the death of his father. In 1729 a double maiTiage took place between the courts of Spain and Portugal, a prince of each court marrying a princess of the other court. Although Brazil again belonged to Por- tugal, its former greatness could not now have been restored, even had the princes of the house of Braganza displayed as much vigour and wisdom as some of them showed good intentions. A commercial treaty had been concluded under the first prince of this line, and in 1703 a new treaty was con- cluded by the English aml>assador, which secured to England the advantages of the newly discovered gold mines in Brazil. Prom this time the relations with England continued to become more intimate, imtil Portugal was no longer in a condition to maintain an independent attitude in Euro- pean politics. During the long reign of John v., from 1707 to 1750, some vigour was exerted in regard to the foreign relations, and something was attempted for the pro- motion of the national welfare at home (the restrictions on the power of the Inquisition, and the formation of an academy of Portu- guese history, for example) ; but, in the former case, without decisive consequences, and, in the latter, without a completion of the plans proposed. On the death of John, in 1750, his son, Joseph I., prince of the Brazils, succeeded him, and the marquis of Pombal, a vigorous reformer, administered the government, to the universal satisfaction of the people. He attacked the Jesuits and the nobility, who during the preceding reigns had exercised a secret influence in the government. The exposure of the power of the Jesuits in Paraguay, their conduct at the time of the earchquakeiu Lisbon. (1755), and the conspi- racy against the life of the king (1759), led to the suppression of the order : in 1757 they had been deprived of the post of con- fessors to the royal family, and forbidden the court. Two years after, all the Jesuits were banished the kingdom, and their es- tates were confiscated. The brave count of Schauenburg Lippe, to whose services against Spain, in 1760, Portugal was so much indebted, likewise reformed the Portuguese army ; but soon after his departure, the effects of his improvements disappeared. On the accession of Maria Francisca Isa- bella, eldest daughter of Joseph (in 1777), 680 C^B Crca^ura of f^tsUirg, &c. the marquia of Pombal lost tlio inlluence Avliich he had possessed for twriity-flve years. To him Portuijal owed her revival fniin her previous lethargy; and althnugh many of his useful regulations did not survive his fall, yet theeullghteued views he introduced, and the national feeling which he awakened, were not witliout jierniauent effects. In 1792, on acci'unt of the sickness of the queen, Juan Maria Joseph, prince of Brazil (the title of the prince royal until 1810), was declared regent ; and, in 1799, her malady having terminated in a. confirmed CiSntal aberration, the prince was declared regent with full regal powers, hut made no change In the policy of the goverameut. His con- nections with England involved hiui in the wars of that country against France ; and the Portuguese troops distinguished them- selves by their valour in the peninsular campaigns. Commercial distress, the accu- mulatin g debt, and t he threaten ing language which Spain was compelled by France to adopt, led to a peace with France in 1797 : but the disasters of the French arms in 1799 encouraged the regent to renew hostilities, in alliance with England and Kussia. As soon, however, as Buonaparte had es- tablished his authority, Spain was obliged to declare war against Portugal ; but it was terminated the same year (1801) by the treaty of Badajos, by which Portugal was obliged to cede Olivenza, with thepaymeut of a large sum of money, to Spain. Portugal, mean- while, preserved a mere shadow of indepen- dence by the greatest sacrifices, until at last Junot entered the country, and the house of Braganza was declared, by Napoleon, to have forfeited the throne ; this most impu- dent and arbitrary declaration arising from the refusal of the prince to seize the Eng- lish merchandise in his dominions. The regent now threw himself entirely into the arms of the English, and on the 9th of November 1807, embarked for Brazil. Junot entered the capital the next day, and Portugal was treated as a conquered coun- try. An English force was landed, and, in the northern provinces, numerous bodies of native troops determined to maintain the struggle for freedom ; a junta was also es- tablished in Oporto to conduct the govern- ment. After some hard fighting, the deci- sive battle of Vimeira took place (Aug. 21, 18081, which was followed by the convention of Cintra, and the evacuation of the country hy the French forces. During 1808, 1809, and 1810, Portugal was the chief scene of the military contest be- tween Great Britain and France ; and the Portuguese subsequently also took an active part in the war for Spanish independence. On the death of Maria, John VI. ascended the throne of Portugal and Brazil. This transference of the court of Lisbon into an American cofcny was followed by important consequences; firstly, that Brazil attempted to withdraw itself from dependence on Eng- land ; and secondly.ihat the colony gradually became a separate state. In Portugal, on the coutrarj', the inBuence of England coa- tinued, and the condition of tlie kingdom was not essentially changed. In 1816 John VI. refused to return to Lisbon, whither a squadron under sir John Boresfofd had been sent to convey him; partly, it is said, because he was displeased at the disregard to his rights shown by the congress of Vienna ; partly because the un- popularity of the commercial treaty had alienated him from England ; but, probably, still more because he was inlluenced by the visible growth of a Brazilian party which now aimed at independence. Henceforward, indeed, the separation of Portugal from Brazil manifestly approached. The Portu- guese of Europe began to despair of seeing the seat of the monarchy at Lisbon ; the re- gency there were without strength, all ap- pointments were obtained from the distant court of Rio Jimeiro ; men and money were dra%vn away for the Brazilian war on the Rio de la Plata > the army left behind was unpaid ; in fine, all the materials of formid- able discontent were heaped up in Portugal, i when the Spanish revolution broke out in j the beginning of 1820. Six months elapsed I without its communicating to Portugal ; but in August the garrison of Oporto declared for a revolution ; and being joined on their march to the capital by all the troops on their line, were received with open arms by the garrison of Lisbon ; and it was de- termined to bestow on Portugal a still more popular constitution than that of Spain. This revolution was unattended byviolence or bloodshed. A provisional government was established, which, on the 1st of Octo- ber, formed a union with the junta of Oporto. Count Palmella, the head of the royal re- gency, was despatched to Rio Janeiro with an account of what had happened, and a petition that the king or the prince royal would return to Lisbon. The mode of elect- ing the cortes was settled chiefly in imita- tion of the Spanish constitution ; and the liberal party, which was desirous of the im- mediate adoption of that constitution, ob- liged the supreme junta (Nov. llj to admi- nister the oath of obedience to it to the troops. The regency of Lisbon, by the ad- viceof a Portuguese minister, at once faith- ful to his sovereign and friendly to the li- berty of his country, made an attempt to stem the torrent by summoning an assem- bly of the cortes. The attempt was too late ; but it pointed to the only means of saving the monarchy. The same minister, on his arrival in Brazil, at the end of 1820, advised the king to send his eldest son to Portugal as viceroy, with a constitutional charter, in which the legislature was to be divided into two chambers. He also recom- mended an assembly of the most respect- able Brazilians at Rio Janeiro to organise theiraflairs. But a revolution in that capi- tal speedily brought matters to a crisis ; and the popular party, headed by Don Pe- dro, the king's eldest son, declared for the constitution of Portugal, and the separa- tion of Brazil at the same time. On the 9th of March 1821, the articles of the new constitution, securing freedom of person and property, the liberty of the press, legal equality, and the abolition of privileges, the admission of all citizens to all offices, and the sovereignty of the na- tion, were adopted almost unanimously. UJHe l^tStorp of Portusal. 681 There was more diversity of oiiiuiou con- cerning tlie organisation of the chambers, and tlie royal veto ; hut large majorities fi- nally decided in favour of one chamber and a conditional veto. After some disturb- ances in Brazil, the king sailed for Portu- gal, but was not permitted to land until he had given his consent to several acts of the cortes, Imposing restrictions on his power. On landing, he immediately swore to ob- serve the new constitution, and concurred, without opposition, in all the succeeding acts of the cortes. The revolutionary cortes were as tenaci- ous of the authority of the mother country as the royal administration ; and they ac- cordingly recalled the heir-apparent to Lis- bon. But the spirit of independence arose among the Brazilians, who, encouraged by the example of the Spanish Americans, pre- sented addresses to the prince, beseeching him not to yield to the demands of the Portuguese assembly, who desired to make him a pris(mer, as they had made his fa- ther ; but, by assuming the crown of Bra- zil, to provide for his own safety, as well as for their liberty. In truth, it is evident he neither could have continued in Brazil with- out accedingto the popular desire, norhave then left it without insuring the destruc- tion of monarchy in that country. He ac- quiesced therefore in the prayer of these petiti(ms : the independence of Brazil was proclaimed ; and the Portuguese monarchy thus Anally dismembered. In the summer of 1823 the advance of the French army into Spain excited a re- volt of the Portuguese royalists ; the in- fant Don Miguel, the king's second son, attracted notice, by appearing at the head of a battalion who declared against the constitution ; and the inconstant soldiery, equally ignorant of the object of their i-e- volts against the king or the cortes, were easily induced to overthrow their own slight work. After a short interval the pos- sessors of authority relapsed into the an- cient and fatal error of their kind— that of placing their security in maintaining un- limited power. A resistance to the consti- tution, which grew up in the interior of the court, was fostered by foreign influence ; and, after a struggle for some months, pre- vented the promulgation of a charter well considered and digested. In April 1824, part of the garrison of Lisbon surrounded the king's palace, and hindered the access of his servants to him ; some of his ministers were imprisoned; and the diplomatic body, including the papal nuncio, the French ambassadors, and the Russian as well as the English minister, were the only means at last of restoring him to some degree of liberty ; which was, however, so imperfect, that, by the advice of the French ambassador, the king, ac- companied by his two daughters (May 9), took refuge on board of an English ship of war in the Tagus, where, with the assist- ance of the whole diplomatic corps, he was at length able to reestablish his authority. In all the transactions which rendered this step necessary, Don Miguel had acted a most conspicuous part. He, however, de- cliiiL-U tliat his object was to frustrate a con- spiracy, which was on the point of break- ing out, against the life of the king and the queen ; and so well inclined was the king to pardon his son, that he accepted his explanation, and forgave these youthful faults as involuntary errors. The king, at length, issued a proclama- tion (June 4), for restoring the ancient constitution of the Portuguese monarchy, with assurances that an assembly of the cortes, or three estates of the realm, should be speedily held with all their legal rights, and especially with the privilege of laying before the king, for his consideration, the heads of such measures as they might deem necessary for the public good, for the admi- nistration of justice, and for the redress of grievances, whether public or private. To that assembly was referred the considera- tion of the periodical meetings of succeed- ing cortes, and the means of progressively ameliorating the administration of the state. On the 14th of May the king re- turned ashore ; and on the 4th of the fol- lowing month he proclaimed an act of am- nesty for the adherents of the cortes of 1820, from which only a few exceptions wore made ; on the same day appeared the decree of June 4, reviving the old consti- tution of the estates, and summoning the cortes of Lamego. At the same time, tlie junta for the preparation of a constitu- tion was superseded by another, which was directed to make preparations for the election of the deputies of the old cortes^ But Spain opposed the convocation of the old cortes, and the Influence of the queen was thus revived. New conspiracies were formed against the king ; and the minis- try was divided in its views, principally in regard to the policy to be pursued to- wards Brazil. In January 1825, a new ministry was formed ; and a negotiation was opened in London, under the mediation of Austria and England, to adjust the difi'erences be- tween Portugal and Brazil. The Brazilians had tasted independence; and it was soon evident that no amicable issue of such ne- gotiation was possible which did not in- volve acquiescence in the separation of the two countries. Accordingly, a treaty was concluded, and flnally ratified at Lisbon (Nov. 5), recognising the independence and separation of Brazil ; acknowledging the sovereignty of that country to be vested in Don Pedro ; allowing the king of Portugal also to assume the imperial title ; and bind- ing the emperor of Brazil to reject the ofi'er of any Portuguese colony to be incorporated with his dominions. The death of John VI. took place March 10, 1826, after having named the infanta Isabella regent ; who governed in the name of the emperor of Brazil, as king of Portu- gal. In the following month, Don Pedro granted a constitution, establishing two chambers, and in other respects resembling the French charter. May 2, he abdicated the Portuguese throne, in favour of his daughter Donna Maria (he remaining king during her minority), on condition of her marrying her uncle Miguel. But a party 682 Ct)e Evenims a£ W^iavu, ^c. wns formed, 'wliich aimcil nt the overthrow of tliis constitution, and iiroclainiocl tlio Urinoe absolute king of l'nrlui,':il. Tlio nianjuis of Chaves and tlie njarquis of At)rantcs appeared at tlie head of tlie in- surgents; and Spain, which alone had not acknowledged the new order of things, as- Bcmhlc'd an army on the Portuguese fron- tiers. In this emergency Portugal appealed to England, and 15,000 nritish troops were landed in Lisbon. Thus assisted, the in- Burrection was completely put down ; Spain was forced to yield ; and the cortes, which had been convened in October 18?6, closed its session in March 182r. In July, Don Pedro named his brother Miguel lieutenant and regent of the king- dom, with all the rights established by the charter, according to which the government was to be administered. The prince ac- cordingly left Vienna, and arrived at Lisbon in February 1828. The cortes was then in session, and, on the 26th, Miguel took the oath to observe the charter, in the presence of the two chambers. But the apostolicals or absolutists, to whom the disposition of the regent was well known, already began to speak openly of his right to the throne, and to hail him as absolute king. His mi- nisters were all appointed from that party, except the count Villa Real ; and the popu- lace were permitted to add to their cry, ' Long live the absolute king,' that of ' Down with the constitution.' It was now determined that Miguel should go to Villa Vicjosa, a town near the Spanish frontier, where he could be sup- ported by the troops of the marquis of Chaves, and be proclaimed absolute king ; but this project was frustrated by the deci- sion of Mr. Lamb, the British minister, who counteracted the order for the departure of the British troops, and prevented the pay- ment of the loan made to Don Miguel un- der the guarantee of the British govern- ment. The cortes, being opposed to the designs of the prince, was dissolved March 14, and the recall of the British troops in April removed another obstacle from his path. He accordingly, on the 3rd of May, issued a decree in his own name, convoking the ancient cortes of Lamego, which had not met since 1697. The military in gene- ral was not favourable to the projects of the prince, and the garrison of Oporto pro- claimed Don Pedro and the charter. May 1». Other garrisons joined them, and the constitutional army, 6,000 strong, advanced towards Lisbon. But they were unable to cope witli the absolutists, and, after sus- taining a severe defeat towards the end of June, the troops either forced their way to the Spanish frontiers, or embarked for England. Thus terminated the first ef- forts of the constitutionalists in Portugal, and, with the extinction of that party, the influence of England with the Portuguese government ceased. Don Miguel now turned his attention to the consolidation of his power: severity and cruelty were his expedients; the prisons were crowded with the suspected, and fo- reign countries were filled with fugitives. Many noblemen who were known to be at- tached to the cause of the young queen, forfiniatoly made their escape, and some of them c.'uni- to England, where tliey were Eupiiorted by niuncy sent from Brazil by the emperor, for that purpose, to his am- bassador in London. The cortes met June 2.3, and declared Don Miguel lawful king of Portugal and Algarve; chiefly on the grounds that Don Pedro had forfeited his right by becoming a Brazilian citizen, and wa-s not a resident in the country, and that therefore he could neither succeed to the throne himself, nor name the person who should reign in his stead. On the 4th of July 1828, Don Miguel condrraed the judge- ment of the cortes, and assumed the royal title. He immediately established a special commission to punish all who had taken a part in the Oporto insuiTection, the mem- bers of the commission being to be paid from the confiscations they should make; and in the colonies the same course of condemnation was pursued that had been practised at home. Portugal now became the prey of politi- cal and religious bigots. In March 1830, J the regency appointed by Don Pedro, as guardian of his daughter, was installed in Terceira, consisting of Pahnella, Villa Flor, I and Guerreiro ; and subsequently to the return of Don Pedro to Europe, it was well kno^vn that he was making preparations for displacing Miguel from his usurped seat. Meanwhile insurrections repeatedly broke out at home, but were suppressed by the vigour of the government and the want of concert in the insurgents. In 1830, it was estimated that the number of prisoners confined for political causes was above 40,000, and that the number of persons concealed in different parts of the country was about 5,000. In consequence of some acts of violence, and a refusal of redress on the part of the government, a British fleet was sent to the Tagus (May 4, 1831); but on its appearance the required con- cessions were made. In July, Miguel was obliged to sufl'er a second humiliation of this nature ; a French fleet having forced the passage of the Tagus, and taken pos- session of the Portuguese fleet, because the demands of the French government, for satisfaction lor injuries to French sub- jects committed by the Portuguese autho- rities, had not been complied with. In August, an insurrection of the troops broke out against Miguel. At that time Don Pedro had arrived in Europe, having embarked on board an English ship of war in the spring of 1831, and reached France in June. From thence he proceeded to Oporto, and immediately commenced ope- rations for displacing Don Miguel from the throne, and establishing Donna Maria as queen, under a regency. Previous to this, largo bodies of volunteers had em- barked from Britain and Ireland in the cause of Don Pedro, the greater number of whom were garrisoned in Oporto. Don Miguel, meanwhile, was not inactive, but advanced with his adherents towards that city, wliich he attacked several times with- out success: on one occasion (Sept. 21, 1832) his loss was 1,500 men, while that of Cl)e i^fiStorjj 0f |9ortttgaT. 683 Don Pedro was uot more than a third of tlie number. lu July uf the same year, a naval battle took place between the fleet ol Don Pedro, under the command of ad- miral Napier, and that of Don Miguel, in which the latter was defeated, with the loss of two ships of 74 guns, a frigate of 56, a store ship of 48, and two smaller ves- sels. This event, with other successes of the Pedroite party, led to Miguel's aban- donment of the throne, consenting at the same time to leave the kingdom, on con- dition of receiving an income for life suited to his rank. Donna Maria da Gloria was proclaimed queen of Portugal, and in 1835 was married to the duke of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugene Beauharnois. This prince died in March of the same year, after hav- ing been married abcmt a month. Don Pedro died a few months after his daughter had assumed the regal power ; but his short reign was distinguished by the suppression of all the monasteries and convents in the kingdom, and the seizure of all lands belonging to them ; a measure which was considered as retaliatory for the assistance given to Don Miguel by the monks, &c. during the contest between the rival brothers. This was, notwithstand- ing, an act of unmerited severity; for al- though small pensions— none exceeding 50/. a year — were granted to those who had not openly avowed themselves in favour of Don Miguel, It was so easy to accuse them of having done so, that very few actually re- ceived the pittance. The lands thus confls- cated were ordered to be sold for the bene- fit of the state ; and after the death of Don Pedro the cortes divided them into very small lots, allowing labouring people to be- come the purchasers on easy terms. Among the buyers were many foreigners, who have settled in Portugal on these small estates, and who, as well as the Portuguese peasan- try thus converted into landed proprietors, will be the means of promoting industry, and thereby increasing the comforts of a large class of the inhabitants. To pursue this sketch of the history of Poi'tugal farther is needless ; for though several attempts have been made to over- turn the existing government, and although the political horizon still wears an unset- tled aspect, the events which have subse- quently occurred present few features of interest to the English reader. The last and most striking occurrence in Portuguese history, took place in April 1851, when the duke of Saldanha, at the head of a military insurrection, overthrew the ministry of the count de Thomar, and, after a short resist- ance on the part of the queen, obtained his place. The queen's second marriage with a prince of the family of Saxe Coburg must not be forgotten ; neither should we omit that Portugal, once so conspicuous among the slave-dealing nations of Europe, has followed the example of Great Britain, and decreed its total abolition. The government of Portugal is an here- ditary monarchy, with an upper and a lower representative chamber, both of which are elective. The cortes meet and dissolve at specified periods, without the Intervention of the sovereign, and the latter has no veto on a law passed twice by both houses. Each province has a governor, to whom the details of its government are intrusted, but great abuses exist in almost every depart- ment, the inadequacy of tlie salaries leading to the acceptance of bribes. And with re- gard to the prevalence of crime, it may be truly said, that so common is assassination, and so numerous are thefts, that the law and the police are impotent alike to secure either property or life. Though Portugal has lost Brazil, she still retains the Azores, Madeira, Cape de Verd, and Guinea Islands ; the settlements of An- gola and Mozambique, in Africa ; and those of Goa Dilli, Macao, &c. in Asia, Thequeen of Portugal, Donna Maria, died in childbed on the 15th of November 1853, and lier hus- band, the king consort Ferdinand (of Saxe Coburg), became regent of tlie kingdom during the minority of his son Pedro V., who, after a short reign of eight years darkened by many calamities, died on the 12th of November 1861, and was succeeded by his brother, Louis duke of Oporto. THE HISTORY OF GERJLINY. [AUSTRIAN EMPIRE, GERMAN STATES, ETC.] FnoM all that can he collected of the esrly history of Germany, it appears to have been divided into many petty nations and prin- cipalities, some governed by Icings wljose power was limited, others by such as were absolute ; some of their princes were elec- tive, and others hcreditarj' ; and some aris- tocratical and democratical governments were also found among them. Many of these states and liingdoms frequently unit- ed under one head or general, both in their offensive and defensive wars. This was the state of the Germans before they were conquered by the Romans. At that time the children went naked, and the men hung the sl;in of some wild beast upon their shoulders, fastening it with a thong; and persons of the best quality wore only a little woollen mantle or a coat without sleeves. Their usual bed was the ground, a little straw, with the skins of wolves or bears. Like the ancient Britons, they performed their sacrifices in groves, the oak being usu- ally chosen for an altar ; and, instead of a temple, they erected an arbour made of the boughs of the oak and beech. Tbe priests, as well as the sacrifice, were always crown- ed with wreaths of oak, or of some other sacred tree. They sacrificed not only beasts, but men ; and these human sacrifices were taken from among their slaves or male- factors. They burnt their dead bodies, and, having gathered up the bones and ashes of the funeral pile, buried them together ; at the funerals of the great, warlike exercises were exhibited with all the rude pageantry of barbaric splendour, and songs were sung iu memorj' of the heroic actions of the de- ceased. These were the manners of the Germans before they were subdued by the Romans, who met with such resistance, that they were contented with making the Rhine and the Danube the boundaries of their con- quests ; they accordingly built fortresses, and stationed garrisons on the banks of Iioth those rivers, toprevent the incursions of what they termed the barbarous nations : but within about a hundred years after Con- stantine the Great, the Franks, Burgun- dians, Alemanni, and other German nations, broke through these boundaries, passed the Rhine, and dispossessed the Romans of all (Jaul, Rliaetia, and Noricum, which they shared among themselves; but the Franks prevailing over the rest, at length estab- lished their empire over all modern Ger- many, Prance, and Italy, under the conduct of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great. This celebrated man was crowned at Rome by pope Leo III. in the church of St. Peter, on Christmas-day, 800, amidst the acclama- tions of the clergy and the people. Nice- phorus, at that time emperor of the East, attended at the coronation ; and these prin- ces agreed that the state of Venice should serve as the limit to each empire. Charle- magne now exercised all the authority of the Csesars ; the whole country from Bene- vento to Bayonne, and from Bayonne to Ba- varia, acknowledging his power. The Germans had previously been con- verted to Christianity by one Winfred, an Englishman, who also collected them iu towns, and thus introduced the elements of civilisation amongst them. The Saxons were made Christians by Charlemagne, after a long and bloody warfare. After the death of Charlemagne, and of Louis le Debonnaire, his son and successor, the empire was divided between the four sons of Louis ; Lothaire was emperor ; Pepin, king of Acquitaine; Louis, king of Germany ; and Charles the Bald, king of France. This partition was a continual source of discontent among the parties. The French enjoyed the empire under eight emperors, until the year 912, when Louis III., the last prince of the race of Charle- magne, dying without male issue, Conrad, count of Franconia, son-in-law to Louis, was elected emperor ; but was not acknow- ledged in Italy, nor in France. The reign of Conrad produced no change whatever in Germany ; but It was about this period that the German bishops fixed themselves in the possession of their fiefs ; and many cities began to enjoy the right of natuval liberty ; following the example of the cities of Italy, some bought these rights of their lords, and others procured them with arms in their hands. Questions affecting the general interests of the Germanic body were determined in a diet, consisting of the emperor, the elec- tors, and the representatives of the princes and of the free cities. There were also mi- nor diets in the different cities or divisions of tht empire. It may, however, be proper to mention in this place, that the constitu- tion of the empire has undergone a total change. There is no emperor of Germany ; the title is sunk in that of emperor of Aus- tria, which that sovereign holds by inhe- ritance, not election. The ecclesiastical electorates have been taken possession of by secular princes. Bohemia is united to Austria ; the palatinate has disappeared ; Saxony is given to the kingdom of Prussia, formerly the electorate of Brandenburg; and the electorates of Hanover and Bavaria are also converted into kingdoms. Most of these changes are the result of recent wars. Cri^e ?l^CSt0rB Df ©prmaiig. 685 Ciinrad wag succeeded by Henry, duke of S.'ixniiy, wliom on his death-bed he recoiu- ineuded to the states. And in Henry II. the male race of tlie Saxnn kings and em- periirs ended, in 1024. The states tlien elected Conrad II., who, by means of his son, iifterwards Henry III., annexed the kingdom of Burgundy to the empire, ren- dered Poland subject to his dominion, and in a treaty witli Denmark, apiiointed the river Eider as the boundary of the German empire. Henry III. is regarded as the most powerful and absolute of the German em- perors. Henry III. deposed tliree popes who haS set up against each other, and supported a fcuirlh against them ; from which time the vacancy of the paiial chair was always inti- mated to the emperor, and it became an established form for the emperor to send a deputation to Rcmie, reijuesting that a new pope might be elected. Henry IV., his son, was, however, put under the ban Ijy the pope, Gregory VII., and his subjects and son excited to rebel against him ; on which he was deposed by the states. Henry V. succeeded his father, but was obliged to renounce all pretensions to the Investiture of bishoprics, which had been claimed by his ancestors : and in him be- came extinct the male line of the Frank emperors. Upon this the pope caused Lotharius, duke of Saxony, to be elected ; but he was not acknowledged by all Germany for their sovereign till after a ten years' war. Fre- derick I., who became emperor in 1152, ef- fectually exercised his sovereignty over the see of Rome, by virtue of his coronation at Aries, reserving also his dominion over that kingdom, and obliging Poland to pay him tribute and to take an oath of allegiance. To him succeeded Henry VI., Philip III., and Otho ; the latter of whom, being de- posed by the pope, was succeeded by Fred- erick II., whom historians extol for his le.^rning, wisdom, and resnlulii'n : lie was five times excoramunicated liy ilin c iniips; but prevailed so far again^i impr (iiiu'ory IX. as to depose him from tlie papal chair. These continual contests between him and the popes gave rise to the two famous tactions of the Guelphs .and Ghibelines ; the former adhering to the papal see, and the latter to the emperors. Aljout the middle of the thirteenth cen- tury the empire was rent asunder by fac- tions, each of which supported a particular candidate for the imperial dignity : these were William, earl of Holland ; Henry of Thuringia; Richard, earl of Cornwall, bro- ther to Henry HI. of England; and Al- phonso, king of Castile. At this time the great ofBcers of the household laid cl.aim to aright of electing the emperor, to the exclusion of the princes and great towns, or without consulting any other members of the empire : the distracted state of the empire served to confirm to them this claim ; and Gregory X., who then filled the pontifical chair at Rome either considering such claim as valid, or desirous of rendering it so, directed a bull to those great olBcers, ! the pniport of which was to exhort them j to choose an emperor, and by that means ! to end the troubles in Germany. From 1 that time they have been considered as the sole electors ; and their right to this privi- lege was established beyond all controversy in the reign of Charles IV., by the glorious constitution known by the title of the gnlden bull, published in the year 1,357, which decreed that the territories by virtue of which the great otHces were held should descend to the heirs male for ever, in per- petual entail, entire and indivisible. Germany began to recover from its dis- tracted state in the year 127,3, when count Rudolph of Hapsljurg, the founder of the house of Austria, was advanced to the. im- perial dignity. Charles IV., of the Austrian family, lived to see his son Wenzel, or Wenceslaus, elected king of the Romans. This prince, who was the fourth son of Charles, at hi,s father's desire succeeded to the empire ; but, being dissolute and cruel, was deposed after he had reigned twenty-two years. Charles was succeeded by three other princes, whose reigns were short ; at length, in 141] , Sigismund was unanimously chosen emperor, and in 1414, he proclaimed a ge- neral council to be held at Constance, in which three popes were deposed and a new one was set up. At this council the re- formers, John Huss and Jerome of Prague, were condemned and burnt, although the emperor had granted them a passport, and was engaged in honour and conscience for their safe return to their country ; this so exasperated the Hussites of Bohemia, that they raised a formidable army, and under the conduct of Zisca, their general, defeated his forces in fourteen battles. Frederick, duke of Austria, son-in-law to the emperor Sigismund, was chosen empe- rorupon the death of hisfather,and reigned fifty-three years. His son Maximilian was chosen king of the Romans during the life of his father, and afterwards obtained from the pope the imperial crown. During his reign the empire was divided into ten cir- cles. Charles V. surnamed the Great, son of Philip, king of Spain, and grandson to Maximilian, was elected emperor in 1519. He procured Luther's doctrine to be con- demned, and in his reign the disciples of that great reformer obtained the name of Protestants, from their protestivg against a decree of the imperial diet in-fjivour of the catholics. He Is said to have been victo- rious in seventy battles : he had the pope and French king prisoners at the same time, and carried his arms into Africa, where he cnnqucred llie kingdom of Tunis ; but was disgrari'd in tlie war with the pira- tical states. He compelled the Turks to raise the siege of Vienna, made war on the Protestant princes, and took the elector of Saxony and the prince of Hesse prisoners ; but, after a reign of thirty-eight years, he resigned the empire to his brother Ferdi- nand, and the kingdom of Spain to his son Philip II., hinjself retiring to the convent of Tuste in Spain. The abdication of this prince left the _aN 686 tEbe Crfa^urt» of W^tarti, Set. power of the i)rincesof Geniiany more llrm. The house of Austria was divided into two branches : one of wliiih reiirncci in Spain, and, l)y the conquest in tlie New World, had become niucli superior in ]iower and riches to the Austrian tiranrli. Ferdinand I., successor to Cliarles V., had ^•real pos- sessions in Germany: Upiier Hungary,wliic-li he also possessed, could afford him little more than the support of the troops neces- sary to make head against the Turks; Bo- heiiiia seemed to bear the yoke with re- pret ; and Livonia, which had hitherto be- lonired to the empire, was now detached, and joined to Poland. Ferdinand I. distinguished himself by es- tablishing the uulic council of the empire; he was a peaceful prince, and used to assign a part of each day to hear the complaints of his people. Maximilian II. and his son Rudolph II. were each elected king of the llomans, but the latter could not be pre- vailed upon to allow a successor to be chosen in his lifetime. ruder Maximilian IT., as under Ferdinand I., Lombardy was not, iu effect, in the power of Germany ; it was in the hands of Philip, appertaining rather to an ally than a vassal. During this time, the legislative authority resided always iu the emperor, notwith- standing the weakness of the imperial power; and this authority was iu its great- est vigour, when the chief of tlie empire liad not diminished his power by increasing that of the princes. Rudolph II. found these obstacles to his authority, and the empire became more weak in his bauds. The philosophy, or rather the effeminacy, of this prince, who possessed particular virtues but not those of a sovereign, occa- sioned many fermentations. Lutheranism had already spread itself in Germany for the space of a century; princes, kings, cities, and nations, had embraced this doc- trine. In vain Charles V. and his succes- sors had endeavoured to stop its progress; it manifested itself more and more every day, till at length it broke all bounds, and menaced Germany with a general war. Henry IV. having nullitied the measures of the party formed against the house of Austria, the protestants and catliolics ap- peared reciprocally to fear each other ; and hostilities ceased after the taking of Ju- liers. Germany, however, continued to be di- vided into two parties. The first, which was named the an-jelic union, had for Its chief the elector palatine, united to whom were all the protestant princes, and the greater part of the imperial cities. The se- cond was called the cuthulic league, at the head of which was the duke of Bavaria. The pojie and king of Spain joined them- selves to this party ; and it was further strengthened by the elector of Saxony and the landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt : the first, because he was jealous of the elector palatine ; and the latter, because lie had his particular reasons for keepiug fair with the emperor. Kodolph died iu 1612. The electors, after an interregnum of some months, bestowed the empire ou the archduke Matthias, brother to the late emperor. This prince had already mounted the thrones of Hun- gary and Bohemia, as a friend to the pro- testant cause. But he had no sooner as- cended the imperial tliroiu\ than he laid aside the mask, and renounced tlierefiu'ined religion. It wasnot long before lie received the proper reward of liis dissimulation. An irruption being made into Hungary l)y the Turks, he applied to the protestants for succour, who refused him every assist- au ce. In 1619 Matthias died, leaving no issue. The protestant party used its utmost en- deavours to prevent the empire from falling into the hands of a catholic prir.ce, espe- cially one of the house of Austria; notwith- standing which, Ferdinand II., cousin to the late emperor, was elected, *id for a time he was the most happy as well as the most powerful monarch in Europe ; not so much from his personal efforts or abilities, as from the great success of his generals, Wallenstein and Tilly. The power of .Aus- tria menaced equally the catholics and the protestants, and the alarm spread itself even to Rome. The pope thought it advisable to unite with France, in order to check the growing power of Austria. French gold, and the en- treaties of the protestants, brought into this confederacy Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, the only monarch of his day who had the smallest pretension to the name of a hero. The arrival of Gustavus in Germany changed the face of affairs in Europe. In 1631 be gained the battle of Leipsic, de- feating general Tilly. Many of the new raanneuvres introduced at that time by the Swedish monarch into the art of war, are even now practised by most of the Euro- pean powers, and are esteemed, by military men, chef-d'oeuvres in military art. Ferdinand, in 1632, had nearly lost Hun- gary, Bohemia, and the empire; but his good fortune saved him : his enemy, Gus- tavus Adolphus, was killed in the battle of Lutzen, in the midst of victory. The house of Austria, which had sunk under the arms of Adolphus, now felt new spirits, and succeeded in detaching the most powerful princes of the empire from the alliance of Sweden. These victorious troops, abandoned by their allies and de- prived of their king, were beaten at Nord- lingeu ; and although more fortunate after- wards, they were less feared than w-heu under Gustavus. Ferdiuaud II. died at this conjuncture: he left all his dominions to his son Ferdi- nand III. In the reign of this prince the celebrated treaty of Westphalia was so- lemnly signed at Munster, October 24, 1048. It was the basis of all subseiiuent treaties, and is esteemed as the fundamen- tal law of the empire. It was by this treaty that the quarrels of the emperors, an.d the princes of the empire, which had subsisted 700 years, and the disputes about religion, (although of less duration, not less djin- gerous), were terminated. Germany ap- peared gradually to recover its losses ; the fields were cultivated, and the cities rebuilt. €ift ?^tst0rg of ©erinaua. 687 Leopold, the son of Ferdinancl, succeeded. His flrst war was very unfortunate, and he received the law hy the peace of Nimeguen. The interior of Germany was not materi- ally injured ; but the frontiers, on the side of the Rhine, suffered considerably. For- tune was less unequal in the second war, jirnduced by the league of Augsburg ; Ger- many, England, Spain, Savoy, and Sweden, asainst France. This war ended with the jreace of Ryswick, which deprived Louis XIV. of Strasburg. The third war was the most fortunate for Leopold and for Germany : when Louis XIV. had considerably increased his power ; when he governed Spain under the name of his grandson ; when his armies not only po.?- sessed the Netherlands and Bavaria, but were in the heart of Italy and Germany. The battle of Hochstadt, iu 1704, changed the scene, and every place he had acquired was lost. Leopold died the following year, with the reputi^tion of being the most pfjwerful emperor since Charles V. The reign of Joseph I., his son, was yet more successful than that of Leopold. The gold of England and Holland, the victories of prince Eugene and the duke of Marl- borough, and his good fortune, rendered him almost absolute. He put to the ban of the empire the electors of Bavaria and Cologne, partisans of France, and took pos- session of their dominions. Joseph died in 1711, and was succeeded by his brother, Charles VI. Although pow- erful as he was, by the possession of all Hungary, of the Milanese, of Mantua, of Naples, and of Sicily, the nine provinces of the Low Countries, and the flourishing state of his hereditary German dominions, he was obliged to sign, on receiving the im- perial crown, an obligation to conserve and augment the right of the Germanic body. The empire was tranquil and flourishing under the last emperor of the house of Austria. The war of 1716, against the Turks, was principally on the frontiers of the Ottoman territory, and terminated glo- riously. Germany had changed its face during the times of Leopold and Joseph ; Init, in the reign of Charles VI. it may be said to have arrived almost at perfection. Previous to this epoch, the arts were un- cultivated ; scarcely a house was well built ; and manufactures of fine articles unknown; the thirty years' war had ruined all. The afl'airs of Charles were uniformly successful until 1734. The celebrated vic- tories of prince Eugene over the Turks at Temeswar, ami at Belgrade, secured the frontiers of Hungary from molestation ; and Italy became safe in consequence of Don Carlos, son of Philip Y., tiaving con- sented to become his vassal. But these prosperities had their termi- nation. Charles, by his credit in Europe, and iu conjunction with Russia, endea- voured to procure the crown of Poland for Augustus III., elector of Saxony. The French, who supported Stanislaus, had the advantage, and Stanislaus was elected king. Don Carlos being declared king of Naples, after the battle of Bitonto, took posses- sion also iu 1735. Charlea, to obtain peace. renounced the two kingdoms, and dismem- bered the Milanese in favour of the king of Sardinia. New misfortunes afllicted him in his lat- ter years. Having declared war against tlie Turks in 1737, his armies were defeated, and a disadvantageous peace was the conse- quence. Belgrade, Temeswar, Orsova, and all the country between the Danube and the Saave, were ceded to the Turks. He died broken-hearted, in 1740. Tlie death of Charles plunged Europe in one general and ruinous war. By the ' prag- matic sanction,' which he had signed, and which was guaranteed by France, the arch- duchess Maria Theresa, his eldest daughter, had been named as heiress to all his pos- sessions. This princess married, In 1736, Francis Stephen, last duke of LoiTaine. She solicited the imperial throne for her husband, and sued for the inheritance of her father. They were both disputed by the elector of Bavaria, who, supported by the arms of France, was elected emperor in 1742. Charles VII. dieft in 1745, and was stic- eeedcd by Francis I., the husband of Maria Theresa. He died in 1765, and was suc- ceeded by his eldest son, Joseph II., who had been elected king of the Romans the preceding year. When this prince attained to the imperial dignity, he was considered as distinguished by a steady and active at- tention to every department of govern- ment ; and he actually introduced a variety of bold and salutary reforms in the state. A noble liberality of mind, and enlarged views of politics, were imputed to him when he rendered the condition of the lower orders of men in his hereditary dominions less wretched and servile, by alleviating that cruel vassalage in which they were held by the feudal lords of the soil ; whilst a free and unreserved toleration was granted to all sects and denominations of Christians: but these hopes were frustrated by a more full developement of his character, in which activity without efliciency, enacting laws and abrogating them, forming great de- signs and terminating them in mean con- cessions, appeared conspicuous. On the death of the elector of Bavaria in 1777, the emperor laid claim to a consider- able part of that electorate, founded on a vague right which had been set up, but not contended for, so long ago as the year 1425, by the emperor Sigismund. The king of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburg, op- posed these pretensions, on the ground of protecting the empire in its rights, privi- leges, and territorial possessions, against all encroachments upon, or diminutions of them ; but the emperor not being induced by negotiation to relinquish his designs, in 1778 the two most powerful monarchs in Europe led their formidable armies in per- son, to decide the dispute by arms ; nearly half a million of men appearing in the field, to fight for a territory which would have been dearly purchased at the sum ex- pended on one year's support of those vast armies— so little is the ambition of princ«s regulated by the intrinsic worth of the ob- ject at which they aim 1 688 Eitt Crra^ury at W^tavp, $n» The kingdom of Bciliomia was tlie scene of action, and the greatest generals of the age connnan(h'(1 ; as niarslial count Lau- dohn, on tlie side of Austria ; prince Henry of Prussia, and the licreditary prince (after- wards duke) of Brunswick, on the side of Prussia. The horrors andthcMdfof war were then expected to lie revived, iu all their tremendous pomp : but the campaign was closeerial unity might be found to require. This empire was to be hereditary, and its capital was to be Frankport on the Maine. The emperor of Germany was to be main- tained in his dignity by a civil list, voted by the German parliament ; he was to have the executive in all affairs of the empire, and to nominate and appoint all ofBccrs of the state, of the army and navy, and of the staff of the national guard. In the imperial power, as constituted by this emperor and parliament, would be vested all the inter- national representation of Germany with respect to foreign states, the disposal of the army, the right of conducting negotia- tions and concluding treaties, and of de- claring peace or war. The parliament was to consist of two houses ; the upper con- stituted by the thirty-three reigning sove- reigns (or their deputies), by a deputy from each of the four free towns, and by a com- plement of as many imperial councillors, with certain qualiflcations, as should raise the whole chamber to the number of 800 members ; the lower by representatives to be elected by the people In fixed propor- tions, but by methods to be determined by the respective states. Provision was also made for the establishment of supreme and imperial courts of judicature, with ample powers, vast fields of operation, and most effective machinery. But long before this gigantic scheme could be matured, the pro- ceedings of the German parliament were thrown into a different channel by events to which we must now briefly advert. Schleswig and Holstein are two duchies, which, by hereditary descent, have come to he connected with the crown of Den- mark, as Hanover was with that of Eng- land. But the king of Denmark is duke only of Schleswig and of Holstein, and Ctje W^tar^ of <§n:mans. 691 their German laws and constitution have remained unchanged during all the period of their connection with Denmarls. In Holstcin the succession has always heen limited to heirs male ; and as in some an- cient oli;trters tliere was a clause declaring the union between Holstein and Schleswig iudissolulile, the Germans, in the near pros- pect of the crown of Denmark falling into tlie female line, had, fora long period, heen eager that measures should be adopted to the effect that the duchy of Schleswig should follow the succession of the duchy of Hol- stein, and that all political connection be- tween Denmark and the duchies should cease. To this arrangement the Danes were naturally hostile. This question had at- tracted great attention in 1846 and 1847, and some opposition was offered to the central- ising tendencies of Christian VIII., because it was thought that the measures of the court were directed against the nationality of the duchies. The accession of this sovereign, followed by an attempt to em- brace his different possessions under one constitution, increased the discontent of the German party in Schleswig-Holstein. To alter the connection existing between tlie duchies, and to propose to treat either of them as integral parts of the monarchy, was resented as an attack upon the rights of the country, and as an attempt to extin- guish the nationality of the duchies. During this exasperated state of feeling the French revolution of February, 1848, opportunely broke out. The momentary success which attended it, stinuilated the German party in the duchies to throw off the Danish yoke ; and a provisional government was at once proclaimed. Though it appears singular that the government and the people of Ger- many should have seriously set to work to invade an ancient monarchy for the benefit of an empire which never existed, yet so it n-as— the kingdoms and the principalities of Germany took up the quarrel. The assembly at Frankfort aided the insurgents both by word and deed. Troops from every quarter were hurried to the assistance of a ' kin- dred race ;' and general Wrangel, at the head of a considerable army, occupied Jut- land, and raised enormous contributions from the unfortunate inhabitants. It was in vain that the king of Denmark, who, as duke of Holstein, was a member of the Germanic confederation, protested against the invasion of his rights. The Germans, from the Rhine to the Oder, had set then- hearts npon making Germany a naval power, and were determined to acquire the harbour of Kiel, together with a large por- tion of the Danish coast. The Danes, how- ever, manfully resisted : though compelled to retire from their continental dominions by the superior numbers of the invading army they inflicted no small loss on the enemy by blockading the German ports. Denmark then applied to Russia, France, and England, her allies, for fulfilment <)f treaties guaranteeing to her the integrity of her dominions. The danger of a general European war became imminent ; and the Prussian government, which, up to that moment, bad been the chief instigator and support of the insurgents, found it neces- sary to consent to an armistice. This ar- mistice was concluded at Malmo, Aug. 26, and was to lastfor seven mouths. It virtu- ally put an end to the war ; for though it again broke forth, and raged with great violence during the spring and summer of the fnll.iwiiig year, tlie combatants were coiillin'il almost exclusively to the Hol- stciorrsniid I he Danes ; the German go vern- meiit.s having meanwhile abandoned a cause to which they had lent themselves at first with unexampled eagerness. The assembly at Frankfort, after a stormy dfli.'ite, approved of this armistice, but by a siiiiiU i;i.-ijni-itv. The liberal members, with D.ilihiKum .a 'their head, loudly expressed their indignation, which found a powerful echo out of doors. Meetings wereheld out- side the town, at which it was resolved that those wlio had ratified ' the infamous ar- mistice of M.almo were traitors against the majesty, liberty, and honour of the German people ;' and a deputation was appointed to inform them of this resolution. The arch- duke John was now officially informed that the senate could not preserve the peace of the town. His minister of the interior. Von Schmerling, forth with summoned Austrian, Prussian, and Bavarian troops to Frank- fort ; and when the populace began to erect barricades, and throw stones at them, the town was declared in a state of siege. At length the coufiict began by an attack on one of the barricades, at which the ominous red fiag was displayed. One barricade after another was carried under a galling fire from behind them and the houses. Artillery had to be called for, and employed against some ; but by midnight all resistance was at an end. Martial 1-3 // was proclaimed. This insurrection was marked by some in- cidents more than usually atrocious. As prince Lichnowsky and major Auerswald were attempting to reason with the insur- gents, they were fired upon, mortally wounded, and then barbarously cut and hacked. The decline of the assembly may date from this day. In the midst of these complicated trans- actions, the important question as to the prince on whose head the imperial crown should be placed, could no longer be de- ferred. A large majority of the national assembly voted for the king of Prussia ; and a deputation was appointed to go to Berlin to apprise liis majesty of the vote. But the king, who had so often appeared anxious to seize the imperial crown, now declined it until the princes of Germany should have made known their views. This answer pleased no party. Austria did not find the refusal sufficiently distinct; and the Frankfort assembly saw in it a proof that a rupture was at hand. Then followed a series of complicated events, in which the German parliament disap- peared, Austria, through her minister, M. de Schmerling, declared that the as- ■ seinbly had exceeded its powers; that it ' had not lieen nominated to dispose of the empire, but to frame a constitution for the approval of the different governments ; I finally, that the assembly no longer existed. 692 (!I^e tS^rta&urs oC l^t^torj?, int. and tlint the Austrian deputies might con- siiliT llieir mission at aaend. Tliusalmndiined liy Prussia, and attarkcd hy Austria, the German parliampnt was at a loss wliere to turn ti' forsnpiiort. Many of tlie most distitij;uiecanic transcendent. The movements of the diet were inateriiilly quickened by tlie news of the French revo- Jution of Fel:ru:iry LM, 1848; and it was rc- :ed to rerinire a responsible ministry to chosen from the rnnks of the liberal party. Kossuth niaile iliis moii.ni March 3rd, and so powerful w.is ilir miiport he commanded, that 'the lon-riv.itive dele- gates agreed to give their tacit consent ; or, ill other words, that the motion should be carried, without a single observation being made from either side of the house, by general acclamation.' The influence of the Paris revolution was exceeded by that of Tienna, March 14th. When the news ar- rived, that prince Metternich had been compelled to resign office, it beca,me self- evident that the Hungarians must have a Jjond/rdcresponsibleministry, liberty of the press, aud annual diets at Pestli. To these demands the sovereign acceded, and a Hungarian ministry, composed of the most distinguished members of the diet, was in- stalled in office. That ministry embraced the names of Louis Batthyani and Sze- chenyi, of Paul Esterhazy and Kossuth. For the first time for three centuries, the Magyars beheld at Pesth a truly national government; aud, forgetting ancient grud- ges, the whole kingdom was filled with loy- alty aud devotion to their hereditary sove- reign. But scarcely had the just claims of Hun- gary been recognised when the cabinet of Vienna began to consider how the newly- granted privileges of the Magyars could be wrested from them. One mode of effecting this object speedily suggested itself. The Sc.laveshad been for some time dreaming of a united empire, and the idea of flattering their hopes, and then employing them to crush the newborn liberties of Hungary, readily occurred to the successors of prince Metternich. TheSclavouic people of the em- pire were envious of the success of the Hun- garian movement, and thus became more readily the dupes of their imperial masters. The baron Joseph Jellachich, at this period colonel of a Croat regiment of horse, with a handsome person and a ready wit, was suddenly elevated to the dignity of Ban of Croatia. He employed all his eloquence, which was undoubtedly great, to incite the Serb and Croat population against the Ma- gyars. He collected troops along the fron- tier, whom, in his boastful proclamations, he promised to enrich with the spoils of Hungary ; he even threatened to march to Pesth with his ' Red mantles,' the wildest of those robber hordes by whom he was sur- riranded, and to dissolve the diet by force. Suspicions began to be entertained that the ban of Croatia was secretly backed by the imperial court, and a formal complaint was brought against him at Innspruck, where the court was residing. In consequence of these representations, the ban of Croatia was, by proclamation, deprived of all his titles, ami publicly declared a traitor. The fears of the Hungarian diet were, for ashort time, lulled by this decisive act. The agitation on the Croatian frontier, however, still continued, and the marauding bands whom Jellachich had drawn togellier com- mitted the grossest outrages on the inhabi- tants of the Lower Diinube. The few Aus- trian regiments which were i|uart(-red in that district ntFiTed so feeble a resistance to the insurgents, as to revive all the suspi- cions of the Magyars. Before a month had elapsed, the true intentions of the court became apparent. The Serbs and Croats were no longer denounced as rebels and traitors; and an imperial proclamation was even issued, approving generally of their proceedings. Roused to a sense of the imminent danger which threatened them, the diet at length took effective measures to resist any at- tempt which should be made against its liberties. Towards the middle of July, Kossuth, as minister of finance, in an ela- borate address, proposed that funds should bo immediately provided for raising an army of 200,000 men; these were granted with enthusiasm. Both parties were now in earnest. Aus- tria had resolved at all hazards to retrace her steps, and Hungary was no less deter- mined to maintain her long-lost nationality. From this time it was evident that all fur- ther negotiation was fruitless, and the im- perial cabinet prepared to carry out its scheme of invading Hungary from the south. For this purpose the ' traitor Jella- chich' of the loth of June was, on the 4th of September, reinstated in all his dignities and titles, and on thegth of the same month he crossed the southern frontier with an army of upwards of 60,000 men, composed partly of Austrian troops, but chiefly of ir- regular bands of Serbs and Croats, with whom the heroic ban declared he would march direct to Pesth, and disperse the diet. Before he could make good his boast, how- ever, he suffered a signal defeat from the army of Hungarian volunteers which await- ed his approach in the vicinity of the capi- tal. After this discomflture, he made the best of his way with a remnant of his force to Vienna. Serious events had meanwhile occurred. At Presburg, count Lamberg, who had been sent to take the military command in Hun- gar.v, but whose appointment, without the sanction of the diet, was Illegal, had fallen a victim to the popular fury. This occur- rence materially widened the breach be- tween the diet and the imperial authorities, and both parties actively prepared for the deadly struggle which was now inevitable. A proclamation was immediately issued by the emperor (October 3rd) dissolving the diet, declaring all its resolutions which had not his sanction null and void, appointing Jellachich military commander and ro.val plenipotentiary in Hungary, and laying the kingdom under martial law. The Vienna revolution of October 6th, with the subse- quent bombardment and capture of the city, left the military forces of Austria free to act against Hungary. In that direction they were immediately sent; and no doubt was entertained of a certain and speedy tri- umph. But before the army had time to tlLtft W^tary! of ©prmang. 697 rnter Hungnry, Ferdinand V., who felt liimsolf uneiju.'il to the crisis, abdicated the throne in favour of his nephew Francis Joseph, who at once caused himself to he proclaimed emperor ol Austria and Ichig uf llun(i:riii, without waiting tor theconstitu- tional Innu nT his election in accordance witji aiH'it'iir trinities. In tlie month of December, prince Win- dischgratz entered Hungary at the head of 1.^0,Oo6 men ; and one stronghold after an- other submitted to their assault. On the advance of this great force, the diet retired from Pesth, and established itself at De- breczin, to the eastward of the Theiss, behind which river Gorgei, the commander- in-cliief of the Hiuigarians, concentrated liis army. Encouraged by success, a royal proclamation was issued March 4th, 1849, ;innihilating the separate existence of Hun- gary ; declaring it an integral portion of the ' hereditary eiupire of Austria,' and naming Vienna as the capital, and seat of the executive power. But the end was not yet. The Hungarians now began to act on the offensive, and the campaign which followed is one of the most remarkable in history. General Bern, a Polish emigrant,recovered Transylvania ; having with singular rapid- ity, and with very inadequate means, clear- ed that country of Austrian troops. Gorgei having inured liis raw levies to discipline and danger throughout the winter, at this time suddenly abandoned his defensive tac- tics, and, crossing the Theiss at several lioints, made a vigorous attack upon the lines of the Austrian field-marshal. His liist efforts against the Austrian lines were successful, and he instantly followed them up liy a fresh attack. During the next ten days there was a continuous series of Ijattles, which terminated generally to the advantage of the Magyars. Windischgratz retired slowly before his impetuous adver- sary, who drove him, without a day's repose, from one position to another, until he reached Godollo. Near to that place the Austrian general intrenched himself along a range of wooded heights, which, being thickly planted with artillery, he deemed impregnable. But hewasmistaken. Gorgei advanced immediately to the attack. The Austrians fought with their proverbial ob- stinacy ; but nothing could withstand the furious charges of the Hungarian horse, which, breaking through every obstacle, made their way to the heights, and silenced the enemy's artillery. The victory was complete; and the Austrians retired iu confusion from the field. After his last discomfiture, Windischgratz was removed from the command : and Welden, who was sent to succeed him, immediately evacuated Hungary with the wreck of the imperial forces. We now approach the critical point of this great struggle. On the 14th of April 1S49, a few days after the decisive defeat of Windischgratz. the declaration of Hun- garian inilependi.'uce was issued by tlie diet. The particular form to be assumed by the government was reserved for a future diet, it being provided, in, the meantime, 'by acclamation and with the unanimous ap- proval (.f the diet,' that Louis Kossuth should be governor, and that the affairs of the kingdom should be conducted ' on the basis of the ancient and received principles which have been recognised for ages.' Gorgei did not object to this measure ; l)ut from this time he manifested a desire to thwart the views of the diet. After the retreat of the Austrian army, he was strongly urged by Kcjssuth and by Dem- binski, who had now arrived in Hungary, to march directly upon Vienna with his victorious troops. Instead, however, of directing his steps towards the Austrian capital, he marched upon Buda, which was still held by the imperial troops, and closely invested tliat ancient seat of royalty. He did, indeed, succeed in capturing Buda after an obstinate defence, but each pre- cious day wasted before that city strength- ened the arms of his ojiponents. The war in Italy had now been concluded by the decisive defeat of the king of Sardinia at Novara, and a considerable force could be spared. To crown the whole, the aid of Russia was invoked to crush the Hunga- rians ; and in the month of June, the com- bined imperial armies entered Hungary simultaneously from the north, south, east, and west. The summer campaign commenced under the auspices of general Haynau,whoarrived on the banks of the Danube, hot from the slaughter of Brescia: and being strongly reinforced from various quarters of the empire, he lost no time in commencing ac tive operations. On the 20th of June, he at length engaged the army under Gorgei, near the confluence of the Wa;ig and the Danube. The Austro-Kussian army was greatly superior in point of numbers to the Hungarian force; but .after several days' hard fighting, and great loss upon both sides, no decisive result followed. On the 2ud of Jul.v, a vigorous attack was made ujion Gorgei's intrenched camp, near Ko- morn. The combat lasted the whole day, but the assailants were at length repulsed, with the loss of 3,000 men. Gorgei, who had fought at the head of his troops throughout the day, was severely wounded upon this occasion. But on the same night, a de- spatch was received from Kossuth, to the effect that Gorgei had been removed from the post of commander-in-chief. That the diet had strong grounds of complaint against this general, there can lie no doubt : but their decision came at a most unseason- able moment; and there can be little doubt that it hastened the catastrophe which fol- lowed so shortly afterwards. The struggle now drew rapidly to its con- clusion. Gorgei, finding it impossible to make head any longer against the Austrian and Russian armies on the Danube, resolved to fall back upon districts which he had occupied during the winter, behind the Theiss. Leaving general Klapka with a large garrison in the impregnable fortress of Komorn, he commenced his retreat about the middle of July. By the rapidity and skill of his movements, he succeeded in eluding the vigilance of his enemies, 30 698 C^e ErrHJfury of l^tStorp, Set. and once more found himself on the left bank of tbe Tlielss, at the head of a con- siderable army. He now moved to the southwards, with what object did not ap- pear, for he thus placed himself between the army of Haynauand that of the Russian general, Rudiser, who were both advancing upon central Hungary. But the catastrophe was at hand. On the nth of August, he had an inter- view with Kossuth, at Arad ; and shortly afterwards a i)ublic proclamation was issued by Kossuth and his colleagues, resigning the wliole of their powers into the hands of general Arthur Gorgel, whom they no- minated dictator of Hungary. What was his motive in accepting this nominal dignity —whether to avenge the slight he had re- ceived during the previous mouth, or to give more effect to the step he meditated — we shall not venture to decide. Certain it Is, that two days subsequent to his eleva- tion, he made an unconditional surrender of his forces, consisting of upwards of 30,000 men, and 144 pieces of cannon, to the Russian commander, at Yillagos. In a pro- clamation issued immediately afterwards, he recommended the rest of the Hungarian chiefs to follow his example, and trust to the generosity of the Russian czar. With the surrender of Gorgei, the contest was virtually at an end. The greater number of the Hungarian chiefs followed his ex- ample, trusting to the vague assurances of safety which were held out to them by their favourite general, and which were so completely belied by the subsequent con- duct of the Austrian government. Kossuth, Bern, since deceased, Dembinski, Guyon, and some others, sought refuge in Turkey. But Austria and Russia immediately de- manded from the Porte the surrender of the refugees, and the cabinet of the sultan appealed to England and France for support. Failiiif in the immediate accomplishment of their purpose, the ambassadors of the former powers suspended diplomatic rela- tions with the Porte, and waited further instructions from Vienna and St. Peters- burg. In these circumstances the Turkish government addressed six queries to the ambassadors of France and England, with a view of ascertaining their opinions on the points in dispute, and of learning whether, in the event of war being declared, the Porte might ' count upon the effective co- operation of those two powers." France and England were united on this point, and their combined fleets were ordered to take up a position near the Dardanelles, from which they might promptly render aid if such were required. This necessity, however, was prevented by the vigour of the mea- sures which had been adopted. The Austrian and Russian governments gave way, and ultimately Kossuth, and the more eminent of his co-patriots, were removed to the in- terior, with a view of preventing further disturbance to these powers. Meanwhile numerous memorials were ad- dressed to the English government, praying its interference on behalf of the refugees ; and the ITnited States sent a steam-frigate to convey Kossuth and his companions to the Western World. Austria threatened vengeance in case they were permitted to depart; but the Turkish cabinet resolved to listen to the representations of other powers, and on the 22nd of August 1851, the welcome tidings of freedom were conveyed to Kossuth. On the 1st of September, he left Kutayah, landed at Southampton on the 23rd of October, amid the acclamations of congregated thousands ; and, after a tri- umphal progress through different parts of England, sailed for the United States. Since his surrender general Gorgei resided in great seclusion at Klagenfurth, where he cheered his solitude with the composition of a work in which he details his 'Life and -Acts in Hungary,' and which, if it conclu- sively rebuts the charge of treason that has been preferred against him, fully estab- lishes the fact that he had no desire for Hungarian independence, and exerted him- self but languidly in its support. In the year 1860 the Austrian emperor entered on what is called the path of con- stitutional government. In other words, of his own sovereign grac« and solely as an act of his own unfettered will, revocable, therefore, at pleasure, he granted certain political privileges to be enjoyed by all tbe subjects of his crown. These grants and reforms might have been a boon to people who had never known real freedom ; they were an insult to those who had once pos- sessed it, and who had been deprived of it by a violent despotism. And as such they were repudiated by the Hungai-ian diet. On the 18th of May 1861, M. Deak made a speech on these Austrian concessions, which showed that the principle of abso- lutism was committing theemperor to very dangerous risks. He urged indignantly that the constitution which they had in- herited from their forefathers had been taken away, and they had been governed despotically until the Austrian emperor chose ' to enter the path of constitution- alism.' But that constitution so given encroached on Hungarian independence, inasmuch as it transferred to a foreign assembly (the Reichsrath) the right to grant the supplies of money and men, and made the Hungarian government dependent on the Austrian, which is not responsible for its acts. If Hungary accepted the diploirfll of October 20th, 1860, she would cease to be herself, and would become, to all intents and purposes, an Austrian province. 'There- fore,' he said, 'we will neither send depu- ties to the present Reichsrath, nor take any share in the representation of the em- pire.' The Croatian diet had already made its protest on the 10th of May. An address was adopted, which the emperor refused to receive because it did not recognise him as king of Hungary ; but to a second ad- dress he replied by ' rejecting the idea of an amalgamation, but granting an internal autonomous administration, together with dynastic, military, diplomatic, and financial unity with the rest of the empire.' In the Hungarian diet this rescript was received with feelings of contempt and disgust. The task of preparing an answer was given to M. Deak, who in it insisted that, ' accord- CTfje l^tjStori) of (Strmang. 699 iiig to the pragmatic sanction, tliere exists between Hungary and the hereditary coun- tries no other bond of union besides the identity n£ the reigning house, while the rif-'l]t of maliinglaws and interpreting them iH'longs to the legally crowned king and tlie legally assembled diet, and cannot be exercised without the latter. To this prag- matic sanction he declared that Hungary w.is determined to adhere, while it pro- test(>d against the exercise, on the part of the Keichsrath, of any legislative or other power over Hungary in any relation what- soever. All acts, therefore, passed by the Keichsrath in reference to Hungary would bo Invalid, and Hungary would recognise no financial measures passed by that as- sembly. The chamber by an immense majority voted for the immediate adoption of this reply, which was also adopted unanimously by the upper house. Byway of dealing with the difficulty, the emperor dissolved the diet by a rescript dated August 21st, and he resolved to meet by force the passive re- fusal of the Hungarians to pay any taxes. Soldiers were billeted on the people, and a system of almost intolerable oppression carried out, until their firmness gave way, and the taxes were sullenly paid. The storm was repressed for the present, but probably for the present only. THE HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. The name of rrussians was unknown till the tenth centuo-; and its etymology is very uncertain : some authors suppose that the former inhabitants, alluding to their proximity to the Russians, called them- selves Porussi, or, bordering on the Rus- sians ; forpo, in the old Prussian language, signifles near. In that age the kings of Poland took great pains, and even made use of Are and sword, for the conversion of the pagan Prussians to Christianity. Boleslaus I. be- gan with chastising the Prussians for the murder of St. Albert, or Adelbert, called the apostle of that nation. His successors had also several quarrels with the Prus- sians ; and Boleslaus IV., who committed dreadful ravages in this country, lost his life in an unsuccessful battle in 1163. In the thirteenth century, the Prussians ravaged Culm, Cujavia, and Masovia ; upon which Conrad, dukeof Masovia, was obliged to apply to his allies, who all wore the cross, which they carried into the Held against the Prussians, whom they considered as the enemies of the Christian name. But all their efforts proving ineffectual, tlio duke applied to the German knights of the Teu- tonic order, and strongly represented the great importance of defending the fron- tiers. Accordingly, in 1230, they obtained palatinates of Culm and Doberzin for twen- ty years, and afterwards for ever, with the absolute authority over any future con- quests in Prussia. These knights, after long and bloody wars during the space of flfty-three years, by the assistance of the sword-bearing knights, subdued the whole country. A war afterwards broke out be- tween the Teutonic knights and the Lithu- anians, which was attended with the most dreadful outrages. These knights made re- ligion the cloak of their ambitious views, and, under the pretence of propagating the gospel of peace, committed the most inhu- man barbarities ; nay, it is generally agreed that they extirpated the native Prussians, and planted the Germans there in their stead. Their territory at that time ex- tended from the Oder along the Baltic, to the bay of Finland, and contained cities like Dantzic, Elbing, Thoni, Culm, &c. But in 1410 their savage zeal received a terrible check ; for after a most bloody battle they were totally defeated. In 1454 half of Prussia revolted from its obedience to the Teutonic order, and de- clared for Casimir III., king of Poland. This occasioned a fresh effusion of blood ; till at last a peace was concluded in 1466, by which it was agreed that the part now called Polish Pnissia should continue a free province under the king's protection ; and that the knights and the grand-master shotild possess the other part, ackiiowledg- ing themselves vassals of Poland. The knights soon endeavoured, but in vain, to throw off this yoke. In 1.519 they raised new wars, which were terminated in 1^25 by a peace concluded at Cracow ; by which it was agreed, that the margrave Albert, grand-master of the Teutonic order, should be acknowledged duke or sovereign of the eastern part of Prussia, which he was to hold as a flef of Poland, and which was to descend to his male heirs ; and upon failure of male issue, to his brothers .and their male heirs. Thus ended the sovereignty of the Teutonic order m Prussia, after it had subsisted three hundred years. The new duke favoured the introduction of the reformed relisfion into his dominions, and founded the university of Konigsberg. The elector Joachim added the duchy of Prussia to the electoral house of JJrauden- burg, with which it had been closely con- nected. The reign of the elector George William was unhappily distinguished by the calamities of the thirty years' war, in which Prussia suffered much from the ravages of the Swedes. Frederick 'William, called the ' great elec- tor," from his extraordinary talents as a general, a statesman, and a politician, ob- tained, in 1656, by a treaty with Poland, an extinction of the homage heretofore paid to that kingdom ; and he was acknowledged by the powers of Europe a sovereign inde- pendent duke. He made firm his right in Juliers ; obtaiued Cleves ; recovered part of Pomerania ; and increased the population of his country by aflordingan asylum to the refugees of France, after the impolitic revo- cation of the edict of Nantes by Lou's XIV. Frederick, his son, raised the duchy of Prussia to a kingdom ; and on the 11th of January 1701, in a solemn assembly of the states of the empire, placed the crown, with his own hands, on his own head and that of his consort ; soon after which lie was acknowledged king of Prussia by all the other Christian powers. His son, Frederick 'William I., who as- cended the throne in 1713, greatly increased the population of his country by the favour- able reception he gave to the distressed and persecuted Saltzburgers, as his grand- father had done by making it an asylum to the Huguenots, when driven imt of France by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in the year 1684. He was wise, bold, and economical ; his principal study the aggran- disement of his kingdom. This monarch was succeeded in 1740 Ijy his son Frederick II., then in the twenty- ninth year of his age, who rendered his kingdom formidable by his valour and pru- dence, and promoted the happiness of his Ct)e |^tiSt0rg of ©ermaiiB. 701 siil'jprts l>y an aincndmeiit and simpliflca- tiiin of the laws, the increase of commerce, and many wise regulations. His depreda- tions on I'oland, and his arbitrary and un- jnst, violntion of the guaranteed privileges of Daiitzic, as well as the oppressions which the city of Thorn endured, though tlicy might serve to aggrandise his king- doiri, sullied his name in the eyes of an impartial posterity. On the death of the emperor Charles VI., in the same year, Frederick led a large army into Silesia, to a considerahle part of which diu-liy he laid claim. He for some time maintained a war against Maria Theresa, daughter of the late emperor, who was married to the grand duke of Tuscany ; l>ut on the 1st of June 1742, a treaty be- tween the queen of Hungary and the king of Prussia was signed at Breslau ; by which the former ceded to the latter Upper and Lower Silesia, with the county of Glatz in Bohemia, and the king of Prussia engaged to pay to certain merchants of London the sums which they had advanced to the late emperor, commonly called 'the Silesiau loan ;' and at the peace of Aix-Ia-Chapelle, the contracting powers guaranteed to him whatever had been thus ceded. His father had ever paid peculiar atten- tion to his army, but the attention of the son was more judiciously and effectually directed; for, in the year 1756, he had irpd.ooOof the best troops in Europe. At that time a league was formed against him by the empress queen, and the court of Versailles : Augustus, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, had secretly become a party to this confederacy, the object of which was to subdue the Prussian domi- nions, and partition them among the con- tracting powers. Frederick obtained early anil authentic information of his danger from Saxony, and proceeded with no less spirit thaji effect to avert it. He marched a powerful army into that electorate; com- pelled the troops of the elector to lay down tlirir arras ; became master of Dresden : entered the palace, got possession of the correspondence which had been can-ylng on agaijist him, and published to all Europe the authentic documents he had thus ob- tained ; which fully justified him in the hostilities he had thus commenced. The war soon after raged with great fury, and the empress of Russia joined the confede- racy against this devoted monarcli ; but his unparalleled exertions, judicious mea- sures, and personal bravery, which were powerfully supported by the wealth and arms of Great Britain, finally baffled all the attempts of his enemies, and the ge- neral peace which was ratified in 17C3, ter- minated his labours in the field. TheGreat Frederick, long regarded as the hero of the Prussian monarchy, and par eici'llence the hero of the age, brought to perfection what his father had so success- fully begun. He resisted the power of half Enroiie, and, by his conquests and the wis- dom of his administration, he doubled the number of his subjects, and almost the extent of his territories. He was as great in his projects as he was fortunate in their execution : he was a legislator, a general, a statesman, a scholar, and a philosopher. Indeed, it may be said, he was ofie of those men whom nature only produces at long intervals; but, at the same time, it must not be forgotten that, instead of exercising a paternal care for his people, he regarded the Prussian nation as a foreign general regards the army under his command ; his sole thoughts, in fact, appearing to be constantly centred in the love of fame and of power. Frederick died in 1786, and left to his ne- phew, Frederick William II. (by some called Frederick III.) an extensive and prosperous kingdom, a large and well-disciplined army, and a well-filled treasury ; but he possessed none of those commanding talents, that energy, or that patient perseverance, which so eminently distinguished his predecessor. The finances of Prussia were soon exhaust- ed ; and in consequence of the high rank among the European states to which Fred- erick the Great had elevated her, she was obliged to take a prominent part in the most important affairs of the continent, which, without his genius, could not be maintained. Frederick William II. died in 1797, and was succeeded by his son, Fred- erick William III. By the partition of Poland in 1792, and its final dismemberment in 1795, Prussia ac- quired a great extension of territory, in- cluding the important city of Dantzic, and upwards of two millions of inhabitants. In 1796 the Prussian cabinet made a secret treaty with France; and after many sinister and vacillating movements, Prussiaresolved upon the maintenance of a strict neutrality, which, in the state of Europe at that time, was impossible. In 1803 France occupied Hanover; and in 1805, when a third coalition was forming against France, Prussia wa- vered more than ever. Alexander of Russia appeared at Berlin, and brought about the convention of Potsdam, Nov. 3, 1805 ; but after the battle of Austerlitz, Prussia sought for and obtained peace with France, and was consequently compelled to submit to the harsh terms of the conqueror. Again, when Napoleon had concluded the confederacy of the Rhine, Prussia stepped forw-ard to arrest his gigantic power ; but the battle of Jena disclosed to the world how incapable it was for her to contend again.st the emperor and his confederated allies. The peace of Tilsit reduced Prussia to half its foriner dimensions, which halt had to support 150,000 French soldiers until the end of 1808, and to pay 120 millions of francs, while French troops were to retain possession of the fortresses of Stettin, Kus- trein, and Glogau. The minister "Von Stein, who was long at the head of affairs, was a most uncompromising enemy of France, and when he was in consequence compelled by her to quit Germany, baron Hardenberg was placed at the head of the government as Btate-cliancellor. The continuance of French oppression, and the insulting hu- ' miliation the Prussians had to endure, at length roused, rather tlian subdued, the dormant spirit of the people. After Napo- I Icon's Russian campaign the population .•i o 2 702 djc CrcaiSuij) at l^tStnrH, &^c. rose en 7nasse, and to tlieir zealous efforts ill the C.1USC o( oppressed Europe, tlie com- pleteness of Ills discomfiture may be mainly attrllnited. The part which Prussia played 111 this xreat name of war we have else- where related, and it is not consistent with the limits of our work to make needless repetitions ; it is sufflcient to state, that at the general peace of 1815, I'russia became more powerful than ever; for although a portion of her Polish dominions passed into the hands of Knssia, it was more than com- pensated by valuable acquisitions in Sax- ony, Pomerauia, &c. Prom this period, the Prussian states, in spite of great political restrictions, con- tinued to advance steadily in prosperity. A great impulse to the extension of German commerce was given by the establishment of the ZoU verein, or ' Customs Union,' under the auspices of Prussia, by which internal trade was freed from all restrictions, and a tmiform system of duties agreed on for those states that joined it. Frederick William IV. ascended the throne in 1840, and became remarkably popular. His affability and his varied acquirements rendered him personally attractive, and gained him the hearts of all with whom he conversed. Soon after his accession to the throne, he declared that he would de- velop the system of representative govern- ment, as established in the provincial es- tates ; but he made no promise to grant a representative constitution for the whole kingdom. On the contrary, he declared at Kouigsberg that he would never do homage to the Idea of a general popular represen- tation. But various public changes, chiefly in the provincial administration, were soon after, and at different times, introduced. In the autumn of 1842 the king convoked, at Berlin, a meeting of deputies, delegated by the provincial states, to deliberate on questions of taxation, railroads, and other public improvements. Discontents arose aifterwards on account of the censorship of the press ; and it became evident in the following year that the bold sentiments of the provincial diet of the Rhenish pro- vinces were not confined to the speakers. In 1844 or 1845, manifestations were made in different provinces, significant of a ge- neral determination to obtain a constitu- tional government. In 1846 disturbances broke out at Posen and Cologne, followed by arrests, trials, and convictions. In 1847 the states were convoked at Berlin ; and a new era of freedom, it was supposed, was then about to dawn on the country. But this assembly was not a representative par- liament. It was composed of delegates from the provincial states, summoned to deliberate and report on questions not Initiated by themselves, but those only which were submitted to them by the go- vernment ; It consequently gave little satis- faction. On the 17th of January 1848, a committee of the delegates of the provincial states commenced its sittings in order to examine the new penal code submitted to it by the king for its deliberations. In the midst of these deliber.itions was heard the cmUre-coUp of the French revolution. On the Clli of March the committee of the a.s- scml'lrd diet of the states at Berlin, having comiilclid its delibenitions, was dissolved in person by the king, who was prepared to make some concessions, among which was the liberty of the press, with certain gua- rantees and conditions. A royal patent was issued convoking a diet to meet on the 2nd of April. But before this could be effected, grave events had taken jilace. On the evening of the 14th of March crowds were in the streets of Berlin, with patrols both of horse and foot, parading there also. On the 15th, in the Schlossplatz, the people assembled before the king's pa- lace, growing in numbers and courage, as- saulting the sentinels, and managing to protect themselves from the cavalry by bar- rels and barricades. The 16th was a com- parative lull, the 17th was pronounced quiet, but on the 18th the tempest recommenced. On that morning the king made great con- cessions to his people ; but the latter, while acknowledging the royal condescension with shouts and huzzahs, demanded the with- drawal of the troops from the palace. A staff- offlcer, who thought that the crowd was ap- proaching too near, essayed to keep them at a distance, and provoked violence, which a detachment of cavalry advanced to repress. Two chance shots were fired; the popular wrath was awakened ; and the troops in all the streets were attacked. Ere long arms were obtained by the multitude ; the troops were fired on from the houses, and many superior officers, distinguished by their dress, and affording the better mark, were killed. The populace themselves had to fight against 20,000 armed men ; hut rein- forced by the armed students, active and enthusiastic, were led forward to victory. The prisons were forced open, the prisoners were set free, and soon afterwards the troops refused to flre unless attacked. At night the city was illuminated ; until morn the alarm bells were rung. On the morning of the 19th, the city of Berlin looked like a town of war. The streets were torn U|i, and filled with heaps of stones, which the people had thrown from the windows and roofs on the soldiers. Early appeared a royal proclamation, ascribing the shots on the Schlossplatz to a mistake ; and by eleven, the troops were all withdrawn. The people, again. In the Schlossplatz were addressed by the king from the balcony. But some atonement to the slaughtered was yet need- ed. The bodies of those who had fallen in the Friedrichstadt were laid in a waggon, attended by a large procession of citizens, and taken to the palace, the populace calling on the king to appear and do homage to the corpses. With reluctance he appeared, and then granted their desired armament to the people, who forthwith rushed to the arsenal, and claimed the distribution of arms. On the 24th the obsequies of the slain were celebrated ; all the municipal and commu- nal authorities, all the magistracy, guilds, clergymen of all confessions, and students, headed by the illustrious Humboldt, form- ing the funeral procession. On the 2nd of April, the diet convoked by the king of Prussia met at BerUu, under Ci)e W^taxQ of (gcrmang. 703 the presidence of a royal commissioner, the new minister of state, Camphauseu. But in the midst of the agitations that prevailed, the constituent assembly made little pro- gress in its dfliherations; and out of doors the deraociatio ]i:irty assumed so formi- dable an asprct that the days of the mo- narchy set-mrd luniibered. Ministry after ministry was appointed in tlie hope that the revolutionary torrent might be stemmed : but in vain ; and It was not till November that a more resolute minister, the count of Brandenburg (since deceased), seconded by general Wrangel (who had returned from his campaign in Denmarl:), determined to remove the assembly from Berlin to I3ran- denburg, and even ventured in the following month to dissolve it. The Icing now pro- posed to concede (octroyer) a constitution, and convoked an assembly to examine it. But this attempt at constitution-maliing fared no better than its predecessor. The liing's refusal to accept the imperial crown of Germany offered to him by the Prank- fort parliament ; the long continuance of the state of siege at Berlin ; and Anally the ministerial efforts to preserve as much as they could of the royal authority and the ancient aristocracy — all this irritated the opposition into acts which were supposed to be incompatilJie with kingly power; and the assembly was dissolved in April 1849. The third and last attempt to frame a con- stittition was soon afterwards begun, and this time with more success. In November of the same year, the constitution of the second chamber of the Prussian parliament was promulgated. It conferred the elec- tive franchise on all Prussians of not less than twenty-flve years of age, resident three years within the electoral district, and h.aving paid one year's taxes — military garrisons being also considered as resi- dences, and including also "as electors all Germans of thirty years of age, and resid- ing in Prussia. The chamber of peers consists of the hereditary nobility, limited to primogeniture, to a certain number named by the king for life, and to a simi- lar number elected by electors who have paid the maximum of taxations. In each of the provinces there are elective assem- blies; besides, the municipalities have each their local administrations. The constitu- tion defining the powers of the king and the parliament, the duties of the ministers of the crown, was published on the 2iid of February 1850. It neither establishes the liberty of the press, nor includes any habeas corpus enactment ; but it has hitherto so f.ar worked practically that if honestly carried out, it will enable the Prussians flually to secure for themselves a fair share of civil, political, and religious liberty. The principal part of the Prussian do- minions lies continuously along the south shore of the Baltic, betweeu Russia and Mecklenburg. The inland frontier of this part of the monarchy on the east andsoutl is sufficiently connected ; but on the wesi, side its outline is very irregular, some small Independent states being almost en- tirely surroiuided by the Prussian domi- nions. But exclusive of this principal por- tion, there is an extensive Prussian terri- tory on both sides the Rhine ; which is separated from the eastern part of the kingdom by Hesse-Cassel, part of Hanover, Briuiswick, &c. Some detached territories in Saxony also belong to Prussia. Some account of the position which Prussia assumed in the Russian war of 1834-6, will be found in the histories of England and France. Since that time no event of great importance has occurred in the history of Prussia. The king, Frederick William IV., died on January 2, 1861, and was succeeded by his brother, who had exercised the regency during the illness of the king. At present an important political contest is going on in the country. It has arisen on the question of taxation for the support of the army, and it involves the more serious question of constitutional government. A majority of the Prussian parliament determined that the number of the army should be reduced ; but the king persisted in refusing to give his consent, and the parliament withheld the vote of supplies. On this the king declared his intention of levying the taxes on his own authority, and dissolved the chambers. His position is in many respects similar to that of Charles I. in England: it remains to be seen wiiether the Prussians are as strenuous in maintaining their liberties as was the English nation iu the seventeenth century. BAVARIA. nAVARiA, now one of the rrincipnl soron- dary states of fieruiauy, was derived from a circle of tlio German empire, of tlic same name, bounded hy Franconia and Bolieniia on the north, Austria on the east, Tyrol on the south, and Suahia on the west. The earliest inhabitantsof Bavaria were atribe of Celtic origin called the Boil, from whom it received its old Latin name of Boiaria ; hut, about the time of Augustus, the Ro- mans subdued it, and it afterwards formed a pait of what they termed Rhnetia, Yin- delicia, and Noricum. After tlie downfall of the Roman empire, the Bavarians fell under the dominion of the Ostrogoths and Franks, by whom it was governed till Charlemagne took possession of the coun- try, and committed tlie government to some of his counts. On the partition of his imperial dominions amongst his grand- sons, Bavaria was assigned to Louis the German. Its rulers bore the title of Mar- grave till 920, when Arnold, its reigning prince, was raised to the title of duke, which his successors continued to bear till 623, when Maxmiliau I., having assisted Ferdinand IL against the Bohemian in- surgents, was elevated to the electoral dignity. In 1070 Bavaria passed into the posses- sion of the Guelphs ; and in 1180 it was transferred by imperial grant to Otho, count of Wittclsbach, whose descendants ♦branched out into two families, the Pala- tine and the Bavarian, the former inherit- ing the palatinate of the Rhine, the latter the duchy of Bavaria. Few events of any importance occurred till the war of the Spanish succession, when Bavaria suffered severely from following the fortunes of France. It, however, received a great ac- cession in 1777, when, upon the extinction of the younger line of "Wittelsbach, the pa- latinate, after a short contest with Austria, was added to the Bavarian territory. After the adjustment of the Austrian pretensions, the electorate enjoyed the blessings of peace till the French revolution, which involved all Germany in the flames of civil discord. The elector rem.ained on the side of the imperialists till 1796, when the French marched a powerful army into his domi- nions, and concluded a treaty for the ces- sation of hostilities. In the following year was signed the treaty of Campo-Formio, and in 1801 that of Luneville, by which all the German dominions left of the Rhine were annexed to France, and the elector lost the palatinate of the Rhine, his pos- sessions in the Netherlands and Alsace, and the duchies of Juliers and Deux Fonts ; receiving as indemnities four bishoprics, with ten abbeys, flftecu imperial towns, and two imperial villages, and some other minor privileges which it would bo super- fluous to mention. In the conflicts between France and the continental powers, Bavaria continued to maintain a neutrality till 180.'), when the elector entered into an alliance with Napo- leon, who shortly afterwards raised him to the dignity of king, and enlarged his do- minions at the same time by the annexa- tion of several important provinces. Of all the allies of the French emperor, no coun- try has retained more solid advantages than Bavaria. Shortly after the camjiaign of 1806, when Austria, to purchase peace, sa- crificed part of her possessions, Bavaria received a further enlargement, by the ad- dition of Tyrol, Eichstadt, the eastern part of Passau, and other territories ; when she began to assume a more important station amongst the surrounding states. At the dissolution of the Germanic con- stitution, and the form.ation of the Rlie- nish confederation, another alteration took place, the duchy of Berg being resigned for the margraviate of Anspach, together with tlie imperial towns of Augsburg and Nu- remburg. In 1809, Bavaria again took part with France against Austria, and again shared in the spoils of war; but subse- quently ceded some of her territories to Wirtemburg and "Wurtzburg ; and, by an- other alteration which shortly followed, ex- changed a great part of Tyrol for Bayreuth and Ratisbon. But the friendship of the Bavarian mo- narch for his ally and patron was soon to be put to the test. When the thirst for military conquest induced Napoleon to march the French armies to Moscow, the Bavariati troops were amongst the number. Apprehending the ruin that awaited the French, but while the fortunes of Napoleon were still doubtful, the king of Bavaria seized the critical moment, and entered into a treaty with the emperor of Austria, and joined thealliesin crushing that power which had long held so many nations in thraldom. These important services were not forgotten. Bavaria was confirmed in her extensive acquisitions by the treaties of 1814 and 1815: for though Austria re- covered her ancient possessions in the Tyrol, &c., Bavaria received equivalents in Franconia and the vicinity of the Rhine. Though the inferior kingdoms and states of Germany are of too little importance to become principals in any European war, they are frequently found very effective allies, as was the case with Bavari.a. Its army during the war amounted to 60,00(i men. In 1818 Bavaria received a consti- tution, which continued to work with tole- rable regularity till 1846, when king Louis, whoso poetic and artistic tastes had secured Wt)t ?§(^torg of (Sfrmanp. 705 tui'liim considerable fame bejoiid the limits of (lis own dominions, began to adopt niea- sui'es which roused the indignation of his subjects. Into tliis course he was betrayed by the infatuation which had seized hira for the well-known Lola Montes, whom he had created countess of Lansfeldt; and, in March 1848, immediately after the French revolution of that memorable year, the at- titude of the Bavarian people became so menacing, that the king saw himself com- pelled to abdicate the throne in favour of his eldest son, Maximilian ; wlio both dur- ing, and subsequently to, the stormy period that ensued, displayed great firmness, vigi- lance, and prudence, not only in regard to his own kingdom, but on the wider field of European diplomacy. In the history of Greece it will be seen that Otho, a Bavarian prince, was in 1832 elected king of that country ; that, in 1843, he consented to give his subjects a more liberal government, that bis promises were miserably broken, and that he himself was ignominiously expelled in 1862. HANOVER. The kingdom of Hanover, ■which, until the year 1815, Tvas an electorate, was formed out of the duchies formerly possessed by several families belnngins to the junior branches of the house of Brunswick. The house of Hanover may, indeed, vie with any in Germany for antiquity and nobleness. It sprang from the ancient family of the Guelphs, dulies and electors of Bavaria, one of whom, Henry the Lion, in 1140, married Maude, eldest daughter of Henry II., king of England. Their son William, called Longsword, was created first duke thereof. The dominions descended in a direct line to Ernest, who divided them, upon his death in 1546, into two branches ; that of Bruns- wick Wolfenbuttel, and Brunswick Lilne- hurg. The possessor of the latter, Ernest Augustus, was in 1692 raised to the dignity of an elector; before which he was head of the college of German princes. Ernest married Sophia, daughter of Frederick, elec- tor palatine, and king of Bohemia, by Eli- zabeth, daughter of James I., king of Great Britain. Sophia being the next protestant heir to the crown of England, through the medium of the house of Stuart, the parlia- ment fi.ted the succession upon her, on the demise of the then reigning queen Anne. Sopliiadied a short time before the queen ; and her eldest son, George Louis, in conse- quence, became king of Great Britain. This was in 1714, from which time till 1837, at the death of William IV., both England and Hanover have had the same sovereign. The families set aside from the succes- sion by the parliament on that occasion, independent of the family of king James II. by Mary of Este, were as follows : the roy;J houses of Savoy, France, and Spain, de- scendants of Charles I., through his daugh- ter Henrietta; Orleans and Lorraine, de- scendants of James I. through Charles Louis, elector palatine, eldest son of Eli- zabeth, daughter of the said king ; Salm, Ursel, Conde, Conti, Maine, Modena, and Austria, descendants of James I. through Edward, elector palatine, youngest sou of the said Elizabeth. The history of Hanover for the two cen- turies preceding the Lutheran reformation presents little interest, except in the con- nection of its princes with the wars of the Guelphs and Ghibelines, in the latter end of the 14th century. Amongst the most zealous supporters of the reformation, how- ever, were the princes of Brunswick, and their subjects during the thirty years' war very effectively supported their anti-papal efforts. Ernest of Zell, the reigning duke at that period, was one of the most elo- quent defenders of Luther at the diet of Worms ; and his endeavours to improve the people liy establishing clerical and general schools, when learning was appreciated by only a few, show him to have been a man of enlightened and liberal views. On the accession of her present Majesty to the throne of Great Britain, the Hano- verian crown, by virtue of the salic law, devolved on her uncle Ernest, duke of Cumberland, fifth, but eldest surviving son of George III. It had previously been for many years under the viceroyship of the duke of Cambridge. Hanover suffered in the French war of 1757; but it experienced still greater suffer- ings during the French revolutionary war, after the enemy got possession of it. At the peace of Amiens, it was given up to the king of Great Britain ; but that peace being of very short duration, it again fell into the hands of the French, without resist- ance, or without an effort to save it, on the part of the inhabitants or the government. In 1S04 Prussia took possession of Han- over, but ceded it in the same year to the French, who constituted it a part of the kingdom of Westphalia, established in 1808. At the peace of 1813, the king of Great Britaiu reclaimed his rightful dominions, which were then formed into a kingdom and much enlarged by the stipulations of the treaty of Vienna. The countries which compose what is called Hanover, consist of Ltineburg, ac- quired by inheritance in 1292 ; Danne- burg, by purchase, 1303 ; Grubenhagen, by inheritance, 1679 ; Hanover (Culenburgl, by inheritance, 1679; Diepholtz, by ex- change, 1685 ; Hoya, by inheritance, in part, 1582 ; the remaining part by a grant from the emperor in 1705 ; Lauenburg, by inheritance, 1706; Bremen andVerden.by purchase, 1715 and 1719; Wildeshausen, by purchase, 1720; and the Hadeln-land, 1731. The district of Lauenburg has since been ceded for the bishopric of Hildesheim, the principality of East Frieslaud, the districts of Lingen, Harlingen, &c. Hanover so long formed an appendage to the British crown that we are induced to extend this slight history by quoting from Mr. M'Culloch an account of its go- vernment : — ' Before Prussia ceded Hanover to France, in 1804, the form of goverument was mo- narchical, and the various territories were subject to feudal lords. The peasants of the marsh lands had more freedom, and In East Friesland the constitution of the country was almost republican. In the territories of the princes of the empire, the representation of the people by es- tates, composed of the nobles, prelates, and deputies from the towns, served to check the power of the sovereign, as in other parts of Germany. In 1808, when HLflt W^tov^ of (Scrmang. 707 Napoleon created the kiugdora of 'West- phalia, the territories of Hanover, with the districts of Ilildesheim and Osnabriick, (iiniu'd a part of it, and the Code Napoleon took the place of the ancient laws, and a sham representative government was estab- lished. On the return of the rightful so- vereign to Hanover, in 1813, the French institutions were summarily abolished, and the old forms reestablished; and in ]818 tlie estates, summoned upon the ancient fodtiug, drew up the form of a new consti- tutiiiu, miiUelied on that of England and France, aud substituting a uniform system uf representation for the various represen- tative forms which prevailed under the em- pire. Tlie chief change that excited disap- prubation arose from the arbitrary decision of the sovereign (George IV.), advised by count Jluiister, that there shoiUd be two chauibers instead of one, contrary to the proposal of the estates and the universal custom of Germany. The respective rights of tlie sovereign and the country to the crown-land revenues were not clearly de- fined by this fundamental law; Imt the interests of the people were supposed to be sulflciently consulted by the institution of a national treasury, the commissioners of which, named for life, were ew officio mem- liers either of the upper or of the lower chamber. ' This constitution, however, contained no properly defined statements respecting eitlier the rights of the people, or the pre- rogatives of the crown ; and as the new system of representation was not sufBci- eutly consolidated to resist the encroach- ments of a monarch supported by power- ful foreign influence, the necessity of a more definite fundamental law, in which the rights of the citizens should at least be declared, was felt on all sides. This feeling led to the drawing up of the consti- tution of 1833, which differed in but few, though most essential, points from that of ISPJ. The principal points of difference were a fuller acknowledgement of the right of the cliaiubers to control the budget, and to call the ministers to account for their ccuuluct ; the restriction of the king's ex- penditure, by a regulated civil list ; and the reservation, for the use of the nation, of the surplus revenue of the crown de- mesnes. These modifications rendered the treasury, whose functions thus devolved upon the chambers, wholly unnecessary ; and it was dissolved. The newfundamental law, after being discussed by both cliam- bers, received the assent of William IV. in 1833, who, however, by the same act, modi- fied fourteen articles of the bill. New elec- tions followed, and the new chambers were exhibiting their activity In reforming abuses, and introducing economy into the state disbursements, when the death of William IV. interrupted the proceedings. As the salic law, excluding females fi'om the succession to the throne, prevails in Hanover, William IV. was succeeded by his eldest surviving brother, Ernest, duke of Cumberland, in England. Immediately on taking the government, the new king de- clared the cliambers dissolved ; and pre- viously to their reassembling, he abolished, by proclamation, the fundamental law which had been adopted under the reign of his predecessor, and, in the most arbitrary manner, insulting alike his brother's me- mory and the whole country, declared the fundamental law of 1819 to be alone valid. Under the last-named law he summoned a fresh parliament : but he found the spirit of the nation aroused and indignant ; for not only the courts of law, but the highest legal authority in Germany, and several faculties of universities, declared his pro- ceedings illegal ; many towns refused to send representatives to parliament, and those which met signed a memorable pro- test, declaring their opinion that the fun- damental law of 1833 was still tlie law of the land. As the chambers could not be convened, for decency's sake they were declared dissolved. ' In this state of things, the government of Hanover was managed by authorities partly belonging to tlie period of 1819. The privy council, which met to advise the king on state aif airs, in the same nianneras that of England, was arbitrarily abolished, and a cabinet council, composed of the king's ministers and creatures, appointed in its place. Matters remained in this state till 1848, when king Ernest saw himself compelled to yield to the revolutionary tempest which then swept over Europe. The constitution of 1833 was then restored, and has been in force ever since. But the old aristocratic party of the country, who saw themselves deprived of certain privi- leges by the restored constitution, were not inactive during the reactionary period that afterwards set in ; and it is generally understood that nothing but the firm con- sistency of the king stood between tliem and success. In 1851 king Ernest I. died, and was succeeded by his only son, George V. 'A treaty of mutual inheritance has long existed between Hanover and Brunswick, which was formally renewed in 1836, and Ijy which the Hanoverian crown is declared to descend to the dukes of Brunswick on the extinction of male heirs of the line of Hanover, and vice versii. THE HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, COMPRISINO HOLLAND AND BELGIUM. The Netherlands, or Low Countries, which now form two populous kingdoms, though of second-rate importance whcu compared with the great European powers, were, at the commencement of the Cliris- tian era, mere dreary marshes and dismal forests of vast extent, which were fre- quently overflowed by the sea. This inhos- pitable low tract was thinly inhabited by people of German origin, called Batavians and Frisians, many of whom lived in miser- able huts, raised on wooden piles, or built upon mounds of sand, to secure them above the reach of the tides. But it is not to be understood that the entire region was of this description ; although it has been gra- phically said, that whole forests were occa- sionally thrown down by a tempest, or swept away by an inundation — that the sea had no limits, and the earth no solidity. The higher grounds, extending from the Rhine to the Scheldt, including that vast e.xtent of woody country, the ancient forest of Ardennes, were inhabited by various tribes of the German race, who subsisted by agriculture and the chase. They had towns and villages in the heart of the fo- rest ; their country produced abundant sup- plies of corn and cattle ; they were coura- geous and uncivilised; and the people con- sisted of two classes, chiefs and slaves. When the Romans under Julius Oesar subdued the Gauls, that warlike nation turned their arms also against the people we have just spoken of, whose country they denominated Gallia Belgica, or Belgium ; but they did not pursue their conquests farther towards the north, thinking proba- bly that the desert plains and patches of land, rising, as it were, from their watery bed, were scarcely worth the trouble of exploring, much less of contending for. They accordingly offered peace and alliance to that part of the Netherlands now called Holland ; while the Frisians were left to struggle with the Roman legions for their liberty. From the writings of CKsarwe learn that Flanders was occupied by the Menapii and Morini, Brabant by the Atuatici, Hainault and Namur by the Nervii (so remarkable for desperate courage as to excite the won- der of the veterans of Rome), Luxemburg and Limburg by the Eburones, &c. Cssar emphatically describes the Belgians as the most warlike of the Gallic tribes, and ob- serves that in stature and bulk they sur- passed the Romans. But though they fought with an energy and a determination which nothing could exceed, the discipline and military skill of the Romans eventually obtaini'd the mastery. In subduing this brave people, the Ro- mans had recourse to the most barbarous practices of ancient warfare ; and for a time either extermination or expulsion seemed to be necessary to conquer their fierce and valiant spirits : thus we read, that in Cae- sar's celebrated battle with the Nervii,near Namur, the army of the confederated tribes, amounting to 60,000 men, was reduced to 500, and that on taking the town of Tdn- gres he sold 53,000 of the Atuatici for slaves. By degrees, however, they became incorporated with their conquerors, adopted their manners, and served in their armies, proving themselves, in many memorable instances, the ablest auxiliaries that ever fought by the side of the Roman legions. In this state they remained for about four centuries, during which time the Belgic population underwent considerable changes from the successive invasions of the Franks from the north, whose progress westward terminated in their establishing the Frank- ish empire in Gaul. We have already had occasion more than once in this volume to notice, that when the Romans subjugated any country, the inhabitants, however barbarous, gradually became acquainted with the arts and ad- vantages of civilised life, and that the sub- sequent prosperity and rank to which they attained in the scale of nations may justly be attributed to the connection which sub- sisted between the conquerors and the con- quered. Thus it was with the Belgic. pro- vinces. From the Romans they learned how to redeem their inundated lands, by constructing dykes, embankments, and canals ; and as they were naturally an ac- tive and intelligent people, they drained their marshes, and prepared the land not merely as pasture for cattle and the growth of corn, but for the cultivation of choice fruits and vegetables; while towns and villages were built on the higher ground, and the country, instead of being a dreary waste of bog-land and water, presented to the eye a varied prospect of fertility and an industrious population. Towards the declension of the Roman empire, when its rulers were compelled to withdraw their troops from the provinces, Gallia Belgica shared the fate of the rest ; and it was successively overrun by the va- rious tribes from the north of Germany. But notwithstanding these serious disad- ?rf)e W^tarv at tlft jBctberlanlf^. 709 A'nntages, tlie spirit of imiirovpnicnt l10, de- scended to his gnmdson, Charles V., king of Spitin and emperor of Germany. In his rcigu the alBuonce of the Flemish burgh- ers attained its liighcst point. The city of Ghent contained 17,i,ono inhabitant^, uf whom 100,000 were engaged in weaving and other industrial arts. Urugcs annually exported stuffs of English and Siianish wool to the value of 8,000,000 florins. The Scheldt at Antwerp often contained 2,500 vessels, waiting their turn to come to the wharfs; her gates were daily entered by 500 loaded waggons ; and her exchange was attended, twice a day, by 5,000 merchants, who expended 130,000 golden crowns in a single banquet given to Philip II., son of Charles V. The value of the wool annually imported from England and ."^pain exceed- ed 4,000,000 pieces of gold. This amazing prosperity experienced a rapid and fatal decline under the malignant tyranny and bigotry of Philip. The doctrines of the pro- testant reformation had found very nume- rous adherents in Belgium ; Lutheranism was preached with frenzied zeal by seve- ral popular fanatics, wlio drew around them crowds amounting sometimes to 10,000 or 15,000. Parties of iconoclasts also appeared and demolished the ornamental property of 400 churches. Protestant per- secution by the Inquisition had been com- menced by Charles V. ; but by_ Philip II. it was established in its most' diabolical extravagance. He filled the country witli Spanish soldiers, and commissioned the duke of Alva to extirpate, without mercy, every protestant heretic in Belgium. Vo- lumes have been \rritten to describe the proceedings of this able soldier, but san- guinary persecutor, who boasted that in less than six years he had put to death 18,000 men and women by the sword, the gibbet, the rack, and the flaines. Ruin and dread of death in its most hideous forms drove thousands of artisans to England, where they introduced the manufacturing skill of Bruges and Ghent. Commerce and trade in Flanders dwindled away, many of the rich merchants were reduced to beg for bread, the great cities were half de- serted, and forest wolves often devoured the scattered inhabitants of desolated >nl- lages.' [For the foregoing spirited sketch of the rise, progress, and decline of com- merce and the arts in Belgium, we are in- debted to Mr. M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary.] These oppressions being exercised with the most tyrannical fury by Ferdinand of Toledo, duke of Alva, whom Philip had created governor, the Ketherlands made a strong effort for their freedom, and Wil- liam, prince of Orange, in conjunction with his brother, count Louis of Nassau, imdertook the defence of the inhabitants, in their noble struggles for religious and civil liberty. Accordingly, the states of Holland, in their own names, conferred the stadtholdership, a title equivalent to lieutenant, on the former, and several other towns and provinces declared for him. He tlrst united them, in l.l'fi, in one general association, under the title of 'The I'aci- licatiun of (ihent.." But this union being soon dissolved, the prince laboured to the utmost of his power to form a more dur- able alliance, which he happily accom- plished in 1579. In that year the cele- brated league of rtrecht was ccmcluded, which gave name to the United Provinces, and became the basis and plan of their constitution. The prince of Orange was afterwards on the point of being nominated the sovereign of these countries, but was treacherously shot in 1584, by an as.sa.=siu named Belthazar Gerhad, who had as- sumed the name of Francis Guyon. This man was supposed to have been hired to perpetrate the murder by the Spanish mi- nistry, but no tortures could force a con- fession from him. The United Kether- lands, however, continued to maintain, sword in h.and, that liberty to which they had raised themselves; and Elizabeth of England took them under her protection, and rendered them essential assistance. When the earl of Leicester, the favourite of that queen, was sent over by her to the Netherlands, in the year 1535, the states appointed him governor and captain-gene- ral of tlie United Provinces, or, in other words, their stadtholder ; but his haughty carriage, and unskilful manner of conduct- ing the war, soon rendered him unpopular, and the next year he returned to England. The Dutch, being afterwards better eui> ported by the English, baffled all the at- tempts of the Spaniards ; and their com- merce arrived at such a height, that in 1002 their celebrated East India company was established. Spain, being both weakened and discouraged by the ill success of a tedious war, in 1609 agreed to an armistice for twelve years, and in the very first article of the treaty acknowledged the United Netherlands 'to be a free and inde- pendent state. During this truce the re- public attained to a degree of power which it has never since exceeded. Compelled by necessity to make war against the Spanish fleets, the republicans soon became excellent sailors, and enter- prising indefatigable merchants, who vi- sited every sea, and to whom no port was too distant, no obstacle too discouraging. The commerce of Cadiz, Antwerp, and Lis- bon, fell into their hands ; and in this way the United Netherlands were, in the mid- dle of the seventeenth century, the first commercial state and the first maritime power in the world ; for, with about 100 vessels of war, they bade defiance to every rival, while England and France rejoiced in the humiliation of the dreaded monarchy of Spain. The Dutch East India company, established in 1602, conquered islands and kingdoms in Asia ; and with about 200 ships, they carried on a trade with China, and even with Japan. They alone sup- plied Europe with the productions of the spice islands. The gold, the pearls, the pre- cious jewels of the East, all passed through their hands. The West India company was not so successful, on account of tlie Cij« W^tavv! at tf)e i^tt^tvlmXtS, 711 jealousy of England and France. Holland, nevortlielesa, for a long time maintained tlie dominion of the sea. YanTromrand I)e linyter were victorious, and Louis XIV., wlio liad laid a deep plan for humbling tlic daring republic, was finally exhausted, and obliged to sue for peace. Tlicse signal successes were principally obtained by the able conduct of prince Jl.uirice of Nassau, the second son of the lli-and. As she was proceeding on her journey on the 28th of June 1787, she was stopped near Sclioon- hoven, by a commandant acting under the republican party, detained there during tlie succeeding night, and absolutely re- stricted from proceedingany farther. This indignity determined lier to return to Ni- nipguen, and a representation of the treat- ment she had received was immediately transmitted to the king of Prussia, her brother, who had succeeded ' the great Frederick' on that throne. The king sup- ported the cause of his sister with great warmth ; but the states of Holland not being disposed to make any concessions, the reigning dnke of Brunswick, nephew to the duke who had filled the high offlces in Holland, was placed at the head of an army of Prussians, amounting to about 18,000 effective men, whom he led on the l.'Sth of September into the province of tiuelderland, for the express purpose of restoring the prince of Orange to his rights. The judicious distribution of the troops, and the vigour of the operations, reflected Ihe highest credit on the commander. A general panic seized the republican party: only tile town of Goream, which was com- manded by Capellan, sustained a bombard- ment of about an hour ; the other places of strength opened their gates at the first sum- mons. Even the strong city of Utrecht, in which were 10,000 men in arms, and whose foitiflcations had been greatly strength- ened, instead of meeting with firmness tlie approacli of the enemy, was deserted by the whole republican party, with all the precipitancy of desperation. These rapid successes of the duke caused the Orange party to gain the ascendency at the Hague ; but the city of Amsterdam remained de- termined to resist to the utmost ; relying upon the prodigious strength of the place, which both nature and art, it had ever been supposed, had contributed to render Im- pregnable. The duke, however, made his arrangements for attacking the city in va- rious directions, leading on his choicest troops to the most perilous assault in per- son. After a very obstinate confiict, some of the most important of the earthworks were taken, which gave the besiegers a secure lodgment, and threatened the city with a destructive bombardment : the ma- gistracy of Amsterdam, finding themselves thus placed, thought it high time to sub- rait to terms. After this event, nothing material oc- curred till the invasion of the French revolutionists, which changed the whole aspect of affairs both in Holland and Bel- gium. In 1792 the national assembly sent general Dumouriez, at the head of a large army, to inv.ade Belgium, it being an object of first-rate importance to deprive Austria of that country ; and, in November, the French general gained a great victory at Genappe, in Haiuault. In a few days after- wards Dumouriez made his triumphant entry into Brussels. The party who favoured the French was much too strong, conjointly with the invaders, for the friends of the house of Orange to resist the invaders with any chance of success: accordingly, in a very short time, ail the principal towns of the Netherlands submitted to the French ; and it was pompously asserted by the latter, that it was the wish of the Belgians them- selves to throw oft the government of Aus- tria, and be incorporated with the French republic. That many reaUy wished this there can be no doubt ; but though the turbulent and disaffected were numerous, such a union was not desired by the majority of those who had anything to lose. Although by a very easy conquest the French had gained possession of the Ne- therlands, the emperor of Austria took im- mediate measures with a view to its reco- very. A large army, under the archduke Charles, joined by the duke of York and the prince of Orange, at the head of their English and Dutch troops, contended for a time with the armies of France ; but after two years of warfare, in which the allied troops, but more particularly the British, sufliered very severely, the cause of the stadtholder grew hopeless. When, there- fore, in 1794, the victorious banners of re- publican France waved on the frontiers of Holland, the malcontents again rose. Pi- chegru, aided by the severity of the winter of 1795, and by the favour of the popular party towards the French, made an easy conquest of Holland. The hereditary stadt- holder fled with his family to England, and the Batavian republic was formed. May IG, 1795. The old provinces were now merged into one republic ; the legislative power, in imi- tation of the French, was given to a re- presentative assembly, and the executive to a directory of S-ve. The new republic was obliged to cede to France some southern districts, particularly Maestrieht, Venloo, Limburg, and Dutch Flanders; to form a perpetual alliance with that state; pay a sum of 100,000,000 guilders ; and allow the French troops to occupy its territories. Six years after, it was found necessary to alter this constitution. The republic was again divided into the old provinces ; in addition to which She ' land of the gene- ralty* was formed into an eighth. The administration of the government was sim- plified ; the legislative assembly diminished to thirty-five deputies; and the executive power was extended to a council of state of twelve men. Notwithstanding these al- terations, the Batavian republic, incapable of effecting its ends with the feeble re- mains of its strength, saw its fleets over- powered by those of England ; its colonies laid waste ; its commerce limited to a coast- ing trade, and to the domestic consump- tion ; and the bank of Amsterdam ruined. By the peace of Amiens, in 1802, it was de- prived of Ceylon, one of its richest colo- nies. When peace had been concluded between Great Britain and France, and the hopes of better times were just awakened, the hal- cyon dream was suddenly dispelled, and the thunder of war again resounded on the 714 BEtje (ErfaSurg of ^tsttarg, ict. ,«li(ires (if Ilnllaiid. Its fnrts were blnck- :i(iei1,its lleetswcroaiiiiilillatc;!, and its dis- tant coliiniesffill iiili) tlie power of tlie Bri- tisli ; its pnisperlty, indeed, seemed forever Kone ; it was treated as a eonquercd coim- Iry, and all tlie advantages promised by its repnlilican allies proved a mere rljimera. Iniso.'i, tlie Dutcli constitution waschang- ed for tlie lliird time ; but, so far from any improvement taking place in the condition of the country, it continued to grow worse, and the only remedy that now seemed to present itself was the iucorporati(m of Hol- land with the French empire. This accord- ingly took place in 1806, the mode in which it was accomplished being by erecting it into a kingdom, of which Louis Buonaparte, one of Napoleon's brothers, was invested with the sovereignty. But Holland was equally unfortunate as a kingdom, as when it was designated the Batavian republic. Though, by a treaty with France, king Louis possessed the rights of a constitutional monarch, and was disposed to exercise his authority with mildness and itnpartiality, he was made the mere instrument of Xa- poleon. It is true that he hesitated in en- forcing, if he did not resist, the arbitrary decrees of the emperor, and that he incurred no small share of his disapprobation in con- sequence ; but his efforts to promote tlie weal of his subjects proved wholly ineffec- tual, so thoroughly controlled was he by the power to whom he owed his regal elevation. Holland was excluded from the commercial privileges of France, though it had to fol- low all the wars of Napoleon. The national debt was augmented to 12,000,f)00,CK>o guil- ders. The only means by which the mer- chant could obtain a support was the smug- gling trade with England. Almost all the former sources of prosperity were obstruct- ed ; and when Napoleon's Milan decree (of Nov. 11, 180") was promulgated, and the Dutch ports were shut against British com- merce, the trade of Holland was totally ruined. The well-disposed king, lamenting evilswhich he had no power to remedy, and finding that if he retained the sovereignty he must become a tyrant against his own will, voluntarily and unexpectedly abdi- cated the crown, in favour of his eldest son, a minor, July 1, 1810, and withdrew into the Austrian territory, as a private individual. Napoleon did not, however, sanction his brother's measures. The French troops at once occupied Amsterdam, and a decree was passed for annexing Holland to the French empire; six senators, six deputies, in the council of state, two judges In the court of cassation, and twenty-five deputies in the legislative body, being assigned to it. The continental system was then more strictly enforced, the taxes were augmented, and the conscription laws were introduced, whereby husbands, sons, and brothers were torn from their families, and compelled to flght for a cause they detested, and a ty- rant they abhorred. The Dutch depart- ments, which had already been formed in the time of the kingdom, now constituted two military divisions ; and all the seven- teen provinces of the Netherlands were united under the dominion of Franc*. At length the fortunes of Buonaparte began to decline, and the people looked forward with hope that their worst days of suffering had passed. The prince of Orange had died in Kngland, in 1806; but his son was living, and on him the hope of the nation was fixed. The Russian cam- paign of 1812, so fatal to the ambition of the French emperor, was regarded by the Dutch patriots as the advent of their de- liverance. But Buonaparte was still in power, and most of the fortres.ses in the Netherlands were garrisoned with French soldiers. Ardent, therefore, as their feel- ings were, and anxious as were their hopes, they patiently watched that portentous cloud which appeared in the political hori- zon, and which at last burst with deso- lating fury ou the host of Napoleon at Leipsic. That important battle may be said to have decided the fate of Belgium and Hol- land ; the armies of the allies advanced against France ; a combined Prussian and Russian force, under Bulow, was mi;; against the Netherlands, and was joiin : by a detachment frura England, under l:. neral Graham. All the great towns nrnv declared for William, princeof Orange, who, on the 13th of November 1813, arrived at the Hague, and was welcomed witli the sincerest tokens of joy and affection. He immediately repaired to Amsterdam, where he was proclaimed king, the people being unanimously desirous that the stadthol- derate should be changed into an heredi- tary monarchy. It was not long before the whole country was entirely freed from the presence of the French, and the new sovereign (the sixth in descent from thv illustrious founder of the republic) was s^.^- lemnly Inaugurated on the 30th of JIarcli 1814, and proclaimed by the title of Wil- liam I. By a vote of the congress of Vienna, the Belgic provinces were united with the United Netherlands, to form one kingdom, and William was recognised by all the powers as sovereign king of the Nether- lauds. At the time of this an'angement a treaty was made with Great Britain, which power agreed to restore all the colonies it had taken from the Dutch, except the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, Essequibo, Bcrbice, and Demerara, This union by no means gave entire satisfaction ; indeed, tiere had never been any cordiality between the two people, owing to the religious prejudices of the Belgians, who are catholics, and not only dislike being governed by a protestant king, but have a kind of national animosity to the Dutch. The people, however, were obliged to acquiesce in the decision of the ruling powers. Scarcely was the union of Holland and Belgium accomplished, when the unexpect- ed reappearance of Biumaparte on the soil of France disturbed the peace of Europe ; and the Netherlands became once more a scene of warfare. Louis XVIII. had taken refuge in Glieut, and there remained till the fate of the enemy was decided ou the field of Waterloo. As the principal fea- tuies of this Important battle have been ~Ci)J mi^tavv of m^em^lanOS^ 715 already given in this volume, it would be a needless repetition to introduce it in tms place : we shall therefore merely notice a few incidents connected with the subject, °'l?:'Tl^e^monUi'of June 1815, Brussels presented a gay and animated aPPearance t being the head-ciuarters of the British arinv. Officers in their bright uniforms, accompanied by elegantly dressed ladies, thro iged the park ; and on the 15th the duke of Wellington, with the chief of the officers, v:,s pre.oTit at a ball given by the duchess of Ki.-hinond. The duke had been that day dining at his hotel with some of lnsj^'nes- de-canip, and before they left the table a despatch was received from marshal Blu- cher (Who had taken up his position at some few leagues' distance, to piai-d he outposts of the allied armies) Infouing the British commander that he had been suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by the French, and might probably require assist- ance in which case he might soon expect to hear from him again. Orders were ac- cordingly given by the duke for a the troops in Brussels to be ready to nia ch at a moment's notice ; and then, having made his arrangements with apparent com- posure, in order not to create unnecessary aUirm n the city, he and his officers at- tended the ball ; and up to a late hour all continued tranquil. .„iiiv,rr Soon after midnight, however, the rolling of drums and the sound of bugles alai med Hie inhabitants; but all "^e information that cinild be obtained was, that the duke nf Wellington had received a despatch in the ball-room, of so urgent a kind, tnat some of the cavalry officers, whose reg- ments were quartered in the adjacent vil- lages, had not time to change their attire, l.ift actuaUy galloped ofE in tbeir ball-room dresses It was at length ascertained that the^French had obtained some advantages over the Prussians, who had been obliged to retreat and take up a "^w position about seven miles from the village of Quatie ^The rolling drum, the clang of arras, the trJmpling of horses, and all the fear ul dm of warlike preparation, resounded in the streets of Brussels during the whole of that , eventful night; and at break of day were to be seen, amiug the brave fellows who «4 re waiting for orders to march, many an anxious weeping wife and cb Id taking their fond farewell of those who, haply, before the sun went down, would leave] them wretched and forlorn. , ^ ^ Silent and deserted were the streets as soon as the soldiers had left them for the liattle-fleid ; but wherever human counte- nances appeared during the dreadful ino- me"it1. of suspense, it was evident that fear a Id dismay usurped all other feelings. Pre- tently he hollow sound of distant cannon was distinctly heard ; and in the absence of Tuthemc information, busy rumour mag- nmed the real danger, and circulated ac- counts of disasters the most appalling. On this day (the ICth) two battles were fought : one at Ligny, by the Prussians under Blu- chCT against Buonaparte in person ; the — — : other at Quatre Bras, between a part of the British anny under the duke of Welling- ton against the French troops commanded hv marshal Key, who had Intercepted the duke on his march to aid the Prussians. At night authentic iiilelligcnce was rc- cefved It Brussels .h.;a,a "'V-f ^"''f 'f J"^ battle had been fought, ^^huh was to be renewed on the following day, but that the French were no nearer than they vyere m the morning. This latter assurance in some measure allayed the worst fears of the in- habitants ; but the night was very generally occupied in packing up their valuables so that their departure might not be impeded should the French lie ultimately victorious and become masters of the city. Eveiy- thing that occurred, in fact, strengthened this impression; and in the midst of the confusion attendant on the hasty harness- ing of horses to the baggage-waggons and the rattling of trains of artillery, a troop of Belgic cavalrv, who had fled froni the field before the fight was over, spread a report that the British army was totally defeated, and that the French were withm au houi s march of Brussels. . .„,,„„ Despair now seized the panic-stricken citizens, but none had more cause to dreaa an unfavourable result than the numerous English visitors at that time in the Belgic capital, who were consequently among the foremost of the fugitives. At length it was ascertained that a most terrible con- flict had taken place, in which the heroic duke of Brunswick, and most of tbe gal- lant Highlanders, who had marched fiom Brussels in the morning, were lying dead upon the field ; and that the duke of Wel- lington had withdrawn to Waterloo, in or- der to be nearer the Prussians, who had retreated after their defeat at Ligny. Early next morning a number of huig tilted \\ag- gons arrived, conveying the wounded sol- diers slowly through the town to the hos- ^'satiirday was a day of breathless anxiety and intense grief. Some ■were mourning the loss of friends and relatives, others were anticipating the ruthless violence ot the French soldiers when Brussels should be given up to plunder ; while all who had the means of conveyance, and many who had not, set out for Antwerp. But that i dav passed with very little hghtmg, both armies being engaged in making prepara- tions for a decisive contest on the follow- ing (Sunday, June 18). At ten o clock the I battle of Waterloo commenced, and was I not concluded till nine at night, when the complete overthrow of the French army I ^¥he first accounts which reached Brus- sels ascribed the victory to the enemy, Idding that the duke of Wellington was ! severely wounded, and that most of the ' English officers were either killed or made pr loners : nor was it imtil the following mirnliig that the mournful lamentat_ions of despair were changed into sounds of jo> and gratulation. But the terrible nature of the Conflict was fully understood, for every one who arrived from the battle-field agreed tlTat the carnage of that dreadful day was 716 CI)e JTrra^urii of iUistora, &-c. iinly surpassed by the matchless valour of Ilie coinbalants. So numerous were the wounded on the field but the uncommon talents of this young prince soon procured for him the government; and through his mediation the peace of Ryswick was concluded, he- fore he had completed his 16th year. In the year 1700, the Poles, Danes, and Rus- sians, takingadvantage of the king's youth, CIjc W^tar^ of ^toeifcit. 721 endeavoured to recover the dominions of wliicli tlielr ancestors had been deprived. Tlie EiiRlish and Dutch sent a fleet into the IJaltic to his assistance, and compelled the Danes to conclude a peace with him. This young prince then marched against the Russians and Poles, whom at the be- ginning of the war he defeated in almost every engagement, with numbers far infe- rior to those of his enemies, though he had well-disciplined veteran troops of Saxons to contend with, as well as Russians and Poles. In the year 1708, the glor.r of Sweden rose to an unparalleled height. Its king then held the balance of Europe, and might liave dictated to all its powers; but the superior address of the duke of Jlarlbo- rougli, whose abilities as a statesman and negotiator were equal to those which he possessed as a general, caused the force of Sweden to be directed against the Rus- sians, which might otherwise have turned the fortune of the war then waging against Prance. The czar Peter the Great, im- proving by his former miscarriages, at length formed his troops to conquest : Charles was defeated at Pultowa, in June 1709 ; his whole army, consisting of 30,ono men, entirely cut off, or made prisoners, except three or four hundred horse, with whom the king escaped to Bender, in Tur- key. He there gave signal proofs of a des- perate intrepidity as incapable of fear as void of discretion, having with a handful of men performed prodigies of personal valour against the whole force of the Turks ; but he was at length made prisoner. The numerous enemies of Sweden availed themselves of this reverse of fortune. Fre- derick IV., then king of Denmark, declared war, but could not obtain the object for which he contended. Augustus, the de- posed king of Poland, was more successful. The Russians overran the most valuable territories held by the Swedes on the east- ern shores of the Baltic, whilst those in Germany were divided among the confede- rates : Swedish Pomerania was annexed to Prussia, and Bremen and Terdeu fell into the hands of the D.iues, whose king dis- posed of them to the elector of Hanover, afterwards king George the First of Eng- l.and. Thus were the accessions of terri- tory, which had been made by the princes of the house of Vasa, severed from that kingdom. A peace being ratified in 1714, Charles regained his liberty ; but his pas- sion for war hurrying him into fresh broils, he met his death by a cannon-ball at the siege of Frederickshall, when he had in- vaded Norway, in 1718. Two more extraordinary characters never appeared on the stage of human life at one time than Peter the Great of Russia, and Charles the Twelfth of Sweden. Of the former we shall speak more at large anon ; of the latter it may be safely asserted, that no dangers, however sudden or imminent, ever occasioned in him the least dismay, even when they shook the constancy of the flnnest among his followers; he seems, in short, to have been a man divested of the smallest particle of fear ; and the manner in which he is related to have en- dured cold and hunger shows him to have been a prodigy of strength as well as of courage. His rapid successes against the combined force of Denmark, Poland, and Russia, prove him to have been an able general ; but although his successes aston- ished all Europe, yet in their consequences they were fatal to the kingdom which he governed. A strong resentment against the unprovoked attacks made upon him led him to meditate enterprises against his enemies, extravagant and impracticable in their nature ; and the cool and undis- mayed perseverance of his great adversary, the czar Peter, at length prevailed over his ill-directed ardour. Upon the death of Charles, his sister Ulrica Eleanor ascended the throne, by the free election of the states ; but first gave up all pretensions to arbitrary power ; and in 1720, by consent of the diet, transferred the government to her husband Frederick, hereditary prince of Hesse Cassel. Frederick having no issue, the states, in 1743, nomi- nated Adolphus Frederick, duke of Holstein and bishop of Lubec, his successor, by a majority of only two votes. Adolphus, on the decease of Frederick, in 1751, assumed the reins of government. He married Lou- isa Ulrica, sister to the king of Prussia, who lived to the year 1782. The new form of government established at this juncture, consisted of flfty-one arti- cles, all tending to abridge the powers of the crown, and to render the Swedish sove- reign the most limited monarch in Europe. It was settled, that the supreme legisla- tive authority should reside absolutely and solely in the states of the realm assembled in diet, which, whether convened by the king or not, must regularly assemble once in three years, and could only be dissolved by their own consent. During the recess of the diet, the executive power resided in the king and senate ; but, as the king was bouud in all affairs to abide by the opinion of the majority, and as he possessed only two votes, and the casting voice in case of equal suffrages, he was almost entirely sub- ordinate to that body, and could be con- sidered in no higher view than as its presi- dent. At the same time, the senate itself ultimately depended upon the states, as its members, though nominally appointed for life, yet were in a great measure under the control of the states, being amenable to that assembly, and liable to be removed from their office in case of real or pre- tended malversation. Thus the supreme authority resided in ,a tumultuous assem- bly composed of the four orders, into which many nobles without property, the meanest tradesmen, and the lowest pea- sants, were admitted. Although all the statutes were signed by the king, and the ordinances of the senate issued in his name, yet in neither case did he possess a negative ; and, in order to obviate the pos- sibility of his attempting to exercise that power, it was enacted in the diet of 1750, that ' in all affairs, without exception, which had hitherto required the sign manual, his majesty's name might be affixed by a stamp, 3Q 722 tS^t CrcaiSurn of W^tarr}, &c. ■niienevcr lie should liare declined lils sig- nature at the first or second request of the senate.' In consequence of tliis resolution, the royal siKnatnre was actually engraved, and applied to the ordiuary despatches of government, under the direction of the senate. In a word, the king enjoyed little more than the mere nauie of royalty ; he was only the ostensible instrument in the hands of one of the two great parties which at that time divided and governed the king- dom, as either obtained the superior influ- ence in the diet. Fully determined to wrest from the senate their assumed power, and to recover that participation of authority which the constitution had assigned to the crown, the king proceeded to a measure both bold and decisive. On the 13th of De- ' cember 1768, he signed a declaration, by which he formally abdicated the crown of Sweden ; and, by giving public notice throughout his dominions of this step, at OQce suspended all the functions of govern- ment. The senate felt their authority in- EufBcient to counteract such a measure, for their orders were disputed by all the col- leges of state, who had ceased to trausact the business of their several departments. The magistrates of Stockholm, agreeably ■with the form of government, were pro- ceeding to convoke the order of ' burghers,' which compelled the senate to consent to the desired assembly of the diet; and the king's concurrence was requested to con- firm the proclamation for that purpose, which being given, he resumed the reins of government. The meeting of the diet, which took place on thel9th of April 1769, though it coincided in some particulars ■with the king's views, yet was far from effecting everything which he aimed at. Adolphus Frederick died February 12th 1771, and was succeeded by Gustavus III., his eldest son, then twenty-five years of age. The accession of this young prince to the throne, with the prepossessions of the people strongly on his side, was a favourable period for extending the power of the crown by the reduction of that of the senate. An aristocracy naturally and rapidly degenerates into despotism ; the yoke of which is rendered more intolera- ble to a people in proportion as the op- pressions of a number of tyrants are more grievous than those of a single one. The new king found his people divided into two great political parties, distinguished by the names of 'hats 'and 'caps;' the former espoused the interest of the court, the latter the country or patriotic party. The most masterly strokes of policy, as well as the most profound dissimulation, were used by this monarch to circumvent and destroy the influence of the senate. The people were grievously oppressed ; for besides the rigorous exactitms made on them by their rulers, they suffered every calamity which a year of great scarcity necessarily occa- sions. The army was devoted to his in- terest ; and his two brothers, prince Charles and prince Frederick Augustus, each com- manded a body of troops. The next year, whilst the king was amusing the senate at Stockholm with the warmest professions of disinterestedness, and of his wishes to be thought only the first citizen of a free country, an insurrection of the mili- tary happened at Christianstadt, in the pro- vince of Seano ; which was set on foot by one Hellichius, who cominauded there. The plea made use of to justify it was, the ty- ranny and oppression of the governing powers. Prince Charles, who was purposely in those p-arts, made this a pretence to as- semble the troops under his command, whilst the king, his brother, who was at Ostrogothia, put himself at the same time at the head of the troops there. The senate was much alarmed at these proceedin!?=, whilst the king, with the most consummate dissimulation, expressed his resentment against the insurgents, and his zeal to sup- press them ; at the same time, by stationing the military force in Stockholm so as to sur- round the senate-house, he effectually con- trolled the deliberations carried on there. In this exigency the senate found them- selves totally abandoned by the soldiery , whilst the king, being thus supported, was enabled to accomplish a great and almcjst unparalleled revolution, and to deprive an extensive nation of its liberties in a single morning, without bloodshed, without noise, without tumult, and without opposition ; while the people flocked together -with as much indifference and tranquillity as 11 it had been merely some holiday sport. It is said, only five persons in the king- dom ■were intrusted with the design. Very few were imprisoned, and that only for a short time; nor did any one experience, in the smallest degree, a diminution of the royal favour on account of their opposi- tion. The senate took a new oath of alle- giance to the prince, and tranquillity ■svas restored throughout the kingdom. Six years after this revolutiou took place, the king convened the senate ; but finding the house of nobles very much disposed to oppose the views of royalty, he suddenly dissolved that assembly. On the 16th of March 1792, the king being at a masked ball, an assassin, named Anker- stroem, discharged a pistol behind him, the contents of which lodged between the hip and the backbone. The king languished until the 29th, and then expired. The day after he received it, he sanctioned an edict, by which his brother, the duke of Suder- mania, was appointed regent of the king- dom, and guardian of his only son, then a minor, being fourteen years of age. This prince, upon the death of his father, suc- ceeded to the crown, under the title of Gus- tavus IV. Gustavus IV. accordingly assumed the government under the guardianship of the duke of Sudermania. No sooner, however, had he attained his majority than he em- broiled himself in hostilities with France. He next engaged in an unequal contest with Russia ; the consequence of which was that the latter overran Finland, and threatened an attack on Stockholm. As Sweden was at the time in alliance with England, a British army, under sir John Moore, was sent over to the assistance of Gustavus ; but that general, refusing to submit to the dictates C^c fl^iStary at ^tocUcit. 723 (if tlie eccentric, if not insane, liinpr, snon returned home. Though the Swedes fought i\itli great courage, they were unable to re- sist the overwhelming force of the Rus- sians, especially as the limited resources of Sweden were wasted by Gustavus in sense- less and impracticable enterprises. At length the Swedes grew weary of a sove- roiju whose conduct threatened the ruin (if their country ; he was arrested by some of his offlccrs, deposed, and the crown trans- ferred to the duke of Sudermania, who took tlie title of Charles XIII. (A.D. 1809) ; prince Cliristian of Holstein-Augustenburg (who adopted the name of Charles Augustus) being at the same time declared crown- prince and successor. The new monai'ch was forced to purchase peace from Russia by the cession of Finland, and the exclu- .'!ion of British vessels from the ports of Sw(iiosals, de- clared war agaiust Great Uritalii in Octo- ber 1807, and entered Into a treaty with Napoleon. This alliance with France was no sooner concluded than Bi'i-iiridotie occupied the Danish Islands with ai,0{«) men, in order to land in Sweilen, against wliich power Denmark declared war in April 1808; but this plan was defeated by the war with Austria in 1809. The demand made by the court of Stockholm, in 1813, of a trans- fer of Norway to Sweden, was followed by a new war with this crown, and a new alliance with France. On this accoitnt, after the battle of Leipsic, the northern powers w'lo were united against France, occupied Holstein and Sehleswig. Gluck- stadt and other fortifications were cap- tured, and the Danish troops driven be- yond Plensburg. The court of Denmark, seeing the un- favourable position in which the country was placed by the declining fortunes of Napoleon, not only concluded a peace with England and Sweden, but entered into an alliance against Prance, and contributed a body of troops to the allied forces. Den- mark was also obliged to cede Heligoland to Great Britajn (receiving in exchange several West India islands), and Norway to Sweden (for which she was compen- sated by Swedish Pomerauia and Eugen, which were afterwards exchanged for Lauenburg with Prussia). A peace was concluded with Russia in February 1814. Since that period the Danish govern- ment has steadily exerted itself to draw forth the resources of the country, and to improve the condition of the people. In 1834, provincial states were established ; and great improvements were otherwise made in the government and adminis- tration of the country. But, useful and valuable as are the reforms of late intro- duced into the organisation of Denmark, the most brilliant feature in her contempo- rary history, and that which.gives the best proof of her activity and her strength, is the struggle against Germany for the re- tention of her rights over Sehleswig and Holstein. (lu the History of Germany will be found an account of the origin and consequences of this fierce struggle; and we shall here content ourselves with sub- joining for purposes of reference a sum- mary of the leading events by which it was marked.) Frederick VII., who suc- ceeded to the throne, Jan. 20, 1848, com- menced his reign with the grant of a con- stitution to his subjects. Immediately afterwards his ministry introduced mea- sures which, it was supposed, had a ten- dency to incorporate Sehleswig with the crown of Denmark, in violation of ancient stipulations which declared that the Ger- man duchy of Holstein and Sehleswig should be inseparable. To this severance the German inhabitants of the duchies were adverse. Availing themselves of the contre-coup which the French revolution of 1S4S produced throughout Kiimpe, they at once formed a |irovisi<>n;il govirmniiit, and appealed to the (irrni.-Mi pooiile for as- sistance, which was promptly granted, both in word and deed. Volunteers hastened to the scene of action from all sides ; and the Prussian government marched its troops into the country. Meanwhile Co- penliagen was put in a state of defence, the navy was refitted, the soldiers were gathered under their colours, and sent towards the heart of the insurrection. On the 9th of April^ the Danish army defeated the insurgents, at Bau, near Plensburg in Sehleswig. But the Prussians having by this time come to their assistance, on tiie 23rd of April, the Danes were obliged to leave their position at Denvirk. On the 1st of May, the German army occupied Jutland, under the command of general Wrangel. On the 28th of May and the 5tli of June, the Danes fought most gallantly at Duppel and at Nybel, while Wrangel abandoned Jutland on the demand of Eng- land, Russia, and France. The armistice of Malmo was cimcluded the 26th of Au- gust; but on the 3rd of April 1849, the war recommenced with a catastrophe for the Danish fleet at Eckeruforde. The man- of-war, theChristian VIII., which had sailed into the bay to destroy the batteries of the enemy, was detained there with the Geflon by contrary wind. After an heroic resistance, the Christian VIII. was blown up, and the Geflon surrendered to avoid the destruction of her whole crew. On the 6th of April a battle was fought at Ulderup ; on the 23rd of April and the 7th of May, at Kolding, when the Danish gene- ral Rye effected a retreat in Jutland, remark- able foi- the skill and energy with which it was accomplished. On the 16th of May a Holstein army of 16,000 men commenced the bombardment of Fredericia ; on the 6th of July the Danish army made a victorious attack, took the redoubts of the enemy, and threw him into complete disorder. The Prussian army then retired from Jutland. On the 10th of June new armistices and pre- liminaries of peace were made, and signed on the 2nd of July 1850. But Holstein recommenced the war on its own accoUHt, under the command of the Prussian gene- ral Willisen. On the 25th of July, the Holsteiners sustained a severe defeat at Idstedt ; but skirmishes continued on land and sea till the 5th of October, when gene- ral Willisen was again driven back at Fre- derickstadt. It was not till the beginning of 1851 that the Danish array could return to theirhomes, after three campaigns which will be remembered in history, and in which members of all classes of society, animated by a common spirit, took part, either as conscripts or as volunteers. In 1852 a definitive treaty was ratified in London, between England, Russia, Sweden, France, and Prussia on the one hand, and Denmark on the other, recognising the transmission of the Danish crown (in de- fault of male issue in the direct liue of King Frederick III. of Denmark) to the issue of Prince Christian of Schleswig- Holstein, and his consort Louisa, princess ULifC f^tstorp of iB0ilMaB. 727 of Uesse, iu oriler of prliiiugeiiiture from male to male, and providing for the con- tinued union of all the states now united under the sceptre of the king of Denmark. That treaty, however, has not sutflced to settle a question which has become still mcire complicated from the relation of the Prussian and Austrian governments to the German Federation. The death of king Frederick VII. and the accession of Chris- tian IX. in November 1863, has been follow- ed by a claim on the part of Prince Frede- rick of Augusteubui'g to the dukedom of Schleswig ; and the resistance of Denmark has led to an invasion of Prussian and Aus- trian troops, who have at length crossed the Eider. It is altogether premature to speculate on the issue of a struggle which is only Just begun ; but the unsettled state of Europe renders it unlikely that a war commenced by the passage of the Eider will be confined to the narrow limits of the country which has furnished the cause of quarrel between the Danes and the Ger- mans. NOEWAY. Thb observatlona that have been made respecting the early history of Sweden and Denmark apply also to Norway. Up to the ninth century it was governed by a number of petty princes; until one, more bold and powerful than the rest, named Harold Harfaagrc, who had renounced the iduls of Scandinavian worship for the doc- trines of Christianity, conquered them, and became sole and absolute monarch of the country. Like the other Christian princes of Eu- rope, Harold Harfaagre was anxious to introduce the feudal system; and having wrested the various petty principalities from those who before possessed them, he reduced the people to a state of vassal- age, and placed a governor over each pro- vince, to collect the revenues and hold courts of justice. But among so brave and stubborn a race as these Northmen, many there were who, rather than submit to Harold's despotism, emigrated to other countries, Ireland being among the num- ber. They, however, chiefly settled in Ice- land, an uninhabited and uninviting spot, yet in time it became not only very popu- lous, but was the favourite resort of their scalds, or poets, and their historians, whom they treated with every mark of honour- able regard. Norway having become a regular and independent kingdom under Harold Har- faagre, during a reign which lasted more than half a century, many customs were introduced which tended to raise the cha- racter of the Norwegians as a nation de- sirous of cultivating the arts of civilised life, but which still would not abate one iota of its warlike pretensions. He had t)estowed flefs on many of the nobles, amimgst whom was Rognvald, father of the famous Hollo, duke of Normandy; so that, in fact, it may be said that the usur- pation of Harold in Norway led to the settlement of the Normans in Prance. Harold died in 934, and was succeeded by his son Eric, but as he proved a tyrant, some of theprincipal chiefs made propositions to his brother Haco, who had been educated in England, and was then residing at the court of king Athelstan. He accordingly went over to Norway, and having pledged himself to abolish the feudal laws, and re- store the allodial tenure, he was proclaim- ed king. Eric, seeing that there was no chance of recovering the throne, collected a fleet, and sailed to the Orkney islands, from which point he could readily assail the coasts of Scotland and Northumbria. In 1028, Canute the Great, king of Den- mark, conquered Norway, but did not long retain possession of it, and the country had its own monarchs again from 1034 to 1380. On the death of Olaf IV"., his mo- ther, Margaret, daughter of Waldemar III., king of Denmark, inherited both thrones; from which time Denmark and Norway re- mained united, till 1814, when its cession to Sweden took place. THE HISTORY OF RUSSIA. Thk original inhabitants of this gigantic empire (which cijihraces nearly half of Euriipe, and the whole of northern Asia— reachingfrom the frontiers of China to the conflnes of Poland, Sweden, and Turkey— hosidcs having vast possessions on the north-western coast of North Anierira) were doubtless a multitude of nomadic tribes, classed under the common appel- lation of Sarmatians and Scythians. These northern hordes, at a very early period, Ije- gan to menace the Roman frontiers, and even before the time of Cyrus had invaded what was then called the civilis«d world, particularly southern Asia. They inhabited the countries described' by Herodotus ))e- tween the Don and the Dnieper ; and Strabo and Tacitus mention the Roxolani, after- wards called Ros, as highly distinguished among the Sarmatian tribes dwelling in that district. The Greeks early established colonies here ; and in the second century the Goths came from the Baltic, and, lo- cating in the neighbourhood of the Don, extended themsefi-es to the Danube. In the fifth century, the country in the neighbourhood of these rivers was overrun by numerous migratory hordes of Alans, Huns, Avarians, and Bulgarians, who were followed by the Slavi, or Sclavonians, a Sarmatian people, who took a more nor- therly direction than their predecessors had done. In the next century, the Kho- zari, pressed upon by the Avarians, entered the country between the Wolga and the Don, conquered the Crimea, and thus placed themselves in connection with the Byzan- tine empii-e. These and numerous otlier tribes directed the course of their migra- tions towards the west, forced the Huns into Pannonia, and occupied the country between the Don and the Alanta ; while the Tchoudes, or Ishndi, a tribeof the Finnic race, inhabited the northern parts of Russia. All these tribes maintained themselves by pasture and the chase, and exhibited the usual barbarism of wandering nomades. The Sclavonians, coming from the nor- thern Danube, and spreading themselves along the Dnieper, in the fifth and sixth centuries, early acquired, from a commerce with their southern neighbours, habits of civilised life, and embraced the Christian religion. They founded in the country afterwards called Russia the two cities of Novgorod and Kiev, which early attained a commercial importance. Their wealth, Iiowever, soon excited tlie avidity of the Khozari, with whom they were compelled to 7naiutain a perpetual struggle ; but Nov- gorod found another and more formidable enemy in the Varangians, a race of bold pirates who infested the coasts of the Bal- tic and who had previously subdued tiie Conrlandcrs, Livonians, and Esthonians. To these bold invaders the name of Russes, or Russians, is thought by the most emi- nent authors to owe its origin. Be that, however, as it may, it appears certain that in these dark ages the country was divided among a great number of petty princes, who made war upon each other with great ferocity and cruelty, so that the people were reduced to the utmost misery ; and the Sclavonians, seeing that the warlike rovers threatened their rising state with devastation, were prompted by the neces- sity of self-preservation to offer the govern- ment of their country to them. In conse- quence of this, a celebrated Varangian chief, named Ruric, arrived, in 862, with a body of his countrymen, in the neighbour- hood of the lake Ladoga, and laid the foun- dation of the present empire of Russia by uniting his people with those who already occupied the soil. Ruric has the credit of being zealous for the strict administration of justice, and enforcing its exercise on all the boyars who possessed ten'itories under him. He died in 879, and was succeeded by his son Ighor, who conquered Kiev, and removed the seat of government from Novgorod to that place. Ighor's widow and successor, Olga, publicly embraced Christianity at Constantinople in 955, and attempted, but without success, to introduce the Greek rit\ial among the people. Her son Svia- toslaf, after corKjuering Bulgaria, and even threatening Con.stantinople itself, fell in battle against the Pesshenegri, near the cascades of the Dnieper, in 972. The Russian empire continued to flourish till the end of the reign of Vladimir (or Wolodomir), who ascended the throne in 976. Having settled the affairs of his em- pire, he demanded in marriage the princess Anne, sister to the Greek emperor Basilius Porphyrogenitus. His suit was granted, on condition that he should embrace Christi- anity. With this the Russian monarch com- plied ; and that empire was thenceforward considered a"s belonging to the patriarchate of Constantinople. Vladimir received the name of Basilius on the day he was baptised ; and, according to the Russian annals, 20,000 of his subjects were baptised on the same day. The idols of paganism were now thrown down, churches and monasteries were erect- ed, towns built, and the arts began to flou- rish. The Sclavonian letters were now first introduced into Russia; and Vladimir sent missionaries to convert the Bulgarians, but without much success. We are told that Vladimir called the arts from Greece, cul- tivated them in the peaceable periods of his reign, and generously rewarded their pro- fessors. His merits, indeed, appear to have been very considerable. He has been ex- C|)C W^tar^ of aau^^ia. 729 tolled by tlie monks as the wisest as well as the most religious of kings; his zealous exertions in promoting the profession of Olirlstianity throughout his dominions ac- i|\iire(i for him the title of saint ; and suc- cci'ding historians, comparing the virtues of his character with the age in which he lived, have united in conferring upon him the appellation of Vladimir the Great. He died in 1008, and, contrary to all rules of sound policy, divided his empire among his twelve sons. Vladimir was no sooner dead than his sons commenced a civil war. Swatopolk, one of the brothers, haying destroyed two others and seized their dominions, was in his turn hurled from his eminence by Ja- rislaus, another brother, who reigned from 1014 to 1045. But as the fugitive prince liad found refuge at the court of Boleslaus, king of Poland, it brought on a dreadful war betwixt the Poles and Russians, in which the former were victorious. During tlio reign of Jarislaus, the progress of Christianity was considerably promoted by his exertions ; and besides conferring many important privileges on the mercantile ci- tizing of Novgorod, for whose use he also enacted a body of equitable laws, he built a number of towns throughout his domi- nions, and encouraged learning as far as it could be attained under all the disadvan- ta^-es attendant on its acquisition in that dark age. Jarislaus fell into the same error that his father had committed, by dividing his do- iiiiniims among his five sons. This pro- dui'ed a repetition of the bloody scenes wiiich had been acted by the sons of Vladi- mir: the Poles took advantage of the dis- tracted state of afEairs to make continual inroads and invasions ; and the empire con- tinued in the most deplorable situation till 12.!7, when it was totally subdued by the Tartars. Innumerable multitudes of these barbarians, headed by their khan, Batto, after ravaging great part of Poland and Silesia, broke suddenly into Russia, where they committed the greatest cruelties. At this time Vladimir II. was the grand duke, wlio, though he reached not the fame or authority of his ancestors, was acknowledg- ed as czar by the Byzantine emperor Alexis Comnenus, and was the first whose brow was graced with the imperial crown of Russia. George Sevoloditz succeeded his father, and built Moscow in 1147 ; but the cease- less insurrections and calamities which had been weakening the strength of the Rus- sian state since the death of Vladimir the Great, facilitated the enterprises of the Mongols ; and after the death of George, who was killed in battle, the whole kingdom, with the exception of Novgorod, which preserved its independence by treaties, fell into the hands of the Mongols. Hitherto the Russian state had made comparatively little progress in civilisation: a circumstance to be attributed to the va- riety of nations of which it was composed, and to the military constitution of the Va- rangians. Commerce remained cliiefly in the hands of those German merchants who had followed the Christian missionaries who came into Russia after the commence- ment of the 13th century ; and the princi- pal seats of this commerce were the towns of Novgorod and Kiev. The traffic with the south was mostly under the manage- ment of Greek merchants. From the time Christianity had been introduced there had been monasteries in Russia ; and in these establishments the scanty literature of the age was preserved. Though reduced to the most degrading servitude by their Asiatic conquerors, the R-ussians successfully resisted the attempts of new enemies, which appeared in the Livonians, the Teutonic knights, and the Swedes. Jarislaus conquered Finland, but perished by poison among the Tartars. His son Alexander defeated the Danes and Swedes in 1241, in a great battle upon the Neva, and received for this action the ap- pellation of Alexander Nevsky. His young- est son Daniel mounted the throne in 1247. He removed his residence to Moscow, and in 1296 assumed the title of grand duke of Moscow. This prince founded the cele- brated palace of the Kremlin In that city, in 1300. Daniel was succeeded by his sou George, who successfully resisted the Swedes, and built the town of Orshek, now Schlussenburg. During several succeeding reigns the Russians had to contend, first with the Tartars, and subsequently with the Livo- nians and Poles ; the miseries of a foreign yoke being also aggravated by all the cala- mities of intestine discord. The Livonians took Pleskow ; and the Poles made them- selves masters of Black Russia, the Ukraine, Podolia, and the city of Kiev. Casimir the Great, one of their kings, carried his con- quests still farther. He claimed a part of Russia, in right of his relation to Boleslaus, duke of Halitz, who took the duchies of Perzemyslia, Halitz, and Luckow, and the districts of Sanock, Lubackzow, and Tre- bowla ; all which countries he made a pro- vince of Poland. The newly conquered Russians were ill disposed to brook the government of the Poles, whose laws and customs were more contrary to their own than those of the Tartars had been. They joined the latter to rid themselves of the yoke, and assem- bled an army numerous enough to over- whelm all Poland, but destitute of valour and discipline. Casimir, undaunted by this deluge of barbarians, presented himself at the head of a few troops on the borders of the Vistula, and obliged his enemies to re- tire. Demetrius, who commanded in Mos- cow, made frequent efforts to rid himself of the galling yoke. He defeated in several battles Maymay, khan of the Tartars ; and, when conqueror, refused to pay them any tribute, and assumed the title of grand duke of Muscovy. But the oppressors of the north appeared in greater numbers than before ; and Demetrius, at length over- powered, after a struggle of three years, perished with his whole army, amounting to 240,000 men. Basilius (or Basilowitz), the son of De- metrius, revenged his father's death. He 730 Cljc CrcaiSur^ of l^istorg, &c. attacked his enemies, dnive tin in nut nf his dominions, and conquered Bulgaria. He made an alliance with the Toles, whom he could not subdue ; and even ceded to them a part of his country, on condition that they should help him to defend the rest against any new incursions of the Tartars. But this treaty was a weat barrier apainst amiiition. The Russians found new enemies in their allies, and the Tartars soon returned. Basilius had a son of the same name, to whom the crown ought to hare descended ; but the father, suspecting his legitimacy, left it to his own brother Gregory, a man of a severe and tyrannical disposition, and therefore hated by the people, who asserted the son's right, and proclaimed him their sovereign. The Tartars toot cognisance of the dispute, and determined it in favour of BasOius ; upon which Gregory had recourse to arms, drove his nephew from Moscow to the principality of Uglitz, and usurped his throne. Upon the death of Gregory, Basi- lius returned to Moscow ; but Andrew and Demetrius, sons of the late usurper, laid siege to that city, and obliged him to retire to the monastery of Troitz, where they took him prisoner, with his wife and son, and put out his eyes. Tlie subjects of the un- fortunate prince, incensed at the cruel treatment he received, forced the perpetra- tors of it to fly to Novgorod, and reinstated their lawful sovereign at Moscow, where he died. In the midst of this general con- fusion, John I., the son of Basilius {or, as he is called in the Russian tongue, Ivan Basi- lowitz), by his invincible spirit and refined policy, became both the conqueror and deliverer of his country, and laid the first foundation of its future grandeur. In this period the Cossacks arose. The Poles and Lithuanians had conquered the whole of Western Russia to Kiev, and sub- jected the vanquished people to religious persecution, as well as political oppression ; and on the cast, the Tartars of the Crimea endeavoured to subdue the Russians. The discontented, therefore, retired into the fertile but uninhabited TJkraine, and adopt- ed a militarj' organisation, under the con- trol of a stiperior otBcer styled a hetman. In the promotion of civilisation, Ivan II. surpassed aU his predecessors. German artists and learned men were welcomed and liberally rewarded by the czar ; printing ofllces were established ; and commerce was promoted by a treaty with Elizabeth of England in 1553. He established a standing army, conquered Kasan in 1552, the king- dom of Astrachan in 1554, and endeavoured to drive the Teutonic knights from Livo- nia ; but Denmark, Poland, and Sweden attacked him, and a conspiracy in the in- terior broke out. In this embarrassment he implored the emperor Rodolph II. and pope Gregory XIII. to interfere ; and the nuncio of the latter brought about the peace of Zapolia between Ivan II. and Ste- phen Bathory, king of Poland, in 1582, by which Livonia was ceded to Poland. Ivan died in 1584. Towards the end of Iv!in's reign, Ter- niack, a Cossack, discovered.Siberia. Feo- dor, his successor, conquered Siberia en- tirely iu 15S7, and surrendered Esthouia to Sweden in 1595. Feodor,the last of Ruric's descendants, died in 1598: and Russia was shaken by internal convulsions and external wars, which greatly retarded her progress in civilisation. The w.ar of the Polish party with the party of the pseudo-Deme- trius was not ended until Michael Feodoro- witz (of the family of Romanoff) ascended the throne in 1613 ; after which a treaty of peace was concluded with Sweden and Poland. The young Michael was proclaimed, and signed a compact with his new subjects, by which he promised to protect the esta- blished religion ; to make no new laws, nor change the old ; not to raise imposts ; and to inake neither war nor peace, without the consent of the senate. The Russians, or rather the senators, seized this opportunity to have a part of the government. Michael remained faithful to his promise; and died in 1654, leaving his throne to his son Alexis. So long as the Swedes maintained the ascendancy over the Russians, their prin- cipal view was directed to exclude that power from the possession of any port on the Baltic ; being well aware that the natural advantages which their rival pos- sessed, would, whenever that powerful empire should avail itself of them, raise the commercial consequence of Russia on the ruin of that of Sweden. Alexis, the father of his country, was only sixteen years of age at his accession to the throne. The despotism and insolence of his ministers drew upon him the hatred of the people during his minority ; but when he took upon himself the government, he was both loved and respected. He enciiu- raged an intercourse with foreign nations, and induced educated and laborious strang- ers to people his desert provinces ; and Russia, under him, began to be known to the principal powers of Europe and Asia. Ambassadors from China and Persia visited Moscow : and Alexis sent, for the first time, his ambassadors to France and Spain. More generous, or less politic, than the other monarchs, he refused to receive the ambassador of Cromwell, declaring that he never would acknowledge the pretended protector of England. He died in 1676. Manufactures, arts, and military disci- pline were introduced in this active reign ; and although an unsuccessful war was waged with Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, yet the boundaries of the empire were extended. Theodor, or Feodor, his son, succeeded, on the death of his father, in 1677 ; and after a beneficial reign which continued seven years, on his death-bed he nominated his half-brother Peter, to the exclusion of his elder brother Ivan or John, whose imbecile mind disqualified him for the arduous task of government. Notwith- standing this, the intrigues of their sister Sophia, a restless and ambitious woman, stirred up civil commotions, which only subsided on the death of John in 1696, when Peter became sole sovereign of all the Russias. The private character of the czar was by no means so irreproachable as to lead his €\it H^Wtnrp of Mii^^ia. 731 suhjects to form any exalted notions of his future course ; but, in spite of all disad- VKutages, he applied himself to the moral and political regeneration of his country. During the administration of the princess Sophia, he had formed a design of esta- blishing a maritime power in Russia; and at the very commencement of his reign he defeated the Turks, from whom he wrested the port of Azof, which opened to his subjects the commerce of the Black Sea. The first object of his ambition being thus attained, he resolved to carry out his design of making Hussia the centre of trade between Europe and Asia — to connect the Volga, the Dwina, and the Don, by canals, thus opening a water communica- tion between the northern seas and the lilack and the Caspian seas. To complete this magnificent plan, he determined to build a city on the Baltic sea, which should be the emporium of northern commerce and the capital of his dominions. He did Mot, however, rely simply on this stupen- dous undertaking for carrying out his maritime and commercial plans. He felt I hat it was necessary for some of the young nubility to travel into foreign countries for improvement, not according to our notions of foreign travel, but for the express pur- pose of learning whatever was likely to be most useful to the country of their birth, either in cultivating the arts of peace, or in maintaining the discipline of war. He accordingly sent sixty young Russians into Italy ; most of them to Venice, and the rest to Leghorn fn order to learn the art of constructing their galleys. Forty more were sent out by his direction into Holland, with the intention of instructing themselves in the art of building and work- ing large ships ; some were sent to Germany to serve in the laud-forces, and to learn the military discipline of that nation ; while others were elsewhere despatched in pursuit of whatever knowledge was likely to be rendered advantageous at home. Xor did the patriotic emperor stop even there. Having established a regency to direct the government during his absence, he liimself left his dominions, and travelled incognito through various European states. Having arrived at Amsterdam, he inscribed his name as Peter MichaeloflE in the list of carpenters of the India Company. Here he performed all the duties of his situa- tion ; and, at the intervals from labour, stu- died mathematics, fortification, navigation, and drawing plans. Prom Holland he came to England, where he completed his studies in ship-building, and examined the princi- pal naval arsenals. King William permit- ted him to engage several ingenious Eng- lisli artificers, and he returned, by way of Hollaud and Germany, to Moscow, after an atisence of nearly two years, having ac- quired a fund of knowledge which after- wards so much contributed to his country's glory. He had no sooner arrived than he was fi>!lowed by crowds of every species of arti- sans, to whom he held out the greatest en- couragement ; and for the first time were seen large Russian vessels cm the Baltic, on the Black sea, and on the ocean. Archi- tectural building began to rise among the Russian huts; colleges, academies, print- ing-houses, and libraries, sprang up under his fostering hand. Habits and customs were changed by degrees, although with difficulty, and the Muscovites began to know something of civil society. At the same time commerce had its birth in Russia. Laws, military and marine dis- cipline, and manufactures, the sciences and fine arts, and all that appeared to him de- siraljle in nature, were introduced. [The leading events of his war with Charles XII. being related in the History of Sweden, are here omitted.] Peter died, regretted by his subjects, in 1725 ; and was succeeded by his wife, the empress Catherine I., who supported the splendour of the empire, and held the sovereignty of Russia with a firm rule till her death, which happened two years after her elevation. Peter II., grandson of Peter the Great, being only twelve years of age, then be- came czar. The reins of government, during his minority, were held by prince Menzikoif, whom the first Peter had ad- vanced to the highest oIBccs in the state, and who was no less the favourite of the czarina, Catherine. The young czar dying in 1730, Anne, duchess of Courland, niece to Peter the Great, and daughter of Ivan, ascended the throne, which she filled ten years. This empress rendered herself me- morable by the decisive turn she gave to the contests which arose in Europe ; she assisted the emperor Charles VI., frustrated the schemes of the French ministry for placing Stanislaus on the throne of Poland, and actually procured the crown for his competitor Augustus, at the same time that she triumphed over the Turks and Tartars, the natural competitors with Russia. Ivan, or John III,, great-nephew to Anne, became her successor, when only two years of age. This infant, the son of the princess Anne of Mecklenburg, was deposed by the general concurrence of all ranks in the em- pire ; and the princess Elizabeth Petrowua, daughter to Peter the Great by the empress Catherine, was raised to the imperial dignity in December 1741. Her reign, which con- tinued twenty years, was prosperous. In the war which broke out on the continent in 1756, she took a decided part in favour of the house of Austria ; and was on the point of crushing the Prussian monarch, and possessing herself of his most valuable territories, when death suddenly closed her career, in 1762. Her nephew, Charles Peter Ulric, duke of Holstein, grand duke of Russia, now became czar, by the title of Peter III. The friendship which this prince bore to the king of Prussia saved that hero from his impending fate, and converted a for- midable enemy into a powerful ally. An intemperate zeal, which led Peter to at- tempt cutting off the venerable beards of his clergy, and to abolish some established and favourite military fashions, joined to an unbounded fondness for a mistress, and a strong antipathy to his wife and son, terminated his reign in a few months. 732 t:i)t CrraSurs af ?§tStnry, &r The general odium winch Peter I"- 'i-J^l ilrawn upon himself, united all orders of lis 8UhjJ.-ts against him ; he «-as se.zed and de u,sed, and his wife raised to to imperial dlBnity, by the ""e^.o' ^atlit- rine II., in July 1762. The captive prince was soon after cruelly deprived of Me Some letters written by the king of Prus- sia to this weak prince, found a"er his de- cease, which strongly recommended tohim a change of conduct, and particularly plead- ed in behalf of his repudiated consort, fixed Ihat princess in the interests of Frederick. Catherine II. was notoriously licentious yet her reign may be regarded as one ol the most prosperous in the annals of Itu,- sia. As soon as she had relieved the coun- try from an exhausting war, she mvited artisans and workmen of all kmds to settle in her empire, and collected around her dis- tinguished foreigners to assist Hen" im- proving the laws, and infusing a Wealthy vigour into the commerce of Russia. She was victorious by land and sea against the Porte with whom she concluded a peace in 1774, whereby Russia gained a consider- able accession of territory. In 1776, Catherine divided her empire into separate governments. In 1"80, she Instituted the armed neutrality between Russia, the emperor of Germany, Prussia and Portugal, against the naval power of the English; and, three .y^^^rs afterwards she planned the expulsion of tbe Tiirks from Europe, and the recstablishment of the Bvzantine empire : but some Political considerations caused the execution of this project to be abandoned at the time, and when It was resumed, ten years later it by no means succeeded to the extent that had been anticipated. At the conclusion of the Turkish war in 179'' the Dniester became the frontier ol Rus'sia towards Moldavia and Bessarabi.-i; and as the war with Sweden was now con- verted into an alliance with that power the ambitious empress again turned her eves upon Poland, whither her army march- ed with the certainty o£ conquest ; and on the occasion of the second partition, m 1793, a territory of 86,000 square miles w^as added to the Russian empire. On the re- maining part of Poland she imposed the ost oppVessive restrictions, which pro- du. ed aformidable rebellion in 1794. The gallant Kosciusko strove hard to effect the Independence of his country, but he was overwhelmed by numbers and taken pri- soner, while Suwarrof stormed and devas- tated with more than barbarian fury the suburbs of Warsaw. The dissolutionof le kingdom was now at baud ; and i n tl e third partition of Poland, in j;9f. ^U'Sia extended her power towards the west as feras the Vistula. It now extended it- self from the shores of the Baltic to the western end of North America and the Ja- pan islands. Yet, in the midst of lier rmli- tary operations, the empress protected and encoui-aged the arts and sciences, and gaNe a new code of laws to the subjects of htr vast empire. She died ^ovember 17, 1796, and was succeeded by her son Paul I., who, capricious as he was, began his reign by a nol>le act of justice, namely, the liburaliou of the brave Kosciusko. Tl e I'lte empress had engaged early in th ■ coiilederacy against France ; hut, from ».mc unexplained cause, did not come into acUon against that power. The emperor Paul likewise remained almost m a eutral state, until the beginning of the year 1799, when he sent a powerful army to the as- Tistance of the allies into "aly, under t^e command of Suwarrof, a general we Ivnown before by his conquests and cruelties in Poland The successes of this man w-ere extraordinary during several months after Wsarrlyarin Italy; but towards the end of tlie campaign, his good fortune seemed to desert him ; and it was not without great difficulty and loss that he reached fiermanv across the Grisons country, na- fa Jsed by ?he French armies under Moreau "V'hf m'Tuccess of the Russian arms aeainst the French, augmented by the baa ulderstanding which subsisted between his generals and those of Austria, appeared to hive an extraordinary effect on the mind of the emperor Paul, who, from having been the uncompromising enemy of l^uo- naparte, now entered into amicable corre- spondence with him, and became one of his most ardent admirers. He la d an embargo on all the English vessels m his ports Ind induced Sweden, Denmark, and Pruss'il to join him in the "orthern armed confederacy. But on the u}gbt of the 23r nf March 1801, just at the time the Butisu flee^was sailing through the Sound to the attack on Copeuhagen, Paul was assas- snated by some of the Russian nobility whom he had treated with harshness and TOntumely. How far his sons were cogni- saS of what was going on " is .mpossitae to tell; but it was generally helieyed that thev were in the secret, and connived at it fromi conviction that their father intend ed to immure them m a fortress. And sucb an event was very probable, for there is little doubt of his being insane at the time On Alexander, the late emperor's eldest son, succeeding to the throne, a degree of energy and consistency was soo-n seen in evlrfdepartmeut of the government separating himself from the northeru league, he concluded a treaty with Great BrftaiA (June 7, 1801), and at the same lime renounced the grand-masteishp ol Malta, which had been conferred on his father. In June 1802, he appeared, for the first time, personally among the Potentates of Europe, and had an interview with the king of Prussia at Memel. France under the guidauce of Napoleon, was at this periol making rapid conquests m the south of Europe ; Buonaparte bavmg been in the preceding month, crowned king ot itjuy at Milanl shortly after which he annexed Genoa to France. But the cabinet of St. Petersburg seems wisely to have thought That its distance from the scene of act.on mieht well excuse the emperor from any actfve interference with belligerent states. He however, confirmed the incorporation of the government of Georgia with the Rus- sian empire; concluded treaties of peace €iit l^f^tDvi? 0f aUtt^Sfa. 733 with France and Spiiin; and offered, in 1803, ti) interpose his good offices in re- storing the newly ruptured peace between England and Prance and Spain. But after tlie execution of the dulce d'Enghien all intercourse between Russia and France ceased ; and in April 1805, Alexander join- ed the third coalition against France : but the loss of the battle of Austerlitz clouded tlie prospects of the allies, and the Russian emperor returned to Petersburg. The battle of Eylau was fought on the 8th .of February 1807; that of Priedland, oil the 4th of June following. The Russians then retired, and after an interview be- tween the two emperors, which took place on the river Niemen, in a handsome pavi- liou erected on a raft for the occasion, peace was concluded ou the 8th of July 1807. At this memorable interview the outward forms of friendship were display- ed between these rival monarchs, and an abuudance of courtly dissimulation used to testify the sincerity of their professions. Alexander, by this cojnpact, acknow- ledged the brothers of Buonaparte as kings respectively of Naples, Holland, and West- phalia ; he formally recognised also the confederation of the Rhine, and promised to acknowledge all the sovereigns who might hereafter become members of that confederation. He engaged that hostili- ties on the part of Russia should instantly cease with the Ottoman Porte. He under- took also to mediate for a peace between England and France ; and if he should prove imsuccessful, he was to close the ports of Russia against all British ships; which, in fact, was soon after done. In Isns, Alexander had an interview with Na- poleon at Erfurtli, and afterwards took liart, as the ally of Prance, in the war with Austria; but his want of zeal in the cause was too evident to escape the penetration of the French emperor, and a growing cold- ness between the imperial allies began to appear. Great injury had been done to Russiar. commerce, and he.avy complaints made by merchants, in cojisequeuce of their ports having been shut against the English ; they were therefore again opened to them, pro- vided they hoisted American colours, while French goods were very strictly prohibited. This induced Napoleon to make himself master of the principal northern ports of Germany, and to incorporate the posses- sions of the duke of Oldenburg, a near re- lation of Alexander, with France. Against this proceeding Russia made a very ener- getic protest ; and, as early as 1811, five Russian divisions assumed a position oppo- site Warsaw. On the other hand. Napo- leon caused the fortresses on the Vistula and Oder to be declared in a state of siege, sent thither large masses of troops, and occupied Swedish Pomerania, because Charles XIII. of Sweden declined a closer connection with France. The contest in Spain was at this time daily grow'ug more obstinate, and tlie large amount of men and money it. consumed might well have appeared to Napoleon a sufficient obstacle to a struggle with Uiissia; but he calculated that his arinj', amounting to nearly a million of effective men, would be sufficient for the conflict in both quarters : and he also relied upon a great mass of auxill.ary forces, chiefly pro- mised by the confederation of the Rhine ; besides his alliance with Prussia and Aus- tria, which covered him on both flanks, and secured his retreat. He, however, made peaceable offers, through the count de Narbonne, his ambassador; but the object of his mission being unattained, half a million of soldiers, consisting of French, Germans, Italians, Poles, Swiss, Spaniards, and Portuguese, with more than 1,200 cannon, were put in motion, about the end of July, to attack the Russians on the other side of the Niemen and the Vistula. The Russians, in three divisions, occupied a line including Kiev and Smolensk to Riga. The first western army of 127,000 men, in Lithuania and Courland, was com- manded by Barclay de Tolly, who had till then been minister of war ; the other west- ern army, of 48,000 men, was commanded by prince Bagration. A third body of forces served to keep up the communica- tion between the other two. All the disposal-ile property and records had long before been generally conveyed into the interior. The first western Rus- sian army was stationed along the Nieraeu as far as Grodno, and comprised six corps of infantry and two of cavalry. The se- cond western army was in the vicinity of Honim, consisting of four battalions of infantry and one of cavalry. The commu- nication was kept between them by the hetman Platoff, with 10,000 Cossacks, at Bialystock. The army of Volhynia, under Tormasoff, at Lutzk, was composed of two divisions of infantry and one of cavalry, containing together about 20,000 men ; and there were other corps stationed elsewhere, amounting to about 40,000 men more. The Russian plan of the campaign was^ by retreating, to avoid a decisive battle, until the enemy should be remote from all his resources, and weakened by marches through a desolate region, and the Russian army should be so considerably strength- ened by the accession of all the forces that might be meanwhile raised, as to have a decided superiority. Napoleon's scheme, on the contrary, was —to use every effort to compel the Russians to battle, to destroy them after the defeat, and, pressing for- ward with haste to the capital, to profljer peace. But he not only entirely mistook the character of his enemy, but he over- looked the important fact, that though the Russians might retreat, they would still be in possession of their resources. On the 6th of June, Napoleon passed the Vistula, and, shortly after, the Niemen. ' Russia,' said he, in one of his favourite harangues, ' is dragged along by a fatality ! Her destinies must be accomplished. — Are we no longer to be regarded as the soldiers of Austerlitz? Let us carry the war into her territory : a second war in Poland will be as glorious to the French arms as the first.' After several severe battles, and the loss of many men on each side, the victory 3 R 734 Clje Crpa?ur» of l^ffJtory, &c. pnicially iiicllnmg In favour of the Kreiicli, tlif iiiniii Imdy of till- Rus.siiui army rctirt'il to SiiioU'iisk. Fatipiio, ami want of all kliiils, li:i{l nioanwliiU" operated so dotri- ni.'iitally on the Fn-ncli army, tliat it was ohliirc'd to halt at this iiojiit for ten day?, duringwliicli tlietwo liussian armies Anally formed a junction under tlie walls of Smo- lensk. They then immediately bepan to act ou the offensive. With 12,000 cavalry they attacked general Sehastiani.and drove liim back with considerable loss. On the 17th of August the main body put itself in niotiim to encounter the French army, which had advanced in order, if possible, to compel a general battle. When Napoleon saw his attempts to surround the right wing of the Russians defeated, he ordered his right wing, under Poniatowski, to hasten by way of Ortza, by rapid marches, to cut oft the Russians from Moscow. On the other hand, Bagi'ation hastened to defend this road, and Barclay de Tolly sought to retard the enemy as much as possible. Smolensk, an old place, foi-merly strongly fortified, and the whole position on the Dnieper, greatly favoured his plan ; and not till the midnight of the irth, after a loss of many thousands, did the French succeed in taking this bulwark, reduced for the most part to a ruin. The Russian army retired in haste, burn- ing all the towns through which it passed, while Napoleon followed, his troops suffer- ing more and more from want and the cli- mate. Meanwhile, Barclay de Tolly had to resign the chief command to Kutusoft, who had reaped new laurels in the Turkish war just ended. Reinforced by militia and re- serves, he resolved to await the enemy seventy miles from Moscow, in a strong en- trenched position. The French came up, and a terrible battle ensued, in which the Russians lost 25,000 men The French esti- mated their own loss at 10,000 : it was, hoivever, supposed to be nearer double that number. The Russians remained masters of the field of battle ; and, without any great loss of artillery, and still less of pri- soners, they were able to retire to Moscow. Napoleon, after two days' repose, followed them ; and KutusofE, instead of awaiting his enemy at the gates of Moscow, marched through. The news of KutusofTs defeat had spread the greatest consternation at Moscow. Hastily collecting their money and valu- ables, the nobles fled, abandoning their palaces and furniture to the mercy of the invaders. Merchants and tradesmen closed their warehouses and shops, seeking refuge from the enemy wherever they could find shelter; the sick and wounded were con- veyed Hway from the hospitals in waggons ; and the prisons were cleared of their in- mates, who were sent under an escort to Novgorod. And now the flames burst forth from the house of count Rostopchin — sure and awful evidence that the patrio- tic governor, by setting fire to his own re- sidence, intended that the venerable city should not harbour the enemies of his country. The conflagration of the gover- nor's house was the signal for the rest ; and suddenly were seen, issuing from various quarters of Moscow, vivid columns of lire and dense masses of smoke. Doomed, as it were, to pass their winter amid the inhos- pitable snows of Russia unless they could extinguish the flames, the French soldiery exerted themselves to the utmost to staV the devouring element; but though thcv partially succeeded, so little remained of Moscow, that it was incapable of affording them protection. It must be remembered, also, that the French troops having had permission to plunder the city, such a scene of confusion and drunkenness followed, that numbers of them perished in the burning ruins. All the hopes which N.apoleon had built on the possession of Moscow wore now disappointed ; famine and desolation stared him in the face ; and as the Russians ga- thered round on all sides, it was evident that nothing could save his array but a speedy retreat pr peace. Every day height- ened their sufferings, the provisions having been wasted, and foraging becoming con- tinually more dangerous, from the conflux of Russian peasants and Cossacks. At length, on the 19th of October, the French evacuated Moscow, and commenced their re- trograde march. "The country was a desert ; and the privations felt by the army had dis- solved all bonds of obedience, while the se- verity of the winter now covered the roads with ice and snow, destroying men and horses by thousands. By the 12th of Novem- ber they reached Smolensk. But in vain had the remnants of the army hoped to find there repose and nourishment. The in- creasing numbers of the Russians, who hovered round and harassed the retreating enemy, prevented them from repairing any of their vast losses, or of reinvigorating themselves by rest. At the passage of the Beresina they lost 20,000 men, and a great part of their baggage and artillery ; and the cold, which increased every day, together with the most horrible want, carried dis- order, misery, and despair to the highest pitch. At length Napoleon Intrusted the command of his shattered army to Murat, and hastened himself, under the strictest incognito, by way of Warsaw and Dresden, to Paris. Marshals, officers of high and low rank— all who could— followed the example of their emperor. No company kept long together. The sole object of all was to save life. The emperor Alexander, who had hitherto only fought for independence, now resolved in his turn to become the aggressor ; and, joining his array in PoLand, published, in February 1813, the celebrated manifesto, which served as a basis for the coalition of the other powers of Europe against the ra- pacity of the French. The king of Prussia at the same time summoned all capable of bearing arms to battle for their country ; and though he did not then designate his object, his people, who for five years had been humbled and degraded, understood him, and, with unparalleled enthusiasm, thousands poured forth from the places of rendezvous from every section of the coun- try. In vain had the French, with the aid myt ?^i^tara of 3£lus'£ta. 735 ijf tlioir last reserves and of troops drawn together ill haste, made efforts to remain on the Pregel, ou the Tistula, and on tiie Oder. The Russians advanced slowly In- deed, but everywhere with overwhelming power; and all that the French could do was to retire behind the Elbe with the least possible loss. Prussia now declared war apainst France, and concluded an alliance with Russia ; the confederation of the Rhine was dissolved ; and, though Austria re- mained neutral, the popular insurrection was almost universal in northern Germany. Happily for Napoleon, the Prussians and Itussiaus were not in a state to derive the full advantage from this situation of things. The forces of the Russians were almost ex- hausted, those of the Prussians had first to be formed ; much time was lost in negotia- tions with the king of Saxony, and Kutu- soff fell sick and died at Buntzlaw. These circumstances were promptly taken advan- tage of by Napoleon ; but though this pro- longed the contest, it proved but of little avail in the sequel. In August the war was resumed with great vigour, Austria participating in it as an ally of Russia and Prussia. Napoleon h.ad been joined by a corps of chosen men, chiefly cavalry, which had come from Spain ; and the chances of victory, for a time, once more appeared to be in his favour. But after the battle of Dresden, where Moreau was mortally wounded, his progress was arrested by the defeat of Vandamrae, at Culni; by the simultaneous overthrow of his army in Silesia, under Macdonald ; by the iiard-fought battles at Gross-Beerea ; at Belzig ; and by the defeat which Ney suf- fered at Deunewltz. In addition to these misfortunes, want of all kinds prevailed in exhausted Saxony, and lamentations in the hospitals, where thousands died of dysen- teries and fevers. At last, by some rapid, well-covered marches, Blucher formed a junction ou the Elbe with the crown-prince of Sweden, while he surprised a French corps under count Bertrand, and took up a position between the Muldan and the Elbe. As soon as he was advised of this. Napoleon started from Dresden, in the hope of over- powering them both separately : but they had already crossed the Muldan to the Saale. The great Bohemian army had also advanced on his right flank. These and Blucher's flying corps met in his rear ; and general Thielemann, who had exchanged the Saxon service for the Russian, took whole troops of French fugitives, and fought several battles between the Elster and the Saale, almost all of which resulted to the disadvantage of the French. Napoleon now proceeded with his main army to the plains of Leipsic, where he ar- rived October 13. Here Schwartzenberg had already commenced a reconnolssance against the king of Naples ; meanwhile Augerau's division had been greatly rein- forced ; and, as he had probably thought he had deceived the crown-prince and Blu- cher by movements made on the other side of Wittenberg, and that he had gained so much time that he could meet the great Bohemian army alone in a decisive engage- ment, ho did not delay to encounter it in the spacious plain near Leipsic. The en- gigcment commenced about nine o'clock in the morning of October 16. After severely destructive attacks on both sides, IJiipoleon had gained some ground in the centre and on She left wing. But tue duke of Ragusa, who occupied a wide line to the north of Leipsic, was unexpectedly attacked by Blu- cher with the greatest impetuosity, totally defeated after an obstinate resistance, and driven back in disorder. On the 17th Napoleon negotiated through count Meerveldt, who had been taken pri- soner, for liberty to retire undisturbed, and for an armistice ; both of which proposals were the less listened to, because the allies could now conduct their operations with a nnilual understanding, the crown-prince of Sweden having joined Blucher with up- wards of 60,000 men, and general Bennig- sen, with almost as many, being hourly ex- pected from Grinima. On the 18th of Oc- tober, therefore, a fearful conflict took place at Leipsic. The French fought with despe- ration, to save their honour and secure their retreat, which had been commenced at day- break : but on the following day their re- treat was converted into a flight, and a general overthrow. This battle emanci- pated Germany. Bavaria had already re- nounced the confederation of the Rhine, and united with Austria. All the German princes followed this example, with the ex- ception of the king of Saxony, Jerome of "Westphalia, and the prince-primate. After the loss of many thousands, in prisoners and wounded, Napoleon, assailed or harassed in every quarter, was obliged, in order to gain the Rhine, to sustain a desperate con- flict with tlie Bavarians and Austrians sta- tioned at Hanau. The allies made a halt on the Rhine, in order to unite the forces of liberated Germany with those furnished by England and Holland. Even the Danes, who had been forced to form the closest union with Napoleon, in consequence of the hard terms proffered them by England and Sweden in the spring of 1813, were obliged to concede all that they had for- merly refused. French affairs in Spain had also taken a most unfavourable turn. Marshal Jourdaiu had been totally defeated by Wellington at Vittoria, had been forced back to the Py- renees, with the loss of his artillery ; and, subsequently, Soult and Suchet had with difficulty kept the English from the soil of France itself, and it was consequently ne- cessary to send thither new forces. The French senate, always before obsequious enough, now ventured to remonstrate, when repeated decrees of the emperor had already ordered the levy of nearly half a million of conscripts, the organ'isation of cohorts of national guards, and the formation of four armies of reserve. Still stronger terms of dissatisfaction were used by some of the deputies ; and, in consequence of the gene- ral indignation at the enormous expendi- ture of human life, great difficulties now presented themselves in the formation of a new French army. Beyond the Rhine from Switzerland to Clje Cica^ury nf ?^{^tory, ^-c. 736 Hullaud, the allies fouiul but little resist- ance. They made theniselvos mastersotall the passes to Italy, of the cities of Geneva, of the roads over the Simpion and St. Ber- nard, and early in January they occupied a new line, covered on the left by the Seine, on the right by the Meuse, in Alsace,*Lor- raine, Deux-Ponts, Ac, with the exception of the invested fortresses. Napoleon had Issued a proclamation for a kind of general rising of the people : but measures of this kind, which worked wonders in the revolu- tion, were now almost wholly disregarded. Meanwhile the allied troops steadily ad- vanced, and though several engagements took place, in no instance had a French gene- ral strength enough to maintain the most important points against the overwhelm- ing force of the invaders. On the 1st of February was fought the sanguinary battle of Briennc, in which Na- poleon lost 12,000 prisoners and seventy- three cannon. He had 70,000 men in the field, and no blame can attach to either them or their commander for the loss of the day ; the most desperate resistance on the part of the troops, and the most active superintendence on the part of Napoleon, being everywhere apparent. Eager to im- prove their first victory on French ground, the allies pushed forward, and divided their forces, of which Napoleon, with great bold- ness and address, took advantage. But, though he had received considerable re- inforcements from the army in Spain, he was too much enfeebled to prevent the Russian, Austrian and Prussian comman- dei-s from proceeding towards Paris in two large columns, one on the Seine, the other im the Marne. The operations of the allied troops from this period, and the important couseuuences which followed, having already been de- tailed in previous portions of this volume, we deem it unnecessary to pursue the sub- ject farther. In all the transactions which took place relative to the abdication of Buonaparte, the occupation of Paris, &c., the emperor Alexander took the lead ; and with a noble magnanimity, as if oblivious of the wrongs his own country had re- ceived, he endeavoured to allay those feel- ings of vengeance in some of his allies which, without such humane consideration, might have laid the French capital in ashes, and have given rise to a new war far more dreadful than the one which he had been BO instrumental in bringing to a glorious termination. As it was considered necessary, after all the violent changes on the continent of Europe, that the boundaries of each sove- reign should be permanently fixed, a con- gress of the sovereigns and ministers of the principal powers was held at Vienna. This being a favourite idea of the emperor Alexander, and principally emanating from him, he took the most prominent part in it. But in the interval between the abdication of Napoleon and the meeting of congress, Alexander, accompanied by the king of Prussia and several distinguished foreign- ers in their respective suites, paid a visit to the prince regent of England, by whom as well as Ijy the peojile at large they were received with every token of respect and hearty welcoming. But before any final arrangements were made by the allied powers, the congress was suddenly broken up, in consequence of the return of Buonaparte from Elba to France. The allied armies of Russia, Prus- sia, and Austria once more prepared to take the field; but the English, Belgians, and Prussians, at the battle of Waterloo, decided the fate of Europe, and for ever sealed the fate of him who had so long been its tyrant and disturber. It is now necessary to revert to the affairs of Russia, in connection with the Ottoman empire, as they existed previous to the French invasion. It had been a favourite scheme of ambition with Catherine II. to expel the Turks from Europe ; with that view she had sought every opportunity, however frivolous the pretence, of enga- ging them in hostilities ; and as the Turks w-ere generally worsted, Russia gradually acquired some new territory, and a greater influence over the Sublime Porte. The Russians had also been at war with Persia. By the peace of Bucharest, signed in May, 1812, the former power coded Moldavia as far as the Pruth, Bessarabia and the chief mouths of the Danube ; the peace of Tiflis, in 1813, with the latter, gained for Prussia all the territory west of the Caspian sea, between the Kur and the Araxes, Georgia having been united before ; and on the east coast as far as the Gulf of Balkan, with the exclusive navigation of the Cas- pian sea. The Russian empire having be- come so extensive and formidable, Alex- ander took every means, by founding and supporting the holy alliance, to maintain his high position. After the conquest of Aix-la-Chapelle, Russia appears to have discovered that her influence over Europe would be best promoted by the continuance of peace, which would enable her to de- velope those resources which make a coun- try formidable in war; and to that end Alexander reorganised almost the whole interior of his empire. Among other matters that were settled at the congress of Vienna, it was determined that Poland should be annexed to the Rus- sian empire, with a separate government ; and Alexander was accordingly crowned king of Poland. The remainder of his reign was spent in the most laudable exertions for the benefit of his people. The abuses which were practised in all departments, civil, military, and judicial, required great resolution and perseverance to correct ; and the emperor set about this work of re- formation with all the honesty and zeal of a patriot prince. He made frequent tours through his provinces, in order to be an eye-witness of the local administration of the laws ; and he neglected no opportunity of improving the general condition of his subjects, and of abolishing vassalage ; but the resistance made to his benevolent ex- ertions in this latter measure prevented him from carrying out his intentions to any great extent. He, however, encouraged the arts and literature, and effected many salu- C^c I^C^torjj at Mujfiia. 737 tiiry c-hauges in the condition of (lie people, while he patronised comuKTci', cncniiragcd manufactures, and promotod tlie dillusion of linowledge, by . means of tlio press, which was protected by a careful censorship from the pestilent efEects of licentiousness in morals and of sedition In politics. The emperor Alexander died Dec. 1, 1825, at Taganrog, a town, founded by Peter the Great, on the sea of Azof. He was succeeded by Nicholas,— the grand dnlte Constantine, afterwards viceroy of Poland, having re- nounced his right to the throne of Russia, according to a previous arrangement. A con- spiracy soon after broke out, when the regi- ments of the guard, who had taken the oath to Constantine Immediately after Alexan- der's death, refused to take the oath to Nicholas, and a tumult ensued, which was suppressed at last by the mingled Urmness and moderation of the emperor. On the matter being afterwards investigated, it appeared that it was the result of a con- s]uracy which had existed for years; and dift'erent punishments were assigned, ac- cording to the degrees of guilt of the parties implicated ; some being executed, some banished to Siberia, and others imprisoned ; l)ut the far greater number wore pardoned. Soon after Alexander's death, a war with Persia broke out, in consequence of dis- putes arising from the non-settlement of crrtaiu boundaries between Russia and that power. Abbas Mirza, who had just then .■succeeded to the throne of Persia, thinking the moment propitious for attacking Rus- sia, at once marched over the frontier, and advanced as far as Hlizabethpol ; but the Persians were defeated, and driven back. War was now immediately declared against them, and general Paskiewitch, being ap- pointed commander-in-chief, passed the Araxes, took several strong fortresses, en- tered ancient Media with no opposition, and forced tRfe shah to sue for peace, com- pelling him to give up an extensive terri- tory on the south-western shore of the Cas- pian sea, with some provinces on the Caucasus, besides making them pay the expenses of the war, and the losses by the invasion. The Caucasus consists of two parallel chains of mountains in western Asia, cover- ing the country between the Black and the Cnsiiiau seas. They extend nearly seven hundred miles, and are rendered almost im- passable by rushing torrents, steep pre- cipices, and frightful avalanches. The sum- mits of these mountains are covered with perpetual snows, and are mostly barren, but the lower parts are clothed with thick forests, and the plains abound in orchards, vineyards, corn-ilelds, and pastures. It comprises the provinces of Georgia, Cir- cassia, Melitenia, Great and Little Kabarda, Daghestan, which is the mountain-land bor- dering im the Caspian sea, and Schirvan, called the Paradise of Roses, from the abundance of beautiful flowers which grow there spontaneously. The tribes who dwell in the higher regions of tlie Caucasus, e.sre- cially the Lesghians, who inhabit the most eastern parts, live by plundering their neighbours, and are held in such terror. that several tribes purchase immunity from their depredations by paying them tribute. The war with Persia was scarcely ended when Turkey engaged the attention of the Russian government, and the Russian mi- nister, Nesselrode, declared to Prance and Great Britain, that his sovereign must have satisfaction for the violation of the treaty of Ackermann, and for the liatti-sherifE of December, 1820, which the Porte had ad- dressed to all the pachas, and which con- tained many offensive charges against Rus- sia. A declaration of war was accordingly issued by the emperor, and on the 7th of May, 1828, the Russian forces passed the Pruth, to the number of 15,000 men, in- cluding persons of all descriptions attach- ed to the camp. Count Wittgenstein was commander-in-chief. la a fortnight the Russians had possession of several towns and fortresses, and the Turks retired into the fortified mountain position of Choumla, which was the centre of their operations. The Russians at length took Prawodi, the key of the Balkan ; and their next aim was to gain possession of Varna. To carry on a siege in a vast and almost uninhabit- able country like Bulgaria, under the fatal influence of the climate, was dilBcult, but in proportion as the difficulties were great, so were the exertions of the besiegers, and after it had been invested both on the land and sea sides, breaches were made, and a bodv of troops forced their way into the city. Terrified by this, the enemy gave up all further resistance. The campaign in Asia proved successful. The predatory population on the Caucasian mountains submitted to Russia. The Rus- sian army under count Paskiewitch forced its way from Caucasus and Ararat into Asiatic Turkey, and took by storm the strong fortress of Kars, the central point of Turkish Armenia, together with the enemy's camp. After this, several other fortresses fell into their hands, so that besides obtaining possession of Mingrelia and Imeritia, the whole pachalio of Bajazid, as far as the banks of the Euphrates, was conquered. In Europe the success of tha Russians was more equivocal : the results of the whole, however, were important. lu Europe and in Asia, Russia had gained two Turkish principalities and three pachalics, fourteen fortresses, and three castles. The Russian emperor had repeated, dur- ing and iifter the campaign, as well as be- fore it, to the British ambassador extra- ordinary, lord Heytesbury, his inclination for peace with the Porte, on the terms of indemnification for the expenses of the war, and security against future injuries and violations of treaties ; but the Porte had rejected all mediation on the basis of the London treaty, and refused to send en- voys to negotiate with the ambassadors of the three powers, and the commissioners of the Greeks. On the contrary, Mahmoud had announced a new campaign, with the words, 'Honourand independence are worth more than life.' Hitherto the negotiations had been carried on in Constantinople, with the reis effendi by the minister of the Netherlands. He had delivered to the reis 738 tSUift CC«HSurp at W^tavQ, ice. eftiMiili tlie niaiiifoslo of France, Gro.it Britain, an'l Ruasia (nf Ausiist 11, 182S), ■which made knomi to the Porte tlie motive and object of the French expedition against the Morea. The Prussian ambassador like- wise advised the Porte to yield ; but no representations would Induce the BUltan to yield; and preparations for another cam- paign were made with unusual vigour. In the beginning of 1829 general Die- bitscli was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian forces ; and although the Turkish array was greatly reinforced, and under the command of offlcers of high re- nown and unquestionable bravery, the Rus- sian generals Diebitsch and Paskiewitch proved too much for them. The latter took possession of Erzeruni, the centre of the Turkish power in Asia. The seraskier, commander-in-chief of the whole Turkish army, and governor of all Asiatic Turkey, was taken prisoner, together with four principal pachas, and 150 pieces of cannon. But the sharpest contest of the Asiatic campaign was occasioned by the pacha of Van to retake the fortress of Bajazid. The attack was made with 7,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry, aided by the fire from a bat- tery, on a range of rocks, which swept the Russian troops on the flank and rear, and the Are of musketry from the inhabitants of the Tartar quarter of the place. After thirty-two hours of Incessant fighting, the Turks retreated. The career of Paskiewitch in this campaign had been one of continual success ; and such had been his preceding campaign in Persia. The campaign in the European provinces was still more successful. Several battles were fought in the spring, in which the Russians, under Diebitsch, generally had the advantage, European tactics givinghim a decided superiority. At length Silistria surrendered, and the garrison of 10,000 men became prisoners of war ; 220 pieces of cannon, eighty standards, and the whole of the Turkish flotilla, falling into the hands of the Russians. Diebitsch now has- tened to cross the Balkan, and continued his march without any serious obstacles,, except such as the excessive heat of the weather, &c. presented, till he reached Adrianople, which he took on the 20th of July. Foiled at every point, the Porte was now ready to commence negotiations ; and ac- cordingly a treaty of peace was signed, the principal points of which were the cessa^ tion of hostilities ; the restoration by Rus- sia of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, and of all the towns occupied by the Russians in Bulgaria and Roumelia ; the settlement of the boundaries between the two powers in Europe and Asia ; the pro- visions for the religious liberty, indepen- dent administration, and free trade of the people of Moldavia and 'Wallachia; freedom of commerce to Russian subjects through- out the Ottoman empire, as secured by former treaties ; free commerce and navi- gation of the Black Sea to all nations at peace with the Porte ; the stiput.ation of the Porte to pay 1,500,000 ducats of Holland to Russia within eighteen mouths, as an iiKlcmiiiflcation for losses of Russian sub- jects, and a further sum, such as should be agreed on, as an indemnity for the ex- penses of the war ; with the accession of the Porte to the an'angemcnts of Russin, Great Britain, and France, respcctiuL,' Greece. Thus the emperor Nicholas, ac- cording to the pledge which he had given to his allies at the commencement of the war, stopped short in the career of con- quest, when he had obtained the objects for which the war was professedly under- taken. For manyyears subsequently the RtiBsian government was fully occupied in consoli- dating Its power internally, and extending its influence in the East. A fortress of im- mense strength grew up at Sebastopol ; an immense navy commanded the Black Sea, and the Russian emperor proceeded at length to carry out the designs which he had long proposed to execute on the disso- lution of the Turkish empire. The great war between England and France against Russia, which broke out in 1854, was the result. For the causes which led to that struggle we refer the reader to the histn- ries of England, France, and Turkey. Be- fore the summer of 1854 was well advanced the governments of Great Britain and France had determined that the quarrel which had arisen out of the eastern question" should be fought out on Russian ground. It was resolved to strike a blow at the great fortress of Sebastopol. The order for the embarkation of the troops at Varna was given on the 8th of September; and it seemed to infuse fresh health and strength among the forces, which were wasted by dis- ease and mental prostration. The voyage up the Black Sea was favourable, and no serious attempt was made by the Russians to obstruct the landing. The point chosen for disembarking was a spot called Old Fnrt, about twenty miles to the stiuth of Eupa- toria: and on the 13th of September the armies, numbering 40,000, were succes.=fully and rapidly landed, and took up their posi- tion on Russian ground. By the 18th they were ready to march upon Sebastopol. Ou the 19th the order was given to move. The country appeared to be deserted until an advanced guard of Russians was seen to issue from the village on the banks of the Alma. After some skirmishing they re- tired in good order, their object being merely to effect a reconnoissance. The allies spent the night on some risini< ground to the south of the Bulganac, the English lying without cover, as the tents had been placed ou board ship on the ground that they were too hea^T to carry. The hardships which were to press them so fearfully during the ensuing winter were making themselves felt already, and giving tokens of the harvest of sickness and death which they were destined to produce. At daybreak on the following day the 'Aga- memnon 'with the inshore squadron took up a position off the mouth of the Alma. Beyond that river the slopes bristled with Russian artillery, their guns were far stronger than those of the allies, and their position seemed impregnable. Yet in u ts:ift W^tavyi at aatti^fa. 739 Lallle ul' less than tliroe hours that position was carried by the allies ; but the victory was won by a heavy loss of 619 killed and 2,800 wounded, the Russian loss being stated at little less than 8,000 men. On the 23rd the allies began their march towards the northern face of Sebastopol, it being their intention to attack the forts which protect the city on that side. But this was found to be impracticable. Troops encamped on theBelbeck would be swept off by the flre of the Russian batteries which commanded that river, and the fleet could find no shel- ter near its mouth, whereas on the southern side there was a comparatively good har- bour and safe anchoring ground in the inlet of Balafclava; and on this side it was tliought that the Russians might be un- prepared for defence, and that the town might be carried by a sudden assault. The determination to attack it on this side had its disadvantages. It left the Russians free to pour in their supplies and reinforcements Ijy way of Perekop at the base of the penin- sula, wliile it also showed that the allies felt the hopelessness of investing Sebas- topol with the troops at their command, and tliat there was no army to cover the attack of the besiegers. It was at this time that marshal St. Arnaud, being completely pro- strated by severe illness, resigned his com- mand of the French army to general Can- robert, and died a few days afterwards on his passage to Constantinople. On the 26th of September the allied army reached the entrance of the valley of Balaklava. A part of the fleet was already in the harbour, with the siege train and provisions for the soldiers. Ou the 2"th they took up their positions in the valley to the north of Ba- laklava. As they appeared on the heights it was observed that Sebastopol was in great commotion, and some thought that it could then have been readily taken by a coup-de-main; but it was thought bar- barous to assault it while full of women and children, and the tenability of the southern part under the flre of the Russian fleet was strongly questioned. In three weeks the English batteries were com- pleted; but during that time the Russians had been busy strengthening the fortifica- tions to the utmost, the women and chil- dren bringing eartli, gabions and fascines, and working by night as well as by day. On the 17th of October the bombardment began, but it was anticipated by a furious flre from the Russian guns. "While the allied batteries thus poured in their deadly missiles by land, the 'Agamemnon' with other vessels of the fleet approached close under the forts and kept up a tremendous flre during the whole of the day — those sliips only being seriously injured which c'(juld not approach near enough under the batteries. At the close of the day the loss of the English was 44 killed and 206 wound- ed, of the French 30 killed, 164 wounded ; the Russian loss being about 500, among whom were the two admirals Kornilofl; and NachlmofC, who had planned and executed the surprise of the Turkisk fleet at Sinope. It turned out that the flre of the fleet h.ad done but little damage to the fortifications. and the walls seemed to be in no way weak- ened, alth(mgh the stones were riddled with shot. But while the allies were thus busy on the southern side, the Russians were preparing to surprise them by an attack on the field, and by placing them between two flres to expose them to almost certain destruction. The 25th was chosen as the day for this at- tempt ; and it was on this day that by a too literal adherence to an order of lord Raglan the cavalry under lord Lucan made that memorable charge, from which the marvel was that any should return alive. The circumstances of the field had changed between the moment when tlic order was given, and that in which it was receivedby lord Lucan. The cavalry, some 600 strong, were now facing the whole body of Li- prandi's force, which had just arrived from Bessarabia ; yet this scanty troop forced their way through this army, and with numbers fearfully diminished even fought their way back again to the spot from which they h,ad set out. "When the muster-roll was called in the evening, nearly two-thirds were missing : yet, in spite of the losses which they had undergone, the resistance of the Russians was kept up with as great resolution as ever. The very next morning several columns of infantry, which had not suffered in previous battles, issued out of Sebastopol, but their success was not greater than on the day before. Still rein- forcements .and provisions were constantly pouring in, and before any notice was re- ceived of their approach, 50,000 Russians were gathered on the heights of Inkerman. On the 5th of November was fought the terrible battle which is known by that name, and in which, after a fearful struggle and many serious losses, the victory remained with the allies. Among the British officers who fell was sir George Cathcart, who suffer- ed himself to be drawn too far in pursuit of the enemy, and found his party surrounded by an overwhelming force. The coopera- tion of the allied forces was admirably sus- tained, .and to this was probably owing the defeat of a plan which seemed almost to ensure success to the Russians. The battle was decided simply by hard fighting ; for manoeuvring there was little room or none, and the smoke was so great that to see the operations which might be going on became an impossibility. The loss of the French in killed and wounded was 1,726, that of the English was 2,612, of whom 463 were killed. That of the Russians was much greater. Nine days afterwards a loss almost heavier was sustained by a terrific storm which burst over Balaklava, wreck- ing eleven transports, and dismasting and rendering useless six more. A magnificent new steamship, the ' Prince,' with a cargo valued at half a million, was utterly de- stroyed, and with her was lost almost every- thing which was necessary for the health and comfort of the troops during the coming winter. The French lost a three-decker, ' Henri I"V.,' and a favourite war-steamer. For four days the storm raged furiously ; but, frightful as its effects were, they were tolerable indeed to what they uiight have 710 tlCtit Eve&iuvu at Witat}}, ^c. lircn had the tempest come while the 600 vessels of the fleet were on their way to Kiipatnrla. Kriim this time, the Russians attempted si'Rrccly any active operations against Balakiava. Both sides wished to wait for reinforcements, and tlie allies had to strupffle with the stern difflculties of a C'rlnican winter, aggravated a thousand fold by wretched mismanagement and mi- serahle want. The troops were worn down with cholera, dysentery, and fever ; the commissariat was in ahopeless state of con- fusion, officers and men were without bag- gage, clothing and food, while traders at Constantinople were openly boasting of the enormous gains which they had made at their expense. The sufferings of the French were also great: but French sol- diers are always more capable of helping themselves, while the English always need- ed some one to cook for them, and, as it was said, almost to put the food into their mouths. Again the latter paid exorbitant prices at the will of the peasants whose goods they bought : the former took what was to be had, laying down a price which, after fair consideration, was judged to be sufficient. In addition to this, the roads about Balaklava were in a hopeless and im- practicable condition, while the French had been enabled, from having men to spare, to construct good roads over the whole ground which they occupied. The medical department was scarcely more satisfactory ; the surgeons were indefatigable, but they were without the most necessary resources aud appliances, and the disorder was almost greater at Constantinople than It was at Balaklava. This horriljle state of things was remedied by the self-sacrificing devo- tion of English ladies who, under Miss Florence Nightingale, went out for the purpose of tending the sick and wounded in tne hospitals at Scutari ; and by their aid, as well as by that of the Committee of the Patriotic "Fund, and a large number of additional chaplains, a very great improve- ment was immediately effected in the con- dition of the troops. But although the siege of Sebastopol was practically suspended, the Russians were not idle : they scarped the ground in front of their batteries, threw up earthworks wherever they were needed, and enormously strengthened the whole fortifications of the city. When the siege began, it was comparatively defenceless ; before the year had ended, it was almost impregnable : and this strength was owing mainly to the fact that these new works were not of stone hut of earth, mounted with batteries of , tremendous power. Perhaps the Russians | were right in saying that history furnished few instances, in which defences run up in a few months were maintained for nearly a year against all the appliances of the most skilful warfare of modern times. During the summer of 1854, the allied fleets of France and England sailed into the Baltic, the former under the command of admiral DeschSnes, the latter under sir Charles Napier. After a reconnoissaiice it was found that an attack on Cronstadt without gunboats which could approach nearer than the ships would be imprudent, if not worse ; but the forts on the Island of Domarsund were taken willi Inrtre quan- tities of stores and amninnltiims. The forts were destroyed by mining, and the prisoners carried to England ; but the general result of the expedition was to detain in the north for the protection of St. Petersburg an enormous force which would otherwise have been despatched to the aid of the besieged in Sel.astopnl. Another squadron pi-oceeded to the White Sea, blockaded Archangel, made an ineffec- tual attempt on Solovetskoi, stormed and burnt Novitska, and destroyed Kola the capital of Ru.ssian Lapland. A third squad- ron under admiral Price appeared off Pe- tropaulowski in Kamschatka, at the end of August: hut admiral Price shot himself during the day preceding the attack, and the expedition merely destroyed some bat- teries, and did some damage to the enemy's ships. Early in March 1855, an effort was again made to put an end to the war by a confer- ence at Vienna: the failure of that attempt, with the causes which led to it, has been already recorded in the History of Bnghmd for that year. But liefore that conference opened, the emperor of Russia had ceased to live. On the 3nd of March a severe in- fluenza ended in his death, and his son Alexander II. at once issued a manifesto in which he expressed his resolution to carry out thoroughly the wishes and plans of his father. In April the allied fleets of France and England ag.ain entered the Baltic, but the results of the expediticin were not great. Some very angry and pain- ful feeling was roused by the violation of a flag of truce by Russian soldiers at Hango. A boat belonging to the 'Cossack' was sent on shore to land some prisoners who were set free ; it was alleged on the side of the English that the flag of truce was carried conspicuously in the bow of the boat ; while the Russians declared that the flag was never seen, and in fact that it never existed. The evidence against them was, however, too strong to leave room for any other supposition than that the Russian account was in part made up of wilful falsehood. The fleet advanced to the Tolboukin lighthouse, off Cronstadt, and within sight of the spires of St. Peters- burg, and then sailed to Sweaborg. For two or three days the fortifications of this place were assailed with a tremendous cannonade, the English alone having poured in 1,000 tons of shot and shell ; but as the guns could not reach a great part of the fortress, the English and French com- manders thought it advisable to withdraw from the attack ; and the approach of win- ter compelled the fleets soon afterwards to return home. The results of the horabardment of Se- bastopol were more serious. On the 17th of February the Russians made that im- successful attempt to recover Eujiatoria, which formed the last piece of Crimean news received by the emjieror Nicholas before his death. On the 9th of March they '^^i^imt^at mu^iSia were more successful in seizingr "■"^ Joi ti- fying a kuoU or hillock m front of the Malakhoffl. On this they raised a redoubt from which the French were ,"nahle to dislodge them, and sank a number of pits f^om which their riflemen did great cxecu- ti a upon the enemy. On the 22nd, the gairison of Sebastopol made a desperate but ineffectual sortie, which was followed a fortnight after by a general bombardment from thlallied batteries. The cannonading was continued for several days wiUiout nroducing any sensible effect on the forti- KonT on the 16th of Mav, general Pelissier was at the expressed wish of general Canrobert appointed to the com- mand of the French army, and a few days afterwards the French got possession of the counter-approaches of the enemy in front of the central bastion. An immense a oiint of damage was done by.expedi- t ons to fortified towns In the neighbour- h.HHl where the Russians had laid up large military stores as well as magazines of Pro- visions for the use of their array. A force wis sent under sir George Brown and general D'Autemarre, which reached the IhSts of Kertch on the 24th of May. Tliey found Kertch itself evacuated; the Kus- sians having blown up all the works along the coast, and destroyed m^e /han four million pounds of corn, and half a million pounds of flour. Yenikale was taken on the same day in the same condition. Cap- tain Lyons was then sent to Genitchi on the neck of land which separates- the Putrid Sea from the Sea of Azoffi : a de- mand for the surrender of the plac_e was met by a refusal, and the English at once set fire to the merchant vessels and corn stores, and then returned to Yenikale. It was supposed that in this expedition four months' rations for 100,000 men had been dt-^troyed. In June the Russian garrison, knowing that their want of water would lead to a surrender if the place were at- tacked, voluntarily abandoned the fortress of Anapa, on the Straits of Kertch, having blown it up and left their cannon in a use- ''tnZfn^- of June general Pelissier ordered attacks to he made on theMamelon and two other redoubts near Careening Bay. As these attempts, together with one made by the English on the quarries, were suc- cessful, it was resolved to make a general assault'on the city. A trfuendous flre was opened by the allies on the 17th of June , but on the following day the attempt ended n the complete repulse of both the English ^d the French, and princ* Gortschakoff ^sued an exulting order of the day con- gratulating his troops on their signal suc- cess This temporary defeat added to the cires ai-d the sickness which alr^^ds- pressed heavily on lord Raglan, and on the 28th ot jSne he died, and general Simpson was appointed to succeed him in the command. !n the middle of August the covering army of the Russians under Llprandi was again defeated in an attempt to raise the siege, after a long and disastrous engagement : fnd at th^Frencli ""^^^ad now iM^en advanced within a few yards of the Malak- holf and the loss of life in the trenches was' increasing in proportion, i' ^»i re- solved that another assault should be made on the 8th of September at midday, because at that hour the Russian garrison always took their meal and their midday sleep, and It was thought th.at they would thus be taken by surpdse. The French were to sto m tSe Malakhoff, and the English were to seize the Redan, when, and not before the former had been taken. The attack of the French was completely successful , that of the English on the Kedan failed and general Simpson was much blamed for de- fective arrangements, which resulted at the time of action in an inextricable con- fusion. But it now became clear to the Russians that they could not hope to hold the city any longer. During the coming night, several loud explosions were heard, and it was surmised that the enemy were evacuating Sebastopol. In good order and with excellent arrangement, this great work was accomplished ; and the allied Trmies on the next day found themselves possessed of a heap of ruins It «as uideed time to give up the struggle wlien the fire of the besiegers was costing the f amson, now for nearly thirty days, a loss from 100 to 1 000 men each day ; and prince Gortscha- koff' was fully justified in the strong lan- guage of satisfaction which he held to his troops for their determined courage and resolution throughout the siege. The suf- fednes of the besieged must latterly have become very dreadful, and a fearful account was given of a number of dead and wound- ed men whom the Russians had been com- pelled to leave behind them, and who were found in dungeon-like buildings m a most appalling condition. ,. ^ * „i- On dividing the town the English took possession of the western part, the French of the eat^tern, and a mixed commission was appointed to apportion the spoil taken in the city On the 10th of November general Simpson resigned the command of the army, and was succeeded by sir William Codrington. Before this time, the emperor had journeyed from Moscow to Odessa, and thence went to visit the great shipbuilding port of Nicholaicff. On the 12th of No- vember he issued an address to his army from Simpheropol, in which he thanked his troops for a defence which they had carried out to the uttermost. The next step of the allies was to destroy the de- fences of Kinburn : in order to do this with the greater ease, the fleet left Kamiesch bay and casting anchor before Odessa on the 8th of October, kept its position for a week during which time the inhabitants momentarily expected a bombardment. It then weighed anchor and sailed to Km- burn, where the Bug and Dnieper flow into a lake and thence pass by one channel into the sea, separating Ocz.akoffi on the north from Kinburn on the south. After a short bombardment, the garrison of the latter place capitulated, giving up the stores as they were, and being allowed to depart with the honours of war. The fort of Ocza- koffi was blown up and abandoned by the Russians. Towards the end of October, 742 ULl^t CreajSurg of W^tavQ, &c. another sqiia- tion for four consecutive years, (unless in the event of a new war,) but also all pecuniary fines, and all taxes in arrear, amounting to 24 million silver roubles. It was accompanied bv a large amnesty for offenders of all kinds, and children born during the military service of their fathers were now left free to choose any occupa tion which they might prefer, instead of belonging to the army as they had hitherto done. Some disputes occurred in carrying out the terms of the treaty of peace ; and an English ship was stationed at Serpent's island, at the mouth of the Danube, to pre- vent the Russians from mustering there in any force ; but neither this dispute nor an- other which had reference to the Russian frontier near Bolgrad were followed by any serious consecjuences. From this time the Russian emperor de- voted his attention to Internal reforms, and on the 19th of Februarj" 1861 appeared a proclamation which was the result of many years of careful thought, and which could not fail to exercise an immense in- fluence on the destinies of Russia. It an- nounced the gradual emancipation of the serfs— a measure in which the emperor Nicholas had found himself thwarted by the obstiuate oppositiou of the nobility. THE HISTORY OF POLAND. Most countries have some positive origin attributed to tljem, and handed down to liresent times by tradition, altliougli no tiace of a written history may be found ; it is not so, however, witli I'oland. In the time of tlie Romans it is liltcly to have been Rii unexplored part of the great Hercynian fori'st ; and such inhabitants as it con- •■ained probably belonged to the Sarma- tians, a nation of barbarians more fierce and savage than any of the other hordes with whom the civilised conquerors of Eu- rope had to contend in their work of uni- versal subjugation. But, be that as it may, it seems clear that Poland either afforded no materials for the historian, or produced no writer to record her history, for a con- siderable time after the other nations of Europe emerged from obscurity. It ap- pears, indeed, that an army of Sclavo- uians, under the command of Lesko, took possession of the country, A.D. 550, and that this leader became the first of a race of kings, who held the sovereign power for a century. The next dynasty of kings is distinguish- ed by the name of its first sovereign, and called the dynasty of Piast ; but nothing worthy of nutidfe is preserved, until Jagel- lon, grand duke of Lithuania, obtained the sovereignty of Poland in the year 1385. On his being elected king, he renounced Pa- ganism, to which he had before adhered, and embraced Christianity; from which time it spread rapidly among the Poles. This prince united the whole of his here- ditary dominions to those of Poland : in return for which the Poles rendered the crown hereditary in his family ; but his male line terminated in the person of Si- gisraund Augustus, in 1572. Two competi- tors then started for the vacant crown ; Henry, duke of Anjou, brother to Charles IX. of Prance, and Maximilian of Austria. After a long conflict, the former of these obtained the prize ; but on the death of his brother, he succeeded to the crown of France, and abandoned that of Poland. From this reign we may date the corre- spondence between the French and the Poles, which subsisted until the increasing power of its northern neighbours entirely cnunteracted the politics of the court of Vi-rsailles. On this second vacancy, Maxi- milian was still rejected ; and Stephen Ba- thory, prince of Transylvania, chosen, on account of the high renown which he had acquired. He married Anne, the sister of Sigismund Augustus, of the royal house of Jagollon, which rendered him highly po- pular. He waged war with the Muscovites, and recovered from them all that they had formerly taken from the Poles ; after which he settled the Ukraine, which, in the Polish language, signifies the frontier, and which was at that time a wild and unprofitable desert. He it was that introduced military tenure into Poland, by which he formed the best cavalry in the world. He likewise es- tablished a militia, composed of Cossacks, which soon became a respectable body of infantry. These Cossacks he settled in the Ukraine. Having performed these essential services to the kingdom which he governed, he died in 1586. Theodore, czar of Russia ; Maximilian, archduke of Austria; and Sigismund, prince of Sweden, now severally put forth claims and contended for the crown. The year after, Sigismund, having defeated and taken prisoner his rival Maximilian, became too formidable for Theodore, and established himself on the throne by the name of Sigis- mund III. He was a zealous papist, and waged a long and unsuccessful war with his native country, Sweden ; hut in his wars with the Turks he was more fortunate. He reigned forty-four years, and was suc- ceeded by his eldest son Uladislaus VII., who was chosen the 13th of November 1633. He was successful against the Turks, the Russians, and the Swedes, and died in 1648. In his reign, the interests of the Polish nobility clashing with the grants which had been made to the Cossacks in the Ukraine, a fierce contention arose. His brother, John Casimir, succeeded him, al- though a cardinal. The elector of Branden- burg, in this reign, found means to ob- tain from the Poles a renunciation of their sovereignty over Ducal Prussia, which he held as a vassal of the crown of Poland. This renunciation was ratified by the treaty of Oliva in 1660. Casimir, then attempting to gain an uncontrollable and absolute sove- reignty in Poland, excited a civil war ; and in the issue his army was defeated by prince Luboinirski. He afterwards found means, however, to drain the country of its current specie, which he remitted to Prance ; and being no longer able to maintain his foot- ing in Poland, he precipitately quitted the kingdom, and followed his wealth. In this stale of voluntary exile he made a form.nl renunciation of the crown, and died two years after. On the resignation of Casimir, four can- didates appeared : namely, the great prince of Russia; the duke of Neubourg, who was supported by the interests of France ; the duke of Lorraine, who was backed by the German power ; and the son of the prince of Conde : but it was soon found that the contest lay between the dukes of Neubourg and Lorraine. The pitlatine Opalenski, however, by popular harangues, had the address to set them both aside, and procure the election of prince Michael Wiesnowiskl 744 Wi)t CrfaStitu af ^Igtatv, ^t. In 1670, wlio reckoned his descent from a brother of Jagellon. He was chosen to the royal dignity as being a Piast.a title highly respected in Poland, and signifying a noI)le- nian who can trace his descent through a hmglinc of Polish ancestors ; hut as he was a weak prince, the Turk.- to.ik advantage of his incapacity, ln\MiU(l I'olaiul, and took Kaininieck, the c.'i]iit.il of I'odnlia. Michael did not long enji)y his dignity; he died three years after his elevation, at the very time when Sohieski, the Polish general, had gained a great and decisive victory over the Turks. Another contention then arose about a successor ; but at length the diet unanimously chose John Sohieski for their king, who maintained a war against the Turks, although ill seconded by the no- bility ; and in 1675, at the head of no more than 5,000 men, he defeated 60,000 Turks and Tartars : after which, receiving a rein- forcement of 10,000 troops, he drove 100,000 of the enemy out of Podolia, and was crowned at Cracow, in February 1676. The Turks by these defeats were brought to acquiesce in terms of peace, which were observed during seven years; but in 1683 the Ottomans invaded Hungary, and laid siege to Vienna. The neighbouring princes, being roused to action by the impending danger, put their forces under the com- mand of Sohieski, whose army mustered 40,000 strong ; with which force he attacked and defeated the infidels, whose numbers were little short of 200,000. This decisive stroke restored peace ; but the great mili- tary talents of the king, joined to his ex- treme parsimony, created jealousies among the Polish nobility, who thought that he had formed designs of changing the con- stitution of the kingdom, and rendering himself an absolute monarch. These ap- prehensions, which were never supported by any direct proofs, embittered his latter days. He died in 1696, in the si.xty-sixth year of his age, and the twenty-second of his reign. He left a son, prince James Sohieski, whom, however, the Poles did not nominate for their king. An interregnum of a twelvemonth fol- lowed : at length Frederick Augustus, elec- tor of Saxony, was chosen, in preference to the prince of Conti, whose pretensions were backed by the interests of France : but In 1705, the Poles, being tampered with by Charles XII. of Sweden, declared the crown vacant, and chose Stanislaus Leczinski, palatine of Pusnania ; to establish whom on the throne, Charles of Sweden entered Saxony with a powerful army, and compel- led Augustus to save his electorate by abandoning his pretensions to the crown of Poland. The reverse of fortune which Charles experienced in 1708, gave Augustus the ascendency; and his competitor found It necessary, in his turn, to quit the kingdom. Disputes "and ill-will, however, prevailed between Augustus and the nobility, from this time until his death, which happened In January 1732-3. The question, whether the house of Aus- tria, or that of Bourbon, should fix the succession to the throne of Poland, then plunged Europe into war. The former sup- ported the pretensions of Augustus, the son of the deceased king ; In which nomi- nation the court of St. Petersburg also con- curred: the latter aimed at restoring the abdicated Stanislaus, whose daughter, the princess Mary, was married to Louis XV. Notwithstanding this alliance, his interest was not vigorously supported by the court of Versailles ; and he was finally driven out of Poland, possessed of nothing more than the empty title of king ; he, however, gained the duchy of Lorraine and Bar,which he enjoyed during the remainder of his life. Stanislaus died in January 1766, hav- ing attained to the great age of eighty- nine years. He was distinguished for his talents and virtues; his humanity w:is active, and displayed Itself in many noble instances of kindness and generosity. Though deprived of the crown of Poland, he expressed his strong attachment to that country, and his thorough knowledge of its Interests, in a work which he wrote and published in the year 1759, entitled. La Yoix Libre du Citoyen ; ou Observations sur le Gouvemement du, Pologne. Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony, was chosen king of Poland in September 1733, in the forty-sixth year of his age. He was the third king of that name. He mar- ried Maria Josepha, daughter of the emperor Joseph I. In the winter of 1745, the king of Prussia attacked him in his hereditary dominions, made himself master of Dresden, and forced the elector to accept such con- ditions of peace as were proffered. In 1756, the king of Poland having secretly become a party in a confederacy formed by the empress queen and the king of France, to strip the king of Prussia of the province of Silesia, the unfortunate Augustus suddenly fell a victim to the resentments of that monarch, who took possession of Dresden, his capital, and compelled his whole army, consisting of 13,000 men, to surrender prisoners of war ; after which he expe- rienced the most bitter calamities. His queen, whose every motion was narrowly watched by the emissaries of the Prussian monarch, died of a broken heart; whilst the designs which the king had formed for the advancement of his family, by procur- ing for one of his sons the dukedom of Courland, and for another the bishopric of Liege, were entirely frustrated. Worn down with years as well as with sorrows, he re- signed his breath on the 5th of October 1763, in the seventy-sixth year of his ago, and the thirtieth year from his election to the crown of Poland. The son of Augustus declared himself a candidate for the vacant crown ; but he died of the small-pox in less than two months after. Count Poniatowski, on ac- count of his eminent merit, was unani- mously elected king, on the 7th of Sep- tember 1764, without any commotion or disturbance. The powers of Russia, Prus- sia, and Turkey supported his pretensions. The ambassadors of France, Spain, and the empire, who opposed his election, retired from Warsaw, when the diet assembled. He took the name of Stanislaus Augustus. The new king had not long sat upon the CI)^ W^tat^ at \BaXavits. 745 throne, before some Russian troops entered his kingdom on the plea of procuring a tolenition and other privileges for the op- pressed :ind persecuted ' dissidents,' who were of tlic (in-ek church, and also for the Lutheran and utlier reformed Christians. The bitter enmity which subsisted between the lloman catholics and the dissidents, kindled the flame of a fierce, bloody, and desolating civil war, which raged during the years 1769, 1770, and 1771 ; in the midst of which, the miserable Poles were visited with the pestilence, which swept off 250,000 of the population. The part which the king of Poland took against the dissidents, caused a conspiracy to be formed to assas- sinate him, in November 1771 ; from which attempt upon his life he escaped almost by a miracle. Many of the conspirators lost their lives by the hands of the execu- tioner. Amongst the Poles the love of freedom had long prevailed, without the spirit of union. A kingdom fertile and extensive as that of Poland, torn by intestine com- motions, and unprovided with the means of self-defence, presented a most alluring prospect to its powerful neighbours. The censures which have been passed on the great southern kingdoms of Europe, for the lameness and unconcern with which they looked on and saw a noble kingdom mutilated, are in reality unmeaning charges. Had the states of the empire, France, and the maritime powers, joined in a hetero- geneous league with the courts of Stockholm and Copenhagen; had they even engaged the Ottomans in the alliance, what could their fullest exertions have availed towards securing Poland from the depredations of three powers capable of bringingflve or six hundred thousand men into the field? Fleets would have been ineffectual in a Contest carried on in the centre of Europe. These confederating powers could have brought no force equal to that possessed by the partitioning princes. In fact, the latter, by their union, had efliectually prevented all attempts to form an opposition capable of thwarting their designs. It is needless to mention the frivolous and obscure claims which were set up by the three partitioning powers to the terri- tories which they designed to appropriate : it is sulHcient to describe the countries whicli were thus forcibly wrested. The claims of Austria comprehended the south- ern parts of Little Poland, and the whole of Ited Russia, with Procutia. The royal salt mines at Wielnska, Bochnia, and other places in Little Poland, were comprehended in the territory thus seized. The produce of these mines supplied the king with a part of his private revenue. The whole of the territory wrested by Austria contains about three hundred miles from east to west, and two hundred from north to south. The district seized upon by the empress of Paissia, was the whole of Polish Livonia, and that part of Lithuania which borders on the Russian empire, and extends over that duchy even beyond the river Beresina ; the whole lying under more than four degrees of latitude, but much less con- siderable in width. The king of Prussia took possession of all the western parts of Pomerania, bounded on the southward by the river Netz, together with the whole of Polish Prussia; the cities of Dantzig and Thorn only excepted. To this territory ho gave the name of New Prussia. As these countries form the southern shores of the Baltic, and give the command of the Vistula, they were highly important to a monarch whose dominions, before this acquisition, could not furnish a deep, convenient, and capacious harbour for shipping. The po- litical views of the king of Prussia thereby became much enlarged, being directed to commercial and maritime objects. The inhabitants of the countries thus dismembered were required, by the mani- festos, to take oaths of allegiance and fidelity to their new sovereigns, within a very short space of time, on pain of for- feiting their estates. The independent spirit of the Polish nobility could ill brook such mandates : many chose rather to abandon their country and estates and submit to voluntary exile, carrying with them such parts of their property as the short time allotted them would enable them to collect. The confiscation of these estates was an object of great consequence to each sovereign ; it being a cruel iiolicy constantly practised by invaders and 'usurpers, to op- press and rain the native nobility, in order to provide for their own adherents. The empress of Russia, however, conducted these proscriptions with less severity than her two confederates. This memorable event took place in September 1772. The king of Poland, unable to make any effectual opposition to these violent acts of power, was at length induced to give his sanction to the partition, by being put into possession of a rich territory, which was rendered hereditary in his family, and which was guaranteed by the three courts ; besides which, a large sum of money, to enable him to pay off his heavy debts, was presented to him as the further price for this his sacrifice of duty to tyranny. Still, however, to add insult to injury, a diet was called, the members of which, by the most undisguised violence, were compelled to give their votes to ratify the alienation of so great a part of the kingdom. It was thought, however, that this change of go- vernment, though brought about without any colour of justice, or plausible claim of right, might, after the convulsions caused by its first establishment had subsided, tend to enlarge the sum of human happi- ness in those districts, as well as to render the country more wealthy and flourishing, as the oppressions of the nobility were likely to be greatly restrained, and the con- dition of the peasantry to be considerably amended. That the three great northern powers should concur in the design of dismember- ing Poland, by mutually acknowledging and supporting each other's claims, ap- peared so essentially necessary to the ac- complishment of the purpose, that each became disposed to lay aside those jealou- sies and bickerings which subsisted against 746 E^t CEreaSura of Igt^torp, &c the others, and. for the sake of furtl.er iuit its own particular interest, to assist in etreiKthei n« its rivals. To the einpress o"rS indeed, the claims of Ausria and Prn^'iia nuist have been particuUUy un welco ue for she gave up that uiihounded hitl.ie "oe" and authority which she had ac"i ir cd in the distracted kingdom, for a ?en- torv little adequate to the loss of such power but this concession was made to nurcha-^e a continuance of the good under- st mdin" that subsisted between her and the fomt f Vienna, and to check those designs wticb were forming by the latter c^ourt to rt'duce the ascendant fortunes of Russia . so that mutual jealousies, in fact, cemented ?he Seat northern confederacy, which may be cSdered as the forerunner of a very Importlirt revolution in the political system °'B^"t hlfexertions and abilities of the king of Po and. which the general sense of ml4ry and degradation, occasioned by in- SsMi?e aLrchf and sovereign interference contributed verj' essentially to render ei fectual. a new constitution was settled for Poland on the 3rd of May 1791, by which the catholic faith was declared to be the esta- w"hed religion of the country, butatolera- tiSi was ef tended to all religious persua- sions The peasants and villagers were reUeved from that slavish dependence on thef/fords which caused them to be con- sidered as no other than appendages to the loU Sid I perfect and entire liberty was de- 'it^'^tryelrs Poland appeared to flourish; and that part of it which was left to Stanislaus -was greatly benefited 1^ his judicious introduction of artisans from Frince and other countries, under whose fuperTntendence the manufactures of the country were carried on to considerable advantage But though the Poles were at- aavaiu.ibc. j^j^ indig- SiUon and' dLtr';i'st!'the prospect of being stU further humbled and reduced by the threel^^-elected arbiters of a nation's fate. Kor was it long before their apprehensions ''^LyFrS'^e'volution had just, broken out -and the Russian empress, fearing, per- hans The effect of such an examp e upon a wlVliie people, agreed with the king of ^r^S a to make such new division of the i>I>iic;irtprritories as should render all at- Lmpts fruitless wWch they might make to '"ThrpS^^ ^^aS'a-re of its impend- -l/ntar^&'sraK^-^ Fnr this purpose, being convinced that fheirSicieSt elective and monarchical form of Eoyernment was defective in .its prin- Hpfe! andlnjurlous to the state m its ef^ fects the Poles, under the sanction of tie king of Prussia, framed a new constitu- Uon, in which, among other changes the crown was rendered hereditary. Whilst XZst every sovereign in Europe approved of this revolution, the empress of Rufs a alone expressed her disapprobation, and tendered her powerful aid to a few discon- tented nobles who had entered into a con- federacy to oppose the new constitution at ^U?h-ingupon the protection of the king of Pru'sia, who had engaged to prevent the interference of any foreign power with the Uiternal concerns of Poland, the Poles were not intimidated at the hostile prepara- tionsof Russia. But their hopes were misera- bly d Appointed. Frederick William, when appealed to. refused to espouse their cause , and they were left to engage su'ele-l^nded with the whole forces of the Russian empire. Catherine immediately marched a army into Poland ; and Stanislaus raised a considerable force, which was placed Snder the command of his nephew prince Joseph Poniatowski : but the Polish mon- arch desirous of averting the miseries of war/acceded to the terms of Russia, aii- nuUed the new constitution, and allowed the Russians to take possession of his capital. This occurred in 1793. ^ „ ^^ •„„ Having proved so far fortunate, Catherine resolved to secure her domination over Poland by still more weakening itf Pfwe;' - and, in consequence, agreed upon a furthti partition of this despoiled kingdom, in conjunction with the king of P/"?,s>a^^ ° seized as his share the cities of Thorn and mntzic. Amazed, but imitated, at this act of aggressive duplicity, and deluded bj the ambiguous answers of the Russian ambas- sador, the confederates of Targovitz invited ?he nation to rise in defence of the mtegrity of the kingdom ; and this call was obeyed with singiSar alacrity. The Russian forces were, however, now ordered to act m con- cert with those of Prussia ; and the courts of Petersburg and Berlin, openly avowing their intention of effecting a further dis- memberment of Poland, forcibly obtained the silent assent of the diet of Grodno to this iniquitous measure. „ ,. , ^ - .„ The indignation of the Polish patriots was now raised to the highest pitch, and they instantly resolved to make one more i desperate and final effort to restore the I freedom of their country. With amazing I rapidity a general insurrection was orga- nised, and as the king had lost the confl- deuce of the nation by his weakness, the troops unanimously placed at their head the celebrated count Thaddeus Kosciusko, a young man of high birth but small for- tune who had been educated in the iniU- ' tary school at Warsaw, and had served as aide-de-camp to general Washington m the American war of independence. Madalin- ska, a Polish general, raised the standard of revolt, and. In conjunction with Kosci- usko, took Cracow, from which city they is'^ued an address to the nation, and signed an act declaratory of their motives and in- tentions. Kosciusko was then placed at the liead of the army and of the repubhc, with unlimited power. The first operation of the severe contest that immediately ensued proved favourable to the patriots, who routed a Russian army of superior force near Cracow, and expelled them from Wilna. Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador compeUed Stanislaus to declare the insurgents rebels, and demanded the surrender of the arsenals. This demand m)t W^iavn at iBalmts, 747 drove the iiiliabitants to desperation ; they flew to arms, and after a sautruinary contest of forty-eii-'lit hours, the Russians were driven out, of Warsaw with immense slauK'liter; and preparations wei'o imme- diiitely made, under the directions of Kosci- usko, who repaired to the capital, to repel any future attaclc. If the contest had hitherto been unequal, it was now rendered much more so. Aus- tria had entered into the views of Russia and Prussia ; and powerful armies advanced on every side. After an obstinate battle the king of Prussia defeated Kosciusko, took possession of Cracow, and marched towards Warsaw, where the enraged popu- lace had committed great excesses. His offers of accommodation having been re- jected, he laid siege to the capital, but lie- ing repulsed in a fierce attack upon the entrenched camp of the confederates, he was eventually compelled to abandon this enterprise, after a fruitless siege of two niontlis. IJuring the time these events took place at W.arsaw, the Russians under Suwarrof liad defeated tlie Poles, at Brezesk, and ge- neral Person was endeavouring to unite his forces with the grand Russian army. Kos- ciusko hastened to prevent this junction ; but in an obstinate battle against the su- perin the benevolence of those who pitied their hard fate while they admired their patriotism. Poland was soon after- wards Incorporated with Russia ; and al- though it had its separate diet and code of laws, Russian troops were stationed in all the principal towns, and it w.as in all other respects like a conquered country. Still, within the last two years Poland has again proved unmistakeably that her na- tional life is not crushed, and that the ty- ranny of the Russian government is not easier or more free of anxiety than it was during the days of the emperor Nicholas. But the patriotism of the Poles showed itself at first not in acts of violent insur- rection, but in peaceful commemorations of its great uatioual heroes ; and to its ut^ ter disgrace the Russian government made use of the opportunity furnished by these religious services to massacre an unarmed population. Every movement on the pare of the emperor and his government he- tnayed fear and uncertainty; while the ac- tion of the peojile was a calm adherence to a resistance which is purely passive. Massacres, prosecutions, banishments, and tortures proved utterly ineffectual in crush- ing or even repressing this spirit ; and count Zamoyski did more by his unarmed opposition to baffle the designs of Russia than her armed battalions have done to promote them. This period of passive re- sistance was followed by an open revolt, which was provoked by a conscription (set on foot, it is said, by the marquis Wielo- polski), by which it was designed to carry olt all suspicious or dangerous persons. It seems likely that this insurrection will be suppressed like those which have preceded it, but the events are so recent, and so little can be said of them with certainty, that a history of this time would be, at the least, premature. THE HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND. The northern and southern nations of Europe have been singularly intermingled In the history of Helvetia, whose Alpine walls seem like a harrier, separating them from each other. The Roman legions, in- deed, conquered the Gauls, Rh^tiaus and Alemaiini, in the forests and marshes ; but they could not destroy the northern spirit of freedom. The traces of its ancient sub- jugation to Rome are still visible in the Romanic language of a part of Switzerland. Helvetia, under the Romans, had a flourishing trade, which covered the land ■svith cities and villages; and Switzerland still forms the connecting link between Northern Germany, the Netherlands, and France on the one side, and Italy on the other. Before the fall of the Roman empire in the west, the northern and largest part of Switzerland, occupied by the Alemanni, had been conquered by the Franks. On the Jura dwelt the Burgundians, and Rhajtia was under the Ostrogoths. Three German nations, therefore, freed the country, about A.D. 450, from the dominion of Rome. Christianity had already been introduced into Helvetia from Italy, and as early as the fourth century there were Christian churches at Geneva, Coirc,and other places. The Alemanni and Burgundians gave their laws and their habits to the Helvetians ; and the Alemanni occupied the greater part of the country. Each soldier received a farm ; a judge, or centgrave, was set over one hundred of these farms (forming a cent, or hundred) : and the place of judge- ment where he settled all questions be- tween the free citizens, was called Italluo. Several cents formed a Gau (hence Thurgau, Aargau, &c.),the judge of which was styled count (graf ); and the counts were undera duke. The great irruption of barharians swept through the peacehil valleys of the Alps, and Roman civilisation disappeared. Os- trogoths, Lombards, and even Hims, set- tled in different parts of the country. At last, the Franks, who had taken possession of the lands of the conquered Alemanni, drove the Ostrogoths over the Rhajtian mountains. In 534, they likewise subjected the Bur- gundians ; and all Switzerland became a portion of the Prankish empire. The coun- try, however, retained its ancient constitu- tion; the Romans and the old inhabitants were governed by Roman, the Alemanni by Alemannic laws ; and each of the other nations by its peculiar code. The Chris- tian religion was restored anew, and the desolated fields were again brought under cultivation. On the partition of the empire of the Franks among the Merovingians, Switzer- land was divided between two sovereigns ; one reigned over Alemannian.and the other over Burgundian Switzerland, or Little Burgundy. Pepin reunited the whole coun- try, and Charlemagne encouraged the arts and sciences in Helvetia. Tinder his feeble successors, the counts became more and more independent of the royal authority, and Bnally made the possession of their gaus hereditary. One of them (Rodolph) established, in SS.f, the new kingdom of Burgundy, between the Reuss and the Jura. Nine years previously, Boso had established thu kingdom of Aries, in the territory be- tween the Jura and the Rhone. Thirty years afterwards the two Burgundian king- doms were united. The counts in the other part of Switzerland were still nomi- nally subject to the German kings ; but they conducted themselves as princes, as- sumed the names of their castles, and com- pelled the free inhabitants of their gaus to a,cknowledge them as their lords. Hence arose a multitude of independent and com- plicated governments, whose chiefs were engaged in continual feuds with each other. War was the business of the nobles, and misery the fate of the people in the dis- tracted land. The emperor Conrad, there- fore, set a duke over the counts in Aleman- nia in 911. But the emperors of the Saxon house were the first who compelled the dukes, counts and bishops, in Switzerland, to respect their authority. After the death of Rodolph III., the fifth and last king of Burgundy (1032), the em- peror Conrad II. reunited Burgundian Switzerland with Alemannia, which be- longed to the German empire. But under Henry IV., grandson of Conrad II., the royal authority in Switzerland was again overthrown. The country people became more secure ; the feuds among the nobility flourished ; Geneva and Lausanne, among the Romanic, and Zurich and Basle among the German cities, became thriving towns. The families of Savoy, Kyburg, and Haps- burg were the most powerful among the noble families. Many nobles went, about this time, to Palestine ; and thus the coun- try was delivered from their oppression. After the death of Berthold V., last duke of Ziihringen, in 1218, Alemannia again came into the possession of the emperor. His hereditary estates in the Uchtland and in Little Burgundy passed by his sister Agnes to the house of Kyburg. From this time, the Hapsburgsin north- ern Helvetia, and the counts of Savoy in the south-west, grew more and more power- ful. The emperor appointed some noble- man as governor of each city, or com- munity, which was not under a count, to 7.'52 C^e CreajJuiy of l^t^tnrp, $ti. collprt the public revenue, aiid to putiish viulatidiis of tliP pnWic poacp. Tlio Gcr- iii;in kiiics worp no lonprr alilP to afford protoi-lion : miglil c.ivp right, ami thpliold- e.-l'uic or Sav.>.v. /.u- riph Bernp. Basic ami SoU-uro, thedistnots of Vri Schwpitz, and rndorwalden, gradu- ally acquired the seifrneurial rights from the emperort-, by pnrchasp or by grant, and assumed the name of iuiperial cities, or im- perial districts. They were more prosper- ous and powerful than the nobility, who lived in their solitary castles at enmity with each other. Kven the crusades, hy promoting com- merce, improved the already flourishing condition of the cities, as a part of the troops arms, provisions, &c. were transmit- ted to Italy, through the passes of the .Mps. The crusaders brought hack new inventions in the arts, new kinds of fruits, &c. The gold and silk manufacturers of the Ita- lians and eastern nations were imitated in Switzerland ; refinement took the place of rudeness, and poetry became the favourite amusement of the nobles. The cities now formed alliances for their mutual protec- tion against the rapacity of the nobles, and demolished many castles from which they exercised their oppression upon the peace- ful merchants. At the end of the thirteenth century, Rodolph of Hapsburg, who, in 1264, had in- herited the estates of his uncle Hartmann, count of Kvburg, became more powerful than the old lords of the soil. As king and emperor of Germany, he held a court at Helvetia; hut he did not abuse his power to reduce the freemen to vassalage His ambitious sons, however, Hodolph and Albert, encroached upon the rights of the Swiss. Albert, in particular, who succeed- ed to the imperial dignity in 1298, by his tyranny and obstinacy, gave rise to the first confederacy of the Swiss cantons. On the night of November 7, 1307, thirty-three brave countiTmen met at Grutliu, a soli- taiT spot on the lake of Lucerne. Fiirst of rri Stauffachcr of Schweitz, and Melch- thai of Unterwalden, were the leaders on this occasion. All swore to maintain their ancient independence. The three Walds- tadte, or forest towns, (as these cantons were called), accordingly rose, deposed the Austrian governors, and destroyed the cas- tles built to overawe the country. Henry VII., the successor of Albert on the German throne, confirmed to the fo- rest towns the rights of which Albert had endeavoured to rob them. The house of Austria still contended obstinately for its lost privileges. But the warlike spirit of the people fostered a love of conquest and plunder; mutual hatred kindled civil wars between neighbouring cantons; foreign powers sought the aid of the confederates in their contests. In 1424, the people of the Grey League established their inde- pendence, and were soon after joined by those of the other two leagues. The emperor Frederick III. then called a French army into Switzerland to protect his family est.ates. The Swiss made a se- cond Tliermopylre of the churchyard of St. .lacob at Basle, where 1,000 of them with- stood 20.000 French under the dnupluii Louis (Auirust 20, 1414>. They next )in)- voked (^'liarles the Bold of Burgundy, who mnrched into their country, but was de- feated at Granson, Murten or Morat, and Nancy, in 1477. The confederates them- selves aspired to conquest, the people being fired by the desire of iilunder, and the no- blps hv warlike ambition. In 1400, they ■wrested Thurgau from Austria; and from M.-JG to 14,10, Zurich, Schweitz, and Glarus contended for Toggenburg, till Berne de- cided the dispute in favour of Schweitz. The confederated cantons from this time bore the name of the Swiss confederacy in foreign countries. In 1481, Friburg and Soleure entered the confederacy. The em- peror Maximilian I. now determined to force the Swiss to join the Suabian league, and to submit to the court of the imperial chamber. But they suspected Germany on acccmnt of Austria, and joined the Grisons. Hence arose the Suabian war, which was concluded, after the Swiss had gained six victories over the Germans, by the peace of Basle, in 1499. Basle, Schaflhausen,and Appenzell were afterwards admitted into the confederacy. But the country and peo- ple were disturbed by domestic and foreign wars. , „ . In the Milanese war of 1512, the Swiss conquered the Valteline and Chiavenna, and obtained from Milan the Italian bail- iiages, which form at present the canton of Tessin. They fought on a foreign soil, now for, now against, Milan ; at one time for France, and at another time against her, till after the great battle of Marig- uano, gained by Francis I., in 1315, they concluded a perpetual peace with France, at Friburir, In 1510, which was followed, in 1521, by the first formal alliance with that kingdom. About this time the work of reformation began iu Switzerland. Zuinglius, in 1518, preached against indulgences, as Luther had done in 1517. Even as early as 1510, he had attacked pilgrimages, and the invo- cation of the Virgin Mary; and in 1517, with the knowledge of his patron, the ab- bot of Einsiedeln, several nuns abandoned the monastic life. His removal from Ein- siedeln to Zurich, in 1518, gave him cour- age to speak more openly, as Luther had, meanwhile, appeared in the cause of re- form. But when the principles of the re- formation were diffused through Zurich, Berne, Schaffhausen, Basle (by the labours of CEcolampadius), St. Gall, and Muhl- hausen, religious je,ilousy sep.irated tue reformed and the catholic cantons. In Glarus, Appenzell, and the Grisons, the people were divided between the two con- fessions. Lucerne, Uri, Schweitz, Unter- walden, Zug, Friburg, .Soleure, adhered to the ancient faith; as did likewise theVa- lais and the Italian bailiwicks. Fanaticism kindled a civil war. The Sch weitzers burnt a Protestant preacherof Zurich. Two Swiss armies, nearly 30,000 strong, awaited the signal for civil war, a better spirit suddenly CIjc W^taxs o( ^iaititvUnts. 753 prevailed, and the first religious peace was concluded In 1529. It was agreed that the majority of votes in the comniiinitles should decide all ques- tions relating to changes of faith. But the rapid progress of the reformation again lirovoked the catholic cantons to war ; and the troops of Zurich were routed at Cap- pcl (1531), where Zulngiius fell, and at the mountain of Zug. After the second public peace, the catholic religion was restored in Soleure and the common provinces. In the meantime. Savoy, which had long pos- sessed episcopal and seigneurial rights in Geneva, reduced the city to entire submis- sion. But the oppressive manner in which the ducal authority was exercised, led Ge- neva, in 1523, to join Berne and Friburg. Tlie dulce was forced to yield. Berne and Geneva concluded the perpetual league of 1,531, and Berne gained possession of the rays de Vaud. At the same time the re- formed doctrines were propag.ated from Geneva by Calvin. By the peace of Lau- sanne, in 1564, Savoy first renounced her claims upon the Pays de Vaud, and was thus driven from Helvetia, as Neuburg had been before. About this time (1555), Berne and Friburg divided between them- selves the territories of the counts of Gru- yere; so that, in all Helvetia, no great fa- mily of the ancient nobles retained its pa- trimonial estates, except that of Henburg. The Swiss, however, were distracted by religious and political controversies. Aris- tocracy and democracy struggled for the superiority, and the intrigues of Spain filled the people of the Valteiine (1617-21) with a spirit of fanaticism. In foreign, and es- pecially in the French service, the Swiss adopted foreign manners : he sold his blood to foreign masters ; and the ancient Swiss purity and simplicity retired to the remote valleys of the higher Alps. At the same time, the connection of the confederacy with the German empire became less and less close, while the cantons obtained the confirmation of their rights from the em- peror Maximilian II. But the influence of France soon became predominant, and Rome swayed the minds of its adherents by means of Jesuit col- leges at Lucerne and Friburg; and parti- cularly through the papal nuncio at Lu- cerne. In the thirty years' war, the con- federates maintained a prudent neutrality ; and, by the peace of Westphalia (1648'', the complete separation of Switzerland from the German empire was at length solemnly acknowledged. In 1063, France renewed her alliance with the Swiss, and asserted that they had no right to form alliances with other pow- ers. The conquest of the Franche Comtt', in 1674, and the siege of Rheinfeld, in 1678, by the French, together with the erec- tion of the fortress of Himingen, in 1679, excited the apprehensions of the Swiss. They, however, happily maintained their neutrality, even in tlie war of the Spanish succession. During the persecution of the Protestants in France, to whom they rea- dily gave an asylum and pecuniary aid, they paid as little regard to the remonstrances of Louis, who viewed the reformers as re- bels, as he did to the intercession of the jirotestant Swiss cantons in favour of their brethren in the faith. The Swiss had little Influence In foreign politics during tlie eighteenth century ; and, until towards its close, they suffered little from foreign interference. This tran- quillity, which, however, was often inter- rupted by Internal dissensions, was alike favourable to the progress of commerce, agriculture, and manufactures, and to the arts and sciences. In almost every de- partment of human knowledge, the Swiss of the eighteenth centu^', both at home and abroad, acquired distinguished repu- tation, as the names of Haller, Bonnet, Bernoulli, J. .1. Rousseau, Lavater, Bodmer, Breitinger, Gessner, Sulzer, Hirzel, Fuseli, Hottinger, John von Muller, Pestalozzi, and many others, bear witness. The people of the democratic cantons enjoyed an almost unlimited freedom, and took a large share in the affairs of govern- ment. Those places which were under the general protection of the whole confede- racy, were not burdened by excessive taxes ; they enjoyed a high degree of civil freedom, and numerous municipal rights. The larger cantons, as Berne and Zurich, in which the government was administered by the capitals, or by a body of the citi- zens, who enjoyed many peculiar privi- leges, were also in a flourishing condition. There were no oppressive taxes ; but al- most everywhere the government was con- scientiously conducted ; the administra- tion of justice was cheap and simple, and benevolent institutions were numerous. Notwithstanding all these favourable cir- cumstances-, internal dissensions still con- tinued, and new troubles arose in 1790, which shook the political fabric ; blood was often spot, and punishment rendered ne- cessary. Although the Swiss had at first firmly maintained their neutrality in the wars of the French revolution, French power and intrigue gradually deprived them of their former constitution ; and, after incorporat- ing several portions of Switzerland with the French and Cisalpine republics, the French converted the Swiss confederacy into the Helvetic republic, one and indi- visible, under an executive directory of five persons. The legislative power was di- vided between a senate and a great coun- cil, to which each of the fourteen cantons elected twelve members. It was in vain that some of the democratic cantons at- tempted to prevent this revolution. They were speedily overpowered. But the oppression of the French, the arbitrary manner in which they disposed of the highest offices, and the great number of weak and corrupt men who were raised to power— soon made the new officers con- temptible. Aloys Reding, a man of en- terprising spirit, whose family was cele- brated in the annals of his country, form- ed the plan of overthrowing the central government. Unterwalden, Schweitz, Zu- rich, Glarus, Appcnzell, and the Grisons wished to restore the federal constitution ; 7.54 CIjp Crra^urji af l^titory, &r. and Rp(linRlmat;iiu-d tliiit Buouarartolilm- Belf, who Imd just withdrawn tlie French troops from Switzerland, would favour his plan. The smaller cantons, in their diet at Rohweit/, (August 6, 1802), declared that tliey would not accept the constitution which liad been liu'ced upon them, and that they preferred a federal government. The consequence was a civil war. Zurich was bcsieped to no purpose by the troops of the Helvetic republic, asainst wh im its gates were shut. Rodolph von Erlach and general Auf der Maur, at the head of the insurpents, occupied Berne and Kri- burg. Tlie Helvetic government retired to Lausanne. Air)ys Reding now summoned a general assembly, which was held at Schweitz, Sep- tember 27. Three days after, the first con- sul of France offered to the cantons his mediation ; but the small cantons, guided by Aloys Ueding and Hirzel of Zurich, per- severed in their opposition. Twelve thou- s.and French troops entered Switzerland, under Ney, and the diet separated. Reding and Hirzel were imprisoned. In December, both parties sent deputies of the eighteen cantons to Paris, to whom Buonaparte transmitted by Barthfilemy, Fouche, and Roderer, the act of mediation of February 19, 1803, restoring the cantonal system, but granting freedom to the former subjects of the cantons. The cantons were now nineteen in num- ber :— Aargau, Appenzell, Basle, Berne, Fri- burg, Glarus, Orisons, Lucerne, St. Gall, Schaffhausen, Schweitz, Soleure, Tessin, Thurgau, Unterwalden, TTri. Pays de Taud, Zug, and Zurich. The republic of Valais was changed by a degree of Xapoleon, in 1810, into a French department ; and as early as 1806, he granted Neufchatel (which had been ceded to him by Prussia, but which was under the protection of Switzerland,) to general Berthier, as a sovereign prin- cipality. Napoleon assumed the title of ' mediator of Switzerland ; ' and the mili- tary service required of the Swiss became more and more oppressive. It was only by great firmness and the sacrifice of im- mense sums of money, that most of the can- tonal governments could avert greater op- pression ; they were obliged to adopt the continental system ; and the canton of Tes- sin was long garrisoned by French troops. In 1813, when the theatre of war ap- proached Switzerland, France permitted the Swiss to maintain their neutrality : but the allies expressed themselves am- biguously, and large armies were soon marched through the country, in various directions, to France. Theirarrival excited a fermentation in many quarters. The act of mediation was annulled, December 29, 1813, at Zurich ; and several cantons, of which Berne was the first, laboured to rerive their old constitutions. Through the influence of the allied monarchs, the cantons were finally prevailed on to assem- ble a general council ; but revolutions and counter-revolutions agitated several of the cantons. A diet was at length assembled at Zurich, and new articles of confedera- ion were agreed upon by nineteen cantons. SeptemboT 18, 1814. They resembled tb. old federal pact in many respects. Tlii^ confederacy was acknowledged by the con- gress of Vienna. The bishopric of Ba.'^li , with Bienne, was given to the canton of Heme, excepting the district of Birseck, which fell to Basle, and a small portion which fell to Neufchatel. The former re- lations of the latter place to Prussia werr restored, and, w ith Geneva and the Valais, it joined the confederacy of the Swiss can- tons, ni.aking their number twenty-two. August 7, 1815, the comp.act of Zurich was publicly and solemnly adopted, after the deputies of the confederacy at Vienna h.ad given in their accession to the acts of the congress of Vienna, so far as they re- lated to Switzerland. Soon after, Switzer- land became a member of the holy alliance. But the political state of the Swiss cantons, as settled by the congress of Vienna, and jealously watched by the holy alliance, gave rise to much disaffection in the great bfidy of the people. In this state of things tli' general demand forreform, in the electoral assemblies of Tessin (one of the small can- tons), compelled the council, June 18.';", to yield to the public voice, and establi.^li a system of direct elections, and of puTi- licity of proceedings in the great council, and to guarantee the liberty of the press, and the in\-iolability of persons, as parts of the constitution. This event, and tlie French revolution of July 1830, set the ex- amples for general risings in various parts of the country. In the new cantons tlie popular demands were generally so readily complied with as to prevent any serious disturbances, and the democratic cantons took hardly any part in the troubles ; but in the old aristocratic cantons, the opposi- tion was stronger and more systematic. Still, as many of the townspeople were favourable to more popular Institutions, the governments, even in these cantons, generally yielded, with little opposition, to the wishes of the citizens ; and in Friburg, Berne, Lucerne, Soleure, Schaffhausen, the revision of the constitution, the abolition of privileges, the extension of the right of election, abolition of censorship of the press, &c., were among the concessions to popular rights. From that period little occuiTed to dis- turb the general tranquillity of the country till 1S46, when a civil war broke out, tlie cause of which was as follows : — In the canton of Aargau, where the population is mixed, a portion of the catholics had risen, in 1840, in insurrection against the government ; and as it was found that the convents in that canton had instigated the rising, their suppression was decreed, and the revenues, after providing perma- nently for their inmates, appropriated to religious and charitable purposes. In the diet. Lucerne, the leading catholic can- ton, vigorously protested against this act, and the Argovians offered to restore the convents. But the catholic party was not satisfied. In the canton of Valais the clergy went so far as to refuse the sacraments to the members of Toung Switzerland, as the liberal party was named. C;i)e l^t'^torp of ^tot'tja-Ianlf. and even to their relatives, or the readers of tlieir journals. The Jesuits, elated with their triumph in the Valais, now became extremely active in the other catholic can- tons, and in 1844 they were formally invited to enter the canton of Lucerne, from which they had hitherto been excluded, to talie charge of tlie cantonal education. This led to civil dissension iu the canton : the expul- sion of the leaders of tlie anti-Jesuit party, and the invasion of it by free corpgfrom the adjacent cantons. Matters soon began to assume a more serious aspect. In the diet of 1844 the Argovian deputy had proposed the expulsion of the Jesuits from the con- federacy. He then met with no support ; but iu the diet of 1845 a majority voted for that measure. In 1846 Lucerne and six other catholic cantons formed what was termed the Sonderbund, or Separate Le.ague, an armed confederacy, in fact, in support of the cause of the Jesuits. This was voted to be Illegal by a majority of the diet ; and changes of government which took place immediately after in Berue, Geneva, and other places, having given more strength to the anti-Jesuit party, the expulsion of that society, with the dis- solution of the Sonderbund, was resolved on by the diet. But as the catholic can- tons, relying on Austria and on France for support, refused compliance, it was re- solved to have recourse to arms. The troops of the diet, commanded by general Dufour, appeared before Frihurg, which opened its gates after a feeble resistance. The federal army then resumed its march, and soon reached the vicinity of Lucerne, where a surrender was made after one vigorous action at the adjacent village of Roth. The leaders of the Sonderbund took to Might, and the Jesuits were ordered to quit the canton within forty-eight hours. The remaining cantons sent m their sub- mission, and thus, through the vigour and rapidity of general Dufour's measures, the civil war was terminated without giving Austria or any other power a pretext for interference. In 1848, while Europe was convulsed by revolution, Switzerland en- joyed comparative tranquillity ; save that Neuf chiitel, which had hitherto belonged to Prussia, then shook off the foreign yoke, and was annexed to Switzerland. 755 In the year 185C it seemed for a time that a war between the federation and the king of Prussia was inevitable. On the 2nd of September a band calling themselves royal- ists under the count of Pourtales, seized the castle of Neufchatel, the seat of the government of the canton, and called on the people to support the authority of the king of Prussia, on whose behalf they had struck the blow. In an engagement with some federal troops who were sent against them, these royalists were defeated, twelve being killed and more than one hundred taken prisoners. Tiie federal council or- dered that the prisoners should he tried for high treason : the king of Prussia demanded that they should be unconditionally libe- rated, grounding his demand on his seig- norial riglits over Neufchatel. It seems that in 1707 the states of Neufchatel trans- ferred their allegiance to the house of Brandenburg. In 1814 Neufchatel was ad- mitted into the Swiss confederation, but in 1815 the rights of the king of Prussia were recognised and conflrmcd by the congress of Vienna. In 1848 the people determined to assimilate themselves wholly to the other members of the confederation, and disputed the Prussian claims, which, how- ever, were again recognised by the five powers in 1852; and so matters continued until this attemi>t of the royalists in 18.i6. The federal council, although urged by Austria, Bavaria, and Baden, refused to comply with the Prussian demand. On ex- plaining the state of the case to the French emperor, the latter advised them to re- lease the prisoners, and showed great irri- tation when his advice was rejected, and warned Switzerland that henceforth she could hardly expect much assistance from France. la April 1857, a treaty of media- tion was concluded by which the king of Prussia gave up for ever all rights of so- vereignty over Neufchatel and Valengiu for the solid consideration of 1,000,000 francs to be paid by the federation. The king had also the consolation of being per- mitted to style himself prince of Neuf- chatel and Valengiu, under the express ad- mission that the title was never to be made the basis of any political claim. THE HISTORY OF ITALY. liEFORE Rome had absorbed all the vital pnwcr of Italy, tills country was thickly inhabited, and for the most part, by civi- lised nations. In the north of Italy alone, which offered the longest resistance to the Romans, dwelt the Gauls. Farther south, on the Amo and the Tiber, a number of small tribes, such as the Etrusci, the Sam- nltes, and Latins, endeavoured to And safety by forming confederacies. Less closely united, and often hostile to each other, were the Greek colonies of Lower Italy, called Magna Grecia. Italia did not become the general name of this country until the age of Augustus. It had been early imperfectly known to the Greeks under the name of Hesperia. Aiisonia, Safurnia, and (Enotria, were also names applied by them to the southern part, with which alone they were at first acquainted. The name Italia was at first merely a partial name for the southern ex- tremity, until it was gradually extended to the whole country. The modern history of Italy begins with the fall of the western empire. Romulus Augustus, its last feeble emperor, was de- throned by his German guards. Odoacer, tlieir leader, assumed the title of kino of Itiily, and thus this country was separated from the Roman empire. But this valiant barharian could not communicate a spirit of independence and energy to the degene- rate Italians; nothing but an amalgama- tion with a people in a state of nature could effect their regeneration. Such a people already stood on the frontiers of Italy. Tiieodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, in- stigated by Zeno, emperor of the East, overthrew the kingdom of Odoacer, in 493, and reduced all Italy. His Goths spread from the Alps to Sicily. In the lagoons of the Adriatic alone, some fugitives, who had fled from the devastations of Attila, maintained their freedom. Theodoric, who combined the vigour of the north with the cultivation of the south, is justly termed the Great. But the energy c.f his people soon yielded to Roman corrup- tion. Totila, for ten years, contested in vain the almost completed conquest with the military skill of Belisarius. He fell in battle in 552; after which Italy was an- nexed to the eastern empire, under an ex- arch, who resided at Ravenna. But the first exarch, Narses, sunk under the in- trigues of the Byzantine court, and his successor neglected the defence of the p-a.^ses of the Alps. The country was then invaded by the Lombards, who, under Al- boin, their chief or king, conquered the territory which afterwards received its name from them. The kingdom of the Lombards Included Upper Italy, Tuscany, and TTmbrIa, Alboln also created the duchy of Benevento in Lower Italy. The whole of Lombardian Italy was divided into thirty great fiefs, under dukes, counts, &c., wlilch soon be- came hereditary. Together with the new kingdom, the confederation of the fugitives in the lagoons still subsisted in undisturbed freedom. The islanders, ))y the election of their first doge Analesto, in 697, established a central government, and the republic of Venice was founded. Ravenna, the seat of the exarch, with Romagna, the Pentapolis, or the five mari- time cities (Rimini, Pisaro, Fano, Siniga- glia, and Ancona), and almost all the coasts (if Lower Italy, where Amalfl and Gaeta had dukes of their own, of the Greek na- tion, remained unconquered, together with Sicily and the 'capital, Rome, which was governed by a patrician in the name of the emperor. The slight dependence on the court of Byzantium disappeared almost en- tirely in the beginning of the eighth cen- tury, when Leo, the Isaurian, exasperated the orthodox Italians by his assault of im- ages. The cities expelled his olficers, and chose consuls and a senate, as in ancient times. Rome acknowledged, not indeed the power, but a certain paternal autho- rity of its bishops, even in secular affairs, in consequence of the respect which their holiness procured them. The popes, in their efforts to defend the freedom of Rome against the Lombards, forsaken by the court of Byzantium, generally had recourse to the Frankish kings. In consideration of the aid expected against king Astolphus, pope Stephen III., in 753, not only anointed Pepin, who in the preceding year had been made king of the Franks, with the approbation of pope Za- charias, but with the assent of the munici- pality of Rome, appointed him patrician, as the imperial governor had hitherto been denominated. Charlemagne made war upon Desiderius, the king of the Lombards, in defence of the Roman church, took him prisoner In his capital, Pavia, united his empire with the Frankish monarchy, and eventually gave Italy a king in his son Pe- pin. But his attempts against the duchy of Benevento, the independence of which was maintained by duke Arichis, against the republics in Lower Italy, where Naples, Amalfl, and Gaeta, in particular, had be- come rich by navigation and commerce, were unsuccessful. The exarchate, with the five cities, had already been presented to the pope by Pepin, in 756, and Charle- magne confirmed the gift ; but the secular supremacy of the popes was not completed until the pontificate of Innocent III., about the year 1200. Their rank, however, among ULlft W^tatv at Italy. 757 the ecclesiastics of the west, and the tem- poral pciwer now acquired, gave tliem an asct'iidancy over the clergy and laity in Euroiio, which they tailed not to improve until tlioy were acknowledged as the in- fallible heads of the church. Leo III. bestowed on the king of the Franks, on Cliristmas-day, A. D, 800, the imperial crown of the west, which needed a Charlemagne to raise it from nothing. But dislike to the Pranks, whose conquest was looked upon as a new invasion of bar- barians, united the free cities, Rome ex- cepted, more closely to the eastern empire. Even during the lifetime of Charlemagne, Prankish Italy was given to his grandson Bernard ; who, however, having attempted to become independent of his uncle, Louis the Dcbonnaire, was deprived of the crown, and had his eyes torn out. Italy now remained a constituent part of the Frankisli monarchy, till the partition of Verdun, which took place in 843; when it was allotted, with the imperial dignity, and what was afterwards called Lorraine, to Lothaire I., eldest son of Louis. Lo- thaire left the government to his son Louis IL, the most estimable of the Italian princes of the Oarlovingian line. After his death, in 875, Italy became the apple of discord to the whole family. Charles the Bald, of Prance, first took possession of it; and after his death Carloman, king of Bavaria; who was succeeded, in 880, by his brother Charles the Pat, king of Suabia, who united the whole monarchy of the Franks for the last time. His dethronement, in 887, was the epoch of anarchy and civil war in Italy. Beren- garius, duke of Priuli, and Guide, duke of Spoletio O^csides the marquis of Ivrea, the only ones remaining of the thirty great vassals), disputed the crown between them. Guido was crowned king and em- peror, and after his death (894), his son Lambert. Arnold, the Carlovingian king of the Germans, enforced his claims to the royal and imperial crown of Italy (896), but, like most of his successors, was able to maintain them only during his residence In the country. After the death of Lambert and Arnold, Louis, king of Lower Burgundy, became the competitor of Berengarius I. ; and this bold and noble prince, although crowned king in 894, and emperor in 895, did not enjoy quiet till he had expelled the emperor Louis III. and vanquished another compe- titor, Rodolph of Upper Burgundy : he was even then unable, on account of the feeble condition of the state, to defend the king- dom effectively against theinvasions of the Saracens and the Hungarians. After the assassination of Berengarius, in 924, Rodolph II. relinquished his claims to Hugh, countof Provence, in exchange for that country. Hugh sought to strengthen the insecure throne of Italy by a bloody tyranny. His nephew, Berengarius, mar- quis of Ivrea, fled from his snares to Otlio the Great, of Germany, assembled an army of fugitives, returned and overthrew Hugh in 945. Hugh was succeeded by his son Luthaire. Berengarius became his first counsellor. But, after the death of Lo- thaire, in 950, (poisoned, it was said, by Berengarius), the latter wished to compel his widow — the beautiful Adelaide— con- trary to her inclination, to marry his son. Escaping from the prison to which he had consigned her, she took refuge in the castle of Canossa, where she was besieged by Be- rengarius II. She now applied for aid to Otho I., king of Germany, who passed the Alps, liberated her, conquered Pavia, be- came king of tlie Franks and Lombards, and married Adelaide. To a prompt submission, and the cession of Priuli, (the key of Italy), which Otho gave to his brother Henry, Berengarius was indebted for permission to reign as the vassal of Otho. But the nobles of Italy preferring new complaints against him, ten years after, Otho returned in 961, deposed him, and led him prisoner to Bamberg ; and, after having been himself crowned king of Italy with the iron crown, in 961, united this kingdom with the Ger- man. Otho gave the great imperial flefs to Germans, and granted to the Italian cities privileges that were the foundation of a free constitution, for which they soon became ripe. The growing wealth of the papal court, owing to the munificence of the French kings, which had promoted their influence on the government, so beneficial under Leo IV. and popes of a similar character, became, through the corruption of the Roman court in the tenth century, tlie first cause of its decline. The clergy and the people elected the popes according to the will of the consuls and a few patri- cians. Alberic of Camerino, and his son Octavian, were absolute masters of Rome, and the last was pope, under the name of John XII., when twenty years of age. Otho the Great, whom he had crowned emperor in Rome, in 962, deposed him, and chose Leo VIII. in his stead ; but the people, jealous of its right of election, chose Be- nedict V. Prom this time, the popes. Instead of ruling the people of Rome, became depen- dent on them. In Lower Italy, the re- publics of Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfl still defended their independence against the Lombard duchy of Benevento, with the more ease, since the duchy had been di- vided, in 839, between Siconolphus of Sa- lerno and Radelghisius of Benevento, and subsequently among a great number, and since, with the dukes, they had had a com- mon enemy in the Saracens, who had been previously invited over from Sicily by both parties (about 830), as auxiliaries against each other, but who had settled and main- tained themselves in Apulia. The emperors Louis II. and Basilius Macedo had, with combined forces, broken the power of the Mussulmans ; the former was, neverthe- less, unable to maintain himself in Lower Italy, but the Greeks, on the couti'ary, gained a firmer footing, and formed, of tlie regions taken from the Saracens, a sepa- rate province, called the Thema of Lom- tiardy, which continued under their do- minion, though without prejudice to the 3T 758 m^e Crcatfury of W^tax^, Sec, liberty of the republics, upwards of a Imn- dri'd years, being govenu'il by a eatapau {or povcrnor-gcneral) at ISari. Otlio tlio Groat liiraself did not succeed In driving tliem altogether from Italy. The marriage of his son, Otho II., with the Greek prin- cess Theophani.a, put an end to his exer- tions for this purpose, as did the unfortu- nate battle at Basentello to the similar attempts renewed by Otho II. (980). In opposition to the designs of the count of Tusculuni, who wished to supplant the absent emperor at Rome, a noble Roman, the consul Crescentius, in 980, attempted to govern Rome under the semblance of her ancient liberty. Otho II., king since 973, occupied with his projects of conquest in Lower Italy, did not interfere with this administration, which became formidable to the Ticious popes Boniface VII. and John XV. But when Otho HI., who had reigned in Germany since 983, raised his kinsman Gregory V. to the popedom, Cres- centius caused the latter to be expelled, and John XVI., a Greek, to be elected by the people. He also endeavoured to place Rome again under the nominal supremacy of the i3yzantine empire. Otho, however, reinstated Gregory, besieged Crescentius in the castle of St. Angelo, took him prisoner, and caused him to be beheaded, with twelve other noble Romans, a.d. 99S. But the Romans again threw oft their allegiance to the emperor, and yielded only to force. On the death of Otho III. ano2), the Italians considered their connection with the German empire as dissolved. Harduin, marjuis of Ivrea, was elected king, and crowned at Pavia. This was a sufflcient motive for Milan, the enemy of Pavia, to declare for Henry II. of Germany. A civil ■w.ar ensued, in which every city, relying on its walls, took a greater or less part. Henry was chosen king of Italy by the nobles assembled in Pavia ; but distur- b.ances arose, in which a part of the city was destroyed by Are (A.D. 1004). Not till after Harduin's death, which occurred in 1015, was Henry recognised as king by all Lombardy. He was succeeded by Con- rad II. At the diet held at Roncaglia, near Pla- cenza in 1037, Conrad made the flefs here- ditary by a fundamental law of the em- pire, "and endeavoured to give stability and tranquillity to the state, but without suc- cess. The cities (which were daily becom- ing more powerful) and the bishops were engaged in continual quarrels with the nobility, and the nobility with their vas- sals, which could not be repressed. Republican Rome, under the influence of the family of Crescentius, could be re- duced to obedience neither by Henry II. and Conrad II., nor by the popes. Wlien Henry III., the sou and successor of Con- rad, entered Italy in 1040, he found three popes in Rome, all of whom he deposed, appointed in their stead Clement II., and ever after filled the papal chair, by his own authority, with virtuous German ecclesi- astics. This reform gave the popes new consequence, which afterwards became fatal to hl9 successor. Henry died in 1030. During the minority of his son Henry IV. the policy of the popes, directed by Hilde- brand, (afterwards Gregory VII.) succeeded In creating an opposition, which soon be- came formid.able to the secular power. The Norm.ans also contributed to this result. As early as 1016, warriors from Normandy had established themselves in Calabria and Apulia. Allies sometimesof the Lorn Ijards, sometimes of the republics, sometimes of the Greeks against each other and against the Saracens, they constantly became more powerful by petty wars. The great prepa- ration of Leo IX. for their expulsion termi- nated in his defeat and capture (1053). On the other hand, Nicolas II. united with the Norman princes, and, in 1059, invested Robert Guiscard with all the territories conquered by him In Lower Italy. Prom that time, the pope, in his conflicts with the Imperial power, relied on the support of his faithful vassal, the duke of Apulia and Calabria, to which Sicily was soon added. While the small states of the south were thus united into one large one, the kingdom in the north was dissolving into smaller states. The Lombard cities were laying the foundation of their future im- portance. Venice, Genoa, and Pisa were already powerful. In the small republics of the north of Italy, the government was, in most cases, divided between the consuls, the lesser council, the great council, and the popular assembly. Petty feuds developed their youthful energies. Such were those that terminated with the destruction of Lodi by Milan, in 1111, and the ten years' siege of Como, by the forces of all the' Lombard cities, which lasted from 1118 to 1128. The subjugation of this city rendered Milan the first power in Lombardy, and most i>f the neighbouring cities were her allies. Others formed a counter-alliance with her antagonist, Pavia. Disputes between Milan and Cremona were the occasion of the flr^t war between the two unions (1129), to which the contest of Lothaire II. and Conrad of Hohenstaufen for the crown soon gave another direction. This was the origin of the Ghibelines (favourers of the emperor), and the Guelfs (the adherents of the fa- mily of the Guelfs, and, in general, the party of the popes). In Rome, the love of liberty, restrained by Gregory VII., rose in proportion as his successors ruled with less energy. The schisms between Gelasius II. and Gregory VIII., Innocent II., and Anacletus II., re- newed the holies of the Romans. Arnold of Brescia, formerly proscribed for his vio- lent attacks against the luxury of the clergy in that country, was their leader. After eight years, Adrian IV. succeeded in effecting his execution. Frederick I. of Hohenstaufen (called Bar- barossa) crossed the Alps six times, in order to defend his possessions in Italy against the republicanism of the Lorab.ard cities. Embracing the cause of Pavia, as the weaker, he devastated the territory of Mi- lan, and was crowned in Pavia and Rome. Clje W^tavQ 0f JEtalg. 759 In 1158, he reduced Milan, demolished the fortiflcatlons of Piacenza, and held a diet at Ronraglla, where he extended the im- Iiorial prerogatives conforiuably with the Justinian code, gave the cities chief ma- Ristrates, and ijroclalmed a general peace. His rigour having excited a new rebellion, he reduced Cremona to ashes, compelled Milan to submission, and having driven out all the inhabitants, demolished the forti- fications. .When the emperor entered Italy in 1163, without an army, the cities concluded a union for maintaining their freedom, which, in lli;7, was converted Into the Lombard confederacy. The confederates restored Milan, and, to hold in check the Ghibeline city of Pavia, built a new city, called, in honour of the pope, Alessandria. Neither Frederick's governor. Christian, arclibishop of Mentz, nor he himself, could effect any- thing against the confederacy ; the former failed before Ancona, with all the power of Ghibeline Tuscany ; and the latter, before Alessandria. He was also defeated by Milan, at Legnano, in 1176. He then concluded a coucordate with Alexander III., and a truce with the cities of Venice, and a peace, which secured their independence, at Con- stance (1183). The republics retained the podestd (foreign noblemen, now elected by themselves) as judges and generals. As formerly, all were to take the oath of fealty and allegiance to the emperor. But, instead of strengthening their league into a perma- nent confederacy (the only safety for Italy), they were soon split into new factions, when the designs of the Hohenstaufen on the throne of Sicily drew Frederick and Henry VI. from Lombardy. During the minority of Frederick II., and the disputes for the succession to the Ger- man throne. Innocent III., who was Fre- deiick's guardl.an, succeeded in reestablish- ing the secular authority of the holy see in Home and the surrounding country, and in enforcing its claims to the donations of Charlemagne and Matilda. He also brought over almost all Tuscany, except Pisa, to the party of the Guelfs. A blind hereditary hatred, rather than a real for the cause, in- spired the parties ; for when Otho IV. as- cended the Imperial throne, the Guelfs became his party, and the Ghibeliues the pope's ; but the reversion of the imperial throne to the house of Hohenstaufen, In the person of Frederick II., soon restored the ancient relations. In Florence, this party-spirit gave pre- tence to the disputes of the Buondelmonti and Donati with the Uberti and Amadei, originating in private causes; and most cities were thus internally divided into Guelfs and Ghibelines. The Guelf cities of Lombardy renewed the Lombard confede- racy, in 1226. The Dominican, John of VI- cenza, attacked these civil wars; but his attempt to obtain secular power in Vlcenza occasioned his fall. After the emperor had returned from his crusade, in 1230, lie waged war, with varying success, against the cities and against Gregory IX., heedless of the excommunication ; while Ezzelin di Ro- mano, under the pretence of favouring the Ghibelines, established, by every kind of violence, his own power in Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and the neighbourhood. The plan of Gregory IX., to depose Fre- derick, was successfully executed by Inuo cent IV., in the council of Lyons (1245). This completely weakened the Ghibeline party, which was already nearly undermined by the Intrigues of the mendicant orders. The Bolognese united all the cities of Italy in a Gucif league, and in 1249, took Enzius prisoner, whom they never released. In the Trevlsan Mark alone, the Ghibelines possessed the supremacy, by means of Ezzelin, till he fell before a crusade of all the Guelfs against him, in 1255. But these contests were fatal to liberty; the house Delia Scala followed that of Uomano in the dominion ; and Milan itself, with a great part of Lombardy, found masters in the house of Delia Torre. Tyrants everywhere arose ; the maritime republics and the re- public of Tuscany alone remained free. After Cliarles I. of Anjou had become, by the favour of the pope, king of Naples, sena- tor of Rome, papal vicar of Tuscany, and had directed his ambition to the throne of Italy (a policy in which his successors per- severed), the names of Guelfs and Ghibelines acquired a new signification. The former denoted the friends, the latter the enemies, of the French. To these factions were added in the republics, the parties of the uobility and the people, the latter of which was al- most universally victorious. The honest exertions of Gregory X. (who died 1276) to establish peace, were of no avail ; those of Nicholas III.,who feared the preponderance of Charles, were more efllcient; but Martin IV., servilely devoted to Charles, destroyed everything which had been effected, and per- secuted the Ghibelines with new animosity. A different interest— that of trade and navigation— impelled the maritime repub- lics to mutual wars. The Genoese assisted Michael Pateologus, in 1261, to recover Constantinople from the Venetians, and re- ceived in return Cliios ; at Meloria, they annihilated the navy of the Pisans, and completed their dominion of the sea by a victory over the Venetians at Curzola, which took place in 1298. Florence ren- dered its democracy complete by the pu- nishment of all the nobles, and strength- ened the Guelf party by wise measures ; but a new schisin soon divided the Guelfs in Florence and all Tuscany into two fac- tious— the Neri (Black) and Bianchi (White). The latter were almost all expelled by the intrigues of Boniface VIII., and joined the Ghibelines. In Lombardy, freedom seemed to have expired, when the people, weary of the everlasting feuds of their tyrants, rose in most of the cities, and expelled them. Henry VII., the first emperor who had appeared in Italy for sixty years (1310), re- stored the princes to their cities, and found general submission to his requisitions, peace among the parties, and homage to the empire. Florence alone undertook the glorious part which she so nobly sustained for two centuries, as the guardian of Ita- lian freedom ; she chose Robert of Naples, the enemy of Henry, her protector for five 760 Clje CrcaSuru af l^ijStore, &c. years, and remained free while the other parts of the kingdom were divided intofac- liuns and destroyed by intestine wars. Ill Kao, John, king of Bohemia, suddenly entered Italy. Invited by the inhabltauts of Hrescia, favoured by the pope, elected lord of Lucca, everywhere acting the part of a mediator and peacemaker, he would have succeeded in establishing the power atwliich he aimed, had he not been opposed by the Florentines. On his second expe- dition to Italy in 1333, Azzo Visconti, Mar- tiiio della Scala, and Robert of Naples, united against him and his ally, the paial legate, Bertrand of Polet, who aspired to the dominion of Boloeiia. After the down- fall of both in 1.334, when the Tepoli began to rule in Bologna, Martino delhi Scala be- came master of half Lombardy. Florence led the opposition against him, and excited a war of the league, in which it gained no- thing but the security of its liberty. In Rome, Cola Rienzl, in 1347, sought to restore order and tranquillity; he was ap- pointed tribune of the people, but was forced, after seven months, to yield to the nobility. Having returned, after seven years of banishment, with the legate cardinal Albornoz, he ruled again a short time, and at length was murdered in an insurrection. The Genoese, tired of the perpetual disputes of the Ghibeline Spinolas and Dorias with the Guelf Grimaldi and Fieschi, banished all these families in 1339, and made Simon Boccanegra their first doge. In 1347 Italy suffered by a terrible famine, and a still more terrible pestilence in the year following, which swept away two thirds of the population. No less terrible was the scourge of the bande (bandittil, or large companies of soldiers, who, after every peace, continued the war on their own ac- count, ravaging the whole country with fire and sword. Pope Innocent VI. succeeded in conquer- ing the whole of the states of the church, by means of the cardinal legate, Bgidius Albornoz (1354-60); but, reduced to ex- tremities by the oppressions of the legates, and encouraged by Florence, the conquered cities revolted in 1375. The cruelties of car- dinal Robert of Geneva (afterwards Clement VII), and of his band of soldiers from Bretagne, produced only a partial subju- gation ; and the great schism, the freedom of these cities, or rather the power of their petty tyrants, was fully confirmed. The Visconti, meanwhile, persisting in their schemes of conquest, arrayed the whole strength of Italy in opposition to them, and caused the old factions of Guelfs and Ghibelines soon to be forgotten in the impending danger. Genoa submitted to John Visconti, who had purchased Bologna from the Pepoli in 1350 ; but his enterprise against Tuscany failed through the resist- ance of the confederated Tuscan republics. Another league against him was concluded by the Venetians with the petty tyrants of Lcmibardy. But the union of the Floren- tines with the Visconti against the papal legates continued but a short time. In Florence, the Guelfs were divided into the parties of the Ricci and the Albizzi. The sedition of the Ciompl to which this gave rise, was quelled by Michael di Lando, who had been elected gonfalonlere by them- selves, in a way no less manly than disin- The Venetians, Irritated with Carrara, on account of the assistance he had given the Genoese in the war at Chiozza (1379), looked quietly on while John Galeazzo Vis- conti deprived the Delia Scala and Carrara of all their possessions ; and Florence alone assisted the unfortunate princes. Francis Carrara made liimself again master of Padua, in 1390, and maintained his advan- tages, till he sunk under the enmity of the Venetians (1406), who, changing their po- licy, became henceforth, instead of the op- ponents, the rivals of the ambitious views of the Visconti. In 1395, John Galeazzo obtained from the emperor Wenceslaus the investiture of Milan as a duchy, purchased Pisa (which his natural son Gabriel bargained away to Florence, 1405), from the tyrant Gerard of Appiano (who reserved only the principa- lity of Piombino), and subjugated Sienna, Perugia, and Bologna; so that Florence, fearfully menaced, alone stood against him in the cause of liberty. On his death, in 1402, the prospect brightened, and during the minority of his sons, a great portion of his states was lost. When Ladislaus of Naples, taking advantage of the schism, made himself master of all the ecclesias- tical states, and threatened to conquer all Italy, Florence again alone dared to resist him. But this danger was transitory ; the Visconti soon rose up again in opposition. Duke Philip Maria reconquered all hij states of Lombardy, by means of the great Cannagnola (1416-20). Genoa also, which was sometimes given up, in nominal free- dom to stormy factions (of the Fregosi, Adorni, Montalto, Guarco), and at other times was subject to France, or to the marquis of Montferrat, submitted to him (1421). Florence subsequently entered into an alliance against him with the Venetians (1425) ; and by means of Carmagnola, who had now come over to them, they conquer- ed the whole country as far as the Adda, and retained it in the peace of Ferrara (1428). After Milan had been enfeebled by the Venetians and Florentines, and while Al- phonso of Arragon was constantly disturbed in Naples, by the Anjou party, no dangerous predominance of power existed in Italy, though mutual jealousy still excited fre- quent wars, in which two parties among the Italian mercenary soldiers, the Bracheschl and the Sforzeschi, continued always hos- tile to each other, contrary to the custom of those mercenary bands. After the ex- tinction of the Visconti, in 1447, Francis Sforza succeeded in gaining possession of the Milanese state. The Venetians, who aimed at territorial aggrandisement, having formed a connection with some princes against him, he found an ally in Florence, w'hich, with a change of circumstances, wisely altered her policy. About this time, the family of the Medici attained to power in that city by their wealth and talent. Cijc W^tav^ at Italy. 761 Milan, where the Slorza had established themselves ; Veuice, which possessed half of Lombardy ; Florence, wisely managed by Lorenzo Medici; the states of the church, for the most part restored to the holy see ; and Naples, which was incapable of employ- ing its forces in direct attacks on other states, constituted, in tbefifteeiith century, the politioal balance of Italy, which, during the manifold feuds of these states, per- mitted no one to become dangerous to the independence of the rest, till 1494, when Charles VIII. of France entered Italy to coiKjuer Naples, and Louis Moro Sforza played the part first of his ally, then of his enemy, while the pope, Alexander VI., eagerly sought the friendship of the French, to promote the exaltatiou of his son, Cssar Borgia. A long succession of military contests now took place, which were chiefly excited by invasions from Germany, or by the ef- forts of party leaders at home to usurp power over the free cities ; but we must pass by these, and merely observe that the Medici family ultimately succeeded in es- tablishing their sway. The brief tranquil- lity of Italy, however, was soon destined to be disturbed by the grasping ambition of the warlike pope, Julius II., who completed the subjugation of the statesof the church, not, indeed, for a son or nephew, but in the name of the holy see, He concluded with Maximilian I., Ferdinand the ("HtboUc, and Louis XII., the league of Cuiubny (1508), against the ambitious policy of the Vene- tians, who succeeded in dissolving the league which threatened them with de- struction. The pope then formed a league with the Venetians themselves, Spain, and the Swiss, for the purpose of driving the Fi-ench from Italy. This holy league did not, however, then attain its object, al- though Julius was little affected by the French and tierman council held at Pisa to depose him. Maximilian Sforza, who had reacijuired Milan, relinquished it without reserve to Francis I., in 1515 ; but the emperor Charles V. assumed it as a reverted flef of the empire, and conferred it on Francisco Sforza, brother of Maximilian, in 1520. This was the cause of violent wars, in which the efforts of Francis were always unsuccessful. He was taken priscmer at Pavia, and, with his other claims, was compelled to renounce those on Milan, which remained to Sforza, and, after his death, was granted by Charles V. to his son Philip. The Medicean popes, Leo X. and Clement VII., were bent, for the most p.-trt, on the aggrandisement of their family. Charles V., to whom all Italy submitted after the battle of Pavia, frustrated, indeed, the attempts of Clement VII. to weaken his ro%ver, and conquered and pillaged Rome in 1527 ; but, being reconciled with the pope, he raised the Medici to princely authority. FUirence, incensed at the foolish conduct of Pietro towards B^rance, had banished the Medici in 1494, but recalled them in 1512 ; and was compelled to take a station among the principalities, under duke Alexander I. do Medici. Italian policy, of which Florence had hitherto been the soul, from this period is destitute of a common spirit, and the history of Italy is therefore destitute of a central point. After the extinction of the male branch of the marquises of Montferrat, Charles V. gave this country to Gonzaga of Mantua. Maximilian II. subsequently raised Mont- ferrat to a duchy. The Florentines failed (1537) in a new attempt to emancipate themselves, after the death of duke Alex- ander, who fell by the hands of an assassin. Cosmo 1. succeeded him in the government, by the influence of Charles V. Parma and Piacenza, which Julius II. had conquered for the papal see, Paul III. erected into a duchy, in 1545, which he gave to his natural son, Peter Alois Farnese, whose sou Ottairo obtained the imperial investiture in IS.'iO. Genoa, subject to the French since 1499, found a deliverer in Andrew Doria (1528). He founded the aristocracy, and the conspi- racy of Fiesco (1547) failed to subvert him. In 1553, besides Milan, Charles V. conferred Naples on liis son Philip II. By the peace of Chateau-Cambresis, in 1559, Philip II. and Henry II. of France renounced all their claims to Piedmont, which was restored to its rightful sovereign, duke Emmanuel Phi- libert of Savoy, the brave Spanish general. The legitimate male line of the house of Este became extinct in 1597, when the ille- gitimate Cajsaro of Este obtained Modena and Reggio from the empire, and Ferrara was confl.scated as a reverted flef by the holy see. In the second half of the six. teenth century, the prosperity of Italy was increased by a long peace, as much as the loss of its commerce allowed ; Henry IV. of France having, by the treaty of Lyons, ceded Saluzzo, the last French possession in Italy, to Savoy. The tranquillity conti- nued till the contest for the succession of Mantua and Montferrat, after the extinc- tion of the Gonzaga family (1627). Mis- fortunes in Germany compelled Ferdinand II. to confer both countries, in 1631, as a flef on Charles of Nevers, the protege of France, whose family remained in posses- sion till the war of the Spanish succession. In the peace of Chierasco 0631), Riche- lieu's diplomacy acquired also Pignerol and Casale— strong points of support, in ease of new invasions of Italy, though he had to relinquish the latter, in 1637. By the extinc- tion of the house Delia Rovera, the duchy of Ordino, with which Julius II. had invest- ed it, devolved, in 1631, to the papal see. In the second half of the seventeenth century, the peace of Italy was not inter- rupted, exceptnig by the attempts of Louis XIV. on Savoy and Piedmont, and appeared to be secured for a long time by the treaty of neutrality at Turin tl696), when the war of the Spanish succession broke out. Aus- tria having conquered Milan, Mantua, and Montferrat, retained the two first (for Mantua was forfeited by the felony of the duke), and gave the latter to Savoy. In the peace of Utrecht, Austria obtained Sar- dinia and Naples; Savoy obtained Sicily, which it exchanged with Austria for Sar- dinia, from which it assumed the royal title. Mont Genevre was made the houn- 3t2 762 (E^c Crra^urB at f^iiStDia, &r. dary bftwoeu France and Italy. Tlic house of Faniese becoming extinct in I7:il, tin? Spanish infant Charles obtained riLrniaaud Piacenza. In the war for the Polish throne, of 1773, Charles Knimanuel of Savoy, In alliance with France and Spain, conquered the Milanese territory, and received there- from, in the pe:ii-« of Vienna (17381, Novara and Tortona. Cliarlos, infant of Spain, be- came kiuf; of the Two Sicilies, and ceded Paruia and I'iacenza to Austria. The Medici of Florence, entitled, since 1575, grand-dukes of Tuscany, became ex- tinct lu 1737. Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine, now received Tuscany by the pre- liminaries of Vienna, and becoming empe- ror in 1743, made It the appanage of the younger line of the Austro-Lorraine house. In 1745, the Spaniards conquered Milan, but were expelled thence by Charles Emmanuel, to whom Maria Theresa ceded, in reward, some Milanese districts. Massa and Carrara fell to Modeua, in 1743, by right of inherit- ance. The Spanish infant, don Philip, conquered Parma and Plac side. This passed on Sunday tlie 19th March. For five days, since called the ' five days of Milan,' the struggle raged with little in- terruption ; but on the morning of Thurs- day, the 28th of March, the Austrian army withdrew from Milan : and the provisional government immediately issued an ener- getic proclamation, calling upon all Italians to join in the contest that had begun. The king of Sardinia at once responded to the call ; after some ' cov reluctant' delay. Pope Pius IX. and the king of Naples were forced, by the clamours of their respective subjects, to send a large force to the aid of the I insurgents. Cf)c W^taxQ al italg. 765 fleueral Pepe, the revolutionary hero of 1821, was appointed to the chief command. Tlie enthusiasm of the Neapolitans, indeed, knew no bounds. Brilliant reviews in the morning, patriotic songs and serenades in the evening, consumed the lirief space which Intervened before the first division of the army was in readiness to move. After some vexatious delays, 17,000 men at length left Naples for the Lombard war. They were to be followed speedily by 24,000 more. Pepe, in the meantime, proceeded by sea to Aucona, which had been fixed upon as the rendezvous of the Neapolitan forces, previous to the commencement of active operations. But in the midst of all these preparations, the Neapolitan cabinet had determined that the expedition should never reach its pretended destination. On joining the first division of his army at Ancona, Pepe was naturally eager to take part in the great struggle in Lombardy, wliich was tlien at the hottest. He quickly discovered, however, that the superior officers by whom he was surrounded had no intention to cross bayonets with the Aus- trians. Still he was in expectation of the second and larger division of his armj-, which might be more patriotically disposed. This second division, however, never ap- peared, and was never intended to appear. After some delay. Instead of the expected aid, there came a peremptory order from Naples, recalling the whole of the troops under Pepe's command to protect the ca- pital against the disafEected within its walls. Meanwhile, fortune had hitherto smiled upon the arms of the king of Sardinia. After the ' five days' of Milan, the Austrian commander bad prudently fallen back upon the great fortresses of Mantua and Verona, with the double object of providing for the safety of his troops, and of waiting the arrival of reinforcements. In his front he had the main army of the king of Sardinia, flushed with its past successes, and far outnumbering the imperial force. In his rear, the papal army, under Durando, lay at Vicenza : while on every side a hostile population was ready to intercept his supplies and impede his operations. Such was tho position of affairs in the end of May. But all these advantages were very shortly afterwards more than counter- balanced by the masterly operations of Ra- detsky to the eastward of the Adigc. Hav- ing received reinforcements under Weldeu to the amount of 35,000 men, he immediately commenced active operations, and the papal army, which occupied Vicenza, was the first object of attack. Thisenterprise, which was conducted with the utmost secresy and ex- pedition, was crowned with complete suc- cess. After a faint show of resistance, the Roman general surrendered, with nearly 20,000 men, on condition of their being allowed to recross the Po, with all the honours of war. The terms were granted by Badetsky ; and after the departure of the Roman troops, he was again sole master of the Venetian provinces, with the means of ready and uninterrupted communication with Austria Proper. The tide of victory had now fairly turned against the king of Sardinia, and his adversary, no less enter- prising than prudent, lost no time in fol- lowing up his tardy triumphs. Charles Albert had still under his command about 80,000 men. The numbers mider Radetsky, who now began to act on the offensive, were nearly as great, and much better supplied with al) the materiel of war. Under such circumstances, the chances of success in the open country were in favour of the Austrians. The Piedmontese, betrayed by the Neapolitans, and abandoned by the Romans, still fought bravely, but without any definite plan ; and after sustaining at least two serious defeats, Charles Albert re- tired precipitately upon his own dominions with the loss of fully one half of his army. He did not even, during his hasty retreat, attempt to defend Milan, which, after the lapse of four eventful months, again fell into the undisputed possession of the Aus- trians. Aformalarmistice was at the same time concluded ; and the mediation of the great powers was offered for the purpose of effecting a final arrangement, which might be beneficial both to Austria and Italy. After the retreat of Charles Albert, the Venetians, who had embarked with enthu- siasm in the war, were left almost entirely to their own resources ; but in their isola- tion they displayed a constancy and a spirit worthy the brightest days of the republic. The garrison, which was composed chiefly of volunteers, many of whom were members of the first families in Italy, not only de- fended the city throughout the autumn and winter of 1848, but they ventured to leave the shelter of the lagoons, and to attack the Austrian intrenchments on the main land. On the 27th of October, a descent was made upon Mestre, which proved eminently suc- cessful. Of 3,000 Austrians who were posted there, 600 were taken prisoners ; and an equal number were killed or wounded, while the loss of the Venetians was com- paratively small. Throughout the winter and the ensuing spring, the struggle still continued with equal obstinacy upon both sides, and with varying success. But a contest more im- portant than that in which Venice was so nobly engaged, was soon to attract the eyes of Europe. In the beginning of March 1849, it became apparent that a renewal of hostilities between Austria and Sardinia was inevitable. Charles Albert was still the master of 100,000 troops ; and with these he had resolved to strike another blow for the independence of Italy. It was a rash, but by no means a hopeless enterprise ; for Venice yet held out, and the whole popula- tion of Northern Italy was still burning to shake off the Austrian yoke, which galled the more severely after its temporary removal and its unlooked for return. Radetsky, indeed, was now at Milan, at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army ; and with the undisturbed possession of the German passes, he could obtain from the heart of the empire whatever supplies he might require. Regardless, however, of the now comparatively secure 766 (!ri)c CrraiSurs of ^tjltoru, ifc. position of his adversary, tlic kiiii? of Sar- dinia once more iiushcd forward to the frontiers of Lombardy witli tlie whole of his available force. At Novara the con- tending parties were nearly matched, num- bering upon either side about SO.OtW men. The combat was long and obstinate, but Austrian discipline at length prevailed. Throughout the day, Charles Albert, with his two sons, shared all the dangers of the field. The duke of Genoa had three horses killed under him ; and several of the royal Staff fell close to the person of the king. It was not until the b-ittle was irretrievably lost that he retired with reluctance, and still within range of the enemy's gtrns, upon Kovara. In the evening he called around him his chief attendants and his sons ; and having briefly explained his sentiments, he formally abdicated his crown in favour of the duke of Savoy. He then took an affectionate farert-ell of every one present, and departed alone in his travelling carriage, without a single attendant. Not one of his officers ■wa.5 permitted to share the solitude of his journey, nor "was anyone aware of his in- tended destination. In a few short months he found, in his voliuitary exile at Oporto, that death which he had sought In vain on the banks of the Ticino. With the second defeat of the Sardinian army, the cause of Italy was virtually lost. But the spirit of the people was still un- subdued. Even after this event, the citi- zens of Brescia, although threatened by Victorious Austrian armies upon every side, rose and expelled the garrison which oc- cupied their citadel. But general Haynau Boon afterwards with a large force reduced the city amid revolting barbarities. The fall of Brescia was speedily followed by that of Rome (whose stirring history during this eventful period has been told else- where) ; and the Sicilians, after a long but Ineffectual struggle, were once more re- duced to subjection. On the south of the Alps, throughout the summer of 1849, the cause of Italian nationality wasmaintained alone by Venice, and nobly did she uphold her ancient fame. Fraud and force proved equally unavailing to subdue her. But hunger and pestilence at length accomplished that which Austrian bayonets had failed to effect. Towards the middle of August, the supply of bread in the city became exhausted ; while, at the same time, the cholera was daily sweeping off 200 victims in a population of little more than 200,000. The ammunition, too, was nearly all expended ; but even under these desperate circumstances, without hope, and without an ally in the world, the Venetiansnever seemed to have entertained the notion of an unconditional surrender. Aware, however, that the resistance of the Ocean City had awakened the sympathies of Europe, the imperial authorities probably felt that some consideration was due to the opiniorfc of the age. After a brief corre- spondence with the provision d government, terms of a capitulation, higbly honourable to the besieged, were offered and accepted. The last act of the revolutionary drama had now closed, and the cause of Italian inde- pendence was once more laid low through- out the entire peninsula. But before many years should pass, the cause- was to rise again, with brigiiter prospects of permanent success. By the aid which she furnished to England and France during the Russian war, Sardinia took her place among the greater powers of Europe, and count Cavour knew well how to use this advantage to promote the independence of Italy. Before the close of the conference which settled the terms of the peace which put an end to the Russian war in March ls:>6, count Walewski called attention to the affairs of Italy, and expressed the wish of the French emperor to withdraw his troops from Rome, as soon as this could be done without injuring the tranquillity of the conntrj', or the authority of the pontifical government. He also dwelt on the infa- mous manner in which the kingdom of Naples and the Sicilies was governed, as being the chief cause of the revolutionary movements which continually disturbed the peninsula. Lord Clarendon, in rejily, recommended the secularisation of the papal government as the readiest way of meeting the Roman difficulty, and urged the necessity of demanding from the king of Naples an amnesty for those who had been condemned or imprisoned without trial for political offences. But the presence of Austria at the con- ference rendered it impossible to come to a conclusion likely to satisfy Sardinia : and on the 16th of April count Cavour ad- dressed to the British and French govern- ments a protest against the failure of the conference to settle the Italian question. He spoke of the disturbed state of Italy for the last seven years, during which a violent system of repression kept it in continual ferment. The agitation had been recently calmed, because it was hoped that the conference would remedy the evils com- plained of : and now, on the disappointment of that hope, it was likely that the commo- tions would break out with greater excite- ment thati ever. He further complained that Austria, by establishing a chain of fortresses had rendered herself absolute mistress of nearly all Italy, had destroyed the equilibrium established by the treaty of Vienna, and continually menaced Pied- mont. In a speech made subsequently in the Sardinian chamber, count Cavour said that a great point had been gained by in- ducing England and France to proclaim the expediency of putting an end to the occu- pation of Central Italy, and to declare more generally that the evils of Italy ought to be remedied. It was soon found that with the king of Naples and his ministers remonstrances, however friendly, were of no avail. They called forth simply an indignant assertion of the liberty of the sovereign to deal with his subjects as he pleased. The legations of France and England were accordingly withdrawn from Naples, while French squadrons were held in readiness to appear off Naples if the withdrawal of the aiubas- t!L\)e W^tavVi at Italg. 767 sailors should bo followed by any ill-treat- nuMit or injury to British and French sub- jects residins in that kingdom. Against this step (he king Issued an energetic protest, in which he asserted the doctrine that rulers had a right to govern their sub- jects according to their fancy ; and it is not easy to see how the proposition can be denied, if the converse is granted that sub- jects must be left to deal with their rulers, and retain or reject them at their pleasure. The inconsistency In this case was not greater than that which in 1854-55 refused to jiermlt the Greeks of EpirusandThessaly to rise up against the abominable tyranny of the Turks. But the condition of Italy was soon to undergo momentous changes ; and early in the year 1859 it became evident that the first impulse to the new movement would begin by a war between Austria and the allied forces of France and Sardinia. The first sign of the impending storm was given in the greeting of the French emperor to the Austrian ambassador when he went to the Tuileries on the 1st of January. The emperor regretted that his relations with the ambassador's government were not as good as they had been, but he expressed the same personal esteem for the Austrian emperor. The words naturally excited alarm throughout Europe : and the semi- official statements of the ' Moniteur 'were not of such a kind as effectually to allay it. Before the end of the month the relations of Sardinia with the French emperor were cemented by the marriage of prince Napo- leon with the princess Clotilde, then not sixteen years old, the only daughter of the king of Sardinia. Great efforts were made by Austria to secure the aid of the German confederation in case of a contest, while tlie Sardinian government published a strong protest against the attitude as- sumed by the Austrians in Italy ; and count Cavour in the Sardinian chambers ex- pressed his regret that England continued to preserve a cold neutrality with regard to the interests of Italy. But the British government, although it took no share in the struggle, exerted itself to the utmost to avert it, and for this purpose the Sardinian government was requested to specify ex- actly its grounds of complaint against Austria. This was ably done by count Cavour, who boldly admitted that the Aus- trian domination inspired nothing but feel- ings of repugnance and abhorrence in the Immense majority of the Italians who were subject to it, and that the latter felt for their rulers nothing but antipathy and hatred. These feelings he justified on the grounds of the intolerable oppressiveness and infamous cruelty of their rule, while he urged a separation on the plea that the Austrians were simply encamped, not es- tablished in Italy, and that the two nations, differing utterly in language, manners, and forms of thought, could never coalesce. He added further that Austria had never kept herself within treaty barriers, but had sought by every means to secure to herself a preponderating influence through- out the whole peninsula. The duchies of Parma, Jiodena, and Tuscany had practi- cally lii-coirie her flefs, and she had occupied till' Ko!ii:in states whenever she found a (■oiivciiicnt pretext for so doing. The re- medies whidi he proposed were, that Aus- tria should grant a national and separate government for Lombardy and Venetia ; that she should destroy the forts con- structed outside the walls of Placentia; and, giving up the occupation of the Ro- magna, proclaim the principle of non-in- tervention ; and further, that Che dukes of Modena and Parma should be urged to give their people institutions similar to those of Piedmont, while the grand duke of Tuscany should reestablish the constitu- tion to which he had freely consented In 1848, and the pope should give up the ad- ministration of his provinces beyond the Apennines. To this memorandum, Austria rejoined with a list of counter-complaints, urged at wearisome length, in which the stock arguments of conquerors were plenti- fully applied, and credit was taken for its interference in the Romagna, in order to guarantee to the pope the free exercise of his apostolic mission, and, of course, to preserve intact the independence of the spiritual head of the catholic church. Much correspondence continued to pass between the British and the other governments, In the course of which the former declared plainly that public opinion in England would not render It possible to assist Austria as against her own subjects, and count Buol urged on the other hand that Italy wanted no change, and that it was impossible Austria should ever come to an understanding with France on Italian affairs, inasmuch as she espoused the cause of nationalities, while Austria upheld that of sovereign governments and established order. On the 22nd of March, it was an- nounced in the ' Moniteur ' that Russia proposed the assembling of a congress, to which France had assented.* To such a meeting the Austrians made it an indis- pensable preliminary that Sardinia should disarm. Still the negotiations went on, until they were rendered useless by the obstinate rashness of Austria. On the 23rd of April an Austrian officer arrived In Turin, and called on Sardinia at once to disarm under threat of immediate hostili- ties if she refused. To this demand count Cavour replied by saying that the decision belonged to the congress rather than to Sardinia alone. On the day following, VictorEmmanuel called his soldiers to arms, in answer to the menacing insolence of Austria. The British government wrote in the strongest terms condemning this step of the Austrians, and adding that when this demand was made, Sardinia had ac- tually agreed unconditionally to disarm. In a special meeting of the Sardinian chamber-deputies, the king was intrusted with all legislative and executive powers, until such time as peace should be restored. On the 27th, the emperor of Austria an- nounced to his army the commencement of war, and two days later declared his deter- mination of invading Sardinia.whiie he sent a long paper to all foreign governments, 768 HS^e (inrtaSuri) of SjWtorg, ^c. Inwhlrh lip drpw an Ideal ricfnrf "f "'c woiuliTfiM pmspiTlty and liapiiinoss which the llaliaus were eiijuyiiisjuiuler thcbenlg- liaiil preteolioii of Austria. Ill Uonio there was naturally preat ex- rUenient, and some symptoms were shown of a wish (or revolution : but it was no part of tlie French emperor's intention to emhroil himself at present in that quarter, and Kcnernl de Goyon warned the Romans that no public manifestations would be permitted, however peaceable, and that any such manifestations would be followed by very disagreeable consequences to those who niade them. On the 27th of April a revolution broke out at Florence, where the grand duke, being thoroughly unpopu- lar, was advised by his friends to abdicate in favour of his son. He replied that he would rather lose his throne, and he lost it accordingly. On his flight, the people pro- claimed a provisional government, which on the 11th of May, handed over its func- tions to signer Buuncorapagni, a com- missioner appointed by the king of Sardi- nia, with the full consent of the people. From Parma, the duchess-regent fled on the 1st of May, but a few days afterwards she returned, to resume, as she said, the exercise of her regency. The appearances which had induced her to come were de- lusive, and once more she was obliged to leave Parma. But disdaining to fly as a fugitive like the duke of Tuscany, she withdrew openly and quietly into a neutral territory. Finally the duke of Modena, whose territory had on the outbreak of the w:ir been occupied by Sardinian troops, found himself obliged to leave his domi- nions ; and, having appointed a regency, he joined the duke of Tuscany in the Aus- trian camp. On the 29th of April, the Austrian army began to cross the Ticino, and it took five days to get all across at different parts of the river, until on the 8th of May the whole country north of the Poasfar as Biella and Cragliaon the north- west and the Dora Balea on the west were held by them almost without opposition. The French army was put in motion on the day on which Austria had sent her ultima- tum of disarmament or war to Sardinia : the eenerals were Baraguay d'Hilliers, Macma- hon, Canrobert, Niel, Prince Napoleon, and St. Jean d'Angely. Tlius was the cause of Italian independence committed to the de- cision of war, and the British government, while freely condemning both sides, de- clared, in language somewhat Inconsistent perhaps, with its acts in reference to the Greek subjects of the sultan, that it had always recognised as a sacred rule of inter- national obligation, that no country has a right authoritatively to interfere with in- ternal aflairs of any foreign state, or in the relations of any government with its sub- jects. On the 12th of May the French empe- ror reached Genoa, where he was joined the next day by Victor Emmanuel, who then re- turned to the head-ciuarters of the Sardi- nian army, while Louis Napoleon went on to Alexandria. The allied armies occupied the whole line of the Po, and left the Aus- trian commanders quite uncertain as to where the attack would be made. On the 20th of May count Stadion was Bent to make areconnoissance on the right bank of the river, and his troops crossed at Vac- carizza, near the junction of the Ticino and the Po, took Cortegglo and Montebello, which were held by Piedmontese troops: but as they pushed on towards Ginestrello, they were liiet by the French troops under gene- ral Forey, and Stadion was overwhelmed by fresh reinforcements which were brought up by railway from Voghera. In this battle of Montebello, the Austrians lost in killed and wounded about 1,400 men. Ths French emperor now sought most to deceive the Austrians as to the point of attack, and he succeeded. On the 30th of May the Pied- montese crossed the Leria and led the Aus- trians to think that the attack would be made on Mortara. The Austrian general determined, therefore, to fall on Palestro, which was guarded by troops under Victor Emmanuel in person. The Austrians were defeated here, as well as in an engagement which took place at the same time at Con- fienza. Meanwhile the French army had cros.sed the Po, and taken up Its position at Novara. Soon afterwards the Austrians withdrew to the left bank of the Ticino, and thus their invasion of Piedmont had come to nothing. On the 4th of June, a terrible hattle was fought at Magenta, near Buffalora, and after a doubtful combat of four hours, the issue was decided by the troops of marshal Macmahon, who was, after the battle, created duke of Magenta. On this signal defeat, the Austrians aban- doned Milan, and posted themselves in force at Malegnano, halfway between Milan and Lodi, in order to protect the retreat of their main body across the Adda. To pre- vent this, the French attacked them on the 8th of June, and in two hours, drove them out of the town. It was at this time that the name of Garibaldi became a watch- word for Italian soldiers. At the head of a band of volunteers calling themselves Chasseurs of the Alps, he drove the Aus- trians from Como, crossed the Leria, and again defeated them opposite to Vercelli. In the middle of June he engaged the Aus- trian vanguard at Rezzato and Triponti, and the latter were compelled to withdraw from Castenedolo, after blowing up the bridge over the Chiese at Montechiaro. After the defeat at Magenta, the Austrians retreated on the line of the Mincio, blow- ing up all the bridges In their retreat, and destroying the military works at Piacenza and PaVia, Lodi and Pizzighettone, which had thus been raised in vain for the pur- pose of overawing Italy. Finall.v, they made their stand within the lines of the Quadrilateral, a sort of square formed by the fortresses of Peschiera, Verona, Leg- nano, and Mantua. About this time the Prussian govern- ment expressed its opinion that the war presented no reason for the interference of the Germanic confederation, while count Walewski urged that such interference In a quarrel about Italian provinces would lead to the doctrine that the non-German provinces of Austria should be considered ULlft W^tartj of JEtalg. 769 as completely Incorporated in the Federal Union. On the 23rd of July the French emperor was at Montechlaro, the king of Sardinia at Lonato, when tliey were surprised by an unexpected move of the Austrians, who, instead of retreating further within the Quadrilateral, resolved suddenly to resume the offensive. Of this movement they were not aware until the 24th ; nor did the Aus- trlans know that the whole of the oppos- ing force had crossed the Chiese. Hence two armies, numbering altogether some 400,000 men, found themselves suddenly facing each other. Then ensued thefright- fnl battle of Solferino, a battle in which the hdirors of the flght were heightened by a fsarf ul thunder-storm which drenched the siildtors with rain, while it hid the movements of the armies. The Austrian centre was broken, and they themselves ac- knowledged, while they endeavoured to explain, their disastrous defeat. They then fell back on Verona, having left a strong force in Peschiera, which was shortly after invested by the Sardinians. But now, when the most difficult part of the contest, against an enemy entrenched within their own fortifications, was seemingly about to begin, it was suddenly announced that the two emperors had met at Villafranca, and agreed upon an armistice, which resulted in a peace. By the terms of the treaty, tlicy were to establish an Italian confedera- tion under the honorary presidency of the pope. It was also arranged that Austria should cede to France its rights over Lom- bavdy with the exception of the forts of Peschiera and Mantua, while Venice, al- though still remaining under the Austrian crown, should at the same time, in some way or other, form part of the Italian con- federation, and the dukes of Tuscany and Modena were to return to their states, granting a general amnesty. The reasons which led the emperor of France to this step was undoubtedly the fear that, by pressing Austria on its own ground, he would bring on himself the whole power of the Germanic confederation, or, in other words, that he would be engaged in a war not only in Italy but also on the Rhine. But his decisicm caused a desperate disap- pointment in Italy. The restoration of the dukes of Modena and Tuscany made the expulsion of the Austrians from Lomliardy appear merely temporary. The people of Florence declared resolutely that they would never allow themselves to be brought again under Austrian influence, and re- solved to appeal to Victor Emmanuel. A similar appeal was made by the people of the Romagna, which had revolted from the pope, and where the Sardinian troops had occupied Torre Urb.ano and Castelfranco. Against this the papal government had entered a furious and indignant protest, and appealed in their turn to the French emperor. To the requests addressed to him from Florence and the Romagna, Victor Emmanuel replied cautiously and prudently, but encouragingly, and on his recommendation, Buoncompagni, who had been extraordinary commissioner at Flo- rence, was appointed regent of the central Italian States. From the French emperor the pope received very cold consolation. The ' solution ' which he suggested for the unpleasant difficulty which had arisen, was the surrender of the revolted provinces. No doubt the rights of the pope were in- contestable ; but there remained the more stubborn fact that the people had no mind to return to their allegiance. The drama was, indeed, scarcely more than begun. The congress which Louis Napoleon sought to convene for settling the affairs of Italy never met. France had committed herself to therestoratioa of the dukes of Tuscany, Modena, and Parma : England was not less determined {perhaps because it was not altogether against her own interests) that the people of those states should be allowed to choose their own form of government. Yet further, there appeared towards the close of the year a pamphlet entitled Le Pape et le Cou- gris, which was attributed to the emperor of the French, and which urged the neces- sity of depriving the pope of all his tem- poral possessions, with the exception of the city of Rome ; and Austria, therefore, would have nothing more to do with the congress. The British government then proposed (1) that France and Austria should agree not to interfere by force in Italy, unless on the unanimous request of the Ave great powers ; {2) that the French em- peror should come to terms with the pope for the evacuation of Rome by the French troops ; (3) that the government of Venetia should not be made a matter of negotiation ; and (4) that the king of Sardinia should be advised not to send troops on to Central Italy, until the inhabitants should, by a new vote in their assemblies, have declared their wishes, whether for or against the annexaticm to Sardinia. In the former case the British government would inter- pose no obstacle to the march of the Sardi- nian armies. The French emperor himself now saw that his schemes could not be wholly carried out, and he therefore as- serted that he had never intended to bind himself to restore the Italian dukes at all risks, and he now proposed (1) the complete annexation of the duchies of Parma and Modena to Sardinia ; (2) the temporal admin- istration of the Romagna, of Ferrara and Bologna, with the king of Sardinia as vicar of the holy see ; (3) the Independent reesta- blishment of the grand duchy of Tuscany. To these proposals, count Cavoursald, that Sardinia would not object for herself, but he foresaw that they would be firmly rejected by'the people of Tuscany and the Romagna, and he admitted the impossibili- ty of resisting their wishes, if these should be for annexation with Sardinia : in fact, that no government could stand for a day which refused to carry out a desire thus ex- pressed. Only a few days passed before the people of these several states decided al- most unanimously for this annexation, and a bill, introduced into the Sardinian cham- bers to authorise it, speedily became law. Meanwhile, the other part of what would seem to have been a secret bargain before 3U 770 HLfft (Erea^urp of ^iStauj, &r. the war with Austria, wnscarrird out by the cession of S:ivoy and NIzza (Nice) to France. Tlie Frencli cuiperor put It on thcKronnd of a ' geographical necessity,' for tlie safety of his frontier, and left the matter to the issue of votes given by universal suffrage ; while count favour fouudit convenient to say that the Inhabitants must be allowed to determine the question for themselves. It was of course answered in the afDrmative hy an almost unanimous vote : but it was notorious that French agents and emissa- ries had been sedulously at work, and the vote in fact was not free. The most strenu- ous opposition came from the Swiss con- federation, which maintained that by this cession the neutrality of the provinces of Chahlais and Faucigny would be violated. Much complicated correspondence passed between the federation and the Sardinian government on the subject : but in the end the former was constrained to content itself with a solemn protest against the annexation, and a refusal to recognise its validity. 'WTien the treaty of cession was presented in the Sardinian chambers, it was approved by a majority of 229 against 33 votes : but in the minority was Garibaldi, the deputy of Nizza, his native place; and thus the vote produced results very diffe- rent from those which the French emperor anticipated. To a letter (sent on the 20th of March"), in which the king of Sardinia offered to ad- minister the temporal government of the papal territories, the pope replied with an indignant refusal ; but the result which he dreaded was nearer at hand than he ima- gined ; and the crisis was hastened by the besotted folly of the king of Naples. Francis II. had seemingly made up his mind to follow the policy of Rehoboam, and was doing his best to change his father's whips into scorpions. On the death of Ferdi- nand II. the governments of France and England had consented to renew the inter- course which had been broken off ; but mat- ters grew worse instead of better, and in July 1859, lord John Russell wrote in plain terms to the English minister, to say that the king had now simply to choose between the ruin of his evil counsellors or his own ; .and that if the Neapolitan people should be driven to insurrection, he was not to look to England for any support, whether moral or material. The warning was unheeded. In April 1860, the people rose in rebellion at Palermo in Sicily, and besieged the royal ti-oops. They were joined by the people of Messina, Catania, and Agrigentum. For a month they carried on the struggle by themselves, but Garibaldi was on the way with more effectual help. On the 5th of May he sailed from Genoa with about 2,000 volunteers, and as he lay off the Roman coast he issued a proclamation calling on all to rise in arms, and divide the enemy's forces, with the battle-cry of ' Italy and Vic- tor Emmanuel." On the 10th, he landed at Marsala, and on the 14th advanced to Sa- lerni, where he took the title of dictator of Sicily, ' in the name of Victor Emmanuel and Italy.' On the next day he completely defeated general Landi, with 3.500 troops, at Calata Fiml. After a few more engage- ments, in which ho was generally success- ful, he attacked Palermo on the 27th, and drove the Neapolitan troops into the citadel, from which, aided by the fleet In the har- bour, they bombarded the town for several hours. At length, an armistice was agreed on, by which the royalists were to evacuate Palermo, with the exception of Fort Cas- tellamare. About three weeks later. Gari- baldi was victorious in a severe battle at Melazzo, about twenty-live miles from Messina, but he narrowly escaped being killed during the conflict. The next day, Bosco the Neapolitan general capitulated, and his troops were allowed to leave Melazzo without their arms. The terror of Francis II. showed itself in professions of lavish concession of every- thing to everybody. A new liberal minis- try was to set to work, and draw up the articles of a statute or constitution, based on representative Italian and national in- stitutions. An alliance was to be made with A'ictor Emmanuel for the common interests of Italy. A prince of the royal house was to be viceroy in Sicily, and that island was to have all that it could possibly want. The constitution granted by Ferdinand II. in 1848, and then treacherously withdrawn, was declared to be again in force, and the national parliament was summoned for the loth of September. It was altogether too late. The straw at which the drowning man clutched in his desperation eluded his grasp. From Messina, Garibaldi in August sent a proclamation to the Neapolitans, in which he said that he had already tested their bravery, but desired not to make any further proof of it. He begged them to constitute Italy without slaughter of her sons ; and his request was complied with almost to the letter. On the 19th of August he crossed the straits, and landed at Melito. On the 20th he advanced to Reggio, where a large body of royal troops had been con- centrated. But there was next to no re- sistance. In less than two hours, only the fort remained in their hands ; in a few more, this was surrendered, on condition that the garrison should be allowed to go out, leaving their arms and baggage behind, together with the stores in the fort, which comprised many cannon and 500 stand oi arms. Garibaldi then advanced on the troops commanded by general Briganti, near San Giovanni, and surrounded them. But, confident in his expectation of a sur- render, he forbade all firing, and presently the royalist troops raised the shout, 'Viva Garibaldi, viva Vltalia.' Garibaldi then went among them himself, and was almost torn in pieces by their enthusiastic embraces. He had won a bloodless victory. The sol- diers, about 2,000 in number, were told that they might go home if they liked ; ami they at once did so, leaving their arms to the invader. Towards the end of August, the count of Syracuse advised his nephew the king to follow the example of the duchess of Parma. Tliere may have been a touch of sarcasm in the seeming eagerness with which he urged him to win the gra- titude of Italy, by making ' a sublime sacri- HLf^e W^tar^ of 5taly. 771 flee;' but Francis II. had no mind to take his advice. His ministers resigned, and took refuh'o on board a British ship of war. Prince Iscliitella, a most unpopular man, was removed from the command of tlio national guard, and general Viglia was made commander of the army of Naples. But the army itself was melting away. Two regiments of dragoons, sent to restore order at Foggia, declared against the king. Six regiments, who were ordered to march against Potenzfa, shouted Viva Garibaldi ; and general Floraz wrote from Apulia to say that none remained with him liut his staff. The king tried to form a new minis- try. His efforts were vain, and in his misery he exclaimed, 'Then all have for- saken me.' Making up his mind to leave Naples, he comforted himself by issuing a proclamation, in which he said that he had never entertained a single thought that was not devoted to the happiness and good of his subjects. His subjects understood him perfectly, and left him to And his way as best he could to Gaeta, which, with Capua, was all that remained to him of liis ancient kingdom. Two days afterwards Garibaldi entered Naples as an ordinary passenger In a railway train. The pope had good reason to sympathise with the woes of the king of Naples. Early in September, the people of Tesaro, TJrbino, and Montefeltro cast off his yoke and pro- claimed Victor Emmanuel as their king. The pope threw himself on the commisera- tion of the catliolics, and invited all who would, to enrol themselves under'his stan- dard. Hundreds hastened from Ireland, under plea of serving as railway labourers, but really to fight the temporal battles of the holy see. The papal army thus recruited was placed under the command of general Lamoriciere; Ijut before he could take any decided step, he was told by general Fanti, that the Sardinian troops would occupy Uiubria and the Marches, if the papal sol- diers attempted by force to suppress any national manifestations. From Rome La- moriciere received delusive promises of armed assistance from France ; but he found himself suddenly without money, and the wisdom of the papal government in main- taining a toll on grinding corn made it almost an impossibility to procure any bread. Early in September, count Cavour informed cardinal Antonelli, that Sardinia would invade the papal states unless the pope disbanded his mercenaries ; and on the nth of September, the troops under general Cialdini crossed the boundary, and marched upon Pesaro, Pano, and Urbino ; which were all occupied without difllculty. The next place surrendered was Perugia, in which the garrison of 1,700 men became prisoners of war. General Lamorici&re re- tired on Macerata, in order to protect An- cona, having under him a force of 8,000 or 9,000 men. "To intercept him Cialdini held the heights of Osini and Castel Fidardo. Hemmed in at Loretto, Lamoriciere had no means of getting to Ancona except by fighting his way through the enemy ; and the final battle took place accordingly on the 18th. General Pimodan led the attack on tlie Piedmontese troops, but he received a mortal wound, and his troops, after fight- ing bravely, were completely defeated. Seeing at length that the day was irretriev- ably lost, general Lamoricidre fled to An- cona. The next day, the remains of his forces laid down their arms, and the papal army in the Marches and Umbria ceased to exist. Ancona was immediately besieged, and surrendered on the 29th of September; and so ended a campaign of eighteen days, in which the Sardinians took six cities, twenty-eight field pieces, 160 pieces of wall artillery, 20,000 muskets, more than 500 horses, and some 18,000 prisoners, with all the enemy's generals. Meanwhile, things looked much as though in the work of liberation Venetia was to have its share as well as Naples. It was perhap3 not altogether consistent with previous declarations made to the king of Naples, when lord John Russell wrote to count Cavour, strongly deprecating any movement in Venetia. The truth is, assoon as interest came in the way, the British go- vernment was still tempted to act in Italy as it had acted with reference to the Greek subjects of the sultan during the Crimean war. 'Great Britain,' he said, ' has interests in the Adriatic, which her majesty's govern- ment must watch with careful attention.' But from the Sardinian chambers count Cavour obtained a complete sanction for all that had been done, while he candidly ad- mitted that, although Venetia ought to be free, yet any attempt in that quarter would for the present bo highly inprudent, and might endanger the cause of freedom not in Italy only, but throughout the European continent. He added also, that the pope must be left unmolested in Rome, that question being 'none of those which can be solved by the sword alone.' The presence of Maz- zini at Naples caused much embarrassment. On his refusal to leave the place, the marquis Pallavicini and his colleagues in the mi- nistry resigned ; but the people expressed themselves loudly against Mazzini, and Pal- lavicini again took ofiBce. On the 15th of October Garibaldi issued a decree in which he said that, ' to satisfy a wish cherished by the whole nation, the Two Sicilies, which have been redeemed by Italian blood and which have freely elected me their dictator, form an integral part of one and indivisible Italy under the constitutional king Victor Emmanuel and his descendants.' A fort- night before this time Garibaldi had sig- nally defeated the troops of Francis II. in the battle of theVolturno, and driven them into the fortress of Capua, although his volunteers, some 15,000 in number, were op- posed to 30,000 royalist soldiers. But Victor Emmanuel was now on the road to assume the power which had been won for him by Garibaldi. The hero and the king met on the 26th of October between Teanoand Speranzano. Assoon as the king saw Garibaldi, he spurred his horse towards him. As they drew near, his officers shouted, ' Viva Victor Emmanuel.' Garibaldi came forward, raised his cap and added, ' king of Italy.' Victor Emmanuel raised his hand to his cap, and stretching out his hand to 772 Cije Crcajjure of ^^ifftorg, ^c. Oiiribaldi, answered, ' I thank you.' On the 3rd of November he defeated the army of Francis II., which had retired behind the Garigliauo, and now fell back onGaeta, the only place which still remained to the king of Naples, Capua having previously sur- rendered, and its garrison of 9,000 having been made prisoners of war. The inter- ference, whether well or ill-intentioned of the French emperor, protracted the defence and fall of Gaeta. He would only allow it to be invested by land, to give Francis II. the chance of escape by sea. But the only re- sult was that the siege was continued throuch the rest of the year without beneflt to himself, at the cost of enonnous and useless bloodshed. At the same time the French anny of occupation in Rome had been strengthened, and had occupied Civita Vecchia, Albano, Yelletri, and many other towns. The town of Viterbo had, in September, declared unanimously for Victor Emmanuel ; no disturbances had taken place, and the government had gone ou peaceably. In October, general de Goyon sent a message to the Gonfaloniere to say that he must find quarters for the French troops who were to be sent thither. The Gonfaloniere answered that, relying on the French emperor's pledges of nonin- terference in the affairs of Italy, they had chosen to make Victor Emmanuel their king,— that the French might come if they pleased, and that they would encounter no resistance, for they would find the town deserted. Early in November the Italian question was decided at Naples : 1,302,064 votes were given in favour of a united Italy, 10,312 against it. On the 7th Victor Emmanuel entered Naples in triumph, and appointed signor Farini his lieutenant-go- vernor for the Neapolitan provinces. Two davs later. Garibaldi retired to his own domain of the little island of Caprera, having issued a proclamation in which he called on all Italians to unite under the ' Re Galantuomo,' and invited them in March of the following year to give ' the last shock, the last blow, to the crumbling tyranny.' On the 19th of January 1861, the last French ship of war sailed away from Gaeta. The French emperor had abandoned Francis II. ; he had prevented the Italians from blockading the place by sea, to give the Bourbon a fair chance of escape, but he had no mind to continue his veto, when his aid was looked upon ' as an encouragement to resistance, and assumed the shape of material support.' Thus forsaken, Francis II. still struggled on till the 18th of Feb- ruarv, when the garrison capitulated, and with the ex-queen he went on board a French steamer, and took refuge at Rome. The first measure of the Sardinian cham- bers, on meeting in 1861, was to introduce a bill declaring Victor Emmanuel king of Italy. Against this act, which was passed almost unanimously, the papal government vehemently protested ; but Great Britain immediately recognised the new kingdom, and France soon followed the example. But the great statesman who had first secured for Sardinia a recognised place among the European powers, and who had steered his country through the gravest dangers, was cut off before his great work was consummated. After a short illness, of which the fatal issue was in great part set down to the Italian practice of bleeding for every possible malady, count Cavour died on the 6th of June ; and the first feeling was that the Italian cause had un- dergone an irreparable disaster. The loss was indeed great, but there were not want- ing men to carry on his work with equal sincerity, if not with equal genius. Aminis- trj- was "formed under baron Ricasoli, who, in answer to rumours that he purposed to cede the island of Sardinia to France, de- clared unmistakeably the policy which he intended to work out. The very word and thought of cession he scouted with all the disdain of his soul. 'Not an inch of Italian ground,' he said, ' must be given up.' ' But there was a territory to recover. Oppor- tunity, matured by time, would open the way to Venice. In the meantime, we think of Rome. Tes, we will go Rome. For to go is for the Italians not merely a right, it is an inexorable necessity.' Tet there were obstacles in the way which even Italian enthusiasm found it impossible to sur- mount. After a thousand twists in his tortuous game, it became evident that the French emperor had no intention of with- drawing his troops from Rome. The ex-king of Naples by his agents stirred up brigand- age in every quarter, and his emissaries caused serious disturbances in several places. Order was preserved, but only by force; andthedawnof Italian unity seemed to be suddenly and ominously clouded. The events of 1862 seemed to make the prospect even darker. The intrigues of the Sardinian minister Rattazzi led Garibaldi to suppose that an attack on Rome would not be thwarted by the Italian government : and Garibaldi determined accordingly to bring the contest to a final issue. It was soon manifest that he had to deal with a verj" diflerent spirit from the cautious yet vigo- rous prudence of count Cavour. The disap- proval of the French government was not disguised or qualified; and the king of Italy found it necessary to send troops to arrest the progress of Garibaldi and his volunteers. The fight at Aspromonte, in which the hero who had destroyed the Bourbon tyranny was with his son wounded and taken pri- soner, was the result — a result disgraceful to the intrigues of signor Rattazzi, yet the best perhaps for the true interests of the Italian kingdom. Even before it there could be little doubt as to the intentions of the French emperor ; since the defeat of Garibaldi those intentions have been boldly proclaimed, and announce an indefinite continuation of the occupation of Rome, and a determined support of the temporal power of the papacy. The ministry of Rat- tazzi has, however, been ignominiously ex- pelled, and there are signs that the new ministrv, while repudiating his servUity to France, will devote itself wisely and zeal- ously to the indispensable work of internal organisation and improvement. THE HISTORY OF VENICE. Op all tho republics of Italy, Venice is that wliose history Is the moat Interesting and singular ; it has all the startling brilliancy of romance, and fully justifies the remark of a great modern poet,—' Truth is strange, stranger than Action.' The history of Veuice Is now, more than ever, interesting to us ; for it is in our day that a blow, as swift and as crushing as the thunderbolt, has struck out of the list of independent states this ancient republic, so remarkable iusite and in institutions. At the north-eastern extremity of Italy, between tlie Alps and tlie north-western coast of the Adriatic, there was settled from a very early age a people called the Heneti or Veneti, from whom the fertile district in question was called Venetla. However subjected, it is certain that in the years of Rome 652-3, just after the de- feat of the Cimbri and Teutones by Marius, Venetla became a part of the Roman pro- vince called Transalpine Gaul, and was go- verned by a prcetor. From this time forth we must, for some centuries, speak of it in connection with Rome ; of whose disasters we shall see that fertile Vetietia Prima was the desolated victira— and the maritime Ve- netia Secunda the glorious and mighty con- sequence. Continental Venice, if subjected to the power of Rome, was at the same time admitted to its privileges and made parti- cipator of its advantages. Governed by a Roman priEtor, they also voted in the Roman assemblies of the people; and fur- nishing a contingent of men and money when the affairs of Rome demanded it, they also had the aid of Roman taste and Roman wealth in improving and beautifying their cities, as numerous remains, especially in Verona, show at this day. From the annexation of Venice to Rome, until the end of the fourth century of the Christian era, it is in Roman history that the reader must look for such slight men- tion as is made at all of the affairs of Ve- netla ; and we pass, therefore, in the pre- sent sketch to the commencement of the fourth century of the Christian era. The fierce northern people known by the name of Goths, being expelled by the no less fierce and still more powerful Huns, about the year 376, were allowed to settle themselves in the vast plains of Thrace. Actuated partly, perhaps, by gratitude to Rome, but still more by hatred of the Huns, the Goths were of signal service to the western empire, to which the Huns were a dreadful and perpetually troublesome enemy. Alaric, the Gothic leader, the mostdistinguished himself in this auxiliary warfare, was far too acute not to perceive the weakness of the once mighty people of which he was the temporary ally and the seemingly grateful guest ; and he was far too ambitious and restless in his nature to see that weakness without design to take advantage of it. From merely aiding Theodosius tho Great to repel the Huns Alaric easily got leave to assist in putting down the rebellious of Arbogastes and Euge- nius, who aimed at the imperial purple. This interference in the intenial affairs of Rome at once increased Alaric's insight into her actual condition, and his desire to become the master of that empire, of which hitherto he had only been the sheltered guest or the paid servant. A considerable territory in Thrace and highhonorarv rank in the Roman army should have been deemed by Alaric himself a sufficient reward for all the services he had rendered to Rome; especially as Rome had sheltered the Goths as distressed fugitives long before she asked their aid as warlike allies. But a plea was necessary to justify the auxiliary in becoming the foeman ; and accordingly as soon as Alaric saw that the state of public affairs was such as to promise him success, he began to call men and angels to witness how faithfully and boldly he had served Rome, and how scantily and ungratefully she had rewarded his good services. Both courts, the eastern and the western, abounded with men who wished to see confusion and warfare in the very midst of their native country; some in mere po- litical or personal hatred of their rulers, others in the still more detestable hope that barbaric legions might be so far suc- cessful as to throw the empires into that state in which the strongest arm and the sharpest sword would be the best title to all possessions. Ruflnus, though he was tutor to the young Arcadius after the death of Theodosius the Great,was the most active of the traitors who wished for the success of the barbarian malcontent ; and aided him not only with secret advice and infor- mation, but also with considerable sums of money. Thus aided and encouraged, Alaric overran Pauuouia, Macedonia, and those parts of Thrace which were adjacent to his settlement and sufBciently wealthy to be worth his destroying labour. Stilicho, the general of Honorius, who then reigned over the western empire, was for a time successful against Alaric ; but by an unfor- tunate over-confidence gave the able bar- barian oiiportunity of retaliation, which he so effectually used, that Honorius was fain to recall his general from aidingtheGreeks, and convert the Goth from an enemy into an ally, by givinghim the sovereignty of all Illyria. The increase of power which Alaric necessarily obtained from increase of ter- ritory was little likely to decrease either his enmity to Honorius, whose general had 3tr2 774 C^e ULreaiutu at y^iitav^, $ic. teinporarily defeated liim, or his desire to ' overrun the western empire, which pro- mised much richer spoil tlian the Grecian territory he had already ravawed. CausiiiK himself to be elevated upon a Bhiold— tlie ancient onlhronemeut of a war- rior king— he was proclaimed, amidst the shouts of his tierce soldiery, liing of the Visigoths. Increasing his already immense army by recruits from the banks of the Danube, he pointed to Rome and the smiling Italian lands, and promised their spoils to his followers ; and, unfortunately, his flerce hatred of Rome and love of bloodshed and plunder were fully equalled hy the timidity and irresolution of Honorius. That feeble monarch was speedily convinced of bis inferiority to his barbaric opponent; and was from the very outset of the war worsted by him, in despite of a literally innumerable army, composed partly of veteran troops and partly of barbarian levies from the very extremities of the empire. Stilicho, the man who, of all the empe- ror's friends and advisers, was probably the most likely to have proved the successful defender of the empire, who had already given such signal proofs of both ability and zeal, was sacrificed partly to that vague, but no less bitter, hatred which the multi- tude of all times and all ages bear to tower- ing and highly successful talent, and partly to the mingled timidity and treachery of Honorius himself, who had learned to fear the ability of Stilicho by mere dint of profit- ing by it. Forgetful of the talent and bra- very which Stilicho had often shown, or, as we might almost say, imputing his most important services to him as crimes, Hono- rius showed little concern when his general and minister was massacred ; and actually after the perpetration of that crime, praised the perpetrators, and condemned the mem- ory of Stilicho and his fellow-victims, as far as their memory could be condemned by any words of so poor-spirited and effemi- nate a person. The treachery of Honorius and the ma- lignity of his favourite, Olympius, having put Stilicho to death by a virtual violation of sanctuary, and some of the ablest men of the empire merely for being the friends of Stilicho having been sacrificed just be- fore or just after the murder of the minister himself, we might expect to find Honorius, at least, making the negative and poor atonement of protecting the widow of his tutor, friend, and minister. But though Serena, the lady In question, was aunt to Theodosius and adoptive mother of Hono- rius himself, he meanly suffered her to be strangled, in 408, on the approach of Alaric with his Goths to besiege the imperial city. Alaric, shrewd in policy as flerce in flght, sought to enlist on his side the feelings of the numerous partisans of the murdered Stilicho ; and a cheap and safe way of doing so presented itself in praising the virtue and the talents of Stilicho, now that the former could no longer be serviceable to Rome, nor the latter formidable to Alaric himself. The praises thus bestowed upon the deceased minister, by the living and threatening foe, were interpreted by the Roman multitude into proof Irrefragable that the widow of Stilicho carried on a trea- sonable correspondence with Alaric, and that his reliance upon her aid and interest it was that emboldened him to threaten the imperial city with destruction. The popular cry of the ignorant multitude was basely complied with by the emperor and the senate, and the unfortunate Serena was strangled. With such an emperor just such a people was joined as was least likely to be perma- nently successful in resisting a bold, greedy, and hardy race of barbarians led on by an Alaric or an Attila. The individual hardi- hood and pride of manhood that had cha- racterised the Roman of the republic, and the serried discipline and national pride that had so often given prey to the Roman eagle, under the Roman emperors who were worthy of that name, had passed away be- fore a luxury and effeminacy which would be incredible were they not related to us by the pens of indignant Romans who des- cribe the scenes which, loathing, they lived amidst and witnessed. Ammianus Jlar- cellinus, more especially, describes the lux- ury, pride, and effeminacy of the rich as being more than eastern. ' If,' says he, ' on a hot day they muster courage to sail in their painted galUes from the Lucrine lake to their elegant villas on the sea-coast of Puteoli and Cajeta, they compare the exploit to the expeditions of Alexander and Cssar. Yet should a fly settle on the silken folds of their umbrellas, or a sunbeam penetrate some unguarded chink, they de- plore their hard fate, and protest, in affected language, that 'twere better to have been born in the land of the Cimmerians, the regions of perpetual clouds and darknes.s.' Innumerable instances might be given of this eSeminacy as to the upper orders of Romans in the commencement of the fifth century; and abundant proofs might be adduced of the state of want, dependence upon public alms, or still more enthralling dependence on individual patronage, of the lower orders. But enough has been said to show that the state of Rome, alike in government and people, was precisely such as to iuTite, nay, to require the rude puri- fication of successive and successful inva- sions of hardier races ; and it now only re- mains to enter upon the particular history of Venice, as one which claims our atten- tion more than the other Italian republics. Alaric again and again ravaged the Ro- man territories, and insulted the Roman people ; Honorius and his ministers lite- rally seeming to invite him to do so by their pusillanimity on some occasions, and their absurd and empty threats on others. Ho- norius kept his court at Ravenna, whence his ministers alternately provoked Alaric by their useless and empty boastings, and bribed him to forbearance by the sacrifice not only of public treasures, but of the nati- onal honour ; until at length the barbarian colours floated above the walls of Rome. Adolphus, brother-in-law of Alaric, and sub- sequently the terrible Attila, who awfully realised his truculent boast that where his horse once trod the grass never grew, ra- myt l^i^tary at Wmice. 775 vaged Italy In every directl.i.i ; and Pi-'rl'^a 110 part of the empire, If we except Aqui- lela, wl'ii-h was so utterly destroyed as to be even without traceable ruins, sufleiea more than Venetia Prima, or Continental Venfce, Concordia, Oderso, Altlno, and Padua. For three years the Inhabitants ot tliese places were never for an instant free from the presence of the stranger and the oppressor, on occasion of the second inroad of the Gothic Alaric; and many of them, even during the tyranny of that compara- lively mild tyrant, took refuge in the yar - ous islets which were grouped around Ri- alto This island, which was already the port and entrepot of the commerce of Pa- dua, was naturally that which was earliest and most resorted to ; and we And that as early as the yeai- 421 the Inhabitants of this little ialet were numerous enough to allow of the building of a considerable church, which was in that yeai dedicated to St. James in pursuance of a vow made during the progress of a great Are which con- sumed twenty-four houses. It is possible that the retreat of the great majority of the fugitives from the main land to the isles was merely temporary, and that when their proper country was abandoned by the barbarians, they would be led, either by a pining after theirfertile and beautiful land, which would be remembered with the great- er regret bv being contrasted with the Hat and dreary shores of the isles, or by a vague hope of finding some remnants of plunder left behind by the barbarians, to return to the continent. But that the number of permanent emigrants to the isles even at this time was very considerable, is evident from a document which we believe is not quoted, if even referred to, by any modern historian of Venice, except; Daru. The document in question is an old ana only partially perfect manuscript in the con- vent of St. Michael- and is a collection of •various notices relative to the origin. of Venice,' which was formed by Fulgentius Tomasellus, an abbot of the house, and since translated by one of its librarians. Father Mitarelli. It bears date in the year of Christ 421. and the last year of the pa- pacy of Innocent I. ; and the chief passage of it that was sufficiently legible to be translated into Latin by the learned libia- rian, is a decree of the consuls and senate of Padua for erecting Rialto into a chief city, in which the scattered population of the whole of the adjacent islands might con gregate, not merel y for their own greater comfort, and the convenience and prospe- rity of their own port, and the patron city of Padua, but likewise, and especial y, that thev being thus concentrated might keep an armed fleet, and thus defend alike them- selves and the neighbouring continent Ipainst the recurrence of the destruction brflre and sword, which this region had already, and to so fearful an extent, expe- n'eS at the hands of the Goths with ^^Beliqiium legere non potui; says the trans- lator, 'the rest is not legible ;• but enough appears to show, that the earliest inhabi- t.ants of the isles were comparatively few m number, scattered hither and thither without judgement and without common polity, save such as necessarily resulted from their common dependence upon Padua, as fishermen, carriers, and traders in gene- ral ; and that the invasion of Italy by Alaric, and the subsequent and ruinous occupation of the cities and plains of Lombardy by his fierce people, so much Increased the popu- lousness of the isles, as to lead the Padu- ans to order the concentration of the iiilia- bitants and the constitution of a central seat of population-in short, of a chief city of the islets, to which it was inevitable the rest should become morally, as in the end they also were physically, united and sub- Imitating upon a small scale the imme- morial policy of Rome herself, the Padu- ans, while they assuredly took the course which was best calculated to promote the interests of the settlers on the islands, and to make them importantly useful to north- eastern Italy, should its fate ever depend upon maritime warfare, did not allow the islanders to forget that they were depend- ents as traders, and. in some degree, as co- lonists ; and, accordingly, the new town or state was governed by officers appointed by the Paduans, with the title of consuls. Rialto, or Rivo alta, the deep river, wrhich was thus made the chief town of the isles, was subsequently connected with the op- posite bank by a bridge which bore the same name, and this island subsequently had built upon it. too. the exchange, also called Rialto : this last being at once the homage paid to the chief island, and the surest guarantee, iu a purely commercial and maritime state, for preserving the chief resort and infiuence to it. The pecuhar situation of the Venetian isles being considered, the obstacles which their difficult navigation must have pre- sented to foreigners and barbarians in the then rude state of the maritime art. their connection with so fertile and populous a portion of continental Italy, would prog- nosticate immense prosperity immediately, and great, if not preponderating power ultimately, to the new state, in the event of that ruin falling upon the Roman em- pire, which every circumstance, within and without, indicated to the least careful and attentive observer ; even should no other externalcircumstances favour the islanders. Such other circumstances, however, tended to bring about the greatness of Venice. A new scourge for Italy appeared m the shape of a multitude of Huns, who were led from the depths of Scythia by Attila, a leader fierce and able as Alaric in the field and far more cruel and unsparing when the field was won. Having carried fire and sword throughout Macedonia, Ger- many, and Gallia, from which last he found it prudent to retreat, the alarm was sud- denlv given that he was leading the Huns and "their swarming barbarous aUies to- wards the Julian Alps, threatening new destruction to the beautiful lands of Vene- tia, and new miseries to the Venetians of the main land. In the year 452 Attila ap- peared before Aquileia; and that city stui 776 Clje Cirajiurii of ^iitaxn, ^t. liioserviMK si'nio of llie si'irit of oUi Rome, of wlili-li It was ii colony .-iihI ofTHcl, made a doffiu-o so brave— ibniiKli insnlllcient to save il from the fierce lior.t (liat assailed ft — tbat vlieu It was, at length, in sheer ne- cessity, yielded, the enrascd barbarian lite- rally left not oue brick or Etone standing upon another. The cause of this new irruption of Attila and his Huns, as being also a jirincipal cause of the wealth and power of Venice the Superb, must not be wholly omitted here ; we mean the treason of Honoria, the sister of Valentinian III. This princess, having dishonoured her rank and family hy her iutrigue with a courtier, which intrigue was aided by the carelessness of her own mother, who had always acted as if she was regardless of the education and mo- ral conduct of her daughter, was placed under the most rigid surveillance. Natu- rally of a gay, perhaps we might even say of a licentious turn, this restraint wearied her to such a pitch of desperation, that she contrived to send a ring to Attila, as a pledge of love and good faith ; and with it a pressing message demanding his support and aid against her ov™ family, and request- ing to be admitted into the number of his wives. Honoria was reputed to be very beau- tiful, and to female beauty the barbarian chieftain was by no means unsusceptible. But he devised a considerable improvement upon the proposition of the princess ; he preceded his new advance upon the empire with a demand, not only of the hand of the lady, but also of half the provinces of the empire. The refusal he met with, and his rage thereupon, led to the destruction of Aquileia, and to the taking refuge of the Inhabitants of that and the neighbouring cities in Bialtoandthe dependent Venetian isles. If not so wholly destroyed to their very foundations as Aquileia, the neighbouring cities were, however, so completely pillaged and so considerably devastated, that a vast number of the inhabitants not merely sought shelter in the isles during the ac- tual and threatening presence of the bar- barians upon the main land, but were so wearied by the losses they had already sus- tained, and so completely dispirited by the apparent probability of a frequent recur- rence of similar iuflictions, as to take up their permanent residence in the compara- tively inaccessible isles, where they had at first sought only a temporary shelter. Some would doubtless return to the main land, in hope to fiud their homes undestroyed, whatever might have befallen the homes of their neighbours ; but being as poor as the poorest of the islanders, and far less favour- ably situated as to the future than the islanders as a body. It was not at all reason- able that the former should claim any con- tinuance of the Paduan authority over the isles ; the more especially as no one knew how soon a new incursion of the barba- rians might once more render the isles the only place of safe refuge to the dwellers upon the main land. The authority of the old towns being thus tacitly but effectually terminated, the islanders and refugees consolidated them- selves together, and organised perhaps the very best kind of society for the circum- stances in which they were placed. The extent of the immigration had made it impossible for the chief islet, Uialto, to accommodate more than a very inconsider- able portion of the fugitives. The remain- der had of necessity distributed themselves amid the other Islets, all of which were now populated, more or less densely. Each of the larger of these Islands, containing a sufHcient population to give it the neces- sary weight and importance in the new state, it was agreed should elect a tribune. This magistrate, whiise term of office was limited to one year, was charged with the administration of justice in his own isle, and was accountable only to the general as- sembly of the colony, which alone could de- cide upon the affairs of the isles en manse. In a word, the islanders formed a f ederati ve republic ; the whole governed as to external affairs and affairs of common import, by an authority delegated from the whole ; each internally and in matters peculiar to itself governed by the tribmie of its own election. For a long time their chief commodities for sale were salt and fish, but those are articles peculiarly profitable where the com- merce in them is very large; moreover, the islanders could not fail to accumulate riches, the great source, when wisely used, of political power— exempted as they were from the evils to which the cities on the main land had become the victims. The invasion of Italy by the Heruli un- der Odoacer, in 476, when the army sent by Augustulus was vanquished, and its ge- neral slain by Odoacer's own hand ; and the sub.sequent invasion of the Ostrogoths un- der Theodoric, who dethroned and put to death Odoacer, the dethroner of Augustu- lus, caused a new increase of population to flow into the Venetian isles ; and when the insular republic had barely a hundred years of existence, it already began to be respect- ed for its industry and numbers, aud ad- mired for a prosperity so strikingly con- trasted with its small number of natural productions. Fish and salt were aU that Venice seemed to possess ; and it was not yet known how far better a nurse com- merce is to a state than war. The disasters to which the empire had been subjected both in the east aud in the west, and the blots which barbarian suc- cess had cast upon the escutcheon of Rome's supposed invincibility and even invulnerability, added to the utter destruc- tion of the cities of Venetia Prima, proba- bly caused Rome's power to be held in comparatively light estimation even by those who returned to the main land and rebuilt their destroyed homes. Aud the isolation of the inhabitants of the isles, their early poverty, and, above all, the hardly practicable sea-walls that stretched around them, would seem to make their independence of disorganised and distract- ed Rome a matter beyond dispute. It has, however, been disputed, and by a high au- thority, but we think on very inadequate grounds. Cassiodorus, minister to Theo- €^t W^tav^ at Wmict. 777 dorlc, wrote a highly flattering letter,— a letter penned with most oratorical art and care, and evidently with greatauxiety as to its success, — requesting the Venetians to effect by means of their vessels the trans- port of a supply of wine and oil from Istria to Ravenna. The very care and polish that are lavished upon this letter seem to us to be quite decisive as to Rome having no re- cognised, stated, or easily available autho- rity over the Venetians of the isles. It is quite true, as has been remarked by the learned count Daru, that notwithstanding the urbanity of the letter, it yet evidently contains an order. It seems to us, that the politely couched order of such a neigh- bour as Rome, can scarcely be said to prove aught against the actual political indepen- dence of such a state as Venice, and at so early a stage of its existence. It would seem far more correct to consider that Rome couched a demand, which she knew was not strictly just, in terms which she judged would be agreeable to her nascent neighbour. Even in her decline Rome was far too formidable a neighbour not to feel at liberty to make even unreasonable re- quests of a community of fishermen and Email merchants, comparatively prosperous as that community might be. Withincreaseof population and of wealth, the Venetians, by which name we shall, to save circumlocution, henceforth designate only the islanders, began to feel anxious about that which was their chief and cheap safeguard, the dilBcuit navigation of the lagoons ; and the navigation was forbid- den not merely to strangers in general, but even to that Padua which once was the metropolis and nursing mother of the island republic. When we consider the horrors to which the cities on the main land had been exposed by the barbarian Invaders, and reflect how probable it was that new invasions would occur, which only the difflculty of the navigation and the su- periority this insured to the vessels of the islanders could prevent from extending to the isles, we can scarcely wonder at the stern and jealous rule adopted by men who had only become islanders and flshers after they had been ruined agriculturists, flying in haste and in terror from one of the love- liest and most fertile of earth's lovely and fertile spots. Nor was it long before the Ve- netians had good reason to congratulate themselves upon the care they had bestow- ed equally upon acquiring dexterity in the navigation of their narrow and difflcult creeks and shallows, and preventing a like dexterity from being acquired by others. The Slavl, a barbarous and warlike peo- ple, had established themselves in Dalma- tia. That country, however, had already been so often overrun and plundered, that it afforded by no means a sufBcient amount of booty to satisfy so numerous and so greedy a people. They consequently availed themselves of the numerous ports and creeks their new country afforded them, and imitated the piratical example of the Illyrians, by whom the country had for- merly been occupied, and speedily became a name of terror to all who had occasion to be upon the sea in that direction. The Venetians, perpetually pursuing their com- mercial and carrying avocations in their light vessels, were especially subjected to the attacks of these daring marauders, to whom the portable but valuable freights brought by the Venetians from the ports of the eastern empire, with which they carried on great commerce, were an irresistible temptation. The hardy habits and active life of the flshers and merchants of the Venetian Isles had given new vigour and courage to the people, who, while living in comparative luxui-y upon the mainland, had abandoned all their possessions to the barbarians, rather than struggle to possess them at the risk of losing life also. Mus- tering their vessels,they boldly encountered the pirates, beat them, and compelled them to respect the liberty of the seas as far as Venetians were concerned therein. This, in addition to many other circumstances, seems to have been a link in a long and unbroken chain of causes which tended to bring about the prosperity and power of Ve- nice in her subsequent palmy days; for while the success with which the traders encoun- tered the terrible and notorious pirates was especially well calculated to obtain a high and chivalrous name for the Venetians, even at the outset of their career, the very strug- gle and warfare in which they were from time to time engaged with so fierce a peo- ple, and with everything at stake upon the issue, must have had a mighty share in in- creasing the energy of the Venetians, and in forming their national character to that striking commixture of commercial indus- try and warlike spirit and skill to which their subsequent and long-continued power may so greatly be ascribed. In the year 568 the Lombards invaded Italy, and so successfully, as completely to cut off all connection between it and the eastern empire. The Lombards, who came from Pannonia, like all the other barbarian scourges of Italy, commenced their destroy- ingand plundering career on themainland. And now again, the misfortune of the main land brought benefit to the isles. Not only were the people of the newly rebuilt habita- tions on the main land glad to abandon their incomplete cities, and take refuge in the isles ; not only did the Islanders see the inhabitants of even Padua, their former patron city, imploring shelter, but even the clergy settled amongst them, and perma- nently too ; for the Lombards established Arian preachers in the towns of conti- nental Venice ; and the consequence was, so fierce and sanguinary a war and such ceaseless schisms, that the clergy who had found a refuge in the isles did not think of quitting them. Though the Lombards persecuted the Ca- tholic faith professed by the Venetians, the former, who were at that time neither a commercial nor a maritime people, were to a very great extent dependent upon the islanders for their supply of all such neces- saries or luxuries as came from foreign countries ; and in this particular superiority of the Venetians to the Lombards, and sub- sequently to Charlemagne and his Franks, 778 Eiie ULtt&iuvu at ^^uStorj?, &c. the attentive and thoughtful reader will ecjirccly fail to see yet another great ele- nu-nt of the permanency and power of the Insular state of Venice. Efiinhard, tlie contemporary and historian of Charlemagne, niakea emphatic mention of the coarseness of the apparel of that monarch and his court, as compared to the fine stuffs and rich silks brought hy the Venetian traders from the ports of Syria, the Archipelago, and the Black Sea. It was in the inevitable nature of things, that the very increase of population which tended so greatly to the increase of the prosperity and consideration of the compa- ratively new state, should bring in its train such a diversity of interests, such a diffe- rence of projiortion in the numbers, wealth, and power of the numerous insulated mem- bers of the federative republic as should call aloud for a change in the political sys- tem. Most important changes afterwards took place ; and it is to Venice as an acting and not merely growing state, that we have henceforth to direct our attention. The original form of Venetian govern- ment was purely democraticai: magistrates were chosen by a general assembly of the people, who gave them the name of tri- bunes ; one of whom was appointed to pre- side on each island, but to hold his office only for a year. This form subsisted for about one hundred and fifty years ; it then appeared expedient to make choice of a chief magistrate, and on him the title of duke was conferred, which has since been corrupted to doge ; this dignity was elec- tive, and held for life ; he was even in- trusted with the power of nominating to all offices, and of making peace and de- claring war. Paul Luke Anafesto, the first duke, was elected in the year 697 ; and such was the coufldence which the people reposed in their duke, that he was at li- berty to use his own discretion how far he would avail himself of the advice of the citi- zens. In the councils which he called on any matter of importance, he sent mes- sages to those citizensforwhosejudgement he had the greatest esteem, praying that they would come and assist him with their advice. This form was retained by suc- ceeding doges, and the citizens so sent for were called pregadi (from the Italian word pregare, to pray). The third doge, whose talents for war had proved successful in extending the power of the republic, at length meditated the assumption of a more absolute sway, wishing to render the su- preme authority hereditary in his family : but such conduct excited a general alarm in the people ; he was assaulted in his pa- lace and there put to death. This event caused the government of Venice to be new modelled, and a chief magistrate, who was now called ' master of the militia,' was elected annually ; but his power whilst in office was the same as before. Such form of government continued only Ave years, when the title of doge was revived (a.d. 740) in the person of the son of him who had been assassinated. About the latter end of the twelfth cen- tury, when every other part of the Chris- tian world was seized with a frantic rago for recovering the Holy Land, the Venetians were so far fnmi contributing any forces for the crusades, that they did not scruple to supply the Saracens with arms, ammu- nition, and every other necessary. As the power of the state became augmented by the acquisition of Istria and many parts of Dalmatia, the jealousy of the people to- wards their doge became stronger. . At that time the only tribunal at Venice consisted of forty judges ; these were called ' the council of forty ;' but in the year 1173, an- otlier doge, named Michieli, being assassi- nated in a popular insurrection, the coun- cil of forty found means to new-model the government by gaining the consent of the people to delegate the right of voting for magistrates, which each citizen possessed, to four hundred and seventy persons, called councillors, who received the appellation of 'the grand council;' and, acting as dele- gates of the people, became what the gene- ral assembly of the people until that time had been. By this artful innovation (which the people were cajoled into an acquies- cence with, by retaining the right of elect- ing these councillors annually), the demo- cracy became presently subverted ; and an aristocracy, in its fullest and most rigid form, was Introduced, by restricting the power of the doge, and instituting a variety of officers (all of whom were, in a short time, chosen from among the nobility), which effectually controlled both the prince and the people. Ziani was the first doge elected after the government had received, what the event proves to have been, its permanent modifi- cation ; and during his administration the singular ceremony of espousing the sea, which has been annually observed ever since, was first adopted, and took its rise from the assistance which the Venetians gave to pope Alexander III. when hard pressed by the emperor, Frederic Barba- rossa, and the signal victory they obtained over a formidable fleet under the command of Otho, son of Frederick, in which the ad- miral and thirty of his ships were taken. Alexander, with the whole city of Venice, went out to meet Ziani, the conqueror, on his return ; to whom his holiness presented a ring, saying, ' Use this ring as a chain to retain the sea, henceforth, in subjection to the Venetian state: espouse her with this ring, and let the marriage be solem- nised annually by you and your successors, to the end of time, that the latest posterity may know that Venice has acquired the empire of the waves, and holds the sea in subjection, in the same manner as a wife is held by her husband.' During the continuance of the republic this ceremony was performed by the doge, dropping a ring into the sea, pronouncing at the same time the words, Besponsamus te. Mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii. This emblem of its former power and inde- I eudence is now for ever gone ; and, in the language of the poet. The spouseless Adriatic mourns her lord. The Venetians having extended their ter- ^fie ?^f)St0rj) 0f Wttxice. 779 ritories into Lombardy, latria, and Dalma- tia, became masters of many of the islands in tlie Archipelago, particularly tlie large and important one of Candia; they were masters of the Morea; and, in the begin- ning of the thirteenth century, Dandolo, their doge, when more than eighty years of age, in conjunction witli the French, toolc Constantinople from the Turks. It was about this time that they engrossed the lucrative trade in the manufactures and productions of the East Indies, which they procured at the port of Alexandria, and conveyed to every market of Europe. Under Marino Morosinl was introduced the latest form of electing the doge; and at this juncture jealousy and envy occa- sioned the war with Genoa, which, after continuing a hundred and thirty years, was at last concluded by a treaty in 1381. Du- ring this war, Peter Gradonipo, the doge, procured a law to be passed, that none but tlie nobility should be capable of having a seat in the grand council ; and thus the government became altogether aristocra- tical. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centu- ries the Venetians extended tlieir posses- sions in Lombardy, and, in 1473, the last king of Cyprus appointed the state of Ve- nice his heir. Towards the end of the flf- teentli century the commerce and power of the Venetians began to decline ; for the Portuguese having doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and found the way to tlie East Indies by sea, that valuable trade was ac- quired, first by the discoverers, and after- wards by the Dutch and English. In the beginning of the sixteentli cen- tury (A.D. 15091 the pope, the emperor, France, and Spain, joined in the famous league of Cambray, which threatened tlie subversion of the Venetian state; but the republic made a brave stand against its numerous and powerful enemies, and the Venetians retained their independence, al- though with the loss of all their posses- sions in the ecclesiastical state and tlie Milanese. They also suffered mucli from the Turks, who drove them out of Cyprus. In the seventeenth century a sharp con- test arose between the government, the clergy, and the pope, in which, however, the former had the advantage. Venice was also long engaged in fierce wars with the Turks, during which they lost Candia, but gained part of Dalmatia and all the Morea ; the latter, with other places and districts, the Turks recovered in the wars which were waged during the early part of the last centuiT. The Venetian government, in the year 1737, having shown particular marks of respect to the prince, who was generally called in England the pretender, when he visited that city under the character of the count of Albany, the British court took great offence, and the Venetian resident at London was ordered to depart ; hut proper concessions being made by the state, a friendly intercourse was reestablished, and in the year 1745 the earl of Holdernesse was sent ambassador extraordinary to Venice. In the year 1763 the Venetians found it necessary to pay a subsidy to the dey of Algiers, to preserve their commerce from the depredations of the Algerine corsairs; but they subsequently carried on awar with some other of the piratical states, nearer to them, on that coast. Thus did the republic of Venice continue upwards of thirteen hundred years, amidst many foreign wars and intestine commo- tions. Its grandeur, as we have seen, was chiefly owing to its trade; and after the decline of that, its strength and power suffered considerable diminution. No go- vernment has been more attacked by deep- laid and formidable conspiracies than that of Venice ; many of which have been brought to the very eve of execution with- out discovery or suspicion. But though the entire subversion of the state has been, at times, impending from some of these plots, yet until the era of the French revo- lution, they have been constantly rendered abortive, either by the vigilance or good fortune of the senate." One of the most remarkable of these conspiracies was formed by a doge named Marino Faliero, in the year 1355, who at that time was eighty years of age ; but, conceiving a violent resentment against the senate, he formed a plan in order to assassinate the whole body. The design was timely discovered, and the dignified hoary traitor was brought to trial, found guilty upon his own confession, and publicly beheaded. In the great chami)er of the palace, where the portraits of the doges are placed, there is a vacant space between the predecessor and successor of this man, where appears this inscription, 'Locus Marini Falieri decapituti,' 'The place intended for the portrait of Mariuus Falierus, who was beheaded.' The year 1618 is also distinguished by a no less remarkable conspiracy, the contriver and principal agent in which was the marquis Bedamar, the Spanish ambassador residing there. Addison observes, that among all the instances of Venetian polities, there is none more admirable than the great secresy which reigns in their councils. ' The senate,' says he, ' is generally as numerous as our house of commons, if we only reckon the sitting members, and yet carries its resolu- tions so privately, that they are seldom known till they discover themselves in the execution.' The college, called 'the seigniory,' or supreme cabinet council of the state, was originally composed of the doge and si.x counsellors only, but to those at different periods were added, six of the grand coun- cil chosen by the senate, who were called savii (sages), then five savii of the Terra Firma, whose more immediate department it was to superintend the business of the towns and provinces belonging to the re- public on the continent of Europe ; at one time there were also five savii for maritime affairs, but after the state had lost its commercial importance, five young noblemen were chosen by the senate every six months, who attended the meetings of theseigniory without having a vote, though they gave their opinions when asked : this 7R0 HTfiC BTvpaiSun) nf 5?f^t0rn, &r. was designed as an Initiation into public business. To tliesc were added tlie chiefs of the criminal court of 'forty.' This collepc w.is at once the caliinet council and the reiiresentative of the repul>lic. The cotniiglio ('i diri-i, or ' council of ten,' was a hinh peual court, which consisted of ten counsellors, with the doge as president. It was supreme in .all state crimes, and pos- sessed the power of seizlnganyone who was accused lieft)re them, or committing him to close confluement, and prohibiting all communication with his relations and friends, of examining and trying him in a summary manner, and, if a majority of the council pronounced him guilty, of con- demning him to death ; they also might order the execution to be either public or private, as they thought proper. This formidable tribunal was established In the year 1310. About two centuries after, a still more despotic power was intrusted to three in- dividuals, always cRosen from the above council of ten, and forming the court called the state inquisition. These inquisitors likewise kept the keys of chests which are placed in several parts of the ducal palace, enclosed within the open jaws of lions' heads carved In the walls ; through which notes were conveyed by anyone who was disposed to drop them ; and thus notice was secretly given to the government of whatever might concern it to know. The history of Venice furnished a dread- ful instance, in the beginning of the seven- teenth century, of a number of confederated villains, who concerted their measures bo artfully as to frame false accusations against some of the Venetian nobles, which in the opinion of their judges convicted them of treasonable practices against the state, and one at least was publicly exe- cuted. At length the frequency of accusa- tions created suspicions, which led to a full detection of the infernal scheme ; upon which every possible reparation was made to the manes of the innocent victim, the honour of whose family was fully restored ; but the tribunal, which decreed the sen- tence, was suffered to possess the same un- limited power, the only alteration being that anonymousinformation was somewhat more cautiously received : for it was a poli- tical m.axim in Venice, that 'it is of more importance to the state to intimidate every one even from the appearance of a crime, than to allow a person, against whom a presumption of guilt appears, to escape, however Innocent he may be.' • * Ve have treated at some length the history of Venice, because its political and commercial eminence rendered it for many centuries by far the most important of the Italian states. In order not to break the thread of the narrative, the part which Venice played in the Italian movemeuts of 1848 and 1649 U deicribcd at pp. 765, 766. PAPAL ROME, OR THE STATES OF THE CIHIRCH. The name of Pope, or Father, was for- merly Kiven to all bishops. But pince the time ot Gregory VII. it has been solely ap- plied to the bishop of Rome. The temporal grandeur of the Roman pontiff commenced In times very remote. Constantine gave to the chureh of Lateran upwards of 1,000 marks in gold, and about 30,000 marks in silver, besides the assign- ment of rents. The popes, charged with Bending missionaries to the east and west, and with providing for the poor,obtained for these pious purposes, from the richer Chris- tians, without much trouble, considerable sums. The emperors, and the kings of the Lombards gave to the Holy Father lands in various parts ; and many others, by gift, and by will, increased his patrinion.v. In the seventh century we And thepontiif pos- sessed of great riches in various countries, and exempted from tax or tribute. The popes formed the design of rendering them- selves independent. Under the reign of I'epin, father of Charlemagne, this revo- lution commenced ; and it was completed under that of his son. Adrian I. caused money to be coined with his name : and the custom of kissing the feet of the pope began about the close of the eighth cen- tury, when they assumed regal rights, and their power and riches increased rapidly in the following ages. Gregory IV. rebuilt the port of Ostia ; and Leo IV. fortified Rome at his own expense. The election of pope has been different in the different ages of the church. The people and the clergy were the first elec- tors ; and the emperor had the power of confirming the election, after the death of Pope Simplicius, in 483. Odoacer, king of the Heruli and of Italy, made a law which struck at the right of election, under pre- tence of remedying the divisions which sometimes took place on the election of a pope. This law was abolished about twenty years after, in the fourteenth council of Rome, held in 502, with the consent of the king Theodoric. But this prince, who was an Arian, becoming cruel towards the end of his life, caused Pope John to be laid in prison, where he died in 526. He then usurped the right of creating a pope, and named to the pontifical chair Felix IV. The Gothic kings who succeeded him followed his example; yet not entirely, for they contented themselves with confirming the election which the clergy had made. Justinian, who destroyed the empire of the Goths in Italy, and after him the other emperors, preserved this right ; and they obliged the new elected pope to pay a sum of money for a confirmation of his elec- tion. Constantine Pogonatus delivered the church from this servitude and unworthy exaction, in 6S1. Notwithstanding this apparent relin- quishment on the part of the emperors, they always preserved some authority in the election of popes, until the time of Louis le Debonnaire, in 824, and his suc- cessors, Lothaire I. and Louis II., who or- dained that the election of popes should henceforward be free, and canonical ac- cording to ancient usage. Parties in favour of the different candi- dates for the popedom had now arisen to a great height, and were the cause of the schisms which followed in the church. The emperors were obliged to take on them- selves the right of election ; but after the schism of Peter and Victor IV. had been ex- tinguished, all the cardinals were reunited under the obedience of Innocent II. After his death, the cardinals were the only elec- tors of Cele.stine II. in 1X43 ; since which time they have been in full possession of this privilege. Honorius III. in 1216, or, according to others, Gregory X. in 1274, or- dained that the election should be made in the conclave. The conclave is a part of the palace of the Vatican, composed of many cells, where the cardinals were shut up for election, which takes place on the morning of the tenth day after the death ot the pope. The pope may be considered under fonr different titles : first, as chief of the church; second, as patriarch ; third as bishop of Rome ; and fourth, as a temporal prince. As primate, he is the superior of all the catholic churches. As patriarch, his rights extend over the kingdoms and provinces within the pale of the Romish church. As bishop of Rome, he exercises in the diocese of Rome the ordinary functions which he has not a right to exercise in other dioceses. As a temporal prince, he is sovereign of Rome, and the states which have been ac- quired by donation, or by proscription. No throne upon earth has been filled with men of more exalted genius, higher ambition, or more depraved vice, than the pontifical chair ; but they are in general old men, well versed in the knowledge of men and the world. Their council Is com- posed of men resembling themselves ; and their orders for a length of time embraced almost the universe. The government is wholly ecclesiastical, no one being eligible to fill any civil ofllce who has not attained the rank of abbot. The pope enacts all laws, and nominates to all clerical appointments. He is assisted, however, by the high college of cardinals, comprising about seventy members; and the different branches of the government are conducted each by congregations with a cardinal at its head. Cardinal Braschi (Pius VI.) was elected in the early part of the year 1775, on the 3X 782 HCfiC CrtnStirn of W^iot^), iet. death of the celebrated (Gancinelli^ Tie- But with aU this, the retrograde party meiit XVI. Ho occupied tlie poiitidc'ril | showed a hold front, and_ intrigued on chair until the breaking out of tl revolulion in 1789; or rather till after tl cution of Louis XVI., when he was in- duced to take a part in the war carrying on against France, by the emperor and other potentates. The French annics having overrun Italy, seized upon Home, and made the venerable pontiff prisoner in 1798, from whence he was conveyed into France, where he died at Valence, in August 1799, at a very advanced age. During this period the church domains were alienated; but the compensation since made to their former owners, and the restoration of suppressed churches and convents, have cost govern- ment prodigious sums, and are the principal causes of the wretched state of the finances. Veithin the limits of the Papal States there are no fewer than eight archbishops', and fifty-nine bishops' sees ; and it is estimated that in Rome there is a clergyman for every ten families. It is needless to add that this superabundance of priests, instead of promoting religion and morality, is, in fact, a principal cause of their low state in the city. The outward deportment of the papal court is, however, at present highly decorous. Those times, so disastrous and disgraceful, when the popes had so many nephews, and those nephews built so many splendid palaces and villas, called by the Romans, in derision, miracles of St. Peter, are now almost as much forgotten in Rome, as the time when horses were made consuls, and eunuchs emperors. In 1800 a successor to the popedom was elected at Venice, who took the name of Pius VII. At his death in 1833, Leo XII. was elected, and was suc- ceeded in 1829 by Pius VIII., who filled the papal chair only two years. He was suc- ceeded in 1831 by Gregory XVI., whose reigu embraced a period of no ordinary interest and difficulty in the history of the church, and in the relation of the Vatican with the temporal powers of Chris- tendom. On the 1st of July 1846, Gregory XVI. breathed his last. His death produced a profound impression in Italy, because it was felt that it must lead to considerable changes. Preparations were immediately made for holding a conclave, with a view to nominate a successor. Meanwhile the Roman people congregated In the streets, demanding reforms. The authorities caused the people to be dispersed by force, hut order was not established till a sanguinary collision had taken place between the citi- zens and the military force. The ferment- ation in Romagna and the Marches in- creased from day to day, and troubles broke out at this juncture at Aucona. It was in the midst of these that the new pope was elected on the 16th of June, and proclaimed on the 17th. The individual on every side; and from the first months 1817, the hopes which the Romans had al- lowed to grow in theirbosoms in 18(6, began wither and die within them. The Austrian llurnce was very nearly as preponili-r.-iiil as in the time of Gregory XVI.: tho con- vocation of .any representative assembly w.as eluded ; patriotic meetings and demon- strations were seen with an evil eye; the censorship existed in full force ; and the secret action of the Jesuits was still every- where traceable. These circumstances cou- vinced the most favourably disposed that the changes so ardently desired would never be made by the popo nor by the church. It was not till the cries of 'Death to the Austrians I' 'Death to LambruschinLI' ' Death to Bernetti 1 ' had been repeatedly heard on the Piazza di Spagna, and on the Piazza di Venezia, where the Austrian am- bassador lived; it was not till Lambruschini and other reactionary cardinals had left Rome, with a view to escape personal vio- lence, that the pope proclaimed an edict for a civic guard. On the 8th of July, cardinal Gizzi, the secretary of state, sent in his resignation, which was accepted ; and cardinal Ferretti, legate of Pesaro and Xlrbino, was immediately appointed his successor. Disquietude, nevertheless, con- tinued, nor was tranquillity restored by the activity of the city guard, which probably over-acted its part. The pope, however, was now prepared to go farther than he had hitherto done. He dismissed the cardi- nal governor of the police, Grasselini, and ordered him to quit Rome. Contempora- neously with these events, the Austrians entered Ferrara, an occupation against which Ferretti in vain protested. In the month of August, the pontiff dismissed some high functionaries suspected of con- nivance with the retrograde agitators. A more significant circumstance than any of these was the refusal of the pope to appear at the church of Jesus, to celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius. This circumstance was generally regarded as an open rupture with the Jesuits. The latter, nevertheless, turned away public wrath from their order by the offering of money for the clothing of the national guard. Austria, meanwhile, was becoming day by day more aggressive as to Ferrara. But the Romans consoled themselves with believing that an English squadron would soon be anchored in the waters of Ancona, and force the Austrians to retreat. On the 1st of October, the mota proprio of the pope was published on the municipal organisation of Rome. It pni- mised, undoubtedly, a great reform, for tip paper was drawn up in a liberal spirit, ami was generally approved of. No distinctbii was made between noble and citizen, as hail Rome was her i.,>j^;,a,.„c^ui...,^.,w,. .... always hitherto existed, whom the choice of the college fell was forth to have a council composed of l the cardinal Mastai, a native of Siniga glia, then only fifty-four years of age. The first acts of Pius IX. gave indications of promise. In the middle of July an am- nesty was published greatly to the general Eatisfaction. members, of which 64 were to be proprie- tors, .32 savants, advocates, artists, bankers, merchants, and 4 representatives of the ecclesiastical body. The municipal magis- tracy, to be called the Senate of H.inir, waste consist of a senator and eiyht' c-ai- Cibe W^taru of |9apal 2^0111^. 783 servutors. It was mow determmed that each religious order should pay ten per cent, of Us revenues for coveriug the expenses of the state. But notwithstanding all these measures, the principal employments were occupied by retrogadists, and in the ab- sence of Ferretti they commenced attacks on the press. These and other circum- stances induced Morandi, governor of Home, to resign. He was replaced by a prelate, Savelli ; and the charge of Preside di Homa et Comarca was conferred on a cardinal, Prince Altieri— two appointments which created dissatisfaction. On the 15th of March 1848, little more than a fortnight after the fall of Louis Philippe, the consti- tuti(m was proclaimed at Uome. This was a great step in advance, for one of the bases of it was a representative system giving a member for 30,000 souls. On the 1st of May, the people of Rome were so excited by the events of Lombardy and the prolonged occupation of Ferrara, that they called on the pontiff to declare war against Austria. Pius temporised, and offered his mediation to the house of Austria, on the condition of completely abandoning Italy. But this did not satisfy the Komans; the pontiff was accused of duplicity, and tmeutes took place in the capital and towns. It is not here our purpose to give a history of the Mamiani ministry ; of the dilapidation of the papal finances; of the pope's adhesion to the cause of Italian independence ; of the efforts made by the Romans to send a contingent to the common cause ; or of the weakness, vacillation, if not culi>able double-dealing, of Pius IX. To treat all these subjects in detail would far exceed our limits. In September, count Rossi, who had re- presented France at the papal court do\vu to the 24th of February 1848, accepted the task of forming a ministry. His first anxi- eties were about the taxes and the army. He sought to meet the wants of the trea- sury by convincing the pope it was time to obtain help from the clergy, and of the army by proposing Zucchi as minister of war. He procured aid for the treasury from the clergy, by a provision of the pope, that the cardinal-vicar should lay a tax of eighty bajocchi for every hundred crowns rated on all ecclesiastical property, and that the clergy itself, which had already granted a charge of 2,000,000 crowns in return for treasury bonds, should bind itself to make a gift of 2,000,000 more. A commission was also nominated for fiscal arrangement and the organisation of the army ; the re- form of the monetary system, and other useful measures were adopted. But several functionaries, magistrates, and administra- tors, whom Rossi admonished and con- strained to activity, began to murmur, as did the clergy whom he had taxed. On the 15th of November, the chambers were to meet, and Rossi, though warned from four different sources that there was a conspiracy against his life, proceeded to the palace of the Quirinal, where the sit- tings were held. Advancing to the peris- tyle, he found himself surrounded by a menacing group, one individual of which pushed roughly against him. Turuing sharply round, as if to reprove the rude- ness of his assailant, he received from an- other hand a poniard wound in the throat, which was at once pronounced mortal. No effort was made by the civic guard to arrest the assassin, and in the chamber of depu- ties, to which the news was hastily con- veyed, no voice was raised to cover with execration the cowardly assassin. Nine days after the assassination, the pope fled from Rome to Gaeta, where an asylum had been provided for him by the king of Naples. Every effort was made on the part of Mamiani and others to induce the pope to return : but in vain. In the meanwhile, the pope was deposed from his temporal au- thority, and a republic was proclaimed. A triumvirate, of which Mazziui was one, was established ; and measures were at once taken to assemble a 'constituent' par- li.ament to decide on the great question of Italian unity. But this was not to be. Under pretext of maintaining their influ- ence in Central Italy, a French army laid siege to Rome, and, after a long and heroic resistance, succeeded in making themselves masters of the city. This victory was fol- lowed by the restoration of the pope, who returned to Rome on April 12, 1850. Since that period the pope has had his capital garrisoned by French, and other portions of his dominions by Austrian troops ; but he has reformed or remodelled nothing in the manner of a wise sovereign, a prudent statesman, or even an astute politician. The events of the last ten years -which have immediately affected the Papacy, wUl be found related in the History of Italy, THE HISTORY OF NAPLES. Op tbe remote antiquity of this country there are but scanty documents. At a very early period most part of the coasts of Na- ples and Sicily were occupied by Greelc co- lonists, thefounders of some of the greatest and most flourishing cities of the ancient ■world. They received, from this circum- stance, the name of Magna Gnecia. But rapidly as the Greek republics of Italy rose to prosperity, it is certain that luxury and corruption kept equal peace with their pros- perity ; and in the time of Polybius, the very name of Magna Grfficia was disused. Continental Naples submitted to the Ro- mans at an early period of the republic, subsequent to which it underwent many Wcissitudes. In the flf th century it became a prey to the Goths. Belisarius, general of the emperor Justinian, took Naples in 537. Destined to pass from master to mas- ter, it was conquered by Totila in 543. The Lombards next got possession of it, and kept it until Charlemagne put an end to that kingdom. His successors divided it with the Greek emperors, and the latter soon after became its sole masters. In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Saracens possessed Naples, and after them, the Nor- mans. Sicily also fell into the hands of the French in 1058. The French formed Naples into a monar- chy, of which Roger was its first king. Constance, last princess of the blood of Roger, and heiress of the two kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, was married, in 1186, to Henry, son of the emperor Barbarossa. This marriage was the source of great mis- fortunes. At length this family became extinct in 1265, when Pope Clement IV. gave the investiture of Naples and Sicily to Charles, count of Anjou. Charles was opposed by Conradin, nephew of Manfred, who had come from Germany to dispute with him the crown. Charles defeated him in battle, and having taken him prisoner, with Frederick of Austria, caused them both to be executed in the market-place of Na- ples in 1268. This execution made the king detested by his new subjects ; and the French in Naples were equally obnoxious as-in Sicily. A Frenchman had committed in Sicily an atrocious act of violence on a woman. On the morrow after Easter, 1282, the people assembled together, and murder- ed every Frenchman on the' island, with the exception of one gentleman, a native of Provence. The innocent perished with the guilty, and the blood of Conradin was terribly avenged. The descendants of Charles of Anjou pos- sessed the crown until 1384, when Jane I. adopted by her will Louis I., duke of An- jou, son of king John. At the same time Charles Duras, or Durazzo, a cousin of queen Jane, established himself upon the throne. This event occasioned a long war between the two princes, and even between their successors. The posterity of Charles Durazzo, however, maintained their situa- tion, while that of the count of Anjou also bore the title of king of Naples. Jane II., last sovereign of Naples, of the house of Durazzo, appointed, by her will, Rene of Anjou as her successor, which gave that family a double right to the liingdoni ; but Rene never possessed it. Alphonsn, king of Arragon, took possession of Naples, and the cro wn. The kings of Arragon possessed Naples until the time of Charles VIII., when Louis XII. conquered the kingdom. The great general Gonsalvo of Cordova drove out the French army. Notwithstanding the treaty made between Louis XII. and Fer- dinand, king of Spain, in favour of the for- mer, the successors of Ferdinand enjoyed it until the death of Charles II., but not without frequent revolts on the part of the Neapolitans. The revolt of 1647 was headed by a man of the name of Massaniello, a fisherman, who, during fifteen days, could reckon upwards of lOO.CKXi men, over whom he held a most absolute sway. Henry, duke of Guise, a knight-errant of his day, taking the advantage of the troubles which rent Naples asunder, procured himself to be de- clared king, when, after he had been some months in Naples, he was made prisoner by the Spaniards ; and his partisans not only disavowed him, but submitted to his conquerors. After the death of Charles II., who had left Philip V. as the inheritor of his king- dom, the Neapolitans acknowledged him as their king. Ferdinand IV., the late king of Naples, joined the grand confederacy against France at an early period of the war. He afterwards made his peace; but again joining in the war, the French made themselves masters of Naples in January 1799, and the royal family were compelled to fly from that portion of the Neapolitan dominions, and take refuge in Sicily. In February it was divided into eleven depart- ments, and the government new-modelled on the French plan; but, within a few weeks, admiral Nelson appearing upon the coast, the French capitulated, the demo- cratic system was overturned, the old mo- narchy and government restored, and the king welcomed back to his throne. The kingdom of Naples was again, how- ever, placed under French dominion by Buonaparte, and its crown conferred on his brother Joseph: the legitimate king having again fled to Sicily, where he was long supported by a British force under sir CCIje i^tiStDry of i^apIfiS. 785 Jiiliii Stewart. In the spring of 1808 Buo- naparte removed Joseph to Spain, and raised Murat to the tributary and usurped throne of Naples, where he remained with- out being able to annex Sicily to his usurpa- tion, until he was in turn hurled from the throne in 1815. Early in May of that year, the capital was surrendered to a British Bciuadron ; and on the 17th of June, Ferdi- nand IV. reentered it, amid loud and ap- parently sincere plaudits of the multitude. During the time of Murat's reign consi- derable changes took place, the good ef- fects of which every impartial person was ready to allow. All branches of the public administration were invigorated and im- proved ; society in the upper ranks was re- constructed upon the Parisian scale ; the French code superseded the cumbrous and vicious jurisprudence of ancient Naples; and the nation, notwithstanding its subor- dination to the imperial politics and its participation In Napoleon's wars, appeared to be destined to take a higher rank than before in the scale of nations. In July 1820, a revolt, headed by general Pepe, broke out amongst the troops ; and the universal cry was for a constitution, though no person seemed to know exactly what constitution to adopt, or how to frame a new one. At length it was determined to imitate that of the Spanish cortes, and the parliament was expressly summoned to mo- dify and correct it. An episode to this revo- lutionary movement was about the same time exhibited in Sicily. No sooner had the citizens of Palermo heard what had been transacted at Naples, and that a par- liament had been convoked there, than they determined to have a parliament and constitution of their own. Of their taste for liberty, as well as of their fitness for it, they gave an immediate specimen, by let- ting loose from prison nearly a thousand atrocious malefactors. They assailed the houses of the Neapolitan officers, and threw the soldiers into dungeons. It was neces- sary, therefore, to send a large force from Naples to put down the rebellion ; but when that force approached Palermo, a dreadful scene of slaughter and cruelty en- sued in that unhappy city. All who refused to join this militia of criminals were shame- fully murdered, then cut into pieces, and their quivering limbs exposed on pikes and bayonets. In the meanwhile those who led the Neapolitan troops permitted Palermo to surrender on terms of capitulation. While at Naples they were thus amusing themselves at constitutiou-mongering, and in Sicily every species of horrid barbarity was being practised, the allied powers took into their deliberation the changes which popular force had worked in tlie political system of the country ; and the king of the Two Sicilies was invited to the congress. The result was, that the Austrians crossed the Po on the 28th of January, and march- ed to Naples. Rieti was immediately taken by the Austrians, and the Neapolitan army foil back upon Aquila. The Austrians ap- peared in sight ; general Pepe was almost instantly deserted by his troops, and obliged to escape as well as he could. This dis- persion was followed by that of the troops at Mignana, who fired on their officers, and then disbanded. The Austrians entered Naples on the morning of the 29th ; and thus ended the Neapolitan revolution. But though the flame of Insurrection both in Sicily and Naples was thus extin- guished, the elements of combustion were not destroyed. Thousands of exiled Ita- lians, with Mazzini at their head, continued in Marseilles, Geneva, and London, to dis- seminate their views, and from time lo time inundated the Neapolitan territories, both insular and continental, with their revolutionary publications. But the elec- tion of Pius IX. to the papal chair in 1846, gave the first great impetus to political action. In 1847 Messina, Palermo, and Catania were the scene of popular com- motions, which it required ail the energy of the government to suppress. At length, in January 1848, the great mass of the people in Palermo rose in insurrection, overcame the Neapolitan garrisons, and demanded a repeal of the union between Naples and Sicily. To all these demands the king acceded ; but, in the meanwhile, the French revolution of July 24th had given a fresh impulse to the political move- ment; and the provisional government, which had been formed, declared king Fer- dinand deposed, but offered the crown of Sicily to the duke of Genoa, second son of the king of Sardinia, by whom, however, it was prudently declined. Meanwhile, grave events had taken place at Naples. Simultaneously with the con- cessions made to the Sicilians, the king had promulgated a constitution for his continental dominions. On the 14th of May the first parliamentary sitting began ; but some diOicultles arose relating to the oath which the deputies were requested to take; and as neither the king nor the chamber would give way, disturbances im- mediately began. On the morning of the 15th, the streets were fuU of barricades ; and, while negotiations were going on, the more eager and impetuous among the con- stitutional party, impatient of longer delay, began an attack on the military. A san- guinary contest now ensued between the national guards on one side, and the troops and the populace on the other, which lasted for eight hours, and terminated in the complete defeat of the former. It is easy to imagine what scenes of horror en- sued in a contest when the very dregs of the population of Naples were fighting on the victorious side. At length, tlie French admiral Baudin, whose squadron lay in the Bay of Naples, Interfered and threat- ened to land his forces unless the outrages ceased. Upon this the firing ceased : martial law was proclaimed, the national guard suppressed, and the chamber of deputies dissolved. The king, being thus triumphant in Naples, soon afterwards equiiiped a large expedition for the reduction of Sicily. The first object of attack was Messina, whicli refused to surrender. On the 2nd of September a simultaneous attack was made upon it from the fire of the garrison, 3x2 786 CTfjK Crra^urp of ^Wtars, &f. the Neapolitan lli'ft in tlic hnrlxiur, and a large furre wliicli liad previously landed. The inhabitants foiiKht with desperation ; but the contest was too unequal ; and after a bombardment of four days, during which a large portion of the city was laid in ruins, they were compelled to surrender. Here, as at Naples, great atrocities marked the conduct both of the victors and the vanquished. Under the mediation of the English and French naval commanders, an armistice was agreed to; but the war was virtually at an end. It would serve no purpose to detail the events that followed. They who wish to see how far unmitigated tyranny can go in avenging its imaginary wrongs, will find ample satisfaction in pe- rusing Mr. Gladstone's unanswerable ex- posure of the Neapolitan government. A few years later that government ceased to exist. Francis II. has paid the penalty of his father's crimes and his own obstinate folly. But for an account of the events wliich led to and followed his expulsion from his kingdom, the reader is referred to the History of Italy, SICILY. Sicily, the largest, most fertile, and best peopled island in the Mediterranean sea, was inhabited originally by a people called Bicanians. The Siculi, inhabitants of La- tium, are said to have penetrated after- wards into this island, and to have driven the Sicanians from the south and west parts. Several colonies of Greeks next trans- ported themselves into Sicily, and the an- cient inhabitants were obliged to retire into the interior of the country. The Greeks built several handsome cities, which are re- maining to this day; but the mo.st consi- derable was the Corinthian colony of Syra- cuse. The colony next in importance was that of Agrigentum. About the year 491 some Syracusan fugi- tives implored succour from Gelon, king of Gela, a city of Sicily. Gelon conducted himself with so much prudence, that the Syracusans unanimously elected him to be their king. He fortified Syracuse, and became afterwards so powerful as to be master of aU Sicily. The Carthaginians made several attempts upon this island, but were always repulsed by Gelon. Gelon died in the year 476 B.C., leaving behind him the character of a great prince, and regretted by all ranks of Sicilians. He was succeeded by his brother Hieron, who died 466 B.C., and left the throne to his brother, Thrasybulus, who possessed all the vices of Hieron, without his good qualities. He was driven out for his tyranny; and Si- cily was a short time free. Dionysius rendered himself master of Sicily in 40S B.C., and reigned thirty-seven years. He was succeeded by Dionysius the younger, who reigned tweuty-flve years: be- ing driven out by Tlmoleon, he took refuge in Corinth, where he set up a school. Aga- thocles brought the Sicilians under his yoke 317 B.C., and reigned twenty-six years. From his death, Sicily was a theatre of continual war between the Carthaginians and the Ro- mans, until Marcellus became master of it in the year 208 B.C. Sicily flourished under the Romans ; but in the decline, or rather towards the fall, of that empire, it came under the Vandals, and afterwards the kings of Italy. The Saracens were continual in their attacks upon it ; and in a.d. 823 the emperors of the East ceded it to Louis le Debonnaire, emperor of the West; from which time the Saracens occupied a part of it (a.d. 82"), until driven out by the Normans in Kj04. Soon after the expulsion of the Saracens the feudal system was Introduced ; and in 1072, earl Roger, the Norman, also esta- blished a representative assembly, or par- liament, in which the nobles and clergy had an overwhelming majority, and which sub- sisted, notwithstanding the many changes the island has undergone, down to our own times. The Normanskept possession of the island till the establishment of the Suabian dynasty, in 1194. In 1265, Charles of Anjou became master of Sicily ; but the massacre planned by John of Procida, known by the name of the ' Sicilian Vespers ' (March 29, 1282), put an end to the sway of the Ange- vines. It soon after became a dependency of Spain, and was governed by Spanish vice- roys. At the death of Charles II. of Spain, his spoils became an object of furious con- tention ; and at the peace of Utrecht, in 1711, it was ceded to Victor Amadeus of Sa- voy, who not many years after was forced by the emperor Charles VI. to relinquish it for Sardinia. The Spaniards, however, not having been instrumental in effecting this disadvantageous exchange, made a sudden attempt to recover Sicily, in which they failed, through the vigilance of the English admiral Byng, whodestroyed theirfleet.and compelled them for that time to abandon the enterprise. In 1734 the Spanish court resumed their design with success. The infant Don Carlos drove the Germans out, and was crowned king of the Two Sicilies at Palermo. When he passed into Spain, to taie possession of that crown, he trans- ferred the Sicilian diadem to his son Ferdi- nand III. of Sicily, and IV. of Naples. In order that the thread of the narrative may not be broken, we have incorporated the subsequent history of Sicily with that of Naples, to which the reader is referred. The final campaign, in which the island was delivered from the tyranny of the Bourbons by the heroism of Garibaldi, is related in the Bistory of Italy. THE HISTORY OF SARDINIA. The nucleus of the Sardinian monarchy wag Savoy, which was governed as early as tlie tentli centuiy by its own counts, whose de- scendants acquired Nice in 1399, and Pied- mont in 1418. The sovereigns of Savoy and Piedmont were long celebrated for their ability and the skill with which they pre- served and extended their limited domi- nions, notwithstanding the difflculty of their position in the immediate vicinity of the great European powers. The territory was recognised as a separate kingdom by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, when Sicily was added to the Piedmontese dominions, though, in 1720, it was exchanged for the island of Sardinia, which it still retains. During the wars that sprang out of the first French revolution, the Piedmont territory was absorbed into the French republic. At the peace of 1815 the kingdom of Sardinia was restored ; and Genoa and Monaco were annexed to the Sardinian crown. On their restoration to the throne of their ancestors, the princes of Savoy, it was found, had taken no hint from misfortune, and exhi- bited no consciousness of the altered state of affairs. They brought back with them from exile all the old system in its effete mechanism. The people were anxious for a trial of their strength and speed in the race of nations. But it was something more than the new social life common to all Europe that was developing itself in Piedmont. The fever of Italian nationality, which ran throughout the veins of imhappy Italy, throbbed especially here, at the heart and temples. The comparative youth and freshness, the wealth and prosperity of the country, gave Piedmont an earnestness and steadiness of endeavour which might be looked for in vain amidst the more weary and worn-out communities of the eastern and southern part of the peninsula. Unable to stem this mighty tide of ad- vancement, the princes of Savoy strove, but unsuccessfully, to turn it into different channels. So far as their priests would let them, they were not averse to reform ; and something like important internal progress was indeed observable in the old institu- tions of the country ; but there was that in its relations to foreign potentates which too plainly pointed to revolution. All other difllculties might be smoothed down, all other differences adjourned; but the na- tional question enlisted the Piedmontese in the ranks of Italian conspiracy, and as a necessary consequence, threw the princes of Savoy into the arms of Austria. Tlie Piedmontese attempted a partial constitu- tional outbreak in 1820. The event was such as they had anticipated ; and the re- sult immeasurably greater than the mere event portended. It was clearly proved that Sardinia had ceased to be a free agent. The princes gave way before the storm, only to come back in the wake of Austrian bayonets. It was felt that they could not have rendered a more efficient service to the country. All local or partial disaffec- tion subsided in one national yearning. Piedmont was identided with Italy ; it would no longer stand or even triumph alone. The contest was now between Pied- montand Austria, and the people bade their rulers choose between them and their foe. The choice was matter of long hesitation and perplexity ; for on the one hand Aus- tria offered, unquestionably, the most im- mediate chances of safety; and it was not to be expected of the court of Turin that it should at once rid itself of its priests, who unceasingly represented the cause of the foreigner as that of heaven and its own ; and on the other hand those princes could not free themselves from some compunc- tious qualms : for something of the old generous spirit, and of the far-reaching ambition of the founders of the House, still lingered at the heart of their successors, and the foreign yoke was perhaps as galling to themselves as to the best of their subjects : they felt that — would they only run a great risk — a great prize was possibly within their reach. But the kings of Sardinia he- sitated and temporised, until in 1848 the sudden insurrection in Milan against the Austrian government gave a flnal blow to the wavering system, and Charles Albert was forced, by the clamours of his subjects, not only to send an army to the assistance of the insurgents, but himself to take the field, with what melancholy results both to his country and himself has been recorded in the History of Italy. The sentiments of the Piedmontese had long been in advance of their institutions. Hence, when the revolutionary storm burst over Europe in 1848, a constitution modelled on that of Belgium was set up amid the acclamations of the people, and has since operated with a regularity and vigour which augur well for the cause of constitu- tional government beyond the Alps. But it would be vain to deny that Sardinia has three powerful enemies to contend with in France, Austria, and Rome ; each of the former with large forces concentrated on her frontiers ; while the last has advanced posts in the very heart of the country. Tho history of Sardinia is, however, now merged in that of Italy, to which the reader is re- ferred. 788 CF)e ExeaSuvu at Sji^tary, Stc. THE ISLAND OF SARDINIA is divided from Corsica by the Strait of Bonifacio. While it was in the possession of the Romans, it was a place of l)anish- raent ; and afterwards tlie Saracens pos- sessed it nearly four centuries. Tlieir expulsion could not be effected by the Pisanese, on whom Pope Innocent III. had assumed the prerogative of bestowing it in 1132. The emperor Frederlcli paid so little regard to this grant, that he again reunited it with the empire ; hut the Pi- sanese, taking advantage of the long in- terregnum, got possession of it in 1237. A difference afterwards arising between them and the see of Rome, the pope again bestowed the island, in 1298, on James II. of Arragon, whose son, Alphonso IV'., made liimself master of it in 1324. From this time it continued under the crown of Spain, governed by a viceroy until 1708, when tlie English making a conquest of it for kiTig Charles III., afterwards emperor by the title of Charles VI., it was confirmed to him by the treaty of Utrecht. In 1717, it was recovered by the Spaniards : and in 1718, the emperor exchanged it for Sicily with the duke of Savoy, who was put in actual possession of it in 1720 and took the title of king of Sardinia. GENOA. Is the time of the second Punic war, Genoa was a considerable city under the dominion of Rome. Mago, a Carthaginian general, m the course of this war, attacked, took, and destroyed it. The senate thereupon sent the pro-consul Spurius, who in less than two years raised it to its former splendour. It remained under the Romans until it submitted to the Goths. The Lom- bards next possessed and almost ruined it. Charlemagne annexed it to his empire. Pepin, his son, gave the city of Genoa, and its dependencies, to a Frank lord of the name of Adhesnar, under the title of count. His descendants reigned until the end of the eleventh century, when the Genoese revolted against their count, set themselves at liberty, and chose magistrates from among the nobles. In the next century the city was taken by the Saracens, who put all the men to the sword and sent the women and children as slaves into Africa. ■When again reestablished, the inhabit- ants, availing themselves of their fine situ- ation, turned their attention to commerce, enriched themselves, became powerful in proportion to their riches, and erected their country into a republic. Their enthusiasm for liberty rendered this republic capable of great things ; but the jealousy and am- bition of the citizens at length caused great troubles ; the emperors, the kings of Naples, the Viscoutis, the Sforzas, and France, suc- cessively called in by the different parties, divided the republic. In 1217, the principal Genoese, fearful of once more becoming the victims of intes- tine war, chose as their first magistrate a stranger. In 1339, tlie state appeared in a somewhat more regular form, and had ac- quired tranquillity. Simon Bocanegra, a man of an illustrious family, was elected duke or doge, with a council composed of the chiefs of the principal families. In 1390 the Genoese put themselves under the pro- tection of CharlesVI.,kingof France, wliom they acknowledged as their sovereign. In 1409, they massacred the French, and gave their government to the marquis of Mont- ferrat. In 1438, Francis Sforza, duke of Milan, was acknowledged sovereign pro- tector of the republic of Genoa ; but his administration tending to despotism, they set themselves at liberty. It was at this time that they offered the sovereignty of their city to Louis XI. Louis, well ac- quainted with the disposition of the Ge- noese, unfit either to command or obey, made this answer to their solicitations : ' If the Genoese give themselves to me, I will give them all to the devil.' In 1528, Andrew Doria had the happiness and address to unite and conciliate this refractory people, and established an aris- tocratic government. This form continued until the French republicans made their rapid conquests in Italy. Genoa was the scene of many hard-fought battles. At length, in 1797, a new republic was raised, under the name of the Ligurian republic ; but which, like the rest of the modem French creations, was dissolved at the downfall of Napoleon, in 1815, and trans- formed to a dependent province of Sar- dinia. TIIE MODERN HISTOEY OF GREECE. CHAPTER I. Wb have seen (see p. 49) to what a state of degradation the Greeks were reduced In a few centuries after their subjugation by the Romans. Thus It continued as long as it was either really or nominally a portion of the Roman empire ; till at length, like the imperial mistress of the world herself, it bent before the all-subduing Alaric the Gotli, A.D. 400,* and shared in all the miseries, which were brought by the nor- thern barbarians who successively overr.in and ravaged the south of Europe. After the Latin conquest of Constantinople, in 1204, Greece was divided into feudal prin- cipalities, and governed by a variety of Norman, Venetian, and Frankish nobles ; but in 1261, with the exception of Athens and Nauplia, it was reunited to the Greek empire by Michael Palasologus. But it did not long remain unmolested ; for the Turks, then rising iuto notice, aimed at obtain- ing power in Europe : and Amurath II. deprived the Greeks of all their cities and castles on the Euxine sea, and along the coasts of Thrace, Macedon, and Thessaly ; carrying his victorious arms, in short, into the midst of the Peloponnesus. The Gre- cian emperors acknowledged hira as their superior lord, and he, in turn, afforded them protection. This conquest, however, was not effected without a brave resist- ance, particularly from two heroic Chris- tians, John Huuniades, a celebrated Hun- garian general, and George Castriot, an Albanian prince, better known in history by the name of Scanderbeg. When Mohammed II., in 1451, ascended the Ottoman throne, the fate of the Greek empire seemed to be decided. At the head of an army of 300,000 men, supported by a fleet of 300 sail, he laid siege to Constanti- nople, and encouraged his troops by spread- ing reports of prophecies and prodigies that portended the triumph of Islamism. Constantine, the last of the Greek emperors, met the storm with becoming resolution, and maintained the city for fifty-three days, though the fanaticism and fury of the be- siegers were raised to the highest pitch. At length (May 29, 1453) the Turks stormed the walls, and the brave Constantine per- ished at the head of his faithful troops. The final conquest of Greece did not, how- ever, take place till 1481. Neither were the conquerors long left in undisturbed possession of their newly acquired terri- tory ; and during the 16th and 17th centu- ries Greece was the scene of obstinate wars, till the treaty of Passarovitz, in 1718, •For the effecti which the invasions of Alaric had on the growth of the Papal power, see Mil- nir.n*s Latin Christianiti/, book 11. ch. i. confirmed the Turks in their conquest ; and for a century from that time the inhabit- ants of Greece groaned under their des- potic sway. At the time of the expedition of the French into Egypt, the Greeks, strongly excited by the events of the war, which was thus approaching them, waited for them as liberators, with the firm resolution of going to meet them and conquering their liberty ; but again their hopes were disappointed, and the succours they ex- pected from Prance were removed to a dis- tance. Having waited in vain, in the midst of the great events which in several re- spects have changed the whole face of Eu- rope in this century, the Greeks, taking counsel only of their despair, and indig- nant at living always as helots ou the ruins of Sparta and of Athens, when nations but of yesterday were recovering their rights and recognising their social rela- tions, rose against their despotic and cruel masters, perhaps with greater boldness than prudence. The first decided movement took place in the year 1800, when the Servians, pro- voked by the cruelty of their oppressors the Turks, made a general insurrection, which was headed by their famous chief Czerui George, who had been a sergeant in the Austrian service, and afterwards be- came a bandit chief. He was possessed of much energy of character and bravery ; and under him the Servians obtained seve- ral victories. He blockaded Belgrade ; aud one of the gates being surrendered to him, he made his entry into the city aud slaugh- tered all the Turks that were found in it. At this time the affairs of the Porte were in great disorder. It had but just terminated its war with France; and the efforts by which it had been endeavouring to reduce Paswan Oglou, pacha of Widdiu, had failed and ended in disgrace. At home the janissaries were dissatisfied, and Rou- melia was in a disturbed state. The divan, however, exerted themselves to quell the Servians, and they were aided by the Bos- nians, in consequence of which many san- guinary combats took place. But relying on the promises of Russia, and receiving pecuniary succour from Tpsilauti, the in- surgents continued the contest, issuing from their fastnesses on every favourable opportunity, and marking their progress through the surrounding country by spread- ing devastation in every direction. In the meantime Russia openly declared war against the Porte in 1807, and carried on the war until 1812, when the treaty of Bucharest was negotiated ; and though some efforts were made to obtain a conces- sion in favour of their Servian allies, yet one difficulty after aiiother being started 790 Cljc Cicasury of Sjistary, ^c by tlie Porte, a, peace was :it length con- cluded, as before, upon such terms as left the insurgents to their fate. At length It was agreed, that Milosh, brother-in-law to Ci-.irni (ii-dru'e, a native, should be their liriiK'o; tli;it i he sum of loo.ooo;. should be paiil ji'iirly to the Turks, whose garrisons In the fortresses of the Danube were to be limited, and that the prince should main- tain a few national forces, for the regula- tion of the internal policy. The period that intervened between 1815 and IS'-'O was apparently tranquil: the Ot- toman affairs seemed prosperous ; the sul- tan Mahraoud, by his vigorous tueasures, maintained peace Avith his neighbours, quelled the spirit of the mutinous janis- saries, suppressed several revolts in the eastern part of the empire, and gave more weight to the imperial firmans than they had heretofore possessed. But under this appearance of tranquillity, aU those projects were forming which produced what we term ' the Greek revolution.'* The Greeks soon became more open iu their plots against their oppressors, and entertained soiue considerable hopes from the proba- ble arrangements of the congress of Vien- na ; but that congress closed without ef- fecting any result favourable to theliberties of Greece. This, however, did not damp the ardour of its friends, nor induce them to abandon the plans they had projected. At length, in 1820, symptoms of a general rising appeared ; and all civilised nations seemed disposed to aid the cause of the oppressed. But that generous feeling in a great measure subsided, as the petty dis- sensions of pai'ty, or the despotic notions of arbitrary power, severally displayed themselves. The Turks and Greeks never became one nation ; the relation of conquerors and conquered never ceased. However abject a large part of the Greeks became by their continued oppression, they never forgot that they were a distinct nation ; and their patriarch at Constantinople remained a visible point of union for their national feelings. On the 7th of March 1821, a proclama- tion of Ypsilauti was placarded in Jassy, under the eyes of the hospodar, Michael Suzzo, which declared, that all the Greeks had on that day thrown off the Turkish yoke ; that he would put himself at their head, with his countrymen ; that prince Suzzo wished the happiness of the Greeks ; and that nothing was to be feared, as a great power was going to march against Turkey. Several ofllcers and members of the Hetaireia had accompanied Tpsilanti from Bessarabia and Jassy. Some Turks ■were murdered, but Tpsilanti did all in his power to prevent excesses, and was gene- rally successful. He wrote to the emperor of Russia, Alexander, who was then at Lay- bach, asking his protection for the Greek cause, and the two principalities, Wallachia and Moldavia ; but the revolutions in Spain and Piedmont liad just then broken out, and * See the admirable ITlstary of the Greek Re- volutioTiy by George Finlay, that niiuiarch considered the Greek insur- rection to be nothing but a political fever, caught from Spain and Italy, which could not be checked too soon ; besides, Tpsi- lanti was actually iu the service of Russia, and therefore had imdertaken this step against the rules of military discipline. Alexanderpublicly disavowed the measure : Tpsilanti's name was struck from the army rolls, and he was declared to be no longer a subject of Russia. The Russian minister and the Austrian internuncio at Constan- tinople, also declared that their cabinets, would not take advantage of the internal troubles of Turkey in any shape whatever, but would remain strictly neutral. Tet the Porte continued suspicious, particularly after the information of an Englishman had led to the detection of some suppnsi d traces of the Greek conspiracy at Cmii-i:mi- tinople. It therefore ordered thci;ii--Kiu vessels to be searched contrary to trt-.uy. The commerce of Odessa suffered from this measure, which occasioned a serious cor- respondence between baron Stroganoff, the Russian ambassador, and the reis effendi. The most vigorous measures were taken against all Greeks : their schools were sup- pressed ; their arms seized ; suspicion was a sentence of death ; the flight of some ren- dered all guilty, and it was prohibited under sentence of death : in the divan, the total extinction of the Greek name was pro- posed ; Turkish troops marched into the principalities ; the hospodar Suzzo was out- lawed ; the patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem excommunicated aU insiu'- gents (JIarch 21) ; and a hatti-sheriffl of March 31 caUed upon all Mussulmans to arm against the rebels for the protection of the Islams. Ko Greek was for some time safe in the streets ot Constantinople : women aud children were thrown into the sea ; the noblest females openly violated, aud murdered or sold ; the populace broke into the house of Fonton, the Russian counsellor of legation ; and prince Murusl was beheaded iu the Seraglio. After the arrival of the new grand vizier, Beuderli Alt Pacha, who conducted a disorderly army from Asia to the Bosphorus, the wildest fanaticism raged in Constantinople. In Wallachia and Moldavia the bloody strug- gle was brought to a close through the treachery, discord, and cowardice of the pandoors and Arnaouts, with the annihi- lation of the valiant ' sacred band ' of the Hetaireia, in the battle of Drageshan (Jtme 19, 1821), and with Jord.aki's heroic death in the monastery of Seek. In Greece Proper, no cruelty could quench the flre of liberty ; the beys of the Morea invited all bishops and the no- blest Greeks to Tripolizza, under pretence of consulting with them on the deliverance ofthe people from their cruel oppression. Several fell into the snare ; when they ar- rived, tliey were thrown into prison. Ger- manos, archbishop of Patras, alone pene- trated the intended treachery, and took lueasures with the others for frustrating the designs of their oppressors. The beys of the Morea then endeavoured to disarm the separate tribes; but it was too late: t![!i)t iJ^fiStory nf (Srcccc. 791 the Mainotes, always free, descended from mount Taygetog, in obedience to Ypsi- lanti's proclamation, and the heart of all Greece beat for liberty. Tlie revolution in the Morea began March 23, 1821, at Calavrita, a small place in Achaia, where eighty Turks were made prisoners. On the same day the Turkish garrison of Patras fell upon the Greek in- habitants; but they were soon relieved. In the ancient Laconia, Colocotronl and Peter Mavromichalis roused the people to arms. The archbishop Germanos collected the peasants of Achaia. In Patras and the other places, the Turks retreated into the fortresses. As early as April 0, a Messe- nian senate assembled in Calamata, and the bey of Maina, Peter Mavromichalis, as commander-in-chief, proclaimed that the Morea had shaken oft the yoke of Turkey to save the Christian faith, and to restore the ancient character of their country. 'From Europe, nothing is wanted but money, arms, and counsels.' From that time, the suffering Greeks found friends in Germany, France, Switzerland, Britain, and the United States, who sympathised with them, and did all in their power to assist them in their struggle. The cabi- nets of Europe, on the contrary, threw every impediment in the way of the Hel- lenists, until they were finally obliged, against their inclination, to interfere in their favour. Jussuf Selim, pacha of Lepaiito, having received information of these events from the diplomatic agent of a European power, hastened to relieve the citadel of Patras, and the town was left a heap of ruins. The massacre of the inhabitants, April 15, was the signal for a struggle of life and death. Almost the whole war was thenceforward a succession of atrocities. It was not a war prosecuted on any fixed plan, but merely a series of devastations and murders. The law of nations could not exist between the Turks and Greeks, as they were then situated. The monk Gregorios, soon after, occupied Corinth, at the head of a body of Greeks. The revolution spread over Attica, Bceotia, Phocis, .a;toli,a, and Acarnania, The ancient names were revived. At the same time, the islanders declared them- selves free. In some islands, the Turks were mas- sacred in revenge for the murder of the Greeks at Patras; and, in retaliation, the Greeks were put to death at Smyrna, in Asia Minor, and in those islands which had not yet shaken off the Turkish yoke. The exasperation was raised to its highest pitch by the cruelties committed against the Greeks in Constantinople after the end of March. On mere suspicion, and often merely to get possession of their property, the divan caused the richest Greek mer- chants and bankers to be put to death. The rage of the Mussulmans was parti- cularly directed against the Greek clerg.v. The patriarch of Constantinople was mur- dered, with his bishops, in the metropolis. In Adrianople, the venerable patriarch Cyrillus, who had retired to solitude, ■With the archbishop of Adrianople, and others, met the same fate. Several hun- dred Greek churches were torn down, with- out the divan paying any attention to the remoiistrances of the Christian ambassa- dors. The savage grand-vizier, indeed, lost his place, and soon after his life ; but Mali- moud and his favourite, Halet eflendi, per- sisted in the plan of extermination. The commerce of Russia, on the Black Sea, was totally ruined by the blockade of the Bosphorus, and the ultimatum of the ambassador was not answered. Baron Strogauofl, therefore, broke off all diplo- matic relations with the reis effeudi, July 18, and on the 31st embarked for Odessa. He had declared to the divan, that if the Porte did not change its system, Russia would feel herself obliged to give 'the Greeks refuge, protection, and assistance.' The answer of tlie rels eflendi to this de- claration, given too late, was sent to Pe- tersburg; but it was only after the most atrocious excesses committed by the janis- saries and the troops from Asia, that the foreign ministers, particularly the British minister, lord Strangford, succeeded in in- ducing the grand-seignior to recall the command for the arming of all MussiUmaus, and to restore order. CHAPTER II. All eyes were fixed on Tripolizza, which was now in a state of close blockade, and its fall daily expected. The usual popula- tion was about 15,000 souls ; it is also com- puted that the garrison, with all the Alb.a- nians of the Kiayah, amounted to 8,000 men ; there could not, therefore, have been fewer than 20,000 persons within the walls ; yet they allowed themselves to be block- aded by 5,000 undisciplined and ill-armed Greeks, without artillery or cavalry. Wh ilo the Turkish horse were in a state for ser- vice, the Greeks did not attempt anything in the plain ; but their forage soon failed, and the only food they could get was vino leaves. Provisions were become very scarce, and the Greeks had cut the pipes, and thus intercepted the supply of water. Ypsilanti, however, was impatient, and felt anxious to begin a regular siege ; but he had neither proper ordnance nor engineers. Some can- non and mortars had indeed been brought from Malvasia and Navarin, and were in- trusted to the care of an Italian adven- turer; but in the first essay he burst a mortar, and was dismissed. Things were in this state, when prince Mavracordato arrived, bringing with him some French and Italian officers. In the beginning Of October the Turks began to make propositions for a capitu- lation, and the treaty was proceeding, on the 5th, when an accidental circumstance rendered it of no avail, and hastened the catastrophe. Some Greek soldiers having approached one of the gates, began to con- verse, and, as usual, to barter fruit with the sentinels. The Turks imprudently as- sisted them in mounting the wall, but no sooner had they gained the top when they threw down the infidels, opened the gate, and displayed the standard of the cross 791 C^e Crca^uri.) oJ W^tarp, &c. aliove it ; the Christians Instantly rnshed from nil quarters to the assault, and the disorder became general. The Turks im- mediately opened a hrisk Arc of cannon and Bmall-shot ; but the gates were car- ried ; the walls scaled : and a desperate struggle was kept up in the streets and houses. Before the end of the day the contest was over, and the citadel, which held out till the next evening, surrendered at discretion. About 6,000 Turks, it is said, perished, some thousands were made pri- soners, and numbers fled to the moun- tains. While these transactions were occurring at Trlpolizza, four pachas proceeded in the month of August from the frontiers of Thessaly and Macedonia, to Zeitouni, with the design of forcing the straits of Ther- mopyls, and, in conjunction with the Otto- man troops at Thebes and Athens, reliev- ing the besieged fortresses in the Morea. Odysseus was stationed on a height above the defiles at a place called Fontana. They sent a body of 300 horse to reconnoitre his position, but this detachment was cut to pieces. The next day they attacked him with their whole force ; at flrst the Greeks gave way, but a brave chief, named Gon- raz, made a stand and rallied the fugitives. They returned to the charge, and the in- fidels were routed with the loss of 1,200 men. One of the pachas was slain, and vast quantities of baggage and ammuni- tion taken. This was on the .31st of August, and was a victory of immense importance to the cause. About the same time the bishop of Carystus raised an insurrection in Euboea, and endeavoured to intercept the communication between Athens and that island. An assembly was now called to meet at Argos for the purpose of organising a go- vernment, and the prince repaired thither to attend it ; while deputies in the mean- time arrived from different parts to demand succours from the administration of the jieninsula, and to report what was doing in their districts. In Macedonia the monks of mount Athos, provoked by the violent proceedings of the Turks, were driven into revolt. The assemblage of a congress had been regarded as a new and important era in the Greek revolution; the anxiety of the nation for the organising of a government was evident from the eagerness with which the people elected the deputies. By the middle of December not less than sixty had arrived, including ecclesiastics, land- owners, merchants, and civilians, most of whom had been liberally educated. They flrst named a commission to draw up "a political code ; the rest were occupied in examining the general state of the nation, and laying plans for the next campaign. On the 27th of January 1822, the inde- pendence of the country was proclaimed, and its code published amidst the joyful acclamations of the deputies, the army, "and the people. The government was, for the present, styled 'provisional,' while the promulgation of the constitution was ac- companied with an address, exhibiting the reasons for sh.aking off the Turkish yoke. Five members of the congress were nomi- nated as an executive, and prince Mavro- cordato was appointed president. Minis- ters were appointed for the different depart- ments of war, finance, public instruction, the interior, and police ; and a commission named of three individuals to superintend the naval affairs. The new government signalised their liberality by a decree for the abolition of slavery, as well as the sale of any Turkish prisoners who might fall into their hands, prohibiting it under the severest penalties ; they also passed another edict for a com- pensation for military services, and a pro- vision for the widows and orphans of those who should fall in battle ; and a third re- gulating the Internal administration of the provinces. The organisation of the army was also commenced ; a corps called the first regiment of the line was formed and officered from the volunteers of different nations, and, as there were more of them than were requisite for this service, a se- cond was formed of the remainder, which took the name of Philhellenes. Patras was blockaded again by 3,000 men, and a smaller body under the French colonel Voutierwas sent to Athens, to reduce the Acropolis ; the forces before Napoli were augmented, and Modon and Coron closely invested by the armed peasantry around. An event, the most terrific and atrocious that history has ever recorded, marked the commencement of the second campaign : the destruction of Scio, and its miserable inhabitants. The Sciots had taken no part in the movement of 1821. In the begin- ning of May, in that year, a small squadron of Ipsariots appearing off the coast, fur- nished the aga with a pretext for his oi>- pressions, and he began by seizing forty of the elders and bishops, who were im- mured as hostages for the good conduct ol the people. 'On the 23rd of April,' says Mr. Bla- quiere, 'a fleet of fifty sail, including five of the line, anchored in the bay, and im- mediately began to bombard the town, while several thousand troops were landed under the guns of the citadel, which also opened a heavy Are on the Greeks. It was in vain for the islanders to make any re- sistance : deserted by the Samians, most of whom embarked and sailed away when the Turkish Beet hove in sight, they were easily overpowered and obliged to fly. From this moment, until the last direful act, Scio, lately so great an object of admiration to strangers, presented one continued scene of horror and dismay. Having massacred every soul, whether men, women, or chil- dren, whom they found in the town, the Turks flrst plundered, and then set Are to it, and watched the flames until not a house was left, except those of the foreign con- suls. Three days had, however, been suf fered to pass, before the infldels ventured to penetrate into the interior of the island, and even then their excesses were conflned to the low grounds. Wliile some were occupied in plundering the villas of rich merchants, and others setting fire to the Clje l^iiStorp a( (Srecrp. 793 villages, the air was rent with the mingled groans of men, women, and children, who were falling under the swords and daggers of the infidels. The only exception made during the massacre was In favour of young women and boys, who were preserved to he afterwards sold as slaves. Many of the for- mer, whose husbands had been butchered, were running to and fro frantic, with torn garments and dishevelled liair, pressing their trembling infants to their breasts, and seeking death as a relief from the still greater calamities that awaited them. ' Above 40,000 of both sexes had already either fallen victims to the sword, or beei selected for sale in the bazaars, when it occurred to the pacha, that no time should be lost in persuading those who had fled to the more inaccessible parts of the island to lay down their arms and submit. It helng impossible to effect this by force, they had recourse to a favourite expedient with Mussulmans — that of proclaiming an amnesty. In order that no doubt should be entertained of their sincerity, the foreign consuls, more particularly those of Eng- land, Prance, and Austria, were called upon to guarantee the promises of the Turks : they accordingly went forth and invited the unfortunate peasantry to give up their arms and return. Notwithstanding their long experience of Turkish perfidy, the solemn pledge given by the consuls at length prevailed, and many thousai.ds, who might have successfully resisted until suc- cours had arrived, were sacrificed : for no sooner did they descend from the heights, and give up their .arms, than the infidels, totally unmindful of the proffered pardon, put them to death without mercy.' The number of persons of every age and sex who became the victims of this perfidious act was estimated at 7,000. ' After having devoted ten days to the work of slaughter, it was natural to sup- pose that the monsters who directed this frightful tragedy would have been in some degree satiated by the blood of so many innocent victims ; but it was when the excesses had begun to diminish, on the part of the soldiery, that fresh scenes of horror were exhibited on board the fieet, and in the citadel. In addition to the women and children embarked for the pur- pose of being conveyed to the markets of Constantinople and Smyrna, several hundreds of the natives were also seized, and, among these, all the gardeners of the island, who were supposed to know where the treasures of their employers had been concealed. There were no less than 300 of the persons thus collected hung on board the different ships ; when these executions commenced, they served as a signal to the commandant of the citadel, who immedi- ately followed the example, by suspending the whole of the hostages, to the number of seventy-six, on gibbets erected for the occasion. With respect to the numbers who were either killed or consigned to slavery, during the three weeks that fol- lowed the arrival of the capitan pacha, there is no exaggeration in placing the former at 25,000 souls. It has been ascer- t.ained that above 30,000 women and chil- dren were condemned to slavery, while the fate of those who escaped was scarcely less calamitous. Though many contrived to get off in open boats, or such other ves- sels as they could procure, thousands, who were unable to do so, wandered about the mountains, or concealed themselves in caves, without food or clothing, for many (lays after the massacre had begun to sub- side on the plains. Among those who had availed themselves of the pretended am- nesty, many families took refuge in tlie houses of the consuls, who were indeed bound by every tie of honourand humanity to afford them protection. It has, how- ever, been asserted upon authority which cannot well be doubted, that the wretched beings thus saved from Mussulman ven- geance, were obliged to pay large ransoms before they could leave the island. Nay, more, numbers of those wlio escaped the njassacre afilnn that it was extremely difilcult to obtain even temporary protec- tion under the Christian flags, without first gratifying the avaricious demands of those who conceived this appalling event a legitimate object of mercantile specu- lation.' At the commencement of the campaign, Colocotroni, with 300 men, was despatched to Patras, where a part of the Turkish fleet had landed a great body of men In the lat- ter end of February. On his approach the Turks went to meet him with almost all their force. Colocotroni, not considering himself strong enough for them, retreated to the mountains; but suddenly stepped, addressed his men, and, wheeling aliout, advanced towards the enemy. Upon this the Turks, struck with a panic, thinkiug he had received notice of a reinforcement, turned their backs and were pursued by the Greeks up to the walls of the town ; 500 of them were slain in less than two hours, and Colocotroni blockaded the place. The Ottoman fleet was pursued by the Greeks under Miauli and Tombasi,and the admiral's frigate nearly fell into the hands of the Greeks. Marco Bozzaris and Rango gained many advantages in Epirus, and took Arta, the key of Albania ; but, owing to the treachery of Tairabos, it was aban- doned. Odysseus and his companions en- deavoured to check the enemy in Livadia and Negropont ; but the disaster of the Greeks at Cassaudra so much strengthened them, that they advanced again, and threw some reinforcements into Athens. The fall of All Pacha had now so much increased the resources of Choursid, that he concerted measures which would have been the destruction of the Greek cause, had they been skillfully executed. Mavro- cordato, in order to frustrate them, laid a plan to undertake an expedition into Epi- rus, draw off the Turks from the Morea, relieve the Suliotes, and carry the war into the heart of Albania. He communicated his plan to the executive, and it was de- termined to place 5,000 men at the disposal of the president, who was to lead the ex- pedition in person. The only forces, how- ever, which could be mustered, were the 3 Y 794 t!r,\)t Crraduri.) of ?§«torM, &c. 1 J mc ; but Coloc.troni i.or'e opposed many I other : so tbat the Turks were reduced to ,1 ifflriltlefi 'o anv of his troops being de- [tin- greatest straUs, feeding upon horses, ta"ed and he"^ o fseSuVleavewitl.- the herbs on the rocks, their saddles, and out the p "pec ed assistant. Accrdinuly, ' at last one another. For nearly three weeks h eVa ied to MissoloUKhi with ..nly a few ! longer the place held out, when Odysseus undred men A larwe force of the enemy ' arrived, and on one of the beys being ao was in the meantime collected at Larissa qualnted with him, a negotiation was com- and Zetouni; Colocotroni suddenly left meuced, by which the garrison obtained per- tle blockade of Patras, and proceeded with , mission to embark, and the beys were sent aU ms arm? to Tripoliz/.a. leaving an op- prisoners to Napoli. The number of the ene- portunity for the Turkish garrison cither my that perished on this occasion, 'without to enter the Morea, or cross the Lepanto. firing a shot, amounted, it is said, to 2,000. Consternation prevailed in the Pelopon- Thus ended the sec.md campaign in the ne"ur- and Corinth was abandoned and Morea, costing the Turks not fewer than re-occupied by the enemy, not without the 25,f«o men in the Peloponnesus alone, susnicion of treachery The operations in Epirus, though on a The situation of Ypsilanti was at this ' smaller scale, were little less interesting time very critical : he had no money or pro- Mavrocordato put his forces iii motion, and visions, and hardly 1,300 men to oppose first making a feint as if he wished to 30 000: he therefore, in order to stop the breach Balona, returned on the -nllage of en'emv's progress, threw himself into the j Therasova, and entered Missolonghi on the citadel of Arlos, while Colocotroni took up ' 17th of October, where greater difficulties the strong position of Lerno on the west of than ever awaited him. Here he was be- the gulf The first body of the Turks, con- sieged by the Turks until the 9th of ^o- sistingof 7,000cavalrvaud4,000foot, halted ; vember, when the blockading squadron near Argos and part "of it proceeded to Na- was chased away by six vessels bearing poll ; soon after Marchmont Pacha arrived the Greek flag ; and on the 14th Mavromi- with 10 000 more. The pacha, however, en- chalis arrived with the long-expected suc- tered Napoli, and continued several days cours. A sortie was then made ; but it inactive; when threatened with the ex- was to little avail, and the garrison w-as so tremities of famine and drought, he gave ; much weakened, that Omar Vrioni deter- orders for the return to Corinth, and his mined to attack the place. Accordingly on army set out in the greatest disorder. Co- the morning of Christmas-day, at 5 o clock, locotronl attacked and destroyed 5,000 of 800 men approached the walls with scaling them in a few hours ; the advanced guard ladders unperceived, and had even nxea was attacked in the defiles by the Mainiotes some, but they were instantly cut down; under Kikitas, and 1,200 perished in the the conflict that followed was desperate first onset The.se successes happened be- and sanguinary, and the Turks were obliged tween the 4th and 7th of August. On to retire with the loss of 1,200 men and the 18th the pacha attempted to draw the nine pieces of cannon. The rising now Greeks into an ambuscade, but they got became general through the country, and into his rear, and he was defeated with the retreat of the enemy was intercepted ereatloss; the next dav, determining to re- in all quarters; so that of the whole force lain the position thev had lost, the Turks brought into the country, only three months again attacked under Hadji All, who was before, not half escaped. Mavrocordato slain in the engagement, and nearly 2,000 arrived in the Peloponnesus in the eariy of his men were lost, as well as a large part of April 1823, after an absence of ten quantity of baggage and several hundred months. ^ » , ► „ „ horses The Greeks, however, had no | The national congress met at Astros, a means' of foUowing up their successes. I small town in Argos, on the 10th of April Tnsilanti advanced to Napoli to assist In J 823, in a garden under the shade of orange its reduction, whUe the troops left under , trees ; nearly 300 deputies were occupied the command of Coliopulo, not being sup- in the debates, which began at sunrise. plied with rations or pay, became so weary of the service that the greater part with- drew, leaving Colocotroni's eldest son with 200 or 300 men to continue the blockade of Corinth. Soon after this, Colocotroni, at the passes near the isthmus, stopped the Turks who wished to bring succonrs to- Napoli; and they being driven to the greatest extremity of famine, and the citadel having been surprised, the garri- son had no alternative left them but to sur- render. The Greeks took possession of this important place on the 11th of January. The Turkish commanders, on the surrender of Napoli, determined to proceed to Patras, which the Greeks had lately neglected The following oath was taken at the first meeting by each member: — 'I swear, in the name of God and my country, to act with a pure and unshaken patriotism, to promote a sincere union, and abjure every thought of personal interest in all the dis- cussions which shall take place in this se- cond national congress.' Having settled a number of important points, its labours ended on the 30th. The third meeting of the congress was deferred for two years ; and the executive and legislative body was transferred to Tripolizza, where measures were immediately taken for opening the third campaign. The enemy was not idle as the summer Witt ^iitavQ a( ti'd with even less success to induce | tlie sultan to anu his Oliristian subjects and let them llirht aloiiK with the Mussulmans fur the defence of their common country. The year 1HG2 witnessed two Insurrec- tions in (Treeco apalnst the authority of kins Otho. Tlie first, which was entirely military, was promptly repressed : the se- ciuul w.is bloodless, yet wholly successful. The kiuK left his capital to visit the Pelopon- nesus, and on his return found himself shut out from Athens. Thus far the revolution had been disijraced liy no sinprle crime. Otho and his Bavarians had been expelled ; a provisional povernment carried on the administratiwn hands, and the great powers showed no disposition to interfere. Whether they are likely to use aright the golden opportunity, few perhaps are able to judge. It is easier to say what their wants are. They need a statesman rather than a prince, a lln.incier rather than the member of a hereditary dynasty ; they need one who will see at once the reasons which have arrested or crushed the political and commercial growth of the country : and unless theseevilsare promptly removed, there can be but little hope of any present improvement in the Ilillenic people. Until all political exemptions from the con- trol of Law are unreservedly abolished, there can be no real constitutional freedom : until the municipal institutions are restored, there can be no effectual check on the mon- strous and corrupt centralisation which Othofostered with despcratedetermination. Until the haratch, or tax in kind on all farm produce, has been done away with, there can be no inducement to Greeks or foreigners to invest their capital in land, and the country must continue in a state of comparative poverty and insecurity. With the removal of these evils, the king- dom would recover an immense increase of strength and power, which would Imme- diately affect its position with regard to the corrupt and effete empire of the Turks. The Greeks have, at length, elected as their king. Prince George of Denmark, the son of the present Danish sovereign, and brother of the Princess of Wales. THE inSTORY OF PERSIA. On the dissolution of the Macedonian pinpire, after the death of Alexander (323), the SeleucidiH ruled over Persia until 246 B.C. They were succeeded by the Arsa- cidfB, who founded the empire of the Par- thians, which existed until 229 A.D. Ard- sliir Babegan (Artaxerxes) then obtained the sovereignty of Central Asia, and left it to his descendants the Sassanidie, who ruled 407 years. With them begins, accord- ing to Hammer, the romantic character of Persian chivalry ; and the six most renown- ed rulers of this dynasty, among whom are Behramgur, Chosroes, Parwis, and Nushir- van, are the subjects of Persian romances. Ardshir, son of Sassan, ruled from 218 to 241.* The wars which he carried on with the Komans were continued under his suc- cessor. Sapor I., against Gordian and Va- lerian (the latter of whom fell into the hands of Sapor, and was treated in a most revolting manner), and were not terminated until the peace of king Narses with Diocle- tian (303). When Sapor the Great had become of full age, the empire again recovered strength. He punished the Arabs for their incur- sions, took the king of Yemen prisoner ; and demanded from the emperor of Constanti- nople the cession of all the country to the Strymon, as Ardshir had once done. Con- stantine the Great, Constautine II., and Julian resisted his demands; but Jovian purchased peace by a cession of the Ave pro- vinces in question and the fortress of Ni- sibis. Sapor also extended his conquests into Tartary and India, War and peace suc- cessively followed, without any important events, after the death of Sapor. Under Artaxerxes IT., Sapor III., and Va- ranes IV. (until 399), the empire flourished. Arabs, Huns, and Turks successively ap- pear on the field, as allies or enemies of Persia. Yezdegerd I., a friend of the Christians, conquered Armenia in 412. In the year 420, Varanes V. ascended the throne by the aid of the Arabs. He was victorious against Theodosius II., defeated the Huns who iu- v.aded his empire, and conquered the king- dom of Yemen. He was succeeded by Vara- nes VI. and Honnisdas III. In the year 4r)7, Firoz (Phoreses) ascended the throne by the assistance of the Huns; but after- wards made war against them, and lost his life in battle, in 483. Valens, or Balash, was stripped of a part of his territories by the Huns, and obliged to pay them a tribute for two years. The Sassanidas, however, soon regained their greatness and power. Kobad subdued the Huns; and though he * For this wonderful resuscitation of the Per. Bian Empire, see more at length (Jibbon's Koman Empire^ chapter viii. had recovered his throne, In 498, by their assistance, yet, at a later period, he waged a successful war against them and Justi- nian I. His youngest son and successor, Chosrou Nushirvan, was distinguished for his un- common wisdom and valour. Under him the Persian empire extended from the Me- diterranean to the Indus, from the laxartes to Arabia and the confines of Egypt. He waged successful wars with the Indians and Turks, with Justinian and Tiberius, and with the Arabs, whom he delivered from the oppression of petty tyrants ; he also suppressed the rebellions of his brother and his son. The Lazians in Colchis, wearied with the Greek oppression, submitted them- selves to hira ; but when he attempted to transfer them into the interior of Persia, they again placed themselves under the dominion of Justinian, whose arms were now victorious. Nushirvan died of grief during the negotiations for peace. War continued under Hormuz (Honnisdas IV.) until the reign of Chosrou II., under whom the Persian power reached its highest pitch. By successful wars he extended his con quests on the one side to Chalcedon (616), on the other over Egj-pt to Lybia and Ethiopia, and finally to Yemen. But the fortune of war was suddenly changed by the victorious arms of the emperor Hera- clius. Chosrou lost all his conquests, and his own son Sirhes made him prisoner, and put him tod^ath (628). The decline of Persia was hastened by continued domestic feuds. Sirhes, or Ka- bad Shirujeh, was murdered in the same year. His son Ardshir (Artaxerxes III.), but seven years old, succeeded him, and was murdered, in 629, by his general Ser- bas (Sheheriar). The chief Persians pre- vented Serbas from ascending the throne: and after numerous revolutions succeeding each other so rapidly that historians have confounded the names, Yezdegerd III., a nephew of Chosrou, ascended the ihrone in 632, at the age of sixteen. He was attached by the caliph Omar, in 638, and Persia became a prey to the Arabs and Turks. Yezdegerd lost his life in 651. With the conquest of Persia by the caliphs begins the history of the Modern Persian empire. The dominion of the Arabs lasted 585 years, from 636 to 1220. As some of the Arab governors made themselves Inde- pendent, and Persian and Turkish princes possessed themselves of single provinces, Persia continued to be divided into nume- rous petty states. Among the principal dynasties were, in the north and north- east, 1, The Turkish house of the Thahe- rids in Kliorasan, from 820 to 872 ; — 2. The Persian dynasty of the Soffarides, which dethroned the one last named, and ruled 802 HLfit C:rcaiiurs at Witarp, iet. over Kliiirasaii and Parslstan until 902;— :!. TlieSaniaiiiile dynasty, which established its indf|>i'ndciu-e on Khorasan in 874, under Aliniod, In the rrnvinoe Mavaralnar, and lasted to 999. Ishniaol, Ahmed's son, de- throned the Soffarides, and became power- ful ; and under his descendants originated— 4. TheGnznavides, in 977, when Sehektechin, a Turkish slave and governor of the Sama- nides at Gazna and Khorasan made him- self independent at Gazna. His son Mah- mood subdued, in 999, Khorasan, and in 1012, Farsistan, and thus put an end to the dominion of the Samanides. He subse- quently conquered Irak Agemi (1017) from the Bouides, and even extended his con- quests into India. But his son Masud was stripped of Irak Agemi and Khorasan by the Seljooks (from 1037 to 1044) ; and the Gaznavides, weakened by domestic divi- sions, became under Malek Shah (1182), a prey to the Gourides;— 5. The sultans of Gour (Gourides) became powerful in 1150, by means of Aladdin Hosain, but lost their ascendancy, after several important reigns, partly by the encroachments of the princes of Khowaresm, and partly by domestic dis- sensions ;— 6. The dynasty of Khowaresmian Shahs (from 1097 to 1230) was founded by Aziz, governor of the Seljooks in Khowa of Khowaresm, tlie atabeks of Aleppo, aud the Mongnls. Genghis-khan established the power of the Tartars and Monguls In Persia (1120 to 140.5). Those Persian provinces which had been acquired by Genghis-kh.in fell to his younger son, Tauli, In 1229, and then to the son of the latter, Hulaku, at nrst as gover- nors of the Mongolian khans, Kajuk and Mangu. Hulaku e.xtended his dominion over Syria, Natolia, and Irak Arabi. He or his successor became Independent of the great khan, and formed a separate Mon- golian dynasty In those countries, and sat on the throne till the death of Abusaid, without heirs, in 1345. His successors, also descendants of Genghls-khan, had merely the title of khans of Persia, The empire was weak and divided. Then appeared (1387) Timurlenk (Tamerlane) at the head of a new horde of Monguls, who conquered Persia, and filled the world, from Hindos- t.an to Smyrna, with terror. But the death of this famous conqueror was followed by the downfall of the Mongul dominion in Persi.a, of which the Turkomans then re- mained masters for a hundred years. These nomadic tribes, who had plundered Persia for two centuries, wrested, under the reigns of Kara Jossuf and his succes- resra, or Karasm, where he rendered him- sors, the greatest part of Persia from the self independent. Tagash (1192) destroyed TImurldes, were subdued by other Turko- the empire of the Seljooks, and took Kho- man tribes under Usong Hassan (1468), and rasan from the Gourides. His son Mo hammed conquered Mavaralnar, subdued the Gourides and Gazna, and occupied the greater part of Persia. But, in 1220, the great khan of the Monguls, Genghis-khan, and his heroic son Gelaleddin Mankbern, deprived him of his dominions ; and he died In 1230, after a struggle of ten years, in a lonely hut in the mountains of Kurdistan. In western and north-eastern Persia reigned — 7. Mardawig, a Persian warrior, who founded a kingdom at Dilem, In 928, which soon extended over Ispahan, but was de- stroyed by the Bouides; — 8. The Bouides incorporated with them. They sunk before Ismail Sophi (150,5), who artfully made use of fanaticism for his political purposes, and whose dynasty lasted from 1505 to 1723. Ismail Sophi, whose ancestor. Sheikh Sophi, pretended to be descended from Ali, took from the Turkomans of the white ram, Aderbijan and part of Armenia, slew both their princes, and founded upon the ruins of their empire, after having con- quered Shirvan, Diarbeker, Georgia, Tur- kestan, and Marvaraluar, an empire which comprised Aderbijan, Diarbeker, Irak, Far- sistan, and Kerman. He assumed the name (sons of Bouia, a poor fisherman, who de- of a shah, and introduced the sect of AH rived his origin from the Sassanidie), by into the conquered countries. His succes- their valour and prudence, extended their sway over the greater part of Persia, and, in 945, even over Bagdad. They were chiefly distinguished for their virtues and love of science, and maintained themselves until 1056, when Malek Rahjm was obliged to yield to the Seljooks; — 9. The Seljooks, a Turkish dynasty, as is supposed, driven by the Chinese from Turkestan, flrst became powerful in Khorasan, with the Gaznavides. Togrulbeg Mahraood, a brave and prudent warrior, drove out the son of Mahmood, the Gaznavide sultan, in 1037 ; extended his do- minion over Mavaralnar, Aderbijan, Arme- nia, Farsistan, Irak Agemi, and Irak Arabi, where he put an end to the rule of the Bouides at Bagdad, in 1055, and was in- vested with their dignity, as Emirel Omrah by the caliphs. Some of his descendants were distinguished for great activity and humanity. The most powerful of them, Melak Shah, conquered also Georgi-i, Syria, and Natolia. But the empire gradually declined, and was divided into four king- ors, Thamas, Ishmael II., Mahommed, Hamzeh, and Ishmael III. (from 1523 to 1587), carried on unsuccessful wars against the Turks and the Usbecks. But Shah Abbas the Great 0587 to 1629), reestablished the empire by his conquests. He took from the Turks Armenia, Irak Arabi, Mesopotamia, the cities of T.auria, Bagdad, and Bassora ; Khorasan, from the Usbecks ; Ormuz from the Portuguese, and Kandahar from the Monguls ; and hum- bled Georgia, which had refused to pay tri- bute. He introduced absolute power into Persia, transfen-ed his residence to Ispa- han, and instituted the pilgrimage to Mes- hid, in order to abolish that to Mecca among the Persians. The following rulers. Shah SafB and Ab- bas II. (from 1629 to 1666) had new wars with the Turks and Indians ; with the for- mer on account of Bagdad, which was lost ; and with the latter on account of Kanda- har, which was reconquered in 1660. Un- der Shah Solyman, however (1666 to 1694), doms, which were destroyed by the shahs | the empire declined, and entirely sunk CIjc W^tary of ^Brr^ta. 803 under his son Hussein. The Affghans in Kandahar revolted, lu 1709, under Mirweis; and his son, Mir Maiimud, conquered tlie whole eniiiire, in 1723. A state of anarchy followed. Malimud having become insane, was dethroned by Asharf in 1725 ; the latter was subdued by Thamas Kuli Khan, who, witli the assistance of the Russians and Turlis, placed Thamas, son of Hussein, on the throne in 1729. But when the latter ceded Georgia and Armenia to the Turks, Kuli Khan de- throned liim, and placed the minor son of Thamas, Abbas III., on the throne. Here- covered, by conquest or treaties, the pro- vinces ceded to the Russians and Turks, and ascended the throne under the title of Nadir Shah, Abbas III. having died in 1736. He restored Persia to her former importance by successful wars and a strong government. The booty carried off by Nadir has been estimated at 70 millions sterling. The em- peror and all the principal noblemen were olfliged to make up the sum demanded with their jewels and richest furniture. Amongst the most remarkable of the latter articles was the throne of the emperors of Delhi, made in the shape of a peacock, and richly ornamented with precious stones. After his return from India, Nadir sub- dued the northern kingdoms of Khwarasm and Bdkliara, and settled at Meshed, which he made his capital: entertaining suspi- cious of his eldest son, he had his eyes put out, and remorse for the crime made him ferocious. Vast numbers of people, of every rank, fell victims to his rage, until some of his officers conspired against, and assassinated him, A.D. 1747. The death of Nadir Shah was followed by a period of confusion. Ahmed Shah, one of his officers, seized upon Khorasan and Cabul, and established the kingdom of the Aff- ghaus. Mohammed Hussein Khan, a Per- sian chief, occupied the eastern shore of the Caspian ; and Ali, the nephew of Nadir, was for a short time king of Persia. Four kingdoms were now formed ; 1. Khorasan and Segistan ; 2. Kandahar, or the eastern provinces ; 3. Farsistan, or the western provinces ; and, 4. Georgia. Tlie latter, for the most part, retained its own princes, who, at length submitted to Rus- sia. In Kandahar and the East, Ahmed Abdallah founded the empire of Aflghan- istan. He was victorious at Panniput, and ruled with absolute sway in India. His re- sidence was Cabul. He was succeeded, in 1753, by Timur ; the latter by Zeman. In the two other kingdoms, the Curd Kerim Khan, who had served under Nadir, and was of low extraction, succeeded in es- tablishing tranquillity, after long and bloody wars, by subduing Mohammed Khan, who fled, and perished in Mazanderau. His wis- dom, justice, and warlike skill gained him the love of his subjects and the esteem of his neighbours. He did not call himself khan, but vekil (regent). He fixed his re- sidence at Shiraz, in 1765, and died in 1779. New disturbances arose after his death. His brothers attempted to get possessicm of the throne to the exclusion of his sons. A prince of the blood, Ali Murat, occupied it in 1784 ; but a eunucli, Aga Mohammed, a man of ancient family and uncummonabili- ties, had made himself independent in Ma- zanderau. Ali Murat, who mardied against him, died in consequence of a fall from his horse, and left the sceptre to his sou Yafar, who was defeated by Aga Mohammed at Jezd Kast, and fled to Shiraz, where he pe- rished in an insurrection. His son Luthf Ali made several desperate efforts to re- coyer his throne ; but Aga Mohammed was victorious, and appointed his nephew Baba Khan his successor, who reigned under the name of Feth Ali Shah. He fixed his resi- dence at Teheran, in order to be nearer the Russians, who threatened him iu Georgia and the neighbouring provinces. By the peace of 1812, the Persians were obliged to cede to Russia the whole of Daghestau, the Khanats of Kuba, Shirvan, Baku, Salian, Talishah, Karaachb, and Gandsha, resigning all claims to Shularegi, Karthli, Kachethi, Imeritia, Guria, Miugre- lia and Abchasia, and were obliged to admit the Russian flag on the Caspian sea. Feth All (born in 17681, a Turkoman of the tribe of Kadshar Shah, was induced by the heir-apparent. Abbas Mirza, and his fa- vourite, Hussein Kuli Khan, who believed Russia to be involved in domestic troubles, to attack that power in 1826. The Persians invaded tlie Russian territories without a declaration of war. Instigated part of the Mohammedan population to insurrection, and advanced as far as Elizabethpol ; but they were defeated in several battles, and the Russians under Paskewitch conquered the country to the Araxes, which, by the treaty of Tourkmantchai, in 1829, was ceded to Russia. On the death of Futteh All Shah, in 1835, his grandson, son of the prince-royal, Abbas Mirza, succeeded to the throne ; and, proflt- ing by the dear-bought experience of his predecessors, considered it prudent to keep on good terms with a neiglibour who liad it so much in his power to injure him. The late Abbas Mirza had, with the consent of the East ludia Company, raised and disci- plined a body of troops in Azerbijan.with a view of opposing the Russians ; hut on the commencement of the war with Turkey In 1822, as British officers could not serve against a power on friendly terms with Great Britain, they were dismissed; but the regu- lar Persian army marched against the Rus- sians, and were successful until they were disaliled by the cholera. Yet it is clear that their army is still very inefficient, compared with what it formerly was ; for when, in 1837, Mohainmed Mirza, made every efliort to bring a large force against Heriit, the be- sieging army did not exceed 35,000 men of every description, which was con.siderabIy less than half the number of efficient troops engaged with the Russians in the previous war. Towards the close of 1855, a rebellion broke out in Heriit ; Syud Mahommed, the reigning prince, was killed, and Yuzoof Khan became nilerof Heriit. About this time. Dost Mahommed, king of Cabul, took Candahar; and the Persians held that this justified them in besieging Her4t, which 801 tl[:f)t Crcajatirp of Witarn, &r. pnrrciulercd on the 25th of Octnhcr 1830. Tlie llritish govcmnirnt linineiliately de- clared war on Persia on the ground tliat tlio latter was pledged not to sendtroojig to Herat, unless It should he invaded by fo- reign troops, and not to hold the city for themselves after the invasion had been re- pelled. On the 2ath of N'ovember a British squadron appeared off Bushire, which was tal;en after a bombardment of four hours, and declared to be a military post under British rule. The traffic in slaves was d^ dared to be abolished, and newly imported negroes were.to be set free. Ou the 27th of January 1857, sir James Outram reached Bushire from Bombay. A few days after- wards he defeated the Persian army at Bu- razjoon, about forty miles from Bushire, and again at Mahommerah, from which place he expelled them by the aid of general Havelock. But the further progress of the campaign was arrested by the declaration of peace. The shah gave up all claims to sovereignty over Herat, and promised never to inter- fere with the internal affairs of Affghanis- tan. The troops which had been employed against him were soon recalled to go through sterner work in India. The present government of Persia is an absolute monarchy, but the right of suc- cession, as in ancient times, and as in all Asiatic monarchies, is undefined, and ge- nerally restp with the strongest, whence a perpetual recurrence of bloodshed and anarchy arises. The religion is Moham- medan, and the Persians are zealous fol- lowers of the Sheah persuasion, or those who look upon Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet, as his legitimate successor. The people consist of four classes : the first arc the native tribes, who live in tents, and arc migratory with the seasons — as the Zi^nd, Aff.shar, and others ; the second are similar tribes, of Mongol or Turkoman origin, set- tled in the country, of which the K.ij.ar, or royal tribe, is one ; the third are the in- habitants of the towns, and those of the country who follow agriculture; and the fourth are Arab tribes, who occupy the country towards the Persian Gulf. When the Arabs overran Persia, about the middle of the sevent-ti century, three languages were spoken in the country, the Parsee, Pehlvi, and Deri, exclusive of the Zend, or language dedicated to religion. The Persians make high claims to ancient literature ; but the greater part of that which escaped destruction in the time of Alexander, was destroyed under the ca- liphs. Persian civilisation declined during the first period of the Arabian dominion. But learning revived in Persia in the time of the Abassides, and learned men and poets were encouraged by personal favours and distinctions, till the time of Genghis Khan, in the thirteenth century. Tnder Tiniur, in the fourteentti century, and the Turks in the fifteenth, it continually de- clined, and in the sixteenth was almost en- tirely extinct. The oppressions and dis- turbances to which Persia has since been continually subject, have prevented the re- vival of learning. No oriental nation pos- sesses richer literary treasures of the ear- lier periods, particularly in poets and his- tory; but their acquaintance with useful science, or the fine arts, is most crude and limited indeed THE mSTORY OF ARABIA. VARiotrs are the tribes that peopled this country; from three of these tlje present Arabians are supposed to bo descended — two of them from the race of Isliniael, and the third from Cush, the sou of Ilam. Of the early history of tliese wanderin^r people, it may truly be said, in the language of Scripture, respecting Ishmael, 'he has been a wild man ; his hand has been against every man, and every man's hand against liim; and he has dwelt In the presence of all his brethren.' In vain have the re- spective powers of the successive empires of the world attacked this wonderful people. The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, especially the conqueror of Jerusalem, have in turn failed in their gi- gantic efforts to subdue them. Their sub- jiig.Uion has never been effected; they have never been led captive as a nation ; they occupy the same seats, cultivate the same .soil, and retain very much the old habits and customs of their patriarchal founders. The religion of the early Arabs partook, to a considerable extent, of that of the Hebrews, but so far from being strict ob- servers of the laws of Moses, they came under the denomination of idolaters, for, although they acknowledged one supreme God, they worshipped the sun, moon, and stars as subordinate deities. This reli- gion has been called Sabianism, from Sabi, a supposed son of Seth. The Arabs also worshipped images, and had their tutelary Buardians for appointed times and seasons of the year. After the destruction of Jeru- salem by Titus, many of the Jews took re- fuge in Arabia, where they made no incon- siderable number of proselytes ; so that, in a century or two, the Jewish Arabs became a very powerful section of the whole people. In a similar way, converts to Christianity were made ; for in the persecution which the followers of Christ suffered in the third century, many fled to Arabia, where they preached their doctrines with such zeal and success, that in a short time they had made great progress there. The faith of the Persian Magi, of which Zoroaster was thefounder, had long before been embraced by numerous Arab tribes ; so that, in the sixth century, the population of Arabia was divided Into Sabians, Magians, Jews, and Christians. As the propagator of a new code of reli- gion, falsely ascribed to divine revelation, the celebrated Mahomet stands conspicu- ous in their annals. Amongst them he made many converts, and his successors have for centuries maintained the ascen- dancy he founded. In many respects this new religion was but little more than the adaptation of various parts of the religions nreviouslv existing in Arabia (if we except the Idolatrous worship of the Sabtan) ; the people in general, therefore, were in some measure fitted to receive it; and, when the sensual character of the Mohammedan para- dise is considered, its rapid promulgation is less surprising than would otherwise at first sight appear. But, besides the de- lights which were to attend upy Ilie simplicity of the Mahometan establislinunit. Tliis Arah lawtriver retained lioth his mental and hodilv powers unimpaired t ill he reached his f.inh vear, when his health hepan to decline, and he himself suspected that a slow poison had heen administered to him by a Jewess, under the effects of which he languished ; hut his death was caused by a fever, in the 63rd vear of his apre, tlie 632nd of the Chris- tian era, and TOth of the Hegira. There are some particulars told respecting Ma- homet, which have gained general belief, although void of all foundation : such is the story of the tame pigeon, which the people were taught to believe imparted religious truths to the ear of the prophet : the epi- leptic flts, which have been said to cause him to fall down as in a trance, he is not supposed to have been subject to : and the suspension of his iron coffin at Mecca is a most absurd falsehood, it being well known that he was buried at Medina, In a stone coffin. Of the chapters of the Koran, which are lU in number, the Sieur du Rycr makes iiinetv-four to have been received at Mecca, and twenty at Medina ; but, according to Mr. Sale, amuch better authority, the com- mentators on the Koran have not fixed the place where about twenty of these revela- tions were imparted ; so that no inference can be drawn how far the prophet had pro- ceeded in his pretended inspirations when he fled from Mecca ; neither does the order in which they stand point out the time when they were written, for the 74th chapter is supposed to have been the first revealed, and the 68th to have immediately followed The most marked feature of this religion is its strict assertion of the Unity of God. A general resurrection of the dead is an- other article of belief reiterated in the Koran. The pilgrimage to Mecca, praying toward that place, and" the ablutions which are enjoined on the most ordinary acts and occasions, together with the adoption of that religious sophism predestination, in its most extravagant extent, seem to com- prehend the superstitious parts of this re- ligion ; but it has other characteristics which betray its spurious origin, and prove its destructive tendency. Besides the Koran, which is the written law to the Mahometans, alike as to the be- lief and practice of religion and the admi- nistration of public justice, there is the Sunnah, or oral law, which was selected, two hundreds years after the death of Ma- homet, from a vast number of precepts and injunctions which had been handed down from age to age, as bearing the stamp of his authority. In this work the rite of circumcision is enjoined, concern- ing which the Koran was silent ; nor was it necessary to be there commanded, as the AraJiiaris adhered to it before the estab- lishment of Mahometanisin. Their children are not circumcised, like those of the Jews, at eight days old, but at eleven or twelve, and sometimes at four- teen or fifteen years of age, when they arc able to make a profession of their faith. When any rcnpuado Christian is circum- cised, two basins are usu:illy carried after him, to gather the alms which the specta- tors freely give. Those who are uncircuni- cised, whether Turkish children or Chris- tians, are not allowed to be present at their public prayers ; and if they are taken in their mosques, they are liable to be impaled or burnt. The fast of Ramadan is observed by the Turks exactly in the same manner ris by the Persi.an.s. The feast of B:ilr:ini luL-ins with the next new moim after that lust, .md is published by firing of guns, bon- fires, and other rejoicings. At this fesst the houses and shops are adorned witli their finest hangings, tapestries, and sofas. In the streets are swings ornamented with festoons, in which the people sit, and arc- tossed in the air, while they are at the same time entertained with voc;il and in- strumental music performed by persons hired by the masters of the swings. They have also fireworks ; and during the three days of this festival, many women, who are in a manner confined the rest of the year, have liberty to walk abroad. At this time they forgive their enemies, and be- come reconciled to them ; for they think they have made a bad Bairam, if they har- bour the least malice in their hearts against any person whatsoever. This is termed the Great Bairam, to distinguish it from the Little Bairam, which they keep seventy days after. They have also several other festivals, on all which the steeples of the mosques are adorned with lamps placed in various figures. They regularly pray three times a day, and are obliged to wash before their pray- ers, as well as before they presume to touch the Koran. As they make great use of their fingers in eating, they are required to wa-h after every meal, and the more cleanli among them do it before meals. Aft- i every kind of defilement, in fact, ablution is enjoined. By the Mahomet.an law a man may di- vorce his wife twice, and if he afterwards repents, he may lawfully take her again ; but Mahomet, to prevent his followers from divorcing their wives upon every slight oc- casion, or merely from an inconstant hu- mour, ordained, that if any man divorces his wife a third time, it is not lawful for him to take her again, till she has been married and bedded by another, and di- vorced from that husband. The Koran allows no man to have more than four wives and concubines, but the prophet and his successors are laid under no restriction. Church government, by the institutions of Mahomet, appears to have centred in the mufti, and the order of the moulahs, from which the mufti must be chosen. The moulahs have been looked upon as ecclesiastics, and the mufti as their head ; but the Turks consider the first rather as expounders of the law, and the latter as the great law officer. Those who really Cl)e ?^iJiturp at ^raita. 809 act as divines are the imaunis, or rarisli pricsta, who offlciate in, and are pet aside for, tlie service of the mosques. No church revenues are appropriated to Hie particu- lar use of the moulahs ; the imaums are the ecclesiastics in immediate pay. Their Bcheiks are the chiefs of their dervises, (dervishes) or monies, and form religious communities, or orders, established on so- lemn TOWS ; they consecrate themselves merely to religious offices, domestic devo- tion, and public prayer and preaching : there are four of these orders, the Bek- tiishi, Mevelevi, Kadri, and Seyah, who are very numerous throughout the empire. The monks of the first of those orders are permitted to marry, but are obliged to travel through the empire. The Mevelevi, in their acts of devotion, turn round with velocity for two or three hours incessantly. The Kadri express their devotion by lace- rating their bodies; they walk the streets almost naked, with distracted and wild looks. The Seyahs, like the Indian fakirs, are little better thajx mere vagabonds. The Turks appropriate to themselves the pauie of Moslemim, which has been cor- rupted into Mussulman, signifying persons professing the doctrine of Mahomet. They also term themselves Sonnites, or obser- vers of the oral traditions of Mahomet and his three successors : and likewise call themselves true believers, in opposition to the Persians and others, the adherents of All, whom they call a wicked and abo- minable sect. Their rule of faith and prac- tice is the Koran. Some externals of their religion, besides the prescribed ablutions, are prayers, which are to be said five times every twenty-four hours, with the face turned towards Mecca; and alms, which are both enjoined and voluntary : the for- mer consists of paying two and a half per cent, to charitable uses out of their whole income. Their feasts have been already spoken of ; and every Mahometan must, at least, once in his lifetime, go in pilgrim- age, either personaliy or by proxy, to the Caaba, or house of God at Mecca. THE HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN OR TURKISH EMPIRE. Thb Turks are of Tartarian or Scythian extraction ; and this appellation was first given them in the middle ages as a proper name ; it being a general title of honour to all the nations comprehended under the two principal branches of Tartar and Mon- gol, who therefore never use it as a proper name of any par'icular nation. The Scy- thian or Tartarian nation, to which the name of Turks has been peculiarly given, dwelt betwixt the Black and Caspian seas, and became first known iu the seventh cen- tury, when Heraclius, emperor of the East, took them into his service ; in which they so distinguished themselves, by their fide- lity and bravery iu the conquest of Persia, that the Arabian and Saracen caliphs had not only select bodies of them for guards, but their armies were composed of them. Thus gradually getting the power into their hands, they set up and dethroned caliphs at pleasure. By this strict union of tlie Turks with the Saracens or Arabs, the former were brought to embrace the Mahometan religion, so that they are now become intermixed, and have jointly en- larged their conquests ; but as the Turks became superior to the Saracens, they sub- dued them. The following account has been given of the origin of the Ottoman empire. Gen- ghis-k'ian, at the head of his horse, issued out of Great Tartary, and made himself master of a vast tract of laud near the Caspian Sea, and even of all Persia and Asia Minor. Incited by his example and success. Shah Solyman, prince of the town of Nera, on the Caspian Sea, in the year 1214, i.assed Mouut Caucasus with 50,000 men, and penetrated as far as the borders of Syria ; and though his career was stop- ped there by Genghis-khan, yet in the year 1219 he penetrated a second time into Asia Minor, as far as the Euphrates. Otliman, his grandson, made himself master of seve- ral countries and places in Lesser Asia, be- longing to the Grecian empire; and having, in the year 1300, assumed the title of em- peror of the Othmans, called his people after his own name. This prince, among many other towns, took, in the year 132S, Prusa, in Bithynia, now called Bursa, which Orchan, his scm and successor, made the seat of his empire. Orchan sent Solyman and Amurath, his tno sons, on an expedition into Europe; the former of whom reduced the city of Callipcilis, and the latter took TjTilos. Amu- rath succeeded his father in the govern- ment, in 1360 ; tooli Ancyra, Adriauople, and Philippopolis; and, in 1362, overran Servia, and invaded Macedoniaand Albania, I Bajazet, his son and successor, was very successful both in Europe and Asia, dc- I fe.ating the Christians near Nicoi)olis ; but, in 1401, he was routed and taken prisoner by Tamerlane. His sons disagreed ; but, Mahomet I. enjoyed the sovereignty, and his son Amurath II. distinguished himself by several important enterprises, and par- ticularly in the year 1444 gained a signal victory over the Hungarians near Varna. The Byzantine euipire was already cut off from the west, when Mahomet II., the son of Amurath, and his successor, at the age of twenty-six, completed the work of conquest. It is said that the reading of ancient historians had inspired him with the ambition of equalling Alexander. Ho soon attacked Constantinople, which was taken. May 29,1453; and the last Palso- logus, Constantine XI., buried himself un- der the ruins of his throne. Mahomet now built the castle of tlir Dardanelles, and organised the government of the empire, taking for his model Nushir- van's organisation of the Persian empire In 1456, he subdued the Morea, and iu 1461, led Comnenus, emperor of Trebizoud, prisoner to Constantinople. Pin? II. called in vain upon the nations of Christendom to take up arms. Mahomet conquered the remainder of Bosnia in 1470, and Epirus in 1465, after the death of Scanderberg. He took Xegro- pout and Lemuosfrom the Venetians, Caffa from the Geonese, and, in 1473, obliged the khan of the Crim Tartars, of the family of Genghis-khan, to do him homage. Iu 1480, lie had already conquered Dtranto, in the kingdom of Naples, when he died, in the midst of his great projects against Rome and Persia. His grandson, Selim I., who had dethroned and murdered his father, drove back the Persian power to the Eu- plirates and the Tigris. He defeated the Mamelukes, and conquered, in 1517, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. During fifty years, the arras of the Ottomans, by sea and by land, were the terror of Europe and Asia, especially under Solyman II. the Magnifi- cent, also called the Lawgiver, who reigned between 1519 and 1566. In 1522, he took Rhodes from the knights of St. John, and by the victory of Mohacz, in 1526, subdued half of Hungary. He exacted a tribute from Moldavia, and was so successful against the Persians in Asia as to make Bagdad, Mesopotamia, and Georgia subject to him. He was already threatening to overrun Ger- many, and to plant the standard of Maho- met in the west, when lie was clieckt d be- fore the walls of Vienna, in 1529. But as Hungary had placed its king, John Zapo- ecije |^tst0ru of Curltcy. 811 Ij'a, under the powerful protection of tlie radishah, and the successful corsair Bar- barossa was master of tlie Mediterranean, had conquered Northern Africa, and laid waste Minorca, Sicily, Apulia, and Corfu, the sultan Solynian might have conquered Kurope, had he known how to give firm- ness and consistency to his plans. He was resisted at sea by the Venetians, and the Genoese under Andrew Doria, by the grand master Lavalette iu Malta, and by Zriny, under the walls of Zigeth. Twelve sultans, all of them brave and warlike, and most of them continually vic- torious, had now, durnig a period of two centuries and a hilf, raised the power of the Crescent ; but the internal strength of the state was yet undeveloped. Solyman, indeed, by his laws, completed the organ- isation begun by Mohammed II., and in 1538 united the priestly dignity of the cali- phate to the Ottoman Porte ; but he could not incorporate Into a whole the conquered nations. He also imprisoned his successor in the seraglio. From this time, the race of Osraan de- generated, and the power of the Porte de- clined. From Solyman's death, in 1566, to our own time, most of the Ottoman sove- reigns have ascended the throne from a prison, and lived in the seraglio until, as It not uufrequently happened, they again exchanged a throne for a prison. Seve- ral grand viziers have, at different periods, alone upheld the falling state, while the nation continued to sink deeper into the grossest ignorance and slavery ; and pachas, more rapacious and more arbitrary than the sultan and his divan, ruled in the provin- ces. In Its foreign relations, the Porte was the sport of European politicians, and more than once was embroiled by the cabinet of Versailles in a war with Austria and Russia. While all Europe was making rapid pro- gress in the arts of peace and of war, the Ottoman nation and government remained inactive and stationary. Blindly attached to their doctrines of absolute fate, and elated by their former military glory, the Turks looked upon foreigners with con- tempt, as infidels. "Without any settled plan, but incited by hatred and a thirst for conquest, they carried on the war with Per- sia, Venice, Hungary, and Poland. The re- volts of the janissaries and of the governors became dangerous. The suspicions of the despot, however, were generally quieted with the dagger and the bowstring; and the ablest men of the divan were sacrificed to the hatred of the soldiery and of the ulema. The successor to the throne fre- quently put to death all his brothers ; and the people looked with indifference upon the murder of a hated sultan, or the deposi- tion of a weak one. Mustapha I. was twice dethroned : Os- man II. and Ibrahim were strangled, the former in 1622, the latter in 1648. Selim II., indeed, conquered Cyprus in 1571, hut iu the same year, Don John of Austria de- feated the Turkish fleet at Lepanto. A century after, under Mahomet IV., in 1669, Candia was taken, after a resistance of thirtecH years ; and the vizier Kara Musta- pha gave to the Hungarians, who had been oppressed by Austria, their general, count Tekeli, for a king, in 1682 ; but, the very next year, he was driven back from Vienna, which he had besieged, and, after the de- feat at Mohacz, in 1687, the Ottomans lost most of the strong places in Hungary. The exasperated people threw their sultan into prison ; but, in a short time, the grand vizier, Kiuprili Mustapha, restored order and courage, and recalled victory to the Turkish banners ; but he was slain in the battle against the Germans near Salan- kemen, in 1691. At last, the sultan Mus- tapha II. himself took the field; but he was opposed by the hero Eugene, the con- queror at Zentha, in 1697 ; and, on the Don, Peter the Great conquered Asoph. He was obliged, therefore, by the treaty of Carlowitz, in 1699, to renounce his claims upon Transylvania and the country be- tween the Danube and the Theiss, to give up the Morea to the Venetians, to restore Podolia and the Ukraine to Poland, and to leave Asoph to the Russians. Thus commenced the fall of the Otto- man power. A revolt of the janissaries, who abandoning their ancient rigid disci- pline, wished to carry on commerce, and live in houses, obliged the sultan to abdi- cate. His successor, the imbecile and vo- luptuous Achmet III., saw with indiffe- rence the troubles in Hungarj-, the war of the Spanish succession, and the great northern war. Cliarles XII., whom he pro- tected after his defeat at Pultowa, finally succeeded in involving him in a war with Peter ; but the czar, although surrounded with his whole army, easily obtained the peace of the Pruth, by the surrender of Asoph, in 1711. In 1715, the grand vizier attacked Venice, and took the Morea; but Austria assisted the republic, and Eugene's victories at Peterwardein and Belgrade in 1717, obliged the Porte to give up, by the treaty of Passarowitz, iu 1718, Temeswar, Belgrade with a part of Servia and Walla- chia, but still it retained the Morea. Equally unsuccessful were Achmet's arms in Persia ; in consequence of which an in- surrection broke out, and he was thrown into prison in 1730. In 1736, the Russian general Miinmich humbled the pride of the Ottomans ; but Austria, the ally of Russia, was not successful, and the French ambassador in Constantinople effected the treaty of Belgrade, by which the Porte re- gained Belgrade, with Servia and Walla- chia. Catherine, empress of Russia, soon after her elevation, began to make it a f.ivourite object in her plan of politics to gain a dic- tatorial ascendancy over the king and diet of Poland. This she effected partly by the intrigues and persuasive bribes of her mi- nister at the court of Warsaw, and partly by marching a powerful army into that kmgdom : but as soon as this hostile step was taken, the Porte took the alarm, and, stimulated by jealousy of its northern rival, resolved to support the liberties and inde- pendence of the Poles. These resolutions being formed in the divan of Constantinople, M. Obrcskow, the 812 Eitt Cr^aiSury at ^iitavu, ^c. KussJian resilient llicre, w.is, aocnrilinpr to the edustaiit iTai'tire of llie Turks on sucli ocrasioiis. coniniitted a prisoner to llie rastlc of llie seven towers (Oct. 5, 1768). War was declared aKaiust tlie einpress of Russia, and the most vigorous preparations were made to collect the whole force of the empire. The court of Russia was far from seeking a rupture wilh the Porte, beiiis full.v emplo.vi'il in important ol.jects nearer home ; but tjeing unable to prevent a w.ar, two armies, amounting together to 150,000 men, were formed, at the head of the largest of which prince Gallltzin crossed the Dniester, and entered Moldavia, with a view of becoming master of Chocziu ; but the prudent measures taken by the Tur- kish vizier frustrated all his attempts, and obliged him to repass the river. The im- patience of the Turks to pursue these ad- vantages, and to transfer the seat of war into Podolia, excited a general disgust at the cautious and circumspect conduct of their leader; in consequence of which he was removed, and Maldovani, All Pacha, a man precipitate and incautious, appointed in his stead ; who, by repeated attempts to cross the Dniester in sight of the Russian army, lost in the short space of a fortnight 21,000 of his best troops. This spread such general discontent through the army, that, renouncing all subordination, the troops retreated tumultuously towards the Danube, and no less than 40,000 men are said to have abandoned the standard of Mahomet In this precipitate flight. The Turkish provinces of Moldavia and Wal- lachia were overrun by the Russians, and most of the places of strength became easy preys to the conqueror. The cam- paign, which opened so auspiciously for the Ottomans, by the rashness and folly of their general ended in their disgrace and ruin. The vizier was degraded and banished. The czarina, who almost from the com- mencement of her reign had endeavoured to establish an efficient naval force, which, under the skilful superintendence of sir Charles Knowles, had been successfully ef- fected, now caused a large fleet of Russian men-of-war, commanded by count Orlow, to proceed from the Baltic to the Mediterra- nean, to annoy the Turks on their extensive coasts in the Levant. The unskilfulness of the Russians in maritime affairs greatly re- tarded the progress of their fleet ; and it was not until the spring of 1770, that it ar- rived at the scene of action, although many experienced British officers were volunteers in the expedition. The Turks, to whom the sea has ever proved a fatal element, for some time had no force capable of op- posing the enemy, so that the Morca was exjiosed to their ravages, and several places of strength were taken ; the Greek inhabi- tants everywhere joyfully received the in- vaders ; but at length an army of Albanians being collected, they drove the Russians to their ships, and having recovered the whole country, chastised the revolt of its inhabi- tants by the lawless vengeance of a licen- tious soldiery. The Russians, now driven from the BIo- rea, h.nd advanced in full force into the -KL-can sea, and, passing the straits which divide the island of Si-io from the const of Asia MiiKjr, were met by a Turkish fli'et of superior force. A furious engagement en- sued on the.'ith of July, In which the Russian admiral Spiritof encountered the captain pai'lia, in the Sultana of no guns, yard-arm and yriril-ariu. The two ships running close tog.tlicr, grappled each other. Tlie Rus- sians, liy throwing hand grenades, set the enemy's ship on flre, which rapidly spread, and soon reached the Russian ship. This dreadful spectacle suspended the action be- tween the two fleets, until both ships blew up. Only twenty-four Russians were saved, among whom were the admiral, his son, and count Theodore Orlow; the ship car- ried 90 brass guns, and had on board a chest containing 500,000 roubles (112,500;. sterling). Although each fleet was equally affected by this event, yet it infused a panic among the Turks, which the Russians did not p.ar- take of. During the remainder of the day the Turks maintained the action; but on the approach of night, the capitan pacha, contrary to the advice of his oCBcers, gave orders for each ship to cut its cables, and run into a bay on the coast near a small town anciently ealled Cyssus, but now known by the name of Chisme. Ho.s- sein bey, who had raised himself by his ta- lents for war to be second in command, saved his ships by bravely forcing his way through the enemy's fleet. Here the Rus- sian fleet soon after blocked them up, and began a furious cannonade ; which being found ineffectual, a flre-ship was sent in at midnight, on the 7th of July, which, by the intrepid behavour of lieutenant Dugdale, grapijled a Turkish man-of-war, and the wind at that moment being very high, the whole Ottoman fleet was consumed, except one man-of-war and a few galleys which were towed off by the Russians. The Rus- sians the next morning entered the har- bour, and bombarded the town and castle that protected it ; and a shot happening to blow up the powder magazine, both were reduced to a heap of rubbish. Thus, through the fatal misconduct of a com- mander, there was scarce a vestige left, in a few hour.s, of a town, a castle, and a fine fleet, which had all been in existence the day before. It is somewhat remarkable that this place was rendered famous by a great victory which the Romans gained there over the fleet of Antiochus, in the year before Clirist 191. The Turkish fleet consisted of fifteen ships of the line, from sixty toninetyguns, beside a number of xebecs and galleys, amounting in the whole to near thirty sail. The Russians had only ten ships of the line, and five frigates. The Turkish fleet being thus annihilated, it might have been expected that the Russian admiral would have shaken the Ottoman empire to its very foundations : that he would have put it to the proof how far the Dardanelles were effectual for the defence of the Hel- lespont. Had he proved succe-ssfulagainst those celebrated barriers, Constantinople Cljc l^tStorp of CurfiEB. 813 Itself, the seat of eniiiiro, must have fallen into bis hands. It seems cvltlent that the views of Russia did not extend to the effect- ing such a purpose; her fleet during the remainder of the war, was only employed in making descents on the Turkish islands, and with little or no success. In that space of time the great Russian army having passed the Danube, found its progress in Bulgaria stopped by the range of mountains which intersects that coun- try, whilst it was continually harassed by detachments from the Turkish camp. The expenses of the war were severely felt by each empire, and although that of Russia had gained the ascendancy, no beneficial consequences had been realised. In this state of affairs, the sultan, Mustapha III., died January 21, 1774, in the flf ty-eighth year of his age, and seventeenth of his reign ; he appointed his brother Abdulhamet to suc- ceed him on the tlirone. The war was con- tinued with spirit; but a large Turkish army, commanded by the reis effendi, being most disgracefully defeated by general Ka- menski, the Porte, no longer able to main- tain the war,wa3 compelled to receive terms from the conqueror. A peace was signed on the 21st of July 1774, at Kalnardji, to ratify which the mufti issued his fetfa, or ordinance, in which, to the great degra- dation of Ottoman pride, it was said, that, ' seeing our troops will no longer light the Russians, it is necessary to conclude a peace.' The treaty of peace consisted of twenty- eight articles, by which, among other ad- vantages, the Russians obtained afree navi- gation in all the Turkish seas, together with the passage through the Dardanelles. Russian consuls were likewise to reside in the Turkish seaports. Although peace was, upon these condi- tions, restored, yet it soon became appa- rent that the latent ambition of Catherine caused her to meditate the utter subver- sion of the Turkish empire, and to indulge In the hope that she herself would effect it. To bring forward this grand design she made a progress from Moscow to the Crimea, with all the pageantry of imperial state. Whilst on this journey .she received a visit from the emperor of Germany, Jo- seph II., and, as the visits of potentates are generally fatal to the peace of the world. there was good ground to suppose that , The union with the European powers this was portentous to the Ottoman empire, and had for its chief objects to settle the mode of attacking it, and how it should be divided when conquered. The Porte took time, and the seat of it the Black sea ; but here neither success nor glory accrued to the Turkish arms. The Russians became masters of Ocsakow, and in every conflict at sea were decisively superior. This unequal war was not looked upon with indifference by some other of the great powers of Europe. The subjugation of the Turkish empire, and the vast in- crease of power which Russia would ac- quire, by possessing the most valuable, be- cause the most commercial parts of it, were considered as revolutions in which the other powers of Europe were deeply interested. In consequence of which a close alliance was formed between Great Britain and Prussia, having for its chief object, the rescuing the Turks from that destruction which hung over them, by re- storing peace to that part of Europe. The losses and disgraces which the emperor sustained, and the death of Laudohn, the only general who had effected anything, rendered that prince anxious to termi- nate the war; and the empress of Russia, through the mediation of the British court, at length acceded to terms of peace, by the conditions of which very important towns and districts were added to her dominions ; which, however, her arms had previously obtained. Buonaparte's campaign in Egypt finally raised the indignation of the Porte, which, on the 1st of September 1798, declared war for the first time against France. By its alliance with Russia, in December 1798, and with England and Naples, in January 1799, it now fell under the direction of the cabinets of St. Petersburg and St. James's. A Russian fleet sailed through the Darda- nelles, and a Turkish squadron, in cooiie- ration with it, conquered the Ionian is- lands. Paul I. and Seliiu III., by a treaty at Constantinople, formed the republic of the Seven Islands, which, as well as Ra- gusa, was to be under the protection of the Porte. In the following year, this country restored Egypt to the Porte; but the Mameluke beys and the Arnaouts fill- ed the land with tumult and bloodshed, until, on the 1st of March 1811, the new governor, Mehemet All Pacha, entirely ex- terminated the Mamelukes by treachery, and after this ruled over Egypt almost independently. had, however, made Selim and some ot the chiefs of the empire sensible that. If the Porte would maintain its power, it must introduce into its armies the modern tac- tile alarm, and, determined not to await j tics, and give to the divan a form more the maturation of its enemy's councils and ' suited to the times. The Nizan Dshedid force, published a manifesto, dated the 7th ' laboured, therefore, to form a Turkish of August 1787, and commenced hostilities ! army on the Europeanmodel, which should against the empress of Russia. The empe- 1 supersede the janissaries. But after the ror of Germany, soon after, led aformidable] peace with France, in 1801, there were in army against the Turkish fastnesses on the | the divan two parties, a Russian and Brit- frontiers of Hungary, not doubting but | ish, and a French. The superiority of Rus- that everything would fall before him with sia pressed upon the Porte in the Ionian the rapidity which Gaisar exulted in ; but i islands and in Servia ; it was accordingly his progress was opposed, and his raea- 1 inclined to favour France. When, there- Bures frustrated by the surprising valour i fore, Russia, in 1806, occupied Moldavia and conduct of the Turks. and Wallachia, the old hostility broke out The war with Russia was chiefly marl- 1 anew, aud cDec. 30, 1806), the Porte, at 814 actte. tS^veaiuvn at W^iov^> ^(* the iiistlt'atioii of France, declared war agnlust Russia, which was already engaged with Tersia and France. The weakness of the Ottoman empire was now evident. An English Ueet forced the passage of the Dardanelles, and, on the 20th of February 1807, appeared before Constantinople; but the French foncral Sebastian! directed with success the resistance of the divan and of the enraged people. On the other liand, the Russians made rapid advances. The people murmured ; and Sellm III., on the 29tli of May 1807, was deposed by the mufti, and Mustapha IT. was obliged to put a stop to the hated innovations. But, after the Turkish fleet h.ad been entirely beaten by the Russians at Lemnos,Selim's friend, Mustapha Bairaktar, the brave pacha of Ruschuk, took advantage of the terror of the capital to seize it. The unhappy Selim lost his life ; and Bairak- tar, in the place of the deposed Mustapha IV., raised to the throne the sultan Mah- raoud II. As grand-vizier of Mahmoud, he restored the new military system, and concluded a truce with Russia ; but the fury of the janissaries again broke out, and destroyed him in the latter end of 1808. Mahmond now alone supported the throne ; for he- was, since the death of Mustapha IV., the only prince of the family of Osman, and he soon displayed an extra- ordinary degree of courage and prudence. One of his first acts was to conclude peace with Great Britain, in 1809; he then con- tinued, with redoubled vigour, the war against the Russians, who already threat- ened the passes of the Balkan. Twice the Russians were obliged to retreat be- yond the Danube ; nevertheless their po- ller conquered the French party in the divan. In vain did the French emperor, in his treaty with Austria, March 14, 1812, declare that he would maintain the in- tegrity of the Turkish territory. Not- withstanding this, before the French army had passed the Niemen, the sultan bought peace with Russia, at Bucharest, by ceding that part of Moldavia and Bessarabia which lies beyond the Pruth, with the northern fortresses on the Dniester and at the mouths of the Danube, and the southern gates of the Caucasus on the Kur. The Servians, left to themselves, again became subjected to Turkey. They re- tained, however, by their treaty with the Porte, in November 1815, the administra- tion of the government. In 1817, Mahmoud was obliged to give up the principal mouth of the Danube to Russia. But the Greek Insurrection again disturbed the relations of the two powers, and has produced important changes in the situation of the Porte. The Porte be- lieved that Russia secretly favoured the Insurrection and therefore seized Moldavia and Wallachia, and restricted its marine commerce. Both were open violations of the peace of Bucharest. After an inter- change of notes, the Russian ambassador left Constantinople. The mediation of the English and Austrian courts, together with the emperor Alexander's desire for peace, prevented the outbreak of a war ; but the I divan, under various pretexts, refused all satisfaction to the Russian cabinet, until, at last, the emperor Nicholas declared the Russian ultimatum ; upon which the Porte, in 182G, granted all the demands of the Russian court, and promised that in Mol- davia and Wallachia (where, in three years. It had raised 37,000,000 of piastres, which were employed In the war against the Greeks) everything should be replaced on , its former footing, and sent commissioners to Ackernian. Here a final term was again fixed for the decision of the divan, and on the 6th of October 1826, eighty-two articles of the Russian ultimatum were accepted. The Porte surrendered to the Russians all the fortresses in Asia which it had hith- erto held back, and acknowledged the pri- vileges granted by Russia to Servia, Mol- davia, and Wallachia. The treaty was exe- cuted in 1827. In the meanwhile the Porte had begun i its internal reform, and it was utterly re- solved to exterminate the janissaries, who burnt the suburb of Galata, between the 3rd and the 5th of January 1826. An army was formed upon the European system, ' and in June 1826, the janissaries were de- stroyed, after a bloody struggle. The vio- lence employed in the execution of this and other measures, caused an insurrec- tion, in which 6,000 houses were burnt in Constantinople. Instead of military in- subordination, the most rigid military des- potism began, which did not spare even the ulema. At the same time, the Porte, in June 1827, firmly refused the offered mediation of Russia, England, and France, in its war with the Greeks ; and the sultan called all his subjects (Christians included) to arms, to fight, U necessary, against all ^ Europe. I For the events of the period which Inter- t vened between this time and the outbreak of the war with Russia in 1853, we refer the reader to the latter portions of our histories i of Greece, Russia, and England. I In the year 1853 It became more than probable that the general peace, which ' lasted from 1815, would be disturbed by a , quarrel arising out of a rivalry for the , possession of the holy places in Jerusalem I and Palestine. Into the details of the con- I flicting claims on the part of the Greek and i LatinChristians, it isnot necessary to enter at any length. Little interest can attach I todisputes, extended over centuries, for the privilege of holding or repairing certain ! buildings or portions of buildings; it is I only when, from special circumstances, they j acquire a political importance that it be- I comes necessary to examine them at all. ; In 1851 the French government undertook I to withdraw the exclusive claim of the I Latins, and to adopt the principle of joint occupation of the disputed places. To this I the Russians were ready to assent, provided I the arrangement should be applied to those ! places also of which the Latins had ex- clusive use. This was refused ; and the j question was then referred by the sultan to a special council of state, which decided that the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians €^t ^^Wtorp of Eur&es- 815 should each have keys of the sacicd places, \vliiU' tlio claim of the Latins to exclusive iH)s-^i-^'^ioii of tlie tomb of tlie Virgin was .iniK.iuici'il inaamissiblc. The ciuestlon WIS luiw Miadc to turn on the ri^?ht of the Latins to a key to the church at Bethlehem, and the efforts of the Russian envoy were directed lo the withdrawal of this privilege from the Latins. At the same time the emperor of Russia made a distinct claim, by virtue of the treaty of Kainardji in 1774, to exorcise a protectorate over all the Greek ur orthodox Christians wlio iiiit,'ht be sub- jects of the sultan. Meimwliile the con- flicting demands of thelireeksand Latms Fiiiinortod respectively by the Russian and French governments, pl.aced the Turks in great perplexity, and led them into a series of contradictions. At the end of February prince Mensehikoff arrived at Constanti- nople as a special envoy from St. Peters- burg for tha settlement of the dispute, and his coming was followed by a change in the Turkish ministry, which induced the French gdvernment to move a fleet from Toulon into the Greek waters. Prince Mensehikoff proceeded to propose to the Turks a secret treaty, securing to the emperor of Russia the right of interfering for the protection of the Christian subjects of the sultan. This was refused, but the Porte expressed its willingness to repair the cupola of the church of tlie Holy Sepulchre, and to comply with other demands. On the 5th of May, prince Mensehikoff presented an ultimatum, demanding an answer in three days, and insisting on the guarantee of the protec- torate. After some negotiation, and changes in the ministry, the Turkish cabinet re- solved almost unanimously to reject the demand, and prince Mensehikoff left Con- stantinople,holdingoutwarnings of harder measures on the part of the Russian go- vernment. , ^ ^, Meanwhile it would seem that the em- peror of Russia was not, or professed not to be, fully aware of the real intentions of the British government as to its duty in the event of certain issues growing out of this eastern question. The course of the quarrel led to the publication in England of a long series of negotiations, which had been going on since 1844, in which year the emperor of Russia spent some time in London and had frequent interviews with the duke of Wel- lington and lord Aberdeen, on the condition of the Turkish empire, and on the line of acti(m to be adopted by the two govern- ments in the event of the dissolution of that empire, and on his return to Russiahe drew up a memorandum which was trans- mitted to London, and deposited in the archives of the foreign ofBce. Early in 1853 the emperoragain eutfered into conversation with sir H. Seymour, on the subjects treated in that memorandum, and expressed his conviction that the Turkish empire could not last long, and his anxiety that the British and Russian governments should be agreed as to what ought to be done in case of its dissolution. He said that while he would never allow England to occupy Constantinople, he would also bind himself never to hold it except in deposit, if such a course should be rendered absolutely ne- cessary from unforeseen circumstances. This conversation was reported by sir H. Seymour; and the Britisli government, in reply, said that no treaty could be kept secret from the other European powers, and that while the imminent ruin of Turkey was a matter of great doubt, nothing was more sure to bring about that ruin than constant predictions of it. They added, however, that the sultan should be advised to deal more equitably with his Christian snbjects, and, if he could be prevailed onto do so, there would be no need for the Rus- sian emperor to exercise a power which was ' prescribed by duty and sanctioned by treaty.' These last words were held to be a recognition of the emperor's claim, and in- volved the question in greater difficulty. But in a later conversation with sir H. Seymour, the emperor got rid of one part of the perplexity by saying that he was anxious to determine not so much what should be done in case the Turkish empire should collapse, as what should not be done ; and on this negative side, he added that he would not allow the reconstruction of a Byzantine empire, or any extension which would make Greece a powerful state ; or of the breaking up of Turkey into a number of little republics. In a confidential memor- andum, which he caused on the 7th of March to be placed in the hands of sir H. Seymour, he expressed his satisfaction with the con- currence of the British government in his views, while he spoke of the pressure which France exercised on the Porte, by intruding a ship of the line within the Dardanelles, and expressed his hope that England would no longer permit the exercise of any such influence. . . If in subsequent negotiations the British government saw no reason for admitting the protectorate of Russia as a right, it could not be denied that the treatment of the Christians by the Turks furnished not only grave cause of complaint, but an ap- parent justiflcation of Russian policy. The English ambassador had already had to complain repeatedly of the contempt with which the sultan's rescripts on this subject were regarded by his Mussulman subjects, and to urge that a continuation of such atrocious treatment would stir up to revolt a Christian population which in Europe was in the proportion of nearly eight to one to its Maliometan conquerors. Early in July two divisions of Russian troops crossed the Pruth, and took posses- sion of the Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, as a guarantee for the concession of the Russian demands ; and the act was construed as one of delibe- rate hostility on the part of the czar. The news of this fact caused great excitement at Constantinople, and a protest was drawn up by the Turkish government, which at the same time expressed its re.ndiness to send an envoy extraordinary to St. Peters- burg for the arrangement of differences. This occupation of the Danubian principal- ities was caused, as the Russians alleged, by the entry of the French and English fleets into Besika bay near the straits of the 816 HaJf)^ Crcajfurg of ^gtitorp, &c. n;irii:iiitllcs. It was asserted, Imwever, on | tlic iitlier liand, that no orders were given to the admirals of the fleets until more than ten days after count Nesselriide hadnotilled the intention of the Russian emperor to occupy the principalities, and that, in any case, the two movements were dictated hy a very dlffereut meanine and intention. Yet in the hope of averting a war at the last moment, a conference of the four great powers was held at Vienna, and a note was orawn up, which acknowledged (among other things) the solicitude of the Russian emperor for the ' maintenance of the immu- nities and privileges of the orthodox Greek church in the Ottoman empire.' To these words the Turkish cabinet took exception, while the note was eagerly accepted by the czar. The refusal of the Porte was received at first with strong feelings of disapproba- tion by tlie four powers, but they soon saw reason for coming toadifierent conclusion. They had, however, placed themselves at a disadvantage ; for although their words had been made to bear a meaning which was never intended, and to justify the political interference of the czar in the management of the Ottoman empire, yet, as the czar had accepted their note in its integrity, they appeared to withdraw from their own self- chosen position when they afterwards ad- vised the Turks to insist on the modifica- tions which they proposed. These modifi- cations were peremptorily rejected by Russia, and on the 5th of October the Porte formally declared war, which was soon followed by another from St. Peters- : burg. On the 14th the fleets of France and ] England entered the Dardanelles at the request of the sultan; and later in the same month the Turks crossed the Danube in four places. From Widdin they passed on to Kalafat, which they occupied with a large force, and several engagements took place along the left bank of the river, in which the Turks generally had the advan- tage, under their leader Omar Pacha, a Christian renegade whose original name was Lattas. But while the war was thus practically begun, the four powers still kept up the negotiations at Vienna, and some hope was entertained that they might not be without success, when news was received of the destruction of the Turkish fleet within the liarhour of Sinope, a town about half way between Constantinople and Trehizond on the southern or Asiatic coast of the Black sea. This fleet, consistingof eleven vessels, was driven in by stress of weather, and news of the fact was conveyed to the Russian admiral at Sebastopol, who de- spatched a force of six sail of the line and three steamers. These vessels succeeded in destroying the whole of the Turkish fleet and their crews, consisting of about 4,0Tian massacres of Chris- tians in 1860 furnished a singular comment on the oaths and protestations with which the sultan swore to administer for all his subjects equal justice between man and man without reference to his religion. In the opinion of lord Dufferin, who was ap- pointed British commissioner in Syria to examine into the cause of these massacres, it was the delil)erate intention of the Turkish government to prove that the scheme adopted by the great powers in 1845 was impossible, and that with this purpose they exasperated the ' chronic animosity existing between the Maronites and the Druses.' In May 1860 a monk was found murdered in a convent between Beyrout and Deir-el-Kammar. Suspicion fell on the Druses, and one was killed in retaliation. This led to reprisals ; and on the 28th the Druses attacked some Maronite villages in the neighbourhood of Beyrout and burnt them. Hasbeya was next attacked ; but the Turkish commander, Othraan Rek, told the Christians that if they would lay down their arms he would protect them from all violence. They did so, and Othmau Bek went away, leaving the town open to the Druses, who rushed in and commenced an indiscriminate massacre of the Christians ; in fact, neither here nor elsewhere did the Turkish officers make the least effort to protect the victims. When Zahleh was threatened, the European consuls at Beyrout went to Kurshid Pacha, and begged him to send troops to defend the town. He pro- mised to do so, and never sent them, while the troops which were there turned their artillery against the Christians. The Druses then burst again into Deir-el-Kammar and began a massacre far more fearful than that of Hasbeya. Early in July like out- rages were commenced at Damascus. As a set-off against the infamous connivance of the Turkish officers may be mentioned the noble conduct of Abd-el-Kader, who sheltered not less than 1,500 Christians from the fury of their enemies. When these tidings were brought to Europe, wide I indignation was roused. The French em- peror resolved at once to act promptly, and he was fully borne out by the general feel- ing of the country. The sultan found him- I self in the meshes of a net, and the only ! way was to punish, where he had tailed to prevent. Fuad Pacha was sent out on the errand, and, if shooting and hanging could I prove it, he showed conclusively how verj- anxious the sultan was that no harm should be done to his Christian subjects. To make up for the murderof thousands, Fuad Pacha ' arrested some hundreds, and sent to the gib- 1 bet or shot every one who was condemned. The Turkish government could afford to kill some three or four hundred Mussulmen, who were convinced that their murders I had secured their entrance into Paradise ;' I and meanwhile they had the satisfaction of remembering that anyhow the thousands I of slaughtered Christians could not be re- called to life. During the next two years the history of ! the Turkish empire exhibits the usual I course of reforms proposed and not carried out, of laws passed and not administered, I while the operations of Russia in Servia point to fresh efforts to bring about the fall ' of the Turk before the growth of the Greek kingdom should bring a restoration of the Byzantine empire within the compass of I possibility. THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS. TJie State of the Jews since the Destruction of Jemsalem. The Jews, obliged to quit their country, irritated and provoked by the cruel treat- ment they had received, meditated to avenge themselves of their enemies. They began to jiut their murderous designs into execution at the city of Cyrene, in Lybia, and in the island of Cyprus, where, since their flight, they had increased consider- ably. They were headed by an enterprising but artful man, named Andrew, under whom they not only committed the greatest ex- cesses, but also gained some advantages over the Egyptians, and even over the Romans. The emperor Trajan found himself obliged to march an array against them; but they were not reduced until after several engagements, maintained with the greatest obstinacy ; they were at length overcome, and were treated by the Romans rather as enemies of the human race, than as rebels against the power of Rome. Lybia became so far depopulated in this conflict, that the Romans thought it necessarj' to send a colony to repeople the waste. The Jews, notwithstanding their recent misfortunes in Palestine, again revolted. Hadrian, the successor of Trajan, sent Ju- lius Severus against them. This general (according to Dion) killed 580,000 in dif- ferent battles; and, he further asserts, they could not reckon those that perished by famine or otherwise : so that very few Jews escaped in this war. They razed (con- tinues Dion) fifty fortified castles, pillaged and burnt 985 cities and tovras, and made such a general massacre of the inhabitants through the country, that all Judea was in a maimer converted into a desert. Before this massacre, the number of Jews, accord- ing to the calculations of the priest made under Nero, and estimating those destroyed under Titus, amounted to 2,546,000 persons. Hadrian, after having ruined and massa- cred the gi-eatest part of the remaining number, prohiliited, by a solemn edict, confirmed in the senate, any of those that had escaped the sword, from returning into their own country ; and from that time this unfortunate people have been entirely dispersed. Notwithstanding the prodigious num- bers which perished in the successive over- throws of the Jewish nation, it is clearthat very considerable colonies of them settled in different countries, as the travels of the apostles alone amply testify. In Rome, Alexandria, and many other places, there were flourishing communities. Some de- voted themselves to the cultivation of the arts and sciences, others pursued handicraft trades, many practised as physicians, but most of them turned their attention to commercial speculations, and soon became notorious for their wealth and overreaching cupidity. In the fifth century they were banished from Alexandria, where they had been es- tablished from the time of Alexander. They rendered themselves the ridicule of all na- tions by their enthusiasm in favour of a false Messiah, who appeared at that time in Caudia. This impostor, who was named Moses, and pretended to be the ancient legislator of the Jews, asserted that he had descended from heaven, in order to enable the children of Abraham to enter the Land of Promise. A new revolt in Palestine, In the sixth century, served to show the turbulent dis- position of the Jewish race, and the in- crease of the massacres of that people. While some of the scattered families of Jews resorted to Egypt, Babylon, and other polished countries in the East, there were others who settled in Arabia, penetrated to China, or wandered over the European con- tinent. But many still remained in Pales- tine. Aftex the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity, Judea became an object of religious veneration, and the em- press Helena repaired hither in pilgrimage, and built various splendid temples. A crowd of pilgrims resorted thither subse- quently from every part of the world ; the most numerous arriving from the west, over which the church of Rome had fully established its domination. In the com- mencement of the sixth century, however, an entire change took place. Judea was among the countries first exposed to the fanatical followers of Mahomet, and soon fell under their sway. But when the Turks poured in from the north, they no longer observed the same courtesy. They pro- faned the holy places, and the intelligence of their outrages being conveyed to Europe, roused the religious spirit of the age into those expeditions called the crusades. All Europe seemed to pour itself upon Asia : the Saracen armies were routed, Jerusalem taken by storm, and its garrison put to the sword. The leader of the first crusade, Godfrey of Bouillon, was made king; and a petty Christian sovereignty established, which endured for above eighty years ; the Holy Land continually streaming with the blood of Christian and Saracen. The Maho- metan states, whose resources were all at hand, gradually, however, regained the as- cendancy. In 1187 Judea was conquered by Saladin ; on the decline of whose king- dom it passed through various hands, till, in the 16th century it was eventually swal- lowed up in the Turkish empire. Great calamities to the Jews occurred 820 Cije CTrcaiiirg of ^giStorg, &t. during llie crusades. Wlicrcver thcfaniiti- ci\ soldiers who were on tlieir march to Talestiiic passed, they pillaged and mur-- dered the scattered inhabitants of the once happy land of Canaan, and the people of the nations among whom they dwelt robbed I hem of their raluables without remorse. The persecution was general, their furious enemies endeavouring, as it were, to ex- tirpate the very name of Israel. It should he observed, however, that both Maho- metans and Jews being animated by a like hatred of the Christians, we often find them acting in concert, especially during the Saracenic conquest of Africa and Spain. Xay, under the rule of the Spanish Mos- lems, the condition of the Jews not only enjoyed complete toleration, but they cul- tivated science, and were intrusted with the highest oflBces of the state. In the twelfth centurj-, Philip Augus- tus, king of France, b.anished them twice from his kingdom ; and during the reign of Philip le Bel, they were accused, and not without justice, of cruel exactions and usu- rious extortions. They were also charged with having committed outrages against the host, of having crucified children on Good Friday, of having insulted the image of Jesus Christ, &c. They were put into* the hands of the judges ; and, although no proof whatever was brought forward to substantiate their guilt, they were deli- vered over to the populace to be dealt with •according to their pleasure. Philip ba- nished them entirely from France in 1308, and confiscated all their effects. Louis X., his successor, permitted them to reesta- blish themselves in his kingdom, on condi- tion of their paying him a large sum of mcmey. In the reign of Philip the Long, brother and successor of Louis, they were massacred .and pillaged. In 1395, Charles V. banished them, and confiscated all their property. This was their fourth and last banishment. In 1393 they experienced in Germany a treatment similar to that which they had received in France. In Castile they pur- chased their peace at a high price; but in Catalonia, Arragon, and the other parts of Spain, they were most horribly persecuted, and nearly two hundred thousand of them were compelled to embrace the Christian religion, or at least appear so to do. At the beginning of the sixteenth cen- tury, the Jews established in Portugal were treated with horrible injustice. In 15IJ6, during three days successively, they were barbarously murdered at Lisbon : yet, as if not content with taking away their lives, they took those among them whom they had mutilated or mortally wounded, and burnt them by heaps in the public squares. Two thousand perished in this manner. The fathers not daring to weep for their children, nor the children for their fathers, they were mutually over- come by despair on seeing each other drag- ged away to torment. We are unable to state the precise pe- riod of their arrival in this country ; but in the eighth century we find them reckon- ed among the property of the Anglo-Saxon kings, who seem to have exercised absolute power over both their lives and goods. In this abject state they remained under the Norman princes and the early Plantagenets, who harassed them by the most cruel ex- actions, and often treated them with great barbarity. In proof of this, we need only refer to the reigns of Richard I., John, Henry III., and Edward I. If we pursue their history in other European countries, we shall find that, if we except the Italian republics, and Spain while under the do- minion of its Arab conquerors, the Jews everywhere found themselves the objects of persecution. On the introduction of the Inquisition into Spain and Portugal, that dread tribunal condemned thousands to the flames, before it commenced its dia- bolical proceedings against those Chris- tians who differed from the see of Rome : and it was not until the Protestant states were strong enough to break asunder the shackles of religious intolerance, that the Jew had any chance of insuring his per- sonal safety. We thus see that in different ages the Jews have suffered the most dreadful per- secutions and massacres; but though the annihilation of the race seemed to be in- evitable, their numbers were still very con- siderable, and they exercised then, as they do at the present time, no little influence in the affairs of civilised nations. Since arts and learning have revived in Europe, they have felt the beueflt of that humane enlightenment which has extended all over the globe. France, Holland, Austria, and most of the German states, allow them the rights of citizenship ; England and Prussia tolerate and protect them ; in many of the British colonies they are among the princi- pal merchants and traders ; and in Ital.v, Spain, and Portugal they are at least suf- fered to reside unmolested. The attention of the British nation has of late years been particularly directed towards the improve- ment of their political condition and their conversion to Christianity. But upon the latter topic, as well as the probable res- tor.ation of the Jews to the laud of their fathers, it is unnecessary to offer an opinion : both are concealed from mortal ken by the impenetrable veil which en- wraps futurity. ARMENIA. The ancient history of this large and war- like people Is connected with that of the several mighty nations who in turn filled the world with the terror of their names. Its first king appears to have been Soythcm, the next Barzanes, after whose death the kingdom was divided into several petty kingdoms. The Modes under Astyages sutisequently subdued Armenia, which was reduced to a province under Persian go- vernors. It was afterwards divided into Major and Minor by Artarias and Zadri- ades, who having united their forces, esta- blished each himself in his respective pro- vince, independent of his master; the for- mer possessing Armenia Major, the other .Minor. Assisted by the Roman alliance, ilic^ie usurpers maintained their power in clc'siiite of the several attacks of their for- mer master, Antiochus. After their death, the Armenians suffered considerable loss in a war with the Parthians. Marc Antony put Artavardes, the sovereign of Armenia, to death, to make room for Alexander, his own snu by Cleopatra; others say that he led him captive to Home in golden chains. Trajan reduced Armenia to a Roinan province ; but in the reign of Constantiue the Great and his successor, it had its own kings, depen- dent indeed on the emperor. St. Bartholo- mew is said to have introduced Christianity into Armenia; but there can be no doulit that it was Christian in the beginning of the fourth centur.v. Sapor, the Persian con- queror, reduced it to a pnivince at the end of the fourth century. The Saracens sub- dued it In A.D. 687, who gave way to the Turks about a century afterwards. It was then called Turcomonia. Armenia partially recovered its Indepen- dence, but was again subdued by Octal, S(m of Genghis, first khan of the Tartars. A remnant of the royal family of Armenia still remained ; and we find one of them, Leo, came to England to solicit the aid of Richard II. against the Turks, by whom he hj(d been expelled from his throne. Ar- mania was again made a province of the Persian empire, in 1472. Selim II. reduced it to a Turkish province in 1522 ; the gi'eater part of which still remains subject to the Crescent. ALBANIA. ALBANIA was nominally a province of the Turkish empire. Its history is diversified, and mixed up with the various fortunes of the surrounding nations. Looked upon as liarliarous by the Greeks and Romans, be- cause very shghtly explored by them, Alba- nia, better known to tho.se celebrated peo- ple as lllyricura and Epirus, still retains much of the simplicity of primitive habits, so that it is emphatically called the Scy- thia of the Turkish empire. The ancient historians describe the inhabitants of this I'onntry as peculiarly fierce and untract- able. The remoteness of its situation, and want of union amongst the several tribes which inhabited the country of Albania, rendered the valour of its people of little conseiiuence to the general affairs of Greece, and accordingly we find them but slightly mixed up with Grecian polities. Under the conduct of Pyrrhus II., one of the most consummate generals of antiquity, who waged a bloody war with the Romans in Italy, the Albanians, or Epirotes, routed Aiitigonus, king of Macedonia, and held that country in subjection; but their con- quest ended with the death of their com- mander, and they in turn fell under the power of the Macedonians. The Romans made some settlements in their country, and availed themselves of the many fine harbours to be found along its coast. At their decline, with other por- tions of that once mighty empire, Albania fell a prey to Alarle and the Goths, although some of their descendants afterwards re- tained possession of the northern district. Sigisraund, one of its kings, was celebrated for his alliance with Theodoric, the victor of Clovis, and Odoacer, a.d. 526. Albania now became the prey of the Sciavonian na- tions, till it was settled witliin its present limits, under the Bulgarians, in 870. As the Greek empire declined, the Albanians again rose to distinction, and at last rees- tablished their independence, in spite of the most strenuous exertions of the Bulga- rians, who were masters of all the neigh- bouring districts of Greece. During the period of the crusades, there were several settlements on their coasts by the Sicilians, Franks, and other nations. After the conquest of Constantinople, 1204, Michael Angelus established an indepen- dent government in this district. Albaniahas cut some figure in the annals of the last forty years, chiefiy through the enterprising spirit and politic conduct of All Pacha, who raised himself to a degi'ce of power which long kept the Turks, who were nominally his masrers, in a state of fear to attack him. After amassing im- mense treasures, and keeping up indepen- dent alliances with the European powers, he was, in 1822, finally cut off by the Turk- ish officers. The modern name of Albania is Arnaut. THE MODERN HISTOEY OF EGYPT. (WITH STBIA.) According to 51. Volncy, the Mamelukes came oriRiually from Mount Caucasus, and wi're distinguished hy the flaxen colour of their hair. The expedition of the Tartars, in 1227, proved indirectly the means of in- troducing them Into Egypt. These merci- less conquerors, having slaughtered till they were weary, brought along with them an immense number of slaves of both sexes, with whom they filled all the markets in Asia. The Turks purchased about 12,000 young men, whom they bred up in the^ro- fession of arms, which they soon excelled in ; hut, becoming mutinous, they deposed and murdered the sultan Malek, in 1260. The Mamelukes having thus got possession of the government, and neither understand- ing nor valuing anything but the art of war, every species of learning decayed in EgJTt, and barbarism was introduced. Xeither was their empire of long duration, notwithstanding their martial abilities : for as they depended upon the Christian slaves, chiefly brought from Circassia, whom they bought for the purpose of training to war, and thus filling up their ranks, these new Mamelukes, or Borgites as they were at flrst called, in time rose upon their mas- ters, and transferred the government to themselves, about A. d. 1382. They became famous for ferocious valour ; were almost nerpetually engaged in wars either foreign or domestic ; and their domi- nion lasted till 1517, when they were in- vaded by Selim I., the Turkish sultan. The Mamelukes defended themselves with in- credible bravery ; but overpowered by num- tiers, they were defeated in almost every ;'ngagement. Cairo, their capital, was taken, :iud a terrible slautrhter made of its defend- ers. The sultan, Tuman Bey, was forced to fly ; and, having collected all his forces, he ventured a decisive battle. The most ro- mantic efforts of valour, however, were in- .-ufflcient to cope with the innumerable multitude which composed the Turkish army. Most of his men were cut in pieces, and the unhappy prince was himself taken and put to death. With him ended the glory of the Mamelukes. The sultan Selira commenced his govern- ment of Egypt by an unexampled act of wholesale butchery. Having ordered a rheatre to be erected on the banks of the Nile, he caused all the prisimcrs (upwards of .30,000) to be beheaded in his presence, and their bodies thrown into the river. He did not, however, attempt the total exter- mination of the Mamelukes, but prnposed anew form of govcriiinent, by which the power, being distributed among the diffe- rent members of the state, Bhould preserve an equilibrium ; so that the dependence of the whole should be upon himself. With this view, he chose from among those Ma- melukes who had escaped the general mas- sacre, a divan, or council of regency, con- sisting of the pacha and chiefs of the seven military corps. The former was to notify to this council the orders of the Porte, to send the tribute to Constantinople, and provide for the safety of government both external and internal ; while, on the other hand, the members of the council had a right to reject the orders of the pacha, or even to depose him, provided they could assign sufficient reasons. All civil and political ordinances must also be rati- fied by them. Besides this, he formed the whole body into a kind of republic; for which purpose he issued an edict, stating, 'Though, by the help of the Almighty, we have conquered the whole kingdom of Egypt with our invincible armies, neverthe- less our benevolence is willing to grant to the twenty-four sangiacs of Egypt a repub- lican government," &c. The conditions and regulations then follow, the most impor- tant of which are those which make it in- cumbent on the republic to provide 12,000 troops at its own expense in time of peace, and as many as may be necessary for its protection in time of war ; and also to send to the Sublime Porte a certain sum in money annually as tribute, with 600,000 measures of corn and 400,000 of barley. Upon these conditions the Mamelukes were to have a free government over aU the in- habitants of Egypt, independent of the Turkish lieutenant. Thus the power of the Mamelukes still continued in a very considerable degree, and gradually increased so much as to threaten a total loss of dominion to the Turks ; but singular as it may seem, not- withstanding a residence of nearly six cen- turies, they never became naturalised in the country. They formed no alliance with the females of Egypt, but had their wives brought from Georgia, Mingrelia, and the adjacent countries ; so that, according to Volney, their offspring invariably became extinct in the second generation : they were therefore perpetuated by the same means by which they were flrst established: that is, their ranks were recruited by slaves brought from their original countrj-. In- deed, as many writers have remarked, tlie Circassian territories have atall times been a nurserj' of slaves. Towards the end of last century, when they constituted the whole military force Clje Igiitare at «50Bpt. 823 and had acquired the entire governnieut of Kgypt. the Mamelukes, together with the Serradijes, a liind of mounted domestics, did not exceed 10,000 men. Some hundreds of them were dispersed throughout the country and in the villages, to maintain the authority of their corps and collect triliute ; but the main body constantly re- mained at Cairo. Strangers to each other, bound by no ties as parents or children, placed amongst a people with whom they had nothing in common, despised as rene- gades by the TuVks, ignorant and supersti- tious from education, ferocious, perfidious, seilitious, and corrupted by every species of debauchery, the disorders and cruelties which accompanied their licentious rule may be more easily imagined than describ- ed. Sovereignty was to them to have the means of possessing more women, toys, horses, and slaves, than others ; of manag- ing the court of Constantinople, so as to elude the tribute or the menaces of the sul- tan : and of multiplying partisans, counter- mining plots, and destroying secret enemies by the dagger or poison. But with all this, they were brave in the extreme. Their beys, and even the common soldiers, dis- tinguished themselves by the magnificence ;ind costliness of their accoutrements, tliough these were in general clumsy and heavy. Being trained from Infancy to the use of arms and horsemanship, they were admirable horsemen; and used the scimitar, carbine, pistol, and lance with almost un- equalled skill and vigour. About the year 1746, Ibrahim, an officer of the janissaries, rendered himself In reality master of Egypt, having managed matters so well, that of the twenty-four beys, or sanglacs, eight were of his house- hold ; so that by this means, as well as by attaching the officers and soldiers of his corps to his interest, the pacha became altogether unable to oppose him, and the orders of the sultan were less respected than those of Ibrahim. At his death, in 1757, his family continued to rule in a despotic manner ; but waging war among each other. All Bey, who had been a prin- cipal actor in the disturbances in 1766, overcame the rest, and for some time ren- dered himself absolute master of Egypt. This remarkable man was a Syrian by birth, and had been purchased when a youth in the slave-market at Cairo ; but being Iiossessed of great talents and of a most ambitious turn of mind, he, after a variety of extraordinary adventures, was appointed one of the twenty-four beys of Egypt. The Porte, being at that time on the eve of a dangerous war with Russia, had not leisure to attend to the proceedings of Ali Bey ; so that he had an opportunity of vigorously prosecuting his designs. His first expedition was against an Arabian prince named Hammam ; against wliom he sent his favourite Mohammed Bey, under pretence that the former had concealed a treasure intrusted with liim by Ibrahim, and that he afforded protection to rebels. Having destroyed this unfortunate prince, he next began to put in execution a plan proposed to him by a young Venetian merchant, of rendering Gedda, the port of Mecca, an emporium for all the commerce of India; and he even imagined he should be able to make the Europeans abandon the passage to the Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. With this view, he fitted out some vessels at Suez ; and, manning them with Mamelukes, commanded the bey Has- san to sail with them to Gedda, and seize upon It, while a body of cavalry under Mo- hammed Bey advanced against the town. Both these commissions were executed according to his wish, and Ali became quite intoxicated with his success. Nothing but ideas of conquest now occupied his mind, without considering the immense dispro- portion between his own force and that of the grand seignior. Circumstances were then indeed very favourable to his schemes. The sheik Daher was in rebellion against the Ptirte in Syria, and the pacha of Damascus had so exasperated the people by his extor- ti(ms, that they were ready for a revolt. Having made the necessary preparations, Ali Bey despatched about 500 Mamelukes to take possession of Gaza, and thus se- cure an entrance into Palestine. Osman, thepachaof Damascus, however, no sooner heard of the invasion than he prepared for war, while the troops of Ali Bey held them- selves in readiness to fly on the first attack, Sheik Daher hastened to their assistance, while Osman fled without even offering to make the least resistance ; thus leaving the enemy masters of Palestine. The com- bined army of Ali Bey and sheik Daher afterwards marched to Damascus ; where the pachas waited for them, and on the 6th of June 1771, a decisive action took place ; the Mamelukes and Safadians (the name of Daher's subjects) rushed on tlie Turks with such fury, that, terrified at their courage, the latter immediately fied; and the allies became masters of the country, taking pos- session of the city without opposition. The castle alone resisted. Its ruinous fortiflca- tiou had not a single cannon ; but it was surrounded by a muddy ditch, and behind the ruins were posted a few jnusqueteers ; and these alone were sufficient to check this army of cavalry. As the besieged, however, were already conquered by their tears, they capitulated on the third day, and the place was to be sur- rendered next morning, when, at daybreak, a most extraordinary revolution took plsce. This was no less than the defection of Mo- hammed Bey himself, whom Osman had gained over in a conference during the night. At the moment, therefore, that the sign.al of surrender was expected, this trea- cherous general sounded a retreat, and turn- ed towards Egypt with all his cavalry, flying with as great precipitation as if he had been pursued by a superior army. Mohammed continued his march with such celerity, that the report of his arrival in Egypt reached Cairo only six hours tjefore him. Thus Ali Bey found himself at once deprived of all his expectations of conquest, and, what was indeed galling, hefoundatraitor, whom he durst not punish, at the head of his forces. A sudden reverse of fortune now took place. Several vessels laden with 824 CI)C CreaSurp at ^fefStorg, ^t. rnrn for sliplk Dalier wcro tnkon by a Rus- :^laii prlvntwr: and Mohanimcd Bey, wlmm he ilfsilu'iu'd to have piit to death, not only mado Ills csoape, but was ?o well attended that he eoiUd not be attacked. His followers eontiiiulnL- dally to increase in number, Moliamnied soon became suftlciently strong to march towards Cairo : and, in Aprill'TS, having defeated the troops of All in a rencontre, entered the city sword in hand, while the latter had scarcely time to make his escape with 800 Mamelukes. With dif- ficulty he was enabled to get to Syria by the assistance of sheik Daher, whom he imme- diately joined with the troops he had with him. The Turks under Osman were at that time besieging Sidon, but raised the siege on the approach of the allied army, consist- ing of about 7,000 cavalry. Thougli the Turkish army was at least three times their number, the allies did not hesitate to attack them, and gained a complete victory. Their affairs now began to wear a more favourable aspect; but the military opera- tions were retarded by the siege of Yaffa (the ancient Joppa), which had revolted, and held out for eight months. In the be- ginning of 1773 it capitulated, and Ali Bey began to think of returning to Cairo. For this purpose sheik Daher had promised him succours, and the Russians, with whom he had now contracted an alliance, made him a similar promise. Ali, however, ruined everything by his own Impatience. He set out with his Mamelukes and 1,500 Safl- dians given hira by Daher ; but he had no sooner entered the desert which separates Gaza from Kgypt, than l)e was attacked tiy a body of 1,000 chosen Mamelukes, who were lying in wait for his arrival. They were commanded by a young bey, named Mourad ; who, being enamoured of the wife of Ali Bey, had obtained a promise of her from Moiiammed, in case he could bring him her husband's head. As soon as Mou- rad perceived the dust by which the ap- proach of AJi's army was announced, he rushed forward to the attack and took pri- soner Ali Bey himself, after wounding him in the forehead with a sabre. Being con- ducted to Mohammed Bey, the latter pre- tended to treat him with extraordinary re- spect, and ordered amagniflcent tent to be erected for him : but in three days he was found dead of his wounds, as was given out ; though some, with equal probability, affirm that he was poisoned. Upon the death of Ali Bey, Mohammed took upon himself the supreme dignity. At first he pretended to be only the defender of the rights of the sultan, remitted the usual tribute to Constantinople, and took the customary oath of unlimited obedience ; after which he solicited permission to make war upon sheik Daher, against whom he had a personal pique. In February 1776, he appeared in Syria with an army equal to that which he had formerly commanded under All Bey. Daher's forces despairing of being able to cope with such a formid- able armament, abandoned Gaza, of which Mohammed immediately took possession, and then marched towards Yaffa, which de- fended itself so long that Mohammed was distracted with rage, anxiety, and despair. The besieged, however, whose numbers were diminished by the repeated attacks, became weary of the contest : and it was proposed to abandon the place on the Egyptians Riving hostages. Conditions were agreed upon, and tlie treaty might be considered as concluded, when in the midst of the security occasioned by this belief some Mamelukes entered the town ; num- bers of others followed their example and attempted to plunder. The inhaljitants defended themselves and the attack recom- menced : the whole army then rushed into tho town, which suffered all the horrors of war ; women and children, young and old men, were all cut to pieces, and Mohammed, equally mean and barbarous, caused a pyra- mid, formed of the heads of the unfor- tunate sufferers, to he raised as a monu- ment of his victory. By this disaster the greatest terror and consternation were dif- fused everywhere. Sheik Daher himself fled, and Mohammed soon became master of Acre also. Here he behaved with his usual cruelty, and abandoned the city to be plun- dered by his soldiers. But his career was soon stopped, his death just at the time occurring through a malignant fever, after two days' illness. Soon after Mohammed's death a contest arose among several of the beys, as to who should succeed him. But the chief strug- gle lay between Mourad and Ibrahim, who, having ultimately overcome the rest,agreed, in 1785, to share the government between them, and continued to ruleas joint pachas for many years. From that time we have no account of any remarkable transaction in Egypt, till the French Invaded that country in 1798. When Selim III. ascended the Ottoman throne, the French revolution was just breaking out ; but until Buonaparte's me- morable Invasion of Egypt and Syria, its effects were not much felt in that quarter of the globe. The two Mameluke beys, Mourad and Ibrahim, were at that time at the head of the government. The French landed near Alexandria on the first of July 1798 ; and that city was taken by assault on the 5th, and plundered by the soldiery. They then marched to Cairo, but were met by an army of Mame- lukes in the plains near the pyramids, where the French gained a signal victory, which was followed by their occupation of the capital, and the submission. In general, of the inhabitants. The destruction of the French fleet, by the English under Nelson, in the bay of Aboukir, was the next event of importance ; yet, notwithstanding this great calamity, Buonaparte was not deterred from pursu- ing his original design, but set out at the head of 10,000 men to cross the desert which separates Egypt from Palestine. On Ills arrival in Syria he conquered several towns, one of which was Yaffa, where an act of atrocity was committed by him, which, notwithstanding all the sophistry that has been employed to palliate it, will ever remain as a foul and infamous Mot on the French commander: this was the deli- ULift l^Wtorg at (J^uypt. 825 berate murder of a large body of prisoners, cliiefly Alliaiiuins, who had surrendered to the French, and for whose sustenance, It was pleaded, the latter had not suflicient provisions! We shall not enter into a detail of the memorable siege of Acre, undertaken by }iuonaparte, who, after putting every engine into operation that skill could dictate, or disappointed ambition suggest, was com- pelled to retire, humbled and discomflted, liy sir Sidney Smith and his gallant fel- lows, who had been sent to the Syrian coast for the express purpose of assisting to expel the French. In both our histories of 'England' and ' France,' the subject, down to the expulsion of the French from Egypt, will be found : be it sufficient, therefore, in this place to say, that the noble defence of Acre in reality put an end to all his hopes of conquest in tlie East, and that the British army, under the brave Abercromhie, completed, in 1801, that overthrow which had so well been begun by a handful of British sailors. The most remarkable person connected with Egypt after the period of which we have been speaking, was Mehemet All, the Turkish pacha of that country. This chief, who has since become so prominent In Egyptian and Syrian history, was ambitious of making himself Independent of the ottoman Porte; but as this could not be tflected while the Mameluke beys retained their power and influence, he determined on their extirpation by a cold-blooded act of treachery. He accordingly invited them to a grand festival, to be given in honour of his son Ibrahim, who had just been appointed commander-in-chief of an expe- dition against the Wahabees of Aj-abia. Wholly unsuspicious of the treacherous de- sign of Mehemet All, the beys arrived at the castle on the appointed day (March 1st, 1811), each attended by his suite; but they had no sooner entered than they were seized and beheaded. The execution of all the chief Mamelukes throughout the coun- try immediately followed; and Mehemet now, though nominally a vassal of the Turkish empire, exercised all the functions and privileges of an absolute sovereign prince. In the histories of ' Turkey ' and ' Greece,' will be seen how large a share Mehemet All and Ibrahim had in fomenting and car- rying on the war between those countries. It will also be seen in its proper place in the history of ' England,' that Mehemet Ali liad provoked the insurrection in Syria, and but for the interference of England and her continental allies, would have wrested Egypt and Syria from the Turks. But the alBed fleet, under the cotumaud of Sir II, Stopford and commodore Napier, bombard- ed and captured the whole line of fortified places along the coastof Syria, ending their operations with the destruction of St. Jean d'Acre. This place, so renowned of old for Beenes of desperate valour — scenes in which British heroism had been so strik- ingly conspicuous — was doomed again to witness the prowess of our arms. A heavy cannonade for nearly three hours was kept up, by which time the guns of the forts were silenced ; when, owing to one of the bomb-shots falling on the enemy's powder- magazine, an awful explosion took place, and 1,200 humanbeings were blown into the air. This decided the fate of the war ; and Mehemet Ali, after a long negotiation, in which the allied powers of Europe took part, was reinstated in his viceroyship of Egypt, the government of that country to descend in a direct hereditary line, a.d. 1841. Mehemet Ali, from mental decay, became Incapable of government in June 1848, and his son Ibraliim was invested with the pashalic of Egypt liy tlie Turkish sultan. Ibrahim dying iu the November following, he was succeeded by Abbas Pacha, son of Toussour. The celebrated Mehemet Ali, whose extraordinary career had rendered Egypt and hint self objects of European in- terest, died July 2, 1849, aged 80. Under Abbas Pacha the work of reform was continued on a mitigated principle. Mehemet Ali centred everything in himself, but Abbas judiciously sought to lighten his responsibilities by giving more freedom to the people. Thus the fellahs liave been re- stored to the right from which the military system of the former ruler had degraded them ; and the practice of disposing of that part of thejiroduce paid as rent has been al- tered for the benefit of the dealers. Under the old administration, the produce of the soil thus extorted by government was mo- nopolised and distributed by favour at arbi- trary prices. It is now disposed of fairly by public .sale, to the highest bidder, and former causes of complaint with the foreign merchant have been removed. Such libe- r.al policy has borne its natural fruit. The exports of Egypt have greatly increased. That of cotton wool has risen from 200,000 to 400,000 cwt. ; that of flax has doubled ; of wheat, more than double; and, in sum, the value of the entire exports has risen, since Abbas Pacha's accession in 1848, from one to upwards of two millions sterling. By the adoption of such measures, and by rendering Egypt the safe and rapid high- way of traffic between the East and the West, the career of prosperity on which the country has entered may be indefinitely augmented. ALEXANDRL\. Alexakdria, now called Scanderia, the anrient capital of Lower Eijypt, occupies a prominent position in tlie annals of history even from Its first foundation. Founded by the great Alexander, whose mind was com- prehensive as his valour was unequalled, tlie very cause of Its existence was com- mercial, and its history for 1,800 years shows how well the Macedonians appreciated the :ulvanta,i;es"C maritime resources. Amidst tlie convulsions which shook his empire to piecesafterhis death, Alexandriacontinued to rise in greatnessand magnificence under the fostering protection of the enlightened rtolemies, the friends of commerce and science. But the brutality of Ptolemy Pliyscon made Alexandria .almost a desert about 130 years before Christ. An inhuman massacre of all the young men of the city shortly afterw,ards took place, and Alex- andria was for some time the scene of com- motion and anarchy. In B.C. 48 the conqueror of the West visited the city of the victor of the East, in pursuit of his defeated rival, where he arbi- trated between Ptolemy XII. and Cleopa- tra. His military conduct was no less con- spicuous here than it h.ad been previously in (iaul, Britain, and the plains of Pharsalia. With a small band of Romans, assisted by some forces of the Jews, he defeated the whole array of Ptolemy. Whilst history re- cords with exultation the exploit of Csesar, who swam across the Nile bearing his Com- mentaries aloft safe from the waters, she droops over the conflagration which acci- dentally consumed the celebrated library, which consisted of 400,000 volumes. For it must be remembered that the city of Alexandria was originally designed, and actually proved, to be the mart of philoso- phy and science. The emperor Caligula had designed Alex- andria as the seat of his empire, in the event of his massacring the chief senators and knights of Rome. In the year a.d. 40, the Jews, who, to the amount of a million, had for many years enjoyed a variety of privileges, were, by an edict of Flaccus, now declared strangers in Alexandria — and un- derwent, as one of the signs of the time of their approaching destruction and complete dispersion of their nation, grievous priva- tions, losses, and cruelty. It was within a few years after this, that the gospel of Jesus Christ was promulgated in Alex- andria, and received by many. The names of Pantsenus, St. Clement, and Origen are found as presidents of a Christian school of considerable eminence founded in this city. The admixture, however, of the philosophy wliich distinguished Alexandria with the tenets of Christianity and the dogmas of Judaism, tended materially to corrupt both truth and wisdom ; and the eclectic philo- sophy proved the foundation of the Jewish cabbala and many corruptions of the Chris- tian faith. Under Claudlua, Alexandria again reckoned the Jews as citizens. Itwas the first jilace which hailed Vespasian em- peror, A.D. 69 ; and here he abode whilst his generals and armies were deciding his cause against Vitellius. The account which Ha- drian, who visited the city a.d. 130, gives of it, is characteristic of the industry and enterprise of commerce, as well as of its worst and most pernicious effects upon the inhabitants who thrive under its riches. Under the emperor Severus, Alexandria obtained several immunities and privileges, A.D. 202 ; a grateful sense of which was manifested by a monument erected to him. Different, however, was their fortune under the despicable Caracalla, who rewarded their entertainment of him by a general massacre of the inhabitants, a.d. 215; by abolishing the societies of learned men, who were maintained in the museum ; by the plunder of temples and private houses ; and by separating different parts of the city from one another by walls and towers. During the reign of Gallienus, Alexandria suffered most severely both by war and pestilence. But history, here, records with admiration the conduct of two Christian bishops, Eusebius and Anatolius, who, like the good Samaritan, bound up the wounds of the wretched, and, like their heavenly Master, were unwearied in alleviating the distresses of their suffering fellow-crea- tures. Their conduct sheds a lustre over the annals of this city, far transcending the most brilliant exploits which emblazon its heraldry. Alexandria was now almost de- populated. It, however, again recovered somewhat of its former greatness, again to feel the unsparing havoc of war and dissen- sion, in the reign of Diocletian, who having captured it from Achilleus, the usurper of Egypt, gave it up to indiscriminate pillage and plunder a.d. 296. He made some retri- bution for this severity by establishing certain salutary regulations, amongst which may he reckoned his establishment for the perpetual distribution of corn, for the be- nefit of this city, a.d. 302. Under Constan- tino Alexandria again flourished by its trade and commerce. A dreadful and al- most universal earthquake, July 21, 36.5, shook this city to its very foundation, and swallowed up 50,000 of its inhabitants. Al- though the second capital of the Roman empire, Alexandria was captured by the Moslems, under Amrou, the general of the caliph Omar, Dec. 22, a.d. 640. Bloody and obstinate was the siege; amply supplied with provisions, and devoted to the defence of their dearest rights and honours, its inhabitants bravely withstood the astonish- ing efforts and unwearied bravery of their enemies; and had Heraclius as promptly seconded their resolution, the crescent of Mahomet had not then reigned in bloody supremacy over the Christian cross. It was Ct)? f^iStorg af ffisspt. Invaluable to HeracUus, and Its loss was a source of great Inconvenience to Byzan- tium, to which it had been the storehouse. Since, in the short space of Ave years, the hurbdurs and fortiflcalions of Alexandria were occupied l)y a tleet and army of Romans, twice did the valour of its con- queror, Amrou, expel them ; but his policy liad been to dismantle several walls and towers, in pursuance of a vow he had made of rendering Alexandria as accessible as the home of a prostitute. In the year 643 the lilirary uf Alexandria was destroyed by order of the calipli Omar ; and so extensive was it, that its vuluiiies of paper or parcli- ment sulllced t(] light the fires of the 4,000 baths which were in the city, for more than six months I So waned the splendour and glory of this mighty city. The dominion of the Sara- cens withered its energies, and Alexandria gradually siuik from its high estate, so that in the year 875 its extent was contracted to half its former dimensions. Mournful, but still majestic in its decline, it still re- tained the Pharos, and part of its public places and monuments. In 920 Its great church, called Cosarea, which had formerly been a pagan temple, erected by Cleopatra, la honour of Saturn, was destroyed by Are ; 827 and two years after, this second, or Arabic Alexandria, was taken by the Magrebians, wl.o, after various vicissitudes, at length flnally lost it to the Moslems, a.d. 938, when more than 200,000 of the wretched inhabitants perished. The discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in 1499 completed the ruin which had, for some centuries, been advancing under the Turkish dominion ; and Alexandria ceases from that time to possess any particular interest for the his- torian, until the close of the last century. The first consul of France, whose name will be reckoned up with the Macedonian Alex- ander and the Roman Ca3sar, like these two great prototypes of his ambition, displayed in Alexandria his skill and progress. It fell to his army July 4, 1798, after a defeat of the Arabs and Mamelukes. The thun- ders of the British navy bearing defeat and discomfiture through the ships of France, at Aboukir, were heard at Alexandria, and the British ensign waved triumphant over its walls in the year 1801, as again in 1806. Amongst the names of various heroes con- nected with this once mighty city, that of Abercrombie, who died here In the arms of victory, shall live enrolled In tlia annals of history. ANTIOCH. This city was founded by Antlgonus, and by him called Antigemia, a name which it soon after changed for Antiochia, in ho- nour of Antiochus, father of Seleucus. The seat of empire for the kings of Syria, and of government for the Roman officers, An- tioch was a place of considerable import- ance. It contained four distinct cities, and was therefore called Tetrapolis. An- other city, built in its suburbs, called Daphne, superseded it in magnificence and luxury so much that, not only did ' to live after the manner of Daphne' become pro- verbial, but Autloch was termed Antioch near Daphne. Its hi-story is confined pretty much to the various calamities of war and pesti- lence which, at different times, have vi- sited and scourged the city. By the as- sistance of Jonathan, the leader of the Maccabees, king Demetrius punished the contumacy of his dissatisfied subjects by slaying 10,000 of thetn, B.o. 145. An ex- traordinary earthquake laid it in ruins in the reign of Trajan, a.d. 115 ; the emperor himself being with difficulty saved from destruction. Antioch rose from its ashes under the auspices of Trajan, and was again nearly consumed by Are in 155. It was restored by Antoninus Pius, but was dispossessed, A.D. 177, by a severe edict of his, of all Its ancient rights and privileges, as a punishment for abetting the faction of Ovidius Cassius, governor of Syria, a measure, however, which was soon annulled. In 194 Severus, to punish the part which its natives took in the faction between him and Niger, pas.sed a similar edict, and sulijected Antioch, reduced to the level of a village, to Laodice.a, but the next year he revoked his sentence. In the meanwhile Antioch had been distinguished for some events connected with the spread of Chris- tianity, which, it is said, was established here by St. Peter, In the year 38. It was here the followers of the Redeemer were first called Christians, and an assembly of the apostles was held, in 56. There have also been several councils convened in Antioch at different periods. From its situatiou, it was necessarily ex- posed to severe attacks during the wars between the Persians and the Romans, when the power of the latter began to de- cline. It was three times taken by the Per- sian monarch. Sapor, who, after its last capture, plundered it and laid all Its public buildings prostrate. In 331 it was visited by a severe famine. Sixteen years after- w.ards its importance was increased by Ciinstantine 11., who, at an innnense ex- pense, formed the harbour of Seleucia for 828 Cf)e CrPHtfurp of i^i^taru, *rc. Its cniivoniencc. During the ri'sidciicc of Ihp iniixTor Julian hero, ou liia way to tlie IVrsi:iii cnipirc, tliere occurrt-il tliniuKli- iHit tin' Itciuian proviiiri'S a severe faiiiiiie, wliicli visited Antiocli more severely than other places, from the establislinient of a corn-law by the emperor. In 381, two great scourges appeared, plague and fa- mine; the former soon subsided, but on the continuance of the latter, Libanius, t!ie bishop, entreated assistance from Ica- rius, prefect nf the East, who answered the entreaty witli brutality and insult. A com- motion ensued, which, hi. wever, terminated without bloodshed. Si.K years afterwards, a tremendous tumult took place, in conse- quence of a tax imposed upon the people by the emperor Theodosius, iu comme- moration of the tenth year of his own reign, and the fifth of that of his son Arca- dius. The governor of the city with diffi- culty escaped the frenzy of the populace; and great indignities were offered to the emperor's statues by the people, who were made to atone for this offence by the most cruel punishments. St. Chrysostom dis- tinguished himself on this occasion by preaching homilies to the people, which tended very much to reform tlieir dissolute and corrupt practices. Severe measures were on the point of being executed against Antiocb by command of Theodosius, wlien they were averted by the united entreaties of St. Chrysostom, some hermits, and Fla- vianus, bishop of Antioch. But there was no defence to this ill-fated place in the year 598 against the awful visitation of an earth- quake, which, ou Sept. 19, laid desolate the most beautiful quarter of the city. A sinii- l.ar visitation occurred In 525, In the reign of Justin. Neither was the fury of man long with- held from working utter destruction to An- tioch. In ."iW it was captured liy Cosrhoes, king of Persia. 'I'lie cliiirclies were pil- laged, and, like anotlicr Nebuchadnezzar, he appropriated their gold and silver to his own u.se. Antioch had not a dwelling left ; her people were scattered, slain, or carried iuto captivity. Once more, phoenix-like, it rose from its ruins, to exijerience another earthquake in 580, which destroyed 30,000 persons. A new enemy now appears on the page of history. The Saracens took Antioch in the year G34, and retained possession of it till 858, when again it was annexed to the Rcmian empire. The Turks next became masters of it ; and they in turn lost it to the Crusaders, who made a principality of Antioch, in 1098, under Bohemond, prince of Tareutum. He was taken prisoner by the Turks in 1101, but liberated in 1103. Mean- while Antioch had been governed by Tan- cred, who died the year after his appoint- ment. The whole of the principality of Antioch, excepting the city, was overrun by the sultan Noureddin in 1148, who in the year HOC took Bohemond III. prisoner. On his liberation in 1175, he was created knight by Louis VI. of France, and died in 1201. The principality of Antioch was dis- solved in 1268 by the capture of the city by Bibars, sultan of Babylon. It then became a portion of the Turkish empire, which it has since continued, having experienced during that period two earthquakes — one iu 1759, and the other in 1822. TIIE HISTOEY OF INDIA. As the Hindi'is (or Hindoos) never had any histdrioal writings, all the information to be obtained respecting the original inhabit- ants of India is gleaned from popular poems or the accounts of foreigners. How vague and unsatisfactory such accounts always are, and how mixed with fabulous invention, the result of all researches in such labyrinths most abundantly proves : we shall, therefore, make but a brief ana- lysis of It. Under the name of India the ancients included no more than the peninsula on this side the Ganges, and the peninsiM| beyond it, having little or no knowledge of the countries which lie farther eastward. By whom these countries were originally peopled is a question which has given rise to much speculation, but which, in all pro- bability, will never be solved. Certain It is, that some works in these parts discover marks of astonishing skill and power in the inhabitants; such as the images in the island of Elephanta, the observatory at Benares, and many others. Whatever may have been the cause, the western nations knew not even of the existence of India, but by obscure report; while the inhabi- tants of the latter, ignorant of their own origin, invented a thousand idle tales con- cerning the antiquity of their tribes. According to Hindu tradition, and the popular legends of their bards, their coun- try was at first divided between two prin- cipal families; called in oriental phrase- ology, 'the families of the sun and moon.' These were both said to be descended from Brahma originally, through the patriarchs Daksha and Atrl, his sons. Vaiwaswat (the sun) had Daksha for his father ; and Soma (the moon) sprung from Atrl. The first prince of the family of the sun was named Ikshwaku, who was succeeded by his grandson, named Kakutstha. But the most celebrated prince was Rama, the son of Dasaratha, who was banished to the forests by his father for fourteen years, and was accompanied there by Sita, his wife. Sita having been carried oil by Havana, ;or the giant with ten heads), who was icing of Lanka, or Ceylon, Rama, assisted by Sugriva and Hanuman (who are de- scribed as monkie.s), pursued him to his capital, took it, put hira to death, and placed his brother Vibhishna on the throne. The traditions of the south of India add, that upon Rama's victory, colonists came from Ayodhya, or Oude, cleared and tilled the ground, and introduced the arts of civilised life. Rama returned to Ayodhya, over which he ruled for many years; and was succeeded by his son Kusa, whose posterity inherited the throne after him. I'ururaves, the son of Budda, the son of the moon, was the first prince of the lunar dynasty. His capital was PratishthSna, at the confluence of the Ganges and Jumna. To hira is attributed the discovery of the art of kindling fire. His eldest son, Ayus, succeeded him. Ayus had two sons, Nahusha, who suc- ceeded him ; and Kshetravtiddha, who es- tablished a separate principality at Kasl or Benares. Nahusha's successor was Ya- yatl, who had five sons, the youngest of whom, Puru, he named as his successor. To the other four, whose names were Yadu, Turvasu, Druhya, and Ann, he gave the viceroyship, under Puru, of certain pro- vinces of the paternal kingdom. One of the descendants of Druhya was Gandhar, from whom the province now called Candahar I'eceived its name. The posterity of Anu established themselves from the south of the province of Behar to the upper part of the Coromandel coast. In fact, it appears that the descendants of Tayati colonised and introduced civilisation throughout the greater part of southern and western India. Among the descendants of Puru there were several celebrated princes; one of whom, named Bharata, the son of Dush- yauta, ruled over a very extensive territory, so that India has been sometimes called after his name, Bharata Versha, the coun- try of Bharata. The most ntateriai facts that we next notice In these annals are, that some centuries after this, Hasti, a descendant of Puru, removed the capital further north, on the banks of the Gauges ; which city was called after him, Hastina- pur : also that, four descents after Hasti, the sovereign of Hastinapur was Kuru, from whom the country to the north-west was called Kurukshetra, a name it still retains. From what we have already produced as a specimen of the Hindu annals, it will be admitted that a further analysis of them, unless we had space sulBcient to make suit- able comments as we proceeded, would be both uninteresting and an unprofitable oc- cupation of time. 'The whole course of the political history of ancient India,' as professor Wilson observes, ' shows it to have been a country divided amongst numerous petty rajahs, constantly at variance with one another, and incapable of securing their subjects from the inroads of their neighbours, or the invasions of foreign enemies. ' The early religion of the Hindds, as represented in the Vedas, seems to have been little more than the adoration of flre and the elements. The attributes of a Su- preme Being, as creator, preserver, and destroyer, were afterwards personified, and 4 B 830 m)t Crfaguri? of W^ior^* ^^ ■worsliipped as the deities nmliiim, Vislinu, 1 and Siva. riiilos-U'liie:'! mitions of matter and spirit were next embodied; and cele- brated individuals, like tlie demigods of Greece, added to the I'antlieon: otner mo- 1 diflcations, some as recent as four or five centuries, were sulise.iuently introduced. 'The division of the Hindus into castes is a peculiarity in tlieir social condition wliicli early attracted notice; but such aii arrangement was not uncommon in anti- ouity and it prevailed iu Persia and Egypt. In these countries it gradually ceased ; but In India it has been carried far beyond the extent contemplated in the original svstem. . X -r» 1. 'The original distinction was into Brah- man, religious teacher; Kshetruja, war- rior ; Taisya, agriculturist and trader ; and Sudra, servile : but from the intermixture of these and their descendants, arose nii- nierous other tribes or castes, of which the Hindus now chiefly consist ; the Brah- man being the only one of the four original divisions remaining.' The first among the western nations wno distinguished themselves by their applica- tion to navigation and commerce, and who were of consequence lil^ely to discover these distant nations, were the Egyptians and Phoenicians. The former, however, soon lost their inclination for naval affairs, and held all seafaring people in detesta- tion ; though to the extensive conquests of Sesostris, if we can believe them, must this feeling in a great measure be attributed He is said to have fitted out a fleet of 400 sail in the Arabian gulf or Red sea, which conquered all the countries lying along the Ervthrean sea to India; while the army, led" bv himself, marched through Asia, and subdued all the countries to the Ganges; after which he crossed that river, and ad- vanced to the Eastern ocean. Strabo re- iected the account altogether, and ranks the exploits of Sesostris in India with the fabulous ones of Bacchus and Hercules. Soon after the destruction of the Baby- lonian monarchy by the Persians, we fliid D-irius Hystaspes undertaking an expedi- tion against the Indians. Herodotus in- forms us. that he sent Scylax of Caryanda to explore the river Indus; who sailed from Caspatyrus, a town at its source, and near the territories of Pactya, eastward to the sea; thence, turning westward, he ar- rived at the place where the Phoemcians had formerly sailed round Africa, after which Darius subdued the Indiaiis, and became master of that coast. His con- quests, however, were not extensive, as thev did not reach beyond the territory watered by the Indus ; yet the acquisition was very important, as the revenue derived from the conquered territory, according to Herodotus, was near a third of that of the whole Persian empire. According to m^oor Rennel, the space of country thrnugh which Alexander sailed on the Indus was not less than 1,000 miles, and as, during the whole of that naviga- tion, he obliged the nations on both sides of the river to submit to him, we may be certain that the country on each side was explored to gome distance. An exact ac- count, not only of his military operations but of everything worthy of notice relating to the countries through which he passed, ■was preserved in the journals of his throe officers, Lagus, Nearchus, and Aristobulu^; and tliese journals Arrian followed in the composition of his history. From these authors we learn that, in the time of Alex- ander, the western part of India was pos- sessed bv seven very powerful monarchs. The territoiT of Porus, which Alexander Brst conquered and then restored to him, is said to have contained no fewer than 2,000 tomis ; and the king of the Prasu had assembled an army of 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 armed chariots, and a great number of elephants, to oppose the Macedonian mo- narch on the banks of the Ganges. The country on each side the Indus was found, in the time of Alexander, to be in no degree inferior in population to the kingdom of Porus. The climate, soil, and productions of India, as well as the man- ners and customs of the inhabitants, are ex- actly described, and the. descriptions found to correspond in a surprising manner with modern accounts. The stated change of seasons, now known by the name of mon- soons, the periodical rains, the swellings and inundations of the rivers, with the .ap- pearance oE the country during the time they continue, are particularly mentioned. The descriptions of the inhabitants are equally particular ; their living entirely upon vegetables ; their division into tribes or castes, with many of the particularities of the modern Hindoos. The military ope- rations, however, extended but a veiT little way into India properly so called ; no fur- ther, indeed, than the modern province of Lahore, and the countries on the banks of the Indus, from Jloultau to the sea. On the death of Alexander, the eastern part of his dominions devolved flrst on Pitho, the son of Agenor, and afterwards on Seleucus. The latter was sensible of the advantages of keeping India in sulijec- tion. "With this view, he undertook an ex- pedition into that country, partly to con- flrm his authority, and partly to defend the Macedonian territories against Sandraco- tus, kins of the Prasii. The particulars of his expedition are very little known, Justin being the only author'who mentions them. Plutarch tells us that Seleucus carried his arms farther into India than Alexander ; and Pliny, whose authority is of consider- ably greater weight than either, in this in- stance, corroborates the testimony of Plu- tarch. . ^, The career of Seleucus in the east was stopped by Antigonus, who prepared to in- vade the western part of his dominions. The former was, therefore, obliged to con- clude a treaty with Sandracottus ; but Dr. Robertson is of opinion, that during the lifetime of Seleucus, which continued forty- two years after the death of Alexander, no diminution of the Macedonian territories took place. With a view of keeping up a friendly intercourse with the Indi.an prince, Seleucus sent Megasthenes, one of Alex- ander's officers, to Palibothra, capital of the Wit W^tavs at intfCa. 831 kingdom of the Prasli, on the banks of the Ganges. This city is liy Dr. Kobertson thought to 1)6 the modern Allahabad, but major Ilennel supposes it to be Patna. As iVIt'gastheues resided in this city for a con- siderable time, he made many observations relative to India in general, which he after- wards published. But he mingled with his secutcd the same plan very vigorously. In bis time the Indian commerce once more began to centre in Tyre ; but, to remove it effectually thence, be attempted to form a canal between Arsinoe on the Red sea, near the place where Suez now stands, and the Pelusiac, or eastern branch of the Nile. Tills canal was about 100 cubits broad, and relations the mostextravagantfables ; such i thii'ty deep; so that by means of it the as accounts of men with ears so large that they could wrap themselves up in them ; of tribes with one eye, without mouths or noses, &C., if the extracts from this book, given by Arrian, Diodorus, and other an- cient writers, can be credited. After the embassy of Megasthenes to Sandracottus, and that of his son to Allitrochidas, the suc- cessor of Sandracottus, we hear no more of the alfairs of India with regard to the Mace- donians until the time of Antiochus the Great, who made a short incursion into In- dia, about 197 years after the death of Seleu- cus. All that we know of this expedition is, that the Syrian monarch, after finishing a war he carried against the two revolted pro- vinces of Parthia and Bactria, obliged So- phagasenus, king of the counti-y which he productions of India might have been con- veyed to Alexandria entirely by water. On the conquest of Egypt by the Romans, the Indian commodities continued, as usual, to be imported to Alexandria in Egypt, and from thence to Rome ; but the most ancient communication betwixt the east and west parts of Asia seems never to have been entirely given up. Syria and Palestine arc separated from Mesopotamia by a desert ; but the passage through it was much faci- litated by its affording a station which abounded in water. Hence the possession of this station became an object of such consequence, that Solomon built upon it the city called in Syrian Tadmor, and in Greek Palmyra. Both these names are expressive of its situation in a spot adorned invaded, to pay a sum of money, and give ' with palm trees. Though its situation for liim a number of elephants. It is probable trade may to us seem very unfavourable, that the successors of Antiochus were ob- being sixty miles from the Euphrates, bv liged, soon after his death, to abandon all which alone it could receive the Indian their Indian territories. | commodities, and 200miles from the nearest After the loss of India by the Syrians, an j coast of the Mediterranean, yet the value intercourse was kept up for some time be- and small bulk of the goods in question, twixt it and the Greek kingdom of Bactria. rendered the conveyance of them by a long carriage overland not only practicable, but lucrative and advantageous. Hence the inhabitants became opulent and powerful, This last became an Independent state about sixty-nine years after the death of Alexander ; and, according to the few hints we have concerning it in ancient authors, carried on a great traffic with India. Nay, the Bactrian monarchs are said to have conquered more extensive tracts in that region than Alexander himself had done. Six princes reigned over this new kingdom in succession ; some of whom, elated with the conquests they had made, assumed the title of the great king, by which the Per- sian monarchs were distinguished in their highest splendour. Strabo informs us, that the Bactrian princes were deprived of their territories by the Scythian nomades, known by the names of Asii, Pasiani, Tachari, and Scaurauli. This is confirmed by the testi- mony of the Chinese historians, quoted by M. de Guignes. According to them, about 126 years before the Christian era, a power- ful horde of Tartars, pushed from their na- tive seats on the confines of China, and obliged to move farther to the west, poured in upon Bactria like an irresistible torrent, overwhelmed that kingdom, and put an end to the dominion of the Greeks, after it had lasted nearly 130 years. From this time to the close of the fifteenth century, all thoughts of estaljlishing any dominion in India were totally abandoned by the Europeans. The only object now was to promote a commercial intercourse with that country ; and Egypt was the medium by which that intercourse was to be pi-omoted. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, first raised the power and splendour of Alexandria, by carrying on a trade with India. His son Ptolemy Philadelphus pro- and this place long maintained its inde- pendence after the Syrian empire became subject to Rome. The excessive eagerness of the Romans for Asiatic luxuries of all kinds, kept up an unceasing intercourse with India during the whole time that the empire continued in its power ; and, even after the destruc- tion of the western part, it was kept up be- tween Constantinople and those parts of India which had been visited formerly by merchants from the west. Long before tills period, however, a much better method of sailing to India had been. discovered, it is said, by the commander of an Indian ship, who lived about eighty years after Egypt had been annexed to the Roman empire. This man having observed the periodical shifting of the monsoons, and how steadily they blew from the east to west during some months, ventured to leave the coast, and sail boldly across the Indian ocean, from the mouth of the Ara- bian gulf to Musiris, a port on the Malabar coast. Pliny gives a very particular account of the manner in which the Indian traffic was now carried on, mentioning the parti- cular stages and the distances between them. While the SeleucidEB continued to enjoy the empire of Syria, the trade with India continued to be carried on by land. The Romans, having extended their dominions as far as the Euphrates, found this method of conveyance still established, and the trade was by them encouraged and pro- 832 Ct)e Crcaifuri) at %tgtarp, &c. tcftecl. Bnt the proicress of the <:'^ra.\.ui^ l.einc frequently interrurted by tlie 1 ar- lii"iTs. particularly when they travelled towards those countries where f ilk and other of the most xaluable inanufacturcs were procured, il l>e.;;inie an object to the Romans to concilia^ the friendship of the sovereigns of tlio.-e distant countries. Dr Robertson takes notice, that, from the evidence of an Arabian merchant wlio wrote in 852. it appea.i-s, that not only tlie Saracens, but the Chiueae also, were desti- tute of the mariners compass ; contrary to a common opinion, that this instnmieut wa< known in the east long before its dis- covery in Europe. Notwithstanding this disadvantage, they penetrated far beyond Siaiii which had set bounds to the naviga- tion of Europeans. Tley became acquaint- ed with Sumatra and olner Indian islands ; 1 CKtendinK their navigation as far as Can- , ton in China. A regular commerce was now carried on from the Persian gulf to all the countries lying betwixt it and China : and even with China Itself. Many Saracens settled in India, properly so caUed. as well as in the countries beyond it. In the city of Canton they were so numerous that the emperor permitted them to have a cadi or iudge of their owii religion ; the Arabian aniuage was understood and spoken in every place of consequence ; and sliii)= from China even are said to have visited the Persian gulf. . . . According to the Arabian accounts ol those davs, the peninsula of India was at that time divided into four kingdoms. The first was composed of the provinces situ- ated on the Indus and its branches, the capital of which was Moultan. The second had the city of Canoge, which, from its re- maining ruins, appears to have been a very large place. The Indian historians relate, that it contained 30.000 shops .in which betel nut was sold, and 60,000 sets of mu- sicians and singers who paid a tax to go- vernment. The third kingdom was that of , Cachemire, first mentioned by M?»soudi who gives a short description of it. 1 he fourth kingdom. Guzerat, is represented by the same author as the most powerful of the whole. Another Arab writer, who floit- rished about the middle of the fourteenth centurv, divides India into three parts : the no'rthern comprehending all the pro- vinces on the Indus ; the middle extending from Guzerat to the Ganges ; and the south- ern, which he denominates Comar, from '^"prom'the relation of the Arabian mer- chant aiiove meutioned, explained by the commentary of another Arabian who had likewise visited the eastern parts of Asia, we learn many particulars concerning the inhabitants of these distant regions at that time, which correspond with what is ob- served among them at this day. They take notice of the general use of silk among the Chinese, and the manufacture of porcelain. which they coi.-.pare to glass. They also describe foe tea-plant, with the manner of using its leaves : whence it appears, Ijhat In the ninth centurj- the use of this plant in China was as common as it is at pre- LI sent. They nu-iiti.ni likewise the gn:it pnigrcss which the Indi.aiiB had made iu astronomy; a circumstance whicli seems to liave been unknown to the (ireeks and Romans; tliey assert, that in this branch of science they were far superior to tlie most enlightened nations of the west, on which account their sovereign was called the king of wisdom. The superstitions, extravagant penances, &e known to exist at this day among the Indians, are also mentioned by those writers • all which particulars manifest tliat tlie Arabians had a knowledge of India very far superior to that of the Greeks or Romans. , . i The iudustrv of the Mohammedans, in exploring the"mo8t distant regions of the east, was rivalled, however, by the Chris- tians of Persia, who sent missionaries all 1 over India and the countries adjoining, as far as China itself. But, while the western Asiatics thus kept up a constant intercourse with these parts, the Europeans had in a manner lost all knowledge of them. The port of Alexandria, from which they had formerly been supplied with the Indian goods, was now shut agaiilst them ; and the Arabs, satisfied with supplying ihe de- mands of their own subjects, neglected to send any bv the usual channels to the towns on the Mediten'anean. The inhabi- tants of Constantinople and some other great towns were supplied with Chinese commodities by the most tedious and diffi- cult passage imaginable. In spite of every difficulty, however, this commerce flourished, and Constantinople became a considerable mart for East In- dian commodities; and from it all the rest of Europe was chiefly supplied with them for more than two centuries. The perpetual hostilities In which the Christians and Mo- hammedans were during this period en- gaged, contributed still to increase the dif- flculty ; but, the more it increased, the more desirous Europeans seemed to be of possess- ing the luxuries of Asia. ,„„„/, About this time the cities of Araalfl and Venice, with some others in Italy, having acquired a great degree of independence, began to exert themselves in promoting domestic manufactures, and importing the productions of India. Aljout the end of the tenth centur.v, a considerable revolution took place m India, by the conquests of Mahmud Gazni, who erected the empire of Gazna. And it is at this period that the authentic history is generally reckoned to commence. , ^, . Mahmud's kingdom had arisen out of that of the Saracens, who had extended their ccmquests immensely, under the caliph Al- "Walid, both to the east and west. He pos- j sessed great part of the ancient Bactna. Gazna, near the source of the Indus, and Balkh. were his chief cities, -^ter conquer- ing the rest of Bactria. he invaded Hindos- tan A. D. 1000, and reduced the pr.jvince of Moultan, which was inhabited by the Kut try and Rajpoot tribes (the Catheri and Malli of > Alexander), who still retained theirancient bravery, and made a very formidable resist- 1 auce. Mahmud being equaUy influenced by C^c W^tat^ at intsia. 83a n. love of Cdiiquest and a superstitious zi':il to extermiuate the Hindoo religion, a league was at last formed against him among all the Indian princes, from the (iaiiKCs to the Nerhudda. Their allied troops were, however, defeated ; and in 1008 the famous temple of Nagracut in the Punjab was destroyed. In lOU Mahmud destroyed the city and temple of Tanafar, and re- duced Delhi. In 1018 he took Canuge, and demolished the temples of that and several other cities ; but failed in his attempts on Ajmere. In his twelfth expedition, in 1024, he reduced the whole peninsula of Guzcrat, and destroyed the famous temple of Sum- naut, as well as those of all the other cities he conquered. At his death, in 1028, he pos- sessed the east and largest part of Persia, with the Indian provinces from the west part of the Ganges to Guzerat, and those between the Indus and the mountains of Ajmere. But in 1158 this extensive empire liegan to fall to pieces. The west and largest part was seized by the Gauri, while the east contiguous to the Indus remained in the possession of Cosroe, whose capital was La- hore. In 1184 his sons were expelled by the Gauri, and in 1194 Mohammed Gorl pene- trated into Hindostan as far as Benares, committing as great devastation as Mali- inud Gazni had done. He also reduced the south part of Ajmere, and the territory south of the Jumna, the fort of Gualior, &c. On his death (1205), the empire of Gazna was again divided, and the Patau empire was finuKled liy Cattub, who had the Indian part, the Persian remaining to Eldoze. Cattub made Delhi his capital; and in 1210 his successor, Altumish, reduced the great- est part of Hindostan Proper. One of his sous obtained the government of Bengal, and, from this period, one of the empe- ror's sons had always that government. During his reign, the bloody Jeughiz Khan put an end to the other branch of the Gaz- nian empire, but Hindostan was left undis- turbed. From this period the most dreadful con- fusion and massacres followed almost to the time that the British government com- menced. The empire being subdivided amoug a set of rapacious governors, the people were reduced to the greatest degree of misery. To add to their distress, the Moguls made suchfreyuent and formidable invasions, that at last the emperor Ferose II. allowed them to settle in the country in 1292. The emperor was incited by Alia, governor of Gurrah, to attempt the con- quest of the Deccan ; and Alia being em- ployed in that business, wherein he amassed an immense quantity of treasure, no sooner accomplished it, than he deposed and mur- dered Ferose, and assumed the sovereignty of Hindostan. In 1306 the conquest of the Deccan was undertaken ; and in 1310 Alia carried his army into Dowlatabad and the Carnatic. But all this usurper's expeditions, and those of his general, Cafoor, seem to have been made more with a view of plunder than of permanent conquest. Under Mohammed III., the inhabitants of the Deccan revolted, and drove the Mo- hammedans completely out of all their terri- tories, except the city of Dowlatabad. Ferose III., who succeeded Mohammed in 1351, was a wise prince, who preferred the improvement of his empire by the arts of peace to the extension of it by war and conquest. In his reign, which lasted thirty- seven years, agriculture, commerce, and manufactures were encouraged. But upon his death iu 1.188, a civil war broke out which continued five years, till Mahmud III. succeeded, in l.wa. Duringthis period Hin- dostan exhibited the uncommon phenome- non of two emperors residing in the same capital, yet at war with each other. In this unfortunate situation of alfairs, Tamer- lane, after subduing all the west of Tartary and Asia, turned his arms against Hindos- tan, and made an easy conquest of it. But the cruel monster, not contented with his victory, ordered a general massacre of the inhabitants, in consequence of which, it is said, that 100,000 of them were murdered in one hour. In January 1399, he defeated the Indian army with great slaughter, and soon after took Delhi, which then consisted of three cities, surrounded by walls. Though no resistance was made, and of course there was no pretence for blood- shed, yet a quarrel was fomented within a few days by his Tartar soldiers, who pil- laged the city, massacred most of the peo- ple, and sold the rest for slaves. The spoils, in plate and jewels, were immense. After this dreadful carnage, Tamerlane marched through the other provinces of Hindos- tan, defeating the Indians everywhere, and slaughtering the worshippers of Are. On the 25th of March this insatiable conqueror retired, leaving Mahmud in possession of the throne, and reserving only Punjab to himself. The death of Mahraud III., in 1413, put an end to the Patau dynasty. He was suc- ceeded by Chizer, a descend.ant of Maho- met, and his posterity continued to reign until 1450, when Alia II. abdicated the throne, and Belloii, an Aifghan, took pos- session of it. Under him a prince who re- sided at Jionpour became so formidable, that he left him only the shadow of autho- rity. Belloli's son, however, recovered a great part of the empire, about 1.501, when he made Agra his residence. Iu the reign of Ibraham II. sultan Baber, a descendant of Tamerlane, conquered a considerable part of the empire. His first expedition was iu 1518; and in 1525 he took Delhi. On the death of Baber, who reigned only five years, his son Humaioon was driven from the throne, and obliged to take shelter among the Rajpoot princes of Ajmere. The sove- reignty was usurped by Sheer Khan, who in 1545 was killed at the siege of Cheitou. His territories extended from the Indus to Bengal ; but the government was so un- settled, that no fewer than five sovereigns succeeded within nine years after his death. This induced a strong party to join in re- calling Humaioon, who is said to have been a prince of great virtue and abilities ; but he lived only one year after his return. Upon his death, in 1555, his son Ackbar, one of the greatest princes that ever reigned in 4b2 83-1 CIjc Cirasuiy of ^iitoxu, ^c. Hiiuioslan, .succeeded. He was tlion only fourtorii Years of age ; but, duiiiig Ills long rcik-n of flft.v-i>iie years, he estaljIUhed the empiio >in a more sure foundatlou than it haii jirobably ever been before. We are now come to a jieriod when the European powers botran to be interested in the affairs of niiulostan. Tlie Cape of Good Hope had been doubled in the reign (if John II., liing of I'orlugal; Emanuel, liis successor, equipped four ships, for the discovery of the Indian coast, and gave the coiuniaud to Vasco de Gama ; who, having weathered several storms in his cruise along the eastern coast of Africa, landed in Hindostan, after a voyage of thirteen mouths. This country, which lias since been al- most entirely reduced by war under a fo- reign yoke, was, at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, divided between the kings of Carab.aya, Delhi, Bisnagur, Nar- zingua, and Calicut, each of which reck- oned several sovereigns among their tribu- taries. The last of these monarchs, who is better known by the name of zamorin, which signifies emperor, possessed tlie most maritime states, and his empire ex- tended over all Malabar. Vasco de Gama having informed himself of these particulars when he touched at Melinda, hired an able pilot to conduct him to that port, in which trade was the most flourishing. Here he fortunately met wMth a Moor of Tuuis, who understood the Portuguese language, and he put himself under his direction. He procured Gama an audience of the zamorin, who proposed an alliance and a treaty of commerce with the king his master. This was upon the point of being concluded, wheu the Mus- sulraen so far swayed the monarch from his purpose, that he resolved to destroy the ad- venturers, to whom he had just before given so favourable a reception. The zatuorin, who wanted neither power nor inclination, wanted courage to put his design into ^ecution ; and Gama was per- mitted to return to his fleet: he sailed for Lisbon, which he reached in safety, and was received with rapturous joy by the people. The pope gave to Portugal all the coasts they should discover in the east : aud a second expedition soon after took place, under the command of Alvarez Ca- bral, consisting of thirteen vessels. They first visited Calicut, where fifty Portuguese were massacred by the inhabitants, through the intrigues of the Moors. Cabral, in re- venge, burnt all the Arabian vessels in the harbour, cannonaded the town, and then sailed to Cochin, and from thence to Ca- nanor. The kings of both these towns gave him spices, gold, and silver, and pro- posed an alliance with him against the zamorin, to whom they were tributaries. Other kings followed their example ; and this infatuation became so general, that the Portuguese gave the law to almost the whole country of Malabar. The port of Lisbon had now become the grand mart of Indian commodities. To secure and extend these advantages, it was necessary to establish a system of power and commerce. With a view to the.se ob- jects, the court of Portugal wisely reposed its confidence in Alphonso AlbU'iucruue, the most discerning of all the Portuguese that had been ill India. The new viceroy acquitted himself beyond expectation. He lUcd upon (Joa, wluTe there was a good harbour aud wholesome air, as an e.sla- blishment, being situated in the miildli- of Malabar, belonging to the king of tlir Dec- can, and which soim after became the me- tropolis of all the Portuguese Bettlcments in India. . As the government soon changed its schemes of trade into projects of conquest, the nation, which had never been guided by the true commercial spirit, soon as- sumed that of rapine and plunder. In re- ference to this we may observe, that of all the conquests made by the Portuguese in India, they possess at present only Macao, Din, aud Goa: and the united importance of these three settlements in their inter- course with India and Portugal is very in- considerable. Towards the close of the sixteenth cen- tury, Drake, Stephens, Cavendish, and some other English navigators, by doubling Cape Horn, and the Cape of Good Hope, reached India. The success attending these first voyages was sufflcient to determine some of the principal merchants in London to establish a company in 1600, which obtain- ed an exclusive privilege of trading to the East Indies for fifteen years. The funds of this company were in the beginning inconsiderable. They fitted out four ships, which sailed in 1601, under Lancaster, an able man, who arrived with them, in 1602. at the port of Achen, at that time a celebrated mart. He was received by the king with the highest marks of res- pect, and had every favour shown him that could be wished for, to facilitate the estab- lishment of an advantageous commerce. The English admiral was received at Ban- tam in the same manner as at Achen ; aud a ship, which he had despatched to the Molucca islands, brought him a consider- able cargo of cloves and nutmegs; with these valuables, and pepper, which he took in at Java and Sumatra, he returned safe to England. The company now determined to form settlements, but not without the consent of the natives. They applied to James I. for assistance, but obtained none. They, however, out of their small funds, erected forts, and founded colonies, in the islands of Java, Poleron, Amboyna, and Banda. They likewise shared the spice trade with the Dutch, who soon became jealous of their rising prosperity. They at first pro- ceeded by accusations, equally void of truth and decency, to make the English odious to the natives of the country ; hut these expedients not meeting with success, they resolved to proceed to acts of violence ; and the Indian ocean became the scene of the most bloody engagements between the maritime forces of the two nations. In 1019, tlie two companies signed a treaty, signifying that the Molucca islands, Am- boyna, and Bauda should belong in com- S;j)C l^istarg at inBia. 835 iu;/iitobotliiiatiou9. The Dutch, liowever, not only soon found means to render the treaty ineffectual, but to drive the English from Amlioyna. This lattar transaction was replete with so much cruelty, that it will remain a lasting stigma on the Dutch na- tion. The English, harassed in everj' mart by the Dutch, who were bent on their des- truction, were obliged to give way to their liower. India was totally forgotten ; and the company was greatly reduced at the death of Charles I. Cromwell, proud of his success, and sen- sible of his own strength, was piqued that the republic of the Uniied Provinces should pretend to the dominion of the sea, and de- clared war against tlie Dutch. Of all the maritime wars which have been recorded in liistory, none were conducted with more lf lh:it yoar, a numorous army took tlie nria for lliis inirposo. The plan was, that tl.e armies of Iho ditforent rresidcncios should advance southward, and gradually convcr- sriuK to a common centre, hem in, on every Bide, the territory of the roM.ors. This was at lenpth effected ; the greater part of (hem bcins destroyed, and tlie rest hum- hied to complete suhmission. Upon thereestalilishinentof peace, Puna, and part of the Mahratta territories, were retained and the rest restored to the rajah of Satara. Appa i=5ail), the rajah of ^agpore, who had escaped from confinement, was deposed, and a urandson of th-? former rajah elevated on the throne. Holkar, a youth, was taken under the British protection, which was also extended to the Rajput princes Bv these arrangements the whole of Hindostan was brouprht under the power or control of the British government. In 1823 the marquis of Hastuigs quitted , his government, leaving British India in a croud and prosperous condition. At the end of the same year lord Amherst arrived from England. In 1824 war broke out with the Burmese, who had for many years given much trouble on the eastern frontier. An expedition was sent to Rangoon, which, in the second year of hostilities, advanced nearlv to Ava, the capital ; and theBiirman government was glad to purchase peace in 18''6 by the cession of Assam, Aracan, and the Tenasserim provinces. The beginning of the same year was signalised by the caiv ture of Bhurtpore, a strong fortress in "^The events which took place between this time and the outbreak of the great Indian mutiny of 1857 will be found recorded In the HisUiry of England. But the narra- tive of that memorable revolt cannot be ■weU given except In the history of that country which it proposed to deliver from British supremacy. ,„-^T„,^r'o„ On the 29th of February 18o6 Lord Can- ning arrived in Calcutta, to succeed lord Dalhousie as governor-general of India. Almost his first act was to decree the annexation of the kingdom of Oude to the East Indian territories. This step was justifled bv the continued failure or refusal of the king of Oude to introduce and main- tain a fitting administration of justice throughout the countrj-, which was de- scribed as in a state of utter misery- without remedy or hope of relief. Whether this annexation m any way hastened the outbreak of that terrible mutlnv which all but overthrew British dominion in India, it is not easy to say. A number of causes combined to bring out discontent and suspicions which had long been smouldering ; but, although it gave to the mutiny a more frightful appearance at the time. It was a fortunate thing for the British government that it was rather a military than a civil movement. II tue people here and there took active part witii the revolted sepoys, there was none ol that steady cooperation which shows that a nation throws its heart into an enterprise ; and the very absence of this feeling depriv- ed the struggle of any redeeming features which generally soften the warfare of a subject population against rnler.s whose yoke they are seeking to throw ad, if tliey would give up all the treasure and stores in the camp. This was finally agreed to, and the oompact was ratified with a solemn oath by the Nana. On the 27th conveyances were sent to carry the women and children to the river side. "When they reached it, the officers found the boats high up in the mud; and wliile they pro- ceeded to get them clear of the bank, the sepoys opened lire, and very few indeed escaped the massacre. Those who were not killed were carried back to Cawnpore, where the men were shot, and the women and children were shut up in a building which had been used as an assembly-room. General Havelock had now returned from the war in Persia ; and he b.astened with all speed to Allahabad, to organise the British force of 1,400 for the relief of Cawn- pore. He encountered and defeated the enemy at Futtehpore ; but before he could accomplish the purpose of his expedition, the nana had executed the most horrible atrocity which disgraced this fearful war. He ordered all the women and children to be murdered and their bodies throsvn into a well. General Havelock said that bespoke without exaggeration in saying that the blood of these victims rose above the soles of his boots as he made his way to the scene of the butchery. He found Xana Sahib intrenched in a very strong position at Ahirwa, and utterly defeated his army. The next morning Nana Sahib blew up the magazine and eva<'uated Cawnpore. He did not attempt to make any stand at Bithoor, and the English took possession of his palace with twenty guns which he had left there. Leaving colonel Neill in command, general Havelock advanced to the relief of Luck- now. He engaged the em my several times, and always with the same signal success : but with the forces at his disposal it was hopeless to attempt to reach Lucknow, and iceordiugly he awaited at Cawnipore the ar- rival of reinforcements under sir J. Outram. His troops were reduced to 700 ; and he wrote, stating as much, to colonel Inglls, ■who was commanding the garrison at Luck- now, and advising him to cut his way out, if possible. Colonel Inglis explained the impossibility of doing this with a number of helpless women and children, but said that they had provisions to last them till the 10th of September. Meanwhile, the siege of Delhi'was pro- secuted with unabated vigour. In every sortie, the besieged were defeated, and sometimes with -fearful loss: but the for- tifications resisted for many weeks the efforts of the besiegers, without sustaining much apparent Injiiry. On the 17th of July, general Ueed, from ill health, handed over the conim.and to gciieial Wilson, and on thi' loth of August, brigadier general Ni- cholson arrived, bringing with him a force of 2,,')00 Europeans and Sikhs ; the numlxrs of the besiegers were thus raised to about 9,000, of whom one half were Europeans. An attempt of the besieged to st.art out of (he city and attack the camp in I lie re.ar was frustr.ated, and early in September lire position of the besiegers was materially im- proved by the arrival of a siege train from Mecrut. On the 11th a terrific and incessant fire was commenced against the town ; with the most determined bravery a party of officers and men blew open the Cashmere gate, almost at the muzzle of the enemy's guns ; hut some days yet passed befcjre the whole line of outer defences was taken. The gate of the palace was at last blown in, and it was occupied by our troops on the 20th. On the day following, the aged king of Delhi, who had made his escape, was brought hack a prisoner. His two sons were taken in the tomb of the sultan Hu- mayun, and shot by captain Hodgson, wlio affirmed that he did so, as thinking that an attempt would be made to rescue the prui- ces. Two other sons of the king were sub- sequently tried, condemned, and executed. On the 16th of September, general Out- ram reached Cawnpore with the reinforce- ments for which general Havelock had been obliged to wait, and three days after- wards the relieving force crossed the Gan- ges. They had to encounter a fierce oppo- sition under the most disadvantageous cir- cumstances before they could reach the brave garrison who for so many weeks had kept a whole army at bay. During thesiege sir Henry Lawrence had died from the ef- fects of a wound inflicted by a shell wliich burst in the room where he was sitting; the buildings had been thoroughly riddled with shot, the sick and wounded were killed in the middle of rooms where it was thought that no shot could touch them. The garrison had to fight by night and by day, worn out with sickness and waut of food, while the women and children were utterly prostrate from the misery and hard- ships which they were compelled to undergo. But with all this there was not only no complaining, but an indomitable resolution to take part in the defence, as far as their powers might enable them. Still when the relieving force had made its way to the re- sidency, it was found impossible to convey the women and children to Cawnijore, with- out the greatest risk of being annihilated on the way : they determined therefore to wait till sir Colin Campbell should arrive with new troops from England. The first ship with troops left England on the 1st of July : but it was not till the 9th of No- vember that sir Colin Campbell was able to march from Cawnpore to relieve the force at Lucknow. On the 16th this work was at length accomplished, but it yet required great skill to remove the sick and wounded without exposing them to the enemy's fire ; and this was done by removing them quietly during the night, when by a furious fire in front, the enemy had been led to Buj.pose Cfic ?gt^tori) of SnlfCa. 845 tliat an immediate attaclj wasiiitciuled. On tlie 22nd of November general Ilavelocic died of dysentery, after a careerof unliroljcn victory, not less beloved for the goodness of his life than valued for his wisdom and bravery as a leader. Before the month ended, general Windham received a severe check near Cawnpore, and indeed ran the nar- rowest risk, not merely of being defeated, but of lieing cut to pieces by the enemy. Fortniintely sir Colin Campbell arrived in time to jirevent the catastrophe. He found Cawnpore completely in possession of the enemy, and he had first to provide for the passage of his sick and wounded by the bridge, which was the only means of cross- ing the Ganges. A constant Are was kept npon the rebels from the left bank till all had crossed, and at length on the 6tli of De- cember, a battle began, in which the naval brigade, under captain Peel, contributed greatly to secure the victory. General Grant was tlien sent with orders to destroy the buildings belonging to Nana Sahib at Bi- tboor, and falling in with the enemy at Ghat, a ferry across the Ganges, he defeated them without losing a single man. Few tilings were more strange about this mutiny than the want of concert with which the regiments of sepoys seem tohave acted. Not a, few of them revolted when the rebellion was all but crushed, and when mutiny appeared the very height of childish absurdity. Thus the 34th N.I. at Chittagoug, not far from Calcutta, chose the 18th of November for its outbreak. But the real danger was now past. The civil measures, taken by the government, if not so severe as the military, were on the whole not less judicious. In June, the ex-king of Oude and his vizier were arrested and im- prisoned in fort William. The liberty of the Indian press was suspended for one year ; and on the 31st of July, an order was issued regulating the punishment to be in- flicted on the mutineers. This order was severely criticised, if not condemned as im- practicalile, by those who had to carry it out ; but the cogency of its reasoning can- not be disputed. An extreme severity, ' after the requisite impression has been made on the rebellious and disorderly,' would, it affirmed, only 'exasperate the people, and would probably induce them to band together in large numbers for the protection of their lives, and with a view to retaliation,' while 'it would greatly add to the difficulties of settling the country hereafter.' Against the adverse criticism so called forth, the governor-general effectu- ally defended himself by referring to in- stances in which the indiscriminate burning of villages was producing the worst effects on the agriculture of the country, and where the repression of this severity had been fol- lowed by the most encouraging results. Thus in a few months the great centre of the rebellion had been destroyed, and this had been effected before the arrival of any of the troops who had been sent out from England, and solely by the forces organised in the north-western parts of India. The loss in revenue was estimated at nearly six millions, that from the plunder of stores and treasures at nearly three millions, yet the area of cultivation was probably nowhere diminished ; in Bengal it had even increased before the end of the year. In the district between the Ganges and Jumna, which is known as the Doab, I the mutiny had been practically suppressed, but Roliilcund on the north of the Ganges was still in possession of the enemy, who also held Calpeeand cut off the communica- tion between Agra and Allahabad. They were also still formidable in Bundelcund ; but the whole of Oude had been in effect lost to us. All the defeated regiments ■were flying to Lucknow, determined there to make the last stand against the British power with all the resimrces of a large city, and aided by a fighting population who were animated by the strongest hatred of English rule. In January 1858, the king of Delhi was tried in the palace for his share in the rebellion, found guilty, and sent to end his days-at Rangoon in Burmah. The cam- paign of this year consisted of an almost unbroken series of victories, and at one or two places only was anything like a really formidable resistance encountered. After the recovery of Neemuch and Indore, sir Hugh Rose took the fort of Ealghur, one of the strongest in Central India ; and then advanced to Sanger, where a number of English, with women and children, had been besieged for many months. The place was relieved on the 3rd of February; hut a more important work was the march on Jhansi, the road to which was strongly occupied by the rebels. There was a good deal of hard fighting in which the enemy ■was always defeated, and at length the troops reached Jhansi itself, which ■was garrisoned by about 12,000 men, headed by the Ranee, a woman of very determined character. The place was very strong, and it was evident that the garrison were re- solved to defend it to the uttermost, for with the fall of Jhansi the cause of the rebels in Central India must be irretriev- ably lost. But their efforts were unavail- ing. After having lost some 5,000 men, the Ranee with her troops abandoned the town. This was followed by the siege of Awa and Calpee, which latter place had been held by Tantia Topee, almost the only rebel leader who had acquired any military reputation during the war. This chieftain made his way towards Gwalior, and with others defeated Scindia near his own capi- tal. Scindiawas compelled to fly, and he took refuge in the British cantonments at Agra. Rao Sahib, a nephew of Nana Saliib, was placed on the throne of Gwalior. But when sir Hugh Rose approached the city, Tantia Topee quitted Gwalior and left tlie Ranee of Jhansi to lead the sepoys and the Gwalior contingent against the English. On the 19th of June, tlie final battle took place, and the Ranee died fighting hand to hand with her enemies ; but her body was never found, and it was probably burnt after her death. At laicknow the rebel forces liad made many attempts to dislodge sir James Out- ram from his position at the Alumbagh 4c2 846 Cl)e CrfaiSurg of ^^iitarg, &r. before the arrival of sir Coliu Campbell, but none of these cftorts were successful, and on the 9th of Slarcli he attacked the enemy and seized their position. The final assault took place on the 21st, the city of Lucknow was taken, and the head of the relicllion in Oude was crushed. But the settlement of the country involved a con- troversy which was felt in Enffl.-ind not le-8 than in India. "When on the 3rd of March, the povcrrior-geueral Issued a pro- clamation which confiscated the lands of all the talookdars or landholders in Oude, with the exception of Ave or six specially named, sir James Outram forcibly urged the injustice and imprudence of the mea- sure. He expressed his strong conviction that the landholders on hearing this pro- clamation would prepare for a desperate resistance, that they had been treated with great injustice in the previous settlement, and that they ousht to be considered as honfiurable enemies, rather than rebels, and that if they were not so treated, a guerilla warfare would be the result, which must be terribly disastrous to the European troops engaged in it. In answer to this remonstrance, the governor-general modi- fled his proclamation, so far as to say that for all who came forward to submit them- selves to the government, their prompt obedience would be regarded as a strong title for the restoration of their rights ; but he added that to grant more would be to treat them not merely as honourable en- emies, but as enemies who had been vic- torious. When this proclamation was re- ceived In England lord Ellenborough re- plied immediately in strong terms of con- demnation ; but the results of his interfe- rence have been already recounted in the History of England. In its modified form the proclamation was published, and at the same time the talookdars were summoned, on pain of imprisonment with hogging, to surrender all their arras within a given time. The order was to all appearance complied with, yet there was nothing but their own assurance to prove that weapons and ammunitiira had not been buried or otherwise concealed, to be used if ever a favourable opportunity should again pre- sent itself. Thus was the great mutiny of India ended, and no great criminal re- mained at large except the infamous Nana Sahib. The danger was past. It remains that the English nation should ponder well, and act on the lesson and warning which it enforces. The lesson i.s, that the policy of annexation is foolish as well as unjust ; the warning is, that we should make repara- tion, so far as reparation is possible. There can be no doubt that Nana Sahib, infamous as he Is, whs grievously injured by lord Dal- housle, who systematically set at nought the universal Hindoo rule of adoption in case of failure of male heirs, and then used such failure as a reason for annexation. Doubtless the kingdom of Oude w.as mi.-e- rably governed; yet at the time we de- throned the king, we owed him one million sterling in money, and by way of repaying another million we h.id ceded to him a fertile but unhealthy district called Turaee, which was of no great use to our.selves. But when lord Dalhousie determined to annex Oude, he also seized upon this state which we had given up to pay our debt, and confiscated the million which was owing lo him In cash. So again, if our rule is in many ways beneficial, it carries with It its own peculiar hardships and disadvantages ; and an evidence of this is found in the fact, that when governed by native princes, most states have had surplus revenues ; with us, they exhibit an annual deficit. It has been well said of the Indian mutiny that from it, ' We have had a lesson, which, if difficult to acquire, it was dangerous to forget,— a lesson of which the cost has been tremendous, but which, if disregarded, will cause us to incur an outlay ten times heavier still. In learn- ing that lesson we spent months of un- utterable anxiety and anguish. During these months we trembled lest our Eastern sceptre had passed away from us for ever, were dismayed by reverses to our arras alike unexpected and terrible, and heard without any elation of victories both de- cisive and inglorious. The record of that lea- son forrasthe darkest and most humiliating page in our contemporary annals. We trust it will never be forgotten ; never, until the very names of those who bravely died that we might recover our supremacy in India shall have been effaced from the remembrance of sorrowing widows and be- reaved children ; never, while there is a survivor who witnessed the sudden out- break, who took part in its suppression, and shuddered at the bloody retribution inflicted on the rebels; never, until re- joicing under a truly beneficent sway, the natives of British India shall cease to dwell on our former shortcomings, while the inhabitants of independent states shall be equally unanimous in praying for English rule, as they now are in preferring to he governed by their own princes ; never, until then, let us act as if we had forgotten that an Indian rebellion is the Nemesis of unjust annexation.' THE HISTORY OF CHINA, CHAPTER I. Ti!E Chinese writers pretend to trace Ijac.k tliair gcivornnient to a period antei'ior to tliu Flood ; a ridiculous absurdity wliich we should not feel ourselves called upon to notice, hut that European writers of no mean order have, without going to the full extent of Chinese extravagance, admitted tlieir existence as a nation considerably more than two thousand years before Christ. Its early history, indeed, like that of most other nations of any considerable antiquity, seems to be an imaginative distortion of a few truths mixed up with a vast number of fictions. Their founder and first monarch they atllrm to have been Fohi, who is presumed by many writers to have been the same with Noah. The eastern moun- tains of Asia they take to be the Ara- rat of Scripture ; and they assert that, as the waters subsided, Noah followed the course of the rivers to the south until he arrived at China, where, being much struck with the beauty and fertility of the l.-md, he eventually settled. The astute .author of 'An Essay on the Manners and apii-it of Nations' has shown a strong pre- dilection in favour of the high antiquity of Cliina, and brought forward many argu- ments in support of it. 'This state,' says he, ' has existed in splendour about 4,000 5 ears, without either its laws, manners, language, or even the mode and fashion of dress having undergone any material alter- ation. Its history (which, in his opinion, is incoritestible) being the only one founded on celestial observations, is traced by the most aecur.nte chronology, so high as an eclipse calculated 2,155 years before our vul- gar era, and verified by the missionaries,' &c. As the Chinese, contrary to the practice of almost all nations, li.ave rarely, if ever, sought to conquer other countries, their annals for many ages furnish nothing re- markable ; and although they date the origin of their imperial dynasties (excluding those of the fabulous times) two thousand years before the Christian era, we find that the country was long divided into several states of independent sovereignties; the princes or chiefs of which were perpetually at war with each other. Though it was in the very nature of things that some one prince should he more powerful than the others, and even be possessed of a certain degree of authority over them, yet war between stute and state was the chief condition of China. Dynasty succeeded dynasty; terri- torial linats were perpetually shifting with the good or ill success of this or of that prince ; and what ililton says of the early warfare of the petty princes of Britain, may most justly be repeated here— that it would be no more useful or interesting to dilate upon the early wars of the Cliinese, than to describe the skirmishes of the kites and crows. Twenty-two dynasties of princes are enu- merated as liaving governed China from 2207 B. o. to the present day, the reigning emperor being the flfth monarch of the twenty-second or Tai-Tsin dynasty. What may be termed the authentic history of China does not begui till the time of Con- fucius, who flourished about five centuries before the Christian era, and who must be regarded as the great reformer of China. He endeavoured to unite in one great con- federation the numerous states which ha- rassed each other by mutual wars, and con- structed a moral code for the government of the people. He forbore to dive into the impenetrable arcana of nature ; neither did he bewilder himself in abstruse researches on the essence and attributes of a Deity, but confined himself to speaking with the most profound reverence of the First Prin- ciple of all beings, whom he represented as the most pure and perfect Essence, the Author of all things, who is acquainted with our most secret thoughts, and who will never permit virtue to go uurecom- pensed, nor vice unpunished. It is not until B. o. 248 that Cliinese his- tory begins to be at all developed. Che- Hwang-te, the founder of the Tsin dynasty, in that year succeeded to the throne, and the petty princes of China, as well as the Huns who inhabited the immensfe plains beyond the Oxus, speedily found that they had a warrior to deal with. Whenever these princes ventured to meet him they were always defeated, until he had completely subdued all the states, and consolidated the empire. Having provided for his power within the empire, he next turned his attention to its regularand efficient defence against foreign invaders. The very desultoriness of the at- tacks of the Huns made it difflcult to subdue them. When he could meet with them, and force them into a pitched battle, he never failed to giveanexcellentaccount of them ; but they were no sooner dispersed than they rallied ; no sooner chastised in one part of the empire than they poured furiously down to repeat their offences in some other. Whether the monarch himself, or his able general, Mung-Teen, conceived the grand idea of surrounding China — as it was then limited — with a wall, it would now be no easy matter to ascertain ; certain it is that the wall was erected under the superintend- ence of the general. This perfectly stupendous monument of human skill and industr.v (which is 1,500 miles in length, 30 feet high, and 15 feet thick on the top), could only liave been completed by an absolute monarch. 848 (JTlje (Crea^ury of ^tStori?, ii;t. lly till' stem exorcise of his nnrlicrkoa I pdwcr, tlio I'liipt-ror li:ul tliis iniulity wall, with fiuliHttlea towers at i-diivt-nii'iit (lis- , tances on the top, roinpk'lril, and the towers garrisoued, so as to serve at once for watch towers and fortresses ! His warlike spirit, however commendable in itself, seems under some circninstances to have defc-enerated Into a savaLte obduracy of char- acter. Thus we find that the very man who so efficiently exerted himself for the physical protection of his subjects, was so ntti'riy insensible to their moral and intel- lectual wants, that he ordered the destruc- tion of the whole body of Cliinese literature, in the low and disgraceful hope of thus destroying all traces of Chinese history previous to the commencement of his dy- nasty I The mode in which the wish was carried into execution was every way ■worthy of the motive that prompted it;— if it is true, as it is recorded, that forrefusing to aid in this wholesale and worse than barbarous destruction, upwards of five bun- dled of the learned were brutally buried alive! The works of Confucius were se- creted by some man of noble and well- directed mind, and were found, years after the emperor's death, by some workmen em- ployed in repairing a house. CHAPTER 11. On the death of Che-whang-te, his son TTrh-she, less politic or less powerful than his father, found it impossible to prevent new outbreaks among the princes who had been reduced to the position of mere nobles and lieutenants of the emperor. Wliethcr leaguing against the commands of the em- peror, or fiercely assailing each other, they filled the whole land with strife, rapine, and bloodshed ; where the sword had shed hu- man blood, the torch in but too numerous instances consumed human habitations; whole cities were in some cases destroyed and made utterly desolate, and the total annihilation of the empire seemed at hand, when there arose in the land one of those men of iron nerve and iron h.and who fre- quently appear at precisely that moment when the myriad evils of anarchy can only be put an end to by a man who possesses the talents of the soldier joined to the un- bending will of the despot. Lien Pang, the man in question, was ori- ginally the captain of a band of robbers, and notorious in that character alike for his boldness and his success. The dis- tracted state of the country opened the way to his joining the profession of a leader of free lances to that of a robber, and, at first in alliance with some of the princes, and subsequently in opposition to all of them in succession, he foupht so ably and success- fully, that he subdued the whole empire, changed his name to that of Kaon-te, and ascended the throne, thus founding the Hang dynasty. Though thus successful within, he was greatly annoyed by the Huns ; and so far was his usual success from attending him in his endeavours to free the empire from them, that he bought their quietness with many and costly pre- sents, which on his de.ath and the succes- sion of his sou was changed to a stipulated annual tribute. During several years there were no events worth recording in the history of China; but in the reign of Wou tee, tbeem\iire was assailed by a succes.rrectly termed their terror, they went so far as to pay him ho- mage. With his usual shrewd policy, Yang- keen gave one of the imperial princesses in marriage to the-principal Tartar chief. Nor was he ill rewarded for the facility with which he permitted himself to substitute alliance for strife. During his reign, his people remained free from the incursions of the Tartars, which had previously been as frequent as the natural tempests, and far more destructive. On the death of Yang-keen, in 604, the heir to the throne was strangled by a younger brother, Yang-te, who, having com- mitted the fratricide, and removed all other W-^t W^tarv! of Cfjtna. 851 obstacles from his path, ascended the tlirone in 605. The means by which tliis prince olitained the throne, common as such means are in despotic and hut partially civilised nations, deserve all the detestation tliat we can l>esto\v upon tliem : but if he obtained the throne shamefully, he filled it well. Though eminently a man of taste and plea- sure, he was no less a man of judgement, enterprise, and euergy. In the early part of his reign he formed extensive gardens, which for magnitude and tastefulness were never before witnessed in China ; and in tluse gardens it was his chief delight to i-iiie, attended by a retinue of a thousand ladies, splendidly attired, who amused him witli vocal and instrumental music, and with dancing and feats of grace and agility on horseback. Tliis luxurious haliit did not, however, prevent him from paying f,-n'at attention to the solid improvements of which China at that time stood so much in need. It would be idle to remark upon the importance (to both the prosperity and tlie civilisation of a people) of good and numerous means of communication be- tween all the extremities of their land. Many of his canals and bridges still exist, as proofs both of his zeal and judgement in this most important department of the duty of a ruler. His talents, energy, and accomplishments did not save him from the fate which we deplore, even when the worst of rulers are its victims. He had been on a tour, not improbably with a view to some new improvement in the face of the country, when he was assassinated. This nielan- cli.ily event, it seems very probable, arose from' the successfulartiflces of Le-yuen : he was botli powerful and disaffected ; had previously signalised himself by the most factious conduct, and immediately after the assassination put himself forward to place King-te upon the vacant throne. What motive Le-yuen had in making this man the mere puppet of sovereignty for a brief time, it is difficult to conjecture ; but it is certain that King-te had scarcely ascended the throne before Le-yuen caused him to be strangled, and assumed the sovereign power himself. It is strange that ill-acquired power is often used at once with the greatest wis- dom and the greatest moderation, as though in the struggle to obtain it all the evil por- tion of the possessor's nature had been ex- hausted. Le-yuen, or rather Kaou-tsoo, which name he took on ascending the throne, was a remarkable instance of this. Nothing could be more sanguinary or un- scrupulous than the course by which he became master of the empire; nothing could be braver, more politic, or, as regarded his internal administration, milder, than his conduct after he had obtained it. For some years previous to his usurpa- tion, the Tartars had returned to their old practice of making incursions into the nor- thern parts of China, on some portion of which they had actually proceeded to settle themselves. Kaou-tsoo attacked them with great spirit, and in many severe engage- ments made such slaughter among them as to impress them with a salutary fear of pushing their encroachnients farther. Looking with a politic and prescient eye at the state of other nations, Kaou-tsoo was extremely anxious about that singular and ferocious people the Turks, who about the commencement of bis reign began to be very troublesome to Asia. Dwelling between the Caspian sea and the river Hypanis, the Turks were a hardy people, living chiefly upon the spoils of the chace. Thus prepared by their way of life for the hardships of war, and having their cupidity excited by the rich booty of ca- ravans, this people could not fail to be otherwise than terrible when, under a bravo and politic leader, they went forth to the conquest of nations instead of the pillage of a caravan, and appeared as a great mul- titude instead of a mere isolated handfull of robbers. To China they were especi- ally hateful and mischievous ; for they were perpetually at war with the Persians, with whom, just at that time, far the most valuable portion of Chinese commerce was carried on. The Persians fell before tho Turkish power, and that restless power endeavoured to push its conquests into China. It might probably have effected this had a different man ruled the empire ; but the emperor not merely repulsed them from his own territory, but chastised the disaffected Thibetians who had aided them and pushed forward into China, whence he expelled the Turks. After a victorious and active reign of twenty-two years and a few months, this brave and politic emperor died, and was succeeded by Chun-tsung, whose effemi- nacy was the more glaringly disgraceful from contrast with the brave and active character of his predecessor. The single act for which his historians gave him any credit, is that of having made it necessary for the literati, who by this time exercised pretty nearly as much influence in both private and public affairs in China as the clergy did in Europe during the middle ages, to sustain a rather severe public exa- mination. Of the next seventeen monarchs of China there is literally nothing recorded that is worthy of transcript; nor during their reigns did anything of moment occur to China beyond the civil dissensions, which were frequent, and, indeed, inevitable in a country where effeminate princes commit- ted their power to intriguing eunuchs, who scarcely ever failed to prevent a resumption of it, by the dagger, or the poisoned cup, Chwang-tsung, son of a brave and skil- ful general, founded the How Tang dynasty, and, at least at the outset of his reign, was a bright contrast to his predecessors. He had from mere boyhood shared the perils and hardships of his father, whom he had accompanied in many of his expeditions. At the commencement of his reign he gave every promise of being the greatest mo- narch China ever saw. In his apparel and diet he emulated the frugality of the mean- est peasant and the plainest of his troops. Lest he should indulge in more sleep than nature actually required, he was accustomed 852 Cfjc Crrn^urn of |f?tStoni, ^r. to have no otlior bed ttinn llie bare giinuul, ami, as if this luxurious way of lyin« niiKlit loaii liini to waste in sleeii any of that, iire- cioiisiimcof whii-li lie was a most rit'iiloco- nuiiiist, lu' liaii, it Is saiil, ahi-11 so fa>tono(l to liis iKTsnii, lliat it num- cm liis atIrml)lmK to liirn round, so loudly as to awaU.'U liim, and after it did so he ininiediatcly rose, to repose uomorc until his usual lionr on the ensuing night. Extremes are proverhially said to meet; but certainly om- would never have suspected that so Sp;irlan a youth would have heralded a manhood of exceed- iuur luxury, and even licentiinisness. But so it was ; his companions were among the most del)auched was.sailers iu his empire, and he emulated their conduct. Yet though he departed from the, perhaps, too rigid severity of his manners, he was, to the last, a b)-ave aud active man, and was slain at the head of his troops in a b.attle fought in 926, having, in spite of some personal defects of character already noted, been on the whole one of the most respectable of all the native Chinese emperors. another .Sardanapalus, set fire to his palace —his wealth, his family, and himself being consumed in the Hames. Kaou-tse now ascended the throne, being the first of the How-tsin dynasty. He was more the nominal than the real monarch, his minister, Iliing-taieu, usurping a more tlian imperial jiower. The minister, in f.act, is in every way more worthy of mention than the monarch, for according to the most credible accounts tlie invention of printing from blocks was a boon conferred by him upon China in the year 937. Both this reign and that of Chuh-ten, which closed this short-lived dynasty, were occu- pied in perpetual battling with the restless Tartars, who for ages seem to have had an instinctive certainty of having, sooner or later, the rule of China as the reward of their determined and pertinacious In- roads. In 960, Kung-te, a child of only six years of age, being upon the throne, the people arose and demanded his abdication. Of ma- ternal and eunuch misgovernraent they ccr- The next emperor was Ming-tsung, who tainly had for centuries past had abundant reigned for only seven years. But if his | and very sad experience. How far the sue- :gn was short, it was Ijoth active and be ncflcent; and if there are many greater names in the imperial annals, there is not one more beloved. His people looked upon him as a parent, and his whole reign seems, in fact, to have been the expression and achievement of a truly kind and paternal feeling. He died in 933, with a character whiclf greater monarchs might envy. Min-te succeeded to the throne in 933. He only reigned one year : but in that very brief space of time he contrived to deserve, if not to obtain, the execration of the Chinese women, not only of his own time but up to the present hour. He it was who established the truly barbarous practice of confining the feet of female children of the higher classes in such a manner that the toes are bent completely under the soles of the feet, which are, it is true, rendered very diminutive in appearance by this aiwmin- able method, hut are at the same time ren- dered almost useless. The loitering and awk- cessful aspirant to the throne was concerned in rousing their fears into activity and fervour does not appear; but it is certain that the revolt against the infant emperor, and the election of Chaou-quang-yin as his successor, were events in which the people showed great unanimity of feeling. The founder of the Sung dynasty did not com- mence his reign under the most promising circumstances ; for on the ceremonial of his acceptance of the throne, he actually ascend- ed it in a state of intoxication. Nevertheless, this prince, who on his ele- vation to the throne took the name of Taou- tsoo, was in reality one of the best of the Chinese monarchs, both as a warrior and as a domestic ruler. The imbecility or infancy of some of his predecessors, and the per- nicious habit into which others fell of leav- ing the actual administration of affairs in the hands of eunuchs and other corrupt favourites, had caused the court expenses as well as the court retinue to be swelled ward gait of the woiiien would be sufficient to a shameful extent. The new emperor to make this practice deserving of all abhor- immediately after his accession, caused the rence as a matter of taste merely, but when we consider the exquisite torture which the unhappy creatures must have suffered in girlhood, it is really wonderful that such a practice can so long have, existed in any nation possessing even the' first rudiments of civilisation. Min-te died in 9.34, in the first year of his reign, and was succeeded by Fei Tei, who paid the fearful price of fratricide for the throne. He possessed, it would seem, a great share of merely animal courage, and like the generality of persons who do so, he was distinguished for his exceeding bar- barity. Even the Chinese, accustomed as they were to despotism in all its varieties of iriisrule, could not endure the excess and A formidalile -.ost rigid enquiry to be made into the ex penses of the state ; and every useless office was abolished, and every unfair charge sternly and promptly disallowed. In effect- ing this great and iiupurtant reform, the emperor derived no -small advantage from having formerly been a private person, as in that capacity he no doubt would have the opportunity to note many abuses which could never be discovered by the emperor or any of the imperial princes. His fru- gality seems to have been as impartial as it was wise ; for though he raised his family, for four generations, to the rank of im- perial princes, he at the same t^me insisted upim their being content with the most moderate revenue that was at all consistent with their rank. Though the election of the new emperor wantonness of his cruelty, revolt broke out; and finding himself hard „ pressed by his enemies, and abandoned at was nearly as unanimous as sucli an event every moment by his troops, he collected can reasonably be expected to be, it must the whole of his family together, and, like | not be understood that his elevation met CT)C |§{Starp nt C^Uta. 853 ■with no opposition, even of an armed cha- racter On the contrary, the Independent princes of Han and the extreme northern people of the empire rose in arms to oppose "When we bear In mind the long and in- defatigable endeavours of the Tartars to ob- tain a footing in the interiorof the Chinese empire, and couple that fact with that of their now leaguing with the Chinese re- volters against the new emperor, we shall not be very presumptuous if we affirm that the opposition to him was in fact, though not in appearance and name, far more fo- reign than native. The emperor made im- iiicnse levies of men throughout the pro- vinces that were faithful to him, and niarclicd against his enemies. The subse- qiuMit conflicts were dreadful ; and the troops of the prince of Han, well knowing tliat they had little mercy to hope for if takt'ii prisoners, fought with the fury and obstinacy of despair, and they were well seconded by the Tartars. Thousands fell in each engagement; and though the emperor was a warrior, and a bravo one, he is said to have often subsequently shed tears at the mere remembrance of the blood- shed he witnessed during this war. Tlie overwhelming levies of the emperor, and, perhaps, that 'tower of strength —the royal name— which the adverse faction wanted, made him, but not till after a desperate struggle, completely successful. Having put down this opposition, he next proceeded against the prince of Choo, whom he captured and deprived of his dominions. Among the millions of souls whom he thus added to his subjects was an extremely numerous and well-appointed army. This he forthwith incorporated with his own, and thus strengthened in force, marched against Kyang Nan and southern Han. Here again he was completely successful, and he now turned his attention to the chastisement of the Mongols of Leaon-tung, who had joined the prince of Han in the former war ; but the issue of this expedition was still uncertain when the emperor died. Though engaged in war from the begin- ning to the very end of his reign, this em- peror was extremely attentive to the inter- nal state of his empire, and more especially in a particular which previously had been but too much neglected— the impartial administration of justice. When he was not actually iu the held he was at all times accessible ; to the humblest as to the high- est the gates of the Imperial palace were always open, and in giving his decision he knew no distinction between the mandarin and the poor labourer. This conduct in his military and civil affairs procured him the enviable character of being ' the terror of his enemies and the delight of his subjects. While actively engaged in the prosecution of the war against the Mongols, he was seized with an illness which terminated his valuable life, in the year 976. Tae-tsung, son of the last-raentioned mo- narch, ascended the throne at the death of his father, whose warlike measures he pro- ceeded to carry out, and whose warlike cha- racter andabilitieshe to a very great extent inherited. During his entire reign he was engaged in war ; now with tlie Mongols, at that time the most threatening of all the enemies of the empire, and now with this or that refractory native prince. It is strange that in all the ages in which so much bloodshed and misery had been caused by wars between the princes and the emperors, the latter never thought, so far as we can perceive from the account now extant of their proceedings, of the obvious and efficient policy of concentrating their forces upon the positions of individual princes, and on every decisive advantage over an Individual prince thus unfavour- ably situated for resistance, demanding such a contribution as would effectually impoverish hira ; at the same time demand- ing as hostages from him, not only some of the more Important of his own family, but of all the other great families connected with him. These measures, severe as they undoubtedly would have been upon individ- uals, would have been merciful indeed as regards the great mass of both the contend- ing parties ; moreover, the hostages might have been so employed and so treated at the imperial court as greatly to reduce the Individual hardship. After twenty-one years of almost perpetual warfare, with many successes and comparatively few defeats, Tae-tsung died in 997, leaving behind him a character only less honour- able than that of his predecessor, inasmuch as he paid far less constant and minute attention to the internal order of the empire and the individual welfare of his subjects. Chin-tsung now succeeded to the empire, a prince whose character and conduct strangely contrasted with those of his two Immediate predecessors. The bonzes or priests were the only persons who had reason to like him ; and even their liking, excited though it was by personal advan- tage, must have been mixed with no slight feeling of contempt. There was no talc that they could tell him which was too ex- travagant for his implicit belief ; no com- mand too absurd for his unqualified obe- dience. Every morning the imperial zany was busy in relating his overnight dreams, and It need scarcely he said that the bonzes took especial care so to interpret those dreams as to tend to confirm the weak- minded and hypochondriac monarch in his fatuous course, and to make that course as profitable as possible to themselves Indi- vidually, and as favourable as possible to their order at large. The bonzes were not the only persons who profited by this emperor's fatuity : the warlike, indefatigable, and shrewd Tartars speedily perceived the difference betwixt an emperor who divided his time between dreaming and listening to the interpreta- tions of hisdreams— leaving the empire and its vast complicated interests to the care, oi carelessness, of eunuchs and timeservers- and the warlike and clear-headed emperors with whom they had to deal during the two preceding reigns. They poured in upon tlie empire with a fury proportioned to the Ineffective resistance they anticipated, and their shrewd conjectures were ampl? 4D 8o4 fS^t Crcaiiury of W^tarn, &c. justlBcd liy the event. Resistance, Indeed, was made to them on the frontiers ; but instead of their beinj? driven licyond the frontiers witli a message of mourning to thousands of Tartar families, their absence was purchased. Great stores of both money and silk were paid to them by order of the Chinese court, which, like the Romans when Rome had become utterly degenerate, was fain to purchase the peace it dared not or could not battle for. Yins-tsung,Sliin-tsung,andHwuy-tsung, the three Immediate successors of the weak prince of whose reign we have just spoken, followed hU impolitic and shameful policy of purchasing peace. "We emphatically say impolitic, because common sense tells us that to yield tribute once, is to encourage the demand of it in future. And so it proved in this case. The tribute once se- cured, the hardy and unprincipled Tartars again returned to the charge, to he again bought off, and to derive, of course, renewed assurance of booty whensoever they should again think proper to apply for it. Hwuy-tsung, the third of the emperors named above, having a dire perception of the error committed by himself and his three immediate predecessors, determined to adopt a new course, and, instead of bribing the ' barbarians ' who so cruelly annoyed him, to hire other barbarians to expel them, thus adding to the folly of buy- ing peace the still farther folly of giving the Clearest possible insight into the actual weakness of his condition, to those who, being his allies as long as they received his wages, would infallibly become his enemies the instant he ceased to hire them. This prince engaged the warlike tribe of Keu-che Tartars in the defence of his ter- ritory. They ably and faithfully performed what they had engaged ; but when they had driven out the Nien-cheng Tartars they flatly refused to quit the territory, and made a hostile descent upon the provinces of Pe- cheli and Shansi, which they took posses- sion of. At the same time the Mongols were pouring furiously down upon the pro- vinces of Shau-tong and Honan ; and the terrifled and utterly unwarlike emperor saw no other means of saving his dominions than by coming to immediate terms with his late allies and present foes— the victo- rious and imperious Neu-che Tartars. He accordingly went to their camp, attended by a splendid retinue of his chief offlcers, to negotiate not only for a peace, but also for their active and prompt aid against the Mongols. But the emperor bad so long left the affairs of the empire in the hands of intriguers and venal sycophants, that he was not sufficiently acquainted with his ac- tual position to take even ordinary precau- tions ; he was literally sold by his minis- ters into the hands of his enemies ; and on reaching the Tartar camp, he found that he was no longer a powerful prince treating for peace and alliance with an inferior people, but a powerless prisoner of war, in the hands of his enemies, and abandoned by his friends. And abandoned he indeed was, by all save his son. That spirited prince, faithful to his fallen father, and in- dignant at the treachery that liad been practised against him, put the ministers to death, and gathered an immense force against the Mongols, who. In the mean- time, liad been making the most rapid and terrible advances. Rapine and Are marked their path whithersoever they went. The emperor's gallant and faithful son made admirable but useless efforts to approach them. Leaving devastation and misery in their rear, they rapidly drew near the ca- pit.il, laid siege to the imperial palace itself, butchered thousands of the inhabitants, including some of the imperial family, and sent the rest into captivity. CHAPTER IV. KAOtJ-TstrxG II. at this period reigned over the southern provinces. TVlien the barbarians overran the northern parts of the empire he made bold and able attempts at beating them oS from his dominions ; but they were far too warlike and numerous for his limited resources. To the northern provinces and to the captive emperor he was unable to afford any assistance by force of arms, nor could his humblest and most tempting offers to the savage foes induce them to liberate a prisoner or evacuate a rood of land. All that he was able to gain from them was permission to retain his own rule in peace, on paying an annual tri- bute and acknowledging his subjection. During two succeeding reigns the Chinese enjoyed the blessings of peace ; but the im- prudence of Ning-tsung, untaught by ex- perience of the danger of calling in barba- rian aid, brought into China a vast horde of Mongols— the fiercest and greediest even among the barbarous Tartar tribes. In 1194 the celebrated (Senghis Khan was at the head of the Mongol Tartars. At the outset of this warrior's career his people re- volted from him, excepting only a very few families, on the ground of his being, at the death of his father, too young to rule a numerous and extremely warlike people. But the youth displayed so much talent and courage, and his earliest essays as a war- rior were so entirely and strikingly success- ful, that the tide of opinion speedily turned in his favour ; and an old and venerated Mongol chief having, in a public assembly of the people, prophesied that the youth, then known by his family name of Temujin, would, if supported as he deserved to be, prove to he the greatest of their khans- Genghis Khan (the Mongol words for great- est king) was immediately made the youth's name by acclamation, and the bold but barbarous and vacillating people as unani- mously submitted to him now, as formerly they had seceded from him. It was to this chief, who had already made his name a name of terror far beyond the banks of the Selinga, the native abode of-his fierce race, that Ning-tsung, the then emperor, applied for aid to drive out other Tartars, by whom, as well as by native mal- contents, the nation was very sorely op- pressed at that period. Genghis Khan, already inured to con- quest and thirsting for extended domiuirjn, Clje W^taru at C^tna. 855 eagerly complied with tlie imiiolitlc request of Ning-tsung. During the relgu of that monarch, and of Le-tsung, by whom he was, at his death in 1225, succeeded, the Mongols passed from triumph to triumph, the un- h;ip|iy nalives suffering no less from the bar- li:irl:ins who were hired to defend them than froin the nther barbarians who avowedly en- tered the empire for purposes of rapine and bloodshed. Le-tsung, a prince whose natu- ral Indolence was increased by his supersti- tious attachment to the most superstitious priests In his empire, was a voluntary pri- siiiierin his palace, while the Mongols were driving from one province to another not merely the intruding foe and foreigner, but also the rightful and already suffering inha- bitant. Theatrocities committed in what the Mongols seemed to be bent upon making an actual war of extermination were dread- ful ; the most authentic accounts, and those whicli seem most entirely free from exag- geration, speak of the slaughter among the unfortunate people as amounting to some hundreds of thousands. Genghis Khan dying, was succeeded by a grandson named Kulilai ; and I.e-tsung also dying, was succeeded by Too-tsuug. This last-named prince was as detmuched as his predecessor had been superstitious ; and, wholly taken up with the gratiflcation of his shameful sensuality, he saw, almost without a care or struggle, the Mongols under Kublai proceeding with their rav.ages, and Kublai at length become master of the northern provinces. Thus far successful, it was not likely that the conquering chief should forbear from turning his attention to the southern pro- vinces, which, as we learn from Marco Polo, were considered by far the most wealthy and splendid of the kingdoms of the East. The very wealth of the southern empire, and its compar.itively long exemption from war, rendered it pretty certain that it would easily be overrun by him who had conquered the hardier and more experienced warriors of the north. Province after province and city after city was taken, without the expe- rience on the part of the Mongols of any- thing even approaching to a severe check, many of the most powerful nobles, who were the most hound in honour and duty to have defended the country, actually joining the enemy. With rapid and sure steps the enemy at length approached the city of Kinsai, the capital and royal residence, and wealthy to an extent not easily to be described. The then emperor, Kung-tsung, seems to have despaired of successful defence against a foe so longand tosuch an extent victorious, and to have supposed that his empress could more successfully appeal to a victor's mercy than he could to the fortune of war. He accordingly got together all the treasure that could be at all conveniently embarked on board his fleet, gave the command of it to his most experienced naval commander, and put out to sea. A strange circumstance is related of the siege of this city, a circumstance, to say the truth, which has so strong a family like- ness to incidents that are given to other parties, both by authentic history and by fictions, that we give it with but little be- lief in its truth, and only relate It, lest in omitting so striking an incident, whicli is given by some very grave writers, we should lay ourselves open to the charge of careless- ness in overlooking, or presumption iu re- jecting it. The fact of the defence of Kinsai being committed to a beautiful woman, did not prevent Kublai from ordering his generals to use the utmost exertions in bringing the siege to a speedy conclusion. Such orders ensured an activity which reduced the era- press and her garrison to the most alarming distresses ; but the empress consoled her- self under every new disaster by a prophecy which had been made by a court astrologer —a kind of cheat very popular with most of the Chinese monarchs of that time— that Kinsai could only be taken by a general having a hundred eyes. As such a specimen of natural history was by no means likely to appear, the empress allowed nothing to daunt her, until on enquiring the name of a genenal whom Kublai had entrusted to make a new and vigorous assault on the city, she was told that it was Chin san ba yan These words— which mean thehundred-ei/ed — seemed iu such ominous agreement with the requirement of the prophecy, that the empress allowed her hitherto high courage to give place to a superstitious horror, and she immediately surrendered the city, on receiving from Kublai assurance, which he very honourably fulfllled, of treatment and an allowance in conformity with lier rank. Sa-yan-fu, which was a far stronger city than the capital, and against which no super- stitious influence was brought, held bravely out against the utmost efforts of the Mon- gols for upwards of three years. Marco Polo and his brother Nicolo, the Italian travel- lers and traders, anxious to ingratiate them- selves with the formidable and prosperous Kublai, supplied him with besieging en- gines which threw stone balls of the tre- mendous weight of 120 pounds. Such mis- siles soon made practicable breaches in the hitherto impregnable walls. The town was stormed, and Kublai, enraged at its long and obstinate resistance, gave it up to the mercy of his troops. CHAPTER y. The fugitive emperor found, in gome dis- tant and strongly fortifled islets, a shelter for his treasure, but not that safety for himself which he had sought with so much sacrifice of dignity and character. He had not long been at his post of ignoble se- curity when he was seized with an illness which speedily terminated his life. Tho empress, who seems to have been alto- gether as brave and adventurous as her husband was timid, strengthened the fleet at Yae islands, under the command of the emperor's favourite admiral, Low-sewfoo, proclaimed Te-ping, her son, emperor, and repaired with him on board the fleet. Tho Mongol fleet, after attacking Canton, hove in sight of the imperial fleet, when a tre- , mendous action commenced and continued 856 Cl^e Crca^ury of %(gtorB, ^c. for an entire day. The Mongols, though cveu their loss was dreadful, were vieto- ' rlous, aud the Chinese or imperial fleet was so much shattered that Low-sewfoo foiiml it impossible to get his crippled ves- seN ilirouKh the straits. Dreading the very wnr~t from the resentment which Kublai wa- likely to feel at this new resistance on the part of the empress, that brave but un- fortunate woman committed suicide by jumping overboard. Her terrible example was followed by several of her principal attendants, including the admiral, who leajied overboard with the young emperor in his arms. So disastrous a day as this could not fail to be decisive ; all the com- paratively small part of the south that had hitherto held out was quickly overrun, aud the whole empire was now under a Mongol emperor concentrated into one. Under the title of Shi-tsu, Kublai ascended the imperial throne in 1279, and in so doing laid the foundation of the Yuen dynasty. With the greediness and want of judge- ment with which conquerors, in common with more vulgar gamblers, appear to be incurably afflicted, Shi tsu having obtained the mighty and vast empire of China, now determined to use its resources in adding Japan to his already unwieldy possession. But this time he was fated to a fortune very different from that which usually at- tended him. The Japanese, instead of shrinking at the approach of a force that from its previous successes might well have made them pause as to the prudence of re- sistance, forti fled their forts in the strong- est manner time would admit. One being at length taken, the resistance of the garri- son was punished by the butchery of every man without exception, eight of the num- ber being beaten to death with clubs. The real reason of this cruel distinction being awarded to the eight unhappy persons was, most likely, that they were distinguished either in their rank or in the zeal and de- termination of their repistance. But the fondness that exists for the marvelloushas caused this occurrence to be attributed to the somewhat inexplicable mechanical im- possibility of putting them to death by de- capitation, on account of iron chains which they wore round their necks. The brutal cruelty displayed by Shi-tsu or his officers to thegarrison of this single fort, was productive of no advantage to his arms. Before the terror which such barbarity might possibly have carried into the hearts of other garrisons had time to produce weakness or treachery, a tremendous storm aro=e by which a great portion of the Tartar, or rather the tartar-Chinese, fleet was wrecked. The extent of injury so alarmed the commanders, that thej hastened home with the remainder of their ships, abandon- ing many thousand of their followers to the vengeance of the Japanese. Shi-tsu died in 1295; and it was not untd his grandson, Tching-sung, ascended the throne, and began to imitate the ambitious and warlike conduct of his great predeces- sor, that anything worthy of even casual mention occurred in the history of the sub- jugated people of China. Tchin-sung is better known in Europe as Timoor the Tartar, or Tamerlane, whose treatment of his opponent Bajazet has been made the suliject of so many dramas and tales. His name of Timoor (the iron") seems to have been exactly suited to his energetic, untiring, and unsparing nature. Fixing the imperial residence at Samarcand, he ap- pears to have formed the project of carry- ing on the work of subjugation to the ut- most possible extent in all directions. Persia, Georgia, and Delhi speedily felt and succumbed to his power ; he drove the Indians quite to the Ganges, and utterly destroyed Astracan and other places m that direction. Bajazet, the Ottoman mo- narch, seems to us to have had the most just cause imaginable to arrest the course of a man who was evidently determined upon making himself, if possible, the solo monarch of the East. But the Ottoman was far inferior to the Tartar in that strength i which is as important to success as even a good cause itself. "We are assured tlmt while Bajazet had only 120,000 men, lii-^ opponent brought 700,000 into the field. Probably the force of Tamerlane has been very much exaggerated, though even allow- ing for great exaggeration there can be no doubt that, in numbers, the army of Bajazet was greatly exceeded by that of his oppo- nent. The day on which this tremendous battle was fought was sultry in theextreme, yet so obstinate were both parties, that the contest continued from the morning until a late hour at night. The comparatively small army of Bajazet was in the end com- pletely routed, and the unfortunate mo- narch himself taken prisoner. The conduct of Tamerlane on this occasion was such as would cast disgrace on the most signal cou- rage and talents. Instead of allowing the sympathies of a brave man to soften him towards his singularly brave though unfor- tunate opponent, he had him put into an iron cage and carried from place to place with him in all his excursions, exhibiting him as one would a wild beast, and at the same time displaying on his own part a temper far more like that of a wild beast than a brave and successful warrior. The unfortunate Bajazet lived in this most piti- able condition until the year 1403, when he died, as tradition says, and as was most likely, of a broken heart. Tamerlane during his various and exten- sive expeditions had committed the inter- nal government of his empire to certain princes of his house— his grandsons aud nephews. Their authority and character being far less respected and feared than his own sever.al insurrections had taken place, and Tamerlane, or Tchin-sung, now march- ed towards China with the avowed deter- mination of inflicting severe chastisement ; but as he was advancing with forced marches for that purpose, he was seized with an illness which terminated both his enterprises and his life, in 1405. Aiter the death of the formidable Tamer lane his descendants kept up a perpetual scramble for the empire, in which they con- trived the utter ruin of the high character they owed to him. A series of revolts and €i)t W^tatyi ai C^tna. Intrigues followed each otliei- during tlio rule or the strifes of some succeeding em- perors and pretenders ; and the next event of which we feel it necessary to give any account is an embassy sent from Persia to Oliina in the reign of Yuuglo, also called Ohing-tsoo. The account of this embassy is the more Interesting, because it gives us consider- able insight Into the manners and state of society in China at that time, and men- ticms what Marco Polo does not — tea, to which, more than aught else, China owes its importance in the eyes of the modern Inhabitants of Europe. Even at this early period the Chinese seem to have all the modern jealousy of the entrance of stran- gers into the so-called 'Celestial Empire." Before the embassy in question was allowed even to set foot upon the boundaries of the empire, an exact list of all persons belong- ing to the embassage was required, in- cluding even the very humblest attendants, and the ambassadors-in-chief were called upon to swear to the truth and exactness of the list. Chinese jealousy being satisfied thus far, the embassage commenced its toilsome journey of one hundred days to- wards the capital. It is only fair to add, however, that after their first suspicion was formally and officially silenced, there seems to have been a most liberal hospitality shown in the way of substantial good fare, accompanied by an unstinted supply of ex- cellent wines. The capital of China, Carabulu, now known far better by the name of Pekin, Is spoken of as being even at that time a city of great magnitude and opulence. It would seem not unlikely that the silly absurdity of the Chinese, in speaking of such people as the English, Dutch, and other highly civilised Europeans, under the opprobrious name of outside barbarians, is an absurdity which others beside the Chinese are unfor- tunately guilty of. The way in which mo- dern writers allow themselves to speak of the Chinese is in many things to be equally reprobated. The long intercourse with Jesuits, mis- sionaries, and others specially sent there, with a reference to their science, judgement and aptitude for the difficult business of communicating, not merely knowledge it- self hut also the desire for it, could scarcely have left the Chinese so much behind the rest of the world in invention and practice la the higher productions, even had no pro- gress been previously made bj them. But when so early as the 15th century we hear of such an achievement as the Turning Tower, of which we are aboiit to give a de- scription, who will consent to believe that al)ove four centuries later they are the backward and ignorant people they are cnlled ? That really wonderful structure, the turning tower, is stated by shrewd and in- trllitrcnt observers to whom we owe our kiiowledfje of it, to be worthy of the visit and careful cxamiuationof every smith and carpenter upon the face of tlie earth. What, in fact, are we acquainted with of merely human construction that can for an instant 857 bu.ar comparison with atower fifteen stories high, each story twelve cubits high, and the whole edifice twenty cubits In circum- ference? What can surpass the ingenuity of the people who could make this large structure, h.aving a total height of 180 cubits, which turns round upon a metal axis; and that with little more difficulty than if It were merely a child's toy ? Assuredly, the people who even in whim could erect such a structure as this at the period of more than four centuries ago, cannot now be the in- cajiable and unprovided race which many late accounts would represent them. The emperor's palace at Pekin is described as being rich and spacious in the extreme. While the ambassadorsand theirsuite were there. It was constantly surrounded by about two thousand musicians, playing and singing anthems to the praise of the em- peror, whoso throne was of solid gold, as- cended by a fiight of nine silver steps. On the emperor ascending this extremely gor- geous throne, th e chief s of the era bassy were introduced ; and after a brief and merely formal audience, at which they did not pros- trate themselves in the Chinese fashion, but bowed in that of the Persians, they were reconducted to the apartments pro- vided for them, where a sheep, a goose, and two fowls, with fruit, vegetables, and tea, were daily served out to every six persons. The evil deed, whether of man or nation, very rarely proves to be other than an evd seed. The unprovoked aggression of the Chinese-Tartars under Kublai, was not only productive of great injury to the Chinese fleet at the time, but led to very many sub- sequent losses and calamities. Favourably situated as Japan was for the maintenance of a fleet, it was a power upon which such a piratical attack as that of Kublai could not be made without incurring serious dan- ger of heavy reprisals. Tin-tsung, an extremely well-inclined prince, found the attacks of the Japanese so frequent and so fearfully injurious to his people, and to the imperial fleet, that his earliest care was directed to tliat sub- ject. The Japanese, an essentially sea- faring people, had, according to the least exaggerated accounts, from six to seven thousand vessels of various sizes, manned with their most daring and unprincipled people, not a few of them ready for piracy and murder, as a part of their proper trade. Running suddenly Into the Chinese ports, the daring adventurers committed acts not merely of robbery, but of the most wanton destruction of property and lite, firing whole towns and villages, and retiring with im- mense booty. During the eleven years of his reign the emperor Tintsung was so spirited and incessant in his opposition to these daring rovers, that he would most probably have permanently rid his countrj- of them, had his life not been so early ter- minated. Suen-tsung, who succeeded to the last- named emperor, was but barely allowed to ascend the throne when he was about to be dethroned by some of the grandees of the empire, among whom was his own uncle. Fortunately for the emperor, his 4 na 868 C;^* (ICrrasurit at W^tavp, &c. array was more f.iicUful to him than the grandees ; and after a most obstinate en- gagement between it and the force of tlie insurgents, thclattcr were completely over- thrown. With a far greater lenity than Would have been shown by some monarchs after being so early and so deeply offended, the emperor spared the lives of the ring- leaders, though, as a sheer matter of self- defence, he reduced some of them to the rank of commoners, and confiscated the es- tates of others. Though the commencement of his reign was thus stormy, he was very little disturli- ed by revolts afterwards, to the time of his death in 1436. He was succeeded by Chin- tung, a minor; the empress-dowager being his guardian, and the real state authority being divided between her and her chief adviser, the eunuch Wan-chin. This latter personage seems to have had nobler and more spirited notions of government than were commonly displayed by the effeminate and venal court favourites. He not only took prompt and active measures for re- pressing the Tartars, who annoyed the Tartar-Chinese with as much impartiality as though they had been still a purely Chinese people and government, but also took the field in person. Both he and the youthful emperorwere taken prisoners, and matters began to look very prosperously for the Tartars, who were not only more expert in the use of the newly introduced fire-arms, but also invariably used them, which upon certain solemn days the Chinese, fi-oin superstitious notions, refused to do. As a matter of course, the Tartars always sought every chance of taking them at so great a disadvantage, and made fearful havoc when- ever they contrived to do so. But the bold spirit which Wan-chin had infused into tlie councils of the imperial court soon turned the scale. The imperial authority was as- sumed by Kiug-tae, wbo, however, subse- quently showed that he had assumed such authority in the truest spirit of a loyal subject and most honourable man. He advanced against the Tartars, and opposed them with such skill, courage, and tenacity, that he completely defeated them, com- pelled them to restore the young Ching-tung to liberty unrausomed, and then imme- diately descended from a dignity that has Bo often been obtained by the commission of the most detestable crimes, and placed upon the throne the young sovereign whom his valour and conduct had already restored to liberty. The remainder of the reign of Ching-tung, about ten years, was compara- tively peaceful and prosperous. The early part of the 16th century pro- duced an event of which even yet the con- sequences are but partially and dimly seen — the appearance of the Portuguese at China. To India they had already made their way by the Cape of Good Hope, and in India they had an extremely flourishing set- tlement. The governor of the Portuguese in India determined to send a somewhat imposing embassy to China; accordingly, Aiidrada and Perez, the two ambassadors, sailed to Cauton, their own vessel being imder a convoy of eight large ships, well manned and armed. Perez and Andrada, with two vessels, were allowed to proceed up the river on theircmbassy. While they did so the crews and merchants who were left with the other vessels In the Canton river, busied themselves in endeavouring to trade with the natives. As usual, wherever a turbulent body of seamen is concerned, the laws of meumauA t«i«?i werefrequenlly set at nought, and this one-sided system of free-trading so greatly enraged the Chinese , that the little fleet was surrounded by the Chinese war junks, and only escaped cap- ture by the opportune occurrence of a se- vere storm. Perez, though far up the coun- try, and personally innocent, was seized by the Chinese as the scape-goat of his fellow- comitrymen's offences. He was hurried back to Canton with the utmost ignominy, loaded with irons, and put into a prison, from which he never again emerged until death set him free. About this time a state of bloodshed and horror existed in China, such as probably were never before equalled, even in that country of distraction, the annals of which are so confused by usurpations, interming- ling of dynasties, and alterations in terri- torial extent and nomenclature, that the historian who desires to convey truth is not unfrequently obliged to allow his pen to pause until the current of the older his- tories becomes less turbid and torrent- like. On the accession, in 1627, of Hwae-tsung, the Tartars, who, during the comparatively quiet seven years' reign of this emperor's immediate predecessor, had been preparing themselves for war, broke out fiercely and suddenly. The time was peculiarly favour- able to their anticipated overthrow of the empire, which wasoverrun by two robbers, whose armies were not only more numerous than that of the emperor, but had already so far beaten it as to have obtained pos- session of some important provinces. City after city had faUen before these fierce rebels, and the imperial troops werein some places reduced to such an extremity of fa- mine, that the bodies of executed criminals formed a portion of their disgusting food, and human flesh was, without shame or remark, exposedfor sale in the open market. The imperial general was at lengith so pressed by the rebel troops, that being at once in despair of successful resistance, and determined not to surrender, he caused the dykes to be cut through which restrained the river Hoangho from inundating the countrj- in which he was encamped, and at one fell swoop he and the whole of the troops and inhabitants, in all above 200,000, were drowned. If the affairs of the empire were desperate before, the loss of this force could not fail to complete the ruin. The rebels and rob- bers who had alcjne been so formidable, now united with the wily MantchooTartars, who had so well known how to ' bide their time.' The unfortunate emperor, finding that there was no longer any hope or safety for him even in his own palace, strangled himself. The last city that endeavoured to make head against the rtctorious and formidable Ctic miitaxu of Ct)Cua. 859 Tartars and robbers was Tae-yuen. The inliabitaiits, and a coiriparative handful of injiioria! troops, defended tliis with a stern ■ ihsfiiiiicy, which, under a different state of iliiiiKs 111 tlie empire at large, would have liirii very lilieiy to save it ; the Tartars were jipulsed again and again, until the very niiinl.cr of their slain enabled them to fill u). the ditPhes and mount. Instead of ad- JuirinK the gallantry of their oonQuered o|p- lionents, and treatfng tlieni with incTcy the Tartars savagely put lln' inh.ibitant.s to' the sword, and then gave the devoted city to the flames. Woo San-quei, an able politician as well as a brave general, did not, even now that the emperor was slalu, and the most pre- cious parts of the empire in the hands of the Tartars or rebels, despair of retrieving .■iffairs. By a lavish distribution of rich pre.scnts he engaged the Mantchoo leader.* I" alciiidon the cause of the rebels, and to Join with him against their chief. W(jo Saii-iiuei's policy succeeded in pro- curing him the alliance of the Mantchoo Tartars; and, aided by them, he vanquished their former allies, the rebels, after a series of achievements on both sides, that equal aiiytliing recounted in the wars of the most distinguished generals of ancient times. But a new proof was now exhibited of the danger of purchased allies, who, like the elepliaiits used in Indian warfare, are liable to become as formidable to their friends as to their foes. The Tartars having put down the rebels, took possession of Pekin (or Cambulu), which they expressed theirdeter- mination to ' protect,'— a word to which armed protectors attach a meaning very ditferent from that assigned to it by the protected. They proclaimed Shun-che, a son of their own monarch, emperor of the northern provinces of China, the seatof his government being Pekin, while the princes and mandarins of the southern provinces proclaimed Choo-yew, the seat of whose sovernment was" at Nankin. CHAPTER VI. Theee being a northern and a southern empire, and the thrones being respectively filled by a Tartar and a Chinese, it might easily have been foreseen that war and bloodshed would once more vex the unhappy people of both empires ; and the opposite natures of the two emperors, far from de- creasing, increased this probability. Tlie emperor of the south was unworthy of his high station, and ill calculated for its pecu- liar exigencies at that time. His indolence and gross sensuality added, no doubt, to the tyrannies of the subordinates to whom he committed the cares of state, while he abandoned himself to his indulgences, caused a spirit of revolt to show itself, which the northern emperor was not slow to avail himself of. Marching rapidly upon the southern provinces, he possessed him- self of the capital. Nankin, and, after along series of successes, became master of the whole empire, with the exception of some few comparatively unimportant portions ; and the princes of even these may be said to have been his trilmtaries rather than independent rulers. Shun-che was the first emperor of China who came into direct hostile collision with the Russians, who in his reign made their way to the great river Amur on the borders of Tartary. The Russians seized upon Dauri, a fortified Tartar town of some .■strength, and in several battles obtained hiKiial advantages. But subsequently the Cliinese recovered their ground, anda treaty was entered into by which all the northern bunk of the Amur, together with the sole navigation of that liver, was assigned to the Chinese, and Tobolsk was fixed as the neutral trading ground of the two nations. Busily and successfully as Shun-che was engaged in war, he seems to have been by no means insensible to the importance of the arts of peace. The Portuguese and other missionaries and scholars who, in de- spite of almost innumerable obstacles, lad by this time settled themselves in China m considerable nuinbers,fouud at the hands of this warlike monarch a degree of friend- ship and iiatronage highly creditable to him. He not only prevented them from being subjected to any annoyance, but even appointed one of them, Adam Schaal, to the post of superintendent of mathematics,— a post that gave opportunity, of which Schaal in the next reign very skilfully availed himself, of obtaining the highest influence in the state. Shun-che, though an energetic man, as is evident by his warlike achievements, and a sensible man, as we may judge both from the favour he showed to learned foreigners, and the readiness with which he accepted their instruction in many branches of learn- ing, was, at the same time, somewhat of a sensualist. Kang-he, who ascended the throne in 1661, was a minor; four princiial personages of the empire forming the regency. The Ger- man, Schaal, was appointed to'the import- ant post of principal tutor. Such was the influence Schaal acquired in tliis position, that he was virtually for some time prime minister of China. But the abilities of Schaal and the other missionaries, though they could raise them to power and influence, could not guard them from envy. The Chinese literati, and even the regents themselves, at length be- came excited to anger by the very learning they had availed themselves of, and by the influence it had procured for the foreigners, through Schaal ; for among the many ser- vices he had rendered to the state, it is said that on one occasion he actually preserved Macao from destruction. But envy was a-foot, the most absurd charges were made agtiinst the missionaries, and they were at length deprived of all employment, while many of them were loaded with chains and thrown into prison. Schaal, who was now far advanced in years and very inflrm, sank beneath his afflictions soon after their com- mencement, and died at the age of seventy- nine. It is much to the credit of the voung emperor that he had so well profited by the instructions of his foreign friends, that as soon as he attained Iiis majority he restored 860 d)C Cifa^urj) of l^isitora, &r. thpm to tlu'ir inlluriicf and iiiiiioiiitiiiciils, tlu- place of tlu' dcrrascil Si-liaal ln'inf,' bc- st.owed upon the missionary Verbiest. We must, perliiips, blame rather tlio I'arbarous cruelty o( liis time and country when we add, that on discoverinc that Ills four guar- dians and repents of the empire were the chief instigators of the disgrace and suffer- ing that liad been iuHicted on the mission- aries, he confirmed the horrid decree of the tribunal, which sentenced not only the of- fenders, but also their unfortunate families, to be cut into a thousand pieces ! We have previously alluded to the skill and courage evinced by the general Woo- san-quei, when the Mantchoo Tartars and the rebels caused so much misery to the empire. When the Mantchoo Tartars, after aiding him in putting down the rebels, had fairly established the Mantchoo dynasty upon the throne, the general was appointed governor of Kweichow and Tun-nan. His position in the north-west of the empire, discontentwith his command, distinguished as it was, added, perhaps, to a natural rest- lessness and love of warfare, caused him now to levy war upon the neighbouring places. His military skill and his great resources speedily enabled him to make him- self master of the southern and western provinces. His success was at once so great and so rapid, that the emperor and his court were thrown into consternation, and Verbiest, who among his numerous abilities included that of a founder of great guns, was applied to to superintend the casting of some. From some inexplicable motives he declined compliance with the request, or rather the order, for as a high officer of the empire such he must have felt it. To sui)- pose a religious scruple, in the case of men so ambitious as the missionaries had shown themselves, and so pliable as they had been In far less justifiable courses on the part of the court, is difficult ; and yet on no other ground can we reconcile Verbiest's refusal on this occasion with his sanity. Certain it is, that he not only refused, but persisted in so doing, until significant hints that his refusal was attributed to collusion with the rebels, showed him that his life would not be safe did he not comply with the empe- ror's wishes. Cannon were then cast, and the speedy consequence was, that Woo San- quei, who, probably, would in a brief space have been master of the capital and the throne, was beaten back within safe limits. Woo San-quei, after another unsuccessful endeavour at usurping the empire, died in 1679, and was succeeded in what remained of his power by his son, who shortly after put an end to his own life. In 1680 the Mongol Tartars assailed the emperor, but the cannon with which Eu- ropean skill in thegreat game of manslaugh- ter had furnished him, enabled him to beat off these enemies with greater ease. He had the same success over the Elenths on the north-western frontier of the empire. Successful in war by the aid of the mis- sionaries, he was no less so in commerce : the czar, Peter the Great, would, in all pro- bability, but for their mediation, have been prevented from concluding a peace with China; and tIi(iUf,Mi the commercial advan- tages which resulted from that peace were not immediate, tliey were vast and certain. As a whole, the reign of this emperor may be considered by far the noblest of all spoken of in his country's annals. As a military sovereign he will bear comparison even with the daring and hardy Kublai, while, like our own Elizabeth, he had the rare merit — scarcely interior to genius itself — of skill in discovering genius, and of steady support to ministers possessing it, regardless of court intrigue and court jealousies. Canton, in his reign, even more than it has ever been in our time, was a port open to all nations, and by commerce with all nations was China enriched; and his people had real cause for grief when he died, in the year 1722. Yung-ching,who now ascended the throne, began his reign by an act which held out but little hopes that he would distinguish himself by wisdom like that of his predeces- sor. It has been seen that in the preced- ing reign the missionaries had performed the most important services. In doing so, and in enjoying the high imperial favour which those services secured to them, it was to be expected that they should incur many enmities ; and had the new emperor been as wise as his predecessor, to such enmities would he have attributed the host of complaints which now assailed his ears. But the emperor was at least equal to any man in his vast dominions in fierce and bigoted hatred of Christianity; and he gladly received and implicitly listened to all complaints against the missionaries and their native converts, who at this time pro- bably numbered about a quarter of a million. Orders were issued for the expulsion of the wliole of the missionaries, with the excep- tion of a few whose mathematical attain- men ts rendered their services of the utmost consequence to the court ; and there were a few sheltered at the imminent risk of both parties by the more zealous of their pupils, and thus enabled to evade the edict and in some measure to preserve the leading truths of their teaching among the native converts. But it was a very insignificant number of these missionaries that remain- ed in China, owing to both these causes, and the whole of their chapels and stations were either sacked and destroyed by fero- cious mobs, converted into public offices, or perverted to idolatrous worship. The excessive violence which this emperor dis- played towards the catholic missionaries caused the king of Portugal in 1726 to de- spatch an embassy to the emperor on their behalf. The ambassadors were received with distinction ; but, though general pro- mises were given even with profusion, the converts to Christianity derived not the slightest practical benefit from this inter- ference on their behalf. Unhappily, in the year 1726, a new and more terrible persecution took place. Both torture and imprisonment, the former in most cases terminating, after the most frightful agonies, in the death of the suf- ferers, were now resorted to in every cor- ner of the land where a Christian could CI)C f^f^tors of dLf^liiK. 861 he discovered. Deep policy, however, was mixed up witli tliia vengeful spirit ; and to avoid tlie persecution it was only neces- sary to declare reconversion to Confucius or BiuUllia. It may easily be supposed tliat, under such circumstances, the nura- hcr of Christians was, nominally at least, soon reduced to a mere handful. One of the causes of this terrible persecution was a dreadful famine which occurred in tlie previous year, and which was attributed to the sin of conversion to Christianity. With the usual inconsistency of fan.aticism, it was quite overlooked, that of the hundreds of thousands who perished, not one in a thousand had ever even heard of Christ- ianity. The year 1730 was marked by an event which Tung-ching's worst flatterers could not, after his two terrible persecutions of the Christians, venture to attribute to any undue encouragement of the now faith. The whole province of Pecheli— in wlilch Pekin is situated — was shaken byan earth- quake. The imperial city was for the most part laid in ruins ; and the emperor, wlio was at the time walking in the garden, was violently thrown to the ground. In Pekin alone upwards of 10,000 souls perish- ed by this lamentable occurrence, and at least thrice that number in other parts of the province. The emperor distributed up- wards of a quarter of a million of money for the relief of the survivors. The bigotry and cruelty of this prince can scarcely be excused on the plea of his being ill-advised, for it is certain that he was personally aware of the great benefits that the calum- niated and persecuted missionaries had con- ferred upon his people. The best that can be said of his reign is, that it was a peaceful one ; and the inter- val of peace would have been inflnitely more valuable than it was, had the Christians and their foreign and highly intelligent in- structors been allowed to improve it to the best advantage. He died in the year 1735. CHAPTER VII. The throne was now filled by Keen-lung; whose flrst act was to recall the princes and courtiers who had been banished by his father. This done, he put down some re- volts among the Elenths and other tribes on the north-western frontiers. Probably it was the vigour with which he executed this latter measure that caused a deputa- tion to be sent from Russia to settle the dis- putes which were perpetually breaking out as to the trade between the two countries. Ragusinki, who was at the head of the Russian embassy, acquitted himself with so much address, that he obtained a treaty by which a Russian caravan, not to exceed two hundred in imraber, was to visit China for purposes of trade once in every three years ; a church was to be erected ; and a limited number of Russians were to take up their permanent abode in the Chinese capital for the purpose of acquiring the language. In this treaty, which is called ' the treaty of Kiachta,' the Chinese authorities, urged no doubt by sound considerations of mer- cantile profit, conceded much, yet they could not forbear from giving one charac- teristic specimen of the extreme jealousy of the national polity. Thus though a cara- van was permitted to visit the capital, it was to halt upon the frontiers until the arrival of the proper officer to conduct it through the emperor's people. The next important event of this reign was the expedition sent by the emperor in 1767 against the Burmese. This expedi- tion seems to have originated wholly in the most wanton lust of war on the part of the Chinese, who, in the sequel, were very de- servedly punished. An army of above 100,000 men marched into Burinah ; but no regular army appeared to oppose its pro- gress. As it penetrated farther, liowever, every foot of country, and especially where swamp or jungle rendered the route natu- rally more difBcult, had to be traversed with active and daring hordes of guerillas hovering upon its rear and flanks, cutting off stragglers, pouring suddenly down upon weak detachments or divisions — such as the very nature of the country made inevitable ; and, in short, acting with such efficient de- structiveness, that the Chinese lost up- wards of 50,000 men without ever coming to a general engagement I Incredible as it would seem in ISuropean warfare, of the immense army of 100,000 men, only 2,000 returned to China — the rest were all killed or taken prisoners; and all in the latter category were naturalised and settled in Burmah. Even this horrible loss of life did not prevent the emperor from persisting in his xtnjust scheme. He sent a still greater force under his favourite general A-quei, who was as fond of war and as ferocious as himself. Choosing what he thought a less difficult line of march, A-quei had scarcely entered the Burmese territory when he found that if he had fewer human enemies to contend against than his predecessor, he had a still more deadly and irresistible enemy, the jungle fever. He saw his men perish around him by thousands, and he was glad to hasten from the deadly place with even a diminished army, rather than remain to see it wholly annihilated. And the result of all this loss was, that China was obliged to agree to a treaty which con- fined her dominion within her natural fron- tiers, thereby giving to Burmah rich gold and silver mines which otherwise would have remained undisputed in the posses- sion of China, Keen-Lung was engaged in several minor wars originating in endeavours of the more distant northern and western tribes to throw off the yoke. The Mahometan Tartars, a brave and bigoted race, made an inroad into the pro- vince of Shen-si : A-quei, who was sent against them, called upon them to surren- der the city in which they had entrenched themselves, ajid, on being refused, took it by storm, and put every human being he found within the walls to the sword, save a few of the chiefs whom he sent to court. The emperor, whoso bloodthirsty nature was such that he was accustomed to have 862 Clje CrEasfuiu a£ ^i&tar^, itt. rrimiimls tortured in his iirosoncc, (irjcrod these unhappy chiefs to l>e torlurcd hefore his asserahicd court, and then cut to pieces and thrown to the dogs ! Not content irlth this sanguinary act, the ni(.nster gave orders to A-fjuei to marcli upon tlie Maho- metan Tartars, and put all to the sword who were above fifteen years of age. JIany, very many, rebellions took place during this reign ; among them was tliat of the people of the island of Formosa. The mandarins who acted as viceroys in this island were guilty of the most shame- ful exactions and cruelties. On one occa- sion they put to death a mandarin who had ill-treated them. The viceroy of Fuh-keen, being commissioned to avenge the death of the mandarin, sailed to the island and sa- crificed victims to his manes, without re- gard to the guilt or innocence of those he immolated. The Formosans soon became so enraged that they rose enmasse, butch- ered every Chinese and Tartar in the island, and were only at length induced to return to their yoke— after having bravely beaten oft the imperial fleet— on being indemnified for their losses, and assured against the recurrence of the tyranny of which they complained. j As though fairly wearied out with the strife and bloodshed of sixty years of per- petual warfares. Keen-lung abdicated the throne in favour of his son Kea-king. Though he never personally commanded his armies, he caused more bloodshed than, probably, any modern commander, with the single exception of Napoleon. Kea-king's first use of his power was to renew those persecutions of the catholics which in the last reign had seemed to be failing into desuetude. Torture and death were "the fate of many ; still more were sentenced to wear the cangou or wooden collar during their lives, or were banished to Tartary, which last was a singularly impolitic punishment, as the Tartars needed no discontented men to incite them to revolt. A rebellion of a very threatening nature, inasmuch as some members of the imperial family and other principal persons were con- cerned in it, was planned a few years later. By some fortunate accident, or, still more pro- bably, through the treachery of some of the confederates, the plot was discovered ere it was ripe for execution. Many of the prin- cipal conspirators were put to death, and others only escaped death to suffer the con- fiscation of their property, which was pecu- liarly acceptable to the almost utterly empty treasury of the emperor. In 1792 lord Macartney was sent as am- bassador to China, to endeavour to estab- lish our trade with that country upon a better and surer footing, and more especi- ally to obtain for the British factory a ces- sation of the insolence and extortion of the viceroy of Canton. The embassy was pro- ductive of but little good effect. The inso- lent and extortionate viceroy was recall- ed, it is true, but his successor was not long in otBce ere he went far beyond him in both of those bad qualities. The am- bassador was blamed at home for having been too hih'h and unbending in his de- meanour; but the truth Is, that the time had not come for a proper understanding to exist between the Chinese and any Eu- ropean nation. When in 1808 it was feared that Buona- parte would aim at our eastern trade, ad- miral Drury was ordered to Macao ; but after much wordy disputation between the Chinese authorities there and the admiral, I the batter retired after a slight collision in j which we lost one man. The Chinese pre- tended to have gained a great victory, a magnilociuent account of the samewas sent to Pekin, and a pagoda actually erected to commemorate it. In 1816 another ambassador, lord Am- ^ herst, was sent to China, but his mission ' was to the full as unsatisfactory as that of lord Macartney. I It was about this time that the opium ! speculation began to grow to something ; like a noticeable extent— but on that head we shall have to speak at length in our ' next chapter. i After twenty-five years' reign, marked far more by despotic temper than by the ta- lent necessary to render it effective, Kea- j king died in the year 1820. I CHAPTER VIII. The trade of England, as well as of all other nations, with China has ever been subject to such restrictions, and been liable to so many interruptions, from the caprice of the Chinese and from the insolence with I which those caprices have been acted upon, that it has of necessity from time to time i very much partaken of the character of smuggling — even as regards articles to which no moral exception could by possi- bility be taken. j During the memorable ' opium' dispute, ; this fact seems to have been much neg- lected by many of the leading political writers of England. They have looked at the question rather as a moral than a poli- tical one, and have blamed our political resistance of national Insult because that resistance happened to be made upon a point in which a moral question was artfully mixed up with it by the Chinese. No sane man will pretend to vindicate the trading in opium otherwise than as a very important article of materia medica ; no one will say that it is otherwise than highly desirable that the use of this 'insane' drug as a means of intoxication should be prohibited. But, we repeat, though our collision with the Chinese has chanced to arise upon the question of the importation of opium, the moral consideration as to the sale and use of that drug are really quite beside the question : had the article of trade been Yorkshire cloths or Birmingham hardware, the same collision must sooner or later have taken place. Opium was imported into China as early as the 17th century, and it was not until towards the close of the 18th century that Kea-king prohibited it. We applaud him for doing this. It was high time to put somccheck upon the use of it ; for though Cf)E W^torn of C^tna. 863 It was professedly important only as a me- dicinal drug, it was imported to tlie extent of 1,000 cliests per annum as early as 1776, and the importation liad been perpetually increasing in amount up to 1796. Up to this time, he it remembered, the trafflc was strictly legal : it paid a duty of five mace lier catty, and was for the most part deli- vered to and bouded by the government. It is clear tliat from 1796 the trade in this drug was mere smuggling ; equally clear that whether John Tomliins or ' The Company' was the trader, that trader was a smuggler. Ww will go farther. Wheu the East India Company, having the mo- nopoly of the eastern trade, compelled the ryots of Patna to grow opium instead of rice, and compelled the ryots of divers other parts of the Anglo-Indian territory to do the same, the act was one which the English press ought loudly to have de- noupced, and which the English senate ought to have put a slop to, on pain of the loss of the Company's charter. All tills is clear as noon-day ; but there is anotliei cousideration. The government of China is essentially paternal ; from the emperor to the lowest olllcer of his state link connects link, as from the father of a family to his youngest child or his meanest servant. The trade in opium was forbidden from time to time by edicts ; true : but the very officers who were charged with the duty of enfor- cing those edicts were themselves the vir- tual importers of opium I Hiid the Clilnese authorities at Canton and along tlie coast not connived at the trade for enormous brilies, or, as was even more freaueutly the case, been themselves actual traders iu the article, the trade would have been at an end years ago, and wheu only a comparatively small portion of British capital was in- volved in it. It appears to us that the public prohibi- tion of a drug of which the consumption was hourly increasing, and the aid given to its importation by the very persons ap- pointed to carry that prohibition into effect, are merely ' part and parcel' of the settled Chiuese policy of fleecing barbarians to the utmost possiljle exteut, ou the one hand, and of always having a convenient pretext for such a stoppage in trade as circum- stances might make convenient in the way of temporarily or permanently making the fleece longer and finer I It would be an in- structive lesson for some of our politicians to con— the difference of profit to China, between the 1,000 chests imported in 1776 at a fixed duty of five mace the catty, and that upon the 40,000 chests smuggled iu 1840— at whatever profit the unscrupulous author- ities could extort! It was not until 1839 that anything in the shape of a real determination to put down the trade was exhibited by the Chinese ; for the occasional stoppages of trade and blus- tering manifestoes, as already said, we look at as mere measures for making the fleece longer and fiuer 1 Lin appeared at Canton, in that year, a ■high commissioner' — an officer possess- ing almost dictatorial powers, and one who had not beeu more than thrice previously appointed during the present dynasty. In an edict he said, ' I, the commissioner, am sworn to remove utterly this root of misery ; nor will I let the foreign vessels have any offshoot left for the evil to bud forth again.' The British commissioner and between two and three hundred British subjects were then thrown into a state of close confine- ment ; the guards placed over them heaped every insult upon them, and threatened them with being deprived of provisions and water. Captain Elliot, the British sujier- intendent, under such circumstances, saw no means of evading the demands of the Chinese ; and upwards of 20,000 chests of opium, valued at 20,000,000 of dollars, were delivered to commissioner Lin for destruc- tion. In 1840 war was declared by England against the Chinese. The leading events, however, whicli followed being related in the history of our own country, it would be superfluous to repeat them here. All differences being finally adjusted, and his celestial majesty being on terms of the strictest amity with her Britannic majesty, a ratification of the treaty between the two countries was announced ou the 27th of July 1843. From that day the Hong mer- chants' monopoly and Consoo charges were to cease ; and the conditions upon whicli trade was iu future to be carried on, ap- peared in a notice issued Ijy sir Henry Pottinger, the British plenipotentiary in China; who published au export and im- port tariff, and also a proclamation, in which he trusts that the commercial treaty will be fouud, in practice, mutually advan- tageous, beneficial and just, as regards the interest, honour, and the future augment- ed prosperity of the governments of the two mighty contracting empires and their subjects. The proclamation issued by the imperial commission contained a perfect anmesty, and the remission of punishment for all who had served the English soldiers with supplies, &c. in days past, and concludes by stating tliat, ' From henceforward amity and goodwill shall ever continue, and those fi'oiu afar, and those who are near, shall perpetually rejoice together.' But despite these fine promises, in 1847, fresh outrages on the part of the people of Canton led to another temporary capture of the Bogue forts. The emperor Tao- Kwang died iu 1850, after a reign of thirty years, and was succeeded by Y-Ching. But the rule of the present Tartar dynasty, even iu tne heart of its own dominions, is held by a very uncertain tenure. The Teaou-tu tribes in the south-west provinces of China, and supposed to be their original inhabit- ants, have repeatedly risen in rebellion ; secret societies, the principal of which is called 'The Triad,' and which has for its object the restoration of a native dynasty, are said to be rapidly extending ; and the finances of the empire are believed to be in a very unsatisfactory condition, in spite of a revenue, officially stated to amount to about 63,934,173Z. annually. In 1852 a smouldering civil war had beeu making way in some of the provinces during the two previous years, 864 C5e Creaiurj? of W^tavv, ^t. mainly, it is understood, directed aeainst tlie reigning dynasty, and in February it had made sucli progress that the Tartar general commanding the imperial troops at Canton was aiiprehcnsive of an attack from the rebels. This rebellion still drags itself along, causing fearful havoc and misery from time to time, but not having yet succeeded in completely paralysing the ancient government. But other dangers anddiffliulties were in store for the Chinese emiieror. The year 1836 was not to close without seeing the English again practically at war with China. On the 8th of Octoljer, a body of Chinese officers boarded a lorcha named the Arrow, on the ground that one of the crew was a native pirate, who was to be tried for his crimes ; they then seized all the crew but two, and took them away. It seems that the British colours were flying at the time. Mr. Parkes, the consul at Canton, demanded that they should be brought to the British consulate for ex- amination, and wrote a statement of the matter to sir John Bowring, the pleni- potentiary at Hong Kong, who in his reply said that the Arrow ' had no right to hoist the Briti.sh flag,' her license having expired on the 27th of September; but that, 'as the Chinese had no knowledge of the ex- piry of the license,' they had violated the treaty, and must make an apology. In a letter to commissioner Teh, he stated that the Arrow lawfully bore the British flag under a register granted by him; but it does not appear that he explained this as referring to time past, and not to the time at which the vessel was boarded. Repara- tion was refused. Accordingly admiral sir Michael Seymour was ordered to use force, and he seized a war junk, which was ttrought down to Wliampoa. As this pro- duced no efllect, he took a number of forts which defended the approaches to Canton, and burnt many of the buildings. On the 25th of October the British seized the Dutch Folly, a fort of fifty guns on an island opposite Canton. Commissioner Yeh now offered to surrender ten out of the twelve men seized, but as he made no apology, all his offers were declined ; and Mr. Parkes was instructed to demand the .same free access for all representatives of foreign countries into Canton, which they enjoyed at the other four ports. It was true that this free Ingress had been stipu- lated by several treaties, but it had not. been thought advisable to urge its execu- tion ; hut it was doubtful whether the present time was the right one for insist- ing on the performance of the agreement, while it was clear that it shifted the ground of quarrel, and introduced new and very perplexing matters of dispute. The re- fusal of the commissioner was followed by two attacks on Canton, in which much damage was done to government property. The French Folly fort was also seized, and tlie whole of the Bogue forts were taken on the refusal of the governor to surrender them. Towards the end of 1836, some Chinese soldiers boarded the Thistle, a mail steamer, plying between Canton and Hong Kong, and having massacred the European crew, made their escape. Early in 18."i7 the Dutch Folly and Whampoa were abandon- ed, as the fleet under sir M. Seymour was not strong enough to occupy all the po- sitions taken from the Chinese ; and a pro- clamation was issued by the commissioner Teh offering graduated rewards in money for the slaughter or capture of the red- haired dogs of barbarians. In May, com.- modore Elliott and sir Michael Seymour succeeded in destroying the fleet of war junks in the Canton waters. Early in June, lord Elgin arrived at Hong Kong, but some of the troops destined for Cliina h.ad already been diverted to India for the sup- pression of the mutiny, and lord Elgin himself followed them to Calcutta, not re- turning till the end of the autumn. In December, he wrote to Teh, announcing the terms on which the British govern- ment was prepared to settle the existing differences. Teh returned evasive answers ; and the result was, after fair notice, the bombardment of Canton, and the capture of its defences by the allied English and French force. Still no offer of submission was made, and after a week some soldiers were sent into the cit.v, and Peh-kwei, the governor of the city, and Teh were both taken. The latter was sent on board the Inflexible as a state prisoner, and was after- wards sent to Calcutta. According to the usual policy of China, his defeat was imme- diately followed by his degradation. As at Sparta, the condemnation was not so much for his thieving as for being discovered in theft. But tedious delays were still inter- posed in the way of a settlement, and the plenipotentiaries of England and France : determined to go in person to Pekin. At j the forts of the Peiho they had to sur- mount an armed resistance, and thence they went on to Tien-tsin, where on the 4tli of June two commissioners met them, with full powers, as they alleged, from the em- peror. After alengthy interview, it turned out that these full powers were merely directions to refer the whole matter to the emperor, and lord Elgin naturally declared them to be thoroughly unsatisfactory. After some further attempts at evasion, a treaty of peace was signed towards the end of June, confirming the treaty of 1842, and providing for the permanent establishment of a British minister at Pekin. The minister, so appointed, was Mr. Bruce, brother of the earl of Elgin. He was directed to supersede sir John Bo^vring as governor at Hong Kong, and to transfer the direction of affairs from that place for the present to Shanghai, and only to re- quire occasionally the admission of the British embassy at Pekin itself. But he was to insist on ratifying the treaty at the capital, and not to listen to any arguments which the Chinese might urge to dissuade him from so doing. Mr. Bruce having reached Hong Kong in May, went on to Shanghai, where, as had been expected, the Chinese begged that the ratifications might be interchanged. When this was refused, they urged the ambassador to go by land to Pekin, a journey of two months, but Mr. C^e W^tovii of Cljfna. 866 liruce determined to go up by the river I'ciho; and at length, with M. do Bom- lioulon, the French ambassador, he arrived