/u.rner Z^'^*' THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA GIFT OF Emily Turner U'MJ,^- A Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/englandsstoryhisOOtapprich Hamo Thcrnycroft, R. A., Sculptor ALFRED THE GREAT By pervttssion of A IJredBowker, Mayor of Winchester, England, and Honorary Secretary of the National Commemoration of King Alfred the Great ENGLAND'S STORY A HISTORY FOR GRAMMAR AND HIGH SCHOOLS BY EVA MARCH TAPPAN, Ph. D. Head of the English Department, English High School, Worcester, Mass.; Author of '■'■ In the Days of Alfred the Great, ^' ''In the Days of William the Conqueror^^ • " Old Ballads in Prose'' etc. ^^^^^m BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & C*^ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Published September, iqor EDUC- PSYCH. LIBRARY EDUC- PSYCa. LIBRARY PREFACE This book is the outgrowth of some familiar talks to several hundred boys and girls in the freshman classes of the English High School of Worcester. The aim of these talks was : first, to state facts rather than opin- ions ; second, to tell the story of England in such wise as to make a broad, simple basis for the later study of history and literature ; third, while seeking for conti- nuity and proportion, to give special heed to the persons and events that young people would be likely to meet in their general reading. With the want of a background of knowledge and experience, unfamiliar proper names are confusing and meaningless. I have tried, therefore, to mention no per- son without an attempt to make him of interest. Since the limits and limitations of the book permit the bring- ing of but a few characters forward into the light, any older reader will, I fear, note many omissions. I can only plead that comforting line of Chaucer : — " There nys no man that may reporten al." EVA MARCH TAPPAN. Worcester, Massachusetts, /ufy, 1901. nn*^ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Romans in Britain. sS b. c. to 410 a. d. . i II. The Saxons and the Danes. 410-1066 ... 12 III. The Normans, 1066-1154 31 1. William the Conqueror 31 '" 2. William II 43 3. Henry 1 49 - 4. Stephen (of Blois) 57 IV. The Angevins, or Plantagenets. i 154-1399 . 64 5. Henry II. . 64 ^ 6. Richard I. . ." 76 " 7. John 82 r- 8. Henry III 88- 9. Edward 1 93 ^ 10. Edward II I04 • 11. Edward III 106 - 12. Richard II 115 V. Kings of Lancaster and York. 1399-1485 . . 123 13. Henry IV 123 14. Henry V 128 15. Henry VI I33 16. Edward IV 143 17. Edward V .148 18. Richard .III 148 VI. The Tudor Sovereigns. 1485-1603 155 19. Henry VI 1 155 20. Henry VIII 162 21. Edward VI. 176 vl CONTENTS 22. Mary 183 23. Elizabeth • 188 VII. The Stuarts. 1603-1714 211 24. James 1 21 1 * 25. Charles 1 222 The Commonwealth and Cromwell .... 241 26. Charles II 252 27. James II 263 28. William (of Orange) and Mary 271 29. Anne 281 VIII. The House of Hanover. 1714- 289 30. George I » . 289 31. George II 294 32. George III 305 33. George IV 327 34. William IV. . . .* 330 35. Victoria 335 36. Edward VII. (of Coburg) , , 356 ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND GENEALOGIES ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Alfred the Great. By permission of Alfred Bowker, Mayor of Winchester, and Honorary Secretary of the National Commemoration of King Alfred the Great Frontispiece Dover Cliffs. From a photograph 2 The Landing of Gesar. From a picture by Blakey as shown in Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of Eng- land 3 Coracles of Early Britons. From Knight's Old Eng- land 5 Stonehenge. From a photograph 6 Roman Wall. From Craik and MacFarlane's /'2<:/tfrm////>- tory of England 10 Ancient Jutish Boat. From Engelhardt's Denmark in the Early Iron Age 13 Saxon Buildings. From MS. in the Harleian Library at the British Museum, as shown in Cutts's Parish Priests ... 16 The Ruins of Whitby Abbey. From a photograph . . 18 Threshing and Winnowing. From a Hymnarium of the eleventh century found in the Cottoman Library at the British Museum. Knight's Old England 20 The Coming of the Danes. From a drawing by M. J. Burns 23 Harold swears on the Relics: Bayeux Tapestry. From Jules Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 32 William sails to England: Bayeux Tapestry. From Jules Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 33 Battle of Senlac: Bayeux Tapestry. From Jules Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 35 Westminster Abbey in the Days of Edward the Con- fessor: Bayeux Tapestry. From Jules Comte's La Tapisserie de Bayeux 37 A Norman Castle Keep, Rochester Castle. From a photograph 40 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Norman Soldiers. From Grose's Military Antiquities 44 Robert, Duke of Normandy, a Crusader. From S tot- hard's Monumental Effigies 47 Durham Cathedral. From a photograph 50 Female Costume, Time of Henry I. From a psalter of the twelfth century, as shown in Knight's Old England 54 "The Standard" of the Battle of 1138. From MS. Arundel 150 (British Museum), an early thirteenth century copy of part of the Chronicle of Roger of Hoveden ... 59 A Mystery Play at Coventry. From an old print . . 62 A Becket disputing with Henry II. From Hubert Hall's Court Life under the Plantagenets, Frontispiece .... 68 The Scene of A Becket's Murder in Canterbury Ca- thedral. From a photograph . 70 A Squire becoming a Knight. From a fourteenth century painting by Simone Memmi, as shown in Gautier's La Chevalrie 76 A Knight Templar of the Time of Richard I. From Stothard's Monumental Effigies *]Z Richard I. in Prison. From, an old MS. as shown in '^XxmX.'C^ Ecclesiastical and Regal Antiquities 79 Military and Civil Costume in the Time of Richard I. From Harley Roll, Y 6, as shown in Gardiner's Student's History of England 81 Magna Carta Island, Runnymede. From a photograph 85 Facsimile Extract from Magna Carta. From one of the original copies of the Magna Carta in the British Museum, as shown in Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of England %(> Coronation of Henry III. From Strutt's Ecclesiastical and Regal Antiquities . . . . ". 89 Building Operations during the Reign of Henry III. From Gardiner's Student's History of England 92 Plantagenet King at Table. From Hubert Hall's Court Life under the Plantagenets 96 Coronation Chair with Stone of Scone. From a pho- tograph 98 William Wallace. After an engraving by S. Alphonse of the statue by W. G. Stevenson. From the Art fournal . 99 A Band of Minstrels. From Cutts's Scenes and Charac- ters of the Middle Ages 102 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS fx Stirling Castle. From a photograph 105 A Genoese Crossbowman. From Knight's Old England . 108 An English Archer. From Longma.n's Edward /I/. . . 109 The Black Prince. From Stothard's Monumental Effi- gies no John Ball preaching from Horseback. After a MS. of Froissart's "Chronicle." From Cutts's Parish Priests . J13 John Wiclif. From South Kensington National Portraits. Painter unknown 117 Geoffrey Chaucer. From the National Portrait Gallery. Painter unknown 119 A Group of Canterjbury Pilgrims. From Cutts's Par- ish Priests 120 Henry IV. and his Court. From Strutt's Ecclesiastical and Regal A ntiquities 1 24 A Group of English Knights, and French Man at Arms. From Cutts's Scenes and Characters Oj( the Middle Ages 129 Movable Tower, Archers, Cannon, etc., of the Fif- teenth Century. From Knight's Old Engla?td , . .131 Statue of Joan of Arc, by Fremiet, Place des Pyramides, Paris. From Louis Gonse's Ln Sculpture Franqaise de- puis le XlVilme siecle 136 Costumes of Ladies of Rank during the Fifteenth Century. From Strutt's English Dress 140 Edward IV., his Queen and Son. From Strutt's Eccle- siastical and Regal Antiquities 144 Facsimile Specimen of Caxton's Printing. From Blade's William Caxton 146 The Sanctuary at Westminster. From Knight's Lon- don 149 The Princes in the Tower. From the painting by Sir John E. Millais, P. R. A 151 Elizabeth of York. From the engraving by W. H oil . .156 Henry VII. From the National Portrait Gallery. Painted 1505, by an unknown Flemish artist . ........ 156 General Costume in Time of Henry VII. From Knight's Old England I59 The Chapel of Henry VII., Westminster Abbey. From a photograph 161 Henry VIII. After an engraving by Houbraken (from an X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS original painting by Holbein), in the Gardiner Greene Hub- bard Collection, Library of Congress 163 English Warship which conveyed Henry VI 1 1, to France. From Lacroix's Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages 165 Wolsey and his Suite. From Knight's Old England , . 168 Thomas Wolsey. From the National Portrait Gallery. Painter unknown 170 Thomas Cromwell. Painted by Holbein. From South Kensington National Portraits 1 74 Edward VI. From the painting by Holbein at Windsor . 177 Edward VI. and Council. After a woodcut on the title- page of the Statutes of 1551. From Law's History of Hampton Court Palace 1 79 Lady Jane Grey. After a drawing by Vertue. From Wal- ^o\q;''s Royal and Noble Authors 180 Queen Mary Tudor, or Mary I. From the painting by Antonius Moro in the Prado, Madrid 183 Philip IL From the painting by Titian in the Prado, Mad- rid 185 Burning of John Rogers. From The New England Primer 186 Queen Elizabeth. From an 'engraving by HoU of an origi- nal portrait in Queen Victoria's Collection, St. James's Palace • 189 Queen Elizabeth carried in State. From the original painting by Marc Gheeraedts, exhibited (1866) at South Ken- sington Museum 191 Costumes of Lady and Country Woman, Time of Eliz- abeth. ¥romV\?inch€^s Encyclop(Bdia of Costume . . .194 Mary Stuart. From The Duke of Portland's Collection . 196 Sir Francis Drake. From the original painting by A. Mor 201 Spanish Armada attacked by the English Fleet, as represented on the ancient tapestry in the House of Lords. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of Eng- land 203 William Shakespeare. From " the Chandos Portrait " in the National Portrait Gallery 207 The Globe, Shakespeare's Theatre. From Knight's Old England , , 208 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi James L From the original painting by Paul Van Somer in the National Portrait Gallery 212 The Gunpowder Conspirators. From Knight's Popular History of England 215 Anne of Denmark, Wife of James I. (showing the "wheel farthingale " then worn). From Planchd's Encyclopcedia of Costume 217 Sir Walter Raleigh. From Stalker's engraving published in London in 1812 219 Charles I. After the painting by Van Dyke 223 Soldiers, Time of Charles I. From Planch^'s Encyclo- pcsdia of Costume 225 John Hampden. After an engraving by Houbraken in the Gardiner Greene Hubbard Collection, Library of Congress 230 A Cavalier. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial His- tory of England 235 A Roundhead. From Fairholt's Costumes in England . . 235 Trial of Charles L, as represented by a contemporary print. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of England 239 Oliver Cromwell. From a miniature by Samuel Cooper . 242 Seal of Commonwealth, showing Parlla-Ment. From Craik and MacFarlane's Pictorial History of England . . 245 Medal to commemorate Blake's Victory. From G^ rard Van Loon's Histoire MSdallique 247 John Milton. From the crayon drawing at Bayfordbury . . 249 The Royal Charles. From Clowes' Royal Navy in His- tory 253 The Coat of Arms of Colonel Careless. From Fair- bairn's crests 255 Charles II. From the original painting by Mrs. Mary Beale in the National Portrait Gallery 256 John Bunyan. After a drawing from life by R. White in the British Museum. From Works of John Bunyan . . . 258 Costumes of Gentlemen and Servant, Reign of Charles II. From Knight's Old England 261 Duke of Monmouth. From the original painting by Sir Peter Lely in the National Portrait Gallery 264 Judge Jeffreys. After the original painting by Sir God- frey Kneller 266 xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS James II. From the original painting by John Riley in the National Portrait Gallery 269 William III. From the original painting by Jan Wyck in the National Portrait Gallery 271 Queen Mary II. From an original painting by William Wissing in the National Portrait Gallery 273 William crossing the Boyne. From Knight's Old Eng- land 277 Medal to commemorate Mary's Repulse of Louis XIV. YxomY.m^\:^ Old England 278 Queen Anne. From the original painting by John Closter- man in the National Portrait Gallery 281 English Flag; Union Jack of 1707; Scottish Flag. From Clowes' Royal Navy in History 283 John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. From the ori- ginal painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the National Por- trait Gallery 285 Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. From the original painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the National Portrait Gallery 286 George I. From the original painting by Sir Godfrey Knel- /er in the National Portrait Gallery 289 Costume of Gentleman, 1721. From F\a.nch6^s Encyclo- Pcedia of Costume 291 Sir Robert Walpole. After an original painting by Zincke. From Coxe's Memoirs of Walpole^ London, 1 798 .... 293 John Wesley. From the painting by George Romney . . 295 George II. From the painting by Hudson in the National Portrait Gallery • • • 296 Charles Edward Stuart (Prince Charlie). From the original painting by Nicolas Largilli^re in the National Portrait Gallery 299 Mall in St. James's Park in 1738. From Planchd's ^«- cyclopcedia of Costume •. • • 300 James Wolfe. After a print in Entick's History of the Late War, London, 1764 301 Robert Clive. From the original painting by Nathaniel Dance in the National Portrait Gallery 302 George III. After the original painting by Thomas Frye . 306 A Revolutionary Stamp. From Memorial History of Boston 308 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii William Pitt, the Elder. After the original painting by Richard Brompton 309 The Bastille. From Bingham's History of the Bastille . 3M Irish Flag ; Union Jack, 1801. From Boutell's English Heraldry 318 Union Jack before 1801. From Clowes' Royal Navy in History 318 Napoleon Bonaparte. From the painting by Paul Hippo- lyte Delaroche in the collection of the Coufetess of Sandwich 319 Lord Nelson. From the painting, Nelson in the Cabin of the Victory, by Charles Lucy 319 Napoleon's Medal to commemorate his expected Conquest of England. From Gardiner's Studenfs His- tory of England 321 Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. From an ori- ginal painting by John Lucas in the National Gallery, Dublin 322 The Frigate Constitution (Old Ironsides). From a paint- ing by Marshall Johnson, Jr., owned by Benjamin F. Stevens, Esq., Boston, Mass 324 George IV. From the painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence, P. R. A., in the National Portrait Gallery 328 William IV. From the painting by Martin A. Shee . . . 330 Stephenson's Locomotive, "The Rocket." From B. Cooke's British Locomotives 334 Queen Victoria. From a photograph, 1887 337 The Houses of Parliament, opened in 1852. From a photograph 339 Prince Albert. From a photograph 340 Florence Nightingale. From a photograph 343 William Ewart Gladstone. From a photograph (1884) by John Moffat 348 Charles Dickens. After a crayon drawing (1868) by Sol Eytinge, Jr 352 Lord Tennyson. From a photograph 352 Lord Macaulay. From a photograph (1857) by Claudet . 353 Edward VII. From a photograph 355 MAPS J>AGI Roman Britain 8 The Older Home of the English Race 14 Alfred's Britain, with Historical Detail a. d. 449- A.D. II 54 (full-page, colored) Facing 26 The Angevin Empire of Henry II. (full-page, colored) Facing 64 Historical Map of Scotland 103 French Territory held by English when Joan of Arc appeared a. d. 1429 134 Ireland a. d. 1600-A. d. 1900 (full-page, colored) . Facing 232 England at the Beginning of the Civil War, with Historical Detail a. d. 1600-A. d. 1900 (full-page, col- ored) Facing 236 Europe in a. d. 1825, with Historical Detail a. d. 1500- A. D. 1900 (full-page, colored) Facing 328 British-Boer Wars. South Africa . 349 IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY THE- ROMANS IN BRITAIN. SS B. C.-4IO A. D. 55 B. c. Caesar first lands in Britain. 43 A. D. The Romans begin to settle in Britain. 87. Roman forts built from the Forth to the Clyde. 121 ? Roman wall built from the Tyne to the Sol way. 410. The Romans leave Britain. THE SAXONS AND THE DANES. 4IO-I066 449. The Saxons settle on Thanet. 597. St. Augustine preaches Christianity in Britain. c. 670. Caedmon, the first English poet. 735. Bede, the first English historian, dies. c. 829. Egbert becomes " King of the English." 871-901. Alfred the Great. 1013-1042. Danish kings rule. 1 042-1 066. Edward the Confessor. 1049. Westminster Abbey begun. 1066. Battle of Senlac, or Hastings. / THE NORMAN PERIOD. I066-II54 1066-1087. William the Conqueror, c. 1066. Tower of London begun. 1086. Domesday Book completed. 1087-1100. "William Rufus. 1096. First crusade. * 1100-1135. Henry I. 1 100. First charter of liberties. 1106. Battle of Tinchebrai. 1 135-1 1 54. Stephen of Blois. II 35. Charter of liberties. 1135-1153. Contest with Matilda. 1 138. Battle of the Standard (Cowton Moor> XVI IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY THE ANGEVIN, OR PLANTAGENET PERIOD. 1 154-1399 II 54-1 1 89. Henry II. 1 160. Payment of scutage. 1164-1170. Quarrel with a Becket. 1 171. English rule in Ireland begins. 1 1 89- 1 1 99. Richard I. 1 189. Grants charters to many towns. 1190. Becomes a crusader. ' 1199-1216. John. 1204. Loses Normandy. 1208. Quarrel with the church begins. 1215. Magna Carta is signed. 1 2 16. War with the barons begins. "1216-1272. Henry III. 1265. Beginning of the House of Commons. 1265. Battle of Evesham. > 1 272-1307. Ed"ward I. 1284. Conquest of Wales. 1290. Expulsion of the Jews from England. 1295. War with Scotland begins. *^I307-I327. Edward II. 1 3 14. Battle of Bannockburn. > 1327-1377. Edward III. 1328. Scotland becomes independent. 1338. Hundred Years' War begins. 1346. Battle of Cr^cy. 1348-1349. Black Death. 1356. Battle of Poitiers. 1377-1399. Richard II. c. 1380. Wiclif translates the Bible. 1 38 1. The Peasants' Revolt. THE PERIOD OF LANCASTER AND YORK. I399-I485 1399-1413. Henry IV. 1400. Death of Chaucer. 1400. Welsh rebellion. 1 401. First burning for heresy, 1403. Battle of Shrewsbury. 1 41 3-1422. Henry V. IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY xvil 141 5. Battle of Agincourt. 1422-1461. Henry VI. 1429. Siege of Orleans. 1453. Hundred Years' War ends. 1455. Wars of the Roses begin. 1 46 1. Battle of Towton. ^-, /I ^ J ijj i 1461-1483. Edward IV. -^'^^^;t^t^^^ /^ih^ 1475. " Benevolences " originated. ^ 1477. Caxton introduces printing. 1483. Edward V. 1 483- 1 485. Richard III. , 1485. Battle of Bosworth Field; end of the Wars of the Roses. THE TUDOR PERIOD. I485-1603. 1485-1509. Henry VII. i486. Unites York and Lancaster by marrying Elizabeth of York. 1492. Columbus discovers America. 1497. The Cabots sail to America. 1 509-1 547. Henry Vni. 1 5 13. Battle of Flodden. 1516. More publishes " Utopia." * 1520. Field of the Cloth of Gold. * 1529. Fall of Wolsey. 1534. Independence of the Church of England declared. 1536. Seizure of the monasteries begins. 1 547-1 553. Edward VI. 1549. English Prayer Book adopted. 1552. Blue-Coat School established. 1553-1558. Mary. 1553. Lady Jane Grey reigns for twelve days. 1558. Loss of Calais. 1558-1603. Elizabeth. 1577. Drake sails around the world. 1586? Shakespeare begins to write plays. 1587. Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. 1588. Defeat of the Armada. 1590. Spenser publishes the " Faery Queen." 1590? Ben Jonson writes. XVlll IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY THE STUART PERIOD — FIRST PART. 1603-1649 1603-1625. James I. 1605. Gunpowder Plot. 1607. Virginia settled at Jamestown. I6II. Translation of the Bible. I6I8. Execution of Raleigh. 1620. Massachusetts settled at Plymouth. 1 625-1 649. Charles I. 1628. Petition of Right. 1630. Pilgrims found Boston. 1630. " Ship-money " demanded. 1637. English Prayer Book forced upon Scotland. 1 640- 1 660. Long Parliament. • 1642. Closing of the theatres. 1642. Civil war begins with battle of Edgehill. T643. Solemn League and Covenant. 1644. Battle of Marston Moor. T645. Battle of Naseby. 1648. " Pride's Purge." 1649. Execution of Charles I. THE COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE PERIOD. 1649. House of Lords abolished. 1649. Charles II. proclaimed king in Scotland. 1649-1650. Cromwell's Irish campaign. 165I. Battle of Worcester and flight of Charles. 165I. Navigation Laws. 1653- Cromwell expels Parliament. 1653. Barebone's Parliament. 1653- Cromwell becomes Lord Protector. 1658. The English take Dunkirk. 1658. Richard Cromwell becomes Protector. 1660. A "free " Parliament called. THE STUART PERIOD — SECOND PART. 1660-I 1 660-1 685. Charles II. 1664. Capture of New York. 1665. The Great Plague. 1666. The Great Fire of London. I 649- I 660 IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY xix 1667. Milton publishes "Paradise Lost." 1670. Bunyan publishes "Pilgrim's Progress." 1682. Pennsylvania settled at Philadelphia. 1685-1688. James II. 1685. Monmouth's Rebellion. 1688. Imprisonment of the seven bishops. 1688. Arrival of William of Orange. 1 688-1 702. 'William and Mary. 1689. Bill of Rights. 1689. Siege of Londonderry. 1690. Battle of the Boyne. 1692. Battle of La Hogue. 1694. Death of Queen Mary. 1695. Increased freedom given to the press. 1 702-1 714. Anne. 1702. War of the Spanish Succession. 1704. Battle of Blenheim. 1704. Capture of Gibraltar. 1707. Union of England and Scotland. 171 1. Addison contributes to the " Spectator." . HANOVERIAN PERIOD. 1714- 1 714-1727. George I. 1 71 5. Scotch Jacobites rebel in behalf of the Pretender. 1 721. Walpole originates modern cabinet system. 1 727-1 760. George II. 1738. Rise of Methodism. 1 741. War of the Austrian Succession. 1743. Battle of Dettingen. 1 745. Scotch Jacobites rebel in behalf of the Young Pretender. 1749. Novel of home life appears. 1752. New calendar adopted in England. 1756. Seven Years' War. 1756. Black Hole of Calcutta. 1759. Capture of Quebec. 1 760-1 820. George III. c. 1760. Johnson and Goldsmith write. 1 764-1 784. Machinery for spinning and weaving invented. 1765. Watt invents the steam engine. 1775. American Revolution. XX IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 1783. England acknowledges the independence of America. 1789. French Revolution. c. 1786. Burns writes. 1793. War with France. 1800. Great Britain and Ireland united. I8I2. Second war with America. I8I4. Scott's " Waverley " novels appear. I820-I830. George IV. 1828. Repeal of Corporation Act. 1828. Repeal of Test Act. 1829. Catholic Emancipation Act. I830-I837. William IV. 1832. Reform in electing members of Parliament. 1833. First " Factory Act." 1833- Abolition of slavery in British colonies. I837-I90I. Victoria. 1840. Opium War. 1846. Repeal of corn laws begins. 1848. Chartist agitation. I85I. World's Fair. 1854. Crimean War. 1857. Sepoy Rebellion. I86I. Civil war in the United States. 1869. Disestablishment of the English Church in Ireland. 1870. First Irish land bill. 1877. Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. 1899. Boer War. I90I-. Edward VII. I ),^^ ^s^ GENEALOGIES PAGE The Norman Kings 63 The Angevins or Plantagenets 122 Lineage of the Royal Houses of Lancaster, York, and Tudor 154 The Tudors 210 The Stuarts 288 The House of Hanover 35? ENGLAND'S STORY CHAPTER I THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 55 B. c. — 410 A. D. Julius Cesar it 1. Caesar resolves to cross to Britain. About half a century before the birth of Christ, a great Roman gen- eral named Julius Caesar set out to subdue the various tribes living in the country that is now called France. The people nearest to Dover Straits resisted him longest, and he concluded that some one must be helping them. Who could it be? The tribes on three sides of them would not dare to oppose him, and on the fourth side was the ocean. At last Caesar conquered these people and went through their land to the sea. Off to the northwest there were dim, white cliffs far out on the horizon. As he stood looking at them, he remembered the aid that had come to his foes from some mysterious source. "That is it," he said to himself, "and if I am to hold the land that I have won, I must conquer that country afar off in the ocean." 2. Caesar's attempts to learn about Britain. Prob- ably all that Caesar knew about the country was that it was thought to be an island, that it was called Britain, and that somewhere in Britain there were mines of tin. ENGLAND'S STORY {.55 B. c. He asked the people whom he had subdued about the land, but they said that they knew nothing of it except that merchants sometimes went back and forth between the two countries. Then Caesar sent for the merchants. DOVER CLIFFS "How large is this island.?" he asked. "What kind of people live there .? When they go to battle, how do they fight ? What weapons do they use ? " But no help did the merchants give him, for they said that they went only to the coast of Britain, and that they knew nothing at all about what was inland. Caesar saw that if he wished to find out anything about this strange land with the white cliffs, he must get his own information ; so he sent one of his officers across Dover Straits in a warship to see what could be learned about the country. This officer did not think it was wise to attempt to land ; and therefore, when he came back, he had little news to bring to his commander, 55 B. c] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 3. Caesar invades Britain, 55 B. C. Caesar deter- mined to go to the unknown country to see for himself what kind of place it was, and to conquer these people who had been helping his foes ; so one night, just after midnight, he set sail with eight or ten thousand men, and by the middle of the next forenoon they were close to the British coast and ready to land. Landing was not so easy, however, as he had thought it would be; THE LANDING OF CESAR for the ships were so large that they could not go where the water was shallow; hence the soldiers must jump out into the high waves and wade ashore as best they could. This would have been hard enough to do in any case, for they wore very heavy armor ; but worst of all, there were great numbers of men on the shore ready to fight. Some of them were in war-chariots, some were on horseback, and some were on foot. They were armed with lances and battle-axes and clubs and bows and 4 ENGLAND'S STORY [55 b. c. arrows and great stones. It is no wonder that even the brave Roman soldiers hesitated. At last the standard-bearer of Caesar's favorite com- pany sprang overboard and called out : " Follow me, soldiers, unless you wish to give up your eagle ! " The soldiers, fearing the disgrace of losing their standard, leaped out into the deep water and made their way to the shore. After a hard fight, the Britons retreated. 4. CsBsar's description of the Britons. Caesar stayed only three weeks ; but the next year he went again with more soldiers; and this time he fought his way beyond the Thames. He was writing a book about his cam- paigns ; and, of course, he described this far-away land and its strange inhabitants. Most of the fighters that had met him on the shore had blue eyes and long, light hair. They wore short cloaks of skins ; and, in order to make themselves look as terrible as possible, they had stained their bodies with a deep blue dye. These men were so tall and large that when Caesar looked at them, he could not help wishing that they were in his army. Farther north the Britons -lived on their flocks and herds and on the wild animals that they killed, but in the south Early ^^^^ knew something of agriculture. Most of houses of their houses were round; and when a man the Britons, ^jgj^g^j ^q huM one, he first marked out on the ground the size that he meant the house to be. Then he set down poles close together and made them firm by weaving in pliant twigs. For the roof he fastened other poles to the top of the first and brought them together in a point. When he meant his house to be especially handsome, he peeled the poles. There were no windows, and the only way for the smoke to get out was through the little hole in the point of the roof. 6. What the Britons could do. In spite of their 55 B. c] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN uncomfortable way of living, the Britons were very fond of ornaments ; and they made beads and bracelets and necklaces, some of which are exceedingly pretty. They WICKER WORK CORACLES OF EARLY BRITONS knew how to make wagons with wheels, and they were particularly skilful in weaving wicker work. They made very simple boats by hollowing out logs, and very light ones by covering wicker work with the skins of wild beasts ; but they also understood how to build boats of planks fastened together by metal nails. 6. Druidism. Their religion was called Druidism. It was a fierce, strange belief. Part of it was exceed- ingly cruel, for the priests, or Druids, taught the people to make wicker-work enclosures outlining the cruelty of shape of some animal, and in these enclosures i^"»i**»™- to offer up sacrifices of human beings. They took crimi- nals when there were any ; but if the supply of criminals failed, they then took innocent persons. Part of their religion was very superstitious, for they ENGLAND'S STORY [55 B. C. worshipped serpents, streams, and trees, especially the oak tree : and when an oak was found with a Supersti- tions of mistletoe growing on it, they were overjoyed. They marched to the tree in a procession, the Druids going first with their long beards and trail- ing robes. The other people followed, and when they came to the oak tree, they circled around it, the common people farthest off ; for an oak that bore a mistletoe was too holy for any one but a priest to touch. Then the Druids sacrificed two white bulls ; and, after much chant- ing and many strange ceremonies, one of the priests cut away the plant with a golden knife. This reverence may have been shown to the mistletoe STONEHENGE because of its possessing some medicinal value, for the Druids were doctors as well as teachers and priests. They really knew a great deal about the use of herbs in disease, though they had all sorts of CLueer notions about gathering them. Sometimes the herbs must be cut by moonlight, and sometimes when the sun was bright ; 55 B. c] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 7 sometimes the priest who went for them must wear a white pobe or go barefooted or cut them with a golden knife. Some parts of the teaching of the Druids were good ; for instance, the people were told not to be afraid to die, since they were going to live forever. They ^^j^^twas were taught much about the different coun- good in r ^ 111. ^1 r Druidism. tries of the world, the stars, the cause of night and day and thunder and lightning. The teaching was not very accurate, but it was better than nothing, because it set the people to thinking, and noticing what was around them. On Salisbury Plain in southern Eng- land are massive stones arranged in two circles, one within the other. This place is called Stone- 1 , TT . r- , . . , , Stonehenge. henge, or the Hangmg Stones, and it is thought that they may be the remains of a Druid temple. 7. The Romans at home. When Caesar went back to Rome and told of his invasion of Britain, the senate ordered a thanksgiving of twenty days in honor of what they called a glorious victory. The Romans were the greatest nation in the world in those times, though the " world " meant little more than the territory about the Mediterranean Sea. They built handsome temples, they made beautiful statues, and they had great poets and orators and historians. They were fond of good roads, and wherever they went, one could be sure of finding smooth, firm highways. They liked pure water, and they spent large sums of money to bring it into Rome. They were the wisest makers of laws that the world had ever seen. To be a Roman citizen was an honor, and gave a man many privileges. In the days of Saint Paul, when the chief captain bound him and was about to scourge him, the prisoner asked quietly, " Is it Acts xxn. lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Ro- ^^■ man, and uncondemned .? " Then the chief captain was 8 ENGLAND'S STORY [43 A. D. badly frightened because he had ventured even to bind a Roman citizen without a trial. The Romans were greatly interested in Caesar's stories of the new country, but they had much to attend to at home ; and that is why nearly one hundred years passed before they landed again on the shores of Britain. The. Later Romans. 8. The Romans settle in Britain. The Romans had not forgotten the far-away land, however, and when they went there again. a century later, they founded col- onies, and fought until they con- quered the people who opposed the new rule. The Britons were good fighters, but they had not the mili- tary drill and train- ing of the Roman soldiers ; and al- though they often rebelled, the Ro- mans were at last the victors. The conquerors built forty or fifty walled towns ; and, wher- ever a town has to-day a name ending in Chester or c ester or caster^ like Dorchester or Worcester or Lancastery we may be sure that it is on the site of an old military set- ROMAN BRITAIN 43-410] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 9 tlement, because the Roman word for camp was castra. If the modern name of a place ends in coin, Hke Lin- coln, that, too, is of Roman origin, because the Roman word for colony was colonia. The Romans built large, handsome country houses. The walls were beautifully painted, and the floors were paved with marble of many colors. Around these houses were spacious gardens, adorned of the with statues and rich in all kinds of fruit that °™"^** could be made to grow on the island. Even to-day, in digging in different parts of England, people often find pieces of statuary and vases, and ornaments of gold or of silver, that were once used to beautify the British homes of the Romans. The conquerors were living in luxury, but the native Britons were obliged to pay enormous taxes to support all this comfort and elegance. Many of them Homes of had to work in the mines or on the roads, and ^^ Britons, to live in little mud hovels. Thousands were made to enter the Roman army, and some few, who were sons of chiefs, learned the Roman language and became officers. The Romans wished to be able to send troops quickly wherever there was need of them, and so they built two long roads across Britain in the shape of an X, ^^^^ besides several shorter ones. They were often roads and troubled by the attacks of the Scots from the north of Ireland, and the Picts, or •* painted people," who lived in what is now Scotland, and also by the com- ing of the Saxons from Denmark and the countries near it. To shut off the Picts, they built a line of forts across Scotland from the Forth to the Clyde ; but before many yeajs they found that they could not defend their pos- sessions so far north, and then they built a solid wall extending from the Tyne to Solway Firth. On this wall lO ENGLAND'S STORY [410 there were stone strongholds and watchtowers, and once in every four miles there was a fort where soldiers were always stationed. To keep away the Danes, there was a whole line of forts built, extending around the southeast- ern coast of Britain. 9. The Romans leave Britain in 410 A. D. If the Romans could have given all their attention to Britain, A ROMAN WALL they would have been able to overcome the whole island, but there was trouble in Rome. The barbarous tribes that lived to the north and east were pressing nearer and nearer to the city, and the Romans must defend their own country. Every year fewer 'Romans came to Brit- ain, and every year some of the conquerors had to return to Italy. At last, in 410, soldiers and commanders de- parted from the island, and never again did they set foot on British soil. 4lo] THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN II While the Romans had been in Britain, the conquered people had learned from them much that was good. They had learned how to make excellent roads and « . Qaln zTom how to drain the swamps. They had seen that the Roman houses could be built that would be far more "^^®' comfortable than huts of poles. They had found that it was not enough for soldiers to be brave and fearless ; they must also be drilled and know how to obey their commander, so that an army could be managed as if it Were a great machine. The most valuable thing of all that they had learned, however, was that there were other people in the world who knew more than they, and other ways of living that were better than theirs. With this gain there was also a loss, for many of them had begun to feel that the way to be happy was to live in luxurious houses and be waited upon by slaves , ^ ^ ■' Loss from instead of working for themselves. Then in 'the Roman their fighting, although they were just as brave as ever, they had become accustomed to thinking that their leaders must be Romans ; and when, a few years later, the time came that they must both fight and lead, they felt helpless and wished that the Romans were with them again. SUMMARY Julius Caesar first led the Romans into Britain. He found a people that were warlike, of some mechanipal ability, and with a slight knowledge of agriculture. Rome celebrated the invasion, but made no immediate attempts to conquer the country. One century later, the Romans subdued Britain as far north as the Solway, made settlements, and ruled in the land for nearly four hundred years. Their dominion may be traced by remains of roads, walls, and villas, and by the presence of a few Roman words in the English language. CHAPTER II THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 410-1066 10. The Saxon Conquest. After the Romans had gone, matters grew worse and worse with the Britons, for the Scots and Picts were coming down upon them from the north and northwest, and the Saxons were coming from over the sea and landing on the eastern and southern shores. These marauders burned the houses and crops, stole the treasures, and either killed "The the people or carried them away as slaves. At uieBrit°* ^^^^ ^^^ sufferers sent a piteous letter to Rome, ons." It was called "The Groans of the Britons," and it begged that the Romans would come and help them. " The barbarians," it said, " drive us to the sea, the sea drives us back to the barbarians ; and between them we are either slain or drowned." There were other barba- rians, however, than those that distressed Britain, and now great hordes of them were coming down upon Rome, so that the Romans had more than they could do to take care of themselves, and not one soldier could be spared to help the poor Britons. What should the dis- tressed people do ? The chief men met together and talked it over. At last one of them said : — " The Romans do not help us, and there is no one else to call upon. The Saxon3 are stronger than the Scots 449] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 13 and Picts. Let us, then, ask the Saxons to come over and fisfht for us. We can erive them the island „^ ° ° The appeal of Thanet for their home, and we shall be free to tie from the robbers of the north." The strangers were invited to come. They came, they drove away the Scots and Picts, and they settled on Thanet. Before lone:, they found Thanet „^ „ °' ^ The Saxons too small, so they drove the Britons away from come in the southeastern corner of the land, and took it for themselves. More and more of the Saxons came, and farther and farther to the west were the Britons driven. They were not cowards, and they resisted so valiantly that it was more than one hundred years before they were really overcome. Tennyson's " Idylls of the King" tell of the King Arthur who stood so boldly against the invaders. The end of it was, however, that most of the Britons were killed or else became slaves, while the few who escaped had to flee to the mountains ANCIENT JUTISH BOAT Found buried in a peat bog in Nydam, South Jutland. of Wales to save their lives. Britain was in the hands of the Saxons, 14 ENGLAND'S STORY [Sth Cent. 11. The Saxons on the continent. These new con- querors had lived in Jutland and about the mouth of the Elbe River. They were called Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, but the Britons spoke of them all as Saxons, per- haps because the short, broad knife that they carried in battle v^as called a seax. Savage as they were with the Britons, the Saxons had many good traits, of the They were brave and warlike on land and sea. They had so much respect for women that when, in their earliest poem, a wicked woman is intro- THE OLDER HOME OF THE ENGLISH RACE duced, the author speaks of her as if he were greatly sur- prised that a woman should be evil. They cultivated the ground, lived on simple food, and were always ready to share whatever they had with any one who came to be their guest. They were* not willing to live in cities, but wished every family to have a house with some land around it. Their leaders never told them what they must do, but they all met in the open air and talked over SthCent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 1 5 what was best ; then they decided the question by vot- ing. They worshipped many gods, and among them were the seven from whom the days of the week are named, — the sun, the moon, Tui, Woden, Thor, Frea, Seotre. Our word Easter comes from their Eostre^ who was the goddess of spring. Before the Saxons came to Britain, they composed an epic poem called Beowulf! The story of it is that a certain king had built a hall for his dwelling- Beowuii, place and that of the brave men who stood by ^J^** his side in battle. At one end of the hall was poem, a raised platform, where the lord and his family and his most honored thegns, or nobles, sat at feasts. Two long lines of pillars went the length of this hall. Between them were stone hearths, where the meat was cooked in the blazing fires. On either side of the hearths were tables for the other thegns, and Beyond the tables, per- haps separated from them by tapestry, were places for the men to sleep. In this great hall they ate and drank, and listened to the harpers, who sang to them of the great deeds of the heroes of their race. The wife and the daughters of the lord often came in and passed the mead to the thegns ; and when one had been especially brave, a great honor was shown him, for the wife of his lord put a golden necklace around his neck or a heavy golden bracelet on his arm, or she gave him a sword with some magic let- ters called runes engraved on it, and these were sure to bring him success in battle. They would have felt very happy in this hall, had it not been that sometimes at night a fearful monster named Grendel came stalking through the mists and stole away some of the thegns to devour them. No sword could wound him ; whoever vanquished Grendel must over- i6 ENGLAND'S STORY [5th Cent. come him by main force. The old king and the thegns were in despair, when the brave young hero Beowulf ap- peared. He killed both this monster and another one SAXON BUILDINGS The hall in the middle, the church on the right. The nobleman and his wife are dis, tributing alms to the poor. that came to avenge the first, and so gave peace and happiness to the king and his thegns. Beowulf was loaded down with rich presents, and he went home in triumph with his men. Many years later, Beowulf was killed in an encounter with a fire-breathing dragon that had hidden away in a cave a great quantity of gold and silver, together with swords and chains and bracelets and necklaces. This poem was not written until perhaps four hundred years after it was composed. One harper would sing it, and then another would sing it as he remembered it, put- ting in new lines whenever he forgot, and adding to the story wherever he thought that he could improve it. 449-597] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 1/ Finally, the poem was written, and one of the manu- scripts chanced to be saved. 12. Christianity is preached in England. The Brit- ons had known something of Christianity long before this ; but after the Saxons came, there was so little of it left in the country that people spoke of the island as a heathen land. There were Christians hidden away in the mountains of Wales ; and in Ireland an eager missionary called Saint Patrick had told the Irish of Christianity, and they had flourishing churches and famous schools, while England was worshipping the heathen gods. The country was not entirely forsaken, however, for far away, over the sea and over the mountains, was a monk named Gregory, who was thinking about the needs of this land very earnestly. One day he had seen in the market-place in Rome some young Saxons who were to be sold as slaves. Most of the Romans had dark complexions, and these Saxons, with their fair skin, red cheeks, blue eyes, and ffolden hair, seemed to him as beautiful as ,^„ „ ^ ' 597. Pope angels. This monk finally became pope, and Gregory then he could carry out his wish that the Sax- Augustine ons should know Christianity. He himself could ^° England, not go away from Rome, but in 597 he sent an earnest missionary named Augustine to preach the gospel to them. The king of Kent had a Christian wife, and so did not object to Saint Augustine's coming to England ; at least, he was willing that the missionaries should land on Thanet. " Then," he said, " I will meet you there, and hear what you have to say about this new religion, and if it seems to me to be true, I will accept it." The king thought that these strangers might possibly practise magic, and for fear of evil spirits he had the assembly in the open air, where demons would have less i8 ENGLAND'S STORY [6th-7th Cent power than in a house. Saint Augustine and the others came to the place of meeting. A beautiful silver cross was borne first, gleaming in the sunlight, and a picture, or image, of Christ. Then came the missionaries chant- ing the litany. The king watched and listened intently, but said nothing. The strangers offered up prayers for themselves and for the people whom they were so eager to teach, and then Saint Augustine stood before the king The king oi ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ about the religion of the one God. Kent The Saxons were never hasty in accepting any oiurtstian- new ideas, and the king went home to think **^' aoout the matter. It was not long before he told Saint Augustine that he believed the new religion was true, and that he was glad to have the missionaries teach his people about it. 13. Csedmon, the first English poet. About 670. Churches and convents soon began to rise in the land. One of these convents was on a cliff at Whitby, far up THE RUINS OF WHITBY ABBEY 7th-8th Cent.] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES IQ on the northeast shore of England. It was the custom at the feasts for each one in turn to take the harp and sing verses that he either composed or remembered. There is a legend that Caedmon, one of the dwellers at this convent, felt so disgraced because he could not sing any verses that, when the harp was coming near him, he slipped away and went to the stable. In a dream he heard a voice saying : — " Caedmon, sing ! " "But I cannot sing," he said, "and that is why I came away from the feast." " You must sing for me," said the voice. • "What shall I sing .^^ " asked Caedmon. " Sing about the creation of the world," answered the voice. Caedmon sang, and, when he awoke, he found that he had not forgotten the verses. The abbess was told of the wonderful dream ; and, after Caedmon had made more verses, she concluded that the new power that had come to him was a gift from God. His poem is about the creation, and is a kind of paraphrase of the Book of Genesis. This is, so far as we know, the first poetry that was written in England. 14. The Venerable Bede, the first writer of English history. 673-736. For the first prose we must turn to another convent and to a monk whose name was Bede. He must have been one of the busiest of people, for this convent was also a great school. There were six hun- dred monks, and no one knows how many other men who came there to study. Bede helped to teach these men ; he performed all the religious duties that belonged to a monk, and he also shared in the work of the farm. He says that he enjoyed winnowing and threshing, and giving milk to the little lambs and to the calves. With 20 ENGLAND'S STORY [7th-8th Cent. all this work, he found time to write much poetry, and Bede's many volumes about science, music, and medi- writings. cine. At length the king of Northumbria asked him if he would not write a history of the church in Eng- land, and so it came to pass that he wrote the " Ecclesi- astical History." It is almost the only book that tells us THRESHING AND WINNOWING about the early days of Britain, and we have to select from this what is probably true, and what was only hearsay among a people who were ready to believe anything, if it was only wonderful enough. This is the book that says there are no snakes in Ireland, and it goes further, for it says that the smell of the air kills them, and that, if a person bitten by a serpent will only swallow a few scrapings from an Irish book, he will be cured. As Latin was the language of the church and of the convent, Bede naturally wrote in Latin ; but he wished Early Eng- to put the Bible into English so that the unedu- ush prose, cated people might understand it. He worked on this translation till the last day of his life, dictating the Gospel of Saint John to one of his pupils. At last, when evening came, he closed his eyes in weariness. The young man said : — *' There is one sentence to write, dear master." 7th-9thCent.] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 21 "Take your pen and write quickly," said Bede. " Now it is finished," said the pupil. '*Yes, it is finished," said Bede. He chanted a few words of praise to God and closed his eyes. It is one of his pupils who tells us the story, and we may believe it to be true. It is a great pity that the translation has been lost, for it was the first piece of prose that was written in England. Bede is often spoken of as the Venerable Bede. " Ven- erable" is a title of honor not quite so high as that of *' saint." It was probably bestowed upon him some time after his death, but there is a legend "ven- that, when he was old, he became blind, and had a boy to lead him about. This boy was full of mis- chief, and one day he led Bede into a desert place, and asked him to preach to a great crowd waiting to hear him. Bede preached, and at the end of the sermon the naughty boy was badly frightened to hear all the stones cry out, " Amen, Venerable Bede ! amen." 16. Egbert, "King of the English." 829. In Bede's time England was divided into several districts. At the head of each was a king, or chief, and every one was trying to get more power than the others. This strug- gle went on for nearly a century after Bede's death, but at last, about 829, a king named Egbert, who lived in Wessex, in southern England, showed himself stronger than the rest, and one by one the others acknowledged him as overlord ; that is, they paid tribute to him, and promised to obey if he called upon them to help him fight. He took the title of " King of the English," and, with a very few exceptions, every sovereign of England from that day to this has been a descendant of Egbert. England was more nearly united than ever before. More churches and convents were built. These were 22 ENGLAND'S STORY [9th Cent held sacred, and in all the quarrels that had arisen among w ith ^^^ various kings, their property had never been the con- touched. Not only did they have vessels of gold and of silver, and finely wrought lamps and censers swinging by golden chains, and jewels and em- broidered vestments and beautiful tapestries, and altars covered with plates of gold ; but they had, too, treasures of quite another kind, hundreds and hundreds of manu- scripts, written on parchment by the monks, for these convents were also schools, and every one of them had its "book-room." There the patient monks and their pupils sat day after day copying books, lefter by letter, and painting ornamental capitals in most brilliant colors. 16. The invasions of the Danes. It was chiefly be- cause of the riches of these convents that trouble was again to come to England. The land had been overrun, first by Romans, then by Saxons, and it began to seem now as if foreigners were to sweep over it for the third time. These foreigners are usually spoken of as Danes, though the name included those who lived not only in Denmark, but anywhere in the vicinity of the Baltic Sea. The Saxons and Danes were of the same race, but while the Saxons had become Christians, the Danes still wor- Character shipped the heathen gods ; and while the Saxons of the had learned to live peaceably on the land, the Danes thought that nothing else was half so glorious as to set out in a little boat with a company of wild, reckless followers, to go wherever the waves and the winds might bear them ; to land upon any shore, no matter where ; to destroy, burn, kill, fill their l^oats with treasure, with slaves, clothes, dried meat, — anything that they could seize, — and carry it all back to Denmark, to show how brave they had been. It was a custom among them that one of a man's sons should remain at 9th Cent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 23 home to care for the possessions of the family ; and the others always pitied this brother, who was d6omed to lose the wild adventure that seemed to them the only THE COMING OF THE DANES kind of life worth having. They believed that the man who died in peace would go to the land of the forgotten, but that he who died fighting boldly in battle would go to a beautiful place called Valhalla ; and there he would fight all day, be healed of his wounds at sunset, and feast with other heroes all night. These were the people who now came down upon England. The more stormy the sea was, the better they liked it. They landed in the darkness, stole silently up the rivers, and, with a wild cry to the heathen gods, burst upon a convent or an unsuspecting little village before the people were fairly awake. Some of the victims were killed at their thresholds, some even in their beds : 24 ENGLAND'S STORY [9th Cent and the robbers floated jubilantly down the stream, sing- ing wild songs of victory, and returned to Denmark in boats loaded to the gunwale with booty. King Egbert was able to drive these robbers away, and so was his son after him ; but in the reigns of Egbert's wretched- ^^^^ grandsons, matters grew worse and worse, sessof for the Danes came in great swarms. There "^ "^ ■ would be an alarm from the east, and before the king could go to the rescue, another alarm would come from the south. Houses were burned, people tor- tured or killed or taken to Denmark as slaves. If a man planted a field of grain, he had little hope of being able to reap it. Churches and convents were pillaged and burned. Everything that was made of gold or of silver the robbers carried away. The precious manuscripts were of no value to them, and they took special care to burn every one that they could find, because they be- lieved that the mysterious letters were magical signs that would work them harm if they were not destroyed. 17. Reign of Alfred the Great. 871-901. The fourth of the grandsons of Egbert was a young man named Alfred, who was only twenty-two years of age when he became king. He was a great favorite among his people, but they were too wretched to have any re- joicing when he came to the throne. The only change was that he led the army alone instead of with his brother, and was called king instead of prince. Faster and faster came the Danes. Alfred fought them bravely, but their forces were too strong. The whole land was overrun, and Alfred could no Alfred Is . , , . Till driven from longer remain on the throne. As people looked the throne. ^^ matters then, he would not have been blamed if he had left the kingdom to take care of itself and had gone to Rome for the rest of his life, but he had no idea 9th Cent] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 2$ of abandoning his country. He withdrew to a swampy part of England, and waited, training his men, and plan- ning how to get the better of the enemy. There is a story that Alfred once had to take refuge in the hut of a herdsman. The herdsman's wife did not know who the stranger was, and told him one day to watch the cakes that were cooking before the fire. He was so busy thinking that he forgot all about the cakes, and the woman said, angrily, " You are ready enough to eat them, but you are too lazy to turn them." Another story is that when he wanted to know how many men were in a Danish camp, he disguised himself as a minstrel and went boldly among the Danes. There he played and sang and amused his enemies until he had found out what he wished to know. By and by, Alfred had gathered men enough to attack the invaders, and then came a fierce battle. The Danes were thoroughly beaten. They agreed to re- main in the northeastern half of England and to oithe acknowledge the English king as their overlord. °^®*" The Danish word for "town " is by^ and there are to-day many more towns whose names end in by in northeastern England than in the parts of the island where the English lived. To free his kingdom from these robbers would have been enough for one king to do ; but Alfred meant to accomplish a great deal more. First of all, he Alfred's built forts and ships, for he did not feel sure ™^°5. that the Danes would not come upon him again, dom. Then he built churches and convents. He sent to dif- ferent places where there were learned men, and offered them rich rewards if they would come to England and teach his people. There was great need of their instruc- tion, for during the years of trouble with the Danes no 26 . ENGLAND'S STORY [9th Cent. one had had any thought of studying. Even the priests, when reading the service of the church, merely pro- nounced the Latin words without being able to translate them into English. It was Alfred's wish that the young people of his king- dom should learn to read English, and that those who Alfred as a could afford to study longer should learn to read translator. Latin ; but there were few who could spare the time to study Latin, and, as far as we know, there were only two or three books written in English, so this busy king set to work to translate some Latin books. One of them was the " Ecclesiastical History " that Bede had written two hundred years earlier. Another was a kind of history and geography of the world. Alfred did more than merely to translate ; for he never forgot that he was working for his people, and if he came to anything that they would not understand, he stopped and wrote a word of explanation. This geography was five hundred years old, and whenever Alfred knew more about a place than the author, he would add his own information ; for instance, the geography describes Sweden, but Alfred had just talked with a captain who had made a voyage to the North Cape, and he wrote the captain's story in his book. Longfellow's poem, " The Discoverer of the North Cape," tells what this captain related to his king. Another famous book, the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," was begun in Alfred's reign. It brought together all „^ . , that could be learned of the chief events that The Anglo- Saxon had happened in England from the earliest times, and it is thought that Alfred himself wrote the accounts of some of his battles. The monks had charge of the book, and whenever anything happened in the kingdom, they wrote the story of it in the " Chron- icle." This writing was kept up for two hundred and fifty years after Alfred's death. ^ 4 B Longitude West 2 of Greenwicb C 9th-iithCent.] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 27 Alfred revised the laws of the land. He was so just that when a man was in the right, he always preferred to have his case tried before the king. He wished to give to God half his money and half his time, but there were no clocks, and how to measure the time was a question. At last it occurred to him .,^ ^ P- , Alfred to make six candles that would burn for four measures hours each. Then he divided each one into twelve spaces, and when the candle had burned one of those spaces, he knew that twenty minutes had passed. To keep the candles from draughts, he surrounded them with plates of horn, and so made lanterns. King Alfred died in 901. He had saved his land from the Danes, he had given her a just code of laws, he had begun the English navy, he had built churches, convents, and forts, had opened schools and Alfred. . . . 901 translated books. No other king in the history of Vhe world has ever done so much for his country. He may well be called Alfred the Great. 18. Danish kings of England. Alfred left worthy sons and grandsons, but the power of the Danes in- creased. In a little more than one hundred years after his death, the English king was forced to flee to France with his wife Emma and his two little boys ; and a Dane whose name was Sweyne sat on the throne of England. Sweyne soon died, and his son Canute became king. Canute exiled or killed the Englishmen who had any claim to the crown or who were likely to oppose him ; but after he was safely on the throne, he became Ruie oi a king of whom the English were very fond. O"^**®- He was kind and just ; he rewarded right and punished wrong ; and he was willing to suffer when he himself had done wrong. In a sudden passion he killed a sol- dier, but instead of trying to excuse himself, he called 28 ' ENGLAND'S STORY [nth Cent his troops together and told them what he had done. Then he appointed judges and demanded that they should decide upon his punishments They were not will- ing to do this, and asked him to name his own penalty. In those days, killing a man unintentionally was punished by a fine of forty talents of silver. Canute said that he should fine himself three hundred and sixty, and should add to this amount nine talents of gold. Of course so upright a king was praised by all around, and it is a wonder that he had any common sense left. ^ ^ There is a story that his courtiers told him tbe sea- he was lord of land and sea, and even the waves would obey him. To teach them a lesson, he had his royal chair placed on the beach when the tide was rising. Then the king made a little speech : " Ocean," said he, " this is i^y island, and you, too, are only a part of my domain. I command you not to wet even the bor- der of my robe." Nearer and nearer came the waves, while around the king's chair stood the courtiers, wondering what would happen, and fearing lest their ruler should punish them for their untruthfulness. At last a wave broke upon the sacred person of the king. Then he turned to his cour- tiers and said gently : " Do not forget that the power of kings is a small matter. He who is King of kings and Lord of lords, he is the one whom the earth and the sea and the heavens obey." Although Canute was a Dane, he was very kind to his English subjects, and when he went on a pilgrimage to ute d -^^"^^j ^^ wrote them a pleasant letter, telling theEng- them in a friendly, familiar way of the great personages whom he had met in his travels, and bidding his officers treat the people fairly, making no difference for wealth or rank. He seemed to prefer to nth Cent.] THE SAXONS AND THE DANES 29 put English rather than Danes into office. He ruled not only over the English realm but also over the Danish, and when he went to Denmark, he left not a Dane, but an Englishman to rule England in his place. He acted as if he wished to show all the kindness to Englishmen that he could to make up for the injuries that his ances- tors had done to the land. One of his special j-aji favorites was a young Englishman named God- CJo^i^ia* win. There is a story that while the fighting between Danes and English was still going on, a brother-in-law of Canute lost his way. He met this young lad and offered him a gold ring to lead him to his Danish friends. "Keep your ring," said the boy bluntly, ''until you see whether I can do it or not. The English hate the Danes, and I may not succeed." He took the man home with him. They mounted two horses, and after riding all night, the lost Dane was once more among his friends. Afterwards he adopted the boy as his own son. Canute, too, became very fond of him and gave him the title of Earl of Wessex ; and it was this Earl Godwin whom he left ruler of England when he went to visit Denmark. Canute married Emma, widow of the king who had fled at his coming. She left her two boys in Normandy when she returned to England, and never Canute's seemed to care anything for them. '^"®' When Canute died, every one was sorry, especially as his sons were not worthy of so good a father. They reigned, however, for a few years, first one son Canute's and then the other, but the English were more "°"'" and more displeased with their injustice and cruelty, and when they died, no one mourned. They were the last kings that ruled over both England and Denmark. 19. Edward the Confessor. The English began to 30 ENGLAND'S STORY [nth Cent. wish to have an Englishman again on the throne, and they chose Edward, son of Emma and the king who had fled to Normandy. This Edward was a middle-aged man, and, since he had lived in France from his boyhood, it is probable that he could not speak a word of English ; but, as he was a good man and a descendant of the royal line, the English invited him to be their king, and when he came to them, they gave him a hearty welcome. SUMMARY At the request of the Britons, the Saxons drove away the barbarians of the north. Soon they killed or expelled the Britons also and seized the land for themselves. They finally accepted Christianity, but the rapid spread of civilization was arrested by the ravages of the Danes. Alfred the Great restored the land to peace and safety, but after his death the Danish power increased so that for a time England was ruled by Danish kings. The Saxons probably brought the poem of " Beowulf " from the continent. The first literature composed on English soil was the work of Caedmon, Bade, and Alfred the Great. CHAPTER III THE NORMANS 1066-1154 I. William the Conqueror. 1066-1087 20. Edward's plan to bequeath his crown. Edward was so good a man that people called him "the Con- fessor," and many of them believed that any one suffer- ing with scrofula would be cured at once if he could only touch the hand of the sovereign. Edward seemed to think that a king could leave his crown to any one that he chose. He had a young kinsman across the water, one William, Duke of Normandy, from whose father and grandfather he had received much kindness ; and once when the young man came to pay a visit to England, the English king had promised to bequeath him the kingdom. The only man in England that was powerful enough to dispute this claim was Harold, son of Earl Godwin. It came to pass that Harold was wrecked on Harold's the Norman coast, and so fell into William's shipwreck, hands. The duke treated him as an honored guest, but asked him to swear on the bones of one of the saints that he would help him to become king of Eng- land at Edward's death. Earl Harold was sure that if he refused he would be thrown into the dungeon of the castle and kept there till he died. Then, too, people thought that it was not a very great sin to break an oath 32 ENGLAND'S STORY [1042- I 066 sworn on the relics of one of the lesser saints, since a man could give generous offerings to the shrines of other and greater saints to make up for it. Harold took the oath. Then the embroidered cloth on which the bones lay was lifted, and the earl was horrified to find that under it were the relics of the greatest saints of Normandy, and HAROLD SWEARS ON THE RELICS, FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY William sitting in state to the left: Harold between the reliquary which contains the holy relics, and the altar, taking oath. that upon these he had sworn.' He returned to England, and for many years he was a greater power than the king. Edward came to see that a king of England could not give away his crown, especially to a foreigner ; and when Harold be- ^^ died, he recommended the people to choose comes king. Harold for their sovereign, since the only living son of the royal family was a boy too young to rule. The earl had decided that an oath not taken of his own free will was no oath at all, and he accepted the crown. 21. William of Normandy makes ready to invade England. When Duke William heard of this, he was io66] THE NORMANS 33 very indignant. He collected a great force of men and ships, off the coast of Normandy, and there he waited week after week for the south wind that should blow them across the English Channel to the shores of Eng- land. At last the favorable breeze came, but just as they were ready to set sail, a strange warship, much larger and finer than the others, came into the harbor. At the prow was the gilded figure of a boy pointing for- ward with one hand and holding an ivory horn to his lips with the other. The ship came nearer, and on board was the duke's wife, the Duchess Matilda, for she had had the beautiful vessel built secretly as a gift to her husband. She named it the Mora, or the Delay, because he had been so long delayed while wait- ing for the wind. William took the Mora for his flagship. The Mora. WILLIAM SAILS TO ENGLAND, FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY and high up on the masthead he unfurled the banner that the Pope had blessed and sent him long before to be used in this expedition. The fleet sailed. There were several hundred ships 34 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066 besides many transports, but it is probable that none of them could carry more than forty or fifty men. The voyage, j^^^^^ ^j^^ gunwales the shields of the soldiers were arranged, and these kept off some of the spray ; but there were no decks, and the ships must have been wet, uncomfortable places. Nevertheless, they carried horses as well as men, quantities of arms and provisions, and timber already cut and shaped to be made into a wooden fort. 22. 'William lands in England. The next day after William sailed, he landed on the coast of England at Pevensey, not far from Hastings. He leaped ashore so eagerly that he fell headlong. The soldiers were fright- ened, because they believed that this fall was a bad omen ; but the duke was too quick-witted to be taken aback so easily. It was a custom among the Normans in granting a man land to give him a twig and a bit of turf to signify that the land was his. This gift was called " seizin," and William clutched a handful of turf, sprang to his feet, and shouted : " No bad omen is this ; I am only taking seizin of the land that is rightfully my own." Not a ship had been on the sea to prevent their com- ing, not a soldier was on the coast to oppose their land- Theiaokof ^^S- One reason was that Harold's fleet was opposition, made up chiefly of fishing vessels, and his army was made up chiefly of men who were not only soldiers but farmers. When these people had served a certain length of time, they were allowed to go home that the fishermen might attend to their fishing and the farmers to their farming ; and they could not be brought together again without some delay. In the standing army there were only a few men, and Harold had been obliged to call these to the north of England to repel an invasion of io66] THE NORMANS 35 the Danes, headed by one of his own brothers, who hoped to win the kingdom for himself. Harold hastened to the south, but before he could reach London, William had landed, had put up his fort, and had begun to pillage the country in all directions. 23. Battle of Senlac, or Hastings, 1066. Then came the great battle of Senlac, or Hastings, October 14, 1066. Harold had arranged his soldiers on the hill- side behind a barricade of wooden stakes, firmly bound together and strengthened with wattles, or pliant twigs. Some of his men were well armed and protected by coats of mail, but many had no armor and only such weapons as BATTLE OF SENLAC, FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY Normans on horseback, Saxons on foot. each one could find for himself. Early in the morning the fighting began. Hour after hour the battle went on. The Normans charged up the hill again and again, but the English repulsed their attacks. Then William ordered his men to shoot up into the air so that the arrows would fall upon the English. Many were slain, and Harold himself was struck in the eye. 36 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066 t The Normans had better arms and better military training, but the English had the better position. It Norman began to be clear to William that strategy as strategy. ^g^ ^s valor was needed to win the victory. Before the battle began, Harold had said to his men, "We are not the invaders, we are here to defend the land. Let no man go forth to make an attack, but let each one stand firm in his place and strike down every Frenchman that comes within his reach." If this order had been obeyed, it is probable that the English would have won the day ; but when the Normans pretended to retreat, some of the English forgot that a soldier must be obedient as well as brave, and dashed after their foes. Suddenly the Normans turned and cut down their pur- suers. The barricade had been broken through. Night- fall came, Harold had been slain, and William had con- quered.^ 24. William's election. William was wise enough not to claim to be king just because he had won this bat- tle. He called together the assembly of the chief men of England and asked if they would choose him as their ruler. Whether they wished to do so or not, they were not strong enough to refuse. He was appointed king, and on Christmas Day a most brilliant assemblage of English and Normans met in Westminster Abbey, which Edward the Confessor had built and where he was buried, and there they crowned William, Duke of Normandy, as king of England. 26. The Bayeux tapestry. In the town of Bayeux in France is a piece of embroidery called the Bayeux tapestry. It is a strip of linen about two feet wide and seventy yards long. It is possible that Matilda, wife of King William, embroidered this with the aid of the ladies 1 The order of events as given by Creasy is followed. THE NORMANS 37 nth Cent.] of her court. It tells in Latin inscriptions and in pictures worked in worsted cross-stitch the whole story of the con- quest, from Harold's coming to Normandy to the battle of Senlac. The pictures are such as a little child would draw, but it was probably looked upon as a wonderful piece of work. 26. Feudalism. In those days people believed in feudalism, that is, they thought that all the land of a WESTMINSTER ABBEY IN THE DAYS OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, AS REPRESENTED ON THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY country belonged to the king, and that he had a right to give it to. any one that he chose. The one who received it was required to pay a certain amount of money and to provide a certain number of soldiers to serve so many days every year. Bareheaded and without weapons he must kneel before the king, and placing his folded hands within those of his feudal chief, he must solemnly swear : " I will be your man with life and limb, and I will keep my faith and loyalty to you for life and death." Then the king would give him a formal kiss of acceptance. 38 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1087 Each one . of those who swore loyalty to the king in this way had a number of men who swore in similar fashion to him, and if one proved to be unfaithful, his land was taken away and given to some one else. Many of the English promised to be true to William, paid a fine, and received their land again from him ; but The Eng- there were others who did not, and their holdings iish lands. fgH i^to the hands of the king. He could, of course, claim the lands of those that had fought at Senlac, and these forfeitures gave him vast areas to distribute among the French who had come with him and had helped to conquer the country. He was very shrewd in this dis-^ tribution, however, and with the exception of his half- brother Robert, there was not one of all his barons whom he would trust with much land in any one district, lest they should become strong enough to rebel against him. 27. William's keenness. He was mercilessly severe to those who opposed him, but for those who were true to him he thought no rewards too great. Even the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" says that he was a just man. He always seemed to know exactly what to do in difficult circumstances ; for instance, the Enghsh in their anger and despair assassinated many Normans, and then made their bodies appear like those of Saxons. William straightway made a law that any dead body found in the woods should be regarded as that of a Norman, unless two English men and two English women would swear that it was the body of a near relative of theirs. If four such witnesses could not be found, the whole dis- trict had to pay a large sum of money as penalty for the murder of a Norman. Another decision that showed William's quickness of thought was in the case of his half-brother Odo, a bishop whom he had made Earl of Kent. When the king went 1066-1087] THE NORMANS 39 to visit his domain in Normandy, the English people were left in the power of Odo, and were treated so harshly that, when William returned, he was very angry, and arrested his brother. The bishop protested, and said that a clergyman was free from all penalties except those imposed by the church ; but William would not yield. " Bishop and brother I would gladly let go," said he ; " but the Earl of Kent, who has abused my people, he goes into my prison," — and into the prison he went. 28. English grievances. While the English admitted that William was just, and that he gave peace to the land, he did several things that seemed to them most tyrannical. Even in Edward's reign many of the chief offices in church and state had been held by French- men, and now under William there was hardly an English- man in a high position anywhere in the land, jromans in This was very hard to bear, especially as the °"**'®' Norman masters often looked upon the English as their inferiors and treated them cruelly and insolently; but there is something to be said on William's side, for a king would naturally prefer to have as his officers men of his own nation who could talk with him in his own lan- guage. There is a tradition that he tried to learn to speak English, but found it easier to conquer the land than to learn the language. These Normans who were in power were allowed to build stone castles with walls enormously thick, so that they might be safe against any revolt of the jrorman natives. The strongest part of these castles casues. was called the tower, or keep, and here the Norman and his family lived. On the main floor was the hall, or gen- eral living room. The windows were small, and the castle was often a cold, damp place, but in the hall there were great cheery fires, there was tapestry on the walls, ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1087 very comfortable. Down 40 and here the family were below the hall were gloomy dungeons, where a noble might throw any one who had offended him and was less strong than he. Around the tower was a courtyard, shut A NORMAN CASTLE KEEP, ROCHESTER CASTLE 1 in by a thick wall with a moat and drawbridge, and a The Tower heavy portcullis that could be dropped in a mo- of London, nient if there was not time to close the gate. * This is called by Professor Freeman the noblest example of Norman military architecture of the next generation after William I. io66-io87] THE NORMANS 41 William had these castles built in the principal cities, and the Tower of London is one of them. There were three of William's laws that made the English especially angry. One was called the curfew law. The name comes from the French couvre- The curfew feuy to cover the fire, and the law decreed that ^*^- at a certain hour in the evening every fire should be covered and every light put out. This was an old custom in France to prevent the burning of houses, but it was new to the English, and they felt that it was nothing but tyranny. Another thing that made them angry was the estab- lishing of the New Forest, as it was called. For this, William cleared a tract of sixty thousand acres not far from his palace in Winchester, burning the houses and leaving the people to find homes as best they could. For whatever reason he may have done it, the English felt sure that it was because of his wish to have a good hunting ground near his home ; and they were the more convinced that they were right when he decreed most severe penalties if a man shot a deer in the Forest, or even if he was found there with a bow and arrow. "Evil will come to him and his," they said, "for this wicked thing that he has done ; " and when one of his sons was killed by a stag in the New Forest, they shook their heads and said, " That is not all ; it is only the beginning of the punishment." But, after all, the act that most enraged the helpless English was the making of a record of people and pro- perty in order to know the wealth of the king- Domesday dom and how to apportion the taxes. The ^°°^- people called it the Domesday Book, because, they said, what was once written in it was as final as the day of doom. To compile this, William sent men all over the 42 ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1087 kingdom to find out just how much property there was in every corner of it. The people were indignant, not only because they thought that their taxes might be in- creased if William knew everything that they owned, but also because it seemed to them a great impertinence for the officers of the king to come into their houses and demand to know just what they possessed. The *' Anglo<. Saxon Chronicle " says bitterly : — ** It is shameful to relate that which he thought it no shame to do. So very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made that there was not an ox or a cow or a pig passed by, that was not set down in the accounts, and then all these writings were brought to him." 29. William's death. 1087. In spite of all the in- dignation, the survey went on, as did whatever else this strong king undertook. For twenty-one years he reigned, and then came the end. His eldest son Robert had rebelled against him, and given him a great deal of trouble, but William left him the French dominions. "I pity the land that he rules," said the father, "but I have promised him Normandy, and he must have it." To Henry, the youngest son, he left five thousand pounds in silver ; and in behalf of William Rufus, or William the Red, the second son, he sent a recommendation to the English that they should choose him for their king. SUMMARY In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, a relative of the late Saxon king, won the crown by a battle in which Harold, the king chosen by the English, was slain. William rewarded his followers with English lands and English offices. The building of stone castles began. Several of William's laws aroused the indignation of his new subjects, but the " Chron- icle " admits that he was just, though severe. io66-iioo] THE NORMANS 43 The conquest brought to England the impulse of the bold Norman spirit, the greater refinement of the French language, and a strong government which gave peace to the land and did much to make a united nation. 2. William Rufus. 1087-1100 30. William Rufus becomes king. When William the Conqueror lay on his death-bed, there were only strangers around him. His wife had died several years before; his oldest son Robert was at the court of the French king, a man who had often led him into revolt and mischief ; his youngest son, Henry, had hastened away to secure the five thousand pounds of silver, and to see that it was shut up in a safe place; and William Rufus had gone as fast as a boat would carry him to Winchester in England, where the royal treasures were kept. He got possession of the gold and silver, but that alone would not make him a king, and it seemed at first quite possible that he would never sit on the throne. The reason was that there were two parties in the land, almost equally strong. One party, the Norman lords, Nomans wished to have Robert for their ruler, because ^s-BngUsh. they held land in both England and Normandy, and with their haughty independence they thought that while one king was bad enough, two wotild be unendurable. The other party was made up chiefly of English people, and they felt that the less their king had to do with Nor- mandy, the better. The two parties were of almost equal strength, but there was a third power, and that was the church. The archbishop of Canterbury was a very wise man, power of and he saw clearly that it was better not only *^® chmcii. for an English king to rule over no other country, but 44 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 087-1100 for him who was the choice of the English people to become kihg of England. Therefore, the whole influ- ence of the clergy was in favor of William, and he was crowned. 31. William Rufus's greed for money. He ought to have been grateful to the church for her support, but his only thought seemed to be how to get possession of her wealth. He not only seized upon church property, but, what was much wor^e, he gave her abbacies and bish- oprics to any man who would pay him well. If no one offered him a large amount for a posi- tion, he simply left it vacant and took the income for him- self. Perhaps the only good thing that he did for the church was to give her a good archbishop. The archbishop of Canterbury had died, and William in his usual fashion had left the office vacant so that he might have the income ; but it came to pass that the king was very ill, and greatly frightened lest he should die and be punished for the wrong that he had done. He claimed to be exceedingly penitent, and asked what he should do to prove his repentance. NORMAN SOLDIERS I087-IIOO] THE NORMANS 45 "Make Anselm archbishop of Canterbury," was the reply. This was done, but William's penitence vanished with his illAess, and he was so indignant at Anselm. having been induced to give up the great rev- enues of Canterbury that he opposed Anselm in every- thing that he undertook ; and finally the good archbishop left the country in utter despair, and did not return until the king was dead. In this frenzy for money, thieves and murderers were willingly set free if they could only offer a bribe large enough to influence the king. There is a story that the son of a rich Jew had become a Chris- tian. The father said to himself : " If the king should ask him to return to the faith of his fathers, he would surely yield ; " so he went to the king and gave him a large amount of money to ask the son to give up Chris- tianity. The young man would not give up his new belief even for his sovereign, and the father said to William Rufus : " Sire, my son refuses to obey the word of the great king. Therefore, I pray you, give me back my money." Then' said the king : " And am I to have no pay for my efforts .? The words of a king are golden and de- mand golden payment. I could fairly keep the whole sum, but in my generosity I will keep but half," and half he kept. 32. "Why Williani Rufus wanted money. Besides his reckless extravagance, there were two reasons why William Rufus was so eager to have money that he was ready to starve the poor people, cheat the men of wealth, and force the churches to give up even their gold and silver dishes and ornaments. One was that he was so afraid of revolts that he kept a great many soldiers ready to fight for him at any moment ; and th-e other was that he had never really given up getting Normandy into his 46 ENGLAND'S STORY [1087-1100 hands. Perhaps the only reason why there was not a revolt was that when the English people began to find William unendurable, the French barons Wbuld look to- ward Robert ; and as soon as the barons began to seem determined to have Robert for a king, the English would support William as the less of two evils. Neither party was satisfied with such a condition of affairs ; but it was beginning to be clear that in England, at any rate, a king and his proud barons could not rule the country quite as they chose without paying any heed to the wishes of the people. William still hoped to get possession of Normandy. Robert was careless and lavish, and once when he wanted William money, he had willingly sold a strip of Norman Ruius territory to his brother. Finally Robert wished revenues oi to go on a crusade. The sale of a part of his Normandy. ^^^^ ^^^j^ ^^^ Suffice, and, in order to get the . ten thousand pounds that was needed, he promised to William all the revenues of Normandy for the next five years. 33. Crusades. The crusades were expeditions under- taken by various Christian nations against the Turks who ruled in the Holy Land. It had long been regarded as a deed of great merit to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, and even greater to press on to Jerusalem. People be- lieved that no matter how wicked they had been, their sins would all be forgiven if they made this journey. Some even laid aside the clothes that they wore when they entered- Jerusalem, expecting to go straight to heaven if they were buried in these garments. Aside from the religious benefits that people who became pilgrims thought they should obtain, of the there was a great fascination about such a jour- oumey. ^^^ ^^^ travellers would see strange countries io87-iioo] THE NORMANS 47 and meet with strange people. There would be many opportunities to win glory and its rewards, and the thought of possible dangers only added to the charm ot the pilgrimage. It is no wonder that rich and poor, good and bad, were eager to go on these wonderful expe- ditions. While the Arabs ruled the Holy Land, pilgrims were protected and welcomed because they brought so much money to Jerusalem ; but at last the Turks became rulers, and they impris- oned the pilgrims and tortured them, or even murdered them. In 1095, a Frenchman, called Peter Peter the the Hermit, returned from a Hermit, pilgrimage. He was an eloquent man, and when he told how much the pil- grims had to suffer and how wicked he thought it that the Holy Land should be in the hands of men who hated the Christians, thousands of people resolved to try to take Pales- tine from the power of the Turks. They called such an expedition a cru- sade, because a red cross was fas- / tened to their clothes, and the Latin word for cross is crux. For a duke Hke Robert to go on a crusade meant more than putting on his armor, mountins: his ^ ^ _ horse, and gallopmg away. i)ecomesa There must be arms and horses and provisions, ""*****'• not only for himself, but for the servants and dependents who went with him. There must be money for countless expenses along the way, for alms-giving and for generous robert duke of nor mandy, a crusader, from his effigy in . gloucester cathe- dTTal. The figure is clad in chain ; mail, and the crossed legs K indicate the Crusader. 48 ENGLAND'S STORY [1087-1100 presents to churches and shrines. One may well see that a duke might need to pawn his duchy for such an expedition. Robert went on a crusade in 1095, and for five years William Rufus gathered in the taxes of Nor- mandy. 34. Death of WiUiam Rufus. In the year 1 100 there was a bright August morning when William seemed depressed and gloomy. Some one told him a priest had dreamed that the king strode into the church and in- sulted the cross. " What then .? " asked William, trying to conceal his misgivings. " Pardon, King William, but the dream was that He who hangs on the cross struck down him who had mocked." " That 's the vision of a priest," said the king scorn- fully. " Here, give him one hundred shillings, and he will have better dreams." After dinner he rode in the fated Forest. An arrow shot by some unknown hand pierced his heart, and he fell dead. Late that afternoon a charcoal burner ca,me upon the king lying on the ground with the arrow yet in his breast. The peasant lifted the body into his rude cart, and the next day it was buried in the cathedral at Winchester. Not many months before the death of William Rufus, Duke Robert's son Richard had been killed by an arrow in the New Forest, and now the country people would go to the place where William's body had been found and look at the ground in silence ; then some one among them would say : " When one has done evil, then will evil come to him and to his children and to his children's children." /087-IIOO] THE NORMANS 49 SUMMARY William Rufus became king and was supported by the Eng- lish and the clergy, though opposed by the barons. Fearing revolts^ he plundered the church and oppressed the people in order to maintain a large standing army. He advanced money for Duke Robert's crusade, and received in return the taxes of Normandy for five years. He was murdered in the New Forest. 3. Henry Beaik:lerc. 1100-1135 35. Henry I. becomes king. It was a general reeling in those days that v^hen a king died, the laws that he had made were no longer in force, and that until a new king was in power, people might avenge old wrongs, steal, or even murder, without much" fear of punishment. When William the Conqueror died, his sons were away, trying to secure their treasures; the attend- a lawless ants and the nobles seized everything that they ^*^*' could lay their hands upon, and the funeral expenses of the king were actually paid by a kind-hearted knight. When William Rufus was shot in the New Forest, his brother Henry, who seems to have been one of the hunt- ing party, galloped away to Winchester as fast as his horse could carry him, for in Winchester was the store- house of the royal treasures, and he meant to get pos- session of them. There was another man, however, who galloped just as fast, and that was the keeper of the trea- sury. When Henry demanded the keys, the treasurer said: "Prince Henry, you have paid homage to your brother Robert and so have I, and I will not give up the keys." Then Henry drew his sword, and to save his own life, the treasurer yielded. If Robert had been on the spot, it is probable that the Norman barons would have stood by him, and that there might have been much 50 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-1135 DURHAM CATHEDRAL Built mostly in the reign of Henry trouble ; but Robert had not yet returned from his cru- sade, and in a few days Henry was crowned. ^ The Enghsh were glad to have him for king rather than his brother, for Henry was born in England, and had learned to speak English. Then, too, whenever they thought of Robert, they remembered that he was duke of Normandy, and was a friend of the Norman barons who had oppressed them. Every one seems to have had a nickname in those days, and the people called Henry Beauclerc, or the Scholar^ Henry's because he could read and write, and only the nickname, clergy were expected to be so accomplished. One story says that he won his fame because he trans- lated ''*yEsop's Fables " from Latin into French. 36. Anselm returns. When William the Conqueror was king, he meant to rule the people, whether he pleased 1IOO-II35] THE NORMANS 51 them or not. Henry meant to rule the people and also to please them. First, he set to work to gain the friend- ship of the clergy. The man who had helped his brother William to steal the treasures of churches and convents he put straightway into prison. So little watch was kept of the prisoner, however, that his friends brought him a rope hidden in a pitcher of wine, and he escaped to Duke Robert without the least difficulty. Henry brought Ansclm back to England, and in a short time, the good archbishop began to look into the claims of abbots and bishops to the positions that they held. Whenever he found that the men were unworthy or had secured their honors by gifts to King William, Henry immediately put ether men, and generally good ones, into their places. 37. Henry's charter. Many of Henry's deeds were a gain to his people, but one of them has been a gain to the people of England from that day to this. It was only the signing of his name on a bit of parchment, but that parchment was a sacred written promise to treatjiis subjects fairly ; and one century later, when a certain English king began to be unjust to his subjects, they brought forward this charter, and told him that the one who wished to be their king must keep these promises. 38. Trouble with Robert. Robert did not easily give up his wish to become sovereign of England, and Henry was equally determined to win Normandy. The barons in both countries preferred Robert, because he was thoughtless and careless and lavish, and they believed that, with him for a ruler, they could do exactly as they chose. The church supported Henry, and Anselm brought it about that Robert gave up his claim to Eng- land, and that Henry gave him three thousand marks a year and a strip of fand adjoining Normandy. Two strong friends of Robert's were in England, and 52 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-1135 although the brothers had agreed that neither should punish the partisans of the other, Henry at once showed that he had no idea of keeping the compact, and the two friends fled to Normandy. It had also been agreed that neither country should receive the fugitives of the other ; so when Robert heart- ily welcomed these two men and gave them vades Nor- land and money, Henry crossed the Channel to ^^^^- take possession of Normandy, Soon after he landed, he went to church. The end of the building was piled up with all sorts of household goods and other pro- perty of the peasants. This was explained when the bishop began his sermon, for he said : — " King Henry, the land is full of violence. Fire and sword, robbery and murder are everywhere. This is why the defenceless peasants have brought their goods to the church that the church may protect them. Your brother Robert does nothing for the land but to waste its revenues and abandon it to plunder. Take up arms and save us." It was the custom to wear long hair, long beards, and shoes with long, pointed toes ; and the bishop began to talk about these, and begged the king to be the first to give them up. Then he produced a pair of shears and cut off the king's long hair, for Henry was quite willing to sacrifice his hair, if by so doing he could win the Nor- man clergy for his friends. The fashion was set, and there was an amusing scene, for the courtiers all hurried up, each one eager to be the first to follow the king's example. The setting of a new fashion was not all, for soon came some hard fisfhting. One town after an- Battle ol & & Tencheteai. Other f^ll into Henry's hanils, and at last came the battle of Tenchebrai. Henry was the vie- rioo-1135] THE NORMANS 53 tor, and now that he had been six years on the throne of England, Normandy was in his hands, and Robert was a captive. A prisoner Robert remained for twenty-eight years, and in prison he died. 39. Henry's reforms. One thing that especially needed reform was the behavior of the men who coined the money for the kingdom, for they put so much cheap metal into the coins that a man who went to market with a pound was often unable to buy a shilling's worth of food. When Henry first began to realize punishment what trouble this was making, he was in Nor- o* coiners, mandy, but without waiting to return, he sent word for all the coiners to meet at Winchester, and commanded that every one who had made poor money should lose his right hand. He did not even wait to choose a better time for this severity, but called them together at Christ- mas, and within twelve days more than fifty of them had suffered. There were other men, called purveyors, whose deeds needed examination. It was their business to secure food and wine for the kin^ and his court. This Laws made food was looked upon as a tax, and had at first lorpurvey- been paid without any especial grumbling by °"' the people near whose homes the king held his court ; but gradually it had come to pass that a visit from the king was almost as bad for any district as an invasion by an enemy would have been, for the purveyors not only took what they wished to use, but they seemed to like to destroy whatever they could fifid. If there was too much wine to drink, they would use it to bathe their horses' feet ; and if there was too much grain, they would trample it into the ground. When Henry found this out, he told the purveyors just how much food they might take without pay, and what price they should give 54 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-1135 for whatever more might be needed. Whoever broke this law was" to pay a heavy fine, or even to be hanged. Henry was a great traveller, and held his court in so many different places that the decree must have relieved a large number of people. 40. Severe taxation. Henry's government was in many ways so good for his subjects that it is a great pity his severe taxation should have made their lives mis. erable ; but this taxation was the one thing that he would not give up. The " Anglo - Saxon Chroni- cle " says : " He who had any property was be- reaved of it by heavy taxes and assessments, and he who had none starved with hunger." In this poverty and pri- FEMALE COSTUME, TIME OF HENRY I. The long and knotted sleeves are very remark- vation StCalinS" WaS Car- able ^ o ried on to such an extent that forty-four thieves were hanged at one time. People in the country suffered most, because these severe taxes were made no smaller even when a poor crop left the farmers almost penniless. It is no wonder that all through the thirty-five years of the reign of Henry, the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle " records as a great misfortune a storm or a wind or a flood or a failure of fruit, or a sickness that affected the cattle or the fowls. Troubled as they were, the English were always fearful that worse might come ; and over and over again the " Chronicle " tells of strange stars or circles of light or an unwonted glow in the sky, or a moon that " waxed and waned con- IIOO-II35] THE NORMANS 55 trary to nature." When there wa^ merely an unusually low tide so that people could walk across the Thames, these poor, tormented Englishmen trembled lest it should presage the coming upon them of some new misfortune. 41. Henry's marriage. Henry married an English woman named Matilda, a niece of the little Saxon boy who would probably have ruled after Edward the Con- fessor if he had been old enough. The Norman nobles laughed at this marriage, and called the king and queen "the farmer and his wife;" but the English were de- lighted, because this Matilda was a descendant of their beloved Alfred the Great. King Henry, too, was, through his mother, a descendant of Alfred ; and when a prince was born, the people rejoiced, for they thought that their next king would be a Saxon rather than a Norman. Un- fortunately, a few years later this prince went on a visit to France, and on the way home the ship was wrecked, and all on board were lost save one. For two or three days no one dared to tell the king, but at last a little boy was sent to break the sad news. The little fellow was so frightened that he burst into tears and fell at the king's feet. He could only stammer between his sobs : " The prince, O king, — the White Ship ! " The king loss of the understood what had happened even without WMteSWp. asking a question, and, though he lived many years after this, people who knew him said that he was never again seen to smile. 42. Henry plans for his daughter to succeed him. He had been planning to win as wide domains as possible in order to leave a generous heritage to his son ; and even when the son was no longer living, he did not give up the determination that a child of his should succeed him, though his only remaining child was a daughter, and no woman had ever sat on the throne of England. He 56 ENGLAND'S STORY [1100-1135 called the archbishop, of Canterbury and all the other chief men of the kingdom to meet together. Then he demanded that they swear to make the Princess Matilda queen of England when he himself should die. They all took the oath. 43. Henry's death. By and by there came a time when the sun grew dim and dark at midday, and the stars shone out with a pale, sickly light. The people were frightened. "For, surely," they thought, "this is in token of some fearful event that is coming to pass ; " and when they knew that Henry had died in Normandy, they were more miserable than even when they were suffering from his severe taxation. "He was a good man," said they, "though we were in great awe of him." They had reason to be afraid ; for, as the " Chronicle " says, "Every man began to rob his neighbor." There was no one to make these thieves and robbers obey the laws, and the poor people were more wretched than ever before. 44. Who should rule ? Much of this trouble came about because Henry had been so determined that his daughter should rule. In a feudal country, the lords who held land expected to fight for the king, but they also expected him to lead them in battle. To be sure, the chief men had sworn to support Matilda as their queen, but they all averred that they had given this promise on condition that she should not marry a foreigner. Henry had obliged her to marry a Frenchman, Geoffrey of Anjou, and therefore the bishops and barons declared that they were free from their oath. Moreover, Matilda was so haughty and unyielding that she made enemies wherever she went. Where should England look for a sovereign } noo-ii54] THE NORMANS 57 SUMMARY Henry's prompt action in seizing the crown forestalled the opposition which might have arisen from the barons in behalf of his brother. By birth, language, and marriage, he was an Englishman, and save for his severe taxation, he meant to please his subjects as well as to rule them. He issued a charter of liberties, reformed abuses in the church, punished dishonest coiners, and regulated the exactions of the purvey- ors. By the battle of Tinchebrai, Normandy fell into his hands. He was determined that his daughter Matilda should succeed him ; but, though bishops and barons had sworn to support her claims, his death was followed by anarchy. 4. Stephen of Blois. ii 35-1 154 45. Accession of Stephen. Matilda had two sons, but they were not old enough to reign. Then there were three young men, sons of one of the daughters of William the Conqueror. These young men were in Nor- mandy, and in the midst of the general lawlessness that followed the death of Henry, Stephen, the second son, made his way to London, and was received by the Lon- doners as their king. His mother had married the Count of Blois, so he was not strictly a member of the Norman Hne, but the first of the House of Blois. Stephen had spent a great deal of time in England. He was. liked by the English, and there was no special opposition to his sitting on the throne. He was crowned in three weeks after Henry's death, and at once he gave the people two excellent charters, promising to treat them fairly and to do his best to be a good ruler. If he had been as strong as he was agreeable, England would have been saved many years of trouble, but his reign was nothing but contests from beginning to end, for Matilda had no idea of giving up her claim to the crown, and 58 ENGLAND'S STORY [1135-1154 Stephen was not powerful or wise enough to oppose her successfully. 46. Behavior of the English barons. The barons supported now one and now the other. In fact, they did not care much who was on the throne, if they were only free to do what they chose. More and more castles were built, for Stephen was too weak to prevent their erection. Every noble was a king over the district around him, and most of these nobles were tyrants. Whenever they could get possession of a man who had any property, they would put him into one of their ter- rible underground dungeons, often among snakes and toads. Sometimes they would tie a knotted cord about his head and twist it until it cut into the brain ; or they would put around his neck a heavy iron collar covered with sharp points, so that, whether he lay down or sat up, he was in the greatest agony. It is no wonder that to escape from their tormentors the poor people gave up every penny that they possessed. The nobles would burst open the churches, and when they had taken all that was of value to them, they would set fire to the buildings. People became so timid that if two or three men came riding up to a village, those who dwelt there would run for their lives, thinking that the robbers were coming upon them. After two years Stephen went over to Normandy. The barons there expected to obey him just as they had been obliged to obey his uncle Henry ; but they soon found, somewhat to their surprise, that they were much stronger than this new king. They were delighted that after Henry's long reign they had at last a ruler who could not prevent them from doing just as they pleased. What they pleased to do was to behave as badly as the barons across the water, and in a short time Normandy had become as lawless a place as England. "35-1154] THE NORMANS 59 47. Contest with Matilda. All this time Matilda was pressing her claims to the throne. Her uncle, the king of Scotland, invaded England in her behalf, and at Cowton Moor a battle was fought, called the Battle of the Standard. In this struggle clergymen were the leaders, for in those days a bishop was often the stand- as capable of being at the head of an army as "** ^^^^' of a church. For a standard they used a sort of wooden frame, or pillar, carried about in a wagon. On the pillar were four consecrated ban- ners, and above them was the cross. One of the bishops stood in the wagon, and he was constantly shouting encourage- ment to the soldiers. In one place after another the fighting went on for many years. At one time Stephen was taken prisoner, and Matilda's Matilda was practically queen escape, for a few months ; but she was so proud and arrogant that the very people that had most wanted her for queen began to desert her. At another time she came near being captured, for Stephen was be- sieging the castle at Oxford, in which she had taken refuge ; but one day there was a heavy snowstorm, and that night Matilda and a few guards dressed themselves in white and slipped away silently over the snow and across the frozen Thames to a place of safety. The release of Stephen had been brought about, but Matilda, too, had made a great gain, for her husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, had been fighting success- fully in Normandy, and his conquest of the gieends. duchy had made him too powerful a prince for ^^^^" the claims of Matilda to be neglected any longer. The THE STANDARD 60 ENGLAND'S STORY [12th Cent. country was worn out with fighting and with a weak government, or rather no government at all ; both Ma- tilda and Stephen were tired of the contention, and at last a treaty was signed by which it was agreed that Stephen should rule as long as he lived, and that at his death Henry, son of Matilda and Geoffrey, should receive the crown. How long this treaty would have been kept is a question, but the next year Stephen died and Henry became king. 48. Three languages in England. During this cen- tury there were three languages used in England. Latin was spoken in the courts of justice and in the church service. French was spoken at the court of the king, and was looked upon as the language of polite society. English was spoken by the masses of the English people. The literary language was Latin. French roman-ces and songs were birought from France, but an Englishman would have thought it very strange to write a book in any other language than Latin. To use English would have seemed to him like writing in ** baby-talk," and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" ends in 11 54 at the death of Stephen. Though English authors wrote in Latin, the subject of their books was almost invariably the history of the History is country. It may be that while the selfishness written. ^f William Rufus and the weakness of Stephen had shown them that what was the loss of one part of the nation was the loss of all, the strong, firm rule of the Conqueror and of Henry had given them an idea of what a power a united country might become. At any Geoffrey of I'^te, the men who wrote were thinking of their Monmouth, country and writing books about her. One of . the most interesting of these writers was a Welshman,*^ called Geoffrey of Monmouth; who wrote a " History of I2th Cent.] THE NORMANS 6l British Kings." There is more of legend in it than of fact, and in this book are found the stories of King Arthur which Tennyson has made into poems in his "Idylls of the King." 49. Mystery plays. Another thing that was brought about by the sufferings of the English people was a great desire to know more of religion. When they were so miserable, their only hope was that after they died they would be happy enough to make up for what they had borne on earth. Very few of them could read, and it was difficult for them to understand any but the simplest of sermons. As so few teachers know how to speak simply, the poor people would have been left in great ignorance, had it not been for the pictures in the churches, and for the mystery plays. These pictures represented scenes in Bible history or in the lives of good men, and the people could walk about the church, and learn the stories from the piqtures. The mystery plays must have been a very great delight. These plays were scenes in Bible history, and they were acted by the priests. They were not meant for amuse- ment, but for teaching. First, there were prayers ; then the priests and their assistants acted out the story of Cain and Abel, or of the creation, or of building the ark. At Christmas they aqted the appearance of the angels to the shepherds, and at Easter they acted the resurrection. By and by, so many people came to see the plays that the church was not large enough ; and then the priests acted in the churchyard, putting up a high stage, or platform, so that people could see and hear better. When still more people wished to see, first the priests and then guilds, or companies of trades- men, drove about the city in great two-story wagons, stopping at certain places to act the play. The upper 62 ENGLAND'S STORY [i2th Cent. Story of these wagons represented heaven, the lower one was earth, and below the earth was the abode of the evil spirits. The angels had golden hair and white robes, while Satan wore a hideous suit of leather, covered with black hair and feathers and ending in claws at the hands A MYSTERY PLAY AT COVENTRY and feet. The actors did everything that they could to make the plays seem real to the people ; for instance, when they acted the creation, they suddenly let loose all the birds and beasts that they could get together, as if the animals had just been created. There was a good deal of amusement in these plays, and in one comical scene Noah scolds his wife because she will not go into the ark. With our way of looking at such matters, they sometimes seem a little irreverent. I066-II54] THE NORMANS 63 When the angel brings "good tidings of great joy," one shepherd boasts, " I can sing it as well as he," and then he makes a comical attempt to imitate the angelic song. With all these absurdities, however, people went to see the plays as reverently as they went to church ; and from them they certainly did get a familiarity with much of the Bible story that they could hardly have gained in any other way. SUMMARY Henry's determination that his daughter should rule was the cause of years of strife between her party and that of Stephen, Henry's nephew. During most of this time, Stephen was nominally king, but his rule was so inefficient that Nor- mandy as well as England was in disorder. Finally, a com- promise was made ; Stephen was to reign as long as he lived, but was to be succeeded by Matilda's son Henry. Bad as so weak a government was, its very lawlessness brought about a strong desire for peace and a firm rule. The English thought more of their country as a whole, and several authors began to write the history of the land. Three languages were still used in England. Religious instruction was given to the people by means of pictures and mystery plays. Robert, Duke of Normandy. THE NORMAN KINGS I. William I. (Conqueror), 1066-J087. William II. (Rufus), 1087-noo. I 3. Henry I. (Beauclerc), 1100-1x35. Matilda, m. ' Geoffrey of Anjou. K. Hbnry II. (Plantagenet), 1154-1x89. ^ Adela, m. Count of Blois. 4. Stephen (of Blois), "35-"S4, CHAPTER IV THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 1154-1399 5. Henry H. ii 54-1 189 61. The name " Plantagenet." The father of Henry n. was Geoffrey of Anjou, and from this name Henry and his descendants are called the Angevins. Another name, or nickname, that of " Plantagenet," was given them because this Geoffrey had a habit of wearing in his cap a sprig of the yellow-blossomed broom plant, whose French name is "plante-genet." When Henry came to the throne, he had more land than any previous king of England had ever ruled. He had received wide domains from his father and his mother and with his wife, and as his territories in France were close together, the whole western half of that country was in his hands, besides all of England. 62. Henry II. arrives in England. When Stephen died, Henry was in Normandy, and he did not hurry to England lest some one else should seize upon the crown. Indeed, the English people had a right to feel a little impatient, for it was six weeks before they had a chance to see their new ruler. When they did see him, they were well pleased. He was young, but he had already shown quite an amount of common sense and strength of character ; and the English had suffered so much from the weakness of Stephen that they would almost have welcomed a tyrant, if he had given promise of a ■^iti^iiCW^^^ o 2° "o ^ © '^^Jr^EMP ^^1 1 ■^-A '^« J \ \ ? ^AVf J?"v \^^X^ Cl / ^ —a % v--''^"^-^— J \ \ ^^ ^) — ^ ' 1 ? ^^>-^ -Vl\ < s - f _S\\ U ^^.^-^ .--i. ^C\ T \ y / ^^=C^ ^ ^% ^(_ft^_/_^ r>s \ . o v_ Q N ^ ^ ^ ^ r Uj iv M f% 'V ^Vir^v^ A. 0^ o .——^ IS? 1 / r' - am-- /o i^ .-'""■-• y ('" "■•-■® ^ ^1 1 ^i< 2 ■■•■" i"^ • ) '••/ Y ' y 0§0^ ■ L 1^ ° A.y.... ■•._ ^ o "^^ g 1 • V ^ V ^ &^ N . . O ^ -f ^ \^*^ V ^ rn. ^ ^ "l ■* ■ '^ ~ o /< ^ v6 o QQ / ^ ^ / ^ S \ a. / 03 fi^ fiq / c/3 00 2° -o ^ « 1154-1189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 65 steady, firm government that would punish the evil and protect the good. 63. Destruction of the castles. England was in a bad condition. For nineteen years there had been pil- lage and fighting. It had not been a united land, but rather a collection of little countries with a castle in every country, a baron in every castle, and every baron doing exactly as much evil as he chose. There was no question that the first thing for the king to do was to tear down these castles ; and tear them down he did, several hundred of them. Without a castle, a baron had little more power than any other rich man, and* the people rejoiced when they saw the forces of the king demolishing the strongholds that had caused so much suffering, and letting the light and air into the horrible dungeons where prisoners had endured such agonies. Henry had a per- fect right to destroy these places, since for one hundred years it had been a law that no one should build a castle without the king's permission ; and the barons had had no permission, but had built whatever they chose, be- cause they knew that King Stephen could not prevent them. 64. Reform of coinage. There was the same old trouble to meet about the coinage, for the barons had been coining money and using entirely too much base metal. They had forced the people to take the coins, but if a man had money in his hand, he never knew how much he could buy with it. Henry decreed that no one should use this money, and that no one but himself should coin money. 66. Scutage. In the course of five years, Henry's government was so well established in England that he was able to do what no other king would have dared to ven- ture, that is, to go away from his kingdom for four years. 66 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1189 Through his wife he had a claim on some land in France, and he wished to get possession of it. Where to find his soldiers was a question, for while by the feudal laws every baron who held land was required to furnish a cer- tain number, not one man could be compelled to follow the king out of the country. William the Conqueror had had the same difficulty to meet when he came to Eng- land, but he had met it by persuasions and by lavish promises. Henry met it by a plan that had perhaps more to do with the overthrow of feudalism than any other one act. He made no attempt to force his barons to go, but «aid to them that if they preferred to stay at home and pay him a tax instead, he would not object. This was a wise scheme of the king's, for since many barons preferred to remain in England, he was provided with a generous sum of money, and he could hire well- trained soldiers who wished to fight, instead of setting out with a company of unwilling followers. This tax was called scutage, because the Latin word for shield is scutum. 66. Thomas a Becket. There was one man in Eng- land who in the end gave Henry more trouble than all his other subjects in both England and France. This man's name was Thomas a Becket. He was a person of great talent, great wealth, and great love of luxury and display. He lived in a house almost, if not quite, as handsome as that of the king. It was full of the richest furniture that could be bought, and the servants were as finely dressed as if they had been people of rank. To Hisiuxu- this luxurious mansion came crowds of guests, rious life, and nothing else seemed to make a Becket so happy as to entertain them as if they were so many princes. Most elaborate banquets were served to them of the choicest, most costly dainties that could be brought 1154-1189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 6/ to England. They feasted from golden plates and drank from golden goblets. This was a Becket's life at home. When he was away from home, he had even more of glitter and display ; and when he went as an ambassador to France, his gifts were so lavish, his train so long, and his manner of travelling so extravagant, that people gazed and marvelled, and thought that this could not be an ambassador, it must be the king himself. It is no wonder that they thought so, for this simple deacon was accompanied — if we may trust the old chron- iclers — by a guard of one thousand priests, a Becket's nobles, knights, and other followers. There '°iio™»- were also two hundred and fifty pages. The pages sang, and the standards waved, and then came the long train of wagons, loaded to the full with offerings for the churches, the sacred vessels of his own church, robes and vestments of the richest material, heavy with embroidery and glittering with precious stones. A Becket was a special friend of the king's, and when Henry wished to make a law that would give the church less power, he did not doubt for a minute that a Becket, deacon as he was, would fall in with his ideas and do his best to please the sovereign who, caring little for luxury himself, had given his councillor the power to gratify his most costly whims. 67. Henry's contest with a Becket. It had been the custom for a clergyman to be tried by the church and not by the regular courts of justice. The penalties in- flicted by the king's courts were very severe. They made nothing of cutting off people's hands or feet or of putting out their eyes, for crimes that we should punish to-day by a short imprisonment. The church, ohurciior on the other hand, rarely punished a clergyman ®°™^ ^ 68 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1189 in any other way than by giving him a position of less honor or by depriving him of his income for a certain time. The clergy did not approve of these cruel punish- ments and protected as many people from them as possi- ble. As a general thing, no one but a priest was expected to know anything of books, and little by little it had come J)IsPtliNG WITH HENRY II. The king to ihe left seated on Ins ihrone, a Becker atiired in his pontifical habii and hold- ing the cross in his hand. about that whoever could read and write was looked upon as a clergyman, and no matter what crime he had com- mitted, he was free from the punishment that other men would have had to suffer. Henry meant to take away this privilege and to treat ABecketas ^^^ "^^^ alike when it came to a question of arciiMsiiop. keeping the laws ; and with this plan in mind, 1154-1189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 69 he made a Becket archbishop of Canterbury. He was greatly surprised when the new archbishop seemed sud- denly to have become another man. This lover of luxury put on the dress of a monk. He wore rough haircloth next to his skin and scourged himself every day. Instead of nobles, he entertained beggars, washing their feet and sitting at the same table with them. He ate the coarsest of food, and drank bitter water instead of his dainty wines. Henry was amazed, but he said to himself with a quiet smile : "A Becket always did like to make a display, and now he is exhibiting himself as a saint. He will change again before long." Soon the test came. A priest had committed a most shocking murder, and Henry demanded that he be tried in court. The archbishop replied that the man Henry's had been tried by the church and degraded from demand. , his office, and that he could not be tried again for the same offence. Then Henry called the clergy together and laid the matter before them. "Will you submit to the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom .? " he asked. A Becket, as holder of the highest office in the church was the one to reply, and this is what he said : "We will observe them, saving the privileges of our order," a reply which promised exactly nothing at all. So the struggle went on. The king believed a Beckers that he was upholding justice, the archbishop "p^^- believed that he was upholding the rights of the church. Finally a Becket had to flee. Henry meant that his son should succeed him without any opposition, and, therefore, he had the young man crowned and associated with him in the govern- Excommu- ment. It had become a custom for the arch- ^ca^ioa- 70 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1189 bishop of Canterbury to perform the ceremony of coro- nation, and when in his exile a Becket learned that the king had been crowned by the archbishop of York, he felt this as another insult, and straightway brought it about that the Pope excommunicated several councillors whom a Becket thought in fault. This excommunication THE SCENE OF A BECKET'S MURDER IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL cut them off from the church and its sacraments. They were really made outcasts, for those who aided and sheltered them were threatened with the same penalty. It was declared formally that if they did not repent and receive pardon of the church before they died, they would perish ^ternally. Even after this there was so much of a reconciliation 1154-1189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 71 between a Becket and Henry that the archbishop re- turned to England. Henry was in France, and the next news brought him was that a Becket had persuaded the Pope to excommunicate several bishops who had assisted at the coronation of the prince. 58. A Becket's murder. When Henry was really angry, he was almost like a madman, and now he called out in a fury : " Will no one deliver me from this inso- lent priest ? " He always declared that he did not mean that he wished a Becket to be murdered, but there were four men who so understood the speech. They set off for Canterbury and struck down the archbishop in the church. The whole land was aghast. The priest who had been killed at the very altar was looked upon as a saint. Henry was frightened, and he was sincerely sorry for the words that he had spoken in his anger, and whose consequences had been so far beyond his thought. He gave up every point upon which he and the dead arch- bishop had differed. The Pope believed in his penitence and granted him forgiveness. 69. Henry's penance. About this time all kinds of troubles came upon the land, — invasion, revolt, tempest. Both Henry and his people believed that this was in consequence of the murder, and that the king must do more to prove his penitence. Henry mounted his horse and rode to the town of Canterbury. Then he put on a woolen shirt and a coarse cloak and walked barefoot over the rough stones of the streets to a Becket's tomb in the cathedral. Here he knelt and prayed. Then bishops, abbots, and the eighty monks took a rod, each in turn, and the powerful king, who for twenty years had ruled England and Normandy as he would, now dropped his cloak and received a blow from the hands of every one present. 72 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1189 After this the people felt that Henry had really been forgiven, especially as within a few days one invader was conquered on land and another driven back over the sea. A very beautiful shrine was made at Canterbury, and here the bones of a Becket were placed. Many churches throughout Europe begged for even the smallest relic of him, and many thousands of people came from far-away countries to kneel before his shrine. 60. English rule in Ireland. At the time when Henry's messengers were in Rome trying to secure the Pope's pardon for their sovereign, the king himself thought that with all the hatred aroused against him, it would be as well for him to be out of the country, and he was glad that it seemed necessary for him to go to Ire- land. This island was divided into provinces, and there was one chief, or king, for each province, and also one to whom the others paid some general deference as to an overlord. One of these kings, driven out of the land for his wrongdoing, had paid homage to Henry, and obtained his permission to enlist Englishmen to help regain the throne. The most powerful man that he secured was an earl who was nicknamed Strongbow. The English forces were successful, and when this king died, Strongbow, who had married the princess, became king in his place. Of course it did not please Henry to have one of his subjects king in the island, for he had meant to gain the power there for himself. Then it was that he went to Ireland. He had many ships, and they were well filled with soldiers. Strongbow was alarmed and did homage, as did many of the Irish princes. English rule was established, but in The"Eng- ^nly a portion of the island, known from this as ushPaie." the ''English Pale." When Strongbow died, Henry sent his own son John to rule the island. Henry 1154-1189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 73 had treated the Irish chieftains with courtesy and atten- tion, but John, a silly boy of twelve years, made fun of their homely dress and encouraged his attendants to in- sult them. In a year the insolent boy was recalled to England. 61. Henry's judicial reforms. After Henry felt him- self fully pardoned for the death of the archbishop, he went on with a reform in the courts of justice that his grandfather, Henry I., had planned. The early Saxon way of proving a man's innocence of a crime was to require him to plunge his arm into boiling water or to carry a red-hot iron so many paces. If after a certain number of days the arm was well or was healing healthily, the man was called innocent, because it was claimed that God had protected him. In the same belief that God would clear the innocent, the Normans had introduced the usage of requiring two men who had differed to fight a duel. Then it became a custom for each baron to hold a sort of court, but as the baron was responsible to no one for the justice of his decisions, there was every tempta- tion to give the case to the one that feed him most generously. Henry strove to have justice administered fairly throughout the land ; and to bring this about, he divided his kingdom into districts, and sent his judges through them at stated times. 62. Henry's sons rebel. It seemed to be the fate of the Norman kings to meet nothing but ingratitude from their children. Henry II. had four sons, and it was his plan that the eldest should be king of England, that the next two should hold wide domains in France, and that the youngest should rule over Ireland. The eldest claimed his inheritance at once. He would have either England or Normandy, he said. The queen favored the demand, and with his mother's sympathy the young 74 ENGLAND'S STORY [1189 man fled to France, accompanied by two of his brothers. These two boys, one fifteen and one fourteen years of age, had also demanded of their father the land that he had intended for them at his death. They rebelled, and with the king of France they planned an attack upon , England. Henry was then ill, but when he was told of this revolt, he said : " I have one comfort left. My son John has never conspired against me. Give me the list of the rebels." Behold, at the very head of the list was the name of Prince John. " Let things go as they will," said the broken-hearted king. " I have nothing more to care for ; " and in two days he died. 63. The Holy Grail. In these different reigns, under kings good or bad, strong or weak, the country was grad- ually working her way upward and onward. A writer now appeared, one Walter Map, who wrote on the same subject that was chosen by Geoffrey of Monmouth, but Map made poems of the old crude legends. One of his stories that of the Holy Grail, came from the Conti- nent. The Grail was the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. The legend is that it was carried to Pilate, who gave it to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph brought it to Glastonbury in England, and there it was to remain as long as its guardians were pure and good. At last the time came when one was unworthy of his trust, and the cup vanished, though it might sometimes be seen by those that were holy in thought and deed ; and in the stories of King Arthur it was a favorite quest of the knights to ride the world over and meet all hardship and all adventure in the hope of once having a glimpse of the sacred vision. Tennyson describes its appearance to a nun whose heart was pure and holy. There was first the sound of beautiful music coming nearer and nearer ; then, — 1189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 75 " Streamed through my cell a cold and silver beam, And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail, Rose-red with beatings in it, as if alive, Till all the white walls of my cell were dyed With rosy colors leaping on the wall ; And then the music faded, and the Grail Past, and the beam decayed, and from the walls The rosy quiverings died into the night." 64. The Grail and the crusades. It is easy to see how this story became such a delight to the people of that time, for it was just in line with what was coming to be in their thoughts more and more, and that was the crusades. The first crusade had not aroused a great amount of interest in England ; but two years before the death of Henry, news came that Jerusalem, which had been in the hands of the Christians, had again fallen under the rule of the Saracens. All England was ex- cited, and the king himself was prevented from becom- ing a crusader only by the advice of his council and the revolt of his son Richard. It was the idea of an earthly journey and some very earthly fighting, resulting withal in great religious gain, that made the story of the Holy Grail so intensely interesting to the men of the crusad- ing days. The knights of King Arthur had journeyed and had fought for religious gain ; so would they, too, journey and fight that they might attain the heaven whose gates would open wide to the man who had striven to win the earthly Jerusalem. As men heard the story of the Grail, they were eager for the crusade ; and all who longed to make the great journey listened the more in- tently to the words of the poet. SUMMARY Henry II. ruled his wide domains well. He tore down the castles of the tyrannous barons and brought order into the 7^ ENGLAND'S STORY [1189-1199 land. His offer to receive scutage struck a blow at feudalism. He substituted what developed into trial by jury for trial by combat, and he strove to treat all men as equal before the law. In this reign the English conquest of Ireland began. 6. Richard Cceur de Lion, 1189-1199 65. The ideal gentleman. The ideal gentleman of that day was the knight. He must serve a long appren- ticeship in some friendly castle, first, as a page, whose business was above all things to learn to be obedient and courte- ous. Then he became a squire, and his duty- was to attend upon the lord of the castle, carve his meat and fill his wine-cup, carry his shield or helmet, give him a lance if his was broken in a tourna- ment, help him to mount if he was thrown from his horse in his heavy armor, and drag him out of battle if he was wounded. QQ. Ceremony of becoming a knight. After seven years as a squire, he himself might become a knight, but he must first spend a day and a night in a church, fasting and praying. Then, in the presence of his friends and others, he solemnly promised to be loyal to the king, to defend A SQUIRE BECOMING A KNIGHT Girding on of the sword and fastening of the spurs 1 189] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS ^^ the church, and to protect every lady that might need his aid. After he had promised, some lady of high rank buckled on his spurs and girded on a sword that had been blessed by the priest. Then the prince or some noble struck him lightly on the shoulder with the flat of the sword, saying, " In the name of God, Saint Michael, and Saint George, I dub thee knight. Be brave, ready, and loyal." Young noblemen became knights as a matter of course, and no one thought highly of even a king unless he had all the knightly virtues and accom- plishments. 67. The good and the bad in knighthood. In some ways knighthood was good. Men were more interested in fighting than in anything else, and this training taught them not to be so brutal in their fighting, to be generous to their enemies, to be courteous to women, to respect age and authority, and to care for music and poetry. On the other hand, the knight was not required to be courteous to people of lower rank than himself, and he was as rough as ever when he was dealing with those whom he thought his inferiors. It is stated that at a great tournament, or mock-fight, in which three thou- sand men contended, the knights that were hurt were taken care of, but no one thought it worth while to do anything for those of their humbler followers who were wounded. 68. Richard Coeur de Lion. Richard, King Henry's third son, was an ideal knight, and although he was an exceedingly poor king, who^e only notion of ruling a country was to get as much money from it as possible, yet, because he was a brave knight, people could never praise him enough. They called him " Coeur de Lion," or the " Lion-Hearted," and were never tired of singing songs about him and his warlike deeds. He reigned ten 78 ENGLAND'S STORY [1 190 Raising money. for the bought years, but during only a few months of the time was he in England. All his early life he had spent in France, and he could not even speak the English language. 69. Richard as a crusader. When King Henry II. died, Philip, king of France, and Leopold, duke of Aus- tria, were planning to go on a crusade. Richard wished to go with them, and no sooner had he been crowned than he set to work to raise the necessary funds. He taxed his people severely, extorted money from the Jews, sold bishoprics and other offices to any one that would pay for them, and granted various privileges to the towns for large amounts of gold. This was a good thing towns, for each new privilege of the king was described in writing, and the writing was signed by him, so that every bit of parchment that a town gained made it a little more free than it had been before. The three young men set off on their a knight templar crusade with a great flourish of banners richard i. and long trains of followers; but ^'Tu?" cSCal^^'"" they had not been many weeks in the Holy Land before Philip began to feel that Richard was gaining all the glory of the expedition. Moreover, now that Richard was king, he was not so yielding as he had been when Philip was helping him to conspire against his father. The result was that Philip went home and left Richard to get along as best he could. Then Leopold raised his standard over a captured city, and Richard tore it down, saying that a king's standard came before a duke's. Richard was always in the midst of his The cru- sade falls, 193] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 79 men, and he was not at all afraid to put his own hands to whatever work they were doing. He was once help- ing them to build a fort, but when he asked Leopold to join in the work, the duke was angry and said that he was neither a mason nor a carpenter. Richard struck him, and he went home in a rage. The English king had not men enough to conquer the Saracens, so he, too, had to go home. He went on his way sadly, for he knew that if it had not been for his hot temper, Jerusalem might have been in the hands of the Christians. On the way home he was wrecked and had to go through Austria, and although he was in dis- Richard is , guise, some one found him out. Leopold put imprisoned, him into prison, and soon gave him into the hands ot the emperor of Germany, and for a long while no one knew where he was. There is a story that a minstrel of Richard's court, named Blondel, roamed about wherever he thought his king might be. He would sing under the window of every prison ; and at last, when he stood one day by a gloomy stone tower, singing a song that he and Richard had often sung together, he was de- lighted to hear his master's voice take up the air and sing the second verse. 70. Richard is ransomed. There were two men who were anxious to keep Richard in prison. One was Philip of France, for he thought that if Richard was RICHARD 1. IN PRISON 8o ENGLAND'S STORY [1190-1199 a prisoner, he himself would have a good opportunity to get possession of Normandy ; and the other was Richard's younger brother John, for he thought that if Richard was out of the way, no one would interfere with his own rule in England. These two men went about their schemes. Philip accused Richard of various crimes, and John offered the emperor twenty thousand pounds a month to keep his brother in confinement. Richard, however, soon proved his innocence of the crimes, and the emperor agreed to set him free for a ransom. This ransom was so large that it was hard for England to find the money, but the English were proud of their crusader king, and it was raised. Richard returned to England for a short time and received a hearty welcome from his subjects, for, however he might extort money from them, he was still their ideal knight. 71. Richard's character. A story told of the last scene of his life is characteristic of him in his cruelty, his generosity, and his determination to get what he thought was *his own. Treasure had been found in the land held by one of his vassals, who refused to follow the custom and give it up to the king. Richard besieged the castle, and would not grant any terms of surrender. When the castle fell, he ordered every man to be hanged excepting the archer who had wounded him. This man was brought into his presence, and the king asked : " How have I harmed you, that you should kill me } " The young man replied stoutly : " My lord king, you killed my father, you killed my two brothers, and you meant to kill me. Revenge yourself on me as you will, since at last you have come to your end after you have for so many years inflicted evil upon the world." The king had long before forgiven his treacherous brother John, and now, though he was suffering in- II99] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 81 tensely from the wound, which he knew would end his life, he was still generous and bade his soldiers set the young man free. MILITARY AND CIVIL COSTUME IN THE TIME OF RICHARD I. SUMMARY The knight was the ideal gentleman of the time, and Rich- ard was the ideal knight. The story of his reign circles around his career as a crusader. To raise money for the crusade, he sold many privileges to the wealthy towns, so that at the end of his reign of ten years they held as their most valued possessions charters which secured to them a great increase of liberty. 82 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 199-1207 7. John Lackland. 1199-1216 72. The murder of Arthur. Richard had left no children, and now John, youngest son of Henry IL, be- came king, though no one really wished to have him for a ruler. A brother older than John, had left a boy, named Arthur, for King Arthur of the Round Table, but he was only twelve years old, and the chief men of Eng- land were afraid that there would be war if a child was on the throne. John was jealous of Arthur, and in three or four years the boy disappeared so suddenly that peo- ple felt sure that John had murdered him. It had long been the custom for the king of France to be a sort of overlord of the French lands of the duke of Normandy, though sometimes the duke was punisii- the more powerful of the two men. Philip now ""^^ sent a formal summons to John, as duke of Normandy and therefore vassal of the French king, to appear before the French court to answer for the murder of Arthur ; and as he did not come, Philip punished hirn by taking possession of more than half of the Eng- lish king's lands in France. It is perhaps because of this that John received his nickname of " Lackland." 73. John's quarrel with the church. John's next trouble was with the church. The archbishop of Canter- bury had died, and it was a question whether the man that the king chose or the man that the Pope chose should have the position. The Pope's choice was Ste- phen Langton, an upright, learned man of sound judg- ment and utter fearlessness of spirit. John refused to receive him. The Pope placed the kingdom under an interdict. The churches were draped with black, and their doors were closed. The dead could not be buried in consecrated ground, and no mar- I2I3] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 83 riage could be solemnized within the walls of the church. This was the state of England for four years. Then the Pope excommunicated the king, and commissioned Philip to seize the English crown. At this, John yielded, and was ready to make any promise and pay any amount, if only he might keep his position. 74. John's cruelty and injustice. Philip could have made very little trouble for John if the English king had not all this time been treating his subjects so badly that some of them began to think they would rather have Philip for a ruler, and no one knew whether they would stand by their king or not. The charters that had been given to London and to other cities John had refused to respect, and he had forced many of the barons to give him large sums of money. The Jews especially had suffered in his determination to get their wealth. There is a record that one of them had borne agonizing torture without yielding to the unjust demands of the king, and finally John ordered one of his victim's teeth to be knocked out every day until he should give up his gold. The poor man submitted, after losing a tooth every morn- ing for seven days. John had been as rapacious with the poor as with the rich, for he would even take away a man's tools by which he earned his bread, if the man could not pay the sum demanded. Men had been put into prison and refused a trial. Indeed, the only sure way to win a case was, not to have a just cause, but to make the king a present of money, horses, a suit of clothes, or even poultry or fish ; for this king, who would extort so great sums from the rich, did not scorn the smallest trifles, if a man could be forced to give nothing more. In punishing any misdeed, he would demand as large a sum as could be forced from the man accused. He taxed people, not by any regular law, but for as much as he could get. 84 ENGLAND'S STORY [1213-1215 75. John asks for absolution. When Archbishop Langton came to England, John went to him to ask for absolution, or the pardon of the church. The archbishop had learned just how John's subjects were suffering from his cruel treatment, and he boldly refused pardon until the king should promise to obey the laws of his ancestors and treat his people justly. 76. Quarrel with the barons. John promised with- out a moment's hesitation, but he soon showed that he had not the slightest idea of keeping his word. The fearless archbishop called together the clergy, barons, and other prominent men to meet in a church in London. When the other business of the meeting was ended, Langton told some of the barons that he had found the charter that Henry I. had given to his people a century before. The barons seemed to have forgotten all about this charter, and they were delighted to find that they had The lost ^^ good a weapon. "When King John sees charter. this," said they, "he will never dare to refuse what his great-grandfather promised so long ago." Then the charter was read aloud, and there before the altar the barons and the archbishop promised one another that they would stand by their rights. These barons were much more patient than those of the days of William the Conqueror, for they agreed to wait one year to see if the king would not improve. The year passed, and then they again met in a church and took a solemn oath that if the king refused them Theharons' justice they would make war upon him. Even oath. after this they waited until Christmas. Then they went to John and asked him to repeat before the nation the promises that he had made to Langton when he received absolution. John was badly frightened, but I2I5] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 85 he contrived to put them off till Easter. He thought that there would be some way out of the trouble by that time ; but at Easter he was in an even more hopeless MAGNA CARTA ISLAND, RUNNYMEDE. condition than before, for now there was a great army all ready to fight against his tyranny. What could he do .? A king who would treat his sub- jects so unjustly would not hesitate to deceive them ; and when John found that he must yield, he j^^ sent a polite message to the barons, saying that y^^^^- he was willing to meet them wherever they wished and to promise them whatever they desired. 77. June 15, 1215. Magna Carta. The barons re- quested him to come to Runnymede, a meadow on the Thames near Windsor, and there, June 15, 121 5, he signed his name and affixed his seal to a piece of parch- ment that is now, brown, shriveled, and torn, in the British. Museum. This is the famous Magna Carta, or 86 ENGLAND'S STORY [1215 Great Charter, and just as the charters of towns secured for them many rights, so this secured for the whole Eng- lish nation the right that their ruler should treat them justly. The people were dehghted, for they hoped that John would keep his word, and that England would now be happy and peaceful ; but the king went into a perfect fury of rage. He threw the furniture about, and rolled over the floor like a madman, gnashing his teeth and biting at sticks and straws. What were these promises which John* had to sign and which, he said, made him " no longer a king but a The pro- slave " .-* One was that he would not delay jus- Magna' ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ bribes ; another, that all fines for Carta. misdeeds should be fixed by law ; another, that he would impose no taxes without the consent of his council ; another, that he would give up his custom of seizing a large share of the property that any noble left when he died, for before this, John had been in the habit of taking as much as he chose, and if there were young children, he would take nearly all the income of the estate C5xue9 FACSIMILE EXTRACT FROM MAGNA CARTA I2i6] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 87 till the children were grown up. The most important pledge was that no free man should be imprisoned or punished in any way except by the lawful judgment of his equals. The barons on their part promised that they would treat their vassals just as they had made the king agree to treat them. * The barons feared that John would not keep his pro- mises, so they had drawn up another paper giving them the right to take his castles and lands and an- ^he noy him by every means in their power if he ovwiords- broke his word. And John had to sign this too ! Twenty- five overlords were specially appointed to keep watch of him. This charter was sent throughout the kingdom and was read aloud in all the churches. 78. John's revenge. John was in a fury and went off to the Isle of Wight to think what he could do to revenge himself on the barons. No one in England would help him, so he sent to the Continent and hired foreign sol- diers to come over and fight for him. At first this plan seemed to be successful, for by their aid he took several strong castles from the barons ; but it was worse for him in the end, for these soldiers were so cruel and wicked that the whole English nation hated John more than ever for bringing such people into the land. 79. The Dauphin comes. Again the barons met, and this time they were in such despair that they could think of nothing else to do but to invite the Dauphin, eldest son of King Philip of France, to be their ruler. He had married John's niece, so they tried their utmost to feel that he would really be an English king. The Dauphin was delighted to come, but he and his men behaved worse than the other foreign soldiers. They took possession of goods and castles, and even began to think of banishing the barons who had invited them to come. 88 ENGLAND'S STORY [1199-1216 80. John's death. Between John and the French- men the barons hardly knew what to do, but just then John suddenly died. It is said that when he was cross- ing a dangerous place on the seashore, a high tide swept away quantities of the treasure that he was carrying with him, and that even his crown went under the waves. John had not been in the least penitent for the wrong* that he had done his people, but he was so sorry to lose his treasure that he fell into a fever and died. Wicked man as John was, it was an excellent thing for England that he had been its king, for if a man only half as bad had stood in his place, the barons w^ould not have been aroused to make him sign the Great Charter. Sev- eral kings since the days of John have tried to deal unjustly with the nation, but in the end the English peo- ple have either driven them from the throne, or made them yield and keep the promises of the Charter. SUMMARY John's supposed murder of his nephew brought about the loss of the French lands, a loss that was a gain, for the interest of the Norman barons became more fully centred in Eng- land, and they began to see that what was to the advantage of the English was also to their advantage. John's tyranny and injustice led to revolt on the part of the barons, and his quar- rel with the church gave to the barons a fearless leader in Archbishop Langton. The result of the struggle was that John was forced to sign Magna Carta. This charter is the token not only of successful resistance to tyranny, but of a realization that the interests of church, nobles, and people were one. 8. Henry III. 1216-1272 81. The child king. The only member of the royal family left to inherit the crown was a little boy named I2I6-I227] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 89 Henry, who was but nine years old. Before this time it had never occurred to any one that it would answer at all to choose a child for king ; but now the English must either choose him or else take some one not a member of the family that had ruled them for so long. They chose the child, and crowned him with a little circlet of gold, for the heavy crown that had been washed away into the sea had not been found. This Henry HI. was a gentle, amia- ble boy, but rather dull and slow. All laws were made in his name, but the barons were the real rulers until he was eighteen. There was no especial trouble in getting rid of the Dauphin, and, indeed, mat- ters in general went on very well until Henry was of age, though one law that the barons made would have greatly astonished William the Conqueror. This was that no one should be punished by death, even if he did go hunting in the royal forests. 82. Henry's character. As soon as Henry had full power in his own hands, England began to have a hard time again, for he would gratify his desire for display whether his subjects were pleased or not. When his CORONATION OF HENRY III. The king is represented as holding a model of Westmin- ster Abbey, which he enlarged and beautified. The other two figures are the bishops of Winchester and Bath. 90 ENGLAND'S STORY [1227-1258 sister married the emperor of Germany, Henry gave her such splendid jewels and dresses and horses and golden dishes that people stared in amazement that even an empress should have such magnificence. Of course the English had to pay for all the lavishness, and when, the very next year, their king himself married, the demands were still larger. No one had ever heard of such ex- travagance as there was at the celebration of this mar- riage. Two or three years later a royal prince was born, and then the king, not satisfied with the generous presents that people made on such occasions, actually sent men about the country to ask for gifts. When he wanted money some years after this, he visited the homes of his subjects, and at the end of each visit he would invite his host to make him a present. If this Henry IH. had been a king of whom the Eng- lish people could have been proud, they would have given to him as generously as they did to Richard; but his government was weak, he had never put an enemy to flight, and the clear-headed Englishmen began to realize how foolish it was to make themselves poor that such a king might have money to throw away. The people were long-suffering, and whenever they seemed ready to make a stand, the king would break down and weep and say that he meant them no wrong. He would promise whatever they asked, and perhaps he really meant to keep his promises, but he was so weak that he broke them at the first temptation. At last the moment came when the people would bear no more. 83. Opposition to Henry. Henry had been on the throne for more than forty years. His subjects' indigna- tion had increased, because, in addition to all his other expenditures, he was sending to the Pope much larger sums than England could afford, and now on a promise 1265] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS QI that one of the English princes should rule Sicily, Henry- had agreed to give the Pope a great amount of money to help to make a conquest of the island. He Thesiciuan called Parliament together, brought in his son «i«®»tion- wearing the Sicilian dress, and told the assembly what an honor it would be to England for the prince to be king of Sicily. This was not a good time to ask for so much money to be sent out of the kingdom, for the English were carrying on a war with the Welsh, and there was a terrible famine besides. The barons refused to yield to Henry's demands, and finally a strong party was formed against him. The leader in this opposition was Simon simonde de Montfort, Henry's brother-in-law. The crown Montiort. prince Edward also sided with the people, but when it really came to war, Edward would not desert his father, and he led the royal army. De Montfort and the people won. They were not fighting to get rid of the king, but to' make him treat his subjects fairly ; and, instead of putting him off the throne, they called a Parliament in his name. This was in 1265, and the assembly was different from all previous Parlia- ments, for now not only clergymen and barons, but citizens and country gentlemen, were asked oftheHouse to come together to discuss the affairs of the mons?" nation. This was the beginning of the English ^^®^- House of Commons, the representation of men that have neither land nor rank. It is possible that Earl Simon, after endangering his life by heading a party against the king, may have felt that he was justly entitled to more power than the other barons. At any rate, they became Evesham. 1265 jealous, and a league was formed against him by Prince Edward. Of course there was fighting, and in 92 ENGLAND'S STORY [1265 the battle of Evesham the earl was slain. An old ballad, probably written soon after the battle, says : — " Full cruelly they struck that day All with the brandished brand, But in the end Sir Edward's men They got the upper hand. " But by his death Earl Simon hath In sooth the victory won, Like Canterbury's martyr he There to the death was done." 1 This ballad shows how the people felt toward Simon de Montfort. When the battle of Evesham was raging, so ^^^^^S^^r^\ BUILDING OPERATIONS DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY III. The king, to the left, is giving directions to the architect terrible a thunderstorm suddenly arose that the monks in the abbey could not see the words of the psalms they ^ F. York Powell's version. I307] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 93 were singing, and the soldiers had to stop fighting be- cause they could not see their foes. Thousands of people thought this storm was sent to show that God was angry because the earl had been slain ; and so many began to look upon him as a saint that a law was actually passed forbidding any one to say that miracles had been wrought at his grave. 84. De Montfort's work. Although to one looking on, it might have seemed as if, now that the earl was dead, his work was lost, yet his bold claim that men without either land or rank had a right to be represented in the government was a long step forward in securing to the people the freedom of thought and speech that did so much to render tyranny powerless. SUMMARY Just as the wickedness of John aroused the opposition that resulted in Magna Carta, so the folly and extravagance of Henry III. called forth a demand for the representation of the people in Parliament. By the efforts of Simon de Montfort, citizens and country gentlemen, as well as nobles and great landowners, were asked to meet to discuss the affairs of the nation. From this beginning the House of Commons developed. • 9. Edward I. 1 272-1 307 85. The children's crusade. When Henry HI. died, his brave son Edward was in the Holy Land on a cru- sade. These expeditions had been going on ever since the days of William Rufus. Great numbers of the bravest young men of France and Germany and England had been slain. Thousands of children had died too, for one crusade was made up almost wholly of children, many of them not more than twelve years "of age. These children had no idea of fighting, but they thought that 94 ENGLAND'S STORY [i2th-i4th Cent. if they could only tell the unbelievers about Jesus, they would all become Christians. Many of the children ran away from good homes, and sometimes their parents did not dare to hold them back, for they thought that perhaps God wished to rescue Jerusalem by means of these little ones. Few of the children had ever been far from home, and whenever a village came in sight, they would ask, " Is n't it Jerusalem yet.?" They sang hymns on the long journey, and one of them we sing to-day, beginning : — " Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature.'* It was a very hot summer, and many died of the heat. Then in crossing the Alps, even more died of the cold. The children thought that when they came to the sea a path would open for them, but the waves still beat upon the shore. Two merchants offered to take them over the water in their ships, and it was not known until many years later, that the merchants had carried them away and sold them as slaves. 86. Gain from the crusades. The crusaders did not gain possession of the Holy Land, but yet these expedi- tions were of great value, for people learned new ways of living. They learned to use new words and to think new thoughts. Men are often uncharitable just be- cause they are ignorant, and the crusaders learned to look more kindly upon even the Saracens with whom they had fought, for they had seen that the heathen foes were often brave and truthful. One great change that the crusades helped to bring about in England changes was in regard to the ownership of land. Much of the land of the kingdom had been in the hands of a very few men, who were called lords of the 1274] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 95 manor because they owned large farms, or manors. People living on the manors were not permitted to leave them, and must work so many days every year for the owner. When these lords wanted funds for a cru- sade, they were glad to accept money instead of work, and sometimes they would allow the workmen to buy a piece of land for themselves. The result was that at the end of the crusades many owned land, and all these people were especially anxious to have a good govern- ment, for they began to feel that if they owned a piece of England, then what was good for England was a gain to them. 87. England's welcome to Edward. The English people rejoiced to have Edward for king. He had fought against their champion, to be sure, but they felt that he really sympathized with them and fought only to support his father. Whether he was dead or alive, they did not know, since he had gone to the far-away east ; but as soon as Henry HI. was buried, the chief men of the kingdom met in Westminster Abbey, and in the hope that Edward was living they took a solemn oath that they would be true to him. When he returned two years later, they gave him a most princely welcome. For more than two weeks every- body who could come to the great halls in London was feasted and had all the wine that he could drink. The houses were bright with hangings of silk and tapestry. Rich men threw money from their windows by the hand- ful, and, strangest of all the ways of rejoicing, five hun- dred horses were let loose in the streets, and whoever chose might keep one for his own. 88. Edward's reign is memorable for three reasons. The king was called Edward L, for people counted only from the time of the Conqueror. There are three 96 ENGLAND'S STORY [1272-1307 reasons why his reign is worth remembering. The first is that before its close he had adopted the Repiesenta- uve Parua- ideas of the dead Simon de Montfort, and had ™*"' * admitted to his Parliament representatives of the townsmen and of the lesser landowners. The second is that he conquered Wales. The Welsh were descendants of the early Britons whom the Saxons Conquest of had driven to the west ; and, although they had Wales, 1282. of ten been obliged to pay tribute, they had never really submitted to the rule of an English king, and they had a prophecy that some day their own King PLANTAGENET KING AT TABLE Arthur would come back and help them to drive away the invaders. Edward won several victories, and finally obliged the Welsh to acknowledge him as their ruler. Of course they did this most unwillingly, but matters seemed a little better when Edward told them that he 1290] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 9/ would give them a prince who had been born in their land and who had never spoken a word of The Prince English. Behold, when their prince was pre- o^waies. sented to them, he was Edward's baby son, who had been born in Wales a few months before and was too young to speak a word of any language. He was called Prince of Wales, and that is why the eldest son of the English sovereign usually receives that title, though he has no more power over Wales than over any other part of the kingdom. The third reason for remembering the reign of Ed- ward is his attempt to conquer Scotland. This was far more difficult than to subdue Wales. In Attempt to Scotland there were the descendants of a people conquer called Scots, who had long before come from ^*'*'^^^'^- the north of Ireland and had given their name to the country. There were descendants of Picts and of Danes ; of Englishmen whom William the Conqueror had driven from their homes ; also some descendants of Normans. All these people were united in wishing Scotland to be free, but they took an unwise step which put them into Edward's power. The Scotch king had died, leaving no children, and thirteen distant relatives claimed the throne. Edward was called a wise ruler, and the Scotch asked gr^ce „ him to choose among the thirteen. He replied Bauioi? that the Scotch must first acknowledge him as overlord. They agreed, and he decided in favor of Balliol, though a man named Robert Bruce had a claim that many thought equally good. Soon Edward began to behave so much as if he him- self were king of Scotland that even Balliol The stone revolted. Then Edward came with his army, o*scone. put Balliol from the throne, and subdued the Scotch. 98 ENGLAND'S STORY [1272-1307 When he went home, he carried with him to London a stone upon which the kings of Scotland always sat when they were crowned. It is called the Stone of Scone, and the people believed that it was the very one that Jacob had for a pillow when he dreamed of the ladder and the angels ; and that it had been carried from Bethel to Egypt, Spain, Ireland, and finally to Scotland. Edward put it into a chair in West- minster Abbey, and it is on this stone that the king of England sits at his coronation. The only comfort that the Scotch had in its loss was an old prophecy that wherever the stone was, there the Scotch should rule. Scotland was not conquered. She only waited for a leader, and soon a brave, strong man appeared named William William Wallace. He knew that he could not Wallace. ^gg^- ^j^g great numbers of English that would come against him, so he planned to starve them out, and when the English were coming, the people would burn what they could not carry, and then run away. After a wjiile, however, the great English army overpowered the few Scotchmen. Wallace was captured and put to death. CORONATION CHAIR WITH STONE OF SCONE 307] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 99 The heir of Robert Bruce was his grandson, a young man by the same name. Edward had kept him at the EngUsh court, but one snowy morning he was missing. There were footprints of horses in Robert the snow, but they pointed toward London, and ^'^*'®' no one guessed that the wise young man had had the shoes put on reversed. He escaped to Scotland and was crowned. At first he had to hide in the mountains, but he always had faithful friends, and he never was discour- aged. After a while he began to be successful, and there came a time when no one knew whether he or Edward would conquer. The English king was old and feeble, but he was as •resolute as ever, and he set out to subdue Scotland once for all. Before he was out of England, he fell ill and died. His last wishes were that his bones should be wrapped in an ox-hide, and that his son — the one who had been the baby Prince of Wales — should carry them at the head of the English army till Scotland should be subdued. This was not done, however, for Edward was buried with his forefathers in Westminster Abbey. 89. Banishment of the Jews. 1290. About the middle of Edward's reign he banished the Jews from the WILLIAM WALLACE ICX) ENGLAND'S STORY [1066-1307 kingdom. Thus far the English kings had allowed them to stay, and had treated them less cruelly than had the kings on the continent. This comparative kindness was not for the benefit of the Jews, however, but simply because they seemed to know how to amass money bet- ter than other people, and the kings found it convenient to be able to help themselves from the Jewish hoard. When the Jews made loans, it was always doubtful whether they would ever see their money again, and so to make up for this risk, they charged enormous inter- est. The English now claimed that this high rate of interest was an injury to the country. Then, too, many people never looked at a Jew without thinking of the crucifixion of Christ, and fancying that even the Jews of twelve hundred years later were to blame for it. At any rate, they were driven out of England, sixteen thou- sand of them, and it is possible that no other deed of Ed- ward's reign brought him so much praise as their cruel expulsion. 90. Literary progress. In the two centuries since the battle of Senlac, the English people had made much progress in freedom of thought. They had also made English Is Pi'ogress in their manner of expressing their enriched by thoughts. The French had found it quite worth while to know English, and the English had found it convenient to know French. More and'' more, however, people were looking upon a knowledge of French as an accomplishment and upon English as the real language of the country. This English had been greatly changed since the days when the minstrels sang of Beowulf, and one of the changes was the result of borrowing words from the French. Words that were nearly alike in both languages were pronounced just as it happened ; and as for the spelling, they were spelled in 1066-1307] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS lOl whatever way came to mind first. In order that those who knew but one language might understand, the cus- tom arose of using two words, one from the French and one from the English, meaning the same thing ; and that is one reason why our English of to-day has so many synonyms, or pairs of words with nearly the same signifi- cation ; such as cordial, hearty ; desire, wish ; act, deed ; humble, lowly ; confess, acknowledge. No matter how many words English may take from the French or from any other language, it always makes them wear an Eng- lish dress ; for instance, telephone is from the Greek, but we say telephones and telepJion-ing^ and the s and the ing are not Greek, but English. The books that were written were chiefly about Eng- land and her history ; some of this history is true, and some of it goes back to the half -fabulous days ^ of King Arthur. The unwritten literature, the real however, is far more attractive. In the days of the weak King Stephen, the cruel barons robbed the people so unmercifully that many abandoned their homes and went to live in the forests. Then it was that men began to make ballads about bold Robin Hood, ^^^^0. the merry outlaw who took from the rich and ^''°'*- gave to the poor, who played all sorts of pranks on sheriffs and wealthy bishops, but who was always ready to help any one in trouble. It was a long time before the ballads were written, but they were sung throughout the land. As in the days of Richard a minstrel might go where he would and always find a hearty greeting, so any man who could sing a ballad was ever a welcome guest. People would gather in groups at any time to listen to him. The ballads were on well-known old stories, or on any recent event that struck the fancy of the singer. He I02 ENGLAND'S STORY [ I 066-1 307 would never try to remember how another man had sung the song, but would sing what chanced to come to his own mind, and make up lines whenever he forgot. The song changed with every singer. The accounts of early England that were written in this century are in- teresting, but even though the monks that wrote them would have been greatly shocked at the thought that their pages of digni- fied Latin were not valuable as the so A BAND OF MINSTRELS street songs, it is, after all, the ballads that are the real English literature of the century, the real voice of the masses of the English people. SUMMARY One important result of the crusades was that the numbef of people holding land had greatly increased ; another was that new thoughts and a wider knowledge had come to Eng- land. In this reign Wales was conquered ; but, owing to the brave leadership of Wallace and then of Bruce, Scotland was only partially subdued. Bigotry and narrowness were shown in the expulsion of the Jews, but freedom gained in the rep- resentation of all classes in a regularly organized Parliament. English became more and more the language of the peo- ple. History was written, but the best English literature of the period was the unwritten ballads. HISTORICAL MAP OF SCOTLAND I04 ENGLAND'S STORY [1307-1314 10. Edward II. 1 307-1 327 91. Edward II. and his favorite. Now that Edward I. was dead, the Prince of Wales became king and was called Edward II. He sat on the throne, but the real ruler of the land was a young Frenchman named Piers Gaveston. He was a foolish, frivolous man, and Ed- ward I. and his Parliament had banished him ; but almost the first thing that this new king did was to call him back. Then Edward had the unworthy favorite walk next to himself at the coronation ceremonies, and when the king went to France for his bride, he made Gaveston regent during his absence. He gave him great numbers of costly gifts, jewels, gold plate, and all kinds of beauti- ful things ; though many of them belonged to the crown, and he had no right to give them away. At last the country would bear with Gaveston no longer, and he was banished for having stolen public money and for other crimes. In a short time the king called him back, and proclaimed that he was a "true and loyal subject." The barons were not convinced of that, and he was put to death. 92. War with Scotland continues. All this time Robert Bruce was growing stronger, and at last he besieged Stirling Castle, the one stronghold in Scotland that remained in English hands. For the onl/ time, Edward led his army in person. It was a large army, and Bruce had only a few men, but every Scotsman seemed to be a hero. At Bannockburn their leader dug trenches, or pits, in the way by which the English would have to come. Then he^ planted in these pits pointed stakes, and spread turf and rushes over them. Line after line of the English fell, and in spite of the mighty army against them, the Scotch won a tremen- 327] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 105 dous victory. The king ran to save his life, for the Scotch were not satisfied with one victory, but pur- Battle oi sued the foe even across the border. After ^^^^^^' so disastrous a defeat, it is no wonder that 1314. the English were ready to make a treaty of peace. 93. Edward is deposed. Edward had other favor- ites by this time, and they were as frivolous as Gaveston. The queen, too, had a favorite, one Mortimer ; and these STIRLIINL. »„ASil.E two came over from France with an army and drove the king into Wales. The country had borne all that it could bear. Parliament met, and sent commissioners to the king to demand that he should resign the crown that he had worn so unworthily. It must have been a most impressive scene. Instead of making any defence, the king burst into tears and thanked Parliament most humbly for having chosen his son to take his place. The Speaker of the House of Parliament then said : " In the name of all the people I06 ENGLAND'S STORY I1327-1377 of the land, I renounce the oath of fealty that was made to you." To order a king to give up his crown was quite a new proceeding, and it shows plainly how the power of kings had decreased and the power of their subjects increased that any Parliament should venture to make such a de- mand. What would William the Conqueror have said! Edward was taken to a castle and kept in imprison- ment for several months. Then he was secretly mur- dered, many thought by his wicked wife and Mortimer. SUMMARY The real rulers of the land were the unworthy favorites of the king. After the defeat at Bannockburn, Edward was forced to make a treaty with the Scotch. The queen and her favorite drove him into Wales ; and finally, the English people exercised for the first time their right to depose a weak and worthless sovereign. II. Edward III. 1 327-1 377 94. Scotland becoraes independent. Almost the first that we know of Edward III., the boy of fourteen who was left in 1327 to rule the kingdom, is that the very next year this boy put himself at the head of the army and marched against Scotland. The wise leaders of the Scotch proved to be better generals than the young king and his advisers, and it is said that the eager, disappointed boy wept bitterly when he was finally obliged to return to England and sign a treaty acknow- ledging the independence of the Scotch. This treaty was not at all pleasing to the people, and they blamed the wicked queen and her favorite Mortimer for bringing it about. When Edward was three years older, he saw that he must no longer allow the pair to 1346] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 107 rule. Mortimer was arrested, and Parliament put him to death as a traitor. The queen was imprisoned in her palace. 96. Cause of the Hundred Years' War. Just as William the Conqueror had claimed the crown of Eng- land partly on the ground of his being cousin to Edward the Confessor, so this Edward III., when he was twenty- four years of age, laid claim to the crown of France on the ground of relationship to the late king. He even put on his coins, " Edward III., King of Eng- p^^^g^ land and France." His chief allies were the aidsEng- people of Flanders, and the reason for their friendship was because they wished to buy wool. England produced large quantities of wool, but did not attempt to weave any except coarse cloths. Flanders bought the wool, made fine cloth, and sold it to England. During some troubles between Scotland and England, France, as the ally of Scotland, had seized upon English vessels carrying wool to Flanders, and this had stopped the work of the Flemish weavers and had greatly injured the business of the country. A war to secure the crown of France for the ruler of England began, and did not end for a century. In the first few years of this struggle, there was a fierce naval fight and also a great battle on land, and the English won both. The naval fight was off the mouth of the Schelde. The English won such a victory that no one dared to tell the loss to the French king. 96. Edward invades France. In 1346 Edward landed in France, and just as the Conqueror fell when he landed in England, so Edward fell when first he touched his foot to French ground. " Sir king, go back to your ship," his men pleaded. " Land some other day, for truly, this is a bad omen for us." io8 ENGLAND'S STORY [1346 Battle ol Cr^cy. 1346. " Why ? " asked the quick-witted king. " It is a good omen, for it shows that the land herself is eager to re- ceive me." Onward the army marched, plundering and burning, and sending on board the ships much treasure, and all the prisoners that would be able to pay a generous ransom. By and by the English came to Crecy, and there a battle was fought. The French had many more soldiers than the English, but the English troops were well trained and obeyed orders, while the French sometimes obeyed and sometimes did not. Moreover, the English had a good position, but the French had the sun in their eyes. The French felt sure of win- ning the battle because they had hired fifteen thousand men from Genoa to fight with cross- bows. These Genoese dashed forward with a loud cry ; but the English stood still. They dashed forward again with a louder cry, but not an English- man stirred. They came the third time, and now they shot. Then the English archers stepped forward just one pace and shot a storm of arrows. A little earlier there had been a shower, which had wet the strings of the crossbows that the Genoese used, but the Eng- lish had been able to keep their strings dry. The result was that the arrows of the Genoese did little harm, but every English arrow counted. Moreover, the English A GENOESE CROSSBOWMAN Winding up or bending his crossbow 1347] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 109 could shoot much more rapidly, for the Genoese had to wind up their crossbows with a crank before every shot. The French ran, and the English pursued ; and then some Welsh, who were armed with short, broad knives, dashed upon the fugitives, and the day was won for England. Edward's son, the Black Prince, as he was called, per- haps from the color of his armor, was on the ^he Black field, and once when he was in danger, his Priace. friends appealed to the king to come to his aid. " Is he thrown from his horse ? " asked the king. " No," they answered. "Then let him win his spurs," said the king, "and the glory of the victory shall be his." When the battle was over, the king kissed the prince and said : — " You are my good son, and you are worthy to keep a realm." It is possible that cannon were used in this battle, but they were very small, and hardly did more than to frighten the horses. After the battle of Crecy, the English pushed on to Calais and besieged the town. The brave defenders held out for a whole year, and when they surrendered, it giegeoi was only because they were starving. Edward Calais, was so angry at the resistance that he said he would AN ENGLISH ARCHER no ENGLAND'S STORY [1347-1356 show no mercy unless six of the principal citizens would come forth in their shirts, bareheaded and barefooted and with ropes about their necks, that he might do with them as he would. The people of Calais wept at this hard decree, but the richest man in the town said, " I will be the first to risk my life to save the people." Five others fol- lowed, and when they stood before the king, he bade that they should all be hanged. Then Queen Philippa fell on her knees before him and said : " I came over the sea to you in much peril, and no boon have I desired of you. Now I beg that in the honor of the Son of the Virgin Mary and for the love of me, you will have mercy on these six citizens." To this the king answered : " Ah, lady, I wish you had been in some other place, but I cannot deny you." Thereupon the queen clothed the six men and feasted them, and set them free to go back to their own city The one who tells us this story and many more like it was Queen Philippa' s secretary, a man named Froissart. He lived in England and in France, and he wrote most interesting accounts of what he saw and what he heard. After Crecy there was a truce of several years ; then Batueoi ^^ ^3S^ Came an important battle at Poitiers. Poitiers. The Black Prince was in command and cap- tured the French king. Froissart says that the prince treated his prisoner with the utmost courtesy, THE BLACK PRINCE From the effigy on his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral again. Froissart. 1348] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS III even waiting on him at table, and humbly refusing to sit by him, saying : " I am not worthy to sit by so valiant a man as your actions have this day shown you to be." 97. England's new idea. England was exceedingly proud of the victory at Crecy, but this battle gave her more than glory, it gave her a new idea. Before this, people had always thought that the only way to prepare a man for battle was to cover him with a heavy, clumsy coat of mail, set him on a horse, and put a lance into his hand. When they saw that the battle of Crecy was won by men who had neither coat of mail, spear, nor horse, they discovered that in battle a yeoman is as good as a knight. Before this, people had thought that the only way for poor folk to live was to stay on the manor of some knight, because he had a horse and armor and could protect them. The new idea that had come to England was that even people without horse or armor could protect themselves. 98. The Black Death. This fact alone might not for a long time have made any general change in the way of living, but two or three years later, while people were slowly beginning to take in this new thought, a terrible pestilence, called the Black Death, swept over Europe, coming last of all to England. It is thought that nearly half of the population died. In some of the cities so many were dead that grass grew in the principal streets ; and in the country matters were even worse, for some- times nearly all the people on a manor died. What caused the disease is not known, but we are sure that it was much more severe than it would otherwise have been because the houses were so dirty and small and dark and had so few windows. Piles of rubbish and puddles of filthy water were just outside the doors. In the city, the streets were narrow, there was no drainage, and there was not even the good air of the country. 112 ENGLAND'S STORY [1348-1377 99. Some results of the French wars and the Black Death. During the crusades, as has been said, the lords would often allow their tenants, or villeins, as they were called, to pay their dues in money instead of in work. Even then some that might have been free remained on the manor, because, if they went away, there was no work by which they could support them- selves, since all the other manors had men enough. People had learned during the crusades that a man who was born a villein need not always remain a villein. Crecy had taught them that they could protect them- selves without the help of a knight ; and now that so many had died of the Black Death, there were always manors that needed workmen. Moreover, Queen Phi- weavingoi Hppa, who was a Fleming, had brought men eMinteo- from Flanders to teach the English how to duoed. weave fine woolen cloth ; so that now if a vil- lein ran away, he could work on a manor for money, or go to a city and learn to weave ; and there was an old law by which if he could manage to stay away from the manor a year and a day, he was free, and could never be obliged to return. There was so much work, and so few wished to work High o^ the manors, that wages became very high. wages. xhe king made a law that whoever demanded more pay than was given before the Black Death should be imprisoned, and if a runaway villein was caught, he was branded on the forehead with an F for fugitive. The price of grain had risen so that the old day's wages would not support a man for a day, and of course work- men demanded more. Poor people began to sympathize with one another more than ever before, perhaps because they had all suffered so much in the Black Death, and every one who had a little money would help those that had none. 1360] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS II3 Many ran away just because they wanted a change. These men were used to being watched all the joim Bail's time and told what to do every hour of the day, preaching, and when they had left the manor, they did not know what to think or how to behave with so much liberty. They became lawless, and soon they began to feel that it was an injury to them that others were richer, and they fancied that it was only fair to get all that they could from those that had more than they ; many of them, therefore, became beggars and robbers. A man named John Ball went about the country preaching that property ought to be taken from the rich and divided among the poor. He said : — " How are these lords any greater folk than we } Ho>}v do they deserve wealth any more than we ? They came from Adam and Eve just as we did. Why should they wear velvet and fur while we are covered with rags } Why should they have white bread and wine while we have oat-cake and water.? Why are they gentlemen any more than we .? " Everybody began to repeat the rhyme, — *' When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman .'* " 100. Mistakes of the church. The poor especially were feeling much interest in religious matters. They JOHN BALL PREACHING FROM HORSE- BACK 114 ENGLAND'S STORY [1327-1381 had suffered in the Black Death, and they longed for aid and comfort. The church did not seem to realize her opportunity to help those that were begging for help, but went on gathering in large sums of money both to keep in England and to send to Rome. Great amounts were given to foreign clergymen who held positions in England, though they had never seen the country. They had their income sent to them, but they hired some one at a low rate to do the work of the parish. William Langland, who seems himself to have been a priest and to have spent his early life in poverty, wrote a Piers, famous book called ''Piers Plowman," in which Plowman, ^le described the struggles of the poor, how much they had to suffer from cold, and how hard it was for them to save enough of even the coarsest food to last through the winter. He told each class of people how they might become better, for, unlike John Ball, he had no wish to overturn church or laws, and he believed that all would be well if every one would only do his best. This book was written in English, though many French words were used ; and long before the end of Edward III.'s reign a law was made that in courts of justice all cases should be pleaded in English. This is proof that English had become the language of the people of England. SUMMARY Edward was forced to acknowledge the independence of Scotland ; but he laid claim to the throne of France, and this claim led to the Hundred Years' War. The victory won by the yeomen at Crecy showed that a villein need not depend upon a noble for protection. The Black Death gave his work on the land a greatly increased value, while the manufacture of fine woolens in England enabled him to support himself I38i] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS II5 if he escaped from the manor. The first effect of these changes was a large increase in the number of beggars and robbers ; the final effect was the overthrow of villeinage. 12. Richard II. 1 377-1 399 101. The Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The Black Prince had died one year before his father, and again a boy, Richard II., was placed on the throne. Richard ' was the son of the Black Prince, and was as brave as his father and his grandfather had been. Edward III. had ^-o put himself at the head of the army when he was only /^^^ fourteen, and this boy, when he was of about the same age, mounted his horse and rode fearlessly up to a mob of angry men. This is the way that it came about. The Hundred Years* War was going on with France, and there was also war with Scotland. , More money was needed than the ordinary taxes would provide. Finally a new plan was tried, and that was to tax every person in the king- dom twelve pence, a sum that would be equal to about as much as a laborer could earn in two weeks. People were already feeling angry and indignant with the nobles and the other wealthy men of the land, and this de- mand was more than they could bear. A tax- •^^at collector insulted the daughter of Wat Tyler, a '^y^®'- working man, and in a moment her father's heavy ham- mer had laid him dead on the ground. Crowds came together near London, and crowds came together all over the kingdom, as if the father's blow had been a signal. Wat Tyler talked to them about their wrongs, and John Ball talked to them, and they became more angry every minute. They put to death some people who, they thought, had done them harm, and they destroyed some property. They were especially anxious to burn the lists Il6 ENGLAND'S STORY [1381 that were kept on every manor of the names of the villeins and the work required of each, for they fancied that if these lists were burned, no villein could be forced to re- turn to the manor. Finally, they were allowed to come into London, for so many Londoners sympathized with them that the coun- Revoiter cillorsdidnot dare to attempt to shut the gates, enter lest the sympathizers should do harm within the city, and the peasants should do harm out-- side the walls. Once in the city, the peasants behaved remarkably well at first, but before night they drank quantities of wine, and then they became so excited and furious that no one knew what would happen the next morning. When morning came, part of the mob left the city, and then sent a petition to the king, making four requests : that they should be free men ; that of the re- even their leaders should not be punished ; that land should be rented at a uniform rate ; and that they might buy and sell wherever they chose. The king promised to grant what they asked, and many of them went home ; but some had stayed in London and did not know what the king had said. The more violent of the insurgents seem to have been among those who remained in the city, and Wat Tyler was with them. He had no idea of yielding, and he threatened to strike down the mayor of London. Wat was himself struck down, and in a moment his followers were ready to shoot. Richard's There would probably have been a terrible courage. slaughter if the boy king had not dashed away from his attendants to the front of the mob, and called out, " I am your king, and I will be your leader." The mob were so pleased with the boy's courage that they never seemed to doubt that he would keep his 1381] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 17 promises ; and perhaps he would have done so if he had been free, though, when he promised, he did not know of some murders that the mob had just committed ; but Parliament utterly refused to even think of giv- ing up villeinage, and punished the people most Peasants' severely. It is said that fifteen hundred were executed. So ended the famous Peasants' Revolt of 1381. 102. John Wiolif, It was a great mystery how it happened that peasants all over the kingdom should rise at the same in- stant. The only organiza- tion people could think of that might have brought this about was the one framed by a clergyman named Wiclif. He had felt that there was much in" the church and in the priests that ought to be reformed ; and one thing was the lack of the teaching and help that ought to have been given to the humbler peo- «poor pie of the land. He formed bands called "Poor ^J^iests." Priests " and sent them throughout the country. They JOHN WICLIF Il8 ENGLAND'S STORY [1380-1381 wore bright red cloaks and went barefoot, with staff in hand, from village to village, preaching the gospel to the poor. That would hardly have raised a revolt, but Wiclif had a peculiar doctrine that may have helped to do wicufs harm. He said that God owned all property, "doctrine and that He let men hold it if they would serve domof Him. "Then," said Wiclif, "if a man is not ^°^'" serving God, he has no right to property." Probably Wiclif meant that even if property was in a man's hands, it might not be really his own in the truest sense, because, if he was not trying to serve God with it, his wealth would do him no real good ; but many unthink^ ing people would interpret his words as meaning that any one might take away a man's property if he was not making good use of it ; and as the masses of working people were then feeling, they would think that no one who had more money than they could be using it pro- perly. Wiclif will always be remembered, not so much for his connection with the " Poor Priests " as for the translation wiciii of the Bible into English which was made by toe^Bibie!* himself and his pupils. There was no printing 1380. as yet, and the copies were exceedingly ex- pensive. It is said that the New Testament cost an amount equal to one hundred and fifty dollars to-day ; and when a book was bought, there had to be witnesses, and as much formality as there is now about buying oostof a house. Even the University of Oxford is ^^^^ said to have had for its library only a few manu- scripts kept in a chest. Of course, it took a long time to copy a book in plain writing ; but wealthy people often wished for books whose capitals were brilliantly painted or illuminated, and such books cost a great deal more. [340-1400] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS li^ The colors of these capitals have lasted so well that they are to-day just as beautiful as ever. 103. Chaucer. Not all the books were on theology. Through Richard's reign and through much of his grand- father's before him, a famous poet lived, named Chaucer. He was probably born in London, held office in the court, was taken prisoner in war, but was soon set free. His great work is a long poem called the "Canterbury Tales.'* The story of it is that he starts to go on a pilgrim- age to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. At the Tabard Inn he finds a company of men and women, all on their way to the same shrine, for, he says, when spring comes, people long The Canter- to go on pilgrimages. The inn-keeper is a ^^ry Tales, merry, good-natured man, and he proposes that they all go together and tell stories on the way. Then on their return, whoever has told the best story shall have a good supper at the expense of the rest. Chaucer's book is made up of the stories that the pilgrims told. There were all sorts of people, a knight, a squire, a monk, a nun, a scholar, a cook, a sailor, a GEOFFREY CHAUCER 120 ENGLAND'S STORY [1384-1400 parish priest, and many others ; and therefore there are all sorts of tales. In those days it was thought perfectly right for a man to take any story that he had heard, tell it in his own v/ay, and call it his ; so Chaucer took the plot of a story from wherever he found it, but it is his way of telling a tale that we like especially. He makes us feel as if we had really seen the people whom he describes. That Chaucer, who spent so much time at A GROUP OF CANTERBURY PILGRIMS court, should have written his poem in English is proof that neither Latin nor French, but English, made richer by many new words from the French, had become the literary language of the land. 104. Rijchard's marriage. No class of people had 1399] THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 121 been very fond of Richard. The rich said that he sym- pathized with Wiclif and the poor, while the poor were indignant at his extravagance. He was arbitrary, and often took his own way without the least regard to the laws. Even what he did with the best motives sometimes made people angry ; for instance, when his wife died, he thought that it would make peace with France if he married the little eight-year old Isabella, daughter of the French king. There is a tradition that a great English noble knelt at the feet of the little girl and said : " Fair lady, by the grace of God ye shall be our lady and queen of England." Then answered the child, all of her own accord : " Sir, an it please God and my lord my father that I shall be queen of England, I shall be glad thereof, for it is showed me that I shall then be a great lady." The marriage ceremony was gone through with, and at the marriage feasts the child queen sat beside the king. When, near the end of his reign, Richard left her to go to Ireland, he caught her up in his arms and kissed her and said : "Adieu, madam ! adieu till we meet again." 105. Richard II. is deposed; While he was gone, one of his cousins, known afterwards as Henry IV. of Lan- »^ caster, appealed to Parliament to make him king on the ground that Richard had forfeited the throne by his tyranny and injustice. Parliament agreed with Henry. Richard was forced to abdicate, and Henry was chosen / king. There was a little boy named Edmund Mortimer, ^^ Earl of March, who was descended from an older son of "' Edward III. than the son from whom Henry came, but England did not wish to put the crown on a child's head again, even if he had a better hereditary right. It may be that Parliament was wise, but this decision led to many long years of warfare and bloodshed. £22 ENGLAND'S STORY [1154-1399 SUMMARY The last quarter of the fourteenth century brought about a gain in the condition of the poor. The Peasants' Revolt hastened the disappearance of villeinage. Wiclif's "Poor Priests " met the longings of the people to know more of re- ligion, and his translation made it possible for an Englishman to read the Bible in his own language. Chaucer, last of the old poets and first of the new, wrote the " Canterbury Tales," not in Latin, but in English. The deposition of Richard in favor of Henry IV. led to the fiercely contested battlefields of the Wars of the Roses. THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS 5. Henry II, (Plantagenet) I 154-1189 6. Richard I. (Coeur de Lion) 1189-1199 Geoffrey Arthur (murdered ?) jl jj d^tfuc^^^-X ^i -^ 7. John ( Lackland) 1 199-1216 8. Henry III. 1216-1272 9.' Edward I. 1272-1307 10. Edward II. 1307-1327 11. Edward III. i327-|377 / I V \^ Edward (Black Prince) d. young 12 Richard II. 1377-1399 Lionel, Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster Edmund, Duke of York CHAPTER V THE KINGS OF LANCASTER AND YORK 1399-1485 13. Henry IV. 1399-1413 106. Opposition to Henry. While Henry IV. was on the throne, he had much trouble with both his friends j and his enemies. Many people felt that he was not the tiX^ rightful king, and even before he was crowned, there were plots against him. King Richard had been im- prisoned in a strong castle with Henry's men to guard him. Within a month it was said that he had died, but, although his body was carried to London and seen in Saint Paul's Cathedral by every one who chose, yet this death was so convenient for Henry that many people believed that Richard had been murdered. On the other hand, there were many who were equally sure that the body shown in Saint Paul's was not that of Richard, but of some other man, and that the real Richard was hidden away somewhere in Scotland. The Welsh had always liked him, and they were ready to battle for his rights in the hope that he was still alive, or for the child E^und Mortimer, if Richard was dead. Henry set out with his men to subdue Wales. It was not at all marvellous that in a mountainous country like Wales there should have been heavy tem- pests in the autumn, but the English soldiers were al- ways afraid of witchcraft, and they believed that the 124 ENGLAND'S STORY [1399-1403 leader of the Welsh had brought the storms upon them by magic. They were ready to fight any number of men, but storms raised by evil spirits were quite another matter, and they were so frightened that Henry actually had to turn about and go home. 107. War with France. The child queen of Richard, now a girl of fourteen, had been sent back to "France. Her journey was made with all possible ceremony, and she had a splendid escort ; but France was angry both because she was no longer a queen and also because HENRY IV. AND HIS COURT Henry did not send back with her the dower that she had brought to England. The result of this was that there was trouble with France. 108. Trouble with Scotland. Scotland was always inclined to be friendly with France, and now the Scotch made various invasions into northern England. There were few real battles, but there were continual skir- mishes along the borders of the two countries. On the 1 From a book entitled Reghnine Principis, translated from the Latin at the command of Henry IV., by Hoccleve, a disciple of Chaucer. Hoccleve is here represented as presenting the book to the king, who is seated attired in his royal robes, surrounded by his court. 1403] LANCASTER AND YORK 12$ Scotch side was the Douglas family, and on the English were the Percies. One family would start out with all their retainers for a day's hunting on the other side of the border. Then, if they met the other family — a thing that both parties hoped would come to pass — there would be a fight. Many stirring ballads were after- wards written about these skirmishes. The qyiovy best one is " Chevy Chase," which begins : — ohase. "The Percy out of Northumberland And a vow to God made he, That he would hunt in the mountkins Of Cheviot within days three. In the maugre of doughty Douglas And all that ever with him be." The Percies had been strong friends of Henry's ; in- deed, he could hardly have gained the throne Battle oi without their aid. Moreover, they had finally l^^^' driven the Scotch out of Northumberland for 1403. him. Of course they expected a reward, but Henry had little money, and he could not be nearly so bold in de- manding it of Parliament as he would have been if he had had a right to the throne that" no one could dispute. The Percies were especially indignant because he had refused to ransom a kinsman of theirs who had fallen into the hands of the Welsh. Finally, they united with the Welsh, who were helped by France, and a fierce bat- tle was fought at Shrewsbury on the borders of Wales. The king's forces were victorious, and young Harry Percy, who was so quick-tempered that he was called " Hotspur," was slain. This ended the rebellion, but there was much worse trouble yet to come from the fact that there was a little Edmund Mortimer in existence. 109. The first burning for heresy. 1401. The reign of Henry IV. will always be remembered as the first 126 ENGLAND'S STORY [1399-1413 reign during which any one was burned for heresy, or not believing what the church taught. Henry was not a cruel man, but he wished to be sure of the support of the church, so he gave his favor to a law that punished heresy with burning at the stake. The first one to die was a London clergyman who was a follower of Wiclif. There was one other death at the stake and only one, for the people as a whole did not believe in any such barbarity, and Henry did not dare to oppose too strongly the will of the nation. 110. Death of Henry IV. Henry IV. had a reign of only fourteen years. During the latter part of his life he suffered from some disease that no one knew how to cure. Whatever the trouble may have been, the attacks came upon him unexpectedly, and one day when he was praying in Westminster Abbey, he suddenly became hopelessly ill. Henry had never forgotten a prophecy made long before, that he should die in Jerusalem. Perhaps this was what had given him so much interest in the Holy Land that if he had dared to leave the king- dom he might possibly have led a crusade, for to die in Jerusalem was to go straight to heaven. When he was taken ill, he was carried to a room in the Abbey, and when he came to himself, his first question was, "Where am I .? Where have you taken me } " " This is called the Jerusalem Chamber," said the attendants. " Thanks be to the Father of Heaven," said he, "that I shall in- deed die in Jerusalem." 111. Prince Henry and the judge. His eldest son, who was also a Henry, was to succeed him. In his youth the prince was probably as fond of a good time as if he had not been of the royal blood. The story is told that on the arrest of one of his servants the young prince went to the judge in a rage and demanded that the man be set free. 1399-1413] LANCASTER AND YORK 12/ Then said the judge : " Sir prince, I humbly beg that if you would not have your servant dealt with according to the laws of the realm, you would bring me a pardon for the man from his majesty the king." The prince was so angry that he tried to rescue his servant by force, and dashed forward so that men thought he would verily kill the judge on the bench. The judge said calmly : " Sir prince, remember that I am here in place of the king, to whom you owe the obe- dience of a subject and of a son. Moreover, you should give good example of obedience to those that will some day be your own subjects." The prince's hand fell to his side, and the judge went on : "And now for your contempt and disobedience, go you to the prison of the King's Bench, and there remain until the pleasure of your father be known." Dropping his weapon, the prince did reverence to the judge and went to the prison, " as he was commanded." ^ When this was told to the king, he said : " Thank God that I have a judge who fears not to administer justice, and a son who can obey justice." SUMMARY Henry's lack of hereditary claim to the throne opened the way to opposition and conspiracy. Trouble with France arose, and the sympathy of Scotland with the French led to border forays famous in ballad and story. By lords, king, and bishops, burning for heresy was declared legal, but it was so contrary to the will of the people that it was inflicted in but two instances. 128 ENGLAND'S STORY [1413-1415 14. Henry V. 141 3-1422 112. Generosity of Henry V. Henry IV. made his friends into enemies ; Henry V. made his enemies into friends. The Httle Edmund Mortimer was now a tall young man who might have formed a party against the king, but Henry had no idea of keeping him in prison, and almost the first thing that he did was to set him free. Then, too, there were the Percies of Northumberland, who had revolted in the preceding reign and had been punished by the loss of their estates ; and now to the son of Harry Hotspur King Henry gave back both title and lands. Henry trusted the Percies, and they were always true to him ; and as for Mortimer, he, too, was a faithful friend to the king. 113. "Why Henry V. went to war. When Henry was only Prince of Wales, his father had said to him, " When you are on the throne, keep your nobles busy making war abroad, for then they will have no chance to arouse revolts at home." This alone would not have led the king into fighting, though the only way for a king to win the applause of his people as a hero was to show himself a brave soldier ; but there was another strong influence in favor of war, and that was the church. The church in England possessed not only vast sums of money, but also great areas of land scattered over Wealth of ^he country. Even while Henry's father was the church, qj^ ^\^q throne, there had been quite a wide- spread feeling that for so much property to be held in such a way that the king could have no income from it was throwing an unfair burden of taxation upon the rest of the kingdom. Many people believed that it would be right for the king to take possession of these broad do- mains, and the House of Commons had advised him to 1413-1415] LANCASTER AND YORK 129 do so. People were beginning to talk of this land more than ever, and the clergy felt somewhat alarmed. Henry was eager for military glory, and of course, if the kingdom was thinking of war, it would not be thinking about the lands of the church ; hence, the clergy advised Henry to A GROUP OF ENGLISH KNIGHTS AND FRENCH MAN-AT-ARMS Knights clad in plate armor, man-at-arms prostrate under the horses' feet, person to the left a spectator in civil costume go to war with France, and promised to help him with money and influence. 114. Henry V. invades Prance. Henry's great-grand- father, Edward HI., had claimed to be king of France, and now Henry claimed .the French crown. Many people felt that even if there had been no shadow of a claim, it would have been right for some strong king to come in and rule the land, for the French nobles were continually fighting among themselves, killing men and destroying property, and the king of France was insane I30 ENGLAND'S STORY [1415 much of the time and could do nothing to quiet the country. Henry set sail for the mouth of the Seine, and after besieging Harfleur, he began to march to Calais. As he hoped to rule over the land, he forbade his soldiers to injure any property, and ordered them to pay well for whatever food they used. The French nobles had never thought of paying for anything that they took or de- stroyed, and this just decree of Henry's probably pre- vented some opposition and made his way easier. By and by he found himself facing a French army. It was never any trouble in France to collect men to fight, and the French had six times as many soldiers Battle of •' Agincourt. as the English. Most of the Frenchmen were ■'•*^^' nobles, and, although they knew that the Eng- lish army was made up in great degree of yeoman foot- soldiers, and that these yeomen were the same kind of bold archers that had won the victory at Crecy, they forgot the lesson that the former defeat should have taught them, and only boasted the more that they who were nobles would have no difficulty in overcoming a troop of peasants. The battle was fought on clayey ground that had just been ploughed. The evening before, it had rained, and Yeomen ^^^ earth was so wet and soft and sticky that con(iuer knights in heavy armor could hardly have made ^ ^" their way across the field on foot ; and when they attempted to ride, the horses sank to their knees, and often one would break 'its leg, while the masters floundered about heavily in the mud. The knights were no cowards, and they did their best to press near to the English, but each one of these archers had a long, sharp stake, which he thrust into the ground in front of him while he shot ; and try their best, the French could not I4I5] LANCASTER AND YORK 131 go through the forest of stakes. The English archers had no heavy armor, and they sprang Hghtly forward with their battle-axes. Many of the French knights who were uninjured had tumbled off their horses, and lay in MOVABLE TOWER, ARCHERS, CANNON, ETC., OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY the mud utterly helpless. Some one has said that the Englishmen cracked open the suits of mail with their battle-axes, as if they had been so many nutshells. It is said that when the battle was over the king asked : " What is the name of the castle yonder ? " and when some one answered, " Agincourt," he said, "Then let this be called the battle of Agincourt ; " and Agincourt it has been from 1415, when it was fought — just two hundred years later than Magna Carta — until to-day. 132 ENGLAND'S STORY [1415-1422 116. Celebrating Aginoourt. Henry had to return to England for a time, and there was the greatest cele- bration that can be imagined. The English were so jubi- lant that when they saw his ship coming into the harbor, they even rushed out into the water and took him on their shoulders and carried him to the land. 116. Conquest of France. This victory, great as it was, did not conquer France ; but two years later, Henry went on another warlike expedition, and this time he won everything that he wished, though his desires were not at all moderate, inasmuch as he demanded a large sum of money, the prown of the French kingdom, and the hand of the French princess. The money and the prin- cess he carried with him to England. As for the crown, it was agreed that the iji sane king should wear it while he lived, but that Henry should really govern the king- dom ; and that when the king died, Henry should be- come sovereign of France. This never came to pass, for Henry V. died two months before the king of France. Henry was buried in Westminster Abbey in a beautiful little chapel built in the shape of a capital //for Henry. 117. A baby king of two countries. He left a baby son, also named Henry, and as this child was son of the conqueror of France and of the French princess, he was at once proclaimed king of both countries. If he had been a strong, prudent man, he might perhaps have kept pos- session of the new domain, but he was only a little child, and the eldest son of the old French king was living. Therefore, every one knew that long before the baby prince would be old enough to rule, there would be more fighting with France. 1413-1428] LANCASTER AND YORK 1 33 _ y^. SUMMARY J o Henry V. trusted those who might have been his enemies, and they became his friends. To avoid discussion and possi- ble confiscation of church lands, the clergy encouraged him to bring forward his ancestral claim to the throne of France. Agincourt and other victories won him a large sum of money, the hand of the French princess, the regency of France, and a promise of the crown at the death of the French king. Henry died before the French king, and the claim to the French crown descended to the baby ruler of England. 15. Henry VI. 1422-1461 118. Henry VI. and his uncles. In 1422, the baby king was proclaimed ruler of England and France under the name of Henry VI. There was one respect in which this accession of a sovereign might have been a fairy tale, for the baby had two uncles, and one was good while the other was bad. The good one was the Duke of Bed- ford, and the bad one was the Duke of Gloucester. The Duke of Bedford had to spend much of his time in France to take care of the French interests of his little nephew, and whenever he came back to England he had all that he could do to settle the quarrels that the Duke of Gloucester had aroused. 119. Henry's hard childhood. The poor little boy did not have a very happy childhood. He was brought into Parliament and held by his mother in the royal seat when he was only three or four years old, and when he was eight he was crowned ; but he must have often wished that instead of being King Henry he had been one of the royal attendants, for when he was only six years old he was taken from his mother and given in charge to an earl who was a stern old warrior. This was according to the will of Henry V., who had wished to make sure that his son would be a good soldier. 134 ENGLAND'S STORY [1428 At that time it had never occurred to any one that there was any better way to bring up a child than with, the utmost severity. The earl appointed four knights to be with the king, and no one was allowed to speak to him unless one of these knights was present. Children were whipped almost as a matter of course, and the poor little king was whipped perhaps oftener than others, for the earl was bent upon making him a model ruler. Whipping a king, even though he was a baby, was a rather dangerous matter, for it was possible that after he ^diterra'^^'^ FRENCH TERRITORY HELD BY ENGLISH WHEN JOAN OF ARC APPEARED, 1429 had grown up he might resent such treatment, and therefore the council appointed to take charge of Henry agreed that when he was to be punished, they would come before him and declare their willingness that the deed should be done. 120. The siege of Orleans. All this time the Duke 1429J LANCASTER AND YORK 135 of Bedford was trying hard to keep possession of the French kingdom for his little nephew, who certainly ought to have had at least two kingdoms to make up for his dreary childhood. The English had a good hold on northern France, and the duke was trying to drive the French army south of the river Loire, but the attempt was of no use so long as the French held the town of Orleans. This had strong fortifications, and month after month the English besieged it in vain. At last they could see that the city was weakening, and that every day was bringing the time nearer when it must sur- render. 121. Joan of Arc. The French became discouraged at the failure to raise the siege. Charles VII., son of the old king of France who had yielded to Henry V. of Eng- land, was no leader. He liked to have a good time and to be comfortable, not to bear the hardships of camp life. He was willing to be king, provided that some one else would place him on the throne and put the sceptre into his hands. His nobles stood by him, but they could not lead his army or make the masses of the French people trust them. While they were wondering what to do, a strange message came to the prince from one of his offi- cers. It said that a young girl, a simple village maiden, called Joan of Arc, was insisting upon meeting the prince, and that she declared she had seen a vision and heard voices that bade her rescue France. She said, " I should rather spin by the side of my mother, but I must go to the Dauphin." The people about her home had recalled an old prophecy that France should be saved by a woman, and they believed in her. A duke had sent for her to cure him of some illness, but she had said very simply that she could not do it, she could do nothing but save France. The officer reported that he had 136 ENGLAND'S STORY [1429 Joan meets the Dau- phin. asked her a number of questions, but that he could not make her change her story. Then he had had her sprinkled with holy water, and no harm had come to her, and now he begged the prince to see her. She was sent for, and it is said that, although she was told that a hand- somely dressed courtier was the Dau- phin, she made no mistake, but knelt before the prince and gave him her message, that voices, from heaven had commissioned her to conduct him to Rheims to be crowned. As a proof of her truth, she said that she would lead the French army to Orleans, and drive away the English. Then there was a long discussion about the words of the young girl. Some thought that her voices were those of good spirits, and some thought that they came from the comes a sol- tempter himself. Finally, the council decided that they were good and might be trusted. So the village maiden was dressed in a suit of white armor and set upon a great white horse. In her hand was a STATUE OF JOAN OF ARC •>& v"' - Place des Pyramides, Paris ^^ " ^ 1429] LANCASTER AND YORK 137 sword, and before her was carried a shining white stand- ard with a picture of two angels bearing Hlies and of God holding the world. Onward she rode at the head of the long lines of French soldiers. When they were near Orleans, she stopped, and sent a messenger to the English j^^n raises commander telling him it was the will of Heaven the siege of that he should surrender. His reply was that she knew nothing about the will of Heaven, and he threatened to burn the messenger for helping on the practice of magic. The French replied that if the mes- senger was harmed, the English prisoners in their hands would be sufferers. There was something mysterious about it, and while the starving people of Orleans were calling out j ubilantly : " It is the maid of prophecy, and she is coming to save us," the English soldiers were feeling badly frightened ; for if she was sent by Heaven they were afraid to fight against her, and if she was a witch, that was just as bad, since, if she had the aid of evil spirits, no one knew what she might do to harm her foes. When it came to a real battle, Joan fought as bravely as any old soldier, and as soon as the scaling ladders were put against the wall of the English fort, she climbed up before any of the men. By and by the English yielded, and the siege of Orleans was raised. This was what she had told the French would be the sign of her mission, and now the soldiers were enthusiastic. They had no fear to follow wherever she might lead them, and Joan had no doubt whither she ought to lead them. The voices that she had heard, she told Charles, had commis- sioned her to conduct him to Rheims to be crowned, and thither they must go. Charles was ready to be crowned, but he did not care 138 ENGLAND'S STORY [1429-1453 to run into danger, and he greatly preferred that some Charles is ^^^ ^^se should do the fighting. The English crowned. forces were between him and Rheims, but Joan persisted, and Charles finally yielded, Joan was victorious everywhere, and in the cathedral at Rheims Charles was crowned and anointed king of the French. Joan wept with joy. " I have done what was given me to do," she pleaded, "now let me go to my home ; " but she was too valuable a leader to lose, and Charles would not spare her. She must stay and win more battles for him, he said. In vain she pleaded that her mission was ended, that the voices she had heard had not told her to do anything more ; Charles still refused to let her go. Then Joan did her best to lead the army, but all power seemed to have left her, and she lost as often Joan Is uurned as a as she won. When she had gained a victory, ^ ^ ' the soldiers sang her praises and were sure that Heaven had sent her ; but if she had lost a battle, they were equally sure that she was a witch. Finally, the French army had to retreat, and they left her alone to fall into the hands of the English. Not one soldier tried to save her, and not a word did Charles speak in her defence. Not an effort did he make to rescue her when some months later the English burned her as a witch in the market-place of Rouen. 122. The Hundred Years* War ends. In 1453 the war ended, perhaps quite as much because both sides were tired of fighting as for any other reason. After the hundred years' struggle, Calais was the only bit of ground in all France that remained in the hands of the English. 123. Good effects of the war. It is pleasant to know that there were some good results of this war. One was that as the English kings needed a great deal of money 1453] LANCASTER AND YORK 1 39 to carry on the war, and as the only way for them to get it was to ask the House of Commons, they learned that the best way to obtain money was to obey the will of the people. Another gain was that all ranks had fought side by side. The knights had learned to respect the yeomen ; and now that the yeomen had found that they, too, were esteemed of worth in the land, they had less jealousy of the knights, and Englishmen began to feel a strong national pride. 124. Discontent in England. Nevertheless, there were several reasons why people in England were dis- contented and ready for a change. One reason was their indignation that after so much fighting the French lands should have been lost. Another reason was that men who voted for members of Parliament were not allowed to vote freely; and worst of all, as the baby king grew up, although he was quiet and gentle and kindhearted, he had no idea how to rule a kingdom in spite of all his stern training ; and it often happened that guilty persons were not punished and innocent people were not protected. There were courts of justice, to be sure, but the jurymen were frequently chosen simply be- cause they were friends of one of the contestants, and if they did not vote for his side, they were in danger of being beaten or killed on the way home. In 1453, just as the war ended, the king's mind failed him, and from then to the end of his life he was subject to attacks of insanity. Another event that happened in 1453 was the birth of a prince. Then people were utterly discouraged. Even those who had felt that it would be better to bear their troubles patiently, as long as Henry VL iived, could not endure the thought of another baby king and the trou- bles that a long regency would bring. I40 ENGLAND'S STORY [1454 126. Wars of the Roses begin. 1454. Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, in whose place Henry IV. had become king, was dead ; but Edmund's sister had mar- ried a cousin, and they had a son named Richard. As Richard's father and mother were both descended from Edward III., and his mother came from an older son than the one from whom Henry came, many people be- gan to feel that this Richard, Duke of York, had a claim COSTUMES OF LADIES OF RANK DURING THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY Remarkable for the head-dresses worn to the throne, and so when Henry became insane, Parlia- ment appointed Richard as Protector. When the king recovered, Richard declared himself to be in danger, and called out his men to fight for him. Henry was descended from the Duke of Lancaster, whose badge was the red rose, and Richard from the Duke of York, whose badge was the white rose ; and this is why the contest, which began only two years after the Hundred Years' War ended, was called the Wars of the Roses. 1455-1461] LANCASTER AND YORK I4I During the French wars it had come to pass that many nobles had become very rich, and could ^j^^ jj^j ^j call upon large numbers of men to fight for Warwick, them. The Earl of Warwick was one of these im- mensely wealthy people. It was said that he could bring forward thirty thousand men at any minute to fight for whatever cause he chose ; and he meant to put the Duke of York on the throne. Of course many favored the king, and Parliament compromised the mat- ter by deciding that after King Henry died the Duke of York should rule. Neither Parliament nor the people as a whole cared very much which royal house held the throne, but they were all tired of poor government, and they did want a king with sufficient force to rule his king- dom. Affairs would perhaps have moved on smoothly if it had not been for that baby son of King Henry. Queen His mother. Queen Margaret, was a very brave J^J'^^J'^l - woman, and she declared that she would defend taty son. the rights of her child, and that he and no one else should wear his father's crown. She was of French birth, and to find help she went to different parts of France and also to Scotland. Fighting began, and soon the king was captured ; but it was not long before the queen rescued him, even from the hands of the Earl of Warwick himself. The Duke of York had been slain in battle, but he had left three sons. Edward, the eldest, claimed to be the lawful king, and had been collecting men and arms in another part of the country to maintain his rights. His army and the forces of Warwick united, and marching to London, they entered the city with as much rejoicing as if they had not just lost a battle and also their royal prisoner. Edward, now Duke of York in place of his father, was not yet 142 ENGLAND'S STORY [1461 twenty years of age, but he was bold enough to go straight to Parliament and claim the crown. 126. Edward of York becomes king. 1461. Parlia- ment discussed the matter, and finally decided that, as King Henry had joined the forces of Queen Margaret that were rebelling against a decree of Parliament, he had forfeited the crown, and it should be given to this Edward of York, who was now proclaimed as King Edward IV. There were no such rejoicings as there had been at the coronation of King Edward L, for every one knew that some terrible fighting must come before many days ; and so it was, for soon a battle was fought at Tow- Towton. ton in northern England. It was so fierce that more people are believed to have been killed on that one day than during the last forty years of the Hundred Years' War. Indeed, this whole struggle, which went on for thirty years, was a bloody time. Nominally, people were fighting to settle the question whether Parliament had a right to put on the throne whomever it chose ; or whether, as the house of York claimed, the descendants of the eldest son should always rule, regardless of the will of Parliament. Really, how- ever, men were fighting for wealth and power, and often to avenge private wrongs. Every noble of any position had, as has been said before, a great band of retainers to fight for him. It was regarded as the only honorable course for a man to avenge any relative that had been slain. Almost every one had lost relatives, and there- fore there was no generosity shown to the vanquished. Those that won would put to death the prominent men on the other side and confiscate their property. 1422-1465] LANCASTER AND YORK I43 ^ SUMMARY The long minority of the king made efforts to hold the French throne unavailing, and at the close of the Hundred Years' War in 1453 Calais was the only bit of France that still belonged to England. Although in this long war dif- ferent ranks had learned a mutual respect, and the power of the Commons had increased, because the kings were obliged to apply to them for the large sums of money that were needed, there was much discontent in England. The chief reasons were the loss of the French lands, the weak- ness of the government, and the fact that many Englishmen were not allowed to vote freely. Finally, the failure of the king's mind and the prospect of another child ruler aroused a deter-mination to put Richard, Duke of York, on the throne. The fierce Wars of the Roses began. Richard was slain, but by the power of Warwick Richard's son became King Ed- ward IV. 16. Edward IV. 146 1 -148 3 127. The "King-maker" changes sides. It v^as in 1 46 1 that Edward IV. had been put on the English throne. His strongest ally was the Earl of Warwick, the "King-maker," as he was called, because he put down one king and set up another just as he chose. There was more fighting, but at last Queen Margaret was beaten in two important battles, and Henry VI. was taken prisoner. No one could have expected him ever to sit on the throne again, but strange things were to happen. The Earl of Warwick wished Edward to marry a French princess in order to increase the royal power ; but now that the young man was on the throne, he was not so obedient as he had been, and without consulting the earl, he married a lady who, though of noble, was not of royal birth. 144 ENGLAND'S STORY [147c This and other causes made Warwick so angry that he determined to leave the ungrateful Edward «^f York and support Henry VI. of Lancaster. He joined EDWARD IV., HIS QUEEN AND SON Anthony Woodville, Earl of Rivers, is giving the king a book and presenting his printer Caxton. Next to the queen is her son, afterward Edward V. The courtier in cap and robes of state is probably the Duke of Gloucester, afterward Richard III. forces with Queen Margaret, and Edward was so fright- Henry vi. ened that he fled to Holland. The way was j^l*^ open then, and Warwick brought poor, feeble 1470. Henry VI. out of the Tower of London and set him on the throne. 128. Edward IV. is restored. Edward had not been idle, and after a few months he returned with strong forces, fought a battle with Queen Margaret, and took 1470-1483] LANCASTER AND YORK 145 her prisoner. Her son, the young man about whom all this fighting had been, was killed in the battle, and the queen was carried to the Tower of London. Henry VL was then in the Tower, where he is believed to have been murdered. Warwick had been slain in battle one month earlier. 129. Benevolences. Edward was again on the throne, and he seemed to feel that, as he had had so. hard a time, he was now entitled to enjoy himself. He needed money, so he confiscated estates wherever there was the slightest excuse. That did not provide enough revenue, but he knew that it would be of little use to ask Parlia- ment for more, and he did not dare to attempt to tax the people without Parliament's consent ; so he at last origi- nated a scheme for getting funds in such a way that no one would dare to object. This was to invite wealthy men to make him a present, or benevolence, as he called it. " Benevolence " means "good will," and a few years ^ later a witty man said that the name was a true one, though it did not mean that people gave with a good will, but rather that the king took what he had a good will to take. 130. Printing is invented. Wonderful stories had begun to make their way from Germany. It was said that in that country books were being sold at about one- eighth of what they cost in England. At first people did not believe the report, but when they found that it was really true, they said the books must have been made by Satan, for in those days everything mysterious was laid to Satan. It was chiefly Bibles that were sold, but that made no difference. There was living in Flanders an intelligent English- man named William Caxton. He had translated from the French a book called the "History of Troy," and 146 ENGLAND'S STORY [i4th-i 5th Cent. when he heard of the strange, new art of printing, he wiuiam determined to learn all about it and to have his Oaxton. book printed. He did so, and he wrote about the book to a friend, saying that it was "not written with pen and ink, as other books be." After a while he came to England and set up his press near Westminster Abbey, and there he printed more Printing is than sixty volumes. He would probably have EngiSd!" printed Wiclif 's translation of the Bible, had its 1477. sale not been forbidden. He did print, how- ever, among other works, "^sop's Fables," Chaucer's *Tr* '€ m^fi^ %«) ^a< Ibofl h^m Son^i •^ Ipff to ^notibe <^ aaf & ©f ^Ijotne 50; FAC-SIMILE SPECIMEN OF CAXTON'S PRINTING "Canterbury Tales," and a book about King Arthur. People felt at first as if the printing-press were only a toy, but the king was deeply interested in it, and the queen's brother translated three books for Caxton to print. 131. Literature. During the one hundred and thirty years preceding the end of Edward's reign, there had been too much fighting going on for people to write, but they were interested in many more subjects than they had been in earlier times, and every one that could Few books afford such luxury had bought books, though written. these had been so expensive that a collection of thirty volumes was looked upon as a valuable library for even a wealthy gentleman to possess. 74th-i5th Cent.] LANCASTER AND YORK I47 People were still composing ballads, for while few felt like writing books, yet the excitement and the sudden changes did arouse people to compose short, strong ballads, which tell a story in so few taiiads words that each one seems almost like a sud- ®°™'*'*® ■ den battle-stroke. Caxton would have thought it quite beneath him to put in print anything so simple as bal- lads, though every one enjoyed listening to them, and the royal court and many of the houses of the great nobles had minstrels. Much respect was shown to men who could compose these poems and sing them. King Edward IV. gave each of his minstrels ten marks a year, clothing, lodging for themselves and their horses, two servants, four gallons of ale a night, wax candles, and other luxuries. New ballads were composed, but people sang the old ones over and over again, every time changing some of the words, and that is why we often have several versions of the same story. The old ballads of Robin , „ ^ Influence of Hood, the merry outlaw who lived in the "good "Robin greenwood," had a strong influence on the Eng- lish people, and it was almost wholly a good influence, for the stories of Robin made them think more of the pleasures of out-of-door life and of being kind to the poor. One thing in the old Robin Hood ballads seems a little surprising to have come from those days of constant warfare, and that is that Robin ruled his men not be- cause he was stronger than they, for most of them had beaten him in a fair fight, but because he was intellect- ually greater. He was wiser and brighter, and always knew what to do when the wit of his followers had failed. 148 ENGLAND'S STORY [1461-1483 SUMMARY The Wars of the Roses continued, and Henry was taken prisoner, but Edward's disobedience to the " King-maker " led to the temporary restoration of Henry. At last Warwick was slain, Henry was again imprisoned, and Edward was on the throne. To obtain money for his pleasures, he originated *' benevolences." The great event of the reign was William Caxton's introduction of printing into England. Few books were written, but many ballads were composed. 17. Edward V. 1483 18. Richard III. 1483-1485 132. The king who never reigned. In 1483 Edward IV. died, and again a child was heir to the throne. This child was Edward's son, a boy of twelve years, and as he, too, was named Edward, he was called Edward V., though he never had a chance to reign. It was the most natural thing for his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to be made Protector, and he was very willing to take the office. When Edward IV. married, he began to put the relatives of the queen into power, and before long it The Wood- seemed to the nobles that every position of vines. honor and trust and opportur^ity for gain was in the hands of her family, the Woodvilles. The result of this was that as soon as Edward IV. was dead, many nobles were eager to put the Woodvilles out of office. This was exactly what Duke Richard wanted. The more of his friends that he could have in high places, or even in any place connected with the governm.ent, the better for his plans ; and this uncle and '' protector " of the boy king had some very definite plans in mind for his own gain. 1483] LANCASTER AND YORK 149 The little Edward V. was with his mother's brother in a castle near Wales, and was being carefully and wisely brought up; but the Protector declared that 5^^^^^^ the child would be safer in London, and must, goes to at any rate, go there to be crowned. Richard met him on the road, separated him from his followers, rr^ THE SANCTUARY AT WESTMINSTER From a sketch made in 1775 and carried him to the Tower of London, though the poor child begged piteously to be taken back to his mother and his old friends. The queen had taken her daughters and her second son to Westminster, for it was an old law in the king- dom, called the "right of sanctuary," that no "Right of one should harm a person who had taken refuge sanctuary." in a church ; and once when Edward IV. had pursued an enemy within the church walls, the priest had stood between the two, holding the consecrated bread, and at his command the king had submissively retreated. The children would have been safe in Westminster, but Duke ri 150 ENGLAND'S STORY [1483-1485 Richard sent people to the queen, who persuaded her against her will to let the second son go to London ; and before long this little boy was also in the Tower. 133. Richard III. becomes king. After the princes were in his hands, Richard did not conceal from those nobles who were willing to stand by him his inten- tion of becoming king. He prevailed upon Parliament to say that the marriage of Edward IV. had not been legal, and that therefore his children could not inherit the throne. There were several executions of people who might have stood in Richard's way, and at last Parliament offered him the crown. There were three reasons for this act, — Richard was already in power ; many nobles and others expected to gain by his being on the throne ; and if the little princes were set aside, there was no one else whose hereditary claim was so good. 134. Richard's rule. Richard III. ruled well ; in- deed, he was afraid to do otherwise. He al^olished "benevolences" and treated the people fairly and justly. He had the laws translated into English for the first time and printed ; and in regard to printing he made an espe- cially good law. It was that, although foreigners could not trade in England without paying a tax, any one who wished to write, print, bind, or sell books might come as freely as if he had been born an Englishman. Richard did not feel safe so long as those two little boys in the Tower were alive ; for although Parliament had declared that they had no right to the crown, their usurping uncle knew that at any moment an attempt Murder oi rnight be made to put the older of the two on the princes, ^j^g throne. The story was spread that they had mysteriously disappeared, but every one believed that Richard had killed them. It was whispered from one to another that he had had them smothered with pillows 1483] LANCASTER AND YORK 151 when they were asleep. No one dared to ask questions, but many years afterward some workmen found two little skeletons buried at the foot of a staircase in the Tower, and it has been thought that they were those of the murdered princes. 136. Rising against Richard. It is possible that if it had not been for this murder, Rich- ard might have re- mained on the throne all his life ; but after this, peo- ple were every day more angry and dis- gusted with him. Richard thought that perhaps he could win men to his party if he married one of the daugh- ters of Edward IV. She had already been betrothed to one Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and she was Richard's own niece, but he believed that he could persuade the Pope to allow the marriage, and that this would end all trouble. Instead of being satisfied, the English people were so indignant at the thought of such a deed that they detested Richard more than ever ; and now they set to work in earnest to see whom they could put on the throne in his place. THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER From an ideal painting by J. E. Millais 152 ENGLAND'S STORY [1485 Of Henry Tudor both Edward IV. and Richard had always been afraid, because he, too, was a descendant of Henry Edward III. ; and they had pursued him so that ' Tudor. j^g gg^ifj l^g \^^^ been either a fugitive or in prison ever since he was five years old. His friends believed that as the whole nation was so angry with Richard, they could now place this Henry Tudor on the throne. He came from France, and went directly to Wales, because his grandfather had been a Welshman, and he felt sure that the Welsh would be on his side. 136. Bosworth Field ends the Wars of the Roses. He was right, for the farther he marched, the larger grew the number of his followers, not only in Wales, but in England. Richard was getting his forces together, of course, and the two armies met at Bosworth Field, in the very heart of the kingdom ; and here, in 1485, the last battle of the Wars of the Roses was fought. Richard was bravery itself, but he was slain. For these two years of power, he had stopped at nothing that he thought would make his position secure ; for there is hardly a question that he had more than once com- mitted most brutal murders to clear his way to the throne. It is true that he had ruled the land wisely and justly, and he had loaded many of his followers with wealth and honors, yet these very persons had deserted him when he most needed their help. Richard's crown was found on the battlefield, " hang- ing on a hawthorn bush." After the battle, Henry Tu- dor, Earl of Richmond, stood on a little mound, with the dead bodies of friends and foes lying on either hand, „ and thanked the brave soldiers who had given Henry ° Tudor him the victory. All the people rejoiced and shouted, " King Henry ! King Henry ! " and then a certain noble earl placed the crown on the head 1483-1485] LANCASTER AND YORK 1 53 of the new king, or, as some say, gave it to him, and he placed it on his own head. Again the people shouted for joy and sang the Te Deum, for the wicked king was dead, and the future looked very bright before them. SUMMARY Richard III. secured the throne by usurpation, and, it is probable, by the murder of more than one who was likely to interfere with his schemes. Having won the crown by unfair means, he dared not rule otherwise than well; but public opinion against him increased rapidly, and after a reign of two years he was slain in the battle of Bosworth Field, and Henry Tudor, of the House of Lancaster, became king. This was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. One thing in Richard's favor is that he was among the first to see the value of the printing-press, and that he did all in his power to encourage the making of books in England. 154 STORY [I4th-i6th Cent -|c'. l) t: rt 3^ c ^ " •gs F, . =" 3 '^ .S o «v^ -. . . hJ ^1 S3 fc5i O m O o c 0) f. > 1 O 'a „ u -.2- ,i^"^-^o- « 3c!3 Sols f II ^^-s. t: rt-g o 3 o ■is P^f^ s CHAPTER VI THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 1485-1603 19. Henry VH. 1485-1509 137. A strong rule. Henry VI I. was now on the throne, and as his grandfather had been a Welshman named Owen Tudor, Henry and his son and his three grandchildren are known as the Tudors. They were all sovereigns who meant to have their own way, and they generally succeeded. In one respect England was just at that time an easy country to rule, for the clergy desired a strong gov- ernment, and more than half of the nobles, who might have opposed the royal sway, had been killed in the Wars of the Roses that had ended with the battle of Bosworth Field. The other nobles had much less power than their grandfathers had had, for now that so little of the old feudalism survived, they could not easily call together men to fight in support of whatever cause they chose. Henry weakened still more the power of the nobles to revolt by forbidding them to give liveries or badges to their retainers. The use of gunpowder, too, made the king much stronger than any party of. nobles, since he had control of the cannon of the state, and the bows and arrows of the yeomen were a York and small matter when opposed to cannon. For ^"^caster. these reasons it was not difficult for a strong-willed 156 ENGLAND'S STORY [i486 ruler to make his country ELIZABETH OF YORK volts, but none that Henry LamDert O^ice brought sinmei. forward with the claim that he was a nephew of Edward IV., but riot many believed in him, and he was soon taken pris- oner. It was easily found out that his real name was Lambert Simnel. Henry was amused rather than angry, and told his officers to take the boy to the kitchen and let him work there in peace. more united than it had ever been before. There was now no excuse for continuing the Wars of the Roses, since Henry, who was of the house of Lancaster, had married Princess Elizabeth of the house of York, sis- ter of the two lit- tle princes who had been murdered in the Tower of LondoiL 138. Pretend- ers. Of course there were some re- needed to fear. A boy was HENRY VII. 148S-1492.J THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 15/ Not long after this another boy, or rather young man, teamed Perkin Warbeck, was brought forward as a claim- ant to the throne. He said that while the older perkin of the two little princes in the Tower had been warbeck. murdered, he himself was the younger ; and he had a plau- sible story to tell of how he had made his escape. The young man had been taught ;nost carefully the special things that the prince would naturally know ; and as he was supported by two kings, an emperor, and other people of high rank, this attempt to claim the English crown was of much more consequence than that of Lam- bert Simnel. Many of the Irish and of the Scotch were inclined to help Warbeck, and he made various efforts to win followers, going from one country to another, or to those districts of England where for any reason the people were feeling discontented. These efforts to gain the crown actually lasted for five years, but at length the pretender was shut up in the Tower and finally be- headed. 139. Henry's methods of raising money. A ques- tion that was far more important to Henry's mind than the claims of any pretenders was that of filling the royal treasury. The English people had had considerable experience in dealing with kings, and Henry was wise enough to know that if the masses of the nation were opposed to him, there would be little of either comfort or safety for him on the throne. It would not do, then, to tax the people as a whole too severely. Moreover, he could not tax them without the permission of Parlia- ment, and he greatly preferred not to summon Parliament too frequently, but to go on quietly in his own way with- out giving much opportunity for the making of laws that might not be according to his wishes. With Parliament not in session and the nation as a 158 ENGLAND'S STORY [1485-1S09 whole in his favor, he could venture to take from the "Morton's ^ich, and this he did. He called for the "be- Fork." nevolences " which Edward IV. had originated and Richard III. had abolished. One Cardinal Morton is said to have invented a plan known as "Morton's Fork," by which Henry could get money from any one that had it. If a man lived expensively, the king's agenx would say to him, " You are spending so much on your- self that you may rightfully be required to contribute to the expenses of your sovereign." This was one tine of the fork. The other was quite as bad ; for if a man lived simply and without extravagance, the agent would say, "Your living costs you so little that you must have enough laid by to make a generous gift to the king ; " and this was the other tine of the fork. Another way to get money was by means of what was called the " Star-Chamber Court," so named because The star Stars were painted on the ceiling of the room Chamber, j^ which it was held. This court was made up of men who supported whatever the king wished to do, and their business was to bring up the offences of wealthy people who could not easily be tried in the ordinary courts, or whose misdemeanors did not fall strictly under the laws. It is safe to say that the offences were always punished by fines, and that these fines were made as large as the court thought the men could be forced to pay. A third way of getting money was by reviving old laws that people had forgotten, and demanding fines Reviving whenever one was broken. By these means old laws. Henry accumulated a fortune that has been estimated at about one hundred million dollars. In the marriages arranged for his children, Henry was always on the lookout for gain. One daughter became 1492-1509] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 159 the wife of the king of Scotland, and the eldest son, Ar- thur, was married to a young girl of fifteen, wealthy called Katharine of Aragon, the daughter of n^aniages. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. When Henry's wife died, he did his best to secure another who would bring him a large amount of money. First, he sought the GENERAL COSTUME IN TIME OF HENRY VII. hand of the widow of the king of Naples, but the reign- ing sovereign refused to pay her the immense fortune that her husband had left her ; and Henry then tried to get the sister of Philip, the ruler of Castile. Just at that time Philip died, and as Henry thought that Philip's widow would have more money than the sister, he applied for her hand. She was partially insane, but that did not matter to Henry so long as she would bring him a large dowry. Her father, Ferdinand of Spain, refused to sanc- tion any such marriage, and was so little pleased with l6o ENGLAND'S STORY [1492 the treatment of his daughter Katharine in England that it was not until after Henry's death and her second mar- riage, this time to Henry's second son, that her complete dowry was paid. 140. Why England did not discover America. It was chiefly because of Henry's dislike to spend money that the honor of the discovery of America fell to Spain rather than to England. Columbus tried in one kingdom and another to find a ruler who would provide him with ships and money, and at last he sent his brother to Eng- land to lay the matter before Henry. The brother was captured by pirates, but he had good courage and finally made his way to England. Unfortunately he was in rags, and his good courage would count for little if he had not also proper clothes in which to appear at the king's court. There was nothing to do but to go to work and earn some clothes. He set about making money by drawing maps, and at last he had an interview with Henry. The king was much interested, but the plans of Columbus would require a large expenditure, and he hesitated. He hesitated too long, and in 1492 Columbus set sail by the aid of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and England had TheCabots ^^st her chance to discover the New World. ^^' Henry must have been sorry, for five years later he encouraged John and Sebastian Cabot, two Vene- tians who lived in England, to make a voyage. They went directly west and came to Newfoundland, which was spoken of as the "New Isle." 141. Growth of the world. In the days of Julius Caesar it was said that Rome " ruled the world," but it was a very small world, for people knew little of any part except the lands bordering upon the Mediterranean Sea. In all the fifteen centuries since Caesar's time the world had grown but little larger. Most countries had I492-I497] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS i6i been too much engaged in fighting to explore the ocean in search of more land ; but now one discoverer after another set out, and when they came back they brought wonderful stories of the strange new country, where the rivers were wider and the forests greater than any in England. There were new birds and flowers, strange beasts and reptiles, rumors of great stores of gold, and, most amazing of all, there was a new race of people, un- like any that had been known before. It was like a marvel- lous fairy tale that had suddenly come true. How the people must have gathered around the men who had made the voyage, and how every boy that had watched one of the ships come in must have longed to be a sailor, and go to see the wonderful sights of the land across the water ! If these lands lay in the west, who knew what might lie in the east ? Vasco da Gama set sail to see y^g^^ ^^ whether he could go around the vast unknown Oama. country that lay to the south of the Mediterranean. He THE CHAPEL OF HENRY VH., WESTMINSTER ABBEY l62 ENGLAND'S STORY [1485-1509 succeeded and came to Asia, another world as full of marvels as America, and, except for a small part of the coast, almost as unknown. 142. Condition of the kingdom. It was in the midst of these exciting times that the boy was growing up who was to become Henry VIII., king of England. His father and his mother were laid in the chapel of West- minster, whose windows were covered with a tracery of roses of red and roses of white to mark the union of the Houses of Lancaster and York. His father left him a realm that was united, prosperous, and accustomed to a firm rule ; and in the royal treasury was such a for- tune as had never before been in the hands of an Eng- lish sovereign. SUMMARY With Henry VII. began the " personal monarchy " of the strong-willed Tudors. Henry had so firm a hold on the crown by the decree of Parliament, by the result of battle, and by his marriage, that the efforts of pretenders to the throne were useless. To obtain money he resorted to benevo- lences and other questionable schemes, but any possible re- volt of the nobles against a king who controlled the cannon of the country was hopeless. He left a full treasury and a peaceful, united country, well wonted to obey its sovereign. The discovery of a western world and the spread of know- ledge resulting from the invention of printing prepared the way for the intellectual awakening that was soon to come. 20. Henry VIII. 1 509-1 547 143. A popular king. When Henry VIII. came to the throne, the country had every reason to rejoice. He was about eighteen years of age, handsome, graceful, and with a frank, hearty manner that made every one like 1509] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 163 him. He could leap farther and shoot an arrow farther than any of his companions. One of the old writers says, " It is the prettiest thing in the world to see him play tennis," When May-Day came, he was not satisfied to remain in his palace and have the green boughs brought to him; he clothed himself and his spe- cial attendants in white satin in honor of the season, and went to the woods with them. He was well educated, and he was fond of books and of music. He wrote songs, some of which have come down to us. One of them, queerly enough in view of his later life, is about his faithfulness in love. It says : — ** As the holly groweth green, And never changeth hue, So am I — ever have been — To my lady true." He liked to wear handsome clothes and to have a good time ; and after all the hard, gloomy years of fighting and bloodshed, it was a real delight to the English peo- ple to see this merry young man enjoy himself. They were sure that he would be kind to them, for almost the HENRY VIII. l64 ENGLAND'S STORY [1509-1520 first thing that he did after he was fairly on the throne was to punish the men who had helped his father to ex- tort money so unjustly. No one stopped to question whether it was these men or Henry VII. who had been the more in fault, and no one seems to have noticed that this upright young king made no attempt to give back the money. 144. Condition of Wales and Scotland. The Welsh no longer revolted, for as Henry was a Tudor, they felt that a Welshman was ruling England rather than that England was ruling them. Scotland, it is true, made an invasion, but there was a terrible battle at Flodden Field, Hodden ^^^ ^^^ Scotch retreated with a loss of many iBia" thousands. Among those who were slain was the Scotch king, and now there was little fear of any further trouble with Scotland. 145. Three young rulers. On the continent Henry wished at first for an alliance with France ; and to bring it about he gave the hand of his sister Mary, a merry, fascinating girl of seventeen, to the aged French king, though she wished to marry a nobleman named Charles Brandon, The French king soon died, and now the ruler of France, Francis I., and the German emperor, Charles V., both ambitious young men, were each eager for Henry's influence and aid. Charles came to Eng- land to visit him, and Francis invited Henry to a meeting in France. The English still held Calais, and this meeting was The palace ^^ ^^ ^^ ^ plain between their castle and one at Calais. belonging to the French. Great were the pre- parations. Henry sent over more than two thousand workmen to build a temporary palace with stone walls and glass windows. The roof was to be of canvas " cu- riously garnished." The rooms were to be larger than I520] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 165 those of any English house, and the walls were to be hung with tapestry embroidered with silk and gold. In two months the building was ready, and Henry sailed from Dover for Calais with a fleet of those top-heavy, castle-like vessels that look in the pictures as if they would topple over at a breath. Three weeks the young kings spent on the " Field of the Cloth of Gold," as the place was afterwards called from the magnificence of the dress and of the cioth the entertainment. There was tilting, and there **' ^°^*" were tournaments and all kinds of feats of arms, at which. ENGLISH WAR SHIP WHICH CONVEYED HENRY VIII. TO FRANCE of course, the two kings always won. Finally, the sover- eigns exchanged gifts and bade farewell to each other. In spite of all the lavishness and all the promises of l66 ENGLAND'S STORY [1453-1521 brotherhood, Henry's help was given to Charles ; but by and by when Francis was taken prisoner, Henry went to his aid, though he exacted liberal payment for his assist- Henry'sfor- ^^^ce. Henry's aim was to keep the power of eign policy. Francis and of Charles as nearly equal as possi- ble, lest one or the other should become too strong for England to resist. 146. The Renaissance. Henry was interested not only in statecraft but in the wonderful new learning that was spreading over the world. In 1453, the year that the Hundred Years' War closed, the Turks captured Constantinople. Many learned Greeks lived in this city, and they went away to Italy, especially to Florence. Long before Caesar came to Britain, the Greeks were a remarkable nation. They had great poets and his- torians and philosophers, and their sculptors did finer work than any one has done since those days. For centuries people had forgotten all this. Hardly any one in England could read Greek, and the clergy called it a wicked and heathenish tongue. When the Greeks came to Florence and taught the Florentines to read their language, men began to realize what valuable old books there were in the world. This new interest in the old knowledge is called the Renaissance, or the 7iew birth. It spread rapidly over the continent, for printing had come at just the right time to help people to get copies of the old manuscripts. England soon became inter- ested, for English scholars went to Italy to study, and they brought books and knowledge back with them to their own country. The influence of the Renaissance had been felt in England even before Henry came to the throne, and he had always been ready to strengthen it. 147. Henry as a theologian. Henry had quite an ambition to be known as a literary nian and a theologian. 1521-1528] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 167 and before long the opportunity presented itself. In Germany, Martin Luther, who was a monk and a pro- fessor at the University of Wittenberg, had declared that certain abuses existed in the church which ought to be reformed, and the pope had excommunicated him. Henry wrote a book on the subject in favor of Defender oi the pope's position, and received as a reward theFaitii. the title of " Defender of the Faith." 148. Henry's first marriage. Thus far matters had gone according to the will of the king. He was power- ful at home and abroad. His kingdom was prosperous, and he had won glory as a writer and theologian and as a faithful son of the church ; but one thing began to trouble him greatly. Who would inherit his crown } He had a daughter Mary, but no woman had ever ruled the English nation. Before his father's death, when Henry was only twelve years old, it had been agreed that the boy should marry Katharine of Aragon, the widow of his older brother Arthur. It was against the law to marry a brother's widow, but the pope had given the special permission of the church, and two months after the accession Henry and Katharine were married. 149. His struggle for a divorce. Henry now de- clared that he ought not to have become Katharine's husband, even if the pope did give him permission, and he wished the present pope to declare that the marriage had never been lawful. It would be easier to have con- fidence in his scruples of conscience, if he had not al- ready chosen the woman whom he wished to j^^^ take in Katharine's stead. She was a young Boieyn. girl named Anne Boleyn, daughter of an English no- bleman. As a child of seven she had gone to France when Henry's sister Mary married the old French king. When the king died, Mary married Charles Brandon, i68 ENGLAND'S STORY [1528 and came to England to . persuade her royal brother to forgive her husband and herself; but the little Anne remained in France with the wife of Francis I. When at last she returned to England and appeared at court, WOLSEY AND HIS SUITE Henry was greatly pleased with her beauty and anima- tion, and he determined that she should be his queen. He had a minister named Wolsey, who, as he trusted, could gain the pope's consent to a marriage with Anne. Cardinal Wolsey had for years devoted himself to carry- woisey. ing out every wish of the king's and to increas- ing his greatness. This was exactly what pleased Henry. He could be free to do what he chose, and yet feel that everything was going on as he would have desiited. As a reward, Wolsey had been made archbishop and lord chancellor, and finally cardinal. He lived in a beautiful palace, "where one traverses eight rooms before reach- ing his audience chamber," says an old writer. The de- scription of his house sounds like a chapter from the 1528] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 169 "Arabian Nights." There were beautiful carpets and silken tapestries. It is said that he had five hundred servants, and that some of them wore heavy chains of gold and garments of satin and of velvet, as if they were noblemen. When the cardinal went out, two attendants walked before him and called, " Make way for my lord cardinal." At the house-door he would mount a mule saddled with crimson velvet, and two men would go with him, each bearing a great silver cross, while a long line of nobles followed in his train. Although he lived in such splendor, he was thoughtful of the poor, and tried to do for them what was just and kind. As all affairs of state and church were really in his hands, he did for many years very nearly what he chose. The Venetian ambassador wrote home that when he first came to England, Wolsey would say, ^'Hts Majesty will do so and so ; " a little later he would say, " We shall do so and so ;" and finally he said, "/ shall do so and so." 150. The Pope's refusal. Inasmuch as Wolsey had shown so much skill in managing the affairs of the nation at home and abroad, it is no wonder that Henry believed bis minister could get him a divorce from Katharine. Wolsey seems at first to have favored the idea, thhik- ing that Henry would marry a French princess, and that while the king might have a son, and then there would be no question about the succession, he himself might by the influence of France and England be chosen for the next pope. However that may be, the pope was in a difficult position. To declare that the act of the pre- ceding pope was wrong was a serious matter, and more- over, the queen was an aunt of the powerful Charles V. There was a long delay, but at last the pope refused to annul the marriage. Both Henry and Anne Boleyn be- I/O ENGLAND'S STORY [1529-1534 lieved that Wolsey had not done his best for them, and all in a moment the minister's wealth and position were taken from him. The vindictiveness of the pair went so far that he was arrested on a charge of treason, but he died before he could be brought to trial. 161. Henry as head of the church. 1534. Henry then appealed to the universities, trusting, it is probable, to bribes and threats rather than to the truth of his cause. Then he demanded that the English clergy should uphold him, and after a delay of five years he married Anne. The pope threatened him with excommunication if he did not put her away, but Henry retorted in 1534 by forcing Parliament to declare that he himself was* the only head of the church in England, and that who- ever denied this was guilty of treason. Henry still retained his title of " Defender of the Faith," and had no sympathy with the Protestant Reformation, which had begun with the teachings of Luther. The re- sult of this peculiar condition of things was that if a Burned or ™^^ was a Protestant and agreed with Luther, beheaded? j^g might be burned as a heretic ; while if he was a Roman Catholic and said that the pope was the head of the church, he might be beheaded as a traitor. Some of the best men in the kingdom were put to death, THOMAS WOLSEY 1534-1536] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 171 and among them were two especially upright, conscien- tious men, Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More. More was a man who could see what was right, no matter what tjie people around him thought ; for instance, children were still treated as cruelly as the little Henry VI. had been, but More would never allow any harshness in his family. He knew so well what a kingdom should be that he wrote a little book called "Utopia," mean- ing Nowhere, which tells the story of a happy country where no one was rich and no one was poor, where no one worked too hard, and no one was idle. Every one had a pleasant house and garden and leisure to read. Gold was used for the chains of criminals, and pearls and diamonds were given to children for play- things. Kings ruled- for the sake of their people, and every one was treated justly and kindly. The pope excommunicated Henry, but the king re- taliated by taking possession of the smaller English mon- asteries, a deed that had been suggested a cen- Henry tury before. Their lands were given to royal ^onaV^* favorites, their gold and silver vessels and images t^ies. were melted and made into coin, and their books, many of Which would to-day be worth far more than their weight in gold, were torn up or burned. The monks and nuns received small pensions, and that was their only recom- pense. 152. Suffering of the poor. This destruction of the monasteries, many hundreds of them, was one of several causes that brought distress upon the poor of the king- dom, for the hungry had always been sure of a meal at the convent gate. There were other reasons for the suffering. One was that the king had put so much cheap metal into the coins that prices had risen. If prices and wages had gone up at the same rate, the 1/2 ENGLAND'S STORY [1346-1536 poor would not have suffered so severely ; but wages rose slowly while prices rose rapidly, and there was great destitution of the plainest necessities of life. Still an- other reason was the prevalence of sheep-raising. While the poorer people lived on the manors, they Sheep- ^ r r 1 1 1 1 , 1 , farms and were sure of food and shelter at least, whether inciosures. ^j^^^ were sick or well, but when so many vil- leins became free after the Black Death and the battle of Crecy, and the price of labor rose, men who owned manors turned them into great sheep-farms, because one man and a dog were all the help needed to care for a large number of sheep. The same thing was done in* Henry's reign ; and, worse than this, the commons where the poor had always had the right to pasture a cow or keep a pig were inclosed for the landlord's sheep. This seizure of the commons, taken together with the loss of help from the convents, made the poor who were old and feeble suffer severely. Many of those that were strong and well and could find no work became robbers and beggars. They roamed about the land, gathering in the forests through which the roads ran, and robbed or mur- dered unguarded travellers. The whole kingdom, seemed to have become a nest of thieves. All sorts of laws were passed, not to make life better for the poor, but simply to prevent their being a danger to the rich. One law was that every "sturdy against beggar" was to be whipped and told to go to beggars. ^^^ place in which he was born ; and if he was too long in making the journey, he was to be whipped again in every village. This was the penalty for the first offence. If a man was found begging a second time, he was to be whipped again and the upper part of his right ear was to be cut off. The third time he was to be put into jail and tried, and, if found guilty, to be 1536-1537] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 1/3 hanged. There was no effort made to reform the " sturdy beggar" or to provide work for him, and no plan was made to assist the aged and the sick ; the whole aim of the law seemed to be to get rid of troublesome people. 163. A third marriage. While these things were going on, Henry, instead of trying to find a wise remedy for the evils, was again considering the question of mar- riage. He was apparently somewhat tired of Anne Boleyn, though three years earlier he had overthrown the church and the law to marry her. She had brought him a daughter, Elizabeth, but he still had no son. There were plenty of people to suggest that the power- ful Charles V. would never accept a child of Katharine's successor as the lawful inheritor of the crown. Others hinted that the lack of a son was a proof of the anger of Heaven at his second marriage. It was not at all diffi- cult to find people to testify to whatever would please the king, and the result was that after three years of mar- riage Anne was accused of misconduct, and her head was struck off with a sword. The next day the king married Jane Seymour ; and Parliament met at once to declare that the Princess Elizabeth, as well as the Princess Mary, should never inherit the crown. Jane Seymour died, leaving one child, who was named Edward, and now Henry had a son to whom he could leave the crown. Nevertheless, he straightway ordered his councillors to find him a new bride. Thomas Crom- well, who had taken the place of Wolsey, was very de- sirous that the next queen of England should be a Protestant, so that the Roman Catholics might gain no ground in the realm. Henry did not yield at once. It is said that he proposed to the Duchess of Milan that she should share his throne, and that she replied with a profound courtesy : — 174 ENGLAND'S STORY [1537-1539 " I humbly thank your majesty for the honor that you do me. If I had two heads, one should be at your majesty's service; but as I have only one, I prefer to remain as I am." 154. Henry's other marriages. Cromwell was trying to interest the king in one Anne of Cleves, a German princess, and he wrote of her to Henry, " She excelleth as far the duchess as the golden sun excelleth the silvery moon." He admitted that she knew neither French, Latin, nor Eng- lish, but he was sure that she would soon learn to converse with the king. She spent much of her time in sewing, and was igno- rant of music ; but, he said, "They take it here in Germany for a re- buke that great ladies should be learned or have any knowledge of music." Finally, a famous artist was engaged to paint the portrait of this paragon of beauty and goodness, and the king agreed to marry her. There were great preparations for her reception, but one of the king's officers said after his first glimpse of her that he was never so much dismayed in his life ; and when Henry met her, he was, as the record declares, " marvellously astonished and abashed." He embraced her with all propriety, but he hardly spoke at all, and quite forgot to give her the present that he had brought for her. It is said that she was really exceedingly homely THOMAS CROMWELL 1539-1547] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 175 and awkward as well as dull and slow. Henry married her, but in his wrath he sent Cromwell to the block ; and after a few months he obtained a divorce from Anne on the ground that, as he had married her against his will, he had not given his full consent. He had two more wives ; one he beheaded and one survived him. 166. Succession to the throne. Henry was not yet at rest about the succession to the throne. There were the three children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. Ed- ward was not a strong child, and the king was afraid that he would not live. There must be a plan made for the kingdom if he died, for Henry could not bear the thought that the crown should pass from his family, and he was determined that even if no woman had ever ruled Eng- land, a woman should rule if Edward did not live. His obedient Parliament had already passed acts saying that Mary was the heir or that Elizabeth was the heir or that neither of them was the heir, and finally that they all had just claim, and now it was ready to do whatever this arbitrary sovereign demanded. Henry set to work to arrange the order of succession. One party in the kingdom believed that the marriage with Katharine of Aragon had been unlawful, and that, therefore, her daughter Mary could not rule. Henry's "r Another believed that the marriage with Anne "^*"- Boleyn had been unlawful, and that therefore her daugh- ter Elizabeth could not rule. No one could object to Edward's succession, as both Katharine and Anne had died' before his mother married Henry ; moreover, he was a boy ; so Henry made what seems the wisest will that he could have made under the circumstances, and decreed that, first, Edward should rule, then Mary, and then Elizabeth. Parliament agreed to do just what he wished, and promised to follow this order. Whether 176 ENGLAND'S STORY [1509-1553 anything better could have been done is a question, but many a man trembled as he thought of what the future might bring. SUMMARY Henry VIII. came to the throne with the advantage of an unquestioned claim and a full treasury. The Welsh were content, and the Scotch were subdued. By a wise foreign policy, Henry avoided trouble with France and Germany. He ruled the land with an absolutism by which, indeed, quiet and order v/ere secured, though the power of Parliament was greatly lessened. His interest in the new learning strength- ened the influence of the Renaissance in England. His de- termination not to submit to the pope's refusal to declare his first marriage unlawful resulted in the establishing of a national church. In this reign the sufferings of the poor were multiplied by the suppression of the monasteries, together with the spread of the custom of sheep-raising and "inclosing." Beggary and robbery increased in spite of severe penalties. By Henry's will, to which Parliament agreed, the crown was to descend to Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, in the order given. 21. Edward VI. 1547-1553 156. A lovable king. A boy of only nine years was now at the head of the English nation, and a great change it must have been to have this gentle, lovable, thoughtful child for a ruler instead of his selfish, arbi- trary father. His tutors were never weary of writing about his goodness and his learning, and if half that they said was true, he really must have been quite a wonder. They claimed that when he was thirteen he understood French, English, and Latin thoroughly, and had studied seven languages to some extent, to say nothing of hav- ing learned more or less of logic, music, natural philo- sophy, and many matters of state. 1547] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 177 When he went to church the sermons were preached expressly for him. They were very long, but if they were all as interesting as Bishop Latimer's, he did not deserve a very great amount of praise for listening to them attentively. In one sermon, preached to him when he was eleven years old, Latimer told about his own early life, how com- fortably his father lived on a small farm, and how many cows and sheep he kept. No wonder that the little king listened when the bishop went on to say that four or five times as much rent was now demanded for the same farm, so that the present holder had a hard strug- gle to keep from starving. Edward must have made a great many plans about what he would do when he was eighteen, but until then he had no power whatever, except that councillors would natu- rally hesitate to do anything for which they thought that the king would blame them when he was grown up. 167. Changes in the church. Edward's mother's brother, the Duke of Somerset, was made Protector. In Henry's reign a new translation of the Bible had been made by Tyndale and widely circulated, and people were thinking much about religious matters. They were per- EDWARD VI. 1/8 ENGLAND'S STORY [1547-1551 haps more ready for changes than they had been in Henry's time, but the duke went on with his innovations far more rapidly than people wished to follow him. For Removal of ^ne thing, there were to be no images, crosses, images, etc. qj. pictures in the churches, and the service was to be in English. To people who had seen hanging on the walls of the church scenes in the life of Christ and in the lives of the saints, and had loved them ever since they were children, it seemed a very wicked thing to pull them down, and to break beautiful stained glass windows that represented stories in the Bible; while men and women who had heard the church service in Latin all their lives felt as if it was undignified and irreverent to repeat if in every-day English. The Duke of Somerset and the other Protestants believed that what they were doing was right, and the Roman Catholics believed that all these changes were wrong ; but the duke was in power, and the changes were made. He had Archbishop Cranmer and others compile Compulsory ^^^ Book of Common Prayer, which is now use of the known as the Prayer Book of Edward VI. It Common was taken in large part from the old Roman Prayer. Catholic service, but it was in English, and the sound of the words was strange and unfamiliar, so that many people would have disliked it even if it had been an exact translation. Instead of waiting a while and introducing the book gradually, the duke declared that it must be used at once in all the churches ; and when revolts came, as they did come in great numbers, he put them down with the utmost severity. 168. The Duke of Northumberland becomes Pro- tector. There were other reasons for discontent, for the work of inclosing the common pasture land was still go- ing on, and every inclosure drove many people from their I5SI-I553] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 179 homes. The Duke of Somerset had so much sympathy with these poor people that he proposed to forbid so much "inclosing." This made the rich land-owners his enemies ; and even the poor looked upon him as an enemy when, with all his thoughtfulness for them, he felt obliged to suppress their revolts with a strong hand. EDWARD VI. AND COUNCIL The result was that he was finally imprisoned and exe- cuted, and the Duke of Northumberland became Protec- tor in his place. This duke had a crafty scheme in his .mind which was to come out a little later. 169. The Blue-Coat School. The government was still taking possession of church property, but here the boy king had a word to say. He was interested in other boys, and wished that the poorest one in his kingdom might have a chance to be educated. He had no author- ity, but it is thought that by his influence part of the I So ENGLAND'S STORY [1551-1553 property that had belonged to the church was devoted to schools for boys. The most famous of these schools he founded in London. It is named Christ's Hospital, but it is of- tener called the Blue- Coat School, from the peculiar clothes that the boys wear. The coat is blue with a long skirt coming down almost to the ground. The belt is red, the , stockings yellow, and the shoes have large buckles. The boys wear no hats summer LADY JANE GREY ^r wiutcr. This was the ordinary dress of a schoolboy in Edward's day, and its style has never been changed. 160. Northumberland's plan. The young king was to be in full possession of his kingdom when he was eighteen, but it was soon admitted that there was little probability of his living to that age. Here was North- umberland's opportunity. By the will of Henry VHI., if all three of his children died without leaving any chil- dren, the crown was to go to the descendants of his . younger sister Mary, who had married Charles Brandon. One of Mary's granddaughters was a gentle, lovable girl named Jane Grey, and Northumberland had brought it about that she should marry his son. Lord Guilford Dudley, for what he planned was to make Lady Jane queen of England. 1553] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS l8l He persuaded Edward that he, as king, had as much right to make a will as his father had had. Then he pic- tured what terrible consequences there would Edward's be if his sister Mary were allowed to become ■^*^^- queen, for she was a strong Roman Catholic, and all that the Protestants had done would be undone. Edward was only sixteen, and he was weak and ill. He would naturally believe what his guardian told him, and the result was that he did sign a will, setting aside not only Mary but also Elizabeth, and giving the crown to his second cousin, Lady Jane. Soon after this he died. Lady Jane was a gentle young girl of seventeen. She had been brought up very strictly, and hardly j^^dy Jane knew what it was to have a will of her own. It ^"y- was still the custom to treat children harshly, and her parents would have thought that they were not training her properly if they had treated her in any other fashion. The only one who . seems to have been gentle and kind to her was her tutor, " Master Aylmer," and she used to long for the hours to come that she was to spend with him, and could be free from the pinches and blows that she continually received from her parents. She was so happy with " Master Aylmer " that she became a most excellent scholar. She had studied Latin, Greek, Italian, and French, and had begun Hebrew. She did not wish to be married, but when her parents commanded her to marry Lord Guilford Dudley, she obeyed. Just before Edward's death, Northumberland told her that she was to be queen of England. She The wept and pleaded to be free, but to no avail. JZJl^®" Northumberland said that she had the best Queen, right to the throne, that Edward had willed it to her, and that she alone could save the land from falling into the hands of the Roman Catholics. At last she was l82 ENGLAND'S STORY [i547-i553 persuaded that it must be as he had said. She yielded, and set to work to be a queen as conscientiously as she had studied her lessons. When Edward died, Northumberland tried to keep the news secret until he could get possession of Mary and shut her up in the Tower ; but she too had friends on the watch. They told her at once of the king's death, and she took refuge in a strong castle so near the sea that she could escape to the emperor of Germany if there was need of flight. The council proclaimed Lady Jane queen. For twelve days she was on the throne, and that is why she is sometimes called the " Twelve- days' Queen." 161. Mary becomes queen. Mary had no idea of giv- ing up her kingdom. She sent her claim to the council, but they told her to " submit and behave as a good sub- ject." Instead of submitting, however, she collected around her the strongest members of the Roman Cath- olic nobility, and also many Protestants, for all were weary of uncertainties, and were disgusted with the transparent selfishness of Northumberland. She was accepted as queen in one place after another. The fleet stood firmly by her ; the army refused to fight against her ; and soon the council, with Northumberland at their head, proclaimed her as queen. Northumberland's sud- den change of allegiance was of no avail, for he was put to death, and Lady Jane and her husband were sent to the Tower. SUMMARY The Book of Common Prayer was compiled, and the Pro- testant faith established. The Duke of Somerset, who was Protector, aroused the enemity of both rich and poor, and was executed. The Duke of Northumberland, who succeeded to I547-I553] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 183 the office, persuaded Edward to will the crown to Lady Jane Grey, wife of Northumberland's son. For twelve days she reigned, then Mary became queen. An important event of this reign is the founding of many free Protestant schools for boys. 22. Mary. 15 53-1 5 58 162. Coronation of Mary. In a few weeks after the imprisonment of the "Twelve-days' Queen," Mary was crowned. She wore a rich blue velvet gown trimmed with ermine. On her head was a hoop of gold loaded with pre- cious stones, and from it hung over her shoulders a veil of tissue of gold spark- ling with gems. It was all very brilliant, but the crown was so heavy that she q^een mary tudor, or mary i. was often obliged to hold up her head with both hands. 163. Mary's hard life. Mary had had a hard life. Until she was almost grown up, she was treated with all the respect that could be shown to the daughter of a powerful king. Then, after Henry's divorce, everything was suddenly changed. Her own mother was sent away, and the honors that had been showered upon Mary were given to Anne Boleyn's daughter, the baby Elizabeth. l84 ENGLAND'S STORY ' [1553 164. Mary's religion. Mary was so firm a Roman Catholic that she even resisted her royal little brother when he bade her no longer hear mass. King though he was, she wrote him to the effect that his letter must have come from his councillors rather than himself, for he was hardly old enough to be a judge in matters of reli- gion. Her unhappiness had been so associated with the changes in the church that she could hardly help feeling a great bitterness toward the Protestant innovations and those who had brought them about, and she was as deter- mined to restore the old ways as her father had been to alter them. Parliament was almost as obedient as it had been to Henry VHI. It repealed the laws against the power of the pope in England, and made, or rather revived, the law for the burning of those whose belief differed from that of the sovereign. On one point, how- ever. Parliament was unyielding ; it would not restore to the church the land that had been taken from the monas- teries. Indeed, such a restoration could hardly have been expected, for the greater part of this land had been divided among various noble families, and members of most of them had seats in the House of Lords'. 165. Mary's marriage. No sooner was Mary on the throne than the whole country was eager for her mar- riage. Through the troublous times of this age, the first thing in the minds of the people as a whole seems to have been the wish for a firm, just control, and an un- disputed succession to the throne; and they thought that if Mary had children, the crown would descend peacefully to them, and the country would be at rest. There were various suitors for her hand, and England hoped that she would marry an Englishman. Unfortu- nately, Mary greatly admired a portrait that she had seen of her cousin Philip, a Spanish prince ; and although 1554] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 185 she had never met the young man, she was determined to marry him. Parliament pleaded as earnestly as it dared, but Mary replied that in so important a matter she should look to God and not to Parliament for advice. There were two reasons why the English would have preferred almost any one else rather than Philip of Spain. One was that in Spain the opposition to the uj^g^gij changes in the church was strongest, and peo- dislike oi pie who believed in the newer ways were brought before a kind of tribunal called the Inquisition. Then, to make them give up their belief, they were tor- tured or burned alive. Large num- bers had suffered. Philip was known to approve of this method of mak- ing people recant, and few English- men wished to see the Inquisition flourish in their country. The other rea- son was that Philip would probably be king of Spain be- fore many years had passed ; and as Spain was a rich, powerful country, England was afraid of becoming nothing but an unimportant province of a great kingdom. Mary was firm, but the general feeling was so against this marriage that the street-boys of Lon- don pelted with snowballs the Spanish ambassador's PHILIP II. 1 86 ENGLAND'S STORY [1555-1556 " harbingers," or officers who went in advance to secure proper accommodations for the noble and his followers. A game of " pnglish and Spaniards " was invented, in which there was a pretence of hanging the boy that acted as the Spanish prince. It was not all boys' play, for there was a serious revolt, and Mary felt so afraid that there would be another, and that the people would want either Elizabeth or Lady Jane for queen, that she signed the death warrant of Lady Jane and Lord Dudley, and shut Elizabeth up in the Tower. 166. Persecutions. The marriage took place. Al- most at once the old laws for burning heretics were revived and enforced. The first man to suffer was John Rogers, whose picture is in the " New England Primer," the famous little book that was studied by all the Puritan children of New England. Then came Bishop Latimer, who used to preach be- fore the boy king, Ed- ward VI. ; then Hoop- er, Ridley, Cranmer, and many others ; the number is estimated at from two hundred to four hundred. It is be- cause so many were put to death in this short reign of five years that the queen is some- times called "Bloody Mary ; " but we might ask whether it would not be more fairly "Bloody Philip." If Mary had been just as firm in her religious creed as she was, but had also been gentle and kind, and char- itable to the beliefs of others, one can hardly say what BURNING OF JOHN ROGERS From the New England Primer '554-1558] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 187 the effect of her reign might have been upon England, but she was bitter and cruel ; and when people saw burned at the stake one clergyman after another, men of holy lives and kindly deeds ; when they remembered that while there had been burnings in the previous reigns, the number of the sufferers had been small indeed, com- pared with this great company, — then, even though they might yield for the time, there could be in the end no real gain to the church that Mary loved. 167. Philip's desertion. One cannot help feeling a profound pity for Queen Mary. She was sincere, she was earnest, and she did without a shade of hesitancy that which she believed to be right. After the days of her early girlhood, she can hardly have had many happy hours. She had withstood her whole nation for the love of Philip, and he cared nothing whatever for her. He was ten years younger than she, and she was so frail that she knew her life would not be a long one ; but, although she did everything in her power to persuade the English people to promise that he should be their next sovereign, they refused. It was only in the hope of becoming king of England that Philip had agreed to marry Mary, and after they had been married a few months, he discovered that the air of the land did not agree with him, and he returned to Spain. Only once did he come to visit her, and then for but a short stay. 168. England loses Calais. 1558. Spain had been fighting with France, and though England was not in- volved in the quarrel, Mary had entered into the war to please her husband. The one possession that England still held in France was Calais, which had once been strongly fortified ; but in the previous reigns so much money had been wasted that the defences of the forts had not been kept in order. France now attacked l88 ENGLAND'S STORY [i554-i558 Calais and won. England no longer owned an inch of ground in the kingdom that lay across the channel. Not a word of regret had ]\Jary for all the lives that had been taken during her short reign ; but for the loss of Calais she grieved deeply during the few weeks that she lived after its capture. "When I die," she said, "Calais will be found written on my heart." SUMMARY The reign of Mary was marked by persecutions so bitter as to prepare the way for a religious reaction and the joyful reception of a Protestant queen. Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain strengthened Spain's hope of future dominion in England ; and the loss of Calais left England without an inch of ground in the country where her power had formerly been so great. 23. Elizabeth, i 558-1603 169. Elizabeth's early life. Elizabeth's life had been quite different from that of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was too young at her mother's death to remember the execution, while Mary could never forget the long years during which her mother was made so unhappy. While Mary reigned, she was always afraid that there would be plots to put Elizabeth in her place, and she had had every motion of her sister's closely watched. Eliza- beth had passed years in danger, but Mary had passed years in unhappiness. . Mary could hardly help becoming embittered, while Elizabeth had only grown wary and cautious. She had been released from imprisonment, but she was wise enough to see that the only way for her to save her life, or at any rate to keep out of the Tower, was to express no opinions and to have as little said I558J THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 189 about herself as possible. The best thing for her to do was to live quietly in the country, and that was what she had done. She was fond of study, and much of QUEEN ELIZABETH the last few years before she came to the throne she had spent in reading Latin and Greek. 170. Protestant or Roman Catholic? When Mary died in 1558 and Elizabeth was proclaimed queen, it is IQO ENGLAND'S STORY [1558 probable that hardly one person in the land knew what her thoughts were on the great questions of the day, or was really sure whether she was a Roman Catholic or a Protestant. Philip, who had now become king of Spain, had not given up all hope of wearing the crown of England, and within one month he suggested that she should announce herself a Roman Catholic and take him for a husband. Even then Elizabeth did not express herself at all definitely, but only received his proposal with the utmost courtesy, though she postponed g*^^ing him an answer, saying that she must wait to ask the advice of her Parliament. She had set free all who were in prison because of their opinions on religious matters, but it was not at all uncommon to perform such deeds of generosity on coming to the throne, and no one could guess from this act what she really thought. Her acces- sion occurred in November, and every one about the queen watched her eagerly. She named the men for her council, but that did not solve the question ; for while she chose some who were Protestants, she retained in office many Roman Catholics whom her sister had selected. She was quite accustomed to being watched, and she gave no hint on which side she should stand. All waited for Christmas. If she was a Roman Catholic, she would surely hear mass on that day. To the last moment she concealed her thoughts, for she even remained in the chapel for a while, listening to the service ; but when the mass was to be offered, she rose and left the room. She had made her choice, and in two days she issued a proclamation that made it even more clear that she would rule as a Protestant queen. 171. The coronation. While Philip was waiting, patiently or impatiently, for his answer, the time set for the coronation arrived, a day chosen by the royal astrol- 1558] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 191 oger. Elizabeth knew something of the history of her throne, and she had decided that to succeed, she might rule without the favor of the church, and without the support of the nobles, but she must have the good will of the masses of the people. She showed this decision even while being carried in state through London at her coronation, for when addresses were made to her, she QUEEN ELIZABETH CARRIED IN STATE would have her chair stopped in some place where she could hear distinctly, and if she did not understand, she would ask to have the words repeated. If she saw that the humblest citizen wished to speak to her or to give her a handful of flowers, she waited with as much apparent interest as when the city gave her one thousand marks in gold. 172. Elizabeth's difficulties. There is no doubt that the people were rejoiced to have Elizabeth for their 192 ENGLAND'S STORY [1558 queen, but it was not all rejoicing and addresses of wel- come and gifts of flowers and gold ; there were many difficulties to meet. Perhaps the hardest of all was the fact that there were two prominent religious parties, and she must be friendly to both. Still, if she showed any Three • leaning toward the Roman Catholics, the Protes- reugious tants would no longer stand by her ; and on the other hand, if she carried out the Protestant ideas too rapidly, the Roman Catholics might rise against her, and they had a candidate of their own faith with a good claim to the throne. To make matters even more complicated, a third party was beginning to become impor- tant, the Puritans, who were not satisfied to have Protes- tantism established. They wished to "purify" the church, they said ; and this meant that they wished to destroy every trace of the Church of Rome. There was danger that these same questions would The make trouble for the queen abroad. The pope Eiizaieth^s ^^'^^^ easily rouse opposition, for France was marriage, always ready to strike a blow at England. Eliz- abeth could keep on good terms with Spain only by be- coming a Roman Catholic and marrying Philip. She had said to Philip's ambassador that she must consult Par- liament, but when Parliament very meekly begged her to marry, she replied that she was pleased with their love and care for her welfare and that of the kingdom, and especially with the manner of their petition, for it would have been a great presumption in them, so she said, to venture to direct or command her whom they were bound to obey. She would not give them the least hint whether she intended to marry or not. She could hardly venture to marry either a Protestant or a Roman Cath- olic, for whichever it was, there would have been great dissatisfaction on the part of a large number of her sub- 1558] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 193 jects. She put off Philip's ambassador as long as she could, until he declared that the queen " was possessed with ten thousand devils." This was her manner of treat- ing one suitor after another. She would find endless ex- cuses for delay and postponement. This was partly policy and partly, it is thought, because the one man whom she really wished to marry was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, son of that Northumberland who had lost his head for trying to make Lady Jane Grey queen, and there were several reasons why it would not do to marry him. The proposed marriages were hot the only difficulties that must be met. England had no real friends, and there were enemies on all sides. She had „ ^.^ Gonamon neither well-trained soldiers nor skilful com- of the manders. The nobles had little money and the °°^ crown was poor. To decide these many difficult ques- tions, a queen needed the wisest advisers, and here shone out Elizabeth's greatest talent ; she did know how to choose men. She at once made Sir William Cecil (Lord Burleigh) her secretary and chief counsellor, and such he remained until his death, a few years before the close of the queen's long reign. 173. Manner of living. In the manner of living there was a great contrast between the homes of the rich and those of the poor. As soon as men did not need to make their houses strong enough to serve as forts, they began to make them handsomer and more comfortable. There were many beautiful man- Homos of sions, with richly embroidered tapestries and *Ji®'ich. carved furniture and dishes of gold and of silver; but these houses received little care. The floors were covered with rushes, and as the old ones were not taken up, but new ones were simply laid on top of them, they 194 ENGLAND'S STORY [1558 were decidedly uncleanly according to the ideas of to-day. A rich noble usually owned several dwellings, and when one had become so dirty that it was unendurable, even to a man of sixteenth century notions, he would move to another house and let this one " sweeten," as they said. COSTUMES OF LADY AND COUNTRYWOMAN, TIME OF ELIZABETH Showing ruif and stomacher worn by ladies of rank The poor people in the country lived in cottages made of sticks and clay. There was no real chimney, but only Homes oi ^ ^^^^ ^°^ ^^^ smoke to go out. Even among the poor. the well-to-do, such articles as a feather bed, a pair of tongs, a brass dish, or a pair of blankets would be handed down by will ; and from this we know that people looked upon these things as being of great value. The dress of even the rich cannot have been very clean, but it Was certainly exceedingly gorgeous, for there was damask, cloth of silver, cloth of gold, and silk and velvet. Money was worth perhaps fifteen times as much as now, and when we read of a Dress. 154^1561] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS I95 plain, fine woolen gown costing four dtjllars a yard, it is easy to see that these brilliant costumes must have been very expensive. The working people wore much poorer clothes, rough homespun, and coarse, cheap materials. The poor had hard lives. Those who worked on farms had to begin early and leave off late. In cities, while there were no factories, there were guilds, or associations, that made laws for those who worked at home. There was a guild for the spinners, another for the weavers, another for the gold-beaters, and so on. Each workman must belong to his proper guild, and must obey its laws in regard to his hours of toil, the quality of work that he did, and the price at which he sold it. 174. Mary, Queen of Scots. Both the Tudor queens were troubled by their second cousins. Mary had been afraid of Lady Jane Grey, and now Elizabeth began to feel alarmed because of another cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. When Mary was a little girl five years old, Henry VIII. had tried to persuade the Scotch to marry her to his nine-year-old son Edward. He even went to war to win a bride for his son by force of arms. The Scotch were badly beaten, but they still declared that Mary should not marry the little English boy ; and just as soon as possible they betrothed her to Francis, Dauphin of France, and sent her to that country to be brought up as a French girl. Now while there had been little real danger of Queen Mary's being driven from the throne by Lady Jane Grey, there was great danger that Mary, Mary's Queen of Scots, would become Mary, Queen of Ji^Bngugij England. A large party in England had never throne, felt that the marriage of Elizabeth's mother was lawful or that Elizabeth had any real claim to the throne. If 196 ENGLAND'S STORY [T565-1567 they were right, Mary of Scotland ought to have been queen of England according to the usual rules of succes- sion ; though according to the will of Henry VIII. the next heir was 1 vounger sister of Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth had declared herself a Protestant, and Mary was a Roman Catholic, so there was a strong party in Mary's favor. While Mary was queen of France, Elizabeth was safe, for no Englishman wished a French queen to rule his country, lest England should be- come only a prov- ince of France ; but when Mary's husband died and she returned to Scotland, matters were quite different, for there was no objection to having the same queen for both Scotland and England. After a few years, Mary married a second husband, Lord Darnley, an English cousin of hers, who was a Mary's Roman Catholic. Elizabeth was more alarmed thirdmaj-* than ever, but she kept up the appearance of riages. friendship, and when Mary's son James was born, she agreed to act as godmother. Mary was not at all happy with Lord Darnley. He was intensely jealous of her, and in a short time he murdered her private sec- retary, Rizzio, almost in her presence. It was not many months before Darnley, too, was murdered. Whether MARY STUART 1567-1568J THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS I97 the charge was true or not, many people believed that the crime was committed by the Earl of Bothwell. He had just obtained a divorce from his wife, and when soon after the murder Mary married him, it was hard not to think that she had connived at the crime. 176. Mary loses her throne. The Scotch were thoroughly aroused and took up arms. . Mary called out the royal forces, but they refused to stand by her, and she was taken to Edinburgh as a prisoner. Under her window was displayed a banner whereon was pictured the death of Darnley, and beside his body a child kneeling and praying, "Judge and avenge my cause, O Lord." She was soon carried to Lochleven Castle, and there she signed a paper resigning the throne to her baby son. The baby, only one year old, was proclaimed as James VI., King of Scotland. Whether Elizabeth believed Mary deserving of im- prisonment and possible execution or not, her proud Tudor blood would not endure such insolence uy^abeth as the calling of a queen to account by her sub- iavors jects. The more her counsellors tried to calm her, the more she raged, and declared that Mary's crown should be restored. Severe penalties against the Roman Catholics had been decreed in Scotland, but at Eliza- beth's encouragement, Mary's friends took heart and planned her escape. The only time when the castle was not guarded was during the supper hour, and then the great key of the gate was laid before the governor of the castle. Mary's A fearless young page who served the governor escape, at his meals held a napkin in his hand when setting down a dish, and as he took up the napkin, he took also the key. Mary was ready. She led by the hand a little maid who waited on her, and the three went quietly 198 ENGLAND'S STORY [1568 through the gate. "The lad Willie" locked it behind them, and they slipped into the little boat of the castle. No sound of pursuit was heard from the other side of the wall. Mary waved gently a white veil with a deep red fringe. No answering signal was made, but hidden on the opposite shore were her rejoicing friends. A swift horse was waiting to carry her to a strong castle, and in three days she was at the head of an army. There was a battle, but Mary was defeated. She galloped away at full speed, sixty miles the first day, was rowed over the Solway, and then she was in England, in the country of the powerful queen who had given her so good reason to expect support and kindness. 176. A hard question for England. Never was a kingdom in a more difficult position. This was not a case in which either jealousy of the next heir to the throne or angry sympathy for a deposed queen could hold sway. It was a matter whose settlement required the keenest acumen of the royal council. If Mary was placed on the Scotch throne and supported by England, a war with Scotland and probably with France would follow. If she was simply returned to Scotland, the result would be that she would fall into the hands of the opposing party, and would probably be put to death. This exe- cution would arouse against Elizabeth the Roman Catho- lics of both countries. To keep Mary in England in freedom would be to offer her as a centre for whatever plot might be formed against Elizabeth ; and it must not be forgotten that England was not a Protestant country suppressing a handful of Roman Catholics, but rather a land in which the numbers supporting each form of faith were probably so nearly equal that only the power of the crown maintained the Protestant ascendency. The fourth course open to England was to keep Mary in an 1568-1587] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS I99 uncertain position with the attendance of a guest and the limitations of a prisoner. This was exactly the inde- cisive decision that was so characteristic of Elizabeth ; and yet, while it is easy to say that she should have defended the royal cousin who had sought her hos- pitality, it is hard, indeed, to tell what would have been the wisest course to secure the peace and unity of Eng- land, which must be the first aim of its queen and its councillors. There is proof that Lord Cecil considered the question long and thoughtfully. Another matter, too, had to be taken into account ; against Mary still lay the accusation that she had either plotted for the murder of her husband or had at least known of frhe scheme and had been willing that it should be carried out. But if it is hard to suggest a better plan, it is at least easy to see that this one, by keeping a queen as a prisoner in a land to which she had fled for protection, added to the friends of the deposed sovereign all who sympathized with the beautiful, fascinating, imprisoned young woman. Plot after plot was formed against Elizabeth. More and more watchful became those on whose shoulders rested the burden of protecting the quiet of the kingdom. The society of the Jesuits sent missionaries to England. Whether their aims were religious or revolutionary, the country was too angry and too anxious to inquire. They were driven from the kingdom, imprisoned, reduced to poverty, tortured, executed. Some put the number of those that died at thirty-five ; others at two hundred.^ 177. Execution of Mary. 1587. Every day the need of vigilance increased. Plots were formed not only to put the English queen from the throne, but to take her life. Letters were produced as the work of Mary's 1 Lamed. 200 ENGLAND'S STORY [1587 hand, proving her close connection with the worst of these plots. One party firmly believed that the letters were hers ; the other said that they had been altered by the secretary of Elizabeth. Mary was arrested and tried for treason. She declared that she was innocent, but the court pronounced her guilty of plotting against the life of the queen, and condemned her to death. She was executed at Fotheringay Castle in 1587. When the deed was once done, Elizabeth was thor- oughly frightened, and although she had signed the death- EiizaDeth's warrant, she declared that she never meant the alarm. execution to take place. She stormed at every one that had approved the verdict, imprisoned her secre- tary, and inflicted an enormous fine upon him ; and she actually wrote James of Scotland that the death of his mother was a terrible mistake. 178. Philip's plans. She had reason to be afraid. The powerful Philip of Spain had, of course, favored having a Roman Catholic on the English throne, but he had not dared to support Mary of Scotland, because to make her queen of England would increase the power of France in England, and if both these countries were against him, he could not hope to maintain his rule in Holland. Now that Mary was dead, Philip set about his preparations to conquer England for himself, and bring the land back to the Roman Catholic church. Night and day the Spanish shipbuilders worked. A great fleet was made ready at Lisbon, and at Cadiz were Theinvin- many other warships, while every day more Amada is ^.rms and provisions were stowed away for the buut. conquest. The Spanish term for fleet was ar- maduy and the Spaniards were so sure that England could not resist their attack that they called their squad- ron the Invincible Armada. They were soon ready to ss?-] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 201 sail, but one English captain obliged them to delay for a whole year. England was not "Mistress of the Seas" by any means, but she had many brave sailors and daring com- manders. One of the greatest of these was Sir Drake in Francis Drake, who had sailed around the world, ^i"*^"- As soon as Philip's plan was known, Drake set out with four ships from the royal navy and twenty-four vessels that had been furnished by the Londoners, and sailed straight for the harbor of Cadiz. For thirty-six hours he fought, and he sank one after another of the mighty war- ships, high at prow and stern, loaded with heavy arma- ment, unwieldy and clumsy. The English boats were small, and the English sailors had always been a little afraid of these great floating castles ; but now Drake had found out how to meet them. The Spaniards set to work to repair damages, and to make ready to attack Eng- land a year later, while Drake sent word back to England that he had "singed the Spanish king's beard." Then he sailed away to the Azores. Good fortune was with him, for he fell in with a richer prize than had ever been captured by England before, — a Portuguese carack, loaded with all sorts of valuable articles from the East Indies. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 202 ENGLAND'S STORY [1588 179. England is aroused. Since the times of Wil- liam the Conqueror, there had been no maritime attacks upon England that had caused her any special alarm, and now the whole country was aroused by this new danger. The pope had a second time excommunicated Elizabeth, and had called upon all true Roman Catholics to join Philip in fighting for the faith. Nevertheless, Englishmen, both Roman Catholics and Protestants, sup- ported the queen, and men whose fathers would have burned one another for a difference in creed stood side by side to resist the attack of Spain. A Roman Catholic named Howard was made admiral of the fleet, and Drake was vice-admiral. Frobisher and Hawkins served as cap- tains, and Sir Walter Raleigh as a volunteer. Rank and family went for nothing. Every man was ready to haul a rope or fire a gun. The honor lay not in commanding a vessel, but in doing one's best for England. The royal navy consisted of only thirty warships, not one of them so large as the smallest of the Spanish fleet. TheEngUsh The government asked London for fifteen boats, ^*^- and the answer came, " We entreat you to ac- cept from us thirty." Every little seashore village sent out its ships. Men of all ranks and from all over the land hurried to join the forces that were gathering to- gether near London. Every man that owned a sailing vessel offered its services and his own to help defend his country ; and piratical attacks were so common in those days that few captains of merchant vessels had not had some experience in resisting an enemy. 180. The fight with the Armada. The summer of 1588 came, and the Spanish vessels set sail. Not a doubt of success was in the minds of the Spaniards. Men, food, and ammunition were plenty, and they had the greatest fleet that the world had ever seen. They had 1588] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 203 four or five times as many ships of war as the Eng- lish. They were so sure of victory that they made not the least effort to conceal their plans. Slowly came the Armada up the coast into the English Channel. As soon as they were in sight, signal fires were lighted on the hills, and the qu^er little English fleet went out from Plymouth harbor to meet the foe. The Spanish fleet formed in a wide crescent, seven miles across. The SPANISH ARMADA ATTACKED BY THE ENGLISH FLEET English vessels were not strong enough to come to a regular fight, but they were so light and quick, and the Spanish were so slow and heavy, that the encounter seemed, as was said, like one between a swarm of wasps and a bear. Now came in play the lesson that Drake had learned in the harbor of Cadiz one year before. An English boat would slip up under the very guns of a Spanish gal- leon, fire a shot or two and flee ; and before the Spanish guns could he trained upon her, she would be far away, firing at another warship. It is said that some of the English vessels went the whole length of the crescent, 204 ENGLAND'S STORY [1588 firing at ship after ship. The Spanish withdrew toward Calais. Then there came a Sunday when every soldier in the English army waiting before London prayed from the bottom of his heart in the words that the queen Flxe-ships. had sent, "Prosper the work, O Lord, and speed the victory." Soon after midnight a few small vessels left the English fleet and were slowly towed in the direction of the Spanish ships. There were no men on board. What could it mean .? The tow-boats with- ^drew, and the vessels drifted on with the tide, even into the very midst of the Armada. Was there danger ? What could the Spaniards do } There was no reason for firing at an empty boat, and they waited — not long, however, for there was a sudden blaze from one boat, another, and another. There was a din of explosions. Strange, suffocating vapors filled the air. Still the mys- terious vessels drifted on, and wherever they went there was fire and ruin. How could one fight an empty boat that seemed to be guided by invisible fiends ? Many Span- ish ships were burned, sunk by collisions, run aground, or entangled in one another's anchor cables. They could not turn back, for the saucy little English boats were between them and Spain, firing at least four Retttrnof times as fast as the Spaniards could fire. The theArmada. ygj-y winds were against them. Their only hope of returning to their own land was by going around Scot- land and Ireland. Terrible storms arose, and only half of the Invincible Armada ever sailed into a Spanish port. England now ruled the seas. She could send her ships where she chose and trade wherever she wished. No fear was there now of becoming a province of Spain. Before Elizabeth's time there had been great victories and great men. Under Elizabeth, England itself became great. 1589-1603] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 205 181. A wonderful literature. More glorious than victories on land or sea was the wonderful literature that had been growing up in England. It seems as if every event that had come before this latter part of the sixteenth century had had a share in preparing the way for the outburst of literary ability that made the reign of Eliza- beth so memorable. The Saxons loved the land and their own settled homes. Then came the Danes with their fearlessness on the sea and their wild enjoyment of storms and of danger. When a poet wrote of love of home, he expressed the feelings of his Saxon ancestors ; and when he wrote of the perils of the wave and influence of the wreck, and his love of the sea with all its^*^®^*"*- hazards, he was for the time one of the bold mariners who seized upon England for their abode. By and by came the Conqueror, and by 1400 the grace and. beauty and refinement of the French language had softened the rough strength of the early English. Men thought for themselves more and more on all subjects, and this strength of thought showed in their writings. The nation became united, and the idea of one strong country was an inspiration. To Elizabeth herself there was on the part of thousands a devotion that was almost idolatry. The victory over influence oi the Armada gave the English nation a mag- the present, nificent sense of confidence. A great widening of ideas came with the discovery and exploration of the New World. Raleigh had sailed to Virginia ; Frobisher had visited Labrador and Greenland in his search for a northwest passage to India. Every one was eager to make a voyage, and it is no wonder, for there were marvellous stories of a fountain in Florida whose waters would make an old man young again, of silver mines whose richness was without parallel, and of rivers 206 ENGLAND'S STORY [1589-1603 whose waters rolled over precious stones. No one knew what miracle might come next. The English were eagef and excited, and their imagination was roused to the highest pitch. In most ages only a few men write wellj but in those days many wrote so excellently that Eliza- beth's time is called the " Golden Age " of English liter- ature. There were many short poems and many plays. The short poems written before Elizabeth's reign are heavy and rather gloomy, and they sound as if they were hard Short to write. The religious poems had not been poems. frank and natural, because in the sudden changes of the national creed, people had been afraid to tell what they really believed, lest it should be called heresy ; but nearly all the poems written in Elizabeth's time are light and merry and musical. Among them are many songs, for the English, even from the earliest days, had liked to listen to music, and at this time every- body sang. A servant who could sing well had no trouble in getting a good position. Moreover, people would not sing nonsense ; they would have real poetry for their songs. One of the most famous poems of the day was a long one named " The Faerie Queene," by Edmund Spenser. He is sometimes called "the poets' poet," because his verse is so harmonious that it sounds musical even to one who does not understand the words. The poem is a sort of double allegory, for the heroine represents not only goodness and beauty, but also Queen Elizabeth. Even better than the short poems were the plays. The old mystery plays went on far into Elizabeth's reign, though they were no longer acted by priests, ^** but by guilds, or companies of tradesmen. There were no books that were at all like the novels of 1589-1603J THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 207 our time. It may be that life moved so rapidly with its discoveries and its victories, and that Englishmen were so eager and so enthusiastic that they could not be satis- fied to listen to a story; they must see it acted out before them. People of rank and wealth and those of the hum- blest fortunes enjoyed alike the plays for which the mys- teries had helped prepare the way. As the age went on, the characters of the plays became more and more like real men and women. There were also changes in the manner of writing. Before this, most authors had felt that the lines of a play must rhyme, but Marlowe ridiculed the cus- tom and wrote his plays in the unrhymed verse that Shakespeare uses. A little later, Ben Jon son wrote not only many plays, but also a kind of drama called a masque. The masques had hardly any plot, but audiences enjoyed them because they were beautiful and poetical, and because they had elaborate scenery, while the regular plays had scarcely any. Many authors wrote plays and exceedingly good ones, but the greatest of all these writers was Shakespeare, partly because shake- he could use words so skilfully that no one speare. seems able to improve upon his way of expressing a thought, but chiefly because he knew better than any one else just how different persons would feel and act under different circumstances. One maker of plays was almost as good as he in one respect, and another in WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 208 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 589-1603 some other respect, but Shakespeare was greatest in all respects. 182. Character of Elizabeth. What kind of woman was Elizabeth, in whose reign these wonderful things came to pass .? She was well educated, witty, fond of handsome clothes and gorgeous pageants of all sorts. She thoroughly enjoyed travelling about the country in THE GLOBE. SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE State, going from one nobleman's house to another and seeing all the amusing entertainments that could be de- vised. Sh§ had great faults. She was so vain that no one could praise her as much as she thought she deserved. She had a hot temper, and when she was angry she would beat her maids of honor and box the ears of her courtiers. She did not like to spend money any better than her grandfather, Henry VII., and when her brave sailors were driving away the Armada, it was a great i6o3] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 209 Struggle to persuade her to spend what was necessary. Admiral Howard's letters are full of requests that she will supply him with more food and ammunition. Before we call her stingy, however, we must remember that she had to make the money of the kingdom go as far as pos- sible, and that at any rate she never spent lavishly on her own pleasures. Her worst fault was that her word could not be trusted. She would tell a lie if it answered her purpose, and when it was found out she always had another one ready. On the other hand, she really loved her country, and she meant sincerely to do her best for England. She chose wise men for her advisers, and though she would often storm at them when their counsel did not suit her, yet she always followed it in the end. She was a Tudor and meant to have her own way, but she invariably .yielded when she saw that she was going against the wishes of the nation ; and she yielded so graciously that people almost thought that all the time she was oppos- ing them she had meant to do what they desired. She certainly had grave faults, but she had many good quali- ties ; and these good qualities were just the ones that the nation needed at that time to unite England and to make her great in politics, discovery, and literature. SUMMARY The accession of Elizabeth was welcome to England, but the poverty of the crown, the three opposing religious parties at home, and the foes of the country abroad, made her posi- tion a difficult one. After the conspiracy in behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots, had been terminated by her execution, and the attempts of Spain to conquer England had been ended by the defeat of the Armada, a sense of freedom filled the land. England was " Mistress of the Seas," and she had no 210 ENGLAND'S STORY [1558-1603 longer any fear of becoming a province of another country. The discoveries of Drake, Frobisher, Hawkins, and others widened the boundaries of the world. There were many men who could fight, many who could govern, many who could write, and not a few who seemed able to succeed in one line as well as in another. There was also an increasing freedom of thought. Though " religious toleration " was an idea of the future, and some of the persecutions were most bitter, yet an Englishman was far less likely to suffer for his opinions than half a century earlier. Of greater value than victories on sea or on land was the literary ability that was in this reign so widely diffused, and that found its highest manifestation in the plays of Shake- speare. An important factor in the greatness of England was the queen herself, with her intellectual ability, her wis- dom in choosing advisers, and her sincere love of the land over which she ruled. THE TUDORS 19. Henry VII. 1485-1509. 20. Henry VIII. Margaret, m. Mary, m. Charles 1509-1547 James Stuart, King of Brandon. I Scotland. I 22. Mary. 23. Elizabeth. 21. Edward VI. James Frances, m. »5S3-i5S8. 1558-1603. 1547-1553 I Henry Grey. Mary, Queen of Scots. Lady Jane Grey, m. Lord Dudley. 24. James I. (Stuart.) V-i. 1603-1625. CHAPTER VII THE HOUSE OF STUART 1603--1714 24. James I. 1603- 162 5 183. James I. The heir to Elizabeth's throne was James, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, the child to whom she had resigned her kingdom when she was a prisoner at Lochleven Castle. He was now nearly forty years of age, and from his looks and manner no one would have guessed that he was the son of Queen Mary. She was graceful and beautiful, and she had so much tact that almost every one who met her liked her and was ready to do whatever she* asked. James was awkward and clumsy, and made himself even more clumsy than he was by nature, because he was so afraid of being assassi- nated that he had his clothes heavily padded and quilted. He rolled from side to side when he walked. His tongue was too big for his mouth. He was coarse in his ways, and with all his delight in gorgeousness he took no plea- sure in neatness and cleanliness. He had been brought up very strictly by the Scotch Presbyterians, who were far more rigid in their ideas than the Puritans. The Presbyterians believed, for james's instance, that it was very wrong for a clergyman ®"iy ^^• to wear a white surplice when he preached, and they felt sure that a church governed by presbyters must be far better than one governed by bishops. James had been taught, but not educated ; that is, he had been made to 212 ENGLAND'S STORY [1603 read and study so much that he knew many facts ; but it would have been better if he had known only half as many and had reasoned and thought about them. He was so sure that he was a learned man that he was too con- ceited to be taught anything, and he never found out that knowledge is of no value unless one has also learned how .to use it well. The brilliant French " the wisest fool in JAMES I. minister, Sully, said that James was Europe." 184. Scotch rejoicings. This was the man who now sat on the throne of England. He was the sixth king by the name of James who had ruled in Scotland, but the first of the name who had ruled in England, so in English history he is always spoken of as James I. The English were not especially eager to have him for king, but the Scotch were rejoiced, for they had never forgot- ten the Stone of Scone that Edward I. had carried to England three hundred years before ; and when James sat on that stone in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, the Scotch felt that at last the prophecy had been fulfilled that wherever the stone rested a Scotch- man should rule. i6o3-i6o7] THE HOUSE OF STUART 213 185. Which church ? The first question in the minds of James's new subjects was, which church he would favor. The Roman Catholics hoped that out of regard for his mother's belief, he would make life in Eng- land easier for them, and the Puritans hoped that as he had been brought up among Presbyterians, he would have a feeling of fellowship with them. One thousand Puritan ministers at once presented him with a mam- moth petition asking that they might be allowed to preach without a surplice, to marry couples without using a ring, and to baptize children without making the sign of the cross. James called several of these Puritan ministers to meet an assembly of bishops to discuss the matter in his pres- ence. Just as soon as he saw that some of the Puritans as well as the Scotch Presbyterians wished to have no bishops, he shouted, " No bishops, no king," and "NoWshops, not an inch would he move from that position, coking." for he believed that if they thought a church might be governed without bishops, they would next think a king- ^ dom might be governed without a king ; and he declared that both Puritans and Roman Catholics should conform to the Church of England, or he would " harry them out of the land, or else do worse." Naturally, the English bishops and most of the lords stood firmly by the king, and one of the lords who was at the conference said he was " fully persuaded that his majesty spoke by the instinct of the Spirit of God." At this meeting no one really ventured to speak with perfect freedom except the king, and he was so delighted to have so fine an opportunity to display his knowledge that he forgot he was acting as a judge who should listen and not argue, and he himself monopolized the speech-making. He quoted Latin and he quoted Greek, 214 ENGLAND'S STORY [1605-1611 and he closed the conference with the satisfied conviction 1611 The ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Puritans were not converted from Biwe their mistaken ways, they ou^ht to be. The translated. , , ,. , . one good that came from this convention was a new translation of the Bible. This was completed in 161 1, and is the one now in common use. 186. The Gunpowder Plot. People were no longer burned for heresy, but both Roman Catholics and Puri- tans were heavily fined and imprisoned and even tor- tured, and treated in all ways with the greatest unfair- ness and severity. In a kingdom in which every man belonged to one of three religious parties, a king who was so unjust to two of those parties must expect that in one or the other there would be men that would con- spire against him. This was soon the case in England. The Puritans could become members of Parliament, and could sometimes find redress of their grievances in legal measures ; but the oath that every member of Parliament must take was one that no Roman Catholic could hon- estly repeat, therefore it was naturally among the Roman Catholics that the most notorious plot was formed. This plot was a scheme to blow up the Parliament House with gunpowder. A cellar under the building was rented, and great quantities of powder were stored there, hidden under wood and coal. It was arranged that on the day of the opening of Parliament one man should slip into the cellar and light the pile. The con- spirators hoped that king, nobles, and bishops would be destroyed in a moment. They had a long time to wait, since, on one ground or another, the opening of Parliament was put off for a year. That so terrible a secret could be kept by a group of men so long a time showed to what desperation they had been driven. At last, however, the time came ; the day was set on which Parliament should i6o5] THE HOUSE OF STUART 215 convene. The hopes of the conspirators rose higher, for they believed that soon their enemies would be de- stroyed. At the last moment, the heart of one of the conspira- tors failed him. Hundreds of women throughout Eng- THE GUNPOWDER CONSPIRATORS land might lose husband or father or brother, but his sister's husband must be saved. He sent a note a note of of warning. Some say that it was read aloud ^an^K- by mistake and straightway reported to the council ; others say that he repented of the fearful scheme and thought that this sending of an anonymous letter would be the best way to reveal the plan and to prevent the slaughter. In the letter of warning was an expression suggesting that the danger would be sudden. It is said that King James himself was the one who interpreted this as mean- ing that gunpowder would be used. The councillors 2l6 ENGLAND'S STORY [1605 were even closer guardians of the secret than the con- spirators had been. Arrangements went on for the opening of Parliament. Just before midnight of Novem- ber fourth, the day before the explosion was to have taken place, the lord chamberlain and his attendants went to the cellar under the building, and there stood a Q^y tall man in whose possession were slow matches Fawkes. g^^d touchwood. This was Guy Fawkes, who was to touch off the powder. He refused to reveal the names of his associates, but after terrible tortures in the Tower, he yielded. This plot was known to only a few men, but in the minds of the public the blame was thrown upon all that were Roman Catholics, and the laws against them became more rigorous than ever. The fifth of November, 1605, was the day appointed for the explosion.' It is still called "Guy Fawkes's Day," and the old rhymes are not yet forgotten : — " Don't you remember The fifth of November, The gunpowder treason and plot? I see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot." The day was celebrated in America until Revolutionary times. 187. "Divine right of kings." During his whole reign James's favorite idea was the "divine right of kings." He believed that no matter how bad a man was, God had appointed him to rule, if he was only the oldest son of the preceding sovereign, and no Christian could rightfully oppose him in anything that he chose to do. In earlier days the English people had made the man king who seemed best able to rule. Then they began i6o5-i6ii] THE HOUSE OF STUART 217 ANNE OF DENMARK, WIFE OF JAMES I. Showing the " Wheel Far- thingale " then worn to prefer that the same family should continue in power, but they chose among the members of that family the one that seemed to be worthiest of the throne. Gradually they had come to feel that it was wiser to choose the oldest son or his descendants ; but to be told that this oldest son was invariably the one chosen of God to rule them, and that the nation had nothing to do with the matter but to accept and obey whatever laws he wished to make, was quite a new idea to them. James paid no attention to the rights of his subjects. If he was not pleased with the men who were elected members of Parliament, he refused to allow them to serve. If the records of Parlia- ment did not suit him, he calmly tore the j^^^^,^ pages out of the book. When his ministers exercise begged him to give his attention to some im- "divine portant public matters, he said that the most ^s^^-" important matter in the kingdom was for him to have the exercise and recreation that his health required ; and while papers that affected the welfare of millions of his subjects lay waiting for his signature, he went hunting and hawking, and spent his days in the most disgusting of drunken orgies. Some great writers of plays lived in the reign of James, and whenever they described the court, they pictured most coarse and vulgar scenes. 188. James's efforts to obtain money. James had favorites, who, like those of Edward II., were idle, worth- less men. His gifts to them were unlimited. Hcseemed to have no idea that a king had any responsibility in 2l8 ENGLAND'S STORY [l6ii spending the money that the taxation of* his subjects had put into his hands. His treasurer once gave him a James's lesson. He showed him a great heap of coin favorites, lying on the floor, and when the king asked, "Whose is this.?" he replied, "It was your majesty's before you gave it away." This money, twenty thousand pounds, had been promised to one of these unworthy favorites, but now that the king realized how much it was, he declared that the favorite should never have it. Immense amounts were squandered upon these worthless men, and upon James's drunken revels and disgraceful amusements and entertainments. How to get money was always the question. Parliament was never willing to give without at least a promise that the king would not infringe upon its rights. James demanded the pay- ment of a tax on goods that were exported and imported. He called for another tax when his oldest son was Tiue of knighted ; he introduced a new title, that of baronet baronet, and gave it to almost any one that would pay for it. He would have been glad to revive the old scheme of demanding benevolences, but when he invited London to make him a present, that city refused. The king was angry and vowed that he would punish the Londoners by removing his court to some more loyal place. It is said that the lord mayor replied : — "Your majesty hath power to do what you please, and your City of London will obey accordingly, but she humbly desires that when your majesty shall remove your courts, you would please to leave the Thames be- hind you." Finally, a great scheme was proposed. This was to marry the king's son Charles to the Spanish ish mar- ^ princess. She would have a large dowry, and '***** the royal coffers would again be filled so that [6i8] THE HOUSE OF STUART 219' the king could begin another course of his degrading amusements. The English people were indignant enough when they saw his increasing familiarity with the Span- ish minister, and a little later they had even more reason for their wrath. In the Tower a remarkable Execution man, named Walter Raleigh, had been kept a «* Raleigh, prisoner for twelve years under sentence of death on a false charge of con- spiracy against the king. He was a sol- dier, an explorer, a courtier, a student, a poet ; indeed, there seemed to be nothing that this man of many talents could not do and do well. Before his imprisonment he had made voyages to the New World, and had even tried to plant a colony. He felt sure that if he were allowed to take a fleet to America, he could find a certain rich gold mine. This was a temptation to James, and he sent Raleigh, but with strict orders not to interfere with the Spaniards who were settled on the South American coast. Then James in his folly told the Spanish minister all about the scheme, and, of course, when Raleigh landed in America, the Spaniards were awaiting him, and there was trouble at once. Spain already hated him because he was one of those who defeated the Armada, and to please Spain and secure the princess with her dowry, Raleigh was executed on the old charge of conspiracy. SIR WALTER RALEIGH 220 ENGLAND'S STORY ti6o7-i02o The wrath of the nation was aroused, and became even morefurious when James's son Charles — " Baby Charles," No aiuance the father called him — set off to visit Spain, with Spain. Whether the Spanish were never in earnest about this marriage and were only deceiving James in order to keep him under their control, or whether Charles was better pleased with the French princess whom he met on the way, is perhaps not fully known. At any rate, the Spanish marriage was given up, and the country rejoiced. 189. Merchants go to America. In James's reign there were two classes of men who had thought with especial longing of the wonderful country across the At- lantic. The first, a company of merchants and specula- tors, remembered the stories that had been told of vast quantities of gold and silver that lay hidden in the un- explored lands. They formed a colony to go to Vir- ginia, a territory which had been so named by Raleigh in memory of his having discovered it during the reign James- ^^ ^ virgin queen. They left England in 1607, town. and founded on the James River the first per- 1607 manent English settlement in America. It was to be a somewhat aristocratic place. It was named James- town in honor of the king, and he was to control its laws. Almost all the colonists were men who had no idea how to do anything with their hands. These were hardly the kind of people to become settlers in a new country, and naturally they had all sorts of troubles. Fortunately for them. Captain John Smith was among them, a man who seemed to know just what to do in every difficulty, and the colony finally became flourishing and wealthy. 190. Pilgrims go to America. The Puritans had been persecuted and tormented and imprisoned. They were even forbidden to meet quietly in one another's i62o3 THE HOUSE OF STUART 221 houses for prayer and preaching. They wished to purify the Church of England and not to leave it, but there were many who, while agreeing with the Puritans in religious belief, wished to be entirely free from the Church of England. These men were called Independents, or Sepa- ratists. ;' . ' , . , "~ ^Early in the reign of James some of these Independ- ents had asked his leave to go to America, but the king would not give permission. They knew that in Holland men were free to worship God in any entsin way that they thought right, so they contrived to escape to Holland, and there they remained for twelve years ; but they were English at heart and they wished to live under the English government, badly as it had treated them. After many attempts, these harassed people at last secured a grudging permission to go to the land under English control across the seas. There they could bring up their children as they thought right, and worship God in the way that they believed would be pleasing to Him. So it was that in 1620 the brave little company of " Pilgrim Fathers " set sail in the piymoua. Mayflower, and after many weeks of discomfort ^®^®" and danger landed on the New England coast and founded a settlement which they named Plymouth. 191. James's character. If James had done just one noble deed before his death, it would have gone far to- wards making people think kindly of him, but to the very end of his life he went on in his career of gluttony, drunkenness, and folly. The discord which his deeds had aroused between king and people was a sad inheritance for his son Charles, and one could almost have prophe- sied the troubles of the next reign. 222 ENGLAND'S STORY [1625-1649 SUMMARY James's accession delighted Scotland. Roman Catholics and Puritans hoped for his favor, but his support was given to the Church of England. Puritan clergymen appealed for freedom in church ceremonies, but the only good result of the royal conference was a new translation of the Bible. The discovery of the " Gunpowder Plot " prevented the destruction of the king and of both Houses of Parliament. James imposed as many taxes as he dared, and to fill his coffers attempted to marry his son to the Spanish princess. Raleigh was sacrificed to Spanish hatred. Merchants and Pilgrims went to America. James's favorite idea was the " divine right of kings," but his weakness and folly lessened the personal devotion that the nation had shown to the Tudors. As the king's power diminished, the strength of Parliament increased. 25. Charles I. 1625-1649 ^^ 192. Charles I. and the "divine right." For the quiet and peace of England there could hardly have been a worse king than Charles I. In some way he had per- suaded himself that while it would be wrong to tell a falsehood to a member of his family or to one of his friends, it was perfectly right to deceive his subjects in any way that suited his convenience. He believed in the "divine right of kings" even more firmly than did his father, and he was convinced that if the people did not recognize his "divine right" to do as he wished, it was simply because they were wilful and obstinate, and he was more "divinely commissioned" than ever to make them obedient by deceit or any other means. 193. Charles's deceitfulness. He had shown this belief even before he became king, at the time when he wished to marry the French princess whom he had i625] THE HOUSE OF STUART 223 seen on his way to Spain. The Protestants in England had increased in power and in numbers, and they were unwilling that a Roman Catholic should become their queen, lest more favor should be given to her church. To satisfy them, both Charles and his father had pro- mised Parliament that no such favor should be shown. On the other hand, the French princess would not come to England un- less she could be as- sured that she might bring with her a nu- merous train of Roman Catholic priests and ladies and attendants. This would violate the agreement with Parlia- ment, but both Charles and his father made this promise too, and Charles married the French princess. The English peo- ple saw at once that he had deceived them, but they were so glad to be sure that he would not marry the princess of Spain that they were ready to overlook even such treachery as this. Charles had no power prencii to keep the promises of favor to the Roman c°thoUcs Catholics which he had made to obtain his wife, expelled, and his attempts to do so only aroused the English Pro- testants, while his failure called forth the wrath of France. To crown it all, he finally gave orders that his wife's priests and attendants should be driven out of the land. He wrote to his minister : — ■- CHARLES I. 224 ENGLAND'S STORY [1625 " I command you to send all the French away to- morrow out of the town. If you can, by fair means (but stick not long in disputing) ; otherwise force them away, driving them away like so many wild beasts." If it had not been for his deceitfulness, the nation might well have been proud of their king. In appear- ance and manner he was *an ideal monarch, dignified, handsome, and courteous. He was a scholarly man and had some intellectual ability. He seemed to have inher- ited all the good traits of his grandmother, Mary, Queen of Scots, and had it not been for his one unpardonable fault, the English nation would have refused him nothing. It was because of his unwillingness to be frank and honest with his people that he was in trouble from the very beginning of his reign. When his first Parliament met, he called for a large amount of money to carry out some vague schemes of his for making war upon Spain and capturing some Spanish treasure-ships. He wished Parliament to provide the money without a question ; but as he seemed to have no definite plans for the war, and his only idea of finding a treasure-ship was to sail about the ocean till he chanced to come across one. Parliament refused ; and refused also to give him any promise of in- come from "tonnage," a tax on shipping, and and "poundage," a tax on merchandise, for more poun age. ^^^.^^ q^^q year. For the last two centuries it had been the custom to grant the income from these taxes to each succeeding king for life, and now Charles was angry. He refused to accept the grant if made for only one year, but nevertheless he proceeded to collect the duties, and went to war with Spain on his own responsi- bility. If he had been successful, the attempt might have won popularity, but the whole affair was so badly managed that the people were more indignant than ever. 1625-1626] THE HOUSE OF STUART 225 194. Illegal taxes. Money was needed, and there- fore Charles had to summon Parliament again. Parlia- ment would not give him money unless he would show clearly that he wished it for some purpose of which the country would approve ; and Charles was indignant that mere subjects should dare to do such a thing as to ques- tion what he meant to do with the money. As he could SOLDIERS, TIME OF CHARLES 1 Musketeer and Pikeman get no funds by lawful means, the only thing was to get them in any way that he could ; and again a foolish king tried to collect what were really almost the same as be- nevolences, although the amount demanded was in some proportion to each man's income. This tax was not legal, because it had not been voted by Parliament, and a few brave men refused to pay it ; but, nevertheless, a large sum of money was collected, for not many dared to risk the anger of the king. France and Spain had united their forces against Eng- 226 ENGLAND'S STORY [1626-1628 land, and Charles could get no money to resist their attacks unless he appealed to Parliament ; so there was ParUament nothing to do but to call for another session, is caued. f ]^g j^jng was angry and scornful ; Parliament was indignant at his treatment of his subjects, and alarmed at what might be the result if this arbitrary sovereign was allowed to go on in his course. Charles had no intention of keeping the laws, and as the courts of justice were under his control, they would uphold * whatever he chose to do. Parliament decided that vot- ing money for war was not the most important matter on hand ; affairs at home must first be attended to. 195. The "Petition of Rights." When a king did not do what his subjects thought just, the proper way to tell him so was to present a petition. In King John's time it was the nobles alone who had stood firm to right the grievances of the kingdom, but now nobles and com- mons were much in sympathy. A paper, called a " Peti- tion of Rights," was sent to the king, and' he was made to understand that no supplies would be voted until he had signed it. All that the petition asked was that he should keep the laws of the land ; and the main points named were that no one should be imprisoned unlaw- fully, and that no taxes or benevolences should be de- manded without the consent of Parliament. There would seem to be no reason why an honorable king should have hesitated a moment before signing this, and the king did agree to it, but instead of writing the usual form of words, " Let right be done as is desired," he wrote a form so roundabout that Parliament suspected that he would soon find a loophole and not keep his word after all. The members of Parliament were so wretched and discouraged that more than one broke down utterly and burst into tears. The king was to meet them the next 1628-1629] THE HOUSE OF STUART 22/ morning. What would he say? Was there any hope of peace ? In the morning the king came before the House, and, much to their surprise, he tore away what he had written, and signed his name to the usual formula, " Let right be done as is desired." The members of Parliament were so rejoiced that they straightway voted all the supplies that the king had asked. Then they began to discuss the matters that had been mentioned in their petition and to plan how to reform the abuses, but here Charles interfered and closed the session. 196. Parliament's protest. The next year Parlia- ment met again. There was great excitement, for sign- ing the " Petition of Rights "had had no effect upon the actions of the king. Another trouble had arisen, for Laud, Archbishop of London, had introduced into the church service many ceremonies that were so much like those of the Roman Catholics that Parliament feared a return to the Romish doctrine. The Speaker of the House knew that a protest was coming, and he attempted to adjourn the assembly, saying that he did so by the king's orders. King or no king, Parliament was resolved that the protest should be heard ; and so, while two members held the Speaker down in his chair and another locked the outer door, a declaration was read that who- ever favored the teachings of Rome, and whoever paid voluntarily any tax not voted by Parliament, was an enemy to his country. During the reading of the protest, the king had sent for one of the officers, but the man was not allowed to leave the room. The king sent a message, but the House refused to admit the messenger. Then the king "grew into much rage and passion" and sent the royal guard to break in the door ; but now that the protest had 228 ENGLAND'S STORY [1629-1640 been read and every member of the House had heard it, the doors were thrown open and Parliament quietly adjourned. 197. Eleven years without Parliament. The king took off his royal robes and said that never again would he put them on to enter the House, for he would rule without any Parliament ; and this he did for eleven long years. He and his ministers invented all kinds of ways to fill the royal treasury. One way was by granting "monopolies," an old abuse of the preceding century; for instance, one man would receive from the king permis- sion to make soap, and all other men would be forbidden to carry on the business. Of course, this man could well afford to pay a high price for such permission, and the star Cham- nioney went into the king's treasury. The fterrevived. Q^^^iv Chamber of Henry VH.'s day was revived, and any one that ventured to object to a royal tax was by this tribunal condemned to pay a much larger one ; and if he refused, his goods were taken from him. This court was in the hands of Earl Strafford, a noble who was devoted to the cause of the king. He had a plan which he named " Thorough," and its aim was to make the king absolutely independent. Whatever Charles chose to demand was to be granted, even if it was against the laws of the country and the will of Parliament. Another kind of tribunal was known as the Court of High Commission. Archbishop Laud presided over this, The Court and here those that did not believe it right to oommis- worship in the form prescribed by the Church Bion. of England were fined. This court had existed in Elizabeth's day, but had never been such an instru- ment of tyranny as it now became. Men who were brought up before either of these courts had no trial and no way of defending themselves. They must pay what- ever fine was demanded or be sent to prison. 1630-1637] THE HOUSE OF STUART 229 Of course the Puritans suffered terribly from such a government as this. They were fined, and imprisoned, and whipped, and branded with red-hot irons. „ ^^ ' Persecution It is no wonder that they thought more and oi the Puri- more of going to the New World, where they ^^' would be far away from the tyranny of such a king and such ministers. John Winthrop published a long list of reasons why Puritans should no longer remain in such a land, where their children were " perverted, corrupted, and utterly overthrown by the multitude of evil ex- amples," and in 1630 a company of these Puritans, with Winthrop for their leader, sailed for America Boston and founded Boston. Two strong, resolute ^o^^*®*- men — if we may trust the old story — wished to sail with them, and were on board the vessel when it was in the Thames, but the king forbade their going. A few years later he must have been sorry that he had de- tained them, for these men were John Hampden and Oliver Cromwell. Still the king had not money enough, for he and Straf- ford had decided that the only way to maintain absolute power was to establish a royal army. But ghip. whence should they get the money to pay the moii«7- soldiers ? There was another old law, or custom, that they thought they could revive. In earlier times the sovereign had been allowed to call upon the seaports to contribute ships or money when there was danger of invasion by sea. " What one king has done, another king may do," said Charles and his advisers, and he demanded " ship-money " from the whole kingdom. The land was not at war, and there was no danger of any invasion. People were sure that the king would use whatever money he obtained in Hampden's this way to establish an army. It needed a *^"^'^- 230 ENGLAND'S STORY [1637 bold man to refuse to pay, but there were some who did refuse, and among them was this brave John Hampden who had wished to go to America. The twenty shillings demanded of him he would not pay. After months of deliberation, seven judges out of twelve decided against him ; but all these judges were servants of the king, and the fact that five of them favored Hampden encouraged men throughout the kingdom to refuse to pay the unjust tax. 198. Trouble in Scotland. Charles had put the coun- try into a turmoil, but he had gained no wisdom from his troubles. Instead of trying to make matters better in England, he turned his attention to Scotland — and wherever he turned his attention, there were sure to be difficulties. He chose this time of all times to try to compel the Scotch Presbyterians to use the English Prayer Book. The Dean of Edinburgh did his best to obey the king's orders, but in a moment the church was full of angry shouts. He tried again, and an old woman named Jane Gaddis, or Geddes, threw at the dean's head the little stool on which she had been sitting, and cried, " Do you mean to say mass at my ear ? " Then came JOHN HAMPDEN 1640-1641] THE HOUSE OF STUART 23I rebellion, and the king had no money to pay soldiers. There was nothing to do but to call Parlia- The "Long ment, and this Charles did in 1640. It was ^"^*; called the " Long Parliament," because it did 1640. not dissolve for twenty years. 199. Parliament's opposition. Much as the people had suffered, they had not yet come to the point where they would accuse their king directly of unfaithfulness to the kingdom intrusted to him. Instead of La^d and this, they accused his advisers. Laud and Straf- straiiord. ford, of treason, and both were sent to the Tower. Charles wrote a friendly letter to Strafford and said, " Upon the word of a king, you shall not suffer in life, honor, or fortune. This is but justice." Within three weeks Strafford had a chance to learn the value of the word of this king, for Charles signed his death warrant, and he was beheaded. Laud's execution took place a few years later. The king could easily find new men to serve him, thought Parliament, and an act was passed at once to aboHsh the Star Chamber and the Court of High Com- mission. More than once Charles had abruptly closed the session when he wished to stop the discussion of any matter, and now Parliament did not mean to be caught a^ain in the same trap, so the next law enacted was that the present session should not be closed without the per- mission of a majority of the members. 200. Trouble in Ireland. With England and Scot- land against the king, the next event was trouble in Ire- land. In the earlier times Ireland was superior to Eng- land in learning and cultivation, and the Irish schools were famed throughout Europe. Before the eleventh century they ceased to exist, chiefly because of the inva- sions of the Danes. The culture of many years was 232 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 2th- 1 6th Cent. destroyed. In the twelfth century, Henry II. had made a partial conquest of the eastern and southern parts of England's the island, but this conquest was in reality nectionw?tii hardly more than establishing posts, from Ireland. which continual warfare was waged with the Irish. Moreover, the English within "the Pale," as the land held by them in Ireland was called, instead of help- ing the Irish to recover the civilization they had lost, only scorned them ; but, strangely enough, before many years had passed, the English in Ireland were on no higher plane than their neighbors, though many laws had been made to keep the two peoples apart. There were laws that they should not intermarry, and that the English should not play the old Irish games or speak the Irish language. In the reign of Henry VII. it was decreed that if the Irish wished to make a law, they must first get permission from England. Henry VIII. called himself King of Ireland, and commanded the Irish to accept him as the head of the church. Even the wise Queen Elizabeth was exceedingly unwise in her treat- ment of the island, for she sent her favorite, the Earl of Essex, to Ireland as governor. Rebellion arose. There was famine, and the punishment of the starving people was so severe that the queen herself put a stop to it lest, as she said, she should have "nothing but ash^s and corpses to ride over." The opposition of Henry VIII. had developed a strong Irish devotion to the Church of Rome, and when James T. A. s persecuted the Irish to make them accept the Founding of ^ ^ London- Church of England, they were deeply resentful. There could hardly fail to be rebellion. In pun- ishment James seized all northeastern Ireland and granted it to any Scotchmen or Englishmen who wished to settle in that part of the country. Many went from London, 1641-1642] THE HOUSE OF STUART 233 and they named their settlement Londonderry in memory of their old home. Charles had appointed Strafford governor of Ireland, and although the earl introduced many measures for the good of the land, his rule was so harsh that a ixish very small injustice would arouse a revolt ; and "^°"*- it was not long before the Irish that had been turned out of their homes in northeastern Ireland did revolt and massacre many of the English settlers in their land. What should be done ? If England was to maintain her hold on Ireland, the revolt must be put down and pun- ished ; but to give the king men and money was to en- danger the liberties of England, for he would then be strong enough to compel those members of Parliament who were opposed to him to submit to his will. 201. The " Grand Remonstrance." There was much discussion. Some stood firmly by the king. Some thought that it was the wisest plan, since the king had yielded several points, to bear with him, and hope that nothing worse would come to pass. Some — and there were more of these than of both the other parties — felt that they had endured as long as they could, and that they could put no confidence in anything that he might promise. They drew up a paper called the " Grand Re- monstrance," which named, one after another, the acts of Charles that were against the laws of the land. 202. Charles tries to arrest raembers of Parliament. Charles well knew who were the five leaders of this third party, and he made up his mind to arrest them. A cer- tain soldier had a hint of what the king meant to do, and he contrived to let Parliament know what was coming to pass. The five men appeared and took their seats, but Parliament begged them to withdraw to prevent any scene of violence in the House. Four yielded, but the 234 ENGLAND'S STORY [1642 fifth would not go until an old friend pulled him out of the door just as the king drew near. The attendants stood back, and through the long lane between them the king passed, handsome and dignified, upstairs and to the House of Commons. The door was thrown open, and Charles walked slowly to the chair of the Speaker. All the members rose with uncovered heads to hear what the king might say. He looked about the House, but could not see the five members. Then he ordered the Speaker to point them out. The Speaker fell on his knees and answered : — "May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here, and humbly beg your majesty's pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me." The king declared that what these five men had said in the House was treason, and not the " Privilege," or right of free discussion that belonged to every member of Par- liament, and he ordered the men to be sent to him as soon as they appeared. He explained "in the word of a king," as he said, that he had not intended to use force. He made his customary remark, that whatever he had done for the good of his subjects, this he should continue to do, and then he and his guards withdrew, while mem- bers of the House called " Privilege ! privilege ! " 203. Why there was no compromise. There were many efforts made to keep the two parties from violence, and the king was at last ready to promise almost every- thing that was asked of him. There would probably have been some compromise, had it not been that people knew by an experience of seventeen years that a promise from King Charles meant precisely nothing at all ; and 1642] THE HOUSE OF STUART 235 for one other reason, which was that the majority in the House of Commons were strict Puritans, and they were so fully convinced that their belief was the only right one that they meant to compel the king and the country to think just as they thought in all religious matters, and to do just as they did. 204. The two parties. Now that affairs had come to a point where neither party would yield any further, there was nothing to do but to fight. The king went to Not- A CAVALIER A ROUNDHEAD tingham and called upon all loyal subjects to join him. Every man in the kingdom must stand on one side or the other. The majority of the men on the king's side were of some rank and fortune. They were the nobles, the clergy, and most of the men of means living in the country. They dressed well and rode well; indeed, it was because of their horsemanship that the nickname, Cavaliers, was given to them. The forces of the Puritans were quite in contrast with these elegant gentlemen. While there were some among them of wealth and noble birth, most of them were men who lived on small farms in the country or kept stores in 236 ENGLAND'S STORY [1642 the city. Men of fashion wore long, curling hair, but the Puritans scorned any such folly, and they had their hair cut short. This is why they were nicknamed Roundheads. 205. Civil War. It was in 1642 that the first fight- ing took place, and the first real battle was at Edgehill. BdgehiiL Neither army had had much training, but most 1642. Qf tjjg king's men were accustomed to riding, and therefore the royal cavalry was far superior to the undrilled Puritan footsoldiers, and this battle resulted in a victory for the king. Indeed, for some little time the king was successful, and had it not been for one strong, clear-headed man among the Puritans, the ending of the war might have been quite different from what it was. This man was named Oliver Cromwell. He had been a member of Parliament, but had left his seat to join the ,„ army. He saw at once that it was a mistake to Cromwell's -' ."Iron- pay low wages and take every one that wished to become a soldier ; and he set to work to raise a regiment that should be of quite different material from the rest of the parliamentary army. He gave his men high wages, but he would admit to his ranks only those who were of good character and some education, and whose religious belief was like his own. There was neither swearing nor gambling nor drinking in Cromwell's lines. These soldiers were upright, honorable men, and no other troops could ever stand before them. Their great fault was that they could not understand how any one whose belief was not like theirs could be honest and true. They abhorred the Church of England and the Church of Rome, and they liked the Scotch Presbyteri- ans but little better, for Cromwell and his men thought that there should be no presbyters to govern the churches, but that every congregation should stand alone and rule itself in all things. 1643-1646] THE HOUSE OF STUART 237 John Hampden had been killed in battle, and before long the command of the whole army passed into the hands of O^JLver Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fair- The fax, and the men were trained as nearly as Lfag-ue^ani possible like Cromwell's first regiment of " Iron- Covenant." sides," as they were called. Before the war fairly broke out, Charles had asked Scotland to aid him, but that country refused. Parliament now asked the Scotch to unite with the English army against the king ; and the Scotch agreed on condition that the Presbyterian form of worship should be adopted in the English church. This did not please Cromwell, but finally a paper was drawn up called the " Solemn League and Covenant," and a union was formed. For two years the war went on. Then Prince Rupert, who commanded the royal forces, was defeated ^larston at Marston Moor. Another year, and the king Moor, suffered another defeat at Naseby. His pri- Nasety. vate papers were captured, and then Parlia- ^^^' ment knew that Charles had been trying to hire foreign soldiers to come to England to fight his subjects. So many of the army felt that they were fighting for their religious belief that peace might possibly have been brought about if Charles had been willing that charies Presbyterianism should become the national form JJ^^^*^" of worship. This he positively refused. De- scotch, feated as he had been in one battle after another, he did not give up hope of overthrowing the power of Cromwell and his Independents, if he could only increase the quar- rel between them and the Scotch Presbyterians, ^^gggo^gj^ Therefore, he disguised himself, slipped away surrender 01 1 J J ^1/ Charles. to the Scotch camp, and surrendered. Ihe Scotch thought that now he would accept their terms and agree to establish Presbyterianism, but he refused. 238 ENGLAND'S STORY [1646-1649 Parliament had long been owing the Scotch army, and now, on payment of the debt, Charles was given over to that body. « Cromwell and his Independents were as ready to oppose the Presbyterian Parliament as they had been to oppose the king. They made a sudden attack upon the castle in which Charles was confined and captured him, by no means against his will. Before long, Charles escaped to the Isle of Wight, and there, though he was really a prisoner, hfe tried to plan some way to outwit the Inde- pendents, just as King John in that same place had tried to find a way to outwit the barons. 206. "Pride's Purge." Soon the army discovered that Parliament was trying to form a union of themselves, the Scotch, and the king. Colonel Pride was sent with a regiment of soldiers to thrust out of the House the one hundred and forty-three Presbyterian members. This act was known as " Pride's Purge," and it was certainly as arbitrary and tyrannical a deed as any that the king had ever committed. 207. Execution of Charles. January 30, 1649. The rest of the Parliament decided to try the king for "high treason and other high crimes." Before this, kings had been deposed, or forced to flee to save their lives, or had even been murdered, but to call a reigning sovereign into court and order him to defend himself was an entirely new idea. The king answered simply that he had nothing to say, since the court before which he was to be tried had no lawful authority. He was condemned, and ten days later he was executed. It is hard to think that a reasonable man could honestly Charles's believe that it was right for him to be truthful beuei. with some people and untruthful with others ; but so far as one person may judge of another, this was 1649] THE HOUSE OF STUART 239 the sincere belief of Charles L, king of England. For twenty-four years the country had suffered from his TRIAL OF CHARLES I. arrogance and treachery, and yet his last words on titie scaffold, pronounced with calm dignity and with every appearance of sincerity, were, " I am a martyr to the people." 240 ENGLAND'S STORY \ [1649 For eight centuries the English had been ruled by a king. It is no wonder that they were aghast at this An anxious public execution of their sovereign and the people. immediate declaration of Parliament that who- ever should venture, without the authority of that body, to name any person as king should be dealt with as a traitor. Charles was hardly buried before there began to be rumors of wonderful cures that had been brought about by the touch of a handkerchief wet with his blood. Many a man had strange dreams and visions of evil to come. Many a man felt that England without a sove- reign was a ship without a rudder, and feared exceedingly lest some terrible judgment should be visited upon the land that was stained with the blood of her own anointed king. SUMMARY The events of the last century had made men think, and as they were governed by a king who required unreasoning obedience to his treacherous and arbitrary rule, a clash was inevitable. In his marriage agreement Charles deceived both Roman Catholics and Protestants. He collected " ship money " and other illegal taxes, and revived " monopolies " and the Star Chamber. He signed the " Petition of Rights," but refused to allow discussion of abuses, and would call no Parliament for eleven years. The Puritans suffered especially from the Court of High Commissions, and finally a company sailed for America and founded Boston. An attempt to force the Prayer Book upon the Scotch set Scotland into a ferment, and to obtain funds to suppress the rebellion, the "Long Parliament" was summoned. Revolt against injustice and oppression produced uprisings and massacres in Ireland. The " Grand Remonstrance " was drawn up. Charles at- tempted to arrest members of Parliament for their free speech in the House. i649] THE HOUSE OF STUART 241 The deceitfulness of the king and the narrowness of the Puritans prevented any compromise, and civil war followed. Under Cromwell's leadership the Roundheads were success- ful. Charles surrendered to the Scotch, and was given by them into the hands of a Presbyterian Parliament. Crom- well and his Independents captured the king. " Pride's Purge " expelled the Presbyterians from the House, and the Independents who remained condemned Charles to death. The Commonwealth and Cromv^ell 1649-1660 208. England governed by the Commons. The real pov^er lay in the hands of Cromvv^ell with the army to support him, but the little handful of men that were left in Parliament went on making laws for the whole country. They had already decreed that there should be no king, and now they declared that there was no need of a House of Lords, that the House of Commons could govern the nation. Perhaps the chief reason why there was anything like a peaceful government in England during the next eleven years was because there were so many different Dinerent parties, and because the army under Cromwell J*"^®*- was stronger than any one of them. There were Presby- terians and Independents, and there were " Levelers," who wished to have no titles and no differences of rank or political power. There were men who wished to give every one an equal share in whatever wealth was in the kingdom, and there were people who had no plan to sug- gest, but who were against everything that any one else proposed. There were many who had been royalists and had stood by the king from the beginning, and there were others who had net approved of Charles, but had wished his son to be king. No two of these parties 242 ENGLAND'S STORY [1649-1650 OLIVER CROMWELL would unite, and therefore Cromwell and his army were in power. 209. Prince Charles seeks the throne. Over in Holland was King Charles's oldest son, who was also named -Charles. He was a young man of nineteen, and was the hope of the royalists. Little could be done for him in England, since Cromwell and the invin- cible army were there, but in Scotland and Ire- land there was a better chance, and the royalists of both countries had proclaimed him as their king. Scotland would stand by him if he would support the Presbyterian church, and Ireland would help him if he would promise freedom to the Roman Catholics and would give the island a Parliament of its own, like that of Scotland. The one fact that we Know of this young Charles that shows any earnestness of character is that he did make a Prince great effort to save his father's life, and sent chooses the Parliament a blank paper with his name and Irish. seal, for them to write what conditions they would if only his father might be spared. Aside from this, he shows himself only as a gay, trivial, idle young fellow ; and it is no wonder that between the offers of the two countries he shuddered at the strictness of the Scotch Presbyterians and chose the Irish for his friends. Cromwell and his army were sent at once to make it clear to the Irish that loyalty to the Roman Catholic 1650-1651] THE HOUSE OF STUART 243 church and devotion to any one claiming the title of king were henceforth to be regarded as the worst of crimes. For nine months there was slaughter after Vengeance slaughter in Ireland ; Irish or English, it mat- of the Com- tered not, wherever either royalism or love for "^°^"^®*i*^- the Church of Rome had found a stronghold, there was devastation and remorseless massacre. Cromwell even attempted to drive all landowners in Ireland to the north- west, and to give their land to English settlers. Such a barbarous wrong as this it would have taken centuries of kindness to undo. Charles had now no chance in Ireland. His only hope was in Scotland, so thither he went ; and now he forgot his promises to the Irish and agreed to become prince a Presbyterian, and to do all that he could to Si^s^fo^tno suppress the Roman Catholic church and also scotch, the Church of England. Cromwell pursued, and soon there was a battle at Dunbar. The royalists were beaten, but nevertheless, they carried the young prince to Scone, and even without their famous stone, they crowned him as Charles II. In a few months the terrible Cromwell appeared. The Scotch with Charles had come over the border into Eng- land, for they thought that English royalists ^,^^3^^^!^ would crowd their ranks. They were much ofworces- disappointed, for few came to join them, and worst of all, there was a battle at Worcester in which nearly all the Scotch army was cut down. 210. Flight of Charles. The only hope for Charles was to flee across the water. After the battle he contrived to slip away into a narrow road, and then he galloped all night long. In the morning he disguised himself, and with a young ''country fellow" as guide set out to walk to the Severn. All day they were in the 244 ENGLAND'S STORY [1651 woods, tired and hungry, and glad enough to get some bread and cheese at night. As it grew dark, Charles's guide appealed to a gentleman to hide his companion. " I '11 not risk my neck for any man, save he be the king himself," said the gentleman stoutly. " But this is the king," whispered the young fellow ; and then the royal fugitive and his companion were safely stowed away in a barn. The next day Charles went on farther and met a royalist officer called Colonel In the oak Careless. He suggested that the best place tree. for the king was not in the woods, where every one was looking for him, but in a great oak tree in an open plain. So into the tree the king and the colonel went, and there they stayed all day long, peering out between the branches and catching glimpses now and then of the soldiers of Parliament who were searching in the forest for the fugitive. After a long walk the poor young king arrived at the next house where he ventured to rest, with his feet bruised and blistered ; but after he had had food and rest, he cheered up. ^' If I only had ten thou- sand good loyal soldiers," said he, "I would soon drive all the rogues out of my kingdom." Charles was next disguised as a serving-man, and for many miles he attended a loyal lady and her cousin. His horse lost a shoe, and when the servant said to The prince ' , asaserv- the smith, "What news is there.-*" the smith ^ ^^' answered, " None, for that rogue Charles Stuart has not been taken yet." "The fellojv deserves hang- ing," said Charles soberly, and the smith gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder and said, " You 're an honest man, that 's what you are." So Charles went on in one disguise and another till he The prince came to the sea, and then over the water to In safety. Rouen. He and his friend were so shabby that i653] THE HOUSE OF STUART 245 the inn-keeper hesitated to let them into his house, but Charles was in France, and he was safe. For forty-four days he had been in the utmost danger, and through it all he had been brave and cheerful. Never did a man SEAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH, SHOWING PARLIAMENT % have better friends, for though it was called treason to help him and there was a reward of one thousand pounds to any one that would give him up, not one of the many that knew the secret would betray him. 211. Cromwell dissolves Parliament. Four years had passed since the execution of Charles I., and still the little handful of men made laws for the nation. Crom- well believed that Parliament ought to represent the country somewhat more generally, but those who were already members wished to be free to retain their seats as long as they chose, and when vacancies did occur, to fill them with such men only as they were willing to receive. Word was brought to Cromwell that a law to this effect was to be made, and he went to Parliament with his soldiers. He thought it the height of tyranny when Charles I. came to the House and attempted to seize 246 ENGLAND'S STORY [1653 five men, but now he himself went to the House, and when this law was about to be passed, he burst into a storm of rage. "You care nothing for the public good," said he. "The Lord is done with you ; He has better men to carry on His work." Then he strode " up and down the House like a madman " and stamped on the floor, and shouted, " You are no Parliament, I say you are no Parliament. There sits a drunkard," and he pointed to one. " May the Lord deliver me from you," he said to another. "I will put an end to your sitting. Call them in ; call them in." In came "two files of musketeers," and every member of Parliament was driven from the House. " You have forced me to do it," said Cromwell sadly, his wrath all gone. " I have sought the Lord night and day that He would rather slay me than put me upon the doing of this work." Then he ordered the House to be locked. Th? French minister reported to his government that some one wrote on the door, " This house is now to let unfur- nished." ^ 212. Cromwell as Lord Protector. Cromwell and his officers appointed a Council, of which he was presi- dent. They obtained from various Independent ministers lists of men who seemed to them fit to sit in Parliament, and then Cromwell and his Council chose among them. One member was named Praise-God Barebone, — for the Puritans were fond of taking some Bible phrase to use instead of their own names, — and therefore the royalists "Bare- called this assembly " Barebone's Parliament." Pariia- ^^ ^°°" adjourned, but a few days later the ment" Council " prayed Cromwell to accept the office of Lord Protector." He went to live in King Charles's palace, and was far more arbitrary than the king had ever been. There was a great difference, however, in their i653] THE HOUSE OF STUART 247 arbitrariness, for Charles meant to have his own way because it was his way and no one had a right to oppose him ; while Cromwell meant to have his way because he felt sure that it was best for the country. It is hard to say what would have been the result if, after the death of Charles, there had not been a strong hand to rule the nation. Ever since the days of - __ , Naval glory Elizabeth, the power and reputation of England of the Pro- had been constantly sinking ; with Cromwell at ®** ° the head, the old glory of the land returned. Perhaps the greatest naval exploit of the Protectorate occurred during the war with Holland. The Dutch were carrying goods to and fro for sale among different countries, and this was a great loss to England, for her merchants were almost driven out of the carrying trade. Two years after the king's execution, " Navigation Laws " had been passed in England, forbidding England or any English colony to MEDAL COMMEMORATING VICTORY OVER THE DUTCH import or export goods in Dutch vessels. Of course Holland was aroused, and all the more readily did she sympathize with royalists who made that land the centre of their plots against Cromwell's government. War fol- 248 ENGLAND'S STORY [1658 lowed. The Dutch commander nailed a broom to his masthead to signify that he had swept the Channel clean England of English vessels ; but it was not long before g^sDun- j^g^ ^QQ^ ^^g swept from the Channel, and, more- 1658. over, Dunkirk in Flanders fell into the hands of the English, — a thing that caused great rejoicing, for they felt as if they need no longer lament the loss of Calais, which had so sorely troubled Queen Mary. England was again a great power, and in Cromwell's speech to his first Parliament, he said : " I dare say there Cromwell ^^ ^^^ ^ nation in Europe but is very willing to protects the ask a good understanding: with you." Crom- Waldenses. o y well's favorite plan was that England should act as the protector of Protestants all over Europe. The Waldenses, a quiet, humble people who lived among the valleys of the Alps, had been terribly persecuted because they would not give up their religion. They contrived to appeal to .Cromwell, and he sent straightway an emphatic message to the Duke of Savoy that the Waldenses must be allowed to practise their religion as they would. The duke had no wish to contend with Cromwell's " Iron- sides," and from that moment the Waldenses were left in peace. One of the most earnest of Cromwell's supporters was John a great poet, John Milton. He wrote a strong MUton. ^^^ beautiful sonnet about the sufferings of the Waldenses, beginning : — " Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold." Save for a few sonnets, Milton wrote for more than twenty years hardly a line of poetry, but gave all his talent to the service of his native land, acting as Crom- well's secretary, and issuing fierce pamphlets in defence 1653-1658] THE HOUSE OF STUART 249 rule in exceed- Gromwell's UberaUty. JOHN MILTON of the Puritans. He knew that the great amount of work that he was doing was ruining his eyesight, but he went on, feeHng that he must do everything in his power for his coun- try ; and when he was free, he dictated his great poem, "Paradise Lost," in total blind- ness. Cromwell's England was ingly strict, but he was far more liberal than any one would have ex- pected. Edward I. had banished the Jews, and Cromwell allowed them to return. He was kind to the Quakers, whom many people on both sides of the sea looked upon as enemies to church and state. He was the first to think of sending missionaries to the Indians of America. The first one that came was the earnest John Eliot, who translated the Bible into the language of the Indians of Massachusetts. 213. Dissatisfaction. It was a good government, but it was arbitrary, and the people of England were not satisfied to have power so absolute in the hands of any one man. Then, too, there were very strict laws forbid- ding many things that a great part of the nation looked upon as harmless. The Puritans called it wicked to play chess, to dance around a May-pole, to go fox-hunting, or to eat mince-pie at Christmas. As for the theatres, they had all been closed in 1642, for the Puritans could see no difference between the noble plays of Shakespeare and 250 ENGLAND'S STORY [1653-1658 the vulgar ones in which King James delighted, so they were all condemned together. People who did not go to church were fined, and people who went to a distant church when there was one at hand were fined. 214. Puritan extremes. • One could easily forgive the Puritans for refusing to play chess or for spending Christmas in fasting rather than in feasting; but it is not so easy to overlook their destruction of the fine old monuments and statues and stained glass windows in the churches, and their stabling horses in the beautiful cathe- drals, and marching in with axes to destroy the rich old carvings. The one excuse is that they firmly believed they were doing what was right and pleasing to God. Moreover, when Charles I. was dead and they were in power, many joined them who wished only to be on the popular side ; and these new converts were much more inclined to go to extremes than were the original members of the party. The Puritans certainly did some absurd things, but they were true, earnest, honest, straightfor- ward, self-sacrificing men with a sincere love of liberty, — only they thought that their own way was the one true way of liberty. • 215. Cromwell's last years. After being so brave and so determined all his life, Cromwell's courage seemed to fail him during his last years. He had met thousands of armed men without a shadow of fear, but now he feared every shadow. He wore a shirt of mail because he was afraid of being stabbed, and he was so alarmed lest some one should break into his bed-chamber that he rarely slept in the same room for two consecutive nights. At last mortal illness came upon him. When he was made Protector it was decreed that he should decide who was to follow him; but he had named no one, and the Puritans knew not who could succeed him. Some of 1658-1660] THE HOUSE OF STUART 251 the royalists were rejoiced that he who had murdered their king, as they said, and usurped his throne would hold the place but little longer. Others, longing as eagerly as they for the return of a lawful sovereign, could but dread the change and overthrow, and the uncertain- ties of the days to come. 216. CromweU's successor. Soon there came a night when all the land knew that Cromwell was dying. He was urged to say who should succeed him. In this last hour love for his son and a wish that one of his own name should carry on the work that he had begun were in control, and he whispered, " Richard." He was buried — for a little while — in Westminster Abbey, and Rich- ard Cromwell became Protector in his father's stead. It would have taken a firm hand to rule in place of fromwell. Richard was a Puritan, but he had no sym- pathy with those of his party who went to Richard's extremes, and he was not strong enough to ™^®- suppress them as his father had done. He was kind and gentle and good-hearted, but he could not govern a nation. There was only one power in the land, and that was the army. The army was made up in great degree of Inde- pendents, and they wished matters to remain as they were ; but the Presbyterians and the Cavaliers thought that anything was better than to let the army hold all the power. 217. Calls issued for a " free " Parliament. No one kTiew just what to do, but the matter soon settled itself, for the army requested Richard to resign. He yielded at once and apparently without the least objection, and people called him " Tumble-down Dick." The army General soon ceased to be united, and General Monk, '*°^- who was the most powerful officer, came with his men from Scotland. Every one looked to him to be the leader. 252 ENGLAND'S STORY [1660 He was a quiet, silent man, but when he had once made up his mind, he did not change. The Common Council of London told him that the people would pay no more taxes that were decreed by a limited Parliament like the one then in session. Still Monk hesitated. At last he came to a decision, and he wrote a bold, firm letter to that body, bidding them issue calls for a "free" Parlia- ment, that is, for a Parliament elected by the nation, and not by the Puritans alone. SUMMARY The period began with a small Presbyterian House of Commons making laws for the nation, and with the chief power in the hands of Cromwell, supported by the army. Prince Charles, seeking first the aid of Ireland and then that of Scotland, attempted in vain to recover his father's throne. Finally, Cromwell dissolved Parliament by force, and the land was ruled by a Council that soon made him Lord Protector. His methods of ruling were often arbitrary, but he did what he really believed was for the good of the land. He restored the naval glory of England, protected the Waldenses, allowed the Jews to return, and sent missionaries to the American Indians. His rule was good, and England pros- pered ; but the reaction against Puritan narrowness set in, and not long after Cromwell's death, his son and successor was forced to resign the position of Protector, and calls were issued for a " free " Parliament. 26. Charles II. 1660-1685 , 218. The "Restoration." Parliament again consisted of a House of Lords and a House of Commons, and almost the first thing that they did was to send to Hol- land to ask Charles to return. They seemed to lose all idea of prudence, for they did not require him to make any definite promises about what he would do after he i66o] THE HOUSE OF STUART 253 had become king of England. He merely made a kind of general statement that he would leave all troublesome questions to Parliament. Great preparations were made to receive the king. The flagship of the fleet that was to bring him and his brother James to England was named the " Naseby," in THE ROYAL CHARLES honor of one of Cromwell's victories over Charles I. That would never do, so when they sailed away from Holland, the name was changed to the " Charles." There were trumpets and drums and flags and hand- some clothes, and the English had not forgotten to send a portmanteau full of good yellow gold and with it a bill of exchange for five times as much. One of the rhymers of the day wrote : — " At length by wonderful impulse of fate, The people call him home to help the state ; And what is more, they send him money, too, And clothe him all, from head to foot, anew." Up and down the deck the king paced, telling of his escape after the battle of Worcester, and smiling grimly 254 ENGLAND'S STORY [1660 when he spoke of the coarse shoes that had hurt his feet so badly. When the royal company landed in London, there was the merriest time that can be imagined. The streets Charles's were crowded with citizens and nobles. The welcome, mayor presented the king with " a very rich Bible," and Charles thanked him, saying, "It is the thing that I love above all things in the world." There were flowers and banners and wine and music and rich clothes and shouts of joy ; and so it was that Charles II. returned to the throne of his father. He took all this de- votion as his rightful due and said* with a laugh, " It must have been my own fault that I did not come before, for I find no one but declares that he is glad to see me." Charles was accompanied by a long retinue of people, and there was also "a dog that the king loved," and he The royal came with all honor in a boat with Mr. Pepys, ^°^' the secretary to the admiralty. It was probably this same dog that was advertised as lost some three weeks later ; and the next week another advertisement appeared which is so like the king that it is thought he must have written it. It ends : — "Will iney never leave robbing his majesty.? Must he not keep a dog ? This dog's place (though better than some imagine) is the only place which nobody offers to beg." 219. Punishment of the regicides. The first busi- ness of Parliament was to punish the.people that had been concerned in the condemnation of Charles I. Chief among them were the "regicides," as those men were called who had acted as judges when he was tried. Thirteen were executed.^ Three of them had escaped to America, and there is a tradition that years afterwards, when the ^ Green's SAori History of the English People, i66o] THE HOUSE OF STUART 255 Indians attacked Hadley in Massachusetts and the set- tlers knew not what to do, suddenly an old man with long, gray hair and beard, who proved to be one of the regicides, was seen in the midst of the frightened people. He took command like one who knew how to rule, routed the Indians, and saved the little colony. One piece of parliamentary revenge was most dis- graceful. The body of Cromwell was taken from West- minster Abbey where it had been laid, hanged in chains, beheaded, and buried at the foot of the gallows. Even worse than that, the bones of his wife and his daughter were dug up and thrown into a great pit. 220. Devotion of Parliament. Parliament could not do enough for the new king. They voted him so large an income that he was far more independent than Eliaa- beth had ever been ; and when he came to be crowned, people went wild with delight. Of course the "The royal story of the oak tree had been told over and °^'" over, and now in memory of it a great arch was built in London for the king and all the long procession to walk under. The keystone of the arch was a portrait of Charles in his royal robes, and behind him was an oak tree bearing crowns and sceptres instead of leaves and acorns. Colonel Careless, who had spent a long day in the tree with the king when Cromwell's soldiers were searching for him, was given the right to bear a coat of arms consisting of an oak-leaf garland in which a sword and sceptre were crossed. Charles also asked the Colonel to change " Care- "oYoH^L^RHLHsr less " to " Carlos," the Spanish form of Charles, so that it might be nearly like his own name. The king's birthday was May 29, and it became the cus- 256 ENGLAND'S STORY [1660 torn to call it " Oak-apple Day." Boys would go to the woods at dawn to bring home branches of oak trees, each trying to carry a larger branch than the others. They used to say : — " The royal oak, it was the tree That saved his royal majesty." 221. Charles's character. It is a great pity that Charles was not worthy of all this adoration, but he cared for" nothing except a gay time. All the old amuse- ments were re- stored, and the whole nation seemed to give it- self up to merri- ment. If he had wished for innocent "good times," that would have been a different matter, but he was shame- less and immoral in his sports. Dis- solute women were CHARLES II. given high titles, and the king sur- rounded himself with the most profligate companions. Any one looking on would have thought that the whole court gloried in being as wicked as possible. Charles allowed his favorites to make all sorts of jests about him, and one wrote what he pretended was the king's epitaph : — 1660-1670] THE HOUSE OF STUART 257 " Here lies our sovereign lord, the king, Whose word no man relies on ; Who never says a foolish thing, Nor never does a wise one." The king replied, " True, because my words are my own, and my acts are my minister's" — and he seemed to think that to get the better of a courtier in a repartee was all that could be asked of a king. At first the nation sympathized with his merriment. ,^^ The years had been so grave and gloomy that it was cer- '^^ tainly a relief to have a king who was good-humored and \^ witty ; but people soon began to realize that more than \ wit and agreeable manners are needed in the Charles's man who stands at the head of a nation ; and ^^egiect. more than one remembered that Cromwell and his Par- liament, even if they had been strict and serious, had not given their time to selfish pleasures, and had conscien- ^ tiously tried to do what they believed was for the good of i^ the country. Mr. Pepys, the secretary of the admiralty, who had welcomed Charles so jubilantly, now wrote sadly in his diary : " The king do mind nothing but plea- sures, and hates the very sight or thoughts of business." , ^ No gratitude had Charles for those who had lost their Q^ lands or risked their lives in his service. He was ready I to grant a coat of arms or to found a society of Charles's ■^ "Knights of the Royal Oak," but he would not ingratitude, forego one of his shameless pleasures to try to make up to his friends what they had lost in his service. That the king had any responsibility never seemed to enter his mind. 222. Religious persecutions. In the midst of all this mad frivolity, the people who wished to live simply and truly were so aghast at the wickedness of the times that they felt more strongly than ever that doing right was 258 ENGLAND'S STORY [1670- I 682 the most necessary thing in the world. It was in these Pilgrim's ^^ys t^^^ "Pilgrim's Progress," the best of all Progress, allegories, was written. Its author was John Bunyan, a Puritan, and^for the crime of refusing to at- tend the Church of England, and persisting in preaching to any one that would listen to him, he was imprisoned for twelve years. It was while he was in jail that he wrote this marvellous book. John Bunyan was not the- only man that suffered for his religious belief. The Puritans were again forbidden to meet for prayer and preaching even in a private house ; and if a man offered prayer in his own home when more than three were present, they were all liable to be impris- oned. The same law applied to the Quakers, and they met together so openly that soon the jails were overflow- ing with them. It was in this reign of Charles that William Penn asked the king to give him a tract of land Pennsyi- ^^ America instead of a large sum of money vania. that the government owed his father. This re- quest was granted very willingly, and henceforth the Quakers had a refuge in the New World, when life in England became unbearable. The Roman Catholics did not suffer from fines and imprisonment, but a law was made forbidding any one to hold office under govern- ment unless he had taken certain oaths that no Roman Catholic could conscien- tiously repeat. This last law was one with which the king had no sympathy, for his JOHN BUNYAN youugcr brother James was i66s-i666] THE HOUSE OF STUART 259 a Roman Catholic, and he himself became one before his death. 223. Tho Great Plague. 1665. When Charles had been on the throne five years,. several comets appeared in the sky. People were afraid of comets, and all won- dered what terrible event would come to pass. There was a hot, dry spring, and then came the Great Plague, which swept over England as the Black Death had done three hundred years before. Whenever any one was taken with it, the words, " Lord, have mercy upon us," were written with red chalk on his door. Every one who could leave hurried to the country. The stores were closed. The streets were silent as the tomb except for the passing of the dead-cart and the awful cry, " Bring out your dead, bring out your dead." People did not venture out of doors if they could help it, and if they met any one on the street, they would cover their faces and hurry along for fear of catching the disease. At first the dead were buried only in the night, but soon so many died that there were burials and the tolling of bells all night long and all day long. Many of the Puritan minis- ters stayed in the city and bravely did all that they could for the dying, but as soon as the plague was over, they were persecuted as severely as ever. After six months had passed the pestilence began to die out, and a little later people ventured to return from the country. Great fires had been kept burning in the streets to purify the air, but the houses were old and dirty, and it seemed as if nothing but their destruction would conquer the disease. 224. The Great Fire. The next year came the great fire, "a most horrid, malicious, bloody flame," says Mr. Pepys* in his journal. For three days it swept the city of Lon- don; houses, stores, and churches were in ashes, and 26o ENGLAND'S STORY [1664-1666 only a little group of buildings remained. Not many lives were lost, but the poor people suffered terribly, for almost everything that they possessed was destroyed. Charles and his brother James were both very kind to the sufferers, and did all that they could to help them. One of Charles's council heartlessly suggested that the fire was a good thing, for London had always been rebellious to her rulers, and now the king could govern the city as he liked. It is good to know that Charles was very in- dignant at this speech. The famous architect, Sir Chris- topher Wren, had a plan for rebuilding the city so that there would be no more narrow, winding streets, but the owners of property would not agree to any change, and the city was rebuilt on the same foundations, though much brick and stone was used instead of wood. 225. Charles robs the treasury. Poor London had another trouble to meet that was almost as bad as the fire. The country was at war with Holland, but Charles had spent on his pleasures the money that Parliament had voted for the war. He was longing to rule without Parliament, and he thought that he could if there was only some way to get money. The French king, Louis XIV., was very rich, and to get Dunkirk back he had given Charles a large sum, and promised to give him much more if he would help conquer the Dutch. Charles had not the money for a Dutch war, but he seized from the national treasury what would be equal to nine or ten million dollars to-day and spent it partly on the war it is true, but chiefly for his own pleasures. This money had been collected to repay wealthy citizens of London who had lent large sums to the government, and when they were not repaid, many merchants and bankers were ruined. It was in this war 'that the English took New York. The Dutch had made a settlement at the mouth 1678-1683] THE HOUSE OF STUART 261 of the Hudson, which they named New Netherland, but Charles sent over a fleet to take possession of it, and then he gave it to his brother James. As James was Duke of York, the name of the city was changed to New York in his honor. 226. Plots against the king. More than one wished for the old days of Cromwell. All over the kingdom • COSTUMES OF GENTLEMEN AND SERVANT, REIGN OF CHARLES 11. Showing periwig, feathers, lace, ** petticoat-breeches," etc., which were then worn men were uneasy and restless. An infamous or half in- sane wretch, called Titus Gates, declared that there had been a gigantic plot formed by the Roman Catholics to burn London and to murder the king. This was false, but a plot was really formed by some of the Scotch Puritans against Charles and his brother. It was called the Rye House Plot, because the plan was to murder Charles and James at the Rye House near London. 227. Charles's successor. The more strongly Pro- testant the country became, the more eager was Charles 262 ENGLAND'S STORY [1679-1685 to make it Roman Catholic. He tried his best to have laws passed that would allow him to favor the church of his choice, but Parliament refused. The religious ques- tion made it very difficult for Parliament to decide who should reign after Charles. His next heir was his brother James, but James was a Roman Catholic, and the country wished to have a Protestant. Parliament tried to pass a bill called the " Exclusion Bill," that would shut James from the throne, but it failed, partly be- cause the king did everything that he could against it, and partly because people could not unite upon a suc- Dukeof cessor to Charles. Some wished to give the Monmotttii. crown to the Duke of Monmouth, an illegiti- mate son of Charles, who was a Protestant ; and some wished to give it to one of James's two daughters, who were both Protestants ; while some thought that the only safe way was to " exclude " James and his children. How the matter would have been settled is a question, but Charles suddenly died, before anything was arranged, and there was nothing to do but to put James on the throne. There was then, in 1685, a king whom the majority of the people did not want, but tolerated in order to prevent civil war; and there was a rival whom the majority df the people heartily wished could have been the legal heir. It is easy to see what is likely to be the story of the reign of King James H. SUMMARY On the return of Charles II. the regicide judges were pun- ished, and Cromwell's grave was shamelessly violated. Par- liament was devoted to an extravagant, ungrateful, and disso- lute king, who cared for nothing but his own disgraceful amusements. Gradually two parties were formed, one deter- mined to maintain the hereditary succession to the throne. 1685] THE HOUSE OF STUART 263 a course that would increase the power of the sovereign ; the other determined to secure for the future a Protestant ruler who, having been put on the throne by the people rather than by any right of birth, would be more strictly accountable to the people for his deeds. The reign was marked by the Great Plague, which was fol- lowed by the Great Fire of London. Puritans and Quakers were persecuted. The harassing of the Puritans brought forth " Pilgrim's Progress ; " the persecution of the Quakers resulted in the settlement of Pennsylvania. 27. James II. 1685-1688 228. " King Monmouth's " rebellion. Four months after the reign of James began, there was a rebellion against him, followed by a revenge that was worse than the rebellion. The Duke of Monmouth, or " King Mon- mouth," as his supporters called him, was in Holland, and he felt so sure that people in England wished him to be king, that he thought all he had to do was to make his appearance and be put on the throne. Word was brought to London one day that three Dutch vessels had been seen off the southern coast of England. Late in the afternoon it was known that these three vessels had sailed directly from Holland, and that the Duke of Monmouth was probably on board. Parliament passed various resolutions in support of the king. One made it treason not only to propose any other king, but even to say that Monmouth was the lawful son of Charles. The duke had landed with but a few followers. Others joined him, but any possibility that he might have had a more general support was destroyed at once by Monmouth a foolish proclamation that he issued, accusing la Taunton. King James of burning the city of London, of murder- ing his brother Charles, and of originating the plot which 264 ENGLAND'S STORY [168s Titus Oates said had been formed. Still, there were some who firmly believed Monmouth to be the rightful heir to the throne, and there were others who were ready to support him in the hope that through him the land might again have a Pro- testant sovereign. The Puritan influ- ence was especially strong in Taun- ton, and thither "King Monmouth" marched. Flowers and green leaves were strewn in his way, and people hung wreaths and flags from the houses. A company of enthusiastic schoolgirls came out eagerly to present him with banners that they themselves had made. Monmouth was at the height of his glory ; but in less than one month his claims were brought to the test of Downfau of battle, and he was defeated and captured. He Monmoutii. begged for mercy, and actually crawled to the feet of his uncle, promising to do anything if only his life might be spared. He who had claimed the right to stand at the head of Protestantism in England tried to win the favor of James by promising to become a Roman Catholic. James told him that he might see a priest if he wished to change his belief ; but the rebel was not THE DUKE OF MONMOUTH i685] THE HOUSE OF STUART 265 pardoned, and only a few days after the battle he was executed. 229. James's revenge. The execution of the leader was no more than would have been expected, but a pitiless revenge was visited upon the country folk who had sup- ported him. First, Colonel Kirke and his ferocious soldiers, afterwards called " Kirjce's Lambs," "Kirke's pursued those who had fled after the battle. ^"°-^^" These poor fugitives were horribly tortured, and as the soldiers drank and revelled, one after another of their prisoners was hanged to add to their fiendish amusement. Much worse than even this was the tour of the chief justice of England, Judge Jeffreys, who went about through the revolting districts holding a court, which became known as the "Bloody Assizes." Jeffreys The first victim was a gentle old lady who had "Bloody given a night's lodging to a fugitive who proved -Assizes-" to be a friend of Monmouth. Jeffreys sentenced her to be burned alive, and it was only by the efforts of the clergy that she was permitted to be beheaded. The parents of the young girls who had made the banners for Monmouth had to pay a large sum to save their daughters' lives. If a man could offer a great bribe, he was safe ; but few of Monmouth's supporters were rich, and the slaughter went on. Jeffreys laughed and jested in the most heart-rending scenes, and boasted that he had hanged more traitors than had been put to death in six hundred years. There is no question that he told the truth, for more than one thousand were hanged or be- headed or savagely flogged, and at least eight hundred were sold as slaves to the West Indies. The bodies of many that were put to death were cut into several pieces, and these pieces were boiled in pitch and distributed among the villages to be put up on guideposts or on 266 ENGLAND'S STORY [i68s Daniel Defoe. JUDGE JEFFREYS church towers. It is no wonder that even a century after the terrible time, people were afraid to go in the dark by the places where the gallows of Jeffreys had stood. Daniel Defoe, who afterwards wrote "Robinson Crusoe," was one of those who joined Monmouth's army, but he fortunately escaped capture. When Jeffreys returned to London, James was so pleased with what he had done that he made him lord chancellor, though it is said that Jeffreys' s own father refused to let him enter his house. 230. James's arbitrary rule. James was a Stuart and believed in the " divine right of kings " as firmly as 1066-1307] THE HOUSE OF STUART 267 did the first James. When Parliament feared that he would follow his father's plan of not calling a session unless he had to ask for money, and therefore did not vote him as much as he had demanded, he announced coolly, " The best way to meet me often is to use me well." James began with a pretence of liberality, and freed from prison all who were in confinement for refusing to acknowledge the king as head of the church in England. This looked well, but as it was only Roman Catholics and Quakers that had refused to take the oath, persecu- this act was hardly as liberal as it seemed ; and ^°^^- what his liberality really was could be seen by his perse- cution of the Scotch Presbyterians. Women were tied to stakes set on the shore at low tide, so that when the water rose theyVere drowned; men were shot down at their own doors like wild beasts ; and the only offence of these people was that they did not think it right to attend the services of the Church of England. 231. James attempts to restore the Roman Catholio Church in England. Against the will of Parliament the king collected a large army, and then he demanded that Roman Catholics should be allowed to hold office. Par- liament would not agree, but he put his friends into office as if he were the only authority in the land. The pope cautioned him not to attempt such arbitrary mea- sures ; and the Roman Catholics in England, however glad they might be of the favor shown to their church, saw plainly that by breaking the laws of the land, he was doing them no real good, and that matters would only be harder for them in the end. He paid no attention to their advice, but instead issued a Declaration of In- dulgence, granting religious freedom to both Roman Catholics and Protestants. 268 ENGLAND'S STORY [1688 While there were some who believed that this would be a good law, every one knew that not the king but Parliament was the only authority that could make a law, and all could see that James's only aim in making the decree was not to give religious liberty, but to in- crease the power of his own church. The king paid no attention to any protests, but ordered his procla- prociama- mation to be read in every church in the land. One clergyman said to his people, " I am obliged to read it in the church, but you are not obliged to listen to it ; so, if you please, I will wait until you have left the building." London was as independent as ever, and it is said that the paper was read in but four of her churches. The Archbishop of Canterbury and six other bishops had petitioned the king not to insist upon their reading a proclamation that was against the laws of the land ; but James had flung all'prudence to the winds, and mentofthe he sent the bishops to the Tower. Never was there such an uprising of sympathy. When the bishops left their boat to enter the prison, the crowd that thronged the shore fell on their knees and begged for a blessing. James had thought that at least the Puritan ministers who were so opposed to having any bishops would be on his side, and he was surprised and angry when a number of them went to the Tower to see the pi-isoners and to express their sympathy. One of the bishops, named Trelawny, was from Cornwall, and the stout-hearted Cornishmen began to sing : — " And shall Trelawny die, And shall Trelawny die ? There *s thirty thousand Cornishmen Will know the reason why." The bishops were tried for " seditious libel " and were acquitted. London was wild with delight ; the streets i688] THE HOUSE OF STUART 269 were all aglow with bonfires, and the houses shone with illuminations. James made an attempt to punish some of these jubilant people, but every time that any of them were tried in court the jury would bring in a verdict of "Not guilty." 232. The question of the succession. James's two daughters were Protestants, and it is possible that the nation would have borne with the king much longer, had it not been that while the bishops were in the Tower, a son was born to him. That altered matters, for the boy would be brought up as a Roman Catholic, and there would be only a con- tinuation of the strug- gles of the last three years — for all these troubles had come to pass within that short time. The only thing to do was to appeal to James's oldest daughter Mary, who had married her cousin, William of Orange, to come to England and be queen. It was a hard position for Mary to be in, but no one could help seeing that if King James was left to run his own cours^, he would perhaps lose his head as well as his crown. 233. The Revolution of 1688. The original plan was for Mary to be queen and her husband to act as prime minister, but she refused to agree to any such ar- rangement, and it was settled that they should rule together. This seemed an especially wise plan, for Wil- JAMES II. 5^0 ENGLAND'S STORY [1688 liam was the son of James's sister and, after the children of James, was the next heir to the kingdom. When William landed, James made a slight pretence of resist- ing, but soon fled, taking the great seal with him and flinging it into the Thames. No one tried to prevent him from going, and he made his way to France. The Eng- lish throne was then declared to be vacant, and William and Mary were crowned sovereigns of England. This act is called the "Revolution of 1688," and is perhaps the only great revolution in which no blood was shed. There were riots in London and considerable destruction of Roman Catholic property, but no person was injured. Judge Jeffreys was badly frightened, for he was without his royal protector and in the midst of thousands of people who hated him most bitterly. He disguised him- self and tried to escape, but he was carried to the Tower and there remained until he died. Two weeks after the landing of William, there was a great meeting of the prominent men of the kingdom at Nottingham, and they issued a paper that sounds much like the American Declaration of Independence of a cen- tury later, for it declares that to resist a tyrant is not rebellion, but a necessary defence. SUMMARY That " King Monmouth," with no hereditary claim to the throne, found any following was proof of the growing deter- mination of England to have a Protestant sovereign. Kirke and Jeffreys visited a stern revenge upon Monmouth's sup- porters. James, under a pretence of liberality, did all in his power to restore the Roman Catholic Church in England. He declared that Roman Catholics and Protestants should have religious freedom, and required all clergymen to read in their churches a proclamation to this effect, contrary as it was i688] THE HOUSE OF STUART 271 to the laws of the land. Seven bishops refused and were sent to the Tower. The birth of a prince, who would be brought up as a Roman Catholic aroused the country to invite James's Protestant daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, to be- come its sovereigns. 28. William and Mary, i 688-1 702 234. Limitations of the royal power. Perhaps the strongest wish of the majority of the English people in regard to their ruler was to feel that they had a government that could be depended upon, and that would not be overthrown by the whim of whoever might chance to wear the crown. England was fortunate in that she had at last a sov- ereign who was as eager as his people to have a just and stable government and to make laws that would be for the good of the ^^^^' WILLIAM III. A few months after William landed, he very willingly signed a bill presented to him by Parliament that settled several of the difficult questions. The object of this bill was to limit the power of the sovereign. One article declared that the king should have no standing army, and should impose no 272 ENGLAND'S STORY [1688 taxes without the consent of Parliament. Another said that he must not interfere with the execution of the laws ; another, that he must call Parliament often, and that members should be free to discuss matters as they chose ; another, that as England was a Protestant coun- try, the ruler should be neither a Roman Catholic nor the husband or wife of a Roman Catholic. 236. Increase of liberty. The king's power was de- creasing and the people's power was increasing. Perhaps no one thing was more favorable to the strength of the people than the freedom that was now given to print more nearly what any one chose. Before this no one had been allowed to print anything without the permis- sion of the government inspector, and now, if an editor printed any of the speeches made in Parliament, he ^as in danger of being fined or imprisoned ; but even this partial freedom was a long step in the right direction. An important question was how much liberty to allow to the various churches. At length a law was made which granted freedom to nearly all except Roman Catholics. Unfair as this was to one church, it was at least somewhat consistent with the general government, since that had declared that henceforth England was to be a Protestant kingdom ; and at worst, the whole nation knew exactly where the government stood, and that there would be no pretence of general liberality when the real intention was to favor only one church. William had come from a land where people were free to believe as they would. When he was proclaimed king of Scot- land, the usual oath was presented to him, that he *' would be careful to root out all heretics and enemies to the true worship of God." As he repeated it, he said gravely, "I do not mean by these words that I am under any obliga- tion to be a persecutor ; " and although some very strict 1689] THE HOUSE OF STUART 273 laws were made against the Roman Catholics, his influ- ence was always against the execution of the laws, and that could not fail to better matters in some degree. 236. Opposing parties. It could not be expected that everybody in England would be delighted to have one king sent away and another put on the throne, and there were two classes of people that were espe- cially opposed to the course taken by the country. The leaders of one party were five of the seven bishops that James had sent to the Tower for refusing to read his proclamation, and with them were several hun- dred other cler- gymen. These bishops believed in the "divine right of kings" enough to think that Parliament ought not to change the order of succession, but not enough to be sure that whatever this "divinely appointed " king chose to do was right. They were honest in their belief, and gave up their .^jfo^. churches rather than take the oath of allegiance li^rors." to William as their lawful king ; and it was for this re- fusal to swear that they were called " non-jurors." In the times of Henry VI 1 1, they would have lost their QUEEN MARY II 2/4 ENGLAND'S STORY [1689 heads for treason, but England was becoming more liberal. The other class of people that were opposed to William were called Jacobites, from Jacobus^ the Latin word for James. Some of them firmly believed that James Jacobites. , • ought to be on the throne ; and some merely thought it quite possible that he might succeed in coming to power again, and wished to stand well with him if such should be the case. The result of this opposition was that William had little sincere, hearty support; and if he had not been strong and wise and upright in his intention to do his best for the land which he had been asked to govern, one can hardly guess what misfortunes would have come to England during those last years of the seventeenth century. 237. James tries to regain the throne. The Jaco- bites were more numerous in Ireland and in Scotland than in England. James knew that for him to land in England and try to regain the crown was hopeless, but he fancied that he could go to Ireland and then to Scot- land, for he felt sure that in those countries there were many who would support him, and he trusted that after his rule had been established in these two lands, he would be strong enough to venture to come to England. There were two things that Ireland had long wanted with all her heart. One was a free Parliament of her FeeUngsof own, and the other was the establishment of the the Irish. Roman Catholic church. For a promise of these she had offered her support to Charles I. in the times of the civil war, and for this support the Irish had been mercilessly punished by Cromwell. Slaughter had followed slaughter, until one can hardly wonder that to the Irish the name of Puritan was synonymous with atro- cious cruelty ; and Cromwell's attempt to drive all the 1689] THE HOUSE OF STUART 2/5 Irish to the west and leave the more cultivated parts of the land to the English settlers could do no less than arouse a deadly hatred to all Protestant rule. When James came to the throne, the Irish felt that he would be their friend because he was a Roman Catholic ; but he had made almost as much trouble by his friendship as any preceding king had made by his cruelty, for he had snatched all power from the English whose homes were in Ireland and had given it into the hands of the Irish. There could have been no action better adapted to arouse hatred between the two classes of dwellers in Ireland. In his wish to regain his former position, James, remem- bering only that the Irish were in power and that an unpopular Protestant king was on the throne, had no doubt that an exiled sovereign, who was a Roman Catho- lic and the heir of Charles II., would find in Ireland firm friends and strong supporters. He landed with troops that Louis XIV. had loaned him, and he was delighted to find that he was received with a generous amount of cheering and many flowers and decorations. He did not realize that this enthusiasm did not signify devotion to his cause, but rather an eager hope that by supporting him Ireland might weaken William, and so win her freedom. In northern Ireland the English and Scotch settlers on the land that had been stolen from the Irish owners were attacked. Many of them withdrew to the towns, ^. ■^ siege of especially to Londonderry, which was well forti- London- fied. King James's soldiers were about to *"^" march in, and as the governor was a Roman Catholic, there would probably have been little opposition ; but thirteen young boys, apprentices, took matters into their own hands, it is said, and shut the gates. Then began a terrible siege, lasting for more than three 2'j6 ENGLAND'S STORY [1689 months. There was firing night and day. Several thou- sand people were shut up in this town, and they were starving. A pound of tallow was worth four shillings, a rat one shilling. A little fish from the river was not for sale for money, but could be exchanged for meal — if any one had meal to offer. Three thousand people had already perished ; must they surrender } " Never," cried a clergyman named George Walker, who was now acting as governor, and straight into the pulpit he went and held up the open Bible before them. " It is for this that you are fighting," said he. '* It is God's battle, and He will deliver you." A little boy, too young to be suspected, had been sent to the town by the English with a letter in a button to say that help was coming ; but no help came. At last, only one hour after the sermon, away down the river the famished watchers could see the English ships. On board were troops and arms and food and friends. They come nearer. Shot after shot is fired. They return the fire and sail on. Across the river is a heavy boom of logs and chains and great cables. There is no hope. Yes, the first ship has dashed at the boom fearlessly and has broken it. Up the river come the three, and the heroes of Londonderry who yet live are saved. The next year William was needed in England and in Scotland, but he felt that he was needed most in Ireland, so he chose nine men to help his wife in governing the » «, * kingdom and went to Ireland. Then came the Battle of ^ theBoyne. battle of the Boyne, in which William took com- XBfiO mand of the English forces, and James, at a comfortable distance, watched the Irish fight for him and his crown. When he saw that his troops were losing, he went to a place of safety in Dublin as fast as he could gallop, and told the magistrates that he had always heard 1690] THE HOUSE OF STUART 277 that the Irish were worthless soldiers. "Never again will I lead an Irish army," said this ungrateful king. It is no wonder that an Irishman called out to one of WILLIAM CROSSING THE BOYNE William's men, " Change kings with us, and we will fight you again." The Irish were promised that if they would submit, they should have more liberty ; but when the English settlers in Ireland were again in full power, the Irish were persecuted and fined, and their lands were con- fiscated. This outrageous treatment was begun very soon, but the worst of it was carried on after the reign of William was ended. 238. Louis tries to invade England. When William went to Ireland, he well knew that there was great danger of trouble in England. Louis XIV. had long been trying to conquer Holland, and now to have William of Orange not only oppose him successfully in Holland but also rule the kingdom of England to the loss of his friend James, 278 ENGLAND'S STORY [ I 690-1 692 was more than he could endure ; and while William was in Ireland, Louis sent a fleet to attack England. This was the best thing that could have happened, for the strongest English supporters of James would not look on calmly to see their country invaded by foreigners. Moreover, Queen Mary was greatly loved by her subjects, and people of all parties were ready to second her ener- getic defence of their land. The whole country arose, and the French commander saw that he must return to France. In memory of the occurrence a medal was struck, and on it was depicted Mary in her royal robes and crown advancing to the seashore. In her hand was the trident of Neptune, and in the distance were the retreating ships of the French. Louis tried once more, and trusted that his bribes had won over the English admiral to a treacherous surrender ; but when the test really came, the admiral could not make up his mind to be a traitor, and he attacked and destroyed the greater MEDAL TO COMMEMORATE MARY'S REPULSE OF LOUIS XIV. part of the French fleet off La Hogue. After this, Louis submitted sufficiently to sign a treaty and acknowledge that William was rightfully king of England. He kept the peace for four years, and possibly this is as much as could have been expected of him. 1688-1694] THE HOUSE OF STUART 279 239. Peeling toward William and Mary. William's life in England was not pleasant, and it may be that the secret of much of the discomfort he had to meet was that his manner was cold and reserved. The English were used to the gay, off-hand familiarity of the Stuarts, and the coldness of the king — which often resulted from shyness and sensitiveness — they thought meant dislike. He was neither fascinating in his manner nor handsome, and he knew English so imperfectly that he wrote his speech to Parliament in French. Charles had always had a jest and a merry retort, but William was serious and slow to speak. The English were ready to criticise whatever William did, and when he gave valuable posi- tions in England to his Dutch friends, they did not stop to think of the many thousands of pounds that the Stuarts had lavished upon their amusements and their worthless favorites. It is true that William did not like England. He said once that he wished he was a thousand miles away from it and had never seen it. His subjects were indignant, but when he suggested that he was quite ready to resign the crown and return to Holland, the English became very loyal, for they could not help seeing that it was a great thing for them to have a brave, wise king whose first aim was not to amuse himself, or to force any church upon them, but who wished simply to do his very best for the country that he had been asked to rule. The English people were fond of Mary. She was gentle and kind, and as eager to do well by them as her husband was. William was heartbroken when she died, for she seems to have been the only person in the world who really understood and appreciated this silent, un- demonstrative man. He went on conscientiously to the end of his reign. He was never popular, and the English 28o ENGLAND'S STORY [1702 never forgot that he was a foreigner, but the worst charge that can be brought against him is that he was not severe enough in punishing one or two cruel deeds that his officers committed in his name. 240. Succession to the throne. William died in 1702 from the stumbling of his horse over a molehill. James had died a few months before, but his son, James Edward, was now a young man of fifteen, and those who had supported his father were eager to have him for their king, and they used to drink to the health of the mole, "the little gentleman in black velvet," as they called him, that had caused the death of William. Parliament had decreed that if William and Mary left no children, Anne, sister of Mary, should become queen ; but Louis XIV. paid no attention to this, and he forgot all about the treaty by which he had acknowledged that William was the rightful king. As soon as James died, Louis proclaimed James Edward sovereign of England. SUMMARY England had at last a king who wished to make laws for the good of the land, even though they lessened his own power. Increased religious liberty was granted, and more freedom was given to the press. Nevertheless, there was opposition to William's rule by the " non-jurors " and the Jacobites. James, assisted by Louis XIV., attempted to re- gain the crown by promising Ireland a free Parliament and the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church, but failed. Louis XIV. attempted to invade England, but the loyalty which the expected attack called forth did much to support the ruling sovereign. I702] THE HOUSE OF STUART 2S1 29. Anne. 1702-17 14 241, Brilliant reign of Queen Anne. For nine hun- dred years England had been a monarchy. She had had sovereigns that were unwise, ignorant, passionate, but never before had she been ruled by a mon- arch who was quite so slow and dull as this "good Queen Anne;" and yet the twelve years of Anne's sovereignty formed one of the most interesting periods in literature and one of the most brilliant in mili- tary success that have ever occurred in the his- tory of England. 242. The age of prose. In Elizabeth's time men were aroused and excited by the great events and dis- coveries of the day. Their imagination was stimulated, and they wrote much poetry. Between the age of Elizabeth and the age of Anne, poetry had gradually lost its first free inspiration. Authors were forced to depend upon the patronage of some man of wealth and position, so that the personal character of the king was an important matter in the development of literature. The dissoluteness of James I., the falseness of Charles I., the narrowness of the Puritan outlook, the reckless im- morality of Charles II., and the struggle for Protestant QUEEN ANNE 282 ENGLAND'S STORY [1702-1714 ism during the last years of the century, were not influ- ences that would encourage a free, unrestrained poetical expression. Men wrote of philosophy, politics, natural science, and religion. The loss of poetry was the gain of prose. In Anne's day there was far less that was exciting and inspiring than in the reign of Elizabeth, and people wrote little poetry that seems really noble and great, but the ability to write pro^e had been developing, and the prose of this period is so graceful and musical, and so sure to use the right word for the thought, that even after these two hundred years it is as great a pleasure to read it as ».,. «« it was in Queen Anne's time. Some of the The " Spec- ^ . . tator." best of it IS found in Addison's articles in the '' Spectator." This paper made no attempt to tell the news of the day, but presented brilliant essays that jested good-humoredly at the faults of the times, and interesting sketches of what was going on in the busy English world. Many numbers were written by Addison alone. The works of Alexander Pope, well represent the poetry of the age. His ideas were keen and sensible and Th try ^^^^ expressed, and his couplets are, therefore, of Anne's so often quoted that no one can read his poems without finding many familiar lines ; and yet the poetry of the time does not make us feel as if the writer was so full of lofty and beautiful thoughts that he could not help writing, but rather as if he had tried his best to put every thought that he did have in the words that would express it most exactly. One reason for this carefulness is that with the return of Charles II. from France, the English became more interested in French literature, and the French were aiming especially at making every line smooth and exact and nicely finished. 1707] THE HOUSE OF STUART 283 243. Union between England and Scotland. 1707. •People printed very nearly what they would. If they wrote against the government, they might get into trouble, but at worst the penalties were generally fines or imprisonments ; and men were free to discuss what they chose. It became a custom to meet in the coffee- houses to talk over the literary and political events of "Mm ENGLISH FLAG UNION JACK OF 1707 SCOTTISH FLAG the day. One interesting subject which everybody was discussing was whether England and Scotland should be united. Since the reign of James L, one hundred years before, the two countries had had one king, but two par- liaments and different laws. When the Scotch wished to sell goods in England or in the English colonies, they had to pay duties just as if they had no connection with England. If the two countries should be united, there would be no more duties. On the other hand, Scotland had never forgotten that the Stuarts were Scotch, and over in France was the young James Edward Stuart all ready to take the throne, and England was afraid that wherl Anne died, the Scotch would proclaim him as their king. The result was that in 1707 the two countries were united under the name of Great Britain. The Brit- 284 ENGLAND'S STORY [1702-1707 ish flag, the Union Jack, was then formally adopted, though it had been used more or less ever since the reign of James I. Reused to sign his name "Jacques," the French word for James, and this is why the flag is called the Union Jack. It combined the red upright cross of Saint George, the patron saint of England, and the white cross of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. Many of the Scotch were never reconciled to this union, and one of the songs of the day said : — " What force or guile could not subdue Through many warlike ages, Is wrought now by a coward few For hireling traitors' wages. The English steel we could disdain, Secure in valor's station ; But English gold has been our bane; Such a parcel of rogues in a nation ! " 244. Queen Anne's War. Just across the Channel trouble was arising for England. The grandson of Louis XIV. had been offered the throne of Spain ; and if Spain should support France, Louis would be strong enough to put James Edward on the English throne and to seize Holland, which was a valuable ally of England. A war followed, which was called in England the War of the Spanish Succession ; but in America the colonists, who fought just because England and Spain were fighting, called it simply Queen Anne's War. The greatest commander in England was the Duke of Marlborough, who had worked his way up to his high position. He was a brilliant, fascinating, lov- of Marl- able man, but he cared so much for money that oroug . j£ Anne had not been able to reward him more lavishly than could James Edward, he would have 'been as false to her as he was to James Edward's father and also to William. This famous general was at the head of 1 704-1 7 1 3] THE HOUSE OF STUART 2^5 JOHN CHURCHILL, DUKE OF MARL- BOROUGH the English land forces, and before long he gained so great a victory over Louis at Blenheim, a lit- tle village in Bavaria, that the English could not do enough for him. One gift that they made him was a palace with grounds twelve miles in circum- ference ; and that the victory might never be forgotten, they named the place Blenheim. All through the battle the duke's little dog had kept at his master's heels, and it is said that a descendant of this dog is presented to every Marlborough bride when she first enters the door of the palace. Although Louis had met with such defeats, the war was not ended by any means. Sir Cloudesley capture of Shovel, who was at the head of the navy, Gibraltar, captured Gibraltar, and the duke went on win- ning victory after victory. 245. The queen's friends, A treaty was signed much sooner than it otherwise would have been because Queen Anne and the Duchess of Marlborough had a quarrel. For many years the queen had done just as the duchess ordered in great matters as well as small. The name of the duchess was Sarah, and people used to say, "Queen Anne reigns, but Queen Sarah rules." They wrote to each other almost every day. They dropped their titles and took feigned names, as children often do. The duchess was " Mrs. Freeman," and the 286 ENGLAND'S STORY [1^0 queen was "Mrs. Morley." After the war had gone on for several years, these two devoted friends had a quar- rel. Anne was as obstinate as weak people usually are, and refused to "make up ;" but she could not be happy without some one to think for her and tell her what to do, so she took a new favorite, — a Mrs. Masham. Mrs. Masham was eager to have the war end so that the duke would not gain any more glory or fill his pockets anyfuller, and it was because of her influence over the queen that the fighting ceased. England never gave up Gibraltar, and by the treaty she made great gains in America, for not only Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, but the wide expanse of country about Hudson Bay, fell into her hands. 246. The last Stuart sovereign. Anne was the last of the Stuarts to wear the English crown. Her half- brother, James JEdward, still lived, and it is quite possible that he might have been made king of England, if he had been willing to become a Protestant. Anne's chil- dren had all died, and the crown went, as Parliament had decided some years before, to a German prince called SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH I7I4] • THE HOUSE OF STUART 287 George, Elector of Hanover, who was a descendant of a sister of Charles I. England had had a Norman king and a Dutch king ; now she was to be ruled by a Ger- man. SUMMARY Queen Anne s reign is famous for the excellence of its prose literature and for its foreign victories. To prevent an alliance between France and Spain and to protect her Amer- ican possessions, England declared war against Louis XIV. Under the Duke of Marlborough there were brilliant victories on land, and under Sir Cloudesley Shovel the strong fortress of Gibraltar was taken. By the treaty that closed the war, England gained in America Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and a vast area of land about Hudson Bay. Scotland and Eng- land were united, though the union was not heartily desired by either country. 288 ENGLAND'S STORY E« "o f^ w H Pi < w W . HI '"' H 4) fa i o •-> o <: w :z; w o Is O h •i r- s o CJ N u>: sm\ CHAPTER VIII THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 1714- 30. George I. 1 714-1727 247, A king who ruled easily. When George I. came to the throne, he could not speak a word of the language of the land that he had come to govern. He did not think that it was worth while to try to learn it, and therefore he and his ministers stam- mered on as well as they could in the best Latin that they could muster. George did not like to be bored by mat- ters of government, and as he did not know enough of the prominent men of England to select his own cabinet, he had a prime minister to do it for him. He did not find it difficult to rule a country, he simply signed whatever bill Parliament presented. The rest of his time he spent in eating, drinking, smoking, playing cards, and GEORGE I. 290 ENGLAND'S STORY [1715 being amused in a slow, cumbersome fashion at what- ever jests any one would take the trouble to explain to him. He seemed so bored by his new sovereignty that James Edward and his friends fancied that the king might be glad to be relieved of his crown, and actually ventured to write him a letter inquiring whether he would not like to resign in favor of James. 248. Dissatisfaction. There was a reason why many in England were feeling dissatisfied. People had gradu- wugsand ^^^Y become divided into Whigs and Tories. Tories. xhe Whigs favored increasing the power of the people ; .the Tories, that of the king and the church. The coming of George had been brought about by the Whigs, and he agreed to whatever they wished to do. Naturally, the Tories were not contented to have no share in the government. Moreover, whatever there was left in Eng- land of the notion of the " divine right " of a king was in the minds of these Tories, and they had never quite for- gotten that the heir to the king who had been driven from his throne was just across the Channel. 249. Attempts of the Pretender. For these two reasons, the feeling that George did not care enough for his throne to fight for it, and the dissatisfaction of the Tories, who were shut out from any share in the govern- ment, James Edward, the " Pretender," thought it a good time to try to regain the lost crown ; and so it came about that in Scotland one Monday morning the drums beat and the bagpipes played, and a long paper was read declaring that "James VIII." was "by the grace of God King of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland." Battles followed ; one was indecisive and one resulted in a surrender. Still James Edward hoped, and he hurried over to Scotland with only six followers. Unfortunately for his cause, the more people saw of him. 1715] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 291 COSTUME OF GENTLEMAN, /I72I the less enthusiasm they felt. He was heavy and slow, and seemed to have no interest in the men who were risking so much in their eagerness to support him. He was particular to demand as many attendants as if he had been really king, and he roused himself enough to name a day for his coronation, but that was all. When King George's forces were upon them, the courageous Scotchmen wished to put James Edward in the midst of his support- ers and fight till the last man fell ; but their proclaimed king preferred not to fight ; and he quietly sailed away to France, leav- ing his brave friends to manage as best they could. There were great efforts made to rescue the leaders of this conspiracy from the sentence of the courts. The wife of one of those who had been condemned „ ^ Treatment to die contrived to gain access to King George of the con- to beg his mercy for her husband. She caught *^ '* °"" hold of the skirt of his coat, and the stout old king dragged her half-way across the room, while she struggled to put her petition into his pocket. That attempt was not a success, but she did contrive to smuggle a suit of women's slothes into her husband's cell, and he slipped away. The government seemed not at all unwilling that the captives should escape, and apparently took little pains to guard tHem. ^ number of prisoners had been taken from Scotland for trial, though the Scotch con- tended that they ought to be tried where the offense had been committed. The English would not yield the point, but in order not to put too great ^ a strain upon 292 ENGLAND'S STORY [1720 the new union between the two countries, the courts were careful to pronounce no sentence of capital punish- ment upon these men. No such consideration was shown for Ireland, and a bill was passed at about this time de- claring that the English Parliament had the right to make laws for that country. Not many years later, Roman Catholics were forbidden to become members of the Irish Parliament. This meant that five-sixths of the in- habitants of Ireland had no representation whatever. 260. The South Sea Bubble. The reign of George I. is always associated with a financial scheme that — after it failed — was called the South Sea Bubble, and that resulted in ruin to many thousand Englishmen. This is the way that it came about. The South Sea Company had special privileges of trade in the southern oceans, and the members had become immensely rich. Eng- land had a large national debt, and its bonds were held chiefly by Englishmen. This South Sea Company now said to the government : — " We will give you seven and one half million pounds if you will persuade people to exchange your bonds for ours ; and we shall be satisfied with a smaller rate of interest than you have been paying these people. We can afford to do this because it will be worth so much to us to have a regular income from you, even if it is not a large one ; and we can then increase our trade so that we can pay large dividends to those who have given up your bonds for ours." This looked well on paper, and soon the stock sold for ten times what it was worth. Then came the sudden The bubble collapse, and people who had paid ten times its breaks. value lost nine tenths of their money. The government officials, with the exception of Sir Robert Walpole, had encouraged the scheme, and the losers 1720-1727] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 293 were angry with them. This was hardly fair, for it was a time when everybody seemed to be wild to make all sorts of foolish investments. People were ready to put their money into anything. One man is said to have advertised that he knew of a good scheme for making a fortune, and that if people would give him their money to invest, he would tell them later what the scheme was. In one forenoon he actually took in. two thousand pounds. 251. Origin of some customs of government. As Walpole was the most pro- minent one of those that had op- posed the South Sea Bubble, peo- ple began to feel much confidence in him. He was really the ruler of England for some years, and it is in great de- gree according to his arrangement that the government of that country is in many of its details carried on to-day. For a long time, whoever ruled England had been accustomed to select a little group of special advisers that had re- ceived the name of cabinet, because they met in a small room, or cabinet, instead of in the large council cham- SIR ROBERT WALPOLE 294 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 720-1 738 ber. George 1. knew so little of England and her states- men that the selection of the royal cabinet was left to Walpole ; and as the king understood no English, he did not attend their meetings. That is why to-day the prime minister selects the cabinet and the king does not meet with them. The prime minister chooses men with whose ideas the House of Commons will be likely to agree ; but if the House should refuse to support the cabinet in any important measure, the sovereign may either dissolve Parliament in the expectation that a new election will bring in men who will be in harmony with the cabinet, or he may choose a new prime minister from among those that oppose the present cabinet. The result of this plan is that no man can remain prime min- ister if the House of Commons disapproves of his policy. SUMMARY The lax rule of George I. gave all power into the hands of the Whigs, and left Sir Robert Walpole free to introduce many forms and details of government that have remained in force for nearly two centuries. Encouraged by the discontent of the Tories, the Scotch friends of the Pretender made an unsuccessful effort in his behalf. About the middle of the reign, a frenzy for foolish investments swept over the land. The failure of these, and especially of the South Sea Bubble, reduced large numbers to poverty. 31. George H. .1727-1760 252. Rise of Methodism. One important event of the early part of this reign was the rise of Methodism. The masses of the people, especially in the large cities, were ignorant and degraded, and neither state nor church seemed to realize that " they needed help. Cock-fighting and bull-baiting were their favorite amusements, drunken- 1738] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 295 JOHN WESLEY ness was their delight. Nor was this state of things limited to those who were otherwise degraded. Some of the most prominent men of the nation felt that at a banquet it was not showing a proper appreciation of the hospitality of their host if they did not drink of his wines until they could no longer sit uj^ight in their chairs. It was certainly time for something to arouse the country, and the awakening came by the efforts of John Wesley and a few other men. They were nicknamed Methodists because they lived so methodically and met so regularly for prayer and preaching. John Wesley and his brother Charles and another clergyman named Whitefield went over the land on horseback and preached wherever any one would listen. The result of this small beginning was that many thousands in both England and America began to see that there was something better in life than the carelessness or coarse ignorance in which they had lived. 253. Walpole and the king. The kings of the House of Hanover were always at odds with the next heir to the throne. So far as the peace of England was concerned, that was not so bad a condition of affairs, since, if the king was a Whig, the eldest son was reasonably sure to be a Tory; and while the Whigs were happy because they were in power, the Tories were content to wait in the certainty that their turn would come. George I. and his wife really seemed to hate the Prince of Wales, and 296 ENGLAND'S STORY [1741 the prince was so opposed to his father that when he him- self became king, every one expected that Walpole would be turned out of office. This would surely have been the case had not Queen Caroline favored his remaining George 11. would often refuse to hear a word from the prime minister about some subject upon which they dif- fered, but Walpole would take it all serenely and explain to the queen what was best for the king to do. " And when I give her her lesson," said Walpole, ''she can make him propose the very thing as his own opinion which a week before he had rejected as mine." 264. War of the Austrian succession, ^i The subject on which Walpole and the king most frequently differed was that of war, for George II. was an excellent soldier, and was eager to win military glory. Walpole always favored peace, and for twelve years he managed to pre- » vent the king from fighting. At last, after fifteen years of service, Walpole was removed from office. There was now no influence to keep the king from warfare, and George felt that there was good rea- son for drawing his sword. Maria The- resa, daughter of the emperor of Germany, had succeeded to the throne of Austria. France, supported by several other coun- GEORGE II. I743-I745] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 297 tries, attempted to seize portions of the Austrian terri- tories. England preferred to have Austria stronger than France, and therefore upheld the rights of Maria Theresa. War ensued. George went to Bavaria, where the fighting was likely to be, and at the battle of Dettingen he led his own soldiers. He could talk English, if his ^ggt fight- father could not, and he sprang from his horse ^e of an and cried to his troops, " Now, boys, now for king, the honor of England ; be brave, and the French ^^*^' will run." The French did run, and this was the last time that an English king appeared on the battlefield. Europe called this contest the War of the Austrian Succession, but the Americans called it King George's War. Of course, the American colonists fought, English against French, and just as fiercely as if it made any great difference to them who sat on the throne of Austria. The most famous action in America was the cap- capture of ture of a strong fortress on Cape Breton Island, Louisburg. named Louisburg. The soldiers were chiefly men from New England who did not know a great deal about be- sieging forts, and were a little inclined to make fun of the military discipline and manoeuvring. Nevertheless, they took the fort, but when people saw its thick walls and its powerful defences, every one wondered how the deed had been done. The New Englanders were proud of this exploit, as well they might have been ; and they were decidedly indignant when by the treaty that closed the war, Louisburg was given back to France. 255. Last effort of the Stuarts. Walpole had always said that whenever England went to war with Frajice, there would be an attempt made to restore the Stuarts to their throne, and this came to pass before the War of the Austrian Succession was ended. Many a Scotchman was singing : — 298 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 745-1 746 ** I swear by moon and stars sae bright, And the sun that glances early, If I had twenty thousand lives, I 'd gie them a' for Charhe. We '11 over the water and over the sea, We '11 over the water to Charlie ; Come weel, come woe, we '11 gather and go, And live and die wi' Charlie." ^ James Edward did not attempt to come again, but his son, Charles Edward, who is called both " Prince "Young Charlie" and the "Young Pretender," came Pretender." ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ j^ ^.^ f^^j^gj-'g behalf with only seven companions and landed in the north of Scotland. His first shelter was the house of a Highlander. Prince Charlie was accustomed to the luxury of a chimney, and the peat-smoke, which had no outlet but the hole in the roof, was suffocating to him, and when he had borne it as long as he could, he would shp out into the open air. Finally the host, not knowing who was his guest, ex- claimed, " What is the matter with the fellow that he can't stay in th'e house or out of it ? " The prince's first adviser told him he would better go home. " I am come home," said he cheerfully, and he set to work to regain for his father the crown that James H. had lost. At first fortune favored him, and his Scotch friends sang: — " Oh, he 's been lang o' coming, Lang, lang, lang o' coming; Oh, he 's been lang o' coming ; Welcome, royal Charlie." ^ This success did not last long, for a terrible battle was fought at Culloden, and Prince Charlie had to flee. A reward of thirty thousand pounds was offered for his ^ From Yiog^s Jacobite Relics. 2 From Peter Buchan's Prince Charlie atid Flora Macdonald, 1746-1756] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 299 capture, but by the aid of a faithful Highland woman named Flora Macdonald, he succeeded after all cuuoden. sorts of romantic adventures in reaching France ^^*^- in safety. This was the end of the Jacobite attempts to restore the crown to the Stuarts, and any stray enthusiasm that still exists in their behalf is mani- fested chiefly by lay- ing wreaths at the foot of the statue of Charles I. on Janu- ary 30, the anniver- sary of his execution ; for the people of England as a whole were convinced once for all that it is bet- ter to have a sove- reign who rules for the good of the na- tion than one whose only claim is based upon a few more drops of the blood of some royal ancestor. 256. The Seven Years' War. In spite of the peace- ful beginning of the reign of George IL, there was war enough before its end to satisfy the most martial of sovereigns. Frederick the Great of Prussia had been a determined opponent of Maria Theresa in the War of the Austrian Succession, and she did her best to arouse France and several other countries to oppose him. George IL was afraid that his own Hanover would suffer, and therefore the English forces were drawn into what is known as the Seven Years' War. The chief gain to CHARLES EDWARD STUART (PRINCE CHARLIE) 300 ENGLAND'S STORY [1756-1758 England was made in America, for as usual the colonists fought. The English were on one side, and the French, helped by the Indians, on the other. This is why the American colonists called the struggle the French and Indian War. The real point at issue in America was, who should have the country. The English had settled the eastern «ri. v ,;. coast and were pushino: on to the west ; the Wlio shonld ^ t> ' French had begun at the Saint Lawrence and the Great Lakes and had built forts along the Ohio and the Mississippi. The first contest was at Fort Du Quesne. The English lost because General Braddock have America ? MALL IN ST. James's r/iKK iiN i/j6 Showing the enormous hoopskirts then worn by ladies could not believe that the Indian way of fighting would be different from that of the English. Young George Washington saved the remnant of the English troops and afterwards took the fort. 1756-1759] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 301 The story of Grand V16. An especially pathetic event of the war was the driv- ing of several thousand French settlers from their homes in Acadia, or Nova Scotia. These settlers claimed to be neutral, but England was con- vinced that they were helping the French ; and in Grand Pre, Annapolis, and other places the houses were burned, IS S"it£^t^- ■HI ' 'iill selves put on board English vessels and scattered among the English colonies along the coast. By this means England won Nova Scotia, but it was at a fearful cost. There is a tradition that an Aca- dian maiden was separated from her betrothed lover, and that for years they wandered in search of each other, never meeting until the time of their youth was long past and the lover was nigh unto death. Longfellow tells the story in his beautiful poem "Evangeline." The greatest victory of the war was at Quebec, which was defended by the French under General Montcalm. Above the town was a cliff which the sentinels jjngiand guarded carelessly because the French did not takes Que- , . , , . , n , 1-111 l>ec. 1759. thmk that it could be climbed by an army. General Wolfe, the English commander, led his men up this cliff by night and captured the city. This con- quest gave England control of Canada, so that she came " Evange- line." Mi ii i JAMES WOLFE 302 ENGLAND'S STORY [1756-1759 out of the war with Nova Scotia, Canada, and also Flor- ida, which fell into her hands by an arrangement between France and Spain. There was now no question that the whole continent from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River would belong to England. 257. The English in India. While England was gaining an empire in America, a trading company was gaining one for her in India. This East India Company had been in existence for two hundred years, but it had merely established trading posts and had made no at- tempt to rule the country. The French, too, wished to trade in India, and they had also established posts ; but they had joined with some of the native princes in their opposition to the rule of the others, and it began to look as if the English company would be driven away. There was at first no good English leader, but soon one appeared, though from the desk of a clerk, the last place where one would look for a general. Young Robert Clive was employed by the company, and he persuaded them to let him try to repulse the French and their native allies. _ _ , He was successful, but not Ions: afterwards, The Black ° Hole of cai- while Clive was in England, the Prince of Ben- *'*"^' gal attacked Calcutta, captured the fort, and drove more than seven-score English into one small room. After the intense heat of an Indian night, there remained in the morning but twenty-three alive ; the others had died a most agonizing death from suffocation. This prison was called the *' Black Hole of Calcutta." Clive returned. He must punish the Prince of Ben- gal, but the prince had twenty-five times as many men as he. Clive called a council of war, and the majority of the officers said that victory was impossible. So said the commander, but after an hour's thought, he changed his mind and gave orders for an 1757] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 303 attack in the morning. He was successful, and the Eng- lish rule in India was established. 258. Unpopularity of the king. England appre- ciated the soldierly abilities of her king, and rejoiced in the vast amount of territory in both the Old World and the New that came under EngUsh rule while he was on the throne ; but he was never a popular sovereign, and he often seemed far more interested in the well-being of his little Hanover than in that of England. At a time when his English subjects were especially anxious to have him remain in their land, he went to Germany, and there he stayed for many months. Some one is said to have put a notice on the door of his palace : " Lost or strayed out of this house, a man who has left a wife and six chil- dren on the parish. Whoever will give any tidings of him to the church-wardens of Saint James's parish so as he may be got again, will receive four shillings and sixpence. N. B. This reward will not be increased, nobody judging him to deserve a crown." 269. The novel of home life. Together with the gain in territory, there was also a gain in the literary world, for the novel of home life came into being. It is possible that all the foreign war that was going on made the English feel a deeper love for their own homes and ROBERT CLIVE 4 304 ENGLAND'S STORY [1752 the people about them. However that may be, it was in this reign that story-tellers began to describe everyday places and the thoughts and feelings of everyday people. Before this, writers had seemed to feel that no story could be interesting unless its scene was laid in " a country a long way off," or its characters went through a series of the most amazing adventures. Some of these novels are very long, and the story " moves " so slowly that our age finds them tedious, while, according to the present taste, others are vulgar in their incidents and coarse in their conversation. Nevertheless, it was a great gain to find that the thoughts and actions of people who were neither rich nor famous were yet full of interest. 260. A new calendar, 1752. One peculiar fact about this reign is that it was really eleven days shorter than the dates of its beginning and end would seem to show. In reckoning time, the year had not been made quite long enough ; that is, the almanac year was not quite so long as the sun's year, and when January i, for instance, came around, the sun was a little farther ahead than it had been on the preceding January i. In the course of centuries, that difference had amounted to about eleven days, and now England made the correction, and the day that would have been September 3, 1752, was called September 14. The Roman Catholic countries had made this change in Elizabeth's reign, but England did not wish to do anything that the pope had ordered, and so she had delayed. As it was, there was great opposi- tion, for many people felt that in some mysterious way they had been cheated out of those eleven days. Until then, the year had begun March 25, when the sun first came north of the equator, but after this the years were counted from January i. 1760] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 305 SUMMARY By the efforts of Whitefield and the Wesleys, Methodism caused a great religious awakening in both England and America. The influence of Sir Robert Walpole kept the land at peace for many years, but after his removal from office, George II. engaged in the War of the Austrian Succession to uphold the claims of Maria Theresa and prevent the power of France from increasing. During this war Charles Edward made an attempt to regain the English throne. His defeat at Culloden ended the efforts of the Stuarts to wear the crown of England. To protect Hanover, George II. engaged in the Seven Years' War. The result in America was that the continent, from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, fell into the hands of England. The French, allied with native princes, attempted to force the East India Company from India. By the mili- tary genius of Clive the company's rights were maintained, and India fell under English rule. In the literary world, the novel of home life first appeared. In 1752 England adopted the corrected calendar, and hence- forth the years began on the first of January. 32. George III. 1 760-1 820 261. George III. means to rule. As George I. was somev^rhat bored by v^ielding the sceptre and George II. was under the control of whoever had the tact to manage him, the power of the ministers, and in particular, those of the Whig party, had been on the increase for half a century. When George III. came to the throne, he was only twenty-two years of age, but he had one very dis- tinct idea in his mind, and that was that the king instead of his ministers should rule the land. So far there was nothing in his determination that was unlike the notions of the Stuarts ; but the difference 3o6 ENGLAND^S STORY [i 760-1 765 was that while the Stuarts wished to rule for themselves and their own gain, George III. was sincerely anxious to do what was for the gain of the country. He was a good, kind-hearted man, who always meant to do what was right. He was obstinate, but his obstinacy was not exactly wil- fulness ; it was ra- ther an inability to see that there was any other way than the one that he had chosen. 262. Trouble with America. The first difficulty of his reign was with the English colonists in America. England, like other European countries, looked upon a colony not as a part of herself, but simply as a community forming a convenient market for the manu- factures of the mother country, and affording opportuni- ties for a favored few to make money. Laws had been passed forbidding the colonists to make anything for themselves and limiting their trade, each law so framed that it should be to the advantage of England, and with no thought for the good of the colonies. Matters were brought to a head by Parliament's passing the " Stamp Act," requiring a stamp, bolight of England, to be placed on every book, legal paper, etc. Parliament said that as GEORGE III. 1765] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 307 by the French and Indian War the colonists had been freed from fear of the French, it was only fair for them to pay part of the expense of the war. The colonists felt that in men and in money they had given their full share, but their protest was not made for this reason ; it was made because, as they had no representatives in Parlia- ment, this requirement of a stamp would be taxation without representation, and this, they said, was not ac- cording to the law of England. There were strong sympathizers even in Parliament. William Pitt, who had formerly been prime minister, appeared in the House of Commons wrapped in English flannels and leaning upon a crutch. He told sympathy, the members plainly that the Americans were right, and that the only course was to repeal the act. Edmund Burke would not enter into the rights of the question, but in a most eloquent speech he made clear what the result of this foolish treatment of the colonies would be. Benjamin Franklin had been sent to England to speak for the colonists, and the House had asked him many questions. "Will the Americans pay the stamp duty if it is mode- rated.?" they asked. " Never," said Franklin, " unless they are driven to it by force of arms." " Why do they pay duties on imported goods and refuse to pay for stamps } " asked the House. " Because they can use or not use imported articles as they will ; but the stamps are forced upon them," an- swered Franklin. " Are they not obliged to use our manufactures } " " No," said Franklin. " They are wearing your cloth now, but before their old clothes are worn out, they can make clothes for themselves." 3o8 ENGLAND'S STORY [1 766-1 770 " Can they raise woel enough ? " "Certainly," replied Franklin. "They have already agreed to use no more lambs for food, and they can spin and weave in their own houses." " If this special act is given up, will they acknowledge that Parliament has the right to tax them .? " " Never," said Franklin quietly. In spite of Franklin's testimony, however, the Stamp Act was passed ; and when it was finally repealed, there went with the repeal a declaration that Parliament had a perfect right to impose taxes upon the colonists. If they had been contending for the money, this concession would have satisfied them for the time; but since they were making a stand for the principle of no taxation without representation, such a re- peal only made matters worse. It seemed impossible for Eng- land to comprehend that the colo- nists were not standing for pennies, but for principles. The tax ^^^ when Lord North became prime minister, on tea. \^q thought that they would be satisfied if all the taxes but one were removed. That one was a small tax on tea, and it was retained not only to show that England claimed the right to impose a tax, but also because the East India Company was in trouble. The colonists used a great deal of tea, but since it had been taxed in this wise, they had refused to purchase it, and so much had accumulated that the company was on the brink of failure. It had been a law that this com- pany should pay an export tax on the tea that was taken from the London storehouses to be sent to the colonists ; A REVOLUTIONARY STAMP I773-I77S] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 309 and also an import tax when it was sold to dealer in America. England now agreed to allow this company to sell tea in America subject only to the threepenny import tax. This would make the company's tea cheaper than that which had been smuggled into America from Holland. The colonists would buy it, the company would be saved, and the right of taxation would be main- tained. So England planned, and the tea came to Amer- ica; but no one would buy it, and the trickery made the colonists more indignant than ever. In Charles- ton the tea was stored in damp cellars and soon spoiled. In Bos- ton some men dis- guised themselves as Indians and dropped it overboard. England was angry, and she passed several laws intended to hurt .Boston as much as possible. So far there had not been much union among the colonies, but at this they felt that the mother country was not only treating them with injustice, but was in- tentionally trying to work them injury, and they were thoroughly aroused. 263. The American Revolution. English troops were WILLIAM PITT, THE ELDER 3IO ENGLAND'S STORY [1778 sent to Boston. Then William Pitt, the " Great Com- moner," rose in the House and pleaded for the removal of the troops and for the repeal of the hostile acts of Parliament ; for this alone, he said, could save the colonies to England. " Every motive of justice and of policy," he declared, *'of dignity and of prudence, urges you to allay the ferment in America." The question was put whether the English troops should be removed from the colonies. Even the king's younger brother voted for the removal, but a large majority were in favor of keeping them in America. This was in January, 1775, and in April the war broke out. England found that Canada stood by her. Then her plan was to begin in New England and work to the west and south, conquering one group of colonies after an- Engiand's Other. Instead of this, she was forced from New plan. England, and did not succeed in cutting New England from New York as she had hoped. France was always ready to oppose England, and was particularly in France aids ^he mood for such opposition now that Eng- America. land had so recently taken Canada from her. Lafayette, a rich young French nobleman, came to help America, and France recognized the colonies, not as rebels, but as an independent country. Holland and Spain soon took the same ground. There was little probability that England would win, and William Pitt, or Lord Chatham, for he had become a nobleman, urged her to make any concession rather than lose her colonies. This was his last speech, for he fainted in the House, and died soon after he had been carried to his home. Still England persisted ; and even when the ministers yielded. King George was so determined that some of the English called the struggle "the King's War." So little did he understand the wisdom of Pitt's demands and the great- 1780-1781] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 31I ness of his ability, that when the House of Commons voted to honor the dead statesman by a public funeral and a monument, the king wrote to North that he was " rather surprised." Not long after France showed her friendliness, England finally came to the point of offer- ing many concessions, but it was too late, for now the colonists were determined to be independent. For seven years the war went on. The British plans failed in New England, in the Middle States, and in the South. Finally, in 1781, the surrender of the England English commander. Lord Cornwallis, ended y^®^*^- the war. George III. made a speech to Parliament — which his ministers wrote, of course — saying that he had "offered" to declare the colonies "free and inde- pendent states ; " but he explained a few lines farther on that it had been proved "how essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of constitutional liberty ! " 264, Gordon Riots. In the reign of George III. there was a revolution in America, and there were riots in Lon-* don, troubles and revolt in Ireland, war with France, and a second war with the American states — enough, surely, to fill one reign, even if it was a long one. To make matters harder, the king became insane a few years after the Revolution, and all the rest of his life he was either suffering from insanity or dreading another attack. The riots in London came about because some people were still worried lest the Roman Catholics should gain too much power. There were many old laws against them ; for instance, that a Protestant son could seize the estate of a Roman Catholic father, and that no Roman Catholic could own a piece of land. Although these laws were not enforced, people knew that they ought not to remain on the statute books, and they were repealed. Suddenly some of the Scotch were greatly alarmed, fear- 312 ENGLAND'S STORY [1781 ing that the pope would become a power in the land. Lord Gordon, a fanatical Scotchman, was a member of the English Parliament. He collected fifty or sixty thou- sand people of all sorts and led them in rioting through London. The Roman Catholic chapels of foreign minis- ters were broken into and robbed. Judges and all that had anything to do with executing the laws were the special aim of the mob. The private house of the chief justice was sacked, his pictures, manuscripts, and law library were destroyed ; the prison was broken into and the prisoners let loose, and even the Bank of England was attacked. London was set fire to in many different places. For four days the city was in terror of a half- mad fanatic and a mob of riotous people. A specially important result of these riots was that the English saw with their own eyes just what a frantic rabble would do, and when somewhat similar scenes occurred in France a few years later, they realized the horrors of mob law better than would otherwise have been possible. 265. Discontent in Ireland. In Ireland there had been laws against Roman Catholics, and here they had been enforced. The Irish Parliament represented Protest- ants of the Church of England only, a small part of the people of the land. England looked upon Ireland as a colony of Englishmen who were troubled by natives ; and even these English were treated most unfairly, for England had not yet grasped the idea that the more successful her colonies were, the better it was for the mother country. Her notion of a colony was still a collec- tion of people to whom she could sell her manufactures. Just as she had forbidden her American colonies to make anything for themselves that she could make and sell to them, so she forbade the Irish ; and at one time she would not permit them to sell the produce of their farms 1778-1789] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 313 in England, lest this should injure the English farmers. The Irish felt that they were slaves, and they longed to be strong enough to revolt. After France had declared herself in favor of the American colonies, the English government needed more troops than could easily be raised, and in the emergency Ireland had been allowed to collect and drill many thou, sand men. When these men were all ready to fight, Ireland demanded reforms. England hardly dared to refuse when so many trained soldiers were backing the demand, and some of the severe laws against commerce were repealed ; but the Roman Catholics and the Presby- terians were still forbidden to become members of the Irish Parliament, or to have a word to say about making the laws, and the whole island was governed by the small number of members of the Church of England. No country could be expected to remain in peace and friend- ship with the land that imposed such a system of gov- ernment, and before many years had passed there was trouble again. 266. French Revolution of 1789. Ireland had felt hopeful because of the success of the American colonies ; and this same success had done much to bring about a revolution in France, which was quite a different matter from the steady resistance to injustice and the firm de- termination to be free, that had marked the movement in America. For many years the French peasants had been terribly oppressed. There was much of ^ J ^^ Oppression the feudal system left in France, but while the of Frencii nobles enjoyed its advantages, the peasants suf- ^®***^*" fered from its disadvantages ; for instance, France had wide, finely made roads, but the government had built them by forcing the peasants to work without wages. These peasants had to pay toll to their lord if they crossed 314 ENGLAND'S STORY [1789 a river ; they must use their lord's mill and his wine-press, and be taxed for it. They were taxed if they sold their grain. They were taxed if they stirred and if they did not stir. There were two sets of taxes, or rather three, for the lords and the king and the church must be sup- ported. In return for all this, the nobles and the king THE BASTILLE did nothing. The worst of it all was the utter hopeless- ness. A peasant might be a soldier, but only a noble could become an officer. A peasant might possibly become a parish priest, but only a noble could become a bishop. There was no way out, no chance of freedom. To be sure, matters were no worse at this time than they had been for years past, but the peasants had borne just as long as they could bear, and the outbreak came. In Paris there was a strong' prison called the Bastille. It had many stone towers and a moat and a drawbridge. 1789-1793] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 315 When a noble wished to get rid of a man, he would obtain from the king a letter ordering the man T^e sent to this prison, and there he would be taken Bastiue. without trial and sometimes even without any charge being brought against him; and there he would stay, often all the rest of his life. It is no wonder that the Paris mob first attacked the Bastille, and that they left not one stone upon another. When this was told to the king, he said, " It is a riot." " No, sire, a revolution," said the officer, and so it was, one of the most fearful revo- lutions in all history. The poor people seemed to lose all reason and all humanity. It was enough that a man was a noble — kill him. They remembered that in time of famine a certain rich man had said, " If the peasants are hungry, let them eat grass." They dragged the old man into the city with a bundle of grass on his back. " Do not murder him, take him to the courts," said La- fayette. "Why should he be tried.?" shouted the mob. "He has been judged these thirty years," and in a mo- ment he was hanged. So it was in many parts of France. The peopje were like ravening wild beasts. Nobles who had been kind to the peasants about them were murdered simply because they were nobles. The king and the royal family were captured by the mob and imprisoned. The whole nation was raging. A dear friend of the queen's was beheaded because she would not say that she hated her sovereign. The bloody head was fastened to a pole and thrust up under the queen's window. The headsman with his axe could not work fast enough, and the guillotine was invented. At last, in 1793, Execution oi the king, Louis XVI., was put to death, less for Louis xvi. his own sins than for those of his fathers. He was a kind-hearted man who would have been glad to treat the poor fairly, but he was not determined enough 3l6 ENGLAND'S STORY [1793 to break through the customs and beliefs of those who had reigned before him, and not strong enough to overcome the opposition of the nobles. At first there was in England enthusiastic sympathy with the French Revolution. The English felt that they had obliged their sovereigns to rule justly and for the good of the people, and this was what they thought the French were trying to do. English statesmen were de- lighted, and English poets wrote songs in praise of the glories of liberty ; but soon they saw that this was not a struggle for justice, it was a wild, mad slaughter, for after the death of the king there was in France a horrible. Reign of savage lime called the Reign of Terror. One Terror. ^^LU after another had the lead. Conspiracies were formed ; multitudes of innocent persons were guil- lotined. From the Gordon riots the English could ima- gine the furies of the mob of French, far more excitable and less self -controlled than the English. They saw that the three watchwords of the revolutionists, " Liberty, equality, fraternity," meant: liberty — that they might do as they pleased ; equality — that every one should be dragged down to their own level ; fraternity — that they and their partisans would oppose all others. 267. "War with France. The masses of people in England were eager for war with France. The atrocities of the French Revolution had horrified them. Perhaps they felt even more keenly the execution of the sovereign of France because they had become very fond of their simple, talkative old king, and seemed to have forgotten all about his earlier blunders. He went about among his subjects, chatting with them in most familiar fashion, and asking them questions as naturally as if they were his own children. " How did the apple ever get into the apple dumpling ? " and " Pray tell me how you set a trap 1793] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 317 to catch a mouse with toasted cheese ? " the king queried. His subjects liked him all the better for his childlike talk, and they were heartily indignant at any impertinent criticism of the man upon whom they looked as their own familiar friend. All sympathy with the French had van- ished. The guilt of oppression had been atoned for with the blood of the oppressors. England stood aghast. France made the mistake of believing that the masses of the English sympathized with her, and that the king and the English nobles were tyrannizing over them ; and one month after the execution of Louis, while the Reign of Terror was at its height, France declared war against England. The English had an idea that this war would be short, and it was well that they should have thought so, for troubles from another source were pressing upon them. 268. Reign of Terror in Ireland. Just at this time, in 1793, the Irish Roman Catholics rose again to demand their rights. They were obliged to support the Protest- ant church, and they had no voice in making their own laws. Under the pressure England granted, unwillingly, freedom to vote for members of the Irish Parliament ; but as those members must be Protestants, this was not so very much of a concession. There was in Ire- land, too, almost a reign of terror. The Roman Catholic peasants broke into riots and outrages of all sorts. They were savage with the bitterness of many generations. Savage, too, were the punishments inflicted by the government. 269. Union between England and Ireland. To fight for Ireland was the very step for which France was ready. France had won her freedom, so she believed, and now she would help Ireland win hers. France was at war with England, and every blow in behalf of Ireland 3i8 ENGLAND'S STORY [1800 was a blow at England. The French governmant, with the aid of its ally, Spain, sent ships to invade Ireland and help her to free herself from England. Once they were scattered by a storm. Twice the fleets were defeated by the English. England was convinced that there must be a union between the two islands. The only way to secure anything like an Irish majority in favor of a union was to buy votes, and enough votes were bought to carry the measure. The friends of justice hoped to persuade the English to admit Irish Roman Catholics as members of the joint Parliament ; but this was not done, chiefly because the one idea that held sway in the faithful old king's obstinate mind was that to give freedom to Roman Catholics would be to break his coronation oath to sup- port the Protestant church. IRISH FLAG UNION JACK UNION JACK BEFORE 180I 270. Napoleon Bonaparte's career. The fighting with France was going on through these troublous times. Among the French one man had become most prominent. His name was Napoleon Bonaparte, and he was one of the greatest generals that the world has ever known. France was now governed, not by a king, but by a body of men called the Directorate. Napoleon had been a very successful officer, and these men had great confi- 1798] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 319 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE encounter. Napoleon his ships were drawn up ready for a fight, Nel- son contrived to bring the English ships between those of the French and the shore, and to at- tack the French in a way for which they were not pre- pared. The re- sult was an Eng- lish victory. This engagement was off the mouth of the Nile, so it is called dence in whatever he suggested. His plan was to conquer Egypt and then make his way to India, subjugating as he went. This would drive the Eng- lish from India and would give France control of the Medi- terranean. Unluckily for Napoleon, there was a brave English sailor, named Nelson, who was fully equal to an successful on land, but when Nelson. LORD NELSON the Battle of the Nile. 320 ENGLAND'S STORY^ [1801-1805 There was also fighting in the Baltic Sea, off Copen- hagen, because England believed that the Danes were carrying goods to France. At one time during the battle several vessels had run aground, and the English admiral put up the signal to stop fighting. It is said that Nelson held the glass to his blind eye and declared that there was no signal, for he could not see any ; so he kept on, and won. Nelson was so good to the wounded Danes that when he landed in Denmark he was received with shouts of applause. Napoleon had now become the most powerful man in France. With the army to support him, it had been easy for him to overthrow the government of the Direc- torate. He did not dare to suggest the title of king, so he was called the First Consul, but he had more power than Louis XVI. had ever held, and finally he was Napoleon called Emperor. He was so sure that he could as emperor, conquer England that he actually had a medal struck and dated 1804, in honor of the conquest which he expected to make. But he never set foot on Eng. lish soil, for off Cape Trafalgar was Nelson awaiting him. Once, when Napoleon was about to fight a battle in Egypt in sight of the pyramids, he had called to his men, " Soldiers, forty centuries are looking down upon you." Nelson was not so theatrical. He ran up the signal so that all on the fleet could read it, " England expects every man to do his duty." Every man did his duty, and the French were driven back. ' * Napoleon's soldiers would follow him anywhere, and for a number of years he did just about what he pleased, not only in France, but through the rest of Europe. He would conquer a country, depose the king, and put one of his brothers or one of his generals on the throne. He tried to put his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, i8o8-i8i2] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 321 but Spain appealed to England for help, and the Duke of Wellington was sent against him. This struggle is called the Peninsular War, because Spain is a peninsula. The napoleon's medal to commemorate his expected conquest of ENGLAND Duke of Wellington drove Napoleon away, and Spain had again her own king. Joseph after a while came to America and bought some land in New Jersey. This is why that state is sometimes nicknamed ** Spain," Several European countries had been leagued against Napoleon, but England was the one that he hated most bitterly. He was at peace with Russia, but when he demanded that that country should not trade with England, Russia refused to yield. Napoleon pfapoieon marched straight into the heart of the land to in Russia, capture Moscow ; but when he came to the city, it had been burned by the Russians to prevent his gaining any- thing by its capture. The French had expected to find supplies in Moscow, and they were almost without provi- sions in the fearful cold of a Russian winter. Slowly they retreated, but only one man in twenty of the great French army ever saw France again. The Russian army pressed into Paris from the north and the English from 322 ENGLAND'S STORY 1814-1815] the south. Napoleon surrendered, and was sent to the little island of Elba. A younger brother of Louis XVI. was put upon the French throne. Many were afraid of kingly control, remembering what they had return from suffered, and when Napoleon slipped away from Elba. £j|^^ ^^^ came to France, there was wild re- joicing, and an enthusiastic army was ready to do his bidding. Several nations united to oppose him, but the English under the Duke PIIP »"i""llllili«^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ of Wel- 1815. lington were first on the spot. Napoleon met them at Wa- terloo, in Belgium. Hour after hour the fighting went on. It became evident to both commanders that victory would lie with the side that was first re- inforced. Would the French or the Prussians march over the bad road the more rapidly.-* The Prussians came first, and the field was won by Eng- land. Napoleon could not be trusted so near as Elba, and the allies sent him to Saint Helena, where he died in exile. 271. Condition of England. This was the end of the ARTHUR WELLESLEY, DUKE OF WELLINGTON i8i5] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 323 fighting that, with intervals of peace, had been carried on by England and France for one hundred years. The taxes which it had made necessary were crushing to the poor, and they had still other troubles to meet, for Eng- land was undergoing a revolution not in govern- watt in- ment, but in methods of manufacturing. James Jteamen* Watt, in 1765, had so improved upon the rude gine. i765. steam engine of one century earlier that his work was practically a new invention. At about the same time machines for spinning and weaving were invented. These industries had previously been carried on in the home, but now men must go away from home and Factories work when and where the owners of factories arebuiit. might choose. Even if the workmen were able to go to the factories, one machine could do the work of many men, and those that were not needed had no other work to do. Thousands were starving. They felt that in some way the new inventions were to blame for their troubles, and there were riots in which much machinery was de- stroyed. The poor had little chance of education ; for books and papers were dear, and there were no free severe schools. Punishments for offences against the i*^*- laws were unreasonably severe. If a man could not pay his debts, he was kept in prison all his life, unless he had friends to buy him out. To-day a man is put to death for wilful murder and for treason ; but in the reign of George III. there was a long list of misdemeanors for which even a child might be hanged. If a person stole an article valued at five shillings, the penalty was hanging; and when the amount was changed from five shillings to twenty, some people were in all sincerity greatly alarmed lest the land should be overrun with thieves. Others saw how unreasonable it was to take a man's life for such an offence, and a jury would sometirftes save a man who 324 ENGLAND'S STORY [1812 had stolen a one-pound note by bringing in a verdict, " Guilty of stealing a one-pound note valued at nineteen shillings." 272. War of 1812. During the last ten years of the reign of George III., the poor old king was insane and blind, and his son ruled in his place. Just after the trou- ble came upon him, there was a second war with America. The chief cause was the claim of England that a man born on English soil was always an Englishman, and could not become a citi- zen of any other nation. She declared that an English commander had a right to search any ships that he met on the ocean and seize any "Rightof i^en that he thought were of English birth. Search." y^[^ ^-[^^^ ^^s called the " Right of Search." It is said that England had seized from American vessels as many as six thousand men who were eitl^ier natural- ized American citizens or else of American birth, and that she had forced them to enter the English navy. It was during this war that the English landed in Mary- land, destroyed the Congressional Library, and burned THE FRIGATE CONSTITUTtON (OLD IRONSIDES) 1760-1820] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 325 the Capitol in Washington. The Americans won at New Orleans, but their greatest victories were on the water. This was the more remarkable because England had been so successful in the naval warfare with France. It was said that she had captured hundreds of ships and had lost only five ; but that after fighting with America six months she had "had six naval battles, had lost six ships, and had not taken one." It was in this war that the Constitution, or Old Ironsides, won her victories, and that Perry, the young man who had never seen a naval engagement, defeated the English on Lake Erie, and sent to Washington the message, " We have met the enemy, and they are ours." In 18 14 the war closed, but the bat- tle of New Orleans was fought after the treaty was signed, because, as there was no telegraph and no way of send- ing the news any sooner than by sailing vessel, no one in America knew that peace had been declared. 273. Literature. In a reign so long as that of George III. there was opportunity for changes in literature as well as in manufacturing. Samuel Johnson was samuei the man who exerted most influence over the Johaso^. literary world of his day. Rewrote biography, criticism, essays, and a story called " Rasselas," but his great work was the compilation of an English dictionary, the first of any real value. The worth of this book was so fully ap- preciated that it was even proposed to make its author a sort of dictator over the English language, and to allow no appeal from his decision. He had a friend, • ouver named Oliver Goldsmith, who, as was said, ctoi^smitii. "wrote like an angel, and talked like poor Poll." Gold- smith was always out of .money and was always getting into trouble, but he was so witty and so lovable that there was generally a friend at hand to help him out of his difficulties. He, too, wrote a novel, the "Vicar of 326 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 760-1820 Wakefield." " Rasselas" is really a kind of essay on the folly of discontent, though it has a slender plot and the paragraphs are assigned to different characters ; but the "Vicar" is a readable story about real men and women, and is written with a charming naturalness and simpHcity and humor. Goldsmith wrote poetry as well as prose, and his "Deserted Village" is as delightful as the "Vicar." One would expect the writing of novels of home life, which began about the middle of the eighteenth century, to be continued, but there was also much writ- ing of poetry before and after the year 1800, The imagination of men of literary ability seems to have been excited by the revolutions and the new thoughts of the latter part of the eighteenth century, just as it was by the great events of the reign of Elizabeth, and some of the poetry that was written has the freshness and ease Robert of the Elizabethan days. In Scotland Robert Bums. Burns wrote not only such irresistibly humorous poems as "Tam O'Shanter," but also such strong lines as : — " The rank is but the guinea's stamp ; The man 's the gowd for a' that." His writings, with their beauty and pathos and humor, sound the keynote of the newly arisen interest in people because they were people, and not because they were Walter ^ich or educated or of high rank. A little Scott i^i-gj. Walter Scott wrote poems that have almost the ring of the old ballads. Then he wrote historical novels, and these, too, are in sympathy with the new feel- ing, for in his stories it is not so often the lords and ladies as the cottagers and the men of low degree that arouse our warmest interest. Wordsworth came with his love of nature and his conviction that writing poetry was not an amusement but a serious business. Charles 1760-1820] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 327 Lamb showed people the beauties of the old, half-for- gotten dramatists, and wrote his " Essays of ohariei Elia" with their unequalled geniality, pathos, ^*™*' and humor. At the end of the reign of George III. the literature of the nineteenth century was well begun with freshness, brightness, humor, appreciation of the old, readiness for the new, and a rapidly developing feeling of sympathy for whatever is human. SUMMARY The reign of George III., the longest in English history except that of Queen Victoria, was a series of wars. First came the American Revolution^, by which England lost her colonies in America. Further manifestation of the English colonial policy caused riots in Ireland ; and France, fresh from her own Revolution, was ready to help the Irish. Eng- lish bribery brought about the union of Ireland with England. France declared war, but the supremacy of the English navy under Nelson freed England from all danger of French inva- sion. The war went on for twenty years, ending with Wel- lington's defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. England had also been at war with America a second time. The poor suffered greatly from the heavy taxes that these wars made necessary, and from the introduction of labor- saving machinery. A long reign of fighting left England without her American colonies and with no compensating territorial gain in any other quarter. 33. George IV. 1 820-1 830 274. George IV. becomes king. When George IV. came to the throne, in 18.20, there was no enthusiasm. He had really ruled England ten years, as for that length of time his father had been hopelessly insane, and this George had acted as regent.^ He was reckless and profii- 328 ENGLAND'S STORY [1820-1828 gate, and did nothing but enjoy himself in wildness and dissipation. More than once ParHament paid enor- mous debts that he began to contract anew as soon as the old ones had been settled. In the earlier days of England it was the custom for a knight in full armor to appear at each coronation, and chal- lenge to single com- bat any one who disputed the right of the new sovereign to the throne. At the coronation of George IV. this "King's Champion" appeared for the last time, and it does seem as if in the character of the king there was reason enough why some one should have re- sponded to the chal- lenge of the cham- pion. 276. Repeal of unjust laws. The reign of George IV. is noted especially for the repeal of several unjust laws which had been passed in the time of Charles II. The object of these laws had been to counteract the influence that King Charles was constantly using in favor of the Roman Catholic Church. One of these was called the Corporation Act. It had been passed just after Charles II. came to the throne, and it declared that no one should hold any town office GEORGE IV. v^ z O R T H S E A O^'^'f 5? ■?•, f^T-jfl C E"^ /^ ^ Qu. 'ier^ \ BAVARIA . 'anees / °''*'^i;\ H^«^\ ^^"^^ ^^^Gal ^^o, "-^ rT'^^^oLUno,., 'fi MZJ^^^^^^^ «*, ^y ^ ^"'i^ia oTrient o y Q galamanca Vaieoe. ■'"^4 *f>';;:if^3i^^. B :.J. PETERS &. SON ENGnS., BOSTON. EUROPE 1835 WITH HISTORICAL DETAIL TROM 1500-1900 Scale of Mileg 100 200 300 Q Longitude West Longitude Ea^t 10 from Oreenwict 1829] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 329 or be an officer in any. corporation, unless he was a mem- ber of the Church' of England. After nearly „ ^ 1 1 A , Corporation two hundred years, this was repealed. Another and Test was known as the Test Act, and this had been ^^^^' passed because Charles had issued what was called a Declaration of Indulgence ; for, although this Declaration gave to members of all churches the same rights that members of the Church of England enjoyed. Parliament believed that Charles's only reason for issuing it was to give Roman Catholics more power. The Test Act re- quired every one who wished to hold any civil or military office to swear that he believed one of the principal doc- trines of the Roman Catholic Church to be false. Daniel O'Connell, an Irishman of great ability, having j^^j^^ been duly elected, demanded a seat in the House oathoucs of Commons, notwithstanding his being a Ro- parliament, man Catholic. There was strong opposition, ^®^®' but it was finally withdrawn lest there should be war in Ireland. The Catholic Emancipation Act was passed, and at last it had become possible for a Roman Catholic to have a voice in making the laws for his country. 276. Who should succeed to the throne. George IV. was not so beloved, and his royal ancestors had not been so brilliant that the English needed to long for a continuance of the family in power ; but the nation would have been horrified at the idea of any change, and there was much anxiety about the succession. After George IV., his next younger brother William would rule ; but neither of them had any children to inherit the throne. There was, however, the daughter of a still younger brother, a little girl eleven years old. Her father was dead, and she was living quietly and simply with her mother and her governess, playing with the dolls that she kept as long as she lived, and without the least idea that she might some day become a queen. 330 ENGLAND'S STORY [1830 SUMMARY Acts were passed repealing the unjust Corporation Act and Test Act that had been passed during the reign of Charles II. The passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act admitted Re man Catholics to Parliament. There was much anxiety about the succession to the throne. 34. William IV. 1 830-1 837 277. The ** Sailor King." William IV. is called the "Sailor King," because he spent most of his life in the navy. He was bluff and cordial in his manner, kind- hearted and frank, and he meant sin- cerely to do his best for the people. It never seemed to enter his mind that he was in any way superior to the rest of the nation be- cause of his royal blood, and he had a way of treating great and small very much alike, and a rather aston- ishing fashion of inviting men to dinner without the least regard to whether they were Whigs or Tories. He cared little for the forms and ceremonies of state, but he cared a great deal about his people's loving him and feel- ing satisfied with what he did for them. WILLIAM I\ 1830-1832] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 33 1 278. Reforms in electing members of Parliament. Reforms and inventions, and not wars, make up the story of William's reign. The first reform was in the method of electing members of Parliament. In the times of Henry III. two knights represented each shire, or county. Then representatives were sent from some of the towns, or boroughs. Which towns should be selected seems to have depended either upon the choice of the king or upon the willingness of the town to meet the necessary expense. It gradually became an established custom that these towns and no others should be represented in Parliament. As time passed, a borough which had no right of representation sometimes became the home of large numbers of people ; while in another, that chanced to have no manufactories, the number of inhabitants had often become exceedingly small. It is said that in the year of William's coronation there was not a single inhab- itant left in a certain one of these boroughs, and the man that owned the land quietly selected his two members and sent them to Parliament to represent no one but himself. Even this was better than the other side of the matter, for it was not quite so bad to have two men represent one as to have many large cities entirely without repre- sentation, simply because the land on which they were built did not have any inhabitants in the olden times. These boroughs in which so few lived were called " rotten boroughs," and the time had come when reform could no longer wait. A list was read in Parliament of the boroughs to which it was proposed to give no repre- sentation, and of those that were to send one member instead of two, or sometimes even four. This would deprive more than one hundred and fifty members of their seats in Parliament. Most of them were present, and as the bill was read, there were roars of laughter at 332 ENGLAND'S STORY [1832 the absurdity of such a scheme ; but the masses of the nation were demanding the reform, and finally the House of Commons voted for it. The House of Lords opposed, but the nation was no less determined. The vote was taken again with the same result, for not only was there the customary opposition of the lords to making changes, but many believed sincerely that to have members repre- sent people instead of land, and to depart from the old system of elections, would be a great injury to the gov- •• Rotten ernment. Finally, the king was driven by his boroughs " ministers to ffive permission to make as many aboUshed. 111 . ., new peers as would be necessary to carry the measure ; and the House of Lords then yielded rather than have their ranks so crowded. This reform was for the good of all England, but there was another reform that was especially for the benefit of Help lor the the children who had been working in factories chUdren. ^j^^j [^ ^.qqI rnines. They were little children, too, some of them not more than four years of age, and girls as well as boys. In the mines the children were in total darkness, often drenched with cold water from morn- ing till night. Sometimes for twelve or fourteen hours a day they opened and shut doors whenever they heard a coal-car coming. Sometimes they had to creep on their hands and feet and drag through the wet passages heavy loads fastened by a chain to a girdle put around the waist. A commissioner appointed to examine the mines reported that he had found a little girl only six years of age dragging fifty pounds in this fashion for fourteen long trips every day. The lives of children employed in factories were no less hard, save that they did not work in darkness and in water. It was felt to be a great step in the right direction when it was decreed that no child under nine years of age should be employed, and that i833] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 333 children between nine and fourteen should not work more than eight hours a day. When we remember that besides the other horrors of their lives they were some- times brutally whipped for the most trifling faults, even for falling asleep, this kindness of the lawmakers seems only a little removed from utter barbarity, but there were better laws to come. There were other slaves besides these little children, and in their behalf a good man named Wilberforce had been working for many years. The slave trade had been forbidden for a quarter of a century, force's ef- but in the West Indies negro slaves were still the slaves, held to work on the sugar plantations. In 1833 ^®^^* it was decreed that they should be made free, and the sum of twenty million pounds was ordered to be paid to the owners of the plantations to make good the loss. Wilberforce lived just long enough to know that the bill would become a law, and that the good to which he had devoted his life would come to pass. Now that people had begun to have a little realization of the suffering around them, it occurred to some that even persons accused of crime had rights, and Accused that giving a man a trial before a jury was not JJ^^J^* all that was necessary in order to give him jus- haveiaw- tice. If a man was accused of a crime, the ^"*" government employed a lawyer to bring up every circum- stance that would tell against him, but the man himself could not have a lawyer. He might speak in his own behalf, but very few accused men would be likely to under- stand the intricacies of the law, and there must have been multitudes who were imprisoned or even executed, not because they were wicked, but because they were ignorant. Now, for the first time, an accused man was allowed to have a lawyer to speak for him and to bring 334 ENGLAND'S STORY [1836 up every cir- cumstance that would tell in his favor. There were great inven- tions in the short reign of the "Sailor King," the first steam railway, the first iron vessel, and the tiny friction match. More important than any invention was the pro- gress of the feeling that those who have power and wealth ought to aid those who have neither. STEPHENSON'S LOCOMOTIVE " THE ROCKET' Adopted for use on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1829 SUMMARY The reign of the " Sailor King " was noted chiefly for its re- forms. The principal ones were the abolition of the " rotten boroughs," of some of the worst features of child-labor, and of slavery in the colonies. Men accused of crime were then for the first time allowed to have the aid of a lawyer. The general character of these reforms indicated a gain in public sympathy for those that needed help. 1837] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 335 35. Victoria, i 837-1901 279. The girl queen. It was five o'clock one June morning when a young girl in Kensington Palace was awakened by the coming of the Archbishop of Canter- Bury, the Lord Chamberlain, and the king's physician, to tell her that she was queen of more than eighteen mil- lions of people. A few hours later the great reception rooms of the palace were filled with a famous company, bishops and archbishops and nobles and illustrious com- moners. Victoria was then but little more than eigh- teen years of age, and every one watched to see how she would behave on so difficult an occasion. Would she be elated by her new honors, or self-possessed, or shy and embarrassed ? They had not long to wait. The wide doors were thrown open, and the young queen entered with her mother. She was pale, but perfectly calm. She seated herself at the head of the council table. Then came the solemn oath that she would act for the good of her country and defend the Church of England. There was a moment's pause, for her man- ner was so sincere, so modest, and so dignified, and she seemed to realize so perfectly the responsibility of the high position to which she had been called, that every one was hushed. Then came the councillors' oath of fealty, and old, gray-haired men knelt at her feet and solemnly promised to be true to her as their lawful sover- eign. "If she had been my own daughter," said the Diike of Wellington, " I could not have wished that she should do better." 280. A welcome ruler. Victoria was happy in her new position. A Scotch nobleman who saw her soon after the coronation said, " The little queen was exceed- ingly kind, and as merry and playful as a kitten." She 33^ ENGLAND'S STORY [1837-1838 was a descendant of Alfred the Great and of William the Conqueror. No one else had the least claim to the throne. There was nothing in her past life that needed to be pardoned or overlooked; and the fact that upon shoulders so slender rested the weight of so great a king- dom gave her sympathy rather than envy. She had been brought up simply and quietly, and had been accustomed to less luxury than many of her subjects. Moreover, there was a strong reason why English statesmen were especially glad, and this was that now England would have nothing to do with Hanover ; for that country had a law that it should not be ruled by a woman so long as there was a man in the royal family. An uncle of the queen's went to govern Hanover, and Victoria ruled Great Britain. 281. Limitations of the royal power. The rule of an English sovereign in Victoria's day was quite a differ- ent matter from that of a few centuries earlier. When the queen had been on the throne less than two years, her prime minister resigned, and she was obliged to select another. She offered the position to Sir Robert Peel, and he agreed to accept it ; but he declared that it would be necessary to remove the chief ladies who were in at- tendance upon her and put in others who were in sym- pathy with the changed ministry. The queen was not pleased, and she wrote to Sir Robert that such a change was not customary, that she did not like it, and would not consent to it. Then Sir Robert replied as politely as possible that he could not take office unless this was done. The result was that the former prime minister returned to power ; but there was afterwards a kind of compromise, and while the other ladies of the house remain, the Mistress of the Robes, who holds the highest position in the queen's household, resigns as soon as her 1837-1901] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 337 party is out of power. An English queen is, therefore, less free to choose her principal attendant than is the QUEEN VICTORIA woman who is at the head of any other household in the land. 33^ ENGLAND'S STORY [1837 It is true that the preferences of the sovereign often count for much more than the commands of others, and Influence ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ much power, though but little au- not domin- thority ; yet his power is a matter of influence rather than of dominion. An English ruler no longer rules ; he holds the sceptre, but it must point as the people direct. He is the figurehead of the nation, a symbol of law and justice, but he no longer has the right to make a law or to interfere with the course of justice. What would the Stuarts with their " divine right " have thought of a king who has no choice whether to sign a bill or not, but who is obliged to agree to whatever the two Houses of Parliament think best } 282. Liraitations of the House of Lords. In the days of Magna Carta the nobles were the only power that could call a tyrannical king to account and make him deal justly with his people. They have now far less power than formerly. It is true that a bill cannot become a law without their agreement, but if they persist in re- fusing to confirm a vote of the Commons, the Commons may then require the king to create a sufficient number of new peers to carry the measure. Moreover, there are but few subjects on which the Lords may present bills, and even those bills cannot become laws without the vote of the Commons. 283. Value of the House of Lords. The House of Commons is inclined to go ahead, and the House of Lords to hold back, and to oppose reforms and innova- tions. Still, the Lords have almost invariably yielded when they saw that the Commons were really in earnest. George Washington compared our American House of Representatives and Senate to the cup and saucer. The tea in the cup was hot, he said, and it needed to be poured into the saucer to cool ; and it is an excellent 1837] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 339 plan to have one of the two bodies of law-makers not in a hurry to adopt every new idea. If those men only who had nobles for ancestors could be nobles, it is likely that there would be no House of Lords to-day ; but while it is possible for a man who has worked his way to the front as artist, musician, author, general, or statesman to be- come a lord, there cannot be a very strong jealousy of the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, OPENED IN 1852 nobles as a people set apart to receive favors for which they have made no return. • 284. Power of the Commons. The real power lies in the hands of the Commons, and it is the Commons that hold the money-bags of the kingdom. When King Henry VH. wanted money, he simply took it from any of his subjects that possessed it. To-day neither House of Lords nor king dares even suggest such a thing as a tax. The proposal *to raise money must come from the Hou^e of Commons, and from nowhere else. 340 ENGLAND'S STORY [1840-185 I "^ 286. Marriage of the queen. 1840. Victoria as a sovereign stood alone. She could consult no statesman as an individual ; he must always be looked upon as representing a party. Her marriage in 1840 to her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe- Coburg-Gotha, was especially pleasing to her personal friends, although many of her subjects felt a vague jealousy of a foreigner's holding in England a position of such influence. Momentous ques- tions of precedence arose, which were partially settled when one wise old councillor declared, " Let the queen put the prince just where she wants him to be." The fears of Prince Albert's influence were needless. From his marriage to his death, in 1861, he devoted himself to the best good of his adopted country. The World's Fair of 185 1, the first of the great industrial exhibitions, was suggested and planned by him. His interest in art and education was an unfailing inspiration and stimulus to the subjects of the queen. 286. The "Opium War." 1840. In the year of the royal marriage, England was fighting against China. This contest was known as the '* Opium War." The English were raising large quantities of opium in India, and they were finding the Chinese exceedingly good cus- tomers. China had never been willing to trade with foreigners, and she was indignant at the persistent efforts PRINCE ALBERT The World's Fair. 1851 1848] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 341 of England to force the drug upon hen' Its use had in- creased so that the English sent eight times as much in 1839 as in 18 10, and the dealers were making fortunes. England would not yield, and the result of the war was that China was forced to open her ports to British trade. 287. The Chartist Agitation. 1848. Not long be- fore the beginning of Victoria's reign, the " rotten boroughs " were done away with, and the Lords felt that a great deal had been granted to the masses of the people. Not every one agreed with them. A man must even then have an income from land of three hundred pounds before he could become a member of the House of Commons. This was an old law, and its object was to keep the law-making in the hands of those who held land instead of those who were poor, or who were even wealthy but had no land. Many people believed that a man own- ing landed property would have a greater interest in the well-being of the country than a man who had only money ; and as for the working people, they were not thought of at all. The time had come when they had begun to think for themselves. Thousands of working men had no repre- sentation in the government, and they began to hold meetings and to discuss their rights. Little came of the movement until 1848, when they decided to send a pe- tition asking that every man in the kingdom should have the right to vote, that the property qualification for mem- bers of Parliament should be abolished, and that each member should receive a salary, so that if a poor man was elected, he might be enabled to take his seat. These were three of the six demands of the petition. The other three were for annual Parliaments, for vote by ballot, and for a division of the country into electoral districts of equal population, so that all members of Parliament 342 ENGLAND'S STORY [1846-1849 might represent the same number of men. The pe- titioners had the same grievance as had the American colonies — taxation without representation. Those who were trying to bring this representation about were called " Chartists," because their plan was set forth in what was called the " People's Charter." There were such alarming stories of the millions of names that would be on this charter, and the million of A general people that would go with the wagon-load of *^*™^- petition to the doors of Parliament, that Lon- don was greatly alarmed. Troops were drilled, ready to defend the capital, and no less a man than' the Duke of Wellington was called upon to command them. So much was done that there was a vast amount of amuse- ment when it was found that the "millions" that had seemed so startling had dwindled to a small number, and that all the fright had been for nothing. The Chartist demands were not unreasonable, and several of the re- forms called for have since been either wholly or partially accomplished. 288. Repeal of the corn laws. 1846-49. There were other old laws, called "corn laws," that were bringing dis- tress upon great numbers of people. During the wars preceding Victoria's reign, there was much difficulty in obtaining "corn" — meaning in England all kinds of grain — and the price was exceedingly high. When a time of peace came, the price would naturally have fallen, but as the laws were in great part made by land-owners and in their interest, a heavy duty had been imposed upon all grain brought into England. This was an exceed- ingly good thing for the land-owners, but not so good for the poor people who worked in the factories and had to buy their bread. In 1845 there was a terrible famine in Ireland because of the failure of the potato crop, and I854'i857] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 343 Parliament knew that thousands of Irish would stkrve if they could not have cheap bread. Then the government yielded, and little by little the corn laws were repealed. 289. The Crimean War. 1854. The Opium War had been fought in order to sup- port England's finan- cial interests. She now engaged in a war against Russia, called the Crimean War. Russia was fighting with Turkey, and was eager to get possess- ion of Constantinople, that she might control the Black Sea and send her fleet into the Mediterranean if she chose. France ob- jected, and England weakly and unnecessarily joined her. Both sides fought bravely, but neither made any great gain. The war is memorable for the siege of , Sevastopol and for the charge of the " Light the Light Brigade " at Balaklava, which Tennyson's poem ' ^* ®" has made immortal. It is memorable also for the fact that the English war department was so inefficient that thousands died for the want of proper food and clothing. The only pleasant thing about the whole matter is that this was the time when Florence Nightingale began her work in caring for the sick and suffering among the soldiers. 290. The Sepoy Rebellion. 1857. Hardly was the FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE 344 ENGLAND'S STORY [1857-1861 Crimean War brought to a close when a terrible mutiny broke out in India, and for the strangest of reasons. Even though the people of the conquered country seemed to be quiet, the English well knew that it was wise to keep up a strong military force. This had been done chiefly by filling the ranks with Mohammedans and Hindus serving under English officers. In 1857 a new kind of rifle was introduced that required cartridges greased with a mixture of tallow and lard, and the soldier was obliged to bite off the end of the cartridge. The Hindu looked upon the cow as sacred, the Mohamme- dan scorned the hog as unclean, and the required use of this new cartridge was the final cause of the fearful Sepoy rebellion. There were frightful massacres at Lucknow, exhibiting all the atrocities of barbaric war- fare. The English had brave commanders, but few men, and the cholera was raging. Nevertheless, they won, and their vengeance was awful. The mere death of the rebels would, they believed, impress but slightly a race that cared little for their lives ; and the most brutal of the revolters were bound to the mouths of cannons and blown to shreds. 291. Civil war in the United States. In 1861 civil war broke out in the United States. English sympathy was divided. The nobles and many prominent men were inclined to favor the South, while a few clear-headed statesmen and the masses of the people favored the North, even though the impossibility of obtaining cotton from America stopped the English factories and caused much suffering. The government declared officially that Eng- land would aid neither side. In the excitement of the times, each country committed an act that might easily have led to war. The American government discovered that the Confederacy, in an effort to secure the help of 1861-1862] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 345 the English, was sending to England two agents, named Mason and Slidell. They were on board a mail steamer, the Trent, but an enthusiastic American com- The Trent mander boarded her and seized the two men. *"*^- England was in a ferment. Then rose John Bright "the great peace statesman," and told 'the nation that the American government would in all probability imme- diately disclaim responsibility for the act ; but that even if it did not, this seizure was not nearly so bad as scores of seizures that England herself had made before the War of 1 812. He reminded them that the United States had all it could attend to, and said : " Did you ever know anybody who was not very nearly dead drunk, who, hav- ing as much upon his hands as he could manage, would offer to fight everybody about him .? " This speech was made at a public banquet, and it was reported throughout the kingdom. The United States immediately declared that the seizure was made without the knowledge or approval of the government, and that episode was ended. The act of the British government that might have led to war was that, although England had declared that she was neutral, she allowed the Confederacy not ^^^ only to fit out swift vessels for running the Alabama blockade and carrying arms and other things to the South, but to build a privateer, the Alabama, to de- stroy the merchant vessels of the United States govern- ment. The Alabama was finally sunk by the Kearsarge, but not until after she had done an immense amount of damage. When the war was over, instead of the Ameri- can claims for damages being settled by force The Geneva of arms, an international court was held at award. Geneva to decide how far England was responsible for the harm done by the vessel. This court decreed that 54^ ENGLAND'S STORY [1868-1870 ^15,500,000 in gold was a fair recompense, and England paid the sum promptly to the United States. 292. Board schools established. 1870. In the midst of the wars of the century, the question of educating the children was becoming more and more pressing. When Victoria first cartie to the throne, there were few schools in which children who could not pay tuition could be educated. Many people thought that the poor were meant to stay poor and do the hard work of the world. Others had tried to do what they could and had given generously. Perhaps the greatest gift of all was that of John .Pounds, a shoemaker, who for many years taught poor children without charge ; five hundred in all he had saved from ignorance. The government had made some small appropriations for the schools, and the churches had done what they could ; but it was estimated that half the children in the kingdom had no opportunity to learn to read. At last the government began to realize that it is better to teach children to become good citizens than to punish them, when they have grown up, for being bad Theuniver- o^^^ss, and "board schools" were established, sities open They are not yet entirely free, but the tuition senters. is very small. At about the same date, reli- ^®'^^" gious educational freedom was granted, and then, for the first time, a Dissenter, that is, one who is not a member of the Church of England, could take a degree at Oxford or Cambridge. 293. A Jewish prime minister. 1868. The Jews had been treated more fairly in England than in other countries, but even in England they had not found justice. Edward I. had expelled them, and although Cromwell allowed them to return, they had never been able to enter Parliament, chiefly because they would be required to take an oath "on the faith of a Christian." 1838-1869] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 347 The Commons voted to modify this wording, but ten times the Lords refused to agree. At last, at the eleventh trial, the Lords yielded, and in 1838 a man of Hebrew birth became a member of Parliament. In 1868 Empress of he was made prime minister of England, and India. later received the title of Lord Beaconsfield. ■^®^^' It was during his time of power that the queen was formally proclaimed Empress of India. 294. Irish reforms. Throughout the reign of Vic- toria, the "Irish question " was a pressing matter. One difficulty after another rose and *' would not down." After Daniel O'Connell's success in securing parliament- ary representation for Roman Catholics, he aimed at nothing less than a free Parliament for Ireland and a separation from England. What might have been the result if the life of this earnest, eloquent, enthusiastic leader of the people had been prolonged, it is not easy to say. One great cause of complaint in Ireland was that all inhabitants, of whatever church, were taxed to support the Episcopal church. Another was the famous " land question." Vast areas of Irish land were owned by Eng- lish who, perhaps, had never been in Ireland, and had no further interest in the country than to see that the agents were prompt in forwarding their rents. A tenant might be driven from his farm at any moment. If he drained a swamp or cleared a bit of land from stumps and stones, his rent would be raised because the land had become more valuable. Ireland found a friend „, ^ ^ Gladstone, in William Ewart Gladstone, a man who, as chancellor of the exchequer and prime minister, was for more than forty years the most prominent statesman in England. Under his leadership a law was made that the Irish should not be taxed to support the Episcopal 348 ENGLAND'S STORY [i 870-1 899 WILLIAM EWART \l;STONE Rule,' "Home Rule." church. Gladstone also succeeded in carrying through a law that the tenant should be paid for making improvements, and that if he paid his rent he should not be driven from his farm at the whim of the landlord. This law was good, but the landlords found ways of evading it. Then a strong party arose in Ire- land demanding " Home should rule herself. The Stuart Parnell. He was a Pamell. that is, that Ireland leader was Charles calm, cool man, but many of his followers were hot-headed and violent ; and when he and Gladstone did not work in accord, there were murders and other crimes in Ireland, and there was fierce vengeance on the part of the English government. In spite of this, Gladstone still struggled in behalf of Irish home rule, but though the bill was finally passed by the Com- mons, it was defeated by the Lords. Within the last four years, an improved land bill has been passed, and a kind of local self-government has been established in Ireland by which each little district elects a council to manage its local affairs. 295. The Boer War. 1899. During Victoria's reign, England fought not only in China, the Crimea, and India, but now, at the very beginning of the twentieth century, she is fighting in South Africa. Cape Colony was origi- nally settled by the Dutch, and its people are called Boers, the Dutch word iox farmei's. In the course of the wars 1834-1880] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 349 with Napoleon, this land fell into the hands of the Eng- lish. The Boers did not like English rule, and three times they abandoned their homes and went farther into the wilderness, — to Natal, to the Orange P'ree State, and to the Transvaal. About thirty years after this last removal, some of the MAP OF BRITISH-BOER WAR people in the Transvaal asked England for help in their wars with the natives ; and a little later England declared that the Transvaal had become a part of the British em- pire. The Boers did not agree and began war ; ^aiuba and in 1880 came the fearful slaughter of the ^^"- ^^so. British at Majuba Hill. Peace was made, giving free- dom to the Boers in all matters of local government. Then gold was discovered in the Transvaal, and this new interest brought swarms of people, chiefly English, 350 * ENGLAND'S STORY [1901 to that country. The Boers wished to have their land to themselves, while the English, whether they came to stay or merely to make their fortunes and go home, demanded all the rights of permanent citizens. The Boers refused, and declared war against England. The English thought at first that it would be a small matter to suppress the little Dutch country ; but although England has put into the field a larger number of soldiers than she has ever had in arms before,^ the war has been going on for very nearly two years, and the little country is not yet sub- dued (August, 1 901). 296. The British Empire. In all the history of do- minion, there is, perhaps, nothing more astounding than the fact that part of one small island, almost without allies or even well-wishers in her conquests, should have made herself mistress of wide possessions in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australasia, and should have estab- lished her control over nine and one-half times as many people as there are in Great Britain and Ireland. Eng- land's colonial expansion during the reign of Victoria is one of the marvels of a marvelous age. In America, save for the addition of the islands lying to the north of Hudson Bay, the territories of England have but slightly increased during the last sixty years ; but vast areas of land in western, southern, and eastern Africa have fallen under English sway, as has also an extensive Indian em- pire, only a small portion of which belonged to England at the accession of Victoria. New Zealand, Tasmania, and a few settlements in southeastern Australia were in 1837 the limit of England's possessions in Australasia, where her rule now extends over five millions of people. The feeling of England toward her colonies has under- gone a great change in the last century. One hundred 1 Larned's History of England, p. 627. I9th Century] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 351 years ago she regarded a colony as a community to be despoiled, so far as it might be done under pretense of law and without revolt. Fifty years later, a colony was to her an encumbrance which she was obliged to treat with some show of interest and fairness, but upon which favor would be wasted, since the natural course of a colony would be to cut loose from the mother country. Very different is her present feeling. England now looks upon her colonial possessions with pride in their growth, an increasing confidence in their loyalty, and a realization that in the united allegiance of her widely separated dominions must lie her strength. 297. Inventions of the century. The nineteenth century was an age of marvels, and if a man who lived in 1800 could visit the world to-day, he would almost fancy that witchcraft had been at work. He would find that he could see a great deal more. The improved tele- scope would show him what had been mysterious because it was so far away, and the microscope what had been unsuspected because it was so small, while the x-rays would enable him to look through solid substances. He would find, moreover, that by means of the telephone he could hear much farther. In 1800 the only way to obtain a portrait was by long, wearisome sittings with an artist ; to-day we ask a ray of light to help us, and in a moment we have a photograph. When the man of 1800 wished to forward an important message, he sent a courier on horseback. We use the telegraph, and already we are complaining of the clumsiness of the slender wire and are looking toward " wireless tele- graphy." The man of 1800 made his journeys in a stage coach. We are a little inclined to grumble at a speed of fifty miles an hour. We speak of the industrial revolu- tion of one century ago, but we have an industrial revolu- 352 ENGLAND'S STORY [19th Century CHARLES DICKENS tion almost every day in the discovery of some new process of manufacturing ; and almost before the in- vention is fairly chroni- cled, a greater one has taken its place. The ^^ ^^ man of 1800 had done tJ^^^^^^^^y 3|6v hiswork by the strength ""©^ '^^^^^»^ \ _,^^. -'-^*' of his own right arm, and was feeling as if the world was over- thrown by the intro- duction of steam-driven machinery. We are finding that electricity can do more than steam, and we are experimenting eagerly with com- pressed air. Who can tell what will be the motive power of the future t We are quite accustomed to impossibil- ities, and what would have been to the man of 1800 only a wild flight of the imagi- • nation is to us but the merest commonplace of every day. 298. The literature of Victoria's reign. It is not difficult to look back upon a century that is long past and see who were the greatest writers, but the Victorian age is so near that we cannot always dis- tinguish the books that will last from those that lord tennyson I9th Century] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 353 are liked for a moment and then forgotten. The great events of the Elizabethan period stimulated the imagina- tion ; but the marvellous inventions of our own time are just as exciting. To-day education is far more general. Every one wishes to write, and in this mass of writing there is much that is really excellent. To select from the long list of authors that seem to be great is not easy. Tennyson is perhaps the first of the poets. Among historians, the name of Macaulay is most familiar to the English people as a whole, partly because he wrote a history of their own land, but chiefly because his style is so clear and interesting that his books are easy to read. Among the books of whose making there is no end, the novel holds the most prominent place. Scott, Dickens, Thacke- ray, and " George Eliot " have long been our best known writers of fiction, four authors who are so dis- similar that the popularity of all is, in itself, a proof that the novel is enjoyed by all kinds of people. But the object of the novel of to-day is not merely to give plea- sure. Fiction is no longer a source of amusement and nothing more ; it has become a useful servant. If one would bring forward some new theory, he is sure of a wide reading if he can embody it in an interesting story. If a new play is needed, a popular novel is dramatized. If the average man would read history, he is inclined to seek the historical novel ; and frequently, for his religion LORD MACAULAY I 354 ENGLAND'S STORY [19th Century he is wont to imitate the idealized hero of some work of the imagination. More than one clergyman has left the pulpit that by bringing forward his ideas in story form he might preach truth to thousands instead of to hun- dreds. Whither this tendency will lead us is a question. Who shall say, for instance, whether the present popu- larity of the novel whose whole attention is given to its hero, indicates some glorious future development of the power to delineate character, or whether the frequent carelessness of the rest of the book betokens a step in the path that leads away from literary merit ? Perhaps the most excellent feature of this ascendency of the novel is that we require our fiction to be true to life. Adven- tures must be probable, characters must be consistent, and the historical novel, if it would have more than a passing fame, must be the work of the student as well as the teller of stories. 299. Influence of Queen Victoria. There were world-stirring events during the life of Queen Victoria, but no one of them held so steadily the interest and attention of the English-speaking world as did the queen herself. The lives of few sovereigns have been as open as hers in every act, almost in every thought. We know her from the time when her only responsibility was the care of her great family of wooden dolls to the sad Jan- uary day of 1 90 1 when her life c^me to its close. Only four short years after the dolls were packed away, the young girl whose every motion had been watched, whose every thought had been guided, must stand alone at the head of a kingdom, so much alone that even the mother could not come to the daughter's door save by request of the queen. Her twenty years of marriage with Prince Albert were 1837-1901] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 355 the happiest period of her life, and at his death her sor- row was so overwhelming and so enduring that her people felt almost impatient with her avoidance of all social life. Neither grief nor weariness, however, was allowed to interfere with the hard work which, from the beginning of her reign to its close, she felt was de- manded by her position. One of her prime ministers is said to have declared that he "would rather manage ten kings than one queen,"" for she would do nothing for expe- diency and would sign no papers that she did not understand. In the year of the Chartist excite- ment, for instance, every one of the 28,000 despatches that came to the foreign office passed through her hands and engaged her thoughts. It was no easy life that she led. In her reign there were "wars and rumors of wars," but the influence of Victoria herself was always for peace. In the dark days of the Civil War in America, it was in great measure the firm hand of the queen that kept Eng- land anywhere near the course of neutrality that the country had promised. It was the queen, advised by Prince Albert, who insisted upon the courtesy and EDWARD VII. 356 ENGLAND'S STORY [1837-1901 moderation of the demand made by the English govern- ment for the restoration of the Confederate passengers of the Trent, and it was she who urged arbitration rather than war when the question of the "Alabama claims " must be decided. In her the Hanoverian obsti- nacy and corruptness appear as firmness and purity. Marcus Aurelius says that it is " hard to be good in a palace," but Queen Victoria showed by her sixty-three years in "that fierce light which beats upon a throne" that the promise of her childhood days, " I will be good," made when she first knew that some time she would be queen of England, was as sacred to her as the solemn oath of her coronation. 300. Edward VII. She was succeeded by her son, Albert Edward, who reigns as Edward VII., and who in his first council declared, " I need hardly say that my constant endeavor will be to walk in her footsteps." SUMMARY The position of both sovereign and House of Lords has undergone steady change, and the real power lies to-day with the House of Commons. In Victoria's reign, the result of the Chartist agitation, of the repeal of the corn laws, and of the admission of Jews to Parliament, gave increased free- dom to many thousand people, while "board schools " made it possible for a much larger number of children to obtain an education. In this reign there were several wars : the " Opium War " with China ; the Crimean War, famous chiefly for the bravery of the soldiers and the mismanagement of the war depart- ment ; the terrible Sepoy Rebellion ; and the war that is now going on with the Boers in South Africa. England escaped a war with the United States by the apology of this country in the matter of the " Trent seizure," and by her own payment 1837-1901] THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 357 for damages done by the Alabama. Although there was no war with Ireland, yet the demand of that country for reforms has long been a pressing question. We can only hope that it is near its solution. The literature of the reign is of immense bulk and of widely varying value, some of it approaching near to the most excellent work of the past ages. The growth of the British empire is astounding, and the progress of invention unprecedented. In one sense the reign of Victoria was a "personal mon- archy," for by the irresistible force of a strong, pure woman- hood, she attained that sovereignty over her land and her people for which arbitrary and tyrannous rulers have vainly sought. Well may the laureate of her time bestow upon her the highest praise that a woman can ask, the greatest reward that a sovereign can receive : — " She wrought her people lasting good." 33. George IV. 1820-1830. HOUSE OF HANOVER 30. George I. 1714-1727. 31. George II. 1727-1760. Frederick, d. before his father. 32. George III. 1760-1820. 34. William IV. 1 830-1 83 7. Edward, d. 1820 . I . 35. Victoria, m. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg- Gotha. 1837-1901. 36. Edward VI L (of Coburg). 1901- y^ ■x^L y 37 )L-^ 1 rV.5 .. M INDEX Acadia (ica'dYa). See Nova Scotia. Accused men allowed to have lawyers, 333. Addison, Joseph, 282. ^sop's Fables, translated by Henry I., 50 ; printed by Caxton, 146. Agincourt (Szhankoor'), battle of, 130; map, 64, Dc. Alabama claims, 345, 355, 356. Albert, Prince Consort, 340, 355. Alfred the Great, statue of (frontispiece); reign of, 24-27 ; his work for his kingdom, 25 ; 336 ; map, 24. America, discovered by Columbus, 160; voyages of the Cabots, 160 ; visited by Frobisher, 205 ; visited by Raleigh, 219, 220 ; founding of Jamestown, 220 ; of Plymouth, 221 ; of Boston, 229 ; of Pennsylvania, 258 ; English gains in America during Anne's reign, 286 ; dur- ing the reign of George II., 297, 300-302. See Colonies and United States. Andrew, Saint, 284. \ Angevins (Sn'ggvTns), name, 64 ; geneal- / ogy of, 122 ; Angevin empire of Henry II., map, 64. Angles, 14. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, begins, 26 ; 38, 42, 54, 56 ; ends, 60. Anjou (onzhoo'), 56 ; map, 64, Cd. Annapolis (in Nova Scotia), 301. Anne, character and portrait, 281 ; her favorites, 285, 286. Anne of Cleves, 174, 175. Anne of Denmark, picture, 217. Anselm, Archbishop, 45, 50, 51. Arabs, their treatment of pilgrims, 47. Archer, English, picture, 109 ; archers at Cr«5cy, 108, 109 ; at Agincourt, 130. Armada (arma'da), the Invincible, 200-204 ; picture, 203. Arthur, King, legends of, 13, 61, 74, 75, 82, 96, 101, 146. Arthur, nephew of King John, 82. Arthur, son of Henry VII., 159, 167. Augustine (S-gus'tin), Saint, preaches Christianity in England, 17, 18. Balaklava (bSlacla'va), battle of, 343; map, 328, Fb. Ball, John, 113, 115; picture, 113. Ballads, 101, 102 ; ballad of Chevy Chase, 125; influence of the Robin Hood ballads, 147 ; Scott's, 326. BalUol, (bSlliol), John, 97. Baimockbum (bSnn5kbQrn') battle of, 104. 105 ; map, 103, " Barebone's Parliament," 246. Baronet, 218. Barons, of Henry I., 51; cruelty of Stephen's, 58 ; John's quarrel with, 84-88 ; led by De Montfort oppose Henry III., 91-93 ; condemn Gaveston, 104. Bastille (basteel'), with picture, 314. Bayeux (bayu'), tapestry, 36 ; pictures from, 32, 33, 35, 37. Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli, Lord, 347. Beauclerc (boclar'^, 49, 50. See Henry I. Becket, Thomas a, early manner of life, 66, 67 ; contest with Henry II., 67-71 ; disputing with Henry II. (picture), 68 ; murder of, 71; with picture, 70; 92; 119. Bede, the Venerable, 19-21. Bedford, John, Duke of. Protector, 133, 135. Beggars, increase of and laws against, 172, 173. Benevolences, originated by Edward IV., 145; abolished by Richard III., 150; revived by Henry VII., 158 ; favored by James I., 218; a form of, 225; vetoed by Parliament, 226. Bengal, Prince of, 302, 303. Beowulf (ba'owulf), 15-17. Bible, translated by Wiclif, 118 ; sold in Germany, 145 ; its sale forbidden in England, 146; translated by Tyndale, 177 ; translated by John Eliot, 249 ; translated in time of James I., 214 ; copy presented to Charles II., 254 Black Death, 111 ; effect on villeinage, 112, 113, 172. Black Hole of Calcutta, 302. Black Prince, at Poitiers, with picture of effigy, 110; death. 115. Blake, Admiral Robert, medal, 247. Blenheim (blen'im), battle of, 285 ; palace of, 285 ; map, 328, Db. Blois (blwa), 57. Blondel (blondel'), 79. "Bloody Assize," 265. " Blue-Coat School." See Christ's Hospital. Board schools established, 346. See Edu- cation. Boer War, 348-350; map of, 349. 36o INDEX Boleyn (bSSl'Tn), Anne, early life of, 167, 168; marries Henry VIII., 169 ; is exe- cuted, 173 ; 175, 183. Bonaparte, Joseph, 321. See also Napo- leon. Border warfare, 124, 125. Boston, founded, 229 ; in the beginning of the American Revolution, 309. Bosworth Field, battle of, 152 ; map, 64, Cb. Bothwell, James Hepburn, Earl of, 197. Boyne, battle of the, 270 ; map, 231, Cb. Braddock, Gen. Edward, 300. Brandon, Charles, 104, 107, 180. Bright, John, 345. Britain, early knowledge of, 1 ; Caesar's invasion and description of, 3-7 ; Caesar's landing in (picture), 3 ; harassed by Scots, Picts, and Saxons, 9, 12 ; gain and loss from Roman rule, 11 ; described by Bede, 20 ; map of Roman Britain, 8 ; 7nap of Alfred's Britain, 20. British Empire, growth and extent of, 350. British Kings, Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of, 60. Britons, Caesar's account of, 3-7 ; coracles of (picture), 5 ; under the Romans, 9-11 ; "Groans of the Britons," 12; extermin- ated or expelled by the Saxons, 13 ; de- scendants of, 90. Bruce, Robert, rival of Balliol, 97. Bruce, Robert, King of Scotland, contest with Edward I., 99; besieges Stirling Castle, wins at Bannockburn, 104, 105. Building operations imder Henry III. (pic- ture), 92. Bunyan, John, with portrait, 258. Burke, Edmund, 307. Burleigh (bfir'le), William Cecil, Lord, 193, 199. Burning at the stake, the first, 125. See Persecution. Bums, Robert, 326. By, Danish word for town, 25. Cabinet, 293. Cabot, John and Sebastian, 160. Cadiz, Drake at, 201, 203 ; map, 328, Be. Caedmon (kSd'mon), early English poet, 18, 19. Caesar, Julius, 160. See Britain. Calais (kala'), capture by Edward III., 109, 110 ; palace of Henry VHI. at, 164, 165; England loses, 187, 188; map, &4, Dc. Calendar, correction of the, 304. Cambridge, University of, admits Dissen- ters 346 Canada, English conquest of, 301, 302, 309. Cannon, first used at Cr^cy, 109 ; picture of, 131 ; of state under control of king, 155. Canterbury, map, 26, Dd. Canterbury Cathedral, scene of a Becket's murder, with pieture, 70, 71 ; penance of Henry II. at, 71. Canterbury Tales, 119, 120 ; picture of pil- grims, 120 ; printed by Caxton, 146. Canute (kanuf), 27-29. Careless, Colonel, 244, 255 ; picture of his coat of arms, 255. Caroline, Queen, 296. Castles built by Normans, 39, 41 ; picture, 40 ; destroyed, 05. Catholics, in England, under Henry VIII., 170, 171 ; under Mary, 184 ; under Eliza- beth, 190, 192, 198, 202 ; under Charles I., 223, 224; under Charles II., 258, 201, 202 ; mider James I., 213, 214, 210 ; un- der James II.. 207-270 ; under William III., 272 ; Gordon riots, 311,312 ; in Ire- land allowed to vote for members of Irish Parliament, 317 ; Catholic Emancipation act, 329 ; disestablishment of the Irish Church, 348. Cavaliers, with picture, 235. Caxton, William, 145-147 ; facsimile of his printing, 140. Cecil (sg'sil), Sir WUliam. See Burleigh. Charge of the Light Brigade, 343. Charles I., proposed marriage, 218-220 ; his theory of the " divine right," 222 ; treachery in regard to his marriage, 222- 224 ; appearance and character, 222-224 ; portrait, 223; his illegal taxation, 224, 225; rules without Parliament, revives the Star Chamber and the Court of High Commission, 228 ; demands " ship- money," persecutes the Puritans, 228, 229 ; forces the Prayer Book on Scotch Presbyterians, 230 ; calls the " Long Parliament," 231 ; has trouble in Ire- land, 231-233 ; tries to arrest members of Parliament, 233, 234 ; is executed, 238 ; picture of his trial, 239, 299. Charles II., seeks the throne during the Commonwealth, 242-245 ; becomes king, 252-255-, his character and court, with portrait, 250, 257 ; persecutes Dissenters and Quakers, 258 ; is kind to sufferers by the Great Fire, 260; robs the trea- sury, 260 ; is plotted against, 261 ; death of, 262. Charles V. the emperor, 164, 166, 169, 173. Charles VII. of France, 135-138. Charles Edward, the " Young Pretender," attempts to regain the throne, 297-299 ; portrait, 299. Charter, of Henry I., 51, 84 ; of Stephen, 57; of Richard I., 78; of towns disre- garded by John, 83 ; Magna Carta, with facsimile extract, 85-87. See Chartists. Chartists, 341, 342, 355. Chatham, Lord. See William Pitt. Chaucer, with portrait, 119, 120 Chester, or castra, 8. Chevy Chase, ballad of, 125. Child-labor, and law agamst, 332, 333. China, Opium War with, 340, 341, Christianity preached in England, by St. Augustine, 17 ; in Ireland by St. Patrick, 17. Christ's Hospital, 179, 180. Church, early and mediaeval : Christianity preached by St. Augustine, 17, 18; riches of, 21, 22 ; ignorance of the priests in Alfred's time, 26.; supports William INDEX 361 RufuB and is plundered by him, 43-45 ; supports Henry I., 51; punishments of , 67 ; John's quarrel with, 82, 83 ; neglects the poor, 114, 117 ; wealth of, 128 ; en- courages Henry V. to make war upon France, 129 ; (the building) as a refuge, 149 ; the Protestant Reformation of, 107, 170; Henry VIII. becomes head of the English Church, 170 ; introduction of the English Prayer Book, 178 ; authority of the pope restored by Mary, 184 ; final separation from Church of Rome by Elizabeth, 190 ; number of members in time of Elizabeth, 198. Churdh of England. See Church, Puritans, and Presbyterians. Church of Ireland, disestablishment, 348. See Catholics and Ireland. Civil wars, between Stephen and Matilda, 59, 60 ; John and his barons, 84-88 ; of the Roses, 140-142, 152, 155; between Charles I. and Parliament, 235-238 ; in the United States. See United States. Olive, Robert, with portrait, 302, 303. Clyde (River), 9 ; map, 8. " Coeur de Lion." See Richard I. Coffee-houses, 283. Coinage, punishment of coiners debasing, 53 ; monopolized by Henry II., 65 ; de- based by Henry VIII., 171. Coin, colonia, 9. Colonial expansion, 350. Colonies, in America. See America and United States. England's feeling to- wards, 306, 312, 350, 351. Columbus, Christopher, 160. Commons. See Parliament. Commonwealth, time of, 241-246 ; picture of seal of, 245. "Confessor," the. See Edward the Con- fessor. Congressional Library, burned in War of 1812, 324. Constantinople, captured by the Turks, 166 ; map, 328, Eb. Constitution (Old Ironsides), with picture, 324, 325. Convents, early wealth of, 22. See Monas- teries. Copenhagen, battle of, 320; m,ap, 328, Da. Coracles of early Britons, picture, 5. Cornishmen, 268. Corn-laws, and repeal of, 342, 343. Comwallis, General Lord, 311. Coronation chair, picture, 98. Corporation Act, repeal of, 328, 329. Costume, pictm-es of, in the time of Henry I., 52, 54 ; in the tune of Richard I., 81 ; in the 15th century, 140 ; In the time of Henry VII., 159 ; in the time of Eliza- beth, 194 ; of soldiers in the time of Charles I., 225 ; in the time of Charles II., 261 ; in the time of George I., 291 ; in the time of George II., 300. Court of High Commission, 228, 231. Courts, cruelty of the, 67 ; of the barons', 73; district courts of Henry II., 73; require the English language, 114; un- fairness of, 139. Cowton Moor, battle of, 59 ; map, 64, Cb. Cranmer, Archbishop Thomas, compiles the Book of Common Prayer, 178 ; burned at the stake, 186. Cr^cy (krgs'si), battle of, 108, 109 ; result of. 111, 112, 130, 172 ; map, 64, Dc. Crimean War, 343. Cromwell, Oliver, attempts to sail to America, 229 ; his " Ironsides," 236 ; commands the army, 237 ; seizes Charles I., 238 ; holds chief power, 241, 242 ; pic- ture, 242 ; his Irish campaign, 242, 243 ; his Scotch campaign, 243 ; dissolves Par- liament, 245 ; becomes Lord Protector, 246 ; increases the naval power of Eng- land, and protects the Waldenses, 248 ; permits the return of the Jews, is kind to the Quakers, sends missionaries to the American Indians, 249 ; last years, death, and burial, 250, 251 ; his body beheaded, 255. Cromwell, Richard, 251. Cromwell, Thomas, with portrait, 174, 175. Crossbowmen, Genoese, at Cr^cy, with picture, 108. Crusades, 46-48 ; effigy of a crusader, 47 ; connection with the legend of the Holy Grail, 75 ; Richard I. as a crusader, 78, 79 ; the children's crusade, 93, 94 ; gain from 94 95 • 112. Culloden (cul-io'den), battle of, 298 ; map, 103. Curfew, 41. Da Gama, 161 . Danes, harass England, 10, 22-25 ; coming of the, picture, 23 ; ad kingfrof England, 27-29 ; descendants of, 97. Darnley, Henry Stuart, Lord, 196. Dauphin, French, invited to rule England, 87. Dauphin (Charles VII.), 135-138. Declaration of Independence, American, 270 ; of Indulgence, 329. " Defender of the Faith," 167, 170. Defoe, Daniel, 266. Deserted Village, 326. Dettingen, battle of, 297 ; map, 328, Ca. Dickens, Charles, 353 ; portrait, 352. Dictator over English language, 325. Dictionary, compiled by Johnson, 325. Directorate, 318. Discoveries, of Coliunbus, the Cabots, and Vasco da Gama, 160-162 ; of Drake, 201 ; of Raleigh and Frobisher, 205. " Divine right,'' the belief of James I., 216, 217; of Charles L, 222; of James XL,- 266, 267, 273, 290. Douglas family, 125. Dover, cliffs, picture of, 2 ; mnp, 236, Dc. Drake, Sir Francis, with picture, 201 ; vice admiral, 202 ; 203. Dress, expense of, in Elizabeth's time, 194. Druids, the, 5-7. Dudley, Lord Guilford, 180-182, 186. Dudley, Robert. See Leicester. 3^2 INDEX Dunbar, battle of, 243 ; map, 64, Cb. Dunkirk, acquired by England, 248 ; sale of, 260 ; map, 328, Ca. Du Quesne, Fort (in America), 300. Durham, map, 236, Ca. Durham Cathedral, picture, 50. Dwellings, of Britons, 4, 9 ; of Romans in Britain, 9 ; of Saxons (picture), 15 ; of rich and poor in Elizabeth's time, 193-195. East India Company, 302, 308. Ecclesiastical History, 20 ; translated by AKred the Great, 26. Kdgehill, battle of, 236 ; mop, 236, Cb. Education, convent schools in early Eng- land, 19, 22; encouraged by Alfred the Great, 25, 26 ; board schools established, 346. See Learning. Edward I., as prince, 91 ; goes on a crusade, 93; his representative Parliament, 96; conquers Wales and gives it a prince, 96, 97 ; tries to conquer Scotland, 97-99 ; banishes the Jews, 99, 100 ; death, 99. Edward II., favorites of, 104, 105 ; is de- posed, 105, 106. Edward HI., marches against Scotland, 106 ; seeks the French crown, 107-111. Edward rv., accession, 141, 142; loses the support of Warwick, 144 ; portrait, 144 ; is restored to the crown, 144: ; originates " benevolences," 145 ; 149. Edward V., 148-151 ; in the Tower, picture, 151 ; impersonated by Warbeck, 157. Edward VI., birth, 173; 175; character, 176 ; portrait, 177 ; hears Latimer preach, 177 ; Prayer Book of, 178 ; establishes schools, 179, 180; his will and death, 181 ; andiiis council, picture, 179. Edward Vlf^, 356. Edward the Confessor, becomes king, 30 ; promises his crown to William of Nor- mandy, 31 ; recommends Harold, 32 ; builds Westminster Abbey, 36; 107. Egbert, " King of the English," 21 ; drives away the Danes, 24. Elba, 322 ; map, 328, Db. Eliot, John, 249. Elizabeth, birth and early life, 173, 175, 181, 183, 186, 188; portrait, 189; acces- sion, 189 ; declares herself a Protestant, 190 ; is crowned, 190, 191 ; is carried in state, picture, 191 ; her difficulties, 191- 193 ; manner of living in her reign, 193- 195; conduct toward Mary of Scotland, 195-200; excommimicated, 205; English devotion to, 205 ; Elizabethan literature, 205-208 ; character, 208, 209. Elizabeth (of York), Lancaster and York united by her marriage to Henry VII., with her portrait, 156. Emma, 27 ; marries Canute, 29, 30. Empress of India, Victoria proclaimed as, 347. *' English and Spaniards," 186. *' EngUsh Pale," 72 ; map, 231, Cb. Epitaph of Charles II., 256, 257. Erie (Lake), Perry*B victory on, 325. Essays of Elia, 327. Essex, Robert Derereux, Barl of, 232. Evangeline, 301. Evesham, battle of, 91-93 ; map, 64, Cb. " Exclusion Bill," 262. Excommunication, 70 ; of John, 83 ; of Luther, 167 ; of Henry VIII., 171 ; of Elizabeth, 202. Factories built, 323; law r^ulatiug chil- dren's labor in, 332. Faijry Queen, 206. Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 237. Famine in Ireland, 342. Favorites, of Edward II., 104, 105; of James I., 217, 218 ; of Anne, 285, 286. Fawkes, Guy, 216. Ferdinand, king of Spain, 159, 160. Feudalism in England under the Con- queror, 37, 38 ; affected by scutage, 66 ; by the crusades, 94, 95 ; by Cr^cy, 111 ; by the Black Death, 112 ; disappearance of, 155 ; remains of, in France, 313. " Field of the Cloth of Gold," 165. Fire-sliips, 204. Fisher, Bishop John, 171. Flanders, ally of England, 107 ; map, 64. Dc; fine weaving introduced from, 112; Caxton living in, 145. Flodden Field, battle of, 164 ; mop, 236 Ba. Florence, the refuge of Greeks in 1453, 166. Florida, 302. Forth (River), 9 ; map, 8. Fotheringay Castle, 200 ; map, 236, Cb. France, subdued by Caesar, 1 ; English pos- sessions in, 73 ; English possessions in France forfeited by John, 82 ; the Hun- dred Years' War, 107-138, passim ; map of English lands in France in 1429, 134 ; Joan of Arc's deliverance of, 135-138; England fears becoming a province of, 196 ; influence of France on English lit- erature in Anne's time, 282 ; opposes Maria Theresa, 296, 297 ; French power in India, 302; recognizes American Inde- pendence, 310 ; declares war against England, 316, 317. See Revolution, French. Francis I., king of France, 164-166. Francis II., king of France, 195, 196. Franklin, Benjamin, 307, 308. Frederick the Great, 299. Freedom of the press, 272. French and Indian War. See Seven Years' War. French language, spoken at the English court, 60 ; romances brought to England, 60 ; learned by the English, 100 ; Eng- lish borrows words from, 100; French- men learn English, 100. Frobisher, Martin, 202, 205. Froissart, 110. Gaddis, or Geddes, Jane, 230. Gama (ga'ma), Vasco da, 161, 162. Gaveston, Piers, 104. Genealogy, of Norman kings, 63 ; of An- gevins, 122; of Lancaster, York, and INDEX 363 Tudor sovereigns, 154; of the Tudors, 210; of the Stuarts, 288; of the Han- overians, 357. Geneva award, 345, 346. Genoese crossbowmen, with picture, 108, 109. Gentleman, the knight the ideal, 76. Geoffrey of Anjou, 56, 59, 64. Geoffrey of Monmouth, 60, 74. George I., accession, with picture, 289; his treatment of James Edward's sup- porters, 291 ; his absence from cabinet meetings, 293, 294. George II., accession, 294; opposes Wal- pole, 295, 296 ; portrait, 296 ; fights at Dettingen, 297 ; his unpopularity, 303. George III., as Prince of Wales, 295, 296 ; accession, character, with portrait, 305, 306 ; his persistency in the American Revolution, 310; acknowledges the in- dependence of the United States, 311 ; his simplicity, 316, 317 ; opposes reli- gious freedom, 318 ; regency of his son, 324 ; literature during his reign, 325-327. George IV. , as regent, 324 ; accession, character, with portrait, 327, 328. " George Eliot," 353. George, Saint, 284. Gibraltar, 285, 286 ; viap, 328, Be. Gladstone, William Ewart, with picture, 347, 348. Glastonbury, abiding place of the Holy Grail, 74. Globe Theatre, picture, 208. Gloucester, Duke of, uncle of Henry VI., 133. Godwin, Earl of Wessex, 29. " Golden Age of English Literature," 206. Goldsmith, Oliver, 325. Gordon riots, 311, 312, 316. Government, origin of some modem cus- toms of, 293, 294. Grand Pr^ (pra) (in Nova Scotia), 301. " Grand Remonstrance," 233. Great Britain, formation of the kingdom, 283. " Great Commoner." See William Pitt. " Great peace statesman," 345. Greeks arouse interest in the old know- ledge, 166; Greek scorned by the Eng- lish clergy, 166. Greenland, 205. Gregory, Pope, 17. Grendel, 15, 16. Grey, Lady Jane, with jKtrtrait, 180, 181 ; sent to the Tower, 182 ; her twelve days' reign, 182 ; Mary signs her death war- rant, 186. " Groans of the Britons," 12. Guilds, 195, 206. Gunpowder Plot, with picture of the con- spirators, 214-216. " Guy Fawkes's Day," 216. Hadley (in Massachusetts), 255. Hampden, John, attempt to sail to America, 229 ; refuses to pay unjust taxes, with portrait, 230 ; killed in battle, 237. Hanging Stones, 7. Hanover, fears of George II. for, 299 ; his interest in, 303 ; England free from, 336. House of Hanover, genealogy of, 357 ; map, 328, Ca. Harbingers, 186. Harfleur (arfier') besieged by Henry V., 130 ; map, 64, Dc. Harold, Earl of Wessex, in Normandy, 31, 32; at the battle of Senlac, 34-36. Harsh treatment of children, 134, 171 ; of Lady Jane Grey, 181. Hastings, battle of. See Senlac. Hawkins, Sir John, 202. Henry I. (Beauclerc) receives silver from his father, 42, 43 ; accession and charter, 51 ; invades and conquers Normandy, 52 ; punishes coiners and regulates "purvey- ing," 53; his severe taxation, 54 ; mar- riage, 55 ; loses his son, 55 ; plans for Matilda to succeed him, 56 ; death, 56. Henry II. (Plantagenet), 64 ; destroys castles, 65 ; reforms the coinage, 65 ; in- troduces scutage, 65 ; his contest with a Becket, 66-71 ; his penance at Canter- bury, 71 ; subdues part of Ireland, 72 ; his judicial reforms, 73 ; death, 74. Henry III., the first child king, with pic- ture of his coronation, 89, 90 ; demands money to secure the Sicilian crown, 91 ; opposes de Montfort and the other bar- ons, 91-93; building during his reign, picture, 92. Henry IV., chosen by Parliament, 121 ; his Welsh campaign, 123-125 ; makes war upon France, 124 ; portrait of Henry and his court, 124 ; his relations with his son, 126 ; death, 126, 128. Henry V., as prince, 126, 127 ; generosity to his foes, 128 ; partially conquers France, 129-132 ; death, 132. Henry VI., unhappy childhood, 133, 134; his French lands, 133-138 ; "becomes in- sane, 139 ; captured by the Earl of War- wick, 141 ; deposed, 142 ; restored, 144 ; imprisoned, 145. Henry VII., betrothed to the daughter of Edward IV. of York, 151 ; wins at Bos- worth Field and is crowned, 152; por- trait, 156; methods of raising money, 157, 158 ; does not aid Columbus^ sends the Cabots, 160; chapel of, picture, 161. Henry VIII., early traits, with portrait, 162-164 ; meets Francis near Calais, 164 ; his interest in the Renaissance, 166 ; be- comes "Defender of the Faith," 167; his struggle for a divorce from Katha- rine and his marriage to Anne Boleyn, 167-170; his persecutions, 170, 171; seizes the smaller monasteries, debases the coinage, 171 ; executes Anne and marries Jane Seymour, 173 ; marries Anne of Cleves, 174 ; divorces her, 175 ; his will, 175, 177, 180, 183; planned a marriage for his son with Mary, Queen of Scots, 195. History of British kings, 60 ; history writ- ten, 60, 101, 102. 3^4 INDEX Holland, the Pilgrims' refuge, 221 ; rela- tions with England during the Protector- ate, 247, 248 ; loses New Netherland, 260, 261 ; the aUy of England, 284. Holy Grail, legend of, 74 ; connection with the crusades, 75. Holy Land, ruled by Arabs, 46, 47 ; ruled by Turks, 47, 78, 93, 126. " Home Rule," for Ireland, 348. Hood, Robin, ballads of, 101 ; their influ- ence on the English people, 147. Hooper, John, Bishop, 186. " Hotspur," Harry Percy, so-called, 125, 128. Howard, Admiral, 202, 209. Hudson Bay, 286. Hundred Years' War, cause, 107 ; in time of Edward III., 107-111 ; 115 ; ends, 138 ; effects of, 139, 141. " Inclosing," 172, 178, 179. Independents, go to America, 221 ; in the war between Charles I. and Parliament, 237, 238, 241. India, English rule established in, 302, 303 ; Sepoy mutiny, 344 ; Victoria proclaimed Empress of India, 347. Inquisition, 185. Interdict, John's kingdom placed under, 82. Inventions, steam engine and machines for spinning and weaving, 323 ; of the nine- teenth century, 351, 352. Ireland, early churches and schools in, 17 partially subdued by Henry II., 72: ruled by John, 72 ; " Strongbow " in, 72 review of England's connection with, 231, 232; revolt against Charles I., 233; sup- ports Charles II., 242 ; Cromwell's cam- paign in, 243 ; supports James II. , 274- 277 ; the English Parliament claims the right to make laws for, 292; Roman Catholics shut out of the Parliament of, 292; Irish Parliament represents only members of the Church of England, 312, 313; commercial limitations of, 312; raises troops and demands reforms, 313 ; obliged to support the Church of Eng- land, 317 ; Reign of Terror, 317, 318 ; Irish allowed to vote for Protestants as members of the Irish Parliament, 317 ; united with England, 317 ; attempts of Fraifte and Spain to free, 318 ; the Irish flag and the " Union Jack," picture, 318 ; famine in, 342 ; the " land question," 347 ; Church of England disestablished in, 348 ; gain in the land tenure, 348 ; " home rule," 348 ; local self-government granted, 348 ; map of, 231. *' Ironsides," 236. Isabella, child queen of Richard II., 121 ; sent back to France, 124. Isabella, queen of Spain, 159, 160. Jacobites. 274, 299. " Jacques" (shak), 284. James I., birth, 196; proclaimed king of Scotland, 197 ; accession, appearance, 211 ; portrait, 212 ; confers with Puritan ministers, 213 ; his belief in the "divina right," 216, 217 ; favorites, conflict with Parliament, 217, 218; dealings with Spain, 218-220; executes Raleigh, 219; death, 221. James II., comes to England with Charlee II., 253; 259, 260,261, 262; accession, 203 ; Monmouth's rebellion and James's revenge, 263-266 ; arbitrary rule of, 266, 267 ; attempts to restore the Roman Cath- olic Church to power in England,- 267, 268 ; imprisons the five bishops, 268 ; por- trait, 269 ; abdicates the throne, 269, 270 ; tries to regain the throne, 274-278; death, 280. ^ James Edward (the Pretender), 280, 283, 286; attempts to gain the crown, 290, 291, 298. Jamestown, 220. Jeanne (zhSn) d'Arc. See Joan of Arc. Jeffreys, Judge George, with portrait, 265, 266 ; death, 270. Jerusalem, 46; ruled by Saracens, 75, 79, 94 ; map, 328, Fc. ; Jerusalem Chamber, 126. Jesuits, 199. Jews, robbed for the crusade of Richard I., 78 ; robbed by John, 83 ; banished by Edward I., 99, 100 ; allowed to return by Cromwell, 249 ; in Parliament, 346, 347. Joan (jon) of Arc, with picture of statue, 135-138. John, rules Ireland, 72 ; rebels against his father, 74; tries to keep Richard I. in prison, 80 ; murders (?) his nephew, loses his French lands, 82 ; quarrels with church and barons, 82-88 , his cruelty and injustice, 83; signs Magna Caiiia, 85; death, 88. Johnson, Samuel, 325. Jonson, Ben, 207. Jutish boat, picture, 13. Katharine of Aragon, marries Prince Arthur, 159, 160 ; marries Henry VIII., 167, 173, 175. Kensington, Palace of, 335. Kent, map, 26, Dd ; king of Kent accepts Christianity, 17, 18. King George's War. See War of the Aus- trian Succession. " King Monmouth." See Monmouth. " King of the English," title assumed by Egbert, 21. " King's Champion," 328. "King's War," the, 310. Kirke, Colonel Percy, 265. " Kirke's Lambs," 205. • Knighthood, becoming a knight, with pic- ture, 76, 77 ; the good and the bad in, 77 ; effigy of a knight, 78 ; picture of knights in armor, 129 ; knights at Agin- court, 130, 131. " Knights of the Royal Oak," 257. Labrador, 205. " Lackland," 82. Lafayette (lafayef), Marquis de, 310, 315. INDEX 36s La Hogue (lahog'), naval battle of, 278 ; map, 328, Ca. Lamb, Charles, 326, 327. Lancaster, House of, conflict with House of York, 140-152, passim ; genealogy of kings of, 154. Land, belonging to the king, 37, 38 ; changes in ownership caused by tlie crusades, 94, 95 ; land, not people, re- presented in Parliament, 331. Land question, the Irish, 347, 348. Langland, William, writes " Piers Plow- man," 114. Langton, Archbishop Stephen, 82 ; leads the barons against John, 84. Language, the English, William the Con- queror tries to learn it, 39 ; spoken by the masses of the people, GO ; gained many new words from the French, 100, 101 ; courts of justice require English, 114; becomes the literary language, 120 ; laws prhited in, 150 ; used in the church service, 178 ; softened by the French, 205. Language, French, used at court, GO. See Language, the English. Language, Latin, used in church and con- vent, 20, GO ; Alfred the Great translates Latin books into English, 26 ; Henry I. translates from Latin to English, 50; used by George I., 289. Latimer, Bishop Hugh, preaches before Edward VI., 177 ; burning of, 186. Laud, Archbishop, William, 227, 228, 231. Learning, of the Druids, 7 ; of early Ire- land, 17 ; classic learning revived (Re- naissance), 166. Leicester (lester), Robert, Earl of, 193. Leopold (le'opold), Duke of Austria, 78, 79. " Levelers," 241. Literature, English, Csedmon, 18, 19 ; Bede, 19-21 ; Beowulf, epic of, 15-17 ; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, begun, 26 ; ended, 60 ; King Alfred's writings, 26 ; history written, 60, 101 ; ballads of Robin Hood, 101 ; Langland writes Piers Plowman, 114; Chaucer, 119, 120; ballads, not books, composed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, 146, 147 ; of the Elizabethan age, 203-208 ; plays in the time of James I., 217; Milton writes Paradise Lost, 248, 249, with picture of Milton ; Bunyan writes Pilgrim's Pro- gress, 258; Defoe writes Robinson Crusoe, 266 ; the age of prose, 281, 282 ; novel of home life, in reign of George II., 303 ; of reign of George III., 325-327; of Victoria's reign, 352-354. Loire (River) (Iwar), 134 ; map, 64, Cd. London, map, 26, Cd., gives vessels to meet the Armada, 202; threatened by James I., 218; Great Plague in, 259; Great Fire of, 259, 260; robbed by Charles II., 260 ; independence of, under James II., 268 ; set fire to in the Gordon riots, 312. Londonderry, founded, 232, 233 ; siege of, 275, 276 ; map, 231, Ca. " Long Parliament," 231. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 26, 301. Louis XIV., 260 ; supports James II., 275, 277, 278, 280. Louis XVI., 315. Louisburg, 297. Lucknow, massacres at, 344. • Luther, Martin, 107, 170. Macaulay, Lord Thomas Babington, with portrait, 353. Macdonald, Flora, 299. Magna Carta, with facsimile extract from, 85-87. Majuba Hill, 349 ; map, 3id. Map, Walter, 74. March, Edmund Mortimer, Earl of, 121, 123, 125, 128, 140. Marcus Aurelius, 356. Margaret, wife of Henry VI., 141-144. Maria Theresa, 296, 299. Marlborough, Jolui Churchill, Duke of, with portrait, 284-286. Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of, with por- trait, 285, 286. Marlowe, Christopher, 207. Marston Moor, battle of, 237 ; map, 236, Cb. Mary I. (Mary Tudor), disinherited by Parliament, 173, 175, 181 ; proclaimed queen and crowned, 182, 183 ; early life, 183 ; her religion, marriage, 184-186 ; per- secution of Protestants, 186, 187 ; de- serted by Philip, 187 ; loses Calais, 187 ; contrast between her early life and Eliz- abeth's, 188. Mary II., marriage to William of Orange, 269 ; accession jointly with her husband, 269, 270 ; portrait, 273 ; repels the inva- sion of Louis XIV. , with commemorative medal, 278 ; character, 279. Mary (sister of Henry VIII.), 164, 167, 180. Mary, Queen of Scots, early life, 195 ; claim to the English throne, with portrait, 196 ; marries Lord Darnley, 196 ; resigns the Scotch throne, 197 ; escapes from Loch- leven and flees to England, 197, 198 ; is imprisoned and executed, 199, 200. Masham, Mrs., favorite of Queen Anne, 286. Mason, James Murray, Confederate com- missioner to England, 345. " Master Aylmer," 181. Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, 33,36. Matilda, wife of Heni-y I., 55. Matilda, daughter of Henry I. , chosen by her father as his successor, 56 ; her con- test with Stephen, 57-60. Mayflower, the, 221. Mediterranean (Sea), Roman territories about, 7 ; control of, sought by Napo- leon, 319 ; sought by Russia, 343. Methodism, rise of, 294, 295. Milan, Duchess of, refuses to marry Heniy VIII., 173. Milton, John, with portrait, 248, 249. 366 INDEX Minstrel, with picture, 101, 102 ; salary of, 147. Mistress of the Robes, 336. Monarchy, early character of, 216, 217 ; Egbert of Wessex rises to supremacy, 21 ; Danish conquest of the crown, 27 ; election of Harold (not of the royal family), 32 ; William the Conqueror be- comes king by conquest (32-36) and by election (36); charter of Henry I., 51; the question of succession to the crown on the death of Henry I. , 55 ; election of Stephen, 60 ; election of Henry II., 60 ; election of John, 82; Magna Carta signed, 85; Henry III., the first child king chosen, 88 ; beginnings of a repre- sentative Parliament, 91 ; Parliament deposes Edward II. and gives the crown to Edward III., 105 ; Richard II. is de- posed, and Parliament gives the crown to Henry IV., 121; Wars of the Roses between the rival royal houses of York and Lancaster, 140-152, passim; usur- pation of Richard III., 150 ; accession of Henry VII. by victory of Bosworth Field, 152 ; despotic rule of Henry VIII., 170, 175 ; succession to the crown ar- ranged by Parliament's confirmation to the king's will, 175 ; accession of Mary Tudor, the first female sovereign, 182 ; religious dictation of the Tudors, 170, 178, 184, 191, 192 ; claims of Elizabeth and of Mary Stuart to the crown, 195, 196 ; the crowns of England and of Scot- land united under James I., 212 ; James's assertion of the "divine right," 216; his arbitrariness, 217 ; conflict of Charles I. with Parliament, 224-229, 231, 233- 235 ; civil war between Charles I. and Parliament, execution of the king, and overthrow of the monarchy, 235-241 ; restoration of the monarchy, 252 ; failure of the " Exclusion Bill," 262; arbitrary rule and forced abdication of James II., 266-270 ; Parliament gives the crown to William and Mary, 270 ; limitations of the sovereign agreed to by William, 271 ; Parliament gives the throne to Anne (280), and after her to the House of Hanover (286) ; under George I. , the sovereign's power decreases, 289 ; two political parties, Whigs and Tories, 290 ; Walpole establishes government by the cabinet and by the ministers, 293, 294 ; attempted increase of the royal powers under George III., 305; limitations of the royal power, 336-338. Monasteries, seized by Henry VIII., 171; Parliament refuses to restore the land of, 184. Monk (mungk). General George, 251, 252. Monmouth, the Duke of, proposed for the throne, 262 ; rebellion of, with portrait, 262-265. Monmouth, Geoffrey of, 61, 74. " Monopolies," 228. Montcalm (mSncam'), Marquis de, 301. Montfort, Simon de, leads the barons against Henry III., 91-93 ; his work, 93, 96. Mora, the, 33. More, Sir Thomas, 171. Mortimer, Edmund, Earl of March, 121. Mortimer, favorite of the mother of Ed- ward II., 105-107. " Morton's Fork," 158. Moscow, 321. "Mrs. Freeman," 285. "Mrs. Morley," 286. Mystery plays, with picture, 61-63, 207. Napoleon Bonaparte, his rise to power, 318 ; his wars, with portrait and medal to commemorate his expected conquest of England, 319-322; becomes first consul and then emperor, 320 ; his defeat at Waterloo and exile, 322. Naseby, battle of, 237 ; map, 236, Cb. Naseby (vessel). See " Royal Charles." Natal (natal'), 349 ; map, 349. " Navigation Laws," 247. Navy, of England, begun by Alfred the Great, 27 ; at the time of Harold, 34 ; at the time of the Armada, 202 ; war ship of Henry VIII., picture, 165 ; naval glory under Cromwell, 247 ; in conflict with France and with the United States, 325. Nelson, Admiral Horatio, with portrait, in the battle of the Nile, 319 ; in the Baltic and off Trafalgar, 320. New England Primer, 186. New Forest, 41 ; map, 26 ; scene of the death of Richard and of William Rufus, 48. Newfoundland, 160, 286. New Isle. See Newfoundland. New Jersey, nicknamed " Spain," 321. New Orleans, battle of, 325. New York, 260, 261. Nightingale, Florence, with portrait, 343. Nile, battle of the, 319 ; map, 328, Fc. " Non- jurors," 273. Norman, vessel, picture, 33 ; conquest, 35, 36 ; castles in England, with picture, 39, 40; influence in England, 43; soldiers, picture, 44 ; kings, genealogy of, 63. Normandy, sons of Emma brought up in, 29 ; Harold wrecked on coast of, 31 ; united with England under William the Conqueror, 36 ; willed to Robert, 42 ; mortgaged to William Rufus, 46; con- quered by Henry I., 52 ; lawlessness under Stephen, 58 ; conquest by Geoffrey of Anjou, 59; lost by John, 82; map, 64, Dc. North, Lord Frederick, 308, 311. North Cape, discoverer of, 26. Northumberland, John Dudley, Duke of, 178-182. Northumbria, 20. Northwest Passage, 205. Nottingham, 235, 270 ; map, 236, Cb. Nova Scotia, acquired from France, 286 ; possession confirmed, 301. Novels, historical novels of Scott, 326; INDEX 367 present popularity of novels, 353, 354 ; of home life, 303, 326. " Oak-apple Day," 255, 256. Gates, Titus, 261. Oath, chief men swear to support Matilda, 56; barons swear to oppose John, 84; chief men swear allegiance to Edward I., 95 ; oath of fealty to Edward II. re- nounced, 105, 106; oath taken by Wil- liam III., 272 ; of allegiance to William III. refused by non-jurors, 273 ; required by the Test Act, 329. O'Connell, Daniel, 329, 347. Odo, half brother of William the Con- queror, 38, 39. " Old Ironsides," with picture, 324, 325. Opium War, 340, 341. Orange Free State, with map, 349. Orleans (orla'5n), siege of, 135-137 ; map, 64, Dd. Oxford, Matilda escapes from, 59 ; map, 64, Cc ; early library of University of, 118 ; University of, admits Dissenters, 346. Page, duties of, 76, Pale, the English, 232 ; map, 231, Cb. Palestine, 47. Paradise Lost, 249. Parliament, beginning of the House of Commons, 91 ; the first organized repre- sentative Parliament, 96 ; gains power by the Hundred Years' War, 139 ; members not freely elected, 139 ; expulsion of Pres- byterians from, 238 ; House of Lords abol- ished (241), and restored, 252 ; dissolution of, by Cromwell, 245,246; "Barebone's," 246 ; reforms in electing members of, 331, 332 ; limitations and value of the Lords, 338, 339 ; power of the Commons, 339 ; limitations of membership of the Com- mons, 341 . See also Monarchy. Parties, religious, in reign of Elizabeth, 192 ; Cavaliers and Roundheads, 235 ; in the time of the Commonwealth, 241 ; in time of William and Mary, 273, 274 ; Whigs and Tories in time of George I. , 290. Patrick, Saint, preaches in Ireland, 17. Peasants' Revolt, 115-117. Peel, Sir Robert, 336. Penance of Henry II., 71. Peninsular War, 321. Penn, William, 258. Pennsylvania, 258. " People's Charter," 342. Pepys (peps), Samuel, 254, 257, 259. Percy, Harry (Hotspur), 125, 128. Perry, Oliver Hazard, 325. Persecution, religious, first burning at the stake, 125 ; under Henry VIII., 170, 171 ; under Mary, 184-187 ; under James I., 214, 220 ; under Charles I., 229 ; of Wal- denses, 248 ; under Charles II., 257, 258 ; of Scotch Presbyterians, under James II. , 267. Peter the Hermit, 47. Petition, of peasants to Richard II., 116 ; of Puritans to James I., 213 ; "Petition of Rights,"226, 227. See Chartists. Pevensey (pgvSn'sey), 34 ; map, 26, Dd. Philip of Castile, 159. Philip of France, as a crusader, 78 ; at- tempts to imprison Richard I., 79, 80; deprives John of his French lands, 82 ; son of Philip, invited to rule England, 87. Philip II. of Spain, marries Mary I., with portrait, 184-186 ; deserts her, 187 ; woos ' Elizabeth, 190 ; sends the Armada, 200- 204. Philippa, wife of Edward III., pleads for the citizens of Calais, 110 ; introduces fine wool weaving, 112. Picts, harass England, 9, 12, 13 ; descend- ants of, 97. " Piers Plowman," 114. Pilgrimage, to Canterbury, see Canterbury Tales ; of Canute, 28 ; a deed of merit, 46. " Pilgrim Fathers," 220, 221. Pilgrim's Progress, 258. Pitt, William (Lord Chatham), 307, 309; with portrait, 310. Plague, the Great, 259. Plantagenet (plantaj'enet), derivation of the word, 64 ; king at table, picture, 96 ; genealogy of royal house, V2fl. Plays, m Elizabeth's time, 206, 207 ; in time of James I., 217 ; scorned by the Puritans, 249, 250. See Mystery Plays. Plymouth, 203 ; map, 236, Ac. Plymouth (in the United States), 221. Poetry, in Elizabeth's time, 206 ; in Anne's time, 282 ; in time of George III., 325, 326. " Poet's poet." See Spenser, 206. Poitiers (pwatYa'), battle of, 110 ; map, 64, Dd. Poor, sufferings of the, under Henry VIII., 171, 172 ; sufferings of renters of small farms, 177-179 ; hard lives of the, 195 ; suffering caused by the invention of machinery, 323. "Poor Priests," 117. Pope, Alexander, 282. "Poundage," 224. Pounds, John, 346. Prayer Book, the English, compiled, 178; forced upon the Scotch Presbyterians, 230. Presbyterians, 211, 213, 230 ; conflict be- tween them and the Puritans, 236-238 ; 241 ; persecuted in Scotland by James II., 267. " Pretender." See James Edward. " Pride's Purge," 238. " Prince Charlie." See Charles Edward. " Prince of Wales," origin of the title, 96, 97. Printing, invented and brought to England, 145, 146; facsimile of Caxton's, 146; effect upon the Renaissance, 166. Protectorate, the, 246-252. Protestant Reformation, beginning of, 167. Pimishments, severity of, 323. Puritans, Puritanism, rise of, 192 ; under 368 INDEX James I., 213, 220, 221 ; under Charles I., 229, 235, 236, 249, 250 ; under Charles II., 257, 258; ministers in the Great Plague, 259. Purveyors, brought under laws, 53. Quakers, 249, 258, 267. Quebec, capture of, 301. Queen Aime's War. See War of the Span- * ish Succession. Raleigh (rS'li), Sir Walter, 202, 205 ; with portrait, 219. Rasselas (ras'elas), 325, 326. Reformation, begun by teachings of Luther, 167; 170. Regicides, 254, 255. Reign of Terror, in France, 316 ; in Ireland, 317, 318. Renaissance, 166. " Restoration " of Charles II., 252. Revolution, American, the Stamp Act, with picture of stamp, 306-308 ; beginning of the war, 309-311 ; its close, 311. Revolution, French ; oppression of French peasants, 313-315; destruction of the Bastille, with picture, 314; excesses of the revolutionists, 315, 310 ; the Reign of Terror, 316 ; English feeling towards, 316, 317. Revolution, industrial, 323. Revolution of 1688, 269, 270. Rheims (rimz), 136-138 ; map, 64, Ec. Richard I., revolts, 75; his name, Coeurde Lion, 77 ; character of, 77, 80 ; as a cru- sader, 78 ; imprisonment and ransom, with picture, 79 ; taxes his people, 78 ; death, 80, 81. Richard II., meets an angry mob, 115, 116 ; marries the child Isabella of France, is deposed, 121 ; imprisonment of, 123 ; his body shown in St. Paul's Cathedral, 123. Richard III., becomes Protector, 148; be- comes king, abolishes benevolences, prints the laws in English, murders (?) his nephews, 150, 151 ; is slain at Bos- worth Field, 152. Richard, Duke of York (died 1460), his claim to the throne, 140, 141 ; is slain in battle and leaves a son, who becomes Edward IV., 141. Richard, son of Duke Robert, killed in the New Forest, 48. Ridley, Bishop Nicholas, 186. " Right of Search," .324. Rizzio (ret'seo), David, 196. Robert, half-brother of William the Con- queror, 38. Robert, son of William the Conqueror, 42, 43, 46 ; with effigy. 47, 48, 50-53. Robinson Crusoe, 266. " Rocket," the first locomotive, picture, 334. Rogers, John, with picture, 186. Roman Britain, map of, 8 ; walls, with picture, 9, 10 ; rule in Britain, 11. Roman Catholic Church. See Catholic Church. I Romans, at home, 7 ; in Britain, 8-10 ; leave Britain, 10. Rome, Canute makes a pilgrimage to, 28 ; value of a pilgrimage to, 46. Roses, Wars of. See Wars of the Roses. " Rotten boroughs," 331, 332. Rouen (roo5n'), 244 ; map, 64, Dc. Roundheads, with picture, 235, 236. " Royal Charles," with picture, 253. " Royal Oak," 255, 256. See Knights of tlie Royal Oak. Runuymede, with picture, 85; map, 64, Cc. Rupert, Prince of the Palatinate, 237. Russia, Napoleon's invasion of, 321 ; fights with Turkey, 343. Rye House Plot, 261. " Sailor King." See William IV. Sahit Helena, 322. Salisbury (sSlz'bury), Plain, 7 ; map, 26, Cd. Sanctuary, right of, 149 ; at Westminster, with picture, 149. Saracens (sar'asgnz), rule Jerusalem, 75; 79,91. Saxon, epic. See Beowulf. Saxon ordeals, 73 ; names for days of the week, 15. Saxons, harass and then conquer Britain, 12, 13; on the Continent, 14-17 (with map, 14) ; as slaves in Rome, 17 ; Chris- tianity preached to, 17,18; of the same race as the Danes, 22. Schelde (schel'de) (River), English victoty near mouth of, 107. Scone (skoon). Stone of Scone, carried to England, with picture, 98 ; map, 103 ; James I. crowned on, 212 ; Charles II. crowned at, 243. Scotland, Irish origin of the Scots, 9 ; Roman forts across, 9 ; Edward I. be- comes overlord of, 97 ; Scotch resistance to Edward I., 97-99 ; to Edward II. by Robert Bruce, 104, 105 ; border warfare, 124 ; supports Perkin Warbeck, 157 ; war with England in reign of Henry VIII., 164; attempt of Henry VIII. to win the hand of Mary, Queen of ^cots, for his son, and Mary's marriage to Francis, Dauphin of France, 195 ; Mary's claim to the English throne, 195, 190; her widowhood and marriage first to Lord Darnley, then to the Earl of Both- well, 196, 197 ; her deposition and escape to England, 197-199 ; her execution, 199, 200 ; accession of her son James to the English throne, 211 (See James I.). revolts against the required use of the English Prayer Book, 230; "Solemn League and Covenant " with the English Parliament against Charles I., 237 ; sur- render of Charles I. to the Scots, and their surrender of him to the Presbyte- rian Parliament, 237, 238 ; attempts of Charles (II.) to secure the English throne and battle of Worcester, 242, 243; Stuart line restored, 252; Scotch Presbyterians persecuted by James II., Jacobite risings, 274-277 ; 290, 291 : INDEX 369 297-299 ; England and Scotland united, 283, 284; historical map of Scotland, 103. Scott, Sir Walter, 326, 353. Scutage introduced by Henry 11., 65. Sea-power. See Navy. Seax (sa'ax), 14. Seizin (se'zin), 34. Senlac, or Hastings, map, 26, Dd ; battle of, with picture, 35, 36. Separatists-, 221. Sepoy mutiny, 343, 344. Sevastopol (sevaato'pol), siege of, 343 ; map, 328, Fb. Seven bishops, imprisonment of the, 268. Seven Years' War, 299-302. Severn (River), 243 ; map, 26, Bd. Seymour, Jane, 173. Shakespeare, William, with portrait, 207 ; his theatre, the Globe, with picture, 208. Sheep-raising, 172. " Ship-money," 229. Shovel (shuv'l). Sir Cloudesley, 285. Shrewsbury, battle of, 125; viap, 64, Cb. Sicily, son of Henry III. suggested as ruler of, 90, 91. Simnel, Lambert, 156. Slavery abolished in England's West In- dian colonies, 333. Slidell (slidel'), John, Confederate com- missioner to England, 345. Snuth, Captain John, 220. Soldiers, in time of Charles I., picture, 225. " Solemn League and Covenant," 237. Solway (River), 9 ; 198 ; map, 8. Somerset (sum'erset), Edward Seymour, Duke of, 177-179. Songs of Elizabeth's time, 206. South Sea Bubble, 292. Spain, England's fear of becoming a pro- vince of, 185 ; the Spanish Armada, 200-204; connection of James I. with (Spanish marriage question), 218-220 ; attempts to aid Ireland, 318 ; asks Eng- land's aid against Napoleon, 321. " Spain," nickname of New Jersey, 321. "Spectator," 282. Spenser, Edmund, 206. Squire, duties of, becoming a knight, with picture, 76, 77. Stamp Act, with picture of stamp, 308. Standard, battle of the, with picture of the Standard, 59. Star Chamber, 158, 228, 231. Steam engine invented, 323. Stephen, accession, grants charter, 57 ; his contest with Matilda, 57-60 ; in Nor- mandy, 58; his death, 60 ; 64, 65. Stephenson's locomotive, picture, 334. Stirling Castle, with picture, 105 ; map, 103. Stonehenge (ston'henj), with picture, 6, 7 ; map, 8. Stratford, Sir William Wentworth, Earl of, 228, 229, 231, 233. " Strongbow " becomes a king in Ireland, 72. Stuart sovereigns, genealogy of, 288. Sully, Maximilien de Bethune, Due de, 212. Sweyne (swan), king of England and Den- mark, 27. Sympathy, after the Black Death, 112 ; in the reign of William IV., 334. Tabard Inn (tab'ard), 119. Tam O'Shanter, 326. Taunton, 203. Taxation, under Henry I., 54 ; undei Richard I., 78 ; under John, 83; twelve- penny tax of Richard II., 115 ; freedom of church lands from, 150 ; severe taxa- tion unsafe, 157 ; under James I., 218 ; certain taxes given to the sovereigns, 224; under Charles I., 225, 228-230 ; of the American colonies, 306-309 ; pro- posal for, must come from the Commons, 339. Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 13, 74, 343, 353; portrait, 352. Test Act, repeal of, 328, 329. Thackeray, William Makepeace, 353. Thanet (than'et) (island), 17; map, 20, Dd. Theatres, closing of the, 249. Thieves, severe laws against, 172, 173, 323. " Thorough," 228. Threshing and winnowing, picture, 20. Tinchebrai (tinch'bra), battle of, 52 ; map, 64; Cc. " Tonnage," 224. Tories, 290, 295. Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror, 41; murder of Edward V. and his brother in, picture, 151. Towns, charters given by Richard I., 78; charters of, disregarded by John, 83. Towton (tou'ton), battle of, 142 ; map, 64, Cb. Trafalgar (trifal 'gar), battle of, 320; map, 328, Be. Transvaal, 349; map, 349. Trelawny (trelaw'ny). Bishop, 268. Trent, affair of the, 345, 356. Tudor, Owen, 155. Tudor sovereigns, genealogy of, 154, 210. ' ' Tumble-down Dick . ' ' See Richard C rom well. Turks rule the Holy Land, 47; capture Constantinople, 166. " Twelve-days' Queen," 182, 183. Tyler, Wat, 115, 116. Tyndale (tyn'dal), William, 177. Tyne (River), 9 ; map, 8. Union, between England and Scotland, with picture of flag, 283, 284 ; between England and Ireland, with picture of the flag, 317, 318. " Union Jack," with picture, 283, 284. United States. See Colonies, Discoveries, American Revolution. Civil war in, 344- 346. Utopia (uto'pia), 171. 370 INDEX Valhalla (valhal'a), home of dead heroes, 23. Venerable Bede, 21. Vicar of Wakefield, 325, 326. Victoria, childhood, 329 ; accession, 335, 336 ; portrait, 337 ; marriage, with por- trait of Prince Albert, 340; proclaimed Empress of India, 347 ; the literature of her reign, 352-354 ; public interest in her life, her character, 354-356 ; her " per- sonal monarchy," 357. Villeinage, affected by the Black Death and the battle of Cr^cy, 111-113 ; pun- ishment of runaway villeins, 112 ; at- tempts to burn the lists of villeins, 115, 116. Virginia, 220. Wages, increased by the Black Death, 112 ; the slow rise of, 171, 172. Waldenses (wolden'sez), 248. Wales, survival of Christianity in, 17 ; sub- jugated by Edward I., 96 ; the first Eng- lish Prince of Wales, 96, 97 ; the Welsh at Cr(5cy, 109 ; Wales upholds Richard II., 123 ; accepts the rule of Henry VIII. as that of a Welshman, 164. Walker, the Reverend George, 276. Wallace, William, 98 ; statue, 99. Walpole, Sir Robert, with portrait, 292-295, 297. Warbeck. Perkin, 157. War of 1812, 324, 325. . War of the Austrian Succession, 296, 297, 289, War of the Spanish Succession, 284-286. War ship that conveyed Henry VIII. to France, picture, 165. Wars of the Roses, beginning of, 140-142 ; fierceness of, 142, 155 ; last battle of, 152. Warwick (wor'ik), Richard Nevil, Earl of (the king maker), 141, 14.3-145. Washington, George, 300, 339. Watchwords of the French Revolution, 316. Waterloo, battle of, 322 ; map, 328, Ca. Watt, James, 323. Weaving, fine weaving introduced into England, 112 ; machinery for weaving invented, 323. Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, drives Napoleon from Spain, 321 ; victory at Waterloo, with portrait, 322, 335, 342. Wesley, Charles, 295. Wesley, John, with portrait, 295. Wessex, 21, 29 ; map, 26, Bd. Wessex, Godwin, Earl of, 29. West Indies, 265, 333. Westminster Abbey, with picture, 36, 37. Whigs, 290, 295, 305. Whitby Abbey, picture, 18. Whitefield, (hwif feld), George, 295. White Ship, loss of, 55. Wiclif (wik'lif) John, forms bands of " Poor Priests," with portrait, 117 ; his " doctrine of the kingdom of God," his translation of the Bible, 118 ; a follower of him burned at the stake, 126; his translation forbidden to be sold, 146. Wight, Isle of, the refuge of John, 87 ; the refuge of Charles I., 238; map, 26, Cd. Wilberforce, William, 333. William the Conqueror, visits England, 31 ; invades and conquers England, is elected and crowned king, 32-36 ; distributes the English lands, 38 ; his treatment of Odo, choosing Norman officers, 38, 39 ; estab- lishes the Curfew, clears the New Forest, 41 ; compiles the Domesday Book, 41, 42 ; death, 42, 66, 89, 97, 336. Wilham I. (Rufus), recommended as king of England, 42 ; accession, 43 ; despoils the church, 44 ; receives the revenues of Normandy, 46 ; death, 48. William III. (of Orange), marries Mary II., 269 ; accession jointly with his wife, 269, 270 ; signs a bill limiting the power of the crown, favors religious liberty, with portrait, 271, 272 ; opposition to him, 274, 279 ; his campaign in Ireland, with picture of William crossing the Boyne, 276, 277 ; death, 280. William IV., character, with portrait, 330; reforms and inventions during his reign, 330-334. Winchester, 41 ; map, 26, Cd ; 43, 48, 49 ; coiners punished at, 53. Windsor, 85. Winthrop, John, 229. Wolfe, General James, with portrait, 301. Wolsey (wlil'zi). Cardinal Thomas, with picture of him and his suite, 168 ; his mode of life, 168, 169 ; portrait, 170 ; called upon to obtain the pope's annul- ment of the first marriage of Henry VIII. , 169 ; arrest and death, 170. Woodvilles, the, 148. Worcester, battle of, 243 ; map, 236, Bb. Wordsworth, William, 326. World's Fair, 340. Wren (ren), Sir Christopher, 260. York, rival house in the Wars of the Roses, 140 ; genealogy of York sovereigns, 154. "Young Pretender." See Charles Ed- ward. Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton &» Co. Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED EDUCATION - PSYCHOLOGY LIBRARY ™ This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subjea to immediate recall. 7 DAY USE DURING SUMMER SESSIONS SENTDNfLL APR 1 5 1996 ^ C-BFRKELEV 3 of old naps, in written Con« LD 21A-15m-4,'63 (D6471sl0)476 General Library University of California Berkeley HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 4 Park St., Boston ; 85 Fifth Ave., New York 378-388 Wabash Ave., Chicago YB 30263 LARNEiyS HISTORIES A HISTORY OF ENGLAND FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES BY J. N. LARNED WITH TOPICAL ANALYSES, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES BY HOMER P. LEWIS Crown 8vo, half leather, $1.25, net, postpaid. 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